Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave : A Library of America Paperback Classic

This volume is a memoir written by famous American orator and ex-slave, Frederick Douglass (1818-1895). This work is generally held to be the most famous of a number of narratives written by former slaves during the same period. In factual detail, the text describes the events of Douglass' life and is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States, recounting Douglass' life as a slave and his ambition to become a free man. \the Pre-eminent American Slave Narrative. Published In 1845, This Autobiography Powerfully Details The Life Of The Internationally Famous Abolitionist Frederick Douglass From His Birth Into Slavery In 1818 To His Escape To The North In 1838 - How He Endured The Daily Physical And Spiritual Brutalities Of His Owners And Drivers, How He Learned To Read And Write, And How He Grew Into A Man Who Could Only Live Free Or Die. In His Introduction, Houston A. Baker, Jr., Discusses The Slave Narrative As A Distinct American Literary Genre And Points Out Its Social, Political, Historical, And Literary Significance, Past And Present. Enriched Ebook Features Editors Houston Baker And Derrick R. Spires Provides The Following Specially Commissioned Features For This Enriched Ebook Classic: • Chronology • Nineteenth-century Reviews And Responses • Further Reading • Day In A Slave’s Life • Sorrow Songs And Sheet Music • “the Church And Prejudice” (1841) • Introduction To “oration,” Or “the Meaning Of The Fourth Of July For The Negro” • “the Meaning Of The Fourth Of July For The Negro” (1852) • Introduction To “the Heroic Slave” • “the Heroic Slave” (1853) • “my Escape From Slavery” (1881) • Douglass Sites To Visit In The United States • Portraits And Illustrations • Enriched Ebook Notes The Enriched Ebook Format Invites Readers To Go Beyond The Pages Of These Beloved Works And Gain More Insight Into The Life And Times Of An Author And The Period In Which The Book Was Originally Written For A Rich Reading Experience. One of the greatest works of American autobiography, in a definitive Library of America text: Published seven years after his escape from slavery, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) is a powerful account of the cruelty and oppression of the Maryland plantation culture into which Frederick Douglass was born. It brought him to the forefront of the antislavery movement and drew thousands, black and white, to the cause. Written in part as a response to skeptics who refused to believe that so articulate an orator could ever have been a slave, the Narrative reveals the eloquence and fierce intelligence that made Douglass a brilliantly effective spokesman for abolition and equal rights, as he shapes an inspiring vision of self-realization in the face of unimaginable odds. This book is an autobiographical account by runaway slave Frederick Douglass that chronicles his experiences with his owners and overseers and discusses how slavery affected both slaves and slaveholders. Suggestions for Further Reading 25 -- A Note on the Text 29 -- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave 31.