Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln shared an unusual friendship based on the difficulties Fredrick had in life and the influence Abraham had on the country and slavery as a whole. Both Douglass and Lincoln wanted slavery to end. Both had strong influences and ties to slavery. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayFredrick Douglass had a very hard life growing up as a slave. He witnessed the beating of other slaves, but he never hit as a child. As a child he realized that he wouldn't be able to get out of the situation he ended up in. He had a lot of time to himself, which made him witness to many things such as the deaths of other adult slaves. “To be accused was to be convicted, and to be convicted was to be punished.” (Douglass 18) Mr. Gore (one of Colonel Lloyd's overseers) used to beat the slaves, no matter how guilty or innocent they were. Mr. "Gore was a serious man, and although he was young, he never told jokes, said no funny words, rarely smiled." (Douglass 19) This made Douglass realize that people were really cruel and didn't care about anyone who was a slave. After leaving Col Lloyds' plantation, Fredrick Douglass was sent to live with Master Hugh's family. "The mistress, teaching me the alphabet, had given me the thumb, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell." (Douglass 33) While living on the plantation, Hugh's wife taught Douglass his ABCs. As soon as Master Hugh found out what his wife was doing, he forbade her to teach him anything else. From then on he slowly began to teach himself to read. It was so bad whenever Hugh's family felt like the Douglas was alone, they felt like he was away trying to learn. Growing up with a lot of white friends made him a little jealous and angry that he had to be a slave for the rest of his life. “You will be free as soon as you are twenty-one, but I am a slave for life” (Douglass 34). He also used many of his white friends as teachers where he learned more and more. “I often found myself regretting my very existence and wishing to die; and if it had not been for the hope of being free, I have no doubt that I would have killed myself, or done something for which I should have been killed. (Douglass 36) The thought of being a slave forever was killing him and he was very depressed. “Frederick Douglass never lost faith in the possibility of human improvement. He confronted, argued, pleaded, bluffed, threatened and cheated, using whatever tactics might work in a particular situation. No aspect of human oppression escaped his concern or compassion. "(Abraham Lincoln and Frederick) Through it all, Douglass remained strong and fought for his freedom. He eventually freed himself and wrote many different writings about his time as a slave that influenced many whites and blacks to realize how evil slavery truly was . Abraham Lincoln was very influential until the end of slavery. "As a young man, Abraham Lincoln had witnessed the slave system when he twice traveled down the Mississippi River on a raft to New Orleans." Lincoln always hated the injustice of slavery since he was a child. As a young man he had many African American friends, even his barber was African American. Lincoln knew what involuntary servitude meant. It was simply unfair for someone to work for someone and it was wrong not to give to someone a just.