Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

DISCOVER ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ACCOUNTS OF SLAVERY IN NINETEENTH CENTURY AMERICA

One of history’s greatest crimes, the American slave trade led to the suffering of untold numbers of men and women. But how can we better understand the lives and experiences of those who endured it?

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a harrowing first hand look at the brutal indignities of slavery in the nineteenth century, and the society that allowed it to happen. To better understand our shared present, we need to fully grapple with our difficult past. Douglass’ Narrative is a key piece of that puzzle.

An insightful introduction by Debra Newman Ham, a former Black history archivist for the Library of Congress, analyzes the text and looks at the key events in Douglass’ life.

Preface by William Lloyd Garrison xxxiii

Letter from Wendell Phillips xliii

Chapter I 1

Chapter II 13

Chapter III 25

Chapter IV 35

Chapter V 45

Chapter VI 55

Chapter VII 63

Chapter VIII 77

Chapter IX 89

Chapter X 101

Chapter XI 157

Appendix 183

A Parody 191

Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was born into slavery on a plantation in Tuckahoe, Maryland, but escaped in 1838 by posing as a free sailor and travelled to New York. He became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, where he began to give lectures on behalf of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. In 1845 he published Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, as a memoir and treatise on abolition.

Debra Newman Ham is a former professor of history at Morgan State University, and was an archivist and African American history specialist at the National Archives and the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress. Books include Black History: A Guide to Civilian Records in the National Archives, and The African-American Mosaic: A Guide to Black History Resources in the Library of Congress.

Tom Butler-Bowdon is Series Editor of the Capstone Classics series, and has provided Introductions for Plato’s Republic, Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, Machiavelli’s The Prince, Florence Scovel Shinn’s The Game of Life and How to Play It, and Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet. A graduate of the London School of Economics, he is also the author of 50 Economics Classics (2017) and 50 Politics Classics (2015).

www.butler-bowdon.com

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www.thisiscapstone.com

DISCOVER ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ACCOUNTS OF SLAVERY IN NINETEENTH CENTURY AMERICA

One of history’s greatest crimes, the American slave trade led to the suffering of untold numbers of men and women. But how can we better understand the lives and experiences of those who endured it?

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a harrowing first hand look at the brutal indignities of slavery in the nineteenth century, and the society that allowed it to happen. To better understand our shared present, we need to fully grapple with our difficult past. Douglass’ Narrative is a key piece of that puzzle.

An insightful introduction by Debra Newman Ham, a former Black history archivist for the Library of Congress, analyzes the text and looks at the key events in Douglass’ life.