Answer: Frederick Douglass was a prominent African American abolitionist and writer who escaped from slavery in a early 1800s. After his escape, many people doubted that he had ever been illiterate or a slave because of his exceptional eloquence and literary skills.
Some people believed that a former slave would not have been able to develop the kind of literacy and rhetorical skills that Douglass possessed. Others were skeptical of his story because it was difficult for them to imagine someone with his abilities having been subjected to the dehumanizing conditions of slavery.