A Glorious Liberty, Damon Root
A Glorious Liberty, Damon Root
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A Glorious Liberty
Frederick Douglass and the Fight for an Antislavery Constitution

Author: Damon Root

Narrator: Mirron Willis

Unabridged: 6 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/03/2022


Synopsis

In this timely and provocative book, Damon Root reveals how Frederick Douglass's fight for an antislavery Constitution helped to shape the course of American history in the nineteenth century and beyond. At a time when the principles of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were under assault, Frederick Douglass picked up their banner, championing inalienable rights for all, regardless of race. When Americans were killing each other on the battlefield, Douglass fought for a cause greater than the mere preservation of the Union. "No war but an Abolition war," he maintained. "No peace but an Abolition peace." In the aftermath of the Civil War, when state and local governments were violating the rights of the recently emancipated, Douglass preached the importance of "the ballot-box, the jury-box, and the cartridge-box" in the struggle against Jim Crow.

Frederick Douglass, the former slave who had secretly taught himself how to read, would teach the American people a thing or two about the true meaning of the Constitution. This is the story of a fundamental debate that goes to the very heart of America's founding ideals—a debate that is still very much with us today.

About Damon Root

Damon Root is an award-winning legal journalist and the author of Overruled: The Long War for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court. He works as a senior editor and columnist for Reason magazine. Root's writing has also appeared in the Los Angeles Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times, Newsweek, New York Post, New York Daily News, New York Press, Washington Times, WallStreetJournal.com, Globe and Mail, and other publications.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Samuel on March 11, 2023

This was a great look into Frederick Douglass' battle for the antislavery constitution! I love Douglass, and watching him struggle against many people he once considered friends and allies was very frustrating. The book itself is well written and very entertaining. Douglass' interpretation gave me a......more

Goodreads review by Kevin on January 14, 2023

Phenomenal look at a man who "people are talking about more and more".......more

Goodreads review by Shawn on February 20, 2025

Douglass was a great American -- in every way imaginable. His life and work should be even more the focus of attention than they are. Root's short book focuses on Douglass and his work to end slavery and persecution. Root tells the story of Douglass's development from a William Lloyd Garrison follow......more

Goodreads review by Złota on February 02, 2025

It's something of a biography, but more focused specifically on Frederick Douglass' insistence that the U.S. Constitution is explicitly anti-slavery. It's relatively light, and it's not too long, but the writing was definitely fairly dry most of the time, making it a slower read than I expected. I'm......more

Goodreads review by George H Hartman on December 13, 2021

A Lesson for the Country Today The philosophy and principles espoused by Douglass in the 1800s are as valuable today as they were then. When our country seems lost and without a rudder, reaching back to the concepts contained and enshrined in the documents which formed our country, would provide a fo......more