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The Autobiographies #2
My Bondage and My Freedom
"David Blight has produced a fine edition of Douglass' second autobiography. This is an essential work in African-American and American history, and displays Douglass' developing strength as a writer and political leader."—Richard Slotkin, Wesleyan University
Born into slavery in 1818, Frederick Douglass escaped to freedom and became a passionate advocate for abolition and social change and the foremost spokesperson for the nation’s enslaved African American population in the years preceding the Civil War. My Bondage and My Freedom is Douglass’s masterful recounting of his remarkable life and a fiery condemnation of a political and social system that would reduce people to property and keep an entire race in chains.
This classic is revisited with a new introduction and annotations by celebrated Douglass scholar David W. Blight. Blight situates the book within the politics of the 1850s and illuminates how My Bondage represents Douglass as a mature, confident, powerful writer who crafted some of the most unforgettable metaphors of slavery and freedom—indeed of basic human universal aspirations for freedom—anywhere in the English language.
Born into slavery in 1818, Frederick Douglass escaped to freedom and became a passionate advocate for abolition and social change and the foremost spokesperson for the nation’s enslaved African American population in the years preceding the Civil War. My Bondage and My Freedom is Douglass’s masterful recounting of his remarkable life and a fiery condemnation of a political and social system that would reduce people to property and keep an entire race in chains.
This classic is revisited with a new introduction and annotations by celebrated Douglass scholar David W. Blight. Blight situates the book within the politics of the 1850s and illuminates how My Bondage represents Douglass as a mature, confident, powerful writer who crafted some of the most unforgettable metaphors of slavery and freedom—indeed of basic human universal aspirations for freedom—anywhere in the English language.
395 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1855
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About the author
Frederick Douglass
1,004 books1,636 followersFrederick Douglass (né Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey) was born a slave in the state of Maryland in 1818. After his escape from slavery, Douglass became a renowned abolitionist, editor and feminist. Having escaped from slavery at age 20, he took the name Frederick Douglass for himself and became an advocate of abolition. Douglass traveled widely, and often perilously, to lecture against slavery.
His first of three autobiographies, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, was published in 1845. In 1847 he moved to Rochester, New York, and started working with fellow abolitionist Martin R. Delany to publish a weekly anti-slavery newspaper, North Star. Douglass was the only man to speak in favor of Elizabeth Cady Stanton's controversial plank of woman suffrage at the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. As a signer of the Declaration of Sentiments, Douglass also promoted woman suffrage in his North Star. Douglass and Stanton remained lifelong friends.
In 1870 Douglass launched The New National Era out of Washington, D.C. He was nominated for vice-president by the Equal Rights Party to run with Victoria Woodhull as presidential candidate in 1872. He became U.S. marshal of the District of Columbia in 1877, and was later appointed minister resident and consul-general to Haiti. His District of Columbia home is a national historic site. D. 1895.
More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic...
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1...
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/exhi...
http://www.loc.gov/collection/frederi...
http://www.nps.gov/frdo/index.htm
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits...
His first of three autobiographies, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, was published in 1845. In 1847 he moved to Rochester, New York, and started working with fellow abolitionist Martin R. Delany to publish a weekly anti-slavery newspaper, North Star. Douglass was the only man to speak in favor of Elizabeth Cady Stanton's controversial plank of woman suffrage at the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. As a signer of the Declaration of Sentiments, Douglass also promoted woman suffrage in his North Star. Douglass and Stanton remained lifelong friends.
In 1870 Douglass launched The New National Era out of Washington, D.C. He was nominated for vice-president by the Equal Rights Party to run with Victoria Woodhull as presidential candidate in 1872. He became U.S. marshal of the District of Columbia in 1877, and was later appointed minister resident and consul-general to Haiti. His District of Columbia home is a national historic site. D. 1895.
More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic...
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1...
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/exhi...
http://www.loc.gov/collection/frederi...
http://www.nps.gov/frdo/index.htm
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits...
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August 17, 2017
" The remark is not unfrequently made, that slaves are the most contented and happy labourers in the world. They dance and sing, and make all manner of joyful noises—so they do; but it is a great mistake to suppose them happy because they sing. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows, rather than the joys, of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears." – Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom
I’ve never read such a detailed and insightful autobiography about slavery. Douglass helped me understand in more detail the horrors of slavery, especially the psychological. I can imagine it must have been really difficult for him to write this, to relive all his pain, but he was the perfect person to do so, being as intelligent and observant as he was.
In the beginning of the book, the discussions of family within slavery is very pertinent because it speaks to how the evil of slavery affects the very foundations of society. When Douglass as a child lives with his grandmother and siblings for the first time, this is what he says:
"We were brothers and sisters, but what of that? Why should they be attached to me, or to them? Brothers and sisters we were by blood; but slavery had made us strangers. I heard the words brothers and sisters, and knew they must mean something; but slavery had robbed these terms of their true meaning."
It’s even sadder when he discusses his mother:
“My poor mother, like many other slave-women, had many children, but NO FAMILY!”
You could hear the injustice in his words once he looked back in retrospect when looking back in retrospect; a child who had little recollection of his mother. When she died, Douglass wrote, “I was not allowed to visit her during any part of her long illness; nor did I see her for a long time before she was taken ill and died. The heartless and ghastly form of slavery rises between mother and child, even at the bed of death.”
Douglass uses his memories from his childhood and early adulthood to describe the hypocrisy and evils he encountered and observed as a slave, showing us that not a single part of life was untouched by slavery. His autobiography goes into detail of how he came to learn what it meant to be a slave, especially a bright slave, whose environment clearly did not nourish, and how he strategically tried to better himself and those around him, and eventually escape.
As a child Douglass asked himself the following “Why am I a slave? Why are some people slaves, and others masters? Was there ever a time when this was not so? How did the relationship commence?” I’ve said this before, but despite the number of books on slavery I have read I always learn more and I am always freshly shocked. Clearly there is no bottom to this evil practice, no shortage of cruel ways to keep people subjugated:
But, there is this difference in the two extremes; viz: that in the case of the slave, the miseries and hardships of his lot are imposed by others, and in the master’s case, they are imposed by himself. The slave is a subject, subjected by others; the slaveholder is a subject, but he is the author of his own subjection.
I’ve never read such a detailed and insightful autobiography about slavery. Douglass helped me understand in more detail the horrors of slavery, especially the psychological. I can imagine it must have been really difficult for him to write this, to relive all his pain, but he was the perfect person to do so, being as intelligent and observant as he was.
In the beginning of the book, the discussions of family within slavery is very pertinent because it speaks to how the evil of slavery affects the very foundations of society. When Douglass as a child lives with his grandmother and siblings for the first time, this is what he says:
"We were brothers and sisters, but what of that? Why should they be attached to me, or to them? Brothers and sisters we were by blood; but slavery had made us strangers. I heard the words brothers and sisters, and knew they must mean something; but slavery had robbed these terms of their true meaning."
It’s even sadder when he discusses his mother:
“My poor mother, like many other slave-women, had many children, but NO FAMILY!”
You could hear the injustice in his words once he looked back in retrospect when looking back in retrospect; a child who had little recollection of his mother. When she died, Douglass wrote, “I was not allowed to visit her during any part of her long illness; nor did I see her for a long time before she was taken ill and died. The heartless and ghastly form of slavery rises between mother and child, even at the bed of death.”
Douglass uses his memories from his childhood and early adulthood to describe the hypocrisy and evils he encountered and observed as a slave, showing us that not a single part of life was untouched by slavery. His autobiography goes into detail of how he came to learn what it meant to be a slave, especially a bright slave, whose environment clearly did not nourish, and how he strategically tried to better himself and those around him, and eventually escape.
As a child Douglass asked himself the following “Why am I a slave? Why are some people slaves, and others masters? Was there ever a time when this was not so? How did the relationship commence?” I’ve said this before, but despite the number of books on slavery I have read I always learn more and I am always freshly shocked. Clearly there is no bottom to this evil practice, no shortage of cruel ways to keep people subjugated:
But, there is this difference in the two extremes; viz: that in the case of the slave, the miseries and hardships of his lot are imposed by others, and in the master’s case, they are imposed by himself. The slave is a subject, subjected by others; the slaveholder is a subject, but he is the author of his own subjection.
March 4, 2021
I read Frederick Douglass’s first autobiography while I was studying abroad in Tanzania. I was taking malaria medication at the time, which seemed to affect my emotional state quite a bit. Both my imagination and my sensitivity were amplified, leading to higher highs and lower lows. It was at this time, for example, when I read Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a book that annoyed me more than any book should have the power to do. But when I read The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass on the same trip, I was absolutely enraptured. I devoured the book in one sitting, staying up far into the night as I flew through the pages.
That book was published in 1845, seven years after Douglass made his way to freedom. It catapulted Douglass to fame and gave him financial independence. This version of his autobiography was published ten years later, in 1855, after he had established himself as a prominent abolitionist, speaker, writer, and publisher. It is longer and, naturally, more detailed. But the essential story Douglass has to tell—an autobiographical illustration of the evils of slavery—is just the same, and just as powerful the second time around.
What struck me this time was the contrast between Douglass’s polished style and the brutal content of his story. By all accounts Douglass was a masterful writer—so eloquent, in fact, that some abolitionists doubted whether he was ever a slave, and racists attributed his talent to his white blood.* Indeed, Douglass’s keen intelligence, so apparent in everything he said, was perhaps his most powerful argument against the institution of slavery. It is difficult to argue that slavery was based on the natural superiority of the white race when a black man was so obviously the intellectual (and moral) superior of so many whites. Douglass’s eloquence was, thus, a kind of weapon in itself, in addition to everything he had to say.
