 Just over 100 years ago, a peculiar institution existed in our country. It was called slavery. A vicious system under which one out of every five Americans in the South was owned by another human being. Even though Americans, black and white, had fought and won a glorious revolution under the banner of freedom and justice for all, there was still to be no freedom, no justice for these millions of African Americans. Men, women, children of people stolen from their distant homeland and shipped like animals to do forced labor for masters who all too often treated them like animals. It was on a mound implantation around 1818 that Frederick Douglass was born a slave. When he was eight years old, he was sent to work for a well-to-do family in Baltimore. For a brief period, young Frederick Douglass had an unusually kind mistress. She decided to teach the boy to read. What in God's name do you think you're doing? If you give a nigger an inch, he will take a mile. If you teach that nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever ruin him to be a slave. We carried you here to take care of Thomas. To learn a trade when you're bigger. Ain't no need for you to be reading, boy. No need at all. Frederick Douglass learned an important lesson that day. Knowledge is a key to freedom. He taught himself to read, often without anyone even realizing what he was doing. But as he grew older, there would be other lessons to learn. Knowledge by itself was not enough protection against the brutality of the slave system. A two-hour-long battle with the slave breaker, Colvy, was a turning point in Douglass's life. So you mean to resist me a scoundrel? Yes, sir. He had learned another very important lesson. Colvy, the fierce slave breaker, never whipped Frederick Douglass again. Frederick Douglass meant Anna Murray. They fell in love. All so wills, I can be sold and shipped a thousand miles from here. I shall not marry you as a slave. Then I reckon you should go up north. Got some belongings I can sell. I love what a New York train. Douglass' escape from slavery was successful, and Anna soon followed him to Massachusetts. He quickly joined a movement that was committed to the destruction of slavery. Its supporters were called abolitionists. I resolved then that whatever power I had should be devoted to the free of my race. To a thing, a piece of property, or to a man, this man to be carried back into slavery. He found himself in the company of brave men and women, black and white, under the leadership of William Lloyd Garrison. I don't believe you've met Mr. Garrison. I'm honored, sir. I was deeply moved by your address. You have a great gift, Mr. Douglass. Thank you, Mr. Garrison. Say you never had any formal schooling. No, sir. Not even after you escaped? No, sir. I've been teaching myself ever since I was a youngster. Amazing. Really, uh... Mr. Douglass, Mr. Collins and Mr. Ramon and I were just discussing your becoming an agent for the society. Traveling is a lecturer, if you will. Mr. Garrison, I've hardly the ability to speak. Oh, nonsense. You speak with full conviction and authority. No, Senator Calvin. No slavery can apply. No human contract, no agreement can save the accursed system of human bondage from the death and decay to which God and nature have doomed it. For many years, Douglass and Garrison traveled throughout the free states and territories, though it meant endangering their own lives. Sorry to disturb you like this. I should have known it. The very thing we were afraid of has happened. But we never dreamed the reaction would be this great. Your book, my dear fellow. You've named your masters, you've marked yourself for the fugitive catchers, my dear man. Douglass wrote his autobiography, revealing names and places, although this meant a greater risk to his life and freedom. The book was an instant success, not only in America, but in Europe as well. You've talked of taking our message to Great Britain. Yes. This seems a propitious time for such a journey. Getting time for this trouble to blow over. Frederick, Mr. Garrison may be right. Slavery is the common enemy of all mankind. Douglass fled to England. For two years, he traveled and lectured throughout Great Britain and Ireland. Wherever he went, he was welcomed with open arms. To expose it to the light of heaven, eye to the heat of the sun, that it may burn and wither out of existence, that is my reason for coming to this country. His fiery speeches won many of the English people over to the abolitionist cause. British friends put up the money to buy his freedom. When he returned home to America, he was no longer a slave. With the help of English supporters, Douglass started an anti-slavery newspaper in Rochester, New York. He called it The North Star. Yes, Papa. The paper was named after the same star that guided thousands of slaves on their dangerous journey from the south in search of freedom. Some, like Harriet Tubman, risked their lives many times returning south to lead hundreds of people off the plantations. Oh, there's sure a welcome site. The Douglass Home and Printing Shop often served as a welcome station stop on the underground railroad. I'm so honored, Mrs. Tubman. I've heard so much about you. Even in England, your work is known. I'm just an old lady that loves doing a lot of walking in the great outdoors. And she's fond of bloodhounds, too. One of Douglass' closest comrades in the struggle against slavery was a man named John Brown, a man who would lead the historic and daring raid on Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Seize