Total Page : 304
Publisher : IndyPublish com
Publication Date : 2003 08
>> A Worthy Companion to A Narrative In the Life of Frederick Douglass
I have to be honest I never knew that Frederick Douglass published another volume of his autobiography I foolishly believed that A Narrative in the Life of Frederick Douglass was his only book regarding is life as a slave and his life as a free man I was so wrong Sometimes I wonder how many other people still believe as I once did
My Bondage and My Freedom is an exceptional example of auto biographical writing Douglass mastery of the English language is superb In reading his story and the way he s able to describe his past as a young boy raised by his grandmother and then sent to begin working with little knowledge beforehand that he was in fact a slave was so eye opening I had no idea that some children raised during this time were actually allowed to be child for a few precious years before they were introduced to the vile world of slavery
This book give such a detailed account of a man s struggle to unleash the genius kept constrained by the world into which he was born and raised is just amazing I m still astounded by him even though it s been some time since I finished the book While a majority of the book describes his life as a young boy and slave told in the My Bondage section the rest of the book My Freedom tells of his life after he escaped from slavery his experiences given lectures against slavery his time abroad in other countries where he was treated as a human being and not as a piece of property and then of his struggles to create and manage his own newspaper once he returns to the United States
The appendix is also a treasure as it reprints many of his speeches and lectures on the injustice against humanity that was the slavery system A Narrative in the Life of Frederick Douglass is one of my all time favorite books and I find that My Bondage and My Freedom is definitely a worthy companion especially if you are looking for a deeper understanding of the life of Frederick Douglass
One thing that was missing and that I would love to come across one day is his writing on his actual escape from slavery as it is never fully explained in this book As a reader you only know that he planned it and obviously executed his daring escape with help from others That would really be a treat
>> First Modern Totalitarian Police State
Historians often call the Civil War the first modern war a precursor to the great battlefield slaughterhouses of the twentieth century Frederick Douglass shows that America was also first to invent the totalitarian police state It s hard to believe Stalin didn t have MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM prominently positioned on his bookshelf for frequent consultation because the Soviet system of oppression had so much in common with the system of oppression in the American South The only significant difference was that in the Soviet system absolute power was vested in Stalin in the American system absolute power was vested in each slavemaster Each slavemaster was in essence a little Stalin with life and death power over his slave property
The slave system rigorously withheld news and information from slaves A slave often would not know his father or even his own date of birth He could not lawfully learn to read He could not travel without written authorization He could not associate freely with other slaves He could not safely trust anyone or confide his private thoughts to anyone because planted informers were so numerous Slaves had to avoid even certain thoughts for fear the slavemaster would see in their facial expressions what was in their minds
Disguised slave catchers would sometimes help and encourage a slave to escape only to capture him for the reward The slavemaster demanded and enforced absolute immediate and unquestioned subservience through fear a liberal use of the lash and the constant threat of transferring a recalcitrant slave to an even harsher labor camp in the deep South
Yet MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM is by no means a depressing book thanks to Douglass irrepressible courage wit spirit and good luck when he most needed it There are even a few intentionally hilarious moments which I won t give away in this review
To avoid capture after his escape to the North Douglass used the fees from his speeches in Great Britain and royalties from his book sales to legally buy his own freedom from his Maryland owner
The book covers a period of American history I knew little about the period between the War of 1812 and the Civil War I didn t know for example that the abolition movement early in that period favored secession from the United States on the belief that the Constitution favored the South and backed to the hilt the slave system An excellent recent book that supports that view is SLAVERY S CONSTITUTION by David Waldstreicher
Even though Douglass was a religious believing Christian he leveled his most scathing criticism at the way Southerners used Christianity to justify and advance the slave system He often noted that the cruelest slave masters were also credited as the most religious members of their communities Some of the worst even had Rev attached to their names The only slavemaster Douglass credited with relative decency and kindness also happened to be an atheist
>> Loyal customer
The item arrived on time and this web site was the ONLY place I could find this book as my daughter needed it for her English class at school
Amazon really came through for me when we couldn t find the book anywhere else Thank you thank you thank you
