1 Frederick Douglass was nominated for Vice President of the United States as a member of the Equal Rights Party in 1872.
2 Frederick Douglass was a consultant of President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and helped influence the Emancipation Proclamation. After President Lincoln’s death, Mrs. Lincoln sent Douglass her late husband’s walking stick.
3 The first two attempts of Frederick Douglass to escape from slavery were unsuccessful.
4 Though Frederick Douglass was born a slave, he escaped in 1838 and eventually settled with his wife in New Bedford, Massachusetts. This was the third time he tried to escape from slavery. That shows the power of persistence this great man had, so you can think of it as an inspiration to achieve your own goals. So why not share this inspiration with your friends on social media?
5 He chose his name from a character in Sir Walter Scott’s The Lady of the Lake.
6 Frederick Douglass Facts About His Autobiography
Some of his friends and acquaintances did not believe that he was born a slave, so in part to show that this was true Frederick Douglass published an autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in 1845. This book became a bestseller and turned him into a celebrity. But it also made known his status as a fugitive slave, so he was forced to flee to Ireland and Britain in 1845 in order to avoid capture by his former owner.
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6 Frederick Douglass Facts About His Life In Ireland And Britain
Frederick Douglass was amazed by the treatment he received in Ireland and Britain because no one discriminated him on basis of his skin color – here is what he wrote about that:
Eleven days and a half gone and I have crossed three thousand miles of the perilous deep. Instead of a democratic government, I am under a monarchical government. Instead of the bright, blue sky of America, I am covered with the soft, grey fog of the Emerald Isle [Ireland]. I breathe, and lo! the chattel [slave] becomes a man. I gaze around in vain for one who will question my equal humanity, claim me as his slave, or offer me an insult. I employ a cab—I am seated beside white people—I reach the hotel—I enter the same door—I am shown into the same parlour—I dine at the same table—and no one is offended… I find myself regarded and treated at every turn with the kindness and deference paid to white people. When I go to church, I am met by no upturned nose and scornful lip to tell me, ‘We don’t allow niggers in here!’
7 At a time when many African-Americans were trying to establish lives after slavery, Frederick Douglass was appointed to several high-level U.S. government positions. He served as minister and general counsel to the Republic of Haiti.
8 After his friends bought his freedom from the slave owner from whom he ran away, he returned to the United States and founded an abolitionist newspaper. That shows that this great man had a great regard for his own people and wanted to free all of his black brothers and sisters.
9 His statue stands in place built in part by slave labor. The place where it stands is The United States Capitol, often called Capitol Hill, the seat of the United States Congress. This is both ironic and amazing because his statue was literally a part of building built in part by slave labor which he helped abolish.
10 His first wife, Anna Murray, a free black woman who shared his passion and commitment to the abolitionist cause, helped him escape from slavery.
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