Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Other Works

By Frederick Douglass

Born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland, Frederick Douglass became a champion of the abolitionist movement after escaping to the North in 1838. Douglass later remarked upon his arrival in New York, I have often been asked how I felt when I first found myself on free soil. And my readers may share the same curiosity.” Readers did indeed share in this curiosity and Douglass became a much-admired orator and writer, active in both the abolitionist and the women’s suffrage movements. Douglass is best remembered through his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written By Himself. This, My Bondage and My Freedom, and several of Douglass’ speeches offer important glimpses into American history and are now available in a chic and affordable edition as part of the Word Cloud Classics series from Canterbury Classics.

This edition includes:
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
My Bondage and My Freedom
"Reception Speech"
"Letter to His Old Master"
"The Nature of Slavery"
"Inhumanity of Slavery"
"What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?"
"The Internal Slave Trade,"
"The Slavery Party"
"The Anti-Slavery Movement"

Lexile score: 1140L

• Language: English
• Publisher: Canterbury Classics
• Release date: May 19, 2014
• ISBN: 9781626861343

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland in 1818. He was separated from his mother as a baby and lived with his grandmother up to the age of eight, when he was sent to live as a house servant, a field hand and then a ship caulker. He escaped to New York in 1838 and seven years later published Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an autobiography of his life as a slave, which became an instant bestseller. Douglass rose to fame as a powerful orator and spent the rest of his life campaigning for equality. He became a national leader of the abolitionist movement, a consultant to Abraham Lincoln in the civil rights movement and a passionate supporter of the women’s rights movement. He died in 1895.

Reviews for Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Other Works

[jeeps-4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What really struck me was how the introductory texts in the preface (written by Douglass's contemporaries and included in the original publication, so I believe they will be in all editions), while sincere and correct, are still fairly inaccessible and overwrought as far as the language is concerned, which has the effect of highlighting the clear, concise wisdom of Frederick Douglass. If you've never read this before and worry it will be dense or inaccessible, don't let that be a stumbling block; the writing is powerful but uncomplicated. Personally, I've read sections of it before in school, but this was my first full read through (even then it's quite short, 122 pages on Kindle). I've always found the idea he presented of slavery itself as a corrupting influence on whites even if they start out with "good" intentions to be really intriguing, so I was hoping for a deeper exploration of that and didn't really find it in the full text. I also completely understand why he omitted the details of how he escaped slavery (the safety of other fleeing slaves who might take the same path), but given that the whole narrative was heading in that direction, it does create an unfortunate disconnect with his story as a narrative at that point. But otherwise the importance of this text is obvious and moving.

[breic-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting story. I only wish there were more details, and that the story went on longer. I especially appreciated Douglass's thoughts on how he changed as a slave, and on how slavery changed individual slaveholders, their society and their religion.

[danielstj · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A fine book.

[mjspear_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First-hand account of African American orator Frederick Douglass' early years as an enslaved person. Essential reading for anyone interested in the history of slavery in America.

[msaucier818 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is one of those books I should have read years ago as a history teacher. I have read excerpts of this and many other slave narratives like it, but I enjoyed this read. Having a good background in the history of the time period, there is nothing new here for me and his story mirrors those of many others. The obvious exception to that would be how he spent his life after he gained his freedom, but this story does not cover that time period.

I imagine that this book had a great impact at the time it was published. Douglas was such a large presence in American politics and abolitionist circles. This book is a great introduction to his story and I would recommend it to any students of history.

[calavari · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Today it seems like common sense that slavery was a horrible institution of which no good follower of Christ could possibly participate in but that was clearly not always the case.

Ok, well, I'd agree with Douglass that though there may have been plenty of slave owners who called themselves by that name, it's hard to believe someone could really understand what it means and participate in a system that routinely oppressed and abused the poor and the orphans and the widows. The idea that people will use any means to justify their horrible acts isn't limited to Christianity nor slavery, and unfortunately not even eras gone by.

I knew coming into the narrative that it would be terrible. Its a book reputed even now to have a played a major role in ending slavery, so there was no way that it was a book that would call entertaining. It doesn't entertain. It informs the reader of the harsh realities of being a slave without signs of embellishments. That said, there was a lot to truly appreciate about Douglass sharing his story and the way in which he did so. Douglass didn't simply share the events of his life but took time fully explaining the surrounding events that contributed to his thoughts and feelings about the situations that he was presented.

