A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass

A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass by David A. Adler, illustrated b Samuel Byrd, Holliday House, New York, 1993.
Frederick Douglass is not his name at birth.  His given name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey.  He was born to a slave women, who only saw him a few times after his birth as they were separated by twelve miles.  The nights she walked to see him she had to walk back by morning or risk being beaten.  Frederick was introduce early to the world of slavery, lack of clothes, poor food, and beatings. 
However at age eight he was sent to live with Sophia and Hugh Auld.  Sophia didn't know better and taught Frederick the alphabet, and intended to teach him to read, until her husband informed her teaching a slave to read was illegal.  However he would carry a book with him, and poor white children helped him continue his desire to red.  Frederick attended Sunday School, and at sage fourteen taught at the Sunday School. 
Frederick was later sent to other people as a slave.  One farmer beat him regularly, until Frederick fought back.  He continued a Sunday School, and clandestinely teaching slaves to read.
Frederick's first escape attempt was discovered, and he landed in jail.  He was sure he would be sent to the Deep South, but instead returned to the home of the Aulds in Baltimore. 
From there he made good his escape.  A freed slave gave him money, and a sailor lent him documents to prove he was not a slave.  He traveled North to freedom.  He settled in New York, and sent for the woman who helped him, Anna Murray.  They were married.  Frederick changed his name to Douglas at this time for fear of being recaptured.
He eventually went to work for the Liberator an abolitionist paper.  He published an autobiography, in which he divulged his real name and slave owners.  He went to Europe for fear of capture, always talking against slavery.  He returned to America after some friends his bought his freedom.
After his return he started his own paper The Northern Star.  
Douglass continued to be instrumental in Black causes.  During the Civil War he helped raise an African American infantry unit.  He complained of the difference in wages and quality of arms, but President Lincoln asked him to be patient.  At the conclusion of the war he was invited to the White House as the president's friend. 
Douglass continued in government over the years.  After his wife passed away he married a white woman.  Frederick Douglass was an initial proponent of African American causes and rights.  He also stood for rights of women and others.

Book Review: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; An AmericanSlave

Written by himself, Introduction by Peter Gomes, Afterword by Gregory Stephens, Signet Classics, New York 2005, originally published 1845.

This book is a must read to understand American history and slavery.  I have read books about Frederick Douglass, but never his own word.  He tells an exciting story of his own thirst for freedom, which was not to be denied.  A mistress gave him a thirst for reading, and he used that to learn to read, even if it meant tricking the neighborhood boys to teach him.  An early climax is when Douglass stands up to his slave runner, and tells him no more.  They scuffle for some time, but Douglass escapes the beating.  He makes an excellent point about religion and how a man of religion could tolerate such treatment.  How could a Christian go to church and profess piety, and then starve, abuse, beat and misuse their fellowmen.  I think we all need to reflect on being better people and better Christians.

As I said excellent autobiographical book.  Of course Douglass lived many years after writing this book, so we miss most of his life, but this book is about slavery, and was very useful to the abolitionists.  It is also useful today to provide a glimpse of conditions amongst the slaves.
Click here for a story about Frederick Douglas learning to read and write.
And click here for a biography of Frederick Douglas.

Book Review: Frederick Douglass: Truth is of No Color

Frederick Douglass: Truth is of No Color, by: Michael A. Schuman, Easlow Publisher Inc., Berkeley Heights, NJ, 2009.

Frederick Douglass was an interesting man.  He was born a slave, and in his early life received some mistreatment, as well as some care.  His mother was really never able to care for him, as she worked long hours.  As a toddler he was in the care of his grandmother.  His mother would have to walk 12 miles from the fields to see her son.  At age six Frederick was sent to work.  At this time he met his older siblings who had previously been sent to the same plantation to work. 

