Instead of being ignorant, he wanted to acquire knowledge. After escaping slavery, he wrote The Story of the Life of Fredrick Douglass. It is the story of his life from birth to becoming a free man. According to Fredrick Douglass, The story of Fredrick Douglass' life shows how education affected him, society, and the new laws that came into effect. Fredrick Douglass shows how education led him to become a free man. His birthplace is in Maryland to a mother who was also a slave and his father is unknown, he later discovered his father was his master. Growing up, he lived in a white house, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Auld. According to Douglass, "she very kindly began to teach me A, B, C. After she learned that, she helped me learn to spell three or four letter words", this was the start of something again (Douglass). Those few A's, B's, C's were the path to his freedom, however, Mr. Auld was not happy with this situation. He believed it was illegal to let a slave read. He was also a