Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: Written by Himself, Critical Edition

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Yale University Press, Oct 25, 2016 - Biography & Autobiography - 320 pages

One of the most influential literary documents in American and African American history, now available in a critical edition

“This edition is the most valuable teaching tool on slavery and abolition available today. It is exceptional.”—Nancy Hewitt, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Rutgers University

Ideal for independent reading or for coursework in American and African American history, this revised edition of the memoir written by Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) of his life as a slave in pre-Civil War Maryland incorporates a wide range of supplemental materials to enhance students’ understanding of slavery, abolitionism, and the role of race in American society. Offering readers a new appreciation of Douglass’s world, it includes documents relating to the slave narrative genre and to the later career of an essential figure in the nineteenth-century abolition movement.

 

Contents

Narrative
1
Historical Context
91
Douglass and His Contemporary Critics
103
Scholarly Assessments
119
Afterword
133
Chronology
139
Four Maryland Families
145
Historical Annotation to the Narrative
151
Notes
179
Selected Bibliography
189
Index
199
Copyright

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About the author (2016)

Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) was an African American abolitionist and social reformer, author, orator, and statesman. John R. McKivigan is Mary O’Brien Gibson Professor of History at Indiana University–Purdue University, Indianapolis. Peter P. Hinks is a well-published author of scholarly monographs and documentary volumes. Heather L. Kaufman is a research associate of the Douglass Papers.

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