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I'm Shirley Griffith. And I'm Steve Ember with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we tell about Frederick Douglass. He was born a slave, but later became one of America's greatest leaders. He was an activist, a writer, a powerful speaker and an advisor to President Abraham Lincoln.

Frederick Douglass suffered severe physical and mental abuse during his many years as a slave. He dreamed of one day learning to read and being free. He believed knowledge would lead the way to freedom. Douglass wrote several books about his life as a slave. In eighteen forty-five he wrote "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave." It became an immediate best seller and remains popular today.

Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born around eighteen eighteen in Tuckahoe, Maryland, near the Chesapeake Bay. Many slaves lived on large farms owned by white people. Each plantation was like a small village owned by one family who lived in a large house on the property.

Frederick and his mother, Harriet Bailey, were slaves on a huge plantation owned by Colonel Edward Lloyd. Their slave owner was a white man named Captain Aaron Anthony. Frederick knew very little about his father, except that he was a white man. Many believed Captain Anthony was his father.

Frederick did not know his mother well. Harriet Bailey was sent to work on another plantation when Frederick was very young. She was able to visit him only a few times. She died when Frederick was about seven years old.
Frederick then lived with his grandparents, Betsey and Isaac Bailey. He said that his grandparents had a loving home and were respected by other slaves in the area. Because of this, he did not realize at first that someone owned him and the others---that they were slaves.
It was not unusual for African-American families to be separated, often never seeing each other again. Slaves were not treated as human beings. Slave owners bought and traded them as if they were animals or property. Frederick had to leave his grandparents' home when he was six years old. He later wrote about that day. He said being forced to leave was one of the most painful experiences in his life. He said he began to understand the evil and oppressive system of slavery.

In eighteen twenty-six, Frederick was sent to work for Hugh Auld, in Baltimore, Maryland. Mister Auld's wife, Sophia, was very kind to Frederick. She treated him as if he were a member of her family. Missus Auld soon began to teach Frederick to read. Her husband became extremely angry and ordered her to stop immediately. Slaves were denied education. Mister Auld said if slaves could read they would rebel and run away.

Sophia Auld stopped teaching Frederick to read. But he learned to read from white boys he met in the city. The boys also told Frederick he had the right to be free.
Mister Auld sent Frederick to work for a poor farmer, Edward Covey, who beat him often. In eighteen thirty-six, Frederick made an attempt to escape. But he failed and was arrested. He was sent back to the home of Hugh and Sophia Auld home in Baltimore.

He met and fell in love with a free black woman named Anna Murray. Miz Murray had a job cleaning other people's homes. She gave Frederick money to help him escape by getting on a train to New York City.

"My free life began on the third of September, eighteen thirty-eight. On the morning of the fourth of that month, I found myself in the big city of New York, a free man. For the moment the dreams of my youth and the hopes of my manhood where completely fulfilled. The bonds that held me to "old master" were broken. No man now had the right to call me his slave or try to control me."

When Frederick Bailey reached New York he changed his name to Frederick Douglass to hide his identity from slave capturers. Anna Murray joined him and they were married. They settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts and had five children.
Frederick Douglass became one of the most important leaders of the abolitionist movement to end slavery in the United States.

In eighteen forty-one, he attended the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society meeting in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Douglass was unexpectedly asked to give a speech to describe his experiences as a slave. He had not prepared a speech but he spoke to the huge gathering of people anyway. Most of the supporters were white. He spoke with great emotion in a deep and powerful voice. The crowd praised him.

After that speech, The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society asked Douglass to travel to cities throughout the North. He continued to tell about his cruel and oppressive life as a slave. He told how slave owners beat slaves everyday. How slaves were given very little food to eat. How they worked all day in the fields during dangerously hot weather. How they slept on cold floors and had very little clothing.

Many who heard his story challenged its truthfulness. They refused to believe that Frederick Douglass was ever a slave. Instead, they thought he was an educated man who created the entire story.

In eighteen forty-four, Douglass began writing his life's story. "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave" was published the following year. He later published expanded versions of his book.

Frederick Douglass wrote his first book partly to prove that he had lived through the horrible situations he described in his speeches. He was asked to speak at the Independence Day celebration in Rochester, New York in eighteen fifty-two. He noted the differences of how blacks and whites considered Independence Day.

"The purpose of this celebration is the Fourth of July. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom... This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may celebrate. I must mourn...What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him more than all other days in the year, the horrible discrimination and punishment to which he is the everyday victim...There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States at this very hour."

In eighteen sixty-one the American Civil War began. Frederick Douglass and many others saw slavery as the cause of the war. Douglass wanted blacks to be permitted to join the Union Army. However, Northern whites, including President Abraham Lincoln, were against it. They said black soldiers would harm the spirit of white soldiers. They believed black soldiers were not intelligent.

