Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

By Frederick Douglass

Families trapped in poverty and systemic injustices. Children denied civil rights because of race. A nation with immense potential for freedom spiraling into prejudice, violence, and hate.

The country Frederick Douglass knew over one-hundred years ago is strikingly similar to the one we live in today. The truth, lessons, and hope he offered during his remarkable lifetime not only helped shape Abraham Lincoln’s presidency and the American Civil Rights movement, they can guide and inspire us in our own cultural moment.

Born into slavery in 1818, Douglass escaped to New York City at the age of twenty, determined to tell his story and fight for the rights of all men and women to be free. His first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, remains one of the most influential books of modern times, as captivating and stirring now as it was when it was first published in 1845.

This new edition of Douglass’s world-changing work includes intimate reflections from modern-day leaders, a foreword and photograph section from Douglass’s direct descendants, and a timeline beginning in 1619 with an emphasis on Douglass’s life and family.

Whether you are interested in the history of the abolitionist movement and the Civil War, committed to the cause of abolishing modern-day slavery, or need renewed vigor to fight for human rights today, this timeless book will equip and inspire you to follow your passions, knowing that even against all odds, one person can change the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Forefront Books
• Release date: Jun 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9781637631713

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.

Book preview

Cover: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Douglass Family Edition

An American Slave

Written by Himself

Introduction by Bryan Stevenson

Foreword by Kenneth B. Morris, Jr.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass, Forefront Books

This special

Douglass Family Edition

is dedicated to the

Legacy and Spirit of

our great ancestors,

Anna Murray and Frederick Douglass.

Nettie Washington Douglass

Great-great-granddaughter,

Frederick Douglass

Great-granddaughter,

Booker T. Washington

Kenneth B. Morris, Jr.

Great-great-great-grandson,

Frederick Douglass

Great-great-grandson,

Booker T. Washington

A Message from the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives Executive Director

When I was twelve years old, I learned that the library in my small hometown of London, Ohio, just happened to be the best place to hide from my bullies. As I began spending most of my time there, I developed a greater appreciation for the abundance of free and accessible knowledge at my fingertips. I was immediately drawn in by the words and stories of my heroes from history; the people who came before me nurtured my senses of wonder and curiosity. Soon, that library, my literal safe haven, became a place of emotional solace as well. I immediately began absorbing as much information as my young mind could contain, and when the opportunity arose, I set aside what was a king’s ransom in kid money back then, one dollar, to buy my first two books. For fifty cents each, I purchased old copies of Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery and Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. I knew then that these great books were full of towering oratory and profound wisdom and demanded to be read.

My steps were ordered as I consumed every word of these masterpieces. The accounts of the horror and cruelty of chattel slavery in the United States were seared into my young mind. I struggled to reconcile how my country had ever tolerated a social and economic order that ruthlessly demanded families be ripped apart and bodies be broken and exploited; the absolute degradation and subjugation of human beings. For me, these books were not only vivid testimonies to the depths of human cruelty and injustice, but they were also hero origin stories. It was Frederick Douglass who, after teaching himself to read, fundamentally realized that he was unfit to be a slave, and with the help and encouragement of his future wife, Anna Murray Douglass, he would escape his bondage. Knowing that education was his freedom, he was determined to not only secure freedom for his people but to destroy the very system that put them in bondage. As I read these stories, I knew that they deeply impacted me. Yet I only had an inkling of how they would come to radically change the trajectory of my life.

I often look back at that twelve-year-old and think about what led her to find her refuge in that library and how she found inspiration in two books written more than a hundred years ago. I think much of it resulted from my circumstances; my parents were very young when they had me, and our family struggled. Compounding my challenges, I was a biracial child who knew from a young age that she was different. I regularly struggled with a sense of belonging, and plenty of bullies were happy to remind me that I was different. Yet without them, I may not have found my special hiding place at the library, and for that, I should say a special thank-you to my former tormentors. I found, particularly in Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass’ story, not only an inspiring story of escape but an uplifting sense of hope; I had the power to change and dictate the course of my future. I had come from poverty and homelessness, and with the inspiration of my new mentors, Frederick, Anna, and Booker, I knew I was unfit to be bound to these conditions. I knew that one day, I needed to join my heroes in their walk with others in the struggle for freedom. However, the path that led me to the Washington-Douglass family and to serve as the national executive director of Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI) was not necessarily straight.

