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The Portable Frederick Douglass
A newly edited collection of the seminal writings and speeches of a legendary writer, orator, and civil rights leader.
The life of Frederick Douglass is nothing less than the history of America in the 19th century from slavery to reconstruction. His influence was felt in the political sphere, major social movements, literary culture, and even international affairs. His resounding words tell not only his own remarkable story, but also that of a burgeoning nation forced to reckon with its tremulous moral ground. This compact volume offers a full course on a necessary historical figure, giving voice once again to a man whose guiding words are needed now as urgently as ever.
The Portable Frederick Douglass includes the full range of Douglass's writings, from autobiographical writings that span from his life as a slave child to his memories of slavery as an elder statesman in the late 1870s; his protest fiction (one of the first works of African American fiction); his brilliant oratory, constituting the greatest speeches of the Civil War era, which launched his political career; and his journalistic essays that range from cultural and political critique to art, literature, law, history, philosophy, and reform.
The life of Frederick Douglass is nothing less than the history of America in the 19th century from slavery to reconstruction. His influence was felt in the political sphere, major social movements, literary culture, and even international affairs. His resounding words tell not only his own remarkable story, but also that of a burgeoning nation forced to reckon with its tremulous moral ground. This compact volume offers a full course on a necessary historical figure, giving voice once again to a man whose guiding words are needed now as urgently as ever.
The Portable Frederick Douglass includes the full range of Douglass's writings, from autobiographical writings that span from his life as a slave child to his memories of slavery as an elder statesman in the late 1870s; his protest fiction (one of the first works of African American fiction); his brilliant oratory, constituting the greatest speeches of the Civil War era, which launched his political career; and his journalistic essays that range from cultural and political critique to art, literature, law, history, philosophy, and reform.
579 pages, Paperback
First published September 27, 2016
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858 people want to read
About the author
Frederick Douglass
912books1,568followersFrederick 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.
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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.
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November 3, 2019
Frederick Douglass should be on the required reading list of every American. No matter your political affiliation, no matter if your Geo-locale is north or south of the Mason Dixon Line, there is something to be learned and taken away from his 'My Bondage My Freedom' by all. This particular memoir I personally found just as enthralling as educating. There are explanations to things people are still fighting about and struggling with today, and there are insights into things most can only vainly attempt to imagine having no first hand knowledge of the horror of chattel slavery; and the system that maintained it in the so-called land of the free.
The thoughts and ideas so eloquently put forth by Douglass in his speeches resonate with liberty at its core beyond the figurative shackles of past or present ideologies, color and or creed. Religion in the form of Christianity is quite often remembered during this period as biblical justification of slavery, just as well it's quite often invoked by Douglass as the higher authority of universal ordinance which precedes and therefore renders the corruptions of earthly law invalid (see U.S. Supreme Court ruling: ). For this too I recommend it to all Christians interested in the history of American evangelism which saw no small schism in that one side upheld the institution of oppression, while the other rallied to decry it as an abomination, and in direct opposition to the mercy of an Almighty God within the movement of abolition.
In conclusion and summary (which follows) The Portable Frederick Douglass on Kindle is an excellent annotated selection of his most influential writings and speeches with an Introduction by Henry Louis Gates and John Stauffer, along with suggestions for further reading. This collection of his work contains the following:
About the Author
What Is an African American Classic?
