Running head: LIFE AND TIMES OF FREDERICK DOUGLAS 1

Life and Times of Frederick Douglas

Name

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LIFE AND TIMES OF FREDERICK DOUGLAS 2

Life and Times of Frederick Douglas

Frederick Douglas was an unfortunate child as he opened his eyes in the darkness of the

slavery, and had no father to raise him up, as he was born to a slave woman, and his father was

someone unknown from the white community. Douglass attempted to escape from the slavery

and tried to live in the free air, when he was with Freeland. His original owner was Colonel

Lloyd from whom Douglass was hired for work by Freeland. Although this attempt was not a

successful one but it fired a first spark in his soul to get rid of the stigma of slavery and try to

fight it out and leave the darkness of living the life as a slave (Douglass, 2000). After some time

in the year 1836, while working under a fresh master, whose name was Covey, Douglass

attempted for another time to get himself free from the slavery which was becoming his destiny

up till then. Unfortunately, this second attempt was a failure too. He could not escape and rewrite

his destiny, but did not lose hope and constantly kept on thinking the ways and places from

where he can get himself free.

Then came a turn in his life when he met a girl with whom he later fell in love with. Her

name was Anna Murray, and she was not a slave, but a free Black woman. This fact about the

Anna provided Douglass with a strange hope that if a black woman can live a free life, why not

him. It gave him a hope and strength and the ability to keep on trying and not losing hope. Anna

Murray was living in Baltimore and actually she was also five years older than Douglass, but the

distance and the age difference did not matter to him much, in fact these things became the

support for keeping his motive alive and strong (Douglass & Logan, 2003).

It is believed generally by the people of the world that love has power, but the life story

of Frederick Douglass proves it to the very best manner. His failed attempts before he met Anna,
LIFE AND TIMES OF FREDERICK DOUGLAS 3

and then what energy and motivation he got to escape from the slavery and reach to the city of

Baltimore, was significantly different from that which he had in his mind before meeting Anna

Murray. She came in his life as a ray of hope and as a destiny for which he could really strive

and struggle for. She was the one who gave a direction to the life and struggle of Frederick

Douglas. The role of Anna Murray in the life of Frederick Douglas and his successful escape at

last from the slavery was very vital.

The autobiography of Frederick Douglas proves another general saying and a belief true,

and shows that behind every successful man there is always a woman (Douglass & Blassingame,

1979). In case of Douglas, Anna Murray was the woman behind the successful Douglas who

became a man and escaped from slavery after meeting her and falling in love with her. she

became the driving force which gave him the extra strength and vigor to break the shackles and

set himself free from the bounds and limitations in which the fate and the world had refrained

him for so long, and then was the time to go against the odds and fight his way all through from a

person with no identity and respect to the Frederick Douglas we know today, the Frederick

Douglas people look up to, the Frederick Douglas from the writings and the personality of

whom, many get the strength and hope today to fight through their hardships and struggling

times in life.

How he became from a no one to the one to inspire others, is a really remarkable

achievement and during the struggle all the way through, there was one person Anna Murray

who stood with her in the mind, heart and after the escape, in his life and helped him defeat all

the adverse events and happenings in life (Douglass, 2000). It must be kept in mind that the

struggle of a slave does not end at the time of the escape from the owner or a master, but in a

way the struggle to prove himself as a human being and wash the identity of being a slave, starts
LIFE AND TIMES OF FREDERICK DOUGLAS 4

from the time of escaping from the master. This is because the society and the world is a cage of

shallow minded animals which are over rated and named as human beings in general. Now let us

talk about how and when he escaped from the slavery and what happened afterwards and what

role Anna actually played in his life and whether he made it to Baltimore and met Anna or not.

At last the day came when Frederick Douglas got the chance to hop in the train which

was destined to go to Baltimore from Philadelphia. It was the year 1838, the month was

September and the date recorded as 3rd, when Frederick Douglass successfully leaped out of the

cage of slavery and got the first breath of air in the free world, and for the first time he felt that

he is alive. In a way it was his date of birth actually (Douglass, 1994). He boarded the train

which was heading towards his destiny he waited so long for. To his fortune that rail path was

newly introduced and before that there was no direct path to the city of Baltimore. The world and

the fate now seemed to be in his favor as he was swirling and flying towards his success and

destiny which he and his love wrote. He jumped from the train and reached to one of the

Northern cities named Canton. It was to the East of the Baltimore on the river Patapsco. This was

a depot which got replaced afterwards by the famous station called Presidential Street which was

launched in the year 1849 and 1850. This specific place got notified as a common hideout and a

route for the other slaves to escape from the slavery. The reason was that the rail track was

underground and during the civil war, many slaves escaped from this path to the northern cities

and other parts of the country to make a respectable living.

