Frederick Douglass was an orator, writer, government official, and abolitionist. His life was dedicated to human rights promotion and to enhancing the American democratic system. Born enslaved in antebellum era, during his youth he was determined to not only gain his own freedom, but to be a crusader for other African Americans in bondage. At age ten he was sold to another slave owning family. When Frederick Douglass turned 21, he made his escape to freedom. Fleeing to New Bedford Massachusetts, this was a place of large amounts abolitionist activism. There he was able to have a platform to fight against slavery. As time passed he became a skilled public speaker. He did this at enormous risk to his life. The risk of being kidnapped by slave catchers or killed by racist mobs was a constant danger . Douglass was more determined than ever to see slavery eliminated and became a dedicated lecturer about its abuses. Around the 1840s he travelled through out New England and the North telling his life as an enslaved person. Frederick Douglass also did speaking tours in Ireland and Great Britain gaining a profile outside the United States. His oratory got so much notoriety that colleagues suggested he write a book. This resulted in the publication of Narrative of the Life and Times of Frederick Douglass . The autobiography was released to the public in 1845. The exposed the American public to the brutality and violence of slavery rarely discussed. By this time , Douglass evolved both politically and philosophically. Radical action had to be taken to accelerate the end of slavery.
Frederick Douglass by the 1850s became a member of the Liberty Party. Around this time the nation was becoming more divided than ever and closer to civil war. Douglass wanted a from politicians a commitment to the abolition of slavery. The Liberty Party was willing to meet that demand than the accommodating Republican response of stopping its expansion . John Brown sought Douglass's aid in the raid on Harper's Ferry. Frederick Douglass told Brown that he did not object to armed uprising, but understood chances of success were limited. Although Douglass did not participate in the raid on Harper's Ferry, he became suspect. Federal marshals sought his arrest and Douglass fled to Canada . This exile would not last long. The US was about to have one of the most violent conflicts on its own soil. The American Civil War was a chance for to finally bring about the end of slavery. Frederick Douglass made it a goal to pressure the Lincoln administration to allow African Americans to serve in combat and gain their freedom. The pressure from Frederick Douglass and the abolitionist movement caused President Abraham Lincoln to have a change in policy. African Americans were mobilized for war and the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863. Frederick Douglass became involved in recruitment efforts for the Union Army.
When the American Civil War ended slavery was abolished, but the fight for liberation was far from over. Fredrick Douglass continued the quest for racial equality. His efforts focused on securing voting rights for African Americans and women. Few men at the time supported women's suffrage, which made Douglass somewhat unique. Frederick Douglass also emphasized the importance of education as a means of advancing the African American community. He opposed emigration to Africa or relocation to the North on the basis that African Americans could build a strong political and economic base in the South . Reconstruction failed to produce the multi-racial democracy that Douglass envisioned . This is why he would continue to do lecture tours, get involved in politics, and be involved in activism up until the end of his life. The Freedmen's Bank was established to aid the formerly enslaved to get loans and have an institution for personal savings. Frederick Douglass would become president of the bank, seeing it as a means of African American's gaining economic power. The panic of 1873, which was the worst economic depression of the 19th century caused the bank's failure. Under the Benjamin Harrison administration Frederick Douglass was appointed consul-general to Haiti and charge d' affaires to the Dominican Republic. When he realized this was an attempt at establishing American empire in the Caribbean he resigned. The world was dramatically different in the 1880s. America was transitioning from an agriculture based economy to an industrialized world power. Frederick Douglass died of a heart attack in 1895, but his work influenced a new generation of leaders in the 20th century. Ida B. Wells, Booker T. Washington, and W.E.B Dubois became the next wave fighters for the cause of black liberation.
References
David, Blight. Frederick Douglass Prophet of Freedom. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2018.
Adams, Russel. Great Negroes Past and Present . Chicago: Afro-Am Publishing Company, 1964.
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