Frederick Douglass

Children's Literature

It was very difficult for me to review this book. In fact I was on the verge of turning it back. The content is graphic and very painful for me. I know quite a bit about Frederick Douglas, but I was unaware of the cruelty that he suffered in his early life. It is amazing that with all of the brutality and upheaval that he suffered during his early life that he wasn't psychologically scarred. Lesser men would have been. Although he was shifted from one household to another (in some households he was shown compassion, and in some he was badly abused), his spirit and desire to be free was never broken. After he escaped from slavery he married Anna Murray, a free woman. Douglas began reading William Lloyd Garrison's abolitionist newspaper and attended anti slavery meetings. At one point Douglas spoke a few words to a group of people regarding his experiences as a slave. He was then asked to speak to a much larger group at the Nantucket convention about his experiences. The thought of addressing a large group of educated people scared him. Despite his fears he did it and an orator was born. Over the years he lectured against slavery in many northern states and in Europe. He published a newspaper, wrote his life story, supported anti-slavery candidates and persuaded Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. President Rutherford Hayes appointed Douglas marshal of the District of Columbia and when Benjamin Harrison became President, Douglas was offered the position of Consul General to Haiti. He served two years but resigned because of the tyrannical policies of the Haitian President. He never relented in his crusade to improve life for his people. He experienced the ravages ofslavery, but as he said, he did not live in vain. 2002, Enslow Publishers Inc,
— Leila Toledo