Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) was born a slave, taught himself to read and freed himself. After regaining his freedom, Douglass became editor of the Abolitionist paper The North Star. He also became America's first great black orator, an advisor to President Lincoln and was instrumental in passing the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that ended slavery.
Douglass served as the first black Federal Marshall and as Ambassador to Haiti. He was the first African-American to be nominated as Vice President of the United States. In 1872 he was nominated as Victoria Woodhull's running mate by the Equal Rights Party.
Destination Freedom August 1, 1948 Key to Freedom presents the second part of the Life of Frederick Douglass, picking up the story during the Civil War.
