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} - .c026 { margin-left: 16.67%; text-indent: -13.89%; margin-top: 0.5em; - margin-bottom: 0.5em; } - .c027 { margin-top: .5em; } - div.tnotes { padding-left:1em;padding-right:1em;background-color:#E3E4FA; - border:thin solid silver; margin:2em 10% 0 10%; font-family: Georgia, serif; - clear: both; } - .covernote { visibility: hidden; display: none; } - div.tnotes p { text-align: justify; } - .x-ebookmaker .covernote { visibility: visible; display: block; } - .figcenter {font-size: .9em; page-break-inside: avoid; max-width: 100%; } - .x-ebookmaker img {max-height: 30em; max-width: 100%; } - .footnote {font-size: .9em; } - div.footnote p {text-indent: 2em; margin-bottom: .5em; } - .chapter { clear: both; page-break-before: always; } - .ol_1 li {font-size: .9em; } - .x-ebookmaker .ol_1 li {padding-left: 1em; text-indent: 0em; } - body {font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify; } - table {font-size: .9em; padding: 1.5em .5em 1em; page-break-inside: avoid; - clear: both; } - div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; } - div.titlepage p {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 3em; } - .ph1 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: xx-large; - margin: .67em auto; page-break-before: always; } - .ph2 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; - page-break-before: always; } - .border {border-style: solid;border-width: 1px; } - .blackletter {font-family: 'Old English Text MT', serif; font-weight:bold; } - .x-ebookmaker p.dropcap:first-letter { float: left; } -</style> - </head> - <body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Frederick Douglass, by Booker T. Washington</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Frederick Douglass</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Booker T. Washington</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January 3, 2023 [eBook #69692]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FREDERICK DOUGLASS ***</div> - -<div class='tnotes covernote'> - -<p class='c000'><strong>Transcriber's Note:</strong></p> - -<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>AMERICAN CRISIS BIOGRAPHIES</span></div> - <div class='c002'>Edited by</div> - <div><span class='large'>Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer, Ph. D.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='border'> - -<div class='chapter ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div><span class='blackletter'>The American Crisis Biographies</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c003'>Edited by Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer, Ph.D. With the -counsel and advice of Professor John B. McMaster, of -the University of Pennsylvania.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Each 12mo, cloth, with frontispiece portrait. Price -$1.25 net; by mail, $1.37.</p> - -<p class='c005'>These biographies will constitute a complete and comprehensive -history of the great American sectional struggle in the form of readable -and authoritative biography. The editor has enlisted the co-operation -of many competent writers, as will be noted from the list given below. -An interesting feature of the undertaking is that the series is to be impartial, -Southern writers having been assigned to Southern subjects and -Northern writers to Northern subjects, but all will belong to the younger -generation of writers, thus assuring freedom from any suspicion of wartime -prejudice. The Civil War will not be treated as a rebellion, but as -the great event in the history of our nation, which, after forty years, it -is now clearly recognized to have been.</p> - -<p class='c006'>Now ready:</p> - - <dl class='dl_1'> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Abraham Lincoln.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Thomas H. Benton.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Joseph M. Rogers</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>David G. Farragut.</strong> By <span class='sc'>John R. Spears</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>William T. Sherman.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Edward Robins</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Frederick Douglass.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Booker T. Washington</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Judah P. Benjamin.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Pierce Butler</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Robert E. Lee.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Philip Alexander Bruce</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Jefferson Davis.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Prof. W. E. Dodd</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Alexander H. Stephens.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Louis Pendleton</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>John C. Calhoun.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Gaillard Hunt</span>. - </dd> - </dl> - -<p class='c006'>In preparation:</p> - - <dl class='dl_1'> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Daniel Webster.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Prof. C. H. Van Tyne</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>John Quincy Adams.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Brooks Adams</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>John Brown.</strong> By <span class='sc'>W. E. Burghardt Dubois</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>William Lloyd Garrison.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Lindsay Swift</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Charles Sumner.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Prof. George H. Haynes</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>William H. Seward.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Edward Everett Hale</span>, Jr. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Stephen A. Douglas.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Prof. Henry Parker Willis</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Thaddeus Stevens.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Prof. J. A. Woodburn</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Andrew Johnson.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Prof. Walter L. Fleming</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Henry Clay.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Thomas H. Clay</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Ulysses S. Grant.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Prof. Franklin S. Edmonds</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Edwin M. Stanton.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Edwin S. Corwin</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>“Stonewall” Jackson.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Henry Alexander White</span>. - </dd> - <dt> </dt> - <dd><strong>Jay Cooke.</strong> By <span class='sc'>Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer</span>. - </dd> - </dl> - -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_frontispiece.jpg' alt='_Frederick Douglass“' class='ig001'> -</div> - -<div class='titlepage'> - -<div class='border'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>AMERICAN CRISIS BIOGRAPHIES</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='border'> - -<div> - <h1 class='c007'><span class='sc'>Frederick Douglass</span></h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>by</div> - <div class='c002'><span class='xlarge'>BOOKER T. WASHINGTON</span></div> - <div class='c002'>Author of “Up from Slavery,” “Working with the Hands,” etc.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='border'> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_title.jpg' alt='' class='ig001'> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='border'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>PHILADELPHIA</div> - <div>GEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANY</div> - <div>PUBLISHERS</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div><span class='small'>Copyright, 1906, by</span></div> - <div><span class='small'><span class='sc'>George W. Jacobs & Company</span></span></div> - <div><span class='small'><em>Published, February, 1907</em></span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span> - <h2 class='c008'>PREFACE</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>The chance or destiny which brought to this land -of ours, and placed in the midst of the most progressive -and the most enlightened race that Christian -civilization has produced, some three or four -millions of primitive black people from Africa -and their descendants, has created one of the most -interesting and difficult social problems which any -modern people has had to face. The effort to solve -this problem has put to a crucial test the fundamental -principles of our political life and the -most widely accepted tenets of our Christian faith. -Frederick Douglass’s career falls almost wholly -within the first period of the struggle in which this -problem has involved the people of this country,—the -period of revolution and liberation. That -period is now closed. We are at present in the -period of construction and readjustment. Many of -the animosities engendered by the conflicts and -controversies of half a century ago still survive to -confuse the councils of those who are seeking to -live in the present and the future, rather than in -the past. But changes are rapidly coming about -that will remove, or at least greatly modify, these -lingering animosities. This book will have failed -of its purpose just so far as anything here said shall -serve to revive or keep alive the bitterness of those -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>controversies of which it gives the history; it will -have attained its purpose just so far as it aids its -readers to comprehend the motives of, and the men -who entered with such passionate earnestness into, -the struggle of which it gives in part a picture—particularly -the one man, the story of whose life is -here narrated.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the succeeding chapters, an effort has been -made to present an account of the life of Frederick -Douglass as a slave and as a public man during the -most eventful years of the anti-slavery movement, -the Civil War, the period of reconstruction, and -the after years of comparative freedom from sectional -agitation over the “Negro problem.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>To bring this study within the plan and purposes -of the American Crisis Series of Biographies, such -subjects as “The Genesis of the Anti-Slavery Agitation,” -“The Fugitive Slave Law,” “The Underground -Railway,” “The American Colonization -Society,” “The Conflict in Kansas for Free Soil,” -“The John Brown Raid,” “The Civil War,” “The -Enlistment of Colored Troops,” and “Reconstruction,” -have been given more space than they have -received in earlier biographies.</p> - -<p class='c004'>While it is true that Frederick Douglass would -have been a notable character in any period, it is -also true that in the life of hardly any other man -was there comprehended so great a variety of incidents -of what is perhaps the most memorable -epoch in our history. The mere personal side of -Douglass’s life, though romantic and interesting, is -here treated only in outline.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>S. Laing Williams, of Chicago, Ill., and his wife, -Fannie Barrier Williams, have been of incalculable -service in the preparation of this volume. -Mr. Williams enjoyed a long and intimate acquaintance -with Mr. Douglass, and I have been -privileged to draw heavily upon his fund of information. -He and Mrs. Williams have reviewed -this manuscript since its preparation and have -given it their cordial approval.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In addition to these sources of information, I -wish to make grateful acknowledgment of my indebtedness -to Major Charles R. Douglass for the -use of many printed addresses, and for interesting -data showing his father’s work in the Underground -Railway.</p> - -<p class='c004'>I must also acknowledge my sense of gratitude -for the opportunity afforded in this work of getting -close to the heart and life of this great leader of my -race. No Negro can read and study the life of -Frederick Douglass without deriving from it courage -to look up and forward.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table0'> - <tr> - <td class='c009'> </td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Chronology</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_11'>11</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>I.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Frederick Douglass, the Slave</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_15'>15</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>II.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Back to Plantation-Life</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_33'>33</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>III.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Escape from Slavery; Learning the Ways of Freedom</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_54'>54</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>IV.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Beginning of His Public Career</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_69'>69</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>V.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Slavery and Anti-Slavery</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_83'>83</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>VI.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Seeks Refuge in England</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_99'>99</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>VII.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Home Again as a Freeman—New Problems and New Triumphs</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_116'>116</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>VIII.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Free Colored People and Colonization</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_139'>139</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>IX.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>The Underground Railway and the Fugitive Slave Law</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_157'>157</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>X.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe and John Brown</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_174'>174</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>XI.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Forebodings of the Crisis</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_195'>195</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>XII.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Douglass’s Services in the Civil War</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_217'>217</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>XIII.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Early Problems of Freedom</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_245'>245</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>XIV.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Sharing the Responsibilities and Honors of Freedom</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_273'>273</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>XV.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Further Evidences of Popular Esteem, with Glimpses Into the Past</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_302'>302</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'>XVI.</td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Final Honors to the Living and Tributes to the Dead</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_334'>334</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'> </td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Bibliography</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_353'>353</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c009'> </td> - <td class='c010'><span class='sc'>Index</span></td> - <td class='c011'><a href='#Page_355'>355</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHRONOLOGY</h2> -</div> - - <dl class='dl_2 c012'> - <dt>1817—</dt> - <dd>February. Born on a plantation at Tuckahoe, near the town of Easton, Talbot County, on - the eastern shore of Maryland; the exact date not known. His mother, Harriet Bailey, was - the slave of Captain Aaron Anthony, the manager of the estate of Colonel Edward Lloyd. - </dd> - <dt>1825—</dt> - <dd>Sent to Baltimore to live with Hugh Auld, a relative of his master. - </dd> - <dt>1833—</dt> - <dd>Returns to Maryland and becomes the slave of Thomas Auld, at St. Michaels, Talbot County; - while here he has an encounter with the Negro slave-breaker, Covey. - </dd> - <dt>1836—</dt> - <dd>First attempt to run away results in his being sent back to Baltimore where he is - apprenticed by Thomas Auld to William Gardiner of Fells Point, to learn the trade of - ship-calker. - </dd> - <dt>1838—</dt> - <dd>September 3d. Makes his escape from Baltimore, reaching New York the next day. September - 15th, according to the marriage certificate, possibly a day earlier, he marries a free - colored woman, Anna Murray, who on receiving the news of his escape follows him to New - York. They are directed to New Bedford, Mass., by Anti-Slavery friends where Douglass - begins his life as a freeman. He changes his name from Frederick Augustus Washington - Bailey, to Frederick Douglass. - </dd> - <dt>1841—</dt> - <dd>August 11th. Makes his first speech before an Anti-Slavery convention and becomes a - lecturer in the Anti-Slavery cause. - </dd> - <dt>1842—</dt> - <dd>Participates in the campaign for equal rights in Rhode Island during the “Dorr Rebellion.” - </dd> - <dt>1843—</dt> - <dd>Takes part in the campaign of “A Hundred Anti-Slavery Conventions”; his hand broken in a - fight with a mob at Pendleton, Indiana. -<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span></div> - </dd> - <dt>1845—</dt> - <dd>Writes, in order to prove that he is what he proclaims himself, a fugitive slave, - <cite>Narrative of Frederick Douglass</cite>, giving the names of his owners. This book - was published by the Anti-Slavery Society. August 16th, sails for Liverpool, England, - lest the publication of his biography should lead to his capture and reënslavement. He is - received with enthusiasm in England and his freedom is purchased by two members of the - Society of Friends. - </dd> - <dt>1846—</dt> - <dd>August 7th. Addresses the “World’s Temperance Convention” at Covent Garden Theatre, - London. December 5th, the papers are signed which grant him his freedom. - </dd> - <dt>1847—</dt> - <dd>April 20th. Reaches America again. December 3d, the first issue of the <cite>North - Star</cite>, subsequently <cite>Frederick Douglass’s Paper</cite>, is published, he - having first removed to Rochester, N. Y. Following its establishment came his rupture - with Garrison and the Abolitionist wing of the Anti-Slavery party. - </dd> - <dt>1848—</dt> - <dd>September. Delivers an address before a colored convention at Cleveland, O., on farming - and industrial education. - </dd> - <dt>1851—</dt> - <dd>Announces his sympathies with the voting Abolitionists. - </dd> - <dt>1852—</dt> - <dd>Supports the Free Soil party and is elected a delegate from Rochester to the Free Soil - Convention at Pittsburg, Pa. - </dd> - <dt>1853—</dt> - <dd>Visits Harriet Beecher Stowe at Andover, Mass., with reference to the forming of an - industrial school for colored youth. - </dd> - <dt>1855—</dt> - <dd><cite>My Bondage and My Freedom</cite> published in New York and Auburn. - </dd> - <dt>1856—</dt> - <dd>Supports Frémont, the candidate of the Republican party, for President. - </dd> - <dt>1858—</dt> - <dd><cite>Douglass’s Monthly</cite> is established. Its publication is continued until 1864. - </dd> - <dt>1859—</dt> - <dd>August 20th. Visits John Brown at Chambersburg, Pa. This was his last interview with the - old Anti-Slavery hero before the attack on Harper’s Ferry, three weeks later. At this - interview John Brown made a final effort to induce him to join in the dangerous - enterprise. -<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span></div> - </dd> - <dt>1859—</dt> - <dd>November 12th. Sails from Quebec on his second visit to England. This trip is undertaken - because he is in danger of being implicated in the plot to cause an uprising of the - slaves for which John Brown had already been executed. - </dd> - <dt>1860—</dt> - <dd>Returns to the United States, called home by the death of his daughter, Anna. - </dd> - <dt>1860—</dt> - <dd>December 3d. Attempts to speak in Tremont Temple, Boston, but the meeting is broken up. - </dd> - <dt>1863—</dt> - <dd>Publishes in <cite>Douglass’s Monthly</cite> his address to colored men urging them to - enlist in the Federal Army. He is instrumental in forming the Fifty-fourth and - Fifty-fifth Massachusetts Regiments of colored soldiers. Subsequently he visits President - Lincoln to secure fair treatment of the colored soldiers and is promised, by Secretary - Stanton, a commission as Assistant Adjutant to General Thomas, which, however, he does - not receive. - </dd> - <dt>1866—</dt> - <dd>February 7th. Interviews President Johnson to urge upon him the wisdom of granting the - suffrage to the freedmen. Issues shortly afterward an address in reply to President - Johnson’s argument against granting the suffrage to Negroes. In September, is elected a - delegate to the “National Loyalists’ Convention” in Philadelphia. - </dd> - <dt>1869—</dt> - <dd>Becomes editor of the <cite>New National Era</cite> which he continued to edit until - 1872, at a pecuniary loss of about $10,000. - </dd> - <dt>1871—</dt> - <dd>Visits San Domingo as Secretary to the Commission, consisting of B. F. Wade, Dr. S. G. - Howe and Andrew D. White, to determine the attitude of that country toward annexation to - the United States. He is appointed a member of the upper house of the territorial - legislature of Washington, D. C., but shortly resigns his position in favor of his son, - Lewis. May 30th, he delivers the Decoration Day address at Arlington National Cemetery. - Becomes president of the “Freedmen’s Savings and Trust Company.” - </dd> - <dt>1872—</dt> - <dd>April. Presides at the National Convention of colored citizens held in New Orleans. - Chosen elector-at-large from the State of New York on the Presidential ticket which - elected General Grant to a second term and is afterward designated to carry the vote of - the electoral college of New York to Washington. -<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span></div> - </dd> - <dt>1876—</dt> - <dd>April 14th. Delivers an address at the unveiling of the Lincoln Monument in Lincoln Park, - Washington, D. C. - </dd> - <dt>1877—</dt> - <dd>Appointed Marshal of the District of Columbia, which office he held until 1881. - </dd> - <dt>1878—</dt> - <dd>May. Visits St. Michaels and is reconciled to his old master, Thomas Auld. - </dd> - <dt>1879—</dt> - <dd>September 12th. Reads a paper before the American Social Science Association in which he - opposes the Negro exodus to Kansas. - </dd> - <dt>1881—</dt> - <dd>May. Appointed Recorder of Deeds in the District of Columbia. June 12th, visits the Lloyd - plantation. - </dd> - <dt>1882—</dt> - <dd>January. <cite>Life and Times of Frederick Douglass</cite> published. August 4th, his - first wife dies: she was the mother of five children. - </dd> - <dt>1884—</dt> - <dd>January 24th. Marries Miss Helen Pitts, of New York. - </dd> - <dt>1889—</dt> - <dd>Appointed Minister and Consul General to Hayti. - </dd> - <dt>1893—</dt> - <dd>Commissioner for the Haytian Republic at the World’s Fair at Chicago. Makes an address on - Negro Day at the Fair. - </dd> - <dt>1895—</dt> - <dd>February 20th. Dies at his home at Cedar Hill, Washington. Buried with honors from the - Metropolitan Church (African Methodist Episcopal); public services being held - subsequently in Rochester. His body finally interred beside those of his wife and - daughter, in Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, N. Y. - </dd> - </dl> - -<div class='chapter ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div class='c013'>FREDERICK DOUGLASS</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span> - <h2 class='c014'>CHAPTER I<br> <span class='large'>FREDERICK DOUGLASS, THE SLAVE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>The life of Frederick Douglass is the history -of American slavery epitomized in a single human -experience. He saw it all, lived it all, and overcame -it all. What he saw and lived and suffered -was not too much to pay, however, for a great -career. “It is something,” as he himself said, “to -couple one’s name with great occasions, and it was -a great thing to me to be permitted to bear some -humble part in this, the greatest that had come -thus far to the American people.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Tradition says he was of noble lineage, but of -this there is no written record. Frederick Douglass -was born in the little town of Tuckahoe in -Talbot County on the eastern shore of Maryland, -supposedly in the month of February, 1817. The -exact date of his birth was made the subject of -diligent search by him in the days of his manhood -and freedom, but nothing more definite than the -month and year could be established. He gleaned -so much as this, he says, “from certain events, -the date of which I have since learned.”</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>In the early life of this child of slave birth, there -were several incidents that seemed to mark him for -a high destiny. The very pretentiousness of the -name he bore, Frederick Augustus Washington -Bailey, was a possible indication of something unusual -and promising in his appearance and demeanor. -Though it is not known who was his -father, it is fortunate that, out of the many uncertainties -of his lowly origin, a reasonably clear -outline of the personality of his mother has come -to light and has been preserved. We cannot know -her name or pedigree. The slave-child saw little -of his slave-mother, but he made a great deal of -this little. His references to her were frequent -in his writings and public addresses, and they all -indicate the pride and love of a heart true to its -primal instincts.</p> - -<p class='c004'>While he was a child, his mother was employed -on a plantation, a distance of twelve miles from -Tuckahoe. Her only opportunity of seeing her son -was by walking the distance after her day’s work, -to return to the field of her labors by dawn of the -next day. To use his own language: “These little -glimpses of my mother obtained under such circumstances -and against such odds, meagre as they were, -are indelibly stamped upon my memory. She was -tall and finely proportioned; of dark and glossy -complexion, with regular features; and among -slaves she was remarkably sedate and dignified. -She was the only slave in Tuckahoe who could -read.” That she was a woman of marked superiority, -and that her child inherited from her much -<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>that raised him above the other slaves among whom -he lived, can be easily believed. When he had -grown to manhood and while reading Prichard’s -<cite>Natural History of Man</cite>, he found in the features of -“King Rameses the Great” a strong resemblance -to his mother. There were four other children, one -boy named Perry and three girls. So far as is -known, the brother and sisters showed none of the -marks of superiority that distinguished Frederick -Augustus Washington Bailey.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Whatever training Frederick had up to eight -years of age, he received from his Grandmother -Bailey. It was in her cabin that he was born, and -it was by her that he was cared for and nourished. -He was very fond of this grandmother and has paid -an affectionate tribute to her memory. She was a -woman of strong character and of unusual intelligence. -There were many things that she could do -uncommonly well, such as gardening, and her good -luck in fishing was proverbial. She was also famed -as a fortune-teller and as such was sought far and -wide by all classes of people. Because of her -intelligence and natural gifts, she was allowed -many privileges and a great deal of liberty; in her -old age she was amply provided for by her master, -and saved from hard toil. Judging from his frequent -and fond references to his grandmother, -young Douglass had better care and more attention -than the ordinary slave-child; he probably had -plenty to eat, and was taught good manners. -Whatever it was possible for an impressionable -mind to gain from contact with a strong and vigorous -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>nature, the lad received from this unusual -woman.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Until he was seven years of age, young Fred felt -few of the privations of slavery. In these childhood -days, he probably was as happy and carefree -as the white children in the “big house.” -At liberty to come and go and play in the open -sunshine, his early life was typical of the happier -side of Negro life in slavery. What he missed of -a mother’s affection and a father’s care, was partly -made up to him by the indulgent kindness of his -good grandmother.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The owner of Fred and of his mother, grandmother, -sisters, and brother, was Captain Aaron -Anthony. He was the proprietor of several plantations -and about thirty slaves near Tuckahoe. But -Captain Anthony was something more, and this fact -became important in the subsequent history of young -Frederick Bailey; he had the distinction of being -the manager of the vast estate of Colonel Edward -Lloyd, who belonged to one of the foremost families -of Maryland, and who owned between twenty and -thirty plantations with over one thousand slaves. -His home was on a plantation situated about -thirty-five miles southeast of Baltimore and on the -banks of the Wye River, the mansion and its surroundings -being typical of the splendor and power -of the wealthy slave-holder. When young Douglass -first gazed upon all these signs of wealth, he -says: “I became impressed with the baronial -splendors of the Lloyd mansion and the princely -mode of living; the vast army of enslaved men, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>women, and children; the completeness of the government -that made it almost impossible for any of -these slaves to escape; the subordination of my own -master; the great number of mechanics that were -skilled in all the trades, and the tutors from New -England that were hired to teach the Lloyd children.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Near the mansion stood the plain but commodious -home of Fred’s master, Captain Anthony. -The Anthony family consisted of Mrs. Lucretia -Anthony, the wife; Richard and Fred Anthony, -sons; and an only daughter, Lucretia, who became -the wife of Captain Thomas Auld.</p> - -<p class='c004'>When Fred was between seven and eight years of -age, his grandmother was directed by her master to -take her grandson to the Lloyd plantation. After -the boy arrived at his new home, he was put in -charge of a slave-woman for whom the only name -we know is “Aunt Katy.” This change brought -him the first real hardship of his life. As an early -consequence of it, he lost the care and guidance of -his grandmother, his freedom to play, good food, -and that affection which means so much to a child. -When he came under the care of Aunt Katy, he -began to feel for the first time the sting of unkindness. -He has given a very disagreeable picture of -this foster-mother. She was a woman of a hateful -disposition, and treated the little stranger from -Tuckahoe with extreme harshness. Her special -mode of punishment was to deprive him of food. -Indeed he was forced to go hungry most of the time, -and if he complained, was beaten without mercy. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>He has described his misery on one particular night. -After being sent supperless to bed, his suffering -very soon became more than he could bear, and -when everybody else in the cabin was asleep, he -quietly took some corn and began to parch it before -the open fireplace. While thus trying to appease -his hunger by stealth, and feeling dejected and -homesick, “who but my own dear mother should -come in?” The friendless, hungry, and sorrowing -little boy found himself suddenly caught up in her -strong and protecting arms. “I shall never -forget,” he says, “the indescribable expression -of her countenance when I told her that Aunt Katy -had said that she would starve the life out of me. -There was a deep and tender glance at me, and a -fiery look of indignation for Aunt Katy at the -same moment, and when she took the parched corn -from me and gave me, instead, a large ginger-cake, -she read Aunt Katy a lecture which was never -forgotten. That night, I learned, as never before, -that I was not only a child but somebody’s child. -I was grander on my mother’s knee than a king -upon his throne. But my triumph was short. I -dropped off to sleep and waked in the morning to -find my mother gone, and myself again at the -mercy of the virago in my master’s kitchen.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>There is no record of another meeting between -mother and son. She probably died shortly afterward, -because if she had been within walking -distance, he certainly would have seen her again. -Her memory in his child’s mind was always that -of a real and near personality. When he became -<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>older, and conscious of his superiority to his fellows, -he was wont to say: “I am proud to attribute -my love of letters, such as I may have, not to my -presumed Anglo-Saxon father, but to my sable, unprotected, -and uncultivated mother.” Thus, after -his mother died, his vivid imagination kept before -him her image, as she appeared to him that last -time he saw her, through all his struggles for a -fuller and freer life for himself and his race.</p> - -<p class='c004'>With the loss of his mother and grandmother, -he came more and more to realize the peculiar relation -in which he and those about him stood to -Colonel Lloyd and Captain Anthony. His active -mind soon grasped the meaning of “master” and -“slave.” While still a lad, longing for a mother’s -care, he began to feel himself within the grasp of -the curious thing that he afterward learned to -know as “slavery.” As he grew older in years -and understanding, he came also to see what manner -of man his master was. He described Captain -Anthony as a “sad man.” At times he was very -gentle, and almost benevolent. But young Douglass -was never able to forget that this same kindly -slave-holder had refused to protect his cousin from -a cruel beating by her overseer. The spectacle he -had witnessed, when this beautiful young slave was -whipped, had made a lasting and painful impression -upon him. Vaguely he began to recognize the -outlines of the institution which at once permitted -and, to a certain degree, made necessary these cruelties. -It was at this point that he began to speculate -on the origin and nature of slavery. Meanwhile -<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>he became, in the course of his life on the -plantation, the witness of other scenes, quite as harrowing, -and the memory mingled with his reflections, -and embittered them.</p> - -<p class='c004'>During this time an event occurred which gave a -new direction and a new impetus to the thoughts -and purposes slowly taking form within him. This -event was the successful escape of his Aunt Jennie -and another slave. It caused a great commotion on -the plantation. Nothing could happen in a Southern -community that excited so many and such varied -emotions as the escape of a slave from bondage:—terror -and revenge; hope and fear, mingled with -the images of the pursued and the pursuers, with -speculation in regard to the capture of the fugitive, -and with prayers for his success in the minds of the -slaves.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Young Douglass had begun to feel the burden of -slavery and already had a dim consciousness of its -fundamental injustice, but up to this point, he had -known no other world than this immense plantation, -and no other people than these masters, overseers, -and slaves. His horizon was further enlarged -and his imagination quickened by talking with certain -Negroes on the Lloyd plantation, who could -recall the event of their being brought from far-off -Africa in slave-ships. Speaking of his own state of -feeling at this time, he says: “I was already a -fugitive from slavery in spirit and purpose.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>From now on his quick and comprehending mind -saw and suffered things that formerly never affected -him. The hard and sometimes cruel discipline, toil -<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>from sunrise to sunset, scant food, the stifling of ambitions,—all -these began now to be perceived and felt, -and the impression they left sank into the soul of -this rebellious boy. He saw a slave killed by an -overseer, on no other charge than that of being -“impudent.” “Crimes” of this nature were committed, -as far as he could see, with impunity, and -the memory of them haunted him by day and by -night.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Thus far Douglass had not felt the overseer’s -whip. He was too small for anything except to run -errands and to do light chores. Of course, he had -been cuffed about by Aunt Katy; he says he seldom -got enough to eat and he suffered continually from -cold, since his entire wardrobe consisted of a tow -sack. He was fortunate, however, in having two -friends, who often saved him from the pangs of -hunger, and who now and then gave him a word of -kindness. One was young Daniel Lloyd, of the -“great house,” and the other, Miss Lucretia, his -master’s daughter. This lady seems to have had a -real fondness for the boy, and would often give him -something good to eat and at times caress him in -such a way as to recall to his mind the few blessed -moments he had known with his mother. Young -Lloyd also often protected him from the impositions -of other boys.</p> - -<p class='c004'>To show how far the lad had advanced in his -thinking, it is well to quote his own words on this -point: “I used to contrast my condition with that -of the blackbirds, in whose world and sweet songs, -I fancied them so happy. Their apparent joy only -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>deepened the shadows of my sorrow. There are -thoughtful days in the lives of children, at least -there were in mine, when they grapple with all the -primary subjects of knowledge, and reach in a moment -conclusions which no subsequent experience -can shake. I was just as well convinced of the unjust, -unnatural, and murderous character of slavery -when nine years old, as I am now (1881). Without -any appeal to books, to laws, or to authorities -of any kind, I came to regard God as our Father, -and condemned slavery as a crime.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>When Fred became nine years old, the most important -event in his life occurred. His master determined -to send him to Baltimore to live with -Hugh Auld, a brother of Thomas Auld. Baltimore -at this time was little more than a name to young -Douglass. When he reached the residence of Mr. -and Mrs. Auld and felt the difference between the -plantation cabin and this city home, it was to him, -for a time, like living in Paradise. Mrs. Auld is -described as a lady of great kindness of heart, and -of a gentle disposition. She at once took a tender -interest in the little servant from the plantation. -He was much petted and well fed, permitted to wear -boy’s clothes and shoes, and for the first time in his -life, had a good soft bed to sleep in. His only duty -was to take care of and play with Tommy Auld, -which he found both an easy and an agreeable task.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Young Douglass yet knew nothing about reading. -A book was as much of a mystery to him as the -stars at night. When he heard his mistress read -aloud from the Bible, his curiosity was aroused. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>He felt so secure in her kindness that he had the -boldness to ask her to teach him. Following her -natural impulse to do kindness to others and without, -for a moment, thinking of the danger, she at -once consented. He quickly learned the alphabet -and in a short time could spell words of three syllables. -But alas, for his young ambition! When -Mr. Auld discovered what his wife had done, he -was both surprised and pained. He at once stopped -the perilous practice, but it was too late. The precocious -young slave had acquired a taste for book-learning. -He quickly understood that these mysterious -characters called letters were the keys to a -vast empire from which he was separated by an enforced -ignorance. In discussing the matter with his -wife, Mr. Auld said: “If you teach him to read, -he will want to know how to write, and with this -accomplished, he will be running away with himself.” -Mr. Douglass, referring to this conversation -in later years, said: “This was decidedly the first -anti-slavery speech to which I had ever listened. -From that moment, I understood the direct pathway -from slavery to freedom.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>During the subsequent six years that he lived in -Baltimore in the home of Mr. Auld, he was more -closely watched than he had been before this incident, -and his liberty to go and come was considerably -curtailed. He declares that he was not -allowed to be alone, when this could be helped, lest -he would attempt to teach himself. But these were -unwise precautions since they but whetted his appetite -for learning and incited him to many secret -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>schemes to elude the vigilance of his master and -mistress. Everything now contributed to his enlightenment -and prepared him for that freedom for -which he thirsted. His occasional contact with -free colored people, his visit to the wharves where -he could watch the vessels going and coming, and -his chance acquaintance with white boys on the -street, all became a part of his education and were -made to serve his plans. He got hold of a blue-back -speller and carried it with him all the time. -He would ask his little white friends in the street -how to spell certain words and the meaning of them. -In this way he soon learned to read. The first and -most important book owned by him was called -the <cite>Columbian Orator</cite>. He bought it with money -secretly earned by blacking boots on the streets. It -contained selected passages from such great orators -as Lord Chatham, William Pitt, Fox, and Sheridan. -These speeches were steeped in the sentiments of -liberty, and were full of references to the “rights -of man.” They gave to young Douglass a larger -idea of liberty than was included in his mere dream -of freedom for himself, and in addition they increased -his vocabulary of words and phrases. The -reading of this book unfitted him longer for restraint. -He became all ears and all eyes. Everything he saw -and read suggested to him a larger world, lying just -beyond his reach. The meaning of the term “Abolition” -came to him by a chance look at a Baltimore -newspaper.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Slavery and Abolition! The distance between these -two points of existence seemed to have lessened -<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>greatly, after he had comprehended their meaning. -“When I heard the word ‘Abolition,’ I felt the -matter to be my personal concern. There was hope in -this word.” As he afterward went about the city -on his ordinary errands, or when at the wharf, even -performing tasks that were not set for him to do, he -was like another being. That word “Abolition” -seemed to sing itself into his very soul, and when he -permitted his thoughts to dwell on the possibilities -that it opened to him, he was buoyed up with joyous -expectations. He tried to find out something from -everybody. He learned to write by copying letters -on fences and walls and challenging his white playmates -to find his mistakes; and at night when no -one suspected him of being awake, he copied from -an old copy-book of his young friend Tommy. Before -he had formulated any plans for freedom for -himself, he learned the important trick of writing -“free passes” for runaway slaves.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Notwithstanding his progress in gaining knowledge, -his considerate master and kind mistress, his -loving companion in Tommy, his good home, food -and clothes, he was not happy or contented. None -of these things could stifle his yearning to be free. -He has aptly described his own feelings at this time -in speaking of Mrs. Auld: “Poor lady, she did -not understand my trouble, and I could not tell her. -Nature made us friends, but slavery made us enemies. -She aimed to keep me ignorant, but I resolved to know, -although knowledge only increased my misery. My -feelings were not the result of any marked cruelty -in the treatment I received. It was slavery, not its -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>mere incidents, I hated. Their feeding and clothing -me well, could not atone for taking my liberty from -me. The smiles of my master could not remove the -deep sorrow that dwelt in my young bosom. We -were both victims of the same overshadowing evil,—she -as mistress, I as slave. I will not censure her -too harshly.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>But if his hopes and aspirations were excited by -the vast and vague horizon which the thought of -emancipation opened to him, he was, on the other -hand, driven to something like despair when he -considered how distant and inaccessible was this -“land of freedom” of which he dreamed. The -nearer and clearer appeared to him the possibility -of this larger life, the more torturing became the -restraints that kept him from seeking it. It was -when thus pursuing in thought this phantom of a -greater world although at the same time in despair -of ever attaining it, that he found peace for a while -in the consolation of religion. His imagination had -been aroused by the preaching of a white minister, -a Methodist, named Hanson. Feeling himself -wretched and alone, he was in a state of mind, as so -many others have been before and since, to find comfort -in the thought of a kindly and overshadowing -Power, a Protector to whom he might turn, in his -great distress, without reserve and without misgiving. -He surrendered himself completely to this new -faith in God. In his search for more light, he met -a lasting friend and guide in the person of a colored -preacher to whom he fondly refers as “Uncle Lawson.” -This good and pious old man lived very near -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>the home of Mr. Auld. Young Douglass said of -him: “He was my spiritual father. I loved him -intensely, and was at his house every chance I could -get.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Douglass’s master and mistress knew that he had -become religious, and though they were at that time -but lukewarm in their support of the church, they -respected the piety in the young slave and seem to -have encouraged it. But unfortunately the boy’s -interest in religion had increased his desire to read, -in order to become thoroughly acquainted with the -Bible. “I have gathered,” says Mr. Douglass, -“scattered pages of the Bible from the filthy street gutters, -and washed and dried them, that in moments -of leisure I might get a word or two of wisdom from -them.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Uncle Lawson could read a little and Douglass, -who went frequently with him to prayer meeting, -spent much of his spare time on Sunday helping him -decipher its pages. When his master learned what -he was doing, he threatened to whip him if he went -to Lawson’s again, but he stole away whenever he -could and got his needed instruction in the simple -lessons of faith.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Uncle Lawson was probably the first colored person -that young Douglass had met who appreciated -his longings and powers. He was also the first person -who awakened in him a dim consciousness that -he was destined for a public career. Speaking of -this, Douglass once said: “His words made a deep -impression upon me, and I verily felt that some -such work was before me, though I could not see -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>how I could ever engage in its performance.” The -old preacher could go no further than to give utterance -to the familiar exhortations: “Trust in the -Lord, the Lord can make you free”; “Ask in -faith and He will give you what you ask.” The -boy’s great respect for the honesty and piety of -Uncle Lawson lent these words a deep significance, -and he never forgot the lessons that he learned from -this simple-minded man. How important was this -teaching is evidenced by Mr. Douglass’s own testimony: “Thus -assisted and thus cheered on under -the inspiration of the preacher, I worked and prayed -with a light heart, believing that my life was under -the guidance of a wisdom higher than my own. I -always prayed that God would in His great good -mercy and His own good time, deliver me from my -bondage.” After Douglass learned how to write -with tolerable ease, he began to copy from the Bible -and the Methodist hymn-books at night, when he -was supposed to be asleep. He always regarded -this religious experience as the most important part -of his education; it had the effect, not only of enlarging -his mind, but also of restraining his impatience, -and softening a disposition that was growing hard -and bitter with brooding over the disadvantages -suffered by himself and his race. He greatly needed -something that would help him to look beyond his -bondage and encourage him to hope for ultimate -freedom.</p> - -<p class='c004'>While he was undergoing this, to him, novel religious -experience, and while he was gradually being -adjusted to the situation in which he found himself, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>there came one of those dreaded changes in the -fortunes of slave-masters that made the status of the -slave painfully uncertain. His real master, Captain -Anthony, died, and this event, complicated with -some family quarrel, resulted in Douglass being recalled -from Baltimore to the plantation. This was -a depressing incident in his slave-life. It is true -that Mr. and Mrs. Auld were not at this time as -gentle with him as when he first came to the city. -He was under stricter discipline, was constantly -watched, and his liberties were circumscribed in -many ways that were both inconvenient and irritating. -But in spite of all this he was comparatively free -from the usual severities of slavery. He had many -interests and many happy relationships that he was -able to cultivate outside of the Auld household. -He had become something of a leader among the -young colored men of the city. He had taught -many of them their letters. Among the white boys -of his acquaintance he also had a large circle of -friends, who loved him and were loyal to him. -Most important of all was his affection for his religious -teacher, Uncle Lawson. Through these attachments -in the more complex life of the city, and -the opportunities for mental and spiritual growth -which they offered, he was able to throw off to a -great degree the gloom and doubt of his earlier -youth. He had begun to feel that he was actually -preparing himself for that larger life of leadership -in freedom, that had been hinted to him by Uncle -Lawson. But all these happy relations were rudely -severed when he was recalled to the plantation.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>“It did seem,” he said, “that every time the -young tendrils of my affection became attached, they -were rigidly broken off by some unnatural, outside -power, and I was looking away to Heaven for the -rest denied to me on earth.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER II<br> <span class='large'>BACK TO PLANTATION LIFE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>When young Douglass left Baltimore to go back -to the plantation, he was about sixteen years of age;—strong, -healthy, and fully capable of the hard work -of a field hand. But this was not the most difficult -task he now had to face. Conditions that he met -there were to test his character as it had never been -tested before, and the trials he endured during this -period profoundly influenced all his future life. -For the first time in many years, he was to feel the -“pitiless pinchings of hunger.” He says: “So -wretchedly starved were we that we were compelled -to live at the expense of our neighbors, or steal from -our own larder. This was a hard thing to do, but -after much reflection, I reasoned myself into the belief -that there was no other way to do—and after -all there could be no harm in it, considering that -my labor and person were the property of Master -Thomas, and that I was deprived of the necessaries -of life. It was simply appropriating what was my -own, since the health and strength derived from -such food were exerted in his service. To be sure, -this was stealing according to the law and gospel I -had heard from the pulpit, but I had begun to attach -less importance to what dropped from that -quarter, on certain points.”</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>Having found a principle upon which he could -justify, against the precepts of morality, the practice -of stealing from his own master, in order to get -enough to eat, it was not difficult to go farther and -discover a warrant based on grounds quite as logical, -for the habit of stealing from others beside his -master, when the same necessity seemed to justify it.</p> - -<p class='c004'>“I am not only a slave of Master Thomas,” he -argued, “but I am also a slave of society at large. -Society at large has bound itself in form and fact to -assist Master Thomas in robbing me of my liberty -and the just reward of my labor; therefore whatever -rights I have against Master Thomas, I have -equally against those confederated with him.” It -is thus that Mr. Douglass, writing years afterward, -construed the argument with which the boy solved -the doubts and questions arising in his mind when -he found himself following the custom, prevalent -among the slaves, of persistent petty stealing.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Whatever one may think of this theory as a justification -for the practice, it is interesting as showing -in Douglass, even as a boy, the tendency to get clear -ideas in regard to his own conduct and the conduct -of those about him, and to make his actions conform -to some fundamental rule. A boy who was disposed -to think thus clearly and to apply the test of elementary -principles to the lives and actions of those -about him, was already a dangerous slave. And so -the summer of 1833 found Douglass more determined -than ever to run away.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Meanwhile he tells us that there were several -incidents which served still further to shape in his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>mind the view of his master and the class his master -represented. About this time there was a religious -revival in the neighborhood of St. Michaels, -where Douglass lived. Master Thomas became -converted and was afterward a devoted member and -class-leader in the Methodist church. Young Douglass -attended the camp-meeting, and, from his position -behind the preacher’s stand, where a space had -been marked off for colored people, watched the -process of conversion in his master with great interest -and close attention.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Another episode tended to add to the perplexity -in the young slave’s mind and still further undermine -his faith in the moral superiority of the master-class, -and in the religion which based its justification -of slavery on the fact of that superiority. -To add further to his confusion, he had read somewhere, -in the Methodist discipline, that “the slave-holder -shall not be eligible to an official station in -the church.” When he saw Mr. Auld making -open confession of his sins, and afterward given -official position in the church, he felt sure that a -great change must necessarily come over his disposition -and character. But his master’s face, -Douglass said, became more stern with increasing -piety, and the discipline he enforced upon his slaves -was even more rigid. This was a severe test of the -religious convictions of the young slave-boy. He -knew that religion had made him better, kinder, -and more appreciative of all that was true and -beautiful. It had also given him comfort during -the period of his servitude. He had looked forward, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>with sincere faith in the power of religion, -to some marked change in Master Thomas. The -resulting experience left him disappointed and confused.</p> - -<p class='c004'>At the request of an earnest and sincerely pious -white man, named Wilson, Douglass had joined in -an attempt to conduct a Sunday-school for young -colored people. During the second meeting of this -innocent company, it was violently broken up by a -mob, chief among whom was his master, Thomas -Auld. The men were armed with sticks and other -missiles and drove away both pupils and teachers, -warning them never to meet again. The only explanation -given for this violent interruption of -what seemed a harmless and worthy occupation, -was the rough remark of one member of the party, -that Douglass wanted to be another Nat Turner. -The fear inspired by his unfortunate slave insurrection -was responsible for much of the hardship -which Negroes in the South, free and slave, were at -this period compelled to endure. The memory of -it hardened the heart of many a master against his -slaves and made him cruel and suspicious where he -would naturally have been kind and confident.</p> - -<p class='c004'>But Thomas Auld seems not to have had even -this excuse for some of his acts which still further -embittered the young slave, already grown critical -and suspicious of all that his master did. It was -not long after his conversion, Douglass says, that -he began to beat the boy’s crippled and unfortunate -cousin, Henny, with unusual barbarity, -finally setting her adrift to care for herself. All -<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>these incidents crowded quickly upon the young -slave’s mind at a time when he had already begun -to test and measure the actions of his master and -those about him by the principles of universal -right and justice, which his study of the <cite>Columbian -Orator</cite> had furnished him, and which his reflections -and comparisons were steadily making more clear -and definite. The effect was to render him bold -and rebellious to such an extent that he soon became -a fit subject to be “broken in” by some overseer, -who knew how to handle “impudent” slaves.</p> - -<p class='c004'>A man named Edward Covey, living at Bayside, -at no great distance from the camp-ground where -Thomas Auld was converted, had a wide reputation -for “breaking in unruly niggers.” Covey was a -“poor white” and a farm renter. To this man -Douglass was hired out for a year. In the month of -January, 1834, he started for his new master, with his -little bundle of clothes. From what we have already -seen of this sensitive, thoughtful young slave of seventeen -years, it is not difficult to understand his state -of mind. Up to this time he had had a comparatively -easy life. He had seldom suffered hardships -such as fell to the lot of many slaves whom he knew. -To quote his own words: “I was now about to -sound profounder depths in slave-life. Starvation -made me glad to leave Thomas Auld’s, and the -cruel lash made me dread to go to Covey’s.” Escape, -however, was impossible. The picture of -“the slave-driver,” painted in the lurid colors that -Mr. Douglass’s indignant memories furnished him, -shows the dark side of slavery in the South. During -<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>the first six weeks he was with Covey, he -was whipped, either with sticks or cowhides, every -week. With his body one continuous ache from his -frequent floggings, he was kept at work in field or -woods from the dawn of day until the darkness of -night. He says: “Mr. Covey succeeded in breaking -me in body, soul, and spirit. The overwork -and the cruel chastisements, of which I was the victim, -combined with the ever growing and soul-devouring -thought, ‘I am a slave—a slave for life, a -slave with no rational ground to hope for freedom,’ -had done their worst.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>He confesses that at one time he was strongly -tempted to take his own life and that of Covey. -Finally, his sufferings of body and soul became so -great that further endurance seemed impossible. -While in this condition, he determined upon the -daring step of returning to his master, Thomas -Auld, in order to lay before him the story of abuse. -He felt sure that, if for no other reason than the -protection of property from serious impairment, -his master would interfere in his behalf. He even -expected sympathy and assurances of future protection. -In all this he was grievously disappointed. -Auld not only refused sympathy and protection, but -would not even listen to his complaints, and immediately -sent him back to his dreaded master to face -the added penalty of running away. The poor lone -boy was plunged into the depths of despair. A feeling -that he had been deserted by both God and man -took possession of him.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Covey was lying in wait for him, knowing full -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>well that he must return as defenseless as he went -away. As soon as Douglass came near the place -where the white man was hiding, the latter made a -leap at Fred for the purpose of tying him for a -flogging. But Douglass escaped and took to the -woods where he concealed himself for a day and a -night. His condition was desperate. He felt that -he could not endure another whipping, and yet -there seemed to him no alternative. His first impulse -was to pray, but he remembered that Covey -also prayed. Convinced, at length, that there was -no appeal but to his own courage, he resolved to -go back and face whatever must come to him. It -so happened that it was a Sunday morning and, -much to his surprise, he met Covey who was on his -way to church, and who, when he saw the runaway, -greeted him with a pleasant smile. “His religion,” -says Douglass, “prevented him from breaking -the Sabbath, but not from breaking my bones -on any other day in the week.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>On Monday morning, Douglass was up early, -half hoping that he would be permitted to resume -his work without punishment. Covey was astir betimes, -too, and had laid aside his Sunday mildness -of manner. His first business was to carry out his -fixed purpose of whipping the young runaway. In -the meantime Fred had likewise fully decided -upon a course of action. He was ready to submit -to any kind of work, however hard or unreasonable, -but determined to defend himself against an attempt -at another flogging. In the cold passion that took -possession of him, the slave-boy became utterly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>reckless of consequences, reasoning to himself that -the limit of suffering at the hands of this relentless -slave-breaker had already been reached. He was -resolved to fight and did fight. He began his morning -work in peace, obeying promptly every order -from his master, and while he was in the act of going -up to the stable-loft for the purpose of pitching -down some hay, he was caught and thrown by -Covey, in an attempt to get a slip knot about his -legs. Douglass flew at Covey’s throat recklessly, -hurled his antagonist to the ground, and held him -firmly. Blood followed the nails of the infuriated -young slave. He scarcely knew how to account for -his fighting strength, and his dare-devil spirit so -dumbfounded the master, that he gaspingly said: -“Are you going to resist me, you young scoundrel?” -“Yes, sir,” was the quick reply.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Finding himself baffled, Covey called for assistance. -His Cousin Hughes came to aid him, but as -he was attempting to put a noose over the unruly -slave’s foot, Douglass promptly gave him a blow in -the stomach which at once put him out of the combat -and he fled. After Hughes had been disabled, -Covey called on first one and then another of his -slaves, but each refused to assist him. Finding -himself fairly outdone by his angry antagonist, -Covey quit with the discreet remark: “Now, you -young scoundrel, you go to work; I would not have -whipped you half so hard, if you had not resisted.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Douglass had thus won his first victory and was -never again threatened or flogged by his master. -The effect of this encounter, as far as he himself -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>was concerned, was to increase his self-respect, and -to give him more courage for the future. He said -that, “when a slave cannot be flogged, he is more -than half-free.” To the other slaves he became a -hero, and Covey was not anxious to advertise his -complete failure to break in this “unruly nigger.” -It speaks well for the natural dignity and good sense -of young Douglass that he neither boasted of his -triumph, nor did anything rash as a consequence -of it, as might have been expected from a boy of his -age and spirit.</p> - -<p class='c004'>On Christmas Day, 1834, young Douglass’s time -with Covey was out. He then learned that he had -been hired to a William Freeland, who owned a -large plantation near St. Michaels, and by January -1st, was with his new master. Mr. Freeland was a -great improvement upon Covey. He was less direct -in his professions, but more humane in his manner -toward his slaves. He was what was called a “kind -master.” He did not overwork or underfeed his -slaves and he was sparing of the lash. All this was -Paradise to young Douglass, when compared with -the strenuous life he had led with Covey. The effect -of so much kindness was evidenced in the character -of the Freeland slaves. Mr. Douglass describes -them as a superior class of men and women, and he -loved, esteemed, and confided in them, as with real -friends, generous and true.</p> - -<p class='c004'>With these new and better conditions and with -these superior companions in bondage, Douglass -felt a renewal of that old impulse to do something -for his fellow slaves. He naturally first turned -<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>to the thought of teaching them to read and write. -He found time and spirit again to look at his library,—the -blue-back speller and the <cite>Columbian -Orator</cite>. He first started a Sunday-school under the -trees, at a safe distance from the “big house,” -gathering together some thirty young people. -They were making fine progress, when, one Sunday, -his former experience was repeated, and they were -rushed upon and scattered. The school was again -started, however, and this time Douglass seems -successfully to have evaded the vigilance of his -master. In addition to the Sunday-school, he devoted -three evenings a week to his fellow slaves.</p> - -<p class='c004'>His leadership among all the Negroes was recognized -and respected by them. This brought with it -his first consciousness of that peculiar power over -men, which in after-life made him so conspicuous a -figure among the heroes of the Abolition struggle. -The whole year at Freeland’s was spent in self-development -and in the mental and spiritual improvement -of his companions in bonds.</p> - -<p class='c004'>At the end of this time he learned that his services -had been hired for another twelve months to -Mr. Freeland. This seemed to promise good for -him in the future. The Bible, the spelling book, -and the <cite>Columbian Orator</cite> were read and re-read -and, at each new reading, he felt an enlargement -of mind and an increasing thirst for liberty. The -kindness of Mr. Freeland and the pleasant companionship -of the Harris brothers and other slaves, -served only to increase his discontent. He liked -his master and would gladly have remained with him -<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>as a free man, but he could never overcome his -increasing impatience of the restraints of slavery, -and, with this ambition for liberty, his troubles -began. He made a solemn vow to himself that the -year should not close without witnessing some -earnest effort on his part to escape. This vow -also included the freedom of his slave-companions, -for whom he had conceived a lasting attachment. -He succeeded in winning to his scheme five trusted -confidants. These were John and Henry Harris, -Sandy Jenkins, the footman; Charles Roberts, and -Henry Bailey. Young Douglass impressed them -with the perils of the undertaking. His knowledge -of the difficulties of a successful escape, little -as it actually was, surprised and awed them.</p> - -<p class='c004'>When he had fully determined upon his plans, he -found that it would perhaps require many weeks -to perfect them. His first task was to study the -character, the temperament, and the various personal -qualifications of the men whom he proposed to -make his partners in this dangerous undertaking. -He must learn whether they were proof against the -sin of betrayal under all possible circumstances. -Each man must cultivate an unhesitating faith in -the others. Each must have unlimited courage, -both physical and moral. All must learn the tricks -of self-concealment, and of assumed indifference -and deception. They must understand the various -kinds of perils they were likely to encounter. The -kidnapper, the slave-catcher, the black and white -detectives, and the whole range of restraints that, -like a continuous wall, hemmed in a slave, must be -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>considered and understood. If he had hope in his -heart, he must not betray it by so much as a look, -in manner or in speech. Overseers were all eyes -and ears and quick to suspect something was -wrong if a slave seemed unusually thoughtful, -sullen, or happy. They were by no means easily -deceived as to the real intention of a slave planning -to run away. To become an object of suspicion -was merely to insure that the suspected slave -would be the more closely guarded. Young Douglass -fully realized the severity of the penalty that -must follow failure, but he never wavered in his determination -to make a dash for liberty, at any -cost.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Having satisfied himself that his companions -were proof against treachery and were of the right -sort of mettle, he began to study the practical -means of escape. There were no well-marked -routes from slavery to freedom, no highways, byways, -or “underground railways,” known to him at -that time. Such knowledge belonged wholly to the -region north of the boundary line of freedom. He -had heard of slaves escaping, but how they got -away and by what route was always a mystery. He -had heard that there was a region called North, and -that in this far haven, white and black people -alike were free. He had heard of a land called -Canada, but its location on maps and charts was -unknown to him. He had no conception of the -physical size of the world. He had seen Baltimore, -St. Michaels, and the adjoining plantations; -beyond this all was blank. He knew something of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>theology, but nothing of geography. He did not -know that there were states called New York and -Massachusetts. New York City was the northern -limit of his knowledge. He had received vague -hints that the dominion of slavery was without -boundary and that even in New York, there were -slave-catchers and kidnappers. But it was at this -time an unknown land.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In these difficulties, young Douglass looked -steadily North in the direction of the free-states, -seeking some chance guidance. His habit of reasoning -out things that in any way affected his -status as a slave and as a man, has already been -noted. Everything that he saw, or heard, or read -enlarged his knowledge of life and its meaning. -His stay in Baltimore had been a sort of school to -him. Here for the first time, he had seen free -colored people; the coming and going of ships -gave him his first ideas of direction and distance; -the Chesapeake Bay was a thing of wonder;—all of -which awakened in him many thoughts that led -him away from bondage.</p> - -<p class='c004'>While young Douglass was secretly working out -his plans for escape, one of his confidants, Sandy, -the footman, said to him: “I dreamed last night -that I was roused from sleep by strange noises, like -a swarm of angry birds; looking to see what it -was, I saw you, Frederick, in the claws of a large -bird surrounded by a large number of birds of all -colors and sizes. They were all picking at you. -Now I saw that as plain as I see you now, and -honey, watch the Friday night dream; there is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>sump’n in it, sho’s you born, dere is indeed, honey.” -Douglass confessed that the dream related to him -by old Sandy disturbed him for awhile. He felt -sure that his plans were seriously handicapped by -unseen forces of some sort, but he soon regained his -usual courage and overcame his superstitious apprehensions. -The Saturday night before Easter had -been fixed upon as the time for flight. A large -canoe, owned by a Mr. Hamilton, had been seized -and made ready for the confederates. They were -to paddle down the Chesapeake Bay to its head. -Douglass had already written out passes for each -of the fugitives in the following form:—</p> - -<p class='c005'>“This is to certify that I, the undersigned, have -given leave to the bearer, my servant, John, -full liberty to go to Baltimore to spend the Easter -holidays.—W. H.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“<em>Near St. Michaels, Talbot Co., Md.</em>”</p> - -<p class='c004'>On the night before the proposed flight, every -possible detail had been rehearsed and arranged. -The resolution of each party to the conspiracy -was tested and proved firm, except that of Sandy, -who, much to the disgust of Douglass, backed out. -Early Saturday morning, they were all at work in -the usual way. Douglass was the only one who was -troubled with a presentiment of evil. He turned -abruptly to Sandy, who was working near him, -and said: “We are betrayed!” Within a short -while his worst fears were being realized. Looking -toward the “big house,” he easily discerned a -stranger on horseback and an unusual stir. It was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>not long before he was abruptly accused of plotting -to run away, and taken into custody. Thus it -turned out that at the very time he had planned to -be on the road to freedom, he was a prisoner bound -for Easton, to be examined by a magistrate.</p> - -<p class='c004'>His companions, the two Harris brothers, were -likewise accused. Henry, however, was the only -one who did not tamely submit to being arrested -and handcuffed. When a revolver was pointed at -him by the officer, he knocked it from the man’s -hands and dared any one to shoot him. The recalcitrant -slave was soon overpowered, however, and -all were led away.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The excitement caused by Harris’s daring revolt -served one purpose, of which young Douglass’s alertness -enabled him to take advantage. He adroitly -threw his pass, the only incriminating evidence -against them, in the fire, and by some secret sign -advised the others to eat theirs with their bread -on the journey, which they did.</p> - -<p class='c004'>When they were examined, each stoutly disclaimed -all knowledge of plans for running away -and denied that they had any intention of doing so. -Notwithstanding the total lack of evidence against -them, the officers and Douglass’s master were thoroughly -convinced that they were plotting some wickedness. -There was always something so mysterious, -as well as commanding in the manner of young -Douglass, that he was naturally regarded as the -ringleader, when any misconduct of the slaves was -complained of. His fellows in bonds treated him -with a deference never shown toward any but white -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>people. As a slave he worked well and did his full -duty, but his masters always regarded him with -suspicion, and something akin to fear.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The examination of the four culprits must have -afforded an interesting scene. Young Douglass, -though a slave in chains, as well as a prisoner at -the bar, had the temerity to assume the rôle of attorney -and to attempt the defense of his comrades, -for whose present predicament he felt himself responsible. -When Thomas Auld insisted that the -evidence in hand, showing the intention to run away, -was strong enough to hang in case of need, Douglass -promptly replied: “The cases are not equal. If -murder were committed, the thing is done, but we -have not run away. Where is the evidence against -us? We were quietly at work.” Douglass was confident -that the only tangible evidence against them -had been skilfully destroyed, and he knew also -that his companions had been slyly but effectively -coached as to what to say and how to act when they -came before the examining magistrate.</p> - -<p class='c004'>So completely had they failed to make young -Douglass and his companions convict themselves, -that very shortly Mr. Freeland came to the jail and -took home his own slaves, leaving Douglass still -in confinement. He was glad to know that his -companions had escaped punishment, but by this -last separation from them he seemed to have reached -the very depths of the desolation which it was the -lot of a slave to experience.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Through the bars of his imprisonment, he could -watch the slave-traders from Georgia, Alabama, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>and Louisiana apparently eager to get hold of him. -He could even hear them pass comments upon his -size, strength, and general appearance, and make -guesses as to his age. For the first time since he left -Covey’s, he felt both hopeless and helpless. If he -should be sold and sent down into the far South, he -well knew that all chances for escape would be cut -off forever.</p> - -<p class='c004'>While in this condition of dejection and hopelessness, -the unexpected happened. His owner, -Thomas Auld, who, in spite of Douglass’s rebelliousness, -always cherished a peculiar fondness for -him, ordered his release from jail, and at once -decided to send him back to Baltimore to live with -Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Auld. In telling Fred what -he intended to do, he said that he wanted him to -learn a trade, and that if he would behave himself -and give him no more trouble, he would emancipate -him when he became twenty-five years old.