Need some help with some questions on him and other slaves during his time. Why did he run away and earn his freedom, while most other slaves did not? What made him different from his peers?
Frederick was different than many of his peers (slaves) because he was educated. He'd had far more freedom while living in Baltimore than the family he'd left behind in Easton where he was born. He felt from an early age that being able to read and write would be necessary to gain his freedom, and that was what he focused on.
The end of Frederick's slavery came in the person of Hugh Auld, his former master who got him out of jail, but didn't realize what the end result would be. He brought him home to heal his wounds from a ferocious beating, got him a job as an apprentice at a shipyard, and promised him freedom if he'd work hard until the age of 23. Frederick didn't trust him, so he ran way regardless.
Frederick borrowed money to get himself to Philadelphia, and then onto New York. By the time he reached New York City he knew he was safe.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself
