How The Black Man Of Frederick Douglass Changed History

Carson Cook

Composition II

Dr. Smiley

4 March 2015

A Black Man That Changed History The most important black American leader of the nineteenth century, orator, abolitionist, writer, Frederick Douglas did many great things. Frederick had many obstacles as a young child forced into slavery and throughout his life. He would finally escape a life of slavery at the age of twenty. After escaping he would go on to do immeasurable things for his people and make an impact in the world. This man became famous, gave presidents advice, and lectured to thousands on problems. In his life Douglas wrote three autobiographies that are classics of

American biography and important works of the slave narrative tradition. Talbot County, Maryland,

The story is based on his hardships as a child, slavery experiences to his escape for freedom in New York. Douglass wrote his book when slavery was still very powerful in the United States. His main goal as a public speaker was trying to stop slavery and doing anything he could to help his hopeless people. He believed that if he could show people what slavery was really like that maybe there could be an end to it. An overriding struggle Douglass faced was that America was supposed to be “the land of the free”; however, how was it the land of the free when his people were slaves? Frederick had to work and escape just to get his freedom. His first narrative is a map outlining his life as a slave and ends with his legal freedom. The first turning point is watching his aunt being beaten, barely knowing his father, and only meeting his mother a few times. Douglass second stage was when he got sent to the home of Hugh Auld in Baltimore. From there he would learn how to read and write. Covey would be the next master he would be sent to where he would be brutally beaten.

One day Doulgass stood up for himself and won; Covey would never beat him again.

Frederick Douglass changed the history of slavery and did many great things for

America. His life in the beginning as a child helped prepare him for the long road ahead. Those early years with an intermittent mother, no recognized father, death of his mother, witnessing family beatings were all events to prepare him for the journey of life. At the age of twelve, exposure to the alphabet was an opportunity to receive oxygen to sustain his life. He grasped the oxygen and held it dearly. Learning symbolized survival and by twelve he was willing to follow the more difficult pathway to seek a better life. It took him three attempts to get away from his masters but, with the help of others he did by the age of twenty. Even though Frederick experienced a tremendous amount of physical and psychological pain he still wanted to help anyone suffering from the effects of slavery. Douglass wanted to make things better for his people and wasn’t going to give up until that happened. Influencing Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation, being nominated as the first black Vice President, and appointed United States Marshall for the District of Columbia are just three of