Frederick Douglass: life and legacy

Frederick Douglass is one of the most significant individuals in the abolitionist movement because he came from the most humble of backgrounds and made a difference. Douglass was born a slave in 1818 and became an inspiration for thousands of African-American slave prior to the Civil War. He is the epitome of determination because he did not allow his burdens to weight him down. Instead, he learned to overcome the obstacles that stood in his way. He learned how to read and he learned how to stand up for himself. As he made his way north, he became a voice that would move others to action. Douglass' life demonstrates how all of us have a voice and we should speak out against those things that are wrong because we can make a difference in the world.

The issue of slavery was something of which Douglass could address honestly. He had been a slave and lived through beatings and inhumane treatment. When he finally stood up to one of his owners, Mr. Covey, he finally began to taste freedom in determination. After fighting with Covey, Douglass felt as though he had bee lifted from the "tomb of slavery" (89) because he was able to taste independence. Douglass writes in his narrative that he might remain a slave in his bodily form, but the "day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact" (113). In addition, he also writes, "You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man" (107). These words are powerful as they demonstrate Douglass' awakening - an awakening that would lead him down a path that would change lives forever.

Douglass even found his way to becoming an influential voice for freedom for all slaves when he spoke with President Lincoln. Paul Kendrick notes, "When it counted, Lincoln had effectively collaborated with Douglass's decades-long pursuit of the total and irrevocable destruction of slavery. That an outspoken black abolitionist and a cautious prairie lawyer would ever meet, much less profoundly influence one another and form a partnership, is astounding" (Kendrick). This relationship seems so far-fetched and yet, it happened. Douglass never set out to meet the president but his determination led him down a path that could only open doors because his message was one of freedom for all. As a result, of their friendship, America was changed for the better. In a sense, they needed each other to forge a path on which the nation could not only travel but prosper.

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