Introduction
A Note on the Text
Autobiographical Writings
- Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845)
- From: My Bondage And My Freedom (1855)
- From: Life And times of Frederick Douglass (1881)
Fiction
- The Heroic Slave (1853)
Speeches
- What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July (1852)
- The Claims Of The Negro Ethnologically Considered (1854)
- The Dred Scott Decision (1857)
- The Significance Of Emancipation In West Indies (1857)
- The Trials And Triumphs Of Self-Made Men (1860)
- The Day Of Jubilee Comes (1862)
- The Proclamation And A Negro Army (1863)
- The Mission Of The War (1864)
- Pictures And Progress (1864-65)
- Our Martyred President (1865)
- The Freedmen's Monument To Abraham Lincoln (1876)
- Lessons Of The Hour (1894)
Journalism
- To My Old Master (1848)
- Prejudice Against Color (1850)
- F.D. (1851)
- The Word 'White' (1854)
- Is It Right And Wise To Kill A Kidnapper (1854)
- Our Plan For Making Kansas A Free State (1854)
- The Doom Of The Black Power (1855)
- Capt. John Brown Not Insane (1859)
- To The Rochester Democrat And American (1859)
- The Chicago Nominations (1960)
- The Inaugural Address (1861)
- A Trip To Haiti (1861)
- The Fall Of Sumter (1861)
- Fremont And His Proclamation (1861)
- The President And His Speeches (1862)
- Men Of Color, To Arms! (1863)
- Valedictory (1863)
- Woman Suffrage Movement (1870)
- Letter From The Editor (On The Burning Down Of His Rochester House) (1872)
- Give Us The Freedom Intended For Us (1872)
- The Color Line (1881)
- The Future Of The Colored Race (1886)
- Introduction To The Reason Why The Colored American Is Not The World's Columbian
- Toussaint L'Ouverture (CA. 1891)
Appendix: On Genealogical Self-Fashioning
Notes
The thoughts and ideas so eloquently put forth by Douglass in his speeches resonate with liberty at its core beyond the figurative shackles of past or present ideologies, color and or creed. Religion in the form of Christianity is quite often remembered during this period as biblical justification of slavery, just as well it's quite often invoked by Douglass as the higher authority of universal ordinance which precedes and therefore renders the corruptions of earthly law invalid (see U.S. Supreme Court ruling: ). For this too I recommend it to all Christians interested in the history of American evangelism which saw no small schism in that one side upheld the institution of oppression, while the other rallied to decry it as an abomination, and in direct opposition to the mercy of an Almighty God within the movement of abolition.
In conclusion and summary (which follows) The Portable Frederick Douglass on Kindle is an excellent annotated selection of his most influential writings and speeches with an Introduction by Henry Louis Gates and John Stauffer, along with suggestions for further reading. This collection of his work contains the following:
About the Author
What Is an African American Classic?
Introduction
A Note on the Text
Autobiographical Writings
- Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845)
- From: My Bondage And My Freedom (1855)
- From: Life And times of Frederick Douglass (1881)
Fiction
- The Heroic Slave (1853)
Speeches
- What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July (1852)
- The Claims Of The Negro Ethnologically Considered (1854)
- The Dred Scott Decision (1857)
- The Significance Of Emancipation In West Indies (1857)
- The Trials And Triumphs Of Self-Made Men (1860)
- The Day Of Jubilee Comes (1862)
- The Proclamation And A Negro Army (1863)
- The Mission Of The War (1864)
- Pictures And Progress (1864-65)
- Our Martyred President (1865)
- The Freedmen's Monument To Abraham Lincoln (1876)
- Lessons Of The Hour (1894)
Journalism
- To My Old Master (1848)
- Prejudice Against Color (1850)
- F.D. (1851)
- The Word 'White' (1854)
- Is It Right And Wise To Kill A Kidnapper (1854)
- Our Plan For Making Kansas A Free State (1854)
- The Doom Of The Black Power (1855)
- Capt. John Brown Not Insane (1859)
- To The Rochester Democrat And American (1859)
- The Chicago Nominations (1960)
- The Inaugural Address (1861)
- A Trip To Haiti (1861)
- The Fall Of Sumter (1861)
- Fremont And His Proclamation (1861)
- The President And His Speeches (1862)
- Men Of Color, To Arms! (1863)
- Valedictory (1863)
- Woman Suffrage Movement (1870)
- Letter From The Editor (On The Burning Down Of His Rochester House) (1872)
- Give Us The Freedom Intended For Us (1872)
- The Color Line (1881)
- The Future Of The Colored Race (1886)
- Introduction To The Reason Why The Colored American Is Not The World's Columbian
- Toussaint L'Ouverture (CA. 1891)
Appendix: On Genealogical Self-Fashioning
Notes
February 8, 2017
It being Black History Month (and considering the state of current events), I think I picked the perfect time to read this book. This Penguin Classic Edition is a collection of Douglass� best and most famous writings.
