Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was born enslaved in Maryland, taught himself to read, fought his overseer, and escaped to the North in 1838. His Narrative of 1845 made him famous and endangered him, so he lectured in Britain until friends bought his freedom. For the next fifty years he was the leading Black voice in America, editing newspapers, recruiting Black regiments, advising Lincoln, and holding federal office. What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? is the greatest of the speeches. He wrote his life three times, and the Narrative is the version the lists assign.