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This book asks, "What is a hero?" and answers with the life of Frederick Douglass. A great human rights advocate of the 19th century, Frederick began life as a slave in Maryland. Gifted and eager, he was beaten at a young age for learning to read but continued to educate himself in secret. A valuable shipyard worker, he fought with his owners and, at age 21, escaped to New York.
Frederick married and settled in Massachusetts. He and his wife began a family and assisted the Underground Railroad. Within a few years Frederick became an inspiring orator and the founder of a leading abolitionist newspaper.
As a leader of free blacks in the north, he urged Lincoln to end slavery during the Civil War. The all-black Massachusetts 55th regiment, which Douglass created, is the subject of Glory, an excellent film starring Denzel Washington. After the War, Frederick crusaded for the voting rights of blacks and women.
This book covers mainly Frederick's early and middle life. Later he served as consul-general to Haiti.
Guided Reading Level: L
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