The book is divided into four parts: Autobiographical (which includes his seminal work: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave), fictional (his lone foray into fiction is The Heroic Slave, about Madison Washington and the Creole Slave Revolt), Speeches, and Journalism.The material covers from 1845 (Narrative, his first piece), through the 1890s (Shortly before his death in 1895).
Douglass� writing is straightforward and erudite. His portrayals of slave life are vivid and arresting. His arguments are forcefully made and thoroughly worked out. This man is a born orator, and a succinct and powerful writer. I feel a bit guilty for not having read much of his work before now. It is also unnerving how relevant many of his topics are in the present day.
The Fugitive Slave act of 1850 meant that slaves who managed to escape from the South could still be hunted down, even if they managed to flee to a state where slavery was outlawed. The bar for sending someone back was depressingly low; two white witnesses simply had to attest that the person in question was, indeed, a runaway slave; no hard evidence necessary. Further, their victim was unable to speak in their own defense, the testimony of an African American being inadmissible in court at the time. This brings strongly to mind the sanctuary cities cropping up all over the nation; areas which offer safe spaces for undocumented immigrants to live and work without fear of being ripped away from their lives and families. Had such areas existed in the United States in the era of slavery, the fate of many escaped slaves may have been different.
Douglass also reserves special ire for the Church. While a believer himself, he boldly calls out the hypocrisy of the emphatically religious who profess their adherence to the tenets of Christianity, while at the same time treating their fellow man as something less than human. Douglass also has quite a bit to say about those who use the bible to justify their hate and institutionalize bigotry. If this sounds like many of the “religious freedom� laws cropping up in states across the United States, it’s because the arguments are basically the same. Now, however, Christianity is being used primarily to target LGBT+ individuals, and codify a second-class citizenship into our country’s laws.
In these troubled times, it is both wonderful and terrible to read something written so long ago that still resonates so strongly in the present day. I feel that no matter your political leanings, this is an incredibly important book. Hopefully it will be widely read in the coming years. It is always helpful to step back as a nation and ask “Are we moving forwards?� Or are we simply covering injustices in slightly altered costume, under the guise of adhering to tradition?
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via ŷ in exchange for an honest review. The Portable Frederick Douglass is currently available for purchase.
The book is divided into four parts: Autobiographical (which includes his seminal work: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave), fictional (his lone foray into fiction is The Heroic Slave, about Madison Washington and the Creole Slave Revolt), Speeches, and Journalism.The material covers from 1845 (Narrative, his first piece), through the 1890s (Shortly before his death in 1895).
Douglass� writing is straightforward and erudite. His portrayals of slave life are vivid and arresting. His arguments are forcefully made and thoroughly worked out. This man is a born orator, and a succinct and powerful writer. I feel a bit guilty for not having read much of his work before now. It is also unnerving how relevant many of his topics are in the present day.
The Fugitive Slave act of 1850 meant that slaves who managed to escape from the South could still be hunted down, even if they managed to flee to a state where slavery was outlawed. The bar for sending someone back was depressingly low; two white witnesses simply had to attest that the person in question was, indeed, a runaway slave; no hard evidence necessary. Further, their victim was unable to speak in their own defense, the testimony of an African American being inadmissible in court at the time. This brings strongly to mind the sanctuary cities cropping up all over the nation; areas which offer safe spaces for undocumented immigrants to live and work without fear of being ripped away from their lives and families. Had such areas existed in the United States in the era of slavery, the fate of many escaped slaves may have been different.
Douglass also reserves special ire for the Church. While a believer himself, he boldly calls out the hypocrisy of the emphatically religious who profess their adherence to the tenets of Christianity, while at the same time treating their fellow man as something less than human. Douglass also has quite a bit to say about those who use the bible to justify their hate and institutionalize bigotry. If this sounds like many of the “religious freedom� laws cropping up in states across the United States, it’s because the arguments are basically the same. Now, however, Christianity is being used primarily to target LGBT+ individuals, and codify a second-class citizenship into our country’s laws.