Two years later, blacks were permitted to join the Union Army, but they were not treated as soldiers. Although they showed bravery they were given less important jobs. Douglass met with President Lincoln in Washington to discuss the issue. Douglass urge that black soldiers be treated equal to white soldiers. Although President Lincoln agreed, he said there could be no immediate change.

In eighteen sixty-five, the Civil War ended. The Union forces had defeated the South. A few months later President Lincoln was killed. And later that year, slavery was ended.
Frederick Douglass went on to hold several positions in the government, including United States Marshall of the District of Columbia. He never stopped his efforts to gain equality for all people. Historians say Douglass gave two thousand speeches and wrote thousands of articles and letters. His work as an activist also included women's rights. On February twentieth, eighteen ninety-five, he gave a speech at the National Council of Women. Later that day, he returned to his home in Washington and died of heart failure at the age of seventy-eight.

Frederick Douglass ended his "book My Bondage, My Freedom" with these words:
"I shall labor in the future as I have labored in the past, to work for the honorable, social, religious, and intellectual position of the free colored people; while Heaven lends me ability, to use my voice, my pen or my vote to support the great and most important work of the complete and unconditional freedom of my entire race."

重点解析

1.mental abuse 精神虐待

Husbands feel mental abuse is harder to bear than physical violence, and are reluctant to inform the police.
对男性而言，精神摧残比身体折磨更难忍受，而男性遭遇家庭暴力也通常不会报案。

2.lead the way to 引路

The results may lead the way to new therapies for speech disorders.
该结果很可能会开辟一条治疗言语障碍的新疗法。

3.best seller 畅销书

Obviously, though, many women like it because it's still a best seller.
然而明显的是许多女人喜欢它是因为它仍是一本畅销书。

4.oppressive 压迫的；压抑的

My memory unavoidably recurred to former times with a sort of oppressive sadness.
我不可避免地怀着一种压抑的悲哀回忆往日。

5.He said being forced to leave was one of the most painful experiences in his life.

be forced to 被迫

Or in an emergency you might be forced to sell it.
或者你遇到紧急情况，你就要被迫卖掉它。

6.In eighteen thirty-six, Frederick made an attempt to escape.

make an attempt 试图

But we will gamely make an attempt to sum up the features, nonetheless.
下面我们尝试对它的功能进行一个总结。

参考译文

我是雪利·格里菲思。我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。这里是VOA慢速英语《美国人物志》栏目。今天我们将讲述弗雷德里克·道格拉斯的故事。

他出生于奴隶家庭，但此后却成为了美国最伟大的领导者之一。他是一名积极分子、作家、有影响力的演讲者还是亚伯拉罕·林肯总统的顾问。在作为奴隶的多年里，弗雷德里克·道格拉斯遭受了身体和精神上的严重虐待。他梦想着有一天能够学习读书，也渴望着自由。他相信知识能够指明自由的道路。道格拉斯写过几本讲述他奴隶时期的书。1845年，他写了名为《弗雷德里克·道格拉斯生平记述：一个美国奴隶》的书籍，并立马成为最畅销的书籍，至今仍受追捧。

1818年左右，弗雷德里克·道格拉斯生于切萨皮克湾附近的马里兰弗吉尼亚州。许多奴隶靠着在白人的农场工作为生。每片农场都像是一个家族的小村庄，这些家族都居住在自己的大房子里。

弗雷德里克和他的母亲哈丽特·贝利是爱德华·劳埃德上校庄园中的奴隶。他们的主人是一名叫做艾伦·安东尼的上尉。弗雷德里克对他的父亲知之甚少，只知道他是白人。许多人都认为艾伦·安东尼的上尉是他的父亲。弗雷德里克也不是很了解自己的母亲。在弗雷德里还很小的时候，哈丽特·贝利就被送至了另一家农场。 她不能常来看自己的儿子。大概在弗雷德里克7岁的时候，哈丽特·贝利就去世了。

之后弗雷德里克和他的祖父母贝齐和伊萨克·巴别尔生活在一起。他说祖父母的家很温馨，他们在那片地区也很受其他奴隶尊重。因此，起初他并没有意识到他是别人所有物也不知道他们都是奴隶。

非洲裔美国家庭的分离是很平常的事情，通常他们都再也不能见到彼此了。奴隶不被当做人来看待。奴隶主人将他们当做动物或财产一样售卖。6岁时，弗雷德里克不得不离开祖父母家。之后他对那一天进行了描写。他说被强迫离开是他一生中最痛苦的经历之一。他表示自己开始理解了奴隶制的丑恶和压迫。

