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Frederick Douglass

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   Frederick Douglass, ca. 1879.
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   Frederick Douglass, ca. 1879.
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   Frederick Douglass ( February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an
   American abolitionist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer.
   Called "The Sage of Anacostia" and "The Lion of Anacostia," Douglass
   was one of the most prominent figures of African American history
   during his time, and one of the most influential lecturers and authors
   in American history.

Early life

   Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, who later became known as
   Frederick Douglass, was born a slave in Talbot County, Maryland near
   Hillsboro. He was separated from his mother, Harriet Bailey, when he
   was still an infant. She died when Douglass was about seven years old.
   The identity of Douglass' father is obscure; Douglass originally stated
   that his father was a white man, perhaps his master, Captain Aaron
   Anthony, but later said that he knew nothing of his father's identity.
   When Anthony died, Douglass was given to Mrs. Lucretia Auld, wife of
   Captain Thomas Auld. Mrs. Auld then sent Douglass to Baltimore to serve
   the Captain's brother, Hugh Auld. When Douglass was about twelve, Hugh
   Auld's wife, Sophia, broke the law by teaching Douglass some letters of
   the alphabet. Thereafter, as detailed in his Narrative of the Life of
   Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (published in 1845), Douglass
   succeeded in learning to read from white children in the neighbourhood
   in which he lived, and by observation of writings of the men with whom
   he worked. Douglass later referred to the lessons he received from
   Sophia Auld in his first abolitionist speech. In 1833, Auld sent him to
   work for Edward Covey, a poor farmer who had a reputation as a
   "slave-breaker," where he was whipped regularly.

   In 1837, Douglass met Anna Murray, a free African-American, in
   Baltimore while he was still held in slavery. They were married soon
   after he obtained his freedom; Douglass escaped slavery on September 3,
   1838 boarding a train to Havre de Grace, Maryland dressed in a sailor's
   uniform and carrying identification papers provided by a free black
   seaman. After crossing the Susquehanna River by ferry boat at Havre de
   Grace, Douglass continued by train to Wilmington, Delaware. From there
   Douglass went by steamboat to "Quaker City"— Philadelphia,
   Pennsylvania. His escape to freedom eventually led him to New York, the
   entire journey taking less than twenty-four hours.

Career

Abolitionist activities

   Douglass joined various organizations in New Bedford, Massachusetts,
   including a black church, and regularly attended Abolitionist meetings.
   He subscribed to William Lloyd Garrison's weekly journal, The
   Liberator, and in 1841, he heard Garrison speak at the Bristol
   Anti-Slavery Society's annual meeting. Douglass was inspired by
   Garrison, later stating, "no face and form ever impressed me with such
   sentiments (the hatred of slavery) as did those of William Lloyd
   Garrison." Garrison was likewise impressed with Douglass, and mentioned
   him in the 'Liberator'.

   Several days later, Douglass gave his first speech at the Massachusetts
   Anti-Slavery Society's annual convention in Nantucket. Twenty-three
   years old at the time, Douglass later said that his legs were shaking.
   He conquered his nervousness and gave an eloquent speech about his life
   as a slave and his rough life.

   In 1843, Douglass participated in the American Anti-Slavery Society's
   Hundred Conventions project, a six month tour of meeting halls
   throughout the east and middle west of the United States. He
   participated in the Seneca Falls Convention, the birthplace of the
   American feminist movement, and was a signatory of its Declaration of
   Sentiments.

   Douglass later became the publisher of a series of newspapers: North
   Star, Frederick Douglass Weekly, Frederick Douglass' Paper, Douglass'
   Monthly and New National Era. The motto of The North Star was "Right is
   of no sex--Truth is of no colour--God is the Father of us all, and we
   are all Brethren".

   Douglass' work spanned the years prior to and during the Civil War. He
   was acquainted with the radical abolitionist Captain John Brown but did
   not approve of Brown's plan to start an armed slave revolt. However,
   Brown visited Douglass' home for several days shortly before the
   Harpers Ferry incident, in which Brown attacked the federal Arsenal
   there. After the incident, Douglass fled for a time to Canada, fearing
   he might be arrested as a co-conspirator. Douglass believed that the
   attack on federal property would enrage the American public. Douglass
   would later share a stage in Harpers Ferry with Andrew Hunter, the
   prosecutor who successfully convicted Brown.

   Douglass conferred with President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 on the
   treatment of black soldiers, and with President Andrew Johnson on the
   subject of black suffrage. His early collaborators were the white
   abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips. In the early
   1850's, however, Douglass split with the Garrisonians over the issue of
   the United States Constitution.

   Douglass had five children; two of them, Charles and Rossetta, helped
   produce his newspapers.

