Assignment Overview: After reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick

Douglass, you will write a 4–5 page analytical paper that examines Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) as both a historical primary source and a crafted literary argument against slavery. You will situate Douglass’s narrative within its broader historical and intellectual context by incorporating scholarly secondary sources.

Your goal is not to summarize the narrative, but to make a clear, original argument about how Douglass uses personal experience, rhetoric, and historical context to challenge slavery and shape abolitionist thought.

Topic: How does Frederick Douglass use his personal narrative to expose the moral, political, and psychological realities of slavery, and how have historians interpreted the significance of his work?

Length: Your paper should be 4–5 pages long, double-spaced, and in 12-point font. Four pages should be your written essay, and the 5th page should list your sources. This will come out to around 1,000 words total or about 250 words per page. This does not count the sources page.

Sources

Primary Source (Required): Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Identify 2-3 specific quotes/passages from the text that directly support your thesis).

One additional Primary Source that comes from the time period of Frederick Douglass.

Secondary Sources (Required): Locate and read two credible, academic secondary sources that discuss the historical context or thematic elements of the Narrative. Secondary Sources are created later by someone who did not experience firsthand or participate in the events that the author is writing about and are written to analyze the past.

Credible Sources may include articles from university journals, chapters from history textbooks, or reputable historical websites (e.g., Library of Congress, peer-reviewed academic databases). Avoid sources like Wikipedia or unverified blogs.

Example topics for secondary sources: The role of literacy in the Antebellum South, the economics of the plantation system, the rhetoric of the abolitionist movement, or historical analyses of Douglass's life and work. DO NOT use general history websites (e.g., History.com, Wikipedia) 

Citation Style

Use MLA format for all in-text citations and your Works Cited page. 

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