FREDERICK
DOUGLASS: LESSON STUDY:
A MAN & HIS TIMES
SAMPLE
1: Cindy
Frederick Douglass
was a man born half black and
half white. Since his birthday
is unknown, he chose February
14 because his mother used to
call him “Little Valentine”.
When he was young, he was sent
to work on a plantation. He
rarely had any clothes to wear
or any food to eat. When he
was about ten, he was to go
to Baltimore to take care of
a boy from a wealthy family.
Whenever the boy was taught
to read Frederick would be there
to learn too but the boy’s
father got angry and would not
allow his wife to keep teaching.
Even though she stopped, Douglass
was still interested in learning.
So he would read newspapers
from trashcans.
Douglass’s
master died, so he was sent
to a new one, which was more
cruel and horrible. He continuously
tried to break Douglass’s
spirit. When he was in Baltimore,
he met and fell in love with
a woman by the name of Anna
Murray. She helped with his
escape. He was disguised as
a sailor with the papers of
a freed African American and
finally escaped to New York
where he changed his name to
Frederick Douglass.
Later on, he
became an abolitionist, writer,
orator, and civil rights leader.
He spoke out for slaves, but
also for people that were treated
unfairly, like women’s
rights, Irish freedom, Indians
that were being cheated, and
people of different nationalities
and religions. Douglass even
wrote his own book called, The
Narrative Life of Frederick
Douglass, which is an autobiography
of his life.
In conclusion,
Frederick Douglass is important
because he did many things to
change America. He tried to
abolish slavery, wrote books,
and spoke out for anything unfair.
From him, we could learn that
many people were treated unequally
back then and that anyone could
make a difference if they really
believed in it and is confident
in it.
SAMPLE 2: Nancy
Frederick Douglass
was a great individual. He was
an African American man who
fought for civil human rights
throughout his life. He was
born a slave in the 1800’s
and escaped slavery later. After
that, he became an abolitionist,
orator, and journalist. He was
very important figure in history
because he was an inspiration
to many people through his intelligence
and bravery.
Douglass was
a great civil rights leader
because she stood up for what
he believed in and led his beliefs.
He fought to end slavery as
an abolistist. In addition,
he fought for women’s
rights. He worked in government
a few times to try to help the
union. For example, he worked
as Lincoln’s advisor and
tried to convince him to pass
laws that would help African
Americans rights. The fact that
he bravely stood up for what
he believed in and fought for
human right is important because
it meant that he was a determined
and confident man who fought
to end one of the biggest issues
in the US back then: equality
and human rights.
Douglass was
one of the first great African
American speakers. He was an
intelligent oratorical speaker.
He was asked by American Anti-Slavery
Society to go on tours to make
lectures about slavery. That
was a great honor. One of the
great speeches he made was “Meaning
of July Fourth for the Negro”,
which stated the Americans’
inconsistencies. He can inspire
many people to speak up for
what they believe in. He spoke
up for equality for African
Americans. Although it was hard
to speak up back then, Douglass
stood (for) bravery and did
it.
Douglass was
a very strong writer, journalist,
and editor. It is amazing that
he wrote three autobiographies,
published an anti-slavery paper,
and wrote articles and speeches.
Douglass was fortunate to get
to learn how to read and he
used his skills wisely. He expressed
himself and his beliefs on paper.
The three autobiographies that
he wrote were called: Narrative
of the life of Frederick Douglass”
(1845), “My Bondage and
My Freedom” (1855); and
“Life and Times of Frederick
Douglass”. The anti-slavery
paper he wrote and was editor
of was called “North Star”,
which then later became “Frederick
Douglass’ paper”.
Writing was one way he spoke
out to say slavery was wrong,
Douglass was
a great historical figure because
with all of his skills, he used
them to speak out for what he
believed in, which was equal
rights for everybody. He accomplished
great things as an abolitionist,
orator and journalist. He was
one of the best human right
leaders in the 19th Century,
was a champion of women’s
rights, and was the first black
citizen to hold high rank in
US government. By studying his
life, we can learn that the
time period he lived back then
was very hard, because blacks
didn’t have equal rights.
That is why he fought for it.
We can also be inspired to speak
up for what we believe in and
be more active to help the community.
Frederick Douglass was one of
the greatest African Americans
in history.
