Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was an African-American abolitionist, writer, and orator who was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland in 1818, and died a free man in Washington D.C. in 1895. Douglass mostly educated himself as a slave and escaped slavery at the age of 20, and would go on to be one of the most influential voices in American history as a leader of the abolitionist movement. 

Frederick Douglass's writing works were some of the things that made him such a prolific figure. His journal, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, is one of his most well-known works, which delves into the injustices that slaves were subjected to in a graphic, viscerally gripping manner, and how slaveowners would use eloquent, complicated rhetoric to assert their power, and keep slaves subdued. 

One of his greatest writing pieces and speeches was "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" which is meant to open the eyes of the free people of the United States to the irony of a day that is meant to celebrate freedom taking place when so many people aren't free. He explains how slaves feel that the United States as a whole is doing not just slaves, but everybody a severe injustice by promising everyone freedom and equal opportunity, when during this time, that was blatantly not the case. 

Frederick Douglass's contributions to creating a better society and a brighter future for the United States were not all writing or orating based. Frederick Douglass was one of the closest advisors to Abraham Lincoln during his presidency and helped recruit African-Americans to the Union Army, encouraging them to fight for their freedom. After the war, he continued to advocate for equality for African-Americans, along with other minority groups. 

Frederick Douglass will go down in history as one of the most important rhetors ever in the United States. His writing and speaking abilities inspired one of the most important changes in United States history, freeing an entire race of people and consequently saving millions of lives. He did it by educating himself and others, telling his story, and cultivating the courage of millions to stand up to slavery, one of the most intense societal norms that seemed unchangeable at the time but was indeed, not.