Frederick Douglass escaped slavery as a young man and became one of the most powerful writers and speakers in American history. He taught himself to read and write in secret, then spent his life fighting for the freedom of enslaved people and for equal rights for all — deliberately sitting for photographs to present Black Americans with dignity, making him the most photographed American of the entire 19th century, more than even Abraham Lincoln. His speeches and autobiography remain some of the most important writings in American history.