Hello, my name is Frederick Douglas. Please excuse my hairdo, I know it's changed a little bit since The 1800's, but when the 1970's came around I just couldn't resist going with the new styles. Throughout history others have noted me for my ability as a powerful speaker. People have said that my charm, wit, intelligence and humor, all contributed to my fame as one of the strongest abolitionist voices ever heard, and one of the foremost spokesman for black americansI was born a slave in February of 1818 near the town of Easton on the shore of Maryland. My mother used to call me little Valentine so I adopted February 14 as my birthday not ever really knowing the true date. I didn't really know my mother very well, because she was very busy working in the cornfields, so I had to go live with my grandmothere, Betsey Baily. I don' t know much about my father, except he was white. At age 6, I learned the harsh realities of the slave system. My master, Aaron Anthony fed me and the other slave children cornmeal out of a trough. We ate like so many pigs, and I competed with the master's dogs for food and bones, becasue I was so hungry. We had no beds or warm blankets, and on cold winter nights we would huddle together on the kitchen floor. Aaron Anthony made a habit of whipping us if we didn't folow orders orders quick enough. My hatred for slavery increased over the years. A hatred for lavery and a desire for freedom burned with in me. 1 thing that increased my hatred for this horrible institution was when I saw my grandmother sent into the woods to die because she could no longer work. At 16, I was sent to work on a new farm. One hot August afternoon my strength failed me and I collapsed. Covey, the master of the plantation, kicked me and beat me to no avail. When I was finally able to walk, Covey tried to tie me to a post for a whipping and "at that moment, from whence came the spirit I don't know- I resolved to fight. ...
