Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

"Frederick Douglass's Narrative is basically an autobiography. It's the story of his life from the time he was born a slave to the time of his escape to freedom in the North. But it's also a piece with a strong political message. When Douglass wrote this book in 1845, slavery was still legal in much of the United States. He became a public speaker and writer to try to stop it. He believed that if he showed people what slavery was really like, they would understand why it needed to be abolished. And who better than a former slave to tell the truth about slavery? So even though he wants to tell us his personal story, he never forgets the larger goal of abolishing slavery ... "