In addition to a thoughtful selection of the essays, speeches, and autobiographical writings of Frederick Douglass, this anthology provides an illuminating Introduction; a timeline of Douglass' life; footnotes that introduce individuals, quotations, and events; and a selected bibliography.

"For years I have wanted a compact, carefully edited collection of Frederick Douglass' writings and speeches spanning his whole career—from the antebellum years to the Civil War and Reconstruction to the retreat from racial democracy in the 1870s, '80s, and '90s. Finally, in Nicholas Buccola's expertly edited The Essential Douglass: Selected Writings & Speeches, I have it. Buccola has done teachers and scholars of American political thought a tremendous service by making a truly representative selection of Douglass' achievement available in an affordable volume. I am excited to assign this book to my students and share with them the full breadth of Douglass' intellectual fire." —Jack Turner, University of Washington