The Frederick Douglass Papers: Series Three: Correspondence, Volume 2: 1853-1865 9780300235241

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THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS PAPERS Series Three: Correspondence

VOLUME 2: 1853–1865

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Frederick Douglass, c. 1853. Frontispiece, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855). Courtesy of the Department of Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation, University of Rochester River Campus Libraries.

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THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS PAPERS Series Three: Correspondence Volume 2: 1853–1865

John R. McKivigan, Editor Associate Editors: L. Diane Barnes, Jeffery A. Duvall Assistant Editors: James A. Hanna, Heather L. Kaufman, Whitney R. Smith Research Assistants: Eamonn P. Brandon, Bridget Brown, Kate Burzlaff, Randolph Gaines, Austen Hurt, Rebecca A. Pattillo, Alex Smith, Andrew Wiley, Lauren Zachary

Yale University Press

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New Haven and London

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Published with assistance from The National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Copyright © 2018 by Yale University. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Yale University Press books may be purchased in quantity for educational, business, or promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected] (U.S. office) or [email protected] (U.K. office). Set in Times Roman type by Newgen North America. Printed in the United States of America. ISBN: 978-0-300-21830-5 (cloth : alk. paper) Library of Congress Control Number: 2017942334 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (Permanence of Paper). 10 9

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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Mary F. Berry Richard J. M. Blackett David W. Blight Robert Hall Stanley Harrold Nancy A. Hewitt Howard R. Lamar Robert S. Levine John Stauffer

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Contents

Acknowledgments Abbreviations and Sigla Introduction to Volume Two Timeline of Douglass’s Life Illustrations

xv xvii xxi xxvii xxxiv

CORRESPONDENCE OF DOUGLASS 1853 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 14 January 1853 Abner Bates to Frederick Douglass, 11 February 1853 Gerrit Smith to Frederick Douglass, 24 February 1853 Frederick Douglass to Harriet Beecher Stowe, 8 March 1853 Martin Robinson Delany to Frederick Douglass, 20 March 1853 Henry Patrick to Frederick Douglass, 4 April 1853 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 6 April 1853 Frederick Douglass to William H. Seward, 16 April 1853 Uriah Boston to Frederick Douglass, April 1853 Frederick Douglass to William H. Seward, 23 April 1853 James Catlin to Frederick Douglass, 25 May 1853 William W. Chapman to Frederick Douglass, 18 June 1853 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 15 July 1853 L. Delos Mansfield to Frederick Douglass, 12 August 1853 John Brown to Frederick Douglass, 18 August 1853 Frederick Douglass to Charles Sumner, 2 September 1853 James Monroe Whitfield to Frederick Douglass, 15 November 1853 Martin Robinson Delany to Frederick Douglass, 22 November 1853 Charlotte K—— to Frederick Douglass, 26 November 1853 W. L. Crandal to Frederick Douglass, 10 December 1853 John Boyer Vashon to Frederick Douglass, 17 December 1853 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 23 December 1853 Richard Baxter Foster to Frederick Douglass, 28 December 1853 Charles W. Stuart to Frederick Douglass, 31 December 1853

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1854 Julia Griffiths to Frederick Douglass, 9 January 1854 John Brown to Frederick Douglass, 9 January 1854 Frederick Douglass to Calvin Stowe, 17 January 1854 Frederick Douglass to Charles Sumner, 27 February 1854 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 6 March 1854 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 18 March 1854 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 29 April 1854 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 6 May 1854 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 19 May 1854 Gerrit Smith to Frederick Douglass, 12 June 1854 James Rawson Johnson to Frederick Douglass, 4 July 1854 Nemo to Frederick Douglass, 19 July 1854 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 22 August 1854 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 23 August 1854 Gerrit Smith to Frederick Douglass, 28 August 1854 Amos Gerry Beman to Frederick Douglass, 4 September 1854 Frederick Douglass to Amos Gerry Beman, 6 September 1854 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 7 September 1854 Jehiel C. Beman to Frederick Douglass, 7 September 1854 Franklin Turner to Frederick Douglass, 13 October 1854 Josiah Letchworth to Frederick Douglass, 27 October 1854 George DeBaptiste to Frederick Douglass, 5 November 1854 William Wright to Frederick Douglass, 17 November 1854 Jermain Wesley Loguen to Frederick Douglass, 4 December 1854 George Weir, Jr., to Frederick Douglass, 11 December 1854

69 69 72 73 74 75 76 78 79 80 81 84 87 89 90 101 102 103 105 107 109 111 112 116 118

1855 Inspector to Frederick Douglass, 24 February 1855 Lewis Tappan to Frederick Douglass, 9 March 1855 Isaiah C. Weir to Frederick Douglass, 12 March 1855 William Wells Brown to Frederick Douglass, 16 March 1855 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 27 March 1855 Russell Lant Carpenter to Frederick Douglass, 13 April 1855 Frederick Douglass to Charles Sumner, 24 April 1855 Frederick Douglass to James McCune Smith, 2 July 1855 Julia Griffiths to Frederick Douglass, 2 July 1855 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 18 July 1855 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 14 August 1855

119 122 124 125 127 128 129 131 133 143 144

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CONTENTS

John Brown, Jr., to Frederick Douglass, 15 August 1855 Uriah Boston to Frederick Douglass, 28 September 1855 Philip Church Schuyler to Frederick Douglass, 7 October 1855 James Rawson Johnson to Frederick Douglass, 18 October 1855 William E. Whiting to Frederick Douglass, 23 November 1855 Cynthia Potter Bliss to Frederick Douglass, 23 November 1855 Harriet Beecher Stowe to Frederick Douglass, 24 November 1855 Frederick Douglass to Simeon S. Jocelyn, 15 December 1855 Lewis Tappan to Frederick Douglass, 21 December 1855 1856 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 1 January 1856 Frederick Douglass to William Lloyd Garrison, 13 January 1856 John Manross to Frederick Douglass, 14 January 1856 Frederick Douglass to Alta Lucia Gray Hilliard Wallingford, 28 January 1856 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 20 February 1856 Charles W. Stuart to Frederick Douglass, 10 March 1856 Frederick Douglass to Alta Lucia Gray Hilliard Wallingford, 14 March 1856 Rebecca Williamson to Frederick Douglass, 30 March 1856 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 12 April 1856 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 16 April 1856 Frederick Douglass to Benjamin Coates, 17 April 1856 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 1 May 1856 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 23 May 1856 Hiram Putnam to Frederick Douglass, 7 July 1856 Frederick Douglass to Joseph Comstock Hathaway, 29 July 1856 John W. Hurn to Frederick Douglass, 24 August 1856 J. W. Fox to Frederick Douglass, 29 August 1856 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 31 August 1856 Auburn to Frederick Douglass, 5 September 1856 Frederick Douglass to Susan Inches Lesley, 6 September 1856 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 6 September 1856 Lewis Tappan to Frederick Douglass, 6 December 1856 Frederick Douglass to John Brown, 7 December 1856 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 16 December 1856 Lewis Tappan to Frederick Douglass, 19 December 1856 Lewis Tappan to Frederick Douglass, 27 December 1856

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145 149 152 156 159 160 162 163 164 165 166 167 172 174 175 177 178 179 180 182 184 185 187 188 189 192 193 195 197 198 199 200 201 202 205

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1857 Thomas Smith to Frederick Douglass, 28 February 1857 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 16 April 1857 Frederick Douglass to Lydia Dennett, 17 April 1857 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 20 April 1857 Frederick Douglass to the Secretary of the Edinburgh Ladies’ New Anti-Slavery Association, 9 July 1857 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 13 October 1857 Frederick Douglass to Maria G. Porter, 13 October 1857 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 14 December 1857 Normal to Frederick Douglass, 25 December 1857 1858 Frederick Douglass to Mary Anne Day Brown, 30 January 1858 John Brown to Frederick Douglass, 22 June 1858 Frederick Douglass to Samuel D. Porter, 21 July 1858 Ottilie Assing to Frederick Douglass, 12 August 1858 Frederick Douglass to Margaret Denman Cropper, 3 September 1858 Frederick Douglass to Isaac Butts, 11 October 1858 Stephen A. Myers to Frederick Douglass, 6 December 1858 James McCune Smith to Frederick Douglass, 28 December 1858 1859 James McCune Smith to Frederick Douglass, 12 January 1859 Rosetta Douglass to Frederick Douglass, 2 February 1859 Julia Griffiths to Frederick Douglass 4 February 1859 Stephen A. Myers to Frederick Douglass, 1 March 1859 William James Watkins to Frederick Douglass, 4 March 1859 Frederick Douglass to John Jay, 11 April 1859 John Jay to Frederick Douglass, 26 May 1859 Frederick Douglass to Margaret Denman Cropper, 27 May 1859 Frederick Douglass to James Hall, 10 June 1859 Amy Post to Frederick Douglass, 13 June 1859 Gerrit Smith to Frederick Douglass, 19 September 1859 Frederick Douglass to Hugh Auld, 4 October 1859 Frederick Douglass to Samuel P. Allen, 31 October 1859 Frederick Douglass to Maria Lamb Webb, 30 November 1859 Rosetta Douglass to Frederick Douglass, 6 December 1859 Frederick Douglass to Helen Doncaster, 7 December 1859

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208 208 209 211 212 214 215 215 217 224 226 227 228 231 233 236 239 241 247 250 254 256 265 265 266 268 269 272 275 277 281 283 286

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Annie Douglass to Frederick Douglass, 7 December 1859 Frederick Douglass to Elihu Burritt, 31 December 1859

287 288

1860 Frederick Douglass to Maria G. Porter, 11 January 1860 Frederick Douglass to Amy Post, January 1860 Frederick Douglass to George Thompson, 18 February 1860 Frederick Douglass to Charles Sumner, 9 June 1860 Frederick Douglass to James Redpath, 29 June 1860 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 2 July 1860 Frederick Douglass to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 25 August 1860 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 7 September 1860 Frederick Douglass to “A Friend in England,” 9 October 1860 Frederick Douglass to William Lloyd Garrison, 15 October 1860 Charles Happ to Frederick Douglass, 15 October 1860 Frederick Douglass to Charles Happ, 16 October 1860 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 18 December 1860 Frederick Douglass to Sarah Southam Cash, December 1860

291 294 299 300 301 303 305 306 307 311 313 313 314 316

1861 Frederick Douglass to William Buell Sprague, 1 May 1861 Frederick Douglass to Susan B. Anthony, 5 June 1861 Martha Waldo Brown Greene to Frederick Douglass, 8 November 1861 Julia Griffiths Crofts to Frederick Douglass, 6 December 1861 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 22 December 1861 Maria Lamb Webb to Frederick Douglass, 31 December 1861 1862 Frederick Douglass to “A Friend in England,” 7 March 1862 Frederick Douglass to George Barrell Cheever, 5 April 1862 Frederick Douglass to Charles Sumner, 8 April 1862 Theodore Tilton to Frederick Douglass, 30 April 1862 W. W. Tate to Frederick Douglass, 2 June 1862 Alexander Crummell to Frederick Douglass, 12 July 1862 Austin Willey to Frederick Douglass, 26 July 1862 Frederick Douglass to Samuel Clarke Pomeroy, 27 August 1862 Rosetta Douglass to Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass, 31 August 1862 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 8 September 1862

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Montgomery Blair to Frederick Douglass, 11 September 1862 Frederick Douglass to Montgomery Blair, 16 September 1862 Rosetta Douglass to Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass, 24 September 1862 Rosetta Douglass to Frederick Douglass, 9 October 1862 Frederick Douglass to Theodore Tilton, 21 October 1862 Frederick Douglass to Theodore Tilton, 22 November 1862 John Jones to Frederick Douglass, 1 December 1862 Henry Richardson to Frederick Douglass, 4 December 1862 Julia Griffiths Crofts to Frederick Douglass, 5 December 1862 John Elliot Cairnes to Frederick Douglass, 31 December 1862 1863 H. Ford Douglas to Frederick Douglass, 8 January 1863 Frederick Douglass to Samuel J. May, 28 January 1863 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 6 March 1863 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 9 March 1863 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 14 April 1863 George Evans to Frederick Douglass, 6 June 1863 Lucinda Hosmer to Frederick Douglass, 7 June 1863 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 19 June 1863 Frederick Douglass to Edwin M. Stanton, 13 July 1863 Lewis H. Douglass to Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass, 20 July 1863 Frederick Douglass to Robert Hamilton, 27 July 1863 Frederick Douglass to George L. Stearns, 1 August 1863 Frederick Douglass to George L. Stearns, 12 August 1863 Charles W. Foster to Frederick Douglass, 13 August 1863 Frederick Douglass to Edwin M. Stanton, 17 August 1863 Frederick Douglass to Thomas Webster, 18 August 1863 Frederick Douglass to Charles W. Foster, 24 August 1863 George L. Stearns to Frederick Douglass, 29 August 1863 Charles R. Douglass to Frederick Douglass, 8 September 1863 Charles R. Douglass to Frederick Douglass, 18 September 1863 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 10 October 1863 Frederick Douglass to Louise Tobias Dorsey, 21 November 1863 1864 Mary Browne Carpenter to Frederick Douglass, 19 February 1864 Frederick Douglass to Edward Gilbert, 22 May 1864

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348 350 361 365 369 371 372 373 377 379 381 384 386 389 390 391 394 402 404 405 409 412 416 420 420 421 422 423 424 426 427 428 431 436

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Charles R. Douglass to Frederick Douglass, 31 May 1864 Frederick Douglass to Mary Browne Carpenter, June 1864 Julia Griffiths Crofts to Frederick Douglass, 19 August 1864 Lewis H. Douglass to Frederick Douglass, 22 August 1864 Frederick Douglass to Abraham Lincoln, 29 August 1864 Frederick Douglass to William Lloyd Garrison, 17 September 1864 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 21 September 1864 Frederick Douglass to Theodore Tilton, 15 October 1864 Frederick Douglass to Jacob C. White, Jr., December 1864 1865 Frederick Douglass to Julia Griffiths Crofts, 4 January 1865 Charles R. Douglass to Frederick Douglass, 9 February 1865 Charles R. Douglass to Frederick Douglass, 19 February 1865 Rosetta Douglass Sprague to Frederick Douglass, 21 February 1865 Julia Griffiths Crofts to Frederick Douglass, 28 April 1865 Frederick Douglass to Charles Sumner, 29 April 1865 Frederick Douglass to James Miller McKim, 2 May 1865 Frederick Douglass to Sylvester Rosa Koëhler, 9 June 1865 Lewis H. Douglass to Frederick Douglass, 9 June 1865 Frederick Douglass to William Syphax and John F. Cook, 1 July 1865 Frederick Douglass to Lydia Maria Child, 30 July 1865 Frederick Douglass to William J. Wilson, 8 August 1865 Frederick Douglass to Mary Todd Lincoln, 17 August 1865 William J. Wilson to Frederick Douglass, 6 September 1865 Frederick Douglass to Louise Tobias Dorsey, 19 September 1865 Frederick Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 8 October 1865 Calendar of Correspondence Not Printed Index

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437 441 447 452 454 456 460 460 466 468 471 474 476 478 481 482 484 485 489 491 493 497 498 503 505 507 605

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Acknowledgments

Producing another scholarly edited volume of the correspondence of Frederick Douglass was a multiyear endeavor in which numerous individuals and institutions provided significant assistance to the staff of this project. We apologize if we fail in these brief acknowledgments to thank each of them as fully as they deserve. Work on the collection of the documents reproduced in this volume began at the project’s first institutional home, Yale University, under the direction of our first editor, John W. Blassingame. It was continued at our second home, West Virginia University, and culminated at Indiana University–Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI), where the Douglass Papers project relocated in the summer of 1998. The libraries at all three institutions assisted us significantly. Documents were called to our attention by staff members at repositories or archives acknowledged in individual source notes. Former staff members James H. Cook at West Virginia University and Rachael Drenvnosky at IUPUI merit special thanks for managing our swelling databases as the number of letters to and from Douglass grew. Selecting the correspondence to reproduce and edit likewise spanned a considerable number of years, beginning at West Virginia University. Besides the individuals listed on our title pages, Emily Hall, Peter P. Hinks, Heather Hutchinson, and Sarah K. Wagner all merit acknowledgment for their participation in this task. Special assistance was supplied by Norman Dann and A. J. Aiseirithe in our document transcription and verification process. At IUPUI, the School of Liberal Arts and the Departments of History and English deserve thanks for their institutional support. A special debt is owed to the following people at IUPUI for their assistance with the project: Robert Barrows, Didier Gondola, Nathan Houser, Megan Liu, Kara Petersen, David Pfeifer, Rob Rebein, Martha Rujuwa, Thomas Upton, and Marianne Wokeck. Gratitude is also due a number of specific individuals and organizations. Timothy Connelly and Lucy Barber from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, along with the staff of the National xv

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Endowment for the Humanities, supplied valuable advice to the Douglass Papers project over the years. Ann Gordon, director of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton–Susan B. Anthony Papers, assisted the Douglass Papers staff in locating documents. Richard G. Carlson, former member of the Douglass Papers staff, helped formulate the editorial procedures for this series. Professor Jonathan R. Eller, senior textual editor at the Institute for American Thought at IUPUI, also helped significantly in finalizing textual-editing procedures. Emily Baker and Lynette Taylor, research assistants, supplied valuable help in the final phases of work on this volume. Finally, we would like to thank Laura Davulis, our former editor at Yale University Press, and Stacey M. Robertson and Wilson J. Moses, our scholarly reviewers for that press, for their advice and encouragement.

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Abbreviations and Sigla

Abbreviations Whenever possible, these abbreviations follow the standard Library of Congress symbols for libraries and other repositories. Additional abbreviations of other repositories and publications follow the forms established by earlier series of the Douglass Papers, provided they appear three or more times in this volume; all abbreviations for publications appear in earlier series. ACAB ANB ASB BDUSC (online) BFASR CHSL CSmH CtHIS CtNHAAHS CtY CWH DAB DANB DCB (online) DLC DM DNA DNB EAAH

Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography American National Biography Anti-Slavery Bugle Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–Present (online) British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Reporter Connecticut State Library Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens Connecticut Historical Society Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Yale University, Sterling Memorial Library Civil War History Dictionary of American Biography Dictionary of American Negro Biography Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online) Library of Congress Douglass’ Monthly United States, National Archives and Records Administration The Dictionary of National Biography Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619– 1895: From the Colonial Period to the Age of Frederick Douglass xvii

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FD FDP IcHi JNH JSH KHi LNArc Lib. MB MdAHR MdHis MH-H MHiS MiU-C MWA NASS NAW NBu NCAB NEQ NHB NHi NhHis NIC NjP NN NNC NRU NS NSyU ODNB (online) OED PHi PPAmP PSC-Hi PTu RH

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ABBREVIATIONS AND SIGLA

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass’ Paper Chicago Historical Society Journal of Negro History Journal of Southern History Kansas State Historical Society Tulane University, Amistad Research Center Liberator Boston Public Library Maryland Hall of Records Maryland Colonization Society Papers Harvard University, Houghton Library Massachusetts Historical Society University of Michigan, William L. Clements Library American Antiquarian Society National Anti-Slavery Standard Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary Buffalo and Erie County Public Library National Cyclopaedia of American Biography New England Quarterly Negro History Bulletin New York Historical Society New Hampshire Historical Society Cornell University Princeton University New York Public Library Columbia University University of Rochester North Star Syracuse University Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online) Oxford English Dictionary Historical Society of Pennsylvania American Philosophical Society Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Temple University Rochester History

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UkOxU-Rh ViU WAA

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Oxford University, Bodleian Library, Rhodes House University of Virginia Weekly Anglo-African Sigla Used to Describe Letters

The following sigla are used to describe the handwriting, form, and signature of each letter published in this volume or entered into the volume’s comprehensive calendar of correspondence. The first two capital letters describe the written form of the document: AL: autograph letter (in author’s hand) HL: handwritten letter by someone other than the author PL: printed letter (typeset for a newspaper, pamphlet, journal, or book) TL: typed letter (typewritten on a machine) The lowercase letter, when pertinent, describes the state of the letter: d: draft (a letter composed, but not sent to the intended recipient) f: fragment (an incomplete letter, with either lost or destroyed components) e: excerpt (a partially reprinted letter from either an autograph letter or a previously published source) The omission of incidental material in newspaper reprints, such as an insignificant postscript in a reprinted letter, does not render the reprinted letter an excerpt. The third capital letter describes the signature: S: signed by author Sr: signed with a representation of the author’s signature I: initialed by the author Ir: initialed with a representation of the author’s initials The absence of a third capital letter indicates no signature or representation. Common examples would thus read ALS (autographed letter signed by the author) or PLSr (printed letter, signed, with a representation).

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Introduction to Volume Two John R. McKivigan In this collection, the second of five contemplated volumes of Frederick Douglass’s correspondence, the editors have followed the selection principles laid out in the editorial method published in volume 1. The current volume covers correspondence to and from Douglass in the years 1853 to 1865. The Douglass Papers staff located 1,255 letters for this time period and selected 219, or just over 17 percent, of them for publication. The remaining 1,036 letters are summarized in the volume’s calendar. Of the 1,255 letters, 286 were autograph letters, written in the author’s hand. These letters were recovered by the project from thirty-eight repositories in the United States and Great Britain. Two hundred eighteen of the autograph letters, or approximately 75 percent of them, were found in three libraries: the Library of Congress, the Syracuse University Library, and the University of Rochester Library. For this volume, the project selected and reproduced 134 of these autograph letters, from thirty-two different repositories. Of the remaining 969 letters, the closest known source to the original manuscript letter for all but four documents is a text printed in a newspaper from the era. Douglass’s letters were discovered in fourteen newspapers of the period, but 943, nearly 90 percent, were first published in one of the two newspapers edited by Douglass himself, the Frederick Douglass’ Paper and Douglass’ Monthly. The project reproduced 84, less than 9 percent, of these letters that have survived only in an earlier printed form. Of the 219 letters selected for publication in this volume, 115 were written by Douglass and 104 were written to him. Although this ratio of letters to and from Douglass is almost even, 87 percent (1,095/1,255) of all surviving letters from this time period were written to him. Thus, the letters chosen for inclusion here represent over 70 percent (115/162) of those written by Douglass, compared to just under 10 percent (104/1,093) of those written to him. This seeming imbalance is understandable, since many of the unprinted letters (listed in the calendar) were written to Douglass as a newspaper editor and lacked substantive content, repetitively expressed an opinion, or simply reported an event. In the letters for this time period, Douglass’s correspondents represent not only many of the leading names in the antislavery movement on both xxi

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sides of the Atlantic, but also many less well-remembered figures in a variety of reform movements. Likewise, a significant number of women and African Americans are numbered among the correspondents. The letters in this volume follow Douglass as he searched for more beneficial alliances and more effective tactics in the battle against slavery. By 1853, the estrangement from his original abolitionist mentors, followers of the Boston editor William Lloyd Garrison, reached the point that almost no communication between Douglass and this group occurred until after the Civil War’s conclusion. Instead, Douglass moved closer to the political abolition camp led by the wealthy New Yorker Gerrit Smith. Numerous letters between the two men document Douglass’s great financial dependence on Smith to maintain his journalistic operation. Douglass’s devoted editorial assistant, the visiting British abolitionist Julia Griffiths, figured in Douglass’s correspondence with other abolitionists, and the letters reveal her major role in keeping the paper afloat. She acted both as an intermediary with Smith and as a tireless fund-raiser who sought alternative revenue sources for Douglass. Following Griffiths’s return to Great Britain in the summer of 1855, the Douglass-Smith correspondence records the gradual deterioration of the finances of Douglass’s editorial operations. Now separated by an ocean from her reform partner, Julia Griffiths emerged as a significant new voice in Douglass’s correspondence. She sent him a stream of letters recounting her travels throughout England and Scotland to set up female abolitionist societies to collect funds for the Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Griffiths’s presence in Britain appears to have stimulated an increase in the correspondence received from abolitionists whom Douglass had met during his visit there in the mid-1840s. In 1855, Douglass published his second of three autobiographies, My Bondage and My Freedom. His correspondence contains interesting details on the book’s composition, the praise he received from readers, and his efforts to expand its sales. A great deal of Douglass’s surviving correspondence documents the intense lecturing schedule he maintained on behalf of the abolitionist cause. He recounts frequent tribulations with the nation’s inadequate transportation system, made worse by encounters with racial discrimination. To friends, Douglass’s letters revealed that his demanding lecturing tours habitually left him exhausted and hoarse—or worse, seriously ill. Other letters provide insights into Douglass’s attitudes toward causes such as woman suffrage, Spiritualism, and hydropathy. In 1858, Douglass

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wrote a letter to the Rochester press declaring that he had never endured more public opposition in his adopted hometown than when he spoke at a woman suffrage event there with Susan B. Anthony. The next year, a longtime Rochester abolitionist friend, Amy Post, wrote Douglass to appeal that he keep an open mind about the spiritualism she and her husband, Isaac, had embraced. Another abolitionist, James Catlin, counseled Douglass on the superiority of water cures to the medicines prescribed by the physicians of the era. Douglass’s correspondence displays his leading role in trying to unite northern free blacks in a national council to demand equal rights. Many letters expose the controversy that occurred when Douglass’s attempts to create a manual-labor college for African American students went aground after Harriet Beecher Stowe failed to raise her anticipated share of the funds for the project. For the next several years, letters document the bitter infighting in black circles, which intensified after Douglass’s former editorial associate Martin Delany began to promote African emigration; it continued until the decade’s end, when the Haitian government attempted to recruit free American blacks to emigrate. Many other letters from the 1850s recount the numerous obstacles that free African Americans encountered in economic life, employment, and politics. In letters addressed to Douglass as a newspaper editor and in private correspondence, disputes over colonization, education, religion, temperance, and economic opportunity were as common as discussions of antislavery tactics. In the late 1850s, the focus of much of Douglass’s correspondence with other black leaders shifted to discussing efforts to obtain equal rights in the northern states. Among his white correspondents, Douglass demonstrated the highest degree of intimacy with Gerrit Smith. He wrote Smith often while the latter was serving a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Smith’s brief tenure there coincided with the debates over the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which rejuvenated northern moderate antislavery sentiment. Douglass corresponded with several leaders of the newly founded Republican party, including William H. Seward and Charles Sumner. Such letters reveal Douglass, and many other black abolitionists, as wavering in their support between Smith’s radical political abolitionists and the Republicans in both the 1856 and 1860 presidential campaigns and the 1858 New York state elections. Many letters display severe disappointment that most northern whites were content to halt slavery’s expansion rather than force its end in the southern states. x

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Such sentiment helps explain Douglass’s move in the 1850s toward the use of violent antislavery tactics. Several letters in this volume recount details of the Underground Railroad aiding slaves to escape, which include the use of force to resist attempts by authorities to return runaways to their owners. In often cryptically worded correspondence, Douglass and other “operators” reveal a highly organized network used to hasten runaway slaves to safer locations. John Brown and other correspondents provided reports directly from the Kansas Territory on the intensifying free-state struggle there. Given the conspiratorial nature of the event, only a few tantalizing hints regarding the Harpers Ferry raid are hidden in this correspondence. Following that bloody encounter, several letters between Douglass and other abolitionists recount his hasty flight out of the country to evade arrest for his assistance to Brown. Douglass’s correspondence reveals that he was unhappy with the tepid antislavery position of Abraham Lincoln and the Republican party during the 1860 election campaign and even following secession and the start of the Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation pleased Douglass, and several private meetings with the president caused some improvement in their relationship, but his letters document that Douglass still supported the abortive efforts to replace Lincoln with a different Republican presidential candidate in 1864. A large number of letters during the war years detail Douglass’s activities as a recruiter of African Americans for the Union army. These letters display Douglass’s anger when the federal government reneged on its promise to give him an officer’s commission, ultimately causing his resignation. Despite this grievance, two of Douglass’s three sons entered Union army ranks. Lewis H. Douglass’s letters to his father provide interesting accounts of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, including the unit’s participation in the calamitous assault on Fort Wagner in South Carolina in July 1864. Charles R. Douglass sent his father letters recounting the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment’s action in combat before Petersburg, Virginia, and as guard troops for Confederate prisoners of war in Maryland. At the war’s end, Lewis sent his father word that he had managed to locate several relatives in Talbot County, Maryland, with whom the elder Douglass had had no contact for a quarter century. Letters from other Douglass children also play an interesting part in this volume. Only a single letter from his youngest daughter, Annie, who died in 1860, has survived, but her older sister Rosetta kept her father well informed about her education and the start of her teaching career. The lat-

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ter’s letters, in particular, provide valuable observations on issues of class and color inside the African American community. A different insight into Douglass’s family life comes from letters from Ottilie Assing, the German immigrant journalist who became his intimate confidante. Such familial and other personal letters play a much larger role in Douglass’s correspondence in the three remaining volumes of this series. The conclusion of the second volume of the Correspondence Series brings Douglass to a critical moment in his own life as well as in the history of the antislavery movement and the nation itself. The end of slavery and the Civil War in 1865 promised a new day for African Americans. Future volumes will reveal that both Douglass’s public career and the struggle for racial justice in the United States were far from over.