In these troubled times, it is both wonderful and terrible to read something written so long ago that still resonates so strongly in the present day. I feel that no matter your political leanings, this is an incredibly important book. Hopefully it will be widely read in the coming years. It is always helpful to step back as a nation and ask “Are we moving forwards?� Or are we simply covering injustices in slightly altered costume, under the guise of adhering to tradition?
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via ŷ in exchange for an honest review. The Portable Frederick Douglass is currently available for purchase.
March 13, 2019
RTC.
But, what a finish?! I am so much the better for picking the Penguin edition.
But, what a finish?! I am so much the better for picking the Penguin edition.
March 1, 2017
I'm glad Frederick Douglass is finally getting recognized more and more these days.
But in all seriousness, this man was an impressive thinker. I hesitate to say ahead of his time, because he was molded by his time. But his views on race and on women's struggles for equality are fascinating and refreshing. They sound like 20th century tracts, not early to mid 19th c!
This collection has the Narrative and selections from the other two autobiographies, many of the speeches, and many pieces of journalism. The range goes from aesthetics in photography to holidays being the opiate of the worker (Douglass's argument on holidays is the closest I've ever seen to my own) to throwing shade at A Lincoln.
Certainly he was an engaging thinker and I can only imagine he was a brilliant orator. I'm glad to have dived deeper into his work.
But in all seriousness, this man was an impressive thinker. I hesitate to say ahead of his time, because he was molded by his time. But his views on race and on women's struggles for equality are fascinating and refreshing. They sound like 20th century tracts, not early to mid 19th c!
This collection has the Narrative and selections from the other two autobiographies, many of the speeches, and many pieces of journalism. The range goes from aesthetics in photography to holidays being the opiate of the worker (Douglass's argument on holidays is the closest I've ever seen to my own) to throwing shade at A Lincoln.
Certainly he was an engaging thinker and I can only imagine he was a brilliant orator. I'm glad to have dived deeper into his work.
October 17, 2024
What a fantastic book. This anthology features large portions of Douglass's autobiographies, plus a large collection of famous speeches and notable writings. I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't know or remember much about the man before this, other than his being a famous escaped slave. This work is an excellent education about not only Frederick Douglass himself, but the entire American era leading up to and after the Civil War, with eloquent commentary on race relations that retains plenty of relevance today.
In telling his life story, Douglass powerfully illuminates the barbarism of slavery. The dividing up of an inheritance, leading slaves to be assessed and partitioned off just like the horses, starkly brings the dehumanization into focus. When a nice woman, given power over Douglass, soon descends into cruelty, he teaches us how slavery debased whites as well as blacks. When Douglass writes that he can't reveal the details of his escape, lest it endanger others hoping to use the same means, we are transported back into time, catching a small glimpse of what it was like.
In fact, this selection of Douglass's writings throughout the nineteenth century makes history come alive. Instead of a dry textbook recitation of dates and events leading up to the Civil War, we experience the highs and lows of the tumultuous period. The Fugitive Slave Bill seemed like a major setback to the abolitionist movement, but it jolted northern whites who disliked slavery out of a comfortable passivity, forcing them to take sides and bear a cost for their opposition. The Nebraska Compromise, the Dred Scott decision - As all of these events happened with increasing frequency, Douglass cries, a few years before the Civil War, "There is a lesson in these decreasing spaces... This very attempt to blot out forever the hopes of an enslaved people may be one necessary link in the chain of events preparatory to the downfall and complete overthrow of the whole slave system."
