Narrative of the Life 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.