Frederick Douglass

(noun)

An American social reformer, orator, writer, and statesman who, after escaping from slavery, became a leader of the abolitionist movement and gained notoriety for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing.

Related Terms

Examples of Frederick Douglass in the following topics:

  • Black and White Abolitionism

    • Garrison's efforts to recruit eloquent spokesmen led to the discovery of ex-slave Frederick Douglass [], who eventually became a prominent activist in his own right.
    • Eventually, Douglass would publish his own, widely distributed abolitionist newspaper, the North Star.
    • Another camp, led by Lysander Spooner, Gerrit Smith, and eventually Douglass, considered the Constitution to be an antislavery document.
    • Frederick Douglass (1818–1895), a former slave whose memoirs, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) and My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), became bestsellers which aided the cause of abolition.

  • African American Migration

    • Indeed, Frederick Douglass was a critic of the movement.
    • Douglass did not disagree with the Exodusters in principle, but he felt that the movement was ill-timed and poorly organized.

  • From Gradualism to Abolition

    • Another camp, led by Lysander Spooner, Gerrit Smith, and eventually Frederick Douglass, considered the Constitution to be an antislavery document.
    • Garrison's efforts to recruit eloquent spokesmen from within the African American community led him to Frederick Douglass, who was a prominent activist in his own right.
    • Eventually, Douglass would publish his own widely distributed abolitionist newspaper, the North Star.

  • Reform and the Election of 1872

    • Frederick Douglass supported Grant and reminded black voters that Grant had destroyed the violent Ku Klux Klan.

  • Forms of Resistance

    • Brown had asked for both Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass’s support, but was denied.
    • Tubman had recently fallen ill and Douglass was convinced the raid would not succeed.

  • The Raid on Harper's Ferry

    • Because of his willingness to shed blood for the cause, including his own blood, Frederick Douglass was later to comment that Brown's devotion to ending slavery was like a "burning sun" compared to his own candle light.
    • Douglass had prudently turned down Brown's invitation to take part in the raid.

  • Marcus Garvey

    • Frederick Douglass in September 1919.

  • The Rise of Garveyism

    • Frederick Douglass in September 1919.

  • The Spread of Segregation

    • Prominant African-American leaders, such as Frederick Douglass, advocated for voting rights laws and against the racism in the south.

  • The Diversity of the West

    • Indeed, Frederick Douglass was a critic of the movement.
    • Douglass did not disagree with the Exodusters in principle, but he felt that the movement was ill-timed and poorly organized.