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The happy assurance that he was not to be punished -and that he was again to have the privileges -of the city, was at first almost too much to be -believed. All of his hopes for ultimate freedom -were revived and his confidence in himself, which -had been severely shaken by his recent failure and -disgrace, was renewed. Under the circumstances, -it seems to have been the only wise and practicable -course his master could pursue. Mr. Freeland -would not again allow him to come upon his plantation; -Covey had failed to break his spirit; and -his reputation as a would-be runaway and a -“smart nigger” made him a desperate asset in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>slave-market of Talbot County. In sending him to -Baltimore to learn a trade, with a possibility of -ultimate freedom, it was thought that he would be -more serviceable and more tractable. Then, again, -the most threatening aspect of young Douglass’s -attempted flight was the daring plot to use the -Chesapeake Bay. Heretofore the slaves who had -succeeded in making good their escape were compelled -to find a path through deadly swamps and -woods, other avenues being so carefully guarded -that a successful runaway was very rare. Every -effort, therefore, must be made to keep the Douglass -venture a secret; he must be removed as far as -possible from his old plantation-life. If he had had -a different master, nothing could have saved him -from the slave-traders. The good-heartedness of -Thomas Auld was the only thing that preserved our -young hero for that larger life which he was to make -for himself, and help to make for so many others -of his race.</p> - -<p class='c004'>When, through the kindness of Mr. Auld, Douglass -again turned his face toward Baltimore, he -fully realized that the change was fraught with importance -to him. He remembered that it was in -this city he had caught the first suggestion that -there was a life to be lived above the low levels of -a slave. There, in the family of Hugh Auld, he -had learned to wear clothes, had acquired good manners -and the ability to read, and, for the first time, -had felt, in the person of his teacher and benefactor, -Mrs. Sophia Auld, the civilizing and softening -touch of a superior woman’s kindness.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>To his alert and observing mind, Baltimore -again became a real school. It quickened his perception, -and fired his imagination, and was the place, -above all others, short of a free state, where he -most longed to live. Hugh Auld easily succeeded -in getting young Douglass apprenticed to a calker, -in the extensive ship-yards of William Gardiner, -on Fell’s Point. The conditions under which he -had to work were very trying; he did not mind the -severe labor, but he was much disturbed by the intense -prejudice existing among the white boys and -mechanics. During the six months that he worked -with this firm, every one seemed to have license to -make use of and abuse him. He was not a coward, -and would quickly strike back at a man who insulted -or attempted to maltreat him. Finally, however, -he was assaulted by a crowd of ruffians and -frightfully beaten. His face was swollen and he -was covered with blood. In this condition, he reported -himself to Mr. Auld, who was furious when -he beheld the pitiable state of his slave. Mrs. -Auld took pity upon him and kindly dressed his -wounds, and nursed him until they were healed. -In the meantime he was angrily withdrawn from -Mr. Gardiner’s employ, and it was sought to bring -to punishment the perpetrators of the assault. Auld -appeared with Douglass before a magistrate, and -explaining how his slave had been attacked without -provocation, demanded a warrant for the guilty -parties, but both were surprised and chagrined -when the magistrate replied: “I am sorry, sir, -but I cannot move in this matter except upon the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>oath of a white man.” This incident made a deep -impression on Douglass. It gave him a new and -vivid sense of his helplessness and dependence, and -measurably increased his determination to be free -at any cost.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Hugh Auld soon after became foreman in the -ship-yards of Walter Price, of Baltimore. He took -Douglass with him and, under his protection, Fred -finished learning his trade and within one year became -able to command and receive from seven to -nine dollars per week, the largest wages at that -time paid for such labor. All of his earnings, of -course, were turned over to his master. From now -onward he had no trouble in securing work. He -was permitted to find his own employment and -make his own arrangements or contracts for pay. -This was a distinct advancement over his former -condition of servitude, and was his first experience -of self-direction and self-dependence.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He was soon known among the colored people -of the city as a young man of singular power. His -superiority of mind was recognized and, almost -without being conscious of it, he became a leader. -There was at that time an organization of free -colored people, known as the East Baltimore Improvement -Society. Although membership in this -exclusive body was limited to free people, young -Douglass was eagerly admitted. This was the first -organization of any kind, outside of the church, to -which he had ever belonged. It is probable that he -had here his first opportunity to exercise his natural -gift of eloquence.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>But with all these improvements in his conditions -of life, he was not happy. A sense of bondage, -however slight, made him restless and impatient. -“Why should I be a slave?” was the question that -went with him night and day. He has truly said: -“To make a contented slave, you must make him a -thoughtless one.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Kind treatment, liberty to come and go as he -pleased and to make his own contracts for employment; -mingling with freemen, as if he himself -were free; the high esteem in which he was held -by fellow workmen and employers, and by free -people; and the promise of emancipation at twenty-five -years of age, were no consolation to the heart -that panted to be its own. He had already become -too much of a man to remain a willing slave!</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER III<br> <span class='large'>ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY; LEARNING THE WAYS OF FREEDOM</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>For the second time in his life, Frederick Douglass -now began earnestly to study the possible means -of permanently breaking his fetters. At the end of -every week, when he turned his entire earnings over -to his master, his sense of injustice and indignation -increased. He was scarcely able to conceal his discontent. -His intense longing to be free must have -betrayed itself in his countenance, for very soon he -noticed that he was being closely watched. The fact -that he had at one time made an attempt to run away -caused more or less uneasiness.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Young Douglass soon found that the difficulties of -escape were quite as great in Baltimore as on the -Freeland plantation. The railroads running from -that city to Philadelphia were compelled to enforce -the most stringent regulations with reference to colored -people. Even free Negroes found it difficult -to comply with them. Every one applying for a -railway ticket was required to show his “free -papers” and to be measured and carefully examined -before he could enter the cars. Besides this, he was -not allowed to travel by night. Similar regulations -were enforced by steamboat companies. In addition -to all these difficulties, every road and turnpike was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>picketed with kidnappers on the lookout for fugitive -slaves. Douglass found it much easier to learn the -obstacles than the aids to successful escape. The -former were many and obvious; the latter were few -and difficult to discover. It was impossible to profit -by the experience of those who had run the gauntlet -successfully, and whenever it was learned that some -keen-scented slave had found a pathway to freedom, -the information was carefully concealed from those -in bonds. Every slave preparing to escape his -fetters must act without guide or precedent, and -form his own plan of deliverance.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Douglass was now convinced that he must hereafter -be the arbiter of his own fortunes. He at once -decided that his great need was money. The problem -was how to get the necessary sum. His whole time -and all of his earnings belonged to his master, and -so long as this was the case the funds must still be a -long way off. He finally determined to propose to -his owner, Master Thomas Auld, that he be allowed -to have his own time. In other words, he would -agree to pay him so much a week, and all in excess -of that sum he would keep as his own. This proposition -merely angered Mr. Auld, who accused young -Douglass of scheming to run away, and threatened -him with severe punishment, if he ever mentioned -such a thing again. But Douglass had too much at -stake to give up. He made the same proposition to -Master Hugh Auld and it was accepted. By the -terms of this agreement young Douglass was to be -allowed all of his time, and to make his own contracts -and collect his own wages; while in return for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>these privileges, he was to pay his master three dollars -each week, board and clothe himself, and buy -his own tools.</p> - -<p class='c004'>This was a pretty hard bargain, but it meant his -first step toward freedom, so he entered upon it -cheerfully. From May until August, 1838, he -worked for himself under the above conditions, kept -all his obligations, and was able to save out of his -earnings a neat sum of money. In the month of -August occurred an unfortunate interruption of his -plans. One Saturday night, instead of taking his -wages to his master, he was persuaded to go out of -town to a camp-meeting. He convinced himself -that there could be no objection to this, since he had -the money and purposed turning it in early Monday -morning. Owing to some misunderstanding, however, -he was compelled to remain one day longer -than he had intended. On coming back to the city, -he went directly to his master and made his payment. -Instead of being indifferent to his absence, -Hugh Auld was almost beside himself with rage. -Addressing Douglass, he said: “You rascal, I -have a good mind to give you a sound whipping. -How dare you go out of the city without my leave? -Now, you scoundrel, you have done for yourself; -you shall have your time no longer. The next thing -I shall hear of you, will be your running away. -Bring home your tools at once; I will teach you how -to go off in this way.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Poor Douglass was for the moment dismayed by -this very serious consequence of an innocent error of -judgment. He had had his own way so long, he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>had begun to feel that his master’s only interest in -him was the regular payment of the three dollars per -week which he had been receiving during the previous -four months. All his hopes for liberty had -been staked on the continuance of this arrangement -for a few months longer. Douglass understood the -man who was now his master. He had lived with -him long enough not to take his threats too seriously. -Mr. Auld would have been indeed shortsighted -if he had not used an occasion of this kind -to impress his slave with the seriousness of taking -such a liberty. Douglass did not, therefore, lose -heart and as a result of this episode, he made two -important resolutions. One was to go out in search -of work and return to the old contract; and the -other was to fix September 3, 1838, as the day of his -flight from slavery.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He soon found good employment in the Butler -ship-yards. Mr. Butler thought much of the young -slave calker and gave him every opportunity to -earn good wages. At the end of the first week, he -presented to his master the whole of his earnings, -amounting to nine dollars, which was accepted with -evident satisfaction. For the moment Master Hugh -seemed entirely to have forgotten the reprehensible -conduct of only a few days before. Having thus -shrewdly helped his master to recover his good temper -and natural kindness, Douglass took special pains -to keep him pleased and unsuspicious. The second -week of his employment, he again turned over the -whole amount of his wages, nine dollars. Mr. Auld -was overjoyed at this earning capacity of Douglass -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>and as an evidence of it made him a present of -twenty-five cents. In the last week he worked as a -slave, he gave his master six dollars.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Ever since the first trouble with Auld, he had -been pushing his plans to redeem his pledge to himself -that he would run away on Monday, September -3, 1838. These were anxious days and many small -details had to be mastered. He must carefully avoid -anything in manner or word which could excite the -slightest suspicion. He had to test the fidelity of a -number of free colored people whose aid, in secret -ways, was very essential to him. Who these persons -were, has never been revealed and in fact, it -was not until many years after emancipation that -Mr. Douglass disclosed to the public how he succeeded -in making his daring escape. “Murder itself,” -he says, “was not more severely and surely -punished in the state of Maryland than aiding and -abetting the escape of a slave.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Young Douglass’s flight had not outward semblance -of dramatic incident or thrilling episode and -yet, as he modestly says, “the courage that could -risk betrayal and the bravery which was ready to -encounter death, if need be, in pursuit of freedom, -were features in the undertaking. My success was -due to address rather than to courage, to good luck -rather than bravery. My means of escape were -provided by the very means which were making -laws to hold and bind me more securely to slavery.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>By the laws of the state of Maryland, every free -colored person was required to have what were -called “free papers” which must be renewed frequently, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>and, of course, a fee was always charged -for renewal. They contained a full and minute -description of the holder, for the purpose of identification. -This device, in some measure, defeated -itself, since more than one man could be found to -answer the general description; hence many slaves -could get away by impersonating the real owners of -these passes, which were returned by mail after the -borrowers had made good their escape. To use -these papers in this manner was hazardous both for -the fugitives and for the lenders. Not every freeman -was willing to put in jeopardy his own liberty -that another might be free. It was, however, -often done and the confidence that it necessitated -was seldom betrayed. Douglass had not many -friends among the free colored people in Baltimore -who resembled him sufficiently to make it safe for -him to use their papers. Fortunately, however, he -had one who owned a “sailor’s protection,” a document -describing the holder and certifying to the -fact that he was a “free American sailor.” This -“protection” did not describe its bearer very -accurately. But, it called for a man very much -darker than himself, and a close examination would -have betrayed him at the start. In the face of all -these conditions young Douglass was relying upon -something beside a dubious written passport. This -something was his desperate courage. He had -learned to act the part of a freeman so well that -no one suspected him of being a slave. He had -early acquired the habit of studying human nature. -As he grew to understand men, he no longer -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>dreaded them. No one knew better than he the -kind of human nature that he had to deal with in -this perilous undertaking. He knew the speech, -manner, and behavior that would excite suspicion; -hence he avoided asking for a ticket at the -railway station because this would subject him to -examination. He so managed that just as the train -started he jumped on, his bag being thrown after -him by some one in waiting. He knew that scrutiny -of him in a crowded car <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en route</span></i> would be -less exacting than at the station. He had borrowed -a sailor’s shirt, tarpaulin, cap and black cravat, -tied in true sailor fashion, and he acted the part -of an “old salt” so perfectly that he excited no -suspicion. When the conductor came to collect -his fare and inspected his “free papers,” Douglass, -in the most natural manner, said that he had none -but promptly showed his “sailor’s protection,” -which the railway official merely glanced at and -passed on without further question. Twice on the -trip he thought he was detected. Once when his -car stood opposite a south-bound train, Douglass -observed a well-known citizen of Baltimore who -knew him well, sitting where he could see him -distinctly. At another time, while still in Maryland, -he was noticed by a man who had met him -frequently at the ship-yards. In neither of these -cases, however, was he interfered with or molested. -When he got into the free state of Pennsylvania, -he felt more joy than he dared express. He had -by his cool temerity and address passed every sentinel -undetected and no slave, to his knowledge, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>he afterward said, ever got away from bondage on -so narrow a margin of safety.</p> - -<p class='c004'>After reaching Philadelphia, he hurried on to -New York. It took him just twenty-four hours to -make the run from the slave city of Baltimore to -the free city of New York. Measured by his intense -anxiety, the distance and time must have -seemed without end. For fifteen years he had been -patiently planning to get his feet upon free soil and -breathe the air of a free state. No one ever did -more to free himself or to deserve the liberty into -which he was now about to enter. He came to New -York, his pulses throbbing with high hopes. He -soon learned, however, that his stay there was not -safe and that the slave-traders plied their vocation -even in the free-states.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Douglass’s instinct for right action seldom failed -him. Although he was totally ignorant of New -York and its people, and had never heard of a -“Vigilance Committee,” he had managed, in a few -days after his arrival, to put himself under the -protection and guidance of such influential friends -of the Negro race as Lewis and Arthur Tappan, -Thomas Downing, and Theodore Wright, who were -at that time high officials in that extensive Underground -Railway system which had already safely -carried thousands of passengers from bondage to -freedom.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He retained a keen remembrance of his former -experiences in Baltimore and was conscious of a -sense of protection in his Abolition friends; yet at -the age of twenty-one years, in this new environment -<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>of freedom, he was in many respects as ignorant -as a child. To what was north, or east, or -west of New York, he was entirely oblivious neither -did he know the kind and the condition of the -people among whom he was to live and work out -his destiny. Where to go, what to do, and how to -use his freedom, were questions he could ask, but -could not answer. It was enough, now, just to -know that he was free. What was to be his relationship -to these non-slave-holding people was yet -to be discovered.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It is an evidence of his self-reliance and honor, as -well as his loyalty to his past, that, almost the first -step in his new life, was to send for his promised -wife. She came to New York at once, and they -were wedded by Rev. J. W. C. Pennington, a Presbyterian -minister of that city. The early marriage -of the young man must be regarded as an important -event in his career as a freeman. It was a marriage -for love and, as his wife was a woman of strong -character and determination, she was able actively -to assist her husband while he was seeking to establish -himself in a new country. The act also -made him at once a home-builder and the head of a -family. Though he was poor almost to the very -limit of poverty, without work, without habitation, -and without friends or relationships, having nothing, -in fact, but himself, which included a sound -body and strong will, he went about planning and -doing things as if certain that all must come out as -he wished.</p> - -<p class='c004'>His newly discovered friends decided it was best -<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>for him not to stay longer in New York, and that -New Bedford, Mass., was a much safer place. There -he could work at his trade without danger of re-capture. -He cheerfully started on his journey, -though he had not enough money to pay his way. -The stage-driver, plying between Newport and New -Bedford, held a part of his baggage as security for -his unpaid passage and when he and his wife arrived -at their destination they had nothing to live -on except faith. In this New England town everything -was strange to Douglass, but he was not long -in finding a friend, a colored man named Nathan -Johnson. The latter, the first important acquaintance -the refugee made among Northern colored people, -had a good home, good standing in the community, -and more than ordinary intelligence. He -very soon discovered that Frederick Douglass was -a man of superior fibre and became his firm friend.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Johnson’s house was well furnished with books -and music, and bore other evidences of good taste -and a cultivated mind. He was in a position to -render just that kind of help which the young fugitive -and his new wife needed at this time. He at -once redeemed the baggage held by the stage-driver, -and gave Douglass needed directions and advice as -to how to get work and to establish himself.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Nathan Johnson had the further distinction of -being the man who gave to the Maryland slave the -name he ever afterward bore. Douglass left the -South as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. -His new-found friend had just been reading Scott’s -<cite>Lady of the Lake</cite>, and persuaded the young man that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>Douglas was a name of poetic and historical significance; -he was sure it would be further glorified -by its new owner. With so auspicious a beginning, -the refugee started out bravely to seek work and -make a living for himself and his wife.</p> - -<p class='c004'>As he moved about in the New England town, he -was much impressed by Northern civilization, and -was greatly surprised to see white people, who -while rich, educated, and powerful, were yet not -slave-holders. Up to this time he had known but -two classes of white people, slave-holders and non-slave-holders. -The non-slave-holding white people -of the South, he knew, were generally ignorant, -despised, and poor; while those who owned slaves -seemed to own everything else worth having. Here -in New England he observed that white people were -high or low according to their character, ability, and -possessions. Life appeared to him larger, wider, -and fuller of possibilities than he had dreamed, -even in his more hopeful days down on the Eastern -Shore. These impressions and the better understanding -of his own condition gave him courage -and made him feel equal to any task or problem. -His first occupation, as a free man, was putting -away some coal for Ephraim Peabody, for which he -was paid two dollars. He cherished this “free -money,” for it was the first he had ever earned that -he could call his own. He cheerfully went from -one job to another, proud as a bank president in the -new dignity which freedom seemed to have conferred -upon him. He accepted any kind of task he could -find to do, such as sawing wood, digging cellars, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>removing rubbish, helping to load cargoes on ships, -scrubbing out ship cabins, and the rough work in a -foundry. The employment was hard and the pay -small, yet it did not seem so to this newly emancipated -slave. The right to dispose of his own labor, -and to have and to hold all that he made was a profound -and unceasing satisfaction to him.</p> - -<p class='c004'>His spare moments were given to studying and -reading everything he could lay hold of. He -saw from the first that his freedom could not be -profitably used and protected without knowledge -and the mental discipline that comes with the effort -to acquire it. He was liked by everybody who employed -him, because he made it a matter of principle -to do all and more than his full duty in every -occupation. He put as much zeal, intelligence, and -cheerful industry into these common tasks as he -later gave to pursuits of a more dignified character.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Young Douglass was cheered and heartened in this -wholesome atmosphere of freedom,—free schools, -free labor, and general fair play, to such a degree -that it was a long time before he began to feel -the presence and trammels of race prejudice as -they existed in New Bedford and elsewhere in the -North in that day. That there was a feeling against -his color he learned when he attempted to follow -his trade as a calker. When he sought to hire himself -to a certain ship-owner at New Bedford, he was -told to go to work, but when he went to the boat -with his tools, the foreman informed him that every -white man would quit if he struck a blow at his -trade. This unexpected <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dénouement</span></i> drove Douglass -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>back to common labor, at which he could earn less -than one-half of what he could have made as a -calker. He accepted the situation in good spirit, -however, feeling that the worst possible treatment -in freedom was infinitely better than slavery.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He met his next rebuff when he attempted to attend -one of the lectures under the auspices of the -New Bedford Lyceum Association. He was refused -a ticket on the ground that it was against the policy -of the society to admit colored people to the lecture-room. -It was not long, however, before this discrimination -was done away with, since men like -Charles Sumner, Emerson, Horace Mann, and Garrison, -refused to speak before the organization unless -the restriction was removed. The privilege of attending -these meetings and hearing some of the great -anti-slavery leaders was a matter of great import to -Douglass. Indeed, it was the very thing he needed -as a part of his education in preparation for his -life work. He heard for the first time white men -who were taking strong positions on the question of -the abolition of slavery. The existence of an anti-slavery -society and an anti-slavery movement of -ever-widening extent and influence in the nation -impressed him as nothing had done since he came -from the South. The things for which he had -secretly dreamed and yearned and struggled in -Maryland were now becoming great national issues, -with men of might behind them, pushing them on -and seeking to make them the foremost questions -of the day.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Quite as important as the privilege of hearing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>slavery discussed was the chance he obtained of -reading William Lloyd Garrison’s paper, <cite>The Liberator</cite>. -Garrison’s direct and uncompromising -words came to him like a trumpet call. He began -to cherish each number as second only in importance -to the Bible. Heretofore he had had no one -to help him reason out the philosophy of the question. -What the facts of slavery were he knew by -actual and bitter suffering. The words of no one -could make him feel their injustice and pain more -than his own experiences had made him feel them, -but here, behold, was a mighty man, a prophet in -his moral earnestness—a sort of Isaiah, who with -inspired fervor, predicted the ultimate downfall of -slavery.</p> - -<p class='c004'><cite>The Liberator</cite> and Mr. Garrison’s words were as -important to young Douglass and his intellectual -development as was the <cite>Columbian Orator</cite>, which -had inspired him while a slave in Baltimore. Those -who knew him at once recognized his intelligence. -The colored people of New Bedford were the first -to discover his fluency as a speaker and to give -ear to his original ideas on the question of freedom -for their race. He was often called upon to speak -in meetings held by colored men in the town, and in -colored churches. As far as the masses of the -people were concerned, however, he was still an -obscure Negro laborer. There was no one except, -perhaps, Nathan Johnson, who saw in this patient -and cheerful toiler the promise of a public career. -No men of African descent had up to this time -achieved anything like distinction. A colored man -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>might now and then be smart as a freak of nature; -no one was prepared to think of his becoming -great by sheer force of mind and character. But -the power within this young fugitive slave and the -forces without him were fast shaping themselves to -call him forth and hold him up as an example to all -the world.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER IV<br> <span class='large'>BEGINNING OF HIS PUBLIC CAREER</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>Years had passed and great changes had taken -place since Uncle Lawson, the old colored preacher, -who had been Frederick Douglass’s first spiritual -teacher and comforter, had solemnly told him that -“the Lord had a great work for him to do,” and -that he must prepare to do it. These words were -spoken at a time when the boy was just beginning -to awaken to the vast possibilities of human life, -and, dimly conscious of his own powers, was groping -to find his place in the world. Douglass had -never forgotten this speech. It seemed now that -the prophecy of the old colored man was to be fulfilled. -During the first years at New Bedford, he -had been industriously preparing himself to perform -the task that destiny apparently had assigned -him. He had no teachers to help him in -his studies, or direct him in his reading. He had -no definite notion of what the future had in store -for him, nor of how he was to be used “to perform -the great work,” of which Uncle Lawson had -spoken. The latter believed that his young <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">protégé</span></i> -was to become a preacher of the Gospel, because -that seemed the only possible future of the slave -upon whom unusual gifts had been bestowed. -But Douglass had reached the conclusion that, if -<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>any great work had been assigned him, it was in -the direction of securing the freedom of the members -of his race in bonds. He was faithfully preparing -himself to meet the emergency that should -call him into the service of that cause.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the summer of 1841, the opportunity, long -waited for, came. A great anti-slavery convention -was called by William Lloyd Garrison and his -friends, to meet at Nantucket. We have already -seen how deeply young Douglass was impressed -with Mr. Garrison’s writings in <cite>The Liberator</cite>, and -it can be easily inferred that the word “anti-slavery” -should have stirred him as no other word -in the language of freedom. For the first time -since he came to New Bedford he determined to -take a holiday for the purpose of going to Nantucket -and becoming as much as possible a part of -the anti-slavery meeting. However ardent others -might be in their interest for the convention, to -him it meant everything worth living for and dying -for to find the white people in a free community -taking hold of the question of abolition as -if their own kith and kin were in chains.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Douglass went to see, listen, and learn. This -was privilege enough for one occasion. When he -was sought out by a citizen of New Bedford, who -had heard of him, and was asked to say a few -words, he was quite startled. So frightened was -he, “it was with much difficulty,” he says, “that I -could stand erect or could command or articulate -two words without hesitation and stammering. I -trembled in every limb. I am not sure that my -<span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>embarrassment was not the most important part of -my speech, if speech it could be called. The audience -sympathized with me and at once, from having -been remarkably silent, it became much excited.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>But his embarrassment soon subsided. Parker -Pillsbury, an eye-witness, says: “When the young -man, Douglass, closed late in the evening, none -seemed to know or care for the lateness of the hour. -The crowded congregation had been wrought up almost -to enchantment as he turned over the terrible -apocalypse of his experience in slavery.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>If Abolition was a great cause in the minds of -those astonished auditors, it became more sincerely -so after the young fugitive from bondage had concluded. -William Lloyd Garrison followed, and of -him Pillsbury says: “I think that Mr. Garrison -never before, nor afterward felt more profoundly -the sacredness of his mission. I surely never saw -him more deeply and divinely inspired. He said -among other things, ‘Have we been listening to a -thing—a piece of property, or a man?’ ‘A man,’ -shouted the audience. ‘And should such a man be -held a slave in a republican and Christian land?’ -‘No, no. Never, never!’ was the fervent response. -‘Shall such a man be sent back to slavery -from the soil of old Massachusetts?’ Almost the -whole assembly sprang with one accord to their -feet and shouted, ‘No, no!’ long and loud.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Measured by its effect on the audience and by -its importance to himself and the Abolition cause, -this first speech was one of the greatest Mr. Douglass -ever made. Only three years out of bondage, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>never having been at school, wholly self-taught and -coming direct from hard toil to a platform, he had -been invited to speak before an audience of proud -and cultured New Englanders!</p> - -<p class='c004'>The whole thing seemed so incredible and was so -unexpected that those who heard him never ceased -to wonder how such wisdom and eloquence could -come from a slave. It was by far the most dramatic -and important incident that had occurred in -the anti-slavery fight up to this time.</p> - -<p class='c004'>William Lloyd Garrison was quick to discern -that the cause needed this fugitive slave, more than -any other man or thing, as an argument and an -illustration in the further work of the anti-slavery -society. Others spoke from knowledge and conviction -gained by reading and study; Douglass spoke -from twenty years’ experience of all the phases of -slave-life. His words had the charm born of things -seen, felt, and suffered. His presentation of the -subject was more than argument; it was a transcript -from actual life.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Immediately after the convention, John A. Collins, -then the general agent of the Massachusetts -Anti-Slavery Society, went to Mr. Douglass and -urged him to accept a position as one of his assistants, -publicly to advocate its principles. This unexpected -offer was quite as embarrassing as was the -request for him to speak at the meeting. Acting -upon an impulse of self-mistrust, and a sense of -unfitness, he tried to refuse, but all excuses were -swept aside by Mr. Collins, and finally Douglass -decided to make a trial for three months.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>After recovering from his first timidity, he entered -the fight with enthusiasm. No one was more surprised -than he at his ability to meet the expectations -of the people. In the early part of his work he was -accompanied by George Foster. They traveled and -lectured from the same platform through the eastern -counties of Massachusetts. He was frequently introduced -to the audiences as a “chattel,” a “thing,” -a “piece of property,” and Mr. Collins invariably -called their attention to the fact that the speaker -was a “graduate from an institution whose diploma -was written upon his back.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>A great deal of interest was excited in the meetings -that he was invited to address. Many of those who -came out of curiosity to see and hear a fugitive slave -went away convinced and converted to the anti-slavery -cause. Douglass soon persuaded his friends -and associates to think that he was too much of a -man to be employed as a mere “exhibit.” At first -his eloquence and success with the public both delighted -and alarmed them. There began to arise a -fear that his power as an orator would prove too -great. It seemed well enough for him to tell the -story of his servitude, but when he indulged in logic -and flights of fancy and invective, it was feared that -he would be considered an impostor. If slavery -was such a degrading thing as this man said it was, -the question naturally arose, How, then, did he acquire -his accomplishments? Besides, Douglass did -not give the name of his master, or the state from -which he came.</p> - -<p class='c004'>All this was true enough, and the truth was somewhat -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>embarrassing, but the people did not stop to -consider the omission. Douglass was now a resident -of Massachusetts; he was a slave, owned in Maryland. -To state the facts about his identity would be -to invite slave-catchers to New Bedford to reclaim -strayed property. There was nothing for him to do -but to keep the dangerous secret securely locked in -his own bosom and talk down the doubts and suspicions -that were now and then expressed. George -Foster, Mr. Garrison, Mr. Collins, and other friends, -who happened to be on the same platform with him, -were always admonishing him not to appear too intelligent, -too oratorical, or too logical, lest his claim -of having been a slave be discredited. “Give the -facts,” they said, “and we will take care of the philosophy.” -“Let us have the facts only.” “Tell -your story, Frederick; people will not believe you -were ever a slave, if you go on in this way.” “Be -yourself.” “Better have a little plantation dialect -than not.” “It is not best that you should seem so -learned.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Such were the complaints and warnings that came -to him from those who most admired him, during -the first few months of his career as an orator. The -young man could scarcely curb his impatience, so -great was his moral earnestness. The thoughts -which he uttered flowed so spontaneously and uncontrollably -from his lips, that it seemed to him he -could no more limit himself than he could stop the -force of gravitation. Speaking of this embarrassment -he says: “It was impossible for me to repeat -the same old story month after month and keep up -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>my interest in it. I could not follow the injunction -of my friends, for I was now reading and thinking. -New views of the subject were being presented to -my mind: I could not always curb my moral indignation.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In order to remove all doubts as to whether he -was a slave, he put the facts, including the name of -his master, in the possession of the Anti-Slavery -Society. As soon as Phillips and Garrison knew -the truth, they advised him to go on as before, for -if he gave his name and that of his master, he would -be in danger of re-capture,—even in Massachusetts. -When he showed to Wendell Phillips a manuscript -detailing the facts of his slave-life, he was advised -“to throw it in the fire”; but so straightforward -and earnest and effective was his work, and so -rapid his development as an orator, that he soon -overcame all doubts, and those who had once urged -him to curb his intellectual flights learned to admire -his courage, and to put a higher value on his services -to the cause of Abolition. Whenever there -was serious work to be done, and the best men and -women were needed to combat pro-slavery policies -and measures, he was eagerly sought. His name now -began to be announced with those of the foremost -advocates of freedom.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the latter part of the year 1841, and in the -early months of 1842, the Abolitionists were called -upon for a show of strength. The appeal came from -Rhode Island. The people of that state were -aroused to a high pitch of interest in an effort to -adopt a new constitution in place of the old colonial -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>charter that had been in use since the Revolution. -Making a new constitution was a political -question and every political contest, however local -in concern, afforded occasion for the pro-slavery and -anti-slavery people to clash. In this Rhode Island -contest, interest centred on the proposition to -restrict the right of suffrage to white citizens only. -The pro-slavery sentiment of this, as of other Northern -states, was so strong, that there seemed to be a -great likelihood of the “color line” being fixed in -the supreme law of the commonwealth. To combat -this danger, the anti-slavery societies massed -their forces and went into the little state to dispute -every inch of the ground. Stephen S. Foster, Parker -Pillsbury, Abby Kelley, James Monroe, and Frederick -Douglass were the advance guard. The contest -here was somewhat different from the more or -less peaceful work of holding public meetings in -Massachusetts to create public opinion. Here was -a clean-cut issue in which was involved the right -of free Negroes to be full citizens in a Northern -state. Under the leadership of Thomas W. Dorr, -the pro-slavery forces had to be opposed by strong -arguments and not by mere sentiment. There was -also a decided feeling against “intermeddlers,” as -Douglass and his associates were called. Meetings -were held all over the state, and soon it was plain -to be seen that the anti-slavery people were making -progress in overcoming the “Dorrites.” It was a -picturesque and dramatic campaign, the chief features -of which were the conspicuous parts taken -by Frederick Douglass, the fugitive slave, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>Abby Kelley. Mr. Douglass says that she “was -perhaps the most successful of any of us. Her -youth and simple Quaker beauty, combined with -her wonderful earnestness, her large knowledge and -great logical powers bore down all opposition to the -end, wherever she spoke, though she was before -pelted with foul eggs, and no less foul words, from -the noisy mobs which attended us.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass speaks in generous praise of the -effectiveness of other anti-slavery advocates, who -were associated with him in this campaign. He -himself made a multitude of friends and added -immensely to his prestige as an orator. He was -received by many of the leading citizens of the -state, almost as a brother. Among these new -friends he gratefully mentions the Clarks, Keltons, -Chases, Adamses, Greens, Eldridges, Mitchells, Anthonys, -Goulds, Fairbanks, and many others.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Yet it was not all smooth sailing for the colored -orator. He was frequently dragged from the cars -by mobs, though his associates were always loyal -to him, many of them refusing to go where he could -not. This was especially the case with Wendell -Phillips, James Monroe, and William A. White.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The result of the battle in Rhode Island was a -complete triumph over those who had sought to -abridge the suffrage. The victory was not only -important, as a show of strength of the Abolitionists, -but it prevented the establishment of a dangerous -precedent which might have had its influence -upon other states.</p> - -<p class='c004'>From Rhode Island, Mr. Douglass was called to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>speak in various places. At first he was not always -well received, but in nearly every case, after -he had once appeared, converts were made and -opposition ceased. At one time when he, with -Garrison, Abby Kelley, and Foster, attempted to -speak in Hartford, Conn., the doors of every hall -and church were closed against them, but they -spoke under the open sky, to so much effect that -some of their opponents had the grace to confess -to a sense of shame for such action.</p> - -<p class='c004'>At Grafton, Mass., Douglass was advertised to -speak alone. There was no house, church, or -market-place in which he was permitted to appear. -Not to be outdone, he went up and down -the streets ringing a dinner-bell that he had borrowed, -announcing that “Frederick Douglass, -recently a slave, will lecture on Grafton Common -this evening at seven o’clock.” As a result of this -notice, he spoke to a great concourse of people, -and as usual advanced the cause of Abolition.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the year 1843, the movement had so far progressed -that a great undertaking was announced. -It was proposed to hold one hundred conventions -under the auspices of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery -Society in such states as New Hampshire, Vermont, -New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. -Mr. Douglass was selected as one of the -agents to assist in the work. This was regarded -as an ambitious scheme on the part of Mr. Garrison, -and attracted a great deal of public attention. -Among the speakers associated with Mr. -Douglass in this tour were George Bradburn, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>John A. Collins, James Monroe, Sidney Howard -Gay, and Charles Lennox Remond, the last-named a -colored man of unusual eloquence.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass felt very proud, as well he might, -of being given so prominent a part in this important -enterprise, and of being associated with men of such -distinction. The wisdom of holding these conventions -was soon made manifest, when it was discovered -how ill-informed were the masses of the people -as to the nature of the issue the Abolitionists were -seeking to force upon the attention of the country.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The crusade received rather a chilly reception in -the Green Mountain State. Along the Erie Canal, -from Albany to Buffalo, it was more than difficult -to excite any interest or to make converts. In -Syracuse, the home of Rev. Samuel J. May, and -where such men as Gerrit Smith, Beriah Green, and -William Goodell lived, Douglass and his friends -could not obtain a hall, church, or market-place to -hold a meeting. Everybody was discouraged and -favored “shaking the dust from off their feet,” and -going to other parts. But Frederick Douglass did -not believe in surrender. He was determined to -speak his word for the gospel of Abolition here, -even if he must do so under the open sky, as in -Connecticut and Massachusetts. In the morning -he began in a grove with five people present. So -powerful was his appeal that in the afternoon he -had an audience of five hundred and in the evening -he was tendered the use of an old building that had -done service as a Congregational church. In this -house the convention was organized and carried on -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>for three days. The seeds of Abolition were so well -sown in Syracuse, that thereafter it was always -hospitable ground for anti-slavery advocates. Mr. -Douglass had a more friendly reception in Rochester, -which was to be his future home. Here he found a -goodly number of Abolitionists and his words made -a lasting impression.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The next meeting of importance was in Buffalo. -The outlook for a convention in this western New -York city was so discouraging that Mr. Douglass’s -associates turned on their heels and left him to “do -Buffalo alone.” The place appointed was a dilapidated -old room that had once been used as a post-office. -No one was there at first except a few hack-drivers -who sauntered in from curiosity. But Mr. -Douglass went at them with great earnestness, as if -they could settle all the problems that were overburdening -his heart. Out of this small and unsympathetic -beginning, grew a great convention. Every -day for nearly a week, in the old building, he spoke -to constantly increasing crowds of people who were -worth talking to, until finally a large Baptist church -was thrown open to him. Here the size and character -of the audience were flattering. So great was -the eagerness to hear him that on Sunday evening -he addressed an outdoor meeting of five thousand -people in the park.</p> - -<p class='c004'>At this Buffalo meeting Mr. Douglass called to -his assistance a number of prominent colored -speakers, such as Henry Highland Garnet, Theodore -S. Wright, Amos G. Bearman, Charles M. Ray, and -Charles Lennox Remond, all of powerful speech and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>growing influence, who held a convention of their -own, at which the ex-slave made an eloquent address.</p> - -<p class='c004'>From this city Douglass continued on his way into -Ohio and Indiana. The Ohio meeting, held in -Clinton County, was a notable event. This was the -farthest west Mr. Douglass had been as yet and he -now went into the state of Indiana. This was dangerous -ground, as he soon learned when he attempted -to deliver his message. Here he found a -mob-spirit harder to resist than any he had encountered -in the East. In attempting to speak at -Richmond, Ind., where Henry Clay had been heard -shortly before, he received a shower of “evil-smelling -eggs.” From this place he went to Pendleton, -where he could find no hall or church in which to -speak; but, not to be outdone, he attempted what -he had successfully accomplished at Syracuse, and -at other places. He had a platform erected in the -woods. A large assembly of people came out to -hear the colored orator, but the Hoosiers, in this -part of the state, were determined not to be persuaded.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It was, as one of them rudely expressed it, a case -of “no nigger speaker for us.” As soon as the -meeting began, a mob of fifty or sixty rough-looking -men ordered Douglass to stop. An attempt to disregard -this threatening command, maddened the -rioters. They tore down the platform and violently -assaulted the orator and his associate, Mr. White. -Seeing the danger, Douglass began to fight his way -through the crowd with a club. The sight of a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>weapon in the hands of a Negro angered the mob -still more, and they set upon him with such fury -that he was felled to the ground, being beaten so -fiercely that he was left for dead. Having dispersed -the meeting, the men mounted their horses and rode -away. Mr. Douglass’s right hand was broken, and -he was in a state of unconsciousness for some time. -He was unable to speak for several days, being tenderly -cared for by a Mrs. Neal Hardy, a member -of the Society of Friends, until his wounds were -healed, but he never recovered the full use of his -right hand.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Notwithstanding this rough treatment, Mr. Douglass -would not allow himself to be frightened out of -the state. He continued his work for a long time, -and compelled a respectful and peaceful hearing. -He was no coward and was not afraid of mobs. He -did not stop until, according to the plans determined -upon by the Anti-Slavery Society of Massachusetts, -the one hundred conventions had been held. The -work was accomplished, in spite of indifference, -contemptuous criticism, and sometimes violent and -bloody opposition.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Although it seemed at the time that not much -had been achieved, the seed sown was to bear fruit -when a few years later the South and North were -arrayed against each other in the great struggle for -the preservation of the Union.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER V<br> <span class='large'>SLAVERY AND ANTI-SLAVERY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>Frederick Douglass was so much a part of -the Abolition movement from 1838 to the final -overthrow of slavery in the United States, that his -career will be the better understood after a brief review -of the condition of the country as affected by -the evil during those years.</p> - -<p class='c004'>At the time of Douglass’s escape from bondage -in 1838, slavery was the one great and overshadowing -fact in our national life. According to the -census of 1840, the number of slaves in the United -States was about 2,500,000 and the number of -free colored people about 300,000. The value of -slave-property was upward of two billions of dollars. -No other interest in the United States at -that time approximated in the amount of its invested -capital the sum represented in these human -chattels. The labor of these slaves was to a very -considerable extent the basis of American commerce -and credit. Not the South alone, but the entire -nation, was interested directly or indirectly, in -preserving the integrity and maintaining the economic -value of slave-labor. The mining, the manufacturing, -and the great grain interests of the present -time were unknown and scarcely dreamed of in -those early days of the nation’s industries. Cotton -<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>was “king,” and its dominion affected in some -way, and to some degree, the social, political, and -economic life of the republic.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The results of Whitney’s invention of the cotton -gin were such as to check the current of sentiment -in favor of emancipation, which had found expression -in the sayings of Thomas Jefferson, Madison, -and other Revolutionary leaders. In his great -speech of March 7, 1850, Daniel Webster said: “In -1791 the first parcel of cotton of the growth of the -United States was exported and amounted to 19,200 -pounds. It has gone on increasing rapidly until -the whole crop may now, perhaps, in a season of -great product and great prices, amount to $100,000,000.” -According to the estimates of the United -States Census Bureau in its census of 1900, cotton -production increased from 2,000,025 pounds in 1790 -to 987,637,200 pounds in 1849, and 2,397,238,140 -pounds in 1859. The enormous capital invested in -this industry created a close community of interest -between the planters of the South and the capitalists -of the North; hence the influence of the cotton -trade was felt in both sections.</p> - -<p class='c004'>This enormous interest easily dominated the -politics of the times, North and South. The most -prominent statesmen of the nation, after 1850, were -either openly committed to policies and measures to -protect and extend the power of slavery, or were -silent, since to oppose these policies and measures -meant, in many instances, political extinction. The -trend of all legislation in our national government -at this period was directly opposed to emancipation. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>Meanwhile, the evil flourished and became more and -more a part of the spirit and blood of our national -life. If there were no slavery in the Northern -states, one reason was that slave-labor had proven -unprofitable. In the early days of the institution, -the North was quite as willing to legalize and protect -slavery as the South, and continued to do so as -long as it paid and was practicable. The mere -fact that slavery was profitable where climatic conditions -were congenial to cotton raising, increased -the demand for both slaves and territory. The pressure -for more slaves and more territory for slavery, -was so persistent, that it constantly became easier to -ignore moral and religious precepts, to set aside the -national maxims, and to override the laws that -stood in the way of its extension and power. For -example, the slave-trade was prohibited by national -law, yet so little effort was made to enforce this law, -that importations kept the market well supplied. -The acts of Congress, the messages of our presidents, -the utterances of our cabinet ministers, and -correspondence with the representatives of the -nation at foreign courts, contain abundant evidences -of the constant concern of our government that -nothing should be done to impair the security of -slave-property in the United States. The acts of -Congress by which every addition to our national -domain south of the Ohio River became slave-territory, -clearly show this. When in 1855, a “slaver” -was driven by storm to seek refuge in Bermuda, our -Minister at the Court of St. James was instructed -that, “in the present state of diplomatic relations -<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>with the government of his British Majesty, the -most immediately pressing of the matters with -which the United States Legation at London is now -charged, is the claim of certain American citizens -against Great Britain, for a number of slaves -wrecked on the island in the Atlantic.” The message -contains a polite hint that “neglect to satisfy -these demands might possibly tend to disturb and -weaken the kind and amicable relations that now so -happily subsist between the two countries.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>By sanction of the national government, slavery -was legalized and protected at the national capital. -The war with Mexico, which resulted in the annexation -of Texas, was followed by the establishment of -slavery in the territory so acquired. It was fostered -and defended as a national institution not only -by numerous acts of the government, but by public -sentiment in the Northern states. It had existed -before the foundation of the Union. It had been -accepted as a fact by the framers of the Constitution. -As such, it had a legitimate claim, it was -urged, to the protection of the government. It was -generally assumed that, on the whole, the Negro -was better off in slavery than as a free man. -Though the Northern people did not favor the extension -of slavery, they were disposed to meet in a -spirit of conciliation every demand for more protection, -more power, and more territory for this traffic.</p> - -<p class='c004'>When opposition, not on grounds of expediency -but of fundamental right, began to manifest itself in -Northern states by the circulation of Abolition -papers, the alarm of slave-owners was expressed in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>no uncertain tones. Some of the governors of slave-states -and their legislatures made urgent demands -that such publications be suppressed. The following -is a sample of some of the resolutions passed by -the legislatures: “Resolved that our sister states -are respectfully requested to enact penal laws prohibiting -the printing, within their respective limits, -of all such publications as may have a tendency -to make our slaves discontented.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The messages of the governors of two Northern -states, William L. Marcy of New York, and Edward -Everett of Massachusetts, aptly illustrate sentiment -in the North at this time. Governor Marcy said: -“Without the power to pass such laws, the states -would not possess all the necessary means for preserving -their external relations of peace among themselves.” -Governor Everett said: “Whatever by -direct and necessary operation is calculated to excite -an insurrection among slaves, has been held by -highly respectable legal authority an offense against -the peace of this commonwealth, which may be -prosecuted as a misdemeanor at common law.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the same year, 1836, the Rhode Island legislature -reported on a bill in conformity with the demands -of the slave-states. The significance of this -action is that it was taken fully two months prior to -the request of the Southern states. Thus it appears -that the idea of the suppression of free speech and -free publication against slavery was first broached -in a Northern state.</p> - -<p class='c004'>President Jackson, in his annual message to Congress, -in 1835 suggested “the propriety of passing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>such laws as will prohibit, under severe penalties, -the circulation in the Southern states, through the -mail, of incendiary publications, intended to instigate -the slaves to insurrection.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The Postmaster-General, a Northern man, serving -under Jackson, refused to “sanction” or condemn -the acts of certain postmasters in arresting the circulation -of Abolition circulars, characterized as -“incendiary matter.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The state of public feeling at this time fully justified -the government and its officials in everything -they did to protect slavery, since their action was -sanctioned by a sentiment national in extent and -character. Just how strong was this public opinion -in the North may be further illustrated by the spirit -of mob-violence that forms one of the darkest chapters -in the struggle to make this country, in deed as -well as in name, “the home of the free.” William -Lloyd Garrison and Benjamin Lundy, were repeatedly -assaulted while they were running a paper -in Baltimore in 1827. The gentle and pious young -Quakeress, Prudence Crandall, of Canterbury, Conn., -was arrested and sent to jail for allowing colored -children to attend her school. Her brother, Dr. -Reuben Crandall, was arrested in the city of Washington, -thrown into prison on August 11, 1833, and -held there for eight months on the charge of circulating -incendiary publications with the intent of -inciting slaves to insurrection. The only evidence -against him was that he had in his trunk some anti-slavery -circulars. He died from the effects of his -imprisonment soon after his release.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>On the 4th day of July, 1834, an anti-slavery -meeting in New York was made the occasion of a -frightful riot. At Worcester, Mass., in 1835, an -anti-slavery speaker, Rev. O. Scott, son of an ex-governor, -was forcibly prevented from delivering a -lecture, and his notes were torn up. On the same -day at Canaan, N. H., an academy was demolished, -for the reason that it was designed for the instruction -of colored youth. At Boston, on October 21, 1835, -a mob of “five thousand gentlemen” attacked the -Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society and dispersed -one of its meetings while its president was at prayers. -At Syracuse, N. Y., in October, 1833, a crowd of -“prominent” citizens broke up a meeting called by -Gerrit Smith to form an anti-slavery society; and -in December, 1836, an anti-slavery meeting at New -Haven, Conn., was dispersed by students of Yale -College. At Alton, Ill., on the 7th day of November, -1837, Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy was shot and killed -and his printing press destroyed by a mob. At -Cincinnati, O., in 1836, and again in 1840, mobs of -citizens demolished the printing press of the <cite>Philanthropist</cite>, -owned by James G. Birney, an ex-slave-holder -from Kentucky. Pennsylvania Hall, in -Philadelphia, built for the free discussion of all -questions interesting to the American people, was -burned by a mob in May, 1838, because Abolitionists -had been allowed to hold a meeting there.</p> - -<p class='c004'>But what was perhaps the most heartless of all -instances of violence occurred on the 1st of August, -1842, at Philadelphia. The colored people of that -city had built a fine church and hall in which they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>were holding a temperance celebration on the day -of the anniversary of British emancipation. A mob -was formed which burned the building, demolished -the homes of the participants, and in a most savage -and brutal manner, beat and maltreated its innocent -victims. This riot lasted two days and the city -authorities offered but feeble protection.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Many other incidents of violence directed against -attempts to discuss the slavery question might be recited, -but enough have been mentioned to indicate -public feeling in almost every community in the -non-slave-holding States. All these manifestations -of opposition to anti-slavery agitation and action -were at first and for a long time very generally sanctioned -by the churches, the schools and colleges, -and by the politicians of the free North. All the -forces of conservatism in the country were, as might -have been expected, in favor of preserving the <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">status -quo</span></i>, and scarcely any cause in the whole history of -our country has ever been so unpopular as this -Abolition movement. It seemed that the slave-holders -might rest perfectly secure in the assurance -that their interests would be well guarded by their -friends in the free-states, assisted by the natural -inertia of the great mass of the Northern people, -who were instinctively opposed to any sudden or -violent change such as the agitation of the Abolitionists -seemed to portend.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The inherent weakness of slavery in this country -appeared when the very laws that were passed to -sustain and support it served merely to arouse the -public to a real comprehension of its evils. Gradually -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>it became clear to an ever-increasing number -of citizens that it had no place in a republic. It -was out of harmony with the doctrines and principles -fought for in the Revolutionary War, and it -did violence to the consciences of large numbers of -men and women, North and South, who, uncontrolled -by prejudice, were free to think and act for -themselves. Thousands of Southern people who -felt that slavery was a wrong, emancipated their -slaves; others were moved to treat them with unusual -kindness, and still others held them because -they could not help themselves.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Many influences were at work to arouse and -quicken the moral sense of the public and to make it -conscious of the issues involved in the question. -Such agencies as the missionary movement, in its -effort to “evangelize” the world; the work of the -Bible, tract and educational societies, the religious -awakening of the masses, in response to the -appeals of such eloquent preachers as Beecher, -Rice, and Summerfield; and the new interest in the -former teachings of Hopkins and Edwards:—all -these forces, along with the new enthusiasm for -social and political reform, which found expression -in the work of temperance and peace societies and -the fight against the cruel treatment of the Indians, -especially the Cherokees, aroused the people and -prepared them to take part in the discussion of -public questions, giving them a new sense of the -significance and the responsibility of self-government. -This revived public spirit was aided and -advanced by the growing influence of the modern -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>newspaper press, and of journals dealing with a -variety of subjects other than politics. Each -moral and social question came to have an organ to -spread its views. Every one who had a gift for -writing had the opportunity to impress his opinions -upon the public, if he could but get hold of a press -and printing outfit. A noted author of that period -says: “No one can comprehend in their real and -distinctive characteristics, the existing agitations of -America, if he does not take into account the new -power and changed direction of the public press -constituting a new era in human history.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>With these agencies for the education of the -masses, there came into being the lecture platform. -Any man or woman with a talent for fluent speech -and a “cause,” was at liberty to take the rostrum -and attempt to get a hearing. The same writer, -above quoted, says: “The railway car of 1838, -and the electric telegraph ten years after, were -scarcely greater innovations or greater curiosities -than were the voluntary lectures, free public conventions, -and the moral and religious weekly journals -with their correspondence from 1825 to 1830.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The development of these moral and religious -agencies furnished the masses of the American -people with the means of creating a more active interest -in public affairs. Out of these grew that -broader knowledge and more acute moral sense -which led them to inquire into the sanctions that -seemed to hedge about and protect the institution -of slavery.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It was in such an atmosphere, in which religious -<span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>enthusiasm touched and quickened the sense of responsibility -of the people in social and political -conditions, that the Abolition spirit grew and became -a power in public affairs. The question of -slavery was definitely put before the people as a -political issue in the Missouri Compromise in 1820. -During the debate that followed they heard for the -first time, the doctrine of “immediate and unconditional -emancipation of the slave.” Interest in -this new and radical doctrine was immediate and -wide-spread. To those who owned slaves, and -indeed to the vast majority of the people, North -and South, who accepted slavery as an established -institution with a legitimate claim to protection -from attack, this new doctrine seemed at once revolutionary -and dangerous.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The cry at once went up, “Put down the discussion -and silence the agitation!” It was indeed a -question that could not survive debate. As a matter -of fact, the opposition which Abolition aroused -was the one thing that insured its final triumph. -Men felt instinctively—it was the republican habit -of mind—that there must be something essentially -unsound in a system that could not tolerate open -and free discussion. Hence it was that every attempt -to suppress the agitation defeated its own -purposes. The characters who now began to push -to the front in the ranks of the Abolitionists were -men of stern American fibre. Facts, figures, and -arguments began to pile up which showed that this -country could not long exist “half-slave and half-free.” -The terms “pro-slavery” and “anti-slavery” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>came into the vocabulary of political discussion -during this new conflict. The breach between -the forces represented by these names grew -wider and wider as the strife continued. The -very nature of the issue caused a degree of bitterness -that has never before or since been equaled -in political argument in the United States. There -could be no such thing as compromise. A test of -moral and physical strength was sooner or later -inevitable.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The issues of the contest may be summarized with -advantage.</p> - -<h3 class='c015'><span class='sc'>Pro-Slavery</span></h3> - -<p class='c016'>The powers and privileges the conservative party -sought to maintain and defend were:</p> - -<p class='c004'>The unlimited authority of the master or owner -of slaves.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Abrogation of marriage and the family relation -among slaves.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The power to enforce labor without wages.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Incapacity of the slaves to acquire and hold -property.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Incapacity to enjoy civil, domestic, and political -rights.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Incapacity to make contracts or bargains.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The liability of the slave to be sold like other -chattels, and separated from relatives.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The authorized prosecution of the inter-state -slave-trade.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The power of the master to forbid education, and -to permit religious gatherings at his own discretion.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>The power of the legislatures of slave-states to -prohibit education of slaves by their masters.</p> - -<h3 class='c015'><span class='sc'>Anti-Slavery</span></h3> - -<p class='c016'>The principles for which the Abolitionists contended -were the following:</p> - -<p class='c004'>All men are created equal and are endowed by -their Creator with certain inalienable rights among -which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Slavery, or more properly, the practice of slave-holding, -is a crime against human nature and a sin -against God.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Like all other sins, slavery should be abolished -unconditionally, repented of, and abandoned. It -is always safe to leave off doing wrong and never -safe to continue in wrong-doing.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It is the duty of all men to bear testimony against -wrong-doing, and consequently to bear testimony -against slave-holding.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Immediate and unconditional emancipation, is -preëminently safe and beneficial to all parties -concerned.</p> - -<p class='c004'>No compensation is due to the slave-holder for -emancipating his slaves; and emancipation creates -no necessity for such compensation because it is of -itself a pecuniary benefit, not only to slaves, but -to masters.</p> - -<p class='c004'>There should be no compromise in legislation, -jurisprudence, or the executive action of the government, -any more than in the activities and responsibilities -of private life.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>No wicked enactments can be morally binding. -There are at the present time the highest obligations -resting upon the people of the free-states to -remove slavery, by moral and political action, as -prescribed in the Constitution of the United -States.<a id='r1'></a><a href='#f1' class='c017'><sup>[1]</sup></a></p> - -<div class='footnote' id='f1'> -<p class='c004'><a href='#r1'>1</a>. See William Lloyd Garrison—“The Story of His Life Told -by His Children,” vol. 1, p. 408, <em>et. seq.</em>, where the full text -of the Declaration of Sentiments of the Anti-Slavery Convention -of 1833 is given.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>Societies were formed on all sides. On the 10th -day of January, 1832, the New England Anti-Slavery -Society was established in Boston. In 1833, -another society was organized in New York City. -A call was issued for a national anti-slavery convention, -to be held in Philadelphia, December 4th, -5th, and 6th, in 1833, for the purpose of forming -a National Anti-Slavery Society. Upward of sixty -delegates came to this meeting from Maine, New -Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, -Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, -and Ohio. This was the beginning of the -national anti-slavery movement. Arthur Tappan, -a well-known merchant of New York City, was -chosen president. Among the delegates in attendance -were such distinguished men as John G. -Whittier, the poet; Beriah Green, William Lloyd -Garrison, Elizur Wright, A. L. Cox, and William -Goodell. After this time anti-slavery societies -were formed in every Northern state, men and -women alike being eligible to membership.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The Quaker element in this anti-slavery movement -<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>was strong and important. Benjamin Lundy -was the pioneer Abolitionist and no single American -ever did more for emancipation. In an appeal -to the public in 1830, he said: “In a period of ten -years prior to 1830, I have sacrificed several thousand -dollars of my own hard earnings; have traveled -upward of five thousand miles on foot and -more than twenty thousand miles in other ways; -have visited nineteen states of this Union and held -more than two hundred public meetings, and have -performed two voyages to the West Indies, by -which means the liberation of a considerable number -of slaves has been effected.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The anti-slavery movement was a warfare, but -its weapons were those of peace. Appeal to the -people by public addresses and through the medium -of the press, constituted the only method of fighting. -Agitators in behalf of this cause flooded the -country with facts, figures, and arguments. They -brought the republic back to the principles of liberty -and justice upon which it was founded. They -urged this issue so persistently that no other question -was permitted to equal it in public interest. -They set out with the determination that there -was to be no peace, no ease of conscience, no -further prosperity, no national glory until this -question of slavery was settled and settled right. -As the subject grew in interest and importance, it -attracted to itself some of the brightest minds of -the country; men who afterward became distinguished -as statesmen, poets, authors, orators. -Even men of wealth, whose natural interest would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>have inclined them to aid in preserving existing -conditions, joined the ranks. They gave to the -movement a character for respectability and made -it a power that must be reckoned with. The new -party demanded a new dispensation, and with such -persistency, upon grounds which appealed so directly -to the fundamental political beliefs of the -people, that finally there was not enough inertia in -the nation to oppose its demands.</p> - -<p class='c004'>While these revolutionary forces were gathering -strength, the great mass of the Negro people in -the United States were dumb. In the plantation -states, the black man was a chattel; in the Northern -states, he was a good deal of an outlaw.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He was not permitted to share in the responsibilities -and benefits of citizenship sufficiently to be -able to make his abilities known and his purposes -respected. “A man without force,” to use Mr. -Douglass’s words, “is without the essential dignity -of humanity. Human nature is so constituted that -it cannot honor a helpless man, though it can pity -him, and even this it cannot do long, if signs of -power do not arise; you can put a man so far -beneath the level of his kind that he loses all -just ideals of his natural position.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER VI<br> <span class='large'>SEEKS REFUGE IN ENGLAND</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>When Frederick Douglass had concluded his remarkable -tour from Vermont to Indiana in the interest -of the anti-slavery conventions, he was one of -the most popular and widely talked of men on the -American platform. The public everywhere was -eager to learn everything possible about the “runaway -slave” who was winning his place among the -foremost of American orators. Interest in him was -farther enhanced by the publication of his “Narrative,” -in 1845. Its issue was made necessary by -the demand for something definite concerning the -antecedents of this “alleged slave.” His accomplishments -as a speaker and as a reasoner seemed inconsistent -with the representation made by him, that -he had had no schooling, and that he had been a -slave until he was twenty-one years of age. There -was a desire for the exact facts. Yet to give them -was dangerous. His growing popularity was likewise -a peril. The possibility of his capture and return -to slavery increased with his influence as an -orator and agitator.