In February 1818, Frederick Douglass, America’s most famous civil rights leader was born into one of the country’s most appalling institutions, slavery. He visualized a diverse nation without discrimination and hate. Frederick became one of the most well-known writers, lecturers and abolitionists. Above all, Frederick Douglass was dedicated to obtaining freedom and justice for all Americans, especially African Americans.
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born a slave in Talbot County, Maryland. His mother was Harriet Bailey, a black slave woman and his father was Harriet’s master Aaron Anthony. Frederick was taken from Harriet and was raised his grandmother. When Frederick was seven, he was sent to work in the Main House of his father’s plantation. Since Frederick was too young to work in the fields, he was given the job of driving cows to and from the pasture, keeping chickens out of the garden, yard chores and errands.
When his father died in 1826, ownership of Frederick and the other slaves went to Anthony’s son-in-law Thomas Auld. Thomas sent Frederick to work for his brother Hugh Auld and his wife Sophia, in Baltimore, Maryland. They wanted a companion for their toddler son. Frederick spent his days entertaining and taking care of Thomas. Sophia taught Frederick his ABC’s until her husband discovered what she was doing and ended the lessons. Frederick decided nothing would keep him from learning to read and write. He carried a Webster’s spelling book with him and asked poor white neighbor children to teach him words in exchange for bread.
In 1832, Frederick went back Thomas Auld’s plantation and the realities of slavery. He was always hungry and had to endure the cruel treatment of the “negro-breaker and slave-d...
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Blight, David. Frederick Douglass' Civil War: Keeping Faith in Jubilee. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1999.
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Foner, Philip S., ed. The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass: Pre-Civil War Decade 1850-1860. Vol. 2. New York: International Publishers, 1950.
Frederick Douglass was an enslaved person and was born in Talbot County, Maryland. He had no knowledge of his accurate age like most of the enslaved people. He believed that his father was a white man, and he grew up with his grandmother. Douglass and his mother were separated when he was young, which was also common in the lives of the enslaved people. This concept of separation was used as a weapon to gain control of the enslaved people. In short, despite the obstacles he had to endure, he was able to gain an education and fight for his freedom in any means necessary.
Boston: G.K. Hall, 1999. Foner, Philip S. The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass, Volume II Pre-Civil War Decade. 1850 - 1860 -. NY: International Publishers Co., Inc., 1950.
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. An American Slave Written by Himself. (New Haven, Ct: Yale University Press, 2001)
As the United States grew, the institution of slavery became a way of life in the southern states, while northern states began to abolish it. While the majority of free blacks lived in poverty, some were able to establish successful businesses that helped the Black community. Racial discrimination often meant that Blacks were not welcome or would be mistreated in White businesses and other establishments. A comparison of the narratives of Douglass and Jacobs demonstrates the full range of demands and situations that slaves experienced, and the mistreatment that they experienced as well. Jacobs experienced the ongoing sexual harassment from James Norcom, just like numerous slave women experienced sexual abuse or harassment during the slave era. Another issue that faced blacks was the incompetence of the white slave owners and people. In ...
Douglass, Frederick. “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.” The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr. New York: Penguin Group, 1987.
Foner, Eric. "Frederick Douglass on the Desire for Freedom." Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005. 197-200. Print.
This excellent biography fluently tells the life story of Douglass; one of the 19th centuries's most famous writers and speakers on abolitionist and human rights causes. It traces his life from his birth as a slave in Maryland, through his self-education, escape to freedom, and subsequent lionization as a renowned orator in England and the United States. Fascinating, too, are accounts of the era's politics, such as the racist views held by some abolitionist leaders and the ways in which many policies made in post-Civil War times have worked to the detriment of today's civil rights movement. The chapter on Frederick Douglass and John Brown is, in itself, interesting enough to commend this powerful biography. The seldom-seen photographs, the careful chapter notes, documentation, and acknowledgements will encourage anybody to keep on learning about Frederick Douglass.
Works Cited Douglass, Frederick. A. A. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.
middle of paper ... ... Douglass, Frederick. A. A. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Atlanta: Kessinger Publishing, 2008. 8.
Print. The. Douglass, Frederick. A. A. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1995. Print.
Douglass, Frederick. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself (ed. John Blassingame) Yale University Press, 2001.
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. Professor David Hennessy, 1845.
Douglas, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (The Harper Single Volume American Literature 3rd edition) 1845:p.1017-1081
Douglass, Frederick, and David W. Blight. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: With Related Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003. Print.