"What was possible for me is possible for you. Do not think because you are colored you cannot accomplish anything. Strive earnestly to add to your knowledge. So long as you remain in ignorance, so long will you fail to command the respect of your fellow men."

-Fredrick Douglass

Biography
Frederick Douglass was born with the name Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey as a slave in Talbot County, Maryland.  He was separated from his mother while he was still an infant. She passed away when he was 7 years old. Douglass was not sure of whom his father was. He once said that he was a white man, maybe even his master, Captain Aaron Anthony. Years later, he was sent to work for Hugh Auld where he illegally learned the alphabet through Hugh’s wife. This opened Douglass up to a new world of learning.

He started educating himself while he was still a slave. Douglass realized that becoming educated and learning to read would be his ticket to freedom. However, this caused him to be viewed as a difficult slave to control, so he was sent to a well known “slave breaker”, Edward Covey. Douglass decided that he was going to stand up to Covey. This was the turning point in Douglass’s slave years. From that point on, Covey never whipped Douglass again. Now, even though Douglass was still a slave, he felt free and had respect for himself.

In 1838, Douglass fled to New York City. He got married and it was then that he changed his name to Frederick Douglass. He then settled down in Massachusets with his new wife. He joined many groups, including an Abolitionist group. He subscribed to the weekly journal, Liberator, written by William Lloyd Garrison. Douglass then went to see Garrison speak at the Bristol Anti-slavery Society. He was inspired by this speaker and a few days later, Douglass spoke at the Massachussets Anti-slavery Convention in Nantucket, which his launched his carreer.

Douglass continued helping African Americans. He fought for equality among African Americans as well as women. By 1860, he was well known for his skills in public speaking and his efforts to end slavery. He established the first African American troop in the army. Douglass was the first African American to hold a high position in the government. Through Douglass’ hard work and brave actions, he became rich and well known around the world.

 
Critical Overview
I have read many reviews about Frederick Douglass. They make me wish he were still alive because he seems like an amazing person who I would love to meet. Everyone that writes reviews about him speaks very highly of him. Douglass is known as a noble person. He has a remarkable personality and everyone he encountered adored him. He has raised moral and intellectual standards at a time when race and prejudice were huge problems.  He is thought of as a very strong man, which he had to be in order to survive being passed as a slave from family to family with little food or sleep. He is also thought to be extremely successful considering he started as a slave who did not even have control of his own life to become very wealthy and famous and influencing the world in such a major way. He is said to have been a very enthusiastic speaker due to his experience as a minister. He has used his skills of recalling details and his style of speaking to write amazing speeches and pieces of literature. He has influenced millions of people and deserves all the respect that he received in the past and still gets today.

 
Selected Bibliography

Works/Speeches by the Author
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845)
My Bondage and My Freedom (1855)
Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881)
Formerly a Slave to the People of the United States of America (1852)
What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July (1852)
Capital Punishment is a Mockery of Justice (1858)
Is the plan of the American Union under the Constitution, Anti-Slavery or not (1852)
John Brown and the Slaveholders' Insurrection (1860)
The American Constitution and the Slave (1860)
Fighting the Rebels with One Hand (1862)
What I found at the Northampton Association (1895)

Related Links

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/douglass

http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/douglass/part1.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html

_{http://faculty.berea.edu/browners/chesnutt/Reviews/FrederickReviews/fred10.html}

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/douglass.

http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/douglass/part1.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html

_{http://faculty.berea.edu/browners/chesnutt/Reviews/FrederickReviews/fred10.html}