Frederick Douglass was born in slavery as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey near Easton in Talbot County, Maryland. He was not sure of the exact year of his birth, but he knew that it was 1817 or 1818. As a young boy he was sent to Baltimore, to be a house servant, where he learned to read and write, with the assistance of his master’s wife. In 1838 he escaped from slavery and went to New York City, where he married Anna Murray, a free colored woman whom he had met in Baltimore. Soon thereafter he changed his name to Frederick Douglass. In 1841 he addressed a convention of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in Nantucket and so greatly impressed the group that they immediately employed him as an agent. He was such an impressive orator that numerous persons doubted if he had ever been a slave, so he wrote Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass. During the Civil War he assisted in the recruiting of colored men for the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Regiments and consistently argued for the emancipation of slaves. After the war he was active in securing and protecting the rights of the freemen. In his later years, at different times, he was secretary of the Santo Domingo Commission, marshall and recorder of deeds of the District of Columbia, and United States Minister to Haiti. His other autobiographical works are My Bondage And My Freedom and Life And Times Of Frederick Douglass, published in 1855 and 1881 respectively. He died in 1895.
Frederick Douglass was born into slavery as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey near Easton in Talbot County, Maryland. He did not know his exact birth year, but he knew it was 1817 or 1818. As a young boy, he was sent to Baltimore to work as a household servant. There, he learned to read and write with help from his enslaver’s wife. In 1838, he escaped slavery and went to New York City. There, he married Anna Murray, a free Black woman he had met in Baltimore. Soon afterward, he changed his name to Frederick Douglass. In 1841, he spoke at a convention of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in Nantucket. He impressed the group so much that they immediately hired him as an agent. He was such a powerful speaker that many people doubted he had ever been enslaved. To answer these doubts, he wrote Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. During the Civil War, he helped recruit Black men for the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Regiments. He consistently argued for the freedom of enslaved people. After the war, he worked to secure and protect the rights of formerly enslaved people. In his later years, he held several government positions at different times. He served as secretary of the Santo Domingo Commission and as marshal and recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia. He also served as United States minister to Haiti. His other autobiographies are My Bondage and My Freedom, published in 1855, and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, published in 1881. He died in 1895.