Frederick Douglass

Prophet of Freedom

David W. Blight

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781416590323
• eBook ISBN: 9781416593881
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

* Selected as One of the Best Books of the 21st Century by The New York Times * Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History * "Extraordinary…a great American biography" ( The New Yorker ) of the most important African American of the 19th century: Frederick Douglass, the escaped slave who became the greatest orator of his day and one of the leading abolitionists and writers of the era. As a young man Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) escaped from slavery in Baltimore, Maryland. He was fortunate to have been taught to read by his slave owner mistress, and he would go on to become one of the major literary figures of his time. His very existence gave the lie to slave owners: with dignity and great intelligence he bore witness to the brutality of slavery.Initially mentored by William Lloyd Garrison, Douglass spoke widely, using his own story to condemn slavery. By the Civil War, Douglass had become the most famed and widely travelled orator in the nation. In his unique and eloquent voice, written and spoken, Douglass was a fierce critic of the United States as well as a radical patriot. After the war he sometimes argued politically with younger African Americans, but he never forsook either the Republican party or the cause of black civil and political rights.In this "cinematic and deeply engaging" ( The New York Times Book Review ) biography, David Blight has drawn on new information held in a private collection that few other historian have consulted, as well as recently discovered issues of Douglass's newspapers. "Absorbing and even moving…a brilliant book that speaks to our own time as well as Douglass's" ( The Wall Street Journal ), Blight's biography tells the fascinating story of Douglass's two marriages and his complex extended family. "David Blight has written the definitive biography of Frederick Douglass…a powerful portrait of one of the most important American voices of the nineteenth century" ( The Boston Globe ).In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Frederick Douglass won the Bancroft, Parkman, Los Angeles Times (biography), Lincoln, Plutarch, and Christopher awards and was named one of the Best Books of 2018 by The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Time.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: First Things
• Chapter 2: A Childhood of Extremes
• Chapter 3: The Silver Trump of Knowledge
• Chapter 4: Baltimore Dreams
• Chapter 5: Now for Mischief!
• Chapter 6: Living a New Life
• Chapter 7: This Douglass!
• Chapter 8: Garrisonian in Mind and Body
• Chapter 9: The Thought of Writing for a Book!
• Chapter 10: Send Back the Money!
• Chapter 11: Demagogue in Black
• Chapter 12: My Faithful Friend Julia
• Chapter 13: By the Rivers of Babylon
• Chapter 14: My Voice, My Pen, or My Vote
• Chapter 15: John Brown Could Die for the Slave
• Chapter 16: Secession: Taught by Events
• Chapter 17: The Kindling Spirit of His Battle Cry
• Chapter 18: The Anthem of the Redeemed
• Chapter 19: Men of Color to Arms!
• Chapter 20: Abolition War, Abolition Peace
• Chapter 21: Sacred Efforts
• Chapter 22: Othello’s Occupation Was Gone
• Chapter 23: All the Leeches That Feed on You
• Chapter 24: Ventures
• Chapter 25: What Will Peace Among the Whites Bring?
• Chapter 26: An Important and Lucrative Office
• Chapter 27: Joys and Sorrows at Cedar Hill
• Chapter 28: Watchman, What of the Night?
• Chapter 29: Born Traveler
• Chapter 30: Haiti: Servant Between Two Masters
• Chapter 31: If American Conscience Were Only Half-Alive
• Epilogue: Then Douglass Passed
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Notes
• Index
• Illustration Credits
• Copyright