"Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave" only takes up half this book. The Narrative is basically the prominent moments and memories of his life; it's not incredibly in-depth, but is very straight-forward and to the point. No embellishments, just clear vivid depictions with strong imagery. As he put it, his experience was on the mild end of slavery - none of his actual masters were of the incredibly vile sort who simply whipped everyone constantly for nothing; only the year he was sent to Covey to be "broken" was like that, and it was only 6 months, because at that point he was beaten awfully and had had it, and the next time Covey tried something, he fought back, and they essentially came out in a stalemate, which really means Douglass won, and Covey in his shame of losing to a slave essentially quit messing with him after that. None of the others were cruel for the sake of cruelty itself. But he does describe here and there some others he knew who endured that situation, and those passages had me literally cringing back into my chair. I simply cannot understand how a human can act in such a way. He mentions often how slaves were just chattel, one more piece of livestock on a farm, and the comparisons are spot on, but then, people would never even treat livestock that awful, they would never starve their workhorse or whip its flesh to shreds repeatedly. I just, ugh. There are no words. Anyhow. Eventually he made his escape (which he glosses over in the Narrative because he didn't want to risk ruining the path for others, or get anyone who helped in trouble), got to the north, found abolitionists who helped get him started, and was a free man at last.

The second half of the book is "selected essays and speeches" from over the years. Eventually, many years later, he did talk about the escape, so those details make up the first selection. There are 11 in all (though two of them are a piece of the same speech, presumably split just to make things shorter, keep the attention span up? because it's not even from another section, it directly follows the previous bit), and they show just how intelligent a man he was, and how excellent a speaker. His imagery is incredibly evocative, and his insight of everything he discusses is flawless, far more so than most people who speak on any subject! There were many pieces that stand out among them, but the most prominent is from his long speech (which can be read in its entirety here) “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” which I think everyone should take a look at.

For his clear depictions of the barbaric cruelty, and for his speeches of wisdom, everyone ought to read this. ( )

In honor of Black History Month, I've been trying to read primarily black authors. I finished Frederick Douglass' Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave and Other Writings (the Fall River Press edition). Douglass gives us an unvarnished account of life under slavery, demolishing one by one contemporary excuses and apologies such as "the slaves were well-cared for because they were valuable property" or "the inferior negro race needed whites to guide them and save their heathen souls." He recounts a story of a slave sold south because he answered honestly when asked if his master treated him well. Douglass says, "The slaveholders have been known to send in spies among their slaves, to ascertain their views and feelings in regard to their condition. The frequency of this has had the effect to establish among the slaves the maxim, that a still tongue makes a wise head...I have been frequently asked, when a slave, if I had a kind master, and do not remember ever to have given a negative answer..." He addresses not only the horrific physical abuses of slavery, but writes with poignancy about the moral and spiritual decay that slavery brings to slave holders. This is a classic of American literature and rebuke to all folks who insist that the Civil War was fought over "heritage."

This edition included several essays and presentations by Douglass including a detailed account of his escape from slavery which he didn't include in his initial "Narrative" because those that helped were still living in slave states and might be punished. I particularly liked his "Oration Delivered on the Occasion of the Unveiling of the Freedmen's Monument (In Memory of Abraham Lincoln, in Lincoln Park Washington, D.C, April 14, 1878)" which reminded his black audience that in spite of "the exalted character and great works of Abraham Lincoln, the first martyr President of the United States...He was preeminently the white man's President...ready and willing at any time during the first years of his administration to deny, postpone and sacrifice the rights of humanity in the colored people to promote the welfare of the white people of this country. In all his education and feeling he was an American of the Americans. He came into the Presidential chair upon one principle alone namely the opposition to the extension of slavery." It's an interesting (and by all accounts accurate) take by a contemporary of Lincoln. The words made me flinch, even though I've read several modern biographies which support Douglass' conclusions. Lincoln was a remarkable man, but he was a man of his times. It's good to put history in perspective.

A number of the essays become a bit repetitious in tone and content, which is to be expected. In my opinion, the major weakness of the volume is the inclusion of a modern introduction to the book which only summarized the "Narrative"--why bother?--Douglass did a great job of telling his own story. The Preface included two letters by contemporary white abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips which now feel condescending, but at the time must have been necessary to assure (white) readers that this narrative was true and the author worth listening to. In the end, I was glad for the extra material and would recommend finding an edition that includes the "Other Writings." ( )