Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass Life

(1818-1895)

The great, revered and highly respected Frederick Douglass changed the world during a time when there was so much horror in it. The Civil War was raging and the most unselfish non-hypocritical act that could be accomplished was. Douglass allowed, or agreed to, both of his sons enlisting into the war on the Union side of course.

They fought with the famous and ground breaking 54th Massachusetts under the leadership of Robert Gould Shaw. Douglass was a former slave and famous anti-slavery speaker and writer. He also helped form two regiments of African American soldiers during the war.

Born into slavery in 1818 in Maryland, Douglass was able to escape from his slave master and moved north into the "free states" of the Union. Although President Lincoln had not issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation decree, there were more lenient states in the Union for escaped slaves to find refuge. This is not to imply that the original slave-owner could not, (they did usually), enter into the free state to reclaim their "property". Douglass worked with leading abolitionist of his time such as the revered William Lloyd Garrison, but the pair split up due to disagreements in theory and Douglass branched out on his own.

Frederick Douglass wanted to have a voice in the pursuit of abolishing slavery in the country once and for all. He would try to convince the President that he was the tool to which the goal would be achieved. Did he make it? Yes. By helping to convince the President that it would require a bloody civil war in order to break the nations addiction to slavery.
Lincoln spoke highly of Douglass and thought of him as a great friend and loyal ally. He was, no one respected Lincoln as much as Douglass did, he put his sons life on the line of battle instead of having them hide behind their gallant Fathers coattails. By having the war commenced, Douglass can be seen as a hero of sort. A hero to the cause of the African American who was a slave during that time. Respect is given. Respect is earned.

Fred Douglass fought, his entire life, for the rights and liberties of all men, black and white. The color of your skin did not matter as this man saw through the facade of racism. He led countless marches and rallies aimed at getting the attention of the political forces in the bigger northern cities. The determination that he demonstrated in a time when the average black man was fighting just to be counted as a human being, remarkably stoic. A renaissance man to say the least and one that altered the landscape for the better.

A wonderful writer in his own right, he wrote volumes of great works of his life and the scenes he felt so strongly about. His most famous offering is his own private memoirs. Loaded with truth and knowledge, 'The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, detailed his very own experiences in very troubled time. The first edition was published in 1865 and although highly acclaimed, it had its critics. The mind-set of the nation was still about the notion that a black man could create something of such literary value.

We cannot comprehend this as we realize that the color of ones' skin has no correlation with the value of literary beauty. Frederick Douglass writings can be found at The Library of Congress. A strong recommendation to read "The Narrative" is issued at the front of the case enclosing the manuscript.

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