Frederick Douglass was born a slave in Maryland some time around 1818. He never knew his exact age or birthday. He saw the horrors of slavery from a very early age, and barely knew his mother because she lived on a different plantation.
I wish I could make my own choices and learn how to read.
Douglass was eventually able to escape slavery by posing as a sailor. He had been forced to work in a shipyard as a slave, so he knew a lot about ships and could pass as a knowledgable sailor.
I plan to use a real sailor's papers and take a train to the free North.
Douglass eventually became a famous public speaker who told thousands about what slavery was really like. He wrote three autobiographies , was an advisor to President Lincoln, and became the US ambassador to Haiti in 1889.
I am here to see President Lincoln. He needs to let freed slaves serve in the Union Army.