Fredrick Douglass' Life
Fredrick Douglass' life provides a snapshot of American history epitomized in the experience of a single human being. He saw it all, grew in it and overcame as well as led the rest to freedom. Born in Tuckahoe, a small town lying on the Eastern shows of Maryland in the second month of the year 1817, Fredrick single and collective actions propelled the freedom from slavery in the entire of America. He established forums for antislavery movements, wrote over two autobiographies, exploited his excellent oratory skills serving various post in the government; all of which retrieved the Negroes from the jaws of the oppressors as discussed below.
Douglas' Memoirs
Douglas published three memoirs which he termed Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglas. The memoirs served various purposes in the emancipation struggle. It reminded the Negroes of their capacity to acquire formal education and publish ideas that the whole world can fathom to understand the intended message. Additionally, the memoirs ignited African Americans hope for a better future where everybody will be treated equal (Bernier 601). The experiences of Douglas presented in hardcopy acted as a source of unity to all the slaves against the oppressors by isolating their enemy. Above all, the American abolitionist movement found its roots in the three memoirs Frederick wrote.
Founding the Antislavery Newspaper
Secondly, he successfully founded an antislavery newspaper in 3rd December 1847. The newspaper, "The North Star" provided a platform to criticize the mistreatment that the Black Africans received at the hands of whites. Published on a weekly basis, the newspaper was circulated to 4,000 and more readers in the US, West Indies as well as the continental Europe (Bernier 597). The wider circulation ensured the contents are for the whole world to read and decipher in a bid to seek for international assistance to achieve freedom for the enslaved Negroes. The North Star later merged with Liberty Party Paper, founded by Gerrit Smith, to form Frederick Douglas' Paper. In his later periodicals, he gave jobs to Black Union soldiers that joined the US forces in the much publicist Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Volunteers. Surprisingly, his two sons Charles and Lewis were recruited and took part in combat attacks.
Abolitionist and Civil Rights Activist
Frederick Douglas joined and was an active member of the US civil rights movements towards the abolition of slavery and slave trade. He formed formidable ties with famous abolitionist such as Abby Kelly and Wendell Philips. He also established good relations with John Brown together with his family but became in conflict with Brown's radical approaches when he raided the Harper's Ferry which killed hundreds of people in 1859 (Bernier 602).
Government Positions
Furthermore, Douglass occupied influential positions in the US government. He served an advisory role to the then president, Abraham Lincoln. In the subsequent years, he moved from one government office to the next. He was the first African American to be appointed as US marshal of the Columbia District during the reign of Rutherford Hayes with President Deeds recognizing his excellent work performance to elevate him to the status of the secretary of the commission to the defunct Santo Domingo. In the year 1874, he was officially made the president to the languishing Reconstruction-era Freedman's Savings Bank (Gates Jr 53). Together with Senate Finance Committee Chairman, they worked handily in stabilizing the bank. The bank was formed to serve the interest of the slaves; that will give them loans at lower rates, provide scholarships to bright and needy student among other duties. Through the bank, there was a sporadic increase in institutions that catered for the needs of the coloreds. St. Francis Xavier Church's Orphan Aid society as well as St. Elizabeth colored children home were built through the proceeds from the bank (Gates Jr 57).
Rise from Slavery to Antislavery Crusader
He rose from being a slave to become a resounding antislavery crusader of the nineteenth century aided by the excellent oratory skills he acquired at an early age. In his early years, he spent most of his time with early preachers, most of who were of African descent, who granted him opportunity to teach in Baltimore's Sabbath schools. Through teaching and interactions with people at various levels, his reading, speaking and writing skills sharpened more (Pratt 48). In his early twenties, he managed to escape from slavery going to North where slavery had been abolished joining other abolitionists he found there. Doyen antislavery crusader, Lloyd Garrison, for instance, recognized Douglass' mastery of the Queen's language as well as the proper articulation of ideas and appointed him the as the lead speaker for Massachusetts Antislavery society. His famous "The meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" he delivered at the infamous Rochester Anti-Slavery Sewing Society (Bernier 600). The masterpiece was made available in hardcopy in the form of a pamphlet and used as a referral text in modern literature study. Some have the highest regard for the speech terming it the most thrilling antislavery speech they have laid their hands upon in their lives. The first paragraph of the public address praises the significant roles the founding fathers played in giving the United States of America the building blocks. However, the subsequent chapters develop into slathering attacks on the attitudes the forbears to the American throne have subjected the blacks into (Pratt 49). He challenges the crops of leaders at the time to be deviating from the ideals and the spirit of the Greater United States of America. Talking about slavery at the time was a sin that in the modern world can be attributed to treason yet Frederick Douglas dared to not only speak on behalf of fellow African American brothers and sister but also the entire human race.
