Frederick Douglass
An astonishing life...
There are several slave narratives out there, but very few have stood the test of time as that which was written in the Fall of 1844 and completed in the Spring of 1845 by
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, or as he is known to the entire world, Frederick Douglass.
His journey in life is larger than that of any fictional imagination. Born into slavery from which he escaped in 1838 he became the most notorious Orator amongst the many Abolitionists at the time leading up to the Civil War.
His rise to notoriety led him to mix in lofty circles after he founded his newspaper, The
North Star, when he returned from his long tour of the United Kingdom in 1847, as a
result of fleeing the USA to avoid being recaptured by kidnappers from Maryland due to his book sales success enraging his owner.
His friendship with Abraham Lincoln enabled him to improve the pay and conditions that the Black regiments ( which Lincoln was originally strictly against forming at the
beginning of the War ) received as they irrefutably helped to sway the Union's success
after the Proclamation of Emancipation in 1863.
He eventually served under several US Presidents, holding several positions within those governments later on in his life, including that of the 1st Consul General of Haiti in 1889 - 91. He became the most photographed American of the 19th century.
A strong supporter of women’s rights and suffrage in general he died in 1895.