Nevertheless, I found that the literary polish of these memoirs—marked by the delicate sensibilities of that time—distracted somewhat from the horrible violence that Douglass is here to describe. If this book had been written by a journalist nowadays, for example, it would be so sickening as to be hard to read: full of every sort of abuse—physical, psychological, sexual—and any other crime you care to name: kidnapping, theft, rape, murder. Douglass certainly cannot be accused of mincing words; but the constraints of polite society did limit what he could make explicit in these memoirs. Even with Douglass’s discrete phrasing, the contents of this book cannot fail to outrage.
On a personal note, what I find most moving in Douglass’s account is how he learned to read. By his wits alone, Douglass wrested this knowledge from a society hellbent on keeping him in total ignorance. And in so doing he emancipated his mind far before he did the same for his body. Just as with Malcolm X, studying in his prison cell, it was the written word that transformed Douglass from a victim into a voice. Few stories illustrate so powerfully the value of education.
_________________________
*Such is the confused mind of a racist: A bit of black blood is enough to justify enslavement, and a bit of white blood enough to explain any notable talents.
That book was published in 1845, seven years after Douglass made his way to freedom. It catapulted Douglass to fame and gave him financial independence. This version of his autobiography was published ten years later, in 1855, after he had established himself as a prominent abolitionist, speaker, writer, and publisher. It is longer and, naturally, more detailed. But the essential story Douglass has to tell—an autobiographical illustration of the evils of slavery—is just the same, and just as powerful the second time around.
What struck me this time was the contrast between Douglass’s polished style and the brutal content of his story. By all accounts Douglass was a masterful writer—so eloquent, in fact, that some abolitionists doubted whether he was ever a slave, and racists attributed his talent to his white blood.* Indeed, Douglass’s keen intelligence, so apparent in everything he said, was perhaps his most powerful argument against the institution of slavery. It is difficult to argue that slavery was based on the natural superiority of the white race when a black man was so obviously the intellectual (and moral) superior of so many whites. Douglass’s eloquence was, thus, a kind of weapon in itself, in addition to everything he had to say.
Nevertheless, I found that the literary polish of these memoirs—marked by the delicate sensibilities of that time—distracted somewhat from the horrible violence that Douglass is here to describe. If this book had been written by a journalist nowadays, for example, it would be so sickening as to be hard to read: full of every sort of abuse—physical, psychological, sexual—and any other crime you care to name: kidnapping, theft, rape, murder. Douglass certainly cannot be accused of mincing words; but the constraints of polite society did limit what he could make explicit in these memoirs. Even with Douglass’s discrete phrasing, the contents of this book cannot fail to outrage.
On a personal note, what I find most moving in Douglass’s account is how he learned to read. By his wits alone, Douglass wrested this knowledge from a society hellbent on keeping him in total ignorance. And in so doing he emancipated his mind far before he did the same for his body. Just as with Malcolm X, studying in his prison cell, it was the written word that transformed Douglass from a victim into a voice. Few stories illustrate so powerfully the value of education.
_________________________
*Such is the confused mind of a racist: A bit of black blood is enough to justify enslavement, and a bit of white blood enough to explain any notable talents.
June 5, 2023
An Autobiography for the Ages…
Preamble:
--When I need a breather from my pile of social crises nonfiction tomes, I’ve lately been shifting to diverse biographies. Alas, I now have another pile. After starting with the brief
She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman, I knew I had to dive deeper. Frederick Douglass in his own words was the obvious next step.
--I’m very stingey with giving 5-star ratings, reserving them for foundational/paradigm-shifting nonfiction tomes leaving me with pages and pages of notes on systemic structures to review and synthesize. Meanwhile, this first-person narrative is not even Douglass’ complete autobiography (#2 of 3 books). (Auto)biographies rarely make the cut, as the exceptions reveal:
1) Yanis Varoufakis’ negotiations during the European debt crisis against the Troika (EC/ECB/IMF) imposing debt bondage on Greece: Adults in the Room: My Battle with Europe's Deep Establishment
2) Arundhati Roy’s nonfiction essays collection: My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction (actually, the only biographical essay I remember is Walking with the Comrades).
3) Ernesto Che Guevara’s fascinating collection of letters: I Embrace You with All My Revolutionary Fervor: Letters 1947-1967.
Highlights:
--So many amazing writers live through their imaginary words, while those with lives of real-world action often lack the privilege to carefully document their experiences. Douglass is a rare synthesis. For once, I’ll rely on quotes:
1) Positive/Negative Freedoms; Degradation of master and slave:
2) Divide-and-rule; Racism and Capitalism:
--This passage starts with the South’s white wage labour vs. slaves:
Preamble:
--When I need a breather from my pile of social crises nonfiction tomes, I’ve lately been shifting to diverse biographies. Alas, I now have another pile. After starting with the brief
She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman, I knew I had to dive deeper. Frederick Douglass in his own words was the obvious next step.
--I’m very stingey with giving 5-star ratings, reserving them for foundational/paradigm-shifting nonfiction tomes leaving me with pages and pages of notes on systemic structures to review and synthesize. Meanwhile, this first-person narrative is not even Douglass’ complete autobiography (#2 of 3 books). (Auto)biographies rarely make the cut, as the exceptions reveal:
1) Yanis Varoufakis’ negotiations during the European debt crisis against the Troika (EC/ECB/IMF) imposing debt bondage on Greece: Adults in the Room: My Battle with Europe's Deep Establishment
2) Arundhati Roy’s nonfiction essays collection: My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction (actually, the only biographical essay I remember is Walking with the Comrades).
3) Ernesto Che Guevara’s fascinating collection of letters: I Embrace You with All My Revolutionary Fervor: Letters 1947-1967.
Highlights:
--So many amazing writers live through their imaginary words, while those with lives of real-world action often lack the privilege to carefully document their experiences. Douglass is a rare synthesis. For once, I’ll rely on quotes:
1) Positive/Negative Freedoms; Degradation of master and slave:
[My old master Capt. Anthony] could, when it suited him, appear to be literally insensible to the claims of humanity, when appealed to by the helpless against an aggressor, and he could himself commit outrages, deep, dark and nameless. Yet he was not by nature worse than other men. Had he been brought up in a free state, surrounded by the just restraints of free society—restraints which are necessary to the freedom of all its members, alike and equally—Capt. Anthony might have been as humane a man, and every way as respectable, as many who now oppose the slave system [“just restraints of free society” is illustrative of positive vs. negative freedoms]; certainly as humane and respectable as are members of society generally. The slaveholder, as well as the slave, is the victim of the slave system. […] Under the whole heavens there is no relation more unfavorable to the development of honorable character, than that sustained by the slaveholder to the slave. Reason is imprisoned here, and passions run wild. Like the fires of the prairie, once lighted, they are at the mercy of every wind, and must burn, till they have consumed all that is combustible within their remorseless grasp. […]
My mistress—who, as the reader has already seen, had begun to teach me [reading and writing]—was suddenly checked in her benevolent design, by the strong advice of her husband. In faithful compliance with this advice, the good lady had not only ceased to instruct me, herself, but had set her face as a flint against my learning to read by any means. It is due, however, to my mistress to say, that she did not adopt this course in all its stringency at the first. She either thought it unnecessary, or she lacked the depravity indispensable to shutting me up in mental darkness. It was, at least, necessary for her to have some training, and some hardening, in the exercise of the slaveholder’s prerogative, to make her equal to forgetting my human nature and character, and to treating me as a thing destitute of a moral or an intellectual nature. Mrs. Auld—my mistress—was, as I have said, a most kind and tender-hearted woman; and, in the humanity of her heart, and the simplicity of her mind, she set out, when I first went to live with her, to treat me as she supposed one human being ought to treat another.
It is easy to see, that, in entering upon the duties of a slaveholder, some little experience is needed. Nature has done almost nothing to prepare men and women to be either slaves or slaveholders. Nothing but rigid training, long persisted in, can perfect the character of the one or the other. One cannot easily forget to love freedom; and it is as hard to cease to respect that natural love in our fellow creatures. On entering upon the career of a slaveholding mistress, Mrs. Auld was singularly deficient; nature, which fits nobody for such an office, had done less for her than any lady I had known. It was no easy matter to induce her to think and to feel that the curly-headed boy, who stood by her side, and even leaned on her lap; who was loved by little Tommy, and who loved little Tommy in turn; sustained to her only the relation of a chattel. I was more than that, and she felt me to be more than that. I could talk and sing; I could laugh and weep; I could reason and remember; I could love and hate. I was human, and she, dear lady, knew and felt me to be so. How could she, then, treat me as a brute, without a mighty struggle with all the noble powers of her own soul. That struggle came, and the will and power of the husband was victorious. Her noble soul was overthrown; but, he that overthrew it did not, himself, escape the consequences. He, not less than the other parties, was injured in his domestic peace by the fall. [Emphases added]
2) Divide-and-rule; Racism and Capitalism:
--This passage starts with the South’s white wage labour vs. slaves:
The slaveholders, with a craftiness peculiar to themselves, by encouraging the enmity of the poor, laboring white man [capitalism’s wage labour working class] against the blacks, succeeds in making the said white man almost as much a slave as the black slave himself. The difference between the white slave [“wage slave” was a popular term], and the black slave, is this: the latter belongs to one slaveholder, and the former belongs to all the slaveholders, collectively [i.e. capitalism]. The white slave has taken from him, by indirection, what the black slave has taken from him, directly, and without ceremony. Both are plundered, and by the same plunderers. The slave is robbed, by his master, of all his earnings, above what is required for his bare physical necessities; and the white man is robbed by the slave system, of the just results of his labor, because he is flung into competition with a class of laborers who work without wages. The competition, and its injurious consequences, will, one day, array the non-slaveholding white people of the slave states, against the slave system, and make them the most effective workers against the great evil [note: this notion of a class war where poor white and black can unite against capitalism has in part been suppressed by “Enlightened” middle/upper class liberal whitewashing, ex. To Kill a Mockingbird]. At present, the slave holders blind them to this competition, by keeping alive their prejudice against the slaves, as men-not against them as slaves. They appeal to their pride, often denouncing emancipation, as tending to place the white working man, on an equality with negroes, and, by this means, they succeed in drawing off the minds of the poor whites from the real fact, that, by the rich slave-master, they are already regarded as but a single remove from equality with the slave. The impression is cunningly made, that slavery is the only power that can prevent the laboring white man from falling to the level of the slave’s poverty and degradation. To make this enmity deep and broad, between the slave and the poor white man, the latter is allowed to abuse and whip the former, without hinderance. But—as I have suggested—this state of facts prevails mostly in the country [i.e. rural South].…This passage follows with the North’s white wage labour vs. black wage labour, but before we get to that, compare Douglass’ wage slave/slave analysis with Marx’s analysis!
