My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass

He tells the reader that onboard ship to England, he was not allowed to occupy a first class cabin because of his race. Accordingly, as his reputation grew, Douglass fled to England to prevent the possibility of arrest and a return to slavery. In My Bondage and My Freedom, Douglass reports gaining fame because of his abolitionist lectures and the publication of the Narrative. Douglass confirms that even the most abused field slave could learn to read therefore, his capacity for intellect and love of learning could well have been inherited from his mother. The underlying rationale for this assertion is to rebuke claims by racists who say that blacks are unintelligent and 'uneducatable,' or those who argue that Douglass must have inherited his intelligence from his white father. Nevertheless, he thinks his thirst for knowledge came from his mother and not from his unknown white father. Douglass admits that he doesn't know how a field hand could have gained this knowledge. In an early chapter, he gives more information about his mother, who 'was the only one of all the slaves and colored people in Tuckahoe' who could read. My Bondage and My Freedom is basically a continuation of the Narrative. It is true that in the later part of his life, Douglass was more concerned with racial pride and seemed eager to suggest that his black heritage alone contributed to his success. Such inconsistencies have led scholars to argue that Douglass modified his autobiographies in order to suit changing politics. Yet in the Narrative (1845), Douglass strongly implies that a white man, perhaps his master, was his father.

For example, in the last version (1881), Douglass denies having any knowledge of who his father was. Recent historical scholarship has focused attention on the minor discrepancies in the three versions. However, the Narrative is more often taught in classes today than the other two books. Both of these autobiographies are much longer than the Narrative and provide more of Douglass' views about racism and civil rights in the South, as well as in the North. Frederick Douglass wrote two more memoirs about his life: My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881).

My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass