Douglass as reformer
In 1841, at a meeting of the Massachusetts Antislavery Society, Douglass explained what freedom meant to him. The society was so impressed with his speech that it hired him to lecture about his experiences as a slave. In the early 1840's, he protested against segregated seating on trains by sitting in cars reserved for whites. He had to be dragged from the white cars. Douglass also protested against religious discrimination. He walked out of a church that kept blacks from taking part in a service until the whites had finished participating.
In 1847, Douglass founded an antislavery newspaper, the North Star, in Rochester, N.Y. In the 1850's, Douglass charged that employers hired white immigrants ahead of black Americans. He even accused some abolitionist business executives of job discrimination against blacks.
Douglass also led a successful attack against segregated schools in Rochester. His home was a station on the underground railroad, a widespread system which helped runaway slaves reach freedom. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Douglass helped recruit African Americans for the Union Army. He discussed the problems of slavery with President Abraham Lincoln several times.
Excerpt adapted from the "Frederick Douglass" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999