In the United States of America, every independent workers’ movement was paralysed as long as slavery disfigured a part of the republic. Labour in a white skin cannot emancipate itself where it is branded in a black skin. However, a new life immediately arose from the death of slavery. The first fruit of the American Civil War was the eight hours’ [working day] agitation [...]…OK, now let’s continue Douglass’ passage moving onto the North’s white wage labour vs. black wage labour:
[Marx, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1, Ch.10, section 7, emphasis added]
In the city of Baltimore, there are not unfrequent murmurs, that educating the slaves to be mechanics may, in the end, give slave-masters power to dispense with the services of the poor white man altogether. But, with characteristic dread of offending the slaveholders, these poor, white mechanics in Mr. Gardiner’s ship-yard-instead of applying the natural, honest remedy for the apprehended evil, and objecting at once to work there by the side of slaves—made a cowardly attack upon the free colored mechanics, saying they were eating the bread which should be eaten by American freemen, and swearing that they would not work with them. The feeling was, really, against having their labor brought into competition with that of the colored people at all; but it was too much to strike directly at the interest of the slaveholders; and, therefore—proving their servility and cowardice—they dealt their blows on the poor, colored freeman, and aimed to prevent him from serving himself, in the evening of life, with the trade with which he had served his master, during the more vigorous portion of his days. Had they succeeded in driving the black freemen out of the ship yard, they would have determined also upon the removal of the black slaves. The feeling was very bitter toward all colored people in Baltimore, about this time, (1836,) and they—free and slave—suffered all manner of insult and wrong. [Emphasis added]...see Comments below for rest of review...
August 14, 2012
This is a great book, by a great American. Skeptics looking at that statement might think, well sure you think that reading his own account. Except I've found autobiographies unintentionally revealing in fascinating ways. Within the last year I read autobiographies and memoirs by Ghandi, Dian Fossey and Booker T. Washington. The first book lessened my admiration and liking, the second made me absolutely hate the woman because of her own words, and the last left me ambivalent. And in the case of others, I've become disillusioned afterwards reading other accounts of their lives. Neither is the case with Frederick Douglass--after reading this--and even, hell especially, after reading further about him, I have a new hero. I couldn't help but admire him given so much related here--particularly how, after his experience of being treated with dignity and respect in Britain, he decided to come back to America to fight to end slavery. And reading beyond this book, I learned he was a staunch supporter not just of civil rights for African Americans, but equal rights for women as well. Hardly a popular cause or common attitude back then.
And simply in terms of content, this book was riveting. The 1855 introduction by James M'Cune Smith did give me momentary pause. It read, like so much 19th century literature I've encountered, as tedious, overly religious and stuffy. Once you reach Douglass' own account however, that's no longer the case. Yes, there is a formal tone that is characteristic of the age, but there wasn't one line of this entire book that wasn't fascinating; he's a master storyteller. After purchasing this book, I learned this is actually the second of three autobiographies written by Douglass. The first, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, published in 1845, is the most famous and arguably of the three the most influential and historically important. Yet an introduction by Brent Hayes Edwards in the edition I read makes the case for the second biography as the better, more strongly written book. Which makes sense--after all, in the decade since that first biography Douglass had spent years as editor of The North Star, which would have honed his thinking and writing.
I also have read that this middle book includes the most expansive account of his time in slavery. And that account is full of insights, not simply into slavery, but how power over others corrupts victim and perpetrator alike. And I've never read a more moving account of the liberating power of literacy. I wish young people could read this early in their schooling, and read of how young Frederick heard his master talk of how reading makes a man unfit for slavery--and understand the importance of reading for setting a mind alight. The appendix contains other items of interest--the gem I think is Douglass' "Letter to his Old Master." Truly, this is a wonderful read.
And simply in terms of content, this book was riveting. The 1855 introduction by James M'Cune Smith did give me momentary pause. It read, like so much 19th century literature I've encountered, as tedious, overly religious and stuffy. Once you reach Douglass' own account however, that's no longer the case. Yes, there is a formal tone that is characteristic of the age, but there wasn't one line of this entire book that wasn't fascinating; he's a master storyteller. After purchasing this book, I learned this is actually the second of three autobiographies written by Douglass. The first, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, published in 1845, is the most famous and arguably of the three the most influential and historically important. Yet an introduction by Brent Hayes Edwards in the edition I read makes the case for the second biography as the better, more strongly written book. Which makes sense--after all, in the decade since that first biography Douglass had spent years as editor of The North Star, which would have honed his thinking and writing.
I also have read that this middle book includes the most expansive account of his time in slavery. And that account is full of insights, not simply into slavery, but how power over others corrupts victim and perpetrator alike. And I've never read a more moving account of the liberating power of literacy. I wish young people could read this early in their schooling, and read of how young Frederick heard his master talk of how reading makes a man unfit for slavery--and understand the importance of reading for setting a mind alight. The appendix contains other items of interest--the gem I think is Douglass' "Letter to his Old Master." Truly, this is a wonderful read.
July 12, 2011
My Bondage My Freedom
Written By: Frederick Douglass
Published By: Public Domain (Amazon) Kindle Edition
My Bondage My Freedom
I have read in the past about Frederick Douglass the famed abolitionist, orator, statesman, and writer. However, until reading this autobiography I knew nothing about him before he became famous.
This autobiography was published in 1855 and thus covered approximately thirty-seven (37) of his early years. Being born a slave, Douglass could only approximate the year of his birth. He lived an additional forty (40) years, after 1855, which are not covered in this book.
The autobiography covered his childhood years on the eastern shore of Maryland, first with his grandmother, and then his transfer to a sort of holding area for young slaves until it was decided where they would end up. Douglass only remembered seeing his mother once before leaving his grandmother. He saw her later at the “big house” and heard that he was the product of his owner and his slave mother. He had a hard time understanding why he was a slave, and his place in the world.
Slaves had no choices in their lives and Douglass here was no different from other slaves. At first, he faired well, for a slave, being sent to be the companion to his owner’s nephew. There he learned to read from his mistress, who being from the north did not know this was forbidden. When telling her husband how well Douglass was learning she was told she should stop her lessons, at once. However, Douglass had learned enough to continue to study, on his own. The first book Douglass was able to purchase was “The Columbian Orator,” which contained over eighty (80) noteworthy speeches of prominent individuals. Most school-aged men studied this book and Douglass hid it and studied it whenever he had free time. Later, after a disagreement between his owner and current master he was sent back to work in Annapolis.
Douglass could not get along with his master and was sent to a farm to be “broken,” by a person who had a reputation for dealing with slaves who failed to do as they were told. He did not fair well and was beaten everyday for a while and ended up walking back to his owner, stating that he would do as he was told if he could come back. His owner refused and he had to go to the farmer.
Douglass could not deal with his bondage, and later escaped slavery. Being a fugitive slave had its problems, but, he felt free. He found it hard to make a living and through friends and acquaintances found that he had a gift of being a fine orator, and was often requested to tell his story. He wanted to do more than tell his story and ended up becoming an abolitionist who went around the northeast giving speeches. Later, he went to England and thereafter, friends collected enough money to purchase his freedom.
Seeing pictures of Frederick Douglass dressed in fine clothes, I never knew that under his shirt and coat was the scared back of a slave.
The end of the book contained many of his speeches, but the highlight of the book for me was his story of his life in bondage. This new knowledge has given me an even higher opinion of Frederick Douglass, slave, abolitionist, orator, statesman, and writer.
Written By: Frederick Douglass
Published By: Public Domain (Amazon) Kindle Edition
My Bondage My Freedom
I have read in the past about Frederick Douglass the famed abolitionist, orator, statesman, and writer. However, until reading this autobiography I knew nothing about him before he became famous.
This autobiography was published in 1855 and thus covered approximately thirty-seven (37) of his early years. Being born a slave, Douglass could only approximate the year of his birth. He lived an additional forty (40) years, after 1855, which are not covered in this book.
The autobiography covered his childhood years on the eastern shore of Maryland, first with his grandmother, and then his transfer to a sort of holding area for young slaves until it was decided where they would end up. Douglass only remembered seeing his mother once before leaving his grandmother. He saw her later at the “big house” and heard that he was the product of his owner and his slave mother. He had a hard time understanding why he was a slave, and his place in the world.
