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The writing of narratives
by slaves had a dual effect:
in addition to furthering the
cause of the abolitionists,
the texts marked the
beginning of a uniquely
African-American literature.Writing the truth
Fugitive slaves escaping to the North
have poignant stories to tell that reveal
the injustice and brutality of their lives.Propaganda
These widely read narratives
are powerful propaganda for the
abolitionist and antislavery societies.Finding a voice
The stories give an empowering
voice and history to people
silenced by slavery.See also: Uncle Tom’s Cabin 153 ■ The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 188–89 ■ Invisible Man 259 ■ Beloved 306–09ROMANTICISM AND THE RISE OF THE NOVEL
As his story gradually unfolds,
Douglass asks “How is a slave
made into a man?.” He answers
this question by writing himself
into existence in a picaresque
coming-of-age tale. As a boy,
Frederick was taught to read and
write by a mistress and quickly
grasped the power of literacy to
both expose injustice and unlock a
future self. Although he was denied
further teaching, he enlisted poor
white boys and fellow workers as
teachers. A turning point came
when, at 16, he won a fight with a
brutal overseer: there is a strong
sense of self-discovery in the rest of
the story of his growing into a man.Lasting influence
After the American Civil War,
interest in slave narratives declined.
However, the language and
sentiment of the writing resurfaced
in the rhetoric of activists such as
Martin Luther King during the civil
rights movement of the mid-20th
century. Stories told by slaves then
became central to black studies, and
to the canon of American literature. ■Frederick Douglass The son of Harriet Bailey and an
unnamed white man, Frederick
Augustus Washington Bailey was
born into slavery in Maryland in
February 1818. At the age of 20 he
escaped to New York and married
Anna Murray, a free black woman.
They had five children.
Moving to Massachusetts,
Frederick adopted the name
Douglass to avoid capture, and
spoke regularly at abolitionist
meetings. He lectured in Great
Britain, where friends raised funds
for his release from slavery in
Baltimore in 1846. Douglass
settled in New York, where hepublished newspapers, assisted
fugitive slaves, and recruited
black troops for the Union cause.
After the death of his wife, he
married Helen Pitts, a white
editor and feminist. Douglass
became US Marshall for the
District of Columbia and Consul
General for Haiti. He died in
Washington, DC, in 1895.Other key works1855 My Bondage and
My Freedom
1881 Life and Times of Frederick
Douglass (revised 1892)US_126-127_FrederickDouglass.indd 127 08/10/2015 13:05