Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass

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Title: The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American
Slave
Author: Frederick Douglass
Release Date: January 10, 2006 [EBook #23]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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FREDERICK DOUGLASS ***

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NARRATIVE
OF THE
LIFE
OF
FREDERICK DOUGLASS,
AN
AMERICAN SLAVE.
--------------- WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. ---------------
Boston Published At The Anti-Slavery Office, No. 25 Cornhill 1845
Entered, According To Act Of Congress, In The Year 1845 By
Frederick Douglass, In The Clerk's Office Of The District Court Of
Massachusetts.

PREFACE
In the month of August, 1841, I attended an anti-slavery convention in
Nantucket, at which it was my happiness to become acquainted with
FREDERICK DOUGLASS, the writer of the following Narrative. He
was a stranger to nearly every member of that body; but, having
recently made his escape from the southern prison-house of bondage,
and feeling his curiosity excited to ascertain the principles and
measures of the abolitionists,--of whom he had heard a somewhat
vague description while he was a slave,--he was induced to give his
attendance, on the occasion alluded to, though at that time a resident in

New Bedford.
Fortunate, most fortunate occurrence!--fortunate for the millions of his
manacled brethren, yet panting for deliverance from their awful
thraldom!--fortunate for the cause of negro emancipation, and of
universal liberty!--fortunate for the land of his birth, which he has
already done so much to save and bless!--fortunate for a large circle of
friends and acquaintances, whose sympathy and affection he has
strongly secured by the many sufferings he has endured, by his virtuous
traits of character, by his ever-abiding remembrance of those who are
in bonds, as being bound with them!--fortunate for the multitudes, in
various parts of our republic, whose minds he has enlightened on the
subject of slavery, and who have been melted to tears by his pathos, or
roused to virtuous indignation by his stirring eloquence against the
enslavers of men!--fortunate for himself, as it at once brought him into
the field of public usefulness, "gave the world assurance of a MAN,"
quickened the slumbering energies of his soul, and consecrated him to
the great work of breaking the rod of the oppressor, and letting the
oppressed go free!
I shall never forget his first speech at the convention--the extraordinary
emotion it excited in my own mind--the powerful impression it created
upon a crowded auditory, completely taken by surprise--the applause
which followed from the beginning to the end of his felicitous remarks.
I think I never hated slavery so intensely as at that moment; certainly,
my perception of the enormous outrage which is inflicted by it, on the
godlike nature of its victims, was rendered far more clear than ever.
There stood one, in physical proportion and stature commanding and
exact--in intellect richly endowed--in natural eloquence a prodigy--in
soul manifestly "created but a little lower than the angels"--yet a slave,
ay, a fugitive slave,--trembling for his safety, hardly daring to believe
that on the American soil, a single white person could be found who
would befriend him at all hazards, for the love of God and humanity!
Capable of high attainments as an intellectual and moral
being--needing nothing but a comparatively small amount of
cultivation to make him an ornament to society and a blessing to his
race--by the law of the land, by the voice of the people, by the terms of

the slave code, he was only a piece of property, a beast of burden, a
chattel personal, nevertheless!
A beloved friend from New Bedford prevailed on Mr. DOUGLASS to
address the convention: He came forward to the platform with a
hesitancy and embarrassment, necessarily the attendants of a sensitive
mind in such a novel position. After apologizing for his ignorance, and
reminding the audience that slavery was a poor school for the human
intellect and heart, he proceeded to narrate some of the facts in his own
history as a slave, and in the course of his speech gave utterance to
many noble thoughts and thrilling reflections. As soon as he had taken
his seat, filled with hope and admiration, I rose, and declared that
PATRICK HENRY, of