Slaves had no choices in their lives and Douglass here was no different from other slaves. At first, he faired well, for a slave, being sent to be the companion to his owner’s nephew. There he learned to read from his mistress, who being from the north did not know this was forbidden. When telling her husband how well Douglass was learning she was told she should stop her lessons, at once. However, Douglass had learned enough to continue to study, on his own. The first book Douglass was able to purchase was “The Columbian Orator,” which contained over eighty (80) noteworthy speeches of prominent individuals. Most school-aged men studied this book and Douglass hid it and studied it whenever he had free time. Later, after a disagreement between his owner and current master he was sent back to work in Annapolis.
Douglass could not get along with his master and was sent to a farm to be “broken,” by a person who had a reputation for dealing with slaves who failed to do as they were told. He did not fair well and was beaten everyday for a while and ended up walking back to his owner, stating that he would do as he was told if he could come back. His owner refused and he had to go to the farmer.
Douglass could not deal with his bondage, and later escaped slavery. Being a fugitive slave had its problems, but, he felt free. He found it hard to make a living and through friends and acquaintances found that he had a gift of being a fine orator, and was often requested to tell his story. He wanted to do more than tell his story and ended up becoming an abolitionist who went around the northeast giving speeches. Later, he went to England and thereafter, friends collected enough money to purchase his freedom.
Seeing pictures of Frederick Douglass dressed in fine clothes, I never knew that under his shirt and coat was the scared back of a slave.
The end of the book contained many of his speeches, but the highlight of the book for me was his story of his life in bondage. This new knowledge has given me an even higher opinion of Frederick Douglass, slave, abolitionist, orator, statesman, and writer.
April 22, 2017
Remarkable, of course. Eloquent, and a bit wordy in 19th century style, but Douglass needed to prove that a Black man could match the rhetoric of his white peers.
I was most interested in Douglass’s comments on the expropriation of the product of labor. In skimming a couple of internet pieces on the availability of Marx’s writing in America, it appears Greeley published some of his writing in the early 1850s. My Bondage and My Freedom was published in 1854, when the impression left by the 1848 revolutions in Europe would still have been strong. Douglass writes as if his views were completely in place while he was still a slave (prior to about 1839), but the general applicability of his views on labor make one wonder if perhaps some of the development hadn’t taken place more recently, in a global context and intellectual environment.
No matter, it was an excellent work of literature and politics.
I was most interested in Douglass’s comments on the expropriation of the product of labor. In skimming a couple of internet pieces on the availability of Marx’s writing in America, it appears Greeley published some of his writing in the early 1850s. My Bondage and My Freedom was published in 1854, when the impression left by the 1848 revolutions in Europe would still have been strong. Douglass writes as if his views were completely in place while he was still a slave (prior to about 1839), but the general applicability of his views on labor make one wonder if perhaps some of the development hadn’t taken place more recently, in a global context and intellectual environment.
No matter, it was an excellent work of literature and politics.
January 20, 2024
3 stars only because I already read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and this is just an expanded version of that. The beginning is more heavily expanded than the middle and end, and the additional details are interesting. But from the middle to end, it was largely nearly identical to his previous autiobiography.
If you're looking for a more in-depth look at his life and slavery and how that impacted everyone involved, read this one. If you're looking for a more concise account that highlights the key moments in his life and leaves out the minor day-to-day details, read the former.
The narrator, Leon Nixon, did a great job with the text. He brought the power and passion behind Douglass's prose to the forefront.
If you're looking for a more in-depth look at his life and slavery and how that impacted everyone involved, read this one. If you're looking for a more concise account that highlights the key moments in his life and leaves out the minor day-to-day details, read the former.
The narrator, Leon Nixon, did a great job with the text. He brought the power and passion behind Douglass's prose to the forefront.
December 22, 2021
5+ stars & 6/10 hearts. Having read the
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
back in January, and become an ardent admirer of Douglass, I then decided to read the
Life & Times of Frederick Douglass
, his third biography, in November. Which meant, of course, I had to read his second autobiography in December.
I was a little worried it would be too much “old news” to be enjoyable, but found it had plenty of new information that neither Autobiography 1 nor Autobiography 3 had. It also had a totally different feel to it—while the Narrative is an escaped slave telling of his past, and the Life is an old man retelling his story, Bondage is written from the perspective of half-way through Douglass’ life. His life as a slave is part; he has been a freeman for many years; and he is at his peak of fighting for emancipation, with no idea the Civil War looms up ahead.
I found that this story dwells more on the details of Douglass’ life, details he was obliged to omit from his first and second book—details about his family, his everyday life, incidents he witnessed or lived through, his religion, etc. There was a good deal more about his beginning life as a freedman and obviously a lot about his life before and during his visit to England, the book ending after he returned to America and began his newspaper. The book also contains many of his speeches.
Particularly interesting is to note the changes in Douglass’ character. in the first book, he is ardent and passionate, ready to soar to the highest heavens and plunge into the deepest depths, as far as emotions go. In this book, he is much more sternly resolute and intense, focussed on winning freedom for his fellow slaves. He is calmer, more but very categorical—right and wrong is black and white to him. In his third book, Douglass is more forgiving or understanding, although he still holds fast to his beliefs and has plenty of determination yet.
Overall, this was a great addition to the Douglass biographies. All three books compliment each other well, and I recommend reading all of them, in order! I may not agree with everything he says, but he gives a perspective of 1800s America we can’t afford to forget or ignore, and a good deal of his remarks put in perspective events of nowadays, and make one think hard.
Content: Blanked out swearing; mentions of drinking, gambling, smoking; discussions of the fornication & sexual impurity that slavery bred (between slaves + slaves & between owners + slaves).
A Favourite Quote: Up to this time, I have given no direct expression of the views, feelings, and opinions which I have formed, respecting the character and condition of the people of this land. I have refrained thus, purposely. I wish to speak advisedly, and in order to do this, I have waited till, I trust, experience has brought my opinions to an intelligent maturity. I have been thus careful, not because I think what I say will have much effect in shaping the opinions of the world, but because whatever of influence I may possess, whether little or much, I wish it to go in the right direction, and according to truth.
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: On the other hand, far away, back in the hazy distance, where all forms seemed but shadows, under the flickering light of the north star—behind some craggy hill or snow-covered mountain—stood a doubtful freedom, half frozen, beckoning us to her icy domain.
A Favourite Humorous Quote: They feel something as the man felt, when he uttered his prayer, in which he made out a most horrible case for himself, and one of his neighbors touched him and said, “My friend, I always had the opinion of you that you have now expressed for yourself—that you are a very great sinner.” Coming from himself, it was all very well, but coming from a stranger it was rather cutting.
I was a little worried it would be too much “old news” to be enjoyable, but found it had plenty of new information that neither Autobiography 1 nor Autobiography 3 had. It also had a totally different feel to it—while the Narrative is an escaped slave telling of his past, and the Life is an old man retelling his story, Bondage is written from the perspective of half-way through Douglass’ life. His life as a slave is part; he has been a freeman for many years; and he is at his peak of fighting for emancipation, with no idea the Civil War looms up ahead.
I found that this story dwells more on the details of Douglass’ life, details he was obliged to omit from his first and second book—details about his family, his everyday life, incidents he witnessed or lived through, his religion, etc. There was a good deal more about his beginning life as a freedman and obviously a lot about his life before and during his visit to England, the book ending after he returned to America and began his newspaper. The book also contains many of his speeches.
Particularly interesting is to note the changes in Douglass’ character. in the first book, he is ardent and passionate, ready to soar to the highest heavens and plunge into the deepest depths, as far as emotions go. In this book, he is much more sternly resolute and intense, focussed on winning freedom for his fellow slaves. He is calmer, more but very categorical—right and wrong is black and white to him. In his third book, Douglass is more forgiving or understanding, although he still holds fast to his beliefs and has plenty of determination yet.
Overall, this was a great addition to the Douglass biographies. All three books compliment each other well, and I recommend reading all of them, in order! I may not agree with everything he says, but he gives a perspective of 1800s America we can’t afford to forget or ignore, and a good deal of his remarks put in perspective events of nowadays, and make one think hard.
Content: Blanked out swearing; mentions of drinking, gambling, smoking; discussions of the fornication & sexual impurity that slavery bred (between slaves + slaves & between owners + slaves).
A Favourite Quote: Up to this time, I have given no direct expression of the views, feelings, and opinions which I have formed, respecting the character and condition of the people of this land. I have refrained thus, purposely. I wish to speak advisedly, and in order to do this, I have waited till, I trust, experience has brought my opinions to an intelligent maturity. I have been thus careful, not because I think what I say will have much effect in shaping the opinions of the world, but because whatever of influence I may possess, whether little or much, I wish it to go in the right direction, and according to truth.
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: On the other hand, far away, back in the hazy distance, where all forms seemed but shadows, under the flickering light of the north star—behind some craggy hill or snow-covered mountain—stood a doubtful freedom, half frozen, beckoning us to her icy domain.
A Favourite Humorous Quote: They feel something as the man felt, when he uttered his prayer, in which he made out a most horrible case for himself, and one of his neighbors touched him and said, “My friend, I always had the opinion of you that you have now expressed for yourself—that you are a very great sinner.” Coming from himself, it was all very well, but coming from a stranger it was rather cutting.
February 11, 2012
This book should be required reading for all American students. Frederick Douglass' account of his years as a slave and the early years of his public advocacy as a freeman is among the most poignant and morally forceful works I've ever read. Highly recommend it to anyone.
July 3, 2016
A book that changed my life, and made me rethink what it is to have an iron will. Just amazing.