I studied at The Ohio State University in the psychology and African American and African studies department, and I think my education imparted a deeper understanding of the complexities of American culture, including its many virtues and sins. I also came to believe that any effort to overcome the systemic challenges within our society required community collaboration and collective action, particularly in underserved communities. I had long wanted to apply my learned knowledge to a career focused on civic service, yet my path initially led me to executive positions in both the private and nonprofit sectors. As rewarding and fulfilling as my professional career had been, I had always wanted to dedicate my career to fighting against injustice, as my heroes had.

My need to refocus my career was always heightened whenever I was reminded of the injustices that children face today due to their race and the systems that trap them in spirals of poverty and abuse. The profound words of Frederick Douglass were always in my mind, It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. These words have been a guiding light for me, particularly with my two sons, Malik and Malcolm, and now my two grandsons, Kingston and Legend.

Perhaps it was fate that led me to find an opportunity to introduce myself to Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass’ descendants, their great-great-granddaughter, Nettie Washington Douglass, and her son, Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., Frederick and Anna’s great-great-great-grandson. If there was ever a sign that this was divine providence, I learned that Nettie and Ken are also the great- and great-great-grandchildren of Booker T. Washington, respectively. I was overwhelmed to be able to volunteer with their nonprofit, FDFI, and to support their mission of building strong children. A few years later, I had the opportunity to work with them full time. I barely hesitated to move from Columbus, Ohio, to the new FDFI headquarters in Rochester, New York, where Frederick and Anna lived and are laid to rest today. Rochester has become my personal North Star. I have grown to love this city and its undeniable resilience, especially in times of turmoil. This city has the potential to be a place of pride and a mecca of sorts, both to the legacy of Frederick and Anna Douglass and other freedom fighters who came before and to our children and others who are just starting their journeys.

In the past two years in Rochester, I have been very fortunate to have been guided by the example and leadership of elders in the community, including Dr. David Sankofa Anderson and his wife, Ruth. I’m thankful for the accomplishments achieved alongside others, serving as the cochair of the Racial Equity Initiative at Enrico Fermi School, where I have grown and gone through pain and triumphs alongside school leaders and teachers. Working with administrators, teachers, and others at Anna Murray Douglass Academy (AMDA), a school on the former homestead that was destroyed due to arson where the Douglass family formerly lived, and to develop a Douglass descendants’ legacy curriculum, which will be implemented in schools throughout the city with future plans to bring it to schools and students overseas, has been truly rewarding. My greatest honors have been spearheading the Anna Murray and Annie Douglass Historic Memorial Project at Mount Hope Cemetery, creating and collaborating with Rochester Mayor Malik Evans’ administration and Rochester City Schools to establish the pen pals program uniting children from Rochester to Ireland at AMDA. Finally, I am honored to participate with the FDFI board of directors and others in planning the Frederick Douglass Museum Center for Equality, Justice, and Knowledge, a world-class, state-of-the-art, international destination in Rochester.

I look forward to growing in my role as FDFI executive director in service to not only the Rochester community but throughout the state of New York, across the country, and around the world, as well. We are indeed looking at a bright and exciting future for FDFI. Yet being in Rochester, rich with Douglass lore and history, I find it useful to look at the past for inspiration and perspective. In fact, one of my favorite places in Rochester is called Kelsey’s Landing, which once was a thriving port community on the Genesee River that served as a major commercial port to Canada, making it one of the last and most important stops on the Underground Railroad. Whenever I take a walk down to the area overlooking the lower falls, which mimics Niagara Falls on a much smaller scale, the mist reminds me of many things. When it touches my skin, it reminds me of the tears that the freedom seekers left behind. I feel their pain, their fear, and their exhilaration of knowing freedom was but a short distance away in Canada. Mainly in this time, I think of Anna Murray Douglass. She has been a co-conductor in my journey to freedom, and I believe she brings me there to show me things that she couldn’t share with anyone else but me. I feel this profound gratitude, this privilege bestowed on me through her descendants. It is one of my life’s great honors that they have blessed me by asking me to provide a message to readers in this Douglass Family Edition of Frederick Douglass’ Narrative.

I hope that the words in this book will inspire, restore hope, and provide a path toward fulfillment and greatness for those in the new generation of abolitionists, justice seekers, and freedom fighters.

