Support Provided By
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:06
Discover how a man born into slavery became one of the nation’s most influential leaders.
1:50
Discover how a man born into slavery became one of the nation’s most influential leaders.
3:01
A brilliant orator, Douglass becomes famous for his moving speeches against slavery.
3:07
The new law empowers the government to capture and return previously enslaved people.
3:49
The young, rebellious Douglass is sent to the brutal “slave breaker,” Edward Covey.
1:00
The filmmakers discuss the life of Frederick Douglass.
3:54
Young Frederick Douglass is sent to work in the overseer’s house where he learns to read.
4:14
Douglass starts the newspaper The North Star, an independent Black voice for abolition.
4:10
Douglass meets Anna Murray and they plot his escape to the North to build a life together.
2:20
Douglass uses the power of his image to challenge white stereotypes of African Americans.