Frederick Douglass: An Unlikely Life - Essay Example

Frederick Douglass, An Unlikely Life In the 1800s an uneducated runaway slave became a leader of the abolitionist movement, eloquent author, dynamic speaker, advisor to presidents, womens rights advocate and renowned intellectual. The unlikely life of Frederick Douglass is a remarkable American story. He advocated for freedom in the "land of the free" but, ironically, his travels to Britain bought him his freedom in America, a land where he was considered property and hunted like an animal. His life encompassed living the horrors of slavery to becoming an international celebrity. In England he was "treated as a man, not a color" which is what he wanted for people of color in his homeland. Though he lived to see the official end of slavery, the struggle for equality continued and still does to this day inspired by his and many others bravery and sacrifice. The illegitimate son of a white plantation owner father and slave mother, the early years of Frederick Douglass, originally Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, life was unstable. He was given to his grandmother to raise at the age of 10 following his mothers untimely death in about 1828. Soon after, Douglass was afforded the opportunity to live in the masters home, presumably because the owner acknowledged that he was his biological son. When his plantation owner, Captain Anthony, died Douglass could no longer live in a white mans house so he was sent to live with Anthonys sister Lucretia Auld who then gave him to her Baltimore brother-in-law Hugh Auld. Barely a teenager, Douglass found himself in another new setting but this time surrounded by nothing but strangers. He turned this uneasy situation into a positive outcome by learning how to read and write from area children of white families though he had to keep it a secret from his Master Auld who forbade him from receiving an education. Auld knew that if slaves learned to read they would become inspired by anti-slave literature which was the case for Douglass who attributed the Columbian Orator for inspiring his views on human rights. (Lewis, 2014). During his teen years Douglass was sold, transferred or hired-out to several other slave owners. While working for William Freedland, Douglass secretly taught class on the plantation which was faithfully attended by as many as 40 other slaves, a practice tolerated by Freedland but not by locals who, armed with various weapons, violently raided the make-shift classroom and ensured the clandestine practice ended. While working for Edward Covey, a slave owner with a brutal reputation, the young Douglass fought back which surprised and impressed Covey who never beat or whipped him again. The same cannot be said for all his other masters however. ("Frederick Douglass," 2014) At, or about, the age of 20 Douglass became a fugitive. As in the case of many runaway slaves, Douglass carried false identification documents and used a complex network that comprised sympathetic individuals of both races in his flight to New York City. Anna Murray, a freed slave, helped Douglass escape and would later meet up with him in New York then soon after become his wife. Known as Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, the couple moved to New Bedford Massachusetts and adopted the name Douglass. Through his activism in the abolitionist movement, Douglass became known to William Lloyd Garrison, a white man and publisher of The Liberator newspaper who wrote an article profiling the new, dynamic voice of the movement. This newfound recognition allowed Douglass to attract large crowds for his speeches and lectures given throughout New England. (Lewis, 2014) At age 25 Douglass, now a leader of the movement, toured Midwestern and Northeastern towns giving speeches outlining the tragic realities of slavery along with reasons and methods to abolish the heinous practice. "Flinty hearts were pierced, and cold ones melted by his eloquence," wrote a newspaper reporter following one of Douglass speeches. ("Frederick Douglass," 2014) Not all hearts were touched by Douglass words though. While speaking at a lecture in the Midwest he was pursued and beaten by a group more sympathetic to the institution of slavery than the inhumane impact it had on so many for so long. A Quaker family saved him from the mob and treated his wounds. At age 27, in 1845, influenced by William Lloyd Garrison and at great risk to his freedom, Douglass wrote "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written By Himself." The autobiography was a bestseller in the U.S. and popular abroad as well. He rewrote and updated the work three times during his life. It was doubted by some that Douglass actually wrote the book himself, that an uneducated former slave could articulate his thoughts so eloquently. The book attracted many fans too but national and international recognition was dangerous for a former slave who remained a fugitive from the law in many states. To avoid possible recapture, severe punishment then a return to slavery, Douglass sailed for England in the fall of 1845. During his stay in Britain, Douglass spoke to large audiences regarding the horrors of slave life. He came home after two years having earned enough money in that time to pay for his freedom in the U.S. Douglass had been well-received by white