My Bondage and My Freedom

"My Bondage and My Freedom" is the second of three autobiographies written by Frederick Douglass. It is mainly an expansion of his first autobiography, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass", discussing in greater detail his transition from bondage to liberty. Frederick Douglass (1818 – 1895) was an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writings. Contents: Childhood Removed From My First Home Parentage A General Survey of the Slave Plantation Gradual Initiation to the Mysteries of Slavery Treatment of Slaves on Lloyd's Plantation Life in the Great House A Chapter of Horrors Personal Treatment Life in Baltimore "A Change Came O'er the Spirit of My Dream" Religious Nature Awakened The Vicissitudes of Slave Life Experience in St. Michael's Covey, the Negro Breaker Another Pressure of the Tyrant's Vice The Last Flogging New Relations and Duties The Run-away Plot Apprenticeship Life My Escape From Slavery Liberty Attained Introduced to the Abolitionists Twenty-One Months in Great Britain Various Incidents Reception Speech Dr. Campbell's Reply Letter to His Old Master to My Old Master, Thomas Auld The Nature of Slavery Inhumanity of Slavery What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? The Internal Slave Trade The Slavery Party The Anti-Slavery Movement

Frederick Douglass (c. 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an iconic American abolitionist, writer, and orator. Born into slavery in Maryland, Douglass escaped in 1838 and rose to become a principal leader and spokesperson for the abolitionist movement. His eloquent and powerful writings and speeches were instrumental in advocating for the rights of African Americans and the abolition of slavery. Douglass's influence extended well into the realm of literature with his first autobiography, 'Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,' published in 1845, which became a seminal work in the American literary canon. His later autobiography, 'My Bondage and My Freedom,' was first published in 1855 and expanded on his life story, further solidifying his place as a critical figure in American literature and history. In 'My Bondage and My Freedom,' Douglass articulates the brutality and the psychological battles a slave had to endure, enhancing the narrative with his own intellectual insights and ideological progression. His literary style combined persuasive rhetoric with a deep understanding of the human condition, striving to expose the contradictions of a nation founded on liberty yet mired in slavery. Douglass's works not only contribute to antebellum literature but also serve as significant documents of American cultural and social history.