August 19, 2008
My Bondage and My Freedom is unparalleled in its complete scope of the utter destructive effects of slavery upon individuals and the larger group. There is NO other narrative, fiction or non, that describes the African American experience of bondage quite like this -- or in fact, at all. Other great African American thinkers (such as Du Bois or Washington) are able to examine the effects of slavery on society through observation; their accounts are mostly of African Americans' experience post-emancipation and the subsequent period of assimilation into white society. None describes what slavery was like with the detail and insight that Douglass does. While other writers used ample metaphors (usually of Christianity, like Du Bois) and difficult "academic" language, Douglass writes for the larger audience. His story is therefore, more easily understood, and in my opinion, profoundly more insightful because it delves into the minds of rational "good" people who happened to be slave owners, and discusses the economic conditions that encouraged, moreover sanctioned, slavery's continued existence -- several hundred years more than what the framers of the Constitution may have intended.**
Besides all that, Douglass's narrative is the ultimate example of the endearing quality of the human spirit, and as cliché as it may sound, it is absolutely true. One has to wonder, after all the inhumane, brutal, and completely destroying effects of slavery (which were systematically administered, mind you), how an entire RACE of people were able to retain some dreg of their dignity and survive. It is even more phenomenal then, that a boy who grew up and was conditioned in in this system, was not only able to retain 'dignity,' but was also able to use his natural ability of words to become an advocate in the cause of racial injustice. This is why I would recommend this book to everyone (seriously, if you can read, read this book!) – surely, in Douglass’s words, there’s a lesson we can apply to solving (or at least clearing up) many of the problems of social injustice (whether racial or otherwise) going in the world today.
**PS. -- There is also a quick chapter (more like part of a chapter) that includes Douglass's view of the Framers and the Constitutional legality, or lack thereof, of the slave system, and why Douglass changed his views (at the beginning of his 'career' if we can call it that, Douglass believed that the Constitution and its Framers supported slavery. Later in his career, he changed his views saying that the Constitution, if interpreted by the actual written text of the document [and only that], is decisively anti-slavery, and thus [at that time], to continue the system of slavery was indeed un-constitutional...)
Besides all that, Douglass's narrative is the ultimate example of the endearing quality of the human spirit, and as cliché as it may sound, it is absolutely true. One has to wonder, after all the inhumane, brutal, and completely destroying effects of slavery (which were systematically administered, mind you), how an entire RACE of people were able to retain some dreg of their dignity and survive. It is even more phenomenal then, that a boy who grew up and was conditioned in in this system, was not only able to retain 'dignity,' but was also able to use his natural ability of words to become an advocate in the cause of racial injustice. This is why I would recommend this book to everyone (seriously, if you can read, read this book!) – surely, in Douglass’s words, there’s a lesson we can apply to solving (or at least clearing up) many of the problems of social injustice (whether racial or otherwise) going in the world today.
**PS. -- There is also a quick chapter (more like part of a chapter) that includes Douglass's view of the Framers and the Constitutional legality, or lack thereof, of the slave system, and why Douglass changed his views (at the beginning of his 'career' if we can call it that, Douglass believed that the Constitution and its Framers supported slavery. Later in his career, he changed his views saying that the Constitution, if interpreted by the actual written text of the document [and only that], is decisively anti-slavery, and thus [at that time], to continue the system of slavery was indeed un-constitutional...)
August 31, 2020
Read for school. Remarkably powerful, especially the first half, before he was free. There's a reason this was the first reading in my African American Political Thought class.
March 10, 2015
My Bondage and My Freedom reads like the best of historical fiction. Douglass' story is full of lively characters--even the minor figures are vividly drawn. The descriptions transport us instantly to a particular place and moment in time.
For the first eight years of his life Douglass was raised by his grandmother who had charge of the young slave children. They all shared a cabin with a vegetable garden and the children mostly ran free on the plantation. As he describes it he was "a spirited, joyous, uproarious, and happy boy, upon whom troubles fall only like water on a duck's back."
"Down in a little valley, not far from grandmammy's cabin, stood Mr. Lee's mill, where the people came often in large numbers to get their corn ground....The mill-pond, too, had it's charm; and with my pinhook, and thread line, I could get nibbles, if I could catch no fish." But haunting this childhood idyll is a darker knowledge that "I was not long to remain there, and that...I was A SLAVE--born a slave." Even at this early age Frederick has "a sense of my entire dependence on the will of somebody I had never seen."
Eventually the dreaded day arrives and he is taken from his grandmother to the great house of the "old master. Here he meets his mother, who in truth is a stranger from whom he has been separated since infancy and who has been hired out as a field hand to another plantation but still does her best to visit him in the old master's kitchen. It is whispered that Frederick's father is a white man, and perhaps even the master himself, but "Slavery does away with fathers, as it does away with families."
Douglass' descriptions of plantation life are marvelous: life in the kitchen where he finds himself "at the mercy of the sable virago...whose fiery wrath was my constant dread"; and 'upstairs' where “The table groans under the heavy and blood-bought luxuries gathered with painstaking care, at home and abroad. Fields, forests, rivers and seas, are made tributary here. Immense wealth, and its lavish expenditure, fill the great house with all that can please the eye, or tempt the taste.”
In the dining room of the great house, “Behind the tall-backed and elaborately wrought chairs, stand the servants, men and maidens—fifteen in number—discriminately selected, not only with a view to their industry and faithfulness, but with special regard to their personal appearance, their graceful agility and captivating address. Some of these are armed with fans, and are fanning reviving breezes toward the over-heated brows of the alabaster ladies; others watch with eager eye, and with fawn-like step anticipate and supply wants before they are sufficiently formed to be announced by word or sign.”
But Frederick is soon witness to less pleasant sights--floggings and cruelties under iron-hearted overseers who are "accuser, judge, jury, advocate and executioner." The plantation is "a nation to itself" "full three hundred years behind the age, in all that relates to humanity and morals."
When Frederick is sent to Baltimore to be the house slave of one of the old master's relatives, he is blessed to have a mistress who has never owned a slave before and is, initially, extraordinarily kind. At 'Freddy's' request, she begins to teach him to read the Bible, but is harshly reprimanded by her husband and forbidden to continue the instruction. But Freddy is determined to learn--and every child in America should read the incredible lengths to which he went to master reading and writing.
I'm tempted to tell more, but that would spoil this thrilling, illuminating and beautifully told story. It is free on Kindle. Go get it and read it for inspiration, and for enjoyment.
Content rating PG for mature themes of slavery and slave life and occasionally graphic scenes of beatings.
For the first eight years of his life Douglass was raised by his grandmother who had charge of the young slave children. They all shared a cabin with a vegetable garden and the children mostly ran free on the plantation. As he describes it he was "a spirited, joyous, uproarious, and happy boy, upon whom troubles fall only like water on a duck's back."
"Down in a little valley, not far from grandmammy's cabin, stood Mr. Lee's mill, where the people came often in large numbers to get their corn ground....The mill-pond, too, had it's charm; and with my pinhook, and thread line, I could get nibbles, if I could catch no fish." But haunting this childhood idyll is a darker knowledge that "I was not long to remain there, and that...I was A SLAVE--born a slave." Even at this early age Frederick has "a sense of my entire dependence on the will of somebody I had never seen."
Eventually the dreaded day arrives and he is taken from his grandmother to the great house of the "old master. Here he meets his mother, who in truth is a stranger from whom he has been separated since infancy and who has been hired out as a field hand to another plantation but still does her best to visit him in the old master's kitchen. It is whispered that Frederick's father is a white man, and perhaps even the master himself, but "Slavery does away with fathers, as it does away with families."
Douglass' descriptions of plantation life are marvelous: life in the kitchen where he finds himself "at the mercy of the sable virago...whose fiery wrath was my constant dread"; and 'upstairs' where “The table groans under the heavy and blood-bought luxuries gathered with painstaking care, at home and abroad. Fields, forests, rivers and seas, are made tributary here. Immense wealth, and its lavish expenditure, fill the great house with all that can please the eye, or tempt the taste.”
In the dining room of the great house, “Behind the tall-backed and elaborately wrought chairs, stand the servants, men and maidens—fifteen in number—discriminately selected, not only with a view to their industry and faithfulness, but with special regard to their personal appearance, their graceful agility and captivating address. Some of these are armed with fans, and are fanning reviving breezes toward the over-heated brows of the alabaster ladies; others watch with eager eye, and with fawn-like step anticipate and supply wants before they are sufficiently formed to be announced by word or sign.”
But Frederick is soon witness to less pleasant sights--floggings and cruelties under iron-hearted overseers who are "accuser, judge, jury, advocate and executioner." The plantation is "a nation to itself" "full three hundred years behind the age, in all that relates to humanity and morals."
When Frederick is sent to Baltimore to be the house slave of one of the old master's relatives, he is blessed to have a mistress who has never owned a slave before and is, initially, extraordinarily kind. At 'Freddy's' request, she begins to teach him to read the Bible, but is harshly reprimanded by her husband and forbidden to continue the instruction. But Freddy is determined to learn--and every child in America should read the incredible lengths to which he went to master reading and writing.
I'm tempted to tell more, but that would spoil this thrilling, illuminating and beautifully told story. It is free on Kindle. Go get it and read it for inspiration, and for enjoyment.
Content rating PG for mature themes of slavery and slave life and occasionally graphic scenes of beatings.
