[The Autobiographies 02] • My Bondage and My Freedom (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

Born a slave, Frederick Douglas educated himself, escaped, and became one of the greatest social leaders in American history. Although usually identified with the monumental *Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave* , Douglass produced two additional autobiographies, the second of which he called *My Bondage and My Freedom*.

A richer, deeper, and far more ambiguous work than the earlier *Narrative* , *My Bondage and My Freedom* reveals Douglass’s increased intellectual sophistication and maturity. In the decade that had elapsed since Douglass wrote *Narrative* , he had broken away from his antislavery mentors, successfully toured England, and established himself as an inspired speaker and writer. With the publication of *My Bondage and My Freedom* in 1855, Douglass became the country’s foremost spokesman for American blacks—free and enslaved—during the tense and politically charged years preceding the Civil War.

One of the highlights of *My Bondage and My Freedom* is the appendix, which contains excerpts from several of Douglass’s speeches, including perhaps his most famous, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”