Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division

Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Boston: Pub. at the Anti-slavery office, 1845)

Born into slavery in Maryland, Frederick Douglass (ca. 1817-1895) disguised himself as a sailor and escaped to New York City. One of the country’s greatest orators, he is regarded by many as the century’s leading abolitionist spokesman. His autobiographies, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave and My Bondage and My Freedom are some of the best-known slave narratives.