Frederick Douglass, an African American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman, was born in Talbot County, Maryland sometime in February of 1817. He never knew the exact time, date, or place of his birth because the births of slave children were not recorded in the early 1800s, but he always celebrated his birthday on February 14th. He never knew who his father was and his mother had to return to field work a week after he was born and had no choice but to obey the rules because she was a slave women owned by Captain Aaron Anthony. His mother left him in the loving care of his grandparents, Grandmama Betsy and Grandpapa Isaac, who lived in a cabin 12 miles from the Great House of the plantation. They took care of many slave babies while their mothers worked. Frederick remembered getting glimpses of his mother. She would walk for miles to reach the cabin to come visit him at night for a few …show more content…
Slaves were free but Frederick kept speaking out. He wanted equal rights for black people, so congress set up a Freedmen’s Bureau. Frederick Douglass was the first African American nominated for vice president of the United States. On August 4, 1882, Anna died from a stroke. Frederick was very sad and didn’t speak after that. Two years later, he met a white woman, Helen Pitts, and married her. On February 20, 1895, Frederick Douglass was joking about one of the speakers he heard that day when he collapsed to the ground and died. He was buried next to his first wife, Anna, and his daughter Annie. Some say Frederick was the greatest speaker in the 1800s. He changed so many people’s lives throughout the course of his. For 16 years, he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an inspiring and persuasive speaker and writer. Until the day of his death, he continued to improve the lives of those who went through what he went