As an example of what I mean, he not only talks about each of the employers his owner sent him to work for as a slave, but also discussed at length the differences between them and the way these differences played out in the treatment of slaves as well as the general slave response to them. He also explains the treatments that he was given with both his assumptions about what his owner or employer was attempting to get from and what he actually got from the experience. This level of awareness seems rare these days.

[anisadara36 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my favorite historical figures! Loved learning about his life.

[ebt1002 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a must-read. Written shortly after Douglass escaped from slavery, it chronicles his experiences as a slave. Written from both the head and the heart, Douglass' narrative effectively communicates the despair and rage experienced by one whose life is not his own and the longing for simple self-determination. He also provides a deep insight into the dynamics of slavery as it played out in his various masters, the impact on their humanity, the deceit of self and others, and the deep hypocrisy necessitated by the institution of human bondage. Slavery was not an abstract institution. Conscious human beings were deprived of the most basic human needs, dignity, and ownership of their own selves. To read about the experience by one who grew up in its shackles far exceeds any and all intellectual or philosophical musings on its evil.

[john257hopper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wonderfully evocative account by this former slave of his sufferings, his self-education and growing sense of self-worth and dignity prior to his successful bid for freedom in 1838 (he withholds details of his escape in this first version of his autogiography, so as not to make it harder for other slaves to escape by the same route from Maryland to New York). The author is a very good writer, with a straightforward, yet powerful and moving prose style The white man's view that the black slave is less than human and a mere chattel comes across very clearly in numerous incidents, as does the hypocrisy of much of 19th century American Christianity in upholding the slave regime. A great read.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent introduction to Douglass's life and times for young readers.

[darthdeverell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Frederick Douglass wrote this narrative shortly after his escape from bondage and, as such, it focuses primarily on his life as a slave without much detail on the means by which he effected his escape as such information could put those who helped him in danger. The volume includes a preface from William Lloyd Garrison that outlines the abolitionist goals of the narrative. Douglass' longest chapter details the brutality of slavery, from beatings and whippings to the manner in which slaveholders bred their slaves. Douglass' narrative was first and foremost an abolition narrative with a stated goal. He concludes that he wrote "sincerely and earnestly hoping that this little book may do something toward throwing light on the American slave system and hastening the glad day of deliverance to the millions of my brethren in bonds" (76). While that does not discount the accuracy of what he wrote, readers should read this volume in the context in which Douglass wrote in order to better appreciate the argument he was making for abolition.

[meditationesmartini · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As a white Canadian, I think I have a not very admirable tendency to abstract the hell out of American slavery--to make it about the revolting idea of people owning other people (which it is) and then somehow less about what that meant: the sheer incomprehensible mass of abuses, from the daily sneer to the atrocities of casual, consequenceless rape and murder. Frederick Douglass is the antidote to that, one of the great testifiers to slavery's evil, and a hell of a man. This one's good to read (as a white North American person) any time you start to get tired of bringing to your relations with race, and with race relations, and with your friends and neighbours of other races all your gathered sincerity and humility and care.

[marysgirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In honor of Black History Month, I've been trying to read primarily black authors. I finished Frederick Douglass' Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave and Other Writings (the Fall River Press edition). Douglass gives us an unvarnished account of life under slavery, demolishing one by one contemporary excuses and apologies such as "the slaves were well-cared for because they were valuable property" or "the inferior negro race needed whites to guide them and save their heathen souls." He recounts a story of a slave sold south because he answered honestly when asked if his master treated him well. Douglass says, "The slaveholders have been known to send in spies among their slaves, to ascertain their views and feelings in regard to their condition. The frequency of this has had the effect to establish among the slaves the maxim, that a still tongue makes a wise head...I have been frequently asked, when a slave, if I had a kind master, and do not remember ever to have given a negative answer..." He addresses not only the horrific physical abuses of slavery, but writes with poignancy about the moral and spiritual decay that slavery brings to slave holders. This is a classic of American literature and rebuke to all folks who insist that the Civil War was fought over "heritage."This edition included several essays and presentations by Douglass including a detailed account of his escape from slavery which he didn't include in his initial "Narrative" because those that helped were still living in slave states and might be punished. I particularly liked his "Oration Delivered on the Occasion of the Unveiling of the Freedmen's Monument (In Memory of Abraham Lincoln, in Lincoln Park Washington, D.C, April 14, 1878)" which reminded his black audience that in spite of "the exalted character and great works of Abraham Lincoln, the first martyr President of the United States...He was preeminently the white man's President...ready and willing at any time during the first years of his administration to deny, postpone and sacrifice the rights of humanity in the colored people to promote the welfare of the white people of this country. In all his education and feeling he was an American of the Americans. He came into the Presidential chair upon one principle alone namely the opposition to the extension of slavery." It's an interesting (and by all accounts accurate) take by a contemporary of Lincoln. The words made me flinch, even though I've read several modern biographies which support Douglass' conclusions. Lincoln was a remarkable man, but he was a man of his times. It's good to put history in perspective.A number of the essays become a bit repetitious in tone and content, which is to be expected. In my opinion, the major weakness of the volume is the inclusion of a modern introduction to the book which only summarized the "Narrative"--why bother?--Douglass did a great job of telling his own story. The Preface included two letters by contemporary white abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips which now feel condescending, but at the time must have been necessary to assure (white) readers that this narrative was true and the author worth listening to. In the end, I was glad for the extra material and would recommend finding an edition that includes the "Other Writings."

[dverdecia-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a very compelling story of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. I found it a very interesting read and do recommend it. I also found the story to have an underlying meaning which is why I gave this book high ratings.

The story is one of Frederick Douglass and the trials and tribulations he goes through as an American Slave. All of the oppressions of slavery are here. He spares no expense describing the autrocities committed by his masters throughout the years. There are a few key points to keep in mind, however, as he narrates this story. First of these is that Frederick Douglass is very well educated. The prose in which he tells the story is exquisite. In fact, one can almost call the language charming. He uses the old English style of writing which very easily puts you, the reader, in the mid to late 1800s where the story takes place.

Then, what came as a shock to me was the location setting of this story. When one thinks of slavery, the images of the deep south come to mind. Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia are all states that have a rich past in slavery. The south described here is Baltimore. Yeah, that's right Baltimore. Freedom for Frederick Douglas meant New England. Even New York was not a safe haven as Frederick describes stories of kidnappers that are eager to steal runaway slaves back to their masters for a price.

What I found interesting is that regardless of how the story is told, Frederick Douglass became free in his mind at one particular point in the story. This was long before he took off on his own. I am not going to spoil that part of the story for you, the potential reader of this tale, here in this review. This means that as Frederick Douglass got older, obtaining freedom from slavery became more mental and psychological than physical. It is interesting how he notes that his oppressors did everything possible to keep him ignorant. But it seems that once our author tasted of the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, there was no turning back.

What I also liked about this book was that the escape was not a dramatic one. There was no running through the woods with the blood hounds hot on his trail. The escape was subtle. Yet I was captivated by how alone he was in his flight. I was captivated by the decisions he made from the lessons he learned in captivity. In the end, it seemed that freedom was obtained when he was in a place where others saw him as a person and not chattle.

What I disliked about this book was the introductions. Yes there is more than one. It seems that people like Houston A. Baker Jr. had an agenda to push this narrative and this is sad. I felt in reading the narrative that Frederick Douglass true captivity was really a state of mind. What made him different from other negros of the period was that he was able to think and risk on his own. I believe that this thinking brought him to all the right people to give him the opportunity to risk for his freedom. There are times in the story where this risk did not pay off and he did pay the price of treason for his actions. However, overall I feel that the power of his subconcious mind led him to where he wanted to be. At least, I found that this is how it read. Frederick Douglass gave me the impression that he wrote this to set himself as an example of how he became free in his mind first, then achieved it in his physical form. Houston A. Baker Jr. on the other hand seemed to have wanted to distribute this narrative as propaganda to lead other against slavery itself. What's wrong with that you say? I think that Houston A. Baker's introduction was more of, "see how good of a leader I am, regardless of the movement I am leading. See how many people I am connected to in order to push my agenda." The impression I got was that Houston A. Baker had no concern about changing the way people think in order to end slavery in the mind first.

