How Did Frederick Douglass End Slavery?

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Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) “was the most important black American leader of the nineteenth century” (Blight). In the beginning of the nineteenth century, some people started to go against slavery, but there was still a lot of it in the southern states. This led to slavery ending with the Civil War in the 1860’s. The Civil War was on whether there should be slavery or not with the southern states supporting it and the northerns states against it. The northern states won the war ending slavery with Douglass as one of their many supporters.

Douglass was born in Talbot County, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, around the year 1818 with the name, Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. Frederick never knew his father, a white man, and had rarely seen his mother who died when he was only seven years old. “Young Douglass toiled on a rural plantation and later in Baltimore’s shipyards as a caulker” (Simba). Unlike most slaves who never got the chance to, Douglass “taught himself to read and write in the streets of Baltimore” (“Frederick Douglass” National Parks Service). He even got books on
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“After escaping from slavery, Frederick married Anna” (“Frederick Douglass” National Parks Service). They then went to live in New Bedford, Massachusetts. “Always striving to educate himself, Douglass continued his reading” (“Frederick Douglass.” PBS). He also went to meetings about abolition around this time. “In 1841, he saw Garrison speak at the Bristol Anti-Slavery Society’s annual meeting” (“Frederick Douglass.” PBS). Garrison inspired Douglass and soon after Douglass gave his own speech at the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society’s annual convention in Nantucket. “Before leaving the island, Douglass was asked to become a lecturer for the Society for three years” (“Frederick Douglass.” PBS). This launched Douglass’ career which he would continue for the rest of his