Frederick Douglass The Life of an Abolitionist Essay

Frederick Douglass is perhaps the most well-known abolitionist from American history. He is responsible for creating a lot of support for the abolitionist movement in the years before the Civil War. He, along with many others, was able to gain support for and attention to the abolitionist movement. People like him are the reason that slavery ended in the United States. Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born in February of 1818 in Maryland to a slave woman and a white man. 1 He was separated from his mother as an infant and the only thing that he knew for sure about his father was that he was white, although he thought it was a possibility that his father could have been his master. 2 He stayed with his aunt and grandparents†¦show more content†¦He was able to use his past as a slave for inspiration and knowledge and published his own anti-slavery newspaper called The North Star. 10 Throughout his life, Douglass was also able to write three autobiographies, his most famous being Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written By Himself. 11 All of this success proved Frederick Douglass as a good example of what a freed slave could become. It also caused his critics to question if he was actually born a slave as he too exceptional of a speaker and writer to have been a slave, something Douglass continuousl y denied. 12 The abolitionist movement was an important time in American history. Abolitionists were people that opposed slavery which was an enormous problem in the South. African-Americans worked with white abolitionists to gain support and funds for the cause. Former slaves, white men, black women and all different types came together for the movement. Many abolitionists such as Sojourner Truth and Douglass were able to draw on their past experiences as slaves to tell about the horrible treatment of their peers. At first, early abolitionists called for a gradual end to slavery which could include compensation for the slave owners, but later abolitionists called for an immediate end to slavery with no compensation for the slave owners. 13 Douglass, like many of the other abolitionists, was very opinionated in his views and would notShow MoreRelatedEssay Frederick Douglass and Slavery1448 Words   |  6 PagesFrederick Douglass and Slavery Frederick Douglass the most successful abolitionist who changed America’s views of slavery through his writings and actions. Frederick Douglass had many achievements throughout his life. His Life as a slave had a great impact on his writings. His great oratory skills left the largest impact on Civil War time period literature. All in all he was the best black speaker and writer ever. Douglass was born a slave in 1817, in Maryland. 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