Douglass's famous speech "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" is an excellent defense of the classical notion that the ideals of the Founding Fathers were noble and good, with their fatal flaw being that they were too exclusive in realizing them. As Lincoln is elected, and through the Civil War, Douglass emphatically praises Lincoln for everything he does in opposition to slavery, while emphatically denouncing him for everything he does in support of it. (Would that we had more consistent courageous voices in the public square today.) As Reconstruction falters in the following decades, Douglass presents perhaps my favorite address in the entire canon, "Lessons of the Hour," a screed against lynching specifically, and the lingering racial prejudices and inequities of the country more generally: "When a white man steals, robs or murders, his crime is visited upon his own head alone. But not so with the black man. When he commits a crime the whole race is made to suffer." He powerfully and bitingly condemns the "lack of moral courage" to utilize fair courts for the wrongfully accused: "Instead of conforming our practice to the theory of our government and the genius of our institutions, we now propose, as means of conciliation, to conform our practice to the theory of your oppressors." With a sly wit he rebuts critics who are "both eloquent, both able, and both wrong." He dismisses those who advocate the mass deportation of former slaves to Africa: "My opinion of them is that if they are sensible, they are insincere, and if they are sincere they are not sensible." (It's a shame the state of national discourse has fallen so far. People just don't talk like this - or gather to hear long speeches that sound like this - any more.) With a hopeful yet painful honesty, he admits, "I hope and trust all will come out right in the end, but the immediate future looks dark and troubled. I cannot shut my eyes to the ugly facts before me." Douglass never shut his eyes but never stopped pushing forward. Seeing the ups and downs behind the progress of another era brings a healthy perspective to the challenges of today.
The length of the volume includes more variety than I have room to detail here, including, among other things, perhaps the first work of African American fiction, an attempt at a scientific debunking of racism (that unfortunately has aged a bit questionably), and an interesting intellectual exploration of the implications of the new technology of photography. Through it all, Douglass is a passionate abolitionist and defender of freedom, always gracious and professional toward his critics but fiery and unwavering in his articulated arguments for freedom and justice.
In telling his life story, Douglass powerfully illuminates the barbarism of slavery. The dividing up of an inheritance, leading slaves to be assessed and partitioned off just like the horses, starkly brings the dehumanization into focus. When a nice woman, given power over Douglass, soon descends into cruelty, he teaches us how slavery debased whites as well as blacks. When Douglass writes that he can't reveal the details of his escape, lest it endanger others hoping to use the same means, we are transported back into time, catching a small glimpse of what it was like.
In fact, this selection of Douglass's writings throughout the nineteenth century makes history come alive. Instead of a dry textbook recitation of dates and events leading up to the Civil War, we experience the highs and lows of the tumultuous period. The Fugitive Slave Bill seemed like a major setback to the abolitionist movement, but it jolted northern whites who disliked slavery out of a comfortable passivity, forcing them to take sides and bear a cost for their opposition. The Nebraska Compromise, the Dred Scott decision - As all of these events happened with increasing frequency, Douglass cries, a few years before the Civil War, "There is a lesson in these decreasing spaces... This very attempt to blot out forever the hopes of an enslaved people may be one necessary link in the chain of events preparatory to the downfall and complete overthrow of the whole slave system."
Douglass's famous speech "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" is an excellent defense of the classical notion that the ideals of the Founding Fathers were noble and good, with their fatal flaw being that they were too exclusive in realizing them. As Lincoln is elected, and through the Civil War, Douglass emphatically praises Lincoln for everything he does in opposition to slavery, while emphatically denouncing him for everything he does in support of it. (Would that we had more consistent courageous voices in the public square today.) As Reconstruction falters in the following decades, Douglass presents perhaps my favorite address in the entire canon, "Lessons of the Hour," a screed against lynching specifically, and the lingering racial prejudices and inequities of the country more generally: "When a white man steals, robs or murders, his crime is visited upon his own head alone. But not so with the black man. When he commits a crime the whole race is made to suffer." He powerfully and bitingly condemns the "lack of moral courage" to utilize fair courts for the wrongfully accused: "Instead of conforming our practice to the theory of our government and the genius of our institutions, we now propose, as means of conciliation, to conform our practice to the theory of your oppressors." With a sly wit he rebuts critics who are "both eloquent, both able, and both wrong." He dismisses those who advocate the mass deportation of former slaves to Africa: "My opinion of them is that if they are sensible, they are insincere, and if they are sincere they are not sensible." (It's a shame the state of national discourse has fallen so far. People just don't talk like this - or gather to hear long speeches that sound like this - any more.) With a hopeful yet painful honesty, he admits, "I hope and trust all will come out right in the end, but the immediate future looks dark and troubled. I cannot shut my eyes to the ugly facts before me." Douglass never shut his eyes but never stopped pushing forward. Seeing the ups and downs behind the progress of another era brings a healthy perspective to the challenges of today.