</p> - -<p class='c004'>After this publication, Douglass’s personal friends -and the leaders of the anti-slavery cause became -more and more apprehensive. It would have been -regarded as little less than a calamity to have had -Frederick Douglass, the incomparable orator, the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>man in whom almost for the first time, the silent, -toiling slaves had found a voice, dragged back into -bondage. Under the circumstances it was deemed -expedient for him to go to England. Douglass himself -was less anxious than his associates. He was -willing to continue to run any risk, if thereby he -might serve the cause of emancipation. His objections, -however, were overruled, and he was obliged -to depart. He sailed on the steamer <em>Cambria</em> of the -Cunard Line, Saturday, August 16, 1845, and James -N. Buffum, of Lynn, Mass., accompanied him.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Though an English boat, Douglass was not -allowed cabin accommodations upon it. This -aroused the indignation of a large number of the -passengers, among whom were many anti-slavery -people,—notably the Hutchinson family, the sweet -singers of the Abolition cause. Mr. Douglass by -this time had become so used to such humiliations -that he easily made himself at home in the steerage. -Within a few days, however, he was the most popular -person on the boat. Cabin passengers came into -his dirty quarters to see and talk with him. And -presently all restrictions were removed and he was -welcomed and honored in every part of the great -steamer. A short speech which he delivered <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en -route</span></i> aroused the resentment of some who were on the -ship and a group of young men threatened to throw -him overboard. It was only by the interference of -the captain that Mr. Douglass was saved from -violence. On reaching Liverpool Thursday, August -28, 1845, these young men attempted to forestall -any possible influence he might try to exert, by -<span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>the publication of statements derogatory to his -character and standing; but such statements, instead -of having the desired effect, served but to -arouse great interest in him.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In going to Great Britain, Mr. Douglass had no -fixed plan or program. He was merely fleeing to a -land of safety to escape capture and a return into -slavery. He soon found, however, that he was almost -as well-known in England, as he was in New -England. The remarkable story of his life had -been widely read by the British public, especially by -those interested in the anti-slavery cause. They -had just passed through an anti-slavery agitation -which had resulted in emancipation in the West -Indies. Many of the most distinguished men in -public life in Great Britain were Abolitionists, and -they took an active and eager interest in the question. -All attention was now centred upon -America, and the men and women there who were -leaders in the Abolition movement, were well-known. -Douglass found a hospitable public awaiting him. -It was the time of the great political struggle for the -repeal of the Corn Laws and the dissolution of the -union between England and Ireland. Some of the -greatest orators and statesmen in English history -were on the stage of action at this period. The -black leader was stirred and inspired by the debates -in which such men as Cobden, Bright, Disraeli, -Lord Brougham, Sir Robert Peel, Daniel O’Connell -and Lord John Russell took part. He met all of -them personally, was received cordially by them, -and treated with much deference. He dined with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>Bright and O’Connell, and in Belfast was tendered a -breakfast, at which a member of parliament presided. -While in Edinburgh he was entertained by the eminent -philosopher, George Combe. Thomas Clarkson, -who had assisted in inaugurating the anti-slavery -movement in England, and who was at that -time the most distinguished Abolitionist in the -world, was deeply affected by meeting Mr. Douglass, -of whom he had heard much. Taking both of -his hands he feelingly said: “God bless you, -Frederick Douglass; I have given sixty years of my -life to the emancipation of your people, and if I -had sixty more, they should all be given in the same -way.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass cherished a peculiar liking for -Daniel O’Connell at that time the incomparable -orator and leader of the Irish people. He had a -genuine and lovable personality and was a powerful -advocate. He had an intense hatred for slavery, as -for all forms of oppression and injustice. He introduced -Mr. Douglass always as the “Black -O’Connell.” His fondness for the “Maryland -slave” made the latter’s tour through Ireland a continuous -ovation. At Cork, a public breakfast was -tendered him and the mayor presided at the first -meeting he addressed. On October 4th, Father -Mathew devoted an evening to him and Mr. Buffum. -The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society presented -Douglass with a Bible splendidly bound in -gold. In response to this gracious act, he made the -following acknowledgment:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“I accept thankfully this Bible, and while it shall -<span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>have the best place in my home, I trust also to give -its precepts a place in my heart. Twenty years ago -while lying, not unlike a dog, at the feet of my mistress, -I was roused from the sweet sleep of childhood -to hear the narrative of Job. A few years afterward -found me searching for the Scriptures in the muddy -street gutters to rescue its pages from the filth. A -few years later, I escaped from my chains; gained -partial freedom, and became an advocate for the -emancipation of my race. During this advocacy, a -suspicion obtains that I am not what I profess to be, -to silence which, it is necessary for me to write out -my experiences in slavery and give the names of my -enslavers. This endangers my liberty; persecuted, -hunted and outraged in America, I have come to -England, and behold the change. The chattel becomes -a man. I breathe: I am free! Instead of -culling the Scriptures from the mud, they come to -me dressed in polished gold, as the free and unsolicited -gift of devoted hearts.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Shortly after this happy occurrence, Douglass, -with his associate, Mr. Buffum, left Ireland. He -had spoken about fifty times to the people in various -parts of the island. Everywhere he had made a deep -impression and intensified the interest in the American -struggle for emancipation.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In carrying the campaign into Scotland, he met -for the first time something in the nature of an opposition -or pro-slavery sentiment. William Lloyd -Garrison had already arrived there. It was during -the great excitement, in consequence of the position -taken by the “Free Church” of Scotland in accepting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>money from slave-holders to be used in spreading -the Gospel. In the cities of Glasgow, Greenock, -Edinburgh, and other places were seen such sensational -placards, as, “Send Back the Money.” -These posters fairly indicated the state of public -feeling upon this subject, which was intensified by -the presence of Frederick Douglass, J. N. Buffum, -William Lloyd Garrison, and George Thompson, -and by their terrible arraignment of slavery. At -one of the great meetings held at Cannon Mills, -Edinburgh, Mr. Douglass was a speaker. It seemed -to be a test of strength between the friends and foes -of the policy of the “Free Church.” Doctors Cunningham -and Candlish, men powerful in influence, -learning, and eloquence, championed the cause of -the “Free Church.” Mr. Douglass’s part in the -meeting, was, as usual, a striking one. His facts -and figures and actual experiences as a slave, -silenced all arguments of a mere academic sort.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In one of his addresses in Scotland, when he was -charged with being in the pay of some rival religious -sect, he said: “I am not here alone: I have -with me the learned, wise and revered heads of the -church. But with or without their sanction, I should -stand just where I do now, maintaining that man-stealing -is incompatible with Christianity; that -slave-holding and true religion are at war with each -other, and that a Free Church should have no fellowship -with a slave church. The Free Church, in -vindicating their fellowship of slave-holders, have -acted on a damning heresy that a man may be a -Christian, whatever may be his practice, so his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>creed is right. It is this heresy that holds in chains -three millions of men, women, and children in the -United States.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Each of his Scotch addresses was of this uncompromising -and stirring character. It was a matter -of surprise and wonder to his associates to witness -his resourcefulness and readiness to meet all arguments -and to sweep aside all half-truths, uttered in -behalf of slavery. Summing up his work in Scotland, -one who had followed him and studied its effects, -wrote: “He has divided the Free Church -against itself on account of slavery. He has gained -the admiration and esteem of all the friends of the -slave in this country. He has always kept an open -platform, yet none of the rabbis have been found -gallant enough to break lance with him. He completely -exposed their miserable attempts to reconcile -slavery with Christianity.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>While in England and Scotland a man named -Thompson, who formerly lived in St. Michaels, and -who pretended to have known Douglass on the Freeland -and Covey plantations, published a letter that -tended to discredit some of his assertions. The ex-slave -met these charges in a straightforward manner, -which must have left no doubt of his truthfulness. -In his reply to the Thompson letter, he said: -“You have completely tripped up the heels of your -slave-holding friends and laid them flat at my feet. -You have done a piece of anti-slavery work which -no anti-slavery man could do again. If I could see -you now, amid the free hills of Scotland, where the -ancient ‘black Douglas’ once met his foes, I presume -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>I might summon sufficient courage to look you in the -face; and were you to attempt to make a slave of me, -it is possible you might find me almost as disagreeable -a subject as was the Douglas to whom I have -just referred.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The several months spent by the traveler in England -were filled with interesting incidents. His -oratorical triumph was complete, and the attentions -accorded him by many prominent people, unusually -flattering. Indeed, it can be said that he was -positively lionized in London, but he bore it with -becoming dignity and the grace of a man born to -high conditions.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Perhaps special mention should be made of his -address at the World’s Temperance Convention, -held in Covent Garden, August 7, 1846. A large -delegation from the United States was present and -some prominent Americans were on the program. -The meeting was an immense affair and, in point of -interest, the number of delegates, and the countries -represented, genuinely international in character. -Mr. Douglass was asked to address the convention -and his speech was looked forward to with great interest. -He rather anticipated a sensational outcome -of his attempt to make himself heard, because he -was not called upon until the delegates had spoken, -and what they had said furnished him with the -very text that appealed most strongly to his convictions -and feelings. As he rose, the convention was -in a quiver of excitement, for it was the first time -that this much-talked-of fugitive from slavery had -had a chance to stand up in the presence of men and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>women representing all shades of party opinion, and -say the word that concerned the destiny of himself -and his people. He began:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen—I am -not a delegate to this convention. Those who -would have been most likely to elect me as a delegate -could not, because they are to-night held in -abject slavery in the United States. Sir, I regret, -that I cannot fully unite with the American delegates -in their patriotic eulogies of America and -American societies. I cannot do so for this good -reason: there are at this moment three millions of -the American population, by slavery and prejudice, -placed entirely beyond the pale of American temperance -societies. The three million slaves are -completely excluded by slavery, and four hundred -thousand free colored people are almost as completely -excluded by an inveterate prejudice against -them on account of their color. [Cries of “Shame! -Shame!”]</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I do not say these things to wound the feelings -of the American delegates; I simply mention them -in their presence and before this audience that, seeing -how you regard this hatred and neglect of the -colored people, they may be inclined, on their return -home, to enlarge the field of their temperance -operations and embrace within the scope of their -influence my long-neglected race. [Great cheering, -and some confusion on the platform.]</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Sir, to give you some idea of the difficulties -and obstacles in the way of the temperance reformation -of the colored population of the United States, -allow me to state a few facts. About the year 1840, -a few intelligent, sober, and benevolent colored -people of Philadelphia, being acquainted with the -alarming ravages of intemperance among a numerous -class of colored people in that city, and finding -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>themselves neglected and excluded from white societies, -organized societies among themselves, appointed -committees, sent out agents, built temperance -halls, and were earnestly and successfully -rescuing many from the fangs of intemperance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The cause went on nobly, until August 1, 1842, -the day when England gave liberty to one hundred -thousand souls in the West Indies. The colored temperance -societies selected this day to march in procession -through the city, in the hope that such a -demonstration would have the effect of bringing -others into their ranks. They formed their procession, -unfolded their teetotal banners, and proceeded -to the accomplishment of their purpose. It was a -delightful sight. But, sir, they had not proceeded -down two streets before they were brutally assailed -by a ruthless mob; their ranks broken up; their -persons beaten and pelted with stones and brickbats. -One of their churches was burned to the ground, -and their best temperance hall utterly demolished.” -[“Shame! Shame! Shame!” from the audience -and cries of “Sit down” from the Americans on -the platform.]</p> - -<p class='c004'>A tremendous commotion was caused by this -speech. The American delegation was alarmed and -indignant. One member wrote an account of the -event for the New York <cite>Evangelist</cite>, from which the -following extracts will serve to gauge the feeling:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“They all advocated the same cause, showed a -glorious union of thought and feeling, and the effect -was constantly being raised—the moral scene was -superb and glorious—when Frederick Douglass, the -colored Abolitionist, agitator and ultraist, came to -the platform and so spoke <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">á la mode</span></i> as to ruin the -influence almost of all that preceded! He lugged -in anti-slavery or Abolition, no doubt prompted to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>it by some of the politic ones who used him to do -what they would not themselves venture to do in -person. He is supposed to have been well paid for -this abomination.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What a perversion, an abuse, an iniquity -against the law of reciprocal righteousness, to call -thousands together and get them, some certain ones, -to seem conspicuous and devoted for one sole and -grand object, and then all at once, with obliquity, -open an avalanche on them for some imputed evil -or monstrosity, for which, whatever be the wound -or injury inflicted, they were both too fatigued and -hurried with surprise, and too straitened for time, -to be properly prepared. I say it is a streak of -meanness; it is abominable. On this occasion Mr. -Douglass allowed himself to denounce America and -all its temperance societies together as a grinding -community of the enemies of his people; said evil -with no alloy of good concerning the whole of us; -was perfectly indiscriminate in his severities; talked -of the American delegates and to them as if he had -been our schoolmaster, and we his docile and devoted -pupils; and launched his revengeful missiles -at our country without one palliative word, and as -if not a Christian or a true anti-slavery man lived -in the whole United States.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We all wanted to reply, but it was too late. -The whole theatre seemed taken with the spirit of -the Ephesian uproar; they were furious and boisterous -in the extreme, and Mr. Kirk could hardly -obtain a moment, though many were desirous in his -behalf, to say a few words, as he did, very calmly -and properly, that the cause of temperance was not -at all responsible for slavery, and had no connection -with it.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>At a Peace Convention held in London, Douglass -made an address from which the following excerpt -<span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>is given to show to what an extent he at this time -shared the illusions of the Abolitionists, who, while -preaching the doctrine of non-resistance, were -steadily feeding the passions that made war eventually -inevitable:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“You may think it somewhat singular, that I, a -slave, an American slave, should stand forth at this -time as an advocate of peace between two countries -situated as this and the United States are, when it -is universally believed that the war between them -would result in the emancipation of three millions -of my brethren, who are now held in the most cruel -bonds in that country. I believe this would be the -result; but such is my regard for the principle of -peace; such is my deep, firm conviction that nothing -can be attained for liberty universally by war, -that were I to be asked the question whether I -would have my emancipation by the shedding of -one single drop of blood, my answer would be in -the negative.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Thus he spoke in 1846, but by the time Lincoln -was nominated for President, and war was actually -impending, Douglass was prepared to welcome it as -a part of the price to be paid for justice, progress, -and freedom.</p> - -<p class='c004'>His ability to discuss any of the live questions of -the day was a matter of genuine surprise to the -English people. At a farewell entertainment, given -to him, March 30, 1847, just before leaving London, -William Howitt, the author, said: “He [Douglass] -has appeared in this country before the most -accomplished audiences, who were surprised, not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>only at his talents, but at his extraordinary information; -and all I can say is, I hope Americans will -continue to send such men as Frederick Douglass, -and slavery will soon be abolished.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass had now spent about twenty-three -months in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. -Like every other new experience, this opportunity -for travel in foreign lands was an education, and -those who had watched and heard him most often in -his lecture-tours and in social intercourse, could -easily note his progress in breadth of sympathy and -intellectual grasp. He learned some things in England -that he never could have learned in his own -country. The possibility of a perfect comradeship -between people of differing nationalities, creeds, and -colors was a fact that deeply impressed him. He -learned that the great men of the times, who had the -power to make and unmake international law as -well as to mould and express public opinion, all regarded -slavery as a blight on civilization. He -learned to have a new and stronger faith in the -ability and disposition of the white race to deal -fairly with his race. If he hated slavery more because -of what he had seen, heard, and experienced -in England, he had gained a new strength of heart -and mind to battle for its extinction in America.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It would have been pleasant for him to have remained -abroad and have become a citizen of free -Britain. No colored man had ever been more flattered -and fêted by the public. His friends and admirers -multiplied everywhere. Many of his oversea -friends urged him to surrender his American -<span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>allegiance, but no inducement, however alluring, -could cause him to desert his fellow-men in bonds. -In fact, when it was given out in the United -States that an attempt would be made by his -old masters, the Aulds, to arrest him on his return -and carry him back to a Maryland plantation, -Douglass wrote: “No inducement could be offered, -strong enough to make me quit my hold upon -America as my home. Whether a slave or a freeman, -America is my home, and there I mean to -spend and be spent in the cause of my outraged -fellow countrymen.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>As the time approached for him to leave England, -a deep concern for his safety began to be felt and -expressed by his British friends. As an outcome of -this feeling, a proposition was made by Mrs. Ellen -Richardson, belonging to the Society of Friends, -that a fund be raised to purchase his freedom and -thus remove all possibility of danger of re-enslavement. -The proposition was at once accepted, and -gladly acted upon by Mrs. Richardson and her -sister-in-law, Mrs. Henry Richardson. As the result -of correspondence, the purchase price, £150, was -named and the sum was raised. The following is a -true copy of the legal papers by force of which -Frederick Douglass became free:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Know all men by these presents, that I, Thomas -Auld, of Talbot County and State of Maryland, for -and in consideration of the sum of one hundred -dollars<a id='r2'></a><a href='#f2' class='c017'><sup>[2]</sup></a> current money, to me paid by Hugh Auld -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>of the city of Baltimore, in the said state, at and -before the sealing and delivery of these presents, the -receipt whereof I, the said Thomas Auld, do hereby -acknowledge, have granted, bargained, and sold, -and by these presents do grant, bargain, and sell -unto the said Hugh Auld, his executors, administrators, -and assigns, one Negro man, by the name -of Frederick Bailey or Douglass, as he calls himself—he -is now about twenty-eight years of age—to -have and to hold the said Negro man for life. And -I, the said Thomas Auld, for myself, my heirs, executors -and administrators, all and singular, the -said Frederick Bailey, alias Douglass, unto the said -Hugh Auld, his executors, and administrators, and -against all and every person or persons whatsoever, -shall and will warrant and forever defend by these -presents. In witness whereof, I set my hand and -seal this thirteenth day of November, eighteen hundred -and forty-six. (1846.)</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c018'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>Thomas Auld.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>“Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of -Wrightson Jones, John C. Lear.”</p> - -<div class='footnote' id='f2'> -<p class='c004'><a href='#r2'>2</a>. The £150 were paid to Hugh Auld who had previously obtained -his $100, which seems to have been a sort of quit claim -deed from his brother Thomas.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>“To all whom it may concern: Be it known that -I, Hugh Auld of the city of Baltimore, in Baltimore -County, in the State of Maryland, for divers good -causes and considerations me thereunto moving, -have released from slavery, liberated, manumitted, -and set free, and by these presents do hereby release -from slavery, liberate, manumit, and set free, my -Negro man, named Frederick Bailey, otherwise -called Douglass, being of the age of twenty-eight -years or thereabouts, and able to work and gain a -sufficient livelihood and maintenance; and him, the -said Negro man named Frederick Douglass, I do -declare to be henceforth free, manumitted and discharged -from all manner of servitude to me, my -executors and administrators forever.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“In witness whereof, I, the said Hugh Auld, have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>hereunto set my hand and seal the fifth of December, -in the year one thousand eight hundred and -forty-six.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c018'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>Hugh Auld.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>“Sealed and delivered in presence of T. Hanson -Belt, James N. S. T. Wright.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>This purchase of Mr. Douglass’s freedom was not -approved by some of the ultra-Abolitionists in the -United States. A contributor to <cite>The Liberator</cite> said: -“Let us beg of you never to publish another word -in your paper about the ransom of Douglass. I am -quite ashamed that our American Abolitionists -should expose their narrowness in expressing so -many regrets at their loss of slave-property in -Douglass. They seem to feel that he was their -property, and not his man.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Many Abolitionists thought it a violation of anti-slavery -principles and a waste of money. Mr. -Douglass’s own feelings in the matter are stated by -himself in the following language: “For myself, -viewing it in the light of a ransom or as money extorted -by a robber, and regarding my liberty of -more value than one hundred and fifty pounds sterling, -I could not see in it either a violation of the law -of morality or economy.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In still another practical way did his English -friends show their affection for Douglass before he left -them. Having learned upon his return to America -that it was his desire to publish a newspaper, in the -interest of his people, the sum of $2,500 was without -difficulty raised and presented to him for that -purpose.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>The contrast between the conditions of his coming -to England and those of his returning to the United -States affords an interesting evidence of his power -of conquest. He went to England knowing no one, -and personally known by no one; he returned to his -own country carrying with him the friendships of -men and women whose acquaintance but few -Americans, at that time, could have obtained. He -went to Great Britain a slave in danger of re-capture -and re-subjugation; he returned, freed from his master -by the bounty of English friends. He was empowered -and equipped to publish the gospel of immediate -and unconditional emancipation.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Douglass arrived home in the spring of 1847. He -sailed early Sunday, April 4th. The last night of his -stay abroad was spent as the guest of John Bright -and his sisters. From no one in England could -Douglass have received a more gracious welcome -and friendly benediction than from this great commoner. -The only incident that in any way clouded -his departure was the act of the officers of the -steamer <em>Cambria</em> in refusing to let him have the berth -previously engaged for him. When the English -people heard of this, great indignation was voiced in -the press and from the platform, in every part -of the United Kingdom. The result was that Mr. -Cunard in an open letter expressed his regrets, and -Mr. Douglass was given a stateroom; but he was not -permitted to leave it or to place himself in view of -the other passengers during the sixteen days he was -upon the sea.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER VII<br> <span class='large'>HOME AGAIN AS A FREEMAN—NEW PROBLEMS AND NEW TRIUMPHS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>Frederick Douglass returned to American -shores on the 20th day of April, 1847. The date -and fact of his coming marked the beginning of a -new chapter in his career. To be free and feel free -was a great source of strength both to himself and -to his friends, in renewing the struggle for emancipation. -He had not only a bracing sense of security -against the dangers of capture and return to slavery, -but he had gained wonderfully in mental and -spiritual equipment. The two years in England -were years of education and inspiration. During -that time he had met and mingled freely with large -men who were dealing successfully with large problems. -Emancipation had acquired a broader meaning -for him as a consequence of his visit. In -America he had not been able to free himself from -the conviction that emancipation, confused as it was -with all the interests of daily life, was a sectional or -at most, a national question. Looking back, from -this distance, upon his own life and the great struggle -of which it had become a part, he was able to -realize more fully than before the truth of what -Garrison long had taught, that slavery was a world -question,—a question not of national or sectional expediency, -but of fundamental human right.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>With this larger vision gained by European experience -and study, he was the better prepared to -take up the old battle-cry of “Unconditional -Emancipation.” His trip abroad had not merely -widened his vision and deepened his sense of the -moral significance of the struggle in which he was -engaged; it had measurably increased his prestige -with the American public. The fact that Europe -had recognized his talents and had honored, in him, -the race and the cause he represented, strengthened -his position as a speaker, and lent a new importance -to the things he had to say. Before he went to -England, he was seldom noticed or referred to in any -of the great pro-slavery newspapers of the country, -except as a “runaway-nigger” and a “freak,” -“preternaturally clever.” After his return, allusions -to him were frequent and more abusive. In -giving notice of a public anti-slavery meeting in -Boston, one of these papers said: “The Abolitionists -headed by William Lloyd Garrison, and -tailed by Mr. Frederick Douglass, the fugitive slave, -are in full blast. He, Douglass, elaborates very -eloquently and fearfully, and is a good deal of a -demagogue in black.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>These newspaper attacks on Mr. Douglass were -largely due to the resentment aroused in this country -because of the way in which he had, in England, -denounced America for its slave-holding policy. -This feeling was not confined to the newspapers, but -was shown at several large gatherings that Mr. -Douglass addressed in company with William Lloyd -Garrison.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>In Boston an attempt was made to “silence” him. -Stones were thrown in the meeting at Norristown, -Pa., and at a very large assembly held in the court -house at Harrisburg, Pa., on the 9th of August, -1847, after Mr. Garrison had spoken without molestation, -Douglass was violently interrupted when -he tried to speak, and was not allowed to continue. -But such disturbances were not general, nor did -they have the effect of shaking the eloquent apostle’s -determination to be heard. During the same -month he and Garrison held numerous anti-slavery -meetings in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. -There was in these meetings abundant evidence that -the cause of Abolition was gaining ground. The -gatherings in Oberlin and Cleveland were especially -notable for the interest manifested. One of the -Cleveland papers had the following notice of the -meeting: “The Menagerie Company, Garrison, -Douglass, Foster (and we expect Satan) are to be -here on Saturday next and open at seven o’ clock in the -evening in the big tent, and continue their harangues -over the Sabbath. This trio has made sale for a -great many unmerchantable eggs in other places.” -It was evident, from the size of the Cleveland meeting, -and from the interest aroused in the addresses -of Douglass, Garrison, and Foster that this newspaper -did not reflect the popular feeling.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the early part of September, 1847, Mr. Douglass -was the presiding officer of a colored convention -held in Cleveland. His address upon this -occasion was a notable departure from all former -models. It showed that he had been giving a great -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>deal of thought to the needs of his people. It was -a powerful plea, “that the doors of the schoolhouse, -the workshop, the church, and the college -shall be open as freely to our children as to the children -of other members of the community.” The -following extract is especially important, and prophetic -of the present-day needs of the colored race: -“Try to get your sons into mechanical trades; -press them into blacksmith-shops, the machine-shops, -the joiner’s-shops, the wheelwright-shops, -the cooper-shops, and the tailor-shops. Every blow -of the sledge-hammer wielded by a sable arm is a -powerful blow in support of our career. Every -colored mechanic is, by virtue of circumstances, an -elevator of his race. Every house built by black -men is a strong tower against the allied hosts of -prejudice. It is impossible for us to attach too -much importance to this aspect of the subject. -Trades are important. Wherever a man may be -thrown by misfortune, if he have in his hands a -useful trade, he is useful to his fellow-men, and will -be esteemed accordingly, and, of all men who need -trades, we are the most needy.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>It was advice of this kind, in which the passionate -controversialist displayed from time to time -something of the foresight and the constructive -ability of the statesman, as well as his growing popularity -with the wiser and more influential class of -the white people, that gave Douglass high place, -and made him the undisputed leader of the free colored -element of the country.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Two things, above all others, were at this time -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>pressing themselves upon his thought and attention: -one was his cherished project of establishing a newspaper -of his own; and the other, the preservation -of his friendly relations with William Lloyd Garrison.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He had long looked to Garrison and his associates -for advice and direction in everything of importance, -and in an enterprise of such moment as this -newspaper, he naturally felt that their opinion was -indispensable. The money was raised, as we have -already seen, by English friends, and sent over to -Mr. Douglass within three months after he reached -America, with the understanding that the use of it -was to be left wholly to his discretion. It was -clearly stated that, if he thought it inexpedient to -invest the funds in a newspaper, he could use them, -under trustees of his personal choosing, for the benefit -of himself and his children. But he wanted an -“organ” of his own. As time went on he believed -that he perceived the need of it more and more.</p> - -<p class='c004'>“I already saw myself,” he said, “wielding my -pen as well as my voice in the great work of renovating -the public mind and building up a public -sentiment which should send slavery to the grave, -and restore to ‘liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ -the people with whom I suffered.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Among other considerations that moved him to -establish his own paper was the conviction that the -example of a well-managed and ably edited organ -would be a powerful evidence that the Negro was -too much of a man to be held a chattel.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Another side to this question had not occurred to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>him until this time. His attention was called to the -fact that he was more than Frederick Douglass, the -individual. What he did and said, and what he -was and was to be, were of so much concern to his -associates and co-workers that, when it became -known that he intended to start a newspaper, difficulties -of all kinds arose. Douglass knew that -Garrison opposed his enterprise. Could he ignore -that leader’s advice? Clearly, his first impression -was that he could not. He felt then and ever afterward -that he owed everything to Mr. Garrison. It -was the latter who had discovered and brought him -to the attention of the people. The word of such a -man must be law to him. Garrison’s philosophy -of this whole slavery question was accepted by -Douglass without an “if.” He was so completely -under the spell of the great Abolitionist’s personality -that, when he learned of the opposition to -the newspaper project, he was overwhelmed with -surprise and disappointment.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Various reasons were given for this attitude. -Mr. Garrison thought it quite “impractical to combine -the editor and the lecturer without either causing -the paper to be more or less neglected, or the -sphere of lecturing to be seriously circumscribed.” -It was further urged that the publication was not -needed, that it would diminish the support of the -papers already in existence, and that it could not -succeed. Some of Douglass’s other friends advised -him, that being a man without any education -and without any literary training, he would make -himself ridiculous as an editor. These counselors -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>wished to save him from the humiliation of an ignominious -failure, and cautioned him against the -mistake of allowing his ambition to bring him into -ridicule and contempt. This opposition coming -from his former advisers and associates caused him -to hesitate, and, for a time, to give up the scheme; -so, instead of starting the paper as soon as he received -the money to be devoted to that purpose, he -postponed the project for nearly a year, out of deference -to the judgment of these wise and close -friends.</p> - -<p class='c004'>During the interval, Mr. Douglass had time to -examine into the merits of the advice against his -becoming an editor. He had a further opportunity -to feel the public pulse and learn something more -definite in regard to the prospects for good or -evil of a newspaper, such as he had in mind. He -was much in demand on the lecture platform. His -vogue was growing all the time, and with increasing -popularity and power, he saw the possibility of a -reading constituency large enough to support his -publication and widen his influence.</p> - -<p class='c004'>But other considerations intervened to widen the -breach between himself and Garrison. The Abolition -movement, as planned and carried on by the -outspoken leader and his followers, was non-political. -It sought to effect a revolution, but by the -moral regeneration of the people. Slavery, as Garrison -conceived it, was a national sin which could be -reached only by an appeal to the national conscience; -but the effect of the anti-slavery agitation -had not been confined to those who accepted his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>revolutionary doctrines. Many persons who were -unable to follow the relentless logic of Mr. Garrison -to its revolutionary conclusions were roused to opposition -to slavery by the sting and fire of his -sermons. The number of people who were disposed -to do something to check its extension was rapidly -increasing. This wider anti-slavery movement was -fast drifting from a mere unorganized sentiment, -without force sufficient to compel resistance, into a -political party with a definite platform. Those who -could not follow the “disunion” and “non-resistance” -principles of Garrison, but began to fear the -aggression of the slave-power, joined the “Free -Soil” and “Liberty” parties. The issue raised by -the Abolitionists was daily becoming less a question -of the right or wrong of slavery and more a question -of how, under the actual circumstances in which -the institution existed, it might best be gotten rid of.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Garrison and his followers, supported by the infallible -logic of their leader, still clung to the disunion -policy, which was primarily a discharge of -conscience from all complicity with slavery and -only secondarily a means to the abolition of slavery.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Frederick Douglass, with less consistency, perhaps, -and a keener sense for the practical exigencies -of the situation, was undoubtedly influenced by a -desire to get into close touch with this larger -audience. The sequence of events, and Douglass’s -position in relation to them, tended to convince him -that he was justified in his desire to found a newspaper. -A colored periodical would be no new -thing. As early as 1827 the <cite>Ram’s Horn</cite>, published -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>by and for Negroes, had been started in the -North. Other papers conducted by colored men -were, <cite>The Mystery</cite>, <cite>The Disfranchised American</cite>, <cite>The -Northern Star</cite>, and <cite>The Colored Farmer</cite>. Opportunity -and duty seemed to combine in urging him -to do the thing that he had abandoned in deference -to the advice of Mr. Garrison and at length he -reached the point where he no longer feared failure, -every objection urged against his purpose seeming -to be overcome.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Being thus convinced, he heroically set himself -to the task. The first duty was to select a field -sufficiently removed from New England not to compete -with <cite>The Liberator</cite> and <cite>The Anti-Slavery Standard</cite>. -Rochester, N. Y., was the place chosen. This -was good anti-slavery territory, but it was of the -Gerrit Smith kind as distinguished from the Garrison -kind. Both of these men were towers of strength -in the cause of Abolition, and both were lavish in -the expenditure of time and means for the cause of -freedom.</p> - -<p class='c004'>On the 3d day of December, 1847, appeared the -first issue of the <cite>North Star</cite>. The name was afterwards -changed to <cite>Frederick Douglass’s Paper</cite>, in -order to avoid all possible confusion with other -anti-slavery organs with similar names. It was -issued weekly, and had an average circulation of -3,000 subscribers, with a maximum of 4,000. A -colored man named Delaney, who afterward distinguished -himself as a Union soldier in the Civil -War, had had some experience in newspaper work -and aided Mr. Douglass in the publication. Financially -<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>the paper soon proved to be more of a sacrifice -than a money-making venture, but in this there -was no disappointment, for its purpose was to make -public opinion rather than money. It took everything -that Mr. Douglass had and could obtain to -keep the <cite>North Star</cite> in the newspaper firmament. -He became deeply in debt and was compelled to -mortgage his home to meet the heavy demands upon -him. His old friends and many new ones came -repeatedly to his rescue. The most important of -these was Mrs. Julia Griffith Crofts, a gracious -woman who took hold of the business management -herself. After a year’s effort the circulation increased -from 2,000 to 4,000, and enough money was -realized to pay off all indebtedness and lift the -mortgage from Mr. Douglass’s home. The paper -grew in popularity and influence, and its patrons -and financial helpers included such men as Gerrit -Smith, Horace Mann, Salmon P. Chase, Joshua R. -Giddings, Charles Sumner, William H. Seward, and -John G. Palfrey. Support came from these leaders, -not in a patronizing way to help a “poor, struggling -colored man’s paper,” but rather as a tribute -to the high merit of the publication. Those who -were sure that Mr. Douglass could never write as -well as he could speak were surprised at this new -evidence of his versatility and resourcefulness.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In an issue of Mr. Garrison’s paper, dated January -28, 1848, these flattering words appeared: -“The facility with which Mr. Douglass has adapted -himself to his new and responsible position is another -proof of his genius and is worthy of especial -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>praise. His editorial articles are exceedingly well -written; and the typographical, orthographical, -and grammatical accuracy with which the <cite>North -Star</cite> is printed surpasses that of any other paper -ever published by a colored man.” Edmund -Quincy, commenting on the <cite>North Star</cite>, paid a high -tribute to the new editor and said that its “literary -and mechanical execution would do honor to any -paper, new or old, anti-slavery or pro-slavery, in -the country.” The ease with which Mr. Douglass -adapted himself to his new responsibility, and the -high praise that came to him from all parts, added -immensely to his influence and prestige. What -the <cite>North Star</cite> said editorially on the many live -questions of the day was liberally quoted and widely -discussed.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The successful carrying out of this enterprise was a -distinct advantage to Mr. Douglass as a vindication -of his own individuality. It is a good thing for a -man to have an idea, but it is a better thing for him -to have sufficient force of character to put his idea -into effect. A man stands or falls by what he is -able to do rather than by what he is able to say. -Mr. Douglass was told that the responsibility was too -great. It is always at this point that the strength of -a man is tested. Frederick Douglass rose above the -fears of his friends and took the first step that led -him to a more commanding position. The determination -to have his own way in this newspaper -enterprise was his first “declaration of independence.” -While Mr. Douglass tells us that he felt an -abiding gratitude toward William Lloyd Garrison -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>for what that man had done in giving him a start in -his upward career, he had reached the point where he -must cease to rely upon the initiative of others. He -must begin to trust himself and his own powers, and -cease to be a burden upon those who had been his -guides and teachers.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The anti-slavery cause was assuming large proportions. -Every event in the social, economic, and -political life of the nation pushed this question into -prominence. All sorts of people were becoming interested -in the slavery issues, but there were so -many sides to the problem that it was not always -easy to see the right. There was for a time a growing -confusion of ideas, policies, doctrines, and a -puzzling division and subdivision of forces, both in -the pro-slavery and anti-slavery ranks. There were -those who thought and asserted that the Federal -Constitution was a “pro-slavery instrument,” and -others who were equally insistent that it was anti-slavery. -There were those who were Abolitionists -in doctrine, but in politics voted with one or the -other of the old parties, both of which were pro-slavery -in their policies. There were those who, -while believing in the equality of the Negro, were -extreme in their opposition to the admission of -women into membership in anti-slavery societies. -A large number of liberty-loving people could -go no further in their hostility to slavery than to -oppose its extension into new territory. These -made a partial trial of their anti-slavery feelings -in the Free Soil and the Liberty parties.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Only two classes of people in the country occupied -<span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>fixed positions on the great question. -These were William Lloyd Garrison and his associates, -and the slave-holders and their followers. -Mr. Garrison’s famous utterance that “the United -States Constitution was a covenant with death and -an agreement with hell,” and his declaration of “no -union with slave-holders,” constituted his unvarying -platform. The slave-holding interests were -equally tenacious of their creed and quite as fixed -in their determination to risk everything rather -than yield an inch to the anti-slavery clamor.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Enough has been said to show that the time had -come when the man who wished to be respected, believed -in, and followed, must be strong enough to -have convictions of his own and be responsible to -himself and the public for these convictions. It -was now incumbent upon Mr. Douglass to find solid -ground on which, amidst so many conflicting -opinions, to oppose slavery. The conclusions of his -studies and thinking had the disagreeable effect of -leading him away from Garrison’s doctrine of “non-resistance” -and “disunion.” From his first reading -of <cite>The Liberator</cite> he held firmly to Garrison. What -that leader said or believed on the question, Mr. -Douglass accepted without reservation. It is well -that he did. No one could be a weakling who -lived and labored under so stimulating a guide. -There was something sublime in his moral courage, -and something extraordinary in the steadiness with -which, unswerved by the changing circumstances -about him, he pursued his fixed purposes. It was -this quality of soul in him that made him always -<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>the dominant figure and influence in the contest. -Abolition had become so closely identified with his -name that the question could scarcely be discussed -without some reference to him. It is no wonder that -Frederick Douglass was so completely under his -spell, but it must certainly be counted an evidence -of the ex-slave’s intellectual sincerity and strength -of mind that when he could in practice no longer -follow the disunion theory, he had the courage and -ability to frame a clear and logical statement of -the grounds for his own action.</p> - -<p class='c004'>His explanation of his change of position is best -told in his own words:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“My first opinions were naturally derived and -honestly entertained. Brought directly, when I -escaped from slavery, into contact with Abolitionists, -who regarded the Constitution as a slave-holding -instrument and finding their views supported by -the united and entire history of every department of -the government, it is not strange that I assumed the -Constitution to be just what these friends made it -seem to be. I was bound, not only by their superior -knowledge, to take their opinions in respect to -this subject, as the true ones, but also because I had -no means of showing this unsoundness.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“But for the responsibility of conducting a -public journal, and the necessity imposed upon me -of meeting opposite views from Abolitionists outside -of New England, I should in all probability -have remained firm in my disunion views. My -new circumstances compelled me to re-think the -whole subject, and to study with some care, not -only the just and proper rules of legal interpretation, -but the origin, design, nature, rights, powers, -and duties of civil government, and also the relations -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>which human beings sustain to it. By such a -course of thought and reading, I was brought to the -conclusion that the Constitution of the United -States, inaugurated ‘to form a more perfect union, -establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide -for the common defense, promote the general -welfare and secure the blessings of liberty,’ could not -well have been designed at the same time to maintain -and perpetuate a system of rapine and murder like -slavery, especially as not one word can be found in -the Constitution to authorize such a belief. Then -again, if the declared purposes of an instrument -are to govern the meaning of all its parts and details, -as they clearly should, the Constitution of our -country is pure warrant for the abolition of slavery -in every state of the Union.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Having thus, and by other reasonings convinced -himself of the unconstitutionality of slavery, the -editor of the <cite>North Star</cite> voiced the conviction in and -out of season, until it was overthrown. In thus -separating from the Garrisonian Abolitionists, there -was much heart-burning on both sides, but nothing -of the nature of rivalry or jealousy, as some writers -have attempted to show. Both Garrison and Douglass -were manly in their attitude toward friend -and foe, and too sincere in their convictions to be -otherwise than high-minded in their differences on -matters of principle.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It has been charged against Mr. Douglass, and -not without reason, that he was ungrateful in turning -upon the men who had made him what he -was; that it was ambition and the desire for success -in a wider field which prompted him to independent -action. No doubt there were, and are, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>those to whom his course during this period seemed -then and still seems unwise, mistaken, and directed -rather by selfish interests than by the lofty idealism -that guided the labors of the Abolitionists, from -whom he at this time parted company. However -this may be, it is likely that the differences which -sprang up between Garrison and Douglass at this -period were due, in great part, to certain fundamental -differences of mind and temperament making -this divergence of views inevitable.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The power which Garrison exercised over his -contemporaries was due, to a considerable degree, -to the clearness and vigor of his intellect and the -unflinching fidelity with which he followed its decrees. -The first thing that he demanded of himself -and of others was that they should think and feel -rightly in regard to this question of slavery. The -revolution he sought to effect was a purely spiritual -one: he aimed to change men’s minds and hearts. -The power he desired to overthrow was a state of -mind—a state of mind which permitted slavery to -exist.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Douglass, on the contrary, was destined, by natural -disposition, for a different field of action. He -was by temperament a politician, and, like all politicians, -more or less of an opportunist. He was -less interested in the theory upon which slavery -should be abolished than he was in the means by -which freedom could be achieved. No doubt he -was influenced to a considerable degree, in the formulation -of his views in regard to the Constitution, -by his practical sense of what the situation demanded, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>and, even if these views have not been upheld -by subsequent interpretation of that document, -they still appeal strongly to common sense.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Whatever motives may have influenced Douglass -in taking the position that he did, there seems to be -no reason for doubting their sincerity. Though -drawn into different fields of endeavor in the cause -of anti-slavery, the importance of Garrison and his -work was in no wise diminished in Douglass’s eyes. -In 1860 he wrote to <cite>The Liberator</cite> concerning the -anti-slavery society: “So far from working for the -annihilation of that society, I never failed, even in -the worst times of my controversy with it, to recognize -that organization as the most efficient generator -of anti-slavery sentiment in the country.” And in -September, 1890, he said in Boston: “It was they -[Garrison and Phillips] who made Abraham Lincoln -and the Republican party possible. What -abolished slavery was the moral sentiment which -had been created, not by the pulpit, but by the -Garrisonian platform.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Finally, it seems clear that, through all this controversy, -Douglass retained his affection for William -Lloyd Garrison, and that this feeling was honestly -reciprocal. There is, in the life of the great Abolitionist, -as told by his children, a bit of correspondence -that reveals the tender side of these two robust -human natures. It was at a time when Mr. Garrison -was very much disturbed on account of the -Negro newspaper project. Mr. Douglass had accompanied -him on a lecture tour as far west as -Cleveland, where Garrison became ill and his colored -<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>colleague was compelled to leave him to meet -other engagements. Letters were frequently exchanged, -but for some reason they were not received. -This mutual failure to hear from each other gave -rise to many unpleasant misgivings. Samuel J. -May, the friend of both, writing to Garrison under -date of October 8, 1847, says: “Frederick Douglass -was very much troubled that he did not get any -tidings from you when he reached Syracuse on the -24th of September. He left reluctantly, yet thinking -that you would be following in a day or two, and -as he did not get any word from you at Waterloo, -nor at Auburn, he was almost sure he should meet -you at my house. His countenance fell and his -heart failed him when he found me likewise in suspense -about you. Not until he arrived at West -Winfield did he get any relief, and then through -<cite>The Liberator</cite> of the 23d.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Some days afterward, Mr. Garrison wrote as follows: -“Is it not strange that Douglass has not -written a single line to me or any one else in this -place, inquiring after my health, since he left me -on a bed of illness? It will also greatly surprise -our friends in Boston to hear that, in regard to his -project for establishing the <cite>North Star</cite>, he never -opened his lips to me on the subject, nor asked my -advice in any particular whatever! Such conduct -grieves me to the heart. His conduct about the -paper has been impulsive, inconsiderate, and highly -inconsistent with his decision in Boston. What -will his English friends say of such a strange somerset? -I am sorry that friend Quincy did not express -<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>himself more strongly against the project in -<cite>The Liberator</cite>. It is a delicate matter, I know, but -it must be met with firmness.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>True to his own high sense of gratitude to Mr. -Garrison, and always deferential to the latter’s position -in the anti-slavery fight, Mr. Douglass never -permitted himself to utter a single word of criticism -or complaint. The field was large enough and the -work was great enough for each to display the full -measure of his respective powers toward the one -great object, the abolition of slavery. During this -period, Mr. Douglass always found time and opportunity -for platform work. Every great gathering -of the anti-slavery forces was enlivened in interest -by his presence. His power as an orator did not -diminish, as was predicted, by his continued ascendency -as an editor. On the contrary, his words -gained force as he became more confident of himself, -and more clear in regard to his convictions. -In the great anti-slavery convention held in New -York, he made a speech which revealed remarkable -strength. The following extract from a report of the -meeting is worth quoting in proof of the stirring -quality of his address:—</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Frederick Douglass now takes the platform, and -is welcomed with applause. The assembly is now -fixed in its close attention, and Frederick is going -on to show up the cowardly and sneaking conduct of -John P. Hale in bringing in a bill to protect property, -and not daring to stand up and fearlessly -advocate the right of slaves to run away, and the -right and duty of Abolitionists to protect them. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>Frederick is describing <cite>Punch’s</cite> portraits of Brother -Jonathan, with the devil hovering over him, eyeing -with satisfaction passing events. The audience -give him great applause. He is speaking to great -effect, portraying the wrongs of the colored population -of this nation. His eloquence sways the great -assembly with him. He denounces the Northerners, -who swear to support the Constitution, as the real -slave-holders of the country. It is good to listen to -him. He shows up the Northern apologists of -slavery as those whose smiles he does not want. He -pledges himself to denounce those enemies of God -and man, who swear to support the Constitution, as -his enemies. Frederick has got the audience into a -great state of glorification; and he is now showing -that there is no way to abolish slavery except by the -dissolution of the Union. There, he is done, and -the meeting is breaking up. It has been a pleasant -and profitable time.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the course of his career as a public speaker, -Douglass developed a capacity for repartee that -made him the dread of any one who had the temerity -to interrupt him in a public discussion. At the -convention to which I have just referred, he was -described as “with brows knit, fiery eyes like daggers, -scorn upon his thick lips, and lurking in his -sable woe-begone visage the traces of malignity, -disappointment, and despair.” By another paper, -when speaking on the same platform with Garrison, -Phillips, and Lucretia Mott, he was called the -“master-genius of the crowd.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In 1848, Mr. Douglass took another step forward, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>and became an advocate of female suffrage. He -had had opportunity to judge of the worth of woman -in the anti-slavery movement. The work done by -Lucretia Mott, the Grimké sisters, Frances Wright, -Ernestine L. Rose, and other forceful leaders, -strongly impressed him with what seemed to him -the great injustice of excluding such women from -the benefits of those rights by means of which -citizenship could be protected. On the 19th day -of July of that year the Seneca Falls convention -was held. The following extract from the <cite>North -Star</cite> shows Mr. Douglass’s position:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“We are free to say that in respect to political -rights, we hold women to be justly entitled to all we -claim for man. We go further and express our conviction -that all political rights, which it is expedient -for man to exercise, it is equally so for women. All -that distinguishes man as an intelligent and accountable -being is equally true of woman; and if that -government only is just which governs only by the -free consent of the governed, there can be no reason -in the world for denying to woman the exercise of -the elective franchise, or a hand in making and administering -the laws of the land. Our doctrine is -that ‘Right is of no sex.’ We, therefore, bid the -women engaged in this movement our humble Godspeed.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass consistently held to these views -ever afterward. He was one of the first of all prominent -Americans to champion the cause of female -suffrage, and the women in return esteemed him and -accorded to him more honor than has been shown to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>most men by their organizations. He was always a -guest in any large gathering of woman suffragists.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In connection with the labor of running his newspaper -and keeping up a strenuous interest in the -many public questions that appealed to his heart -and conscience, it is fitting to make some mention of -his early experiences in Rochester, N. Y., his home, -and the scene of his most important activities for -twenty-five years. He became deeply attached to -the city and its people. He said: “I know of no -place in the Union where I could have located at -the time with less resistance, or received a larger -measure of sympathy and coöperation, and I now -look back to my life and labor with unalloyed satisfaction, -having spent a quarter of a century among -its people. I shall always feel more at home there -than anywhere else in this country.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>When Mr. Douglass began the publication of the -<cite>North Star</cite>, there were people in the city who felt it -a sort of disgrace that a Negro paper should be established -in their midst. This was not surprising. -It is doubtful if, at that time, any inhabited spot in -the United States could have been found entirely -free from race prejudice. So far as the Negro was -concerned, wherever he wished and tried to be a -good citizen, he found himself in the “enemy’s country.” -The most troublesome of Douglass’s early -experiences in Rochester was the attempt to educate -his children. They were not allowed to attend the -public school in the district in which he lived and -owned property; and his young daughter, who was -the “apple of his eye,” was so unkindly treated in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>Tracy Seminary, a school for girls, that she had to -leave it. This difficulty, like every other that he encountered -in his career, served only to embolden -him; it encouraged him to fight. He went at the -question with his characteristic force, and before -long every barrier was removed and the children of -black parents were freely admitted to all the schools -of the city. Indeed he conducted himself so well -and was personally so interesting that he soon became -a popular citizen of Rochester, and his -friends were as numerous and cordial in pro-slavery -as in anti-slavery circles. Among those mentioned -in his biography, for whom he had a special fondness, -are Isaac Post, William Hallowell, Samuel D. -Porter, William C. Bliss, Benjamin Fish, Asa Anthony, -and Myron Holley. From time to time he -addressed the citizens in Corinthian Hall. His -audiences were always composed of the best people -in Rochester, and in this way he did much to break -down the prejudice against his race. This hall was -built and owned by a prominent pro-slavery man, -but so great was his respect for Mr. Douglass that -he cheerfully allowed it to be used for the propaganda -of emancipation. Thus the black leader became -proud of Rochester and in more ways than -can well be recited, the city honored him as no other -colored man has ever been honored by an American -municipality.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER VIII<br> <span class='large'>FREE COLORED PEOPLE AND COLONIZATION</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>The recognized leadership of Frederick Douglass -among the colored people of the country may be -dated from the publication of the <cite>North Star</cite>. Prior -to that time he was regarded as an Abolition orator -and a conspicuous example of the possibilities of -the Negro race. He had not yet established his -relationship with the free colored people of the -North.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Douglass came from the South. His hardest experiences -and bitterest memories were those of the -Southern plantations. It was the toiling black -masses, whose fortunes he had shared, that claimed -his first and profoundest sympathy and interest. -“Freedom first and rights afterward,” was the precept -that had thus far guided his efforts in behalf of -his race. His position as the publisher of a colored -newspaper brought him into closer touch with the -interests and aspirations of the free colored people -of the North. They had obtained freedom, but they -were thus far in practice, to a large degree, without -rights. Douglass seemed to feel that the work he -was doing and the position he occupied gave him -some special claim to the support and loyalty of -these people. He sometimes complained of and -took deeply to heart the criticism and petty fault-finding -with which a few of his fellow freedmen followed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>his movements. But, on the whole, they -gave him generous support, and accorded him -grateful recognition for his services. The leading -colored men of the period who, in various ways, -were helping the cause of emancipation, rallied -around him and lived and labored in intimate association -with him.</p> - -<p class='c004'>At this time the free Negroes formed a considerable -portion of the American population. In 1850 -there were about 230,000 of them in the slave-states -and about 200,000 in the free-states. The liberation -from bondage of this nearly half-million of colored -persons had been brought about in various ways. -The larger portion of them in the Northern states -became free through their emancipation by Northern -slave-holders. Those in the slave-states were either -manumitted by their former masters or had by personal -enterprise bought their own freedom. Here -and there were a few West Indian colored people -who had come to the United States to find a home. -An ever-increasing number in the North were runaway -slaves who had gained their freedom in some -such way as Frederick Douglass had gained his. -These were for the most part a superior class of men -and women. The fact that they had the courage -and enterprise to win their own liberty is good evidence -that they had personal initiative and ambition. -Among their number were many who, like -Douglass, had secretly learned to read and write -while they were still slaves. Others were first-rate -mechanics who, in spite of opposition, found good -employment.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>The attitude of the white citizens of the North -toward the free people of color was, in almost -every way, hostile. The slave-holders of the South -were angered by the loss of their property and the -Northern people were annoyed by the presence, in -their midst, in ever-increasing numbers, of this -class. In fact, prejudice against the free blacks in -the Northern states came to be of the most uncompromising -sort. In many sections the status of the free -Negro was often little better than that of an outlaw. -It was literally true that he had “no rights that a -white man was bound to respect.” Wherever the -Negro turned his face for encouragement or for opportunity, -he met with opposition and discouragement. -His children were generally shut out of the -public and private schools. In many instances -those which would admit colored pupils, in defiance -of public sentiment, were burned down or mobbed -and the teachers ostracized. The case of Miss -Prudence Crandall, in Canterbury, Conn., in 1833, -is fairly illustrative of the public feeling in regard -to Negro education. Miss Crandall was a beautiful -young Quakeress of tender heart and great courage, -who had opened a school for young women in the -village of Canterbury. A chance admission of a -colored girl raised such a storm of indignation -among her neighbors that she was assailed by a mob -and an attempt was made to burn the building. -When she still persisted in having her way, she was -arrested and sent to jail.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Other instances of this kind might be cited. In -nothing were the Northern people more bitterly intolerant -<span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>than in their opposition to the education of -the children of free colored families. The same -spirit that in the slave-holding states accounted it a -crime to teach colored people to read and write, -made it very dangerous for any man or woman to -do, or attempt to do, the same thing in the free-states.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In some of the Northern commonwealths, as Illinois, -for example, the term “black laws” was -given to a code of special regulations which were -applied to men and women of a dark complexion. -In nearly all of the states north of the Ohio, the -Negro was disfranchised either by constitution, -statute, or public sentiment. In practice, he was -not regarded as a member of political society and -was, consequently, almost wholly without the guarantee -of civil rights. The Christian people were -often as hostile as non-church people. Mr. Garrison -mentions “a certain Baptist church in Hartford, -Conn., where the ‘Negro pews’ were boarded up in -front so that only peep-holes gave an outlook; -truly a human menagerie.” In a Massachusetts -town, the floor was cut out from under a colored -member’s pew by the church authorities, so that he -could not occupy it. In all means of travel, either -by rail or stage-coach, the Negro passenger was rigidly -quarantined. His presence was everywhere -frowned upon unless he appeared as a servant or a -slave.</p> - -<p class='c004'>This anti-Negro feeling in the North was not a -passing whim or sentiment; it was deeply rooted -and constitutional. People, noble and ignoble, were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>alike influenced by race prejudice. Abolitionists -found themselves swayed to such an extent by the -sentiment about them that they often did not have -the courage to act consistently with their principles. -Mr. Douglass gives a very interesting incident in -the early part of his career, which aptly illustrates -how at times race feeling manifested itself in the -most unexpected places. He had been invited to -speak at Concord, N. H., by a subscriber of <cite>The -Liberator</cite>. Arriving in the town, he went directly -to the home of the Abolitionist, where it was expected -he would be entirely welcome. He was received -with anything but enthusiasm. When the -good man got ready to go to the church, where the -meeting was to take place, he drove off alone and -left the orator of the occasion to walk and find the -way—a distance of two miles—as best he could. -Upon reaching the church, Mr. Douglass was -obliged to introduce himself, as no one was willing to -risk his reputation by standing sponsor for a Negro. -After the address, the Abolitionists went to their -several homes for lunch, but no one invited Mr. -Douglass to eat, and the hotel did not entertain -Negroes. Hungry, chilly, and desolate, he found -his way to the graveyard, and while roaming among -the graves and contemplating the equality of men in -death, he was approached by a gentleman who -proved to be a Democratic senator from New Hampshire. -He took Mr. Douglass to his home and -treated him with the greatest courtesy.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Another cause of racial antagonism was the -dread, on the part of slave-owners, that the presence -<span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>of an increasing number of free colored people -in the free-states would be an incentive to the more -enterprising slaves to run away. This fear was certainly -justified by the constantly enlarging stream -of fugitives. The Negro’s growing desire for freedom -was the fundamental weakness of the slave-system. -When the veterans of the War of 1812 -returned to the Southern states and told of the land -of Canada which was consecrated to free men, the -seed of discontent took root in slavery’s soil. The -good news was passed along, and, as a result, thousands -of slaves learned to associate the words Canada -and freedom. Many a one, ignorant of everything -except his master and the plantation, had received -tidings of the Haytian struggle for liberty; of the -Nat Turner uprising in Virginia; and of the success -of those who had the courage and enterprise to -flee to Massachusetts, New York, and elsewhere -north of the Ohio River. Negroes who had dared -to emancipate themselves in the way Frederick -Douglass had done were a direct menace to the security -of slavery. Every man who succeeded in -making his escape began at once to plan and plot -for the escape of those he had left behind. On the -border-land of freedom there was continuous skirmishing -for friends in chains.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In spite of the humble position they occupied, -the free Negroes, in one way or another, helped to -make sentiment against the slave-power. Like -Douglass, they became “human arguments,” at -once offering evidence as to the capacity of the -race and the limitations that slavery imposed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>upon it. They were quickeners of the public conscience.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Since the Negroes were escaping from Southern -plantations, in spite of all precautions and every -kind of threat and punishment, an organized effort -was made to send all free colored people out of the -country and deposit them on the west shore of Africa. -This movement found expression in the -American Colonization Society, which was organized -in 1817. Its declared purposes were:</p> - -<p class='c004'>(1) “To colonize the blacks on the West Coast -of Africa.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>(2) “To discourage manumission by slave-holders.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>(3) “To avoid insurrection.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>An attempt was put forth to make this colonization -scheme a national policy, and the general government, -as well as the several states, was appealed -to for its support. In many of the slave-holding -states there were direct appropriations of money to -forward this enterprise. Ministers, statesmen, educators, -slave-holders, and many who were not slave-holders, -endorsed the plan of the Colonization -Society as a most happy solution of the difficult -problem of dealing with the Negro question. It -met with popular favor throughout the country. -The Southern people saw in it the removal of a great -menace to slavery; it appealed to the humane sentiments -of the North, for it seemed to say to -the free people, “Now we are going to give you -an opportunity, and will materially aid you to found -a government of your own on the soil of Africa.” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>To some of the Negroes this policy appeared fair -and generous, especially when they considered the -extent to which, by popular prejudice, they were -shut out from the rights and benefits supposed to be -the natural heritage of all American citizens. Certain -it is that nothing concerning the Negro had, up -to this time, been proposed in which men of the -North and South met so nearly on common ground. -In 1834, such names as James Madison, Chief Justice -Marshall, General Lafayette, Henry Clay, Daniel -Webster, and Gerrit Smith were enrolled among -the officers of the society. But in spite of the distinguished -character of those who were associated -with the movement, it was thought by many that -the propaganda carried on by the Colonization Society -did much to increase the prejudice against the -colored people. The following extracts from some -of the speeches of its members and friends, and -from its documents and publications, show the pro-slavery -spirit of the society:</p> - -<p class='c004'>Henry Clay said: “The emancipated slave -should be removed. This is a condition indispensable. -Expense of expatriation is to be defrayed -by a fund to be derived from the labor of each freedman.