At eight years old, Frederick’s master passed away.  He and the entire family were lined up and distributed amongst the inheritors.  He went to Thomas and Sophia Auld.  Sophia would read the bible to Frederick and her own son, when Frederick was not working.  He became fascinating with the idea of letters forming words.  He asked her to teach him, and she did.   This is unusual as it was against the law to teach a slave to read.  When Sophia bragged to Thomas about Fredericks’s reading, the lessons stopped.  However Frederick continued to learn.  At this time he worked as an errand boy in the shipyard in Baltimore.  He would play reading games with other boys, testing who could read best.  Frederick used these games to improve his reading. 

As a teen, Frederick was assigned to work for others.  In this he was beaten, and required to do tasks he had not been trained to perform.  He finally determined he must escape.  He escape using the Maritime Papers of a friend.  These identified him as a veteran sailor who had won his freedom through his service.  This came in handy as questioning was much less for those who were veterans.  He traveled by ship and train, until he made it to Philadelphia.

He changed his name to make it harder for others to track him.  He lived in several communities which he had heard that they were positive to African Americans.  However he still found prejudice.  In the church the Black people were asked to sit in the back and spoken down to.  They formed their own church.  Blacks were not allowed in school, so Frederick took upon himself their education.

Douglass became and abolitionist speaker.  He published an autobiography, and then began publishing his own abolitionist paper.  He traveled in England, for his own safety.  He was still subject to capture and return to slavery in the United States.  However, we was married and had children and missed them, so he returned.  Douglass was a correspondent of John Brown.  When Brown was arrested and hung for treason, these letters were found and a finger pointed at Douglass.  Even though Douglass had cautioned him against his rash plan, there was still the air of conspiracy.  Douglass fled to England again.  However, the nation did not want to pursue anyone else about this affair, especially after the commencement of the Civil War.

Douglass returned, and advised the president to free the slaves and recruit them for military service.  After the emancipation proclamation they were accepted for service, and Douglass worked with recruitment.  He also worked for African American soldiers to receive equal pay.

At Lincoln’s second inauguration he visited the White House, but guards would not let him enter.  African Americans had never before been invited to a social occasion at the White House.  However, President Lincoln saw him, and invited him in, said there is my good friend Frederick Douglass.  He asked for his critique of his inaugural address.  This may have been the first time an African American had been invited into the White House for such an occasion.

Douglass fulfilled many government positions by appointment after this.  His wife died after 44 years of marriage, and he went into a period of melancholy before being able to return to work.  Douglass did another thing that was unheard of at that time.  He married a White woman, Helen Pitts, who had been his clerk. 

Frederick Douglass did a great deal towards the emancipation of the slaves, and then towards the advancement of African Americans.  He likely did more in this regard than anyone, at least until the fight for Civil Rights.

Book Review: Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass

Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass, Lesa Cline-Ransome, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, 2012.

This is a brief short story of how Frederick Douglass learned to read and write, and gained his freedom.  It is taken from his own autobiography “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave”.  The title of the book is not really accurate.  He attempted to gain his freedom using pass letter he had written for himself and same friends, however his plot was foiled.  He asked everyone to swallow the letters so he wouldn’t be punished for knowing how to read.  He later gained his freedom, after he had been shipped to Baltimore because his master didn’t think he would be any good where he was.

When Frederick was young he was sent to Baltimore to work as a house boy.  He had a mistress who taught him his letters, and he learned very quickly.  When the mistress bragged to her husband about teaching Frederick his letters, his chances to continue learning and reading went away.  The library was locked to him and he wasn’t suppose to read.  However he was still young, and in doing errands he would read word on signs in town.  He would also practice his letters using chalk and fence posts or stones or whatever was handy.  Sometimes he would play games with other boys in town, see who can write the best letters, or spell a particular word, and in this way he was taught how to read more and more.  When his master died, he was sent back to work on the farm as a field hand.  However he had enough knowledge to read about freedom, and then he wanted to be free.  This lead to the above story about his writing the passes.