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Timeline of Douglass’s Life

1853 January

March

6–8 July

November

Winter

Published his novella “The Heroic Slave,” a fictional account of Madison Washington, the leader of the 1841 Creole slave-ship mutiny. Story is included in Autographs for Freedom, a collection of antislavery writings edited by Julia Griffiths and sold to raise funds for Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Visited Harriet Beecher Stowe at her home in Andover, Massachusetts, and enlisted her support for his plan to establish an industrial school to train black artisans. Attended Colored National Convention in Rochester, New York. Criticized by Charles R. Remond and other black leaders for his industrial school proposal on the grounds that the school would promote segregation. Attacked by Wendell Phillips for having criticized the unorthodox religious views of some abolitionists, further widening the split between Douglass and leaders of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Garrison’s Liberator alluded to Griffiths having caused “much unhappiness” in the Douglass household; Douglass attacked Garrison in Frederick Douglass’ Paper for involving his family in a public controversy and accused him of believing that blacks were inferior to whites; Garrison responded in the Liberator, charging Douglass with “apostasy,” “defamation,” and “treachery.” 1854

10–11 May

Attended the anniversary meeting of both the American Anti-Slavery Society and its rival, the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. xxvii

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12 July

7 August

TIMELINE OF DOUGLASS’S LIFE

After significant research and preparation, delivered his widely reported address on ethnology at the Western Reserve College in Hudson, Ohio. Political mentor Gerrit Smith resigned his seat in the House of Representatives out of frustration with the legislative process. 1855

16 February

19 March

Mid-June 26–28 June

August 16–18 October

Addressed an audience, including many influential New York political leaders, in the state assembly building in Albany. Delivered his famous lecture “The Anti-Slavery Movement” to the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. Julia Griffiths left Rochester to return to Great Britain. In the company of Gerrit Smith, John Brown, James McCune Smith, William Goodell, and many other militant abolitionists, black and white, helped found the Radical Abolitionist party at a convention in Syracuse, New York. Published his second autobiography, My Bondage and My Freedom. Attended Colored National Convention in Philadelphia, where he expressed disappointment at the small amount of funds raised by Harriet Beecher Stowe for the proposed industrial college. 1856

c. 21 February– 13 March 28–29 May

Summer

July

Lecture tour of Ohio netted Douglass a sorely needed $500 for his newspaper. After considerable urging by Gerrit Smith, attended the Radical Abolitionist party’s nominating convention in Syracuse. With his newspaper deeply in debt, explored the possibility of a merger with William Goodell’s Radical Abolitionist. Met the German immigrant journalist Ottilie Assing for the first time.

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TIMELINE OF DOUGLASS’S LIFE

15 August

late August– early September 1 October

7 December

xxix

Editorially endorsed the Republican party’s presidential ticket of John C. Frémont and William Dayton as the most electable antislavery ticket. Campaigned for the Republican presidential ticket in Ohio. Authored resolutions at the Jerry Rescue Anniversary Celebrations in Syracuse, which were widely interpreted as endorsing violent antislavery tactics. Visited by John Brown in Rochester. 1857

14 May

3 August

Addressed an anniversary meeting of the American Abolition Society in New York City, condemning the recent Dred Scott Supreme Court ruling. Made the principal address at the West Indian Emancipation Day celebration in Canandaigua, New York, and published his speech, together with his May address on Dred Scott, in a pamphlet. 1858

late January– early February 14 May June 2 August

7 October

John Brown resided at Douglass’s Rochester home for three weeks, planning his raid on Harpers Ferry. Attended the National Women’s Rights Convention in New York City. Launched a new periodical, the Douglass’ Monthly, aimed largely at British readers. Injured when a platform collapsed while delivering speech at the West Indian Emancipation Day Celebration in Poughkeepsie, New York. Presided over an anti-capital-punishment rally in Rochester to protest the execution of Ira Stout, a convicted murderer. 1859

February

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Delivered the lecture “Self-Made Man” for the first of over fifty times during his career while on a speaking tour of Illinois and Wisconsin.

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xxx

TIMELINE OF DOUGLASS’S LIFE

12 May

Delivered a public eulogy for the antislavery jurist William Jay in New York City. 19–21 August Met with John Brown at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, but did not join the plot to attack the Harpers Ferry Arsenal. 4 October Wrote a public letter to his old master Hugh Auld, revealing his recent reunion with the latter’s niece, Amanda Auld Sears. 19–21 October Following the Harpers Ferry raid, Douglass fled from Philadelphia to Rochester and finally to Canada. 12 November Sailed from Quebec and then on to Great Britain for safety because of his prior close connections with the head plotter, John Brown. 24 November– Used the home of Julia Griffiths Crofts in Halifax as c. 15 January 1860 his base for an extensive lecturing campaign across central and northern England. 1860 20 January– 29 March February– March

13 March Mid-April 19 September

c. 2 October November– April 1861 3 December

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Lectured mainly in Scotland, defending John Brown’s actions. Engaged in public controversy in Scotland with the British Garrisonian George Thompson over conflicting views on the standing of slavery under the U.S. Constitution. Daughter Annie Douglass died. Returned to the United States, arriving in Portland, Maine. Having endorsed the Radical Abolitionist Gerrit Smith for president the preceding month, attended a convention in Worcester, Massachusetts, organized by Stephen S. Foster, in unsuccessful bid to win their backing for Smith. Campaigned extensively in western New York in support of a state equal suffrage referendum. Considered visiting Haiti to explore its suitability as an emigration site for American free blacks. Participated in a Boston commemoration of the death of John Brown, which was disrupted by mob assault.

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TIMELINE OF DOUGLASS’S LIFE

xxxi

1861 April

May–June

3 December

Civil War began with an attack on Fort Sumter by Confederate forces; Douglass denounced secession but called on the Lincoln administration to make the goal of the war emancipation as well as reunion. Lectured on many Sunday afternoons on the progress of the war in Rochester’s Spring Street A.M.E. Church, critical of Lincoln for not taking stronger antislavery action. Delivered his “Pictures and Progress” lyceum lecture to the Parker Fraternity Course in Boston, initiating a new dimension in his public speaking. 1862

5 February

August– September

1 September

22 November

31 December

Lectured in a series sponsored by the Emancipation League of Boston, calling on the federal government to enlist black soldiers as means of facilitating a Union victory. Publicly opposed proposals to colonize American blacks in Central America advocated by Senator Samuel S. Pomeroy of Kansas and Montgomery Blair, U.S. postmaster general. After passing her qualifying examinations, Douglass’s daughter Rosetta began teaching in Salem, New Jersey. His “The Slave’s Appeal to Great Britain” was published in the New York Independent to counter proConfederate propaganda there. Attended a celebration in Boston for the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. 1863

February

18 May

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Began recruiting free black Union soldiers for the state of Massachusetts. His sons Lewis and Charles are among his first recruits. Attended the presentation of colors by Governor John A. Andrew to the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in Readville.

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xxxii

18 July 1 August

10 August Mid-August

Late September– Mid-October 24 December

TIMELINE OF DOUGLASS’S LIFE

Son Lewis participated in the failed assault on Fort Wagner, near Charleston, South Carolina. Resigned as an army recruiter after protesting the lack of equal pay and promotion opportunities given black Union soldiers. Had interviews with Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and President Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C. Returned to Rochester and issued the valedictory issue of the Douglass’ Monthly in anticipation of receiving a military commission, which never arrived. In the company of Ottilie Assing, made daily visits to son Lewis in New York City hospital during his recuperation from war injuries. Daughter Rosetta married Nathan Sprague. 1864

May

22 May 19 August

4–6 October

17–29 November

Son Charles saw combat with the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign in Virginia. Signed a public call for a convention to replace Lincoln as Republican presidential candidate in 1864. Met with President Lincoln in the White House, to discuss means to recruit more slaves to run away from Southern masters and enlist in the Union army. Presided at the National Convention of Colored Men in Syracuse and gave a lukewarm endorsement to Lincoln’s reelection as preferable to a Democrat regaining the White House. Delivered a series of public lectures in his old hometown of Baltimore, highlighted by a reunion with his long-separated sister Eliza Bailey Mitchell. 1865

4 March 15 April

Attended Lincoln’s second inauguration in Washington, D.C. Addressed a memorial meeting in Rochester for the assassinated President Lincoln.

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9 May

10 May

June

August– October

29 September

xxxiii

Attended the American Freedmen’s Aid Union anniversary in New York City and argued that equal rights should be the group’s principal goal. Attended the annual meeting of the American AntiSlavery Society and argued against the organization’s dissolution, which Garrison had proposed. Son Lewis visited St. Michaels, Maryland, and reestablished Douglass’s contact with many family members separated by slavery. Entered a public controversy with fellow blacks William J. Wilson and Henry Highland Garnet by opposing the efforts of the Colored People’s Educational Monument Association to establish a school for the children of freedmen in Washington as a memorial to Lincoln. Honored guest at the opening dedication of the Douglass Institute in Baltimore.

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Gerrit Smith, c. 1855–65. Courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. [LCDIG-cwpbh-02632]. Rosetta Douglass, n.d. Courtesy of the National Park Service, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, Washington, D.C., FRDO 4812.

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Amy Post, n.d. Courtesy of the Department of Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation, University of Rochester River Campus Libraries. John Brown, n.d. Courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. [LC-USZ62–106337].

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Abraham Lincoln, 1865. Photograph by Alexander Gardner. Courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. [LC-DIG-ppmsca-19208]. George Luther Stearns, 1855. Courtesy of the Boyd B. Stutler Collection, West Virginia State Archives.

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Charles R. Douglass in uniform, c. 1864–1865. Courtesy of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University Archives, Howard University, Washington, D.C.

Lewis H. Douglass in uniform, c. 1864–1865. Courtesy of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University Archives, Howard University, Washington, D.C.

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Lincoln’s second inauguration, 1865. Courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. [LC-DIG-npcc-29803].

Frederick Douglass, c. 1860. Unidentified artist. Salted paper print. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

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THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS PAPERS Series Three: Correspondence

VOLUME 2: 1853–1865

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH 1 Rochester[, New York]. 14 Jan[uary] 1853[.]

Hon. Gerrit Smith, I have troubled you So little with my pen Since you were elected to congress2—that I fear you will begin to think that your elevation has desolved the bonds of my grateful affection. It is not So however, A thoughtful regard for your precious time—and a knowledge of the fact that you are increasingly occupied, is my apology. I am impatient to meet you at the rescue trials.3 I want to See and hear you on that great occasion—for great it will be—and I mean to have a String of appointments which will bring me up at Albany, on the 25th[.]4 Our paper is getting on well. Subscribers are renewing their Subscriptions—and a career of usefulness Seems to unfold before it. My health was never better than during this winter and my Spirits—though Subject to Some clouds—are quite bright. Mrs Smith,5 intended to have called yesterday at the office, but feeble health prevented. My friend Miss Griffiths6 has twice called upon her at Mrs Talman’s7 and once to tea. She was much delighted with the kind reception given her by Mrs T. But what kind of news is this to be telling one, now burdened with the “affairs of State”? Well, I know that Gerrit Smith the man—is before Gerrit Smith the “honorable member.” A very unpleasant controverSy is Springing up among the fugitives in Canada8—Mr Ward9—and Miss Shadd10 on the one Side, Mr11 and Mrs Bibb12—on the other. The question is, whether “The Refugees Home Society” ought, or ought not be Supported. Bibb thinks it ought—Ward thinks it not. Both Sides Shall be heard in our paper. I think of Changing the name of my paper—or in other words giving my paper a name, for as friend Garison13 clearly proved—my paper is without a name—Will you not Suggest one? I Shall look my reputation for being unStable if I dont change Soon. How would this do. “The Black Man” —or this “The agitator” or this, “The Jerry Level ”14 or this: “The Brotherhood ” 1

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The black Man—is good but common—The agitator—is good but promises too much—the brotherhood might imply the exclusion of the Sisterhood—upon the whole I like the “Jerry Level ” best—That’s destinctive—Smooth—and conveys the true Antislavery ideas. But I Shall wait your Suggestion—and Shall doubtless adopt it—when it comes My family are all well—except Colds, of these they have all had a plenty. Yours most truly, FREDERICK DOUGLASS ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Gerrit Smith (1797–1874), a New York businessman and land speculator, became best known for his philanthropic work in such reform efforts as temperance and abolition. Between 1828 and 1835, he donated large sums of money to the American Colonization Society, but abandoned that movement in 1835 when his sympathies shifted to immediate abolition. In the 1840s he gave approximately 140,000 acres of land in upstate New York to three thousand black settlers, thus enabling them to qualify to vote. Smith was a founder and frequent candidate of the Liberty party, running for governor of New York on that ticket in 1840 and winning a seat in Congress in 1852. When the Free Soil merger with moderate antislavery Democrats and Whigs lured away many Liberty party supporters, Smith helped bankroll the Liberty party until 1860. Smith befriended Douglass when the latter moved to Rochester, and Smith frequently assisted in financing Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Like Douglass, Smith supported John Brown, but psychological stress caused by the failure at Harpers Ferry brought on the first of a series of bipolar episodes that greatly reduced his subsequent reform activities. Ralph Volney Harlow, Gerrit Smith: Philanthropist and Reformer (1939; New York, 1972); Gerald Sorin, The New York Abolitionists: A Case Study of Political Radicalism (Westport, Conn., 1971), 269–87; Lewis Perry, Radical Abolitionism: Anarchy and the Government of God in Antislavery Thought (Ithaca, N.Y., 1973), 170–80; John R. McKivigan and Madeleine Leveille, “The ‘Black Dream’ of Gerrit Smith, New York Abolitionist,” Syracuse University Library Associates Courier, 20:51–76 (Fall 1985); National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 63 vols., (New York, 1893–1984), 2:322– 23; Dictionary of American Biography, 20 vols. (New York, 1928–36), 17:270–71. 2. Gerrit Smith was elected to Congress from his upstate New York district as an antislavery “Independent” in November 1852. From the time Smith was elected to the time of this correspondence, only one letter from Douglass to Smith has been located. In this letter, dated 6 November 1852, Douglass wrote Smith to congratulate him on his recent election to Congress. Douglass Papers, ser. 3, 1:486–88; Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 6 November 1852, Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU; NASS, 11 November 1852; Phillip S. Foner, ed., The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass, 5 vols. (New York, 1950–75), 2:219–20. 3. Although a leading plotter of the successful rescue of the fugitive slave William “Jerry” McHenry in Syracuse in October 1851, Gerrit Smith was not among those indicted for violating the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The trial of the defendants began in January 1852 in Albany. A six-lawyer legal team represented the twenty-six defendants. Smith attended the Albany proceedings, and many press reports incorrectly identified him as a member of the defense team. After an initial hearing, the court postponed the trial. Smith soon thereafter began to develop concerns about the antislavery sentiments of several of the defense lawyers; he became a member of the New York bar in October 1852. The Jerry Rescuers’ trial resumed in January 1853, with Smith acting as one of the defense lawyers. FDP, 5 February 1852; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 298–303; Jayme A. Sokolow, “The Jerry McHenry Rescue and the Growth of Northern Antislavery Sentiment during the 1850s,” Journal of American Studies, 16:433–37 (December 1982).

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3

4. Two days after writing this letter, Douglass spoke in Rushville, New York. His next recorded speaking engagements were in Troy and Albany, New York, from 25 January to 5 February 1853. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 2:xxxiii. 5. On 2 January 1822, Ann Carroll Fitzhugh (1805–75), sometimes called “Nancy,” became the second wife of Gerrit Smith. She was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, where her father, William Fitzhugh (1761–1839), was a prominent planter connected with elite families. In 1800, Fitzhugh entered into a real estate venture with his neighbors Charles Carroll and Nathaniel Rochester. The three purchased land in upstate New York and established the town of Rochester, where Fitzhugh moved his family in 1815. He became a prominent resident and philanthropist and contributed to the growth of the town into a city. Gerrit and Ann Smith had eight children, including Elizabeth Smith Miller (1822–1911), who followed in her father’s footsteps to become an activist and reformer in her own right. Octavius Brooks Frothingham, Gerrit Smith: A Biography, 3d ed. (New York, 1909), 27; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 16; Robert F. McNamara, “Charles Carroll of Belle Vue: Co-founder of Rochester,” RH, 42:1, 13 (October 1980). 6. A native of London, Julia Griffiths (1811–95) was the oldest of seven children born to Thomas Griffiths, a onetime stationer turned publisher and bookseller, and his wife Charlotte Powis. She first met Douglass during the latter half of 1846 when he lectured in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where she was visiting with friends. Her mother had been a friend of William Wilberforce, who had advocated for the abolition of slavery in England, and she herself was active in the British antislavery movement. Charmed by the American, Griffiths followed Douglass back to the United States with her younger sister, Eliza, in 1848. In 1850, Eliza married John Dick, one of Douglass’s printers for the North Star, and the couple moved to Toronto. Julia became a constant companion and partner to Douglass and a leading antislavery organizer in Rochester for the next five years. She contributed to the North Star as copy editor and journalist, and saved the paper from financial ruin by organizing its books and by aggressively pursuing subscribers and donations. She helped found the Western New York AntiSlavery Society, acting as its secretary, and organized the Rochester Anti-Slavery Fair. Initially, she lived with the Douglass family, which led to tension in the household and to unsubstantiated rumors that Douglass and Griffiths shared more than a business relationship. In 1853, the vicious attacks upon her in abolitionist newspapers drove her from the Douglass home and finally forced her to return to England in 1855, ostensibly to raise funds for the North Star. In 1859 she married a Methodist minister from Halifax, Henry O. Crofts (1814–80), who acted as an agent for Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Through the Civil War, she continued to organize and revitalize ladies’ antislavery societies and to lecture against slavery. After the war and her husband’s death, she ran a boarding school and worked as a governess. Her friendship with Douglass continued in frequent correspondence, and she welcomed him and his second wife, Helen Pitts Douglass, when they visited England in 1886. British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Reporter, new ser., 5:82 (1 April 1857); 1871 England Census, Durham County, Gateshead, 41; London, England: Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812, Ancestry. com; Maria Diedrich, Love Across Color Lines: Ottilie Assing and Frederick Douglass (New York, 1999), 179–84; Waldo E. Martin, Jr., The Mind of Frederick Douglass (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1984), 40– 41; Janet Douglas, “A Cherished Friendship: Julia Griffiths Crofts and Frederick Douglass,” Slavery and Abolition, 33:265–74 (June 2012); Erwin Palmer, “A Partnership in the Abolition Movement,” University of Rochester Library Bulletin, 26:1–17 (Autumn/Winter 1970–71). 7. Mary E. Fitzhugh Talman (1809–92), born in Hagerstown, Maryland, was the daughter of William Fitzhugh and the sister of Ann Carroll Fitzhugh Smith, Gerrit Smith’s wife. She married John T. Talman, a Rochester businessman who owned the building in which Douglass ran his newspapers. John Talman died before 1850, and his wife inherited his share of the building. 1850 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 97; Daily American Directory for the City of Rochester [for 1851–1852] (Rochester, 1851), 250. 8. The controversy to which Douglass refers was a virulent dispute among blacks in Canada. At the center of the debate was the Refugee Home Society, which was founded in 1852 to create a black settlement in Canada West (present-day Ontario). The mission of the society was to raise funds in

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America to buy 50,000 acres of Canadian farmland that would then be sold at a low rate to recently immigrated blacks. Samuel Ringgold Ward and Mary Ann Shadd opposed this plan as a form of begging, and instead encouraged self-sufficiency and integration. They saw Canada as a permanent home, and assimilation as the best way to a better life. Henry Bibb represented another viewpoint and worked to raise funds for the Refugee Home Society. He advocated racial separatism and envisioned an eventual return to the United States. Douglass published a letter in which Bibb defended his views and argued that the Refugee Home Society’s actions were not a type of begging. Throughout the controversy, Douglass published letters from Lewis Tappan, George Whipple, and C. C. Foote that supported Bibb and the Refugee Home Society. He also published a letter from Ward arguing against it, and a report from a meeting of colored citizens of Windsor in which the Refugee Home Society was denounced. FDP, 3 June, 29 October 1852, 21 January, 22 April 1853; Jane Rhodes, Mary Ann Shadd Cary: The Black Press and Protest in the Nineteenth Century (Bloomington, Ind., 1998), 41–42, 45; Charles J. Heglar, introduction to The Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb: An American Slave, Henry Bibb (Madison, Wisc., 2001), xiii. 9. Samuel Ringgold Ward (1817–66) was a black Congregational minister, abolitionist, editor, and orator. Around 1820, Ward escaped from slavery with his family. By 1834 he had become active in abolitionist circles and later lectured for the American Anti-Slavery Society. After 1844 Ward also acted as a spokesman for the Liberty party. In the 1840s he edited two Syracuse-based abolitionist newspapers, including the Impartial Citizen, but both failed financially. Following his 1851 involvement in the Jerry Rescue, he immigrated to Canada. Ward’s involvement in abolitionist activities necessarily brought him into close contact with Douglass, who remarked that “as an orator and thinker he [Ward] was vastly superior . . . to any of us,” and that “the splendors of his intellect went directly to the glory of his race.” Samuel Ringgold Ward, Autobiography of a Fugitive Negro: His Anti-Slavery Labours in the United States, Canada, & England (1855; New York, 1968); Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:217; Benjamin Quarles, Black Abolitionists (New York, 1969), 79, 98, 133, 138, 210. 10. Mary Ann Camberton Shadd Cary (1823–93) was born free in Wilmington, Delaware, to a family of prominent black abolitionists. She was educated at a private Quaker school and went on to teach at several schools for black children. After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, Shadd Cary became an outspoken advocate for voluntary immigration to Canada, and in the fall of 1851 she moved to Canada and opened a school. She married Thomas Fauntleroy Cary, and together they had two children. While in Canada, she partnered with Samuel Ringgold Ward to publish a newspaper, the Provincial Freeman, in Toronto. Her controversial opinions and forceful style earned her much criticism, her most notable feud being with Henry Bibb. She returned to the United States in 1863 to recruit soldiers for the Civil War. She studied law at Howard University after the war, receiving her degree in 1883. Throughout her life, she was active in many causes, including abolition, emigration, women’s rights, African American rights, and temperance. Jim Bearden and Linda Jean Butler, Shadd: The Life and Times of Mary Shadd Cary (Toronto, 1977); Rhodes, Mary Ann Shadd Cary; DCB (online); John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes, eds., American National Biography, 24 vols. (New York, 1999), 4:522–23. 11. Henry Bibb (1815–54) first escaped from slavery in Shelby County, Kentucky, in 1837. In attempting to rescue his wife, Melinda, and their daughter, Mary Frances, he was recaptured, but escaped again in 1842. Settling in Detroit, he became active in antislavery politics and attended the black state convention in 1843. He became a lecturer for the Michigan Anti-Slavery Society in 1845, touring New England in 1846, and attended the Boston reception to welcome Douglass upon his return from England in 1847. In 1849 he became an agent for the North Star and published his own Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb. After the federal government passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Bibb became interested in Canadian colonization and founded a journal, the Voice of the Fugitive (1851–53). He became the recording secretary of the Benevolent Association, which purchased land in Canada West, was active in the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada, and was an officer and trustee of the Refugee Home Society, the organization formed when the Benevolent As-

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sociation merged with a similar Detroit organization. NS, 24 March 1848, 12, 19 January, 16 February, 18 May, 15, 22 June 1849; Lib., 1 June 1849; FDP, 11 August 1854; Gilbert Osofsky, ed., Puttin’ On Ole Massa: The Slave Narratives of Henry Bibb, William Wells Brown, and Solomon Northup (New York, 1969), 64, 74–82, 154–64; David M. Katzman, Before the Ghetto: Black Detroit in the Nineteenth Century (Urbana, Ill., 1973), 14–16, 39, 41–42; Floyd J. Miller, The Search for a Black Nationality: Black Emigration and Colonization, 1787–1863 (Chicago, 1975), 106–07, 110–15, 149; William H. Pease and Jane H. Pease, Black Utopia: Negro Communal Experiments in America (Madison, Wisc., 1963), 109–22; idem, They Who Would Be Free: Blacks’ Search for Freedom, 1830–1861 (New York, 1974), 65, 252–53; Robin W. Winks, The Blacks in Canada: A History, 2d ed. (New Haven, Conn., 1997), 204–08, 254–55, 396–97; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 61–62, 185, 218–19; Fred Landon, “Henry Bibb: A Colonizer,” JNH, 5:437–47 (October 1920). 12. Henry Bibb had two wives, one enslaved and one free; Douglass is referring to Mary E. Miles (c. 1820–77), Bibb’s second wife. Mary was born free in Rhode Island and attended school in Massachusetts. She was trained as a teacher and taught for much of her life. Through their involvement in the abolitionist movement, Bibb and Miles met in 1847 and were married the next year. Following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, the couple moved to Canada West, where Bibb began his abolitionist newspaper and Mary taught in a school for fugitive slave children and worked as a dressmaker. She was a founding member of the Anti-Slavery Society of Windsor and played an active editorial role in her husband’s paper. After Bibb’s death in 1854, she married Isaac N. Cary, brotherin-law of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, an adversary of the Bibbs. In the early 1870s she moved to Boston, where she lived until her death. Heglar, introduction, viii–xi; Jessie Carney Smith, ed., Notable Black American Women, Book 3 (New York, 2003), 30–33. 13. William Lloyd Garrison (1805–79) was so closely identified with the abolitionist movement in the United States that his name became almost synonymous with the cause. He began his career as an apprentice printer on the Newburyport (Mass.) Herald at the age of thirteen. Garrison became editor of the Newburyport Free Press in 1826, but the paper closed within a year. He became associated with a series of periodicals in Boston that advocated reform, and then Benjamin Lundy introduced him to the antislavery cause. Garrison and Lundy edited the Genius of Universal Emancipation in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1829 to 1830, when a libel suit against them forced the paper to close and landed Garrison in jail. After his release, he courted the wealthy merchants of New York and Boston in order to start the Liberator (1831–65), a weekly journal based in Boston in which he advocated an immediate end to slavery. Garrison’s brand of abolition condemned any institution that tolerated the existence of slavery, including churches, political parties, and even the United States itself, or any scheme aimed at removing black people from the United States. Instead, Garrison hoped to demonstrate to the public that slavery was morally wrong, thereby forcing its end in an almost millennial moment of emancipation. His approach appealed to both white and black antislavery advocates, but earned him many enemies among those only moderately opposed to slavery and slaveholders alike. Seeing the need for action and organization beyond the pages of the Liberator, Garrison joined with other abolitionists to form the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1831. Two years later he helped form the larger American Anti-Slavery Society. In 1833 he established ties with English abolitionists after a trip to Great Britain, and he later brought the noted and notorious speaker George Thompson to the United States for a tour. Ever the radical, Garrison expanded his interests to include women’s rights after female delegates were excluded from the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention in 1840. The issue of women’s participation in the antislavery movement and Garrison’s absolute refusal to turn to politics to end slavery caused a division in the American Anti-Slavery Society. Those who opposed women acting as speakers and who hoped to use politics to realize abolition formed the “New Organization.” Garrison’s ideas were so closely associated with the “Old Organization” that its adherents became known more frequently as the “Garrisonians.” With the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, Garrison believed that he had accomplished his life’s work and that of the antislavery movement. He then resigned from the presidency of the American Anti-Slavery Society and closed

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the Liberator. Wendell Phillips Garrison and Francis Jackson Garrison, William Lloyd Garrison, 1805–1879: The Story of His Life Told by His Children, 4 vols. (New York, 1885–89); Henry Mayer, All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolition of Slavery (New York, 1998); James Brewer Stewart, William Lloyd Garrison and the Challenge of Emancipation (Arlington Heights, Ill., 1992); John L. Thomas, The Liberator: William Lloyd Garrison (Boston, 1963); DAB, 7:168–72. 14. The phrase “Jerry level” originated in a campaign speech delivered by Gerrit Smith. On 12 August 1852 at a convention in Pittsburgh, Smith urged his supporters “to come up to the Jerry level” by denying the legality of slavery. In this case, “Jerry” refers to the widely publicized fugitive slave case known as the Jerry Rescue. In October 1851, the fugitive William “Jerry” McHenry was rescued following his arrest by two marshals in Syracuse, New York. The ensuing legal case and the phrase “Jerry level” became symbols of opposition to the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. In an editorial celebrating Smith’s election, Douglass remarked, “Our representative will go to Congress with the ‘JERRY LEVEL’ IN HIS HAND.” Another editorial admonished William H. Seward, Thurlow Weed, and Horace Greeley to “avow themselves to be on the ‘Jerry level,’ denying that slave laws have any validity.” FDP, 3 September, 12, 26 November 1852.

