Born in 1818 on the eastern shore of Maryland, Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was the son of a mother whom he rarely saw before her death and an absent white father. Frederick grew up in, living with his grandparents during his early years. He would eventually escape to freedom, change his name to Frederick Douglass, and become one of the prominent leaders of the abolition movement, but not after experiencing, firsthand, the brutality of American slavery.
At the age of eight, Frederick was sent to Baltimore to live with a ship carpenter named Hugh Auld. After several "relatively comfortable years," Frederick returned to the countryside where he was overseen by a brutal "slavebreaker" named Edward Covey. Frederick was whipped daily and was barely fed. Recounting the days with Covey, Douglass wrote that he was "broken in body, soul, and spirit."
After a few years, Frederick managed to realize freedom by fleeing to New York City in 1838. He was married, settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and changed his name to Frederick Douglass. Almost immediately, Douglass became active in several abolitionist organizations and a black church. Douglass, a profound speaker and writer, published his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written By Himself in 1845. His work would be widely read; his story of survival in and escape from the American system of slavery brought him to northern US cities and the United Kingdom to speak out against the evils of slavery. An American statesman, Douglass risked his own freedom by seeking the freedom of others.