Causes of the Civil War: Frederick DouglassBorn into slavery and fathered by an unknown white man, "Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey" was born in Maryland around 1818. He was raised by his grandparents and with an aunt, having only seen her mother a handful of times before she died. It was during this time that he witnessed firsthand the cruelty of the institution of slavery: whippings, exposure to the elements, and starvation. When he was eight years old he left for Baltimore, and it was there that his master's understanding wife taught him to read and write. When he recounted the move later in his life, he said, "Going to live in Baltimore, laid the foundation and opened the door to all my subsequent prosperity." Typically slave owners would prevent slaves from becoming literate. And Douglass' master often punished his wife for teaching the slaves the alphabet because it made them disobedient. Bondage means you must remain ignorant, but freedom means you have been enlightened. He would fight, but he knew that knowledge was more than power, it was freedom. After escaping slavery on September 3, 1838 and fleeing to New York, he joined various abolitionist groups and in 1841 met white abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison, who became his mentor. Despite many fears that publishing his story would endanger his life as a free man, Douglass published his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written By Himself in 1845. After becoming more independent from Garrison , spoke out against his belief that the Constitution was pro-slavery and argued that it could “be exercised in furtherance of emancipation,” where the federal government had exclusive jurisdiction. Douglass d......middle of paper......from the war and fighting more fiercely. Lincoln was very careful not to underestimate his enemies in the South and sternly advised the American public not to trust too much: “We are not too sanguine of a speedy final triumph. Let us diligently apply the means, never doubting that only God, in His due time, will bring us the right result.” The siege of Vicksburg was in many ways the hardest blow to the South, because there they lost control of the river and communication with their western territories. In many ways, that was the day I think most Southern soldiers believed the war was over, and with Sherman on the march, the psychological impact was devastating. Without their beliefs, their way of life taken away, they had no reason to fight, and no reason to keep fighting because if Old Dixie could fall, so could anyone else..