TOW #21 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass is considered to be one of the greatest civil-rights champions, along with one of the most powerful orators in American history.  In terms of his published work, he is perhaps best known for his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.  In it, he describes the horrors of slavery through his own firsthand experience.

One of the most striking aspects of the text is the matter-of-fact manner with which Douglass describes the injustices committed against him.  For example, he writes that he was separated from his mother at birth.  Because of this he “received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger.”  In a way, this method of describing slavery highlights the fact that evils of the practice were so obvious that they needed no exaggeration.  Douglass style contrasts with the inflammatory style of the preface, written by William Lloyd Garrison.  For instance, Garrison writes at the end of the preface, “Come what may—cost what it may—inscribe on the banner which you unfurl to the breeze, as your religious and political motto—‘NO COMPROMISE WITH SLAVERY!  NO UNION WITH SLAVEHOLDERS!’”  The fact that Garrison introduces his fellow civil-rights advocate further emphasizes the coolness of Douglass’ own writing.  By revealing the true nature of slavery, the impact of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is similar to that of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in that it galvanized the American public against slavery.