Public-domain ebook
Language: en1,724 downloads on Project Gutenberg
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In: Biographies·History - American
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #69692.
This volume is a scholarly biography of Frederick Douglass, written by Booker T. Washington and published in 1907 as part of the “American Crisis Biographies” series. The opening pages explain the series’ goal of presenting an impartial, authoritative history of the nation’s sectional struggles, assigning Northern writers to Northern subjects and Southern writers to Southern ones. Washington’s contribution follows that framework, offering a comprehensive account of Douglass’s life, from his birth into slavery in Maryland, through his escape, his rise as an abolitionist speaker, and his later public service during and after the Civil War. The book’s structure is clearly outlined in a detailed table of contents, and the introductory chronology provides a concise timeline of key events, setting the stage for a narrative that intertwines personal experience with the broader anti‑slavery movement, the war, and Reconstruction.
The work reflects the formal, didactic style of early‑20th‑century historical writing, with a tone that balances reverence for Douglass’s achievements and a measured, almost academic distance. Washington’s prose is earnest and reflective, drawing on contemporary sources and personal testimonies to lend authority. Readers who appreciate thorough, context‑rich biographies, particularly those interested in African‑American history, abolitionist politics, or the social dynamics of the Civil‑War era, will find this book rewarding. Its emphasis on factual detail and its placement within a larger series of sectional biographies make it especially suitable for scholars, students, and history enthusiasts seeking a nuanced portrait of one of America’s most influential Black leaders.
The opening · free to read
Each 12mo, cloth, with frontispiece portrait. Price $1.25 net; by mail, $1.37.
These biographies will constitute a complete and comprehensive history of the great American sectional struggle in the form of readable and authoritative biography. The editor has enlisted the co-operation of many competent writers, as will be noted from the list given below. An interesting feature of the undertaking is that the series is to be impartial, Southern writers having been assigned to Southern subjects and Northern writers to Northern subjects, but all will belong to the younger generation of writers, thus assuring freedom from any suspicion of wartime prejudice. The Civil War will not be treated as a rebellion, but as the great event in the history of our nation, which, after forty years, it is now clearly recognized to have been.
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