★★★★★ (of 5)

• Full Title: Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written By Himself
• Author: Frederick Douglass
• Year: 1845 (mine was 2003 paperback)
• Pages: 106*
• Genre: Autobiography
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble Classics
• ISBN 978-1-59308-041-9 (paperback)
• Wikipedia page
• Author’s Wikipedia page

* More like 150 page, if one includes six pages of end notes, 14 other post-content pages, and the 33 pages of introduction and timeline.

 

Summary

This is the autobiographical account of Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey (a.k.a. Frederick Douglass), written when he was 27 years old — seven years after he escaped a life of slavery in the southern United States. The original preface (by noted abolitionists) is included, along with a lengthy introduction and analysis by scholar Robert G. O’Meally in the 2003 edition.

Douglass recounts his early life — as early as he can recall — through his youth and young adulthood as the owned property of white men. Very briefly, near the end, he notes his final escape and how he became a vocal advocate for abolishing slavery.

 

Commentary

The first thing I noticed was how readable this book is. Lest that statement be mistaken for some kind of play on “he’s so eloquent”, what I mean is that I’ve read plenty of literature from the 1800s, and a good portion of it is difficult for a modern reader. This one truly isn’t. I suspect Douglass was careful in choosing his words, vigilant about avoiding the slang of the day as well as colloquialisms, and passionate about making his story as clear as possible. Yes, the language is stilted as one might expect for a book more than 170 years old, but not as inscrutable as many writings by authors of the same time period.

I read it — as I do most historical accounts — because I’m ashamedly aware of my severe lack of knowledge — before this book, I admit all I knew of Douglass was that he was (1) an escaped slave who (2) spoke against slavery. So the entire story felt like new territory for me. For example, I didn’t previously know his father was a white man, possibly his master, something Douglass makes clear on page 1.

Douglass masterfully weaves his own narrative alongside a poignant description of slavery in general as well as specific notes on slavery in the area where he grew up. Occasional turns of phrase are beautifully sharp, while others are mind-numbingly sad.

Without waxing polemic, merely by stating his experiences (and thoughts and opinions), Douglass powerfully brings down any and all defenses — both ancient and modern — of the “peculiar institution” that defined the first half of the U.S.’s history — and arguably has a massive influence on current events.

 

The Religion Of The South

Something that stood out to me was his biting criticism of Christianity, the dominant religion of the United States today and especially the South in the 1840s. As mentioned above, I’ve read a good deal of literature from the 19th Century and criticism of Christianity is rare indeed (Mark Twain in the late 1800s comes to mind as another rare exception). For example, when describing his 1834 transfer from the control of Mr. Covey to Mr. Freeland, Douglass writes:

“Another advantage I gained in my new master [Freeland] was, he made no pretensions to, or professions of, religion; and this, in my opinion, was truly a great advantage. I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes — a justifier of the most appalling barbarity — and a dark shelter under which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of slaveholders find the strongest protection. Were I to be again reduced to the chains of slavery, next to that enslavement, I should regard being the slave of a religious master the greatest calamity that could befall me. For of all slaveholders with whom I have ever met, religious slaveholders are the worst. I have ever found them the meanest and basest, the most cruel and cowardly, of all others. It was my unhappy lot not only to belong to a religious slaveholder, but to live in a community of such religionists.”

—pages 72-73

In fact, he hits on this topic so strongly and so often that he is forced to add an entire appendix in order to explain himself to the religionists among his audience. He explains that he regards “the Christianity of Christ” as an entirely separate religion from the “Christianity of this land”, the former being merely a name-stealer from the latter. But even here, in the explanatory appendix, Douglas waxes dark and brutal against the “Christianity of America”, though he expresses a sincere belief in the God of Christiantiy. Just after quoting a lengthy diatribe of Jesus against the hypocrites of his day, and applying to American Christians, Douglass adds:

“Dark and terrible as is this picture, I hold it to be strictly true of the overwhelming mass of professed Christians in America. They strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Could anything be more true of our churches? They would be shocked at the proposition of fellowshipping a sheep-stealer; and at the same time they hug to their communion a man-stealer and brand me with being an infidel, if I find fault with them for it. They attend with Pharisaical strictness to the outward forms of religion, and at the same time neglect the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. They are always ready to sacrifice, but seldom to show mercy.”

—pages 102-103

 

Points Off For...

I could find nothing on which to fault this work.

The most irritating parts were the asterisks leading to footnotes that explained what I thought to be well-known phrases or words, but this has nothing to do with Douglass; only this 2003 edition — which was likely prepared for middle school students (my guess, based on the types of words the editors chose to explain).

 

Conclusion

I am disappointed in myself for not having read this earlier. Any American who hasn’t read it definitely should.

 

 

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