4 Reasons Frederick Douglass' Narrative Was Audacious in 1845

In 1845, Frederick Douglass published his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself. He details his firsthand experience with slavery and escape to freedom. Aside from establishing a strong argument in favor of abolition, Douglass’ Narrative presents the cruelties of slavery with clarity and eloquence and proves his audacity to write and publish within the historical context of his day. Here are four facts that attest to his boldness:

1. Technically, he was still a slave. Though Douglass escaped from Maryland to the free states of the North in 1838, he still could have been captured and returned to his master due to his unauthorized departure. He was able to buy his legal freedom in 1846, the year after the initial publication of his Narrative.

2. He identified his abusers by name. Douglass says that, while he was held a slave, he doesn’t remember ever speaking negatively of his masters. In 1845, however, he published the names of his masters and overseers and described with detail their gruesome and inhumane acts, without regard for the possibility of retaliation.

3. His literacy was prohibited. According to the Narrative, when Douglass’ master discovered that the mistress had taught him the alphabet, she was forbidden to continue instruction. He was determined to learn anyway, so when he was on errands in town, he offered bread to poor white boys who would give him quick reading lessons in exchange. While teaching slaves to read and write wasn’t actually illegal in Maryland, it was strongly discouraged, and Douglass did not name his childhood teachers out of fear that they might face repercussions for their actions. His choice to write and publish his story was not only a blatant rebellion against the practice of keeping slaves illiterate, but it was also a compelling demonstration of the intelligence and intellect of which African Americans are capable.

4. The Underground Railroad was still underground. At the risk of possibly revealing a route of fellow freedom-seeking slaves, Douglass described his escape, though delicately and without much detail, so as to protect the others. The intricate and clandestine system of bringing slaves out of bondage and into freedom was very active at the time of publication. Only five years later, in 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, which intensified efforts to return escaped slaves to their masters.

Slavery was abolished in Maryland in 1864, and the next year, it was completely abolished in all of the United States, twenty years after the first publication of the audacious work of Frederick Douglass.