January 5, 2017
I experienced this book as a combination of audible.com as well as an e-book. The e-book went beyond the audible book in that it included a number of speeches that Douglas gave in the 1850s that were alluded to in the book. This is the second of several autobiographies that Douglas wrote in his lifetime. This book is a significant expansion of the first autobiography which was relatively short. Although it recovers the territory of the first book it is a stunning presentation of the man's early and middle life. It is hard to believe that Frederick Douglass was a person with no formal education. In fact he speaks and writes so well that many people disbelieved that he was ever a slave. I understand that he wrote his first autobiography to try to dispel that believe and to give enough details about his background so that people could actually believe he was born and lived his childhood as a slave.
Douglas spent two years in Great Britain where he found life and people who did not discriminate against him for being black. But he thought he needed to come back to his own country to change things and he found discrimination was rampant even in the non-slave north. He came back to the US with the idea of starting a black newspaper. His supporters in the US encouraged him not to do this but he did anyway. It is interesting to see his ideas develop and go against some of the opinions of the anti-slavery movement. Some thought the north should succeed from the south but Douglas came to disagree and to argue that the constitution was actually anti-slavery. It is amazing to me that this book was written nearly 175 years ago. It is so accessible even today.
I guess there is one more autobiography that covers his later years and I am looking forward to reading that one as well. From reading a biography about him it seems he moderated his politics somewhat after a pretty radical beginning. I have only known him most of my life as the man who said "power concedes nothing without a demand, it never did and it never will." But it seems like he might have become somewhat enamored of his own brilliance and Lincoln pulled him into Republican politics and he stuck with it even as the party became more conservative. Getting a significant political appointment apparently dominated his later life and he lost his fire.
Douglas spent two years in Great Britain where he found life and people who did not discriminate against him for being black. But he thought he needed to come back to his own country to change things and he found discrimination was rampant even in the non-slave north. He came back to the US with the idea of starting a black newspaper. His supporters in the US encouraged him not to do this but he did anyway. It is interesting to see his ideas develop and go against some of the opinions of the anti-slavery movement. Some thought the north should succeed from the south but Douglas came to disagree and to argue that the constitution was actually anti-slavery. It is amazing to me that this book was written nearly 175 years ago. It is so accessible even today.
I guess there is one more autobiography that covers his later years and I am looking forward to reading that one as well. From reading a biography about him it seems he moderated his politics somewhat after a pretty radical beginning. I have only known him most of my life as the man who said "power concedes nothing without a demand, it never did and it never will." But it seems like he might have become somewhat enamored of his own brilliance and Lincoln pulled him into Republican politics and he stuck with it even as the party became more conservative. Getting a significant political appointment apparently dominated his later life and he lost his fire.
October 9, 2023
another diverse biography with delicate sensibilities that i had to read for my english lit class, but genuinely enjoyed!
October 6, 2020
“In thinking of America, I sometimes find myself admiring her bright blue sky, her grand old woods, her fertile fields, her beautiful rivers, her mighty lakes, and star-crowned mountains. But my rapture is soon checked, my joy is soon turned to mourning. When I remember that all is cursed with the infernal spirit of slaveholding, robbery, and wrong; when I remember that with the waters of her noblest rivers, the tears of my brethren are borne to the ocean, disregarded and forgotten, and that her most fertile fields drink daily of the warm blood of my outraged sisters; I am filled with unutterable loathing, and led to reproach myself that anything could fall from my lips in praise of such a land. America will not allow her children to love her. She seems bent on compelling those who would be her warmest friends, to be her worst enemies. May God give her repentance, before it is too late, is the ardent prayer of my heart. I will continue to pray, labor, and wait, believing that she cannot always be insensible to the dictates of justice, or deaf to the voice of humanity.” (January 1, 1846)
April 9, 2021
This book should be required reading in high school / college. Frederick Douglass is an American hero bc he understood man's need for liberty, justice, humanity, and truth. And he pursued and fought for those ideals relentlessly.
December 2, 2021
What is the necessity of making laws criminalizing teaching a slave to read unless they are humans? The slave states had laws about teaching no slaves to read. This is one of Douglass’s illustrations that in their own hearts, slavery proponents knew that the people they were using for their own greed were indeed human. No slavery proponent would want their own liberty taken away! He calls out the great American hypocrisy about”freedom and liberty for all!”
This is a profound book written by one of the great American critics of a terrible period, the remnants of which continue into the present day. I highly recommend this book to all who want to understand American racial history and the hypocrisy of all those who want to suppress teaching critical race theory in public schools.
This is a profound book written by one of the great American critics of a terrible period, the remnants of which continue into the present day. I highly recommend this book to all who want to understand American racial history and the hypocrisy of all those who want to suppress teaching critical race theory in public schools.
August 22, 2022
a fantastic book, in conception and in the information douglass offers. he brilliantly deconstructs slavery through the use of psychological portraits. as he recounts the days and years of his life, he paints in depth accounts of the slaveholders he encountered and whose wrath he endured. the greed and religious hypocrisy that justified human ownership and the brutality waged against slaves suggests a horrible existential schism that justifies torture and murder for profit. i couldn't put it down and i'm in awe of douglass' courage and the inner strength it took to survive and produce these writings. essential reading for all.
July 24, 2018
An impressive book and an astounding life story. This is a tale of bravery, endurance, unrelenting curiosity, audacity and endless resilience. I am confused as into why this is not a figure better known and I say this aware of his current importance but to my limited knowledge Douglass seems to be relevant enough to be cited aside with any prominent figure (i.e. MLK, JFK) and this is rarely the case. Maybe evidence of this is the fact that the current President recently stated FD was still alive.
July 22, 2021
I read Douglass's first autobiography and found it very interesting. This one, however, was written years later when Douglass had matured and had accomplished much more. His style of writing had matured by now and it is a great read.
April 3, 2019
This is one of the most memorable books I could ever possibly read. My praise can’t possibly match the eloquence and power of a single one of his lines. But I can’t help praising anyway. As a writer wannabe myself, I'm in awe.
The turns of phrase are fantastic, and they just kept coming. Here’s just one.
The metaphors were beautiful. Here’s just one:
The graciousness was evident, and it never wavered. Here’s just one instance:
I found it striking that little Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, when a child, knew because of the law written on his heart that slavery was evil.
What Douglass did was brilliant, because sincere. He humanized the slavery debate—a move which should not have been necessary. The common creed of the entire nation, not only as a professedly Christian nation but even within their foundational civil religious documents, confessed that all men were created equal. Indeed, though Douglass said he initially fell under the influence of an abolitionist who saw the Constitution as a slavery-defending document, Douglass himself came to see it the opposite way. But Douglass graciously reached out to his persecutors, and those of his fellow slaves, by taking the time to patiently tell his story and uncover the thousand small dehumanizing moments within it. Perhaps the most brilliant thing Douglass did was to show that slavery dehumanized its perpetrators, not just its victims, turning even the best of slaveowners into brutes. The seeds of his future freedom—and of his incredible eloquence—were planted by a kind Baltimore woman who appeared genuinely to love Frederick as her child. It was she who taught him the rudiments of reading. But when her husband ordered her to stop, and then disabused her of the notion that her kindness was warranted, teaching Frederick at the same moment that education was the key to his freedom, she began to oppose Frederick’s reading more than her husband did. This kind woman turned, at moments, truly cruel.
It was moving to hear Douglass writing from within an America that still sanctioned African slavery. He said not one word about the method of his escape because he still had reason to fear what his “owner” could do to him and those who helped him. He also wanted to avoid tipping off Southerners as to possible routes into freedom.
How did I live to age 38 without reading this book?
The turns of phrase are fantastic, and they just kept coming. Here’s just one.
The fact is, such was my dread of leaving the little cabin, that I wished to remain little forever, for I knew the taller I grew the shorter my stay. (7)
The metaphors were beautiful. Here’s just one:
It is generally supposed that slavery, in the state of Maryland, exists in its mildest form, and that it is totally divested of those harsh and terrible peculiarities, which mark and characterize the slave system, in the southern and south-western states of the American union. The argument in favor of this opinion, is the contiguity of the free states, and the exposed condition of slavery in Maryland to the moral, religious and humane sentiment of the free states.
I am not about to refute this argument, so far as it relates to slavery in that state, generally; on the contrary, I am willing to admit that, to this general point, the arguments is well grounded. Public opinion is, indeed, an unfailing restraint upon the cruelty and barbarity of masters, overseers, and slave-drivers, whenever and wherever it can reach them; but there are certain secluded and out-of-the-way places, even in the state of Maryland, seldom visited by a single ray of healthy public sentiment—where slavery, wrapt in its own congenial, midnight darkness, can, and does, develop all its malign and shocking characteristics; where it can be indecent without shame, cruel without shuddering, and murderous without apprehension or fear of exposure. (17)
The graciousness was evident, and it never wavered. Here’s just one instance:
Although my old master—Capt. Anthony—gave me at first, (as the reader will have already seen) very little attention, and although that little was of a remarkably mild and gentle description, a few months only were sufficient to convince me that mildness and gentleness were not the prevailing or governing traits of his character. These excellent qualities were displayed only occasionally. He could, when it suited him, appear to be literally insensible to the claims of humanity, when appealed to by the helpless against an aggressor, and he could himself commit outrages, deep, dark and nameless. Yet he was not by nature worse than other men. Had he been brought up in a free state, surrounded by the just restraints of free society—restraints which are necessary to the freedom of all its members, alike and equally—Capt. Anthony might have been as humane a man, and every way as respectable, as many who now oppose the slave system; certainly as humane and respectable as are members of society generally. The slaveholder, as well as the slave, is the victim of the slave system. A man's character greatly takes its hue and shape from the form and color of things about him. Under the whole heavens there is no relation more unfavorable to the development of honorable character, than that sustained by the slaveholder to the slave. Reason is imprisoned here, and passions run wild. Like the fires of the prairie, once lighted, they are at the mercy of every wind, and must burn, till they have consumed all that is combustible within their remorseless grasp. Capt. Anthony could be kind, and, at times, he even showed an affectionate disposition. Could the reader have seen him gently leading me by the hand—as he sometimes did—patting me on the head, speaking to me in soft, caressing tones and calling me his "little Indian boy," he would have deemed him a kind old man, and really, almost fatherly. But the pleasant moods of a slaveholder are remarkably brittle; they are easily snapped; they neither come often, nor remain long. His temper is subjected to perpetual trials; but, since these trials are never borne patiently, they add nothing to his natural stock of patience. (25)
I found it striking that little Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, when a child, knew because of the law written on his heart that slavery was evil.
