The Life of Frederick Douglass
“Digging into Frederick Douglas”
Introduction and Thesis
During the 17th and 18th century slavery ran rampant in the United States; these slaves experienced hardships beyond what was deemed humane. Once given a chance, they began to write their stories down, to tell of their lives and their experiences starting from their birth to when they finally reached freedom. Between the end of the 18 century and the beginning of the 19 century, “about 70 slave narratives were published in England and the United States.” (Tanter,Marcy) Each showed unique circumstances and unique people, and an intimate look into what had been considered ‘normal’ conditions during that time. One noteworthy person who had quite a tale to tell was Fredrick Douglas. Known as the father of the Civil Rights Movement, Douglas played one of the many essential parts in getting black people freed from the bondage of slavery. (Frederick Douglas-Father of America’s Civil Rights Movement) “The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas” allows us to see how this man helped in creating the Civil rights movement, fighting prejudices held in the hearts of many was, and reshape the politics of that time.
About the Author
Before he was Fredrick Douglas, he was born Fredrick Augustus Washington Baily to a white master and a negro slave, Harriet Bailey, in Talbot County, Maryland, in the year 1818. (Habich and Robert) Frederick did not get the chance to know or be raised by his mother, and his grandmother raised him until he was taken to another plantation when he was six years old. Frederick moved multiple times during his youth, learning to read from white boys that he encountered along with his moves. With a much better understanding of his circumstances, Douglas became difficult as an enslaved black man, and in 1833 a man named Edward Covey attempted to ‘break him.’ Thankfully Covery was unsuccessful. Douglas finally planed a successful escape in the year of 1838. Disguised as a sailor, he made his way by train to get to New York City, where he would marry a free black woman named Anna Murray(Habich and Robert). After their union, they were persuaded by a friend to move to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he became the man known as Fredrick Douglas. In the year 1841, Douglas began attending antislavery meetings and then transitioned to giving lectures. Later in 1845, with encouragement from friends and many who were interested in knowing his life story, he published his narrative.(Narrative of the life)
About the Book
The book opens, not with a preface from Douglas but from Abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison. Garrison sets the stage by introducing how he met Douglas at an antislavery convention in Massachusetts and emphasizes being impressed by his “unforgettable speech.” (Tanter, Marcy) Garrison also goes on to mention many other notable abolitionists. Following that is a letter from Wendall Phillips, who is also providing credibility to Douglas’ narrative. Then Douglas begins. (Narrative of the life)
His first chapter captures his youth, born to a white slave master and a dark-skinned negro woman. “The master is frequently compelled to sell this class of his slaves, out of deference to the feelings of his white wife; and, cruel as the deed may strike any one to be … it is often the dictate of humanity to do so.” he writes, showing the reason behind him being separated from his mother and how most children born under those circumstances are quickly moved to avoid upsetting the family balance of the white families. He ends the chapter by recounting the story of him watching his aunt whipped. Chapters three to five capture his life on the plantation under his cruel master’s hand, his responsibilities being few because of his age, and slave murders that took place during his youth. With these first five chapters, he argues how dehumanizing slavery is. (Narrative of the life)
Chapters six and seven address his first move to another plantation, learning to read, and then the lessons stopping because of the goal to keep enslaved people illiterate. He then returns to his father’s plantation. Chapters eight and nine show his continuous moves into different owners’ hands, each hand more callus and cruel than the other. Chapter ten is Douglas fighting back against the social constraints that were on him, no longer tolerating being bitten and abused by his ‘masters’ These chapters capture how knowledge is power, with better understanding he was able to see that he wasn’t lesser than and should not have to keep being treated as such. (Narrative of the life)
Chapter eleven he is able to write of a victorious escape to New York and his awakening to the fact that he was a free man. He ends it by highlighting how he discovers his purpose by reading a newspaper called “The Liberator” which propels him forward to having a role in the fight against slavery: “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.” With the appendix, Douglas can complete the work, showing how those who were proclaiming to be Christians lacked what it meant to be one. He not only points out false Christians vs. true Christians, here and throughout the book but also how those who were once enslaved can come to know their full selves. (Narrative of the life)
The Legacy
“We wish that everyone may read his book and see what a mind might have been stifled in bondage.” Margaret Fuller, an editor for the ‘Dial’, stated. (Narrative of the life) Douglas was able to grant humanity to those who were seen as lesser, those who didn’t have a voice or rights. While he had many who attempted to undermine his work because of his past as a slave, and because of their doubts in him being the author of such a well-written piece of literature, it has stood the test of time. Scholar Lisa Margaret Zeitz references to multiple chapters and the appendix of Douglas’s work emphasize his understanding of the bible and how the people of that time had fallen short. (Narrative of the life) They were not showing the love that God asked them to show, even refusing to feed those that were in their care. Overall during his time till now, “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” is a piece of writing that genuinely gives way to show how slavery has no place in a just world.
Works Citied:
Tanter, Marcy. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.” Student’s Encyclopedia of Great American Writers, Volume 2, Facts On File, 2010. Bloom’s Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=95547&itemid=WE54&articleId=476771. Accessed 5 June 2020.
“Frederick Douglass — Father of America’s Civil Rights Movement.” Desmond Tutu Foundation USA, 19 Feb. 2013, www.tutufoundationusa.org/2013/02/18/frederick-douglass-father-of-americas-civil-rights-movement/.
Habich, Robert D., and Robert C. Nowatzki. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.” Romanticism and Transcendentalism, 1820?1865, Facts On File, 2010. Bloom’s Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=95547&itemid=WE54&articleId=484577. Accessed 5 June 2020.
“Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself.” Nonfiction Classics for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Nonfiction Works, edited by David M. Galens, et al., vol. 2, Gale, 2001, pp. 236–267. Gale eBooks, https://link-gale-com.db07.linccweb.org/apps/doc/CX3424200050/GVRL?u=lincclin_ecc&sid=GVRL&xid=29e0f580. Accessed 5 June 2020.
