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Frederick Douglass : Autobiographies : Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave / My Bondage and My Freedom / Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (Library of America)

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Frederick Douglass (1818?-1895) was the greatest African American leader of the Nineteenth Century. He was born a slave on the Eastern Shore in Maryland and grew up on plantations on the Eastern Shore with several years in Baltimore. He was a physically powerful, highly intelligent, and spirited youth and developed quickly a hatred of the slave system. As a slave, he taught himself to read and write, and learned the art of public speaking from the church and from a book of orations popular at the time that feel into his hands. He escaped from slavery at the age of 20 and moved to New Bedford,Massachusetts. He became part of the Abolitionist Movement and achieved fame as a public speaker. He became a newspaper editor and writer. During the Civil War, he assisted in the recuritment of black troops. He met President Lincoln on several occasions and became a great admirer. In later years, Douglass was aligned with the conservative "stalwart" wing of the Republican party and continued to speak out for the rights of African-Americans, to oppose (somewhat belatedly) the end of Reconstruction, and to work for the life of the spirit and the mind.

Frederick Douglass wrote three autobiographies which are given in this volume. The first, shortest, and best was written in 1845, seven years after Douglass had escaped from slavery. It tells in graphic and unforgettable terms the story of Douglass' life as a slave, the growth of the spirit of freedom in himself. and the early part of his life as a free man in New Bedford.

The second autobiography was written in 1855. It repeats much of the earlier story and describes Douglass's visit to Great Britain. A higlight of this volume is the Appendix in which Douglass gives the reader excerpts from several of his speeches, including his perhaps most famous speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July."

Douglass wrote his third autobiography in 1888 and edited it substantially in 1893. It describes Douglass's relationship with Abraham Lincoln and John Brown. I also enjoyed the section of the book in which Douglass describes his trip to England, Italy, and Egypt near the end of his life. It is highly intelligent, perceptive and reflective travel writing. There are also excerpts in this final autobiography from Douglass's speeches and letters.

The most striking incident in all three volumes is Douglass's story of how he stood up for himself and became in his own eyes a man of dignity and courage. Douglass had been sent for a year to live with a small farmer named Covey who had a reputation for breaking the sprit of strong-willed slaves. Covey whipped Douglass unmercifully for the first six months. Then, after a whipping which left Douglass scared and weak for several days (he ran back to his old master who ordered him back to Covey) Douglass fought back. Covey attempted to whip Douglass and Douglass resisted. The two men fought hand-to-hand for hours. Douglass could not assume the offensive in the fight (it was enough to resist at all) but more than held his ground and had the better of it. Covey at last walked off and never whipped Douglass again. This incident is strikingly told in each autobiography and marks the moment when Douglass showed he could stand up for himself and not have the spirit of a slave. It is inspiring and it grounded his actions for the rest of his life.

There is much in these books that transcends the resistance against American slavery, utterly important as that is. We have, as I have tried to explain, in this book the voice of personal freedom and self-determination which is something every person must learn and undestand for him or herself in deciding how to live. In addition,I get the impression that as Douglass aged he became increasingly committed to the life of the mind and the spirit. This is apparent from his writing and from his interest in travel, in European high culture, art, literature, and music. Douglass learned the meaning for freedom. He tried to devote himself to matters of the spirit in addition to his lifelong quest to improve the lot of the former slave. I think there is still a great deal to be learned here.

Douglass had much to say about the nature of American freedom and democracy. He loved and had faith in them, in spite of the horrible stain of slavery. Here is a wonderful observation from the third autobiography in which Douglass' describes his activities during the Presidential campaign of 1888.

"I left the discussion of the tariff to my young friend Morris, while I spoke for justice and humanity....I took it to be the vital and animating principle of the Republican party. I found the people more courageous than their party leaders. What the leaders were afraid to teach, the people were brave enough and glad enough to learn. I held that the soul of the nation was in this question, and that the gain of all the gold in the world would not compensate for the loss of the nation's soul. National honor is the soul of the nation, and when this is lost all is lost. ... As with an individual, so too with a nation, there is a time when it may properly be asked "What doth it profit to gain the whole world and therby lose one's soul?"