The heart-rending incidents, related in the foregoing chapter, led me, thus early, to inquire into the nature and history of slavery. Why am I a slave? Why are some people slaves, and others masters? Was there ever a time this was not so? How did the relation commence? These were the perplexing questions which began now to claim my thoughts, and to exercise the weak powers of my mind, for I was still but a child, and knew less than children of the same age in the free states. As my questions concerning these things were only put to children a little older, and little better informed than myself, I was not rapid in reaching a solid footing. By some means I learned from these inquiries that "God, up in the sky," made every body; and that he made white people to be masters and mistresses, and black people to be slaves. This did not satisfy me, nor lessen my interest in the subject. I was told, too, that God was good, and that He knew what was best for me, and best for everybody. This was less satisfactory than the first statement; because it came, point blank, against all my notions of goodness. It was not good to let old master cut the flesh off Esther, and make her cry so. Besides, how did people know that God made black people to be slaves? Did they go up in the sky and learn it? or, did He come down and tell them so? All was dark here. It was some relief to my hard notions of the goodness of God, that, although he made white men to be slaveholders, he did not make them to be bad slaveholders, and that, in due time, he would punish the bad slaveholders; that he would, when they died, send them to the bad place, where they would be "burnt up." Nevertheless, I could not reconcile the relation of slavery with my crude notions of goodness. Then, too, I found that there were puzzling exceptions to this theory of slavery on both sides, and in the middle. I knew of blacks who were not slaves; I knew of whites who were not slaveholders; and I knew of persons who were nearly white, who were slaves. Color, therefore, was a very unsatisfactory basis for slavery. Once, however, engaged in the inquiry, I was not very long in finding out the true solution of the matter. It was not color, but crime, not God, but man, that afforded the true explanation of the existence of slavery. (31)
What Douglass did was brilliant, because sincere. He humanized the slavery debate—a move which should not have been necessary. The common creed of the entire nation, not only as a professedly Christian nation but even within their foundational civil religious documents, confessed that all men were created equal. Indeed, though Douglass said he initially fell under the influence of an abolitionist who saw the Constitution as a slavery-defending document, Douglass himself came to see it the opposite way. But Douglass graciously reached out to his persecutors, and those of his fellow slaves, by taking the time to patiently tell his story and uncover the thousand small dehumanizing moments within it. Perhaps the most brilliant thing Douglass did was to show that slavery dehumanized its perpetrators, not just its victims, turning even the best of slaveowners into brutes. The seeds of his future freedom—and of his incredible eloquence—were planted by a kind Baltimore woman who appeared genuinely to love Frederick as her child. It was she who taught him the rudiments of reading. But when her husband ordered her to stop, and then disabused her of the notion that her kindness was warranted, teaching Frederick at the same moment that education was the key to his freedom, she began to oppose Frederick’s reading more than her husband did. This kind woman turned, at moments, truly cruel.
It was moving to hear Douglass writing from within an America that still sanctioned African slavery. He said not one word about the method of his escape because he still had reason to fear what his “owner” could do to him and those who helped him. He also wanted to avoid tipping off Southerners as to possible routes into freedom.
How did I live to age 38 without reading this book?
August 16, 2021
Ein veldig godt skriven slavebiografi, og så mykje meir enn det.
Frederick Douglass vart fødd som slave i Maryland og levde dei første ca. 20 åra av livet sitt som slave der fram til han flykta og vart eit av dei store namna blant slaverimotstandarane i USA på 1800-talet. Denne boka er skriven mens han levde som fri mann i Nordstatane, men før borgarkrigen og avskaffinga av slaveriet i Sørstatane. Eg vart tipsa om denne boka gjennom ein podkast frå Universitetet i Cambridge, "History of Ideas" - for Douglass skriv ikkje berre ei fengslande skildring av livet sitt som slave (sjølv om han gjer det òg), han resonnerer òg rundt kva slaveriet er, korfor det er så feil, og kva som må gjerast med det.
Sjølv for eit menneske frå det 20. og 21. århundre, som er voksen opp med ei klar forståing av at slaveri er gale, følest det sterkt å lesa ei førstehandsskildring av kor gale det faktisk var, frå ein som sjølv opplevde det - og den endå Frederick Douglass ikkje opplevde det verste slaveriet kunne vera, dei store bomulls- og sukkerplantasjane i sør - han jobba ei stund på markene på plantasjar og mindre gardar i Maryland, men var det meste av tida arbeidar/handverkar i Baltimore, der han til slutt klarte å flykta frå.
Ei svært lesbar bok, som gir viktig innsikt i amerikansk historie, - og som me har sett ekstra tydeleg i det siste, ein del av amerikansk historie som framleis har stor innverknad på dagens USA.
Frederick Douglass vart fødd som slave i Maryland og levde dei første ca. 20 åra av livet sitt som slave der fram til han flykta og vart eit av dei store namna blant slaverimotstandarane i USA på 1800-talet. Denne boka er skriven mens han levde som fri mann i Nordstatane, men før borgarkrigen og avskaffinga av slaveriet i Sørstatane. Eg vart tipsa om denne boka gjennom ein podkast frå Universitetet i Cambridge, "History of Ideas" - for Douglass skriv ikkje berre ei fengslande skildring av livet sitt som slave (sjølv om han gjer det òg), han resonnerer òg rundt kva slaveriet er, korfor det er så feil, og kva som må gjerast med det.
Sjølv for eit menneske frå det 20. og 21. århundre, som er voksen opp med ei klar forståing av at slaveri er gale, følest det sterkt å lesa ei førstehandsskildring av kor gale det faktisk var, frå ein som sjølv opplevde det - og den endå Frederick Douglass ikkje opplevde det verste slaveriet kunne vera, dei store bomulls- og sukkerplantasjane i sør - han jobba ei stund på markene på plantasjar og mindre gardar i Maryland, men var det meste av tida arbeidar/handverkar i Baltimore, der han til slutt klarte å flykta frå.
Ei svært lesbar bok, som gir viktig innsikt i amerikansk historie, - og som me har sett ekstra tydeleg i det siste, ein del av amerikansk historie som framleis har stor innverknad på dagens USA.
March 1, 2018
Rowena of Reading for Pleasure suggested I read this book. Once upon a time,someone read this book in a US American slavery readings course. But that someone was decidedly not me. So I took the plunge, and I am glad I did.
I felt Frederick Douglass' dignity and determination at every turn. Made decisions and kept making decisions, being an ever-evolving spiritual force for Good. Kept talking about slavery once he escaped because slavery, as all lies, die in the Light of Truth Wisdom. Freedom begins from within. When the more expansive the picture can be seen, the more expansive the human. Action. Action changes things. Make a plan, take action, and take action again. Douglass made at least 2 attempts to escape slavery. This man was a powerhouse of perceptions, understandings, actions, and telling his Truth.
Douglas tells how to free oneself from the inside out. Slaves can not always physically escape but many have the ability to expand to become more than a slave.
Barring communicating that idea to other slaves, Douglass sought to shed light on the lies and misdirection of slavery. Slavery is Lie. And Lies die in Light.
Good Rhetor: A good man speaking well.
I felt Frederick Douglass' dignity and determination at every turn. Made decisions and kept making decisions, being an ever-evolving spiritual force for Good. Kept talking about slavery once he escaped because slavery, as all lies, die in the Light of Truth Wisdom. Freedom begins from within. When the more expansive the picture can be seen, the more expansive the human. Action. Action changes things. Make a plan, take action, and take action again. Douglass made at least 2 attempts to escape slavery. This man was a powerhouse of perceptions, understandings, actions, and telling his Truth.
Douglas tells how to free oneself from the inside out. Slaves can not always physically escape but many have the ability to expand to become more than a slave.
Barring communicating that idea to other slaves, Douglass sought to shed light on the lies and misdirection of slavery. Slavery is Lie. And Lies die in Light.
Good Rhetor: A good man speaking well.
December 19, 2015
**3.5-4**
This is an absolutely beautifully-written historical narrative. History is not my strong point, but this book's eloquence captivated me. Admittedly, some scenes felt a bit overwritten, with entire paragraphs dedicated to food or room description. My rating would probably be higher if I had had the leisure to slowly work through all of that detail rather than having deadlines for reaching specific chapters for my class. I love Douglass' perspective and way of thinking, and I appreciate how he uses his experiences to study humanity rather than condemn white people in retaliation.
This is an absolutely beautifully-written historical narrative. History is not my strong point, but this book's eloquence captivated me. Admittedly, some scenes felt a bit overwritten, with entire paragraphs dedicated to food or room description. My rating would probably be higher if I had had the leisure to slowly work through all of that detail rather than having deadlines for reaching specific chapters for my class. I love Douglass' perspective and way of thinking, and I appreciate how he uses his experiences to study humanity rather than condemn white people in retaliation.
