Frederick Douglass, one of history's most successful black abolitionist, changed America's views of slavery through his writings and actions. Frederick Douglass had many achievements throughout his life. His great oratory skills left the largest impact on Civil War time period literature. Douglass was born a slave in 1817, in Maryland. He educated himself and became determined to escape the horror of slavery. He attempted to escape slavery once, but failed. He later made a successful escape in 1838. Frederick's life as a slave had the greatest impact on his writings. Through slavery, he was able to develop the necessary emotion and experiences for him to become a successful abolitionist writer. He grew up as a slave, experiencing all of the hardships that are included, such as whippings, scarce meals, and other harsh treatment. His thirst for freedom , and his burning hatred of slavery caused him to write Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass, and other similar biographies. In his Narrative, he wrote the complete story of his miserable life as a slave and his strife to obtain freedom. The main motivational force behind his character (himself) was to make it through another day so that someday he might see freedom. The well written books that he produced were all based on his life. They all started with Douglass coping with slavery. He had a reason to write these works. As a die-hard abolitionist, He wanted to show the world how bad slavery really was. "He did this really well, because he made people understand the unknown, and made abolitionists out of many people. This man had a cause, as well as a story to tell" (Schomp, 25). Douglass, as a former slave, single-handedly redefined American Civil War literature, simply by redefining how antislavery writings were viewed. Frederick Douglass is well known for many of his literary achievements. He is best known, now, as a writer. "As a writer, Frederick Douglass shined.
