Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Frederick Douglass, former slave, prominent abolitionist, and one of the first black intellectuals of the nineteenth century, was born in Talbot County, Maryland. His autobiography is one of the most important historical references pertaining to the impact of slavery on both African Americans and the political, social, and cultural arenas in America. Three crucial moments define Douglass's impact on American culture: his beginnings as a slave and the recounting of his experiences in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself ; his work in the abolitionist movement; and his emergence as one of the most prominent voices articulating the black experience in slavery. When describing his early years in bondage, Douglass recounts the lack of an identity, common during slavery: “I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it. … My mother was named Harriet Bailey. … My father was a white man. He was admitted to be such by all I ever heard speak of my parentage” (Douglass 2001: 13). He carefully records his experiences and encounters with brutal slave masters, from witnessing the graphic beating of his Aunt Hester when he was a very young child to other equally powerful incidents that shaped Douglass and further underscored his desire to escape and become part of the abolitionist movement. At one point ... log in or subscribe to read full text