Frederick Douglass and Scotland, 1846: Living an Antislavery Life

Alasdair Pettinger

Published by Edinburgh University Press 2018

Frederick Douglass and Scotland, 1846

Living an Antislavery Life

Alasdair Pettinger

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781474444279

Overview
Contents

About this book

The first full-length study of Frederick Douglass’ visit to Scotland in 1846

Frederick Douglass (1818–95) was not the only fugitive from American slavery to visit Scotland before the Civil War, but he was the best known and his impact was far-reaching. This book shows that addressing crowded halls from Ayr to Aberdeen, he gained the confidence, mastered the skills and fashioned the distinctive voice that transformed him as a campaigner. It tells how Douglass challenged the Free Church over its ties with the Southern plantocracy; how he exploited his knowledge of Walter Scott and Robert Burns to brilliant effect; and how he asserted control over his own image at a time when racial science and blackface minstrel shows were beginning to shape his audiences’ perceptions. He arrived as a subordinate envoy of white abolitionists, legally still enslaved. He returned home as a free man ready to embark on a new stage of his career, as editor and proprietor of his own newspaper and a leader in his own right.

Key Features:

Reveals fresh information about, and deepens our understanding of, a major 19th-century intellectual at a crucial stage in his political and professional development
Subjects Douglass’ speeches and letters to close readings and situates them in the immediate context of their delivery and composition
Demonstrates the extent to which Douglass was closely acquainted with Scottish literature, history and current affairs
Enhances our knowledge of Douglass as a performer, his ability to read audiences, and how he moved and influenced them

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
List of Figures and Maps Publicly Available Download PDF	viii
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	xii
Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	xv
Dramatis Personae Publicly Available Download PDF	xvi
Part I: The Voyage
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. ‘Throw Him Overboard’ Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
2. The Making of a Fugitive Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
3. ‘Put Them in Irons’ Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	17
Part II: Dark, Polluted Gold
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	31
4. Electric Speed Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	33
5. That Ticklish Possession Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	46
6. The Free Church Responds Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
7. The Price of Freedom Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	76
8. The Genealogy of Money Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	87
9. Gilded Cages Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
Part III: Douglass, Scott and Burns
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	105
10. ‘One of Scotland’s Many Famous Names’ Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	107
11. A Wild Proposition Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	117
12. New Relations and Duties Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
13. A Visit to Ayr Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	135
14. The Coward Slave and the Poor Negro Driver Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	146
15. Crooked Paths Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
16. The Sons and Daughters of Old Scotia Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	157
Part IV: Measuring Heads, Reading Faces
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	169
17. Breakfast with Combe Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	171
18. The Physiological Century Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
19. Travelling Phrenologically Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	188
20. A Glut of Ethiopians Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
21. Douglass on Stage Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
22. The Suit and the Engraving Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	221
Part V: The Voyage Home
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	237
23. A Disconnected Farewell Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239
24. Cabin 72 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	245
25. Never Again Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	252
Part VI: The Affinity Scot
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	261
26. Recitals of Blood Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	263
27. Choosing Ancestors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	277
28. Remembering Douglass Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	289
29. Out of My Place Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	296
Appendix I: Speaking Itinerary, 1846 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	305
Appendix II: Maps Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	310
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	315
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	346

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 376
Illustrations
- Other: 31 B/W illustrations
Keywords: Literary Studies

eBook

Published: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 9781474444279