In this, Frederick Douglass's second memoir, the abolitionist leader reflects further on the inhuman oppression he had personally endured and explores the larger impact of such injustice on society as a whole. At the time of writing, Douglass had emerged from chattel slavery in Maryland to a qualified freedom in the North and become a renowned speaker on the power of literacy and self-reliance. This story goes deeper than what Douglass was able to address in his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and that deeper accounting ultimately builds to an inevitable demand: the universal and unconditional emancipation of African Americans.

This edition of My Bondage and My Freedom also includes several of Douglass's most famous speeches and essays - including his letter to Thomas Auld and his reflections on the Fourth of July - and stands as a harrowing, eloquent, and enduringly relevant declaration of independence.

Revised edition: Previously published as My Bondage and My Freedom, this edition of My Bondage and My Freedom (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.