Frederick Douglassabolitionist, writer, political activist, reformerhas been called the most important AfricanAmerican of the 1800s.He was also the most photographed American of the 1800s.Douglass, who escaped enslavement to work tirelessly on behalf of his fellow AfricanAmericans, realized the importance of photography in ending slavery and achieving civil rights.The many portraits of Douglass showed the world what freedom and dignity looked like.