Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass, born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey; c. February 1818 was a Black American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping enslavement in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, becoming famous for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. Accordingly, he was described by abolitionists in his time as a living counter-example to slaveholders' arguments that people of African descent lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens. Douglass it seemed understood better than most people of his time the intrinsic value of personal freedom and dignity to a truly successful democracy. He once wrote“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”https://www.nps.gov/frdo/learn/historyculture/frederickdouglass.htmThe Joy Trip Project celebrates American history. The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series elevates the untold stories of Black American history.#unhiddenblackhistory #NationalParkService #yourparkstory #NationalGeographic #unhiddenminuteOriginal illustration by Nate TaylorBecome a paid subscriber to the Unhidden Minute Podcast for one year and receive a copy The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors 10th Anniversary Edition by James Edward Mills. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesedwardmills.substack.com/subscribe