Frederick Douglass [Hardcover]

William S. McFeely (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1991

This biography of Frederick Douglass covers the life of an orator, abolitionist and writer. Douglass was one of the most powerful voices for freedom in the United States and his autobiographies ("Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass") have shaped the American view of slavery. In this biography, McFeely presents Douglass as a central figure of his time, who identified slavery as the cause of the Civil War. He also examines fully the complex relationship Douglass maintained with his illiterate wife, his children who were for ever in awe of their famous father and well-educated women friends.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A runaway slave at 20, Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) won worldwide renown as a spokesman for the abolitionist cause, edited an influential antislavery weekly and helped organize black regiments during the Civil War. After the Emancipation Proclamation he aggressively championed full citizenship for his fellow black Americans. In this unhurried and beautifully crafted biography, the author presents the known facts of Douglass's stormy life and reveals the man behind the icon: his complex and ambiguous friendships with William Lloyd Garrison, John Brown and other figures of the day; his gossip-stirring relationships with several dynamic white women; his controversial tenure as U.S. minister to Haiti near the end of his life. McFeely analyzes Douglass's autobiographical writings, probing insightfully into the complicated psyche of this heroic figure. The biography is a major work of scholarship that brings into vivid focus the nature of slave culture and racial prejudice in 19th-century America. McFeely, a history professor at the University of Georgia, won a Pulitizer Prize for Grant: A Biography. Photos. BOMC, History Book Club and QPB selections.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-- This excellent biography fluently tells the life story of Douglass, one of the 19th century'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. Readers familiar with his life will be grateful for the little-known information about his family, and a general audience will enjoy the well-rounded, literate stories of Douglass's contemporaries. 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 YAs to become not only dedicated Douglass historians but also avid William McFeely fans.
- Isabelle Bligh, Edison High School, Alexandria,
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 1st edition (January 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393028232
• ISBN-13: 978-0393028232
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,518,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Uninspired Examination of a Monuemental Life, August 6, 2001

By 

Dana Keish (Ohio, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frederick Douglass (Paperback)

Looking for a biography of the former slave turned lecturer and abolitionist, I came across this work by author McFeely. The first section regarding the birth and circumstances of Douglass' flight to freedom was full of what I consider "psychobabble". The author makes too many conjectures concerning the relationship of Douglass with his owner, including possible latent homosexual feelings but never includes any information to back this claim up. The story picks up when Douglass moves to New England and becomes involved in the abolistionist causes. His travels to England and his relationship with women working for the cause of women's suffrage is particularly interesting. However, the remainder of the book seems to meander with no purpose.

I am still searching for a biography which puts this man's life into context.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Adequate Book About a Fascinating American, August 26, 2000

By 

Wayne A. Smith (Newark, DE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frederick Douglass (Paperback)

Frederick Douglass is an authentic American and a heroic figure. For those wishing to become aquainted with a chronicle of his life, McFeely's book will do the job.

Born a slave in Maryland, Douglass accomplished the difficult task of self education in an era when slaves were not taught under penalty of law. "Running away with himself" (as Southerners used to describe slaves who escaped) twenty years before the Civil War, he became one of our country's great orators in telling the tale of his life as a bondsman and urging that America embrace emancipation of all slaves. He was perhaps the anti-slavery movement's best spokesman. Not only for the sheer eloquence with which he captivated audiences, but as living proof that a black could be educated to a level reached by few people of any race.

Douglass did his part for the Union in the Civil War and bought into Republicanism as the best political vehicle for achieving the end of slavery and the leveling up of blacks to their rightful place in American society. His hopes were frustrated after the Civil War when his party turned away from Reconstruction and blacks were subjugated anew by racism, indifference and Jim Crowism.

Douglass was an idealist in that he believed that America could be exhorted into granting slaves not only their freedom but their civil rights and social equality. His country failed his vision miserably and he ended his life personnally successful (as successful as his skin color could take him in the 1890's) but very distraught at the chasm between his hopes for a free America and the reality.

This is an adequate book, though dry at times. It follows Douglass chronologically. In episodes where his life was a fascinating story -- as a slave, his escape, his establishment in the North, as a politician and as US minister to Haiti -- the book is a fascinating tale. Not so fascinating are long accounts of his work on the road delivering speeches as an agent of the anti-slavery movement. Part of the problem with writing a biography of a man who was in large part a professional orator is that the chapters focusing on that work are not very exciting. Mcfeely spends a lot of ink detailing his journies on the stump and his meetings with many characters who were part of the American and English anti-slavery movements. Douglass's life flow, when examined chronologically, produces a story of varying degrees of drama. Although any biograhpher is limited by his character, I had the feeling throughout that Douglass's life could be told with more verve without sacrificing the facts.

What McFeely should have jettisoned were several parts where he delved into psychobabble -- speculations about sexual attraction or the depth of feeling between Douglass and several figures in his life. Human feelings and attractions are an important part of any biography and certainly shaped Douglass's life. McFeeley speculates on several without any facts to support his views. These are relegated to the first half of the book and do not intrude greatly, however.

If one needs or wants to learn about the life of this great American, McFeeley's book will fill the bill.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent critical analysis of a Man, May 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frederick Douglass (Paperback)

I am curious to know the previous reviewer found William McFeely's observations/analysis of Frederick Douglas racist. I too found a lot of overly subjective tones within the work of Mr. McFeely's analysis of Frederick Douglas, but I also found that his analysis captured, for me, Frederick Douglas' strong positive character, and sense of universal humanity. Mr. McFeely's analysis, while in some instances deductive, yet subjective in others, presented a man - not a God, who held fast to is universal convictions, but who was also subject to human frailties. Mr. McFeely's analysis of Douglas has reinforced my admiration in Frederick Douglas even more.