"No study of the Garrison school of reformers, Liberty party abolitionism, the technique of anti-slavery agitation or the role of the Negro in the Civil War and Reconstruction is complete without constant reference to the career of Frederick Douglass.  The most prominent American Negro of the nineteenth century, he was identified with most of the reformist movements of his day."  Frederick Douglass, written by Benjamin Quarles was first published in 1948 by The Associated Publishers.

A prolific writer, Benjamin Quarles published ten books, 23 articles, and hundreds of shorter pieces. He focused his writings on meticulously exploring  the contributions made by the black soldiers and abolitionists of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and the American Civil War (1861–1865). He was the first Black historian to publish essays in the Mississippi Valley Historical Review, a major historical journal.