ABNER BATES1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Syracuse, [N.Y.] 11 Feb[ruary] 1853[.]

Frederick Douglass or Wm Bloss2 } Rochester, These men3 Came from Mc Cune Smith4 New York and I have ticketed them to you trusting that you will see them put on their way from Rochester Yours Truly A. BATES5 ALS: Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society Papers, MiU-C. 1. Probably Abner Bates (1807–90), a Syracuse, New York, tanner and store owner. Bates was an abolitionist religious “comeouter” who quit the Presbyterians in protest of their fellowship of slaveholders. He was active in the Underground Railroad; some of the planning for the Jerry Rescue was conducted in his store. Bates also was a prominent member of the New York State Temperance Society. NASS, 11 July 1850; FDP, 8 June 1855; Gurney S. Strong, Early Landmarks of Syracuse (Syracuse, N.Y., 1894), 281, 291; Milton C. Sernett, North Star Country: Upstate New York and the Crusade for African American Freedom (Syracuse, N.Y., 2002), 321. 2. William Clough Bloss (1795–1863) was born in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. A committed abolitionist, Bloss was also an advocate for reforms in temperance laws, capital punishment, and woman suffrage. In 1833, Bloss promoted a series of antislavery meetings and helped organize the first abolitionist convention in Monroe County, New York. Active in the Underground Railroad, Bloss sheltered fugitive slaves in his home. Along with other members of the Rochester Anti-Slavery Society, he began publishing the Rights of Man, an abolitionist newspaper, in 1834. Ten years later the Whig party elected Bloss to the state assembly, where he unsuccessfully fought for a state amendment banning discrimination in voting rights based on race. ANB, 3:54–55. 3. These fugitive slaves cannot be identified. 4. James McCune Smith (1813–65), a prominent black physician, abolitionist, and writer, was born in New York City to an enslaved father and a self-emancipated mother. He attended the New

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York African Free School, but was denied admission to Columbia University, Geneva Medical College, and the New York Academy of Medicine. He turned to the University of Glasgow in Scotland, where he received a B.A. (1835), M.A. (1836), and M.D. (1837). Upon returning to New York, he opened a pharmacy and medical practice that catered to both blacks and whites. He became involved in the abolitionist movement, serving as an associate editor of the Colored American in 1839, contributed regularly to the Anglo-African Magazine, and wrote correspondence for the North Star and Frederick Douglass’ Paper under the pseudonym “Communipaw.” Smith also wrote the introduction to Douglass’s second autobiography, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855). In 1861, Smith helped finance the revival of the Weekly Anglo-African to oppose black colonization and emigration, and he was a prominent member of the New York City Young Men’s Association, the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, and the New York African Society for Mutual Relief. He was the sole attending physician of the Society for the Promotion of Education Among Colored Children, a member and vestryman of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, and a trustee of the New York Society for the Promotion of Education Among Colored Children. In 1863 Wilberforce College appointed Smith professor of anthropology, but illness kept him from assuming his post. Lib., 1 June 1838; FDP, 18 May 1855; Douglass Papers, ser. 2:7–19; Miller, Search for a Black Nationality, 243; Pease and Pease, They Who Would Be Free, 90–92, 103, 110; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 115, 134; Rhoda G. Freeman, “The Free Negro in New York City in the Era before the Civil War” (Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1966), 40–42, 177, 186, 195, 200, 247, 276, 286, 325, 353, 393; DAB, 27:288–89. 5. William Bloss adds a note, dated 12 February 1853, indicating his receipt of Bates’s letter and money via Maria G. Porter (1805–96). Porter was born in Bristol, Maine. At twenty years of age, she moved with her family, to Rochester, New York, where she remained until her death. Maria helped to found the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Sewing Society and served as its treasurer for many years. She ran a boardinghouse in Rochester, which was a stop on the Underground Railroad from which she helped many fugitive slaves escape to freedom. 1850 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 57; The Rochester Directory, Containing a General Directory of the Citizens, a Business Directory, and the City and County Register for the Year Beginning July, 1[,] 1880 (Rochester, 1880), 58; FDP, 26 February 1852; Rochester Herald, 14 December 1896; New York Times, 15 December 1896; (Bangor, Me.) Daily Whig & Courier, 17 December 1896; William F. Peck, History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York, 2 vols. (New York, 1908), 1:243.

GERRIT SMITH TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Peterboro, [N.Y.] 24 Feb[ruary] 1853.

Mr. Douglass :— The account in yesterday’s Tribune1 of the meeting in Syracuse, 22d inst., is not free from mistakes. 1st. It represents the meeting to have been a Free Democratic State Convention, whereas it was a Liberty Party State Convention.2 2d. It makes me compare Judge Hall3 with the infamous Jeffries.4 But what I said was, that the practice in the U. S. Courts in Philadelphia, Boston, and Albany, in requiring Jurors to swear to uphold an enactment for slavery,5 if the Judge shall tell them it is constitutional, is an encroachment on the rights of Jurors, of which even Jeffries himself was not guilty.

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3d. It makes me say, that one of the Jurors in the Enoch Reed6 case “avowed, that the conviction was caused by physical exhaustion.”7 That it was so caused was, however, but the opinion, which Mr. May8 and I expressed in the Convention. What Mr. May and I said of this Juror was, that he appeared to regret the verdict. Another Juror,[]also, as I was informed by District Attorney Colvin,9 regretted it. 4th. It makes me say, that, were I on trial, I would “tell all about it”—that is, about the rescue of Jerry. This was said by Mr. May—not by myself. 5th. It leaves room for the belief, that I boasted in the Convention, that I had argued Judge Hall into my “position on the question of slavery.” Indeed, I wish, that I had been able to do so. But I have no evidence, that I was. It is true, that, in a conversation with me, he declared, that he would forcibly resist a certain outrage upon his family; and it is, therefore, true, that he c[a]nnot, without great and guilty inconsistency, punish the forcible resistance of an attempt to enslave. But it is not true, that this declaration of the Judge was produced by any power of argument on my part. GERRIT SMITH. PLSr: FDP, 4 March 1853. 1. Horace Greeley founded the New York Tribune in 1841. Following stints editing two small campaign papers, the Log Cabin and the Jeffersonian, Greeley printed the first four-page, five-column issue of the Tribune on 10 April 1841. Conceived as a “cheap” political paper that honest workingmen could turn to for moral direction and nonpartisan political analysis, the Tribune was to be antislavery, anti-rum, anti-tobacco, anti-seduction, anti-grogshops, anti-brothel, and anti-gambling house, among other things. With the financial talents of the Whig lawyer Thomas McElrath, Greeley built the Tribune into a profitable enterprise, printing a daily morning edition as well as a weekly edition, which was sold mainly by $2 yearly subscription. Within only a few years, the Tribune became the leader in national news, and Greeley was the best-known newspaperman in the country. George H. Douglas, The Golden Age of the Newspaper (Westport, Conn., 1999), 39–43; Louis M. Starr, Bohemian Brigade: Civil War Newsmen in Action (New York, 1954), 98–116; ANB, 8:806–08. 2. The Liberty party remnant, led by Gerrit Smith, held a convention on 22 February 1853 at the Congregational Church in Syracuse, New York. In an article entitled “Free Democratic State Convention,” the New York Daily Tribune reported the resolutions passed and recorded Gerrit Smith’s comments about the Jerry Rescue trials in its 24 February issue. The convention was covered in greater detail in the 4 March issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. The convention’s attendees were members of the Liberty party; both Douglass and Gerrit Smith were in attendance. Topics included the association of the Liberty party with other parties, the Fugitive Slave Law, criticism of the judiciary conducting the Jerry Rescue trials, the Constitution as it related to the issue of slavery, prejudice, future prospects for blacks, and the anticipation of a financial gift from Harriet Beecher Stowe to endow a manual-labor college. New York Daily Tribune, 24 February 1853; FDP, 4 March 1853; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 2:xxxiii. 3. Nathan Kelsey Hall (1810–74) was born and educated in Marcellus, Onondaga County, New York. He studied law with Millard Fillmore, and the two men formed a legal practice together. In 1842, Hall was appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County. He remained on the

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bench until he was elected to the state assembly in 1845, then to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1847, serving only one term. Hall continued to practice law until Fillmore appointed him postmaster general in 1850. He later briefly held the position of secretary of the interior, and Fillmore appointed him federal judge of the Northern District of New York in 1852. He remained on the bench until his death. FDP, 11 February 1853; New York Times, 3 March 1874; David McAdam et al., eds., History of the Bench and Bar of New York, 2 vols. (New York, 1897), 2:341; James O. Putnam, “Nathan Kelsey Hall,” Publications of the Buffalo Historical Society, 4:285–98 (1896); Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 6 vols. (New York, 1888–89), 3:43; Robert Sobel, ed., Biographical Directory of the United States Executive Branch, 1774–1989 (Westport, Conn., 1990), 158–59; Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–Present (online); NCAB, 6:183; DAB, 8:141–42. 4. Gerrit Smith refers to the British judge George Jeffreys (1645–89), who was often referred to as the “hanging judge.” Jeffreys was born at his family estate, Acton Park, near Wrexham in Denbighshire, England. He attended Cambridge University without graduating and joined the bar in 1668. Jeffreys was elected common sergeant of London in 1671, knighted by Charles II, and became a member of the king’s counsel in 1677. Jeffreys maintained a hard line against those accused of treason or seditious writing, often using his powers of persuasion to sway hung juries. With the accession of James II, Jeffreys was elevated to chief justice of the King’s Bench in 1683, raised to the peerage as first Baron Jeffreys of Wem in 1685, and became lord chancellor. Jeffreys earned his nickname as a result of his involvement in the “Bloody Assizes,” proceedings related to a rebellion mounted by the Duke of Monmouth and his followers against James II. Of the 2,600 people who were detained, almost half confessed to treason, 1,381 were tried, most were convicted, and 200 were executed. The remainder and those who confessed were sent to the West Indies. Humphrey W. Woolrych, The Life of Judge Jeffreys (Philadelphia,1852), 149–206; H. B. Irving, The Life of Judge Jeffreys (New York, 1898), 258–308; Juliet Gardiner, ed., Who’s Who in British History (London, 2000), 458; George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, rev. ed., 6 vols. (1910–59; Gloucester, Eng., 2000), 3:83–84. 5. While no record could be located of the judicial practice requiring jurors to swear to uphold an enactment for slavery, it was common for judges to instruct juries that their decisions had to be based on law rather than conscience. In Van Metre v. Mitchell, heard in Pennsylvania in October 1853, Circuit Justice Robert Grier instructed the jury to disregard personal feelings about human rights and reach a decision considering only the legalities of the case involving the Fugitive Slave Law. Other cases featuring similar jury instructions include Giltner v. Gorham in Michigan, 1848; the United States v. Morris in Boston, May 1851; and Weimer v. Sloane in Ohio, October 1854. The Federal Cases: Comprising Cases Argued and Determined in the Circuit and District Courts of the United States, 30 vols. (St. Paul, Minn., 1894–97), 10:432, 28:1039; Stanley W. Campbell, The Slave Catchers: Enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law, 1850–1860 (1968; Chapel Hill, N.C., 1970), 137–38; Robert M. Cover, Justice Accused: Antislavery and the Judicial Process (New Haven, Conn., 1975), 231–32, 260–61; Jeffrey Abramson, We, the Jury: The Jury System and the Ideal of Democracy (New York, 1994), 80–81. 6. Enoch Reed (?–1853) participated in the 1 October 1851 raid in Syracuse to free Jerry McHenry. All but one of the participants in the Jerry Rescue were charged with treason, but were later acquitted. Reed was the only man to be convicted. He died before his appeal could be heard. Lib., 17 June 1853; Campbell, Slave Catchers, 156; Paul Finkelman et. al., eds., Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619–1895: From the Colonial Period to the Age of Frederick Douglass, 3 vols. (New York, 2006), 2:76. 7. The New York Daily Tribune claimed that Gerrit Smith asserted that one of the jurors at Enoch Reed’s trial, a Mr. Waggoner, expressed regret over the verdict and attributed his guilty vote to exhaustion. The article also quoted Smith as having stated that “the course pursued by Judge Hall at Albany . . . surpassed in outrage anything in the conduct of the infamous Jeffries.” Smith was pleased at the outcome of the trials, but stated that he “would have been more gratified had the accused boldly avowed their agency in the Jerry rescue.” He indicated that he would have done so, and that he and the

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Reverend Samuel J. May were the responsible rescuers of Jerry, an assertion with which May agreed. Smith claimed that if he were put on trial, he would admit all. Smith and May were never tried. Smith noted that he sat by Judge Nathan K. Hall during the rescue trials, that he argued his case against slavery to the judge, and that he “brought him round virtually to his position upon the question of Slavery.” New York Daily Tribune, 24 February 1853; FDP, 4 March 1853. 8. Samuel Joseph May (1797–1871), a prominent Unitarian minister from Boston, was an active Garrisonian abolitionist. He worked to integrate his congregations and shocked his parishioners by inviting Angelina Grimké to address them on the subject of abolition. A general agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society in the early 1830s, May also advocated women’s rights, temperance, peace, and the abolition of capital punishment. In 1845 he moved to Syracuse, New York, where he became active in the Underground Railroad. Donald Yacovone, Samuel Joseph May and the Dilemmas of the Liberal Persuasion, 1797–1871 (Philadelphia, 1991); DAB, 6:447–48. 9. Andrew J. Colvin (1808–89) began his legal career at the age of sixteen, when he joined the law office of Martin Van Buren. Colvin served as city attorney and corporation counsel for Albany, New York, before becoming district attorney of Albany County. Colvin also served as counsel for the defense in the Jerry Rescue Trials of 1853. In 1859 he was elected to the New York State Senate. Colvin voted for the first appropriation of equipment for Northern troops and encouraged his colleagues to do likewise following the attack on Fort Sumter. Upon his retirement from the state senate, Colvin continued his private law practice in Albany. New York Times, 27 January 1853, 21 July 1889.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO HARRIET BEECHER STOWE1 Rochester, [N.Y.] 8 March 1853.

Mrs. H. B. Stowe. My Dear Mrs. Stowe:— You kindly informed me, when at your house, a fortnight ago,2 that you designed to do something which should permanently contribute to the improvement and elevation of the free colored people in the United States. You especially expressed an interest in such of this class as had become free by their own exertions, and desired most of all to be of service to them. In what manner, and by what means, you can assist this class most successfully, is the subject upon which you have done me the honor to ask my opinion. Begging you to excuse the unavoidable delay,3 I will now most gladly comply with your request, but before doing so, I desire to express, dear Madam, my deep sense of the value of the services which you have already rendered my afflicted and persecuted people, by the publication of your inimitable book on the subject of slavery.4 That contribution to our bleeding cause, alone, involves us in a debt of gratitude which cannot be measured; and your resolution to make other exertions on our behalf excites in me emotions and sentiments, which I scarcely need try to give forth in words. Suffice it to say, that I believe you have the blessings of

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your enslaved countrymen and countrywomen; and the still higher reward which comes to the soul in the smiles of our merciful Heavenly father, whose ear is ever open to the cries of the oppressed. With such sentiments, dear Madam, I will at once proceed to lay before you, in as few words as the nature of the case will allow, my humble views in the premises. First of all, let me briefly state the nature of the disease, before I undertake to prescribe the remedy. Three things are notoriously true of us, as a people. These are poverty, ignorance and degradation. Of course there are exceptions to this general statement: but these are so few as only to prove its essential truthfulness. I shall not stop here to inquire minutely into the causes. It is enough that we shall agree upon the character of the evil, whose existence we deplore, and upon some plan for its removal. I assert, then, that poverty, ignorance and degradation are the combined evils; or, in other words, these constitute the social disease of the free colored people in the United States. To deliver them from this triple malady, is to improve and elevate them, by which I mean simply to put them on an equal footing with their white fellow-countrymen in the sacred right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”5 I am for no fancied or artificial elevation, but only ask fair play.—How shall this be obtained? I answer, first, not by establishing for our use high schools and colleges. Such institutions are, in my judgment, beyond our immediate occasions, and are not adapted to our present most pressing wants. High schools and colleges are excellent institutions, and will, in due season, be greatly subservient to our progress; but they are the result, as well as they are the demand of a point of progress, which we, as a people, have not yet attained. Accustomed, as we have been, to the rougher and harder modes of living, and of gaining a livelihood, we cannot, and we ought not to hope that, in a single leap from our low condition, we can reach that of Ministers, Lawyers, Doctors, Editors, Merchants, &c. These will, doubtless, be attained by us; but this will only be, when we have patiently and laboriously, and I may add, successfully mastered and passed through the intermediate gradations of agriculture and the mechanic arts. Besides, there are (and perhaps this is a better reason for my view of the case) numerous institutions of learning in this country, already thrown open to colored youth. To my thinking, there are quite as many facilities now afforded to the colored people,6 as they can spare the time, from the sterner duties of life, to avail themselves of. In their present condition of poverty, they cannot spare their sons and daughters two

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or three years at boarding schools or colleges, to say nothing of finding the means to sustain them while at such institutions. I take it, therefore, that we are well provided for in this respect; and that it may be fairly inferred from the past that the facilities for our education, so far as schools and colleges in the Free States are concerned, will increase quite in proportion with our future wants. Colleges have been open to colored youth in this country during the last dozen years. Yet few, comparatively, have acquired a classical education; and even this few have found themselves educated far above a living condition, there being no methods by which they could turn their learning to account. Several of this latter class have entered the ministry, but you need not be told that an educated people is needed to sustain an educated ministry;—There must be a certain amount of cultivation among the people to sustain such a ministry. At present, we have not that cultivation amongst us; and therefore, we value, in the preacher, strong lungs, rather than high learning. I do not say that educated ministers are not needed amongst us. Far from it! I wish there were more of them; but to increase their number is not the largest benefit you can bestow upon us. You, dear Madam, can help the masses.—You can do something for the thousands; and by lifting these from the depths of poverty and ignorance, you can make an educated ministry and an educated class possible. In the present circumstances, prejudice is a bar to the educated black minister among the whites; and ignorance is a bar to him among the blacks. We have now two or three colored lawyers in this country;7 and I rejoice in the fact; for it affords very gratifying evidence of our progress. Yet it must be confessed that, in point of success, our lawyers are as great failures as are our ministers. White people will not employ them to the obvious embarrassment of their causes, and the blacks, taking their cue from the whites, have not sufficient confidence in their abilities to employ them. Hence, educated colored men, among the colored people, are at a very great discount. It would seem that education and emigration go together with us; for as soon as a man rises amongst us, capable, by his genius and learning, to us great service, just so soon as he finds that he can serve himself better by going elsewhere. In proof of this, I might instance the Russwurms8—the Garnetts9—the Wards10 —the Crummells11 and others—all men of superior ability and attainments, and capable of removing mountains of prejudice against their race, by their simple presence in this country; but these gentlemen, finding themselves embarrassed here by the peculiar disadvantages to which I have referred— disadvantages in

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part growing out of their education—being repelled by ignorance on the one hand, and prejudice on the other, and having no taste to continue a contest against such odds, they have sought more congenial climes, where they can live more peaceable and quiet lives. I regret their election—but I cannot blame them; for, with an equal amount of education, and the hard lot which was theirs, I might follow their example. But, again, it has been said that the colored people must become farmers—that they must go on the land, in order to their elevation. Hence, many benevolent people are contributing the necessary funds to purchase land in Canada,12 and elsewhere, for them.—The prince of good men, Gerrit Smith, has given away thousands of acres to colored men in this State, thinking, doubtless, that in so doing he was conferring a blessing upon them.13 Now, while I do not undervalue the efforts which have been made, and are still being made in this direction, yet I must say that I have far less confidence in such efforts, than I have in the benevolence which prompts them. Agricultural pursuits are not, as I think, suited to our condition. The reason of this is not to be found so much in the occupation, (for it is a noble and enobling one,) as in the people themselves. That is only a remedy, which can be applied to the case; and the difficulty in the agricultural pursuits as a remedy for the evils of poverty and ignorance amongst us, is that it cannot, for various reasons, be applied. We cannot apply it, because it is almost impossible to get colored men to go on the land. From some cause or other, (perhaps the adage that misery loves company14 will explain,) colored people will congregate in the large towns and cities; and they will endure any amount of hardship and privation rather than separate and go into the country. Again, very few have the means to set up for themselves, or to get where they could do so. Another consideration against expending energy in this direction is our want of self- reliance. Slavery, more than all things else, robs its victims of self-reliance. To go into the western wilderness, and there to lay the foundation of future society, requires more of that important quality than a life of slavery has left us. This may sound strange to you, coming, as it does, from a colored man; but I am dealing with facts; and those never accommodate themselves to the feelings or wishes of any. They don’t ask, but take leave to be. It is a fact then, and not less so because I wish it were otherwise, that the colored people are wanting in self-reliance—too fond of society—too eager for immediate results—and too little skilled in mechanics or husbandry to attempt to overcome the wilderness; at least, until they have overcome obstacles less formidable.—Therefore I look to other

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means than agricultural pursuits for the elevation and improvement of colored people. Of course, I allege this of the many. There are exceptions. Individuals amongst us, with commendable zeal, industry, perseverance and self reliance, have found, and are finding, in agricultural pursuits, the means of supporting, improving and educating their families. The plan which I contemplate will, (if carried into effect,) greatly increase the number of this class—since it will prepare others to meet the rugged duties which a pioneer agricultural condition must impose upon all who take it upon them. What I propose is intended simply to prepare men for the work of getting an honest living—not out of dishonest men— but out of an honest earth. Again, there is little reason to hope that any considerable number of the free colored people will ever be induced to leave this country, even if such a thing were desirable. The black man, (un-like the Indian,) loves civilization. He does not make very great progress in civilization himself, but he likes to be in the midst of it, and prefers to share its most galling evils, to encountering barbarism. Then the love of the country—the dread of isolation—the lack of adventurous spirit—and the thought of seeming to desert their “brethren in bonds,” are a powerful and perpetual check upon all schemes of colonization, which look to the removal of the colored people, without the slaves. The truth is, dear Madam, we are here, and here we are likely to remain. Individuals emigrate—nations never. We have grown up with this Republic; and I see nothing in our character, or even in the character of the American people, as yet, which compels the belief that we must leave the United States. If, then, we are to remain here, the question for the wise and good is precisely that you have submitted to me—and that which I fear I have been, perhaps, too slow in answering—namely, what can be done to improve the condition of the free colored people of the United States? The plan which I humbly submit in answer to this inquiry, (and in the hope that it may find favor with you, dear Madam, and with the many friends of humanity who honor, love, and co-operate with you,) 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 to be open to colored youth. I will pass over, for the present, the details of such an institution as that I propose. It is not worth while that I should dwell upon these at all. Once convinced that something of the sort is needed, and the organizing power will be forthcoming. It is the peculiarity of your favored race that they

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can always do what they think necessary to be done. I can safely trust all details to yourself, and to the wise and good people whom you represent in the interest you take in my oppressed fellow-countrymen. Never having myself had a day’s schooling all my life, I may not be expected to be able to map out the details of a plan so comprehensive as that involved in the idea of a college. I repeat then, I leave the organization and administration to the superior wisdom of yourself and the friends that second your noble efforts. 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—a College where 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 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 United States has shown itself nowhere 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 son15 into a lawyer’s office, to study law, than I can into a blacksmith’s shop, to blow the bellows, and to wield the sledgehammer. Denied the means of learning useful trades, we are pressed into the narrowest limits to obtain a livelihood. In times past we have been the hewers of wood and the drawers of water16 for American society, and we once enjoyed a monopoly in menial employments, but this is so no longer—even these employments are rapidly passing away out of our hands. The fact is, (every day begins with the lesson, and ends with the lesson,) that colored men must learn trades—must find new employments, new modes of usefulness to society—or that they must decay under the pressing wants to which their condition is rapidly bringing them. 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[,] wood, clay, and in leather. We have orators, authors and other professio[illegible] [illegible]; but these reach only a certain [illegible] [illegible] get respect for our race in certain select ways. To live here as we ought, we must fasten ourselves to our countrymen through their every day and cardinal wants. We must not only be able to black boots, but to make them. At present, we are unknown in the  Northern

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States, as mechanics. We give no proof of genius or skill at the County, the State, or the National Fairs. We are unknown at any of the great exhibitions of the industry of our fellow-citizens—and being unknown, we are unconsidered. The fact that we make no show of our ability, is held conclusive of our inability to make any. 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 injurious opinion of our natural inferiority. I have, during the last dozen years, denied, before the 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 would 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 benefitted 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 at 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. The most telling, the most killing refutation of slavery, is the presentation of an industrious, enterprising, upright, 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 supposed. To show that we are capable of becoming mechanics, I might adduce any amount of testimony; but dear Madam, I need not ring the changes on such a proposition.—There is no question in the mind of any unprejudiced person, that the negro is capable of making a good mechanic. Indeed even those who cherish the bitterest feelings towards us have admitted that the apprehension that negroes might be employed in their stead, dictated the policy of excluding them from trades altogether; but I will not dwell upon this point, as I fear I have already trespassed too long upon your precious time, and written more than I ought to expect you to read. Allow me to say, in conclusion, that I believe every intelligent colored man in America will approve and rejoice at the establishment of some

