Picture of author.

Frederick Douglass (1818–1895)

Autor(a) de Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

179+ Works 15,252 Membros 174 Críticas 22 Favorited

About the Author

Born a slave in Maryland in about 1817, Frederick Douglass never became accommodated to being held in bondage. He secretly learned to read, although slaves were prohibited from doing so. He fought back against a cruel slave-breaker and finally escaped to New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1838 at about mostrar mais the age of 21. Despite the danger of being sent back to his owner if discovered, Douglass became an agent and eloquent orator for the Massachusetts Antislavery Society. He lectured extensively in both England and the United States. As an ex-slave, his words had tremendous impact on his listeners. In 1845 Douglass wrote his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, which increased his fame. Concerned that he might be sent back to slavery, he went to Europe. He spent two years in England and Ireland speaking to antislavery groups. Douglass returned to the United States a free man and settled in Rochester, New York, where he founded a weekly newspaper, The North Star, in 1847. In the newspaper he wrote articles supporting the antislavery cause and the cause of human rights. He once wrote, "The lesson which [the American people] must learn, or neglect to do so at their own peril, is that Equal Manhood means Equal Rights, and further, that the American people must stand for each and all for each without respect to color or race." During the Civil War, Douglass worked for the Underground Railroad, the secret route of escape for slaves. He also helped recruit African-Americans soldiers for the Union army. After the war, he continued to write and to speak out against injustice. In addition to advocating education for freed slaves, he served in several government posts, including United States representative to Haiti. In 1855, a longer version of his autobiography appeared, and in 1895, the year of Douglass's death, a completed version was published. A best-seller in its own time, it has since become available in numerous editions and languages. (Bowker Author Biography) mostrar menos
Image credit: Photo circa 1865-1880
(Brady-Handy Photograph Collection,
Loc Prints and Photographs Division,
LC-DIG-cwpbh-05089)

Obras por Frederick Douglass

The Classic Slave Narratives (1789) 1,088 exemplares
My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) 1,039 exemplares
The Heroic Slave (1853) 45 exemplares
Frederick Douglass in Brooklyn (2017) 11 exemplares
The Life of Frederick Douglass (1993) 11 exemplares
My Escape From Slavery (1996) 8 exemplares
Reconstruction (2012) 7 exemplares
De l'esclavage en Amerique (2006) 6 exemplares
Lighter moments 4 exemplares
Black Voices on Britain: Selected Writings (2022) — Contribuidor — 3 exemplares
Addresses of Frederick Douglass (2016) 2 exemplares
Eleven Minutes 1 exemplar
Fredrick Douglass 1 exemplar
ENFIN LIBRE 1 exemplar
Self-Made Men (2015) 1 exemplar
Works of Frederick Douglass (2008) 1 exemplar
The Color Line in America (2015) 1 exemplar
Civil War 1 exemplar
Frederick Douglass papers (2018) 1 exemplar
Slave Narrative Six Pack 3 (2015) 1 exemplar

Associated Works

Slave Narratives (2000) — Contribuidor — 320 exemplares
Americans in Paris: A Literary Anthology (2004) — Contribuidor — 297 exemplares
The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume 1 (1990) — Contribuidor, algumas edições255 exemplares
The Civil War: The First Year Told By Those Who Lived It (2011) — Contribuidor — 241 exemplares
The Civil War: The Second Year Told By Those Who Lived It (2012) — Contribuidor — 172 exemplares
The Civil War: The Third Year Told by Those Who Lived It (2013) — Contribuidor — 145 exemplares
American Antislavery Writings: Colonial Beginnings to Emancipation (2012) — Contribuidor — 122 exemplares
Black on White: Black Writers on What It Means to Be White (1998) — Contribuidor — 118 exemplares
Dred Scott v. Sandford: A Brief History with Documents (1997) — Contribuidor — 117 exemplares
The Literature of the American South: A Norton Anthology (1997) — Contribuidor — 98 exemplares
Classic American Autobiographies (1992) — Contribuidor — 91 exemplares
Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America (1995) — Contribuidor — 91 exemplares
Three Classic African-American Novels (1990) — Contribuidor — 86 exemplares
American Heritage: A Reader (2011) — Contribuidor — 81 exemplares
The Black Power Revolt (1968) — Contribuidor — 71 exemplares
The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Concise Edition (2003) — Contribuidor — 68 exemplares
Recognize!: An Anthology Honoring and Amplifying Black Life (2021) — Contribuidor — 46 exemplares
Poetry of Witness: The Tradition in English, 1500-2001 (2014) — Contribuidor — 41 exemplares
Summer: A Spiritual Biography of the Season (2005) — Contribuidor — 37 exemplares
Writing Politics: An Anthology (2020) — Contribuidor — 35 exemplares
I Hear a Symphony: African Americans Celebrate Love (1994) — Contribuidor — 33 exemplares
Unsung: Unheralded Narratives of American Slavery and Abolition (2021) — Contribuidor — 32 exemplares
American Literature: The Makers and the Making (In Two Volumes) (1973) — Contribuidor — 25 exemplares
Wade in the Water: Great Moments in Black History (1979) — Contribuidor — 20 exemplares
An Autobiography of America (1929) — Contribuidor — 4 exemplares

