Frederick Douglass Books

(...)"This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. This, to you, is what the Passover was to the emancipated people of God. It carries your minds back to the day, and to the act of your great deliverance; and to the signs, and to the wonders, associated with that act, and that day. This celebration also marks the beginning of another year of your national life; and reminds you that the Republic of America is now 76 years old. I am glad, (...)".

Edited by Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer David W. Blight, this Library of America edition offers the largest single-volume collection of Frederick Douglass’s writings, featuring thirty-four speeches and sixty-seven journalistic pieces. These works vividly illustrate Douglass’s evolving views on slavery, the U.S. Constitution, and his eventual split with William Lloyd Garrison and other abolitionists regarding disunion. The collection also delves into his complex relationship with Abraham Lincoln and his commitment to women's suffrage. Notable pieces include “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?,” which critiques the hypocrisy of a slaveholding nation; “The Claims of the Negro Ethnologically Considered,” a rebuttal to racial pseudoscience; and “Is it Right and Wise to Kill a Kidnapper?,” advocating for resistance against the Fugitive Slave Act. Douglass also argues for the enlistment of Black troops in “How to End the War” and confronts the “Lost Cause” narrative in “There Was a Right Side in the Late War.” Additionally, “Lessons of the Hour” passionately denounces lynching and disenfranchisement in the Jim Crow South. The volume includes Douglass’s only fictional work, the novella “The Heroic Slave,” and features editorial notes, a revised chronology of his life, and an index.

Frederick Douglass's autobiography highlights his remarkable journey from slavery to becoming a prominent abolitionist. This hardcover edition features exquisite design elements, making it a meaningful keepsake or gift. It serves as a testament to Douglass's influential role in history and is printed in the USA, reflecting a commitment to quality.

"First published in 1892, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass Written By Himself is the final autobiography written by Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), a man who was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland. Securing his self-liberation at twenty years of age in 1838, he went on to become the most renowned antislavery activist, social justice campaigner, author, orator, philosopher, essayist, historian, intellectual, statesman, and liberator in U.S. history. A powerful literary work, Douglass' final autobiography shares the stories of his 'several lives in one.' This new edition examines Douglass' memorialization of his own and his mother's first-hand experiences of enslavement and of their 'mental' liberation through a 'love of letters;' his representation of Civil War Black combat heroism; his conviction that 'education means emancipation;' and finally, his 'unending battle' with white publishers for the freedom to 'tell my story.' This volume reproduces Frederick Douglass' emotionally powerful and politically hard-hitting anti-lynching speech, Lessons of the Hour, published in 1894. This edition includes explanatory notes, a revised introduction, and expanded bibliography"--

Illus. in black-and-white. Opening note by Coretta Scott King. For the first time, the most important account ever written of a childhood in slavery is accessible to young readers. From his days as a young boy on a plantation to his first months as a freeman in Massachusetts, here are Douglass's own firsthand experiences vividly recounted--expertly excerpted and powerfully illustrated.

This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition combines the two most important African American slave narratives into one volume. Frederick Douglass's Narrative, first published in 1845, is an enlightening and incendiary text. Born into slavery, Douglass became the preeminent spokesman for his people during his life; his narrative is an unparalleled account of the dehumanizing effects of slavery and Douglass's own triumph over it. Like Douglass, Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery, and in 1861 she published Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, now recognized as the most comprehensive antebellum slave narrative written by a woman. Jacobs's account broke the silence on the exploitation of African American female slaves, and it remains crucial reading. These narratives illuminate and inform each other. This edition includes an incisive Introduction by Kwame Anthony Appiah and extensive annotations.

The Heroic Slave is the only work of fiction written by Frederick Douglass. The novella is based on a true incident where a slave, Madison Washington, leads a rebellion on board a slave ship. Douglass wrote The Heroic Slave in response to a request from the Rochester Ladies' Anti Slavery Society for a short story to go in their collection, Autographs for Freedom. Frederick Douglass was born in slavery as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey near Easton in Talbot County, Maryland. As a young boy he was sent to Baltimore, to be a house servant, where he learned to read and write, with the assistance of his master's wife. In 1838 he escaped from slavery and went to New York City, where he married Anna Murray, a free colored woman whom he had met in Baltimore. Soon thereafter he changed his name to Frederick Douglass. In 1841 he addressed a convention of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in Nantucket and so greatly impressed the group that they immediately employed him as an agent. He was such an impressive orator that numerous persons doubted if he had ever been a slave. His autobiographical works are The Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Bondage and My Freedom and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, published in 1855 and 1881 respectively. He died in 1895.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave By Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglass

The narrative details Frederick Douglass's journey from slavery to freedom, highlighting his struggles and triumphs. After gaining his liberty, he emerged as a significant figure in the abolitionist movement, using his experiences to advocate for justice and equality. His story not only reflects personal resilience but also serves as a powerful commentary on the broader fight against slavery and oppression.