Frederick Douglass was born a slave in February of 1818. Every year Frederick got two knee-length shirts but no pants. Frederick learned to read and write when he was eight years old because he was a slave to a nice lady. When Frederick was 17, he was sent to Edward Covey. Frederick got whipped a lot. One day Frederick fought and won. After that Frederick was never whipped again. When Frederick was a slave in Baltimore, a free black sailor gave Frederick papers to prove he was a free man. On September 3, 1838 Frederick escaped to freedom and changed his name Frederick Douglass. In 1841 Frederick gave speeches against slavery. When the Civil War began, Frederick asked President Lincoln to let black soldiers join the Union Army. Lincoln agreed. The Civil War ended slavery freedom for blacks until he died on February 20, 1895.