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Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was unlike any other man of his day; White or Black. He was a man of the South, but he was denied his right to be an independent man because he was black and a slave born to a Southern plantation in 1818. We know from history books that Frederick Douglass unlike most slaves broke free of his bondage and fought his way in becoming the master of his own destiny. What is compelling about this biography is that Frederick Douglas managed to escape the repression of slavery and instead of disappearing into the mist; he became a champion of human rights and an ardent supporter of the abolitionist movement in the North. The rest they say is history and the history of Frederick Douglass was amazing.

The beginning of Frederick’s life is typical of a slave born into the socio-cultural paradigm of the South and its paternalistic framework of the Plantation system. Owner is master/father of his 'family' and the hierarchy that follows-ending with the slave class at the bottom rung. Though typical, this is a sad scenario of a young orphaned boy sold to a plantation in Baltimore and repeatedly taken to one strange home after another to serve as a slave. Though this separation was not painful, it seems bizarre that there was any cause for celebration in the young boy; yet Frederick writes about his mounting excitement of moving on to a new home. He was hoping that his life at the new plantation would be better than the one he was leaving behind. This fierce determination and optimism were crucial personality traits that empowered Frederick to remain strong and steady in the face of opposition. He persevered throughout his many adventures as a slave, seeking a life beyond the cruel injustices and moral depravity of slavedom. Frederick was around eight years old when life on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation came to an end. It would not be

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