Fredrick Douglass

Collected Articles of Fredrick Douglass

In what would become one of five autobiographies written during his lifetime, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the former slave recounts his journey from being born into slavery around 1818 until his eventual escape to New York in 1838. Douglass was a prolific writer and orator whose many speeches and essays advocated not only for the abolition of slavery but for women's voting rights and human rights. This book became one of the most influential and inspirational stories in the areas of human and civil rights. This is a powerful tale of the cumulative effect of positive changes and the ability of a man to shape his own destiny. Douglass understood the power of education stating, "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." His persuasive writings and insightful criticism of the brutality and unjustness of slavery was used as an example by abolitionists of his day as a powerful counter argument to the slave holder's claim that slaves did not possess the intellectual capacity to become productive, responsible American citizens.

Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass

Famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass based his only fictional work on the gripping true story of the biggest slave rebellion in U.S. history. The Heroic Slave was inspired by a courageous uprising led by Madison Washington in 1841. Washington rallied 18 of the 135 slaves aboard a ship bound for New Orleans, the country's primary slave-trading market. The mutineers seized control, landing the ship in the British-controlled Bahamas, where their freedom was recognized. Originally published nearly a decade before the Civil War, Douglass's novella was one of the earliest examples of African-American fiction. Douglass presents Madison Washington's heroism less as a matter of violent escape and more as a voluntary act of claiming self-ownership. Douglass's retelling encouraged readers to engage in the abolitionist cause. It captivated readers by equating black slaves' rebellion against tyranny with the spirit and democratic ideals of the American Revolution.

Fredrick Douglass

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