Chris Van Hollen: “I rise to join my colleague and friend, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, in introducing legislation that would…”

“I rise to join my colleague and friend, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, in introducing legislation that would establish a Bicentennial Commission to honor Frederick Douglass in 2018. Douglass was an extraordinary individual who was enslaved at birth in Talbot County, Maryland. At a young age, Douglass learned to read and write. In 1838 he escaped from Maryland and moved to New York. Then, in 1845, he published his first autobiography called ``The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave''. He later escaped to Great Britain to avoid being tracked down and returned to slavery in Maryland. Ultimately, British Quakers paid for his freedom, which enabled him to return to United States, settling in Baltimore, Maryland in 1847. Frederick Douglass continued to be a strong Abolitionist who campaigned against slavery and in favor of the right to vote throughout the East and Mid-West. In 1850 he oversaw the Underground-Railroad in Rochester, New York. As a Freeman he was able to hold significant positions within the Government. He served as an Advisor to President Lincoln. He was appointed to serve as the District of Columbia Legislative Council, the United States Marshall and the Recorder of Deeds. He subsequently became the Ambassador to Haiti from 1889 to 1891. Despite his extensive travel, Douglass made four trips back to Talbot County, Maryland. He reconciled with Captain Thomas Auld who had enslaved him in the past.…”