Frederick Douglass

Personal Statement:
My name is Frederick Douglass. I was born as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in Talbot County, Maryland. The exact date of birth is unknown, but it has been assumed to be February 1818. My mother, Harriet Bailey, is a slave and my father is a white man, whom I never met. Being a slave, I was never given a formal education. Although illegal, in Baltimore I was taught, by the wife of Thomas Auld, to read and write.  In 1838, I successfully escaped from slavery by borrowing the papers of a freed African sailor. I fled to New Bedford Massachusetts with Anna Murray, a free African woman, and changed my name to Frederick Douglass to avoid slave hunters. After reading Liberator by William Lloyd Garrison I quickly jumped to join the abolitionist movement. In 1841, I spoke at a an abolitionist held in Massachusetts. After hearing my speech William Lloyd Garrison approached me and asked me to work for him. Four years later I published my first book, the Narrative of the Life of the Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave. In total I wrote 3 autobiographies. I not only advocated for political change for the abolitionist movement, but also for women's rights. I was the only male African to attend the convention in Seneca Falls and successfully ended segregation of schools in Rochester, New York. During the Civil War, I aided President Abraham Lincoln in recruiting African Americans for the Union Army. I am most notable as a former slave African American, leader of the civil war, social reforms, and exceptional oratory.
Issues:
During my life I fought for the abolitionist movement and universal suffrage. I believe in equality for all people regardless of race or gender. Growing up and experiencing the cruelties against slaves motivated me to fight for change.
Solutions:
I am strongly against violence as the solution. Instead I believe that political reform and moral persuasion are necessary in order for change to occur. Although I believe more work is needed in order to end the prejudice and hate against Africans, I have successfully been able to influence my ideas in the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. This accomplishment did not come easy, I was claimed to have been a fraud pretending to be a freed slave, feared being caught by slave hunters, and criticized for marrying a white woman.
Relationship with Others:
At the dinner party I would feel comfortable talking with Harriet Tubman, Angelina Grimke, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, David Walker, and Horace Greeley. I would feel uncomfortable talking with Henry Clay.