Frederick Douglass: Redefining Freedom
In our Icon Series, we give thanks to those whose lives have laid the foundation for our journey toward justice and equity. In this season of being focused on showing appreciation, the New Hampshire Center for Justice & Equity celebrates the extraordinary life of Frederick Douglass.
Portrait of Frederick Douglass. Image credits: WBUR
About Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass is known for being one of the most influential abolitionists, orators, writers, and reformers of the nineteenth century. His life embodied the struggle for liberation, the belief in education as a pathway to empowerment, and the conviction that reporting the truth could dismantle oppression. Through his writings, activism, and public service, he transformed the fight for abolition into a broader vision of human rights.
Early Life: From Enslavement to Self-Liberation
Frederick Douglass was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey around February 1818 on a plantation in Talbot County, Maryland. His mother, Harriet Bailey, was enslaved, and he never knew his father, rumored to be a white man from the plantation. His chosen birth date, February 14th, pays homage to his mother, who called Douglass her ‘little Valentine’.
Like many enslaved children, Douglass was separated from his mother as an infant and raised under harsh conditions, denied both a family and an education. At about eight years old, he was sent to Baltimore to work for Hugh and Sophia Auld. Mrs. Auld gave Douglass his first reading and writing lessons while teaching her own son. Although her husband forbade further lessons, Douglass secretly continued to learn how to read and write, trading bread for lessons with white children and studying discarded newspapers.
From early on, Douglass understood that literacy and education were the keys to freedom. In 1838, at around twenty years old, he disguised himself as a sailor and fled north by train and boat, eventually reaching New York City. He later married Anna Murray, a free Black woman who helped plan his escape, and they settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, adopting the last name "Douglass".
Finding His Voice in the Abolitionist Movement
After finding employment in Massachusetts as a laborer, Douglass began to attend abolitionist meetings and speak about his enslavement, gaining a reputation as a powerful orator. He rose to prominence when he joined the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1841, encouraged by abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison, and began making speeches across the North and Midwest.
Douglass’s eloquence raised suspicions that he had never been enslaved. To quell the rumors, he published his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, in 1845, detailing the brutality of the experience and the names of those responsible for it. The book became a sensation, fueling the abolitionist movement across the United States and Europe.
To avoid being recaptured after his book’s popularity, Douglass traveled to Ireland, Scotland, and England, where he gave numerous speeches. Supporters overseas eventually offered to purchase his legal freedom, allowing Douglass to return safely to the United States in 1847.
“We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future.”
Advocating for Universal Rights and Equality
Upon his return, Douglass founded the abolitionist newspaper, The North Star, based in Rochester, New York, under the motto "Right is of no Sex, Truth is of no Color, God is the Father of us all, and we are all brethren." This conviction shaped his commitment to justice, which extended beyond abolitionism.
A lifelong advocate for women’s rights, Douglass was one of the few men to attend the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, where he spoke in support of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s and Susan B. Anthony’s resolution for women’s suffrage. In 1851, his newspaper merged with the Liberty Party Paper to form the Frederick Douglass’ Paper, which ran until 1860.
Around this time, Douglass became more engaged in American politics and constitutional interpretation on behalf of emancipation. In 1855, he published a second autobiography, My Bondage and My Freedom, which exposed racial segregation in the North.
From the Civil War to the World Stage
By the time the Civil War broke out in 1861, Douglass was one of the most influential Black men in the country. He was an advocate for the inclusion of Black soldiers in the Union army, which he saw as both a right and a pathway to full citizenship, and became a recruiter for the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry, an all-Black regiment in which two of his sons served.
Douglass then became a close advisor to President Abraham Lincoln and continued advocating for better pay and conditions for Black soldiers.
After the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, he intensified the fight for equal citizenship, strongly supporting the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, which granted national birthright citizenship, and the 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, which stated nobody could be denied voting rights based on “race, skin color, or previous servitude.”
In 1872, he moved to Washington, D.C, where he published another newspaper venture, The New National Era. That same year, Douglass became the first African American nominated for vice president of the United States as Victoria Woodhull's running mate in the Equal Rights Party. Though he never campaigned, this was the first time that an African American appeared on a presidential ballot.
In the postwar years, Douglass held several political positions. In 1874, he became the president of the Freedman's Savings Bank, and in 1877, President Hayes appointed him the first Black U.S. marshal for the District of Columbia. Four years later, President Garfield named him recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia, a prestigious position he held until 1886.
In 1881, he published his third autobiography, The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, which reflected on his life's work, the nation's progress, and the work left to do for racial equality. In 1889, President Harrison selected Douglass as U.S. minister resident and consul general to the Republic of Haiti. His tenure was marked by controversy over the U.S. government’s efforts to acquire the port of Môle Saint-Nicolas as a naval coaling station. His opposition led him to resign in 1891 and return to Washington, D.C., where he remained an influential public voice.
Honoring Frederick Douglass’ Lasting Legacy
Frederick Douglass died on February 20, 1895, at his home in Washington, D.C., after attending a meeting of the National Council of Women. His passing marked the end of an era but not of his influence.
Douglass devoted his life to the abolition of slavery and the pursuit of human rights. His speeches, especially “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” delivered in 1852, remains among the most powerful in American history: “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” He understood that freedom required both truth-telling and public accountability, principles that continue to guide social justice movements today.
Douglass’s enduring legacy shows that freedom is an ongoing practice sustained by courage, intellect, and hope. His home, Cedar Hill, is now a National Historic Site and stands among countless monuments, schools, and institutions that bear his name.
In honoring Frederick Douglass for NHCJE’s 2025 Icon Series, we celebrate not only an abolitionist but a visionary who used education, words, and truth to reshape the moral conscience of a nation. His life invites us to keep using those same tools to speak truth, challenge injustice, and build the freedom he envisioned for all.
Learn more about Frederick Douglass
https://www.biography.com/activists/frederick-douglass - Biography.com
https://www.nps.gov/frdo/learn/historyculture/frederickdouglass.htm - National Park Service
https://www.britannica.com/video/Frederick-Douglass-read-write/-253730 - Britannica.com
https://civilrightsmuseum.org/frederick-douglass-abolitionist-journalist-reformer-1818-1895/ - Civil Rights Museum
Call to Action
Following in the footsteps of the civil rights icons who came before us, New Hampshire is facing unprecedented challenges, and NHCJE is preparing to fight the ‘good fight’.
Will you help us continue their legacy by investing in our work this Giving Tuesday?