内容简介
OneofthemostimportantdocumentsinAmericanhistory.Inthiswrenching,classicautobiography,Douglassdescribeshimselfasamanwhobecameaslave-and,later,aslavewhobecameaman.
作者简介
BornaslaveinMarylandinabout1817,FrederickDouglassneverbecameaccommodatedtobeingheldinbondage.Hesecretlylearnedtoread,althoughslaveswereprohibitedfromdoingso.Hefoughtbackagainstacruelslave-breakerandfinallyescapedtoNewBedford,Massachusetts,in1838atabouttheageof21.Despitethedangerofbeingsentbacktohisownerifdiscovered,DouglassbecameanagentandeloquentoratorfortheMassachusettsAntislaverySociety.HelecturedextensivelyinbothEnglandandtheUnitedStates.Asanex-slave,hiswordshadtremendousimpactonhislisteners.In1845Douglasswrotehisautobiography,NarrativeoftheLifeofFrederickDouglass,whichincreasedhisfame.Concernedthathemightbesentbacktoslavery,hewenttoEurope.HespenttwoyearsinEnglandandIrelandspeakingtoantislaverygroups.DouglassreturnedtotheUnitedStatesafreemanandsettledinRochester,NewYork,wherehefoundedaweeklynewspaper,TheNorthStar,in1847.Inthenewspaperhewrotearticlessupportingtheantislaverycauseandthecauseofhumanrights.Heoncewrote,"Thelessonwhich[theAmericanpeople]mustlearn,orneglecttodosoattheirownperil,isthatEqualManhoodmeansEqualRights,andfurther,thattheAmericanpeoplemuststandforeachandallforeachwithoutrespecttocolororrace."DuringtheCivilWar,DouglassworkedfortheUndergroundRailroad,thesecretrouteofescapeforslaves.HealsohelpedrecruitAfrican-AmericanssoldiersfortheUnionarmy.Afterthewar,hecontinuedtowriteandtospeakoutagainstinjustice.Inadditiontoadvocatingeducationforfreedslaves,heservedinseveralgovernmentposts,includingUnitedStatesrepresentativetoHaiti.In1855,alongerversionofhisautobiographyappeared,andin1895,theyearofDouglass'sdeath,acompletedversionwaspublished.Abest-sellerinitsowntime,ithassincebecomeavailableinnumerouseditionsandlanguages.弗雷德里克·道格拉斯FrederickDouglass(1817─1895)十九世纪美国废奴运动领袖,是一名杰出的演说家、作家、人道主义者和政治活动家。在废奴运动中他是一个巨人般的人物。
