Frederick Douglass: The Father Of The Civil Rights Movement

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Frederick Douglass was born in 1818 in Tuckahoe, Maryland. Douglass was born as a slave and lived a difficult early life, he was always cold, hungry and sometimes whipped. Several attempts were made to get free from slavery. Once he was free, Douglass shared his personal story about his life as a slave. Frederick went on to give lectures about the wrongs of slavery. He was later known as the father of the Civil Rights Movement.
Frederick Douglass had a difficult early life as a slave. While he was a young boy, Douglass spent his days tending to the farm animals. When he was eight, he started working as servant. Sometimes he would be punished for no reason. Once he wasn’t allowed to eat any food for a day(Ruffin 10). In March 1826,
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After he met Anna Murray, a free black, they became very close friends. Frederick tucked away some of the money Anna gave him for his planned escape. He borrowed protection papers from a friend who was a free black. At the train station he showed the papers to the conductor that didn’t at all describe him but the conductor didn’t look twice(Ruffin 38). Once he was in New York, he said “A free state around me, and free earth under my feet.” Then sent for Anna once he arrived and when Anna got there, they got married(Davidson 53). They moved to New Bedford, a town of free blacks and abolitionists. There Frederick changed his last name from Bailey to Douglas, from one of his friends book, to make it his he added an extra “s” to the end. He started giving speeches about his life as a slave. After a little while, he published his first autobiography called “Narrative of Frederick Douglass, American Slave.” He was forced to flee to Europe in fear because he mentioned names and locations. While he was there, he made many friends with the British against slavery and together they made enough money to set Douglass free for good. After many attempts and lots of courage, Frederick Douglass became …show more content…
Frederick went overseas so he could speak out against the wrongs of slavery. Before long, Douglass was famous in Europe for his beliefs against slavery. When he came back to the United States he started his own newspaper company against slavery called “The Northern Star”(Ruffin 42). After that, he published his second autobiography called “My Bondage and My Freedom”(Ruffin 70). A little time later Douglass then became a conductor on the underground railroad, for his house was an important location for slaves fleeing to the north(Ruffin 75). When Lincoln came to office war started between the states. Free blacks joined the Union but still didn’t get fair pay. Because Douglass thought this was wrong, he went to Lincoln to try and get it changed. So blacks had the same pay and same respect as whites in the armed forces. Lincoln set all the slaves free in 1863 with the Emancipation Proclamation, but they still didn’t have all of the all the same rights as whites. Frederick kept on fighting for his rights and the rights of all other blacks. Douglass fought the wrongs of slavery and for their