The length of the volume includes more variety than I have room to detail here, including, among other things, perhaps the first work of African American fiction, an attempt at a scientific debunking of racism (that unfortunately has aged a bit questionably), and an interesting intellectual exploration of the implications of the new technology of photography. Through it all, Douglass is a passionate abolitionist and defender of freedom, always gracious and professional toward his critics but fiery and unwavering in his articulated arguments for freedom and justice.
January 12, 2021
I was especially interested in reading about Douglass's debate with William Lloyd Garrison about the constitution, but that debate makes no appearance in this volume. What is here, though, is gold all the way through. Douglass writes with confidence as hard as a bit in (a) the infinite potential of the human spirit and (b) the impossibility of realizing even a small part of that potential in a slave society. I guess those themes are a little obvious, at least to a modern reader, but Douglass so blasts you back with the force of his confidence that you remember what it means to be obvious. He was confident enough that the end of slavery would unfurl the human spirit that he met cheerfully with his former master and wrote, with superhuman generosity, "now that slavery was destroyed, and the slave and master stood upon equal ground ... I regarded him as I did myself, a victim of circumstances of birth, education, law, and custom." (Reading this line, I'm grateful that the slaveowner died too soon to turn Jim Crow.) His arguments that the Constitution was (in spite of its devotees) an abolitionist document, and that the war was (in spite of its executors) an abolitionist war give you the feeling of being grabbed by the scruff of your neck and turned to look at plain facts. These could teach you how to do what Marx exhorted Ruge to do: "do not say to the world: 'Stop fighting; your struggle is of no account .' ... We only show the world what it is fighting for, and consciousness is something that the world must acquire, like it or not."
January 25, 2021
An amazing selection of Douglas� work from autobiography to fiction to speeches and journalism. Included here are the entirety of Douglas� first autobiography supplemented with excerpts from his later two, his one fictional work, The Heroic Slave, famous and lesser known speeches and editorials and one previously unpublished essay on Toussaint Louverture. I think the selections were exceptionally well chosen and worked together to present a full portrait of the man’s life, ideas, and the work he was engaged in (though, personally, I would have liked more speeches and journalism from Reconstruction). I appreciated the intro very much as well, though - my only complaint really - I found the footnotes quite uneven. Some Shakespeare or Bible quotes were cited, others not; some historical personages were described, others were not. It just seemed inconsistent. But this is a small complaint in an otherwise exemplary anthology.
September 5, 2024
"There is no roof which under you would be more safe than mine, and there is nothing in my house which you might need for your comfort, which I would not readily grant. Indeed, I should esteem it a privilege, to set you an example of how mankind ought to treat each other.
I am your fellow man, but not your slave."
This is a passage from "To My Old Master" in which Douglass addresses his former master. It moved me in ways that I did not see coming, and I am again reminded of the resilience and strength of other people. Not only that, but I am also confronted with the evils and depravity that men are capable of.
Everyone needs to be familiar with Frederick Douglass and his abolitionist advocacy, legacy, and fight for liberation - whether you're American or not. This collection was incredible, it captures an essential piece of history. I implore you to read it.
I am your fellow man, but not your slave."
This is a passage from "To My Old Master" in which Douglass addresses his former master. It moved me in ways that I did not see coming, and I am again reminded of the resilience and strength of other people. Not only that, but I am also confronted with the evils and depravity that men are capable of.
Everyone needs to be familiar with Frederick Douglass and his abolitionist advocacy, legacy, and fight for liberation - whether you're American or not. This collection was incredible, it captures an essential piece of history. I implore you to read it.