Brits, probably a somewhat surprising experience. He later wrote in an updated autobiography that while abroad he was "treated not as a color, but as a man." (Lewis, 2014). Douglass was a big hit across the pond and now was a free man in the U.S. but his long-standing association and friendship with Garrison did not last long upon his return. Their social and political opinions had become increasingly dissimilar. For example, Garrison did not want political parties to exist, condemned churches, discouraged the act of voting and desired a dissolution of the U.S. (“People and Events," 2008). Douglass gained both cash and financial backers while abroad. British money bought his freedom and funded abolitionist newspaper, The North Star, which competed with Garrisons publication. In 1848 Douglass was invited to speak at a womens suffrage convention in Seneca Falls, New York. The only black speaker at the convention, Douglass claimed that women should be allowed to be involved in the political process because "in this denial of the right to participate in government, not merely the degradation of woman and the perpetuation of a great injustice happens, but the maiming and repudiation of the one-half of the moral and intellectual power of the government of the world." (Lewis, 2014) Later, however, Douglass views conflicted with womens rights advocates when he supported passage of the Fifteenth Amendment which addressed the subject of racial but not gender-based discrimination. ("Frederick Douglass," 2014) Just prior to the Civil War John Brown famously led a raid on an armory near Harpers, Ferry Virginia. Brown was caught by troops and executed. When a letter from Douglass to Brown discussing the planning of the raid was found Douglass took off for Canada then on a planned speaking tour abroad. (“Frederick Douglass,” 2010). Back in the U.S. at the start of the war, Douglass was a well known and inspirational figure, particularly so to black soldiers who he advocated for in the highest of places. He counseled President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 concerning the treatment of black soldiers. Following the war he spoke with President Andrew Johnson regarding black suffrage and reconstruction. Despite the fact that Lincoln was rightly credited with freeing the slaves with the 1863 passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, Douglass supported his opponent John C. Frémont in the following years presidential election. Douglass was upset that Lincoln chose not to publicly support suffrage for freed black men. Following the war, Douglass was appointed to numerous political positions. He served as ambassador to the Dominican Republic but resigned after two years due to differences with U.S. policies. From 1889 to 1891 he represented the U.S. in Haiti as consul-general and served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank. In 1872 Douglass became the first black American nominated for Vice President of the U.S. - by the Equal Rights Party though it was without his consent or even his knowledge. ("Frederick Douglass," 2014). Although he lived primarily in the Northeast part of the U.S. and made long-term visits abroad, Douglass remained emotionally attached to his Southern roots. In 1948 Douglas wrote "Nothing but an intense love of personal freedom keeps us (fugitive slaves) from the South." (Wilson & Ferris, 1989) Douglass and Anna remained married until her death in 1882. They had five children together and she supported him and his work though their marriage was often troubled due to his romantic indiscretions. Two of his children worked at The North Star newspaper with their father. Following Annas death, Douglass remarried white feminist Helen Pitts who was twenty years his junior. Their marriage caused public outrage due to her race and young age. Douglass children were among those who did not support the union. Douglass died of a heart attack in 1895. Frederick Douglass led a most unlikely life. That he was an uneducated slave who rose to grand distinction, respected by heads of state and an important leader in the struggle for civil rights during an era when black men were not considered a full person is a feat nothing short of remarkable. His efforts, often at the risk of his own wellbeing, were instrumental in changing minds and laws. Douglass rose above practically impossible odds to a reach a prominent place in American history during his unlikely life. Works Cited "Frederick Douglass: American Abolitionist." American Civil War, 2010. Web. November 18, 2014 http://americancivilwar.com/colored/frederick_douglass.html "Frederick Douglass." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. November 18. 2014. http://www.biography.com/people/frederick-douglass-9278324 Lewis, Femi. "Frederick Douglass." About Education, 2014. Web. November 18, 2014 http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/biographies/a/Frederick-Douglass.htm “People and Events: Frederick Douglass, 1818-1895.” Africans in America, 2008. New York: Public Broadcasting Station (PBS), 2008 Web. November 18, 2014 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html Wilson, Charles and Ferris, William "Frederick Douglass, 1818-1895." Encyclopedia Of Southern Culture, 1989 Web. November 18, 2014 http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/douglass/bio.html Read More