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such institution as that now suggested. There are many respectable colored men, fathers of large families, having boys nearly grown up, whose minds are tossed by day and by night, with the anxious enquiry, 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 transatlantic friends.17—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. Wishing you, dear Madam, renewed health, a pleasant passage and safe return to your native land, I am, most truly, your grateful friend, FREDERICK DOUGLASS. PLSr: FDP, 2 December 1853. 1. Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe (1811–96), the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) and a member of the outspoken Beecher family, began writing early in life and pioneered the use of slang and regional dialects in her works. Although Uncle Tom’s Cabin remains the most famous of Stowe’s writings, she published a number of novels that were widely read in the nineteenth century, including a second novel on slavery, Dred (1855). Stowe never spoke publicly on behalf of abolition, but her name was one of those most closely associated with the cause because of the overwhelming international popularity of these novels. She and Douglass continued to correspond after this letter, meeting for the first time in 1853. Although he criticized her for advocating colonization and for failing to donate proceeds from Uncle Tom’s Cabin to the antislavery cause, to which she responded with a less than enlightened attitude, she defended him against Garrison. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Compiled from her Letters and Journals by her Son, Charles Edward Stowe, ed. Charles Edward Stowe (Boston, 1890); idem, Life and Letters of Harriet Beecher Stowe, ed. Annie Fields (Boston, 1897); Catherine Gilbertson, Harriet Beecher Stowe (New York, 1937); Joan D. Hedrick, Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life (New York, 1994); Forrest Wilson, Crusader in Crinoline: The Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe (New York, 1941). 2. Douglass reported on his visit to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s home in Andover, Massachusetts, sometime in February 1853, in an editorial entitled, “A Day and a Night in ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’,” FDP, 4 March 1853; Robert S. Levine, Martin Delany, Frederick Douglass, and the Politics of Representative Identity (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1997), 77–78. 3. In a different editorial on 4 March 1853, Douglass reported that he had been traveling for the past six weeks throughout central and eastern New York with the black abolitionists Stephen Myers, James Wesley Loguen, and Solomon Northrup. FDP, 4 March 1853. 4. Harriet Beecher Stowe began writing the first instalments of what was to become Uncle Tom’s Cabin in March 1851. The fictionalized account of slavery and the Underground Railroad was initially serialized in the Washington (D.C.) National Era from June 1851 through April 1852. Appearing in book form the next year as Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly, the novel quickly achieved international success. About three hundred thousand copies were sold in America during the first year, and English sales ultimately exceeded one and a half million. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the first American novel to sell more than a million copies. Its success generated further interest

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in the antislavery movement in the North, while it deepened alienation in the South. Many blacks and abolitionists qualified their praise for the book because of their disapproval of Stowe’s advocacy of colonization. Claire Parfait, The Publishing History of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” 1852–2002 (Aldershot, Hampshire, Eng., 2007), 67–89, 203–06; Marie Caskey, Chariot of Fire: Religion and the Beecher Family (New Haven, Conn., 1978), 3–33, 169–207; Wilson, Crusader in Crinoline, 283–98. 5. Douglass refers to the Declaration of Independence, but the phrase “pursuit of happiness” dates back to John Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1693). John Locke, The Philosophical Works of John Locke, ed. J. A. St. John, 2 vols. (London, 1894), 2:391–93. 6. Most Northern public and private schools in the 1850s either excluded black students or segregated them in inferior facilities; however, a small but growing number of entrepreneurial schools for African Americans had been founded to compensate for this shortage of educational opportunities. Beginning with Alexander Twilight at Middlebury College in 1823, a few African Americans attended and even received degrees from Northern colleges. Leonard P. Curry, The Free Black in Urban America, 1800–1850 (Chicago, 1981), 147–73. 7. A small number of blacks had been admitted to the bar in the United States by the time of Douglass’s 1853 letter to Harriet Beecher Stowe. Douglass was likely aware of Macon Bolling Allen, the first black lawyer in the United States, who was admitted to the state bar of Maine in 1844 and moved the next year to Boston, Massachusetts, to practice law in Suffolk County. Robert Morris, mentioned in Frederick Douglass’ Paper, was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1847 and worked for thirty-five years as a lawyer in Suffolk County, where he became well known as a representative for local blacks and Irish immigrants. Douglass was also familiar with John Mercer Langston. The son of a white slaveholding planter and an emancipated black–Native American, Langston entered the state bar of Ohio in 1854 and spent much of his life advocating for civil rights, most notably during Reconstruction. Two other black attorneys, Jonathan Jasper Wright and Edward Garrison Draper, practiced law before the Civil War. Wright, who studied law before the Civil War in Montrose, Pennsylvania, was not officially admitted to the state’s bar until 1865, primarily because of racial prejudice. Draper worked as a teacher in Baltimore before being admitted to the Maryland bar in 1857, albeit with the understanding that he would practice law only in Liberia. New York Emancipator, 17 May 1838; Lib., 9 May 1845; FDP, 13 May 1852; J. Clay Smith, Jr., Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844–1944 (Philadelphia, 1993), 152–53, 163–64, 407–09; Walter J. Leonard, “The Development of the Black Bar,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 407:134–43 (May 1973); ANB, 1:335–36; 13:164–66; 15:913–14; 24:34–35. 8. John Brown Russwurm (1799–1851) was the coeditor of Freedom’s Journal, the first blackowned, black-operated newspaper in the United States. After graduating in 1826 from Bowdoin College in Maine, he met Samuel Cornish and began Freedom’s Journal. In his native New York City, Russwurm was highly regarded within his community. While working as coeditor, he taught at a free evening school in New York City. Believing that blacks should take the lead in uplifting their own people, Russwurm saw colonization in Liberia as the best option for blacks to improve their status. In 1829 he left the Freedom’s Journal and migrated to the colony of Liberia. Frankie Hutton, Early Black Press in America, 1827 to 1860 (Westport, Conn., 1993), 4–7, 123–24; ANB, 19:117–18. 9. Born a slave in Kent County, Maryland, Henry Highland Garnet (1815–82) fled north with his parents in 1824. He attended the African Free School in New York City, the Noyes Academy in Canaan, New Hampshire, and the Oneida Institute in Whitesboro, New York. Garnet was one of the founders of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society and a stump speaker for the Liberty party. Licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Troy in 1842, Garnet went to Jamaica in 1852 as a missionary of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. An early proponent of black immigration to Africa and founder of the African Civilization Society, Garnet, in his appeal sanctioning slave uprisings before a National Negro Convention in Buffalo, New York, in August 1843, praised Madison Washington. After the Civil War, Garnet was president of Avery College in Pittsburgh and U.S. minister to Liberia (1881–82). Joel Schor, Henry Highland Garnet: A Voice of Black Radicalism in

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the Nineteenth Century (Westport, Conn., 1977); Dorothy Sterling, ed., Speak Out in Thunder Tones: Letters and Other Writings by Black Northerners, 1787–1865 (1973; New York, 1998), 376; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 68, 185, 216–17, 226–27; ANB, 8:735–36. 10. Samuel Ringgold Ward. 11. Raised and educated in New York, Alexander Crummell (1819–98) became an Episcopal priest, an active member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, and a contributor to the Colored American. He believed that black people should develop and support separate organizations that focused on the specific interests of African Americans. Although Crummell opposed the American Colonization Society, for which Douglass praised him, he later supported black immigration to Africa after spending twenty years in Liberia, 1850–70. He and Douglass differed on some issues, including what type of education was most useful for black people, the importance of racial difference, and the legacy of slavery in the years after the Civil War. William H. Ferris, Alexander Crummell: An Apostle of Negro Culture (1920; New York, 1969); Wilson Jeremiah Moses, Alexander Crummell: A Study of Civilization and Discontent (New York, 1989); Rayford W. Logan and Michael R. Winston, eds., Dictionary of American Negro Biography (New York, 1982), 145–47; ANB, 5:820–22. 12. Fugitive slaves from the United States began to settle in Upper Canada in the early 1820s. There they formed their own communities, including Amherstburg, Ontario, and Wilberforce. Although not restricted legally, the fugitives were not welcomed by most white Canadians. In the 1840s, the situation of the Canadian black communities worsened. Many fugitives fled to Canada West, greatly increasing the black population there and intensifying the negative reaction of whites. Black settlements such as Dawn, patterned on the Wilberforce settlement, struggled financially to survive. Black settlers in Dawn and other communities faced inflated land prices, mismanagement, and economic distress. Jason H. Silverman, Unwelcome Guests: Canada West’s Response to American Fugitive Slaves, 1800–1865 (Millwood, N.Y., 1985), 21–22, 53–64; Pease and Pease, Black Utopia, 63–70. 13. In 1847 Gerrit Smith donated 140,000 acres of land in upstate New York to be granted in parcels to three thousand African American citizens of New York. Spread between Franklin and Essex counties, the parcels consisted of marginal farmland, but offered an opportunity for independence that many eagerly embraced. Smith’s generosity was lauded at black conventions across the region. NS, 3 December 1847, 7 January, 18, 25 February 1848, 12 January 1849. 14. English use of the proverb “misery loves company” began around 1349, but the phrase is also attributed to ancient writers such as Sophocles (around 408 B.C.E.). Christine Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms (New York, 1997), 422. 15. Douglass had three sons, Lewis Henry Douglass (1840–1908), Frederick Douglass, Jr. (1842– 92), and Charles Remond Douglass (1844–1920). Lewis was born in New Bedford, and his brothers in Lynn. All three attended school in Rochester, where they also worked in their father’s newspaper office. During the Civil War, Lewis and Charles enlisted in the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry, rising to the rank of sergeant. Lewis and Frederick Jr., eventually became printers, although they suffered racial discrimination. Indeed, Lewis was able to find employment at the Government Printing Office only through his father’s connections. Frederick Jr. became an editor and writer. Charles, named for Charles Lenox Remond, worked for the federal government as a clerk in the Freedmen’s Bureau and in the Treasury Department, and as consul in Santo Domingo. NASS, 22 May 1869; Rochester Union and Advertiser, 6 August 1869; Rochester Democrat and American, 5 November 1870; Detroit Plaindealer, 12 August 1892; William S. McFeely, Frederick Douglass (New York, 1991), 81, 97, 103, 230, 235, 239, 248–49, 257–58, 271–72, 306, 342, 372. 16. Josh. 9:21. 17. Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an international best seller. In April 1853, Stowe undertook the first of several tours of Great Britain that increased the sales of Uncle Tom’s Cabin there to much more than a million copies. Her book influenced over a half a million women in the British Isles to sign a petition on behalf of the American slaves. A “Penny Offering,” ultimately totaling over

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$20,000, was collected for Stowe in Britain for use in the antislavery cause. Hedrick, Harriet Beecher Stowe, 232–51; Levine, Representative Identity, 75–78, 87–89.

MARTIN ROBINSON DELANY1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Pittsburgh, [Pa.] 20 March 1853.

Frederick Douglass, Esq: Dear Sir:— I notice in your paper of March 4th, an article2 in which you speak of having paid a visit to Mrs. H. E. B. Stowe, for the purpose, as you say, of consulting her. “[A]s to some method which should contribute successfully, and permanently, to the improvement and elevation of the free people of color in the United States.” Also, in the number of March 18th, in an article by a writer over the initials of “P. C. S,”3 in reference to the same subject, he concludes by saying, “I await with much interest the suggestions of Mrs. Stowe in this matter.” Now I simply wish to say, that we have always fallen into great errors in efforts of this kind, going to others than the intelligent and experienced among ourselves; and in all due respect and defference to Mrs. Stowe, I beg leave to say, that she knows nothing about us, “the Free Colored people of the United States,” neither does any other white person—and, consequently, can contrive no successful scheme for our elevation; it must be done by ourselves. I am aware, that I differ with many in thus expressing myself, but I cannot help it; though I stand alone, and offend my best friends, so help me God! [I]n a matter of such moment and importance, I will express my opinion. Why, in God’s name, don’t the leaders among our people make suggestions, and consult the most competent among their own brethren concerning our elevation? This they do not do; and I have not known one, whose province it was to do so, to go ten miles for such a purpose. We shall never [a]ffect anything until this is done. I accord with the suggestions of H. O. Wagoner4 for a National Council or Consultation5 of our people, provided intelligence, maturity and experience, in matters among them, could be so gathered together; other than this, would be a mere mockery—like the Convention of 1848,6 a coming together of rivals, to test their success for the “biggest offices.” As God lives, I will never, knowingly, lend my aid to any such work, while our brethren groan in vassalage and bondage, and I and mine under oppression and degradation, such as we now suffer.

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I would not give the counsel of one dozen intelligent colored freemen of the right stamp, for that of all the white and unsuitable colored persons in the land. But something must be done, and that speedily. The so called free states, by their acts, are now virtually saying to the South, “you shall not emancipate; your blacks must be slaves; and should they come North, there is no refuge for them.” I shall not be surprised to see, at no distant day, a solemn Convention called by the whites in the North, to deliberate on the propriety of changing the whole policy to that of slave states. This will be the remedy to prevent dissolution; and it will come, mark that! [A]nything on the part of the American people to save their Union. Mark me—the non-slaveholding states will become slave states. Yours for God and Humanity, M. R. DELANY.7 PLSr: FDP, 1 April 1853. 1. Born to a free mother and a slave father in Charlestown in western Virginia, Martin Robinson Delany (1812–85) was an editor, physician, and leading advocate of black emigration. In 1822, Delany and his mother moved to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where his father later joined them, and the young Delany attended a local school. In 1831 he moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked as a barber, attended a school run by a black Methodist minister, and studied medicine. Between 1843 and 1847, Delany was editor of the Mystery, a black Pittsburgh newspaper. For the next two years he served as coeditor of Douglass’s North Star and lectured extensively to gain new subscriptions for that paper. In 1850 and 1851, Delany attended Harvard Medical School, but owing to protests from white students, the school denied him admission to the final term needed to complete his medical degree. The following year he wrote The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States, Politically Considered (1852), in which he argued that emigration was the only remedy for the oppressed state of black Americans. When many black abolitionists, including Douglass, rejected Delany’s position, he organized a series of National Emigration Conventions that met in 1854, 1856, and 1858. These assemblies created a permanent National Board of Commissioners, of which Delany was president and chief propagandist. In 1856, Delany moved to Chatham, Canada West, and three years later he explored the Niger River Valley in Africa, looking for possible emigration sites. His novel Blake was serialized in the Weekly Anglo-African from November 1861 through May 1862. During the Civil War, Delany served the North first as a recruiter and examining surgeon and eventually as a major of the 104th U.S. Colored Troops. From 1865 to 1868, Delany was a Freedmen’s Bureau officer in South Carolina and later was active in that state’s politics, running unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor on the Independent Republican ticket in 1874. Martin R. Delany, Blake; or, The Huts of America, ed. Floyd J. Miller (Boston, 1970), ix; Thomas Holt, Black over White: Negro Political Leadership in South Carolina during Reconstruction (Urbana, Ill., 1977), 74–75, 176–77; Dorothy Sterling, The Making of an Afro-American: Martin Robinson Delany, 1812–1885 (Garden City, N.Y., 1971); Victor Ullman, Martin R. Delany: The Beginnings of Black Nationalism (Boston, 1971); Miller, Search for a Black Nationality, 115–33, 171–83; DAB, 5:219–20. 2. Delany quotes from an article by Douglass entitled “A Day and a Night in ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’,” which appeared in Frederick Douglass’ Paper on 4 March 1853. 3. P.C.S.’s letter to the editor appeared in the 18 March 1853 edition of Frederick Douglass’ Paper.

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4. One of Douglass’s most enduring friendships was with Henry O. Wagoner, Sr. (1816–1901). Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, to a formerly enslaved mother and a German father, Wagoner learned to read and write despite a lack of formal education. He spent most of his youth working on western Maryland farms, but fled to Ohio in 1838 for fear that his Underground Railroad activities had aroused suspicion. The following year he moved to Galena, Illinois, where he found employment as a newspaper typesetter and bill collector. He next worked for a newspaper and taught school in Chatham, Canada West, from 1843 until he relocated to Chicago in 1846 to run a profitable milling business. Wagoner met Douglass during one of the latter’s lecture tours in Illinois in the late 1840s and became an occasional correspondent for Douglass’s newspaper. Wagoner participated in abolitionist activities and aided John Brown in March 1858 by offering his mill as a hiding place for escaping Missouri slaves en route to Canada. During the Civil War, Wagoner recruited black troops for regiments in Illinois and Massachusetts. In 1865 he settled in Denver, Colorado, where he established a barbering business and quickly became a leader in the African American community. An active Republican, Wagoner campaigned for equal male suffrage when Colorado applied for statehood in the 1860s, served as deputy sheriff of Arapaho County, Colorado, between 1865 and 1875, and received an appointment as clerk of the Colorado state legislature in 1876. With years of friendship between them, Wagoner and Douglass aided each other’s adult sons. In 1866, Wagoner hosted Frederick Jr. and Lewis in Denver, teaching them typography. Eight years later Douglass returned the favor by helping secure Henry O. Wagoner, Jr., a position as consular clerk in Paris, France. The younger Wagoner died in Lyons, France, and upon the elder Wagoner’s request, Douglass looked for the grave during his 1886 European tour. Henry O. Wagoner to Douglass, 27 August 1866, 10 December 1873, 23 March 1878, 13 July, 13 October 1885, 19 August 1886, 1 September 1890, 17 August 1893, Henry O. Wagoner, Jr., to Douglass, 2 April 1874, 12 May 1877, Douglass to Lewis Douglass, 24  January 1887, General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 197–98, 700–703, 733–36, reel 3, frames 122–26, 241–43, reel 4, frames 193, 217–19, 380–81, reel 5, frames 783–84, reel 32, frames 250–51, FD Papers, DLC; NS, 18 February 1848, 24 August 1849; FDP, 11 December 1851; Denver Rocky Mountain News, 28 December 1901; William J. Simmons, Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising (1887; Chicago 1970), 679–84; Benjamin Quarles, Allies for Freedom: Blacks and John Brown (New York, 1974), 39, 59; Quintard Taylor, In Search of the Racial Frontier: African Americans in the American West, 1528–1990 (New York, 1998), 123. 5. In a letter to Douglass, H. O. Wagoner suggested a “North American Convention of colored men.” In an editorial in the same issue of his paper, Douglass had seconded Wagoner’s proposal for a national gathering of leading African Americans “for the purpose of seriously and solemnly considering our present state and condition, and of deliberating, as to the best course to be pursued in relation thereto.” FDP, 18 March 1853. 6. Delany negatively characterizes the National Convention of Colored Citizens, held in Cleveland, Ohio, on 6–8 September 1848. Delany had played an active role at the gathering, and Douglass had been elected its presiding officer. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 2:xxiii; Howard Holman Bell, A Survey of the Negro Convention Movement, 1830–1861 (New York, 1969), 94–98. 7. In editorial remarks immediately following this letter, Douglass disagrees with Delany’s criticisms of Harriet Beecher Stowe, encourages unity, and suggests that supporters should heed anyone who attempts to help the African American cause.

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HENRY PATRICK1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Bunker Hill, [Mass.] 4 April 1853.

Dear Douglass:— In view of the portentious crisis which stares our colored population in the face, I cannot but admire the independent and fearless spirit of our friend M. R. Delany, manifested in his letter to you of the 22d March.2 Your remarks on it are no less admirable for the prudence and wisdom exhibited. I rejoice to witness all the elements necessary to meet the threatened storm combined in our colored citizens.—Friend Delany and yourself are equally necessary to arouse the dormant energies, and develop the God-given powers of our colored brethren. A very large majority of the people in the British Colonies in America, previous to our Revolution, would have been satisfied under the British yoke, had it not been for a few such spirits as Patrick Henry,3 who chose liberty or death! 4 Yet the more cautious, who exhausted every hope of reconciliation in petitions and remonstrances to the King and Parliament, were no less instrumental in preparing the oppressed for a successful resistance. Let us all, who prefer anything which despots can inflict, rather than prove recreant to God and humanity, “stand in our lot,”5 and faithfully carry out our own convictions of duty, and abstain from censuring those who honestly differ from us in the modus opperandi.6 There are now, as formally hypocrites and tories,7 who “assume the livery of Heaven to serve the devil in.”8 Those, however, may be known by the company they keep.9 Those who respect the Divine Law, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, will uncompromisingly contend that “the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states.”10 And whether the descendants of the Dutch, Irish, African, or any other people born under our government, become victims of attainder 11 or expatriation, such men should pledge themselves to each other to resist such devilism unto blood if need be. I hope to see a glorious National Convention of colored citizens who will rebuke Illinois and other States for their violation of the Federal Constitution.12 If all the guarantees of the Federal Constitution in favor of human rights,13 must be trampled in the dust, until blood shall flow from colored citizens, the cause of liberty will then be sustained by the patriots of all colors.

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HENRY PATRICK TO DOUGLASS, 4 APRIL 1853

If this time must come before our modern Whigs and Democrats will recognize the truth of the Declaration of Independence, I say let it come! The sword or the ballot-box must decide the question. HENRY PATRICK. PLSr: FDP, 15 April 1853. 1. Assumed to be a pseudonym. 2. An allusion to the letter from Martin Robinson Delany to Douglass, written on 20 March 1853 and published in the FDP on 22 March 1853. That letter is published in this volume. 3. Patrick Henry (1736–99), a Virginia patriot, lawyer, and Revolutionary statesman, attended the First Continental Congress at Philadelphia and was governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779. Douglass paraphrases Patrick Henry’s speech at a Virginia revolutionary convention on 23 March 1775. William Wirt, The Life and Character of Patrick Henry, rev. ed. (New York, 1832); DAB, 7:554–59. 4. A paraphrase of Patrick Henry’s speech in the Virginia Convention, 23 March 1775, as recorded in William Wirt, Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry, 7th ed. (New York, 1834), 141. 5. Dan. 12:13. 6. The Latin term “modus operandi” means “method of operating.” 7. North American colonists who supported the British cause during the American Revolution were branded “Tories” by their political opponents. They were named after the British political party of the era that supported the notion of God-ordained kingly authority, or “divine right.” They held a deep attachment to the Anglican Church and believed the crown and church to be the chief preservatives of the British political, religious, and social order. Mark M. Boatner III, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, 3d ed. (Mechanicsburg, Pa., 1996), 661; L. Sandy Maisel, Political Parties and Elections in the United States: An Encyclopedia, 2 vols. (New York, 1991), 2:1123–24; John Cannon, ed., The Oxford Companion to British History (Oxford, Eng., 1997), 923. 8. Robert Pollok, The Course of Time, A Poem, 7th ed., 10 vols. (London, 1828), 8:295. 9. A proverb dating to mid-sixteenth century England. Elizabeth Knowles, ed., Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, 6th ed. (New York, 2004), 626. 10. Patrick quotes the first clause of article IV, section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, often dubbed the “Privileges and Immunities Clause” or the “Comity Clause.” During Reconstruction, this clause was incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment. 11. An action by a legislature to condemn and punish someone for a crime without benefit of a trial. 12. During the 1850s, Illinois, Indiana, and Oregon enacted or revised so-called Black Laws and sometimes incorporated anti-immigration provisions into state constitutions. Under the terms of the Illinois statute approved in February 1853, any black or mulatto immigrant remaining in the state more than ten days with the apparent intention of taking up residence was subject to an initial fine of $50, and multiples of that amount for repeated offenses. Those African Americans unable to pay the fine would be incarcerated and sold “at public auction . . . to any person or persons who will pay said fine and costs for the shortest time; and said purchaser shall have the right to compel said negro or mulatto to work for, and serve out said time, and he shall furnish said negro or mulatto with comfortable food, clothing and lodging during said servitude.” Proceeds from fines or sales were to be equally divided between the person making the initial complaint and a special county “charity fund” established “for the express purpose of relieving the poor.” Although seldom enforced, the Illinois law remained on the books until 1865 and was formally upheld by the state supreme court. Lib., 1 April 1853; Leon F. Litwack, North of Slavery: The Negro in the Free States, 1790–1860 (Chicago, 1961), 70–71; Henry W. Farnam, Chapters in the History of Social Legislation in the United States to 1860 (Washington, D.C., 1938), 219–20. 13. An allusion to the Bill of Rights.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester, [N.Y.] 6 April [1853].

My dear Friend. Your note and the Land Reform proceeding came this morning—the latter too late for this week’s issue.—they Shall appear in next weeks paper.1 I have received and have accepted an invit[at]ion from Lewis Tappan Esqr. To make a Speech at the May meeting of the American and Foreign. Anti Slavery Society in New york.2 I have done this, not with out conSideration;—and having weighed every objection to it, my mind is made up. I Shall not trouble you with my reasons for doing So here—I may have to give them here after. I am now Suffering from my old bronchitis affection—but hope to be all right for the May meetings. That hundred dollars you kindly Sent came in well—Where Shall I look when that fi fty is paid in? This may be looking most too far a head. But I can-t help it— the thought will come. By the way—I have to thank you for just the most trim and gentlemanly, Suit of clothes I ever had on—am Saving them for the New york occasion.3 Ward,4 I See is to go to England—he is a Strange genius and I think one that will take well in England—after its Canada train ing. But I won-t tresspass upon your precious time Ever your devoted friend. FREDERICK DOUGLASS.

[P.S.] My friend Julia5 desires her love to you. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. No letter from Gerrit Smith or an account of a Land Reform convention fitting this description appeared in subsequent issues of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. 2. Frederick Douglass’ Paper in its 15 April 1853 issue began carrying announcements of the forthcoming annual meetings of both the Garrisonian American Anti-Slavery Society and its rival, the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, led by Lewis Tappan, to be held in New York City on 11 May 1853. Although the latter announcement promised that the meeting would be “addressed by several distinguished speakers,” Douglass was not named. FDP, 15 April 1853. 3. Frederick Douglass attended the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society anniversary meeting at the Broadway Tabernacle in New York City on 11 May 1853. He delivered an address on the condition and prospects of black people in the United States. Minutes of the meeting were printed in the New York Tribune and reprinted in Frederick Douglass’ Paper. New York Tribune, 12 May 1853; FDP, 6 May, 27 May 1853. 4. Samuel Ringgold Ward. 5. Julia Griffiths.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO WILLIAM H. SEWARD1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 16 April [1853.]

Hon: Wm H. Seward. My dear Sir, I thank you Sincerely for your prompt and promising response to my begging note.2—I wish Sir, to make myself thouroghly acqainted with the public Labors of your life—and although I have already made Some progress in this line—I feel that there is much yet to be learned. I am even now but as a boy of fifteen, less than that Space of time has past Since I escaped from Slavery—He who helps fit me for the voyage of life, Shall not lack my gratitude—Pardon me for tress passing upon your time. I am most truly yours—With high esteem— FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: William Henry Seward Papers, NRU. 1. William Henry Seward (1801–72) was a New York state senator (1830–32) and governor (1839–43) before serving as a U.S. senator (1849–61). He originally belonged to the Anti-Mason party, but became a leader of the Whig party during the 1830s and 1840s. By 1855, Seward had moved his allegiance to the Republican party. During the Compromise of 1850, he first invoked the concept of “a higher law than the Constitution” to support abolition. As the decade progressed, Seward became more outspoken against slavery, characterizing the struggle as an “irrepressible conflict” between opposing forces. In 1856 and 1860, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination, and instead became Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of state in 1861. Seward’s influence as secretary of state prevented European recognition of the Confederacy during the Civil War, and in 1867 he negotiated the U.S. purchase of the Alaska territory, which became known as “Seward’s Folly.” Frederic Bancroft, The Life of William H. Seward, 2 vols. (1899–1900; Gloucester, Mass., 1967); ACAB, 5:470–73; DAB, 16:615–21. 2. No specific letter from Douglass to Seward requesting funds has been located. Douglass possibly refers to a notice published in his paper on 8 April 1853, entitled “Money! Money!! Money!!!,” in which he urges delinquent subscribers to pay off their accounts. FDP, 8 April 1853.

URIAH BOSTON1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS [Poughkeepsie, N.Y. April 1853.]