August 31, 2020
We all know a lot about slavery in general, but there are very few cogent first hand accounts of slavery. It’s a tragedy that most slaves were kept illiterate - a moral crime that Douglass inveighs against repeatedly - and thus were unable to leave a written testament of what being a slave was like. His story is truly fascinating and his conflicted but positive view of America’s promise as a nation needs to be felt and preached. This book has a great selection of autobiographical writings and speeches that give shape to his life and legacy.
September 18, 2020
Read Narrative of the Life, selections from the other 2 autobiographies, and other pieces. Also the reading used at St John’s, a speech on whether The Constitution is pro-slavery or anti-slavery (which is not in this volume).
A wonderful writer, a profoundly moving story, a thoughtful and compassionate human being. The Narrative is artfully written, to evoke empathy in the white reader of the time. A tour-de-force by a self-emancipated 27 yr old.
A wonderful writer, a profoundly moving story, a thoughtful and compassionate human being. The Narrative is artfully written, to evoke empathy in the white reader of the time. A tour-de-force by a self-emancipated 27 yr old.
June 1, 2018
Every person who considers themselves "educated" or a "reader" MUST read this. Frederick Douglass's story from slavery to one of the greatest orators and writers in American history is phenomenal. Seeing his life through his works of writing is an incredible and eye-opening experience. Easy to read and so enjoyable.
June 25, 2024
assigned: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845), Chapter I, 15-19; Chapter X, 53-71; “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?� (1852)195-222, "The Trials and Triumphs of Self-Made Men" (1860), 292-302; "The Freedmen's Monument to Abraham Lincoln" (1876), 364-76; "Woman Suffrage Movement" (1870), 491-94; "The Future of the Colored Race" (1886), 513-16
March 16, 2023
Whatever you think you know, just read this book.
December 1, 2018
تعرفت على فريدريك دوغلاس من خلال أغنية “هذ� أمريكا� لمغني الراپ الأميركي تشايلدش گامبينو (دونالد غلوفر)، فالأغنية تحتوي على الكثير من الرموز على تاريخ العبودية للسود في أمريكا.
يعتبر فريدريك دوغلاس أيقونة خالدة في تاريخ التحرر من العبودية في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، حيث قضى عمره من أجل تحرير السود من قيود الرق والجهل ودعا إلى تحرير المرأة وكان أول أمريكي من أصل إفريقي يترشح لمنصب نائب رئيس الولايات المتحدة، وأصبحت كتبه ملهمة للملايين من أنحاء العالم.
فرغم معاناته في صغره وفقدانه لوالديه، استطاع تعلم القراءة من الأطفال البيض في الحي وعن طريق مراقبة الرجال الذين عمل معهم، رغم القانون الذي يحظر تعليم العبيد، حيث كان المبدأ السائد العبدَ لا يجب أن يتعلّم سوى طاعة سيّده، وأن التعلّم سوف يفسدُه وسيغدو غير راضٍ عن حالته ولن يلائمه أن يصبح عبدًا للأبد بل سيرغب بالحريّة، وعندها اكتشف دوجلاس قوّة الرجل الأبيض التي تكمن في المعرفة التي تُمكنّه من استعباد الرجل الأسود.
عندما أقرأ تاريخ العبودية في أمريكا، وكيف كان يتعامل البيض مع السود وكسرهم وتحطيمهم للروح المعنوية والنفسية والجسدية لأي عبد متمرد، عن طريق الشدة والغلو والعنف الرهيب وتوقيع أقصى العقوبات على أقل خطأ، وعدم ترك للعبيد أي متنفس أو فرصة لنقاش ما فيما بينهم، من خلال العمل الشاق المجهد، لينتهون منه ليلا ليفترشوا الأرض وهم لا يشعرون حتى بأجسادهم من شدة الألم، ليستيقظوا في الصباح ليعاودوا الكرة يوما بعد يوم. أشعر وكأنه يتحدث عن الشعوب العربية، فنظرية طاحونة أكل العيش التي طبقها السادة على العبيد في الماضي، تطبقها اليوم الديكتاتوريات على شعوبها الفقيرة.
