Through his thousands of passionate and captivating speeches, Fredrick Douglass levied a powerful indictment against slavery and racism, provided an resolute voice of hope for his people, embraced antislavery politics and preached his own idea of American ideals. Many of his speeches continue to be taught, idolized, and remembered for the significance they played in America's history. These speeches include "The Church and Prejudice" , "Fighting Rebels With Only One Hand", and one of his most famous speeches given on the fourth of July.
The travels of Frederick Douglass began after giving a speech in front of several leaders of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. After the first of many passionate speeches, Frederick was offered to become a paid speaker for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, which meant traveling to other cities with its members and speaking at abolitionist meetings. Douglass agreed immediately and thus he was carried away from his simple, domestic life. For the first two years, Douglass spoke at antislavery meeting in towns and cities across New England. However, as he continued to grow in popularity and demand, Douglass was selected to tour New York and other eastern states with important abolitionist leaders such as William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips. As his career progressed, he was then asked to tour the British Isles of Scotland, Ireland, and England where he seemed to be the most successful in his lecture speeches. When he returned to America, Douglass was asked to join yet another lecture tour through Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio before he left to begin his own newspaper, "The North Star."