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Judge Bullock of Kentucky said: “He [the -colored man] is an exotic that does not and cannot -flourish on American soil. There is no place for -him in this country. It is not their land, and they -cannot be made at home here.”</p> - -<p class='c004'><cite>The Colonization Journal</cite> said: “You cannot -abolish slavery, for God is pledged to sustain it.”</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>“Policy, and even the voice of humanity, forbid -the progress of manumission. It would be as humane -to throw them from the decks in the Middle -Passage as to set them free in this country. Free -blacks are a greater nuisance than slaves. This -class of persons is a curse and a contagion where -they reside.”—<cite>Colonization Report</cite>, iv, 261.</p> - -<p class='c004'>“An anomalous race of beings, the most depraved -on earth.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>“They constitute a class by themselves, out of -which no individual can be elevated and below -which none can be depressed. Even necessity -places them in a class of degraded beings.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Christianity cannot do for them here what it -will do for them in Africa. This is no fault of the -colored man, nor the white man, but an ordinance -of Providence, and no more to be changed than the -laws of motion.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>“If the free people of color were generally taught -to read, it might be an inducement for them to remain -in this country. We should offer them no -such inducement.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>“It must appear evident to all ... that -measures calculated to bind the colored people to -this country and seeking to raise them to a level -with the whites, whether by founding colleges or in -any other way, tends directly to counteract and -thwart the whole plan of colonization.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Such were the teachings and spirit of the American -Colonization Society at that time. The effect -was naturally and necessarily brought home, in some -form or other, to every colored man, woman, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>child in the free-states. Justifying, as it did, an -already existing prejudice, its tendency was, everywhere -and in every direction, to bring about a narrowing -of opportunities. Thus, there soon sprang -up an active opposition to the society and its purposes. -The anti-slavery members withdrew their -support when they saw that the organization was -almost wholly pro-slavery in spirit and purpose.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Meanwhile, the colored people began to show -themselves worthy of respect in the efforts they -were making to improve their own condition. -It could not be denied that, in those Northern states -where he was given an opportunity to work, the -Negro was, on the whole, a peaceful, loyal, law-abiding, -and industrious citizen. In spite of the -might of all the forces against him, he doggedly -persisted in his determination to be a man, to win a -right to remain in this country, and to deserve the -privileges of citizenship therein. No race under -like conditions ever exhibited greater patience and -faith in the ultimate triumph of right over wrong.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In times of war the Negro was instantly ready to -sacrifice himself for the good of his country. As -sailor or soldier, no commander ever had occasion -to complain of his courage or lack of soldierly -qualities. Just before the battle of New Orleans, -in the winter of 1814, General Jackson, through -his Adjutant General, made the following stirring -address to his black soldiers:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“To the Men of Color—Soldiers: From the -shores of Mobile I called you to arms, I invited -<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>you to share the perils, and to divide the glory with -your white countrymen. I expected much from -you, for I was not unmindful of those qualities -which must render you so formidable to an invading -foe. I knew that you could endure hunger and -thirst and all the hardships of war. I knew that -you loved the land of your nativity, and that, like -ourselves, you had to defend all that was most dear -to man, but you surpassed my hopes. I have found -in you, united to these qualities, that noble enthusiasm -which impels to great deeds.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Soldiers! The President of the United States -shall be informed of your conduct on the present occasion -and the voice of the representatives of the -American nation shall applaud your valor, as your -general now praises your valor.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The black heroes of New Orleans nobly won a -place on the roll of honor, among those who strove -for the protection and preservation of the American -republic.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the arts of peace and in the every-day struggles -to live and survive the forces that made for his -degradation, the Negro showed a courage and a disposition -altogether creditable. While many were -thinking that the black people were hopelessly incapable -of absorbing American civilization, the latter -were building churches of their own and organizing -the great African Methodist Episcopal Zion, -and the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. -These have steadily grown in membership until they -have come to be numbered among the great religious -bodies of the Christian world. They also -founded and developed a Baptist organization which, -with its schools, colleges, and missions, is regarded -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>as one of the important civilizing agencies of the -country.</p> - -<p class='c004'>What the colored people accomplished for themselves, -in their great religious associations and under -so many hindering influences, is of far greater importance -than is generally understood, or recognized -by the American people. To the restraining and -humanizing forces of these religious bodies, is -largely due the peaceful and law-abiding character -of the Negro population. In those critical periods -of our history a race with passions less in restraint -might have caused no end of trouble and bloodshed. -These efforts of the free colored people of the North -to improve their condition by means of religious -training, were accompanied by endeavors to provide -themselves with the facilities for secular education. -There was never a time in the history of the -American Negro when he did not show an eagerness -to learn. Whether on the plantation in the far -South, where ignorance in the slave was slavery’s -only security, or in the northern states, where -schools were closed against him by popular prejudice, -he was always struggling, by night and by -day, to obtain an education. The most important -and creditable thing in his career as slave or freeman, -and the most striking thing in his achievements, -is his passion and struggle to lift from himself -and his race the dark mantle of ignorance. -This persistent determination to be educated has -won for him more consideration and more friends -among the white race, than any other one trait.</p> - -<p class='c004'>When practically every school, public and private, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>closed its doors against the admission of a -Negro child, these courageous people tried to establish -schools of their own. In every Northern -community where there were colored persons some -way was provided for their education. Sometimes -classes would meet in a private house, like that of -Primus Hall in Boston; at other times in a Negro -church, and often in a barn. In these early efforts -to furnish means of education, in spite of the protest -of white neighbors, there was exhibited fine -courage, impressive sacrifice, and rare consecration. -Here the Negro was always at his best. Such men -as Primus Hall and the Ruffins in Massachusetts; -Nelson Wells in Maryland; John F. Ganes and -Peter H. Clark in Ohio; John F. Cook in Washington; -John Peterson in New York; Thomas and -Fannie Jackson Coppin in Pennsylvania, all noble -types of men and women, saw to it that ways -and means for the education of the children of their -day and generation should be provided. Hundreds -of the best types of white men and women became -interested in the education of the Negro as a result -of his own persistent efforts in this direction. Some -of these friends gave themselves as teachers, while -others gave money for the founding and sustaining -of schools and colleges. A few of those started at -this early period, still live, many colored men and -women, who have since become prominent in public -affairs, having received their education in these establishments.</p> - -<p class='c004'>One of the most interesting of these schools that -have survived the revolution of conditions is the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>“Institute for Colored Youth,” founded in Philadelphia -in 1837, from funds bequeathed for that purpose -by Richard Humphrey. The trustees were instructed -to establish an institution “for the education -of the descendants of the African race in school -learning, in the various branches of the mechanical -arts and trades and agriculture.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the preamble of the constitution, the following -language is used:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“We believe that the most successful method of -elevating the moral and intellectual character of -the descendants of Africa, as well as improving their -social condition, is to extend to them the benefits of -a good education, and instruct them in the knowledge -of some useful trade or business whereby they -may be enabled to obtain a comfortable livelihood -by their own industry; and through these means to -prepare themselves for fulfilling the various duties -of domestic and social life with reputation and -fidelity, as good citizens and pious men.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>This school has recently been reorganized and considerably -enlarged, and removed to Cheyney, Pa., -near Philadelphia, the work being entrusted to -Hugh M. Browne, an educator of proved worth and -responsibility. It starts out upon a career of increased -usefulness, with the express purpose of fitting -teachers for their appointed work.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The men and women who have graduated from -the Institute have more than justified the generosity -of its founder, and they have likewise reflected the -unexampled excellence as a teacher of Mrs. Fannie -Jackson Coppin, an early graduate of Oberlin, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>one of the first principals of this famous school in -Philadelphia. Her influence on the lives and -careers of many prominent men and women of the -Negro race is quite beyond comparison with that of -any other of our early Negro educators.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Charlotte L. Fortin, now Mrs. Frank J. Grimké, -Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, and Mary Ann -Shadd Carey must always be mentioned among the -men and women whose devotion to the education of -the members of their race has made the American -people recognize the justice and the usefulness of -giving the Negro the teaching he so earnestly -desires.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The lack of economic and industrial opportunities -of the free colored people, prior to the Civil War, -can be easily inferred from what has already been -said concerning the general sentiment of proscription -that prevailed. As a general rule, they were -not allowed to work at any of the trades and their -children were not accepted as apprentices. It has -already been noticed how impossible it was for Mr. -Douglass, even in Massachusetts, to follow his occupation -as a ship-calker, although, as we have seen, -he had no trouble in obtaining good employment in -Baltimore.</p> - -<p class='c004'>But the Negro, in this as in matters of education, -persisted in his effort to learn trades and to work -at them. There were in the free-states a considerable -number of colored mechanics. Many of them -had fitted themselves for their work while in slavery, -and either by self-purchase or as runaways, had obtained -their freedom. From these mechanics the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>trades were passed along to others by apprenticeships. -In this way colored men entered and maintained -themselves in many employments. There -were always some people who were willing to hire -skilled Negro mechanics. In cities like Philadelphia, -they were, for a time, important factors in the -industrial life. Indeed, long before slavery was -abolished, every large northern city had a certain -number of enterprising individuals who had succeeded -in establishing themselves in some of the -trades. In many communities they were making -commendable headway as contractors, caterers, shopkeepers, -tailors, shoemakers, and barbers. Not a -few of them accumulated small fortunes. A number -too had built up enviable reputations in the professions, -especially in medicine, the ministry, and -journalism. Some obtained their education in England, -but most of them managed to get their training -in this country.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In all this activity and enterprise they were not -without leaders of force and intelligence. In the period -covered by the anti-slavery movement, there was -a remarkable group of aggressive and influential colored -agitators. Without attempting to name all the -prominent men who coöperated with Mr. Douglass -in the anti-slavery warfare, we should mention a -few, in order to make complete any account of the -struggle in which their leader was so heroically -engaged. Henry Highland Garnet of New York, -was a gifted and thoroughly educated man. He was -a Presbyterian minister and as such held an influential -position, being elected at one time as a delegate -<span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>to a Peace Conference at Frankfort, Germany. -Charles Lennox Remond, Dr. James McCune -Smith, Samuel R. Ward, H. Ford Douglass, Martin -R. Delaney, John M. Langston, J. Howard Day, -and Mifflin W. Gibbs, were men of rare oratorical -gifts and were heard and admired on every great -anti-slavery occasion. Robert Purvis, of Philadelphia, -would have held a high place in any age, and -the cause of freedom would have suffered without -his aid. He was a man of patrician manners and -had all the instincts of an aristocrat. He was for -many years, vice-president of the National Anti-Slavery -Society, and he enjoyed the intimate acquaintance -and association of some of the most eminent -men of his time.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It would scarcely be possible to write a history of -the anti-slavery movement without mentioning the -work of William Still. He had the rare powers of -heart and mind that gave him an interest in and a -large grasp of affairs. He was one of the original -stockholders of <cite>The Nation</cite>, and a close friend of John -Brown’s. It was at his house that the latter’s family -were concealed after the Harper’s Ferry tragedy. -Mr. Still’s contribution to the literature of the anti-slavery -cause has a special value and is nowhere -duplicated.</p> - -<p class='c004'>These colored men, who were associated with Mr. -Douglass, got their training in the school of adversity. -They were permitted to share few of the -joys of life. Men of strong faith, they spent themselves -in the service of their people. When the history -of the Negro in America comes finally to be -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>written and scholars seek to tell the story of the -curious problem in civilization which his presence -here creates, these dark-skinned heroes of an unpopular -race may find their place in the ranks of those -who helped to benefit the world.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER IX<br> <span class='large'>THE UNDERGROUND RAILWAY AND THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>Pro-slavery and anti-slavery were at this time -the names of two sets of ideas and two states of mind -that no longer admitted of compromise. The words -meant immeasurably more in 1850 than they had -in 1830. If they had ever been mere academic -terms, they were fast becoming fighting terms,—the -standards of two hostile camps. In the minds -of the people, they stood, respectively, for irreconcilable -principles. With every fresh event affecting -either one side or the other, new and more -intense animosities were engendered, and the two -forces were driven farther and farther apart. Those -who believed in the institution, became more and -more firmly fixed in their determination not only to -resist every attack upon it, but to give it the widest -possible extension. Those who stood opposed to -slavery were equally fixed in their determination -that it should be destroyed.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The anti-slavery movement was fast becoming -something more than a sentiment or an opinion with -which one might try conclusions in the forum. It -was fast becoming a revolutionary movement which -meant force, more force, and, finally, the utmost -force. All the time Frederick Douglass, like William -Lloyd Garrison, was in the forward ranks. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>The tone of “no compromise” rang out with increasing -insistence.</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Come what will,” said Douglass, “I hold it to -be morally certain that sooner or later, by fair -means or foul means, in peace or in blood, in judgment -or in mercy, slavery is doomed to cease out of -this otherwise goodly land, and liberty is destined -to become the settled law of the republic.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>“I am in earnest,” said Garrison, “I will not -equivocate, I will not excuse, I will not retract a -single inch, and I will be heard.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>These declarations by these two conspicuous -Abolitionists are aptly expressive of the growing intensity -of the anti-slavery feeling. Such words -called more loudly for action than for argument. -What was known in the United States during the -anti-slavery struggle as the “Underground Railway,” -best represents all that was aggressive and -militant in that contest. This so-called “railway -system” was constituted and operated in defiance of -law by the Abolitionists. It was Abolition in action.</p> - -<p class='c004'>But if the Underground Railway was conducted -in defiance of law, it should be said that the law in -its terms, spirit, and effects seemed to them who -were engaged in operating the road to be in defiance -of those principles of liberty and the rights of man, -which they had been taught to think were higher -than any positive enactment of a legislature.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The Underground Railway had none of the features -of the modern railway, except the carrying of -passengers, and these were limited in kind and in -the direction of the travel. No one could obtain -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>passage on this road, unless he or she were a slave, -and wanted to be free. The trains ran in but one -direction, and that was Northward. There were no -“Jim Crow” cars, no sleepers and no smokers, and -all passengers were carried free of charge. It was -a railroad without stockholders, but it had innumerable -directors. No dividends were paid except -to passengers, and such dividends were in the form -of certificates of freedom from bondage.</p> - -<p class='c004'>To be more explicit, the Underground Railway -was a system of clandestine travel, extending from -the borders of “Mason and Dixon’s Line” through -the North and West to Canada. The residence of -Mr. Douglass was one of the last stations on the line -before reaching British soil. Much has been written -about this mysterious railway, but the details -of its activities have never been told. From September -26, 1850, to the breaking out of the Civil -War, the new and rigid Fugitive Slave Law was in -active operation, and it was in open violation of -this measure that the Underground Railway was -conducted. A slave, and sometimes an entire family -or body of slaves, would make the dash for liberty, -escaping across the borders of Maryland into Pennsylvania. -There they found themselves in the hands -of friendly Quakers, who piloted them by night to -other stations, where they were secreted until a favorable -opportunity presented itself to push them -along farther north.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass’s house in Rochester was a large -three-story frame structure, situated in the centre of -four acres of land on South Avenue, two miles -<span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>from the business portion of the city. It stood out by -itself, the nearest residence being fully five hundred -feet away to the north. This was the objective -point, before reaching Canada, for many slaves fleeing -from the South. The tales of privation and -suffering told by these men, women, and children -who escaped half-clad, encountering in the wintertime -snow-drifts and zero weather, made a profound -impression on the people of the North through -whose towns they passed and in whose homes they -constantly sought protection. Thus it was that -many a Northern farmer, convinced, it may be, of -the right or expediency of slavery, found himself -compelled, from motives of common humanity, to -open his doors to these refugees, and grant their appeals -for food and shelter. Many a cold winter -night has a knock come to Mr. Douglass’s door, -when a white-faced stranger, covered with frost and -snow, would announce in whispered tones that he -had a sleigh full of runaway Negroes <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en route</span></i> for -Canada. Mr. Douglass, or Mrs. Douglass in her -husband’s absence, calling the boys, Lewis, Fred -and Charles, would have fires started in that part -of the house where fugitives were hidden away, and -at an opportune time they were taken to Charlotte, -seven miles from Rochester, and placed aboard a -Lake Ontario steamer for Canada. These friendly -white farmers had to hasten on for fear of detection, -which meant terrible penalties. Thus it will -be seen that the risks which their sympathy for -the slave led them to take were very serious.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It required large sums of money to keep this Underground -<span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>Railway system in motion. The runaways -must be fed, clothed, and their passage paid -across the lake to Canada. Mr. Douglass was in the -lecture-field most of the time to raise money to do -his part. The Female Anti-Slavery Society, with -its branches throughout the North, solicited funds -and clothing, and, as these unfortunate fugitives -were invariably destitute, means had to be supplied -them until they could secure employment under -the British flag.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Besides William Still of Philadelphia, among colored -people, Mr. Douglass had the active coöperation -of Dr. James McCune Smith, of New York; -Stephen J. Myers, of Albany; William Rich, of -Troy, and Rev. J. W. Loguen, of Syracuse. Many -others actively assisted in the work, including -Charles Lennox Remond, William Whipper, of -Philadelphia; Thomas L. Dorsey, Rev. Henry -Highland Garnet, Anthony Barrier, of Brockport, -N. Y., and Thomas Downing, of New York. There -were not a few clashes with the law in efforts to capture -and return escaping slaves, but only two or -three such attempts were successful.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass’s home was always considered an -asylum for runaways, and was constantly under the -surveillance of the United States marshals; nevertheless, -not a single fugitive, after reaching him, -was ever apprehended and carried back. The majority -of the escapes were made in winter, when the -oversight on the plantation was less rigid than in -the working-season, and many who were given -passes during the Christmas holidays to visit neighboring -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>towns or plantations, seized that opportunity -for a longer journey.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The western and southwestern branch of the -Underground Railway was operated from Cincinnati, -O., and through Michigan to Canada. Fugitive -slaves from Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, -Arkansas, and Louisiana took this latter route. -The whole number of slaves who successfully made -their escape through the system has never been ascertained.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The thousands of men, women, and children, -white and black, who had a hand in conducting -this Underground Railway were less concerned -about the statistics of their dangerous work than -they were with results. That the number of slaves -set free by the operation of the system ran up into -the thousands, was evident from the vast army -of people in all parts of the North engaged in -the work, and the constantly increasing colored -population in the free-states and Canada. There -was scarcely a day or night when some black man -or woman did not defy the perils of the journey -and elude the vigilance of the law to find free soil. -So persistent were these enslaved people in running -away from bondage that they excited not merely the -sympathy but often the admiration of those not -otherwise interested in their cause. The perils and -adventures of these sombre fugitives stirred the -blood and touched the heart. William Still’s volume -of nearly eight hundred pages, contains a -carefully kept record of the experiences of those -runaways who came under the immediate observation -<span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>and direction of the “Vigilance Committee” -of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Their -resourcefulness, cleverness, and daring revealed to -the Northern people an unsuspected quality in the -Negro character.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The stories of these fugitives, told in their own -simple-hearted way, and attested by the hardships -that they had undergone, were, to those who heard -them, a revelation of conditions in the South, of -which they had hitherto known only at secondhand. -They might still doubt the expediency of -granting freedom to the slave but they could no -longer question the sincerity of his desire for liberty -and with that desire they were compelled to sympathize. -As Douglass said: “Men were better than -their theology, and truer to humanity than their -politics or their offices.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The manner of Douglass’s flight—riding out of -Baltimore and Maryland in daylight and in sight of -those who knew that he was a slave—is a good illustration -of the boldness and ingenuity of some of -the escapes. Among the hundreds of interesting -cases cited by Mr. Still is that of William Crafts, -who gained his liberty by acting the part of a valet -or body-servant of his wife. She was of light brown -complexion, and for this adventure wore men’s -clothing. Another case is that of a slave-woman -who hitched up her master’s horse and carriage and, -taking her family of five children and several -others, drove off to liberty. Box Brown was the -name of a slave, who permitted himself to be nailed -up in a box and sent by express to Baltimore. Two -<span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>colored women dressed themselves in deep mourning -and rode Northward to freedom in the same -coach as their masters, who did not know them. -In some cases slaves secreted themselves for several -months and, when search for them had ceased, crept -off unsuspected. In hundreds of instances, the parts -were as cleverly played as if the fugitives had had -special training in the drama of running away from -their masters. In nearly all cases these black men -and women took desperate chances. The conductors -of the Underground Railway were everywhere, -and at all times on the alert. They knew every -path, the byways and highways in which slaves -might hide or on which they might travel to reach -freedom. The stations were always ready and open -to receive them. It was never too late, or too early, -or too difficult, or too perilous to be on the lookout -to welcome, protect, and pass on fugitives to the next -place of safety. Clothing, food, shoes, carriages, -wagons, horses, and mules were always at hand. -No secret society has ever veiled its proceedings in -deeper mystery than this widely separated army of -determined conspirators and emancipators. The -secret service men of the government tried to locate -the stations and the station-agents, but the more -they searched, the less they found. It is a curious -fact that the United States secret service men seem -to have had just as little success in uncovering the -systematic plans for aiding slaves to escape to the -Northern states as in preventing the smuggling of -slaves from Africa into the Southern states. The -traffic of the Underground Railroad continued to increase -<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>in volume and the slave once off United States -soil was beyond reach or recall.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Some of the men and women who were carrying -on this clandestine work of delivering fugitives were -people of much prominence. Among them were -members of Congress, distinguished clergymen, -editors, prominent merchants, doctors, lawyers, -farmers, and tradesmen. From the slave-holders’ -standpoint, the situation was not encouraging. -They rightly felt that unless something effective -were done to stop this increasing loss, slave-labor -would cease to be profitable. This condition of -things required a remedy, a remedy more far-reaching -than any guaranteed the slave-holding system -under the law then existing. To meet these attempts -of the Abolitionists to undermine the system, the -pro-slavery leaders deemed it just and necessary to -extend the arm of national power to reclaim and -carry back to bondage every slave who reached a -free state in quest of liberty. The government that -sanctioned slavery as a national institution; that acquired -new territory for the extension of slavery; -that derived a goodly part of its revenue from it, -was bound, they believed, to do what was necessary -to make slavery more secure. Until the Underground -Railway began to do so large a business, -there was thought to be enough law in the Constitution -of the United States.<a id='r3'></a><a href='#f3' class='c017'><sup>[3]</sup></a></p> - -<div class='footnote' id='f3'> -<p class='c004'><a href='#r3'>3</a>. As provided in Article IV, Section 2: “No person held -to service in one state, under the laws thereof, escaping to another -state, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, -shall be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered -up on the claim of the party to whom such service or -labor may be due,” supplemented by the statute giving force to -its provisions in 1793.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>The constitutionality of this law had been fully -upheld by the Supreme Court in what was known as -the “Prigg case,” wherein Justice Story declared -that it was self-executing, so that an owner could -seize and carry away his runaway slave wherever -he found him, providing he could do so without -breach of the public peace. Those who desired and -demanded more legal provisions for the better protection -of slavery were in absolute power North and -South. Daniel Webster of Massachusetts was as -much in favor of it as Henry Clay of Kentucky and -Calhoun of South Carolina; and in response to -popular demand, the new Fugitive Slave Law was -passed on September 10, 1850, as a part of the great -Compromise Measures of that year.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The instrument was most carefully drawn, and -covered ten sections. Those who worked out its -carefully-worded provisions had evidently studied -the Underground System with considerable care, and -this law was framed to meet the conditions that the -railroad had created. Some of its main features -were as follows:—</p> - -<p class='c005'>A United States Commission and a United States -court should have concurrent jurisdiction in disposing -of cases of fugitive slaves brought before them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Any postmaster or clerk could be appointed a -commissioner to hear cases under the law.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A United States marshal was under penalty of -$1,000 for refusing or neglecting to make an arrest -when called upon to do so.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>Fugitive slaves could be arrested, with or without -warrant and taken before a commissioner or judge, -who was empowered to dispose of the case forthwith.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If a fugitive escaped from a United States marshal, -the latter could be sued on his bond and the full -value of the slave recovered.</p> - -<p class='c005'>There was a penalty of five years in prison or a -fine of $5,000 for aiding or abetting a slave’s escape.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The only proof needed was an affidavit by the alleged -owner or some one acting in his behalf alleging -right of property, escape or service due on -escape, and a description of the person arrested, -certified to by the magistrate.</p> - -<p class='c005'>There were provisions for military aid for the -United States marshal in case of resistance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The commissioner received a larger fee in case -of extradition than he would obtain in case of discharge.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The slave thus arrested could not testify in his -own behalf and was not allowed a jury trial.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The first effect of the law was to create a panic -and stampede among the colored people of the free-states. -It looked for awhile as if every Negro resident -north of the Ohio had lost faith in the tenure -of his own title to himself. There was wholesale -emigration to Canada of colored people from every -part of the United States. In his Life of Frederick -Douglass, Mr. Holland gives an account of -forty Negroes of Boston, who left home within three -days after the Fugitive Slave Law was passed. The -pastor of a colored church and his entire membership -of 112 persons fled to British soil. A number -of talented men who had done service in the anti-slavery -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>cause, went to England. Mr. Douglass, who -was in close touch with every movement, every fear, -and every secret purpose of his people, says:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“I was compelled to witness the terribly distressing -effects of this cruel enactment; fugitive slaves, -who had lived for many years safely and securely in -western New York and elsewhere, some of whom -by industry and economy had saved some money -and bought little homes for themselves and their -children, were suddenly alarmed and compelled to -flee to Canada. Even colored people who had been -free all their lives felt very insecure in their freedom, -for under this law the oaths of any two villains -were sufficient to confine a free man to slavery for -life.... Although I was now free myself, -I was not without apprehension. My pardon was -of doubtful validity, having been bought when out -of possession of my owner, and when he must take -what was given or not at all.... From -rumors that reached me, my house was guarded by -my friends several nights.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>A much more serious consequence of the Fugitive -Slave Law was the altogether unexpected feeling of -resentment aroused in the North by its enforcement. -There was abundant willingness among the Northern -people that the slave-holders should have their -slaves and that they should have everything needed -to protect and make secure their property rights in -them; but when it came to pressing unwilling citizens -into the service of men who were hunting -slaves, there was a very natural revulsion of sentiment. -Just how intense was this feeling may best -<span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>be illustrated in the history of three different cases -that created wide-spread interest at the time. These -were known respectively as the Burns, Shadrach, -and Thomas Sims cases.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Anthony Burns had made his escape from his -master in Virginia and in 1854 was living in Boston. -In the month of May he was arrested under the provisions -of the Fugitive Slave Law. At this particular -time, Boston was aroused because of the passage -of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, repealing the Missouri -Compromise, and thereby permitting the extension -of slavery in the western territories. Burns was -confined in the Boston court-house under strong -guard. The people were in a mood to become profoundly -interested in his case, which presented itself -to them as an illustration of the cruelties of slavery -and of the Fugitive Slave Law. Wendell Phillips, -Theodore Parker, Richard A. Davis, Charles M. -Ellis, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and many -others equally prominent, gave practical effect to -this interest by securing a postponement of the hearing -for a few days. In the meantime, a meeting was -called in Faneuil Hall in which feeling ran high. -While it was in progress, Colonel Higginson led in -an attempt to rescue Burns. The door of the jail -was battered in, the deputy was killed, and the -Colonel and others were wounded. When the case -came up for a hearing before Commissioner Loring, -Burns had the best counsel that Boston could afford, -but like all cases under the Fugitive Slave Law, -there was no escape. After the formalities were -complied with, he was ordered back to his master. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>When this decision became known, many houses -were draped in black and so intense was the public -feeling against it, that the government directed -that Burns should be returned in a United States -revenue cutter. He was escorted to the wharf by a -strong guard and the streets were thronged with -Boston citizens in a great state of excitement. -There seemed to be no possible escape from a bloody -riot. When the water-side was reached and an outbreak -was imminent, a minister named Foster cried -out, “Let us pray,” and with this call for prayer -silence fell upon the excited throng; but the law had -its way and Burns was sent back.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The case of Shadrach was less exciting, but is interesting -as presenting another and different view of -the sentiment excited by the Fugitive Slave Law. -He was a fugitive and a resident of Boston. He -had been arrested in February, 1851, and during a -postponement of his hearing before the United States -Commissioner, the Boston Abolitionists rescued him -and got him into Canada, the land of safety. The -government officials in Washington took serious -notice of this rescue of a United States prisoner and -the uproar that followed seemed altogether out of -proportion to the incident. Commenting on the excitement -at the capital at this apparent determination -of Boston to defy the national government, Mr. -Garrison wrote:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“The head and front of the offending in this instance—what -is it? A sudden rush of a score or -two of unarmed friends of equal liberty—an uninjurious -deliverance of the oppressed out of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>hands of the oppressor—the quiet transportation of -a slave out of this slavery-ruled land to the free -soil of Upper Canada ... a solitary slave in -Boston is plucked as a brand from the burning, and -forthwith a Cabinet Council is held and behold a -menacing proclamation!”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Senator Henry Clay was “horrified” and proposed -an inquiry as to the expediency of passing -an additional law making it a penal offense in the -nature of treason for any one to interfere with the -smooth and peaceful exercise of his pet measure -in the Compromise Bill. Mr. Webster declared -that the rescue of Shadrach was “strictly speaking” -treason.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Scarcely had the United States grand jury finished -its examination of the Shadrach case when Boston -was again in the midst of an excitement over the -arrest and extradition of another fugitive slave, -Thomas Sims. Profiting by the failure to send -Shadrach back to his master, the officials had taken -extraordinary precautions to prevent a rescue by -mob or otherwise. The court-house where Sims -was imprisoned was surrounded by chains and -guarded by a large part of the city police force. As -a further precaution, the state militia was called -out and kept in readiness to quell a possible riot. -A part of this soldiery furnished an escort all the -way to Savannah, where the prisoner-slave was delivered -safely.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The bloody resistance on the part of runaways at -Christiana, Pa., did more than anything else, in the -opinion of Mr. Douglass, to put a check on the execution -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>of the law. At this place three colored men -were pursued by officers, and, when hard-pressed, -turned about, shot, and killed a Mr. Gorsuch, -wounded his son, drove back the officers, and then -made their escape to Rochester, where they were -rescued and given shelter in Mr. Douglass’s house. -The latter, with his assistants, finally smuggled -these fugitives to the Canadian shores, but in doing -so he imperiled his own safety to a greater extent -than ever before, because he was not only harboring -fugitives from slavery, but fugitives from justice. -After this experience, the law became a dead letter. -It not only intended to put an end to the business of -the Underground Railroad, but to make every community -in some degree responsible for the return of -runaway slaves, and it proved to be one of the most -unpopular and irritating pieces of legislation enacted -by the Federal Government. This act, more -than any other one thing, increased opposition to -slavery. Thousands of people who were either indifferent -or hostile to the anti-slavery cause, flocked -to the ranks of the Abolitionists when they saw -what it meant and whither it was leading the nation. -The language used by the leaders, both in -their publications and on the stump, became more -bitter and defiant.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass was always in the storm-centre of -every movement to thwart the execution of this -measure. He was in Boston, and in continuous conference -with Theodore Parker, Higginson, Garrison, -and others belonging to the “vigilance” committees. -It was in these meetings that Douglass says -<span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>he “got a peep into Parker’s soul.” He characterized -him as “a man who shrank from no opportunity -to do his full duty when man’s liberty was -threatened.” Mr. Douglass’s thorough and comprehensive -understanding of each succeeding change in -the development of the slavery question was generally -recognized by friend and foe. When he was -invited by the members of the New York state legislature -to address them on the subject, he was selected -because no man then living could speak with -a fuller knowledge of the great issue.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Belonging to this period of increasing antagonism -between pro-slavery and anti-slavery parties -was the decision in the Dred Scott case. This, the -Fugitive Slave Law, and the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, -taken together, represent the sum of the conservative -forces in the nation opposed to the Abolitionists -and their cause. Douglass’s opinion of the -situation, as it concerned himself and his people, -is voiced in the following extract from an address -delivered at New York in May, 1857:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“I am myself not insensible to the many difficulties -that beset us on every hand. They fling their -broad and gloomy shadows across the pathway of -every thoughtful colored man in this country. For -one, I see them clearly and feel them sadly. Standing, -as it were, barefoot, and treading upon the -sharp and flinty rocks of the present, and looking -out upon the boundless sea of the future, I have -sought in my humble way to penetrate the intervening -mists and clouds, and, perchance, to descry in the -dim and shadowy distance the white flag of freedom.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER X<br> <span class='large'>DOUGLASS, HARRIET BEECHER STOWE AND JOHN BROWN</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>The anti-slavery agitation made and revealed -some of the most notable characters in American -history. As it grew in extent and intensity, it attracted -to itself men and women gifted with the -powers needed to force great issues to a conclusion. -Those who were already in the struggle, like Mr. -Douglass, became more strongly committed to it, -and those who were not yet enlisted, but belonged -to it by right of individual temperament and spiritual -inheritance, hurriedly took their places in the -foremost ranks of responsibility and action.</p> - -<p class='c004'>There was no such thing as indifference in this -matter. For those who understood the vast issue -there were grave questions involved, and in -some form or other the right or wrong of it knocked -at the door of every one’s mind and conscience.</p> - -<p class='c004'>To those who were sufficiently gifted to say and -do anything great concerning this cause, the opportunity -was now at hand. In the midst of the confusion -and controversy, the public was ready to -listen to some clear voice that would tell it the facts -in regard to American slavery.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Harriet Beecher Stowe responded to this need -and was inspired to recite the story of the Negro in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>America. This she did with a mastery and a fascination -that commanded the widest reading ever yet -given to an American book. She so stirred the -hearts of the Northern people that a large part of -them were ready either to vote, or, in the last extremity, -to fight for the suppression of slavery. -The value of <cite>Uncle Tom’s Cabin</cite> to the cause of Abolition -can never be justly estimated.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mrs. Stowe was a member of the great Beecher -family, and was by inheritance, as well as by special -inspiration, peculiarly fitted to perform this service. -She developed a concern in the slavery question in -the natural course of her interest in all questions of -the time. She lived for awhile in Cincinnati, -where she was brought into close touch with some -of the most cruel incidents of slavery,—the flight -and capture of fugitives. Her sensitive nature was -stung by seeing men hunted through the streets of -the city, and carried back into bondage. She was -near the scene when Birney’s anti-slavery press was -destroyed by the mob. The whole atmosphere about -her was surcharged with the spirit of the controversy, -and the more she learned of the issue, -the deeper became her interest in it. Stirred by -sympathy for those whom she had come to regard -as the victims of a bad system, she determined to -know everything that was possible to be known -about it.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Crossing the Ohio River, Mrs. Stowe went down -into the land of slavery, to study the institution at -first hand. When she left the South and returned -to New England with her husband, she saw and felt -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>the evil as few in the North had ever seen and -felt it.</p> - -<p class='c004'>She soon discovered that the great mass of the -Northern people were not able to share her views. -She found most of them either indifferent or incredulous, -and concluded that if they had had her -experiences, they would also have her convictions. -The immediate incentive to the writing of <cite>Uncle -Tom’s Cabin</cite> was the desire to arouse the national -conscience and bring the people to a sense of their -responsibility. This remarkable story first appeared -in an anti-slavery newspaper, and proved so popular -that it was soon issued in book form. The -rapidity with which one edition after another was -published and consumed at home and abroad, was -without precedent. The Abolitionists were quick -to recognize the story as the most powerful engine -that had yet been employed against slavery. Frederick -Douglass thus speaks of its influence:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Nothing could have better suited the moral and -humane requirements of the hour. Its effect was -amazing, instantaneous, and universal. She [Mrs. -Stowe] at once became the object of interest and -admiration the world over.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The author was not only concerned for the well-being -of those who were enslaved in the South, but -was also intensely interested in those who were -already free in the North. She looked to Mr. -Douglass as the most eminent representative of the -Negro race in the free-states, and before sailing for -England, whither she had been invited by the -people, who were anxious to show her some honors -<span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>for what she had done, asked him to her home in -Andover, Mass. He gladly accepted the invitation, -and, in his <cite>Life and Times</cite>, gives the following -account of his visit:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“I was received at her home with genuine cordiality. -There was no contradiction between the -author and her book. Mrs. Stowe appeared in conversation -equally well as she appeared in her -writing. She made to me a nice little speech in announcing -her object in sending for me: ‘I have -invited you here,’ she said, ‘because I wish to confer -with you as to what can be done for the free -colored people of the country. I am going to England -and expect to have a considerable sum of -money placed in my hands, and I intend to use it in -some way for the permanent good of the colored -people and especially for that class which has become -free by their own exertions. In what way to -do this most successfully is the subject which I wish -to talk with you about. In any event I desire to -have some monument rise after <cite>Uncle Tom’s -Cabin</cite>, which shall show that it produced more -than a transient influence.’”</p> - -<p class='c004'>They discussed at some length the condition of his -people in the Northern states, and as a result both -concluded that there should be established an “Industrial -College,” where colored people could learn -some of the useful handicrafts,—to work in iron, -wood and leather—and where a good plain English -education could also be obtained. Their poverty -kept them ignorant, and ignorance kept them degraded. -Mrs. Stowe became so much interested in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>Mr. Douglass’s educational purposes that she asked -him to submit his plans in writing, so that she -could take them to England with her and show them -to her friends. On his return to Rochester he -elaborated his views, as she had requested. The -plans were then shown to many of the leading -Negroes who worked with him, and they very -heartily approved. Later they were submitted to a -convention of representative colored people in -Rochester to receive the endorsement of that body. -In this educational scheme, Mr. Douglass has given -evidence of his understanding of the needs of the -Negro in our generation, as well as of those in his -own. The following is an extract from the statement -which he sent to Mrs. Stowe in 1853:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The plan which I humbly submit in answer to -this query is the establishment in Rochester, N. Y., -or in some other part of the United States, equally -favorable to such an enterprise, of an Industrial -College in which shall be taught several important -branches of the mechanic arts. This college shall -be open to colored youth. I will pass over the details -of such an institution as I propose.... -Never having had a day’s schooling in all my life, -I may not be expected to map out the details of a -plan so comprehensive as that involved in the idea -of a college. The argument in favor of an Industrial -College, a college to be conducted by the best -men and the best workmen which the mechanic -arts can afford; where the colored youth can be instructed -to use their hands, as well as their heads; -where they can be put in possession of the means of -getting a living, whether their lot in after-life may -be cast among civilized or uncivilized men, whether -<span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>they choose to stay here, or prefer to return to the -land of their fathers, is briefly this: Prejudice -against the free colored people in the North has nowhere -shown itself so invincible as among mechanics. -The farmer and the professional man -cherish no feeling so bitter as that cherished by -these. The latter would starve us out of the country -entirely. At this moment I can more easily get my -son into a lawyer’s office to study law than I can -into a blacksmith’s shop to blow the bellows and to -wield the sledge-hammer. Denied the means of -learning the useful trades, we are pressed into the -narrowest limits to obtain a livelihood. In times -past we have been the hewers of wood and drawers -of water for American society, and we once enjoyed -a monopoly in menial employments, but this is so -no longer. Even these employments are rapidly -passing out of our hands. The fact is, that colored -men must learn trades; must find new employments -new modes of usefulness to society; or they must -decay under the pressing wants to which their condition -is rapidly bringing them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We must become mechanics; we must build as -well as live in houses; we must make as well as use -furniture; we must construct bridges as well as pass -over them, before we can properly live or be respected -by our fellow-men. We need mechanics as -well as ministers. We need workers in iron, clay, -and leather. We have orators, authors, and other -professional men, but these reach only a certain -class, and get respect for our race in certain select -circles. To live here as we ought, we must fasten -ourselves to our countrymen through their every-day -cardinal wants. We must not only be able to black -boots, but to make them. At present, in the -Northern states, we are unknown as mechanics. -We give no proof of genius or skill at the county, -state, or national fairs.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>“The fact that we make no show of our ability is -held conclusive of <em>our inability to make any</em>, hence all -the indifference and contempt with which incapacity -is regarded fall upon us, and that too when we have -had no means of disproving the infamous opinion of -our natural inferiority. I have during the last -dozen years denied before Americans that we are an -inferior race, but this has been done by arguments -based upon admitted principles rather than by the -presentation of facts. Now, firmly believing as I -do, that there are skill, invention, power, industry, -and real mechanical genius among the colored -people, which will bear favorable testimony for -them, and which only need the means to develop -them, I am decidedly in favor of the establishment -of such a college as I have mentioned. The benefits -of such an institution will not be confined to the -Northern states nor to the free colored people. They -would extend over the whole Union. The slave, not -less than the freeman, would be benefited by such -an institution. It must be confessed that the most -powerful argument now used by the Southern slave-holder, -and the one most soothing to his conscience, -is that derived from the low condition of the free -colored people of the North. I have long felt that -too little attention has been given by our truest -friends in this country, to removing this stumbling -block out of the way of the slave’s liberation.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The most telling, the most killing refutation of -slavery is the presentation of an industrious, enterprising, -thrifty and intelligent free black population. -Such a population I believe would rise in the -Northern states under the fostering care of such a -college as that proposed.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Allow me to say in conclusion that I believe -every intelligent colored man in America will approve -and rejoice at the establishment of some such -institution as that now suggested. There are many -<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>respectable colored men, fathers of large families, -having boys nearly grown, whose minds are tossed -by night and by day with the anxious query, What -shall I do with my boys? Such an institution would -meet the wants of such persons. Then, too, the establishment -of such an institution would be in character -with the eminently practical philanthropy -of your trans-Atlantic friends. America could -scarcely object to it as an attempt to agitate the -public mind on the subject of slavery, or to dissolve -the Union. It could not be tortured into a -cause for hard words by the American people, but -the noble and good of all classes would see in the -effort an excellent motive, a benevolent object temperately, -wisely and practically manifested.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>It would hardly be possible to show in any better -way the far-reaching and prophetic character of the -mind of Frederick Douglass. This letter indicates -very plainly that even before General Armstrong -had formulated his plan of academic and industrial -education, before Hampton Institute, and long before -Tuskegee Institute was thought of, Frederick -Douglass saw the necessity for just such work as -many of the industrial schools are doing in the -South at the present time.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It is thus most pleasant to have the name of -Douglass linked with the cause of industrial education. -He believed not only in academic and college -training but also in agricultural and mechanical -education. Hampton, Tuskegee and many other -institutions are now putting his teachings into -practice.</p> - -<p class='c004'>While in England, Mrs. Stowe was made the object -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>of much abuse by certain American newspapers, -which accused her of obtaining British gold for her -own use. Douglass, through the <cite>North Star</cite>, defended -her vigorously against these charges, and -the malicious were silenced. For reasons which he -could not ascertain, the plans for the industrial -school were never carried out, and, so far as is -known, Mrs. Stowe never again took up the project -with him.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The period that discovered to America and the -world Harriet Beecher Stowe, the writer of the Abolition -movement, also revealed John Brown, the -man of action. What Mrs. Stowe felt and wrote, -John Brown attempted to carry into effect.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass’s relations with this man were more -intimate and continuous than his associations with -the author of <cite>Uncle Tom’s Cabin</cite>. No one could be -a part of the anti-slavery movement between 1849 -and 1859 without knowing and being more or less -influenced by the personality of John Brown. His -opposition to slavery was like that of no other person. -It was scarcely a compliment to him to say -that he was highly regarded by the Abolitionists; -their feeling toward him had in it more of awe than -admiration. At all times he would rather fight -than discuss slavery. He began to dislike it when -he was twelve years of age. His business, his family, -his patriotism were all subordinated to the one -dominant purpose of hurling himself, and everybody -else who would follow him, against the system. -He would judge and estimate all persons by -what they thought and felt about slavery. John -<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>Brown early formed an attachment for Douglass, -being, in the beginning of his career, better known -by the Negroes than by the white people. He mingled -with them continually, hearing over and over -again the stories, sometimes thrilling, sometimes -pathetic, of a dawning desire for freedom, and soon -learned to know almost everything about their condition. -He became one of the most active conductors -of the Underground Railway system. Douglass -says that when the slaves mentioned the name of -John Brown, they dropped their voices to a whisper, -as if it were a sort of profanity to speak of him as -they would of any one else.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In 1847, Douglass received an urgent invitation -from Brown to visit him at his home in Springfield, -Mass. He responded to the call as if to a command, -and he has given the following account of that -visit:—</p> - -<p class='c005'>“At the time to which I now refer, this man was -a respectable merchant in a populous and thriving -city, and our first place of meeting was at his store. -A glance at the interior, as well as at the massive -walls without, gave me the impression that the -owner must be a man of considerable wealth. My -welcome was all that I could have asked. Every -member of the family, young and old, seemed glad -to see me, and I was made at home in a very little -while. I was, however, a little disappointed with -the appearance of the house and its location. After -seeing the fine store I was prepared to see a fine residence -in an eligible locality, but this conclusion -was completely dispelled by actual observation. It -was a small wooden building on a back street, in a -neighborhood chiefly occupied by laboring men and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>mechanics, respectable enough, to be sure, but not -quite the place, I thought, one would look for the -residence of a flourishing and successful merchant. -Plain as was the outside of this man’s house, the inside -was plainer. There was an air of plainness -about it which almost suggested destitution. My -first meal passed under the misnomer of tea, though -there was nothing about it resembling the usual significance -of that term. It consisted of beef-soup, -cabbage and potatoes—a meal such as a man might -relish after following the plough all day or performing -a forced march, of a dozen miles, over a rough -road in frosty weather. Innocent of paint, veneering, -varnish, or table-cloth, the table announced itself -unmistakably of pine and of the plainest workmanship. -There was no hired help visible. The -mother, daughters and sons did the serving, and did -it well. They were evidently used to it, and had no -thought of any impropriety or degradation in being -their own servants. Everything implied stern truth, -solid purpose, and rigid economy. I was not long -in company with the master of this house before I -discovered that he was indeed the master of it, and -was likely to become mine too, if I stayed long -enough with him. He fulfilled St. Paul’s idea of -the head of the family. His wife believed in him, -and his children obeyed him with reverence. Whenever -he spoke, his words commanded earnest attention. -His arguments, which I ventured at some -points to oppose, seemed to convince all; his appeals -touched all, and his will impressed all. Certainly -I never felt myself in the presence of a -stronger religious influence than while in this man’s -house.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“In person he was lean, strong, and sinewy, of -the best New England mold, built for times of -trouble, and fitted to grapple with the flintiest -hardships. Clad in plain American woolen, shod -<span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>in boots of cowhide leather, and wearing a cravat of -the same substantial material, under six feet high, -less than 150 pounds in weight, aged about fifty -years, he presented a figure straight and symmetrical -as a mountain pine. His bearing was singularly -impressive. His head was not large but compact -and high. His hair was coarse, his strong -spare mouth, supported by a broad and prominent -chin. His eyes were bluish gray, and in conversation -they were full of light and fire. When on the -street, he moved with a long springing race-horse -step, absorbed by his own reflections, neither seeking -nor shunning observation. Such was the man -whose name I heard in whispers; such was the -spirit of his house and family; such was the house -in which he lived; and such was Captain John -Brown, whose name has now passed into history, as -that of one of the most marked characters and -greatest heroes known to American fame.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“After the strong meal described, Brown cautiously -approached the subject which he wished to -bring to my attention; for he seemed to apprehend -opposition to his views. He denounced slavery in -look and language fierce and bitter; he thought -that slave-holders had forfeited their right to live, -that the slaves had a right to gain their liberty in -any way they could; did not believe that moral -suasion would ever liberate a slave, or that political -action would abolish the system. He said that he -had long had a plan which could accomplish this -end, and he had invited me to his house to lay that -plan before me. He said that he had been for some -time looking for colored men to whom he could -safely reveal his secret, and at times he had almost -despaired of finding such men; but that now he was -encouraged, because he saw heads of such rising in -all directions. He had observed my course at home -and abroad, and he wanted my coöperation. His -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>plan, as it then lay in his mind, had much to commend -it. It did not, as some suppose, contemplate -a general rising among the slaves, and a general -slaughter of the slave-masters. An insurrection, he -thought, would only defeat the object; but his plan -did contemplate the creating of an armed force -which should act in the very heart of the South. -He was not averse to the shedding of blood, and -thought the carrying of firearms would be a good -rule for the colored people to adopt, as it would give -them a sense of their manhood. No people, he -said, could have self-respect, or be respected, who -would not fight for their freedom. He called my -attention to the map of the United States. ‘These -mountains,’ he said, ‘are the basis of my plan. God -has given the strength of the hills to freedom; they -were placed here for the emancipation of the Negro -race; they are full of natural forts, where one man -for defense will be equal to a hundred for attack; -they are full also of good hiding places, where large -numbers of brave men could be concealed, and baffle -and elude pursuit for a long time. I know these -mountains well, and could take a body of men into -them and keep them there, in spite of all the efforts -of Virginia to dislodge them. The true object to be -sought is first of all to destroy the money value of -slave-property; and that can only be done by rendering -such property insecure. My plan, then, is -to take, at first, about twenty-five picked men, and -begin on a small scale; supply them with arms and -ammunition and post them in squads of fives on a -line of twenty-five miles. The most persuasive and -judicious of these shall go down to the fields from -time to time, as opportunity offers, and induce the -slaves to join them, seeking and selecting the most -reckless and daring.’”</p> - -<p class='c004'>From this time on the relationship between these -<span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>two Abolitionists grew in intimacy and thereafter -Mr. Douglass’s Rochester home was John Brown’s -headquarters whenever he was in that part of the -country.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the Springfield conference, he related his daring -plans for the rescue of the slaves in Virginia. -Mr. Douglass readily saw how impracticable and -certain of disastrous failure this project must be, -but John Brown could never be made to understand -the peril of anything that he thought it was right -to do. The possibility of failure seemed never to -enter into his calculations. Mr. Douglass said to -him at Springfield:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Suppose you succeed in running off a few -slaves, and thus impress the Virginia slave-holders -with a sense of insecurity in their slaves, the effect -will be only to make them sell their slaves further -South.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Whereupon Captain Brown replied: “That will -be just what I want first to do; then I would follow -them up. If we could drive them out of one county -it would be a great gain; it would weaken the -system throughout the state.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>“But,” said Douglass, “they would employ -blood-hounds to hunt you out of the mountains.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>“That they might attempt,” was the answer, -“but the chances are that we should whip them, and -when we should have whipped one squad, they -would be careful how they pursued us.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Thus would Brown confidently meet all possible -obstacles to his plan of invasion. If any other man -had urged such views about freeing the slaves with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>a force of less than one hundred men in the Virginia -mountains, he would have been regarded as -ridiculous; but John Brown was an advocate of -such intensity of faith and readiness to put himself -in front of every danger, that it required no little -courage to oppose him.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass was evidently much affected by -this interview. He had never before seen courage -and self-confidence so imperious, or a determination -to do something large and terrible so absolutely regardless -of consequences. After this conference -he admits that his own “utterances became more -and more tinged by the color of this man’s strong -impressions,” and his conviction grew “that slavery -could only end in blood.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Brown’s influence was easily traceable in Mr. -Douglass’s subsequent utterances, both in the <cite>North -Star</cite> and in his public addresses. During the fight -for free soil and free men in Kansas, after the Kansas-Nebraska -bill became a law, Mr. Douglass -probably did more than any one to supply the -militant captain with money and munitions. The -full size of Brown as a man was revealed in Kansas -when the struggle between pro-slavery and anti-slavery -forces became actual war. His daring deeds -in going into the state of Missouri, bringing out -dozens of slaves and conducting them safely to the -North; and his fight to keep Kansas free, could not -have succeeded, but for the support of such men as -Frederick Douglass. Captain Brown’s experiences -and adventures here strengthened his conviction -that his plans for the invasion of Virginia were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>right. He had studied the mountain ranges and -was satisfied in his own mind that the “Almighty -had raised those mountains for the very purpose of -aiding him to strike a death blow to slavery.” The -correspondence between the two men continued and -the black leader was well informed of every movement. -Brown never ceased to urge the ex-slave to -join him, both in drawing up a constitution for -future use and in the actual fighting. Indeed he -had so exalted an opinion of Douglass’s influence -that it was believed the slaves in Virginia and other -parts of the South would rise <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en masse</span></i> if they knew -that he was a part of this rescuing army.</p> - -<p class='c004'>About three weeks before the assault at Harper’s -Ferry, while John Brown was at Chambersburg, -making final arrangements for his attack, he sent -an urgent letter to Douglass, begging a conference. -The latter knew that this was a perilous step and -would certainly implicate him in the conspiracy -when the crash of failure came; yet he ignored the -danger and responded. He speaks of this last -visit to the old warrior, in part, as follows:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“I approached the old quarry with a good deal -of caution, for John Brown was generally armed -and regarded strangers with suspicion. He was -there under ban of the government and heavy rewards -were offered for his arrest for several offenses -which he is said to have committed in Kansas. He -was then passing under the name of John Smith. -As I came near him, he regarded me rather suspiciously, -but soon recognized me and received me -cordially. He had in his hand, when I met him, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>fishing tackle, with which he had been fishing in a -stream hard by, but I saw no fish.... The -fishing was simply a disguise and was certainly a -good one. He looked in every way like a man of -the neighborhood and as much at home as any of -the farmers around there. His hat was old and -storm-beaten and his clothing was about the color -of the quarry itself, his present dwelling-place. -His face wore an anxious expression and he was -much worn by exposure. I felt that I was on a -dangerous mission and was as little desirous of discovery -as himself.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Captains Brown, Kage, Shields Green and Mr. -Douglass sat down to hold a council of war. The -whole scheme of the proposed attack on Harper’s -Ferry and its capture was gone over without the -slightest hint of possible failure. Douglass opposed -the plan as wholly impracticable and fatal to -all who might engage in it, but his arguments were -promptly set aside by Brown. “He was not to be -shaken by anything I could say, but treated my -views respectfully. The debate continued during -Saturday and Sunday. Brown was for striking a -blow that would arouse the country, and I, for the -policy of gradually and secretly drawing off the -slaves to the mountains, as at first suggested by -Brown himself.” In the most fervent manner he -urged Mr. Douglass to remain and take part in the -fight. Just before the latter’s departure, Brown -threw his arm around the black man’s neck and -said: “Come with me, Douglass! I will defend -you with my life. I want you for a special purpose. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>When I strike, the bees will begin to swarm, -and I shall want you to help hive them.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The colored leader did not yield to the entreaty. -Brown was incapable of seeing the death-trap that -he had set for himself and his followers, and even -if he could have seen it, he would not have been -moved from his determination. A thousand men -might have followed him and all have perished, but -there could have been but one martyr, and that was -himself. Mr. Douglass’s death would have been a -wanton sacrifice, because it would have meant nothing -to the cause for which he had contributed so -much of his life during the previous twenty-five -years. He had a right to feel, as his subsequent -career so abundantly proved, that his work was not -finished. Of all the Abolitionists he was the only -one who followed Brown to the last with advice, -money, and other assistance. Because of what he -had already done, and especially in this final conference -at Chambersburg, he became amenable, as -afterward appeared, to the charge of treason.</p> - -<p class='c004'>When the news was flashed over the land that -John Brown was captured, the whole country was -thrown into a state of great excitement. In Virginia -the conclusion was quickly reached that the -raid was backed by a wide-spread conspiracy -and that men high in rank were implicated. -Mr. Douglass at the time was addressing a large audience -in Philadelphia. If he had any fear for himself, -he did not show it. By lingering in the state -so near the borders of slavery, where he had just -been in conference with the head and front of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>movement, he was in imminent danger. Brown’s -satchel, now in the hands of the officials, contained -much of Douglass’s correspondence. His friends -were apprehensive and insisted upon his immediate -flight from Philadelphia to his home in Rochester, -and thence to Canada. As a matter of precaution, -the following telegram was sent by his friend, Miss -Assing, to Rochester:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“B. F. Blackall, Esq.: Tell Lewis [Douglass’s -eldest son] to secure all the important papers in my -desk.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>All the newspapers stated that the Federal Government -would spare no pains to run down and -arrest every one who was in any way connected with -the conspiracy. It would have been gratifying to -those in power to have laid hands on Frederick -Douglass and to have made an example of him, -because he was regarded as one of the most offensive -of those who fought slavery. That his friends were -not unduly anxious for his safety is also proven by -the following copy of a letter signed by the Governor -of Virginia and sent to the President:</p> - -<p class='c019'>“(Confidential.)</p> -<div class='c020'>“<span class='sc'>Richmond, Va., Nov. 13, 1859.</span></div> -<p class='c021'>“<em>To His Excellency, James Buchanan, President of -the United States, and to the Honorable Postmaster-General -of the United States</em>:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“<span class='sc'>Gentlemen</span>:—I have information such as -has caused me, upon proper affidavits, to make -requisition upon the Executive of Michigan for the -delivery up of the person of Frederick Douglass, a -Negro man, supposed now to be in Michigan, -charged with murder, robbery, and inciting servile -<span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>insurrection in the State of Virginia. My agents -for the arrest and reclamation of the person so -charged, are Benjamin M. Morris and William N. -Kelly. The latter has the requisition and will wait -on you to the end of obtaining nominal authority -as post-office agents. They need to be very secretive -in this matter, and some pretext for traveling -through this dangerous section for the execution of -the laws in this behalf, and some protection against -obtrusive, unruly, or lawless violence. If it be -proper to do so, will the Postmaster-General be -pleased to give to Mr. Kelly, for each of these men, -a permit and authority to act as detectives for the -Post-office Department, without pay, but to pass -and repass without question, delay, or hindrance?</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c018'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Respectfully submitted,</div> - <div class='line in12'>“By your obedient servant,</div> - <div class='line in20'>“<span class='sc'>Henry A. Wise</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass was fairly pushed into Canada by -his friends, but the determination to get hold of -him was so strong that he was not regarded as safe -even there. It would not have been impossible to -effect some plan for arresting him so long as he remained -so close to his native land. It was decided -therefore that he must again go to England. He -had already planned this trip, but the interesting -events that culminated in the Harper’s Ferry -tragedy had delayed his departure.