Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass ( ())

Frederick Douglass is a hero today because he did many things to help free black slaves.

Frederick Douglass had a harsh, horrible, and exciting life. Frederick Douglass was born on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. In the beginning of his life, Frederick lived as a slave to a cruel man named Aaron Anthony. He lived in a cabin with his Grandma Betsy. When he was old enough, she took Frederick to the plantation owned by Aaron Anthony. He owned the largest plantation on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. That's when Frederick Douglass, the man who fought for freedom, began to understand what it meant to be a slave.

Aaron Anthony, the plantation owner, also owned a lot of Frederick's family members. He owned Frederick's Aunt Hester, his Grandma Betsy, and his mother, Harriet Baily. Frederick only saw his mother four or five times. She was sent to work at a neighboring farm and died when he was very young. As for Frederick's father, he never got to see him, although people told Frederick that he was white. As you can see, Aaron owned a lot of Frederick's family members.

Aaron was a cruel and horrible person. He ran the place like a prison. Frederick ate cornmeal mush from a feeding tray on the floor. Children only got two long shirts a year to wear. They did not wear pants, socks, jacket, or coat. No wonder Frederick was always cold and hungry! As things like this went on, Frederick began to ask questions to him, like "What gave slave owners their power?" This is how children like Frederick were treated in Aaron's "prison".

Anna Murray Douglas

A couple years later, Frederick was sent to Baltimore, Maryland to work for some of Aaron's daughter's family. His new master and mistress were named Sophia and Hugh Auld. They had never had a slave before. They treated Frederick like a normal, white skinned, growing boy. He ate at the table, and he wore regular clothes. Also, he was given the same food they had. Frederick was very happy there.

Frederick had a good education for a slave. One day, Frederick wanted to know how to read. First, Sophia taught him the alphabet. He learned it very fast. Then, Hugh told Sophia that teaching a slave how to read is illegal. Frederick also heard this so he figured out that knowledge was the key to the slave owners' power. He practiced in private with the Sophia's and Hugh's son's text books. Also, his friend let him borrow their books. As you can see, Frederick had a good education for a slave.

As Frederick became older, he married a woman named Anna Murray. He got a job as a caulker (a man who fills the seams of ships with waterproof material so they would not leak). Each week Frederick turned over most of the money he made to his master. One day he escaped by getting on a train disguised as a sailor. But, he had to be careful because people were looking for him by then. Then, some of Frederick's friends from England bought him out of slavery with seven-hundred dollars. Later on, Frederick and Anna had three boys - Lewis, Frederick Jr. and Charles Douglass, and one daughter, Rosetta Douglass. He even joined a group called the Abolitionist. Sadly, he died in 1895. As you can see, Frederick Douglass had a harsh, horrible but exciting life.

Frederick Douglass is a hero today because he did many things to help free the black people. One of the acts he did was to advise President Abraham Lincoln to make laws to help free black people and give them their rights. Another act Frederick did is that he gave speeches about the rights black people should have. A lot of people have never heard speeches like this, so understanding and convincing because it came from someone who was a slave. He also wrote autobiographies that included how horrible being a slave was. Finally, Frederick gave a speech to a group called the Abolitionists (the Abolitionist are a group of people who were fighting for the rights of black people). One of the leaders thought it was so good that he appointed Frederick to join the Abolitionists. Frederick said he would join because it was an honor and he wanted to do anything he could to help free the slaves. As you can see, Fredrick Douglass did many things the help free black people.

Frederick Douglass had three very important traits. First, he was a good leader. Along with many other people, Frederick led his people out of slavery. Second, he was brave. It took a lot of bravery to stand up to a white person when you were black back then. The last and most important trait is how selfless Frederick was. He thought about other people instead of himself. In conclusion, Fredrick Douglass had many traits to make his goal successful.

Frederick Douglass had many obstacles. One of these obstacles was when Frederick escaped, slave owners, people slave owners hired, and the Government was looking for him. Another obstacle was when some laws were made to help free the black people. Mobs mad at the law went around killing free slaves. As you can see, Frederick Douglass had many obstacles on his journey to free slaves.

An important lesson I learned from Frederick Douglass is to treat people with respect. No matter what color their skin is or where they came from, treat them with respect. That is the important lesson I learned from Frederick Douglass. As you can see, Frederick Douglass was an amazing, kind, and helpful freedom fighter.