Frederick Douglass

1818-1895

Born: February 1818 in Tuckahoe, near Easton, Maryland, born Frederick Bailey.

Education: Self-educated

Occupation: United States Abolitionist, stationmaster for the Underground Railroad, writer, orator, publisher and diplomat.

Religion: Denounced organized religion because he believed that religion propagated hypocrisy.

Family Life: Son of a white man and his black slave. Douglass was born a slave. Frederick escaped slavery, changed his name, and married free Anna Murray from Baltimore in 1838. They had five children. His children are: Rosetta Douglass (1839-1908), Lewis Henry Douglass (1840-1908), Frederick K. Douglass, Jr. (1842-1892), Charles Douglass (1844-1892), and Annie (1849-1859) who died when she was ten years old. He married Helen Pitts, a white woman 20 years his junior, from Rochester New York in 1884.  

Political Career: 1847 - Publishes The North Star

1872 - President of Freedman’s National Bank

1877 - U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia

1880 - Recorder of Deeds in Washington D.C.

1889-1891 Diplomatic Position, Minister to Haiti 

Highlights of His Career: Escaped from slavery to Massachusetts in 1838, lectured for 2 years in Great Britain 1845-47 and returned to the United States to buy his freedom. Published and edited "The North Star," an antislavery newspaper (1847-64) recruited black soldiers for the Union army during the Civil War. Wrote a number of books including "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" (1845), "My Bondage and My Freedom" (1855), "Life and Times of Frederick Douglass" (1881).

Why is this person remembered? Frederick is remembered as a noted speaker and writer on the right to vote for African Americans and women

Appearance:

Died: He died of a massive heart attack at his home in Washington D.C. on February 20, 1895. Frederick was 77 years old.

Buried: Frederick Douglas was buried in Rochester N.Y.

Quote: "Slavery is not abolished until the black man has the ballot!"

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