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass stated publicly that he would be -perfectly willing to be tried anywhere in New York -State, but not elsewhere. He took passage for England -from Quebec on the 12th day of November, -1859, and was everywhere received with the old-time -cordiality. As he was fresh from the scenes -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>and events that had stirred the English almost as -much as the American people, he was in great -demand for more complete information. He had -occasion to deliver many addresses and it was everywhere -manifest that he had lost none of his former -prestige. The only setback he suffered was when -he applied to George M. Dallas, the American Minister -to the Court of St. James, for a passport for the -purpose of visiting Paris. He was refused on the -ground that he was not a citizen of the United -States. His visit was cut short by the distressing -news of the death of his beloved little daughter, -Anna, the delight and life of his home, his absence -having covered only five months. He returned to -find the public temper toward him mollified by the -swift happenings of a season which was marked by -incessant change in the currents of popular feeling.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER XI<br> <span class='large'>FOREBODINGS OF THE CRISIS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>The ten years from 1850 to 1860 were years of -cumulative danger to the republic and to the principles -of liberty and democracy upon which it was -founded. For the Negro these years contained -more of perils than of hopes. The great historical -events growing out of the conflict between the pro-slavery -and the anti-slavery parties appeared to -have set the goal of emancipation ever farther out -of the range of practical possibilities. The Fugitive -Slave Law seemed for a time to put an end to all -hopes for further rescues from bondage. The Dred -Scott Decision made every Negro, free or slave, an -outlaw. The Kansas-Nebraska Bill threatened to -render slavery so thoroughly national that Abolition -would be forever impossible. Finally, the -John Brown raid intensified, for a time, the hatred -toward the colored people and their friends in the -North.</p> - -<p class='c004'>But the success of the pro-slavery party was more -apparent than real. It had gained merely a tactical -victory. All the deeper currents of the nation’s life -were running counter to it. The raid excited the -horror of the people. Even men active as Abolitionists -denounced the acts of John Brown as both -foolhardy and wicked. It seemed for a time that -every one prominent in social and political life in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>the North was anxious publicly to disavow all -share in what was described as a “reckless and -fanatical” deed. But John Brown’s raid did not -bring the people of the North and South any nearer -together. On the contrary, it merely widened the -breach between them. The North might disclaim -this act, but the people of the opposite section were -not satisfied with these disclaimers. It seemed to -them that behind John Brown was a great conspiracy, -and that the North, having determined to -make a nullity of the Fugitive Slave Law, was preparing -to follow it up with still more daring efforts -to free the slaves at any cost.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Brown was hurried to the gallows, but not before -an effort was made to implicate in his crime men -who were prominent as Abolitionists. It has already -been shown what steps were taken to capture -Frederick Douglass. A Congressional committee -was appointed for the purpose of thoroughly investigating -the whole matter, but it accomplished nothing. -It is scarcely necessary to say that the death -of Brown produced an impression throughout the -country quite as profound as that already created -by his “raid.” The execution changed public -sentiment at once. People now began to feel and -to say that the cause, and not the man, had been on -trial when he was found guilty. The sentence of -death passed by the Virginia court transformed -Brown in the eyes of a great many Northern people -into a martyr and shed a halo over the cause for -which he gave his life. Emerson compared the -gallows of Virginia to the cross in Palestine. All -<span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>through the North the people began to sing the -song that continued to be a favorite throughout the -Civil War:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c022'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave,</div> - <div class='line in8'>But his soul is marching on.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>The panic-stricken friends of freedom recovered -their spirits and renewed their attacks with increased -vigor. To quote from Frederick Douglass: -“John Brown’s defeat was already assuming the -form of victory, and his death was giving new life -and power to the principles of justice and liberty. -What he had lost by the sword, he had more than -gained by the truth.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The people of the South all through this controversy -had shown themselves correct interpreters of -public sentiment. They clearly saw that the execution -of John Brown did not put an end to the cause -of Abolition. This reckless act of invasion was -merely typical of what was possible on a scale of -vaster proportions. In spite of everything that had -been achieved by law and by decisions of the -Supreme Court, the trend of feeling in the North -was steadily against slavery. In spite of the Fugitive -Slave Law and an increasing vigilance on the -part of masters and their agents, the Underground -Railroad continued its business of carrying slave-property -to free soil. Charles Sumner’s speech in -the Senate added fresh interest to the cause of emancipation, -and the continued popularity of <cite>Uncle -Tom’s Cabin</cite> was ominous. All these disquieting circumstances -boded some dreadful issue of the controversy. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>The drift of events is best exhibited in the -effects of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, already referred -to. When this bill became a law, as the consummation -of the policy of Senator Stephen A. Douglas -of Illinois, the physical boundary between slavery -and freedom, which many had supposed to be fixed -as firmly as the Declaration of Independence, was -swept away and all the vast empire of the west and -northwest became disputed ground between the -forces of free soil and slavery. This act gave effect -to the new doctrines of state sovereignty. Whatever -may have been its purpose, the result was to -unite the forces of the North and South, pitting the -two sections against each other in a struggle for -supremacy in the new territory. In outward appearance -this new doctrine was peaceful and sound, -but it held dreadful possibilities. Expressed plainly, -the Kansas-Nebraska Law said that whether these -new states should be free or slave-states must be -left to the people. It was for them to vote slavery -“up” or “down.” In other words, if the majority -of the people of these territories voted for slavery, -it became, by their sovereign will, an institution -fixed and irrevocable; if not, slavery was forever -to be shut out, just as it was excluded from Massachusetts.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The intensity of public interest in and anxiety -for the future status of these new states was shown -in the instant rush into Kansas from New England -of colonists favorable to the cause of free soil, and -from the South of colonists favorable to the cause of -slavery. Each side appreciated how momentous -<span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>was the issue. The people of Missouri and other -neighboring slave-states knew that it would be difficult, -with a free state adjoining them to hold their -bond-servants in security. The people of New England -and other Northern states understood that the -political supremacy of the free-states would be forever -lost if the South were able to make slave-ground -out of the western territory.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It was an exciting contest and soon proved a gory -one. Men from both sections were expecting that -the struggle would be attended with bloodshed and -they went out armed and prepared for it. Kansas, -“bleeding Kansas,” was a battle-ground. It is -not necessary here to recount the sanguinary incidents -between the cohorts of emancipation and -slavery in this neutral territory. Suffice it to say -that in the end the cause of free soil triumphed and -the contest was merely preliminary to a vaster conflict -of which it was a premonitory token.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Before and during these stormy events in Kansas, -there was in progress an intellectual conflict which -was destined to have a more serious ending. This -was the historic debates between Abraham Lincoln -and Stephen A. Douglas, both of Illinois. More -clearly, perhaps than any other one event, this -round of speeches formulated the issue which -divided the American people politically on the -question of slavery. It revealed to the nation a -man who gave to them, for the first time, a frank -and clear-cut definition of the issue to which -it had been brought by the struggle. Lincoln -said in effect: “The Union cannot long endure, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>half-slave and half-free. It must be all one or all -the other, and the public mind can find no resting-place -but in the ultimate extinction of slavery.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Of course, this was but a reiteration of what had -been repeatedly said by the Abolitionists during the -past twenty-five years, but coming now at a time -when there was an unconscious groping of the popular -mind toward a definite issue for public action, -these clear words seemed to be charged with meaning -of tremendous importance. The people of the -whole country listened to these Illinois debaters -with an interest that seemed prescient of coming -events. As the debate progressed, Mr. Lincoln -seemed to rise visibly and steadily from the western -provincial obscurity he had lived in up to this -point, to a prominence in which he appeared for the -time to overshadow every one else who had spoken -on the great question. The immediate prize to be -won in the debate was a seat in the United States -Senate; but before its close, this sank into insignificance, -and the presidency of the United States, the -preservation of the Union, and the fate of slavery, -had become the stakes of the contest.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The issues in the coming election already began -to shape themselves along the lines enunciated by -Mr. Lincoln and Senator Douglas. In due time new -political alignments were completed as follows:</p> - -<p class='c004'>(1) The pro-slavery and Union Democrats of the -North stood for state sovereignty, or the right of -the people of a territory to admit or bar slavery as -they saw fit. Senator Douglas was the unquestioned -leader of this wing of the Democratic party.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>(2) The pro-slavery people of the South stood -for the bold declaration that the Constitution of its -own force gave the right to carry slaves into any -territory of the United States and to hold them -there, with or without the consent of the people of -the territory. John C. Breckinridge was the leader -of the Southern wing of the Democracy.</p> - -<p class='c004'>(3) Abraham Lincoln was chosen to bear the -standard of all the people who were opposed to -both varieties of pro-slavery Democrats. His doctrine -was that the Federal Government had the -right to exclude slavery from the territories of the -United States, and that this right and power ought -to be exercised to keep slavery within the confines -of the then existing slave-states.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It will be seen that emancipation was not an issue -on the surface of these declarations of principles. -The whole question appeared to be: Shall slavery -have the power of expansion? If this power were -denied, could there be any doubt as to what must -ultimately follow? If the people feared the power -of slavery to such an extent that they would or -could keep it within a restricted territory, would -not this principle, when successful, be the first step -toward its extirpation? The South more clearly -than the North understood that the triumph of Mr. -Lincoln would settle nothing. Beneath these platform -utterances was the unwritten issue: Slavery’s -security of expansion, or its “ultimate extinction.” -If the South won in the impending contest, not only -would slavery be secured by the right of its extension -into the undivided territory west of the Mississippi, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>but political supremacy might pass permanently -from the free-states.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The position of Stephen A. Douglas and his followers -was rather anomalous. As the Senator at -one time expressed it, he cared not whether the -question of extending slavery into the territories -was “voted up or voted down”; with him the important -thing seemed to be that the people of the -new territory should have the opportunity to vote -on the question and decide for themselves the character -of their institutions.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Lincoln’s followers represented nearly everything -left of the spirit that was glorified in the -Declaration of Independence and the Revolution of -1776. Those who would preserve the soil of the -West free; those who would not only restrict, but -abolish slavery altogether; and those who would -endow the Negro with all the proclaimed natural -rights of man, supported Lincoln.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The situation was complicated as well as perilous. -Heretofore, when the only question between the -North and the South was slavery or the right to -hold slaves, the people of the North were governed -as much by their racial prejudices as the Southern -people. Now, however, when other questions, incidental -to slavery, as, for instance, the future political -supremacy, were involved with the main issue, -many men and women, who had heretofore been indifferent -or silent, became actively concerned, and -felt impelled to take a definite stand. There seems -never to have been any possibility of the North and -South going to war on account of Negro slavery. It -<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>was at this time clear from the whole history of the -controversy that if the Negro were ever to be free, -his freedom must come as a consequence and not as -the cause of a conflict.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Probably no man in public life saw this more -clearly than Frederick Douglass. He was just as -much a part of the history in the process of making, -all about him, as he was permitted to be. He had -his say and was heard. He understood the trend of -events and he was not swept away by merely transitory -incidents. In all this controversy he sought -constantly, in his speeches, and in his paper, <cite>Douglass’s -Monthly</cite>, to lift into clear view the paramount -issue. The following extract from one of his -speeches indicates the clearness with which he saw, -and the definiteness with which he was able to foreshadow -the events of the next succeeding years:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“The only choice left to this nation is abolition -or destruction. You must abolish slavery or abandon -the Union. It is plain that there can never be -any union between the North and South, while the -South values slavery more than nationality. A -union of interests is essential to a union of ideas -and without this union of ideas, the outer form of -union will be but as a rope of sand.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>During the Illinois debates, Frederick Douglass -did all he could to enforce the arguments and extend -the steadily growing influence of Mr. Lincoln. -He made an extensive campaign in Michigan, Wisconsin, -and Iowa. His audiences were large and -interested, being eager to hear any man who could -speak with the distinction, clearness, and frankness -<span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>that characterized his public utterances. He had -grown in esteem and the mob-spirit that tried to -harass him in his earlier campaigns in the West -had given way before his increasing influence and -popularity. Once in Illinois he met Senator Douglas, -who treated him with marked courtesy.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In 1854, Frederick Douglass delivered an address -in Chicago which ranks as one of his greatest orations. -Frederick May Holland, who has already -been referred to as the author of a valuable biography -of the Negro leader, has given to the public, -for the first time, I believe, nearly all of this interesting -speech. The reproduction of at least a part -of it seems essential to this chapter:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The Constitution knows no man by the color of -his skin. The men who made it were too noble for -any such limitation of humanity and human rights. -The term ‘white’ is a modern term in the legislation -of this country. It was never used in the better -days of our republic, but has sprung up within the -period of our national degeneracy.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I am here simply as an American citizen, having -a stake in the weal or woe of the nation in common -with other citizens. I am not here as the -agent of any sect or party. Parties are too politic -and sects are too sectarian, to select one of my -odious class and of my radical opinions, at this important -time and place, to represent them. Nevertheless, -I do not stand alone here. There are noble-minded -men in Illinois who are neither ashamed of -their cause nor their company. Some of them are -here to-night, and I expect to meet them in every -part of the state where I may travel.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“But, I pray, hold no man or party responsible -<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>for my words, for I am no man’s agent, and I am no -party’s agent.... It is alleged that I came -here in this state to insult Senator Douglas. Among -gentlemen that is only an insult that is intended to -be such, and I disavow all such intention. I am -here precisely as I was in this state one year ago—with -no other change in my relations to you, or the -great question of human freedom, than time and -circumstances have brought about. I shall deal -with the same subject with the same spirit now as -then, approving such men and such measures as -look to the security of liberty in the land and with -my whole heart condemning such men and measures -as serve to subvert or endanger it. If Hon. S. A. -Douglas, your beloved and highly gifted senator, -has designedly or through mistaken notions of public -policy, ranged himself on the side of oppressors, -and the deadliest enemies of liberty, I know of no -reason, either in this world or in any other world, -which should prevent me or any one else, from -thinking so or saying so.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The people in whose cause I came here to-night -are not among those whose right to regulate their -own domestic concerns is so feelingly, and earnestly, -and eloquently contended for in certain quarters. -They have no Stephen A. Douglas, no General Cass, -to contend at North Market Hall for their popular -sovereignty. They have no national purse, no -offices, no reputation with which to corrupt Congress, -or to tempt men, mighty in eloquence and -influence into their service. Oh, no! They have -nothing to commend them, but their unadorned -humanity. They are human—that’s all—only -human. Nature owns them as human; but men -own them as property, and only as property. Every -right of human nature, as such, is denied them; -they are dumb in their chains. To utter one groan -or scream for freedom in the presence of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>Southern advocate of popular sovereignty, is to -bring down the frightful lash upon their quivering -flesh. I know this suffering people; I am acquainted -with their sorrows; I am one with them -in experience; I have felt the lash of the slave-driver, and stand up here with all the bitter recollections -of its horrors vividly upon me.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“There are special reasons why I should speak -and speak freely. The right of speech is a very -precious one. I understand that Mr. Douglas regards -himself as the most abused man in the United -States; and that the greatest outrage ever committed -upon him was in the case in which your indignation -raised your voices so high that he could -not be heard. No personal violence, as I understand, -was offered him. It seems to have been a -trial of vocal powers between the individual and -the multitude; and as might have been expected, -the voice of one man was not equal in volume to -the voices of five thousand. I do not mention this -circumstance to approve it; I do not approve it. I -am for free speech, as well as free men and free soil; -but how ineffably insignificant is this wrong done in -a single instance, compared to the stupendous iniquity -perpetrated against more than three millions -of the American people, who are struck dumb by -the very men in whose cause Mr. Senator Douglas -was here to plead! While I would not approve the -silencing of Mr. Douglas, may we not hope that -this slight abridgment of his rights, may lead him -to respect in some degree the rights of other men, -as good in the eye of Heaven as himself?</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Let us now consider the great question of the -age, the only great national question which seriously -agitates the public mind at this hour. It is -called the vexed question, and excites alarm in -every quarter of the country.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The proposition to repeal the Missouri Compromise, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>was a stunning one. It fell upon the -nation like a bolt from a cloudless sky. The thing -was too startling for belief. You believed in the -South and you believed in the North; and you -knew that the repeal of the Missouri Compromise -was a breach of honor; and therefore, you said that -the thing could not be done. Besides both parties -had pledged themselves directly, positively, and -solemnly against reopening in Congress the agitation -on the subject of slavery; and the President -himself had declared his intention to maintain the -national quiet. Upon these assurances you rested -and rested fatally. But you should have learned -long ago that men do not gather grapes of thorns or -figs of thistles. It is folly to put faith in men -who have broken faith with God. When a man -has brought himself to enslave a child of God, to -put fetters on his brother, he has qualified himself -to disregard the most sacred of compacts; beneath -the sky there is nothing more sacred than man, and -nothing can be properly respected when manhood -is despised and trampled upon.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It is said that slavery is the creature of positive -law, and that it can only exist where it is sustained -by positive law—that neither in Kansas nor Nebraska -is there any law establishing slavery, and -that therefore, the moment a slave-holder carries his -slaves into these territories, he is free and restored -to the rights of human nature. This is the ground -taken by General Cass. He contended for it in the -North Market Hall, with much eloquence and skill. -I thought, while I was hearing him on this point, -that slave-holders would not be likely to thank him -for the argument. It is not true that slavery cannot -exist without being established by positive law. -The instance cannot be shown where a law was ever -made establishing slavery, where the relation of -master and slave did not previously exist. The law -<span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>is always an after-coming consideration. Wicked -men first overpower and subdue their fellow-men to -slavery, and then call in the law to sanction the -deed. Even in the slave-states of America, slavery -has never been established by law. It was not established -under the colonial charters of the original -states, nor the Constitution of the United States. It -is now and has always been a system of lawless violence. -On this proposition I hold myself ready and -willing to meet any defender of the Nebraska bill. -I would not hesitate to meet even the author of that -bill himself.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“He says he wants no broad, black line across -this continent. Such a line is odious, and begets -unkind feelings between the citizens of a common -country. Now, fellow citizens, why is the line of -thirty-six degrees, thirty minutes, a broad black -line? What is it that entitles it to be called a black -line? It is the fashion to call whatever is odious in -this country, black. You call the devil black, and -he may be; but what is there in the line of thirty-six -degrees, thirty minutes, which makes it blacker -than the line which separates Illinois from Missouri -or Michigan from Indiana? I can see nothing in -the line itself which should make it black or odious. -It is a line, that’s all. It is black, black and -odious, not because it is a line, but because of the -things it separates. If it keep asunder what God -has joined together, or separate what God intended -should be fused, then it may be called an odious -line, a black line; but if, on the other hand, it -marks only a distinction natural and eternal, a distinction -fixed in the nature of things by the eternal -God, then I say, withered be the arm and blasted be -the hand that would blot it out.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Nothing could be further from the truth, then, -to say that popular sovereignty is accorded to the -people who may settle the territories of Kansas and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>Nebraska. The three great cardinal powers of government -are the executive, legislative and judicial. -Are these powers sacred to the people of Kansas and -Nebraska? You know they are not. That bill -places the people of that territory, as completely -under the powers of the Federal government as -Canada is under British rule. By this Kansas-Nebraska -Bill, the Federal government has the substance -of all governing power, while the people -have the shadow. The judicial power of the territories -is not from the people of the territories, who -are so bathed in the sunlight of popular sovereignty -by stump eloquence, but from the Federal government. -The executive power of the territories -derives its existence, not from the overflowing -fountain of popular sovereignty, but from the Federal -government. The secretaries of the territories -are not appointed by the sovereign people of the -territories, but are appointed independent of popular -sovereignty.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“But is there nothing in this bill that justifies the -supposition that it contains the principle of popular -sovereignty? No, not one word. Even the territorial -councils, elected, not by the people of the -territory, but only by certain descriptions of people, -are subject to a double veto power, vested, first in -the governor, whom they did not elect, and second -in the President of the United States. The only -shadow of popular sovereignty is the power given -to the people of the territories by this bill to have, -hold, buy, and sell human beings. The sovereign -right to make slaves of their fellow-men, if they -choose, is the only sovereignty that the bill secures.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“But it may be said that Congress has the right -to allow the people of the territories to hold slaves. -The answer is, that Congress is made up of men, and -possesses only the rights of men; and unless it can -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>be shown that some men have a right to hold their -fellow-men as property, Congress has no such right. -There is not a man within the sound of my voice, -who has not as good a right to enslave a brother -man, as Congress has. This will not be denied, -even by slave-holders.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Error may be new, or it may be old, since it is -founded in a misapprehension of what truth is. It -has its beginnings; and its endings. But not so -truth. Truth is eternal. Like the great God, from -whose throne it emanates, it is from everlasting to -everlasting, and can never pass away. Such a truth -is man’s right to freedom. He was born with it. -It was his before he comprehended it. The title -deed to it was written by the Almighty on His -heart; and the record of it is in the bosom of the -Eternal; and never can Stephen A. Douglas efface -it, unless he can tear from the great heart of God -this truth; and this mighty government of ours will -never be at peace with God, unless it shall practically -and universally embrace this great truth as -the fountain of all its institutions, and the rule of -its entire administration....</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Now, gentlemen—I have done. I have no fear -for the ultimate triumph of free principles in this -country. The signs of the times are propitious. -Victories have been won by slavery; but they have -never been won against the onward march of anti-slavery -principles. The progress of these principles -has been constant, steady, strong and certain. -Every victory won by slavery has had the effect to -fling our principles more widely and favorably -among the people. The annexation of Texas, the -Florida war, the war with Mexico, the Compromise -Measures, and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, -have all signally vindicated the wisdom of the -great God, who has promised to override the wickedness -of men for His own glory—to confound the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>wisdom of the crafty and bring to naught the -counsels of the ungodly.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The nomination, in 1860, of Mr. Lincoln by the -Republican party, of Stephen A. Douglas by the -Northern Democracy, and of John C. Breckinridge -by the Southern Democracy, brought on that memorable -campaign which preceded the final collision -between the North and the South.</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Into the fight,” says Frederick Douglass, “I -threw myself, with a firm faith and more ardent -hope than ever before, and what I could do by pen -and voice was done with a will. The most memorable -feature of the canvass, was that it was prosecuted -under the shadow of a threat.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The followers of Breckinridge had boldly announced -that if they were defeated, they would not -submit to the rule of Abraham Lincoln, but would -proceed to take the slave-states out of the Union. -This threat of secession was not a new one, but, -coming, as it did, after the failure to make Kansas -a slave-state, it created something like a panic in -the North. It served for the moment to divert public -opinion from political issues to the very grave -possibility of national disruption.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In spite of this openly declared purpose on the -part of the Southern Democracy, the Republican -party, made up in part of Whigs, the old “Liberty” -and “Free Soil” parties, and a large number of the -Abolitionists, elected Abraham Lincoln as President -of the United States.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It was a signal victory, but it brought with it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>little comfort, more anxiety, and many grave responsibilities. -The people of the North were desirous -of peace, and so were the people of the South; -but to agree on terms was difficult. While the -North, in the presence of a great triumph was -worried and anxious, the South openly and resolutely -began to prepare for secession and war. -When, in the early part of the presidential canvass, -the South notified the nation what it would do in -case of defeat, the threat was generally accepted as -mere bluster. No sooner was the result of the election -known than there began to accumulate evidence -which indicated that this threat was backed by a -very positive determination to carry it out. The -states south of the Ohio prepared to leave the -Union in orderly procession, as if secession were a -familiar and undisputed custom. The administration, -under President Buchanan, saw the process of -national dismemberment go on and merely declared -that it could find no power in the Constitution to -coerce a state. In the presence of this unchallenged -dissolution of the Union, the North fairly quaked -with fear. An opinion which favored almost any -kind of compromise that would save the country -from the horrors of civil war gained wide influence. -While the South was confident of its strength to -maintain itself in its present course, it did finally -and with apparent reluctance, indicate a few of the -conditions on which it would agree to remain in the -Union. Among these were the following:</p> - -<p class='c004'>Each Northern state, through its legislature or in -convention assembled, should repeal all laws which -<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>tended to impair the constitutional rights of the -South.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It should pass laws for the easy and prompt execution -of the Fugitive Slave Law.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Laws should be passed imposing penalties on all -malefactors, who should hereafter encourage the -escape of fugitive slaves.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Laws should be passed declaring and protecting -the rights of slave-holders to travel and sojourn in -Northern states, accompanied by their slaves.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Every state should instruct its representatives and -senators in Congress to repeal the law prohibiting -the sale of slaves in the District of Columbia, and -pass laws sufficient for the full protection of slave -property in the territories of the Union.</p> - -<p class='c004'>These conditions, offered by the South, could not -be heartily approved by the people who had just -won such a decided victory on an issue involving -these very conditions. Yet there was a decided -wave of popular feeling in favor of peace upon any -terms. Men of positive convictions and eminent in -all walks of life—William H. Seward, H. B. Anthony, -and Joshua R. Giddings—were now ready to -purchase it at almost any price. The enthusiasm -for emancipation and free soil that had so stirred -the North during the presidential campaign, began -to wane, and so serious a reaction set in that, for a -time, it seemed likely to make barren the Republican -victory. Not only so, but the mob-spirit of -the ’30’s was reawakened, and Wendell Phillips, -William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and -their supporters were assaulted on the streets of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>Boston. The people of the North refused to tolerate -further agitation against slavery, and were desirous, -in every possible way, to appease the anger of the -other section. Committees were appointed to confer -with representatives of the South for the purpose -of obtaining a better understanding of their -grievances.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Thus, while the North seemed anxious to recede -from almost every position it had won in the recent -election, the South was too confident of its strength -and of the justice of its cause to give much encouragement -to the messengers of peace from the other -side. The situation just described is an interesting -illustration of the characteristic difference between -the people of the North and the South on every -question in which the Negro was involved. The -North was very reluctant to make slavery an issue; -the South was always willing to be challenged on -that issue. In the North, the Negro was a problem; -in the South, he was property. It is always easier -to deal with property than to deal with a problem. -For example: In the Kansas and Nebraska controversy, -the South wanted territory for slave-property, -and the North wanted it as an outlet for New England -emigrants. If the only question involved had -been to save the black man from further enslavement, -the South would very possibly have won. In -other words, interest in the Negro as a human being, -deserving a chance to live and grow, was not the -only and perhaps not the immediate motive behind -the men who fought for free soil. Slavery was fundamental -and therefore, from the point of view of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>party politics, a dangerous issue. There were men -in the North and also in the South who for conscience’ -sake would like to have seen the Negro -emancipated, but the nation was not yet ready for -it. It involved consequences so vast and so far-reaching -that the mass of the people hesitated and -were afraid. In the state of the country at that -time, the political parties of the North were anxious -to make it appear to the South that they had little -or no concern about the Negro, either as a freeman -or a slave. Their great anxiety was to save the -Union. Mr. Lincoln was politically wise enough to -state that his administration was in no way committed -to emancipation or to anything else that -looked to a change in the condition of the Negro -people. He would save the Union with or without -slavery. He would very likely have found himself -lacking in national confidence or support, had he -failed to make this declaration.</p> - -<p class='c004'>When the South decided to go out of the Union, -it furnished the President with the one thing needed -and that was a platform on which he could unite -the people of the North. When his policy was distinctly -the preservation of the government, Free -Soil Democrats, Abolitionists, and all believers in -an undivided country, came at his call. All sentiment -in favor of emancipation served only to swell -the passionate appeal to the national feeling to save -the Union. The Negro’s only hope was that, in this -threatened conflict to preserve intact the federation -of the states, his emancipation might become an -inevitable necessity.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>Frederick Douglass expressed this hope in the -following language: “I confess to a feeling allied to -satisfaction at the prospect of a conflict between the -North and South. Standing outside of the pale of -American humanity, denied citizenship, unable to -call this land of my birth my country, and adjudged -by the Supreme Court to have no rights which a -white man was bound to respect, and longing for the -end of bondage for my people, I was ready for any -political upheaval that would bring about an end to -the existing condition of things.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER XII<br> <span class='large'>DOUGLASS’S SERVICES IN THE CIVIL WAR</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>The Civil War came on as the direct result of the -irreconcilable sentiments of the North and the South -on the question of slavery and the political conflicts -already mentioned. On the part of the South, it -was begun and waged with marvelous courage and -intelligence to preserve slavery and to establish the -right of secession; and on the part of the North, to -preserve the Union, and the right of Congress to -deal with slavery as a national issue. During the -first two years of the war, the Federal Government -did and said everything possible to convince the -people of the South that the new Republican party -had no intention, near or remote, of interfering with -slavery. At the very beginning of hostilities, William -H. Seward, Secretary of State, declared to the -nations of the world that “terminate however it -might, the status of no class of people of the United -States would be changed by the Rebellion; that the -slaves would be slaves still and that the masters -would be masters still.” This policy was consistently -followed in the field of military operations, as -well as in the civil administration of the government.</p> - -<p class='c004'>General McClellan, Commander-in-Chief of the -Union Army, early in the conflict, warned the -slaves that “if any attempt was made by them to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>gain their freedom, it would be suppressed by an -iron hand.” In many places Union soldiers were -detailed to guard the plantations of Southern slave-owners. -In parts of the South in possession of the -Federal army, black fugitives, who had found their -way into the lines, were returned to their masters by -order of the commanding officers. The following -is a copy of the proclamation issued by General -T. W. Sherman at Port Royal in November, 1861:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“In obedience to the order of the President of these -United States of America, I have landed on your -shores with a small force of national troops. The -dictates of duty which, under the Constitution, I -owe to a great sovereign state, and to a proud and -hospitable people, among whom I have passed some -of the pleasantest days of my life, prompt me to -proclaim that we have come among you with no -feelings of personal animosity; no desire to harm -your citizens, destroy your property or interfere -with your lawful rights or your social and local institutions -beyond what the cause herein briefly attended -to, may render unavoidable.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>This proclamation is typical of those issued by -General John A. Dix, General Burnside, and other -Union commanders in different parts of the South. -All this was in perfect accord with President Lincoln’s -oft-repeated declaration, that his paramount -object was to save the Union and not to save or destroy -slavery. “If I could save the Union, without -freeing the slaves, I would do it,” said he. “If I -could do it by freeing some and leaving others -alone, I would also do that. What I do about -<span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe -it helps to save the Union, and what I forbear, -I forbear because I do not believe it would -help to save the Union.... I have here -stated my purpose according to my views of official -duty, and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed -wish that all men everywhere could be -free.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>This declaration of President Lincoln was reflected -in every act of every agency of his administration. -It gave the cause of the Union a spirit and character -wholly apart from the cause of Emancipation. -It is needless to say that this attitude of the Federal -government was not pleasing to the Abolitionists, -and the colored people in the free-states were much -disheartened. Horace Greeley voiced the impatience -of this element when, in a letter of complaint -to the President, he said: “Every hour of defense -of slavery is an hour of added and deepened peril to -the Union;” and asked, “if the seeming subserviency -of your policy to the slave-holding, slavery-upholding -interests, is not the perplexity and the -despair of statesmen of all parties?”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In spite of the seeming pro-slavery policy of the -national administration, Frederick Douglass was -earnestly consecrating every energy of his being to -the President’s support. He was wise enough to -understand that if Lincoln in the beginning, had -stated his policy to be, not only to save the Union, -but also to free the slaves, all would have been lost. -While other Abolitionists were impatient and -doubtful of Mr. Lincoln’s course, Douglass declared -<span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>himself convinced that the war, even though it -be called a “white man’s war,” was nevertheless -the beginning of the end of the nation’s great evil. -He still believed, and so declared in his public -speeches, that “the mission of the war was the liberation -of the slaves as well as the salvation of the -Union.” “I reproached the North,” he said, -“that they fought with one hand, while they might -strike more effectively with two; that they fought -with the soft white hand, while they kept the black -iron hand chained and helpless behind them; that -they fought the effect, while they protected the -cause; and said that the Union cause would never -prosper until the war assumed an anti-slavery attitude -and the Negro was enlisted on the side of the -Union.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>It required time and the cumulation of events to -bring about a state of feeling that would tolerate the -suggestion of using colored men in the Union army. -Mr. Douglass more than any other one man, helped -to bring about this change. It finally became evident -that if the Negroes were good enough to be -employed in the Confederate ranks, as laborers, -they ought to be good enough for like service in the -Union lines. In the South, thousands of Negroes -were at home, protecting the families of the men -who fought in the field, and raising crops as subsistence -for the Confederate soldiers and their wives -and children; thousands more were employed in -building fortifications, digging trenches, and doing -work which otherwise would have had to be done -by the men who were needed at the front; and, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>anomalous as it may seem, a few colored men, it is -said, were actually enrolled and enlisted as soldiers -in the Confederate army, fighting for their own continued -enslavement. The following account was -published of a procession of Southern troops in New -Orleans in November, 1861: “Over 28,000 troops -were reviewed by Governor Moore, Major-General -Scoville, and Brigadier-General Ruggles. The line -was over seven miles long. One regiment comprised -1,400 free colored men.”<a id='r4'></a><a href='#f4' class='c017'><sup>[4]</sup></a></p> - -<div class='footnote' id='f4'> -<p class='c004'><a href='#r4'>4</a>. Greeley: <cite>The American Conflict</cite>, Vol. II, p. 522.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>It was expedient that the government, in enlisting -Negroes, should move with extreme caution, not -only to prevent undue irritation of Southern feeling, -but what was more serious, to avoid offending -the deep-seated prejudice against colored people in -the North. It was rightly believed that thousands -of white men would refuse to enlist if Negroes were -to serve in the army on an even footing with them. -Then again, the border states, which were more or -less favorable to the Union, would be irrevocably -lost to it. In due time, however, all objections were -swept aside by the pressure of black men themselves -and by the needs of the government.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Correspondents from the seat of war began to tell -how a Negro regiment at Port Royal, and certain -Negro companies in Louisiana had conducted themselves -in battles for the Union, and these accounts -dispelled all doubts as to their fighting capacity. -The early orders by the government to return all -fugitive slaves to their masters were no longer issued. -General Benjamin P. Butler announced that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>he would regard all fugitive slaves, finding their -way into his lines, as “contraband of war.” Colored -men were being employed extensively as -laborers in building fortifications, roads, entrenchments, -and as cooks and other necessary workers in -support of the army. Their usefulness was so manifest -that prejudice gradually gave way to a more -kindly feeling of respect. When the white Union -troops thus recognized the services, kindness, and -faithfulness of these black men, they were soon -willing to tolerate them in their ranks.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass eagerly assisted in the formation of -the first regularly organized regiments of United -States colored troops, the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth -Massachusetts Infantry Volunteers. Governor -Andrew, an ardent Abolitionist, was justly proud -of this important experiment, and said: “I stand -or fall as a man and a magistrate with the rise or -fall in the history of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts.” -Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who commanded -the regiment, was one of the noblest sons -of this freedom-loving commonwealth.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In order to satisfy any lingering misgivings that -the people might have concerning this step by the -government, it was stated that the regiments to -be enlisted would not be put into active service, being -held for garrison duty in districts where yellow -fever was prevalent. It was also decided not to -give them the same pay as that allowed to the -white troops. Negro soldiers were to receive only -seven dollars per month. At Fort Wagner the -Fifty-fourth Massachusetts soon had an opportunity -<span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span>to show what it could do. The conduct of the men -was so brave that it put an end to all further opposition -to Negro enlistment. These colored soldiers -refused to accept any reward for their services -until the government was ready to pay them what -it gave to other troops. They continued to serve -and fight for the honor of the flag and the preservation -of the Union until in the following year the -country voted full pay to its black defenders. The -Massachusetts volunteers, and all Negro regiments -subsequently enlisted, were officered by white men.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass rendered valuable aid in getting together -enough fit men for the two New England -regiments. His two sons, Lewis H. and Charles R. -Douglass, who are still living in Washington and are -honored citizens, were among the first to enlist. -Their father’s influence with the colored people -of the country was so great that his services were -almost indispensable. He was distressed by the restrictions -placed on these soldiers, but said: “While -I, of course, was deeply pained and saddened by -the estimate thus put upon my race, and grieved at -the slowness of heart which marked the conduct of -the loyal government, I was not discouraged, and -urged every man who could enlist to get an eagle on -his button, a musket on his shoulder, and the star -and spangle over his head.” On March 2, 1863, he -issued an appeal to his people which was in part as -follows:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Men of Color, To Arms.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“When first the rebel cannon shattered the walls -of Sumter and drove away its starving garrison, I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>predicted that the war then and there inaugurated -would not be fought out entirely by white men. -Every month’s experience during these dreary years -has confirmed that opinion. I have implored the -imperiled nation to unchain against her foes her -powerful black hand. Slowly and reluctantly that -appeal is beginning to be heeded. Stop not now to -complain that it was not heeded sooner. That it -should not, may or may not have been best. This -is not the time to discuss that question. Leave it to -the future. When the war is over, the country -saved, peace established, and the black man’s -rights are secured, as they will be, history with an -impartial hand will dispose of that and sundry -other questions. Action! action! not criticism, is -the plain duty of this hour. Words are now useful -only as they stimulate to blows. The office of speech -now is only to point out when, where and how to -strike to the best advantage. From East to West, -from North to South, the sky is written all over, -‘Now or Never.’ Liberty won only by white men -will lose half its lustre. ‘Who would be free, must -themselves strike the blow.’ ‘Better, even to die -free, than to live slaves.’ This is the sentiment of -every brave colored man amongst us. There are -weak and cowardly men in all races. We -have them amongst us. They tell you this is a -‘white man’s war’; that you will ‘be no better -off after the war, than you were before the -war’; that the ‘getting of you into the army is to -sacrifice you on the first opportunity.’ Believe -them not. Cowards themselves, they do not wish -to have their cowardice shamed by your example. -Leave them to their timidity, or to whatever motive -may hold them back. I have not thought lightly of -the words I am now addressing to you. The counsel -I give comes of close observation of the great -struggle now in progress, and of the deep conviction -<span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>that this is your hour and mine. In good earnest, -then, and after the best deliberation, I now, for -the first time during this war, feel at liberty to call -and counsel you to arms. By every consideration -which binds you to your enslaved fellow countrymen, -and to the peace and welfare of your country; -by every aspiration which you cherish for the freedom -and equality of yourselves and your children; -by all the ties of blood and identity which make us -one with the brave black men now fighting our -battles in Louisiana and in South Carolina, I urge -you to fly to arms, and smite with death the power -that would bury the government and your liberty -in the same hopeless grave. I wish I could tell -you that the state of New York calls you to this -high honor. For the moment her constituted authorities -are silent on the subject. They will speak -by and by, and doubtless on the right side, but we -are not compelled to wait for her. We can get at -the throat of treason and slavery through the state -of Massachusetts. She was first in the War of Independence; -first to break the chains of her slaves; -first to make the black man equal before the law; -first to admit colored children to her common -schools; and she was first to answer with her blood -the alarm-cry of the nation, when its capital was -menaced by rebels. You know her patriotic governor, -and you know Charles Sumner. I need not -add more.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Massachusetts now welcomes you to arms as soldiers. -She has but a small colored population from -which to recruit. She has full leave of the general -government to send one regiment to the war, and -she has undertaken to do it. Go quickly and help fill -up the first colored regiment from the North. I am -authorized to assure you that you will receive the -same wages, the same rations, the same equipments, -the same protection, the same treatment, and the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>same bounty, secured to white soldiers. You will -be led by able and skilful officers, men who will -take special pride in your efficiency and success. -They will be quick to accord to you all the honor -you shall merit by your valor, and to see that your -rights and feelings are respected by other soldiers. -I have assured myself on these points. More than -twenty years of unswerving devotion to our common -cause may give me some humble claim to be -trusted at this momentous crisis. I will not argue. -To do so implies hesitation and doubt, and you do -not hesitate; you do not doubt. The day dawns. -The morning star is bright upon the horizon. The -iron gate of our prison stands half open. One -gallant rush from the North will fling it wide open, -while four millions of our brothers and sisters shall -march out into liberty.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The chance is now given you to end in a day the -bondage of centuries and to rise in one bound from -social degradation to the place of common equality -with all other varieties of men. Remember Denmark -Vesey, of Charleston; remember Shields -Green, and Copeland, who followed noble John -Brown, and fell as glorious martyrs for the cause of -the slave. Remember that in a contest with oppression, -the Almighty has no attribute which can take -sides with the oppressors. The case is before you. -This is our golden opportunity. Let us accept it -and forever wipe out the dark reproaches unsparingly -hurled against us by our enemies. Let us win -for ourselves the gratitude of our country, and the -best blessings of our posterity through all time. -The nucleus of this first regiment is now in camp at -Readville, a short distance from Boston. I will undertake -to forward to Boston all persons adjudged -fit to be mustered into the regiment, who shall apply -to me at once, or at any time within the next -two weeks.”</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>The immediate effect of the enlistment of colored -troops in the Union army was to call forth -a feeling of resentment on the part of the white -soldiers of the South. It is asking too much -of human nature to have expected anything -else. The prejudice instantly found official expression -in the proclamation by the Confederate -government that it would treat white officers of -colored troops and colored soldiers when captured, -as felons; Negro Union prisoners would be shot or -sent back to slavery. This threat was literally -carried out in several instances. For nearly a year -the Confederate armies pursued this course toward -black men who were caught wearing the uniform of -a Union soldier.</p> - -<p class='c004'>During all this time the Federal government was -silent: no word of protest and no threat of retaliation. -Horace Greeley in the <cite>Tribune</cite> put the matter -in strong terms when he stated that “every black -soldier now goes to battle with a halter about -his neck.... The simple question is, Shall we -protect and insure to our Negro soldiers the ordinary -treatment of a prisoner of war? Every Negro -yet captured has suffered death or been sent back to -the hell of slavery, from which he had escaped.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The colored people in the North were for a time -thoroughly discouraged. The government, it seemed -to them, put a low estimate upon them as soldiers. -When Mr. Douglass was appealed to by Major -George L. Stearns, an Abolitionist, and friend of -John Brown, he expressed himself in part as -follows:</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>“I am free to say, dear sir, that the case looks as -if the confiding colored soldiers had been betrayed -into bloody hands by the government in whose defense -they had been so heroically fighting.... -If the President is ever to demand justice and -humanity for black soldiers, is not this the time for -him to do it? How many Fifty-fourth men must be -cut to pieces, its mutilated prisoners killed and the -living sold into slavery or tortured to death by inches, -before Mr. Lincoln shall say, ‘Hold! Enough’?”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Appeals of this kind finally had the effect of moving -the government to action. In order himself to -be sure as to just what it intended to do, and before -inducing any other colored men to go to the front, -Mr. Douglass made up his mind to see the President -personally. It was, at this time, an unheard-of -thing for a colored man to go to the White House -with a grievance, but he had many influential -friends and admirers in Washington, who assured -him that he would be well treated. Senators -Sumner, Wilson, and Pomeroy; Secretary of the -Treasury Salmon P. Chase, Assistant Secretary of -War Dana, all guaranteed him a safe passage into -Mr. Lincoln’s presence. Senator Pomeroy introduced -Mr. Douglass, and they soon found that they -had much in common. The one had traveled a long -hard journey from the slave-cabin of Maryland, and -the other a thorny road from the scant and rugged -life in Kentucky, to the high position of President. -The one was too great to be a slave, and the other -too noble to remain, in such a national crisis, a private -citizen. Mr. Douglass’s account of this historic -<span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>interview with the President, the first instance of -the kind, I believe, in the history of the country, is -worth reproducing:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I was accompanied to the Executive Mansion -and introduced to President Lincoln by Senator -Pomeroy. Long lines of care were already deeply -written on Mr. Lincoln’s brow, and his strong face -lighted up as soon as my name was mentioned. As -I approached and was introduced to him, he arose -and extended his hand and bade me welcome. I at -once felt that I was in the presence of an honest -man—one whom I could love, honor, and trust -without reserve or doubt. Proceeding to tell him -who I was and what I was doing, he promptly but -kindly stopped me, saying, ‘I know who you are, -Mr. Douglass; Mr. Seward has told me about you. -Sit down. I am glad to see you.’ I then told him -the object of my visit; that I was assisting to raise -colored troops; that several months before I had -been very successful in getting men to enlist, but -that now it was not easy to induce the colored men -to enter the service because there was a feeling -among them that the government did not, in several -respects, deal fairly with them. Mr. Lincoln asked -me to state particulars. I replied that there were -three particulars which I wished to bring to his -attention. First, that colored soldiers ought to receive -the same wages as those paid to white soldiers. -Second, that colored soldiers ought to receive the -same protection when taken prisoners, and be exchanged -as readily and on the same terms as any -other prisoners, and that, if Jefferson Davis should -shoot or hang colored soldiers in cold blood, the -United States government should, without delay, -retaliate in kind and degree upon Confederate -soldiers in its hands as prisoners. Third, when colored -soldiers, seeking ‘the bubble reputation, at the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>cannon’s mouth’ performed great and uncommon -service on the battle-field, they should be rewarded -by distinction and promotion precisely as white -soldiers are rewarded for like services.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Mr. Lincoln listened with patience and silence -to all I had to say. He was serious and even -troubled by what I had said and by what he himself -had evidently before thought upon the same -points. He, by his silent listening, not less than by -his earnest reply to my words, impressed me with -the solid gravity of his character.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“He began by saying that the employment of -colored troops at all was a great gain to the colored -people; that the measure could not have been successfully -adopted at the beginning of the war; that -the wisdom of making colored men soldiers was still -doubted; that their enlistment was a serious offense -to popular prejudice; that they had larger motives -for being soldiers than white men; that they ought -to be willing to enter the service upon condition; -that the fact that they were not to receive the same -pay as white soldiers seemed a necessary concession -to smooth the way to their employment at all as -soldiers, but that ultimately they would receive the -same. On the second point, in respect to equal protection -he said the case was more difficult. Retaliation -was a terrible remedy, and one which it was very -difficult to apply; that, if once begun, there was no -telling where it would end; that if he could get -hold of the Confederate soldiers who had been guilty -of treating colored soldiers as felons he could easily -retaliate, but the thought of hanging men for a -crime perpetrated by others was revolting to his -feelings. He thought that the rebels themselves -would stop such barbarous warfare; that less evil -would be done if retaliation were not resorted to and -that he had already received information that colored -soldiers were being treated as prisoners of war. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>In all this I saw the tender heart of the man rather -than the stern warrior and commander-in-chief of -the American army and navy, and while I could not -agree with him, I could but respect his humane -spirit.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“On the third point he seemed to have less difficulty, -though he did not absolutely commit himself. -He simply said that he would sign any commission -to colored soldiers whom his Secretary of War -should commend to him. Though I was not entirely -satisfied with his views, I was so well satisfied with -the man and with the educating tendency of the conflict -that I determined to go on with the recruiting.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>From the White House, Mr. Douglass went -directly to the War Department and had an interview -with Stanton. Contrary to his expectation, he -found the Secretary most cordial, listening to the -complaints with interest and patience. Douglass -says that Stanton made “the best defense that I -had heard from any one of the treatment of colored -soldiers by the government. I was not satisfied, -yet I left in the full belief that the true course -to the black man’s freedom and citizenship was over -the battle-field and that my business was to get -every black man I could into the Union army.</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Both the President and Secretary assured me -that justice would ultimately be done to my race -and,” he adds, “I gave full credit and faith to -these promises.” He was now better than ever -prepared to say to his people that, if they would -be free, they must not be afraid to suffer injustice -and, if need be, cruelty.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In his interview with Mr. Stanton, the question -<span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>came up as to the advisability of commissioning -colored men as officers of colored regiments. The -Secretary expressed his willingness and readiness -to issue a commission to Mr. Douglass, if he would -accept. On being assured that he would, Stanton -promised to make him assistant adjutant to General -Thomas, who was recruiting and organizing -troops in Mississippi. He returned to his home in -Rochester, N. Y., confidently expecting that the -commission would be sent him, but for some reason, -not explained, it was never issued. Mr. Douglass’s -only comment on this lapse of the Secretary of War -was: “The government, I fear, was still clinging -to the idea that positions of honor in the service -should be occupied by white men and that it would -not do to inaugurate the policy of perfect equality.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>At length the outlook improved. Signs appeared -of better treatment of the colored soldiers by the -Confederate armies. On July 30, 1863, President -Lincoln issued an order “that for every soldier of -the United States killed in violation of the laws of -war, a rebel soldier shall be executed; and for every -one enslaved by the enemy or sold into slavery, a -rebel soldier shall be placed at hard labor on the -public works.” All the Union generals readily -coöperated with the President’s efforts to have his -black troops receive equal consideration. General -Grant was especially interested in this matter and -gave instructions to the white men in his ranks to -treat the colored soldiers as comrades.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The Negro troops, by their soldierly qualities, -displayed at Fort Wagner, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span>Morris Island, and other places, had fully earned -the right to honorable treatment, and such deserving -had its good effects. When the government -finally recognized the services of its black defenders, -there was no trouble in getting the colored men to -enlist. From each state and territory in and out -of the Union, they offered themselves to the Federal -government with as much eagerness as if they were -already in possession of every right they hoped to -receive.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The following table of figures will show how -largely black men responded to President Lincoln’s -call to the defense of the Union:</p> - -<table class='table1'> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Connecticut</td> - <td class='c023'>1,764</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Maine</td> - <td class='c023'>104</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Massachusetts</td> - <td class='c023'>3,966</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>New Hampshire</td> - <td class='c023'>125</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Rhode Island</td> - <td class='c023'>1,837</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Vermont</td> - <td class='c023'>120</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>New Jersey</td> - <td class='c023'>1,185</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>New York</td> - <td class='c023'>4,125</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Pennsylvania</td> - <td class='c023'>8,612</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Colorado</td> - <td class='c023'>95</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Illinois</td> - <td class='c023'>1,811</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Indiana</td> - <td class='c023'>1,537</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Iowa</td> - <td class='c023'>440</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Kansas</td> - <td class='c023'>2,080</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Minnesota</td> - <td class='c023'>104</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Michigan</td> - <td class='c023'>1,387</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Ohio</td> - <td class='c023'>5,092</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Wisconsin</td> - <td class='c023'>165</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Delaware</td> - <td class='c023'>954</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>District of Columbia</td> - <td class='c023'>3,269</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Kentucky</td> - <td class='c023'>23,703</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Maryland</td> - <td class='c023'>8,718</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Missouri</td> - <td class='c023'>8,344</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>West Virginia</td> - <td class='c023'>196</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Alabama</td> - <td class='c023'>4,969</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Arkansas</td> - <td class='c023'>5,526</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span>Florida</td> - <td class='c023'>1,044</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Louisiana</td> - <td class='c023'>3,480</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Mississippi</td> - <td class='c023'>17,869</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>North Carolina</td> - <td class='c023'>5,035</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>South Carolina</td> - <td class='c023'>5,462</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Tennessee</td> - <td class='c023'>20,123</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Texas</td> - <td class='c023'>47</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>At large</td> - <td class='c023'>733</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Not accounted for</td> - <td class='c023'>5,083</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'>Officers</td> - <td class='c023'>7,122</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c010'> </td> - <td class='c023'><hr></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c024'>Total</td> - <td class='c023'>186,017<a id='r5'></a><a href='#f5' class='c017'><sup>[5]</sup></a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='footnote' id='f5'> -<p class='c004'><a href='#r5'>5</a>. <cite>History of the Negro Race in America</cite>, George W. Williams, -Vol. II, p. 299.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>In addition to this impressive total it is estimated -that there were about 92,576 colored men serving -with regiments in other capacities. That the -Negroes proved to be good soldiers, whenever or -wherever their fibre was put to trial, is the unvarying -testimony of every officer and commander who -had any opportunity to know their conduct in the -field. The exigencies of the war were such that the -troops thus furnished were sorely needed. The -whole fighting strength of the North was none too -great to cope with the Southern armies, and the -enlistment of black men was effected at a critical -moment in the struggle.</p> - -<p class='c004'>From another point of view, this employment of -colored troops with their good conduct on the field -was an important event in the history of the Negro. -It was the first opportunity given to him to demonstrate, -on a large scale, that he was superior to the -estimate put upon him at that time by the American -people. The current of popular feeling against the -race rapidly changed. The Southern soldiers also -<span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>altered their attitude when they discovered in black -skin courage and character worthy of honor and -respect.</p> - -<p class='c004'>On both sides of the firing-line the colored men -proved themselves to be friends of the white race. -They shrank from no danger, however great; they -refused no task, however difficult; but worked, and -fought, and died without complaint. Negro men -and women, as non-combatants, secretly fed, hid, -and protected thousands of Union soldiers who were -in perilous positions and without a friend or hope -of favor in a hostile country. Many a man in blue -owed life and liberty to the nursing and protection -of some tender-hearted slave. It was to the care -and devotion of these same humble folk that the -Southern masters, when summoned to war, entrusted -the cultivation of their lands and the lives and -property of their families. The Negro was the -“good Samaritan” in those terrible days, when -white men were savagely bent upon destroying one -another.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The armies on both sides of the conflict were indebted -to the black man as friend and as fighter. -In the South, he fought against himself; in the -North, he fought for himself. In helping to save -the Union by his service and by his death on battlefields, -he put himself in a position to claim a share -in the fruits of reëstablished peace, and in the good-will -of a reunited country. In view of his recorded -part in this civil contest, it can never be said that -the Negro was a mere passive recipient of the freedom -that came to all the members of his race.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span>After the government had fully committed itself -to the policy of enlisting colored men in the Union -army, the struggle began to assume the character of -a war for liberty. It became so as a military necessity. -President Lincoln’s Proclamation of Emancipation, -issued on the first day of January, 1863, -sounded the death-knell of slavery, and was an -expression of a changed attitude on the part of the -government and of the people generally, foretelling -the end of the war.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The President had been criticised by the Abolitionists, -because he chose to fight battles for the -preservation of the Union, rather than for the extirpation -of slavery. If Douglass had ever faltered in -his faith in Mr. Lincoln’s desire for Abolition, he -was reassured by an incident which occurred at this -time. Shortly after the Proclamation was issued, -the President summoned him to the White House. -He reports that Mr. Lincoln was somewhat anxious -because the slaves in the South were not coming into -the Union lines as fast as he expected and wished. -He said that he might be forced into arrangements -for peace before his purposes could be realized, and -if so, he wanted the greatest possible number of -slaves within the territory of freedom. The President -thought that Douglass could, in some way, -bring his Proclamation to the knowledge of the -Negroes, and organize raiding parties, which would -aid them to escape from bondage and reach Union -ground. Referring to this interview Mr. Douglass -said:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Mr. Lincoln saw the danger of premature peace, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>and like a thoughtful and sagacious man, he wished -to provide means of rendering such consummation -as harmless as possible. I was most impressed by -this benevolent consideration because he had before -said, in answer to the peace clamor, that his -object was to save the Union.... What he -said on this day showed a deeper moral conviction -against slavery than I had ever seen before in anything -spoken or written by him. I listened with -the deepest interest and profoundest satisfaction and -at his suggestion agreed to undertake the organization -of a band of scouts, ... and urge the -slaves to come within our boundaries.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>This plan, however, was soon rendered unnecessary -by Union victories in the field and a better -military outlook.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Two incidents occurred at this meeting which -showed the President’s strong and almost affectionate -regard for Frederick Douglass. What these -were are best told by Douglass himself. He says: -“While in conversation with him, his secretary -twice announced Governor Buckingham of Connecticut, -one of the noblest and most patriotic of -the loyal governors. Mr. Lincoln said: ‘Tell -Governor Buckingham to wait, for I want to have a -long talk with my friend, Frederick Douglass.’ I -interposed and begged him to see the governor at -once, as I could wait, but no, he persisted that he -wanted to talk with me and that Governor Buckingham -could wait.... In his company I was -never in any way reminded of my humble origin, or -of my unpopular color.”</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span>The other pleasing incident of this visit is likewise -best told in Douglass’s own words: “At the -door of my friend, John A. Gray, where I was stopping -in Washington, I found one afternoon the carriage -of Secretary Dole, and a messenger from -President Lincoln with an invitation for me to take -tea with him at the Soldiers’ Home, where he then -passed his nights, riding out after the business of -the day was over at the Executive Mansion. Unfortunately, -I had an engagement to speak that -evening and having made it one of the rules of my -conduct in life never to break an engagement if possible -to keep it, I felt obliged to decline the honor. -I have often regretted that I did not make this an -exception to my general rule. Could I have known -that no such opportunity could come to me again, I -should have justified myself in disappointing a -large audience for the sake of a visit with Abraham -Lincoln.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The Emancipation Proclamation, as Mr. Douglass -at the time said, was “the turning point in the -conflict between freedom and slavery.” He and his -race lived through the first two years of the administration -of the “party of liberty,” in a kind of -agony of hope and doubt. What the colored race, -North and South, wanted in a hurry came with -slowness. As the time approached for the word of -deliverance, the country was in a state of feverish -excitement. For those who had been connected -with the movement for Abolition, everything else, -for the moment, seemed to lose its interest, its importance, -and its value in the presence of this impending -<span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>event. Indeed, the whole country vibrated -with expectation.