Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an 1845 memoir written by former slave Frederick Douglass. It is generally said to be the most famous of a number of narratives written by former slaves during the same period. In actual detail, the memoir describes the events of his life and is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass includes eleven chapters that tell the story of Douglass’ life as a slave and his determination to become a free man.
Frederick Douglass was born into slavery under a different name, around 1818. He served as a slave in Maryland and Baltimore during his youth. In the city, he learned how to read and began talking and learning from free blacks. Years later, Douglass
…show more content…
Douglass was encountering hostile opposition and, most often, the accusations that he was lying about his experiences. Many Americans did not believe that an intelligent black person had so recently been a slave. Douglass also encountered a different opposition within the Anti‑Slavery Society. He was one of only a few black men employed by a mostly white society, and the society’s leaders would often insisted that Douglass would just state the facts of his experience, and leave out the philosophy and persuasive argument to others. So when he wrote Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, he told both sides of his story, along with the side of people opposing him and others opposing the abolitionist movement. Even though Douglass used the actual names of people from the events of his experience, people still doubted that he was a slave. He then sailed to England and Ireland for two years in fear of being recaptured by his owner in the United