_There was once a slave_... SHIRLEY GRAHAM _The heroic story of_ FREDERICK DOUGLASS JULIAN MESSNER, Inc., NEW YORK THERE WAS ONCE A SLAVE, _The Heroic Story of Frederick Douglass_ by Shirley Graham, received the sixty-five hundred dollar JULIAN MESSNER AWARD FOR THE BEST BOOK COMBATING INTOLERANCE IN AMERICA. The judges were: Carl Van Doren, Lewis Gannett, and Clifton Fadiman. Miss Graham’s work was selected from over six hundred manuscripts submitted in the contest. The original award was augmented by a grant from the Lionel Judah Tachna Memorial Foundation, established by Max Tachna in memory of his son who lost his life in the Battle of the Coral Sea. PUBLISHED BY JULIAN MESSNER, INC. 8 WEST 40TH STREET, NEW YORK 18 COPYRIGHT, 1947 BY SHIRLEY GRAHAM PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY MONTAUK BOOK MANUFACTURING CO., INC. To Peoples on the March _You cannot hem the hope of being free With parallels of latitude, with mountain range or sea; Put heavy padlocks on Truth’s lips, be callous as you will, From soul to soul, o’er all the world, leaps the electric thrill._ --JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL _Contents_ _Prologue_ ix PART I · THE ROAD CHAPTER PAGE 1 _Frederick sets his feet upon the road_ 3 2 _The road winds about Chesapeake Bay_ 16 3 _An old man drives his mule_ 29 4 _Frederick comes to a dead end_ 36 5 _One more river to cross_ 63 PART II · THE LIGHTNING 6 _Is this a thing, or can it be a man?_ 83 7 _Jobs in Washington and voting in Rhode Island_ 103 8 _On two sides of the Atlantic_ 119 9 “_To be henceforth free, manumitted and discharged ..._” 137 10 _A light is set in the road_ 155 PART III · THE STORM 11 _The storm comes up in the west and birds fly north_ 175 12 _An Avenging Angel brings the fury of the storm_ 190 13 “_Give us arms, Mr. Lincoln!_” 208 14 _Came January 1, 1863_ 223 PART IV · TOWARD MORNING 15 _When lilacs last in the dooryard bloomed_ 229 16 _Moving forward_ 240 17 _Fourscore years ago in Washington_ 256