Frederick Douglas reached the Harford County in the Maryland. It was the state’s

northeast corner. A river named as Susquehanna was also along the region to the southwest

shore. The names of these places and the rivers proved to be minor hurdles and tests of his will

and determination to get to Anna and get his life settled (Douglass, 1994). This place where he
LIFE AND TIMES OF FREDERICK DOUGLAS 5

was right then, was twenty miles distant from the Pennsylvania. To get to Pennsylvania,

Delaware was another slave state which could have been an easier option to travel through.

There comes the assistance of the woman and the love of his life in the form of the savings

which became useful for covering up the travelling cost and the uniform of a sailor which Anna

Murray provided to Frederick Douglas, so that he could easily go through the places without

getting into the notice of the authorities. Douglas was also carrying the identification documents

which he acquired from a seaman belonging to his own.

He managed to conquer the river Susquehanna and reached Perryville which was situated

to the opposing side of the Cecil, another county. From there he resumed his journey on the train

and reached a port in the Delaware state which was like a home for the slaves. The railway track

from this point onwards was not finished yet and work was still in progress. It forced Douglas to

get on the steam boat travelling along the Delaware River which led him to the Quaker City of

the Philadelphia State (Douglass, 1852). Pennsylvania was a strong anti-slave state which he

managed to cross and ultimately reached the house of an abolitionist named as David Ruggles,

who lived in the New York City. This was the place where he could really feel safe then as it was

the place he was aiming for. Here, the role and the name of David Ruggles should be written in

bold letters as he was one of the most influential and helping people in the life and the struggle

for freedom of Frederick Douglas.

A journey of 24 hours made him reach where he could meet Murray who was heading

towards her with the basic stuff so that they could set up their home. They got married on 15th of

September and he started his professional career as an abolitionist and as a preacher. He started

delivering speeches and he was so good in that that he got position of counselor to the President

Lincoln and also made him alter some of his decisions. He also played a significant role during
LIFE AND TIMES OF FREDERICK DOUGLAS 6

the civil war, in protecting the African Americans and proved to be a shelter for them in the

times of crisis (Quarles, 1968).

He worked really hard as an abolitionist, and became a vital part of the movement to end

slavery. He worked both within the city where he lived and also travelled across states to spread

the message the awareness to the people about ending the slavery. His views about the

constitution were that it is only in the favor of the whites and the superior class of the Americans.

He had serious issues with the constitution and the laws of the country and tried to prove himself

influential in the decisions made to end the slavery and give some rights at least to the slaves, so

that they can also live a respectable life like others. It was people like Frederick Douglas who not

only conquered his own freedom and got the love of his life, but also struggled for the rights and

freedom of the other slaves, and black Americans like him, who are either struggling as the

slaves, or as the ones trying make their identity as free black men and women after escaping

from their cages. Douglas proved to be a true inspiration for all the country and especially the

people of the black community who succeeded in putting slavery to an end in such a country in

which this inhuman practice had been deeply rooted for such a long period of time in the history

of the world (Douglass & Logan, 2003).

LIFE AND TIMES OF FREDERICK DOUGLAS 7

References

Douglass, F. (2000). Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave. Random

House Digital, Inc.

Douglass, F., & Logan, R. W. (2003). The life and times of Frederick Douglass. Courier

Corporation.

Douglass, F., & Blassingame, J. W. (1979). The Frederick Douglass Papers: 1847-54. Yale

University Press.

Douglass, F. (2000). Frederick Douglass: Selected speeches and writings. Chicago Review

Press.

Douglass, F. (1994). Autobiographies (Vol. 68). Library of America.

Douglass, F. (1994). The Heroic Slave: A Cultural and Critical Edition. Yale University Press.

Douglass, F. (1852). The meaning of July Fourth for the Negro. Frederick Douglass: Selected

speeches and writings, 188-206.

Quarles, B. (1968). Frederick Douglass. Macmillan Publishing Company.