SELF MADE ROGER GUENVEUR SMITH FULL

So, he taught himself to read by trading biscuits with white children in exchange for lessons on letters and words. Douglass realized that literacy must be a powerful skill if his white owner was so determined to prevent little Fred’s access to it. Around age 12 his mistress’ attempt to teach him to read was blocked by her husband. If anyone in America was qualified to talk about the character traits necessary to rise from poverty to prominence it was Frederick Douglass. He repeated two of these talks several times, “Composite Nation” and “Self-Made Men.” After the Civil War, Douglass often toured the country delivering speeches on a variety of topics. In the process, he became one of the best-known orators of the 19th century.

SELF MADE ROGER GUENVEUR SMITH FULL

Following emancipation Douglass shifted his focus toward securing full political and civil rights for all Americans. The book’s huge success boosted his speaking and writing career. Many whites doubted that a black man, especially a former slave, could be as intelligent and articulate as Douglass. He wrote the first of three autobiographies, Narrative of the Life of a Slave in 1845 to counter criticism that his story was false. Born into slavery in Talbot County, MD in 1818, he escaped to New England where he met fellow abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and began speaking to white audiences about his experiences as an enslaved person.

Frederick Douglass established himself as his generation’s leading African American abolitionist before the Civil War ended.

Self made roger guenveur smith