   Douglass was an ordained minister of the African Methodist Episcopal
   Church.

Autobiography

   Douglass' most well-known work is his autobiography, Narrative of the
   Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, which was published in
   1845. Critics frequently attacked the book as inauthentic, not
   believing that a black man could possibly have produced so eloquent a
   piece of literature. The book was an immediate bestseller and received
   overwhelmingly positive critical reviews. Within three years of its
   publication, it had been reprinted nine times with 11,000 copies
   circulating in the United States; it was also translated into the
   French and Dutch languages.

   The book's success had an unfortunate side effect: his friends and
   mentors feared that the publicity would draw the attention of his
   ex-owner, Hugh Auld, who could try to get his "property" back. They
   encouraged him to go on a tour in Ireland, as many other ex-slaves had
   done in the past. He set sail on the Cambria for Liverpool on August
   16, 1845, and arrived in Ireland when the Irish famine was just
   beginning.

Travels to Europe

   Mural featuring Frederick Douglass in Belfast, Northern Ireland
   Enlarge
   Mural featuring Frederick Douglass in Belfast, Northern Ireland

   Douglass spent two years in the British Isles and gave several
   lectures, mainly in Protestant churches. He remarked that there he was
   treated not "as a colour, but as a man." He met and befriended the
   Irish nationalist Daniel O'Connell. When Douglass visited Scotland, the
   members of the Free Church of Scotland, whom he had criticized for
   accepting money from U.S. slave-owners, demonstrated against him with
   placards that read, "Send back the nigger".

   Douglass was able to win back his freedom after British sympathizers
   paid the slaveholder who legally still owned him.

Pre-Civil War

   In 1851, Douglass merged the North Star with Gerrit Smith's Liberty
   Party Paper to form Frederick Douglass' Paper, which was published
   until 1860. Douglass came to agree with Smith and Lysander Spooner that
   the United States Constitution is an anti-slavery document, reversing
   his earlier belief that it was pro-slavery, a view he had shared with
   William Lloyd Garrison. Garrison had publicly demonstrated his opinion
   of the Constitution by burning copies of it. Douglass' change of
   position on the Constitution was one of the most notable incidents of a
   division that emerged in the abolitionist movement after the
   publication of Spooner's book The Unconstitutionality of Slavery in
   1846. This shift in opinion, as well as some other political
   differences, created a rift between Douglass and Garrison. Douglass
   further angered Garrison by saying that the Constitution could and
   should be used as an instrument in the fight against slavery. With
   this, Douglass began to assert his independence from the Garrisonians.
   Garrison saw the North Star as being in competition with the National
   Anti-Slavery Standard and Marius Robinson's Anti-slavery Bugle.

   In March 1860, Annie, Douglass' youngest daughter, died in Rochester,
   New York, while he was still in England. Douglass returned from England
   the following month, taking the route through Canada to avoid
   detection.

   By the time of the Civil War, Douglass was one of the most famous black
   men in the country, known for his oratories on the condition of the
   black race, and other issues such as women's rights.

Lincoln's death

   At Abraham Lincoln's memorial, Douglass was in the audience as a
   tribute to Lincoln was being given by a prominent lawyer at the time.
   The tribute was not as successful as some of the audience there would
   have hoped. Reluctantly, Douglass was goaded by the people to stand up
   and speak. At first out of respect for the speaker he declined but
   eventually he gave into the pressure and with no preparation he gave a
   fantastic tribute to the President for which he had so much respect.
   The crowd, roused by his speech, gave him a standing ovation. A witness
   later said: "I have heard Clay speak and many fantastic men, but never
   have I heard a speech as impressive as that." Whilst this is anecdotal,
   it is a commonly accepted fact that Lincoln's wife gave Douglass
   Lincoln's favorite walking stick which to this day resides in Cedar
   Lodge. This is both a testimony to the success of Douglass' tribute to
   Lincoln and also to the effect and influence of his powerful oratory.

Reconstruction era

   Douglass' house in Washington, D.C.
   Enlarge
   Douglass' house in Washington, D.C.

   After the Civil War, Douglass held several important political
   positions. He served as President of the Reconstruction-era Freedman's
   Savings Bank; as marshal of the District of Columbia; as
   minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
   (1889–1891); and as chargé d'affaires for Saint Domingue. After two
   years, he resigned from his ambassadorship because of disagreements
   with U.S. government policy. In 1872, he moved to Washington, D.C.,
   after his house on South Avenue in Rochester, New York burned down —
   arson was suspected. Also lost was a complete issue of The North Star.

   In 1868, Douglass supported the presidential campaign of Ulysses S.
   Grant. The Klan Act and the Enforcement Act were signed into law by
   President Grant. Grant used their provisions vigorously, suspending
   habeas corpus in South Carolina and sending troops there and into other
   states; under his leadership, over 5,000 arrests were made and the Ku
   Klux Klan was dealt a serious blow.