هذه الطبعة هي مجموعة من أفضل وأشهر كتابات دوغلاس، وينقسم الكتاب إلى أربعة أجزاء: السيرة الذاتية ( التي تتضمن أعماله الأساسية: قصة حياة فريدريك دوغلاس، العبد الأمريكي)، الأعمال الخيالية (روايته العبودية البطولية حول ماديسون واشنطن وثورة عبيد الكريول)، الخطابات ومقالات صحفية. تغطي الكتابات من عام 1845 إلى عام 1890 (قبل وفاته بخمس سنوات).
كتابات دوغلاس واضحة ومثيرة، فهو خطيب جيد وأظن خطبه بالكنيسة ساعدته على تطوير هذه المهارة، وكتابته قوية وكلماته مختصرة وعميقة، ويتميز بتصويره الحي لمعاناة العبيد وللاعتقالات والعقوبات التي تعرضوا لها، وأيضا بحججه القوية والدقيقة.
يعتبر فريدريك دوغلاس أيقونة خالدة في تاريخ التحرر من العبودية في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، حيث قضى عمره من أجل تحرير السود من قيود الرق والجهل ودعا إلى تحرير المرأة وكان أول أمريكي من أصل إفريقي يترشح لمنصب نائب رئيس الولايات المتحدة، وأصبحت كتبه ملهمة للملايين من أنحاء العالم.
فرغم معاناته في صغره وفقدانه لوالديه، استطاع تعلم القراءة من الأطفال البيض في الحي وعن طريق مراقبة الرجال الذين عمل معهم، رغم القانون الذي يحظر تعليم العبيد، حيث كان المبدأ السائد العبدَ لا يجب أن يتعلّم سوى طاعة سيّده، وأن التعلّم سوف يفسدُه وسيغدو غير راضٍ عن حالته ولن يلائمه أن يصبح عبدًا للأبد بل سيرغب بالحريّة، وعندها اكتشف دوجلاس قوّة الرجل الأبيض التي تكمن في المعرفة التي تُمكنّه من استعباد الرجل الأسود.
عندما أقرأ تاريخ العبودية في أمريكا، وكيف كان يتعامل البيض مع السود وكسرهم وتحطيمهم للروح المعنوية والنفسية والجسدية لأي عبد متمرد، عن طريق الشدة والغلو والعنف الرهيب وتوقيع أقصى العقوبات على أقل خطأ، وعدم ترك للعبيد أي متنفس أو فرصة لنقاش ما فيما بينهم، من خلال العمل الشاق المجهد، لينتهون منه ليلا ليفترشوا الأرض وهم لا يشعرون حتى بأجسادهم من شدة الألم، ليستيقظوا في الصباح ليعاودوا الكرة يوما بعد يوم. أشعر وكأنه يتحدث عن الشعوب العربية، فنظرية طاحونة أكل العيش التي طبقها السادة على العبيد في الماضي، تطبقها اليوم الديكتاتوريات على شعوبها الفقيرة.
هذه الطبعة هي مجموعة من أفضل وأشهر كتابات دوغلاس، وينقسم الكتاب إلى أربعة أجزاء: السيرة الذاتية ( التي تتضمن أعماله الأساسية: قصة حياة فريدريك دوغلاس، العبد الأمريكي)، الأعمال الخيالية (روايته العبودية البطولية حول ماديسون واشنطن وثورة عبيد الكريول)، الخطابات ومقالات صحفية. تغطي الكتابات من عام 1845 إلى عام 1890 (قبل وفاته بخمس سنوات).
كتابات دوغلاس واضحة ومثيرة، فهو خطيب جيد وأظن خطبه بالكنيسة ساعدته على تطوير هذه المهارة، وكتابته قوية وكلماته مختصرة وعميقة، ويتميز بتصويره الحي لمعاناة العبيد وللاعتقالات والعقوبات التي تعرضوا لها، وأيضا بحججه القوية والدقيقة.
November 21, 2016
Very informative and well written.
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