Most Popular Books by Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass recounts early years of abuse, his dramatic escape to the North and eventual freedom, abolitionist campaigns, and his crusade for full civil rights for former slaves. It is also the only of Douglass''s autobiographies to discuss his life during and after the Civil War, including his encounters with American presidents such as Lincoln, Grant, and Garfield.

Introduction by Kwame Anthony Appiah Commentary by Jean Fagan Yellin and Margaret Fuller This Modern Library edition combines two of the most important African American slave narratives—crucial works that each illuminate and inform the other. Frederick Douglass’s Narrative, first published in 1845, is an enlightening and incendiary text. Born into slavery, Douglass became the preeminent spokesman for his people during his life; his narrative is an unparalleled account of the dehumanizing effects of slavery and Douglass’s own triumph over it. Like Douglass, Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery, and in 1861 she published Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, now recognized as the most comprehensive antebellum slave narrative written by a woman. Jacobs’s account broke the silence on the exploitation of African American female slaves, and it remains essential reading. Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide

Raised as a plantation slave who was taught to read and write by one of his owners, Frederick Douglass became a brilliant writer, eloquent orator, and major participant in the stuggle of African-Americans for freedom and equality. In this engrossing, first-hand narrative originally published in 1845, he vividly recounts early years of physical abuse, deprivation and tragedy; his dramatic escape to the North and eventual freedom, abolitionist campaigns, and crusade for full civil rights for former slaves. A powerful autobiography of a passionate civil rights advocate, this book will be of value to anyone interested in African-American history.

Frederick Douglass was born in slavery as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey near Easton in Talbot County, Maryland. He was not sure of the exact year of his birth, but he knew that it was 1817 or 1818. As a young boy he was sent to Baltimore, to be a house servant, where he learned to read and write, with the assistance of his master''s wife. In 1838 he escaped from slavery and went to New York City, where he married Anna Murray, a free colored woman whom he had met in Baltimore. Soon thereafter he changed his name to Frederick Douglass. In 1841 he addressed a convention of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in Nantucket and so greatly impressed the group that they immediately employed him as an agent. He was such an impressive orator that numerous persons doubted if he had ever been a slave, so he wrote Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass. During the Civil War he assisted in the recruiting of colored men for the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Regiments and consistently argued for the emancipation of slaves. After the war he was active in securing and protecting the rights of the freemen. In his later years, at different times, he was secretary of the Santo Domingo Commission, marshall and recorder of deeds of the District of Columbia, and United States Minister to Haiti. His other autobiographical works are My Bondage And My Freedom and Life And Times Of Frederick Douglass, published in 1855 and 1881 respectively. He died in 1895.

This eBook edition of "The Life & Times of Frederick Douglass" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. "Life and Times of Frederick Douglass" is the third and last autobiography of Frederick Douglass. In this finial memoir Douglas gives more details about his life as a slave and his escape from slavery than he did in his two previous autobiographies. Frederick Douglass (1818 – 1895) was an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writings. Contents: Author''s Birth Removal From Grandmother''s Troubles of Childhood A General Survey of the Slave Plantation A Slaveholder''s Character A Child''s Reasoning Luxuries at the Great House Characteristics of Overseers Change of Location Learning to Read Growing in Knowledge Religious Nature Awakened The Vicissitudes of Slave Life Experience in St. Michaels Covey, the Negro Breaker Another Pressure of the Tyrant''s Vise The Last Flogging New Relations and Duties The Runaway Plot Escape From Slavery Life as a Freeman Introduced to the Abolitionists Recollections of Old Friends One Hundred Conventions Impressions Abroad John Brown and Mrs. Stowe Increasing Demands of the Slave Power The Beginning of the End Secession and War Hope for the Nation Vast Changes Weighed in the Balance "Time Makes All Things Even" Incidents and Events "Honor to Whom Honor" Retrospection A Grand Occasion Doubts as to Garfield''s Course Recorder of Deeds President Cleveland''s Administration The Supreme Court Decision Defeat of James G. Blaine European Tour Continuation of European Tour The Campaign of 1888 Administration of President Harrison Minister to Haïti Continued Negotiations for the Môle St. Nicolas

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First published in 1845, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - An American Slave” is an 1845 autobiographical treatise on abolition by Frederick Douglass (1818–1895), an American escaped slave who became a prominent activist, author, and public speaker. A leading figure in the abolitionist movement, he fought for the end of slavery until the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation and continued to vehemently fight for human rights until his death. One of the most well-known slave narratives written in the period, it describes in detail his experiences of life as a slave and was one of the most influential works of literature in the abolitionist movement in the Unites States. A moving insight into the life of a slave not to be missed by those with an interest in American history. Read & Co. History is proudly republishing this classic treatise now in a new addition complete with an introductory Chapter by William H. Crogman.

This revision of the acclaimed and widely assigned Norton Critical Edition of Frederick Douglass’s great autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself includes key examples of literary and cultural analyses that have engaged scholars over the last three decades. This Norton Critical Edition includes: - Frederick Douglass’s 1845 Narrative, the most influential autobiography of its kind. - A preface and explanatory footnotes by William L. Andrews and William S. McFeely. - Contemporary perspectives by Douglass, Margaret Fuller, James Monroe Gregory, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. - Essays by William L. Andrews, William S. McFeely, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Deborah E. McDowell, Houston A. Baker, Jr., Jeannine Marie DeLombard, and Robert D. Richardson, Jr. - A Chronology and a Selected Bibliography.