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In Tremont Temple, in Boston, on the day when -Mr. Lincoln’s Proclamation was looked for, there -was gathered a memorable company. Many of the -most notable men in New England were present to -join with the colored people in the song of jubilee. -To quote Mr. Douglass: “A line of messengers -was established between the telegraph office and the -platform, and the time was occupied with brief -speeches from Hon. Thomas Russell, Anna Dickinson, -J. Sella Martin, William Wells Brown, and -myself.... At last when patience was well-nigh -exhausted and suspense was becoming agony, -a man, I think Judge Russell, with hasty step advanced -through the crowd and with a face fairly -illumined with the news he bore, exclaimed, in -tones that thrilled all hearts: ‘It is coming, it is -on the wires.’ The effect of this announcement was -startling beyond description, and the scene was wild -and grand.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>When the message finally came and was read, -there was a scene of indescribable rejoicing. The -crowd was so crazy with excitement that midnight -came upon them before they were aware of it and -they adjourned to a colored Baptist church where the -jubilation did not fully exhaust itself until morning. -Mr. Douglass described it as “the most affecting and -thrilling occasion I ever witnessed and a worthy -celebration of the first step on the part of the nation -in its departure from the thraldom of ages.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The Proclamation put new energy into all war -<span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>measures and as the four years of Mr. Lincoln’s first -administration approached the end, there was no -one to oppose him for a renomination. His reëlection -seemed to be an overwhelming vindication of -his policy. Frederick Douglass was a prominent -figure at the inauguration ceremonies and was looking -gratefully and joyously up into the kindly face -of the great President when he uttered these noble -words: “Fondly do we hope, and fervently do we -pray that this mighty scourge of war may speedily -pass away. Yet if God wills that it continue -until all the wealth piled by the bondsmen’s two -hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be -sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the -lash shall be paid for by another drawn with the -sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still -it must be said, that ‘the judgments of the Lord are -true and righteous altogether.’”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Speaking of this event Mr. Douglass said:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“In the evening of the day of the inauguration, -another new experience awaited me. The usual reception -was given at the Executive Mansion, and -though no colored person had ever ventured to present -himself on such an occasion, it seemed, now -that freedom had become the law of the republic, -and colored men were on the battle-field mingling -their blood with that of white men in one common -effort to save the country, that it was not too great -an assumption for a colored man to offer his congratulations -to the President with those of other -citizens. It is never an agreeable experience to go -where there can be any doubt of welcome, and my -colored friends had too often realized discomfiture -<span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span>from this cause to be willing to subject themselves -to such unhappiness. It was plain, then, that some -one must lead the way, and that if the colored man -would have his rights, he must take them; and now, -though it was plainly quite the thing for me to attend -President Lincoln’s reception, they all with one -accord began to make excuses. It was finally -agreed that Mrs. Dorsey should bear me company, -so together we joined in the grand procession of -citizens from all parts of the country and moved -slowly toward the Executive Mansion. Upon -reaching the door, two policemen stationed there -took me rudely by the arm and ordered me to stand -back, for their directions were to admit no persons -of my color. I told the officers I was quite sure -there was some mistake for no such order could have -emanated from President Lincoln; and that if he -knew I was at the door, he would desire my admission. -They then, to put an end to the parley, as I -suppose, assumed an air of politeness, and offered -to conduct me in. We followed their lead, and we -soon found ourselves walking some planks out of a -window, which had been arranged as a temporary -passage for the exit of visitors. We halted as soon -as we saw the trick, and I said to the officers, ‘You -have deceived me. I shall not go out of this building -till I see President Lincoln.’ At this moment a -gentleman who was passing in, recognized me, and -I said to him: ‘Be so kind as to say to Mr. Lincoln -that Frederick Douglass is detained by officers at -the door.’ It was not long before Mrs. Dorsey and -I walked into the spacious East Room, amid a scene -of elegance such as in this country I had never before -witnessed. Like a mountain pine, high above -all others, Mr. Lincoln stood, in his grand simplicity -and home-like beauty. Recognizing me, -even before I reached him, he exclaimed, so that all -around could hear him, ‘Here comes my friend -<span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>Douglass.’ Taking me by the hand, he said, ‘I am -glad to see you. I saw you in the crowd to-day -listening to my inaugural address. How did you -like it?’ I said, ‘Mr. Lincoln, I must not detain -you with my poor opinion, when there are thousands -waiting to shake hands with you.’ ‘No, no,’ -he said, ‘you must stop a little, Douglass; there is -no man in the country whose opinion I value more -than yours. I want to know what you think of it.’ -I replied, ‘Mr. Lincoln, that was a sacred effort.’ ‘I -am glad you liked it,’ he said; and I passed on, -feeling that any man, however distinguished, might -well regard himself honored by such expressions -from such a man.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The events of the war moved rapidly toward the -end and to peace. Mr. Douglass was in Boston -when Richmond was captured. New England was -more stirred over the fall of the Confederate capital -than by any other single event of the war, except -the Emancipation Proclamation. Faneuil Hall was -again the scene of a great gathering. The victory -was to be celebrated in song and speech. The governor -of the state, Senator Wilson, and Robert C. -Winthrop were among the speakers, and with them -was Frederick Douglass. A meeting of this kind -anywhere in New England would at that time have -been incomplete without him. His presence on the -platform, sharing honors with the patrician Winthrop, -served to illustrate the change of fortunes -that are possible under a democratic form of government. -Less than twenty-five years before, Douglass, -a fugitive from Maryland, had stood behind Mr. -Winthrop’s chair at table as a waiter, at a dinner in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span>his honor in New Bedford. He had won the position -he now occupied by his services to a people -whose cause men in the North had come at length to -recognize as their own, because it was the cause of -humanity.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass at this time had reason to feel not -only joy but gratitude. It was clear that all he -had hoped and struggled for was soon to be realized. -The close of the war and the overthrow of the institution -of slavery was for him a sort of personal victory. -But his rejoicing was soon turned to mourning. -At the time of the assassination of President -Lincoln he was in Rochester, and he spoke at a meeting -held to give expression to the sorrow which that -event created. The circumstances are thus related -by a friend:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Rochester court-house never held a larger crowd -than was gathered to mourn over the martyred -President. The meeting was opened by the most -eloquent men at the bar and in the pulpit, with carefully -prepared and earnestly uttered addresses. All -the time the people were not aroused. Douglass, -who told me that he would not speak because he -was not invited, sat crowded in the rear. At last -the feeling could be restrained no more; and his -name burst upon the air from every side and filled -the house. The dignified gentlemen who directed -had to surrender. Then came the finest appeal in -behalf of the father of his people, who had died for -them especially, and would be mourned by them as -long as one remained in America who had been a -slave. I have heard Webster and Clay in their best -<span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span>moments; Channing and Beecher in their highest -inspirations. I never heard truer eloquence; I -never saw profounder impression. When he finished -the meeting was done.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER XIII<br> <span class='large'>EARLY PROBLEMS OF FREEDOM</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>The close of the Civil War left many of the -agencies of emancipation without a cause. The -anti-slavery publications, the state and national -anti-slavery societies, “vigilance committees,” and -the vast Underground Railroad system, saw their -purposes accomplished in the terms of peace. The -American Anti-Slavery Society, which had been the -longest in existence, and which, under the leadership -of William Lloyd Garrison, had done more for -freedom than any other single agency, was now -ready to wind up its affairs. When a proposition -was made for its dissolution, Frederick Douglass -opposed it, giving his reasons in these words: “I -felt that the work of the society was not done, that -it had not fulfilled its mission, which was not -merely to emancipate but to elevate the enslaved -class ... that the Negro still had a cause -and that he needed my pen and voice to plead for -it.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In taking this position, he showed that he had a -clear and far-reaching comprehension of the many -and serious problems and obligations that would in -time result from the enforced emancipation of his -people. He clearly foresaw that these problems -were of a kind which had never before come within -the range and scope of our national experience, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span>that if the country were to make the most of the -good results of the war, and minimize its evils, the -machinery of liberation and destruction must somehow -be converted to the service of peace and construction. -Two great questions had been settled, -that the United States was to remain an indivisible -nation, and that slavery was henceforth impossible -in this nation.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The problems growing out of these achievements -are still difficult. Before the Civil War, the people -of the United States might have been classified as -non-slave-holding and slave-holding white people; -enslaved and free Negroes. Now, two of these -classes, the slave-holders and the enslaved Negroes, -disappeared and in the latter’s stead, a new element -was injected into the population, the freedmen, -4,000,000 souls, utterly destitute, without learning, -without experience, and without traditions; dependent -for their guidance, and almost for bare existence, -upon the direction and good-will of the -older elements. If, after the war, the South and the -North could have united to repair the damages and -solve the problems the conflict had left behind it, -the history of the colored people in America, as -well as their present condition, might have been -different from what it is.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In facing the problems of reconstruction, the -people of the North had no precedents and little -knowledge of the Negro’s character to guide them. -The men who had the responsibility of providing -for the present and future, of rehabilitating the -South on the basis of freedom, were trained to treat -<span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>every question, social and political, from the standpoint -of party politics. But reconstruction needed -the services of the sociologist more than of the -party leader. There were but few in public life -capable of treating these matters in a non-partisan, -a non-sectional, and a scientific spirit. Men could -not so quickly overcome the animosities engendered -by the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, who alone -seemed to have a spirit large enough to be the President -of all the people, even to the least of them, was -gone, and there was none in public service to take his -place. While others acted in the spirit of war, he -acted in the spirit of peace. In managing large -questions, he had a wonderful insight into the things -that would aggravate conditions and a fine courage -in avoiding them, until they had spent their force -with as little harm as possible. His penetrative -powers, the contagion of his kindly spirit, his unswerving -love for what was just, were needed quite -as much after as before and during the civil strife. -Had Mr. Lincoln lived, his clear vision, it is safe to -say, would have avoided many of the evils to which -the country has since fallen heir. As it was, however -much the white people in slavery’s former -domain may have suffered, the Negro has borne the -brunt of every mistake of the period of Reconstruction.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The Southern people had lost (so it seemed at the -time at least) everything that was worth having and -fighting for,—their “cause,” their property in -slaves, their prestige, and their political supremacy. -Their homes were devastated and their plantations -<span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>ravaged by the conquering Yankees. Their task -was not to build up what had been destroyed, but -to begin anew. It is asking too much to expect -that they could have faced these conditions with a -cheerful spirit. The slaves, as property, were now -free, and this freedom was regarded as a punishment -visited upon their former masters.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Free labor was new, and apart from this there -was none of it to take the place of that of the liberated -slaves. Furthermore, the white people had -little or no faith in their possible usefulness. They -feared that the Negro as a free man would not -work, would not honor his contracts, and would -use his liberty to commit all sorts of crimes against -society. They could not, at once, rid themselves of -the feeling that physical compulsion was the only -way to keep the Negro within the bounds of law -and labor. Carl Schurz, who, under the authority -of the President, made a very thorough and statesman-like -investigation of conditions, issued an official -report of his findings, and it is clear from this -paper that, if the Southern people could have overcome -their fears of Negro freedom, the work of reconstruction -would have been greatly simplified. -They, however, were in no frame of mind to accept -and honor any program for reconstruction emanating -from the North. They insisted that they alone -knew the Negro and what was best to be done for -him and with him.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Between the North and the South, stood the ex-slave, -free and that was all. His situation was -anomalous. As Mr. Douglass aptly says, “He was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span>free from individual masters, but the slave of society.” -Yet, because of his long service to the -country, either as a slave or a freeman, he deserved -more than he could possibly have been paid in -terms of law, defining and defending his rights. -He was without power and, as Mr. Douglass -in describing him, said, “a man without force, is -without the essential dignity of human nature.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In this almost totally helpless condition, the -North expected too much of him and the ex-masters -too little. It required more than the shock of four -years of internecine war to change the solidarity of -slavery into a society of organized self-helpfulness. -A people who had been so long enslaved could not -help being slavish in habits and instincts. They -had little family life, no society, no institution except -the church, a rudimentary conception of common -interests, and very few traditions and ideals. -No race ever came into the domain of freedom, independence, -and democracy so little furnished with -the elements of self-protection and self-determining -purpose, as did the emancipated slaves forty years -ago. Yet there were everywhere in the South important -exceptions to this condition of race helplessness. -Many free colored people, especially in -the cities, were not hopelessly behind in the procession -of progress. They fully understood the meaning -of the war and its results. When the last gun -was fired and they saw emancipation as a reality, -their joy was unbounded. In many of the Southern -cities, thousands of them gathered in the open -streets and commons, where they shouted and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span>prayed with full hearts, voicing in songs of jubilee -and thanksgiving their gratitude for their great deliverance. -There has been nothing like these -demonstrations in the history of American liberty. -No one who saw them could have any doubt whatever -as to the Negro’s appreciation of his freedom. -It is a notable fact that in none of them was -ever heard a word of hatred or revenge toward -those who had been responsible for their long enslavement. -Their gratitude was too great to leave -room for resentment. God, Lincoln, and Freedom -formed a mysterious trinity in the new awakening -of these emancipated people.</p> - -<p class='c004'>All this was perfectly natural and hopeful, so far -as it went, but it was not long before exultation -gave way to the consciousness that this dearly -bought liberty was a serious thing. The Negro -capacity for happiness was large, but he could not -live and sustain himself by this alone. Owning -nothing, he had no place to live. Having nothing, -he could get nothing. In addition to the ex-slaves, -who were still fastened to the places where slavery -left them and freedom found them, a great multitude, -known as refugees, after emancipation made -their way into the Union lines. When the war -closed these were still with the Union army and dependent -upon it for rations. It soon became apparent -to those in authority, that something must -be done in a large way by the Federal government -itself to provide for this unorganized horde. To -meet this serious condition, Congress, in the spring -of 1865, passed an act establishing the “Freedmen’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span>Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees.” -Its main provisions were as follows:</p> - -<p class='c005'>The Bureau was to have supervision and management -of abandoned lands.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It was to look after all subjects relating to refugees -and freedmen.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It was to be under the control of a commission -appointed by the President and to continue its -labors for one year after the close of the war.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The Secretary of War was given authority to issue -provisions, clothing, and fuel for the immediate -and temporary needs of freedmen and their wives -and children.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The War Department was to set apart for the -use of loyal refugees and freedmen abandoned -lands under the control of the United States Army -and assign to such freedmen, not more than forty -acres of land, and to protect such persons in the -possession of such land for at least three years at an -annual rent, not to exceed six per cent. upon the -appraised value of the land. At the end of that -time, the tenant was allowed to purchase it and receive -therefor from the government a certificate of -purchase.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In addition to these provisions, the Freedmen’s -Bureau was intended to be a “friendly intermediary” -between the ex-masters and ex-slaves. Nothing -could have been done more surely to smooth the -way for a kindly relationship between the two parties -in question, if such a relationship had been -possible. General O. O. Howard was the first commissioner -of that Bureau. He had made a record -as a soldier in the Union Army, but, better still, he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span>was a man of humane impulses, without sectional -bias, and of exalted Christian character. The value -of his services in the work of Reconstruction can be -easily seen by a glance at some of his reports made -to Congress in 1865–1870.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In these five years of work on the part of the -Bureau to bring order out of chaos, there had been -established over 4,000 schools, employing 9,000 -teachers and giving instruction to about a quarter -of a million pupils of all ages. In 1870 the school -attendance in the old slave-states amounted to nearly -eighty per cent. of the enrollment. The demand for -learning on the part of the colored people, as shown -by the Bureau’s work, was amazing, and afforded a -gratifying evidence of their sense of responsibility as -freedmen. The Negroes themselves made a good -showing of what they were able to do by their own -efforts in creating the means for their instruction. -They sustained over 1,300 schools and built over 500 -school buildings, contributing more than $200,000 -out of their earnings to further the cause of education.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The value of the Freedmen’s Bureau in thus stimulating -an interest in this important subject and in -developing a serious sense of responsibility on the -part of the freedmen cannot well be overestimated. -Carl Schurz in his report says:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“The Freedmen’s Bureau would have been an institution -of the greatest value, under competent -leadership, had not its organization, to some extent, -been invaded by mentally and morally unfit persons.... -Nothing was needed at this time so -<span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>much as an acknowledged authority, standing guard -between the master and the ex-slave, commanding -and possessing the confidence and respect of both, -to aid the emancipated black man to make the best -possible use of his unaccustomed freedom, and to -aid the white man to whom free Negro labor was a -well-nigh incurable idea, in meeting the difficulties, -partly real and partly conjured up by the white -man’s prejudiced imagination.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The lack of fit men, in sufficient numbers, to continue -the good work inaugurated by the Freedmen’s -Bureau was the cause, in great part, of the failure -of Reconstruction methods of helpfulness. There -were employed men of partisan spirit whose vision -was clouded by political aspirations, and thus the -future well-being of both races in the South was not -kept paramount. The cause of most of the evils -that in a few years followed and overwhelmed the -colored people in the South, was lack of men strong -in character, patriotism, justice, and understanding -for the work in hand. This is true, in spite of the fact -that there were those who were equal to the occasion, -but who alone had not the power to perform the -tasks set for them. No greater injury has been done -the colored people of this country than that which -resulted from putting them in a position of political -antagonism to their former masters.</p> - -<p class='c004'>But the purposes of this biography do not require -a full statement of the causes that led to the overthrow -of the temporary supremacy held by the -freedmen and their Northern allies. A careful reading -of the history of the Southern states since -<span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment to the -Constitution of the United States in 1865, must convince -the impartial reader that the Negroes were -less the instigators than the victims of the mistakes -of Reconstruction. Many of those who played the -false rôle of friends and leaders left the freedmen -to bear the brunt of the punishment which they -have since suffered patiently, heroically, and alone. -The Negroes of the South during the Reconstruction -period were always amenable to wise direction. -Those who were on hand to guide them, -easily won their favor. There seems to be no -reason to doubt that, had it been offered, the freedmen -would have followed the leadership of the best -elements in the South as willingly, if not more -willingly, than that which they did accept.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The difficulty was that the Southern people could -not in a day, or in a decade, change their inborn -conviction that emancipation was forced upon them -as a punishment. They accepted this punishment -in a spirit in which injured pride, the sense of loss -of property, loss of “cause,” and revenge were elements. -But with all these losses and defeats, the -imperious temper of the Southern people suffered no -impairment, and they were in no mood to take hold -of the work of Reconstruction in the spirit of the -victorious North.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The South hesitated to act, and the ex-slave had -no power to do so. As a result, the responsibility -for movements for the protection of the Negroes -fell to the North. It sought to accomplish this object -by giving freedmen all the rights of citizenship. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span>Under the presuppositions upon which -our government was founded, this step was logical, -even though it may have been, and indeed seems to -have been, at that time unwise.</p> - -<p class='c004'>What has been said in the foregoing pages indicates -what may be called the new field of labor for -Frederick Douglass after emancipation. When the -great war came to an end and the object for which -he had so long labored was indeed an accomplished -fact, he confessed that his great joy was somewhat -tinged with a feeling of sadness. He said, “I felt -that I had reached the end of the noblest part of -my life.” He was still in his prime, and all his -faculties were clear and ready for action. He had -no occupation, no business, no profession. His -training and associations, during the previous thirty -years, had unfitted him for manual labor, and he -had no fortune that would enable him to live without -exertion of some kind. But thoughts and feelings -of this sort were soon swept aside by new -interests and anxieties of the most absorbing character.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the first place, fresh evidences of his popularity -began to manifest themselves. His struggle for -emancipation had been so conspicuous, his eloquence -so stirring, and his participation in all the great -questions of the day so earnest and compelling, that -his vogue continued as before.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the great diversity of distinguished men and -women who figured in the history of the quarter of -a century immediately preceding the Civil War, -Frederick Douglass was in the fullest sense of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span>word, a “self-made man.” All kinds of persons -were interested in him. His authority on every -matter that concerned the Negro, North or South, -was seldom questioned. His leadership, up to this -time, was not often disputed. The American people -manifested greater desire to hear him than ever -before and invitations to lecture began to pour in -upon him from colleges, lyceums, literary societies, -and churches. It is scarcely too much to say that -he was one of the most popular men on the lecture -platform, and at a time when such illustrious personages -as Henry Ward Beecher, Wendell Phillips, -Theodore Tilton, Anna Dickinson, and Mary A. -Livermore gave to the American lyceum its highest -distinction. His themes were no longer anti-slavery -in character. His new lectures bore such titles as, -“Self-made Men,” “The Races of Men,” “William, -the Silent,” “John Brown,” etc., all of which -showed a wide reading, and a mastery of the art of -eloquence. In addition to these lectures, he was -called upon from every direction for informal talks -on an almost endless variety of subjects.</p> - -<p class='c004'>But whatever might be the theme or the occasion, -he could not get away from the Negro problem. As -he said, “I never rise to speak before any American -audience, without a feeling that my failure or -success will bring harm or benefit to my whole -race.” When the all-important question of reconstruction -came to be considered, Mr. Douglass was -found to be fully conversant with the progress of -events, prepared to say his word, and play his part. -While other men were uncertain, confused, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span>timid, Douglass’s stand was bold, direct, and fearless. -When it was time for him to speak and act, -his words attracted wide attention and many persons -in and out of Congress were willing to follow his -leading. He had always been frank, honorable, -and resourceful on the question of just treatment -for his race and he was so far in advance of most -of the men who had it in their power to make and -unmake the laws, that it would have been a decided -misfortune for the colored people to have been without -his guidance. He had a wide acquaintance -among men in public life. No other Negro in this -country, at the time, knew political leaders in and -out of Congress so intimately. His qualities of -prudence and sagacity, as well as his great personal -charm, made him welcome in the councils of his -party. He was the soul of honor. Being thus -gifted, Douglass was able to be as much for his -people in a personal as in a public capacity. He -had a way of getting close to the men in power and -of reaching their hearts and enlisting their sympathies -for the objects in whose service he was engaged. -This was most fortunate. His race was without -official connection with the government, without -experience, and with no clearly defined status as -citizens. If ever the colored people needed a strong -man capable in every way to represent them, it was -now, when the war was over and the question, what -to do with the free Negro, must be answered in definite -terms of law and governmental policy. Aside -from his commanding abilities, and his personal attractiveness -to men, Mr. Douglass had lived through -<span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span>the very experiences that fitted him to know and -feel what the Negro needed and ought to have. He -had been a slave, a fugitive slave, and a freedman, -at a time, too, when Negro freedom was most despaired -of. No white man could appreciate, as he -could and did, the sweetness of the terms, Freedom -and Liberty. One of his earliest utterances on this -subject indicates his feeling at this period. “I saw -no chance,” he said, “of bettering the condition of -the freedman, until he should cease to be merely a -freedman and should become a citizen, and that -there was no safety for him or for anybody else in -America, outside of the American government.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>At the time when Mr. Douglass publicly took -this position, he was far more radical than some of -the most ardent of his anti-slavery associates. This -declaration was then regarded as a challenge to the -sense of justice of the American people. Many -earnest friends of the Negro thought it was asking -too much, even though the race deserved the franchise. -Others argued that the Negro was unfit for -the suffrage and that it would aggravate the already -strained relations between the two races in the -South. Opposition was expected by Mr. Douglass -and he was ready to meet it. No one understood -better than he that his people had had no training -for citizenship, but he was accustomed to say, -that “if the Negro knows enough to fight for his -country, he knows enough to vote; if he knows -enough to pay taxes to support the government, -he knows enough to vote; if he knows as much -when sober as an Irishman knows when he is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>drunk, he knows enough to vote.” He anticipated -the evils that would follow the enfranchisement of -the ex-slaves, but insisted that such evils would be -temporary and that the good would be permanent. -He further insisted that it was worth all the suffering -endured by his race to have that principle -established; that the right of suffrage would be an -incentive to arouse the latent energies of the Negro -to become worthy of full citizenship, and that such -impulse was imperatively needed. He always declared -that political equality was a widely different -thing from social equality. He vigorously protested -that the right of suffrage did not mean Negro -domination in the slave-states, if the best white -people would wisely assume the leadership of the -blacks. He believed in the domination of the fittest, -and insisted that the white people of the South, -because of their superiority in intelligence and in -all the forces that make for supremacy, were in no -danger of being overwhelmed by the new voters. -He believed in the rule of the competent and that -in the long run intelligent supremacy would be -tempered with justice and the true spirit of democracy. -He believed that those who were strong -enough, either to help the ex-slave to get upon his -feet or to crush him in his efforts to rise, would -choose the more generous course.</p> - -<p class='c004'>At any rate, he deemed the time ripe to claim for -the freedmen full citizenship and equality before -the law. When the question came forward for discussion, -the people of the North were filled with -enthusiasm over the results of the war and for the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span>great objects they believed to have been achieved by -it. It was the occasion to make a hero of every one -who had taken part in the civil contest on the side -of the Union. Even the Negro, for the first time, became -the recipient of more than respectful consideration. -The people of the North were as proud of -his freedom as he was himself. If to give the Negro -the franchise, and laws to protect him in the exercise -of it as a citizen, would make more lasting the -results of the war, the North was now in a mood to -grant it to him, since it seemed to add to the significance -of the great struggle which had just been -so victoriously concluded. Douglass took advantage -of this condition of things to advocate suffrage -for his people. By speech and print and personal -appeals to the leaders of public opinion, he urged -this cause upon them in and out of season. There -was no lack of evidence that it was gaining in every -direction. The number of those who thought the -suffrage ought to be granted, because it was right; -those who thought it a good thing from a partisan -standpoint, and those who thought the results of -the war would be lost unless the Negro were given -the privilege, increased rapidly.</p> - -<p class='c004'>What Douglass calls one of the first steps in the -direction of popular favor for universal suffrage, -was an interview that he had with President Johnson -on the 7th of March, 1866. He headed a delegation -of prominent colored men, including George -T. Downing, Lewis H. Douglass, William E. Matthews, -John Jones, John F. Cook, Joseph E. Otis, -A. W. Ross, William Whipper, John M. Brown, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span>and Alexander Dunlop. The visit of these black -men to the President for the purpose of urging upon -the government the policy of the franchise for the -freedmen, attracted the attention of the entire nation. -Nothing better could have been devised to bring the -whole question before the people and obtain a hearing -for it.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The delegation soon found that Mr. Johnson was -not in sympathy with their plans for Negro enfranchisement. -The President had evidently anticipated -their purpose in calling upon him and he was fully -prepared to answer their arguments. He spoke to -them at great length and left no ground for them to -doubt his position in the matter. He also gave -them no opportunity to reply. On returning from -the White House, his colleagues empowered Mr. -Douglass to prepare an address to the public, to be -printed simultaneously with Mr. Johnson’s address -to them. Mr. Douglass’s paper was in the form of -a reply to the President’s arguments against the -suffrage proposition, and was as follows:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Mr. President:—In consideration of a delicate -sense of propriety as well as of your own repeated -intimations of indisposition to discuss or listen to a -reply to the views and opinions you were pleased to -express to us in your elaborate speech to-day, the -undersigned would respectfully take this method of -replying thereto.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Believing as we do that the views and opinions -you expressed in that address are entirely unsound -and prejudicial to the highest interest of our race, -as well as to our country at large, we cannot do -other than expose the same and, as far as may be in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span>our power, arrest their dangerous influence. It is -not necessary at this time to call attention to more -than two or three features of your remarkable address. -The first point to which we feel especially -bound to take exception, is your attempt to found -a policy opposed to our enfranchisement, upon the -alleged ground of an existing hostility on the part -of the former slaves to the poor white people of the -South. We admit the existence of this hostility, -and hold that it is entirely reciprocal. But you -obviously commit an error by drawing an argument -from an incident of slavery, and making it a basis -for a policy adapted to a state of freedom. The -hostility between the whites and blacks of the South -is easily explained. It has its root and sap in the -relation of slavery, and was incited on both sides by -the cunning of the slave-masters. These masters secured -their ascendency over both the poor whites -and blacks by putting enmity between them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“They divided both to conquer each. There was -no earthly reason why the blacks should not hate -and dread the poor whites when in a state of slavery, -for it was from this class that their masters received -their slave-catchers and slave-drivers and overseers. -They were the men called in upon all occasions by -the masters whenever any fiendish outrage was to -be committed upon the slaves. Now, sir, you cannot -but perceive that, the cause of this hatred removed, -the effect must be removed also. Slavery is -abolished. The cause of this antagonism is removed, -and you must see that it is altogether illogical -to legislate from slave-holding and slave-driving -premises for a people, whom you have repeatedly -declared it your purpose to maintain in freedom.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Besides, if it were true, as you allege, that the -hostility of the blacks toward the whites must -necessarily project itself into a state of freedom, and -that this enmity between the two races is even more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span>intense in a state of freedom than in a state of -slavery, in the name of Heaven, we reverently ask, -how can you, in view of your proffered desire to -promote the welfare of the black man, deprive him -of all means of defense, and clothe him, whom you -regard as his enemy, in the panoply of political -power? Can it be that you recommend a policy -which would arm the strong and cast down the defenseless? -Can you, by any possibility of reasoning, -regard this as just, fair, or wise? Experience -proves that those are most abused who can be abused -with the greatest impunity. Men are whipped -oftenest who are whipped easiest. Peace between -races is not to be secured by degrading one race and -exalting another, by giving power to one and withholding -from another, but by maintaining a state of -equal justice between all classes. First pure, then -peaceable.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“On the colonization theory you were pleased to -broach, very much could be said. It is impossible -to suppose, in view of the usefulness of the black -man in time of peace as a laborer in the South and -in time of war as a soldier in the North, and a growing -respect for his rights among the people and his -increasing adaptation to a high state of civilization -in his native land, that there can ever come a time -when he can be removed from this country without -a terrible shock to its prosperity and peace. Besides, -the worst enemy of the nation could not cast -upon its fair name a greater infamy than to admit -that Negroes could be tolerated among them in -a state of the most degrading slavery and oppression, -and must be cast away, driven to exile, for no -other cause than having been freed from their -chains.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>When the question reached Congress, the Negro -was not lacking in friends who were willing to go -<span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span>the full length of the Frederick Douglass program -of Reconstruction. The first step taken was a report -made to the Senate by a committee having the -subject in charge. This report in effect provided -that the whole matter of franchise be left to the -option of the several states concerned. Mr. Douglass -believed he saw in this proposition the continued -political enslavement of his people, and he was on -his guard. The following communication written -and sent to the Senate by the delegation which -had visited President Johnson speaks for itself:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“To the Honorable, the Senate of the United -States:—The undersigned, being a delegation -representing the colored people of the several states, -and now sojourning in Washington, charged with -the duty to look after the best interests of the recently -emancipated, would most respectfully, but -earnestly, pray your honorable body to favor no -amendment of the Constitution of the United States -which will grant any one or all of the states of this -Union to disfranchise any class of citizens on the -ground of race or color, for any consideration whatever. -They would further respectfully represent -that the Constitution as adopted by the Fathers of -this Republic in 1789 evidently contemplated the -result which has now happened, to wit, the abolition -of slavery. The men who framed it, and those who -adopted it, framed and adopted it for the people, -and the whole people, colored men being at the time -legal voters in most of the states. In that instrument -as it now stands, there is not a sentence or a -syllable conveying any shadow of right or authority -by which any State may make color or race a disqualification -for the exercise of the right of suffrage, -and the undersigned will regard as a real calamity -<span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span>the introduction of any words expressly or by implication, -giving any state or states such power; and -we respectfully submit that if the amendment now -pending before your honorable body shall be -adopted, it will enable any state to deprive any class -of citizens of the elective franchise, notwithstanding -it was obviously framed with a view to affect -the question of Negro suffrage only.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“For these and other reasons the undersigned respectfully -pray that the amendment to the Constitution -recently passed by the House and now before -your body, be not adopted. And as in duty -bound,” etc.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In addition to this letter addressed to the United -States Senate, Mr. Douglass and his associates saw -and argued the matter with every member of that -body who would grant them an audience. The -“Option Measure” was defeated and to a considerable -extent through Mr. Douglass’s influence. By -this time the question of Negro suffrage had become -a leading issue. For the purpose of obtaining the -sense of the country on this subject, there was -arranged what was known at the time as the -“National Loyalists’ Convention,” to be held at -Philadelphia in September, 1866. It was made up -of delegates from all parts of the Union, including -many influential men in and out of public life. -Rochester elected Mr. Douglass as its sole representative, -which was a great tribute to him, giving -new recognition to the Negro race. The entire -country was quick to take notice of the city’s action, -in so important a gathering, and there was not only -objection but open opposition to Mr. Douglass’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span>taking a seat in the convention. Some of the leading -delegates united in an effort to persuade him -not to go.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Speaking of the situation, Mr. Douglass says that -at Harrisburg, there was attached to his train cars -loaded with representatives from some of the western -states.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“When my presence became known to these -gentlemen,” he continues, “a consultation was -immediately held among them upon the question -of what was best to be done with me. It seems -strange, in view of all the progress which had been -made, that such a question should arise. But the -circumstances of the times made me the Jonah of -the Republican ship, and responsible for the contrary -winds and misbehaving weather. I was duly -waited upon by a committee of my brother delegates -to represent to me the undesirableness of my attendance -upon the National Loyalists’ Convention. The -spokesman of these sub-delegates was a gentleman -from New Orleans.... He began by telling -me that he knew my history and my works and that -he entertained no very slight degree of respect for -me; that both himself and the gentlemen who sent -him, as well as those who accompanied him, regarded -me with admiration; that there was not -among them the remotest objection to sitting in the -convention with me, but their personal wishes in -the matter they felt should be set aside for the sake -of our common cause; that whether I should or -should not go in the convention was purely a matter -of expediency; that I must know that there was a -very strong and bitter prejudice against my race in -the North as well as in the South and that the cry -of social and political equality would not fail to be -raised against the Republican party if I should -<span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span>attend this loyal National convention.... -I listened very attentively to the address, uttering -no word during its delivery; but when it was finished, -I said to the speaker and the committee, with -all the emphasis I could throw into my voice and -manner, ‘Gentlemen, with all respect, you might as -well ask me to put a loaded pistol to my head and -blow my brains out, as to ask me to keep out of this -convention to which I have been duly elected. -Then, gentlemen, what would you gain by the exclusion? -Would not the charge of cowardice, certain -to be brought against you, prove more damaging -than that of amalgamation; would you not be -branded all over the land as dastardly hypocrites, -professing principles which you have no wish or intention -of carrying out? As a matter of policy or -expediency, you will be wise to let me in. Everybody -knows that I have been duly elected as a delegate -by the city of Rochester. This fact has been -broadly announced and commented upon all over -the country. If I am not admitted, the public will -ask, “Where is Douglass? Why is he not seen in -the convention?” and you would find that inquiry -more difficult to answer than any charge brought -against you for favoring political or social equality; -but ignoring the question of policy altogether and -looking at it as one of right and wrong, I am bound -to go into that convention; not to do so would be to -contradict the principles and practice of my life.’”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The delegates withdrew from the car in which -Mr. Douglass was riding without accomplishing -their purpose. It was soon made evident to him -that his argument had not changed the prejudices -of his visitors. When he reached Philadelphia and -learned of the plans of the convention, he easily detected -a concerted scheme to ignore him altogether. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span>“I was,” he says, “the ugly and deformed child of -the family and to be kept out of sight as much as -possible, while there was company in the house.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>It had been arranged that the delegates should -assemble at Independence Hall and from there -march in a body through the streets to the building -where the convention was to be held. Mr. Douglass -was present at Independence Hall at the appointed -time, but he at once realized the situation. Only a few -of the delegates, like General B. F. Butler, had the -courage even to greet him. He was not only -snubbed generally, but it was hinted to him that if -he attempted to walk in the procession through the -streets of a city where but a few years ago Negroes -had been assaulted and their houses and schools -burned down, he would be jeered at, insulted, and -perhaps mobbed. It required no little courage to -act in the face of these conditions, but Douglass -never wavered. He was strong enough not to falter -even at the desertion of men whom he had a right -to regard as his friends.</p> - -<p class='c004'>When the procession was formed, the delegates -were to march two abreast. By this arrangement, -the man who would have the hardihood to walk beside -the only Negro in line would be an easy mark -for scorn and contempt if not bodily attack. It was -believed that no white man, under these conditions, -would dare to march with Douglass. One delegate -after another, those who had formerly taken counsel -with him, passed him by. But to use his own words: -“There was one man present who was broad enough -to take in the whole situation and brave enough to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span>meet the duty of the hour; one who was neither -afraid nor ashamed to own me as a man and a -brother. One man of the purest Caucasian type, a -poet, a scholar, brilliant as a writer, eloquent as a -speaker, and holding a high influential position, the -editor of a weekly journal having the largest circulation -of any weekly paper in the state of New York, -and that man was Theodore Tilton. He came to me -in my isolation, seized me by the hand in a most -brotherly way, and proposed to walk with me in the -procession.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The delegates marching through the streets of -Philadelphia met with a great ovation, and Mr. -Douglass was singled out for special marks of favor. -Along the entire way he was loudly cheered, applauded, -and congratulated by the multitude. Those -who had misjudged the sentiments of the Philadelphians -were ashamed of themselves when they saw -that he was apparently the most popular man in the -procession.</p> - -<p class='c004'>A very pleasing incident occurred on the line of -march that day which served to call special attention -to him. As his eyes caught a glimpse of -a beautiful young woman among the spectators, he -was seen suddenly to leave his place and fervently -greet her. She was a member of the Auld family, -and Mr. Douglass, recognizing her at once, paid her -homage publicly. It appears that she had come -to Philadelphia from her home in Baltimore -when she heard that the ex-slave was to be there -and walk in the procession as one of the great -men of the occasion, and had been following the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_270'>270</span>line for over an hour with the hope of catching a -view of the man who, but for his desire for freedom, -might still have been a servant in her family. -The newspapers made much of the incident, and -described it as one of the most dramatic features of -the day.</p> - -<p class='c004'>By the time the marchers had reached the hall, -the fear of Mr. Douglass’s presence, as a delegate, -had given way to a feeling of respect, pride, and -comradeship. He threw off all restraint, and went -in to win from this body a resolution in favor of the -franchise for his people. He delivered one of those -powerful and convincing addresses that he was well -able to make when aroused. As a result, he quite -captured and controlled the sentiment of the convention -in favor of his resolution, and when it adjourned -Mr. Douglass was congratulated for having -achieved a personal triumph that was remarkable -for its completeness.</p> - -<p class='c004'>After the adoption of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, -and Fifteenth Amendments, there was some curious -speculation as to what place Frederick Douglass -would take in this larger world of citizenship that -he had helped to create. A number of his friends -and admirers thought that he had led his people so -successfully out of the wilderness of slavery that he -should now put himself into a position where he -could guide them further in the proper use of their -rights and privileges as citizens of the republic. -Many urged that the South was the right place for -one of his power and standing. No colored man -in this country had such training for large responsibilities -<span class='pageno' id='Page_271'>271</span>as Mr. Douglass had had, during the previous -thirty years of service. It was also feared -that, without such leadership as he could bring to -the South, small men, of mere political training and -of partisan methods and ambitions, would assume -the direction of the newly-made citizens, and, by -their selfishness and greed, bring down upon these -poor people more miseries than could be cured in -many generations. Everything seemed to invite -Frederick Douglass to these new duties and new responsibilities. -It was pointed out to him how easily -he could become a pioneer by being elected to the -House of Representatives, or even to the Senate, -from some of the reconstructed states of the South.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He thought long and seriously over the project, -but finally concluded not to change his habitation -for the sake of gaining political power. He expressed -his conclusions on the matter as follows:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That I did not yield to this temptation was -not entirely due to my age, but the idea did not entirely -square well with my better judgment and -sense of propriety. The thought of going to live -among a people in order to gain their votes and acquire -official honors was repugnant to my sense of -self-respect, and I had not lived long enough in the -political atmosphere of Washington to have this -feeling blunted so as to make me indifferent to its -suggestions.... I had small faith in my aptitude -as a politician, and could not hope to cope -with rival aspirants. My life and labors in the -North had in a measure unfitted me for such -work, and I could not have readily adapted myself -to that peculiar oratory found to be most effective -with the newly enfranchised class. Upon the whole, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_272'>272</span>I have never regretted that I did not enter the arena -of Congressional honors to which I was invited. -Outside of mere personal considerations, I saw, or -thought I saw, that, in the nature of the case, the -sceptre of power had passed from the old slave-states -to the free and loyal states, and that hereafter, -at least for some time to come, the loyal North, -with its advanced civilization, must dictate the policy -and control the destiny of the republic. I had -an audience ready made in the free-states, one -which the labors of thirty years had prepared for -me, and before this audience the freedmen needed -an advocate as much as they needed a member in -Congress. I think that in this I was right, for thus -far our colored members in Congress have not largely -made themselves felt in the legislation of this country, -and I have little reason to think that I could -have done better than they.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_273'>273</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER XIV<br> <span class='large'>SHARING THE RESPONSIBILITIES AND HONORS OF FREEDOM</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>The course of events in the succeeding thirty -years proved that Frederick Douglass was wholly -right in his determination not to take up his residence -in one of the Southern states for political purposes. -Had he followed the advice of some of his -friends, his career would have been considerably -marred by the exigencies of party and sectional -politics, and his character as a natural leader of his -people would, in all probability, have shrunken to -that of a state politician. He did the wise thing, -however, in changing his residence from Rochester -to Washington. This brought him in closer touch -with his people, as well as near to the law-making -forces of the nation.</p> - -<p class='c004'>After he became settled in his new home, he soon -found his heart and hands full of occupations that -tried his soul. He was fairly overwhelmed with all -kinds of schemes and propositions that were carried -to him, urging him to do this or that for the protection -and elevation of the race. It required a -mind of more than ordinary shrewdness to discriminate -between the practical and impractical. Many -of the Negroes seemed to think him capable of performing -miracles in the way of undoing the effects -of slavery. It required a stout spirit to listen unmoved -<span class='pageno' id='Page_274'>274</span>to the wail that came from the hearts of his -sadly distracted people. Those of us who are living -forty years after the close of the war, can little -appreciate to what an extent the glory of emancipation -was shadowed by the miseries of a whole race -suddenly set free with no preparation for freedom. -When one studies the history of the years that followed -emancipation, and learns of the many sins -and errors of the time, and the retribution that -they brought upon the bewildered people in whose -name they were committed, it must seem strange -that the Negro race could survive and make the -progress it has made. Through all the confusion -and clamor of wants, sorrows, sufferings and disappointments, -Mr. Douglass kept his head, and was -at all times philosophical, certain that the good accomplished -was more important than the seeming -failures; that the hindrances to progress were transitory, -the forces of progress permanent. After -he had settled in Washington, two things at once -engaged his attention: the publication of another -paper, <cite>The New National Era</cite>, and the Freedmen’s -Bank.</p> - -<p class='c004'>There was apparently a pressing need for a -national organ to advance the cause of the Negro, -and it was believed that the name of Frederick -Douglass at its head would surely bring it a wide -circulation, as well as a commanding influence. He -took hold of the project with characteristic vigor -and invested a large amount of his savings in the -venture. With the assistance of his two sons, both -practical printers, the paper proved to be one of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_275'>275</span>greatest helps of the hour. Some of Mr. Douglass’s -best utterances are to be found in the <cite>New Era</cite>. Its -columns were open to the leading colored men and -women of that time and it exerted a wide and salutary -influence. However, it failed of support. The -enterprise cost Mr. Douglass between nine and -ten thousand dollars. He seems to have anticipated -its financial misfortunes, but said of it afterward: -“The journal was valuable, while it lasted, -and the experiment was to me full of instruction -which has to some extent been heeded, for I have -kept well out of newspaper undertakings since, so I -have no tears to shed.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>When Mr. Douglass went to Washington, he found -established there the Freedmen’s Bank. It was -chartered by Congress and was run and managed in -connection with the Freedmen’s Bureau. “It was,” -as Mr. Douglass says, “more than a bank. There -was something missionary in its composition.” Its -managers were men of character and religion, and -were interested in everything that could point the -way of true living to the ex-slave. To teach the -important lesson of thrift was its main object.</p> - -<p class='c004'>For a time this bank flourished very well. -Branches were established in various parts of the -South. The poor freedmen in the bottom lands of -Mississippi and other isolated places quickly learned -the use and meaning of the institution; and eagerly -and gratefully committed to its keeping their small -earnings. Thousands of these depositors first came -to know and realize their relationship to the government -at Washington through it. The owners -<span class='pageno' id='Page_276'>276</span>of United States bonds did not feel more secure -than did these trusting new citizens of the republic.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The bank and its purposes appealed to Mr. -Douglass. He felt it his duty to do anything in his -power to help the benevolent enterprise. It was -not long before he was elected one of its trustees. -He accepted the post and, as an earnest of his interest -and confidence in it, placed several thousand -dollars in its keeping. He says: “It seemed fitting -to cast in my lot with my brother freedmen and -help build up an institution which represented the -thrift and economy of my people to so striking an -advantage, for the more millions accumulated -there, I thought, the more consideration and respect -would be shown to the colored people by the -whole country.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>At first he was not active in his new office. He -seldom attended the board meetings. The men in -charge were of so high a character and had brought -the bank up to such rank that his faith in it -was well-nigh absolute. He was surprised when -soon notified that he had been elected president. -Before assuming this post, in 1871, he asked for a -statement of the bank’s affairs, not because he was -suspicious, but that he might the more intelligently -take hold of his new duties. He received assurances -from the officers that everything was in excellent -condition but he at once began a wholesale -policy of retrenchment in the expenses of management. -From the showing made by those in a position -to know and to be believed, Mr. Douglass felt -<span class='pageno' id='Page_277'>277</span>so confident that everything was as it appeared to -be that he loaned the bank $10,000 of his own -money, until it could realize on a part of its securities. -Soon afterward several things connected -with the bank’s management excited his distrust. -The money loaned by him was not repaid so -promptly as it should have been; some of the -trustees had removed their own deposits and opened -accounts with other banks; and the new president -discovered that through dishonest agents, heavy -losses were sustained in the South; that there was a -discrepancy in the accounts amounting to about -$40,000; that the “reserve” which the bank by its -charter was obliged to maintain was entirely exhausted. -All this Mr. Douglass learned after he -had been president for only three months. Being -convinced that things were rapidly going from -bad to worse, he immediately reported the condition -of the bank to the Finance Committee of -the United States Senate. The trustees upon whose -figures and reports Mr. Douglass relied for his -action, now tried to retract their statements and did -their utmost to stay the hand of the government, -but the Senate committee accepted his representations -and immediately proceeded to bring the bank -to the end of its remarkable career.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass did not take advantage of his private -knowledge of its insolvency to remove his $2,000 -on deposit, as some trustees had done. In this, -as in other things, he acted with perfect openness -and absolute honesty. Nevertheless the bank’s -troubles brought to him no end of bitter criticism. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_278'>278</span>The number of open accounts at the time of failure -was over 60,000 and the total amount deposited -during the period of its existence was about $57,000,000.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Bad management may truthfully be written on -the face of this greatest single setback to the Negro’s -progress. Viewed in the light of the condition of -these people, striving by might and main to promote -their own interests, the failure of the Freedmen’s -Bank was little less than a crime. The mischief -had all been done before Mr. Douglass took -charge of the institution. As he says: “Not a -dollar of its millions was loaned by me or with my -approval. The fact is, and all investigation will -show, that I was married to a corpse. When I became -connected with the bank I had a tolerably fair -name for honest dealing. I had expended in the -publication of my paper in Rochester thousands of -dollars annually and had often to depend upon my -credit to bridge over immediate wants. But no -man here or elsewhere can say that I ever wronged -him out of one cent.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>This miserable failure distressed Mr. Douglass -more than any other man in the country, because -he saw how wide-spread would be the loss of confidence -in him and in his people. The mere fact -that his own conscience was clear and that his -prompt action prevented further losses did not -soften his disappointment. On the contrary, the -subject continued to be a source of public bitterness -and suspicion for many years, but he was large -enough to grow out of and beyond any evil effects -<span class='pageno' id='Page_279'>279</span>arising from it, so far as his own standing and reputation -were concerned.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Important as was the Freedmen’s Bank, both as -a success and as a failure, it was but a small part -of the many evidences that the black race was -everywhere awake to the fact that it was living in -a new era. The transformation of the Negro’s status -from that of a quasi-denizen to that of a full-fledged -citizen of America was a revolution of far-reaching -import, but it was accompanied by little demonstration. -The only proof that a great change had been -brought about was the eagerness with which the -colored people attempted to realize all the benefits -belonging to full citizenship. Up to this time, of -course, they had never had any part in politics, but -it did not take them long to learn the game. Educated -Negroes and those who had but little education, -very quickly mastered its tricks and made the -most of their opportunities. In every Southern -state colored men were easily elected to the state -legislatures and to other high offices.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In Louisiana, Oscar J. Dunn, P. B. S. Pinchback, -and C. C. Antoine; in South Carolina, Alonzo J. -Ransier and Robert H. Gleaves; and in Mississippi, -Alexander Davis, were elected Lieutenant-Governors. -Colored men were also chosen for important -county and town offices;—there were Negro -sheriffs, county clerks, justices of the peace. To -this period also belongs the election of the only two -colored men ever given seats in the United States -Senate, Hiram R. Revels and Blanche K. Bruce, of -Mississippi. In the lower house of Congress, nearly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_280'>280</span>every state in the South was represented by Negroes. -In addition to these elective offices of honor and -distinction, a large number of the leaders of the -race held appointive Federal offices, as postmasters, -and as collectors of customs and internal revenue, -and for the first time in the history of the -United States, colored men were appointed to diplomatic -positions.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In recent years, students and writers of the Reconstruction -period, have indulged in a good deal -of unmerited abuse of the colored men who, for a -brief season, and without previous training, under -the leadership of white politicians, held political -posts. It is a deplorable fact that too many inferior -persons were elected to fill important state and -county offices in the reconstructed states. It is quite -true that the colored citizen voted for unfit men of his -own race because there was no one else to vote for. -This same freedman would more willingly have -used his franchise for a white man of character and -ability, if he had had the opportunity. The fact -is that democracy does not stand still for want -of fit men, whether in the Bowery district in New -York or in the Black Belt of South Carolina. The -Negroes who were elected to Congress, however, -were, with but few exceptions, men of character -and superior intelligence. B. K. Bruce of Mississippi, -John R. Lynch, Robert Brown Elliot, A. J. -Ransier, and Robert Smalls were highly creditable -representatives of a race that had just emerged from -the night of slavery. In fact, it is surprising that -there were any colored men in the South who had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_281'>281</span>enough spirit and intelligence even to aspire to the -things that but yesterday were beyond their reach. -It is also worthy of note that among the Negroes -holding positions of dignity and trust, there were -only a few cases in which that trust was knowingly -betrayed.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The eagerness with which colored men, of any -ability at all, sought public posts was largely due -to the fact that there were few places open to honorable -ambitions, outside of public office, to which -they could aspire. Not many at that time had -any training for school-teaching or the professions. -Politics was the one door that opened most widely -to Negroes of ability. The people at large seemed -to enjoy the novelty of seeing these new citizens of -the country so quickly take their places in the -civil service of the government, and wear whatever -honors they could win. The same sentiment that -forced the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments -into the Constitution of the United States, was -gratified when educated and eloquent ex-slaves took -their seats in both branches of Congress.</p> - -<p class='c004'>While it lasted, this was all very pleasing, hopeful, -and interesting, but a reaction was bound to -come. The constituency behind these representative -leaders lacked the necessary intelligence, knowledge, -and business experience. By such an electorate -men may be chosen to power, but they cannot -long be held in power.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It was an unfortunate thing, too, that the freedmen -learned their first lessons in politics when public -morals were at so low an ebb. Many sins were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_282'>282</span>committed and tolerated in the interest of party -success. Many desperate men in a spirit at once -predatory and partisan, invaded the South and attempted -to instruct the colored people in ways that -were dark, but ways that led to party victory. -These men were bad models for a learning race to -follow. Although it was unreasonable to expect -these newly emancipated people to be superior to -their white leaders, yet, by recent writers, they have -been held accountable for whatever sins were committed -in this office-holding era.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass, in the midst of the political prosperity -of his race, was not misled as to the outcome. -No one saw more clearly than he the uncertainty -of the position to which it had been elevated -by recent events. While it is true he was at no -time a political power in the South, the colored men -who came into office looked to him for counsel and -advice. He rejoiced in the many evidences of personal -worth and talent displayed by Negroes who, -for the first time in American history, were having -some real part in the government of the country. -Yet experience made him feel and declare that, -after all, “the true basis of rights is the capacity of -the individual.” He urgently pleaded that the -government should give the freedman education -that he might have knowledge to use his suffrage in -such a manner as to preserve his own liberty, and -contribute to the public welfare.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass enjoyed a full share of the honors -and responsibilities of office-holding. In each succeeding -administration after the war, posts and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_283'>283</span>places came to him almost as a matter of course, because -of his prominence as a representative of the enfranchised -race. During the administration of President -Grant, he was appointed one of the councilmen -of the District of Columbia, and afterward was -elected a member of the legislature of the District. -He soon resigned the last position to accept the -secretaryship of the commission appointed by -Grant to visit San Domingo for the purpose of -negotiating a treaty for the annexation of that -island to the United States. The commission -was composed of Senator B. F. Wade, Dr. S. G. -Howe, and Andrew D. White, President of Cornell -University. The country was somewhat startled by -the innovation of placing a colored man in a position -to represent the government on so important a -mission. Its purpose failed. Opposition on the part -of Senator Sumner and other influential Republicans -was of the most bitter and uncompromising sort.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The political feud that arose from General Grant’s -San Domingan policy carried many men out of the -Republican party. Mr. Douglass was placed in an -awkward position in accepting the appointment, -because his great friend, Senator Sumner, was the -leader of the opposition to the President’s plan of -annexation. He admired and was personally attached -to both because of their heroic services in the -cause of freedom and citizenship for his people. -Explaining his attitude, he said: “I am free to say -that, had I been guided only by the promptings of -my heart, I should, in this controversy, have followed -Charles Sumner. He was not only the most -<span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span>clear-sighted, brave, and uncompromising friend of -my race who had ever stood upon the floor of the -Senate, but he was to me a loved, honored, and -precious personal friend.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>After Senator Sumner had arraigned President -Grant in a notable speech in the Senate, Mr. Douglass -happened to be a caller at the White House and -was asked by the President what he now thought of -his friend from Massachusetts. True to his feelings, -Douglass frankly replied that, in his opinion, -the Senator was sincere in his position, believing -that in opposing annexation he defended the cause -of the colored race, as he had always done. “I saw -that my reply was not satisfactory,” Douglass observes, -“and I said, ‘What do you think, Mr. -President, of Senator Sumner?’ He replied with -some feeling, ‘I think he is mad.’”</p> - -<p class='c004'>By his perfect frankness, Mr. Douglass was able -to retain the respect and confidence of both men. -He agreed with President Grant in his annexation -policy and had, at the same time, a special fondness -for the Massachusetts Senator. He frequently dined -with the latter and they were often seen walking arm -in arm in the corridors of the Capitol, while Douglass -embraced every opportunity to sound the -praises of his friend. In an address delivered at -New Orleans before a convention of colored men, -during this Grant-Sumner feud, he said: “There is -now at Washington a man who represents the future -and is a majority in himself,—a man at whose feet -Grant learns wisdom. That man is Charles Sumner. -I know them both; they are great men, but Sumner -<span class='pageno' id='Page_285'>285</span>is as steady as the north star; he is no flickering -light. For twenty-five years he has worked for the -Republican party and I hope I may cease forever, -if I cease to give all honor to Charles Sumner.” -And later he said: “As a man of integrity and -truth, Charles Sumner was high above suspicion, -and not all the Grants in Christendom will rob him -of his well-earned character.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Notwithstanding his repeatedly declared loyalty -to the Senator, Mr. Douglass was found in the ranks -doing valiant service for the reëlection of General -Grant for a second term. His coöperation was -needed in some quarters, because the colored voters -were not a little confused when such stalwart friends as -Sumner, Senator Trumbull, of Illinois; Carl Schurz, -of Missouri; and Horace Greeley, of New York, -were found in the “camp of the enemy,” fighting -the Republican party. The National Convention of -Colored Men, held in New Orleans in April, 1872, -affords an interesting example of how puzzling was -the split in the Republican organization to the -average Negro voter. This was a very large and -representative body. The members were in a state -of grave apprehension, on account of the division in -the ranks of the black man’s party. Many of the -leading delegates in attendance were uncertain to -whom their allegiance should be given. It was -difficult for a colored man in those days not to be -with Sumner, right or wrong.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It was here that Mr. Douglass demonstrated his -power as a political leader. His speech as president -of the convention was a notable effort. It was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_286'>286</span>telegraphed in full to the New York <cite>Herald</cite>, and -throughout the country it was widely circulated and -read, as a campaign document. It did more than -any other one thing to hold the colored people in -party lines. In addition to this, Douglass took an -active part in the ensuing struggle, and no orator in -the Grant-Greeley contest was more popular than he. -To the black voter, who wanted to follow the Liberal -Republicans led by Senator Sumner, he urged -that there was “no path out of the Republican -party that did not lead directly into the camp of -the Democratic party—away from our friends, directly -to our enemies.” It was in this campaign, -too, that he made use of the well-known party aphorism, -“The Republican party is the ship, and all -else is the sea.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>What was more important and interesting than -any other thing in this contest, so far as Mr. Douglass -was concerned, was the singular recognition -shown him by the Republicans of New York, who -placed his name on the ticket as one of the electors -of that state. No other colored man in the history -of the country had ever been so honored. When -the electoral college met in Albany, he was commissioned -to carry the New York vote to the capital of -the nation.