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Career Day: The Catonsville Nine

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Catonsville Nine. While we don't like to single out one member of the group above any other, it's important to remember that the priesthood is a vocation. Hence, A. Aubrey Bodine's photograph of Fr. Philip Berrigan taken in 1967. This shot was taken well before Fr. Berrigan, a WWII veteran, took part in his second draft-board raid on May 17, 1968.

What to Read: Frederick Douglass at 200

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Below is a selection of books written by or about Frederick Douglass (1818-1895). Click on the images or book titles and you'll be taken to shop.mdhs.org where you can read more about each title. And, don't forget to register for our upcoming lectures and events celebrating Douglass's 200th birthday.


My Bondage and My Freedom

My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass                                                    (2014 edition with introduction and notes by David W. Blight.)

From the introduction:

Above all, Douglass is remembered most for telling this personal story--the slave who willed his own freedom, mastered the master's language, saw to the core of the meaning of slavery both for individuals and for the nation, and then captured the multiple meanings of freedom--as idea and reality, of mind and body--as perhaps no one else ever has in America.

The Heroic Slave

The Heroic Slave by Frederick Douglass                                                                      (Edited by Robert S. Levine, John Stauffer, and John R. McKivigan)

Inspired by the real story of the Creole rebellion in 1841--the most successful slave revolt in American history--this novella is the only fictional work by Frederick Douglass. Along with the full text of The Heroic Slave, this edition includes excerpts from Douglass's speeches and short selections by other writers on the Creole rebellion.


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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass...                                                              (2000 Modern Library edition, introduction by Kwame Anthony Appiah)

The first in a trilogy of autobiographies, Narrative was first published in 1845 when Douglass was already an established orator and abolitionist. Included in this edition is Harriet Jacobs's autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Her account is considered the most comprehensive slave narrative written by a woman. Both pieces remain essential reading in the study of American history.


Abraham Lincoln & Frederick Douglass

Abraham Lincoln & Fredrick Douglass: The Story Behind an American Friendship (Recommended for grades 5-7,  ages 10-12+)

From the inside flap:

Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass were born poor. Both were self-educated, and both rose to prominence--one as president of the United States, the other as the foremost black abolitionist spokesman--by their own efforts...[Though] they met face-to-face only three times, Lincoln and Douglass forged a friendship based on mutual respect and understanding.


In addition, the following titles include either references to or short biographies of Frederick Douglass:

African American Leaders of Maryland: A Portrait Gallery

Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory

Maryland Wits & Baltimore Bards: A Literary History

Scraping By: Wage Labor, Slavery and Survival in Early Baltimore

 

Our Favorite Things: Holiday Edition!

We've compiled a list of our favorite things this holiday season, and many of them have a Maryland twist--flamingo and crab ornaments, chocolates with Old Bay caramel, and gifts designed and made right here in state!

Here are some of our favorite things:

What to Read: The Civil War & the Maryland Campaign

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September 1862 was a particularly brutal month for both sides during the Civil War. General Lee had moved his army from Northern Virginia into Maryland, where they were met head on by General McClellan's troops; refreshed and ready. Three of the bloodiest battles--South Mountain, Antietam, and Shepherdstown--made up the bulk of the Maryland Campaign, happening one right after the other.