Mr. F. Douglass: Sir:— If to notify parents in blazing capitals,2 as you did, not to permit their boys to learn the barbers’ trade, was not an attack on that business as a business derogatory to the interests of the colored race, and of such character as to degrade them, I know not how else you could have done so. If your read-

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ers did not understand you to say in that article, that barbers are a servile class, and the barbers’ trade of a servile character, then I will confess myself mistaken, and beg your pardon for writing to you on the subject. Such is my understanding of the matter, and I think such is the understanding of your readers. Now, sir, in opposition to this, your opinion, I know that the barbers’ business is not degrading, nor are barbers’ servile. On the contrary, they are, in every way, as intelligent and respectable as any other class of business men, and much more so than some others—Knowing this, as you ought to know also, I did not approve of what you said, and wishing to express my opinion in the matter, thinking that you would, perhaps, retract, or say something to produce a correct opinion among your readers, or, at least, so to qualify your remarks as not to reflect upon a very large class of business men among our people. But, instead of publishing my article, or sending it to me in silence, you, for some reason, severely and contemptuously rebuke and ridicule me before your readers. This I regret, much more than I should have regretted the return to me of my manuscript without notice from you; and, also, much more than I should regretted to have had your readers see that my letter was not fit for publication, by reason of my bad “chirography3 and grammar;” for neither of which would they have blamed you. This is all I have to say, and therefore close by requesting you to give place to this, and therein oblige your reader, subscriber, and well-wisher.4 Respectfully, URIAH BOSTON. PLSr: FDP, 22 April 1853. 1. Uriah Boston (1815–89) was born in Pennsylvania and later moved to Poughkeepsie, New York, where he owned and operated a successful barbershop. A strong supporter of the black press, Boston corresponded regularly with Frederick Douglass’ Paper, and as an activist, he was best known for his support for expanding black voting rights in New York State. From 1840 to 1846 he led the Dutchess County Suffrage Committee, in 1853 he participated in the black national convention and served on the New York State Council for Colored People, and in 1855 he formed the Poughkeepsie Political Suffrage Association to work for equal voting rights. Dutchess (N.Y.) Courier, 16 June 1889; C. Peter Ripley, ed., The Black Abolitionist Papers, 5 vols. (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1985–92), 4:279–80. 2. Douglass published an editorial entitled “Make Your Son’s Mechanics and Farmers, not Waiters, Porters, and Barbers,” which advised black men to work, save their money, and purchase land. According to Douglass, African Americans should avoid such service-related professions as barbering because they did not contribute to an “elevation of character and social standing.” FDP, 8 April 1853. 3. Handwriting, penmanship. 4. Uriah Boston’s letter to Douglass was published in the 22 April 1853 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO WILLIAM H. SEWARD Rochester[, N.Y.] 23 April 1853. m

Hon. W H. Seward. My very Dear Sir. Give me leave to thank you for your encouraging words, and for the valuable donation of your “Works,”1 which have just come to hand. I Shall read every Syllable in these volumes; and, Shall try to master (So far as my negro intellect is capable) the various Subjects which have there engaged your attention, thought and Study. I promise this as the best return I can now make for your great kindness in Sending me the Books. In looking on these compendious volumes, it Seems almost incredible that their author is So young.2 The labors of three Score years Seem piled up in these volumes. I thank God, My dear Sir—that you are Still young, vigorous and Strong, inSpiring hope in the hearts of the poor and the oppressed, and Striking terror in those of oppressors and tyrants. The great truths uttered by you in the hearing of the nation, Still ring in the ears of all who would Shut out the Spirit of God—from the councils of men. My Dear Sir, as a friend to the Slave with whom I am identified, I put my trust in you as far as I dare put trust in an arm of flesh. Slaveholders fear you. I will trust you, Your philosophy is not my philosophy, but you have said and done that which which removes from me all timidity in addressing you and the timidity of my people is great. Allow me to Say one word further. The political parties are much out of joint. The peace of the Democratic party is, evidently, but a patched up affair, it is, Simply, a puting new wine into old bottles.3 The Whig party has failed, and fallen to pieces.4 You, my dear Sir, have the organising power, and have the voice to command and give Shape to the cause of your country, and to the cause of human Liberty. For my part, I long—to See the day when it shall be proclaimed, from one end of this Union, to the other, that Wm H Seward is no longer a member of the old Whig party,5 but is at the head of a great party of freedom, of justice, and truth, whose business it will be to find out and to re in act the Laws of the Living God. Can a State rest upon Selfishness, upon injustice, cruelty, oppression, Slavery? No! And the Salvation of this republic can only be Secured by the utter repudiation of these abominations. Dis[e]ntangle the Republic from Slavery, and the Republic may live—link its destiny with the frightful monster, and the bolts of offended Heaven will rain down on both.

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JAMES CATLIN TO DOUGLASS, 25 MAY 1853

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May God give you Strength for the great work which is before you, and Shield from every hurtful influence. I am, dear Sir, Most Truly your grateful friend. FRED DOUGLASS. ALS: William Henry Seward Papers, NRU. 1. Probably a reference to the four-volume collection The Works of William H. Seward, edited by George E. Baker and published in New York in 1853. 2. Seward was fifty-two years of age when his Works were first published. DAB, 16: 615–21. 3. A paraphrase of parables told by Jesus in both Mark 2:22 and Matt. 9:13. 4. Weakened by the ambivalence of their 1852 presidential candidate, Winfield Scott, toward the Compromise of 1850, rising support for nativism in politics, and economic trends that diminished the appeal of traditional party programs such as the protective tariff, the Whig party suffered significant losses in voter support in the fall 1852 elections and ultimately succumbed to the sectional political controversy created in 1854 by Stephen Douglas’s Kansas-Nebraska Act. Michael F. Holt, The Political Crisis of the 1850s (New York, 1978), 101–81. 5. Seward and most of his closest New York political allies clung to their Whig identity even after that party began to rapidly disintegrate following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the defection of many other Whigs, including Seward’s intrastate Whig rival Millard Fillmore, to the new nativist political movement nicknamed the Know-Nothings. A coalition of Know-Nothing and Whig legislators rejected Fillmore and reelected Seward to a new term in the U.S. Senate in February 1855. Seward and his followers officially merged themselves with the Republican party at a Syracuse convention in September 1855. Bancroft, Life of William H. Seward, 1:366–86; Holt, Political Crisis of the 1850s, 159.

JAMES CATLIN1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Mercer, Pa. 25 May 1853.

My Dear Frederick:— Here I am at last, in a large water cure establishment,2 with the prospect of fair success. I have scarcely seen a copy of your paper this month, so busy have I been in leaving my old home,3 and making a commencement here. But I cannot get on, even in a water cure, without my anti-slavery and temperance papers; and as yours stands first on the list, please change my address at once, and let me receive it here. How prospers our noble cause: My whole heart is with it, and I am sometimes almost resolved to devote all my time to it. A part of my time must go to it while I live and the monster wrong of slavery exists. But in seeking my own health, I have learned to restore the health of others; and so, following the opening made by our good friends, and the friends of humanity and of the right in all directions—Messrs. Robert Hanna4 and

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JAMES CATLIN TO DOUGLASS, 25 MAY 1853

Wm. M. Stephenson5 of this place, who have invested between $3000 and $4000 in a cure and its fixtures—I find myself here for one year at least “to heal the sick,”6 and wash disease and suffering from all who may be inclined to step into the life-giving element. And how sick is this world, physically as well as socially and morally! What need of physicians who shall be teachers and reformers. Humanity has been drugged with calomel and quinine,7 and dosed with rum, and cursed with slavery, and dwarfed with land monopoly, and stupified with tobacco and other narcotics, till there is but little strength of manhood left. The physician finds but little constitutional vigor, and the moral teacher but little high purpose and susceptible moral feeling with which to work. So we have to make small beginnings, slow progress, and let patience have its perfect work. Nevertheless, my brother, let us be of good cheer; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. The Free Democracy of Mercer county held their county meeting yesterday, to elect delegates to the State Conventions and make their county nominations. The party is not dead in this State.8 It will increase. The people know there is no political or moral soundness in the principles of the old parties. They hate the Compromise measures,9 and inwardly despise the political jugglers who mouth out the lying words that they are either just or constitutional or necessary, sunken and obtuse as we are. Everybody feels and knows, each one for himself and herself, that the Fugitive Slave Act is neither just law or good morals, or decent politics, or necessary and wise legislation, and they cannot much longer stick to the parties that will stick to it, because a few thousand slave-breeders and slave-traders tell them they shall. But here I must stop. My friends are requested to address me at “Mercer, Pa.” I remain yours in every good word and work, JAMES CATLIN.

PLSr: FDP, 3 June 1853. 1. James Catlin (1824–90), physician and businessman, attended Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. His wife, Martha Van Rensselaer, also a physician, opened their home in Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania, as a station of the Underground Railroad. Together with his brother, Henry, Catlin published the abolitionist weekly True American in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 1853 to 1861. In 1853 the Catlins were hired by the owners of the Mercer Water-Cure, Robert Hanna and William M. Stephenson. Water-Cure Journal, 13:45, 91 (February and April 1852); Mary Ellen Snodgrass, The

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WILLIAM W. CHAPMAN TO DOUGLASS, 18 JUNE 1853

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Underground Railroad: An Encyclopedia of People, Places, and Operations, 2 vols. (Armonk, N.Y., 2007–08), 1:106. 2. William M. Stephenson opened the Mercer Water-Cure at the beginning of 1853. By July of the same year, Dr. James Catlin and his wife, Martha Van Rensselaer, were managing it. Harry B. Weiss and Howard R. Kemble, The Great American Water-Cure Craze, A History of Hydropathy in the United States, (Trenton, N.J., 1967), 194. 3. Catlin had previously resided in Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania. 4. Robert Hanna (1802–72) was a businessman and abolitionist. He married Mary Craig, and they built a home on Pitt and East Beaver streets in Mercer, Pennsylvania, which became a stop along the Underground Railroad. Hanna was the chairman of the Mercer County Anti-Slavery Society. Anna Pierpont Siviter, Recollections of War and Peace, 1861–1868, Charles Henry Ambler, ed. (New York, 1938), 373–74; Charles L. Blockson, The Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania (Jacksonville, N.C., 1981), 126. 5. William M. Stephenson (1808–61) was a successful lawyer in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. He was an active conductor on the Underground Railroad and helped build up the Republican party in northwestern Pennsylvania. History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Its Past and Present (Chicago, 1888), 261. 6. Luke 9:2 or 10:9. 7. These were two very common drugs in the Civil War era. Calomel was a tasteless powder mainly consisting of mercurous chloride, which was used medicinally as a cathartic. Quinine, which occurs naturally in the bark of the cinchona tree, was used as a medicine to reduce fever in malaria victims. Michael A. Flannery, Civil War Pharmacy: A History of Drugs, Drug Supply and Provision, and Therapeutics for the Union and Confederacy (New York, 2004), 143–44. 8. The Free Democratic party in Pennsylvania suffered a greater loss of electoral support in 1852 than did the Free Soil 1848 ticket in any state. Mercer County, in the northwestern portion of the state, however, was near the antislavery stronghold of Ohio’s Western Reserve, and the Free Democrats survived there until the following year’s passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act revived the slavery extension issue across the North. Frederick J. Blue, The Free Soilers: Third Party Politics, 1848–54 (Urbana, Ill., 1973), 260–61, 266. 9. Probably a reference to the effort by leaders of both major political parties to rally voters behind the package of congressional legislation known as the Compromise of 1850, which was designed to resolve the dispute over slavery’s admission to the territories gained in the Mexican War and other sectionally divisive issues, including laws that required all citizens to return runaway slaves to their masters. While support for compromise was strong in much of the North, political abolitionists, along with an increasing number of defectors from the old parties, were joining forces and forming new moderate antislavery coalitions such as the Free Soil and the Free Democratic parties. Holt, Political Crisis of the 1850s, 67–138; EAAH, 1:179–81.

WILLIAM W. CHAPMAN1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Minetto, [N.Y.] 18 June 1853.

I have perused with deep interest the “Call for a Colored Convention,” published in your paper, to be held at Rochester, the 6th of July ensuing.2 The principle and design embodied in the notice, with one exception, meet my views and approbation. I should be highly gratified to be present, and identify myself with the Convention, but for the feature of exclusiveness

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WILLIAM W. CHAPMAN TO DOUGLASS, 18 JUNE 1853

which characterizes the invitation. Perhaps I am the only person who feels embarrassed by it. I call your attention to it, from the fact that it is quite unlike your former principles, inasmuch as you have frequently complained of this element in the palefaced associations and arrangements of this country, and its deadly influence upon the colored people.—Would not the attendance and co operation of such men as Goodell, Smith, and Garrison3 have given great and thrilling interest to your deliberations? Mr. Smith has publicly acknowledged himself a colored man. And many of us are, nevertheless, assimilated to you by our complexion and sympathies; at least, the complexion of our hearts and activities place us in strong affinity to you. In my communications with mankind, in an associated or individual form, the term color has long since become obsolete. The barriers and peculiarities attached to nationality and caste must be sacrificed, ere the blessings of human liberty can be realized by all. Now, in this anticipated Convention, and in all future efforts, the colored people must set the example of equality, and establish the rules of affiliation on their proper basis and abide by them, come what will. Affectionately, &c., W. W. CHAPMAN. PLSr: FDP, 1 July 1853. 1. Born in Sherburne, New York, William W. Chapman (1807–?) resided in Minetto, Oswego County. He was active in the later incarnation of the Liberty party, led by Gerrit Smith, and occasionally contributed letters to Frederick Douglass’ Paper. William W. Chapman to Douglass, 31 May, 23 December 1854 in FDP, 9 June 1854, 4 January 1855; James McCune Smith, The Works of James McCune Smith: Black Abolitionist and Intellectual, ed. John Stauffer (New York, 2006), 134. 2. In an editorial entitled “Call for a Colored National Convention,” Douglass invited representatives to convene in Rochester for a national convention for people of color on 6 July 1853. The purpose of the convention was to “confer and deliberate upon their present condition, and upon principles and measures important to their welfare, progress and general improvement.” Interested organizations were urged to appoint and send between one and three delegates to the convention. FDP, 24 June 1853. 3. William Goodell, Gerrit Smith, and William Lloyd Garrison.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester, [N.Y.] 15 July 1853.

Hon: Gerrit Smith. My dear Sir. May you Soon recover your wonted health. The last tiding from you were encouraging. You were remembered at our Convention1 last week. We

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cannot for get you when we think of our cause and its friends. You will be pleased to learn that the Local effect2 of the convention has been excellent. The current of feeling towards Colored people has been wonderfully i[m]proved by the Convention. In truth, the talent and eloquence displayed took our opponents by Surprise. It would have warmed your heart to have Seen and heard on the occasion. I had been deeply concerned for the result of the Convention for weeks before it was held. I now feel abundantly releived. My best hopes have been Surpassed. We had one Lady delegate—Mrs. Jeffrey3 of Geneva—and Strange to Say we had the good Sense to make no fuss about it. My friend Julia4 Sends Love to yourself and Dear Mrs. Smith.5 Truly and affectionately, yours, FREDERICK DOUGLASS.

[P.S.] I hope you will like my address to the people of the United States. It is Some what tame—but perhaps it will reach Some minds—which a more Spirited document would not. F.D. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. In July 1853, the National Convention of Colored Citizens, consisting of 140 delegates from nine states, met in Rochester, New York. The Reverend J. W. C. Pennington served as president, with Frederick Douglass, William C. Nell, and John B. Vashon sharing the office of vice president. Because of Douglass’s role in chairing the Committee on Declaration of Sentiments, he was in charge of drawing up the “Address of the Colored Convention to the People of the United States,” which outlined demands for basic rights. The convention debated the controversial issue of whether to found a labor college and sponsor the institution. The delegates established the National Council of the Colored People to support educational programs, economic cooperatives, employment opportunities, and to establish a black press. Although the council met only three times before dissolving, it was the first major attempt to organize black action for advancement. Philip S. Foner, History of Black Americans: From the Emergence of the Cotton Kingdom to the Eve of the Compromise of 1850 (Westport, Conn., 1983), 316–18; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 4:170–73. 2. Coverage in the Rochester Daily Advertiser was limited to general reports of the events that took place on 6 and 7 July 1853 in the “Home Matters” column. No editorials were written. The 6 July item reported on the opening of the convention, noting that the “specimens of oratorical power displayed” promised “some pretty tall speaking before the Convention adjourns.” The 7 July issue discussed the reopening of the convention and noted several of the members present, including J. McCune Smith, J. W. Pennington, Douglass, John W. Loguen, John Mercer Langston, Charles H. Reason, J. B. Vashon, and C. L. Remond. Coverage in the Daily Rochester Union was similarly brief. Efforts to open and organize the convention delegates dominated the entry published in the 6 July issue, noting that “some of the most influential colored men in the country” were present, including “Dr. J. McCune Smith, Rev. Mr. Pennington, Langston, Douglass, Vashon, Ray, Day, Remond, [and] Downing.” The 7 July issue focused on the debate over the adoption of a report prepared by the Committee on the Social Condition of the Colored Citizens. The item noted that the report was ultimately rejected and the convention recessed. Neither paper provided general or editorial coverage beyond 7 July 1853. Rochester Daily Union, 6, 7 July 1853; Rochester Daily Advertiser, 6, 7 July 1853.

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DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH, 15 JULY 1853

3. Mary Ann Jeffrey and her husband, Jason Jeffrey, a porter at the Eagle Hotel of Geneva, New York, were leading figures in that town’s African American community. Jason Jeffrey attended the 1843 National Negro Convention in Buffalo and gathered subscribers for Douglass’s North Star. Mary Ann Jeffrey served on a committee to raise funds for Henry Bibb’s periodical, the Impartial Citizen. Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 15 July 1853, Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU; “Minutes of the National Convention of Colored Citizens: Held at Buffalo, on the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th of August, 1843,” in Minutes of the Proceedings of the National Negro Conventions, 1830–1864, ed. Howard Holman Bell (New York, 1969), 19–20; FDP, 24 June 1853; Kathryn Grover, Make a Way Somehow: African-American Life in a Northern Community, 1790–1965 (Syracuse, N.Y., 1994), 221. 4. Julia Griffiths. 5. Ann Carroll Fitzhugh Smith.

L. DELOS MANSFIELD1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS New York, [N.Y.] 12 Aug[ust] 1853.

My Dear Douglass:— Your paper is a welcome visitor, as it comes weekly to my table; and I feel more interest in its prosperity, than I care to entertain without expressing. I regard it as the organ of your deeply-wronged and oppressed people; and as such, eminently deserving of the patronage of all who are interested in their moral, social and political elevation. I am pained at the course pursued towards you in Boston, by those whom common interests should have led to make common cause with you. I honor your independence in denying that in order to evince your gratitude toward Mr. Garrison,2 you must be a mental menial. You do well to carry out the abolition doctrines to their legitimate issues, by insisting that liberty of speech and thought, are to be held the birthright of men, equally with personal liberty. There is a want of magnanimity in the course pursued toward you by some of your old friends, that surprises me; but I will hope, that even those will award to you, ultimately, the privilege of being yourself—of being a man—at liberty to disagree with benefactors, without the charge of “ingratitude.” I was much gratified by the honorable manner in which your people acquitted themselves at your “National Convention.”3 I think it must exert a powerful influence in correcting that false and mischievous notion of the incapacity of your people for a high degree of improvement. It is plain that prejudice is giving way considerably, and that your people will steadily move forward to a position of social equality with the white race. Even in our great cotton mart there is a little prospect of the ultimate re-

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moval of that vulgar and senseless prejudice, which now excludes colored people from our cars and stages.4 A colored friend of mine, from the West Indies, an invalid, was obliged, when alone, to mount the omnibus (though scarcely possessed of sufficient strength to do so;) but when I was with him, I took him inside unmolested. I think a little effort on the part of white friends, to bring in their colored brethren to the public conveyances, would gradually overcome the prejudice which now exists. Prejudice is a plant of slow growth, and is generally eradicated by the same progress. Formerly rummies,5 and all sorts of vagabonds, had free access to the cars, while respectable colored people were excluded. I see, however, that lately one of the most respectable of our city roads has refused men who are drunk; and I hope they will soon rescind their barbarous practice of excluding persons on account of color. The influx of Chinese,6 and others from the East Indies, to attend our Great Exhibition,7 will aid, I hope, in this matter; for they are generally of quite a dark complexion. I hope, too, that European feelings, exhibited in the visitants at the Exhibition, will do something in that direction. A friend of mine, and one of the most beloved and worthy members of our church, who went as a servant in the family of one of our wealthy merchant princes, about a year since, to make the tour of Europe—writes me from Paris, that his color (he is black) is no bar to his associations there with the whites;8 and his complaint is that he is noticed too much, and he  evidently feels embarrassed to be addressed and treated as an equal. The family declare that “he receives more attentions than they do.” Oh! [W]hat miserable democrats are Americans! [A]nd what a miserable Christianity it is, too, which tolerates caste in our churches! I am happy to say, however, that by the blessing of God, New York is to have one more church (though it be of humble dimensions compared with our urban pagodas) where a free gospel is to be preached to all, without distinction of color. The Advent Mission Church 9 (of which I have the care) have erected a neat and comfortable chapel at 39 Forsyth St., where negro pews have no place, and we intend never shall. Where colored people are at home, by an acknowledged right, not by an especial patronage, sometimes quite as humiliating as actual deprecation of place. I hope sometime to hear your earnest and eloquent appeals within the walls of our chapel, in behalf of your injured race, with whom I deeply sympathize, and for whose good I am ever ready to be used.

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L. DELOS MANSFIELD TO DOUGLASS, 12 AUGUST 1853

In addition to my own and our church’s sympathy for your cause, we are laid under some obligation to make our chapel useful to the cause of the oppressed, from the fact, that Gerrit Smith, Arthur Tappan,10 Dennis Harris,11 S. P. Townsend,12 and others, have not forgotten us in their munificent and numerous contributions to the cause of humanity. Yours sincerely, L. D. MANSFIELD. PLSr: FDP, 19 August 1853. 1. Born in Rodman, New York, the Reverend Dr. L. Delos Mansfield (1821–1900) attended Oberlin College, performed missionary work in the West Indies, became the pastor of churches in California, Illinois, and New York, and acted as the principal and president of the Rockland Female Institute in Nyack, New York. Along with Douglass, he served as a representative for New York at the 1856 Radical Abolitionists’ convention in Syracuse. In 1857, while residing in Auburn, New York, Mansfield participated in activities associated with the Underground Railroad. New York Herald, 28 May 1856; Boston Recorder, 5 September 1867; San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin, 9 April 1878; Chicago Inter Ocean, 9 April 1878, 9 May 1881, 15 May 1887, 13 January 1889; New York Times, 12 May 1900; William Still, The Underground Rail Road (Philadelphia, 1872), 54. 2. William Lloyd Garrison. 3. Mansfield refers to the National Convention of Colored Citizens held in Rochester, New York, on 6, 7, and 8 July 1853. FDP, 24 June 1853. 4. For much of the nineteenth century, custom and social attitudes limited blacks’ use of public transportation. As early as 1841 the Massachusetts railroad offices began using the phrase “Jim Crow” to designate passenger cars for blacks. This term and practice quickly became widespread and was codified into law in the 1890s as states began restricting transportation for blacks. Most laws focused on railroad transportation, but steamboats, stagecoaches, and street railway systems were also affected. A Philadelphia district court upheld a ruling in 1861 requiring blacks to ride on the outside of streetcars regardless of the car’s seating or standing capacity or the state of the weather. The federal government sanctioned such practices and laws in 1878 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Louisiana state statute prohibiting racial discrimination in transportation, on the grounds that the law interfered with interstate commerce. Abraham L. Davis and Barbara Luck Graham, The Supreme Court, Race, and Civil Rights (Thousand Oaks, Calif., 1995), 18, 21, 40; Foner, History of Black Americans, 200–202. 5. Drunkards. 6. Although it is impossible to determine what precisely led Mansfield to anticipate an “influx” of Asians intent upon visiting the New York Crystal Palace Exhibition (or as it was known officially, the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations) in 1853, he was not alone in doing so. In 1852 the Brooklyn Circular endorsed New York’s upcoming world’s fair as a symbol of the idea that “national prejudices and national egotisms [were] being displaced by the truths of solidarity and universal brotherhood.” Emblematic of this new era, according to the Circular, was the fact that people as disparate as Turks, Russians, and Chinese would be able to “mingle [freely] in one enterprise” with English and American visitors. There is little evidence, however, that this proved to be the case. Although the fair included displays of Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian artifacts, most were taken from private collections belonging to either American or European collectors. Neither China nor most other Asian nations submitted exhibitions of their own. According to city officials, fewer than 150 Chinese resided in New York in the early 1850s. Brooklyn (N.Y.) Circular, 24 November 1852; Warren I. Cohen, East Asian Art and American Culture: A Study in International Relations (New

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York, 1992), 13, 20–21; John Kuo Wei Tchen, New York before Chinatown: Orientalism and the Shaping of American Culture, 1776–1882 (Baltimore, 1999), 74–77. 7. Inspired by London’s larger and more famous “Crystal Palace Exhibition” of 1851, the New York World’s Fair—also known as the New York Crystal Palace Exhibition—opened in mid-July 1853 with 4,854 industrial, agricultural, and art exhibits from the United States and twenty-three foreign countries. A decline in attendance and revenues prompted beleaguered stockholders to name P. T. Barnum president of the exhibition in 1854. When Barnum’s showmanship failed to revive the fair, the project was abandoned. Frank Monaghan, The New York World’s Fair 1939: “The Fairs of the Past and the Fair of Tomorrow” (New York, 1939), 14–15; James Ford Rhodes, History of the United State: From the Compromise of 1850 to the End of the Roosevelt Administration, 9 vols. (New York, 1886–1929), 1:414–16. 8. The French briefly abolished slavery in 1794 before reinstating the practice in 1802. The proclamation of the Second Republic in 1848 permanently abolished slavery, but in the early nineteenth century, African Americans living in France were rare. Those that did travel across the Atlantic were often artists, musicians, lawyers, or professors who settled in Paris. Most were members of the wealthy New Orleans elite and already spoke French. While allowed to pursue a wider range of opportunities and careers in France, blacks still faced racial prejudice. William B. Cohen, The French Encounter with Africans: White Response to Blacks, 1530–1880 (Bloomington, Ind., 1980), 181, 209; Michel Fabre, From Harlem to Paris: Black American Writers in France, 1840–1980 (Urbana, Ill., 1991), 9, 17, 27, 337; Sue Peabody, “There are No Slaves in France”: The Political Culture of Race and Slavery in the Ancien Régime (New York, 1996), 58; Patrice Higonnet, Paris: Capital of the World, trans. Arthur Goldhammer (Cambridge, Mass., 2002), 339–40. 9. The Reverend Mansfield was the pastor of the Advent Mission Church located at 39 Forsyth Street in New York City. New York Times, 10 December 1853. 10. Arthur Tappan (1786–1865) began work as a dry-goods clerk in Boston, but by the age of fifty had become a prosperous silk-jobbing merchant in New York City. Believing that his wealth obligated him to be “a steward of the Lord,” Tappan gave generously of his time and money to such reform organizations as the American Bible Society, the American Tract Society, the American Home Missionary Society, and other efforts committed to rooting out moral vice of every sort, including intemperance. Oberlin College was founded largely through his financial contributions, and he made timely contributions at an early period to Garrison’s Liberator. After renouncing his membership in the American Colonization Society, Tappan devoted most of his philanthropic energies to the antislavery movement. In 1833 he helped found the American Anti-Slavery Society, but seven years later he left the organization because of tactical disagreements with the Garrisonians and helped organize the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. Tappan served as the first president of both these major antislavery organizations and was an early supporter of the Liberty party. When missionary societies with which he had been affiliated failed to adhere to his antislavery principles, he cut his connection with them and, in 1846, helped establish the American Missionary Association. Tappan tried to promote schools and colleges for free blacks in the North, but local racist feeling frustrated his efforts. Lewis Tappan, The Life of Arthur Tappan (New York, 1870); Bertram Wyatt-Brown, Lewis Tappan and the Evangelical War against Slavery (Cleveland, 1969); ACAB, 6:33; NCAB, 2:320–21; DAB, 18:298–300, 303–04. 11. Dennis Harris (c. 1806–68) was an ardent abolitionist and New York businessman. His New Congress Sugar Refinery in New York was a popular stop on the Underground Railroad for fugitive slaves. Harris was instrumental in opening 158th Street in New York City to water traffic when he built a dock and obtained a charter for steamboat service that allowed him to transport passengers. New York Times, 30 March 1868; Reginald Pelham Bolton, Washington Heights, Manhattan: It’s Eventful Past (New York, 1924), 114–15; Tom Calarco, The Underground Railroad in the Adirondack Region (Jefferson, N.C., 2004), 178.