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Though he had done valiant service for the reëlection -of General Grant, Mr. Douglass neither -asked nor received any reward in the form of an -office. At that time there were but few honors in -the gift of the President that could be considered -within the reach of a colored man. The one diplomatic -<span class='pageno' id='Page_287'>287</span>post which he could have obtained for the -asking—as minister to Hayti—he made no effort to -get, but generously supported his friend E. D. Bassett, -of Philadelphia, for it. Mr. Bassett was a man -of fine attainments and exceptionally well qualified -for the office. This act of deference to the claims -of others was characteristic of Mr. Douglass in all -of his relationships to the prominent Negroes of his -generation.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In 1877, and after the election and inauguration -of President Hayes, the whole country was more or -less startled by the announcement that Frederick -Douglass had been appointed Marshal of the District -of Columbia. This office was one of much political -and social responsibility, and the appointment -of an ex-slave produced a sensation in -Washington. As Mr. Douglass says, “It came -upon the people of the District as a great surprise -and almost a punishment, and provoked something -like a scream, I will not say a yell, of popular displeasure.” -This was not an exaggerated statement -of the public feeling directed against the appointment. -Plans were set on foot to secure the defeat -of his nomination in the United States Senate. It -seemed impossible for the people at the capital to -view the President’s action in any other way than -as the degradation of an exalted office. They were -sure that Mr. Douglass would use his place to “Africanize -the District courts”; and the great social -functions of the White House, with a Negro as -“Lord High Chamberlain,” would become the -laughing-stock of the enlightened world.</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_288'>288</span>If Mr. Douglass had been a man of less tact and -intelligence, and had not occupied so high a place -in popular esteem, he could not have withstood the -strength and bitterness of the opposition. His -good standing, in spite of his color, saved him and -the Hayes administration from a humiliating surrender -to popular prejudice. When his name -reached the Senate, it was confirmed without serious -discussion. Senator Conkling had charge of the -matter, and swept away all opposition in a perfect -storm of eloquent ridicule of the reasons presented -for rejection. Unfortunately, the Senate’s action -did not wholly end the agitation. Every word and -act of Mr. Douglass’s was scrutinized for some proof -of his unfitness. Shortly after the confirmation of his -appointment, he delivered an address in the city of -Baltimore, taking as his theme “Our National Capital.” -It was an interesting mixture of praise and -criticism, though in no way the result of recent occurrences, -for he had delivered the same speech in -Washington some months before and it provoked -no discussion. He was, therefore, greatly surprised -to find, when he returned to the capital, that the old -animosity which had spent itself in attempting to -defeat his appointment, was again aroused. The -objectionable portions of his Baltimore lecture were -quoted and commented upon in terms of unqualified -bitterness. An effort was made to induce the sureties -on his bond to withdraw, and in this way disqualify -him to act in his official capacity. Strong -pressure was brought to bear on the President to -relieve the capital of the nation of the insufferable -<span class='pageno' id='Page_289'>289</span>offense of an official who had so little sense of the -proprieties as to hold up Washington and its citizens -to public ridicule. All this, however, proved -to be of no effect. His bondsmen, one of whom -was a wealthy and prominent Democrat of the District, -could not be persuaded to embarrass the Negro -marshal by withdrawing their names. Hayes was -likewise firm in resisting all efforts to remove Mr. -Douglass, who refers gratefully to the President as -follows: “When all Washington was in an uproar, -and a wild clamor rent the air for my removal from -the office of marshal, on account of the lecture delivered -by me in Baltimore, and when petitions -were flowing in upon him demanding my degradation, -he nobly rebuked the mad spirit of persecution -by openly declaring his purpose to retain me -in my place.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Douglass’s successful fight in retaining his position -of honor was interesting, not so much because -of his personal standing, as because it was typical -of the whole struggle of his race, since emancipation, -to win their way into the confidences of the -American people by proving themselves capable of -using their liberty and their citizenship in a proper -manner.</p> - -<p class='c004'>If Mr. Douglass had been sacrificed to the demands -of popular prejudice, it would have served -as a disqualifying precedent in the matter of future -opportunities of colored men with honorable ambitions. -In a short while, all opposition was quieted, -and the new marshal pursued the routine of his duties -without hindrance or serious embarrassment. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_290'>290</span>The judges and attorneys of the District soon learned -to treat the Negro official with respect and courtesy. -None of the awful things predicted came to pass, -and the powers that stood behind him and were responsible -for him were wholly vindicated.</p> - -<p class='c004'>During the trying ordeal from which he had so -successfully emerged, Mr. Douglass complained -somewhat petulantly that “no colored man in the -city uttered one public word in defense or extenuation -of me or my Baltimore speech, except Dr. -Charles B. Purvis.” He was always sensitive to -the least evidence of opposition or slight on the part -of his own people. For a man who had done so -much for his race at a time when it was unable to -do anything for itself, it was, perhaps, quite natural -for him to feel as he did, now that so many voices -were lifted against him. Whatever hostility or -indifference the colored people in the District exhibited -toward Mr. Douglass, was probably due to -jealousy of his leadership and a professed chagrin -on account of the alleged willingness on his part to -accept the office with the abridgment of the social -privileges enjoyed by previous marshals.</p> - -<p class='c004'>His answer to these complaints was such as to -satisfy any reasonable person that it meant no surrender -of principle. All the functions that legally -belonged to his office he performed. The ornamental -duties that had grown up by custom and usage, -he willingly left to others. He had enjoyed more -social opportunities than any colored man in the -country and he possessed infinite tact and a fine -sense of discrimination as to rights and privileges. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_291'>291</span>Frequently while he was marshal, he was called -upon to introduce distinguished strangers to the -President. He said: “I was ever a welcome visitor -at the Executive Mansion on state occasions and -on all others while Rutherford B. Hayes was President -of the United States.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>As time passed, his own people, as well as other -men in Washington, came to admire Douglass’s -good sense as well as his fine bearing on all occasions. -The proudest event in his official life was -associated with the inauguration of General James -A. Garfield as President of the United States. The -Marshal of the District of Columbia was called upon -to act an important part in the greatest of all -national ceremonies. He was brought into touch -with the retiring as well as the incoming President. -He had the honor of escorting them both from the -chamber of the United States Senate to the east front -of the Capitol where the oath of office was to be -taken by President Garfield and where he delivered -his inaugural address to a vast concourse of people.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In speaking of that experience, Douglass says -with pardonable pride:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“I felt myself standing on new ground, on a -height never before trodden by any of my people, -one heretofore occupied only by members of the -Caucasian race.... I deemed the event highly -important as a new circumstance in my career, as a -new recognition of my class, and as a new step in -the progress of the nation. Personally, it was a -striking contrast to my early condition. Yonder I -was an unlettered slave, toiling under the ‘Negro -<span class='pageno' id='Page_292'>292</span>breaker’; here I was the United States Marshal of -the capital of the nation, having under my care and -guidance the sacred persons of an ex-President and -the President-elect of a nation of sixty millions of -people, and was armed with a nation’s power to -arrest any arm raised against them. While I was -not insensible or indifferent to the fact that I was -treading the high places of the land, I was not conscious -of any unsteadiness of head or heart. I was -a United States Marshal by accident. I was no less -Frederick Douglass, identified with a proscribed -class, whose perfect and practical equality with -other American citizens, was yet far down the steps -of time. Yet I was not sorry to have this brief -authority for I rejoiced in the fact that a colored -man could occupy this height and that the precedent -was valuable.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Thus it was that Mr. Douglass esteemed every -honor or favor earned and received by him, to -mean some fresh recognition of the worth of -the Negro race. He sustained a very close and -cordial relationship to Mr. Garfield. He had done -effective service in the campaign that resulted in -the election of the new President, whose fine abilities -and robust Americanism he greatly admired. -Shortly after the inauguration, Mr. Douglass was -summoned to the White House. Garfield wished -to discuss with this acknowledged leader of the -Negro race his policy in reference to appointments -of colored men to office. He assured Mr. Douglass -of his intention to place capable colored men in a -higher grade of positions in the diplomatic service, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_293'>293</span>and he asked if, in Douglass’s opinion, nations composed -of white people would object to receiving -colored men as representatives of the American -government. He also assured Douglass that Senator -Conkling’s wish for his (Douglass’s) reappointment -as Marshal of the District of Columbia would -be granted with pleasure. The Negro leader found -the position thoroughly congenial to him, and it -was a matter of satisfaction to realize that he had -so successfully lived down past objections that no -one now raised a voice against him. But for reasons -that were never divulged to him, he was displaced, -and another was appointed to the post.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Though he was keenly disappointed and chagrined, -Douglass believed in Mr. Garfield and was -not inclined to censure him because of his broken -promise. He had strong faith that the President -was about to carry out a policy of recognition of the -colored race which would be more liberal than that -of any of his predecessors. He felt that the colored -people at this time needed a firm friend. He -clearly saw that his race in respect to its rights of -citizenship was slipping back from the high position -occupied by it ten years prior to this time. He -feared that the reaction which began to set in after -the withdrawal of Federal troops from the South in -1876 would carry his people to something like -political serfdom unless some strong hand would -come to their aid.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The assurances now given to him by President -Garfield that the Negro and his cause would receive -fair and honest treatment relieved his anxiety despite -<span class='pageno' id='Page_294'>294</span>his own displacement, and he confidently expected -that the administration of General Garfield -would mean much to Negro progress in all directions.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Alas for human hopes! Before the big-hearted -man could put his good intentions into effect, the -assassin had done his evil work. Mr. Douglass, -like every one else close to the President, was overwhelmed -with grief. He said: “Few men in this -country felt more keenly than I the shock created -by the assassination of President Garfield and few -men had better reason for this feeling.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>When Vice-President Arthur succeeded to the -presidency, Mr. Douglass was appointed Recorder of -Deeds of the District of Columbia. This was a -lucrative office and a good deal of patronage was -attached to it. Being the first colored man to be -appointed to the post, he had to face the opposition -that usually attaches to an innovation; but the objections -were not of a serious nature and soon subsided.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He continued in this place for five years. When -Mr. Cleveland came to the presidency he rather -expected to be removed summarily; but the Democratic -chief magistrate proved to be less of a party -man than either the Recorder or the average Republican -expected. The new President was too -high-minded to be a mere partisan, and to Mr. -Douglass’s surprise, he was treated with much respect -and kindness. He and his wife were invited -to all public functions given at the White House -and Mr. Cleveland in every way showed that he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_295'>295</span>shared the public esteem in which the great Negro -was so universally held. He was allowed to occupy -the position for quite a year under the Democratic -administration. Then instead of removing or asking -for his resignation in the usually abrupt way, -the President graciously wrote to know when it -would be convenient for him to give up the post.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Cleveland further indicated his kindly regard -for the colored people of the country by promising -them that his election would not mean a curtailment -of their liberties, as some of them feared. -For this assurance Mr. Douglass made public acknowledgment. -The statements of the President -were timely and quieting, because for the first time -in twenty years, the more ignorant of the Negroes -were somewhat panic-stricken. Speaking of their -fears, Douglass testified “to the painful apprehension -and distress felt by my people in the South -from the return to power of the old Democratic and -slavery party. To many of them, it seemed that -they were left naked to their enemies, in fact, lost; -that Mr. Cleveland’s election meant the revival of -the slave-power and that they would now again be -reduced to slavery and the lash. The misery -brought to the South by this wide-spread alarm can -hardly be described or measured. The wail of despair -for a time from the late bondsmen was deep, -bitter and heart-rending.... It was well for -the poor people in this condition that Mr. Cleveland -himself sent word South to allay their fear and remove -their agony.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Mr. Douglass always cherished a very sincere admiration -<span class='pageno' id='Page_296'>296</span>for President Cleveland, for this and other -reasons, and regarded it as highly fortunate that a -man so just and non-partisan should be elected as -the first Democratic President after emancipation. -As a result of his fair treatment, the American -Negroes first learned that the term Democratic did -not necessarily mean for them loss of rights and -citizenship. In fact, his liberal policy caused a -great many of the more intelligent colored men -very seriously to consider the advisability of a -division of the Negro vote between the two great -parties. Men of the high standing of Archibald -H. Grimké, of Boston, Mass., and W. M. E. -Matthews, of New York, argued with great -plausibility that one way to convince the American -people of his qualifications for citizenship, would be -for the Negro to learn to vote for principles rather -than for party leaders. They insisted that to -take the pith out of the Democratic opposition to -his appearance in politics, a goodly portion of -the voters should join themselves to that party. -It was unfortunate that this tendency to political -independence on the part of the enlightened colored -men could not have been encouraged. However -natural and human it may be for the Negro people -to be allied wholly to one of two political parties, -it is nevertheless a serious hindrance to the colored -man’s political freedom that he must continue to regard -the Republican party as composed wholly of -his friends and the Democratic party as composed -wholly of his enemies. Mr. Douglass openly confessed -his inability to take this new stand in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_297'>297</span>politics, notwithstanding his admiration for Mr. -Cleveland and his respect for the motives of the few -colored men in the country who were independent -enough to break away from party control. Though -he personally could not join the movement he regarded -it as a sign of progress for colored men of -character and intellect to say that they cared more -for their race than for party, and more for their -country than for their race.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The last public office held by Mr. Douglass under -the United States government was that of Minister -Resident and Consul General to the Republic of -Hayti. This seemed a fitting climax to the long -list of honors that came to him, not so much as a -reward of party service as for his own high deserving. -The appointment was made by President -Harrison and was wholly unsought. Douglass had, -of course, and as usual, taken an active part in the -campaign of 1888. The tariff was the main subject -of contention and it was more than hinted to him -that he was expected to make the most of this issue. -He nevertheless had his own way, and everywhere -he insisted that the paramount issue was the -rights of men.</p> - -<p class='c004'>On the stump he was as popular as ever; on all -sides he found the people deeply interested in his -fervent pleas for justice to his race. Speaking of -his efforts in the last political campaign in which -he took a prominent part, he said: “I held that -the soul of the nation was in this question and that -the gain of all the gold in the world would not compensate -for the loss of the national soul. National -<span class='pageno' id='Page_298'>298</span>honor is the soul of the nation and when this is lost -all is lost.... As with an individual, so with -a nation. There is a time when it may be properly -asked, What does it profit a nation to gain the whole -world and lose its own soul?”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In accepting the honor of representing this country -in Hayti Frederick Douglass was about to -realize a long cherished wish,—an opportunity to see -and study the only republic established and carried -on by black men in the Western world. In some -respects his appointment at another time would -have been more agreeable. Very much to his surprise -and chagrin, and for causes of which he was -wholly innocent, it was bitterly opposed. Antagonism -to him came almost wholly from the East and -was confined to interests that were bent upon obtaining -valuable concessions from Hayti. Certain New -York newspapers tried to make it appear that he -was unfitted for the place, and insisted that the -people wanted a white man to represent the United -States, although every representative from this government -to Hayti since 1869 had been a colored -man. It was also urged that Douglass would not be -well received, because at one time he favored the -annexation of San Domingo.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Even after his appointment was confirmed by the -United States Senate, the opposition still pursued -him. For example, it was said that the captain of -the ship designated by the government to convey -the new minister to Port-au-Prince, refused to take -him on board because of his complexion; that after -he arrived at the capital of Hayti he was snubbed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_299'>299</span>by the officials for the same reason; and that it -was found he had not been duly accredited.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In these statements there was scarcely a grain of -truth. There was no insult to Mr. Douglass by the -captain of the boat; there was no lack of cordiality -and respect on the part of the Haytians on account -of his color; and there was no embarrassment -of any kind to warrant the peculiar and -insistent opposition that followed him from the -moment his appointment was announced. There -were two issues of commanding interest at this time -which made the position of our Minister to Port-au-Prince -a trying one. First in importance was a desire -on the part of the United States to secure by -treaty, Môle St. Nicolas as a naval station; and, -second, a desperate determination by the Clyde -Steamship Company to obtain from the Haytian -government a subsidy of a half-million dollars to -ply a line of steamers between New York and -Hayti.</p> - -<p class='c004'>As an evidence of the mean spirit of Mr. Douglass’s -enemies, he was grossly misrepresented as being -the cause of the failure of the United States to -obtain the Môle. The great perversion of the real -facts surrounding the diplomatic efforts on the part -of the government to procure from Hayti the use of -this port, led Mr. Douglass to publish in the <cite>North -American Review</cite> for September and October, 1891, -a full history of his connection with the affair. In -this interesting account of the negotiations carried -on during his official residence in Hayti, it will be -seen that he was in no way responsible for the result. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_300'>300</span>In the first place, he was not vested with -authority to arrange with Hayti for a United -States naval station. He had been there as a representative -of this government over one year before -the matter was taken up. When the United States -got ready to negotiate a treaty, the subject was entrusted -wholly to a special agent in the person of -Rear-Admiral Gherardi. Mr. Douglass’s only instructions -were to coöperate with and assist the -Admiral in every possible way. The news of the -appointment of a special commissioner by the -United States government was viewed by Mr. -Douglass as “sudden and far from flattering.” It -placed him in an unenviable light, both before the -community of Port-au-Prince and the government -of Hayti, and made his position very humble, -secondary, and subordinate. He said: “The situation -suggested the resignation of my office as due to -my honor, but reflection soon convinced me that -such a course would subject me to misconstruction -more hurtful than any which, in the circumstances, -could justly arise from remaining at my post.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>He cordially and energetically assisted Admiral -Gherardi. He secured audiences with the President -and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hayti, and did -not allow anything like offended dignity to diminish -his zeal and alacrity in carrying out his instructions.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the conference, Mr. Douglass supplemented the -arguments of the commissioner in an earnest appeal -in behalf of the United States. He urged that the -concession asked for by his government, “was in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_301'>301</span>line with good neighborhood, and advanced civilization, -and in every way consistent with Haytian -autonomy; that such a concession would be a source -of strength to Hayti; that national isolation was a -worn-out policy, and that the true policy of Hayti -ought to be to touch the world at all points that -make for civilization and commerce.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>All arguments, however, failed to overcome the -deep-seated suspicion of the Haytian people of any -proposition to yield even one inch of their national -dominion. While in Mr. Douglass’s opinion, the -negotiations were ill-timed, being prejudiced by the -previous demands of the agents of the Clyde Company, -and by the apparent threat in the presence of -a part of the United States Navy in the Haytian -harbor, he yet gave it as his deliberate opinion that -no earthly power outside of absolute force could -have obtained for the American government a naval -station at Môle St. Nicolas.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He also found that Hayti was somewhat suspicious -of the United States on account of the -national prejudice against the color of its citizens. -While loyal to his own government, Mr. Douglass -scarcely blamed them for this feeling. He believed -in the future of the little republic, and said: -“Whatever may happen of peace or war, Hayti will -remain in the firmament of nations and like the -north star will shine on, and shine forever.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_302'>302</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER XV<br> <span class='large'>FURTHER EVIDENCES OF POPULAR ESTEEM, WITH GLIMPSES INTO THE PAST</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>The foregoing chapters contain the important incidents -and events in the life of Frederick Douglass. -He lived in a great transitional period, and, in his -struggle to gain his own freedom, he personified the -historic events which took place during that time. -His life was so wholly under the public eye, and -what he did and stood for during more than fifty -years, were so much an integral portion of these -years, that it is impossible to obtain an estimate of -the man apart from the history of slavery. Frederick -Douglass and Anti-slavery, are almost interchangeable -terms. In himself he was both the -argument and demonstration of the things that gave -interest and meaning to his life and times. Yet -he had another side not exhibited in the history -of which he was a part and which he helped to -make. Much of a personal nature that would add -interest to his life and partly explain the sources of -his strength as a leader of men, can be added to the -portrait.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The limitations of this volume will permit only a -brief outline of some of the things that Frederick -Douglass said and did during the last thirty years -of his life, which chronologically belonged to previous -<span class='pageno' id='Page_303'>303</span>chapters, but which for the sake of their -peculiar significance are reserved for this.</p> - -<p class='c004'>As may be inferred from what has appeared in the -course of this narrative, Frederick Douglass was a -more than ordinarily interesting personality. He -was a figure to attract attention anywhere, and especially -so during the last twenty-five years of his -life. He was over six feet in height, broad-shouldered, -well-proportioned, and his movements had -all the directness and grace of a man who had been -bred a prince rather than a slave. His features -were broad, strong, and impressive. His complexion -was that of a mulatto. His head was strikingly -large, and crowned with an abundant crop of white -hair of almost silken fineness. His eyes were -brown and mildly animated. His voice was strong, -but of mellow tone. When he was aroused, however, -it would fairly thunder with the passionate -earnestness of the man. In conversation he was delightful. -His manner was graceful and wholly free -from personal mannerisms. His mental and moral -faculties were well balanced. He was a man without -technical education, yet he had more than ordinary -learning. All that he knew was acquired outside -of schoolrooms and without school teachers. -His great library bore witness to his love of books. -In the history of governments and of races, and in -mental philosophy and poetry, he found special delight. -No trained elocutionist could recite verse with -better effect. He was especially fond of Byron, -Burns, Coleridge, and Pierpont.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He was always quick to recognize ability in one -<span class='pageno' id='Page_304'>304</span>of his race, and so had a peculiar fondness and interest -in Paul Laurence Dunbar, who, at his death, -was just beginning to be known as a poet, and who -received his first real encouragement from Frederick -Douglass.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He had an unfailing memory, and consequently a -good command of everything he ever saw, heard, or -read. He was liked and honored by men and -women, not only because he was interesting, but -also because he was singularly free from crotchets, -idiosyncrasies, and ill-temper. He was of a lovable -disposition, and especially so in the latter days of -his life. The all too common character blemishes -of selfishness, envy, and jealousy were never charged -against him. His whole nature was keyed to high, -generous impulses. He loved the right, and hated -wrong in any form.</p> - -<p class='c004'>No man of his prominence was freer from vices: -he was of temperate habits, clean speech, and personal -rectitude. His sense of honor was not partial, -but a controlling force in all of his relationships to -men and things.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He was also fortunately free from family troubles, -except the loss by death of a beloved little daughter, -whose few gentle and beautiful years had been -his delight, a sorrow which deeply shadowed the -earlier period of his public career. His wife, who -had helped him to gain his freedom, devoted her -life to his comfort and to the happiness of his home. -His three stalwart sons, Lewis, Charles, and Frederick, -Jr., honored him by lives of usefulness, and -there was always the closest intimacy between him -<span class='pageno' id='Page_305'>305</span>and them. His oldest girl, named Rosa, was very -dear to him. She grew up by his side as a faithful -helper in his work as well as a devoted daughter. -She is widely known and loved for her culture and -unselfish disposition. In short, Frederick Douglass’s -family was worthy of him. If by his deeds -he brought to them honor and opportunity, he lived -long enough to see his example and precepts honored -again in them.</p> - -<p class='c004'>His home in Cedar Hill, overlooking the Capitol, -was a delightful spot. Everything about it bespoke -the character of the man. The broad grounds, -shaded with trees, the well-cultivated garden, all -told of his love of nature. Within the ample house -there was a quiet, restful refinement, revealing the -taste and habits of the scholar. Books, busts, and -pictures all bore witness to that instinctive thirst -for culture which no one who knew him well could -fail to recognize. He had an extraordinary passion -for the violin, and, although he did not place a very -high estimate upon his own ability, yet he, as well -as his nearest friends, received much enjoyment -from his knowledge of the use of this instrument.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In later years he found a special delight in the -fact that his grandson, Joseph Douglass, exhibited -a decided taste and a real genius for the violin. A -more affecting picture of the power of music could -scarcely be imagined than that of the old man sitting -and listening with rapt and tearful attention -when this boy played for him some of his favorite -tunes.</p> - -<p class='c004'>But perhaps these glimpses of the personality of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_306'>306</span>Frederick Douglass are sufficient to suggest that, -behind the great orator, the active politician, the -anxious leader in a critical period, there was a real -man, whose domestic tastes and disciplined heart -give an added value to his public life. It is not at all -surprising that one thus gifted should have had many -intimates among the best people of his generation. -The leading statesmen, educators, and literary men -were counted as his close and personal friends. Behind -the respect that was felt for his natural talents -and his unusual achievements was a sincere admiration -and even fondness for the large and warmhearted -nature which could laugh and cry and be -touched by the social delights of home and fireside. -He was a man of opinions, of ideals, of imagination, -and had the gift of adequate expression for every -thought and emotion.</p> - -<p class='c004'>After the death of his first wife, Mr. Douglass -married again, in 1884, and for this step he was severely -criticised. The fact that his second wife, -Miss Helen Pitts, was a white woman caused something -like a revulsion of feeling throughout the entire -country. His own race especially condemned -him, and the notion seemed to be quite general that -he had made the most serious mistake of his life. -Just how deep-seated was the sentiment of white -and black people alike against amalgamation has -never been so clearly demonstrated as in this case. -Douglass was sorely hurt by the many unkind -things said about his marriage by members of his -own race.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The woman whom he married he had known and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_307'>307</span>admired for many years. She had helped him in -various ways in his literary work. She belonged to -one of the best families in western New York, and -in following the natural impulse of his attachment, -he failed to take into consideration the offense his -act might give to public feeling. The resentment -felt by the people because of his disregard of its unwritten -law never entirely died out in his lifetime, -but he himself got over the personal discomfiture of -it. In addressing a large audience of white and -colored people in Springfield, Mo., in the fall of -1893, he referred to this incident in the following -words: “I am strongly of the opinion that you -will want me to say something concerning my -second marriage. I will tell you: My first wife, -you see, was the color of my mother, and my second -wife the color of my father; you see I wanted to be -perfectly fair to both races.” This clever bit of -raillery on a very delicate subject put him on good -terms with his audience and if any were inclined to -think the less of him because of his marriage the -fact did not then appear.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the period from 1865 to the Columbian Exposition -at Chicago, in 1893, Mr. Douglass was interested -in many things. He made various addresses -outside of the range of politics, and was busy to the -limit of his waning strength. What he wrote found -ready acceptance in important publications, and his -absence from any great national gathering was a -matter of regret.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Among the many tokens of respect that continued -to come to him from all parts of the country, he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_308'>308</span>cherished none so much as the tribute paid to him -by the city of Rochester, his home during the -twenty-five formative years of his career. In the -name of the city, some of its leading citizens caused -to be placed in Sibley’s Hall, at Rochester University, -a noble bust of Frederick Douglass. It was a -gracious recognition of the esteem in which he was -held by the people who had had the best opportunity -of knowing him. The Rochester <cite>Democrat and -Chronicle</cite> expressed the sentiment of the city in the -following eulogy written at the time:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Frederick Douglass can hardly be said to have -risen to greatness on account of the opportunities -which the republic offers to self-made men, and -concerning which we are apt to talk with an abundance -of self-gratulation. It sought to fetter his -mind equally with his body. For him it builded -no schoolhouse, and for him it erected no church. -So far as he was concerned, freedom was mockery, -and law was the instrument of tyranny. In spite of -law and gospel, despite of statutes which enthralled -him and opportunities which jeered at him, he made -himself, by trampling on the laws and breaking -through the thick darkness that encompassed him. -There is no sadder commentary upon human slavery -than the life of Frederick Douglass. He put it under -his feet and stood erect in the majesty of his intellect; -but how many intellects, brilliant and -powerful as his, it stamped upon and crushed, no -mortal can tell until the secret of its terrible despotism -is fully revealed. Thanks to the conquering -might of American freedom, such sad beginnings of -such illustrious lives as that of Frederick Douglass -are no longer possible; and that they are no longer -possible, is largely due to him, who when his lips -<span class='pageno' id='Page_309'>309</span>were unlocked, became a deliverer of his people. -Not alone did his voice proclaim emancipation. -Eloquent as was that voice, his life in its pathos and -in its grandeur, was more deeply eloquent still; and -where shall be found, in the annals of humanity, a -sweeter rendering of poetic justice than that he, who -has passed through such vicissitudes of degradation -and exaltation, has been permitted to behold the redemption -of his race?</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Rochester is proud to remember that Frederick -Douglass was, for many years, one of her citizens. -He who pointed out the house where Douglass -lived, hardly exaggerated when he called it the -residence of the greatest of our citizens, for Douglass -must rank as among the greatest men, not only of -this city, but of the nation as well—great in gifts, -greater in utilizing them, great in the persuasion of -his speech, greater in the purpose that informed it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Rochester could do nothing more graceful than -to perpetuate in marble the features of this citizen -in her hall of learning; and it is pleasant for her to -know that he so well appreciates the esteem in -which he is held here. It was a thoughtful thing -for Rochester to do, and the response is as heartfelt -as the tribute is appropriate.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Among his notable addresses during the period -under review was one delivered on Decoration Day -in 1871 at Arlington. His theme was “The Unknown -Loyal Dead.” President Grant, the members -of the Cabinet, and a large number of the most -prominent people of Washington were present, and -the occasion was unusually impressive. He rose -grandly to the need of the hour. The oration was -in his best vein and is in part as follows:—</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_310'>310</span>“Friends and Fellow Citizens:—Tarry here for a -moment. My words shall be few and simple. The -solemn rites of this hour and place call for no -lengthened speech. There is, in the very air of this -resting-ground of the unknown dead, a silent, -subtle and all-pervading eloquence, far more touching, -impressive, and thrilling, than living lips have -ever uttered. Into the measureless depths of every -loyal soul it is now whispering lessons of all that is -precious, priceless, holiest and most enduring in human existence.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Dark and sad will be the hour to this nation -when it forgets to pay grateful homage to its greatest -benefactors. The offering we bring to-day is -due alike to the patriot soldiers, dead, and their -noble comrades who still live; for, whether living -or dead, whether in time or in eternity, the loyal -soldiers who imperiled all for country and freedom -are one and inseparable.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“These unknown heroes whose whitened bones -have been piously gathered here, and whose green -graves we now strew with sweet and beautiful -flowers, choice emblems alike of pure hearts and -brave spirits, reached in their glorious career that -last highest point of nobleness beyond which human -power cannot go. They died for their country.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“No loftier tribute can be paid to the most illustrious -of all the benefactors of mankind than we -pay to these unrecognized soldiers when we write -above their graves this shining epitaph.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“When the dark and vengeful spirit of slavery, -always ambitious, preferring ‘to rule in Hell than -to serve in Heaven’ fired the southern heart and -stirred all the malign elements of discord; when -our great republic, the hope of freedom and self-government -throughout the world, had reached the -point of supreme peril; when the union of the states -was torn and rent asunder at the centre, and the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_311'>311</span>armies of a gigantic rebellion came forth with broad -blades and bloody hands to destroy the very foundation -of American society, the unknown braves -who flung themselves into the yawning chasm, -where cannon roared and bullets whistled, fought -and fell. They died for their country.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We are sometimes asked, in the name of patriotism, -to forget the merits of this fearful struggle, -and to remember with equal admiration those who -struck at the nation’s life and those who struck to -save it; those who fought for slavery and those who -fought for liberty and justice.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I am no minister of malice. I would not strike -the fallen. I would not repel the repentant; but -may my right hand forget her cunning and my -tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I forget -the difference between the parties to that terrible, -protracted and bloody conflict.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“If we ought to forget a war which has filled our -land with widows and orphans; which has made -stumps of men of the very flower of our youth; -which has sent them on the journey of life armless, -legless, maimed and mutilated; which has piled up -a debt heavier than a mountain of gold, swept uncounted -thousands of men into bloody graves and -planted agony at a million hearthstones—I say, if -this war is to be forgotten, I ask in the name of -things sacred, what shall men remember?”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Five years later Mr. Douglass was again honored -with an invitation to deliver the address in memory -of Abraham Lincoln, at Lincoln Park, in Washington. -The occasion and the man were happily -blended. No orator ever had a more inspiring -theme. The rulers of the nation in the persons of -President Grant and his Cabinet advisers, members -of the United States Senate, Justices of the Supreme -<span class='pageno' id='Page_312'>312</span>Court, and a great many high officials were present -to evidence the importance of the day; and in such -a company of distinguished people Douglass delivered -what many call his supreme effort as an orator. -The speech later was printed as a pamphlet, and -extensively read throughout the country.</p> - -<p class='c004'>His closing words addressed to his own people, -prescient, as they seemed to be of days and dangers -as yet but vaguely understood, made an ineffaceable -impression upon men of his color who heard -him:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“We have done a great work for our race to-day. -In doing honor to the memory of our friend and -liberator, we have been doing highest honor to ourselves -and those who are to come after us. We -have been attaching to ourselves a name and fame -imperishable and immortal. We have also been -defending ourselves from a blighting scandal, when -now it shall be said that the colored man is soulless, -that he has no appreciation of benefits or benefactors; -when the foul reproach of ingratitude is hurled -at us, and it is attempted to scourge us beyond the -range of human brotherhood, we may calmly point -to this monument we have this day erected to the -memory of Abraham Lincoln.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In his address before the Tennessee Colored Agricultural -and Mechanical Association at Nashville, -September 18, 1873, he furnished the country new -evidence of his ability to give instruction, to inspire -hope and ambition, and to encourage thrift. Though -not an agriculturist by occupation, his speech can -still be used as a manual for the young farmer. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_313'>313</span>It, like his other addresses, is full of practical and -useful maxims. His quotation from Theodore -Parker, “All the space between man’s mind and -God’s mind is crowded with truths which wait to -be discovered and organized into law for the practice -of men,” indicates the tone of high hopefulness -that ran through all his appeals to the people. “If -we look abroad over our country and observe the -condition of the colored people,” he said, “we shall -find their greatest want to be regular and lucrative -employment for their energies. They have secured -their freedom, it is true, but not the friendship and -favor of the people around them.... On account -of bad treatment, great numbers are driven -from the country to the larger cities where they -quickly learn to imitate the vices and follies of the -least exemplary whites. Under these circumstances, -I hail agriculture as a refuge for the oppressed.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Insisting that the condition of the Negro in this -country is exceptional, he reminded his hearers that -“the farm is our last resort, and if we fail here, I -do not see how we can succeed elsewhere. We are -not like the Irish, an organized political power; we -are not shrewd like the Hebrews, capable of making -fortunes by buying and selling old clothes.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The address is rich with maxims that are good to -remember and to use as rules of conduct; such as:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Emancipation has liberated the land as well as -the people.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It is not fertility, but liberty that cultivates a -country.”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_314'>314</span>“The state of Tennessee is now to be cultivated -by liberty, by knowledge which comes of liberty, -by the respectability of labor.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Neither the slave nor his master can abandon -all at once the deeply entrenched errors and habits -of centuries.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“There is no work that men are required to do, -which they cannot better and more economically do -with education than without it.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Muscle is mighty but mind is mightier, and -there is no field for the exercise of mind other than -is found in the cultivation of the soul.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“As a race we have suffered from two very opposite -causes, disparagement on the one hand and -undue praise on the other.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“An important question to be answered by evidences -of our progress is: Whether the black man -will prove a better master to himself than the white -master was to him.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Accumulate property. This may sound to you -like a new gospel. No people can ever make any -social and mental improvement whose exertions are -limited. Poverty is our greatest calamity.... -On the other hand, property, money, if you please, -will produce for us the only condition upon which -any people can rise to the dignity of genuine manhood.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Without property there can be no leisure. -Without leisure there can be no invention, without -invention there can be no progress.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We can work, and by this means we can retrieve -all our losses.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Knowledge, wisdom, culture, refinement, manners, -are all founded on work and the wealth which -work brings.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“In nine cases out of ten a man’s condition is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_315'>315</span>worse by changing his location. You would better -endeavor to remove the evil from your door than to -move and leave it there.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“If you have a few acres, stick to them.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Life is too short, time is too valuable, to waste -in the experiment of seeking new homes. People -are about as good in your neighborhood as anywhere -else in the world, and may need you to make -them better.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The foregoing extracts sufficiently indicate the -character and importance of this Nashville address. -It was quite unlike speeches that had been made by -most of the colored leaders to their people. While -emphasizing the importance of hard work, of -duties, and patience, he indulged in no false -hopes and made no extravagant claims. The -every-day facts, needs, and responsibilities of the -people on the soil were, he held, the paramount -things for men who were beginning their social development. -In short, it was a strong and stirring -call to the Negroes to look about them, and not -afar, for the instruments and forces that must be -utilized for their salvation.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Belonging to this latter period of his life, another -address, in character quite different from the one -just referred to, illustrates how the colored people -have been carried from one extreme of hopefulness -to the other of despair and uncertainty by the -changes in public sentiment concerning them.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In 1883 the Supreme Court of the United States -rendered a decision declaring unconstitutional what -was known as the “Civil Rights Bill.” This was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_316'>316</span>one of the Reconstruction measures, championed by -Senator Sumner, and, when brought forward it was -regarded by the colored people and their friends -as a sort of charter of liberty. It undertook to -prevent discriminations against Negroes in hotels, -restaurants, and other places of public accommodation. -At the time of its enactment it was -considered a necessary appendage to the Fourteenth -and Fifteenth Amendments, and the colored -people everywhere felt a strong sense of protection -in its provisions.</p> - -<p class='c004'>When the Supreme Court’s opinion declaring the -law, outside of the District of Columbia and other -national territory, to be null and void, was made -known, it produced a sensation of alarm and almost -despair among Negroes everywhere. They saw -in this decision a complete reversal of the public -sentiment that a few years before was so strongly -favorable to them. They began to lose faith in the -potency of the letter of the law, either to define or -protect their rights. It was a sort of rude reminder -that, if they would be secure in their rights, they -must rely upon something else than mere statutes. -Here was an apt illustration of the maxim that -what the law gives, the law can take away. In relying -upon only this for his salvation, the Negro -had been suspended between hope and despair, until -it seemed to him that there was no such thing as stability -of sentiment toward him. The first impulse -was to protest, in the name of all the colored people, -not only against the letter of the decision, but also -against haunting implications that they had no -<span class='pageno' id='Page_317'>317</span>rights which the law of the land was bound to respect.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The spirit of resentment found adequate expression -in a great mass-meeting arranged for and held -in the city of Washington in 1883. Frederick -Douglass was selected, as a matter of course, as the -one colored man in the country who could best voice -the feelings of the people affected by the decision. -The other speaker was the eloquent Robert G. -Ingersoll. The meeting was a notable one in every -respect. The most distinguished leaders of the race -were there, and the audience was large and earnest. -There were present, too, a great number of prominent -white people who sympathized with the colored -race. The address of Mr. Douglass was one of the -most interesting ever made by him. In it he showed -his ability to put into the most telling form the arguments -with which it seemed possible at that time -to counteract, to some extent, the moral effect of -the decision upon the colored and the white communities. -His speech showed a wide acquaintance -with the principles of the law and more than usually -profound knowledge of the philosophy of democracy. -The following extracts will indicate its -character, and reflect, no doubt, the opinions and -sentiments of the meeting and the time:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It makes us feel as if some one was stamping on -the graves of our mothers, or desecrating our sacred -temples.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We have been, as a class, grievously wounded -in the house of our friends.”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_318'>318</span>“This decision has swept over the land like a cyclone, -leaving moral desolation in its track.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Inasmuch as the law in question is in favor of -liberty and justice, it ought to have had the benefit -of any doubt which could arise as to its strict constitutionality.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“If any man has come in here with his breast -heaving with passion and expecting to hear violent -denunciation of the Supreme Court on account of -this decision, he has mistaken the object of this -meeting. Its judges live, and ought to live, an -eagle’s flight beyond the reach of fear or favor, -praise or blame, profit or loss.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“In humiliating the colored people of this country, -this decision has humbled this nation.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“No man can put a chain about the ankle of his -fellow-men without at least finding the other end of -it about his own neck.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Prejudice is a spirit infernal, against which enlightened -men should wage perpetual war.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We want no black Ireland in America. We -want no aggrieved class in America. Strong as we -are without the Negro, we are stronger with him -than without him.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Our legislators, our President, and the judges -should have a care lest by forcing these people outside -the law, they destroy that love of country, -which in the day of trouble is needful to the -nation’s defense.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, for a Supreme Court of the United States -which shall be as true to the claims of humanity as -the Supreme Court formerly was to the demand of -slavery.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What is a state in the absence of the people who -compose it?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Land, air, and water do not discriminate. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_319'>319</span>What does it matter to the colored citizen that a -state may not insult him if the citizen of the state -may? The decision is a concession to race pride, -selfishness, and meanness, and will be received with -joy by every upholder of caste in the land, and for -this I deplore and denounce the decision.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The few addresses just referred to are, in point of -the subject-matter and the occasions that called -them forth, the most important and able made by -Frederick Douglass after emancipation. On each -occasion there was a call for the supreme man of -the Negro race and there were few, except a small -group of colored people, to question his right to be -so regarded.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Frederick Douglass, however, was something -more than a “race leader”; he was always an eminent -citizen of the republic, and as such his interests -were not wholly rimmed about by the sorrows -and aspirations of his own people. He was a careful -student of his times and had an intelligent concern -in all the great questions that arose and called -for an opinion. It was quite in keeping with his -cosmopolitan spirit that he should be opposed to -the policy of our government in excluding the -Chinese from American shores because, as he said, -“I know of no rights of race superior to the rights -of humanity.” His views on the question, which -twenty-five years ago was an urgent one, are more -fully expressed in the following extract from one of -his addresses on the subject of the “Composite -Nation”:—</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Our republic itself is a strong argument in favor -<span class='pageno' id='Page_320'>320</span>of cosmopolitan nationality.... Let the Chinaman -come; he will help to augment the national -wealth. He will help to develop our boundless resources; -he will help to pay off our national debt. -He will help to lighten the burden of our national -taxation. He will give us the benefit of his skill as -a manufacturer, and as a tiller of the soil in which -he is unsurpassed. Even the matter of religious -liberty, which has cost the world more tears, more -blood, and more agony than any other interest, will -be helped by his presence. I know of no church more -tolerant, of no priesthood, however enlightened, -which could safely be trusted with the tremendous -power which universal conformity would confer. -We should welcome all men of every shade of religious -opinion, as among the best means of checking -the arrogance and intolerance which are the -almost inevitable concomitants of general conformity. -Liberty always flourishes best amid the -clash and competition of rival religious creeds.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Reference has already been made to Douglass’s -services to the cause of female suffrage. His -presence at nearly all of the anniversaries and -other important gatherings of those who advocated -the enfranchisement of women was expected and his -utterances were warmly received.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the matter of religion, Mr. Douglass was not -strictly orthodox in his beliefs, although it will be -remembered that during his enslavement he found -much consolation in the Bible, and was for a time a -Methodist exhorter. His religious views, as he -grew older, underwent a radical change. He had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_321'>321</span>no patience with hypocrites. He had seen and -heard so much that was cruel, unjust, and almost -fiendish under the name of religion, that his faith -in sectarianism was badly shaken. In his early -anti-slavery addresses, he indulged in many absurd -parodies of the pious frauds whom he had known. -However, he was not an atheist. He had a deep religious -sense, but was more fully under the influence -of the theological opinions of Theodore -Parker than of any other school of religious thought. -His best friends and associates were among the -Unitarians, the Quakers, and others of liberal faith. -His views on religion are finely expressed in a bit of -correspondence published by Mr. Holland in his -biography. In response to a cordial invitation to -speak before the “Free Religious Association” in -Boston, in 1874, he wrote:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I cannot be present at your Free Religious -Convention in Boston. This is, of course, of -smaller consequence to others than to myself, for I -should come more to hear than to be heard. Freedom -is a word of charming sound, not only to the -tasked and tortured slaves, who toil for an earthly -master, but for those who would break the galling -chains of darkness and superstition. Regarding the -Free Religious movement as one for light, love, and -liberty, limited only by reason and human welfare, -and opposed to those who convert life and death -into enemies of human happiness, who people the -invisible world with ghastly taskmasters, I give it -hearty welcome. Only the truth can make men -free, and I trust that your convention will be guided -in all its utterances by its light and feel its power. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_322'>322</span>I know many of its good men and women, who are -likely to assemble with you, and I would gladly -share with them the burden of reproach which their -attacks upon popular error will be sure to bring -upon them.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Extracts from letters to friends indicate still more -clearly the deeper currents of his thought.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I once had a large stock of hope on hand, but -like the sand in the glass, it has about run out. My -present solace is in the cultivation of religious submission -to the inevitable, in teaching myself that I -am but a breath of the infinite, perhaps not so much. -I was very sorry not to be able to attend the Free -Religious Convention. I shall, hereafter, try to -know more of these people.... I sometimes, -at long intervals, try my old violin; but after all -the music of the past and of imagination is sweeter -than any my unpracticed and unskilled bow can -produce. So I lay my dear old fiddle aside, and -listen to the soft, silent, distant music of other days -which, in the hush of my spirit, I still find lingering -somewhere in the mysterious depths of my soul.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I do not know that I am an evolutionist, but to -this extent, I am one. I certainly have more -patience with those who trace mankind upward -from a low condition, even from the lower animals, -than with those who start him at a point of perfection -and conduct him to a level with the brutes. -I have no sympathy with a theory that starts man in -Heaven, and stops him in Hell.... An irrepressible -conflict, grander than that described by the -late William H. Seward, is perpetually going on. -Two hostile and irreconcilable tendencies, broad as -the world of man, are in the open field; good and -evil, truth and error, enlightenment and superstition.”</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_323'>323</span>One of the stirring incidents of this post-slavery -period was the “exodus movement.” In the -summer of 1879, great numbers of Negroes, as if by -concerted action, began to emigrate from the South -and the southwestern states toward the North and -West. This movement was the first manifestation -of discontent ever made by the colored people on a -large scale. It was in no way due to politics, but -was rather an effort to free themselves from the conditions -under which they were compelled to work -and live. Their economic state was bad, and there -seemed to be little hope of improvement. The exodus -grew to such an extent that it produced something -like national alarm and there were grave apprehensions -that much suffering would attend the efforts -of the Negroes to escape from poverty and dependence. -Mr. Douglass has given the following reasons -for the dissatisfaction:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Work as hard, faithfully, and constantly as -they may, live as plainly and as sparingly as they -may, they are no better off at the end of the year -than at the beginning. They say that they are the -dupes and victims of cunning and fraud in signing -contracts which they cannot read and cannot fully -understand; that they are compelled to trade at -stores owned in whole or in part, by their employers; -and that they are paid with orders and -not with money. They say that they have to pay -double the value of nearly everything they buy; -that they are compelled to pay a rental of ten dollars -a year for an acre of ground that will not bring -thirty dollars under the hammer; that land-owners -<span class='pageno' id='Page_324'>324</span>are in league to prevent land owning by Negroes; -that when they work the land on shares, they barely -make a living; that outside the towns and cities no -provision is made for education, and, ground down -as they are, they cannot themselves employ teachers -to instruct their children.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>As a general rule, the colored people in the North -looked upon the exodus hopefully. To them it was a -sign of courage on the part of their Southern brethren, -and a protest against bad treatment. Frederick -Douglass, however, who was always expected -to have an opinion and express it, deplored the -“unintelligent and somewhat aimless running away -from the ills they have to others they know not of.” -He could see no salvation for the Negro in the -Northern states. “For him, as a Southern laborer,” -he said, “there is no competition or substitute,” -and he insisted that the freedman is always to -be “the arbiter” of Southern “destiny.” He held -that the best place for the Negro to work out his -salvation was at home. His arguments are condensed -in the following extracts from his published -views:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It may well enough be said that the Negro question -is not so desperate as the advocates of this -exodus would have the public believe; that there is -still hope that the Negro will ultimately have his -rights as a man, and be fully protected in the -South; that in several of the old slave-states his -citizenship and his right to vote are already respected -and protected; that the same, in time, will -be secured by the Negro in other states.... -The Fourteenth Amendment makes him a citizen, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_325'>325</span>and the Fifteenth Amendment makes him a voter. -With power behind him, at work for him, and -which cannot be taken from him, the Negro, at the -South may wisely bide his time.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“As an assertion of power hitherto held in bitter -contempt; as an emphatic and stinging protest -against high-handed, greedy, and shameless injustice -to the weak and defenseless; as a means of -opening the blind eyes of oppressors to their folly -and peril, the exodus has done valuable service. -Whether it has accomplished all of which it is -capable in this particular direction for the present, -is a question which may well be considered. With -a moderate degree of intelligent leadership among -the laboring classes at the South, properly handling -the justice of their cause, and wisely using the exodus -example, they can easily exact better terms for -their labor than ever before. Exodus is medicine, -not food; it is for disease, not health; it is not to -be taken from choice, but necessity. In anything -like a normal condition of things, the South is the -best place for the Negro. Nowhere else is there -for him a promise of a happier future.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Let him stay there if he can, and save both the -South and himself to civilization. The American -people are bound, if they are or can be bound to -anything, to keep the north gate of the South open -to black and white and to all people. The time to -assert a right, Webster says, is when it is called -into question. If it is attempted by force or fraud, -to compel the colored people to stay, then they -should by all means go; go quickly and die if need -be in the attempt. Thus far and to this extent any -man may be an ‘emigrationist.’ In no case must the -Negro be bottled up or caged up. He must be left -free like any other American citizen, to choose his -own habitation, and to go where he shall like. -Though it may not be for his interest to leave the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_326'>326</span>South, his right and power to leave it may be his -best means of making it possible for him to stay -there in peace. Woe to the oppressed and destitute -of all countries and races, if the rich and powerful -are to decide when and where they shall go or -stay.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>These sentiments of Mr. Douglass are interesting, -not only as having a bearing on a question still -vital to the South, but also as showing the orator’s -secret affection for the land of his birth and early -struggles. In spite of his fifty years of life and -triumphs in the North, he was still a Southerner in -spirit and in his primary attachments. His imagination -and memory still traveled back to the associations -that contained more of bitterness than joy,—yet -some joy. There seemed to be in the depths -of his soul a living sympathy for those who were -enslaved with himself, and who were still wearing -the scars of servitude. The land that was worked -by the toil and sweat of generation after generation -of his people, and the land in which they were still -laboring and hoping on, he loved in spite of himself. -He believed in the race in spite of its apparent -helplessness, and he believed in the South in -spite of all that he had suffered. It pained him to -see his people flee from the land of their birth, of -their sorrows, but also the land of their better destiny. -He would not have them abandon what -would some day be theirs if they could but endure, -and work, and wait.</p> - -<p class='c004'>With this sort of attachment to the South, it is -not strange that, even after fifty years of complete -<span class='pageno' id='Page_327'>327</span>separation, he still cherished the hope and eagerly -welcomed an opportunity when it was offered him, -to return to Talbot County, Md., his birthplace.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The time of his visit to the land upon which he -had formerly been held as a slave, was happily -chosen so as to heighten the contrast between the -past and present, for he was now United States -Marshal of the District of Columbia. It required -a vivid imagination to see anything in common between -the barefooted, half-naked, half-starved, and -penniless slave boy of fifty years ago and the -stately-mannered gentleman and high government -official of this day.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The man whose misfortune it was at that time -to have been Douglass’s master, lay on a bed of -sickness with little hope of recovery. Thomas -Auld had passed the allotted three score years -and ten. When he learned that Marshal Douglass -was actually on his ground as a visitor, he -at once sent for him. The name of Thomas Auld -was made noted all over the land wherever Douglass -had spoken concerning slavery and slave-holders, -and because of this he had for several years harbored -a strong resentment against his one-time runaway -slave. Now all was wonderfully changed, -and each was in a mood to make amends for the -wrongs he was impelled to commit against the -other. Mr. Douglass feelingly says:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Had I been asked, in the days of slavery to -visit this man ... it would have been an invitation -to the auction block; now he was to me no -longer a slave-holder, either in fact or spirit, and I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_328'>328</span>regarded him as I did myself, as a victim of circumstances -of birth and education, law and custom. -Our courses had been determined for us and not by -us. We had both been flung by powers that did -not ask our consent, upon a mighty current of life -which we could neither resist nor control.... -Now as our lives were verging toward a point -where differences disappear, even the constancy of -hate breaks down and the clouds of pride, passion -and selfishness vanish before the brightness of infinite -light.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The meeting between the ex-master and ex-slave -was impressive and beautiful. They were both so -overcome with emotion for some moments that -neither could speak. Tears dimmed their eyes and -the silence was more eloquent than words. As soon -as he regained his power of speech, Mr. Douglass, -with that instinctive politeness which was characteristic -of him, made apology to his former master -for the many harsh accusations uttered in the days of -slavery, when passion was in the ascendency. The -old master was equally frank and said: “I always -thought, though, that you were too smart to be a -slave, and had I been in your place, I should have -done as you did.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Captain Auld,” replied Douglass, “I did not -run away from you, but from slavery. It was not -that I loved Cæsar less, but Rome more.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>With this exchange of apologies and expressions -of mutual good-will, the visit came to an end. If -Mr. Douglass had any lingering bitterness in his -soul, on account of the past, this face-to-face meeting, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_329'>329</span>after so many years and so many changes, had -now forever removed it. The laws and customs -that so often made it impossible for good men, -standing in the intimate relation of master and slave, -to understand and respect each other, no longer existed.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Shortly after this interview Mr. Auld passed -away, and the fact that the Marshal of the District -of Columbia had once been the property of the dead -man became a matter of wide comment.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Two years later, Mr. Douglass was again a visitor -to Talbot County. He now went on the private yacht -of John L. Thomas, United States Collector of Customs -at the port of Baltimore. This time he returned -to the scenes of his early life on the Lloyd -plantation. It will be remembered that it was here -the boy was separated from his grandmother, and -left the only home he ever had before he became -free. His master, Captain Anthony, lived on the -Lloyd estate. It was at this place, too, that he was -cuffed and half-starved by the hated Aunt Katy, -and saw his own loving mother for the last time. -Standing amid the scenes of his childhood miseries, -looking in vain for faces that he once saw or knew -in the long ago, he embodied in himself, perhaps, -more changes than have been experienced in the -life of any other American.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Colonel Lloyd was away at the time, but every -one on the estate was made aware of the visit of -Marshal Douglass. The place was rich in traditions -concerning this strange visitor, who had come out -of a strange past, an era known to but few now living, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_330'>330</span>and he was treated with marked deference by -all.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He also visited Easton, which will be remembered -as the county-seat of Talbot County, where young -Douglass, with his companions, was locked up in -jail on the charge of conspiracy to escape from -slavery. The old sheriff, who had placed him behind -prison-bars, was still living, and said that he -was proud to shake hands across the chasm of nearly -fifty years. White and black crowded into the little -court-house and listened with profound interest to -the address he was asked to deliver. The young -people, who belonged to the new era of freedom, -wondered at his eloquence, and the older ones heard -with confused and bewildering emotions.</p> - -<p class='c004'>There seemed to be more of romance than reality, -more of apparition than of real substance, in this -man, for whom, at one time, the jail, and not the -court-house, would have been regarded as a more -fitting place.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the same year Frederick Douglass had another -opportunity to revive the memories of the days -preceding the war. He was asked to deliver an -address on John Brown at Harper’s Ferry. He -gladly accepted the invitation, and spoke to an immense -concourse of Virginians, white and black, -on the very spot where, less than twenty years -before, he would, very possibly, have been tried -and hanged on the charge of high treason, had he -not escaped those who made efforts to arrest him. -On the platform close beside him sat the man who -was the attorney for the commonwealth of Virginia -<span class='pageno' id='Page_331'>331</span>in the prosecution of Brown. Douglass spoke with -boldness in his eulogy of the old raider, and what -he said was heartily cheered.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In 1859 Douglass had fled to England as a fugitive -from justice because of his presumed complicity -in what was then called John Brown’s “crime.” In -less than twenty years he was honored by many of -the same people who had then hated his name and -thirsted for his blood. He could rightly claim to be -a part both of the cause and the effect of this remarkable -revolution of public opinion. The possibilities -of American life were, perhaps, never better -illustrated than in his person.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the fall of 1886, Mr. Douglass, accompanied -by his wife, made an extensive tour of Europe and -Egypt. He revisited some of the cities in Italy, -and crossed the Mediterranean to the land of the -Pharaohs. He has written most delightfully of his -travels in his <cite>Life and Times</cite>. Everything of -historical value in Europe meant a great deal to -him, because he was so earnest a student of men -and events. Of Victor Hugo, he said, on seeing a -memorial to him, that “he was a man whose heart -was broad enough to take in the whole world and -to rank among the greatest of the human race.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Upon returning to this country, he had many -pleasing evidences that he was greatly missed in -his absence, and that his opinions were as eagerly -sought as ever on any question that came within the -range of his interest.</p> - -<p class='c004'>One of the first public addresses made by him -after his return from abroad was in behalf of woman’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_332'>332</span>suffrage, in Washington, at a meeting of the -International Council of Women. He spoke ardently -of the progress of the human mind as evidenced -by the unveiling of a statue to Galileo, -which he had witnessed in Rome. He said:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Whatever revolutions may have in store for us, -one thing is certain: the new revolution in human -thought will never go backward. When a great -truth once gets abroad in the world, no power on -earth can imprison or proscribe its limits, or suppress -it. It is bound to go on until it becomes the -thought of the world. Such a truth is woman’s -right to equal liberty with man. She was born -with it, it was hers before she comprehended it. It -is inscribed upon all powers and faculties of her -soul, and no custom, law, or usage can ever destroy -it. Now that it has got fairly fixed in the minds of -the few, it is bound to become fixed in the minds of -the many, and be supported at last by a great cloud -of witnesses which no man can number and no -power can withstand.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the same year, addressing a suffrage association -in Boston, he said: “If the whole is greater than a -part; if the sense and sum of human goodness in -man and woman combined are greater than that of -either alone and separate, then this government that -excludes women from all participation in its creation, -administration, and perpetuation demeans -itself.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In the matter of the education of his people, Mr. -Douglass had a deep and abiding interest. It will -be remembered that he believed in the broadest and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_333'>333</span>best possible schooling of the masses. He regarded -it as important to consider the Negro’s opportunity -in planning for his education. Hence it was that, -in addressing the students of Tuskegee in 1892 on -the subject of “Self-Made Men,” he laid special -stress on the necessity of the learning of trades in -connection with other training. Hence his saying -that “the earth has no prejudice against color; -crops yield as readily to the touch of the black -man’s hand as to that of his white brother.