[davidpwithun_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent; an essential read for anyone seeking an understanding of America's history (or present, for that matter). It's all too tempting and easy to forget about slavery and dismiss it today; this book reveals its true brutality, something we should never forget.

[read4to4live · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

For my reading-while-driving I'm dependent on the library audiobook selection, which has very little overlap with anything I'd ever chose on my own. But amidst the dreck there are serendipities, books I never would have tried if not for the lack of any other option -- worlds opened to me that I never would have known otherwise. I certainly never would have considered reading the Narrative of Frederick Douglass -- not from any prejudice or lack of curiousity, but just from the general unexamined assumption that it would not be very interesting. Where do I get these ideas? Anyhow, this is a stunning book, clearly written, with riveting descriptions of life in slavery. It's one of those books -- I also said this about The Bookseller of Kabul -- that opens your eyes and heart to a greater understanding of those facts you already knew. The descriptions of the rags young Frederick had instead of clothes, the constant cursing heaped upon him, his dawning awareness of his own humanity and dignity, his willingness to fight for himself -- this is an eye-opening book that should be read by everyone studying American history.

[jimmaclachlan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very short & to the point, Douglass paints the picture of being a slave better than any other book I've read on the subject. His first hand account blows away 'Roots' or even the 'Confessions of Nat Turner' with its simple, understated prose. Huge thanks to Nancy, a friend here on GR, that recommended & gave me the book.

Why would a man remain in slavery when there was any chance of escape? This is a question I've always wondered about. He tells us. The courage & determination that it took him to make that leap was incredible. His simple account of what people can endure is heart wrenching.

The only reason this book didn't get 5 stars was the editor. I can't recall his name, but he is a professor at Columbia University & must think his audience is a bunch of idiots. His long winded introduction basically tells Douglass' entire story. It was a spoiler & redundant. The original publication had another introduction that is also included. This was doubly redundant due to the first, but would have been far better if just it was included.

The editor's constant footnotes, defining well known words that are well used in context, were distracting & occasionally incorrect. The end notes were better, but should have been footnotes instead. I was left with the impression that the editor was trying to impress me rather than help me understand Douglass' story. Blech!

Douglass has written his autobiography in several versions. This was his first. I'd be interested in finding a later one, especially with a different editor. In any case, for all the faults of the editor, the basic story is something that I recommend everyone read.

[ahooper04 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing story of Frederick Douglass's struggle for freedom and then for the rights and freedom of African-Americans.

[touchthesky_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Definitely the most interesting and intriguing autobiography. I had to read this for one of my college history classes and was surprised that it wasn't boring at all. Douglass' writing is beautiful.

[cmbohn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the short biography of Frederick Douglass. He writes about his life as a slave, how his mother died, how he learned to read, how he was beaten and starved, and how he decided to escape. He enlarged on this story later, but in this version of the story, he doesn't give any details of his flight to freedom. But you certainly get a vivid and horrible picture of slavery. I thought his words about the religious hypocrisy of his former masters was especially illuminating.After reading this, I was surprised really that more slaves did not make the attempt to escape. He says that he never had any idea of escape until after he learned to read and realized what else was out there in the world. That may have been one reason. Douglass himself says that he almost changed his mind when he realized that his escape would mean the loss of contact with all his friends. I'm sure that such ties to friends and family was another reason that most slaves stayed put.After reading this, I was motivated to read more about Douglass and what happened to him after he wrote this book. He was a very eloquent, even passionate man fighting for the cause of freedom and equal rights for both women and for slaves. This is a great story for young people to read, as it would help them understand how brutal slavery really was. Also important today, when there are still horrible acts of violence and injustice all around the world.

[bfertig_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, was AMAZING. I really feel like I missed out in high school because this wasn't required reading along with Uncle Tom's Cabin. Frederick Douglas was incredible articulate and explained, very reasonably, what it was like to grow up a slave in Talbot County, Maryland, to live in Baltimore, and what the social conditions were. His denunciation of empty and hypocritical religiosity in the appendix was spot on and can ring true even today.Frederick Douglas is an example of someone who was able to use adversity as motivation for self-improvement at whatever cost. Efforts to dissuade him from learning to read and write made him that much more committed to not just learning, but to doing so excellently. Efforts to keep him from escaping only made it inevitable that he would do so. Frederick Douglas can serve as an inspiration to so many of us and an example of perseverance and discipline. He was smart enough to recognize that when something wrong is going on, it's not enough to endure, but one must make efforts to end the problem. Highly highly recommended, and I wish it were required reading for everyone in school everywhere.

