The skill that Fredick Douglass learned early in life that changed his life forever was <u>reading and writing.</u>
At the age of twelve (In 1818), Douglas received tutoring from his owner's wife, Sofia, but later she quit it due to her husband's disapproval. However, he secretly continued learning to read and write from white children in his neighborhood, and by observing the writings of the men with whom he worked.
The knowledge he received from the books, essays, newspapers, etc. he read, helped him develop his opinion about freedom, slavery, and human rights. Such skill contributed to strengthening his character, criticism, and knowledge that later made him a leading orator, writer, and leader in the abolitionist movement, and advocator of equality and human rights until his death in 1895.
