He was parceled out to serve different members of the family. But the spotlight on one of America's great moral heroes is a welcome one.ĭouglass was born on a plantation in Eastern Maryland in 1817 or 1818 – he did not know his birthday, much less have a long-form birth certificate – to a black mother (from whom he was separated as a boy) and a white father (whom he never knew and who was likely the "master" of the house). President Trump recently described Frederick Douglass as "an example of somebody who's done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice." The president's muddled tense – it came out sounding as if the 19th-century abolitionist were alive with a galloping Twitter following – provoked some mirth on social media. He made sure to document his life in not one but three autobiographies. Douglass was acutely conscious of being a literary witness to the inhumane institution of slavery he had escaped as a young man. It belongs in the library of anyone interested in African-American history and the life of one of the country's most courageous and influential champions of civil rights.American writer, abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass edits a journal at his desk, late 1870s.
Published in 1845 to quell doubts about his origins - since few slaves of that period could write - the Narrative is admired today for its extraordinary passion, sensitive and vivid descriptions and storytelling power. In this, the first and most frequently read of his three autobiographies, Douglass provides graphic descriptions of his childhood and horrifying experiences as a slave as well as a harrowing record of his dramatic escape to the North and eventual freedom. Physical abuse, deprivation and tragedy plagued his early years, yet through sheer force of character he was able to overcome these obstacles to become a leading spokesman for his people. Former slave, impassioned abolitionist, brilliant writer, newspaper editor and eloquent orator whose speeches fired the abolitionist cause, Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) led an astounding life.
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