Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln shared an unusual friendship based on the difficulties Fredrick experienced in life and Abraham's influence on the country and slavery as a whole. Both Douglass and Lincoln wanted to end slavery. Both had strong influences and connections to slavery. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Fredrick Douglass had a very difficult life growing up as a slave. Witnessed the beating of other slaves, but was never beaten as a child. As a child, he realized that they would not be able to escape. He had a lot of time to himself, which made him witness many things like the deaths of his fellow adult slaves. “To be accused was to be condemned, and to be found guilty was to be punished. » (Douglass 18) Mr. Gore (one of Colonel Lloyd's overseers) had the habit of beating slaves, regardless of their guilt or innocence. Mr. "Gore was a serious man, and although a young man, he never told jokes, uttered no funny words, and rarely smiled." (Douglass 19) This made Douglass realize that people were truly cruel and did not care about anyone who was a slave. After leaving Col Lloyds plantation, Fredrick Douglass was sent to live with Master Hugh's family. “Mistress, while teaching me the alphabet, gave me the thumb, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the yardstick.” (Douglass 33) While living on the plantation, Hugh's wife taught Douglass his AB Cs. As soon as Master Hugh found out what his wife was doing, he forbade her from teaching him anything else. From then on, he slowly began to learn to read. It was so much worse every time the Hugh family felt like Douglass was alone, they felt like he was off trying to learn. Growing up with a lot of white friends made him a little jealous and mad that he had to be a slave for the rest of his life. “You will be free when you are twenty-one, but I am a slave for life” (Douglass 34). He also used many of his white friends as teachers where he learned more and more. “I often found myself regretting my own existence and wishing I were dead; and without the hope of being free, I have no doubt that I would have committed suicide or done something for which I should have been killed. (Douglass 36) The idea of ​​being a slave forever was killing him, he was very depressed. “Frederick Douglass never lost faith in the possibility of human improvement. He confronted, argued, pleaded, bluffed, threatened and defrauded – using every tactic that could work in a particular situation. No aspect of human oppression escaped his concern or compassion. » (Abraham Lincoln and Frederick) Through it all, Douglass remained strong and fought for his freedom. He was eventually freed and wrote many different writings about his time as a slave that influenced many whites and blacks to understand how wrong slavery was. Abraham Lincoln was very influential until the end of slavery. “As a young man, Abraham Lincoln witnessed the slave system when he twice rafted down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.” (Abraham Lincoln and Slavery) Lincoln always hated the injustice of slavery since he was a child. As a young man he had many African American friends, even his barber was African American. Lincoln knew how involuntary servitude felt. It was simply.