He was one of the most revered Americans of the 19th century. His story of personal triumph,

humble origins to national prominence is equal to or greater than that of Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln or

Lissie's grant. He never became a politician, but he spoke to presidents as an equal. His name is Frederick Douglass.

Born a slave, Douglass never knew the exact date of his birth, never knew his father, never saw his mother after the age of seven.

This wasn't uncommon at the time. Slave owners often made a point of separating families,

breaking family bonds, increased dependence on the slave owner. Discipline was maintained through

simple fear and destroying self-esteem. A slave could be punished for not working hard enough,

but also for working too hard or even for suggesting labor-saving ideas. Douglass experienced all

of this and rebelled against it. As a teenager, he taught himself to read, this created a desire for

freedom. When his owner discovered this disturbing development, he sent him to live with a local farmer

Edward Covey, who made extra money breaking the will of unruly slaves. Covey beat Douglass every

week for six months, often for no reason. And it worked. Soon, young Frederick gave up all hope

of being free. The dark night of slavery closed in upon me, he later wrote. That all changed

one hot August day in 1835. When Covey struck him, Douglass fought back. Where he found the courage,

he couldn't say, the two men struggled until Covey stumbled away, exhausted. Covey never laid a hand

on Douglass again. The teenage slave had stood up for himself. He considered this the most important

lesson of his life. Years later, he would tell this story when urging black men to enlist in the

Union Army to fight the Confederacy. You owe it to yourself, he said. You will stand more erect

and be less liable to insult. You will be defending your own liberty, honor, manhood, and self-respect.

Douglass made his escape from slavery in 1838, slipping into the North disguised as a US Navy sailor.

At any point along the rail journey, his flimsy cover could have been blown. Displaying a confidence,

he didn't actually feel he'd bluffed his way past suspicious conductors and runaway slave hunters.

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