Erica Mock

Executive Director of Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives

Rochester, New York

Summer, 2022

FOREWORD: A FAMILY’S PERSPECTIVE

The great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do.

JAMES BALDWIN

I can’t say when I first realized I was related to Frederick Douglass. There was never a time that I can recall when my parents or grandparents sat me down and said we have something important to tell you about your ancestry. I’ve just always known. Growing up, it seemed that everywhere I turned, I saw symbols of his awe-inspiring greatness. There were imposing bronze statues staring down from high above and patina-stained busts peering from behind overgrown shrubs. Family photographs, vintage books, handwritten letters, commemorative stamps, and coins emblazoned with his image were always present in our home. There were schools, libraries, and bridges named after him. My teachers lectured about his life and legacy during Black History Month. He inhabited the pages of my textbooks and our family’s Encyclopedia Britannica. I asked my friends if their grandparents were on statues and money.

I was twelve years old when I first noticed a copy of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave on the library shelf. I pulled it down and held it delicately, as one might handle a rare book. There he was inside the cover, The Great Abolitionist, staring at me, examining my every move. He was always staring, always watching.

If the honor of being a descendant of one great American wasn’t enough weight to carry, I also have the distinction of being a direct descendant of a formerly enslaved person and educator, Booker T. Washington. This extraordinary lineage flows through the maternal side of my family by way of the union of my grandmother, Nettie Hancock Washington (granddaughter of Booker T. Washington), and my grandfather, Dr. Frederick Douglass III (great-grandson of Frederick Douglass). When my mother, Nettie Washington Douglass, was born, she united the bloodlines of these historic families. My mother is an only child, so I have the honor and privilege of being the first male in the family to carry this dual lineage.

These historical roots make me the great-great-great-grandson of Frederick Douglass and the great-great-grandson of Booker T. Washington. Not only is it a mouthful trying to say all of those greats, but sometimes it makes me feel far removed. You may be reading these words and having a hard time trying to imagine my connection to these American heroes. It’s like trying to picture one billion dollars with all of those zeros. But a lot of people know their grandparents. You may even know or have known your great-grandparents. It’s not so hard to imagine that your great-grandparents, when they were younger, also knew their grandparents.

This is how close I feel to both men. You see, my great-grandmother, Fannie Douglass, to whom I was very close, met Frederick Douglass when she was a little girl. When I was a boy, she would put me on her knee and, with dramatic flair, tell me about the tall man with a shock of white hair who made quite an impression on her. From that day forward, she began referring to him as The Man with the Big White Hair and did so until her death at the age of one hundred and one. At the time of their meeting, she had no way of knowing that she would grow up and marry his grandson, Joseph.

My aunt Portia, to whom I was also very close, is Booker T. Washington’s daughter. I remember sitting on her knee as she told me firsthand stories about her father and his work as the founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. During our time together, Aunt Portia shared numerous stories about our family history and did so until she passed away at the age of ninety-four.

A few years ago, as I was trying to wrap my mind around the time and distance between the generations, I had a profound thought: hands that touched the great Frederick Douglass and hands that touched the great Booker T. Washington… touched mine. And so it is, even with all those greats, that I can say I stand one person away from history.

The role of heir to a legacy is never chosen and is often more a burden than a blessing, no matter how bright or talented those heirs may be. For the descendants of men like Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, who cast as broad a shadow as any American ever has, the expectations can be all the more daunting. Certainly, I have felt the weight of expectation at times, but I was raised outside of my ancestors’ shadows by design, and I have always been free to find my own path. That path finally led me back to the Douglass and Washington legacies.

In late 2005, I read a 2003 National Geographic Magazine cover story called 21st-Century Slaves. The caption below the headline stunned me: There are more slaves today than were seized from Africa in four centuries of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. When I read and absorbed this, I realized these great legacies were a part of a calling for me—a calling to leverage history in order to help change the future for those held in modern-day slavery. The life I had been living all those years ended abruptly, and I became an abolitionist like Frederick Douglass. Call it fate or fortune, destiny or DNA, this path had chosen me.

