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Frederick Douglass Facts & Worksheets

Frederick Douglass is an author, orator, and civil rights leader promoting human rights and abolition of slavery.

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Formerly an enslaved person, Frederick Douglass went on to become a well-known activist, novelist, and public speaker. He rose to prominence in the abolitionist movement, which worked to abolish slavery both before and during the American Civil War. He advocated for equality and human rights after that battle and the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 until his death in 1895.

See the fact file below for more information about Frederick Douglass, or download the comprehensive worksheet pack, which contains over 11 worksheets and can be used in the classroom or homeschooling environment.

Key Facts & Information

Early Life

  • In February 1818, Frederick Douglass, originally named Augustus Washington Bailey, was born as an enslaved person on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. His family life was challenging.
  • He only remembers having four or five encounters with his mother. She was required to labor in a field far from her home and was not permitted to live with her kid; she only occasionally saw him secretly during visits at night.
  • Frederick was initially brought up by his grandparents, Betsey and Isaac Bailey, and then by Captain Anthony, a secretary, and administrator for Colonel Lloyd’s plantation.
  • Around eight, Captain Anthony’s married relative Hugh Auld sent Frederick to Baltimore to work for him. Sophia Auld, Hugh’s wife, first treated him with great affection, but her husband soon voiced his disapproval of Sophia’s efforts to teach Frederick how to read and write.
  • Frederick persuaded the kids in the area to tutor him since he was determined to get an education. He practiced writing by copying the scribbles of his coworkers at the shipyard where he worked. Newspapers helped him read better and also helped him learn for the first time that there were anti-slavery groups in the North.

Escape from Enslavement

  • Frederick was sent back to rural Maryland following Captain Anthony’s passing in 1833, where he eventually came to belong to Thomas Auld.
  • Teenage Frederick was sent to Edward Covey, a man with a history of being a ferocious enslaved people-breaker.
  • Covey brutally and unjustly beat him. Douglass believed that the time he withstood Covey’s thrashing marked a turning point in his life. Frederick experienced a white guy backing down for the first time in his life when Covey failed to break his spirit.
  • Following Covey, Frederick was employed by William Freeland and attempted an unsuccessful escape with five other enslaved men. He was eventually brought back to Baltimore, where Hugh Auld hired him to work in the shipyards.
  • He escaped to New York City under the pretense of a free seaman on September 3, 1838, with the assistance of a freedwoman named Anna Murray (who would subsequently become his wife).
  • Frederick decided to alter his last name to “Douglass.” Frederick and Anna were housed with Nathan Johnson when they first arrived in New Bedford, and it was Johnson who proposed that Frederick alter his name. “Bailey” was too risky and may result in his capture.
  • Douglass managed to land several occupations, including unloading ships and working as a day worker in a brass factory. Douglass met John A. Collins and William Lloyd Garrison, two well-known abolitionists, during a conference against slavery in Nantucket in 1841. His life continued to change as a result of meeting these men.
  • Douglass accepted Collins’ invitation to work as a paid professor for three months. Three months of talks and tours turned into four years since he was such a well-liked speaker. He decided to write down his speeches on his experience as an enslaved person in 1845. His Narrative of “the Life of Frederick Douglass, an enslaved American” was based on these addresses.
  • The book was instantly successful in both the United States and Europe, where it was translated into French and German. Despite critical and widespread praise, it was regarded with mistrust by pro-slavery Americans, who couldn’t believe an enslaved person could write such a nuanced narrative with no formal education.
  • Douglass risked being captured by slave hunters in the North because of the prominence his Narrative had brought him, so he left for England. He delivered lectures on the perils of enslavement for two years.

The Years Preceding and During the Civil War

  • Douglass started to sever ties with his erstwhile guardians, the abolitionists. He was still a staunch opponent of enslavement, but he didn’t want to be the spokesperson for white abolitionists who occasionally advised him to “dumb down” his remarks. Additionally, Douglass was not forceful enough to compete with the Garrisonian part of the abolitionist movement.
  • Douglass revised his autobiography and published it under the title “My Bondage and My Freedom” in 1855. More of his opinions were expressed in it, along with some of his thoughts on the anti-slavery movement. In Douglass’ opinion, physical retaliation and uprisings should continue as alternatives.
  • Six months later, Douglass learned of his daughter’s death and returned to America, where he campaigned for Abraham Lincoln’s presidential campaign in 1860, declaring Lincoln a man “destined to render more service to his nation and to mankind than any man.”
  • Douglass campaigned tirelessly when the Civil War broke out to urge the Union to admit Black soldiers into the service. President Lincoln authorized Governor Andrew of Massachusetts to form two Black regiments, the renowned 54th and 55th. Two of Douglass’ sons, Charles and Lewis Douglass, joined the black troops.
  • Douglass met with fellow Black people in Syracuse, New York, in October 1864 to debate the future of African Americans in post-Civil War America. Douglass advocated for Black Americans to have universal suffrage, but he met opposition from ambivalent racist whites and even the Garrisonian element of the abolitionist movement.

