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The Fugitive Slave Law

Season 1 Episode 1 | 3m 07s

The passage of the Fugitive Slave Law empowers the government — and everyday “slave catchers” — to recapture any previously enslaved people and return them to their former enslavers. Becoming Frederick Douglass is produced and directed by Stanley Nelson and Nicole London and features Wendell Pierce as the voice of Douglass.

Corporate Funding for Becoming Frederick Douglass was provided by Bowie State University, DIRECTV and Pfizer, Inc..
Extras
Young Frederick Douglass is sent to work in the overseer’s house where he learns to read.
Douglass uses the power of his image to challenge white stereotypes of African Americans.
The filmmakers discuss the life of Frederick Douglass.
A brilliant orator, Douglass becomes famous for his moving speeches against slavery.
Douglass meets Anna Murray and they plot his escape to the North to build a life together.
The young, rebellious Douglass is sent to the brutal “slave breaker,” Edward Covey.
Douglass starts the newspaper The North Star, an independent Black voice for abolition.
Discover how a man born into slavery became one of the nation’s most influential leaders.
Discover how a man born into slavery became one of the nation’s most influential leaders.
Latest Episodes
Discover how a man born into slavery became one of the nation’s most influential leaders.