Frederick Douglass, The Man
Frederick Douglass was one of the most outspoken and best-known voices for freedom
in the 19th century America. The publication, in 1845, of Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass is famous. His splendid oratory placed him in demand among the
Abolitionists here and abroad who wanted to hear direct personal accounts of slavery.
In 1847, Douglass moved to Rochester, N.Y. and began the North Star, a reformist
weekly designed to widen the abolitionist audience. In 1848, he was the only man to
take part in the Seneca Falls, N.Y. Convention on Equal Rights for Woman. During the
Civil War, Douglass successfully advised President Lincoln to recruit Negro troops
for Union Armies.
Despite his public schedule, Frederick Douglass was a devoted father and family man.
He was married to Anna Murray with whom he raised three sons and a daughter. Douglass
died on February 20, 1895 at Cedar Hill, his residence in Washington, DC.