Universal Suffrage and Diplomacy
Committed to upholding the true ideals of the United States of America, he occupied front positions in agitating for universal suffrage that will see men and women exercise their democratic rights of vying for an electoral seat or select their desired candidate. After the end of the civil war that also saw men of color take part in combat war to save the American flag, Douglass used his proximity to the then president Abraham Lincoln. He argued that since Negroes also took part in the American Civil wars, they deserved an equal right to exercise their civic duties. Consequently, there was the 15th ratification of the American constitutions in 1870 under "the 15th amendment to the constitution schedule in glamour for equal rights to all citizens.
International Figure and Women's Rights
Being an international figure, Douglas traded diplomacy with equal rights and privileges playing western governments with those enslaving the Negroes. He took part in the Hundred Conventions an American Antislavery project formed in 1841 which granted him a strategic opportunity to tour almost all States in the US. Frederick also upgraded his antislavery campaigns to regions outside the US borders (Myers 243). He traveled to Britain and Ireland where he spent two years giving public lectures on the state of slavery and slave trade with the help of fellow rich abolitionist Lloyd William Garrison.
Legacy
All the isolated antislavery campaigns in the 19th century provided a fertile ground for feminism movement to claim their universal suffrage rights. Douglas assisted the women activist in their bid to secure their rights, although, advocated for men's freedom first. In demonstrating his commitment to women suffrage crusade, Douglas organized and attended the 1848 Seneca Falls feminism convention where he took center stage in agitating for the universal suffrage for women. Alongside other abolitionists and women movement leaders such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, they together signed what became to known as Sentiments Declaration that later formed the manifesto of the new antislavery movement (Myers 244). He translated the Declaration of Sentiments into an article in his newspaper; The North Star with heading "Right knows no sex- Truth is of no Color."
Conclusion
In conclusion, with all the mentioned achievements, Douglass died of a heart attack. However, a wealth of oratory skills, bravery, and unity of purpose, persistent in pursuit of freedom immortalize the person of Frederick Douglass. His activism has given the modern advocacy for human rights movements in the continent even though he intended to free slaves working in American soils. The current rights that women are fighting for were spurred by the individual and collective activities of Frederick Douglas amidst other fellow abolitionists. The whites also portrayed mixed signals, and not all were in favor of the slavery and slave trade. Frederick Douglass, for instance, received massive support from whites even contributing money for the born slave secure his freedom projecting an optimistic future for the struggle against slavery and slave trade.
Works cited
Bernier, Celeste-Marie. "‘His Complete History’? Revisioning, Recreating and Reimagining Multiple Lives in Frederick Douglass's Life and Times (1881, 1892)." Slavery " Abolition 33.4 (2012): 595-610.
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. "Frederick Douglass: American Lion." Atlantic.com, 26 Sept. 2011. Academic
Gates Jr, Henry Louis. "Frederick Douglass’s Camera Obscura: Representing the Antislave “Clothed and in Their Own Form”." Critical Inquiry 42.1 (2015): 31-60.
Myers, Peter C. Frederick Douglass: Race and the rebirth of American liberalism. University Press of Kansas, 2008.
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A267998424/AONE?u=22517"sid=AONE"
Pratt, Lloyd. "Human beyond Understanding: Frederick Douglass's New Liberal Individual." Novel: A Forum on Fiction. Vol. 43. No. 1. Duke University Press, 2010.