March 7, 2019
Born into slavery in 1818, Frederick Douglass escaped to freedom. This book is his recounting of the transition period from being a bonded slave to finally embracing freedom in New Bedford. The first chapter borrows heavily from the events towards the end of the
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
, but what follows is a masterful insight into the plight of slavery from the eyes of a freed man. This pivotal point in Douglass' life was marred by personal struggles as he tried to settle down and make an honest living for his family. Coming from the harrowing grasp of slavery, his welcome attitude to daily struggles lends additional pathos to his recollections. But these are not confined to the personal details.
In My Bondage and My Freedom , Douglass makes the most of the opportunity provided him by the anti-slavery movement and delivers a fiery condemnation of the state and religious institutions instrumental in upholding the practice of slavery. It becomes quite clear how freedom from slavery unfettered him from hesitance and doubts. His confidence shines through in his speeches not only to the American crowd but also to the British (during his stay on the isles as a fugitive). The excerpts from his speeches are some of his best denunciations in writing. He calls out the callousness and hypocrisy of the Americans reluctant to share their much touted liberty and freedom with millions of people for want of keeping them as property for their own benefit. (His speech titled "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" throws shade on this hypocrisy.)
His masterful use of metaphors cuts to the quick any apologist argument in favor of slavery. That he was able to rally the British opinion in his favor, is a testament to his being the champion for the cause.
This book really is Douglass coming into his own. He rightfully seizes the pulpit of the anti-slavery movement and doesn't hold back. He frankly admits to coming full force against the institution of slavery. He goes into details of severe physical atrocities that the slaves had to endure even for minor infractions. He exposes the laws and practices through which the slaves were kept spiritually and intellectually alienated from their fellow white Americans. His letter addressed to his old master (Thomas Auld) is an unapologetic, no holds barred testimony of his cruelties. And one can only guess at his restraint as he requests Auld, not for redress or apologies, but only to be put in touch with his family who are still slaving under him. But he does pack a punch with his closing line,
My Bondage and My Freedom is Douglass' claim to being an American on equal footing with his white counterparts. As a social reformer he commits to the cause of abolitionists and gives them his full support. As a masterful orator he wields the language to bring about a feeling of genuine abhorrence to slavery in his audience. And as a statesman his influence manifests not only in the support from other sympathetic voices in governance but also in his unchallenged refutation of those reluctant to change the status quo. If the Narrative was his pining for a better future for himself, this book is his pining for a better future for all his enslaved brethren. A must read for all.
.
.
.
.
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PS:
It's an after thought, but, much of what Douglass says to appeal to humanity's better angels in fight against slavery, is applicable against the vices plaguing present times. His talk about pro-slavery propaganda, internal decay of institutions and political parties strong arming each other to pass punitive laws prognosticates the future we live in. The only difference being the enemy we are up against.
In My Bondage and My Freedom , Douglass makes the most of the opportunity provided him by the anti-slavery movement and delivers a fiery condemnation of the state and religious institutions instrumental in upholding the practice of slavery. It becomes quite clear how freedom from slavery unfettered him from hesitance and doubts. His confidence shines through in his speeches not only to the American crowd but also to the British (during his stay on the isles as a fugitive). The excerpts from his speeches are some of his best denunciations in writing. He calls out the callousness and hypocrisy of the Americans reluctant to share their much touted liberty and freedom with millions of people for want of keeping them as property for their own benefit. (His speech titled "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" throws shade on this hypocrisy.)
Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you this day rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.
His masterful use of metaphors cuts to the quick any apologist argument in favor of slavery. That he was able to rally the British opinion in his favor, is a testament to his being the champion for the cause.
This book really is Douglass coming into his own. He rightfully seizes the pulpit of the anti-slavery movement and doesn't hold back. He frankly admits to coming full force against the institution of slavery. He goes into details of severe physical atrocities that the slaves had to endure even for minor infractions. He exposes the laws and practices through which the slaves were kept spiritually and intellectually alienated from their fellow white Americans. His letter addressed to his old master (Thomas Auld) is an unapologetic, no holds barred testimony of his cruelties. And one can only guess at his restraint as he requests Auld, not for redress or apologies, but only to be put in touch with his family who are still slaving under him. But he does pack a punch with his closing line,
I am your fellow man, but not your slave.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS
My Bondage and My Freedom is Douglass' claim to being an American on equal footing with his white counterparts. As a social reformer he commits to the cause of abolitionists and gives them his full support. As a masterful orator he wields the language to bring about a feeling of genuine abhorrence to slavery in his audience. And as a statesman his influence manifests not only in the support from other sympathetic voices in governance but also in his unchallenged refutation of those reluctant to change the status quo. If the Narrative was his pining for a better future for himself, this book is his pining for a better future for all his enslaved brethren. A must read for all.
.
.
.
.
.
PS:
It's an after thought, but, much of what Douglass says to appeal to humanity's better angels in fight against slavery, is applicable against the vices plaguing present times. His talk about pro-slavery propaganda, internal decay of institutions and political parties strong arming each other to pass punitive laws prognosticates the future we live in. The only difference being the enemy we are up against.
February 21, 2022
I am not American. I don't have any personal connection to the histories from which this book spawned, although I don't doubt that slaves in Britain were treated as bad as those in the southern states during the century before this was written, before its abolition. Therefore, there is no sense of obligation that compels me to read this book, as there may be with my American counterparts. That said, Frederick Douglass is worth your time. He's not a man that merely suffered a most heinous crime against humanity. He is not a 19th-century whistleblower, speaking of his harsh treatment in catharsis or resentment. Quite the opposite, in fact. He relates his experiences with the judgments for which it deserves, stirred only by extreme individual acts of cruelty and compassion for those around him, else writing with an air of cool analysis, without hyperbole and balancing every bad experience with a good one, irrelevant on how small that good one was relative to the bad.
Frederick Douglass crafted himself to become everything he was neither expected nor permitted. This book was an act of rebellion, not for what it reveals about 19th-century American society, but for the eloquence, dignity and literary prowess with which he writes. This book is a reminder that true slavery is acceptance of one's station. It is to internalise that you are inherently inferior and incapable of ever achieving the same intellectual capabilities of your masters. The cool, intelligent, and analytical prose of this book is thus an act of defiance. His eloquence and refined literary tone was, by each word and sentence, a bullet against his oppressors. His ability to craft a life of cruelty into a work of beauty and revolt, which any author trained in the literary arts from a young age would envy, was proof of the failure of the white man to dominate Douglass. He won and they failed. This book is proof.
Alongside a candid portrayal of Douglass's personal journey, which I will not spoil by attempting to summarise, he has surrounded each incident with deeply insightful and reflective musings of the philosophy of class, suppression and slavery. He takes aim at the slaveholder as a distinct class of man that seeks personal profit at the expense of mankind. It is not, therefore, very different, as Douglass himself alluded, to the profit seeking corporations of modern life. In what way is the actions of a slavemaster contrary to the shareholder-governed mentality of the modern-day corporate elite? There was much to relate to in his views, therefore, despite the one-and-a-half-century time since this was published, and I can only claim that this should be required reading for all, for what has happened should never be permitted to happen again.
Frederick Douglass crafted himself to become everything he was neither expected nor permitted. This book was an act of rebellion, not for what it reveals about 19th-century American society, but for the eloquence, dignity and literary prowess with which he writes. This book is a reminder that true slavery is acceptance of one's station. It is to internalise that you are inherently inferior and incapable of ever achieving the same intellectual capabilities of your masters. The cool, intelligent, and analytical prose of this book is thus an act of defiance. His eloquence and refined literary tone was, by each word and sentence, a bullet against his oppressors. His ability to craft a life of cruelty into a work of beauty and revolt, which any author trained in the literary arts from a young age would envy, was proof of the failure of the white man to dominate Douglass. He won and they failed. This book is proof.
Alongside a candid portrayal of Douglass's personal journey, which I will not spoil by attempting to summarise, he has surrounded each incident with deeply insightful and reflective musings of the philosophy of class, suppression and slavery. He takes aim at the slaveholder as a distinct class of man that seeks personal profit at the expense of mankind. It is not, therefore, very different, as Douglass himself alluded, to the profit seeking corporations of modern life. In what way is the actions of a slavemaster contrary to the shareholder-governed mentality of the modern-day corporate elite? There was much to relate to in his views, therefore, despite the one-and-a-half-century time since this was published, and I can only claim that this should be required reading for all, for what has happened should never be permitted to happen again.
December 11, 2021
What a compelling story. Douglas presents the atrocities of slavery, repeatedly showing how it degrades everyone involved: “Slavery is a crime…against God, and all members of the human family”. He is witty, funny, insightful, and an expert on pathos-building. Everyone should benefit from reading this work.
April 7, 2024
TBR Jar Challenge 2024 - Read a book with an average rating of 3.8 or higher (4.38 ⭐)
🔗 86 book reading challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
5/32
Everyone should read Frederick Douglass's autobiography especially if you want to learn from a Black person's firsthand account about their life under American chattel slavery. Douglass is an incredible communicator and writer. I'm so glad I finally read his story.
🔗 86 book reading challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
5/32
Everyone should read Frederick Douglass's autobiography especially if you want to learn from a Black person's firsthand account about their life under American chattel slavery. Douglass is an incredible communicator and writer. I'm so glad I finally read his story.
February 17, 2022
This book, and the life of the man who wrote it, is nothing less than extraordinary. I am more than a little ambivalent about this book's inclusion in the Hum10 course curriculum, but it has certainly lead to some fruitful discussions. This book strongly reminded me of Night and is similarly, a must read for any student of history.
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