   Grant's vigor in disrupting the Klan made him unpopular among many
   whites, but Frederick Douglass praised him. An associate of Douglass
   wrote of Grant that African Americans "will ever cherish a grateful
   remembrance of his name, fame and great services."

   In 1872, he became the first African American to receive a nomination
   for Vice President of the United States, having been nominated to be
   Victoria Woodhull's running mate on the Equal Rights Party ticket
   without his knowledge. During the campaign, he neither campaigned for
   the ticket nor even acknowledged that he had been nominated.

   Douglass spoke at many schools around the country in the Reconstruction
   era, including Bates College in Lewiston, Maine in 1873

Later life

   In 1877, Frederick Douglass purchased his final home in Washington
   D.C., on the banks of the Anacostia River. He named it Cedar Hill (also
   spelled CedarHill). He expanded the house from 14 to 21 rooms and
   included a china closet. One year later, Douglass expanded his property
   to 15 acres (61,000 m²), with the purchase of adjoining lots. The home
   is now the location of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site.
   Frederick Douglass
   Enlarge
   Frederick Douglass

   After the disappointments of Reconstruction, many African Americans
   called Exodusters moved to Kansas to form all-black towns. Douglass
   spoke out against the movement, urging blacks to stick it out. He was
   condemned and booed by black audiences.

   In 1877, Douglass was appointed a United States Marshal. In 1881, he
   was appointed Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia. His wife
   ( Anna Murray Douglas) died in 1882, leaving him in a state of
   depression. His association with the activist Ida B. Wells brought
   meaning back into his life. In 1884, Douglass married Helen Pitts, a
   white feminist from Honeoye, New York. Pitts was the daughter of Gideon
   Pitts, Jr., an abolitionist colleague and friend of Douglass. A
   graduate of Mount Holyoke College (at that time Mount Holyoke Female
   Seminary), Pitts had worked on a radical feminist publication named
   Alpha while living in Washington, D.C..

   Frederick and Helen Pitts Douglass faced a storm of controversy as a
   result of their marriage, since she was a white woman and nearly 20
   years younger than he. Both families recoiled; hers stopped speaking to
   her; his was bruised, as they felt his marriage was a repudiation of
   their mother. But individualist feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton
   congratulated the two.

   The new couple traveled to England, France, Italy, Egypt and Greece
   from 1886 to 1887.

   In later life, Douglass was determined to ascertain his birthday. He
   was born in February of 1816 by his own calculations, but historians
   have found a record indicating his birth in February of 1818.

   In 1892 the Haitian government appointed Douglass as its commissioner
   to the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition. He spoke for Irish Home
   Rule and on the efforts of Charles Stewart Parnell. He briefly
   revisited Ireland in 1886.

Death

   On February 20, 1895, Douglass attended a meeting of the National
   Council of Women in Washington, D.C. During that meeting, he was
   brought to the platform and given a standing ovation by the audience.

   Shortly after he returned home, Frederick Douglass died of a massive
   heart attack or stroke in his adopted hometown of Washington D.C. He is
   buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY.

Douglass' works

     * A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
       (1845)
     * "The Heroic Slave." Autographs for Freedom. Ed. Julia Griffiths
       Boston: Jewett and Company, 1853. 174-239.
     * My Bondage and My Freedom (1855)
     * Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1892)
     * Douglass also edited the abolitionist newspaper The North Star from
       1847 to 1851; The North Star was merged with another paper and
       became Frederick Douglass’ Paper.hi

Famous quotes

   "I am a Republican, a black, dyed in the wool Republican, and I never
   intend to belong to any other party than the party of freedom and
   progress."

   "Those who profess to favour freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are
   men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain
   without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the roar of
   its many waters."

   "To make a contented slave it is necessary to make a thoughtless one.
   It is necessary to darken the moral and mental vision and, as far as
   possible, to annihilate the power of reason."

   "I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the South is a mere
   covering for the most horrid crimes - a justifier of the most appalling
   barbarity, a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds, and a dark shelter
   under which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of
   slaveholders find the strongest protection."

   "Without struggle, there is no progress."

   "[ Lincoln was] the first great man that I talked with in the United
   States freely who in no single instance reminded me of the difference
   between himself and myself, of the difference of colour." - On Abraham
   Lincoln

Fiction

     * Frederick Douglass is a major character in the alternate history
       novel How Few Remain by Harry Turtledove.
     * In the 2004 mockumentary C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America,
       Douglass makes an appearance in the film after the Confederacy wins
       the Civil War.

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