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Go on,” he continued; “I shall not be with -you long; you have heights to ascend and breadths -to fill such as I never could and never can. Go on. -When you are working with your hands they grow -larger; the same is true of your heads.... -Seek to acquire knowledge as well as property, and -in time you may have the honor of going to Congress. -Congress ought to be able to stand a Negro, -if the Negro can stand Congress.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>In these addresses before students in college or -trade-schools, he took pains to urge that the man -with a trade, as well as the man with a profession -should be respected and honored, according to the -amount of character and intelligence he puts into -his work. He insisted that there was no such thing -as servility or degradation for one who made his -way through the world with an honest heart and -skilled hands.</p> - -<p class='c004'>His earnestness in this conviction is further evidenced -by one of his last acts in behalf of his people, -when he helped to found the Industrial School -at Manassas, Va.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_334'>334</span> - <h2 class='c008'>CHAPTER XVI<br> <span class='large'>FINAL HONORS TO THE LIVING AND TRIBUTES TO THE DEAD</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c003'>The last public office held by Frederick Douglass -was that of Commissioner for the Haytian Republic -at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, -in the summer of 1893. The government of -Hayti erected an artistic pavilion on the Fair -grounds, and here from May 1st to November 1st, he -was stationed, dispensing the hospitalities demanded -by his position and the occasion.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Interesting as was the Haytian display, it did not -attract as much public attention as did the Commissioner. -No person or exhibit at the Exposition so -illustrated and exemplified human progress as did -Frederick Douglass. In him it was personified. -Everywhere his presence excited interest and admiration. -In his movements through the grounds -he was ever a striking figure. His form, towering -far above the average man, and his snow-white hair, -hanging in waves about his massive head, commanded -instant attention. People, young and old, -crowded about him, wherever he went. But not all -were curiosity seekers. Thousands knew Mr. Douglass -personally, had heard him speak, or were familiar -with his history. Parents brought their -children, that they might shake hands with him. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_335'>335</span>He was sometimes quite embarrassed by these manifestations -of admiration and interest.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The Exposition officials appreciated the importance -of the man, as well as his position as the -Haytian Commissioner. No honors were unshared -by him on account of his race. Whenever the representative -men of the civilized governments met in -administrative councils, Frederick Douglass was an -honored guest and participant. His old-time eloquence -was aroused on many interesting occasions, -and especially when the cause of the Negro needed -a champion. An official of the Exposition was reported -as saying that Frederick Douglass, more -than any other orator there, voiced the sentiment of -the brotherhood of man. While various representatives -would extol the people of this or that government -or nationality, this self-made and self-educated -man of a belated race, was always insisting -that the man himself, as God made him, was greater -than any geographical or national label could possibly -render him.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He was constantly sought for addresses on all -kinds of occasions, and he generously responded, -whether the call came from some obscure religious -organization, literary society, or one of the great -international parliaments, convened in connection -with the Exposition.</p> - -<p class='c004'>There were two very notable addresses by him in -the summer of 1893, that almost excel the best of his -many great speeches. One of these was made on -what was known as “Negro Day” at the Exposition -in the month of August. The vast auditorium -<span class='pageno' id='Page_336'>336</span>in Music Hall was filled by an audience that was -more thoroughly international in the variety of -races represented, than any other gathering assembled -during the progress of the Fair. In voice, -gesture, and spirit, he seemed like some great -prophet, bearing a message to the civilized world. -No one who listened to this masterful plea for justice -for the Negro race, can ever forget the inspiration -of that hour.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The other speech was delivered before one of the -parliaments on the subject of “good government.” -There were present students of civil government, -sociologists, judges of courts, representatives of the -woman’s suffrage movement, like Susan B. Anthony, -and others. Some striking addresses followed Douglass’s, -but he had left the audience completely -under his spell.</p> - -<p class='c004'>With the closing of the Exposition in the autumn -of 1893, ended the last chapter in his life as a -public official. As office-holding, however, was by -no means the most important part of his career, it -did not require an office to keep him in view of the -people. His prominence outlasted that of many of -his contemporaries who were more favored than he -in the matter of public service. He remained, up -to the very last hour of his life, one of the few men -of the nation of whom it never tired. This was so, -largely because he was more a part of the present -than of the past. Though he compassed in his life -over a half-century of national history, he never got -out of touch with current events, retaining to the -end his influence on public opinion in all those matters -<span class='pageno' id='Page_337'>337</span>in which he was peculiarly interested, and in -regard to which his views had special authority.</p> - -<p class='c004'>When he closed his official business with the -World’s Fair, he yielded to a strong pressure from -the people of the West for a limited course of lectures. -The one thing which induced him to undertake -this arduous task, after the months of exhausting -duties at the Exposition, was the opportunity it -would offer him to speak his word of protest and -condemnation of the crime of lynching. Nothing -in his long life of anxiety and struggle for his race -so depressed him as did this new manifestation of -contempt for his people. His first itinerary included -Des Moines, Omaha, and other cities. He -was cordially received everywhere and his denunciation -of mob law made a deep impression. These -addresses were in the nature of his last message and -warning to the American people against the unchecked -lawlessness that spent itself on those who -were not strong enough to protect themselves.</p> - -<p class='c004'>He returned to his restful and delightful home in -Washington with some apparent fatigue, but no -permanent harm in consequence of his long journey.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The last two years of his life seem to have been -more free from care and active duties than any previous -period. He merited a rest and he had everything -about him to contribute to his ease and enjoyment. -Among the trees and flowers of his ample -grounds on Cedar Hill, and surrounded by his -books and the comforts of his classic home, life -went on serenely and happily.</p> - -<p class='c004'>One of the interesting sights here was the procession -<span class='pageno' id='Page_338'>338</span>of people of all kinds making pilgrimages every -day to the home of “the Sage of Anacostia,”<a id='r6'></a><a href='#f6' class='c017'><sup>[6]</sup></a> as he -was fondly called by his friends and neighbors. -Thousands of colored persons visited him to pay their -respects to the man whose life had been consecrated -to the cause of their emancipation and citizenship. -To all he was kindly and considerate. His mind -was as alert and keen as ever, and thoroughly alive -to passing events. He had a special fondness for -the young men of his race, and particularly those who -were educated and progressive. It was always an -inspiration to him to see the numbers of young colored -men, who were fitting themselves by study and -application to pass civil service examinations, and -gain for themselves positions of importance in all -departments of the government. He frequently invited -them to his home to dine with him, and would -discuss with them the possibilities for their advancement -in all lines of endeavor. He was always hopeful -regarding the progress of these young men in -business and in the professions.</p> - -<div class='footnote' id='f6'> -<p class='c004'><a href='#r6'>6</a>. Anacostia is a suburb of Washington, and was Frederick -Douglass’s home so long as he lived in the District of -Columbia.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>He was generous, almost to a fault, with his time, -money, and services in behalf of any cause that -meant a step forward for his people. His health -was uniformly good. Every day he was either -riding or walking about the streets of Washington, -or in conference with those who needed his advice -and assistance in all kinds of helpful enterprises. -He had a part in every civic event of any importance -<span class='pageno' id='Page_339'>339</span>in the District of Columbia. No one colored -man before or since his death has wielded so much -influence in all directions. He had not only won -the esteem of the people of Washington, but he -knew how to deserve and retain it. In the District -government, in the public schools, and at Howard -University, his influence was felt and respected.</p> - -<p class='c004'>What he himself was, he had gained by hard -work, consecration, temperate habits, and God-fearing -conduct toward all his fellows. His life and -achievements spoke eloquently to the young men -about him and pointed the way to progress. Mr. -Douglass had richly earned everything that he had, -and those who took him as a model were made to -realize that success comes not as a gift, but must be -deserved and won as a reward for right thinking -and high living. Poor as were his people in all -things, Frederick Douglass found enough to be -proud of in them and urged continuously upon the -younger generation the necessity of cultivating a -spirit of race pride,—of setting before themselves -and the race of which they were members clear and -definite ideals.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In nothing else was the life of Mr. Douglass so -important as in the uplifting influence he exerted, -directly and indirectly, upon the young men of his -time. There were many good leaders worthy -of emulation, but none who exercised the authority -that he did over the opinions of the other members -of his race. His life was an open book. Naturally -there were those of his color who envied him; who -sought to discredit his worth and work; who felt -<span class='pageno' id='Page_340'>340</span>that so long as he lived and spoke, none other could -be known or heard. The young men of force and -intelligence, however, who had it in them to do -something large and important looked up to and -were inspired by the “old man eloquent” of the -Negro race.</p> - -<p class='c004'>It is easily possible to extend observations of this -kind concerning the personality and influence of -this great man during those restful years when he -was happily free from care and public responsibilities. -How little he thought of death! Sound of -body and sane of mind, and always thinking and -planning for what should come after, he lived as if -there was no claim upon his future existence which -he could not adjust. When death did come on the -second day of February, 1895, it found him with no -preparation, in the ordinary sense, for its message. -And yet it had always been his expressed wish that -he should go as he did—“to fall as the leaf in the -autumn of life.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>On that day he had been attending the Council -of Women which was meeting in Metzerott’s Hall -in the city of Washington, and was much interested -in the proceedings. He was an honorary -member of that body. They were in quest of larger -liberties for themselves, as he so long had been for -himself and his people. When Frederick Douglass -appeared at the convention in the morning, he was -greeted with applause and escorted to the platform -by a committee. He remained there nearly the -entire day. When he returned to his home on -Cedar Hill for dinner, he was in the best of spirits, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_341'>341</span>and with a great deal of animation and pleasure, -discussed with Mrs. Douglass the incidents of the -meeting.</p> - -<p class='c004'>After the meal he prepared himself to deliver an -address in a colored Baptist church near by. His -carriage was at the door. While passing through -the hall from the dining-room, he seemed to drop -slowly upon his knees, but in such a way that the -movement did not excite any alarm in his wife. -His face wore a look of surprise as he exclaimed, -“Why, what does this mean?” Then, straightening -his body upon the floor, he was gone. The -men who responded to Mrs. Douglass’s agonized -cries for help, came hurriedly with physicians, but -it was too late. Douglass was dead—without pain, -without warning, without fear, and at a time when -life was sweet, full, and complete. His last moment -of enthusiasm, like his first hours of aspiration -when a slave-child, was for liberty; if not for -himself, then for some one else.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The announcement that Frederick Douglass was -dead came like a shock to every one, especially to -those who had seen him about the city during the -day, full of animation and apparent physical vigor. -The sad news spread rapidly and produced a profound -sense of bereavement among all classes of -people.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The scene at the Women’s Council, where he had -been during the day an honored guest, was an affecting -one. The president, Mrs. May Wright -Sewall, in attempting to voice the sentiment of the -members, said:</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_342'>342</span>“A report, as unwelcome as sad and solemn, has -come to us of the sudden and most unexpected death -of Frederick Douglass. The news cannot be received -in silence by the Council. That historic -figure which individually and intellectually was the -symbol of the wonderful transition through which -this generation has lived has been with us in our -Council during both of our sessions to-day. When -he arrived, an escort was directed to conduct him -to the platform. We felt that this platform was -honored by his presence. I am sure there was no -divided sentiment on this subject, although we have -here women whose families are related to all political -parties of our country, and connected by ancestry -with both sides of the great question. It is -surely to be regarded as a historic coincidence that -this man, who embodied a century of struggle between -freedom and oppression, spent his last hours -a witness of the united efforts of those who have -come from so many different places and along such -various avenues to formulate some plan for a new -expression of freedom in the relation of woman to -the world, society, and the state.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>The mortuary arrangements at Washington were -on the scale and of the dignity of a state funeral. -Throngs of people lined the streets through which -the <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">cortège</span></i> passed to the Metropolitan Church where -the ceremonies were held. Delegations of prominent -colored men and women, from almost every part -of the Union, came to pay their last respects to the -dead statesman.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Within the spacious church, the scene was such -as perhaps had never before been witnessed in this -country. All colors and nationalities were present, -moved by a common sorrow. Men like Senators -<span class='pageno' id='Page_343'>343</span>Hoar and Sherman; members of the Supreme Court -like Justice Harlan; members of the House of Representatives, -officials of the District of Columbia, -members of the National Council of Women, the -faculty of Howard University, several Bishops of -the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and other -distinguished men and women were present and gave -to the sad occasion the character of a national bereavement.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Floral tributes in profusion were sent by organizations -of all kinds as well as by individuals. -There were two that had special significance; the -one sent by the Haytian government, and the other -by Colonel B. F. Auld of Baltimore, the son of -Frederick Douglass’s former owner. Fervent words -of appreciation were spoken by Dr. J. T. Jenifer, -pastor of the Metropolitan Church, Rev. F. J. -Grimké, Susan B. Anthony, Mrs. May Wright -Sewall, John S. Durham, Bishop W. B. Derrick, -and M. J. N. Nichols, representing Hayti. The -city of Washington, where Mr. Douglass lived so -long and was so much esteemed, paid every possible -tribute of respect to his memory in these impressive -ceremonies.</p> - -<p class='c004'>While the fallen Douglass was thus being honored -at the national capital, the city of Rochester was -sorrow-stricken at the loss of its “foremost citizen” -and at once set about making “suitable arrangements -to give his remains according to the desire he -so often expressed,—a resting-place in beautiful -Mount Hope, the city of the dead.” Rochester -always claimed Frederick Douglass as her son by -<span class='pageno' id='Page_344'>344</span>right of adoption, and that at a time when many -other Northern cities would not have tolerated his -presence. By order of the mayor, a special meeting -of the city council was convened “for the purpose -of taking such action as might be necessary and appropriate -in connection with the funeral of Hon. -Frederick Douglass, for many years a respected and -beloved citizen of this city.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>At the meeting thus called, a memorial, couched -in terms at once touching and flattering, was read -and spread upon the records. The council also -passed a resolution that the members attend the -funeral in a body, and it was arranged that the remains -should lie in state in the city hall, and that -on the day of the funeral the public schools be -closed, so as to give the pupils an opportunity to -view the face of a man whose life and character were -worthy of their remembrance and emulation.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Thus all the proceedings partook of a civic nature -and were impressive beyond anything ever witnessed -in honor of a Negro citizen. The services in -Rochester were held in the Central Presbyterian -Church. The Douglass League acted as a guard of -honor in conducting the remains to the city hall and -to the church. Rev. W. C. Gannett, of the Unitarian -Church, delivered the funeral oration. No -other in the United States was better qualified by -natural disposition and breadth of mind to give -adequate estimate of Douglass as a man. The portion -of the address here quoted will afford some notion -of the character of the eulogies uttered in all -parts of this country and in England in recognition -<span class='pageno' id='Page_345'>345</span>of the worth of Frederick Douglass and his work. -Mr. Gannett said in part:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“This is an impressive moment in our city history. -There was a man who lived in one of its -humbler homes, whose name barred him from the -doors of the wealthiest mansions of our city. This -man has come home to a little circle of his best beloved -ones. He has come, as it were, alone, and -our city has gone forth to meet him at its gates. -He has been welcomed for once in the most impressive -way. His remains have laid in our city hall. -Our school children have looked upon his face, that -they may in the future tell their children that they -have looked on the face of Frederick Douglass. -What a difference! What a contrast! What does -it all mean? It means two things. It is a personal -tribute and it is an impersonal tribute. It is a personal -tribute to the man who has exemplified before -the eyes of all America the inspiring example of a -man who made himself. America is the land of -opportunities. But not all men in this land can use -their opportunities. Here was a man who used to -the uttermost all the opportunities that America -held forth to him, and when opportunities were not -at hand he made them. Nature gave him birth, -nature deprived him of father and almost mother. -He was born seventy-eight years ago, forty years -before anti-slavery was heard of as a watchword.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“He is not simply a self-made man, although he -was one of the greatest. A man self-made but -large-hearted. Who ever had better opportunity to -be a greater-hearted man than Frederick Douglass? -Think of the results for which he labored almost to -the end of his life. Notwithstanding that the lash -had been lifted from his back, still he encountered -shrugs of the shoulders, lifting of the eyebrows, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_346'>346</span>an edging away of his fellow-men when he approached -them, always under that opportunity of -insult.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“But that was not all. It is not a simple tribute -to the man. The personal tribute rises and loses -itself in a grander and nobler thought. It becomes -transfigured into an impersonal thought. We are -in an era of change on a great subject. White -people are here honoring a black people. An -exception? Yes. Great men are always exceptions. -An exception? Yes, but an instance as -well, an example of how the world’s feeling is -changing. I like to think over our 140,000 people -of Rochester and pick out the two or three who will -be called our first citizens twenty or thirty years -hence. Very few in Rochester are famous through -the North, very few are famous throughout the -world. Yet the papers of two continents had -editorials about the man whose remains lie before -us. We have but one bronze monument in our -streets. Will the next be that of Frederick Douglass, -the black man, the ex-slave, the renowned -orator, the distinguished American citizen? I -think it will be. In and around our soldiers’ monument -we group the history of the war. It is not -only the monument of Lincoln, although Lincoln’s -figure is represented there. It is the monument of -the war.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The nation to-day, thank God, is not only -celebrating the emancipation of slavery, but also -its emancipation from the slavery of prejudice and -from the slavery of caste and color.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Let me end with one word. There are but six -words in the sentence, and it is one of the great -sentences worthy to be painted on the church walls -and worthy to be included in such a book as the -Bible. It is his word. It is: ‘One with God is a -majority.’”</p> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_347'>347</span>The vast audience that listened to these words of -praise sadly followed Douglass’s remains to their -resting-place in Mount Hope Cemetery, beside -the graves of his little daughter Anna, and his beloved -wife, the mother of his children. Few great -citizens of the state of New York were ever more -signally honored than was he in these last funeral rites -by the citizens of Rochester. And this was not all. -The suggestion of a monument by Mr. Gannett -in his funeral address found quick and hearty -response from the people of the city in an effort -led by John W. Thompson without regard to race -or color. Not only in that place, but throughout -the country, the idea of erecting a bronze statue -of Douglass, at his home, was taken up and acted -upon. Generous contributions began to pour in -from every direction. The great state of New York, -that had honored him in so many ways during his -lifetime, appropriated out of the public treasury, -the sum of $3,000 for this purpose.</p> - -<p class='c004'>The whole amount was soon raised. The ceremonies -attending the unveiling of the monument -partook of the character of a state event. Special -excursions brought multitudes of people from all -parts of New York. The Governor, Theodore -Roosevelt, and many other state officials, were in -attendance. His address, so impressively delivered, -was the climax of the splendid ceremonies. His -tribute to the great Negro was inspired by a -sympathetic appreciation of the man and a profound -sense of the significance of his life. He -reminded the vast concourse of people that the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_348'>348</span>lesson taught by the colored statesman was “the -lesson of truth, of honesty, of fearless courage, of -striving for the right; the lesson of distinguished -and fearless performance of civic duty.” The -bronze figure of the great Negro stands in a conspicuous -site in the heart of Rochester, and is as -much a monument to the generous spirit of its -citizens, as to the worth and achievements of him -whose career it commemorates.</p> - -<p class='c004'>Douglass lived long enough to see the triumph of -the cause for which he had dreamed, hoped, and -labored. But he had lived long enough, also, to -realize that what slavery had been two hundred -years and more in doing could not be wholly undone -in thirty or forty years; could, in fact, hardly be -wholly undone since the Future is always built out -of the materials of the Past.</p> - -<p class='c004'>In his later years he came to understand that the -problem, on the work of solving which he and others -had entered with such high hopes in the Reconstruction -period, was larger and more complicated -than it at that time seemed. If the realization of -this fact was a disappointment to him, it did not -cause him to lose courage. His faith in the future -remained unshaken. He was sane and sanguine to -the end. Least of all did he allow himself to feel -aggrieved or become embittered by any personal -inconvenience that he encountered because of the -color of his skin. At the conclusion of his Autobiography -he says:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“It may possibly be inferred from what I have -said of the prevalence of prejudice, and the practice -<span class='pageno' id='Page_349'>349</span>of proscription, that I have had a very miserable -sort of life, or that I must be remarkably insensible -to public aversion. Neither inference is true. I -have neither been miserable because of the ill-feeling -of those about me, nor indifferent to popular -approval; and I think, upon the whole, I have -passed a tolerably cheerful and even joyful life. I -have never felt myself isolated since I entered the -field to plead the cause of the slave, and demand -equal rights for all. In every town and city where -it has been my lot to speak, there have been raised -up for me friends of both colors to cheer and -strengthen me in my work. I have always felt, too, -that I had on my side all the invisible forces of the -moral government of the universe.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>Frederick Douglass’s life fell in the period of -war, of controversy, and of fierce party strife. The -task which was assigned to him was, on the whole, -one of destruction and liberation, rather than construction -and reconciliation. Circumstances and -his own temperament made him the aggressive -champion of his people, and of all others to whom -custom or law denied the privileges which he had -learned to regard as the inalienable possessions of -men. He was for liberty, at all times, and in all -shapes. Seeking the ballot for the Negro, he was -ardently in favor of granting the same privilege to -woman. Holding, as he did, that there were certain -rights and dignities that belong to man as man, -he was opposed to discrimination in our immigration -laws in favor of the white races of Europe and -against the yellow races of Asia. In religion, also, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_350'>350</span>he was disposed to unite himself with the extreme -liberal movement. In all this he was at once an -American, and a man of his time.</p> - -<p class='c004'>But Mr. Douglass was not merely an American, -sharing the convictions and aspirations of the most -progressive men of his day. He was also a Negro, -and the lesson of his life is addressed in the most -particular way to the members of his own race: -“To those who have suffered in slavery, I can say, -I, too, have suffered. To those who have taken -some risks and encountered hardships in the flight -from bondage, I can say, I, too, have endured and -risked. To those who have battled for liberty, -brotherhood, and citizenship, I can say, I, too, have -battled. And to those who have lived to enjoy the -fruits of liberty I can say, I, too, live and rejoice. -If I have pushed my example too far, I beg them to -remember that I have written in part for the encouragement -of a class whose aspirations need the -stimulus of success.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>And then he ends: “I have aimed to assure -them that knowledge may be obtained under difficulties; -that poverty may give place to competency; -that obscurity is not an absolute bar to distinction; -and that a way is open to welfare and happiness to -all who will resolutely and wisely pursue that way; -that neither slavery, stripes, imprisonment, nor proscription -need extinguish self-respect, crush manly -ambition, or paralyze effort; that no power outside -of himself can prevent a man from sustaining an -honorable character and a useful relation to his day -and generation; that neither institutions nor friends -<span class='pageno' id='Page_351'>351</span>can make a race to stand unless it has strength in -its own legs; that there is no power in the world -which can be relied on to help the weak against the -strong, or the simple against the wise; that races, -like individuals, must stand or fall by their own -merits.”</p> - -<p class='c004'>As has been already indicated in the course of -this narrative, Frederick Douglass never formulated -any definite religious creed. But no one who reads -the story of his life and work can doubt that he was -guided and inspired through his whole career by the -highest moral and religious motives. The evidence -of this is not merely his steadfast optimism and faith -in the future, but in the sense in which he regarded -his personal mission. From his own point of view, -the work he did for his race was not merely a duty, -it was a high privilege:</p> - -<p class='c004'>“Forty years of my life have been given to the -cause of my people, and if I had forty years more -they should all be sacredly given to the same great -cause. If I have done something for that cause, I -am, after all, more a debtor to it than it is a debtor -to me.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_353'>353</span> - <h2 class='c008'>BIBLIOGRAPHY</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c025'><span class='sc'>Douglass, Frederick.</span> Narrative of Frederick Douglass, -1845.</p> - -<p class='c026'>—— My Bondage and My Freedom, 1855.</p> - -<p class='c026'>—— My Escape from Slavery. <cite>Century Magazine</cite>, -November, 1881.</p> - -<p class='c026'>—— Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, 1882.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Holland, Frederick May.</span> Frederick Douglass, the Colored -Orator, 1891.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Garrison, William Lloyd.</span> Frederick Douglass as Orator -and Reformer, <cite>Our Day</cite>, August, 1894.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>May, Samuel J.</span> Recollections of the Anti-Slavery Conflict, -1869.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Johnson, Oliver.</span> William Lloyd Garrison and His Times, -1881.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Austin, George Lowell.</span> The Life and Times of Wendell -Phillips, 1899.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Life and Times of William Lloyd Garrison.</span> By his -children, 1889.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Siebert, William H.</span> The Underground Railroad, 1898.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Reports</span> of the Anti-Slavery Society.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Goodell, W.</span> Slavery and Anti-Slavery, A History of the -Struggle in Both Hemispheres; with a View of the -Slavery Question in the United States, third edition, -1855.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Still, William.</span> The Underground Railroad, 1872.</p> - -<p class='c026'>—— Underground Railway Records, New and revised edition -with life of author, 1883.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Greeley, Horace.</span> The American Conflict: Its Causes, Incidents, -and Results, 1864–6.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Wilson, Joseph T.</span> The Black Phalanx; a History of the -Negro Soldiers of the United States in the Wars of -1775, 1812, and 1861–1865; 1888.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Nicolay, John G. and Hay, John.</span> Abraham Lincoln; a -History, 1890.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Rhodes, James Ford.</span> History of the United States from the -Compromise of 1850, 1893.</p> - -<p class='c026'><span class='sc'>Williams, G. W.</span> Negro Troops in the Rebellion, 1888.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_355'>355</span> - <h2 class='c008'>INDEX</h2> -</div> - -<ul class='index c012'> - <li class='c027'>Abolition circulars, held up by Southern postmasters, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Abolition, sweet singers of, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Abolitionists, resent attitude of government to slavery, <a href='#Page_219'>219</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>“Anacostia, the Sage of,” <a href='#Page_338'>338</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Andrew, John A., Governor of Massachusetts, enlists Negro regiments, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Anthony, Asa, friend of Douglass, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Anthony, H. B., favors policy of conciliation toward South, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Anthony, Lucretia, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>; - <ul> - <li>her kindness to Douglass, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Anthony, Susan B., address at Douglass’s funeral, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Anti-Slavery conventions, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a>, <a href='#Page_78'>78</a>, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Anti-Slavery societies; - <ul> - <li>Massachusetts Society employs Douglass as agent, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>;</li> - <li>New England society organized, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>;</li> - <li>New York society organized, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>;</li> - <li>National society formed, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>;</li> - <li>British and Foreign, presents Douglass with Bible, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'><cite>Anti-Slavery Standard, The</cite>, anti-slavery newspaper, <a href='#Page_124'>124</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Antoine, C. C., Lieutenant-Governor of Louisiana, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>“Aunt Katy,” cruelty of, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Auld, Colonel B. F., sends floral tribute, Douglass’s funeral, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Auld, Hugh, apprentices Douglass to a ship-calker, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a>; - <ul> - <li>sells Douglass his own time, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a>;</li> - <li>sells Douglass into freedom, <a href='#Page_113'>113</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Auld, Mrs. Sophia, teaches Douglass to read, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Auld, Thomas, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>; - <ul> - <li>his fondness for Douglass, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>;</li> - <li>sells Douglass, <a href='#Page_113'>113</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Bailey, Frederick Augustus Washington, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Bailey, “Grandmother,” character and influence of, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Barrier, Anthony, agent for the Underground Railway, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Bearman, Amos G., assists Douglass at Buffalo anti-slavery meeting, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Bible societies, effect upon anti-slavery agitation, <a href='#Page_91'>91</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Birney, James G., Abolitionist, printing press destroyed by mob at Cincinnati, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Blackall, B. F., Douglass’s telegram to, <a href='#Page_192'>192</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>“Black Laws,” in Illinois, <a href='#Page_142'>142</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Bliss, William C., friend of Douglass, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Breckinridge, John C., leader Southern Wing of the Democracy, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Bright, John, Douglass guest of, <a href='#Page_115'>115</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'><span class='pageno' id='Page_356'>356</span>Brougham, Lord, Douglass meets, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Brown, Box, fugitive slave, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Brown, John, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a>; - <ul> - <li>at Chambersburg, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a>;</li> - <li>effect of execution on anti-slavery movement, <a href='#Page_197'>197</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Brown, John M., representative Negro, one of delegation to President Johnson, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Brown, William Wells, at Boston celebration Emancipation Proclamation, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Browne, Hugh M., head of “Institute for Colored Youth,” <a href='#Page_152'>152</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Bruce, Blanche K., United States Senator from Mississippi, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Buffum, James N., accompanies Douglass to England, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>; - <ul> - <li>in Scotland, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Bullock, Judge, favors colonization, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Burns, Anthony, fugitive slave, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Burnside, General A. E., issues proclamation to Southern people, <a href='#Page_218'>218</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Butler, General Benjamin F., declares fugitive slaves “contraband,” <a href='#Page_222'>222</a>; - <ul> - <li>at National Loyalists’ Convention, <a href='#Page_268'>268</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Canada, end of the Underground Railway, <a href='#Page_160'>160</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Carey, Mary Ann Shadd, Negro educator, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Cedar Hill, Douglass’s home, <a href='#Page_337'>337</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Chambersburg, Pa., place of last meeting of Douglass and John Brown, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Chase, Salmon P., contributes to support of <cite>North Star</cite>, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>; - <ul> - <li>encourages Douglass to visit President Lincoln, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Christiana, Pa., bloody resistance of slave-catchers at, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Churches, colored, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Civil War, causes of, <a href='#Page_217'>217</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Clark, Peter H., efforts to establish ante-bellum Negro education, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Clarkson, Thomas, Douglass’s meeting with, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Clay, Henry, member of the Colonization Society, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a>; - <ul> - <li>favors Fugitive Slave Law, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Cobden, Richard, Douglass meets, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Collins, John A., general agent of Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>; - <ul> - <li>associated with Douglass in the “one hundred anti-slavery conventions,” <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Colonization Society, American, objects of, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Combe, George, Douglass entertained by, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Constitution of the United States, a “pro-slavery instrument,” <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Cook, John F., efforts to establish ante-bellum Negro education, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a>; - <ul> - <li>representative Negro, one of delegation to President Johnson, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Coppin, Fannie Jackson, efforts for ante-bellum Negro education, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Coppin, Thomas, efforts for ante-bellum Negro education, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'><span class='pageno' id='Page_357'>357</span>Covey, Edward, the “negro breaker,” <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Cox, A. L., delegate National Anti-Slavery Society, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Crafts, William, fugitive slave, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Crandall, Prudence, Abolitionist, imprisoned for teaching colored children, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Crandall, Doctor Reuben, Abolitionist, imprisoned for circulating Anti-slavery literature, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Crofts, Mrs. Julia Griffith, takes business management of <cite>North Star</cite>, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Dallas, George M., Minister to England, refuses Douglass passport, <a href='#Page_194'>194</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Dana, Charles A., Assistant Secretary of War, encourages Douglass to visit President Lincoln, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Davis, Alexander, Lieutenant-Governor of Mississippi, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Davis, Richard A., aids in rescue of Anthony Burns, fugitive slave, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Day, J. Howard, colored anti-slavery orator, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Delaney, Martin R., colored anti-slavery orator, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Derrick, Bishop W. B., address at Douglass’s funeral, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Dickinson, Anna, at Boston celebration of Emancipation Proclamation, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Discrimination against Negroes at public lectures done away with, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Disraeli, Benjamin, Douglass meets, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Dix, General John A., proclamation to Southern people, <a href='#Page_218'>218</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Dorr, Thomas W., leader of pro-slavery forces in Rhode Island contest over new constitution, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Dorsey, Thomas L., agent for the Underground Railway, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Douglass, Charles R., son of Frederick, enlists in army, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Douglass, Frederick, born at Tuckahoe, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>; - <ul> - <li>transferred to the Lloyd plantation, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>;</li> - <li>starved by “Aunt Katy,” <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>;</li> - <li>sees his mother for the last time, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>;</li> - <li>sees a slave killed by an overseer, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>;</li> - <li>goes to Baltimore to live, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>;</li> - <li>is taught to read, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>;</li> - <li>gains possession of a speller, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a>;</li> - <li>buys a copy of the <cite>Columbian Orator</cite>, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a>;</li> - <li>learns to write, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>;</li> - <li>thoughts turned to religion, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>;</li> - <li>sent back to the plantation, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>;</li> - <li>justifies pilfering by slaves, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a>;</li> - <li>Sunday-school broken up, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>;</li> - <li>sent to a negro breaker, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>;</li> - <li>starts a second Sunday-school, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>;</li> - <li>plans to escape, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a>;</li> - <li>plot discovered, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a>;</li> - <li>sent back to Baltimore, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a>;</li> - <li>apprenticed as a shipcalker, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a>;</li> - <li>buys his own time, <a href='#Page_56'>56</a>;</li> - <li>makes his escape from Baltimore, <a href='#Page_58'>58</a>;</li> - <li>marries in New York, <a href='#Page_62'>62</a>;</li> - <li>seeks refuge in New Bedford, Mass., <a href='#Page_63'>63</a>;</li> - <li>changes his name, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a>;</li> - <li>denied opportunity to work at his trade, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>;</li> - <li>attends anti-slavery convention at Nantucket, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a>;</li> - <li>invited to become a speaker for the anti-slavery cause, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_358'>358</span>takes part in political contest in Rhode Island, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>;</li> - <li>speaks on the common at Grafton, Mass., <a href='#Page_78'>78</a>;</li> - <li>takes part in the “one hundred anti-slavery conventions,” <a href='#Page_78'>78</a>;</li> - <li>addresses 5,000 people at Buffalo, N. Y., <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>;</li> - <li>is mobbed at Richmond, Ind., <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>;</li> - <li>publishes “Narrative,” <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>;</li> - <li>sails for Europe, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>;</li> - <li>is refused cabin passage on the steamer <em>Cambria</em>, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>;</li> - <li>meets Thomas Clarkson, English Abolitionist, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>;</li> - <li>makes a tour through Ireland, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>;</li> - <li>presented with a Bible by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>;</li> - <li>takes part in the anti-slavery agitation in Scotland, <a href='#Page_103'>103</a>;</li> - <li>addresses the World’s Temperance Convention at Covent Garden, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a>;</li> - <li>speaks at the Peace Convention in London, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a>;</li> - <li>freedom purchased, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a>;</li> - <li>receives a gift of $2,500 to found an anti-slavery journal, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a>;</li> - <li>returns from England to America, <a href='#Page_116'>116</a>;</li> - <li>attacked by newspapers, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>;</li> - <li>presides at colored convention in Cleveland, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a>;</li> - <li>reasons for founding an independent newspaper, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a>;</li> - <li>removes to Rochester, N. Y., <a href='#Page_124'>124</a>;</li> - <li>publishes the <cite>North Star</cite>, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>;</li> - <li>parts company with the Garrisonians, <a href='#Page_128'>128</a>;</li> - <li>grounds for change of views, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a>;</li> - <li>tribute to the anti-slavery society, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>;</li> - <li>personal relations with Garrison, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a>;</li> - <li>speaks in behalf of the rights of women, <a href='#Page_136'>136</a>;</li> - <li>difficulties in securing an education for children, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a>;</li> - <li>connection with the Underground Railway, <a href='#Page_158'>158</a>, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>;</li> - <li>describes effects of the Fugitive Slave Law, <a href='#Page_168'>168</a>;</li> - <li>shelters fugitive slaves from Christiana, Pa., <a href='#Page_172'>172</a>;</li> - <li>reflections upon the Dred Scott Decision, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>;</li> - <li>meeting with Harriet Beecher Stowe, <a href='#Page_176'>176</a>;</li> - <li>outlines plan for an industrial school for Free Negroes, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>;</li> - <li>visits John Brown at Springfield, Mass., <a href='#Page_183'>183</a>;</li> - <li>visits John Brown at Chambersburg, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a>;</li> - <li>opposes John Brown’s plan for capture of Harper’s Ferry, <a href='#Page_191'>191</a>;</li> - <li>flees to Canada, <a href='#Page_192'>192</a>;</li> - <li>takes passage for England, <a href='#Page_193'>193</a>;</li> - <li>recalled to America by death of daughter, <a href='#Page_194'>194</a>;</li> - <li>on the effect of John Brown’s death, <a href='#Page_197'>197</a>;</li> - <li>supports Lincoln against Douglas, <a href='#Page_203'>203</a>;</li> - <li>address in Chicago in 1854, <a href='#Page_204'>204</a>;</li> - <li>welcomes the impending conflict, <a href='#Page_216'>216</a>;</li> - <li>urges the enlistment of Negro soldiers, <a href='#Page_220'>220</a>;</li> - <li>assists in organization of Negro regiments, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a>;</li> - <li>issues an appeal to the colored people, <a href='#Page_224'>224</a>;</li> - <li>first interview with President Lincoln, <a href='#Page_229'>229</a>;</li> - <li>promised position of adjutant, <a href='#Page_232'>232</a>;</li> - <li>Lincoln seeks aid to encourage escape of slaves from Southern states, <a href='#Page_236'>236</a>;</li> - <li>invited to take tea with the President, <a href='#Page_238'>238</a>;</li> - <li>description of reception of Emancipation Proclamation in Boston, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>;</li> - <li><span class='pageno' id='Page_359'>359</span>attends President’s reception, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>;</li> - <li>speaks at Rochester on Lincoln’s assassination, <a href='#Page_243'>243</a>;</li> - <li>opposes dissolution of Anti-Slavery Society, <a href='#Page_245'>245</a>;</li> - <li>becomes Lyceum lecturer, <a href='#Page_256'>256</a>;</li> - <li>favors citizenship for Negro, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>;</li> - <li>interviews President Johnson, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a>;</li> - <li>replies to President’s arguments against Negro suffrage, <a href='#Page_261'>261</a>;</li> - <li>writes address to Senate, <a href='#Page_264'>264</a>;</li> - <li>elected delegate to National Loyalists’ Convention, <a href='#Page_265'>265</a>;</li> - <li>removes to Washington, D. C., <a href='#Page_273'>273</a>;</li> - <li>publishes <cite>The New National Era</cite>, <a href='#Page_274'>274</a>;</li> - <li>becomes President of Freedman’s Bank, <a href='#Page_276'>276</a>;</li> - <li>councilman of District of Columbia, <a href='#Page_283'>283</a>;</li> - <li>member of legislature of District of Columbia, <a href='#Page_283'>283</a>;</li> - <li>member of the San Domingan annexation commission, <a href='#Page_283'>283</a>;</li> - <li>addresses colored convention at New Orleans, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a>;</li> - <li>marshal of District of Columbia, 1877, <a href='#Page_287'>287</a>;</li> - <li>Baltimore address on “Our National Capital,” <a href='#Page_288'>288</a>;</li> - <li>Recorder of Deeds, District of Columbia, <a href='#Page_294'>294</a>;</li> - <li>Minister to Hayti, <a href='#Page_297'>297</a>;</li> - <li>manners and personal character, <a href='#Page_303'>303</a>;</li> - <li>marries Miss Helen Pitts, <a href='#Page_306'>306</a>;</li> - <li>Decoration Day address at Arlington, <a href='#Page_309'>309</a>;</li> - <li>address at Washington, D. C., on Lincoln, <a href='#Page_311'>311</a>;</li> - <li>address before Tennessee Colored Agricultural and Mechanical Association at Nashville, <a href='#Page_312'>312</a>;</li> - <li>speech on Supreme Court Decision on Civil Rights Bill, <a href='#Page_316'>316</a>;</li> - <li>opposes Chinese exclusion, <a href='#Page_320'>320</a>;</li> - <li>views on religion, <a href='#Page_321'>321</a>;</li> - <li>opposes the Kansas exodus, <a href='#Page_323'>323</a>;</li> - <li>visits Thomas Auld, <a href='#Page_327'>327</a>;</li> - <li>visits the Lloyd estate, <a href='#Page_329'>329</a>;</li> - <li>address on John Brown at Harper’s Ferry, <a href='#Page_330'>330</a>;</li> - <li>address at Tuskegee, 1892, <a href='#Page_333'>333</a>;</li> - <li>aids in foundation of Industrial School at Manassas, Va., <a href='#Page_333'>333</a>;</li> - <li>Haytian Commissioner at World’s Fair, 1893, <a href='#Page_334'>334</a>;</li> - <li>address on Negro Day, World’s Fair, <a href='#Page_335'>335</a>;</li> - <li>protests against lynching, <a href='#Page_337'>337</a>;</li> - <li>death, 1895, <a href='#Page_340'>340</a>;</li> - <li>funeral services, <a href='#Page_342'>342</a>;</li> - <li>memorial services at Rochester, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Douglass, H. Ford, colored anti-slavery orator, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Douglass, Lewis H., son of Frederick, enlists in army, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a>; - <ul> - <li>visits President Andrew Johnson, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Douglas, Stephen A., policy in Kansas-Nebraska Bill, <a href='#Page_198'>198</a>; - <ul> - <li>debate with Lincoln, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a>;</li> - <li>position of, defined, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Downing, George T., visits President Johnson, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Downing, Thomas, agent for Underground Railway, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Dred Scott Decision, influence on anti-slavery agitation, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>, <a href='#Page_195'>195</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Dunlop, Alexander, representative Negro, one of delegation to visit President Johnson, <a href='#Page_261'>261</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Dunn, Oscar J., Lieutenant-Governor of Louisiana, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Durham, John S., address at Douglass’s funeral, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_360'>360</span>Education, Negro, early efforts of, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Elliott, Robert Brown, Negro member of Congress, <a href='#Page_280'>280</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Ellis, Charles M., aids in rescue of Anthony Burns, fugitive slave, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Emerson, Ralph Waldo, uses influence to open public lectures to Negroes, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Everett, Edward, Governor of Massachusetts, favors law to prevent printing of Abolition literature, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Fish, Benjamin, friend of Douglass, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Fortin, Charlotte L., Negro educator, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Foster, George, anti-slavery speaker, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>; - <ul> - <li>associated with Douglass in the “one hundred anti-slavery conventions,” <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Foster, Stephen S., takes part in the Rhode Island contest over new constitution, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>“Free Church,” of Scotland, anti-slavery agitation in, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Freeland, William, hires Douglass, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Free Soil Democrats, rally to support the Union, <a href='#Page_215'>215</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Fugitive Slave Law, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a>; - <ul> - <li>arouses resentment in North, <a href='#Page_168'>168</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Ganes, John F., efforts to establish ante-bellum Negro education, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Gannett, Rev. W. C., delivers Douglass’s funeral oration, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Garnett, Henry Highland, assists Douglass at Buffalo anti-slavery meeting, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>; - <ul> - <li>agent for the Underground Railway, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Garrison, William Lloyd, address at anti-slavery convention at Nantucket, <a href='#Page_71'>71</a>; - <ul> - <li>assaulted in Baltimore, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>;</li> - <li>delegate National Anti-Slavery Society, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>;</li> - <li>in Scotland, <a href='#Page_103'>103</a>;</li> - <li>attacked by papers in Cleveland, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a>;</li> - <li>opposes Douglass’s anti-slavery paper, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>;</li> - <li>conception of slavery, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>;</li> - <li>and the slave-holder, <a href='#Page_128'>128</a>;</li> - <li>relation to Douglass, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>;</li> - <li>comment on Shadrach case, <a href='#Page_170'>170</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Gay, Sidney Howard, takes part in the “one hundred anti-slavery conventions,” <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Gibbs, Mifflin W., colored anti-slavery orator, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Giddings, Joshua R., contributes to support of <cite>North Star</cite>, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>; - <ul> - <li>favors policy of conciliation to South, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Gleaves, Robert H., Lieutenant-Governor of South Carolina, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Goodell, William, delegate National Anti-Slavery Society, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Gray, John A., friend of Douglass, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Greeley, Horace, letter to President Lincoln, <a href='#Page_219'>219</a>; - <ul> - <li>protests against treatment of Negro soldiers, <a href='#Page_227'>227</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Green, Beriah, delegate National Anti-Slavery Society, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Grimké, Rev. F. J., address at Douglass’s funeral, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_361'>361</span>Hale, John P., criticised by Douglass, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Hall, Primus, ante-bellum Negro teacher, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Hallowell, William, friend of Douglass, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Hardy, Mrs. Neal, binds Douglass’s wounds at Richmond, Indiana, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Harlan, John Marshall, Associate Justice United States Supreme Court, attends Douglass’s funeral, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Harper, Frances Ellen Watkins, Negro educator, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Harper’s Ferry, John Brown’s preparations for assault upon, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Hayti, at World’s Fair, Chicago, <a href='#Page_334'>334</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, aids in rescue of Anthony Burns, fugitive slave, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Hoar, Senator George Frisbie, at Douglass’s funeral, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Holland, Frederick May, describes effect of Fugitive Slave Law, <a href='#Page_167'>167</a>; - <ul> - <li>“Life” of Douglass quoted, <a href='#Page_204'>204</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Holley, Myron, friend of Douglass, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Howard, General O. O., head of Freedmen’s Bureau, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Howard University, influence of Douglass at, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Howitt, William, remarks concerning Douglass, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Humphrey, Richard, bequeaths funds for Negro education, <a href='#Page_152'>152</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Hutchinson family, lends Douglass support on voyage to England, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Improvement Society, East Baltimore, for free colored people, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Industrial school, Douglass’s plan for, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Jackson, President Andrew, proposes Congressional legislation to prevent circulation of Abolition literature through mails, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>; - <ul> - <li>address to colored troops, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Jenifer, Rev. J. T., sermon at Douglass’s funeral, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Johnson, Andrew, President United States opposes Negro suffrage, <a href='#Page_261'>261</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Johnson, Nathan, gives Douglass a refuge, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Jones, John, representative Negro, one of delegation to President Johnson, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Kansas-Nebraska Bill, effect on anti-slavery sentiment, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Kelley, Abby, takes part in contest in Rhode Island over new constitution, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Lafayette, General, member of the Colonization Society, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Langston, John M., colored anti-slavery orator, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Lawson, “Uncle,” <a href='#Page_29'>29</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Lecture platform, effect upon anti-slavery agitation, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'><cite>Liberator, The</cite>, Garrison’s paper, <a href='#Page_124'>124</a>, <a href='#Page_128'>128</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Lincoln, Abraham, debate with Douglass, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Lloyd, Colonel Edward, vast estate of, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'><span class='pageno' id='Page_362'>362</span>Lloyd, Daniel, kindness to Douglass, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Loguen, Rev. J. W., agent for the Underground Railway, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Lovejoy, Rev. Elijah P., Abolitionist, killed at Alton, Ill., <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Lundy, Benjamin, Abolitionist, assaulted in Baltimore, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>; - <ul> - <li>work for emancipation, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Lynch, John R., member of Congress from Louisiana, <a href='#Page_280'>280</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Madison, James, member of the Colonization Society, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Mann, Horace, uses influence to open public lectures to Negroes, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a>; - <ul> - <li>contributes to support of <cite>North Star</cite>, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Marcy, William L., Governor of New York, favors law to suppress printing of Abolition literature, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Marshall, John, Chief Justice, member of the Colonization Society, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Martin, J. Sella, at Boston celebration Emancipation Proclamation, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Matthews, William E., visits President Andrew Johnson, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>May, Samuel J., letter to Garrison concerning Douglass, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>McClellan, General George B., warns slaves not to seek protection with Northern armies, <a href='#Page_217'>217</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Metzerott’s Hall, Douglass’s address at, <a href='#Page_340'>340</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Missionary movement, effect upon anti-slavery agitation, <a href='#Page_91'>91</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Missouri Compromise, puts question of slavery before people, <a href='#Page_93'>93</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Mob, destroys printing press of <cite>The Philanthropist</cite>, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>; - <ul> - <li>interrupts Rev. O. Scott’s lecture, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>;</li> - <li>demolishes Academy for Negroes at Canaan, N. H., <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>;</li> - <li>disperses meeting of female anti-slavery society at Boston, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>;</li> - <li>breaks up an anti-slavery meeting at Syracuse, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>;</li> - <li>of Yale students, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>;</li> - <li>burns Pennsylvania Hall, Philadelphia, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>;</li> - <li>indulges in two days’ riot at Philadelphia, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Monroe, James, takes part in Rhode Island contest over new constitution, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>; - <ul> - <li>associated with Douglass in the “one hundred anti-slavery conventions,” <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Mott, Lucretia, connection with anti-slavery and woman’s suffrage, <a href='#Page_136'>136</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Myers, Stephen J., agent for the Underground Railway, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>“Narrative,” Frederick Douglass’s, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Negroes, free, Douglass’s call to arms of, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>“Negro Pews,” at Hartford, Conn., <a href='#Page_142'>142</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Negro soldiers, at Port Royal, <a href='#Page_221'>221</a>; - <ul> - <li>at Fort Wagner, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a>;</li> - <li>proclamation of Confederate Government concerning, <a href='#Page_227'>227</a>;</li> - <li>Douglass’s remarks on treatment of, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>;</li> - <li>number enlisted, <a href='#Page_233'>233</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'><span class='pageno' id='Page_363'>363</span>Negro Volunteers, Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Massachusetts Regiments, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Newspapers, colored, <cite>Ram’s Horn</cite>, <cite>The Mystery</cite>, <cite>The Disfranchised American</cite>, <cite>The Northern Star</cite>, <cite>The Colored Farmer</cite>, <a href='#Page_124'>124</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Nichols, M. J. N., address at Douglass’s funeral, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'><cite>North Star</cite>, Douglass’s anti-slavery paper, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>; - <ul> - <li>Douglass’s early experiences with, <a href='#Page_137'>137</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>O’Connell, Daniel, relation to Douglass, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'><cite>Orator, Columbian</cite>, Douglass’s first book, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Otis, Joseph E., representative Negro, one of delegation to President Johnson, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Palfrey, John G., contributes to support of <cite>The North Star</cite>, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Parker, Theodore, aids in rescue of Anthony Burns, fugitive slave, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Peabody, Ephraim, gives Douglass his first job, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Peace Convention, London, addressed by Douglass, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Peel, Sir Robert, Douglass meets, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Pennington, Rev. J. W. C., <a href='#Page_62'>62</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Peterson, John, efforts to establish ante-bellum Negro education, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Phillips, Wendell, advises Douglass to throw his “Narrative” in the fire, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>; - <ul> - <li>aids in rescue of Anthony Burns, fugitive slave, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Pillsbury, Parker, takes part in Rhode Island contest over new constitution, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Pinchback, P. B. S., Lieutenant-Governor of Louisiana, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Pomeroy, S. C., United States Senator, introduces Douglass to President Lincoln, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Port Royal, proclamation of T. W. Sherman at, <a href='#Page_218'>218</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Porter, Samuel D., friend of Douglass, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Post, Isaac, friend of Douglass, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Press, its effect upon anti-slavery agitation, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Prichard, his <cite>Natural History of Man</cite>, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>“Prigg Case,” in regard to runaway slaves, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>“Protection, Sailor’s,” character of, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Purvis, Robert, Vice-President of National Anti-Slavery Society, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Quincy, Edmund, praises <cite>The North Star</cite>, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Raid, John Brown, intensifies hatred of Negro, <a href='#Page_195'>195</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Railroads, regulations enforced against free colored people, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Railway, Underground, <a href='#Page_158'>158</a>; - <ul> - <li>Western and Southwestern branches, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'><cite>Ram’s Horn</cite>, colored newspaper, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Ransier, Alonzo J., Lieutenant-Governor of South Carolina, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Ray, Charles M., assists Douglass at Buffalo anti-slavery meeting, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'><span class='pageno' id='Page_364'>364</span>Revels, Hiram, United States Senator from Mississippi, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Remond, Charles Lennox, takes part in the “one hundred anti-slavery conventions,” <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>; - <ul> - <li>assists at Buffalo anti-slavery meetings, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>;</li> - <li>agent for the Underground Railway, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Rich, William, agent for the Underground Railway, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Richardson, Mrs. Ellen, purchases Douglass’s freedom, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Richardson, Mrs. Henry, purchases Douglass’s freedom, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Ross, A. W., representative Negro, one of the delegation to President Johnson, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Russell, Lord John, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Russell, Thomas, at Boston celebration of Emancipation Proclamation, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Schurz, Carl, report on Southern conditions, <a href='#Page_248'>248</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Scott, Rev. O., Abolitionist, prevented from delivering Abolitionist lecture at Worcester, Mass., 1835, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Sewall, Mrs. May Wright, <a href='#Page_341'>341</a>; - <ul> - <li>address at Douglass’s funeral, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Seward, William H., contributes to support of <cite>North Star</cite>, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>; - <ul> - <li>favors policy of conciliation to South, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>;</li> - <li>declaration defining issues of the war, <a href='#Page_217'>217</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Shadrach, fugitive slave, the case of, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Shaw, Colonel Robert Gould, commands first Negro regiment, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Sherman, General T. W. proclamation at Port Royal, <a href='#Page_218'>218</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Sherman, Senator, John, at Douglass’s funeral, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Slavery and anti-slavery, issues defined, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Smalls, Robert, Negro member of Congress, <a href='#Page_280'>280</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Smith, Gerrit, distinguished from Garrison, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>; - <ul> - <li>contributes to support the <cite>North Star</cite>, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>;</li> - <li>member of the Colonization Society, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Smith, Doctor James McCune, colored anti-slavery orator, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>; - <ul> - <li>agent for the Underground Railway, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Stanton, Edwin M., Secretary of War, offers Douglass commission in army, <a href='#Page_232'>232</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Stearns, Major George L., writes to Douglass in behalf of Negro soldiers, <a href='#Page_227'>227</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>St. Michaels, Douglass’s early home, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Still, William, anti-slavery author, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>; - <ul> - <li>agent for the Underground Railway, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Story, Joseph, Justice Supreme Court, decision in the “Prigg Case,” <a href='#Page_166'>166</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Stowe, Harriet Beecher, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Sumner, Charles, uses influence to open public lectures for Negroes, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a>; - <ul> - <li>contributes to support of <cite>North Star</cite>, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c012'>Tappan, Arthur, <a href='#Page_61'>61</a>; - <ul> - <li>chosen President National Anti-Slavery Society, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Tappan, Lewis, <a href='#Page_61'>61</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Temperance Convention, World’s, addressed by Douglass, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'><span class='pageno' id='Page_365'>365</span>Thompson, George, Abolitionist, in Scotland, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Thompson, John W., plans erection of Douglass statue, <a href='#Page_347'>347</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Tilton, Theodore, marches with Douglass at National Loyalists’ Convention, <a href='#Page_269'>269</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Tracy Seminary, Douglass’s daughter compelled to leave, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Tract Society, effect upon anti-slavery agitation, <a href='#Page_91'>91</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Tuskegee, Douglass visits, <a href='#Page_333'>333</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>“Vigilance Committee,” of anti-slavery society, work of in Pennsylvania, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a>.</li> - <li class='c012'>Ward, Samuel R., colored anti-slavery orator, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Webster, Daniel, remarks on growth of cotton industry, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>; - <ul> - <li>member of the Colonization Society, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a>;</li> - <li>favors Fugitive Slave Law, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Wells, Nelson, efforts to establish ante-bellum Negro education, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Whipper, William, agent for the Underground Railway, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>; - <ul> - <li>one of delegation to President Johnson, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a>.</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li class='c027'>Whittier, John G., delegate National Anti-Slavery Society, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Winthrop, Senator Robert C., at Faneuil Hall after fall of Richmond, <a href='#Page_242'>242</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Wise, Henry A., Governor of Virginia, letter to President Buchanan, <a href='#Page_192'>192</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Wright, Elizur, delegate National Anti-Slavery Society, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Wright, Frances, connection with anti-slavery and woman’s suffrage, <a href='#Page_136'>136</a>.</li> - <li class='c027'>Wright, Theodore S., assists Douglass at Buffalo anti-slavery meeting, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>.</li> -</ul> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c002'> -</div> -<div class='tnotes x-ebookmaker'> - -<div class='chapter ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - - <ol class='ol_1 c012'> - <li>Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling. - - </li> - <li>Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. - </li> - </ol> - -</div> - -<div style='display:block; 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