Douglas's Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

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Frederick Douglass once said. Douglass was a former slave that fought for abolition and women’s rights in the 19th century. In his day, Douglass also wrote newspapers that fought for rights for black and women. This was very dangerous for a black man to do. Douglass’s writings are also reliable sources on the realities of slavery in America. Frederick Douglass was a prominent figure during the Civil War; he has remained a significant writer because he was brave, reliable, and selfless.
In his book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written By Himself, Douglass shows how brave he must have been to be successful in those times. Frederick Douglass was born Fredrick Augustus Washington Bailey, in February of 1818 to Harriet Bailey, a slave. He only saw his mother a few times before she passed away. His father was white man, said to be his master, Captain Anthony, but no one knows for sure. Captain Anthony was Colonel Lloyd’s clerk. Douglass experienced many cruelties while at Colonel Lloyd’s plantations including the beating of slaves by cruel overseers, Mr. Severe and Mr. Austin Gore. Douglass wrote, “I have seen him whip a woman, causing the blood to run half an hour at the time; and this, too, in the midst of her crying children” (24). As a child, he experienced cruelties not even most adults cannot handle and described these experiences as everyday affairs. Douglass moved around from plantation to plantation under Colonel Lloyd’s control until he moved to Baltimore under Hugh Auld’s care. Sophia Auld, Hugh’s wife, began to teach Douglass to read and was kind to him. Hugh ordered her to stop on the condition that education makes slaves unmanageable. Sophia soon discontinued her kindness towards Dougl...

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...d serving others. On February 20th of 1895 he passed away from a heart attack. He was the speaker at a meeting of the National Council of Women in Washington, D.C. earlier that same day. From the moment Douglass escaped slavery until the day he died, he dedicated his life to helping others.
In conclusion, Fredrick Augustus Washington Bailey was a brave, intelligent 19th century American writer. He was the definition of what the modern American should be. Douglass’s story is inspirational to many and his books reach the hearts of people around the world even two hundred years after they were written. He stood up for what he believed in knowing the consequences could be death, beatings, or re-enslavement. Frederick Douglass worked his whole life, from when he learned to read until he the moment he died to make the world a better place for everyone, including women.

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