My Package And My Freedom By Frederick Douglass

George Lyons
2017SU United States History

Frederick Douglass’ book entitled My Bondage and My Freedom is a continuation of his earlier works. He starts the book by acknowledging his grandparents, Betsy and Issac Baily, with whom he grew up with in Tuckahoe near Eastern Shore Maryland, a town known for “nothing that I know of more than for the worn out, sandy, desert like appearance of its soil”. His mother, who “was the only one of all the slaves and colored people in Tuckahoe” who was not illiterate, died when he was eight or nine years old. He remembers not feeling much sorrow or sadness after her death. “I received the tidings of her death with no strong emotions of sorrow for her, and with very little regret for myself on account of
her loss.” He pointed her out as a direct source of his intelligence and not his white father. The reason for this specific acknowledgment was to dispel any notion he drew influence from his father as blacks in the south were considered unintelligent. “Any love of letters I possess, and for which I got—despite of the prejudices—only too much credit, not to my Anglo-Saxon paternity but to the native genius of my sable, unprotected, and uncultivated mother”

Douglass drew notoriety as a result of his publishing of his notable books and his growing popularity within the abolitionist movement during slavery.
A specific pamphlet written in 1845 led Douglass to escape to England to avoid capture and a possible re-entry to slavery. Douglass could not board the ship to England as a cabin passenger due to his race. Despite this, other passengers visited him and invited him to their quarters. “My fellow passengers not only visited me, but invited me to visit them, on the saloon
deck.”

Douglass then delves into what he did when he returned to America. He considers himself as old as he was when he became a free man. “I was but nine years from slavery. In point of mental experience, I was but nine years old.” He continues his fights against racial segregation on trains. He ends the book by aligning himself with a set of beliefs that he will continue to promote racial equality and the abolitionist movement. “I shall labor in the future as I have labored in the past to promote the moral, social, religions, and intellectual elevation of the free colored people; never forgetting my own humble origin, nor refusing, while Heaven lends me ability, to use my voice, my pen, or my vote, to advocate for the great and primary work of the universal and unconditional emancipation of my entire race.”

The author’s audience is anyone who would like an understanding of what it was really like to be a slave in early America.
Emotional aspects will pull in historians, as well as students who desire as much knowledge of Douglass’ life as possible.

The book was engaging in the sense that it took the reader into the actual life and times of Frederick Douglass, and gave the reader an accurate description of all that happened during his life at the time. He was not only an intelligent man, but was well cultured and adamant in his belief system. He gets down to every detail in daring fashion, and entices the reader with his stories of resilience and aptitude in the abolitionist movement. Douglass fulfilled his objectives by writing this book as a way to further popularize himself during his time with the movement. He needed this book which contains his stories to further his agenda in freeing slaves and stopping racial
discrimination.

The main arguments of the book are racial equality and emancipation of slaves in America. He goes into detail especially with Lloyds Plantation, describing the treatment of slaves on this particular plantation. This engages with the abolitionists he met during the events documented in the book, making more arguments toward abolition.

I personally enjoyed reading Douglass’ efforts in Great Britain a great deal, as it showed Douglass as a well travelled, generally intelligent man. After reading this, I look at the historical figure as more than what I’ve been taught throughout my educational life. This book enlightened me even more than before due to its extensive look into the life of an actual former slave. All college age students should read this if they are interested in the full history of this country.