Etiquetado

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Membros

Discussions

What Are You Reading the Week of 14 February 2015? em What Are You Reading Now? (Fevereiro 2015)

Críticas

Frederick Douglass rose to great heights as a renowned figure in Washington D.C., and represents the epitome of "a man of humble origins". He began life as a slave on a Maryland plantation. While he was still a child, through a stroke of good fortune he was delivered to Baltimore to serve his master's relation. His discovery of the path from slavery via literacy was equally fortuitous, but it took a great deal of ingenuity to become literate. After escaping slavery altogether, he came among abolitionists who encouraged him to share his story in this written form in 1845. From that point on he was famous, earning high regard in America and beyond.

Hollywood has many times depicted the life of the American slave, but they are all a step removed from reading of the actual experience in the words of an actual witness and victim of the crime. Douglass does not overly dwell on the horrors as much as he challenges the morality of such acts and counts his blessings for having escaped them. I find it remarkable that he clearly stated the identities of his former masters, when the law still allowed for escaped slaves to be reclaimed. His account accuses them of everything up to and including murder. Many memoirs written today feature altered names and anonymity for less reason than that (and he does extend this courtesy to those whom he needs to protect). Public opinion being the only thing he could turn to for justice, its achievement must have been his aim. I doubt whether he saw full justice done - he has written two more biographies and I look forward to the rest of his story - but in any case those recorded names are now justly maligned for as long as his memoir continues to be read.

It's a work that fully deserves five stars in light of what it records, when it was recorded, and what it represents.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
Cecrow | 118 outras críticas | Feb 17, 2024 |
Frederick's autobiography gripped me with horror, disgust and hope for humanity. What a bleak picture of the depravity of slavery. It destroyed the lives of slaves and those who were their masters. Even in these horrible stories he presents, there were signs of kindness, strength and compassion. I am truly grateful for finally reading his story of being born, raised and escaping slavery.
 
Assinalado
wvlibrarydude | 118 outras críticas | Jan 14, 2024 |
Should be required reading for every American.
 
Assinalado
diylibrarian | 118 outras críticas | Jan 9, 2024 |
Hakim Adi's selection of writings about Britain (mainly England) by Black people of the late 18th to the early 20th century is carefully chosen to establish their presence in all strata of society at a date earlier than certain commentators would wish it known. There's a thread showing the development of abolitionism into emancipation into supremacism to justify the continued exploitation of Black Labour, and Adi's selections often strongly resonate with current issues, such as the Windrush scandal and the illegal Tory Rwanda deportation policy.

There's also many fascinating glimpses into Georgian and Victorian society and, while varying degrees of racism are noted, many of the impressions of visitors to the island are positive about their reception and of the culture in which they find themselves.

A nuanced and balanced selection of historical testimonies which I thoroughly enjoyed reading, not least the short section on John Ocansey's day trip from Liverpool to my home town of Southport 🏖️
… (mais)
½
 
Assinalado
Michael.Rimmer | Jul 12, 2023 |

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Associated Authors

Olaudah Equiano Contributor
Mary Prince Contributor
Harriet A. Jacobs Contributor
W. E. B. Du Bois Contributor

Estatísticas

Obras
179
Also by
37
Membros
15,252
Popularidade
#1,496
Avaliação
4.1
Críticas
174
ISBN
839
Línguas
14
Marcado como favorito
22

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