Why did the author leave on a two-year speaking tour after publishing this autobiography?.

What effect would a slave narrative be designed to have on its audience?.He died in 1895 at his home in Washington, DC. Over the course of his life, Douglass continued to work for the abolitionist cause, served as consultant to President Lincoln during the Civil War, and championed the rights of former slaves during Reconstruction. While on tour, Douglass also raised funds to purchase his freedom because, as a runaway slave, he was considered by law the property of his owner. After publishing his work, Douglass left on a two-year speaking tour to avoid capture by his former owner, whom he had named in his narrative. His work served the cause of abolition by humanizing the experience of slavery in a way that could easily be understood by those far removed by the experience of plantation life. In his autobiography, published in 1845, Douglass presented a graphic and personal description of life in slavery. His fame grew thanks to his skill not only as a speaker but as a writer. Douglass’s skill as an orator and the poignancy of his description propelled him into a new career as an agent for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. In 1841, Douglass was invited to describe his experiences under slavery at an antislavery convention in Nantucket. Douglass eluded slave catchers by changing his last name and working as a laborer for several years. He secretly taught himself to read and later escaped to New York and then Massachusetts. Use this Primary Source with the Negro Spirituals Primary Source to help students humanize the brutality of slavery.īorn enslaved on a Maryland plantation, Frederick Douglass experienced the evils of slavery firsthand.

Diary of frederick douglass