Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass once said, "It is easier to build strong children, than to repair a broken man." Born into slavery, Frederick never met his father and barely knew his mother. When he was seven he had to work on the field's everyday. Being raised with out a father figure, Frederick had to teach himself many things about life. He had to go through lives struggles all on his own. Surrounded by racism and poverty, Frederick Douglass was still able to inspire millions by demonstrating his bravery, perseverance and his humanitarian efforts.

Frederick Douglass displayed his bravery through the actions he took during his life to inspire and help others. Slavery inflicted fear on the slaves, causing them to do whatever their owners would say. They weren't brave enough to stand up for themselves, but Frederick Douglass was. Douglass was owned by many men, but one that really made an impact on his life was Edward Covey. Edward Covey was known to be able to "break" any slave. Covey was a cruel and violent man, he would beat slaves until they were half dead and he would do this almost daily. "After months of being whipped weekly, Douglass fought a two-hour battle with Covey that ended in a standoff, and the beatings stopped" (Lutz). Frederick was the first slave to stand up against Covey and fight back. This took a lot of bravery on Frederick's part because he knew the consequences would be severe and he would get punished for his actions. This also inspired many slaves to take a stand. This gave Douglass a taste of freedom and confidence. This new found confidence that Frederick attained over his victory with Covey, made him think about escaping to the North. Many slaves were allowed to travel on holidays. So he decided on the Easter holiday as his escape date. Frederick forged passes, and before he could act, someone told on them. Fortunately he was able to burn all the evidence before he was caught, so he didn't get in trouble. Frederick Douglass was not going to give up, in his attempt to flee to the North so he devised another plan. Dressed as a sailor and, "With the help of a man he met on the job, Frederick managed to escape his owners by boat in September 1838. He was 20 years old" (Hagler). Escaping t the North was illegal, and people who did where severely punished by their owners. Frederick knew about all this but he still was brave enough to escape. This action greatly influenced others to flee to the North and seek freedom.

Douglass demonstrated his perseverance towards ending slavery and making blacks be viewed as equals. Frederick Douglass joined the abolitionist movement right after he escaped. "Douglass and his fellow activists worked hard to raise awareness of the inhumanity of slavery, and he was instrumental in the abolition of the practice in the United States"(Lutz). Frederick would raise a lot of awareness through his public speaking. He was loud and he spoke clearly and he really seemed to get through to people. He also helped the cause by the writings he would publish, like for example his autobiography. All the men in the abolitionist movement work hard and never gave up. The Civil war was coming up and they still saw no change. "Douglass continued his oratory in the months leading up to the Civil War, calling for the abolition of slavery. He saw an early part of his dream realized in 1862, when Congress abolished slavery in Washington D.C" (Badertsher). Frederick didn't give up he kept on attracting supporters to the cause and raising awareness. All their years of hard work finally started paying off. This was the beginning of the end of slavery.

Frederick Douglass displayed his humanitarian efforts towards helping others who were in his position or could use some help. Frederick kept on publishing on his newspaper and giving speeches to get his message across to the public. "For more than fifty years he was the most persistent and articulate voice in the United States speaking for civil rights, freedom and human dignity regardless of race or sex"(Cannon). Not only did Frederick Douglass stand up against African American slavery but he also stood up for all races and believed that they should all be viewed as equals. Even though he didn't see any progress he still kept on giving his speeches and publishing to get his point across to the people. One example of how he showed his humanitarian efforts was after he escaped to the North he still didn't forget where he came from and wanted to help other slaves. Frederick Douglass "Helped slaves by becoming a stationmaster in the Underground Railroad"(Hagler). Aside from his work in the Underground Railroad he also housed runaway slaves. Instead of making a whole new life as a free man he decided to risk his freedom by helping other slaves escape to freedom.

Frederick Douglass was a very influential person for not only the black society but for races all over the world. Frederick Douglass said, "If there is no struggle, there is no progress." Frederick Douglass struggled to get where he was later on in life. He had to escape from slavery at a young age and even though he had no money or place to stay he made something of himself. Frederick Douglass stayed determined and pursued his dream and achieved his goals. Through his pieces of writing and public speeches he was able to inspire and help thousands of people to stand up against slavery and unfairness.

Work Cited
Badertscher, Eric. "Frederick Douglass." Frederick Douglass(1-4298-1309-1) (2005):1. Biography Reference Center. Web. 9 Dec. 2013 Cannon, Byron. "Frederick Douglass." Great Lives From History: African Americans (2010):51. Biography Reference Center. Web. 9 Dec. 2013 Hagler, D. Harland, and Hagler D. Harland. "Frederick Douglass." Great Lives From History The Nineteenth Century (2007): 1. Biography Reference Center. Web. 9 Dec. 2013 Lutz, Norma Jean. "Frederick Douglass-Abolitionist and author." Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist and Author (2001): 6. Biography Reference Center. Web. 9 Dec. 2013 McGill, Sara Ann. "Frederick Douglass." Frederick Douglass (2005): 1. Biography Reference Center. Web. 9 Dec. 2013