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12. Described in the New York Times as the “sarsapharilla millionaire,” Dr. Samuel P. Townsend (1813–70) suffered a serious financial loss in 1858 after losing a suit concerning the division of corporate assets with the family of a deceased partner. 1850 U.S. Census, New York, New York, 362A; New York Daily Times, 2 February 1858.

JOHN BROWN 1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Akron, Ohio. 18 Aug[ust] 1853.

Frederick Douglass, Esq: Dear Sir : — In your paper of the 12th inst., I find a letter from J. W. Loguen2 dated August 5th.—This letter has a certain music in it that so fills my ear, that I cannot well suppress the pleasure it affords.3 I allude to this language in particular, “and especially of one who is not only a fugitive but a prisoner under the, hellish Fugitive Slave Law for loving liberty, not only for myself, but also for a brother” Jerry. For this I am with others to be tried4 in an American court on the 4th Tuesday of Sept. next, at Canandaigua. In this I glory, I can well assure you. That which so much charms me is this, “In this I glory.”5 Allow me to say (in the language of another) hereafter, that shall be my music. This with me comes up to the full measure of a man. First, he puts his shoulder to the wheel of his own liberty; next he is in earnest to help his neighbor to secure the same right; and last, though not least, he glories in the trials and sufferings he is subjected to for doing so. This is the “first ripe fruit my soul desired.[“]6 When shall I taste it again? When shall it be filled? I would a thousand times rather share with Loguen in his glorying, and his suffering too, than to receive all the honors that ever Millard Fillmore,7 Daniel Webster,8 and all other such like traitorous “lickspittles”9 could even dream of. He says again, “and now, sir, I am to be tried in a Republican Court of Justice for loving liberty for a Brother.” He says “I am glad of it.”—Could the heroes of history (or of fable) surpass that? Go then, noble spirit—go to your trial, and to suffering, too (if need be.) “The blood of the martyrs will be the seed of the church.”10 I go for agitating and agitating again in the true Loguen style. “My dear friend, I have an old grey-headed mother, and sisters, and Brothers all in slavery at this time, and as God is my judge I would much much rather to day hear of them swimming in blood and nobly contending for their rights, even at cost of their own lives, than have them remain passive slaves all the rest of their days.” “I feel ready to try titles at any time with the slaveholder, or his meaner lickspittlers of the north.” “Death is sweeter

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than slavery.” Such language coming as it does from one on whom the forty (thousand) tyrants have now got their hand, on you cannot too often repeat in your Paper. Friend Douglass I have been waiting and watching with longing eyes for many years to see some full sized colored men leaping their full length above the surface of the water and I hope some day to see Loguen, and to give him such a shake of the hand, as will make his snap. “God helps them that help themselves, as poor Richard says.”11 Yours in truth, JOHN BROWN. PLSr: FDP, 26 August 1853. 1. Born in Torrington, Connecticut, John Brown (1790–1859) grew up in Hudson, Ohio. After receiving a rudimentary education, he failed successively as a tanner, a wool dealer, and a farmer. Long a supporter of emancipation, Brown became more militant in his antislavery activities after passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. In 1855, Brown followed four of his sons to Kansas, where he became a leader of the armed opposition to the admission of the territory as a slave state. His participation in the massacre of proslavery settlers at Pottawatomie Creek in May 1856 made him a nationally known figure. In 1857, Brown secretly began to recruit men and raise funds to establish a base in the southern Appalachian Mountains from which to raid plantations and free slaves. Brown’s plotting culminated in the unsuccessful attack by a small band on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in October 1859. Captured and tried for treason under Virginia law, he was executed on 2 December 1859 and immediately became a martyr figure to many Northerners. Stephen Oates, To Purge This Land with Blood: A Biography of John Brown, 2d. ed. (New York, 1984); Richard O. Boyer, The Legend of John Brown: A Biography and a History (New York, 1973); ACAB, 1:404–07; NCAB, 2:307–08; DAB, 3:131–34. 2. Jermain Wesley Loguen (1813–72), a black abolitionist and minister, was born into slavery in Davidson County, Tennessee. Originally named Jarm Logue, he was the son of an enslaved woman and her white owner, David Logue. In 1835, after his father sold his mother and sister, Loguen chose to escape. He first fled to Upper Canada, but relocated to Rochester in 1837. He opened schools for black children in Utica and Syracuse before his ordination as a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in 1842. Loguen originally supported the antislavery principles of William Lloyd Garrison, believing in nonpolitical action and nonviolence, but in the 1840s began to endorse political action as a means for change in the struggle against slavery. By 1844 Loguen had become a regular lecturer on the antislavery circuit, working closely with the western New York abolitionist circle that included Douglass, Samuel J. May, and Gerrit Smith. His house in Syracuse was an important stop for slaves bound for Canada on the Underground Railroad, and he devoted much time to the Syracuse Fugitive Aid Society. Fear of prosecution for his role in the rescue of the fugitive William “Jerry” McHenry led him to flee temporarily to Canada West, but he returned to Syracuse early in 1852 to resume his work on behalf of fugitives. He later recruited black troops for the Union army during the Civil War and established African Methodist Episcopal Zionist congregations in the South during Reconstruction. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen, The Rev. J. W. Loguen, as a Slave and as a Freeman: A Narrative of Real Life (Syracuse, N.Y., 1859), 425–33; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 67; ANB, 13:848–49. 3. Brown refers to Jermain Wesley Loguen’s letter, which was published in the 12 August 1853 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. In his letter, Loguen states that he was caught while helping the  fugitive slave “Jerry” and that he is scheduled to be tried on charges related to the Fugitive Slave Law.

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4. Although indicted, Jermain Wesley Loguen was never tried for his role in the Jerry Rescue. To avoid arrest, Loguen fled to Canada, where he remained until the following spring. Of the thirteen indictments issued in the case, only four were ever heard in court. The trials were scheduled to begin in January 1852, but were postponed to June and then to October. They were finally heard in January of the following year. The remaining indictments, including Loguen’s, were again postponed and adjourned before finally being dropped. Loguen, Narrative, 437, 442; Earl E. Sperry, The Jerry Rescue (Syracuse, N.Y., 1921), 27–28; Fergus M. Bordewich, Bound for Canaan (New York, 2005), 127, 434; EAAH, 2:298. 5. This phrase originated in Dante’s “Canzone 13,” a lyrical poem that dates to c. 1300: “You can give me what no one else can, for Love has put into your hands the power of life and death over me, and in this I glory.” K[enelm] Foster and P[atrick] Boyde, eds., Dante’s Lyric Poetry, 2 vols. (London, 1967), 1:28–29. 6. A slight misquoting of Mic. 7:1. 7. Millard Fillmore (1800–84), thirteenth president of the United States, represented the Buffalo region in the New York state legislature (1828–32) and in the U.S. House of Representatives (1833–35, 1837–43), where he generally voted with the Henry Clay wing of the Whig party. Defeated in the 1844 New York governor’s race, Fillmore secured the Whig vice presidential nomination in 1848 and assumed the presidency upon Zachary Taylor’s death in July 1850. Fillmore vigorously advocated the passage of the Compromise of 1850 and signed each of its measures into law. Denied his party’s nomination in 1852, Fillmore ran for president on the American party ticket in 1856 and supported John Bell and the Constitutional Union party in 1860. NCAB, 6:177–78; DAB, 6:380–82. 8. Daniel Webster (1782–1852) was a lawyer and statesman known for his stirring oratory. As a lawyer, he successfully argued many cases before the Supreme Court, such as the 1816 Dartmouth College case and the 1819 McCulloch v. Maryland case, earning him a reputation as a strong nationalist. During the War of 1812, Webster represented New Hampshire in Congress (1812–16). In 1827 he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, where he remained in service through most of his life. He continued to take strong nationalist positions in political debates, attacking Andrew Jackson’s 1832 veto of the Second Bank of the United States and opposing Nullification in 1832–33. Webster accepted appointment as secretary of state under William Henry Harrison and was the sole cabinet member from Harrison’s presidency to retain his office during John Tyler’s administration. In 1842 he negotiated the Webster-Ashburton Treaty with Great Britain, establishing the modern boundary between the United States and Canada, but resigned his post a year later and returned to the Senate in 1845. In 1848 Webster made an unsuccessful bid for the Whig presidential nomination, losing to Zachary Taylor, a hero of the Mexican War. In 1850, Webster again left the Senate to act as secretary of state, this time under Millard Fillmore, placing him in a good position for the presidency, but he lost the 1852 Whig nomination to Winfield Scott. Although not an abolitionist, he opposed the extension of slavery, taking stands against the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the Mexican War, and the enforcement of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law. Robert V. Remini, Daniel Webster: The Man and His Time (New York, 1997), 15–21; DAB, 11:585–92; ANB, 22: 865–68. 9. A lickspittle, in common usage, was someone who exhibited the qualities of a toady, a sycophant, or a flatterer. Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, ed. John Ayto (New York, 2005), 816. 10. The phrase may originate with Tertullian’s Apology, which was composed in 197 C.E. as an “open letter” to the Roman Empire objecting to the persecution of Christians. Roy Joseph Deferrari, ed., The Fathers of the Church, series 10: Tertullian, Apologetical Works and Minucius Felix Octavius (1950; Washington, D.C., 1962), 3–4, 125. 11. The expression “God helps them that help themselves” is attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac (1732–58; New York, 1980), 54.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO CHARLES SUMNER1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 2 Sept[ember] 1853.

Hon. Chas. Sumner. My dear Sir. Accept my thanks for your note of Aug 31st2 The speech3 of mr. Wakins,4 found its way into my columns. Simply as the production of a colored man. I dissent from its Spirit and its philosophy. It evinced the possession of talent by its Author—and for this it was published. I saw your Speech on [the] Militia question,5 and marked it for publication—but I am so much on the wing—so much from home—and with al—have so little order, that—The paper Containing your Speech Slipped through my fingers—and is gone.6 You will, therefore, do me a Service by Sending the Speech—, It Shall be published at once. I understand your views and feelings on the subject of peace and war exactly—and am prepared with every disposition, to do you justicefully. Mr Watkins—is a young man—a man of some promise—I should think. He is now in a School of reformers7—a School through which I have passed—a School which has many good qualities—but a School too narrow in its philosophy—and too bigoted in Spirit to do justice to any who venture to differ from it. I am at this moment assailed with more bitterness by that School than from any other quarter—I need much of your self possession and patience. I am often tempted to Strike back and I am not Sure that I will not do So at Some future time. For the present, however, I propose for myself Silence under every provocation. Especially do I wish to maintain Silence under whatever Mr Garrison8 may Say. I stand in relation to him something like that of a child to a parent. But not so in relation to any other man of the party. You will bear with me if I take this occasion to explain the cause of much ill feeling in that quarter towards me. My first offense was Starting my paper against their advice—My 2d offense—was refusing to make it the organ of their Society—My third offense the abandonment of the non voting theory. It will be news to you—when I tell you that Mr. Garrison—and Mrs Chapman9—upon the Starting of my paper10 —wrote, immediately to my friends in England—counseling the with draw ment of all support from it, on the ground that there was no need of Such a paper—and that the “Standard”11 and “Liberator”12 were quite Sufficient. They wrote in various directions predicting the failure of the paper—complimenting me as

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a speaker—decrying me as a writer—and regretting the loss of me in the lecturing field. This was the best possible way to undermine and destroy my paper. Yet the attempt failed—and ought to have failed—Not that I can boast of the power they deny me—I mean the power to write, but they might have given me a fair opportunity to try my hand without their volunteer disparagements. They might have allowed my friends to ascertain, for themselves, how far I was capable of Serving the anti Slavery Cause with my pen. But I am taking up too much of your precious time. Pardon the freedom of this note, and believe me, [Y]our Sincere and Grateful friend— FREDERICK DOUGLASS ALS: Charles Sumner Correspondence, MH-H. 1. Best remembered as the victim of a vicious attack by a congressional colleague, Charles Sumner (1811–74), U.S. senator from Massachusetts (1851–74), was dedicated to the cause of emancipation. Born in Boston, Sumner attended and then taught at Harvard College. He engaged in a semi-successful law practice until his outspoken opposition to the United States war against Mexico thrust him into politics. He was a founder of the Free Soil Party in Massachusetts, and a coalition of Free Soilers and Democrats elected him to the U.S. Senate in 1850. Immediately embroiling himself in the heated topic of slavery, Sumner became an outspoken advocate of emancipation and repeatedly refuted compromises proposed by Henry Clay and others. After one particularly scathing speech in the Senate against slavery, Sumner was brutally beaten with a cane by a Southern representative, which necessitated years of recovery before Sumner was able to reenter the Senate. Sumner’s lasting legacy was to turn popular sentiment in the North toward emancipation, and after the Civil War, he continued to fight for the individual freedoms of blacks until his sudden death in 1874. Frederick J. Blue, Charles Sumner and the Conscience of the North (Arlington Heights, Ill., 1994); David Donald, Charles Sumner and the Coming of the Civil War (New York, 1960); DAB, 18:208–14. 2. This letter has not survived. 3. Perhaps Douglass alludes to the report by Watkins of a meeting of Boston blacks on 2 August 1853, published in Frederick Douglass’ Paper on 12 August 1853. Both Douglass and Watkins spoke at the meeting. FDP, 12 August 1853. 4. William James Watkins (c. 1826–?), a freeborn African American, was a machinist during his younger years, but in 1865 he became one of the first African American lawyers. Originally a Garrisonian, Watkins broke with that organization and later joined Douglass as a political abolitionist. In 1853 he moved to Rochester and served as associate editor of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Watkins was also active in the Underground Railroad and supported migration to Haiti as a means of hastening abolition. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 2:442; Walter M. Merrill and Louis Ruchames, eds., The Letters of William Lloyd Garrison, 6 vols. (Cambridge, Mass., 1971–81), 4:428n; Miller, Search for a Black Nationality, 139–40, 243–47; Pease and Pease, They Who Would Be Free, 243, 275–76; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 178, 187–89, 230; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 4:155–56n. 5. In June 1853 delegates assembled in Boston to write a new constitution for Massachusetts. Since most states maintained militias in the nineteenth century, the composition and duties of the Massachusetts Militia were on the list of revisions. Delegate Henry Wilson moved to include a provision in the new constitution to make “no distinction of color or race” in the composition of state militias. Delegate Charles Sumner rose and spoke in favor of the new provision, but held reservations.

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So that the provision would comply with the U.S. Constitution and its requirements for a national militia, Sumner suggested that Wilson amend his motion and replace any mention of “militia” in the new state constitution with “military companies.” Sumner concluded, “Massachusetts may proudly declare that in her own volunteer military companies, marshaled under her own local laws, there shall be no distinction of color or race.” Charles Sumner, Recent Speeches and Addresses by Charles Sumner, (Boston, 1856), 191–202. 6. Douglass is in error. He had already published the remarks by Sumner on the militia provisions in the new Massachusetts state constitution in Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 15 July 1853. 7. Douglass alludes to his prior connections with the Garrisonian, or “old organization,” abolitionists. Douglass broke with his original antislavery mentors in the early 1850s when he embraced political abolitionism and repudiated the Garrisonian tenet that the U.S. Constitution was a proslavery document. Watkins made a similar change in his abolitionist allegiances shortly thereafter. Martin, Mind of Frederick Douglass, 36–39; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 4:155–56. 8. William Lloyd Garrison. 9. Maria Weston Chapman (1806–85), known as “Garrison’s lieutenant,” was a forceful writer and editor of several antislavery periodicals. Daughter of wealthy Bostonians who educated her and her sisters in Europe, she briefly supervised one of the nation’s first female high schools. After marrying the merchant Henry Grafton Chapman in 1830, she became active in the abolitionist movement. When her husband died in 1842, abolition became the consuming work of her life. Chapman was a driving force in both the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and the American Anti-Slavery Society. Although she shunned public speaking, she served on committees and organized bazaars and other fund-raising events for the Garrisonians. She edited the annual report of the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society, and she assisted in editing both the Liberator and the National AntiSlavery Standard. Clare Taylor, Women of the Anti-Slavery Movement: The Weston Sisters (New York, 1995); Catherine Clinton, “Maria Weston Chapman,” in Portraits of American Women, comp. G. J. Barker-Benfield and Catherine Clinton, 2 vols. (New York, 1991), 1:147–67; Jane H. Pease and William H. Pease, Bound with Them in Chains: A Biographical History of the Antislavery Movement (Westport, Conn., 1972), 28–59; Edward T. James et al., eds., Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary, 3 vols. (Cambridge, Mass., 1971), 1:324–25; DAB, 4:19. 10. An estrangement between Douglass and Boston Garrisonians had been growing since the former returned from Great Britain in early 1847 with enough money donated from abolitionists there to begin his own newspaper. Garrison, Edmund Quincy, and other Boston abolitionists believed that they had persuaded Douglass to abandon this plan in early summer. A warm public reception during a western tour later that year, however, convinced Douglass to begin his own newspaper in Rochester, a considerable distance from the Garrisonians’ East Coast bases of strength. In a letter to his wife, Helen, in October 1847, Garrison branded Douglass’s decision to launch the North Star “impulsive, inconsiderate, and highly inconsistent with his earlier decision in Boston against doing so,” and predicted that the British abolitionists would be offended by “such a strange somerset” (i.e., somersault). Only a few weeks after this letter to Sumner, the feud between Douglass and the Garrisonians became more public and acrimonious, and the two parties were never reconciled. Benjamin Quarles, Frederick Douglass (Washington, D.C., 1948), 58, 78; Merrill and Ruchames, Garrison Letters, 3:532–33. 11. The American Anti-Slavery Society published the New York–based National Anti-Slavery Standard as the society’s official publication from 1840 to 1870. Merton L. Dillon, The Abolitionists: The Growth of a Dissenting Minority (DeKalb, Ill., 1974), 213. 12. William Lloyd Garrison published the weekly Boston newspaper the Liberator from 1831 to 1865. The paper advocated women’s rights, temperance, pacifism, and a variety of other reforms in addition to immediate emancipation. Thomas, Liberator, 127–28, 436; DAB, 7:168–72.

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JAMES MONROE WHITFIELD1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS —Buffalo, N.Y. 15 Nov[ember] 1853.

Mr. Editor, Nothing can be more unpleasant than to differ in opinion upon important points, from those for whom we entertain the highest respect and the kindest affection; but when, by such persons, our position is perseveringly misunderstood, it is no more than just that we should claim the privilege of correcting such misrepresentations; and if in such case, the much in little, (multum in parvo)2 principle should be apparently neglected, it may be readily accounted for upon the ground that it is easier to make or deny charges than it is to substantiate or refute them. That you would not have been satisfied with such a summary disposition of your article as you made with the call, is evident from the peculiar umbrage3 given to you by the only portion of my letter in which such a disposition was made of any part of your article, and that was the portion where you announced it to be, in your opinion, uncalled for, unwise, unfortunate, and premature; and I, in answer, quoted the well matured opinion of such men as Wm. Webb,4 J. J. G. Bias,5 M. M. Clark,6 M. R. Delany,7 Wm Lambert,8 A. R Green,9 H. Bibb,10 J. T. Holley,11 W. C. Munroe,12 A. M. Summer,13 and others, supposing them to be worth as much on one side of a question, with which they are equally conversant, as those of F. Douglass and W. J. Watkins14 are on the other. In other words, that such men are capable of thinking and acting for themselves, especially upon questions vitally connected with their own interests, and to which their attention has been earnestly devoted for years. In your reply to my letter, you, rather disingenuously, I think, try to convey the impression that you are attacked for presuming to differ in opinion from these gentlemen, when you very well know that the letter was called forth by your severe attack upon those gentlemen for presuming to differ in opinion from you.15 But you are unwilling to admit that you made many “severe and unjust strictures upon the emigration movement, or commented upon it at length.” You must certainly be aware that in an article like the one in question, consisting of bare assertion, unsustained by facts or arguments, “the multum in parvo principle” may be carried to perfection, and without being lengthy, you can be both severe and unjust. We may differ in relation to what number shall be denominated many, but I will arrange the charges in regular order, and ask you to substantiate them, or do not blame us for characterizing them as severe and unjust.

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1. It is uncalled for. 2. Unwise. 3. Unfortunate. 4. Premature. 5. Will please our enemies 6. It is ungentlemanly. 7 Opposed in spirit and in purpose to the Rochester Convention. 8 Narrow and illiberal. 9. Cowardly. In my former letter I remarked that probably the opponents of emigration did not desire anything like a fair discussion of the question, but would endeavor, to excite prejudice beforehand, by raising the cry of colonization, expatriation, &c.; and the result shows that my expectations were well founded, for you inform your readers that “ ‘Tis colonization after all arrayed in the baptismal robes of emigration.” It matters but little to us what name you give us, so long as you do not misrepresent our position. You speak of my calling the condition of the colored people in this country hopeless, and draw the inference that I “do not believe that the two races can live, and move, and have their being together in this country;” I would ask you to carefully look over my letter again, and see if there is anything in it to justify such remarks. What are the fundamental points laid down in that letter [illegible] the basis of any discussion on the subject? 1st. That the mass of the colored people in this country must ever remain here, and never can by any possibility be brought to emigrate en masse; and that, therefore, the stereotyped arguments on the practicability, or impracticability, of en masse emigration, are a tissue of nonsense on both sides, and unworthy a moment’s consideration. 2nd, That the tendency of political events is towards the formation of a great nation, or family of nations, occupying the tropical regions of this continent and its islands, in which the black is to be the predominant race, at least in numbers; and that true policy requires that it should be rendered predominant politically, as well as numerically. 3rd, That the reflex influence of such a power, with the increased activity which its reaction will excite in the colored people of this country, will be the only thing sufficiently powerful to remove the existing prejudice, unless the bleaching theory should prevail in practice, and the Negro race be absorbed, and its identity lost in that of the Caucasian. A consummation which our bitterest enemies, however much they may oppose it in theory, are striving with all their might to reduce to practice, and which every friend of liberty and morality should endeavor to prevent. It must be evident to every one, that the brotherhood and equality of mankind cannot be vindicated by a process, which leaves an oppressed and degraded class at the mercy of the brutal lust of their oppressors, until by an unlimited system of concubinage, steadily pursued for ages, the differences of race and color are lost, and the heterogeneous mass becomes moulded into a homogeneous people—nor by one race

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occupying everywhere a secondary and dependant position, while the other occupies a primary and independent one—but full and fair equality can be looked for, only through the existence of national organizations of the different races, each occupying the same manly, independent, self|governing position. Then, and not until then, can amalgamation, or social intercourse, take place without disgrace to either party; but in the present condition of the races, all such amalgamation, or social intercourse, must be conducted in such a manner as to be shameful and humiliating in the utmost degree, to the proscribed class. Yet we have men among us, who, on general subjects, evince sufficient intelligence and self-respect, men that act as leaders of the people, who when colored conventions are called, to labor for the rights which have been wrested from us, or colored institutions are proposed, for the purpose of enabling colored youth to obtain some of the facilities for instruction so unjustly withheld from them, while so liberally awarded to the whites—condemn such conventions and institutions as being proscriptive, not for excluding white men from equal participation in their privileges, but for not giving a special invitation to the class who have cast us out from among them with contempt, and would hardly shake hands with us with a pair of tongs. With just as much reason might the beggar in his wretched hovel be accused of proscription, who should sit down to his meagre repast without sending a special invitation to the wealthy banker who would kick him out of doors if he attempted to enter his premises to share it with him. You say that “colonizationists are resolved to drive us from the country, and care but very little where we go. That they don’t dread so much our emigration to the West Indies, or Central and South America, or the Canadas, as our proximity to those of our brethren who are in bonds;” and declare your intention to remain here where God has placed you. Did you really mean what you wrote then? I think not. Let us examine and see. God placed you in Maryland,16 right by the side of your “brethren in bonds,” where you could remember them as being bound with them in the most literal sense. Why did you not remain in that proximity instead of going to Massachusetts and New York? Was it not because in spite of that proximity you found you could not help yourselves, much less your “brethren in bonds;” and by removing to a free State you could do more to elevate yourselves and improve your own condition, and as a necessary consequence to benefit your brethren also? If such be the case, why should you censure us for following out the same logical deductions a step farther, and drawing the conclusion that we can exercise a greater influ-

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ence for bettering the condition of ourselves, and our enslaved brethren by moving into a free nation than we can by remaining in a slaveholding one; especially when our proximity to our brethren in bonds will be no wise diminished thereby; for if either Canada, the West Indies or Central America, be chosen, particularly the two latter, we shall be at least as near to the mass of our “brethren in bonds” as you will be in Rochester. Our enemies are not so ignorant as not to see that the existence of an independent community of negroes upon their southern frontier, is a dangerous example to be held out to their slaves; hence their threats of going to war if necessary to prevent the abolition of slavery in Cuba—their machinations to foment discord in and prevent the growth and prosperity of Hayti17— and their systematic attempts to spread erroneous impressions relative to the efforts of emancipation in the British and French islands. They also see that the surest way of keeping the negroes down is to prevent their concentration, as much as possible, when they might learn to know and respect each other, and become acquainted with their own strength and resources, and keep them “scattered and peeled,” “meted out and trodden down”18 in their midst, constrained to engage in the lowest and most menial occupations, and by the pressure of circumstances around them deprived of the power of acting with energy and efficiency or unitedly upon any subject; and to turn the course of those who may be disposed to emigrate towards Africa where it will be impossible for them to exert the same influence upon slavery here, that they would if located in the West India islands, or the adjacent parts of the continent. In accordance with this policy we see that they are ready to go to war or at lest to threaten it, for the purpose of preventing the abolition of slavery in Cuba19 which would secure negro ascendancy there, and at the same time are willing to pay $100,000,000,20 for the purpose of admitting Cuba into the Union, where the whole power of this great confederacy can be wielded to crush the black, and keep him forever in a state of servile dependence upon the white. It is rather amusing to see the course pursued by the enemies of this movement; public meetings and individuals have expressed their opinion in sorrow, or in anger, according to the mood of the different persons; yet not one of them have ventured to attack any of the positions laid down by us, but each erects his man of straw, names him emigration movement, and fires away at him with all his might. Mr. David Jenkins21 of Columbus, Ohio, in a letter to the Aliened American 22 works himself up into a perfect frenzy; and in language similar to that of the New York Herald,23 when stirring up the ruffians of that city to mob anti-slavery meetings, calls on

