––––Frederick Douglass was born into slavery, but with a life of work he became one of the most influential abolitionists and authors of the 1800s. Douglass's early life consisted of moving and dating different masters. When Douglass finally escaped slavery, he spent time speaking about his life as a slave at abolitionist conventions. Douglass later wrote autobiographies explaining his life as a slave. Frederick Douglass was an influential abolitionist who did everything in his power to abolish slavery.––––Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born in February 1818 on the Holms Hill farm in Tuckahoe, Maryland. He is quoted as saying, "I don't remember ever meeting a slave who could tell his birthday" (Gutenburg.org). Douglass' mother was a slave named Harriet Bailey; he was separated from her at an early age. He never had the chance to know his father or see him because his father was supposedly a slaver. Like every other slave, Douglass had no particular childhood, was illiterate and moved around without ever having a single master. First he was forced to work with a horrible and cruel man named Captain AaronAnthony. Later in 1825, Anthony sold Douglass to another owner, named Hugh Auld, who lived in Baltimore, Maryland. (Noteablebiographies.com)––––Douglass' life improved a little when he was sold to the Auld family. His wife, Sofia Auld, treated Douglass very kindly, taught him the alphabet and read him the Bible. Mrs. Auld was not inclined towards slavery because she had grown up in a poor family before marrying her husband, Hugh, so she did not know that she should not teach Douglass to read. When her husband discovered that Douglass was learning to read, he was angry. He told his son... halfway down a sheet of paper... that you're a free man, right? around the world." A quick glance at the newspaper satisfied the conductor, he took Douglass's ticket and passed it on to the other passengers. This moment was one of the most anxious Douglass had ever experienced. (Americaslibrary.gov) If the conductor had looked closely enough at Douglas's document, he would have noticed that Douglass did not fit the description. If this happened, Douglass would be sent back to slavery in Baltimore. Furthermore, the friend from whom Douglass had borrowed the seaman's certificate would have been in serious trouble.––––As we know, Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey changed his name to Frederick Douglass. The reason he had to change his name is because he was a former slave who later turned out to be an anti-slavery leader in 1800.