Frederick Douglass

Biography

Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman who escaped from slavery to become the most prominent African American leader of the nineteenth century. His Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) is one of the most important works in American literature, providing a devastating firsthand account of slavery. Douglass became an internationally acclaimed speaker, advisor to Abraham Lincoln, and champion of civil rights, women's suffrage, and human dignity. He held several government positions and remained a powerful voice for justice until his death.