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Essay / Douglass Account of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass once said. Douglass was a former slave who fought for abolition and women's rights in the 19th century. During his time, Douglass also wrote newspapers that fought for the rights of blacks and women. It was very dangerous for a black man. Douglass's writings also serve as reliable sources on the realities of slavery in America. Frederick Douglass was a prominent figure in the Civil War; he remained an important writer because he was courageous, reliable and selfless. In his book, Account of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, written by himself, Douglass shows how courageous he must have been to succeed in those times. . Frederick Douglass was born Fredrick Augustus Washington Bailey in February 1818 to Harriet Bailey, an enslaved woman. He only saw his mother a few times before she died. His father was a white man, it is said that he was his master, Captain Anthony, but no one knows for sure. Captain Anthony was Colonel Lloyd's clerk. Douglass suffered many cruelties on Colonel Lloyd's plantations, including the beating of slaves by cruel overseers Mr. Severe and Mr. Austin Gore. Douglass wrote: “I saw him whip a woman, drawing blood for half an hour at a time; and that too in the midst of her crying children” (24). As a child, he experienced cruelties that even most adults cannot bear and described these experiences as everyday affairs. Douglass moved from plantation to plantation under the control of Colonel Lloyd until he moved to Baltimore under the care of Hugh Auld. Sophia Auld, Hugh's wife, began teaching Douglass to read and was kind to him. Hugh ordered him to stop on the condition that education would make the slaves unmanageable. Sophia quickly ended her kindness to Dougl ... middle of paper ...... and serving others. On February 20, 1895, he died of a heart attack. He was the speaker at a meeting of the National Council of Women in Washington, D.C., earlier the same day. From the time Douglass escaped slavery until the day he died, he dedicated his life to helping others. In conclusion, Fredrick Augustus Washington Bailey was a courageous and intelligent American writer of the 19th century. He was the definition of what the modern American should be. Douglass' story is an inspiration to many and his books touch the hearts of people around the world, even two hundred years after they were written. He stood up for what he believed, knowing the consequences could be death, beatings, or re-enslavement. Frederick Douglass worked his entire life, from the time he learned to read until his death, to make the world a better place for everyone, including women..