Frederick Douglass

Gebundenes Buch

My Bondage and My Freedom

Beschreibung

If I ever wavered under the consideration, that the Almighty, in some way, ordained slavery, and willed my enslavement for his own glory, I wavered no longer. I had now penetrated the secret of all slavery and oppression, and had ascertained their true foundation to be in the pride, the power and the avarice of man. -from Chapter XI: "A Change Came O'er the Spirit of My Dream" He is one of the greatest Americans in the history of the nation: editor, orator, author, statesman, and reformer FREDERICK DOUGLASS (1818-1895) arrived on the national scene in 1841 to such universal acclaim that it seemed impossible for his admirers to conceive that he had been born and raised within chains. The first of his three autobiographies, 1845's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (also available from Cosimo), was written mainly to explain how he accomplished this astonishing feat. This, the second of his life stories, was published in 1855, and offers a more in-depth and-though seemingly impossible-even more thoughtful exploration of his life as a slave and his journey to escape it than his first book had. Douglass also discusses the challenges of life not only as a free man but as a famous one much in demand, as a public speaker in the Northern States and in Great Britain as well. This edition also includes the original publication's appendix, which features letters and speeches by the great man. A foundational work of African-American literature and a vital document of 19th-century American history, this is the extraordinary tale of a personal battle for freedom that became a fight for the very soul of a nation.

Autor

Frederick Douglass (February 1817 - February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, gaining note for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. In his time, he was described by abolitionists as a living counter-example to slaveholders' arguments that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens. Northerners at the time found it hard to believe that such a great orator had once been a slave. Douglass described his experiences as a slave in his 1845 autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, which became a bestseller, and was influential in promoting the cause of abolition, as was his second book, My Bondage and My Freedom. After the Civil War, Douglass remained an active campaigner against slavery and wrote his last autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. Douglass also actively supported women's suffrage, and held several public offices. Without his approval, Douglass became the first African American nominated for Vice President of the United States as the running mate and Vice Presidential nominee of Victoria Woodhull, on the Equal Rights Party ticket.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Cosimo
• Seitenzahl: 472
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. Dezember 2008
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 222mm x 145mm x 31mm
• Gewicht: 805g
• ISBN-13: 9781605204161
• ISBN-10: 1605204161
• Artikelnr.: 26070085