Today, there are millions of people around the world who are bought and sold for sex and other forms of forced labor: young girls and boys enslaved in brothels; children forced to work because their hands are small enough to do close needlework or pull fish from nets; men and women forced to farm, mine, or work in factories or service industries in dangerous conditions. Many make the clothes we wear and harvest the food we consume at low prices every day.

Frederick Douglass identified the key to ending this human scourge when he realized at the tender age of nine that education makes a man unfit to be a slave. My ancestor understood that knowledge was power and it would one day be his key to freedom. Unless we can educate people about slavery’s past and present and the methods that human traffickers use to entrap and exploit, it will continue unabated. This is one of the objectives of Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI), the organization that my mother and I founded in 2007. FDFI’s mission is to build strong children and to end systems of exploitation and oppression.

After launching our nonprofit organization, we turned immediately to schools. We initially did this not with the idea that the modern abolitionist movement would help protect young people, but instead, that young people could lead a movement to end human trafficking. We began visiting schools to teach about the lives and legacies of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington. Students, teachers, administrators, and parents were inspired by the

Reviews for Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

[podocyte_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Compelling

[jonbrammer-788089 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the archetypal narrative of slavery, capturing both the physical and psychological damage of owning humans as property. Rivals Wiesel's Night as a document of human cruelty. Points with laser accuracy at the hypocrisies of Christianity and American democracy. Douglass has a greater stature than the founders in American history, as his life was dedicated to correcting our crimes against humanity.

[rlxdoc-271910 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Please read this book.

[nx74defiant · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Frederick Douglass tells of his time as a slave. Often a difficult book to read. It is a first hand account of the horrors of the treatment of the slaves. How the slave holders would justify their behavior. His one good mistress is corrupted by the institution of slavery.

[m.belljackson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Born a slave, Frederick Douglas devoted his life to the Freeing of Slavesfrom the endless horrors of whippings, tortures, hatred, rapes, massacres,and barbaric cruelty.He fought for the right of Black men to fight in the Union Army, then for equal pay.He stood up for Women's Rights and the Right for All to vote.With help from Abolitionist friends, he was able to fully escape slavery and to buy his freedom.

[mrdickie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Frederick Douglass was a slave in Talbot county, Maryland living in the area of St. Michael's and Baltimore. While living in Baltimore his masters wife taught him the alphabet and started to teach him how to read. When her husband found out he put a stop to it. It was too late Frederick had acquired a love of reading and a lifelong quest for knowledge. Eventually he ran away to the north where he was able to begin a life as a free man.

[sarahlh-41506 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Utterly essential reading for Americans who soon forget that not long ago, men and women like Douglass were kept in human bondage and seen as mere property, with no rights to speak of, left at the mercy of their masters, and all because of the color of their skin. Douglass' account is a haunting detailed personal account of one of - if not the - darkest era in United States history.

[mike_b-645943 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Why was this not required reading in any of my schooling?!

[bobbybslax · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was surprised how evenhanded his account was, when it had every right to be much more emotionally charged. I was also surprised that the dry, straightforward manner in which Douglass writes did not result in a boring book. On the contrary, it was quite engaging the whole way through.

[erwinkennythomas · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass is a book filled with many stories about the evils of slavery. Douglass was a slave for the time he was born who knew his mother, but suspected his master to be his father. The account tells about the mistreatment, abuses, and experiences the slaves encountered in slavery in the South. The slaves’ living conditions were deplorable. There wasn’t enough to eat, and they worked under terrible conditions from morning to sunset throughout the seasons of the year. Their only break came during the Christmas season when the slave masters would permit them to drink liquor, get drunk, and participate in humiliating sports.Fortunately while in Baltimore Douglass was assigned to a family whose wife that had a compassionate heart. And it was through his master’s mistress he was initially treated like an adopted son, and was taught to read. Douglass realized that this knowledge was liberating, and even when his master told the mistress to stop teaching him, he devised other ways of learning from the young white kids he met.As Douglass became older he began to dream about being free. He was instrumental in trying to teach other slaves on the Lloyd Plantation to read in such a way that his master didn’t know. With learning and agitation he was central as they planned their first attempt to escape. But this plan failed and they were sent to prison. After his release and having moved from estate to estate he back again to Baltimore and hired out as a slave. During this apprenticeship he got into fights with whites, but in spite of these difficulties he was able to learn the trade of caulking ships. His pay however went to one of his masters, who would give him a small allowance.Eventually Douglass was becoming more independent in mind and spirit. The book didn’t give details about his eventual success in escaping from slavery, for he didn’t wish the slaveholders to know about these plans. This was because he had no desire of jeopardizing other slaves who would also be planning their escape. But once free he was able to make it to New York. Douglass married another slave Anna, who was free, got in contact with an anti-slavery group, and he and his wife were eventually able to move to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where they put down roots. In New Bedford Douglass found work as a laborer and subscribed to the anti-slavery newspaper the Liberator. He met with abolitionists and eventually became an anti-slavery speaker on the lecture circuit.