[arielfl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I probably wouldn't have gotten around to this if it hadn't been assigned to my daughter as part of her summer reading for the IB program. I always read the books with her to help her out and fill in the gaps in my classic literature. I wasn't expecting too much from this but now that I finished it I can see why people would still read this over a hundred years later. The autobiography starts out with Douglass's early life on a plantation and goes to the time when he is able to escape from slavery. The descriptions of slavery are as brutal as you would expect. He doesn't sugar coat anything. This is the part where I think this wasn't the best choice for a twelve year old to read. Some of the men really seem to enjoy inflicting pain of the women slaves which makes me think they might have been classified as sexual sadists in today's psychological speak. There is also a description of how a woman was purchased so she would produce slave children to increase the master's wealth. The slave holders stripped the slaves of any vestige of humanity. In many cases they were treated worse than the animals. Douglas lays out all of the horrors of slavery for the reader to digest. Even people who started out with the best intentions were corrupted by the institute of slavery. I can see why Douglass's narrative as well as his speeches made for powerful evidence for the abolitionist movement of the day. Another issue Douglas brings to light is the hypocrisy of the Christian slaveholders. They go to church and claim to follow God but they keep people as slaves and treat them horribly. At one point the slaveholder and his wife are upstairs praying to God for abundance while they let food rot rather than give it to their starving slaves. Douglas points out that he does not despise the Christian religion as a whole, just the people who claim to be holy while sinning. I suspect that God does not like them either.Although the narrative is short, around 120 pages there is so much to digest. I almost wish that my daughter had been assigned this book in high school because her reaction so far to it has been that it is boring which it anything but. Possibly the old fashioned language is off putting to her but once you get reading it is not difficult to understand. I think you have to experience some things in life to fully appreciate Douglass's words. I recently read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand about the life of Louis Zamperini and in particular his treatment by the Japanese when he was captured by them and put in a prison camp. A lot of what he experienced at the the hands of the Japanese was similar to what Frederick Douglass experienced as a slave. Both men were systemically starved and worked past the point of exhaustion. Both the slaveholders and the Japanese dehumanized their prisoners in order to make them easier to control. Also both Frederick Douglass and Louis Zamperini had a man who took special pleasure in breaking them. For Douglass it was the slave holder Covey and for Zamperini it was the prison Guard nicknamed The Bird. Both men somehow survived their torture and went on to do great things with their lives. Both men even came to forgive those who had abused them. Before Douglass's slave master died he had a change of heart and on his death bed met with Douglass where Douglass offered him his forgiveness. Likewise Louis Zamperini went back to the prison camp after the war and offered forgiveness to the men who imprisoned him. Both acts of forgiveness were extremely cathartic to those involved. Even though the experience of Frederick Douglass and Louis Zamperini took place a hundred years apart and in two different cultures their experiences were remarkedly the same because the common denominator is humanity. Throughout the dawn of time man has been inhumane to man. The lesson presented by both men is that while bad things will happen, sometimes even spirit breaking, the way out of a prison of hatred is through forgiveness. Forgiveness allowed both men to move on from the pain they endured and allowed them to create great things out of their suffering. It is not an easy lesson to learn but as both men proved, it is worth it in the end.

[selfcallednowhere · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderfully eloquent and by turns horrifying and inspiring.

[erinjamieson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a wonderful book to read in order to get a glimpse of what being a slave was actually like, because it is written by a slave who taught himself how to read and write. Every person, especially in the United States, should read this book.

[dtn620 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This summer while talking among friends I had the realization that I have read almost no african american literature. I knew I had deficiencies in female authors and have been trying to balance things out better this year. How is it that I can think of myself as well read with these two (and who knows how many more) weak spots?

So I decided to start near the beginning with Frederick Douglass and I am glad I did as it was a fairly eye opening look into the life of a slave. I think we all get the gist of what slavery is and how bad it can be but many of the details were entirely new to me (like getting a few days off at the end of the year, and at times being able to visit family members). I am thinking I will move on to Du Bois from here, then venture into Ellison. Who else would you recommend?

