Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Lesson Plan

Why would it have been important for William Lloyd Garrison that Douglass's narrative show slavery as it really is? Why might the nature of slavery not be obvious to a general audience?

In the 19th century, the debate about slavery was heavily polarized, and information about slavery was often disputed by pro-slavery writers. This is not to say that the information provided to abolitionists by former slaves such as Douglass was usually unreliable—merely that the abolitionists fought for the end of slavery at a time when much of the public was ignorant of or misinformed about slavery. The teacher should encourage students to think about this historical context as they...