There is a spirit and a wisdom in Douglass that still has much to teach.

As a man of the Nineteenth Century, Douglass tells us little in his autobiographies of his personal life. Upon his escape from slavery, Douglass married a free, uneducated black woman. Upon her death, Douglass married a white woman, which (as we see briefly in the book) caused shock among American whites and blacks alike. We also see little of Douglass' relationship to his children. The reader who would like to learn more about Douglass' personal life needs to read a biography, such as William McFeeley's "Frederick Douglass" (1891)

Douglass' autobiographies are are precious work of American literature and a testimony to the free human spirit.

Two reasons might put one off from reading Frederick Douglass's autobiographies: (1)Douglass's life was so admirable and heroic that they are likely to contain more virtue than interest; and (2) there are so doggone many of them (after all, "autobiographies" ?! three of them?!). Don't let this happen. First, Douglass is a very good writer -- he's funny, he's earthy, he's smart, and his attitudes are surprisingly contemporary. It's almost as if your Democratic neighbor (although Douglass was a stalwart Republican -- those were the days) were to visit 19th century America and report back on what he saw. Second, reading his autobiographies seriatim allows you to see Douglass's life as he lived it: one sees how his own views of his past changed over time, and one comes to appreciate the unbelievably dramatic developments contained in the later autobiographies(I don't want to give them away). That said, three (count 'em 3!) autobiographies are a little much and, in retrospect, I would skip the second one, but do not, under any circumstances, skip the third one. Finally, the notes to the Library of America editions are really, really, really unhelpful. There aren't enough of them, and so the reader has no idea of the significance of some of the events Douglass refers to. Bottom line: Buy it used. Read it now.

Once you read Douglass's narrative, you will be surprised that Douglass learned enough to be able to write the first narrative written by an uneducated slave. This is one of the most moving narratives you can read -- I challenge any reader to read this and not understand the irony of the white people supressing black people's accomplishments for hundreds of years. The story of Fredrick Douglas in inspiring on many different levels. Once you read it, any reader will understand why this is mandatory reading in any American literature course. It is impossible to understand life after the Civil War without reading this moving, touching novel about how a slave learned how to read and write. Douglass's autobiography is a great literary achievement which should be savored by all who read it both as a historical and literary document.

President Lincoln regarded Douglass as "one of the most meritorious men, if not the most meritorious man, in the United States". Douglass thought it gossly unfair that black Union troops were getting paid less than whites. He went to the White House and managed to meet Lincoln in private to present his argument. Lincoln agreed and told Douglass that he would sign any executive order and any other documents necessary to assure that it would be done. They became friends and, to my knowledge, he was the first black man to be invited to the White House for a social engagement. He attended the evening celebration at the White House followng Lincoln's second inaugural.

Douglass spent his first 20 years of life as a slave and was totally self-educated. He purchased his freedom (with some financial assistace) and wrote two best selling autobiographies before the age of 20. Thereafter, etited his own newspaper and gave brilliant orations in the days when great orators were famous.

Douglass's home overlooking Washington is now an historic landmark open to the public. As an old man he sat in his rocker on the front porch and greeted an endless string of young black men asking him how they could further the civil rights movement. His only advice was to "agitate", "agitate" and "agitate".

As a kid I recollect walking around with an "I Like Ike" sign. Winston Churchill was around then and was occasionally interviewd. Eleanor Roosevent was a driving force in Adlai Sevenson's presidential campaign. We kids thought her voice was very strange. The only name for niggers was niggers, who lagged closely behind Jews and Catholics in the society from which I came.

It's amazingly wonderful how much society has changed during my own lifetime. Diversity is America. But it seems to me that 20th century historians writing about the civil rights movement are negligent, at best, by marginalizing, and even overlooking, the sublime accomplishments of Frederick Douglass, the man voted by President Lincoln as the most meritorious man in the United States.

