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Frederick Douglass
The son of a black slave and an unknown white father, Frederick Douglass (c.1817-1895) knew firsthand the privations and brutality of America's "peculiar institution." After his second, and successful, attempt to escape he went on to become a leading abolitionist, a militant spokesman for African-American rights, a friend to Abraham Lincoln and other presidents, the holder of three major government offices, as well as a remarkable writer, orator, and editor.
Quarles goes beyond Douglass's own three autobiographies to examine his impact on the anti-slavery movement, the Civil War, Reconstruction, women's suffrage, and the Republican Party during its first forty years, and to explore his personal and family life, including his then-controversial second marriage to a white woman. Frederick Douglass is a vivid realization of the man and the age in which he lived.
Quarles goes beyond Douglass's own three autobiographies to examine his impact on the anti-slavery movement, the Civil War, Reconstruction, women's suffrage, and the Republican Party during its first forty years, and to explore his personal and family life, including his then-controversial second marriage to a white woman. Frederick Douglass is a vivid realization of the man and the age in which he lived.
408 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 1951
34 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin Arthur Quarles
27 books17 followersQuarles was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was a subway porter. He married twice, first to Vera Bullock Quarles, who died in 1951, and second to Ruth Brett Quarles. He had two daughters, Pamela and Roberta.
In his Twenties, Quarles enrolled at Shaw University and received his B.A. degree in 1931, M.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1933, and Ph.D. in 1940. He worked as an instructor of history at Shaw University, Raleigh, North Carolina (1935–39), a professor and dean at Dillard University, New Orleans, Louisiana (1939–1953), and a professor of history and chair of department at Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland (1953–1974). At Morgan, Quarles reached near legendary status as the long-time head of the History Department, a revered teacher and counselor, an intellectual and professional mentor for two generations of African American scholars. Many of his books were required reading in the African American history courses that sprang up in eastern American Universities during the 1960s.
He was an active member of many political and historical organizations such as Project Advisory Committee on Black Congress Members, Department of the Army Historical Advisory Committee, and American Council of Learned Societies. He was one of the few men in the profession who openly supported the founding of the Association of Black Women Historians.
Quarles died of a heart attack at age of 92. In 1988 Morgan State University dedicated The Benjamin A. Quarles African-American Studies Room in the school library as a repository for his books, manuscripts, and memorabilia.
In his Twenties, Quarles enrolled at Shaw University and received his B.A. degree in 1931, M.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1933, and Ph.D. in 1940. He worked as an instructor of history at Shaw University, Raleigh, North Carolina (1935–39), a professor and dean at Dillard University, New Orleans, Louisiana (1939–1953), and a professor of history and chair of department at Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland (1953–1974). At Morgan, Quarles reached near legendary status as the long-time head of the History Department, a revered teacher and counselor, an intellectual and professional mentor for two generations of African American scholars. Many of his books were required reading in the African American history courses that sprang up in eastern American Universities during the 1960s.
He was an active member of many political and historical organizations such as Project Advisory Committee on Black Congress Members, Department of the Army Historical Advisory Committee, and American Council of Learned Societies. He was one of the few men in the profession who openly supported the founding of the Association of Black Women Historians.
Quarles died of a heart attack at age of 92. In 1988 Morgan State University dedicated The Benjamin A. Quarles African-American Studies Room in the school library as a repository for his books, manuscripts, and memorabilia.
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