Essential Writings

Frederick Douglass was born in 1817 and lived for ten years as a slave upon a Maryland plantation. Then he was bought by a Baltimore shipbuilder. He learned to read, and, being attracted by 'The Lady of the Lake,' when he escaped in 1838 and went disguised as a sailor to New Bedford, Mass., he adopted the name Douglas (spelling it with two s's, however). He lived for several years in New Bedford, being assisted by Garrison in his efforts for an education. In 1841, at an anti-slavery convention in Nantucket, he exhibited such intelligence, and showed himself the possessor of such a remarkable voice, that he was made the agent of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and became a leader of the abolitionist movement. This edition comprises his essential writings:Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick DouglassMy Bondage And My FreedomAbolition Fanaticism In New YorkThe Heroic SlaveThe Life And Times Of Frederick Douglass: From 1817-1882