The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

A Book that Changed America Forever

Introduction

On May 1, 1845, “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” was published. This story had a great impact on the abolishment of slavery. Frederick Douglass lived a lot of his life in slavery and this book shows this. In this paper, I will be writing about the author, the book, and the legacy the book has had even until this day.

About the Author

Let’s get to know more about Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland. “Like many slaves, he is unsure of his exact date of birth,” (SparkNotes, 2020). He had a black mother and white father. He is well known for escaping slavery. After this escape, Frederick Douglass was eventually well known as an American abolitionist. On top of this he was also an orator, writer, statesman, and public speaker. Frederick Douglass made multiple attempts to escape slavery but did not do so until 1838 from Covey’s farm. Seven years after his escape, he published, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” which I will be discussing more in this paper. This book had a huge impact when it came down to the abolishment of slavery. It assisted in influencing and finally getting rid of slavery for good. It is said to have a legacy. After his book was published, he received lots of attention from the public. He was clearly a writer but he also became a public speaker. He eventually became national leader of the abolitionist movement in both New York and Massachusetts. Not only did Frederick Douglass have a great influence on the abolishment of slavery but he also had a big influence on women’s rights and Irish home rule.

About the Book

Now, let’s look into the book. This book is basically about the life that Frederick Douglass lived. Like I said before, he was born into slavery. He was separated from his mother and it is said to be that his father was most likely their white master, Captain Anthony. Captain Anthony is the clerk of a man named Colonel Lloyd. Colonel Lloyd owned hundreds and hundreds of slaves. The slaves that lived in any of Lloyd’s plantations lived a brutal life. Those who were to break the rules on his plantations got beaten and whipped. “…sometimes even shot by the plantation overseers, the cruelest of which are Mr. Severe and Mr. Austin Gore,” (SparkNotes, 2020). Since Douglass was only a child, his life was not as cruel. Instead of working out on the fields, he worked in the household. At age 7, he is given to Captain Anthony’s son-in-law, Hugh Auld. This brung him to Baltimore. In Baltimore he experienced a much more free life. Douglass was even being taught how to read by Auld’s wife. This didn’t last long though since Auld put an end to that. With this being the case, he began to teach himself with the local boys. With the amount Douglass began to read and write, it helped him see how cruel slavery truly is. After the death of Captain Anthony, Douglass was eventually given to Edward Covey. This man is known for “breaking” slaves. He overworked and whipped all the spirit out of Douglass. Douglass eventually fights back. This resulted in a 2-hour fight and Covey never touched Douglass again. His time with Covey is over and now Douglass is back in Baltimore. Douglass began to educate other slaves at a school. Here, he also makes up a plan to escape with three other slaves. Unfortunately, someone betrayed their plan and they were taken to jail. When he got out of jail, he got into industrial work. He saved up plenty of money and made his escape to New York. In fear of recapture he changes his name from Bailey to Douglass. He then marries a woman and moves out to Massachusetts. He began to engage greatly in the abolitionist movement as both an orator and writer.

Legacy

“The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” had an overall great impact on the abolishment of slavery. It brung a lot of attention to the need to abolish slavery. It helped readers get a closer look at what slavery was really like. “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass paints a powerful picture of what it was like to be a slave, how the world looked from within chains, and what kind of place America was when “the land of the free” was only free for white people.” (Shmoop,2021). One can see that this book had a long time legacy on slavery. It helped in putting an overall end to slavery. Not only slavery, but it also assisted in getting equal rights for people of all colors.

Works Cited

SparkNotes. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: Plot Overview.” SparkNotes, 2020, www.sparknotes.com/lit/narrative/summary.

Shmoop. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Introduction.” Shmoop, 2021, www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/life-of-frederick-douglass.