Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Resources

Websites

Read Douglass's Narrative Online

The entire text of Douglass's narrative can be found here.

Biographical Sketch and Photographs

Information on Douglass at the PBS Africans in America website.

American Visionaries: Frederick Douglass

A website by the National Park Service on Douglass's place in American culture (with lots of good graphics).

Slave Narratives

A useful overview of other narratives written by former slaves around the time of Douglass's Narrative.

Movie or TV Productions

Biography

A biography of Frederick Douglass by A&E.

The Spirit of Frederick Douglass, 2008

Another biography of Douglass.

Historical Documents

Frederick Douglass at the Library of Congress
A great collection of Frederick Douglass's papers at the Library of Congress, everything from correspondence, speeches, and articles by Douglass and his contemporaries to obscure items like a draft of his autobiography, financial and legal papers, scrapbooks, and other miscellaneous items.

Video

James Earl Jones as Frederick Douglass

James Earl Jones reads one of Frederick Douglass's most famous speeches, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"

C-SPAN American Writers Video Lessons

A set of video lessons put together by C-SPAN to go along with a TV series about Douglass's life.

Audio

Audio Book of Douglass's Narrative

The best audio book version of Douglass's Narrative you actually have to pay for.

Audio Book of Douglass's Narrative

But there's also a free version available at freeclassicaudiobooks.com.

Recordings of Frederick Douglass Speeches

Douglass speeches (performed by Fred Morsell, a modern actor).

Images

Douglass as an Old Man

This is the most famous image of Frederick Douglass, the dignified, white-haired old man.

Illustrations from Douglass's Final Autobiography

Douglass hiding from Covey in the woods, and being found by Sandy.