Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist and Reformer

by Rachael O. Phillips

Frederick Douglass stood out among the abolitionists of the mid-nineteenth century. While many of them argued against slavery as a moral wrong, he brought an added element to the Frederick Douglass had himself once been a slave. Converted to Christ at age thirteen, and assured by a Godly uncle that Christ would make him free, Frederick Douglass eventually made his escape from bondage. With his God-given intelligence and a strong, melodious voice, he became a powerful, articulate advocate of freedom.

Genres: Biography, History, Christian, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2000

About the author

Rachael Phillips, a church music director, began her unplanned writing career when the church secretary demanded newsletter articles, or else. She has written more than 400 articles, newspaper columns, devotions, and stories along with several books. Rachael enjoys speaking at women’s meetings and conducts writing workshops. She and Steve, her high school sweetheart and husband of thirty-eight years, live in Upland, Indiana. They have three grown children and five grandchildren.

Reviews

[Nonresistant C. Really · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really well written and touching book.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than hearing his name briefly mentioned while in school, I knew nothing of Frederick Douglas. His life, and all Black slaves lives were abominable. Reading first hand how slaves were treated, beaten, starved, and sold makes me weep for them. Some of our American History is not one to be completely proud of.

[Tatyana Crowder · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love his inspirational and chilling testimony. i admire older black men/women of the faith. thought it would be his autobiography so that part was ehh.

[Joseph Leskey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was by no means overly bad, though my opinion of biographies hasn't been improved by its presence in my history. Fairly good, fairly good.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting content but writing and editing was subpar.

[Kristina Rickard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I intended to read “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” after reading Beloved … buuuut I accidentally grabbed this book off the shelf. Oops. I quickly realized that it was a middle-school reading level book giving a general overview of Douglass’ life. I still enjoyed reading about Douglass’ life, and especially the focus that this book had on his personal faith. There were some topics in this book that I think were oversimplified, but understandably so if it is more intended for a younger generation. Next time I’ll find a book with more detail :)

I was surprised to read about how much Douglass’ family suffered from his frequent absences while he worked for the abolitionist movement. His wife Anna took the brunt of raising children and supporting the family while Douglass was gone, in one instance for over a year. I felt sad for Anna. I’ve read about Frederick Douglass a lot before, but have never really considered his life from the perspective of his wife and family.

[Alisha Rivera · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is about The life of Frederick Douglass. Frederick born in February 1818. He was an writer, reporter, and stateman. When he was 7 years old he didn't knew who was his father. Frederick saw Bessie and Emma thaught about the father of Frederick and he heard that his father was the Captain Anthony. Frederick has 5 childrens who was Rosetta, Lewis Henry, Frederick, Charles Remond and Annie. When Frederick's wife died in 1882 Frederick married with Helen Pitts. Helen Pitts was an AmericanSuffragist. A group of persons called Frederick to do a speech in the National Council of Women. And finally Frederick Douglass died in February 20, 1895

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of interesting details about his childhood, and lively enough to enjoy. This would be a good read aloud. The first half is faith-heavy, with young Douglass questioning the justice of God in allowing the horrors of slavery. His labors to self educate are inspiring, and the steps to his escape are exciting. The second half is more clinical (and is kind of boring, honestly; Douglass comes across as one who has abandoned his family and faith for the pursuit of universal emancipation).

[Mikayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This got really repetitive near the end. =P

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I read this book. Mr. Douglass is someone I've known about for a long time, but didn't know much. I'd like to read his autobiographies.