Frederick Douglass Facts & Worksheets

Frederick Douglass is an author, orator, and civil rights leader promoting human rights and abolition of slavery. He was the first African-American citizen to hold government post. See the fact file below for more information on Frederick Douglass or alternatively download our comprehensive worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment. 

Frederick Douglass Facts

• Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born February 14, 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland. Young Frederick lived with his maternal grandmother, Betty, in a plantation. At the age of ten, his mother died while the identity of his father remained unknown.
• By 12 years old, despite the ban of teaching the slaves to read and write, Sophia, a wife of the slaveholder taught Frederick. He continued to learn few more lessons through the white children in the neighborhood.
• His political views regarding slavery was inspired by the newspaper The Columbian Orator.   With his knowledge, he taught other enslaved people. They gathered and formed a congregation for weekly lessons and church service. It was later on dispersed by the less understanding slave owners.
• From the Aulds, Douglass worked for Edward Covey, who was known as the slave-breaker. At the age of 16, Douglass faced psychological and physical abuse with his owner. After two escape attempts, he freed himself at the age of 20.
• On September 15, 1838, he married Anna Murray, a free black woman who helped him escape slavery in Baltimore. They got married in New York and adopted the name Johnson. The couple settled in New Bedford Massachusetts with the black community and adopted the name Douglass. They had five children: Rosetta, Lewis, Henry, Frederick Jr., and Charles Redmond. Upon Anna’s death, Douglass married the daughter of his abolitionist colleague, Helen Pitts, who was a white feminist from New York. Helen was 20 years younger than Douglass.
• In 1838, Douglass became a regular anti-slavery lecturer in Bedford. He delivered his first speech at the annual convention of Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in Nantucket.
• In 1843, he was chased by an angry mob while having his lecture in the Midwest. Luckily, he was saved by a Quaker family.
• On August 16, 1845, he travelled to Ireland and experienced the Potato Famine. For two years, he stayed in Ireland and Britain speaking about the evils of slavery. By 1847, Douglass returned to the United States as a freeman after his British supporters worked for the legality of his freedom.
• Douglass produced abolitionist newspapers such as The North Star, Frederick Douglass Weekly, Frederick Douglass’ Paper, Douglass’ Monthly and New National Era.
• In 1848, he attended the first women’s convention at Seneca Falls, New York. He was one of the first African-Americans who outspokenly supported the fight for feminism. The resolution stating the right of women to suffrage was proposed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It was passed but later on faced conflict with some of the women’s rights activists after Douglass supported the Fifteenth Amendment which banned suffrage discrimination based on race but not on sex.
• By 1863, during the Civil War, Douglass became one of the prominent African-Americans. He talked to President Abraham Lincoln and succeeding President Andrew Johnson about the treatment of black soldiers and their right to vote.
• On January 1,1863, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared the freedom of all slaves in the Confederate states. After the war, Douglass was appointed as the president of the Freedman’s Savings Bank. He also served as the charge d’affaires for the Dominican Republic.
• He became the first African-American vice presidential candidate of the United States in 1872. Douglass never campaigned after being nominated without his knowledge.
• In 1889, he became the minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti until 1891.
• On February 20, 1895, Douglas died of a heart attack. He was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York.

Frederick Douglass Worksheets

This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use Frederick Douglass Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about the first African-American citizen to hold government post. Did you know? Frederick Douglass never campaigned after being nominated without his knowledge. Learn more about it from these fun and interesting worksheets.

Download includes the following worksheets

• Frederick Douglass Facts
• From Slave to a Freeman
• Names and Places
• Famous Abolitionists
• Lincoln’s Emancipation
• Slavery Acrostics
• Yes, It’s Douglass!
• Douglass and Feminism
• Quotable Quotes
• African-American Rights
• Equality Beyond Colors

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