Classically Educated: Frederick Douglass

In today’s episode, we look at the life of the abolitionist leader, author, and noted orator Frederick Douglass (1818-1895). Born into slavery on a plantation in Tuckahoe, Maryland, Frederick Douglass endured great suffering and hardship during his childhood and adolescent years. Despite the often harsh treatment he endured from his masters, and the lengths they went to keep Frederick illiterate and uneducated, Douglass succeeded in teaching himself to read and later chanced upon a rhetoric textbook called "The Columbian Orator," a work that contained samples of noteworthy speeches from ancient Greece and Rome as well as contemporary speeches. "The Columbian Orators" and the speeches it contained helped, in part, to inspire Douglass to take whatever steps needed to gain his freedom.

Our 8th grade students read Douglass’ autobiography, "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," and in today’s episode, we examine the small part that texts from the Classical world, such as those included in "The Columbian Orator," had in forming the character of Frederick Douglass.

For more Information, check out the following resources:
Winston Brady, “The Legacy of Frederick Douglass,” available at https://blog.cltexam.com/the-legacy-of-frederick-douglass/

“The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” at Dover Thrift: https://store.doverpublications.com/0486284999.html

Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” available at the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University, available at https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july/

Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Socratic Seminar reading, available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NhxtMlf5skV1zIiJr5PDBAN3bD01_oiRUYRKEuijNZA/edit?usp=sharing

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