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the people of Cleveland not to suffer the Convention to be held there.24 He may rest assured that the Convention25 will be held. A public meeting also held at Columbus, over which the same gentleman presided, informs us that it “no longer sees us as friends, but inveterate enemies and haters of the cause we once advocated,” and invokes “shame and indignation” upon us. The answer to these brethren is that in whatever light they may see us, we shall continue to be, as we have been heretofore, the staunch friends of every thing in our judgement calculated to promote the elevation of our race, and the uncompromising enemies of every thing which, in our opinion, tends to degrade it. Many of the signers of that call, have entertained for years the same opinion of the policy of emigration which they now advocate. The writer of this article at least, (and I may say the same of several others,) has entertained the same opinion from boyhood, and time has but served to strengthen his convictions. The first article I ever wrote for publication, was as Chairman of a Committee appointed by a meeting of the colored citizens of Cleveland, held in the winter of 1838–9 to prepare an address on the subject of emigration, recommending a concentration upon the borders of the United States, having particular reference to California. That address was adopted, nearly or quite, unanimously by the meeting, and published in some of the papers; and was assailed on all sides with the fiercest animosity. I have lived to see men who ridiculed the idea of going to California, to build up the country, and be possessors and owners of the soil, the makers of its laws, and controllers of its destiny; after waiting until white men have gone in and possessed the soil, and made laws to degrade the negro below the level of the brute, while welcoming the men of every other race and nation—after all this, you can see these same men flocking in crowds to California, to perform the menial services of white men, and no warning voice is heard from any of our mentors, probably because they are satisfied with that state of things, as one to which they are accustomed. To see the white independent, the black dependent; the white filling the high, the black the low positions in society; the white making and executing the laws, the black not allowed to testify in a court of justice; in short the white the master, the black the servant. If such a course as this is pursued, what stronger proof could be desired by our enemies in support of their favorite argument, that the negro is incapable of self- government, and aspires no higher than to be a servant to the whites. You say that your “trust is not in an arm of flesh, but in Him who maketh the clouds His chariot, and rides upon the wings of the wind; that

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He is just, and His justice shall not sleep forever;” and express your belief that “He will yet declare concerning us, as of His oppressed people of old, I have seen, I have seen, the afflictions of my people, and am come down to deliver them” Did you mean to carry out the parallel to its full extent, and intimate that He will deliver us “as He did His oppressed people of old,” by bringing us out in a body, “with a high hand, and with an outstretched arm?” If so, you are greater emigrationists than I am. I too have implicit faith in the justice of the same Almighty Being, and that faith is none the less strong because I believe that in the natural world, He works by natural means, and uses arms of flesh to work out His own Omniscient purposes, or to use your own words, in another column of the same paper, that He helps those who help themselves. To call upon the Lord to do that for us which we should perform ourselves, is but a solemn mockery, too much akin to the hypocritical cant of the pious knaves who defend slavery, with all its train of hellish abominations, as a Heaven-ordained institution, and traffic in the bodies and souls of men for the glory of God. What we have to do then, is, to put our own hands to the plow, assured that if we do our share of the work, God will not fail to perform His; remembering that “who would be free themselves must strike the blow;”26 “and work out their own salvation.”27 Respectfully Yours, J. M. WHITFIELD PLSr: FDP, 25 November 1853. 1. James Monroe Whitfield (1822–71), barber and poet, was born in New Hampshire. During the winter of 1838–39, the Young Men’s Union Society of Cleveland appointed sixteen-year-old Whitfield to deliver an address on the subject of emigration. He urged that blacks establish separate settlements in the United States or on its borders. By the mid-1850s, he had become a major spokesman for black emigration. After he moved to Buffalo, New York, in 1841, Whitfield worked as a barber and wrote poetry. Several of his poems had already been published in the North Star when Douglass visited Whitfield in Buffalo in late June 1850. Recounting their visit, Douglass lamented, “That talents so commanding, gifts so rare, poetic powers so distinguished, should be tied to the handle of a razor and buried in the precincts of a barber’s shop, and that he who possesses them should be consigned, by the malignant arrangements of society, to occupy a position so menial, is painfully disheartening.” Whitfield was a delegate to the black convention in Rochester in 1853. He endorsed and attended the 1854 emigration convention in Cleveland, which commissioned him to investigate Central America as a site for prospective black settlements. Convinced that “full and fair equality [could] be looked for, only through the existence of national organizations of the different races,” Whitfield hoped that the emigration of black Americans would contribute to the emergence of a powerful and independent black nation in the American hemisphere. Before leaving Buffalo around 1859, Whitfield published a volume of poetry, America, and Other Poems (Buffalo, 1853), which he dedicated to Martin R. Delany. Later poems appeared in the Liberator, the San Francisco Pacific Appeal, and the San Francisco Elevator. After the Civil War, Whitfield’s principal residence seems to have been in San Francisco, though he also lived in Portland, Oregon, and in Idaho. Between 1864 and 1869

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he was Masonic Grand Master of California. FDP, 25 November 1853; Salem (Ohio) Anti-Slavery Bugle, 24 August 1850; Martin R. Delany, The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States, Politically Considered (1852; New York, 1968), 132; Miller, Search for a Black Nationality, 137–40; Joan R. Sherman, “James Monroe Whitfield, Poet and Emigrationist: A Voice of Protest and Despair,” JNH, 57:169–76 (April 1972). 2. The phrase “multum in parvo” translates to “much information condensed into few words or into a small compass.” Whitfield disagrees with Douglass on the subject of emigration and appears to suggest that the issue warrants a lengthier discussion. Brewer, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 941. 3. Whitfield submitted for publication a notice entitled “Call for a National Emigration Convention of Colored Men” to be held in Cleveland, Ohio on 24–26 August 1854. Douglass printed the notice in the 26 August 1853 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Douglass, who was opposed to emigration, also published an editorial notice in the same issue, suggesting that the convention was “uncalled for, unwise, unfortunate, and premature.” 4. William Webb (1812–68), a free black, was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, but spent his youth and young adulthood in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. An ordained African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) clergyman in Carlisle, Webb supervised the Young Men’s Debating Society, organized a black savings company, and worked as a subscription agent for the Colored American. Webb represented Carlisle at the black state conventions of 1841 and 1848. Moving to Pittsburgh in the early 1850s, Webb opened a grocery store and became a subscription agent for Mary Ann Shadd’s Provincial Freeman. Webb was a strong supporter of black emigration and worked with Martin R. Delany to organize the National Emigration Convention in 1854 in Cleveland. Webb moved to Detroit in 1858, where he again supported himself by running a grocery store. In Detroit, he assisted in helping fugitive slaves and participated in the Refugee Home Society affairs. Webb hosted a meeting in his home between John Brown and local black leaders in an attempt to generate support for Brown’s insurrectionary plans. Webb later helped found Detroit’s John Brown League. After the Civil War, Webb cofounded the Michigan Freedmen’s Aid Society. His posthumous autobiography, The History of William Webb, was published in 1873. Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 4:162. 5. An early African American physician, James J. Gould Bias (?–1864) attended the Eclectic Medical College of Philadelphia in 1851 and 1852. An advocate of temperance and popular education, as well as a leading elder of the A.M.E. Church, Bias supported abolitionist activities in Philadelphia. 1848 Mail Book of the NS, 163, FD Papers Project, InIU; NS, 5 January 1849; Theophilus Gould Steward, Fifty Years in the Gospel Ministry: From 1864 to 1914 (Philadelphia, 1921), 20. 6. The Revered Molson M. Clark (or Clarke) (c. 1794–1874), born to free parents in Delaware, began school in Philadelphia and studied at Jefferson College in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, but apparently never graduated. Upon leaving college, Clark was hired as a teacher by black residents of Buffalo, New York, but left after eighteen months to establish schools for blacks in Ohio, where he helped circulate petitions requesting the state legislature to repeal discriminatory education laws. Clark occasionally attended meetings of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. He joined the Presbyterian Church in 1828 and the A.M.E. Church in 1840. He preached for two years on the Hillsboro Circuit before being ordained an elder. At the A.M.E. General Conference of 1844, Clark was named the ‘church’s general book agent, but he resigned in 1845 to accept a pastorate in Washington, D.C. In 1846, he and the Reverend Daniel A. Payne of Bethel Church, Baltimore, were selected to represent the A.M.E. Church at the Evangelical Alliance meeting in London. Payne returned to Baltimore after his ship was disabled by a storm; Clark managed to reach London barely a day before the meeting adjourned. Alliance leaders appended fund-raising appeals on behalf of his church to their antislavery lectures. Although denounced by Douglass, Henry C. Wright, and a number of Scottish Garrisonians, Clark received enthusiastic support and cooperation from more moderate clergymen and abolitionists, forged close ties with many Free Church leaders, and visited Edinburgh in May 1847 at the invitation of Robert S. Candlish. Before leaving the British Isles, Clark published Tract on American Slavery (Bradford, Eng., 1847), which denounced Northern race prejudice and advocated emancipa-

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tion. From 1852 to 1854, Clark served as editor of the newly founded Christian Recorder, and in 1856 he backed an unsuccessful attempt to strengthen the A.M.E. Church’s official stand against slavery. Later active in Missouri, Clark died in Alton, Illinois. Richard Thurrow to William Lloyd Garrison, 17 June 1847, in Lib., 9 July 1847; Aberdeen (Scot.) Banner, 30 October 1846; San Francisco Elevator, 31 October 1874; Daniel A. Payne, History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (1891; New York, 1969), 130, 145, 162, 167, 172, 190–92, 197–203, 274–76, 278–79, 315–16, 335–45; idem, Recollections of Seventy Years (Nashville, Tenn., 1888), 82–91; Charles Spencer Smith, A History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church . . . From 1856 to 1922 (Philadelphia, 1922), 341, 413, 428–29, 464, 495–96, 525, 539–45; Charles H. Wesley, “The Negro in the Organization of Abolition,” Phylon, 2:234 (Autumn 1941). 7. Martin Robinson Delany. 8. William Lambert (1815–90) was a prominent Michigan abolitionist and a leader in the Detroit black community. He was a well-to-do tailor who died with an estate valued at $70,000. Active in the Underground Railroad, he helped escaped slaves cross Lake Erie to Canada. Lambert was a founding member of the Colored Vigilant Committee, a group of Michigan African Americans who petitioned the state government for greater African American freedoms and civil rights. Katherine Du Pre Lumpkin, “ ‘The General Plan Was Freedom’: A Negro Secret Order on the Underground Railroad,” Phylon, 28:63–77 (Spring 1967). 9. Augustus R. Green (?–1878) was born in Virginia to free black parents. After his family settled in Pennsylvania, Green received a basic education and apprenticed as a blacksmith. He joined the A.M.E. Church in 1841 and unsuccessfully attempted to establish an A.M.E manual labor school outside Columbus, Ohio. In 1848, Green became the editor of an A.M.E publication, the Christian Herald. During the 1850s, he worked in favor of black immigration to Canada and was a leading delegate to the 1854 and 1856 National Emigration Conventions. Despite personal opposition to the separation of African Americans in Canada from the A.M.E. Church, he attended the British Methodist Episcopal Church’s founding convention in 1856. Moving to Windsor, Canada, in 1860, Green joined the B.M.E. Church. Attempting to strengthen the black Canadian press, Green published the True Royalist and Weekly Intelligencer, but it failed after only ten issues in 1860–61. In the latter year, Green challenged the B.M.E. leadership and was expelled from the denomination. After his expulsion, he presided as bishop of the Independent Methodist Episcopal Church, a splinter denomination composed of B.M.E. dissidents. Green rejoined the A.M.E. after moving to Washington, D.C. in the late ‘1860s. He died in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he had been assigned an A.M.E. pastorate, while providing medical assistance during a yellow fever epidemic. Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 2:495–96. 10. Henry Bibb. 11. Born free in Washington, D.C., James Theodore Holly (1829–1911) was a missionary and bishop who strongly supported black emigration. Holly married Charlotte Ann Gordon in 1851, and together they had five children. During the time he was coeditor of the Canadian-based newspaper Voice of the Fugitive, he argued that black emigration was the only solution to slavery, and worked for Henry Bibb’s Refugee Home Society. In 1854 he served as a delegate to the fi rst National Emigration Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Holly abandoned his Roman Catholic upbringing and converted to the Protestant Episcopal Church, becoming a deacon in 1855 and a priest the following year. He then immigrated to Haiti with hopes of encouraging other African Americans to follow him and to join the Episcopal Church. He was the cofounder of the Convocation of the Protestant Episcopal Society for Promoting the Extension of the Work among Colored People, a movement that actively supported black emigration and missions for the Episcopal Church. In 1857, Holly published Vindication of the Capacity of the Negro Race for Self Government and Civilized Progress. In 1874, he became the first African American to be consecrated bishop of the Episcopal Church at Grace Church in New York City, and later served as priest of the Orthodox Apostolic Church of Haiti. The Haitian population of his church never exceeded more than one thousand. Until his death, in Port-au-Prince, he maintained

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his belief that emigration was only solution to the problems created by slavery in the United States. EAACH, 1293; DANB, 319–20. 12. Born in Ohio, the Reverend William Charles Munroe (c. 1834–?) was a black minister in Detroit, Michigan. In 1847, he attended the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in New York as part of the delegation from the Diocese of Michigan. Convention records indicate that Munroe was a deacon who officiated for a black congregation in Detroit. At the denomination’s 1853 convention, he was listed as the rector of St. Matthew’s Church located on Fort Street in Detroit. Munroe served as a delegate at the National Convention of Colored People held in Rochester in July 1853, and was appointed to the National Council. A supporter of the emigration of free African Americans, Munroe was elected president at the National Emigration Convention held in Cleveland, Ohio, on 24 August 1854. The 138 delegates “adopted a platform favorable to the segregation of the colored race” by emigration from the United States “to some other country on the Western Continent.” Munroe was appointed chair of John Brown’s Constitutional Convention held in Chatham, Ontario, on 8 May 1858, and served as a missionary in Haiti. 1860 U.S. Census, Michigan, Shiawassee County, 858; James H. Wellings, Directory of the City of Detroit and Register of Michigan, for the Year 1846 (Detroit, 1846), 123; FDP, 15 July, 23 November 1853, 8 September 1854; Daily Cleveland Herald, 25 August 1854; James Theodore Holly, A Vindication of the Capacity of the Negro Race for Self-Government, and Civilized Progress, as Demonstrated by Historical Events of the Haytian Revolution (New Haven, Conn., 1857), 3; Proceedings of the . . . Protestant Episcopal Church . . . in the City of New-York, from October 6th, to October 28th . . . 1847 (New York, 1847), 266; Proceedings of the . . . Protestant Episcopal Church . . . in the City of New York, from October 5th, to October 26th . . . 1853 (Philadelphia, 1854), 442; Proceedings of the National Emigration Convention of Colored People, Held at Cleveland, Ohio . . . 24th, 25th and 26th of August, 1854 (Pittsburgh, 1854), 6; Silas Farmer, History of Detroit and Wayne County and Early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present (New York, 1890), 591–92; Richard J. Hinton, “John Brown and His Men,” Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly, 27:695 (January–June 1889); Philip S. Foner and Robert J. Branham, eds., Lift Every Voice: African American Oratory, 1787–1900 (Tuscaloosa, 1998), 288. 13. Alphonso M. Sumner was the editor of the Cincinnati Disenfranchised American. Formerly of Tennessee, Sumner was a free black barber who helped organize the first school for Nashville’s blacks. After being accused of aiding fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad in 1836, Sumner fled to Cincinnati, where he founded the Disenfranchised American, Cincinnati’s first black newspaper. Sumner played a leading role in the 1843 black state convention held in Columbus and was a delegate to the 1843 National Negro Convention in Buffalo. Little information about Sumner’s newspaper has survived, other than that a committee of Cincinnati blacks served as its publisher, and a mob of whites destroyed its press during Cincinnati’s 1841 race riots. Sumner published the paper until 1863, when the Cincinnati Colored Citizen succeeded it. Bobby L. Lovett, The African-American History of Nashville, Tennessee, 1780–1930: Elites and Dilemmas (Fayetteville, Ark., 1999), 34–35; Armistead S. Pride and Clint C. Wilson, Jr., A History of the Black Press (Washington, D.C., 1997), 62; Phillip S. Foner and George E. Walker, Proceedings of the Black State Conventions, 1840–1865, 2 vols. (Philadelphia, 1979–80), 2:306–21. 14. William James Watkins. 15. Whitfield refers to the National Convention of Colored Men that was held at Corinthian Hall on 6 through 8 July 1853 in Rochester. Frederick Douglass printed a pamphlet of the convention’s proceedings. Interested readers could purchase a copy at the offices of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. FDP, 23 September 1853; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 2:xxxiii. 16. Douglass’s grandmother Betsy Bailey raised him on a farm owned by their master, Aaron Anthony, along the banks of the Tuckahoe Creek near Hillsborough, Talbot County, Maryland. Tuckahoe Creek is a tributary of the Choptank River, which forms part of the eastern boundary of Talbot County. Tuckahoe is an Algonquin term for “root” or “mushroom.” Dickson J. Preston and Norman Harrington, Talbot County: A History (Centreville, Md., 1983), 140, 191, 256; Paul Wilstach, Tidewater Maryland (Indianapolis, Ind., 1931), 104–05; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 3, 9–10.

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17. Southern concerns over the possibility that slavery might end in the Caribbean—and the explosive impact that event might have on their own slaves—dated back to the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution in the 1790s. Indeed, Southern fears of a Haitian-type uprising ran so deep that is was not until 1862, during the Civil War, that the United States officially recognized Haiti’s independence. Nonetheless, American merchants conducted trade with Haiti, but only on terms most beneficial to their own interests. As a result, while the United States provided most of Haiti’s imports in the early nineteenth century, very little was purchased in return. The trade imbalance that followed, along with its ongoing diplomatic isolation, ensured that both Haiti’s economy and its people would struggle for survival for decades. Herbert S. Klein, African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean (New York, 1986), 90–92; Michel-Rolph Trouillot, “Haiti’s Nightmare and the Lessons of History,” in Haiti: Dangerous Crossroads, ed. North American Congress on Latin America (Boston, 1995), 123. 18. Isa. 18:7. 19. Southern fears regarding slavery in Cuba arose initially out of concern over British efforts in the 1840s to extract an agreement from Spain that would allow a mixed Spanish-British commission to take a census of all slaves illegally introduced into Cuba since 1820, when the two European powers had agreed to halt the Atlantic slave trade. Slaves so classified were to be freed. Since that category represented the bulk of Cuba’s slaves, however, such a treaty would in effect have emancipated most of the island’s enslaved population. Although the treaty was never ratified, the fear that Spain might eventually agree to a similar proposal in the future aroused the interest of proslavery forces in the United States. Following a failed attempt by the United States to purchase Cuba from Spain in 1848, a series of U.S.-based invasions of Cuba were attempted between 1849 and 1851. Led by Venezuelan-born Narciso López and supported by both Southerners and expansionists alike, but lacking the support of either the government of the United States or the people of Cuba, all such efforts failed. Although it is unknowable whether Cuba would have been annexed by the United States had one of these invasions proved successful, it is certain that the fate of Cuba remained an object of keen interest in the United States long after the Civil War and the end of slavery in both nations. Robert E. May, The Southern Dream of a Caribbean Empire, 1854–1861 (Gainesville, Fla., 2002), 22–76, 163–89; David M. Pletcher, The Diplomacy of Annexation: Texas, Oregon, and the Mexican War (Columbia, Mo., 1973), 571–75. 20. Fearing that the British were preparing to seize Cuba as security for interest on Spanish bonds held in England, the Polk administration in June 1848 authorized its minister to Spain, Romulus M. Saunders, to approach that government’s minister of foreign affairs. Saunders informed the Spanish authorities that although the U.S. government would “never permit Cuba to pass into the hands of any European Power . . . whilst the Island remained a possession of Spain, the U.S. would in no way interfere with it.” But Saunders was also to “stipulate” that the United States was “willing to purchase the Island if it would be agreeable to Spain to cede [it] for a pecuniary consideration.” The amount proffered by the Polk administration was $100 million, which was to be paid in installments over a period of years. The Spanish government, however, rebuffed the offer. Once it became clear that neither Great Britain nor any other foreign power was going to acquire Cuba, the matter was allowed to quietly drop. Eugene Irving McCormac, James K. Polk: A Political Biography to the End of a Career, 1845–1849 (1922; Newton, Conn., 1995); Milo Milton Quaife, ed., The Diary of James K. Polk during His Presidency, 1845 to 1849 (Chicago, 1910), 492–93; May, The Southern Dream of a Caribbean Empire, 23. 21. David Jenkins (c. 1816–?) was a black abolitionist from Columbus, Ohio. Born in Virginia and educated at Oberlin College, Jenkins was described by Martin R. Delany as a highly skilled craftsman: “[He] received by contract, the painting, glazing, and papering of some of the public buildings of the State, in autumn 1847. He is much respected in the capital city of his state, being extensively patronized, having on contract, the great ‘Neill House,’ and many of the largest gentlemen’s residences in the city and neighborhood, to keep in finish. Mr. Jenkins is a very useful man and member of society.” Interested in the elevation of black people in Ohio, Jenkins organized a debating society in Columbus and was active in the Masonic Lodge and in the temperance and abolition

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movements. He organized the first state convention for blacks in Ohio in 1844, and was elected vice president and appointed to the central committee during Ohio’s State Colored Convention held in Cleveland on 11 September 1852. Jenkins was a delegate from Ohio at the Colored National Convention held in Rochester in July 1853, and was appointed to its finance committee. During the Civil War, he served as a recruiting agent at Camp Delaware. Jenkins was elected vice president of the Equal Rights League Convention held on 21 September 1865 in Cleveland and was appointed sergeant at arms for the 1867 State Convention of Colored People in Columbus. 1870 U.S. Census, Ohio, Franklin County, 55; FDP, 15 September 1843, 1 October 1852, 20 May, 15 July 1853; Lib., 21 July 1865; Daily Cleveland Herald, 25 July 1863, 21 September 1865; Ripley (Ohio) Bee, 10 July 1867; New York Age, 16 January 1892; Ohio State Journal, 25 February 1870; Delany, Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People, 118; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 4:73. 22. The Aliened American was published and edited by William Howard Day in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1853 to 1854. It was created at the National Emigration Convention as a rival to Frederick Douglass’ Paper. The paper, which served as the official mouthpiece of both the Ohio State AntiSlavery Society and the emigration movement, met with much criticism and ceased publication when it failed to obtain adequate funding. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, eds., African American Lives (New York, 2004), 219; Todd Mealy, Aliened American: A Biography of William Howard Day, 2 vols. (Baltimore, 2010), 1:204–05, 209, 224; Levine, Politics of Representative Identity, 97; Rhodes, Mary Ann Shadd Cary, 76, 114. 23. Founded in 1835, the New York Herald was owned and edited by James Gordon Bennett. In 1850 the newspaper editorially supported the Whig party, but had a reputation for balanced reporting of news events. Richard Kluger and Phyllis Kluger, The Paper: The Life and Death of the “New York Herald Tribune” (New York, 1986), 44–46, 63–64. 24. No issue of the Aliened American with Jenkins’s statement has survived. 25. At the time J. M. Whitfield penned his letter to Douglass, plans were being made to hold the National Emigration Convention in Cleveland. The event eventually took place on 24–26 August 1854, with William C. Munroe presiding. Proceedings of the convention were later published. Proceedings of the National Emigration Convention of Colored People, 1854, 9; FDP, 18 November 1853. 26. Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1818), canto 2, stanza 76. George Gordon Lord Byron, The Complete Poetical Works of Lord Byron, ed. Jerome J. McGann and Barry Weller, 7 vols. (New York, 1980–93), 2:105. 27. Phil. 2:12.

MARTIN ROBINSON DELANY TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Pittsburgh, [Pa.] 22 Nov[ember] 1853.

Frederick Douglass, Esq. :— According to the note of explanation some time since received from you,1 I am satisfied to exonerate you from any design at disparagement, in the publication of the private note from me in connection with the first issue of the Call for a National Emigration Convention.2 This I should have, in justice to you, published sooner, but that you were absent from home some time after I received your note; and the Editor3 of the Aliened American will please do me the favor to publish so much of my note as pertains to this explanation

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In your paper of Nov. 18th, No. 48, Vol. 6, in remarking upon my note to Mr. John Jones,4 of Illinois, among other things you say: “The reader, to understand the injustice of this letter, should bear in mind that Mr. Jones has never written one word for our columns, in any manner reflecting upon M. R. Delany.” In your paper of October 28th,5 No. 25, I also find the following: “We copy from the Chicago Daily Tribune the resolutions on Colonization, submitted by the Chairman of the Committee, John Jones, and adopted by the Convention.” After coupling my name with the odious enemies of our race, Colonizationists, by a preceding resolution on that subject, then comes the resolution “reflecting upon M. R. Delany:” “Resolved, That we are opposed to the Call for a National Emigration Convention, as put forth by M. R. Delany; and we discover in it a spirit of disunion, which, if encouraged, will prove fatal to our hopes and aspirations as a people in this country.” The italics are my own. I know of no other logical meaning to apply to the term spirit, when used in such a connection, than design; this is its true meaning, and nothing else. How then comes Mr. Douglass to attempt to exonerate Mr. Jones from reflecting on me, by the evasion that he “had never written one word for his columns, in any manner reflecting upon M. R. Delany.” If not written for your columns, they were written and reported by Mr. Jones, and copied into your columns; and you either meant something or nothing by publishing them, before you had published any other item of the proceedings of that body. You call it dictatorial, because a man will not permit himself, designedly, to be misrepresented. Perhaps you, and those who think with you, may misrepresent others as you think proper, and no one dare to question your right to do so. If this be so, please omit me in the general conclusion. I thank you for permitting my note to appear in your columns, humbly endeavoring to avoid the charge of “dictation.” All I ask is not to be misrepresented. I more than ask it—I demand it, as I will not as I never have done, intentionally misrepresented any person. Yours for God and humanity, M. R. DELANY. PLSr: FDP, 2 December 1853. 1. This communication from Douglass to Martin R. Delany has not survived. 2. The National Emigration Convention of Colored People, led by the African American nationalist Martin R. Delany, was held at the Congregational Church in Cleveland, Ohio, on 24–26 August 1854. Over one hundred delegates, including twenty-four women, met to discuss the practicality of

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emigration. Only those promoting emigration were allowed to participate, and a representative of the opposition, John Malvin, was denied the opportunity to speak. The National Board of Commissioners was formed to compete with Douglass’s National Council and to formulate a plan to assist blacks with emigration. As a temporary solution, the board recommended buying land in Canada, but eventually wanted to enable blacks to relocate to the West Indies or to South and Central America. Proceedings of the National Emigration Convention of Colored People, 1854, 5, 7, 21, 28, 30, 37, 43; Levine, Politics of Representative Identity, 97; David D. Van Tassel and John J. Grabowski, eds., The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History (Bloomington, Ind., 1996), 732. 3. William Howard Day. 4. John Jones (1816–79), often referred to by contemporaries and the press as the “most prominent colored citizen of Chicago,” was the freeborn son of a free mulatto mother and a German named Bromfield. A native of Greene County, North Carolina, Jones was later apprenticed to a Tennessee tailor. Jones worked until he could save $100, then moved in 1841 to Alton, Illinois, and married Mary Richardson, whom he had met in Tennessee. In 1845 the couple moved to Chicago, where Jones taught himself to read and write and where he set up a tailor shop that catered primarily to whites. A successful businessman, Jones owned property worth an estimated $85,000 before Chicago’s Great Fire of 1871. He lectured throughout Illinois, stressing economic success and social integration as fundamental goals for black advancement. He was vice president of the 1853 Colored National Convention held in Rochester, New York, and participated in the Illinois Colored Convention of 1856. Jones’s speaking took on added fervor in 1853 when he fought laws discouraging black migration to Illinois, and again in 1864 when he led the successful fight for the repeal of Black Laws. Jones’s home was a way station for the Underground Railroad and a meeting place and guest home for fellow abolitionists, including Frederick Douglass and John Brown. Lib., 18 May 1860; Chicago Tribune, 12 March 1875, 22 May 1879; Allen H. Spear, Black Chicago: The Making of a Negro Ghetto, 1890– 1920 (Chicago, 1967), 6, 55, 77, 107, 111; Harold F. Gosnell, Negro Politicians: The Rise of Negro Politics in Chicago (1935; Chicago, 1967), 81–82, 111; Arna Bontemps and Jack Conroy, They Seek a City (Garden City, N.Y., 1945), 28–36; DANB, 366–67. 5. Antiemigration resolutions adopted at the Illinois Colored State Convention were published by John Jones, chair of the committee, in the 28 October 1853 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. In a letter to Douglass, published in the 18 November 1853 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper, Delany took issue with the resolution, suggesting that Jones and his committee had impugned Delany’s character and his motives. Douglass followed the publication of Delany’s letter with a brief response: “Well; this is decidedly one of the most querulous, dictatorial, uncharitable, hasty, and unprovoked assaults upon a worthy man which it has been our fortune or misfortune to meet with. The reader, to understand the injustice of this letter, should bear in mind that Mr. Jones has never written one word for our columns, in any manner reflecting upon M. R. Delany.” FDP, 28 October, 18 November 1853.

