On February 20th, 1895 Frederick Douglass died in the nation's capital following a massive heart attack. Born into slavery, Douglass was never certain of his precise birth-date but conjectured that he was born on February 14th, 1818 at his grandmother's shack east of Tappers Corner, Maryland. For my money Douglass along with Lincoln were the two most influential figures in 19th century America. Many of the founders lived into the 1800's, including, famously, Jefferson and John Adams who both passed on July 4th, 1826. But the founders were decidedly men of the 18th century. It is to Douglass and Lincoln, profound thinkers, earnest moralists and soaring wordsmiths (and in Douglass' case, orator) that we primarily owe the greatest achievement of their age, the slaying of the asp in America's garden, slavery. And though we still struggle in this country with the legacy of the "peculiar institution" without the moral power of Douglass and the political power of Lincoln, the Nation might not have survived it's passing.