Abolitionists Speak Out Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland in approximately 1818. After
several unsuccessful attempts, Douglass escaped from slavery and eventually settled in
Massachusetts. In 1845, he wrote his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, which had a profound influence on the movement
to abolish slavery. Harriet Jacobs was born in North Carolina in 1813. Like Douglass,
Jacobs was born into slavery. She eventually escaped and settled in New York. Also like
Douglass, she wrote an autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, which
revealed the horrors of life under slavery. Both Douglass and Jacobs went on to become
vocal supporters of the antislavery movement.
What is the main idea of the passage?
Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs both escaped from slavery in the
1800s.
The antislavery movement wouldn't have existed without autobiographies like
Frederick Douglassis and Harriet Jacobsls