the town? Yes. First, we'll capture the army officer. Then we'll hold the leading citizens hostage until the slaves are freed. John, you know I have supported and will continue to support even all of your other efforts. But, my dear friend, this scheme is doomed to failure. This is the wrong place. This is suicide, John. Whether we live or die, it must be done. Shields for the love of God. Mr. Douglass, I believe I'll go with the old man. Both men were right. The raid on Harper's Ferry sent shockwaves throughout the nation. But, as Douglass had predicted, it caused John Brown his life. The Civil War came. The peculiar institution of slavery had split our country apart. North against South. Brother against Brother. Dividing families in one of the bloodiest conflicts in mankind's history. Douglass recruited black soldiers, worked tirelessly for the Union cause, and vigorously supported President Abraham Lincoln, though he was not always in agreement with the President's policies. Mr. President, the Negro soldier is willing to fight and die in this great war. But he must receive some sign from this administration that he simply isn't exchanging one form of oppression for another. Mr. Douglass, if this administration goes too far, we will bring down upon ourselves all of the hatred that is felt toward the Negro. This would greatly hinder our ability to successfully conclude this war, for we, both of us, have much to gain in this regard. Eventually, the Union was preserved, and most importantly, the chains of slavery were at long last cut from the arms and legs of millions of African Americans. But, unfortunately, the end of slavery, emancipation, did not mean the end of oppression, hatred, and violence. But Papa, President Johnson said that... Rosanna, I fear Andrew Johnson is no friend of the Negro people. Frederick! You mean we've been suffering all these trials for all these years for nothing? Without the vote? Liberty's a mockery. The Negro will no longer be a slave to an individual master. He will be a slave to society and at the mercy of the mob. Though the Douglas Home in Rochester was burned to the ground, the family escaped, unharmed. Spirit of murder. Spirit that would burn a family in their beds. But one thing I know, and that is, there is no middle ground for us. We must either have all the rights of American citizens, or we must be exterminated. For we shall never again be slaves. President Hayes appointed Douglas U.S. Marshall for the District of Columbia. He and his family moved to Washington. In 1877, he purchased a new home. He called it Cedar Hill. Do you like it, Anna? Well, President Hayes wouldn't have the United States Marshall for the District of Columbia living in a log cabin. Mr. Lincoln lived in a log cabin. In 1882, Anna Marie Douglas died after a long illness. You must be terribly lonely now with Anna gone. Harriet, Anna was the anchor of my life for 40 years. I have Rosetta, Charles, Louis, Fred, and I have my work. I hope this is hard enough for you. Thank you, Rosetta. Miss Bitts? Yes, Mr. Douglas. I understand you enjoy Bob. Is that so? Very much, Mr. Douglas. Perhaps, perhaps you would mind accompanying me to the concert tonight. Sometime later, Douglas decided to remarry. His bride was Helen Pitts. I'll have to get back to my correspondence. The interracial nature of the marriage caused national debate. This controversy reached into Douglas' own family. Papa, I speak for the entire family. Could you do such a terrible thing? Rosetta, is it so terrible? For an old man to seek comfort of a loving wife. We all have the right to follow the convictions of our hearts. Why not to marry Helen simply because she happens to be white? Go to my grave a self-accused and self-convicted moral coward. Even in old age, Douglas retained his deep commitment to freedom's cause. He remained a passionate spokesman for human rights for all people. Mr. Douglas, how would you sum up your involvement in the women's cause? When I ran away from slavery, it was for myself. I advocated emancipation. It was for my people. But when I stood up for the rights of women, so it was out of the question and I found a little nobility in the act. Hello, Mr. Douglas. Hello. I'm Martin Andrew. I heard you speak last week in Mount Olive. Oh, yes. That was an inspiring affair. Can I talk to you for a moment, Mr. Douglas? Well, Martin... Sir, you lived in the old days when our people were slaves and in the new times both. But it seems like all those rights that were supposed to have won are being taken away from us. What advice would you have for a young fellow like me who wants all people to live in liberty and justice? Agitate. Agitate. It is February 20th, 1895, the day on which Frederick Douglass will pass away. His courageous fighting spirit, his dedication to the cause of human rights and freedom, live on. Agitate. If there is no struggle, there is no progress. The struggle may be a moral or it may be a physical one. And it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Horror concedes nothing without a demand. I have little hope. Never did. Never will. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those you may have. Why did you invite me here to speak on this occasion? To mock me? What to the American slave is your Fourth of July? They have neither ears nor hearts for the appeals of justice and humanity. Slavery is the common enemy of all mankind. One of those monsters of darkness to whom the light of truth is dead let us never forget that justice to the Negro is safety to the nation.