Frederick Douglass

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Frederick Douglass

About the Author

Born in 1818, Frederick Douglass became a renowned orator and writer after having escaped from slavery in 1838.  After his escape, he became an anti-slavery lecturer and toured for six months with the American Anti-Slavery Society.  

About Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Published in 1845, skeptics were unsure if it were truly written by Douglass because of the eloquent writing style.  This eloquence disproved one of the main pro-slavery arguments that African Americans could not be educated.  Depicting Douglass' own life as a slave as well as the events leading up to and after his escape, this book became a best seller and was very popular, and its factual details regarding the horrors of slavery fueled the abolitionist movement.  The book especially focuses on literacy and its affect on him as a slave, and how becoming literate pushed him to escape and become a man, not a slave.




Below is a documentary about Frederick Douglass.

Discussion Question #1

Female slaves are portrayed only in negative and often horrible situations. Douglass, however, glosses over this visits from his mother, and only mentions his wife in passing. How does this portrayal affect the reader and why do you think Douglass decided to portray them in such a fashion?

Discussion Question #2

What circumstances led to city slave-owners being kinder to slaves when compared to country slave-owners? Was it because it was easier for slaves to escape successfully in the city? Or was it because the distance between neighbors made it easier to be judged on their treatment of their slaves?

Pamphlet depicting the Order of Exercises
at a meeting of the Anti-Slavery Society

Fact #1

Wendell Phillips Esq., the writer of the letter at the beginning of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, was heavily involved in the abolitionist movement, much to his family's dismay. In fact, they tried to have him committed to an insane asylum when he joined the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.