My Bondage and My Freedom: An American Icon In His Own Words

"I had reached the point, at which I was not afraid to die. This spirit made me a freeman in fact, while I remained a slave in form."

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) was a former slave who became a social reformer, orator, writer, and statesman. One of the most prominent figures in the anti-slavery movement, Douglass emerged as a national leader of the abolitionist movement, speaking and writing widely on behalf of the cause.

In this classic wo...