Frederick Douglass’ Civil War: Keeping Faith in Jubilee

by David W. Blight

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.

Genres: History, Civil War

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

David William Blight is the Sterling Professor of History, of African American Studies, and of American Studies and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. Previously, Blight was a professor of History at Amherst College, where he taught for 13 years. He has won several awards, including the Bancroft Prize and Frederick Douglass Prize for Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory, and the Pulitzer Prize and Lincoln Prize for Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom. In 2021, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.

Reviews

[Mark Koppelkam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seriously academic book. Detailed history. Great insight into abolition movement and years leading to civil war.

[Rose Donnelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5!

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a 26 year old book, this one is remarkably up to date and is much broader in its scope than the title suggests. As I am currently working towards an essay on Frederick Douglass, this volume has been indispensable reading. I have also met and spoke with the author (nearly two years ago).

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful, thorough study of Frederick Douglass' writings and speeches about slavery, its abolition as a result of the Civil War, and the protection of Black rights and the memory of that war during Reconstruction.