What is the significance of Fredrick Douglass

Frederick Douglass is significant as the most prominent
black abolitionist of the time before the Civil War.  Douglass was himself an escaped
slave who then became a major figure in the abolitionist
movement.

Although his exact date of birth is not know,
Douglass believed that he was born in February 1817.  He was born a slave in Maryland. 
In 1838, Douglass escaped from slavery.  He did so by borrowing papers from a free black
man and simply getting on a train and going to New
York.

After escaping from slavery, Douglass ended up as an
abolitionist speaker.  This career started when he met William Lloyd Garrison in 1841. 
Garrison was the major figure in the abolitionist movement at the
time.

Frederick Douglass, then, is significant as the most
important African-American figure in the abolitionist movement.