1826年，弗雷德里克被送往马里兰巴尔的摩为休·奥尔德工作。奥尔德先生的妻子索菲亚对弗雷德里克很好。她将弗雷德里克当做自己的家人。很快奥尔德夫人开始教弗雷德里克读书。她的丈夫非常生气并命令她立刻停止。奴隶不应接受教育。奥尔德先生表示如果奴隶可以读书，他们就会反叛并逃跑。索菲亚·奥尔德没有再教弗雷德里克读书。但是他开始向一个认识的白人男孩学习读书。这个男孩也告诉弗雷德里克他有自由的权利。奥尔德先生将弗雷德里克送至一个更加贫穷的家庭为爱德华·科维工作，这家人经常殴打他。1836年，弗雷德里克企图逃走。但是却失败被捕了。他被送回巴尔的摩休和索菲亚·奥尔德的家里。

他遇见了一位名叫安娜·默里的自由黑人姑娘，他们相爱了。默里的工作是替别人家打扫卫生。她给弗雷德里克钱帮助他登上了开往纽约的火车。“我的自由开始于1838年9月的第三天。这个月的第四天清晨，我发现自己身处纽约的大城市，我是一个自由的人了。那时，童年的梦想和成年的希望都实现了。“旧时主人”的枷锁被打破了。现在没有人称我为奴隶，也没权控制我。”当弗雷德里克·贝利到达纽约时，他将自己的名字改成弗雷德里克·道格拉斯以隐藏自己的身份逃避奴隶捕手的追捕。安娜·默里和他相聚并结婚。他们在马萨诸塞州新贝德福德定居，还有了五个孩子。

弗雷德里克·道格拉斯成为了美国废奴运动最重要领导者之一。1841年，他参加了马萨诸塞州楠塔基特岛的马萨诸塞州反奴隶制协会会议。没想到道格拉斯被要求发表演讲，描述自己作为奴隶的经历。他没有准备演讲，但是他还是在众人前讲述了自己的经历。多数支持者为白人。他的声音低沉有利，他的演讲充满感情。众人皆称赞他。那次演讲之后，马萨诸塞州反奴隶制协会让道格拉斯进行全北城市演讲。他继续讲述自己作为奴隶所遭遇的残酷压迫的生活。他讲述了奴隶主每天是如殴打奴隶的。给奴隶的食物很少。他们是如何在酷暑中在户外工作的。以及他们如何在冰冷的地板入睡且衣不蔽体。许多听过他讲述的人都质疑故事的真实性。他们拒绝相信弗雷德里克·道格拉斯曾经是个奴隶。相反，他们认为弗雷德里克·道格拉斯是一名受过教育的男性，这个故事是他编造的。1844年，道格拉斯写下了他的生活传记。《弗雷德里克·道格拉斯生平记述：一个美国奴隶》在下一年出版。之后，他出版了该书的扩充版。弗雷德里克·道格拉斯写书的部分原因是为了证明他演讲中的那些可怕的境况是自己的真实经历。

1852年，他被要求在纽约罗契斯特市的独立日庆典上演讲。他注意到了黑人和白人对独立日的不同看法。“庆典的目的是为了庆祝美国独立日。这是你们的国家独立日也是你们的政治自由日... 美国独立纪念日是你们的，不是我们的。你们会庆祝。但我必须哀悼。对美国奴隶而言，独立纪念日是什么？我回答：对受害者而言，这一天揭露了更加可怕的歧视和惩罚...此时此刻，地球上没有任何一个国家比美国人的罪恶勾当更加令人震惊和血腥。”

1861年，美国内战开始了。弗雷德里克·道格拉斯和其他人认为奴隶制是这场战争的起因。道格拉斯希望允许黑人加入同盟军。但是包括亚伯拉罕·林肯总统在内的北部白人则反对。他们说黑人士兵会破坏白人士兵的士气。他们认为黑人士兵不够聪明。两年后，黑人被允许加入同盟军，但却没有被当成士兵对待。虽然他们展现出了自己的勇敢，却很少被赋予重职。道格拉斯和林肯总统在华盛顿会面谈论了这个问题。道格拉斯强烈要求黑人士兵和白人士兵被平等对待。虽然亚伯拉罕·林肯总统同意了，但却表示无法立即做出改变。

1865年内战结束。同盟军击败南方军队。几个月后，林肯总统遭杀害。同年后期，奴隶制被废除。弗雷德里克·道格拉斯继续坚守在政府中的少数职位，包括哥伦比亚特区美国元帅。他从未停止为所有人争取平等的努力。

历史学家表示道格拉斯做了两千场演讲，写了数千篇文章和信件。他是一名积极分子，也为女性权利发声。1895年2月20日，他在美国妇女委员会演讲。那天晚些时候，他返回位于华盛顿的家中并死于心力衰竭，享年78岁。弗雷德里克·道格拉斯在《我的束缚，我的自由》一书的结尾写到：“上天赐予了我一种能力，让我用自己的声音、钢笔以及投票权去完成我们整个种族完整且无条件自由的伟大且重要的工作而努力；但不论在未来还是过去，我都在劳苦工作，为了自由的有色人种他们的荣耀、社会、宗教以及知识立场而工作。”

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