The Post-Civil War Years

  • Douglass labored to elect Republican party candidates after the Civil War and for black suffrage. After his journal, The New National Era, and a bank for freed enslaved people failed, he resumed his lecture tour in 1874.
  • He started lecturing once again soon after the bank went under to support himself. His oratory abilities helped him establish a fresh reputation, which placed him back in demand and allowed him to make $100 to $200 every lecture, which was a sizable sum in those days.
  • President Grant gave Douglass a temporary commission in January 1871 to look into whether the United States might invade the Caribbean nation of Santo Domingo. Douglass stayed close to many Republican politicians, including Grant.
  • He was chosen as U.S. Rutherford B. Hayes appointed him Marshal of the District of Columbia in 1877. In 1878, he had enough money to purchase a big mansion in Washington, D.C., as well as a fifteen-acre estate.
  • In 1881, he revised his autobiography once again, renaming it “The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.”
  • Anna Douglass, Douglass’ wife of forty-four years, died in August 1882. Susan B. Anthony, perhaps the most well-known of the nineteenth-century suffragettes, was a close friend of Douglass and would deliver his funeral oration.
  • He married Helen Pitts, his white secretary for the Recorder of Deeds, one and a half years after his wife passed away.
  • Douglass contributed to Benjamin Harrison’s presidential campaign in 1888. Harrison appointed Douglass to the position of ambassador to Haiti after taking office. Douglass spent his final years writing and preaching on the killing of Black people, the denial of their civil rights in the South, and the expanding application of Jim Crow laws after returning from Haiti.
  • By mandating a literacy test, the payment of property taxes, and other unlawful requirements, these laws banned Black people from voting. Additionally, they denied black people the ability to vote and generally violated their constitutional rights.
  • At about 77, Douglass passed away on February 20, 1895, from heart failure. By nineteenth-century standards, he had lived a long life, especially for a Black man. But more importantly, he had had a remarkable life, defeating all obstacles to rank among the greatest people in American history.
  • He was not, however, held responsible for the abolition of enslavement. Following the Civil War, Douglass became an outspoken advocate for the rights of formerly enslaved people, and he published his last autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.
  • Enslavement was outlawed nationwide and in any territory under their control as of December 6, 1865, following the ratification of the 13th amendment by the states on January 31, 1865.
  • Douglass vehemently advocated against enslavement in his three narratives as well as in a large number of other essays, speeches, and letters. He tried to show that it was harsh, strange, unnatural, immoral, and unfair.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Frederick Douglass most famous for?

Formerly an enslaved person, Frederick Douglass went on to become a well-known activist, novelist, and public speaker. He rose to prominence in the abolitionist movement, which worked to abolish slavery both before and during the American Civil War. He advocated for equality and human rights after that battle and the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 until his death in 1895.

What are three interesting facts about Frederick Douglass?

Frederick persuaded the kids in the area to tutor him since he was determined to get an education. He practiced writing by copying the scribbles of his coworkers at the shipyard where he worked. Newspapers helped him read better and also helped him learn for the first time that there were anti-slavery groups in the North.

Why did Frederick Douglass stop slavery?

Douglass vehemently advocated against enslavement in his three narratives as well as in a large number of other essays, speeches, and letters. He tried to show that it was harsh, strange, unnatural, immoral, and unfair.

Did Frederick Douglass free any enslaved people?

He was not, however, held responsible for the abolition of enslavement. Following the Civil War, Douglass became an outspoken advocate for the rights of formerly enslaved people, and he published his last autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.

When did slavery end in the US?

Enslavement was outlawed nationwide and in any territory under their control as of December 6, 1865, following the ratification of the 13th amendment by the states on January 31, 1865.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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