Frederick Douglass is famous for being a human rights leader in the abolition movement. Frederick Douglass was born into slavery sold at age 12. He belonged to the Aulds, while there he learned the alphabet from Sophia Auld but she soon stopped because of her husband's wishes. Frederick continued learning from others and he read as often as possible, he would read political writtings and newspapers. Douglass was soon sold to Edward Covey who was known as the "slave breaker". Covey almost broke Douglass who was 16 at the time but he decided to fight back and won against Covey, after that Covey left him alone. Douglass attempted escaping slavery twice before becoming successful, on his third attempt he was helped by Anna Murray who was already free. He boarded a train that headed to Maryland and from there he went to a safe house in New York that owned by David Ruggle an abolitionist. Anna and Frederick were in love and got married, they adopted the last name of Johnson and moved to Bedford, Massachusetts as a safety measure. Soon Douglass wanted to tell his story and attended abolitionist meetings. Many were impressed by Fredericks reading and writing skills,,Willian Lloyd Garrison wrote about him in The Liberator and soon Douglass regularly attended meetings speaking out about Antislavery. William urged Douglass to write an autobiography and when it was published it became a bestseller but this fame had drawbacks since he was a runaway slave. He had to evade recapture, he went to Ireland and stayed there and in Britain for about two years speaking out to large crowds gathering followers of antislavery. His british supporters gathered enough money to buy his freedom allowing him to return in 1847. He started abolitionist newspapers and became an outspoken supporter of womens rights. He advocated equality between black men and women. After the Civil War Douglass had become one of the most famous black men in the country. Douglass used his fame to better the status of African Americans and he even spoke with President Lincoln and President Johnson. He was appointed the first african american nominated for vice president without his knowledge and he never campaigned nonetheless. Frederick Douglass used his role in society to gain better rights for his fellow african americans both men and women.
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By: Ashley Sandoval