[lydia1879 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.”

This is the incredible story of Frederick Douglass' education and subsequent escape from slavery. This is very easily read, considering how antiquated it is, and I fully believe that is due to Douglass' writing.

He is honest, humble, vulnerable and desperate to live a life he feels he deserves. When he wrote of his isolation, of his loss, of his hunger for freedom, for respect, I felt every moment.

Interesting that there were times in the text that I felt had certainly been touched by white editors. A mention of so-and-so's house (the finest house in Baltimore) and his masters number of horses, the condition of the stables and I knew.

I didn't care about horses or houses. I wanted Douglass' life, but instead I'm having to read about what white editors in 1845 considered important. I admire editors a lot and think they do a very necessary and unnoticed job, but I felt like these editors tampered with his work.

Of course, Douglass' words still often came through, ringing out like a bell in the darkness. But every once and a while I would pause and ask myself what a different this book would be if white people had left it well alone.

We're so lucky Douglass survived and even luckier this book also survived.

[scottjpearson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Obviously, this work belongs to history rather than to a shelf of recent releases. Nonetheless, it is clearly written, interesting, and provides much insight into the mind of nineteenth-century Americans in the North, in the South, and in slavery. I found Douglass's writing abundantly lucid and to the point.

It's interesting how American in many ways represented two societies at the time - one free, the other deeply tainted by slavery. The claim Douglass makes in this account 15 years before the Civil War is that slavery does not make humanity moral. It cheapens everything.

In the closing chapters, Douglass describes what freedom in the North was like. He suspected that there would be no rich people in the North because there was no slavery. The only rich people in the South were those with slaves; those without slaves in the South struggled to make ends meet. However, he found that the freedom of the North allowed human freedom to extend into more noble virtues. Life was simply better there.

One wonders if there are parallels to our much-divided politics today. But that would turn this book review into a political tome. So instead, I will merely say that freedom begets freedom, whether in antebellum America or in a globalized village. I think Douglass's account can take us thus far.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[mgeorge2755 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A simple read for history buffs. This book offers a glimpse into the life of Fredrick Douglas, not a full biography, but an idea of where he came from and how he was prepared for the role he would play later in life. 

[jeffcarver · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass is a paradigm-shifting autobiography that delivers a firsthand account of the horrific injustices that Douglass experienced while enslaved in the American south. Upon first glance it is possible to miss the significance of the cover text, which states, “written by himself,” but within a few pages it becomes clear that knowledge was the spark that ignited Douglass’ quest for freedom. Douglass’ descriptions of the dehumanizing conditions through which he lived are difficult to read, and furthermore, the narrative poses larger questions about humanity that are impossible to untangle; yet, still there is hope in his story. Somehow, in the midst of the terrors that surrounded him, Douglass continued to find reasons to persevere toward freedom. The major turning point of the book occurs when Douglass refuses to be whipped. “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall now see how a slave was made a man.” (52). From this moment on, his transformation and influence reaches awe-inspiring peaks. For reasons of safety, the details of his actual escape to freedom are left undocumented, but in many ways, his arrival in New York is just the beginning of his journey. I’m incredibly interested to dig further into his writings as a free abolitionist and would be honored to teach this book in my class someday. This is a critical piece of American literature, and I cannot believe it took me this long to read it.

[fristar7406 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

M. Douglass has been able to transport us to his time thru his narrative. The way this book is writing keeps you asking for more. The only negative is the absence of details on how he manage to get free, which is pretty understandable. As he put it himself he did not want to jeopardize any other slaves' tentative to free themselves. Presently I am reading a few 19th century books, unlike other travel or explorers narratives this is not a boring description of facts, landscape or political scenes but a vibrant personal experience...

[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?