"My Bondage and My Freedom" was one of several works written by Frederick Douglass in his lifetime and was published in 1855. This work is a powerful and revealing autobiography in which Douglass narrates his journey from slavery to freedom, offering an intimate and profound view of his life and the conditions faced by the enslaved in the United States. Over time, various biographies have been written and continue to be written about this iconic abolitionist, with increasing quality and scope. However, to understand the thoughts and character of a real person, there is nothing better than hearing the story with all its circumstances, mistakes, and successes told by the one who lived it firsthand. This is the purpose of Frederick Douglass''s autobiography. To bring to the public the courageous and visionary man who was born enslaved and, through his determination and intelligence, became one of the most influential and respected voices in the fight for the abolition of slavery and civil rights in the United States. This work is part of the "Voices of America Autobiographies" collection, which aims to highlight the life stories of important figures in American history, told by themselves.

Solomon Northup (born c.1807) was an American abolitionist and author. Born free to a freed slave and a free African American woman, he was a professional violinist, farmer and landowner until he was offered a job as a musician in Washington D.C., where he was drugged and kidnapped by slavers. He was sold to a painter in New Orleans and remained in bondage for 12 years until a Canadian plantation worker alerted the authorities in New York. He was emancipated on January 3, 1853, although his captors where never brought to justice. Northup chronicled his harrowing experience in this historic memoir, which was adapted into the 2013 Oscar-winning film of the same name. A moving memoir that deserves a place on every bookshelf and will appeal to those with an interest in this dark chapter of American history. Read & Co. History is proud to be republishing this classic slave narrative now in a new edition complete with an introductory chapter by Frederick Douglass.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. presents the only authoritative edition of all three autobiographies by the escaped slave who became a great American leader. Here in this Library of America volume are collected Frederick Douglass''s three autobiographical narratives, now recognized as classics of both American history and American literature. Writing with the eloquence and fierce intelligence that made him a brilliantly effective spokesman for the abolition of slavery and equal rights, Douglass shapes an inspiring vision of self-realization in the face of monumental odds. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845), published seven years after his escape, was written in part as a response to skeptics who refused to believe that so articulate an orator could ever have been a slave. A powerfully compressed account of the cruelty and oppression of the Maryland plantation culture into which Douglass was born, it brought him to the forefront of the anti-slavery movement and drew thousands, black and white, to the cause. In My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), Douglass expands the account of his slave years. With astonishing psychological penetration, he probes the painful ambiguities and subtly corrosive effects of black-white relations under slavery, and recounts his determined resistance to segregation in the North. The book also incorporates extracts from Douglass’s speeches, including the searing “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” Life and Times, first published in 1881, records Douglass’s efforts to keep alive the struggle for racial equality udirng Reconstruction. John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, William Lloyd Garrison, and Harriet Beecher Stowe all feature prominently in this chronicle of a crucial epoch in American history. The revised edition of 1893, presented here, includes an account of his controversial diplomatic mission to Haiti. This volume contains a detailed chronology of Douglass’s life, notes providing further background on the events and people mentioned, and an account of the textual history of each of the autobiographies. LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

This narrative of Frederick Douglass is unabridged, and contains additional annotation at the start of the book. This section aims to give the reader some historical contexst, and contains a brief History of Slavery in America, and the Abolishment of Slavery. This will help set the stage for the narrative of Frederick Douglass that is to follow. Frederick Douglass was born in slavery as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey near Easton in Talbot County, Maryland. He was not sure of the exact year of his birth, but he knew that it was 1817 or 1818. As a young boy he was sent to Baltimore, to be a house servant, where he learned to read and write, with the assistance of his master''s wife. Later in life he escaped slavery and became an influential social reformer. William Lloyd Garrison, a prominent American abolitionist, heard Douglass speak of his experience in slavery and invited him to speak at the antislavery convention in 1841. Douglass''s passion captivated his audience, and following this, the American Anti-slavery Society hired him as a regular lecturer. Frederick went on to become one of America''s best-known and most influential abolitionists. His story gained even more prominence when he published the narrative found in this book, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. An American Slave. Written by Himself.". This Frederick Douglass narrative outlines his struggle from enslavement and escape to freedom. Frederick published this in 1845, and by 1850 30,000 copies had been sold in the United States and Great Britain. Frederick Douglass'' work is particularly moving as he provides a first-hand account of events. As he said, "I can tell you what I have seen with my own eyes, felt on my own person, and know to have occurred in my own neighborhood." Frederick Douglass was an influential figure both in the abolitionist movement and the women''s emancipation movement.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an 1845 memoir and treatise on abolition written by famous orator and former slave Frederick Douglass during his time in Lynn, Massachusetts.[1] It is generally held to be the most famous of a number of narratives written by former slaves during the same period. In factual detail, the text describes the events of his life and is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States.Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass encompasses eleven chapters that recount Douglass''s life as a slave and his ambition to become a free man. It contains two introductions by well-known white abolitionists: a preface by William Lloyd Garrison, and a letter by Wendell Phillips, both arguing for the veracity of the account and the literacy of its author.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a memoir and treatise on abolition written by famous orator and ex-slave, Frederick Douglass. It is generally held to be the most famous of a number of narratives written by former slaves during the same period. In factual detail, the text describes the events of his life and is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States. Frederick Douglass was born in slavery as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey near Easton in Talbot County, Maryland. He was not sure of the exact year of his birth, but he knew that it was 1817 or 1818. As a young boy he was sent to Baltimore, to be a house servant, where he learned to read and write, with the assistance of his master''s wife. In 1838 he escaped from slavery and went to New York City, where he married Anna Murray, a free colored woman whom he had met in Baltimore. Soon thereafter he changed his name to Frederick Douglass. In 1841 he addressed a convention of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in Nantucket and so greatly impressed the group that they immediately employed him as an agent. He was such an impressive orator that numerous persons doubted if he had ever been a slave, so he wrote Narrative Of The Life of Frederick Douglass.