[danlai-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book is not bad, but I've had to read it so many times for school, in so many different classes, that I don't want to see this book ever again.

[csweder · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I purchased this book with the intent of using an excerpt of it in class to show students the importance of knowing how to read and write.

I waited too long over the summer, and didn't get around to reading it until a week before school started. It's a quick read, about 100 pages. I tried at first only to skim through it, looking only for something to use in class. But I got caught up. I had to stop skimming, go back to the beginning and read the entire thing. (Didn't take long, as it is short.)

Thinking about this book, and how Douglass overcame his obstacles...well, I've decided to not 'skim' it, but buy a copy for my students, and it will be the first book that we read.

[drsabs · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One's first reaction is how could someone brought up under slave conditions have grown up to be one of the most eloquent speakers and strong political leaders in American history. The more one looks into his background the more one is aware of the "opportunities" Douglass had that helped him grow out of his initial disadvantages, e.g. help learning how to read. But perhaps the most compelling factor is simply that he was an extremely talented individual. While the Narrative is the highlight, the secondary pieces including Douglass's other writings, reviews and analyses, and modern literary criticism also provide important insights, making this an important addition to have in the library.

[auntmarge64 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's interesting how the story of one person can have a greater impact than the history of a people or event. In this extraordinary autobiography of abolitionist and escaped slave Frederick Douglass, we are given an intimate window into the everyday world of slavery, and it is ugly. I have read only one other book that made me feel so profoundly the lack of humanity and the evil of which humans are capable, and that was "People of the Lie" by M. Scott Peck, in which he describes parents who, for Christmas, gift their surviving son the rifle used by another son to kill himself. Reading Peck's description of a truly evil person, it seems he could have just read Douglass' book: (Adapted from Wikipedia):- Consistently self-deceiving, with the intent of avoiding guilt and maintaining a self-image of perfection- Projects his or her evils and sins onto very specific targets while being apparently normal with everyone else - Commonly hates with the pretense of love- Abuses political (emotional) power - Maintains a high level of respectability, and lies incessantly in order to do so- Is consistent in his or her sins. Evil persons are characterized not so much by the magnitude of their sins, but by their consistency of destructiveness. - Is unable to think from the viewpoint of his or her victim- Has a covert intolerance to criticismDouglass tells his story of being born and kept as a slave, and his escape to the North in his early twenties, in a style that highlights the evil he experienced and/or observed in Maryland:- being removed from his mother's care by the age of one, with almost no contact allowed with her for the rest of his life- being clothed as a child only in a knee-length shirt, summer or winter, and going naked if the shirt wore out before the annual clothing allotment - having no provision for beds or bedding except for a single blanket - routine rape of women to increase slaveholders' assets and wealth- deliberate near-starvation of slaves, with stock animals being well-cared for and slaves whipped for any perceived lack of attention to the animals' well-being- slaveholders' (both men and women) and overseers' enjoyment of frequent, repeated, and lengthy slave whippings, often for no reason than satisfaction- old slaves being put out into the forest to fend for themselves - the inevitable degeneration into depravity of whites who were new to slaveholding (thorough marriage, for instance) The book skips over the exact method Douglass used to escape, in order to protect others and not give slaveholders any tips, but in his final autobiography, after the Civil War, he did give a detailed account. The book ends with him in New Bedford, MA, with a new bride and making his way among the wonders of freedom, irrespective of the hostility shown blacks by northern whites afraid for their jobs. There's also an epilogue Douglass wrote to clarify his comments on the "Christianity" he observed in both the South and the North. It's not pretty. Ministers going home to rape, preachers spending the rest of the week whipping humans, respectable citizens spending their time finding new ways to force compliance, whether it be though intimidation, murder, or forcible separation of families. More than anywhere else, this is where Douglass expresses his anger.

[ted_newell-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

All racists and unwitting racists should read this book and be changed. I see why it made the huge difference it did when it was written before the U S Civil War. If absolutely everyone had read it maybe the war would nt have been fought. Naive maybe and I know there's a literature on the book and similar titles like Twelve Years a Slave. Still. Fifteen years later and I remember turning page after page agog.