Narrative of the life, of Frederick Douglass was a very good book. There were a lot of surprises in the book. There were some times that didn't make to much sense but only a few parts did that. It is very cool how dedicated Douglass was to learn how to read and write. just to think about how if he did not learn how to do these things then we would never hear about the great life of Frederick Douglass. even though he did not have a great life during his young age, he still part the hard work to good use and is a very good person to tell about a life has a slave.

This account of Frederick Douglass'
life and time by Henry Louis Gates
is the personifaction of Excellence
in Achievement through the Human Spirit.
In spite of the hardships of slavery, Frederick Douglass continued his fight for freedom. His dynamic oratory and leadership helped him to move barriers for all people. This self educated man rose to great prominence to serve as a testament to the world that if you have courage, persistence and faith in God, you can achieve anything that you set your mind to. He knew the power of education and the spoken and written word, which is manifested in his creating the NorthStar newspaper to communicate to others. Of course you have to have mortal men who believe in you and your abilities.

I believe that Mr. Gates captures this strength, this conviction and the essence of Mr. Douglass' spirit and his commitment to make a better life for himself and others like him. His dynamic use of the language allows you to feel conviction and essence of Mr. Douglass' concern. It was like listening to Mr. Douglass speak to me through those pages.

I found this book very intriguing and educational. It has something for the world to learn from.

Thanks to Mr. Gates and others for bringing this great American (World) hero to the forefront. We need to know and share in the histor and spiriti of this great man. By the way I was named after Frederick Douglass. I strive to be like him as much as I can. I am still working on my oratory!

Indeed this is a testimony that covers most of 19th century American history. I don't know how any person claiming to be American can legitimately do so without having read any of the autobiographies collected here. It should be a requirement for citizenship (instead of the unmerited fact of being born). If there is no doubt that Douglass was an extraordinarily talented writer, the marvelous thing is that his soul was no less extraordinary than his mind.

"Upon this pro-slavery platform the war against the rebellion had been waged during more than two years. It had not been a war of conquest, but rather a war of conciliation ... without hurting slavery."

Slavery was not a casus belli, but the right to seccede was.

"Men could say they were willing to fight for the Union, but that they were not willing to fight for the freedom of the negroes ... this was especially true of New York, where there was a large Irish population ... There is perhaps no darker chapter in the whole history of the war than this cowardly and bloody uprising in July, 1863. For three days and nights New York was in the hands of a ferocious mob ... it hanged negroes simply because they were negroes; it murdered women in their homes, and burnt their homes over their heads; it dashed out the brains of young children against the lamp-posts; it burned the colored orphan asylum".

Douglass tells things as they were, not a bit like modern journalists do: either demonizing or omitting things as their own interests dictate them. Douglass is to be praised and imitated by all those who have the power to impress the minds of readers anywhere. A courageous, good-natured, and honest man like you don't find anymore.

"I esteem myself a good, persistent hater of injustice and oppression, but my resentment ceases when they cease, and I have no heart to visit upon children the sins of their fathers."

I loved this book. Truly this man was appointed by God to speak up in that troubled time of American history.

A very good compulation of Frederick Douglass's three autobiographies and a few of his speaches and essays. My only complaint is that with each successive autobio he does not to pick up where he left off but returns to his earliest memories basically going over the same information two or three times albeit with more/different details. All in all Mr. Douglass to this day is a very powerfull and expressive writer and his message and story is one that all people should study and understand.

A full first-person view of a dark time in the history of America ,overcoming adversity and becoming a leader... Fredrick Douglass was a remarkable man and I believe a lyricist to the beat of life.

Frederick Douglass is a role model for all mankind. He showed us how we can do anything we want in life if we are persistant and have the right attitude. Having nothing in life, not even a chance to become educated, he used every situation as an advantage for himself. He remained positive in adverse situations, had a good work ethic and is a person all races should take lessons from and succeed