Frederick Douglass was one of the most important and famous African Americans in America. He had an great impact on society, politics, and the life of blacks. Frederick Douglass was a prominent abolitionist, writer, reformer and orator. He was born into slavery, but escaped and against great odds became the voice for many people. He was an advocate for human rights and the anti-slavery movement. He not only a strong supporter black's rights, but also of the rights of immigrants, women, and Native Americans.
Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. His mother was a slave and his father was most likely his white owner. He escaped slavery when he was 20 years old and chanced his name to Douglass. He learned the alphabet from his owner's wife Sofia, however her husband, his owner, told her not to teach slaves how to read and write. Douglass continued to learn to read and write from children and his neighbors, he later taught slaves how to read and write. Education is very important, many black were not allowed to learn to read and write since they could figure out a way to outsmart their owners. Education was a powerful tool, and Frederick Douglass owned it.
Douglass has left his mark on American literature with his
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He had a say in many important documents that dealt with the rights of blacks. An example is the Emancipation Proclamation which changed the economy of the U.S. because it ended forced labor. He took on government positions after the Civil War. He was the president of the Freedman's Bank, appointed marshal and recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia, chargé d’affaires for Santo Domingo and minister to Haiti. He was also the first African American to be nominated for vice president which was very important in American history since a few years before that black were not even acknowledged as American