Frederick Douglass was a slave, who was also a very intellectual African American. His entire youth marked him as he became more educated. For this research, I will examine the impact of education on the life of Frederick Douglass. Education was important to Douglass because it helped him achieve freedom. Education also impacted his life by allowing him to have a say during the Civil War. This article will explore why education was an important factor in Douglass' life and how he used his education to make changes. Frederick Douglass is important to historians because he was an African-American historical figure and played a very important role in the abolitionist movement. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayLiterature ReviewIn Frederick Douglass's early life, he never knew his father, he only knew that he was a white man. He has only seen his mother a few times in his entire life and has never really gotten to know her because she was sold when he was a child. Frederick Douglass wasn't always his name. According to Gale Biographies: Popular People, "He named his son Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey...". It developed its name much later. His first owner was very aggressive and violent. As a boy, he witnessed the brutal attack of his aunt by his master and soon after this incident he was given to another slaver. Given his childhood background, changing his name was a way of freedom. Furthermore, Frederick Douglass did not have the right to read, but his second master's wife, Mrs. Auld, taught him. When her husband discovered that his wife was teaching Douglass to read, he forbade it. After learning the alphabet and little words, he learned to read and write. Barnes states, “With this background his self-education began.” He soon realized that education could be his path to freedom. Being an intellectual allowed him to have a say before and during the Civil War. Additionally, his involvement during the Civil War was to eliminate slavery. He argued that the abolition of slavery should be a goal of war. Through education, Douglass had an impact on movements, such as the abolitionist movement and the women's suffrage movement. According to Gale Biographies: Popular People, in 1838, he borrowed the protection papers of an African-American sailor and, impersonating the sailor, managed to escape to New York. His self-taught and sophisticated way of speaking had inspired some Harvard students who influenced him to write an autobiography about his life. His autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, was published in 1845. In his later life, he used his education to publish petitions for racial equality and full civil rights for African Americans. She also campaigned for women's suffrage. In Barnes' words, Douglass fled to Massachusetts in 1838 where he became involved in the Massachusetts Antislavery Society and took the name, Douglass. It was then that he adopted the name Douglass and was able to move away from his slave name. He was persistent in the fight against slavery, particularly through his speeches. He saw the war as an opportunity to achieve racial equality. Douglass had campaigned for Abraham Lincoln and asked him to make liberation an issue during the war. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation not only made the abolition of slavery an issue in the Civil War, but served.