Frederick Douglass' Civil War - by David W Blight (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In this sensitive intellectual biography David W. Blight undertakes the first systematic analysis of the impact of the Civil War on Frederick Douglass' life and thought, offering new insights into the meaning of the war in American history and in the Afro-American experience. Frederick Douglass' Civil War follows Douglass' intellectual and personal growth from the political crises of the 1850s through secession, war, black enlistment, emancipation, and Reconstruction. This book provides an engrossing story of Douglass' development of a social identity in relation to transforming events, and demonstrates that he saw the Civil War as the Second American Revolution, and himself as one of the founders of a new nation. Through Douglass' life, his voice, and his interpretations we see the Civil War era and its memory in a new light.

Review Quotes

"This fine intellectual biography of Douglass is a major contribution to our understanding not only of that complex man but also of how an orator and writer of great imagination can contribute to the structuring of the national memory." -- William S. McFeely, Journal of American History

"Blight has given us what is, so far, the most detailed treatment of Douglass in his prime, revealing much carefully acquired knowledge of archival sources and secondary literature." -- Wilson J. Moses, Reviews in American History

"David Blight offers subtle, convincing, and often moving descriptions of Douglass' contributions to American political and religious thought on the Civil War, the nature of the American Republic before and after the conflict, and the significance of the Afro-American presence in the United States." -- Alfred A. Moss, Jr.

About the Author

David W. Blight is also the author of Beyond the Battlefield: Race, Memory, and the American Civil War and Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory, winner of the Frederick Douglass Prize, the Lincoln Prize, and the Bancroft Prize, among other awards. He is a professor of history at Yale University.