CHARLOTTE K——1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Pittsburgh, Pa. 26 Nov[ember] 1853.

Mr. Editor :— Oh, Mr. Editor, such times as I’ve seen about my letter! ([P]ut this into a sly corner, do.) [B]ut I can’t tell all. I have just sent my husband after a piece of roast pig, you know; and must hurry before he comes back. I haven’t time to tell you how we came to this place, nor why; but Pittsburgh is a smoky city,2 and contains a number of people to match. Such public

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meetings, such speaking—did you ever hear the deep bars of Mr. Woodson?3 The grand talk of Mr. Vashon,4 the boisterous Delany,5 the cool, calm, sensible John Peck.6 No, sir, you have not; if you would see the smoke blaze, you must come to Pittsburgh. Here the Macgregor’s foot7 is on his native heath. How they did pitch into the Rochester Convention!8 I mean Woodson, Delany and Vashon;9 the first, with his massive presence, rolled up his sleeves, and, knife in hand, “went in” at the constitution, poor thing— reminding one of a great big cook, with huge carver, cutting up a poor little reed bird.—Well, they wrestled with the people to get them set against all your grand doings. (what did you do to Woodson and Vashon?) [A]nd were getting along pretty slick when the tickets arrived from Philadelphia, containing both their names as candidates for the State Council.  Then, Presto! Whew! John Zuille10 never saw one J. Smith turn a corner quicker nor sharper than these two old fogies flapped right round, calling upon the people to vote for them! “How can we,” said one, bewildered, “Alleghanian,11 you told us to have nothing to do with it! They were both badly scratched.” Then, you see—but here comes my dear man with the roast pig’s head. Yours, CHARLOTTE K——.

P. S.—Address me, care of Fairfax C. Wilson,12 Pittsburgh, Pa. PLSr: FDP, 26 November 1853. 1. Charlotte K—— was a pseudonymous correspondent to Frederick Douglass’s Paper; her true identity is unknown. Little is known about this person other than that she corresponded from Pittsburgh. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., foreword to The Works of James McCune Smith: Black Intellectual and Abolitionist, ed. John Stauffer (New York, 2006), xxx; Christopher L. Webber, American to the Backbone: The Life of James W. C. Pennington, the Fugitive Slave Who Became One of the First Black Abolitionists (New York, 2011), 357; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 4:226n. 2. As early as the 1850s, Pittsburgh was home to a high concentration of heavy industries such as ironworks, foundries, and cotton mills, which together produced a great deal of air pollution. This earned it the nickname the “Smoky City.” Edward K. Muller and Joel A. Tarr, “The Interaction of Natural and Built Environments in the Pittsburgh Landscape,” in Devastation and Renewal: An Environmental History of Pittsburgh and Its Region, ed. Joel A. Tarr (Pittsburgh, 2003), 16; Joseph L. Scarpaci and Kevin J. Patrick, eds., Pittsburgh and the Appalachians: Cultural and Natural Resources in a Postindustrial Age (Pittsburgh, 2006), 81. 3. Lewis Woodson (1806–78), a black nationalist and abolitionist, was born in Greenbriar County, Virginia. During the War of 1812, he served in the U.S. Navy as a cabin boy. After moving to Ohio in 1820, Woodson taught in black schools in Chillicothe, Columbus, and Gainesville. While teaching, he founded the African Education and Benevolent Society to help support black children

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who were prevented by state law from attending public schools. He also aided the Underground Railroad, and once went to Kentucky to rescue a fugitive slave who had been kidnapped in Ohio. In 1831, Woodson moved to Pittsburgh, where he taught school, worked as a barber, and earned extra income by lecturing on physiology and hygiene. In 1832 he cofounded the Pittsburgh African Educational Society with John B. Vashon. Under the pseudonym “Augustine,” he wrote to the Colored American in the 1830s, espousing moral reform and black nationalism. Having been ordained by the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1828, Woodson ministered at a Pittsburgh A.M.E. church for nearly three decades. He organized Pittsburgh’s first black temperance society in 1834, was a trustee of Wilberforce University, and a manager of the abolitionist Union Missionary Society. He participated in the black national convention movement in the 1830s and attended the black state convention of Pennsylvania in 1841. During the 1850s, Woodson was a strong a proponent of the National Council of the Colored People. Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 3:259–60. 4. John Boyer Vashon (?–1853) operated a barbershop and bathhouse in Pittsburgh. He joined the American Anti-Slavery Society and served on its board of managers in the 1830s. Vashon attended several National Negro Conventions, including the 1853 Rochester gathering that launched the National Council of Colored Men. Douglass frequently visited Vashon’s home while touring the Midwest and eulogized him as “one of the most consistent advocates of the slave’s freedom, and of the colored man’s elevation, who has yet arisen among our proscribed race.” FDP, 20 August 1852, 15 July 1853, 6 January, 8 September 1854; Salem [Ohio] Anti-Slavery Bugle, 7 January 1854; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 20–33, 81, 108, 200; R. J. M. Blackett, “ . . . ‘Freedom, or the Martyr’s Grave’: Black Pittsburgh’s Aid to the Fugitive Slave,” Western Pennsylvania History, 61:117–34 (April 1978). 5. Martin Robinson Delany. 6. John Peck (?–1885), agent for the Liberator, Emancipator, Weekly Advocate, and Colored American, was a self-employed barber in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, who later worked as a clothier, restaurateur, and wigmaker in Pittsburgh. After 1847, Peck is also identified as a minister. He presided at the State Convention of Colored Freemen in Pennsylvania in 1841 and attended nearly every National Negro Convention held between 1831 and 1864. The Rochester convention of 1853 named him an original delegate to the National Council. From 1849 until 1854, Peck sat on the board of trustees of the Allegheny Institute, a school designed to train black teachers and ministers. After 1857 he briefly supported emigration as a solution to the problems faced by black Americans. Peck secured a place on the executive committee of the Church Anti-Slavery Society of Pittsburgh in 1860 and became vice president of the National Equal Rights League in 1864. George H. Thurston, Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny Cities, . . . for 1865–‘66 (Pittsburgh, 1865), 281; New York Weekly Advocate, 7 January 1837; New York Colored American, 4 March 1837; NS, 25 August 1848; FDP, 27 January, 28 July, 1, 8 September 1854, 30 March 1855; New York Principia, 11 February 1860; Cleveland Gazette, 5 December 1885; Proceedings of the Colored National Convention, Held in Rochester, July 6th, 7th and 8th, 1853 (Rochester, 1853), 6, 46; Proceedings of the National Convention of Colored Men, Held in the City of Syracuse, N.Y., October 4, 5, 6, and 7, 1864 (Syracuse, N.Y., 1864), 29; Ullman, Martin R. Delany, 18, 31, 41–47; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 20, 26, 33, 110, 231. 7. The phrase is taken from Sir Walter Scott’s Rob Roy (1817): “Speak out, sir, and do not Maister or Campbell me—my foot is on my native heath, and my name is MacGregor!” Walter Scott, Rob Roy (London, 1966), 323. 8. On 6–8 July 1853, the National Convention of Colored Men met in Rochester, New York. More than one hundred delegates from several Northern states were present. Frederick Douglass was chair of the Committee on the Declaration of Sentiments, and he coauthored and read “Address of the Colored National Convention to the United States,” which stated the case for full citizenship for black Americans. FDP, 15, 22 July, 5 August 1853. 9. Although Lewis Woodson and John B. Vashon attended the National Convention of Colored Men in Rochester, neither was selected for membership on the National Council of the Colored People created by that body, which may have caused them to feel slighted. FDP, 15, 22 July 1853.

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10. John J. Zuille (1814–94) was a black printer and teacher who served as a leader in New York’s African American community. Born in Bermuda, he settled in New York City in the 1830s. After moving to New York, he worked for the Colored American. In 1830, Zuille attended the first National Negro Convention in Philadelphia as a delegate from New York. In the 1840s, Zuille taught at Colored Public School No. 2. During the early 1850s he opened a successful printing business. From the time he settled in New York until the abolition of slavery, Zuille actively worked to gain equal rights for African Americans by supporting state conventions and facilitating petition drives. He served prominently in several important African American organizations, including the New York Political Association, the Phoenix Society, the United Anti-Slavery Society, and the African Society for Mutual Relief (as secretary). In the 1850s, Zuille was chairman of the Committee of Thirteen, a group of New York black civic leaders who worked against the Fugitive Slave Laws, colonization, and racial discrimination. He suffered property loss in the 1863 New York City draft riots, and in the aftermath he moved his family to Hartford, Connecticut. Zuille worked as a cashier at the Freedmen’s Savings and Trust Bank’s New York City branch from 1866 to 1874. Webber, American to the Backbone, 357; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 3:337–38nn; Daniel Perlman, “Organizations of the Free Negro in New York City, 1800–1860,” JNH, 56:188 (July 1971). 11. Pittsburgh is located at the edge of the Allegheny Mountains. The Alleghenies extend from north-central Pennsylvania into southwestern Virginia and form a section of the Appalachian Mountains. Scarpaci and Patrick, Pittsburgh and the Appalachians, 1; Leon E. Seltzer, ed., The Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World (1952; New York, 1970), 46. 12. In all probability this was Fairfax C. Milton (c. 1843–?). A barber, Milton was listed as a member of John Boyer Vashon’s household in the 1850 Census. Between 1856–57 and 1868–69 he appears in Pittsburgh’s City Directories (at least once as Fairfax C. Millin). After 1869, however, he disappears from that city’s records. 1850 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, 32; George H. Thurston, Directory of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Birmingham . . . for 1856–1857 (Pittsburgh, 1856), 41; George H. Thurston, Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities 1868/1869 (Pittsburgh, 1868), 265.

W. L. CRANDAL1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Syracuse, [N.Y.] 10 Dec[ember]1853.

Frederick Douglass :— I thank you, in the name of Freedom, for the counterblast in your paper of to-day,2 to the outrageous calumnies, detractions, and wholly unchristian attacks on you in the Liberator,3 Anti-Slavery Standard,4 and Pennsylvania Freeman.5 From the outset, I knew they had mistaken their mission; that they were not raised up of God or the Devil to break down Frederick Douglass; and for the very good reason,[]that, in these latter days, the weaker are not anointed to break down the stronger. Now, as to the absurd non-resistant, non-voting notions of these people, I have neither objection nor criticism; it is a matter for them; but as to their infernal attacks on you, I have something to say. The decencies of our half-civilization, are to be observed, even towards those who do not belong to the “Superior Class”

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of our charity-loving, kind, and merciful American Society. Yes, Mr. Garrison;6 you must understand, that when your “non-resistant” pen, can trace the lines on the hearth stone, for matter to point your calumnies against one you hate, every decent man in Christendom, has an interest in what you say. And, for shame! [T]o thus assault a member of a down-trodden race, who, in the same breath, you declare: are not capable of perceiving the “demands,” or of understanding the “philosophy of the operation” that is to take the hands of cowardly villains from off their throats! Your article of to-day, will endear you to thousands; for they know there is noble work for you, with them, to do. Self-respect demanded it. Again you have the thanks of your friend. W. L. CRANDAL. PLSr: FDP, 16 December 1853. 1. W. L. Crandall was superintendent of the Onondaga County schools in 1850. He also reported on the trial of Henry Allen, a sheriff tried for arresting a fugitive slave. In the 1840s he had been one of the publishers of the Onondaga Standard. Syracuse Daily Journal, 30 May 1851; Edward Smith, A History of the Schools of Syracuse from Its Early Settlement to January 1, 1893 (Syracuse, N.Y., 1893), 59; J. H. French, Gazetteer of the State of New York (Syracuse, N.Y., 1860), 475. 2. Articles from the Liberator, the National Anti-Slavery Standard, the Pennsylvania Freeman, and the Anti-Slavery Bugle were reprinted in the 9 December 1853 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper under the heading “Spirit of the Garrisonians.” All were critical of Douglass, accusing him of withdrawing from the Garrisonians because of changes in his political opinion about slavery and the Constitution; of making false accusations against Wendell Phillips, Edmund Quincy, Robert Purvis, C. Lenox Remond, and William L. Nell; of transferring his allegiance to political abolitionists such as Gerrit Smith, William Goodell, and Samuel R. Ward; and of treachery and public displays of hostility toward Garrison and his friends. Douglass was also censured for his endorsement of accusations of religious infidelity made against Henry C. Wright, Parker Pillsbury, and Stephen S. Foster. Douglass responded to these criticisms in the same issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. In a lengthy editorial entitled “The Liberator, A. S. Standard, Penn. Freeman, A. S. Bugle—William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass; or A Review of Anti-Slavery Relations,” Douglass accused his critics of forming a conspiracy to discredit him. Douglass asserted that he was not ungrateful to his Garrisonian mentors. Rather, he had experienced a reversal of opinion that was not popular among his former associates. Douglass denied accusations that he had political ambitions, and assured his readers that he was not attempting to take over the antislavery movement and its funds. In general, Douglass suggested that the Garrisonians were responsible for escalating the controversy. FDP, 9 December 1853. 3. William Lloyd Garrison published the weekly Boston newspaper the Liberator from 1831 to 1865. The paper advocated women’s rights, temperance, pacifism, and a variety of other reforms in addition to immediate emancipation. Thomas, Liberator, 127–28, 436; DAB, 7:168–72. 4. The American Anti-Slavery Society published the New York–based National Anti-Slavery Standard as the society’s official publication from 1840 to 1870. Dillon, The Abolitionists, 213. 5. A weekly abolitionist newspaper published in Philadelphia between 1836 and 1854, the Pennsylvania Freeman was the official organ of the Eastern Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Early editors included Benjamin Lundy and John Greenleaf Whittier; later editors included Charles C. Burleigh, James Miller McKim, Mary Grew, Oliver Johnson, and Cyrus M. Burleigh. The journal advocated Garrisonian reforms, but was more moderate in its editorial style, in keeping with the views of the Quaker-dominated membership of the organization. John W. Blassingame, Mae G. Henderson,

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and Jessica M. Dunn, eds., Antislavery Newspapers and Periodicals, 5 vols. (Boston, 1980–84), 3:57–59; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 3:391–92n. 6. William Lloyd Garrison.

JOHN BOYER VASHON TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Pittsburgh, [Pa.] 17 Dec[ember] 1853.

Frederick Douglass, Esq:— My Dear Tried Friend:— Your paper of the 9th inst. came to hand a few days ago, and was welcomed to my table as it always is; and when I read the first page, and saw that some of the strongest arms in the Anti-Slavery cause were flinging darts at your head, I began to fear and tremble with dread, for I verily thought, that bold, unceasing and untiring friend (Frederick Douglass) of the poor bleeding Slave, would have been crushed, and that the usefulness of him, who is the praise of our whole people, was lost forever,—but after I turned to the second and third pages, I there saw that you had fended off every blow, that had been thrown at you by the “Superior Class,” and that not a hair of your head was hurt. I regret very much to see our Anti Slavery friends wasting their powers upon each other; and if it is possible, I regret much more when such feuds are carried into the household, and make a savage attack upon an innocent female,1 whose humanity, caused her to leave native country, home and friends, to help the Anti-Slavery cause, and do something for her poor bleeding sisters, who are whipped, outraged and sold by the “Superior Class.” I have the pleasure of being acquainted with that Lady,[]and have conversed with her on the subject of American Slavery, and I am satisfied, that she is a philanthropist of the right stamp. Now, Friend Douglass, I hope you never will leave the AntiSlavery field so long as there is one slave whose throat is under the heel of one of the members of the “Superior Class.” Yours for Liberty, J. B. VASHON.2 PLSr: FDP, 17 December 1853. 1. Julia Griffiths. 2. Douglass added the following comment immediately after Vashon’s letter: “We publish the above letter as the testimony of a true and courageous friend of his people—assured that in so doing, we are only performing an act which, were Mr. Vashon living, he would entirely approve.—It is right that this letter should go on record as a part of the antislavery history of the times, for it shows that the writer of it stood on the side of his people, even when they were attacked by his venerated friends.—Editor.”

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 23 Dec[ember] 1853.

Hon. Gerrit Smith. My dear Sir, Please Send me your Speech on the president’s1 meSSage.2 I Shall publiSh the telegraphic report of it from the Tribune3—with the debate to which it gave rise—and the various accounts of the whole as they come to hand. You have been Spared to Say one great word in the ear of this nation. Blest may that word be! May it bring forth fruit—thirty—Sixty, and an hundred fold. Let me have the Speech in full. My readers love the Slave, love the truth, and love Gerrit Smith, the friend of both. You have realized the fondest hopes of your friends. May God preServe you and Strengthen you. Manfully and CourageouSly, you have met the crises. In Congress, as in Peterboro’4 you have planted yourSelf upon the immutable laws of justice. Now Let the winds blow, the rains decend, and the floods come, the house Shall Stand. A line from you to my paper will do me good—but I don-t exact it. Please make my love to your Dear family—and Believe Me—Always Most faithfully yours F. DOUGLASS. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Franklin Pierce (1804–69), a Democrat, became the fourteenth president (1853–57) of the United States. Pierce graduated from Bowdoin College (1824); sat in the New Hampshire legislature (1829–32), where he twice served as speaker; and represented his native state in the House of Representatives (1833–37) and the Senate (1837–42). In 1842 he resumed his law practice in Concord, New Hampshire, and became a leading organizer of the state Democratic party machine. Strongly favoring the annexation of Texas, Pierce volunteered in 1846 for military duty in the war with Mexico, and was appointed a brigadier general the next year. Pierce won the heavily contested Democratic party nomination in 1852 and went on to easily defeat the Whig candidate, Winfield Scott, for the presidency. Pierce’s support for passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 and for attempts to annex Cuba were widely blamed for inflaming sectional tensions. The Democrats rejected Pierce and nominated James Buchanan for president in 1856. Roy Franklin Nichols, Franklin Pierce: Young Hickory of the Granite Hills (Philadelphia, 1931); ACAB, 5:7–12; NCAB, 4:145–46; DAB, 14:576–80. 2. On 5 December 1853, President Pierce delivered his first annual message in Washington, D.C., addressing such issues as taxes, the armed forces, railroads, and states’ rights. In addition, Pierce discussed the matter of Martin Koszta, a Hungarian who came to the United States in 1850 with the intention of becoming a citizen. Koszta was seized and detained by the Austrians while traveling abroad in 1853. When the U.S. consul failed to get him released, Commander Duncan Nathaniel Ingraham of the U.S. Navy began to work for Koszta’s freedom. Koszta was then put in the custody of the French consul general until an agreement could be reached. He was soon released and returned to the United States. The emperor of Austria, unsatisfied with how the affair was handled, demanded

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the U.S. government surrender Koszta. In his message, Pierce stated his support for the conduct of the U.S. officials, claiming their actions were legally justifiable and had his full approval. It was on this international affair that Gerrit Smith delivered his speech before Congress on 20 December 1853. New York Tribune, 21 December 1853; A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 20 vols. (New York, 1897), 6:2740–59. 3. Pierce’s address was printed in the New York Tribune, 21 December 1853. 4. Gerrit Smith resided in Peterboro, New York, a town founded in 1806 by his father. In July 1834 he was present when a local antislavery organization was formed, but he did not join, because of his membership in the American Colonization Society. Smith soon changed his allegiance to the abolitionist cause. After an antislavery meeting was violently disrupted in nearby Utica in October 1835, Smith chaired a meeting of the newly formed New York Anti-Slavery Society in Peterboro during which he delivered an impassioned speech arguing that free speech and criticism must be protected and were necessary to end slavery. He was nominated to Congress against his own wishes and elected by a plurality in 1852. He made his antislavery stance known a mere eight days after taking office by publicly criticizing the administration for allowing slavery to continue. His longest congressional speech was against the Kansas-Nebraska Act in April 1854. He went on to sign “The Appeal of the Independent Democrats in Congress to the People of the United States,” which served to consolidate opposition to the bill. Refusing to participate in a Whig party plan to stop the bill by absenting himself and denying a quorum, Smith nevertheless spoke adamantly against it and cast his vote against the measure, which ultimately became law. Smith chose not to complete his term of office and resigned on 7 August 1854, returning to Peterboro to continue his reform efforts. Frothingham, Gerrit Smith, 164–65, 212, 219–20, 226; Sernett, North Star Country, 152; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 4, 64, 117, 122, 321–30.

RICHARD BAXTER FOSTER1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Richmond, Iowa. 28 Dec[ember] 1853[.]

Mr. Douglass: Dear Sir:— I wish to take your paper for the coming year, but never having seen a copy of it, do not know the terms. If you will enroll my name on the list of your subscribers, and send me the paper, as soon as I receive a copy I will forward the subscription price.2 I have three special reasons for desiring to take your paper. 1. The fact that a colored man can edit an able paper is standing demonstration of the falsity of the principles by which the spirit of caste (on which slavery is founded) seeks to justify itself. I wish to know the nature and real extent of that fact; and I wish, in my degree, to give encouragement and sympathy to the man who rises above such dispiriting influences as crush the colored race of this land. 2. I wish to take a paper that is committed to the anti-slavery construction of the Constitution. For myself, I could stand on Garrison’s platform3 with reference to that point, sooner than I could on Mann’s;4 but I like Goodell’s5 better than either. I know that

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as Garrison says, if you are right “the courts have all been wrong—the legislative assemblies all wrong—the decisions of the constitutional expounders all wrong—the people, with out distinction of party, for more than sixty years, all wrong in regard to the design and spirit of the Federal Constitution”6 —yet I agree with you and disagree with all these for three reasons: 1. I must make the Constitution anti-slavery, or refuse to vote, and so lose the voice of a citizen, which I wish to make heard against the usurpations of the slave power. 2. The words of the instrument—the history of its formation—the fundamental principles of all law and all government—and the Declaration of Independence, equally binding with the Constitution—all allow, all compel me to do so. I think the Free Democracy of the West—I mean Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin—are ready to take your ground. 3. My third reason for wishing your paper, is, that I want to be thoroughly informed of Gerrit Smith’s course in Congress. I am looking to see his course constitute as important an era in our national legislation as J. Q. Adams7 did. Pardon me for writing at such length. I thought, as you probably have few subscribers in Iowa, you might like to know with what motives a stranger, at such a distance sent for your paper. Yours truly, R. B. FOSTER. PLSr: FDP, 13 January 1854. 1. Probably Richard Baxter Foster (1826–1901), an 1851 Dartmouth graduate who began teaching in Iowa in 1851. He was a supporter of the free-state cause in Kansas in 1856 and enlisted as a private in an Iowa regiment in the Civil War, but accepted a lieutenant’s commission of the 62nd Colored Infantry Regiment in 1863. After the war, he served as principal of the Lincoln Institute for black students in Jefferson City, Missouri, and as a Methodist minister. George T. Chapman, Sketches of the Alumni of Dartmouth College (Cambridge, Mass., 1867), 388; N[athan] F. Carter, The Native Ministry of New Hampshire (Concord, N.H., 1906), 322–23. 2. Douglass listed his subscription rates weekly on the second page of Frederick Douglass’ Paper as two dollars for a single copy per month sent for one year. 3. In May 1844, the American Anti-Slavery Society, which had been under the control of followers of William Lloyd Garrison since 1840, adopted a resolution calling for Northern secession from the Union as a means of depriving the institution of slavery of outside support. Garrison and his followers believed that the Constitution was an immoral covenant that allowed compromise with the South, thus perpetuating slavery. Garrisonians found their disunionist position an extremely effective propaganda device with which to castigate Northerners for their complicity with slavery, which, they claimed, stemmed from cooperation with the South under what they deemed the “proslavery” U.S. Constitution. Stanley Harrold, American Abolitionists (New York, 2001), 35–36; Walter M. Merrill, Against Wind and Tide: A Biography of William Lloyd Garrison (Cambridge, Mass., 1963), 204–06; Perry, Radical Abolitionism, 161–66. 4. The noted American education reformer Horace Mann (1796–1859) was the youngest son of a yeoman farmer from Franklin, Massachusetts. Admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1823, Mann practiced law in Dedham and Boston until 1833, and was elected to the Massachusetts General Court

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(1827–33). From 1833 to 1837 he served in the state senate, advocating state care for the insane and manifesting an interest in educational reform. As secretary (1837–48) of the Massachusetts Board of Education, the first such institution in the country, and as editor (1838–48) of his semimonthly Common School Journal, Mann promoted a tax-supported system of public school education, seeing a nonsectarian common school education as an economic leveler and the foundation of democratic government. In 1848, Mann, a Whig, succeeded John Quincy Adams as representative for Massachusetts’s eighth congressional district, and two years later he was reelected as a Free Soiler. In. Congress, Mann was an outspoken opponent of the extension of slavery in the territories and, thus, opposed the 1850 compromise measures. During the last years of his life, Mann acted as the first president (1852–59) of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Horace Mann, Slavery: Letters and Speeches (Boston, 1853), 225, 324; Jonathan Messerli, Horace Mann: A Biography (New York, 1972); Ernest Cassara, “Reformer as Politician: Horace Mann and the Anti-Slavery Struggle in Congress, 1848–1853,” Journal of American Studies, 5:247–63 (December 1971); Larry Gara, “Horace Mann: Antislavery Congressman,” Historian, 32:19–33 (November 1969); ACAB, 4:190–91; NCAB, 3:78–79; DAB, 12:240–43. 5. In the early 1840s, the Reverend William Goodell (1792–1878) began advocating the position that the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted as an antislavery document. Most likely, he had been converted to this position by his fellow New York political abolitionist Alvan Stewart. Goodell’s Views of American Constitutional Law, in Its Bearing upon American Slavery (Utica, N.Y., 1844) was soon seconded by Lysander Spooner’s The Unconstitutionality of Slavery (Boston, 1845). Goodell’s and Spooner’s constitutional interpretation became a fundamental principle for the small post-1848 Liberty party faction led by Gerrit Smith, which Douglass later joined. William M. Wiecek, The Sources of Antislavery Constitutionalism, 1760–1848 (Ithaca, N.Y., 1977), 250–75; Meyer Leon Perkal, “William Goodell: A Life of Reform” (Ph.D. diss., City University of New York, 1972), 213–22. 6. Probably not a direct quotation from William Lloyd Garrison, but a characterization of his view that the U.S. Constitution condoned and protected the institution of slavery. EAAH, 2:716–17. 7. The eldest son of John Adams, John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) served as the American ambassador to the Netherlands, Berlin, Russia, and England during the early years of the Republic. He also held office as U.S. senator from Massachusetts (1803–08), secretary of state in James Monroe’s cabinet (1817–25), and president of the United States (1825–29). From 1831 until his death, Adams sat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he opposed slavery and its extension and fought the “gag rule” on abolitionist petitions. In late 1831, he made his first antislavery speech on the floor of Congress, introducing fifteen petitions from Pennsylvania Quakers praying for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia. Adams defended a band of captured Africans before the Supreme Court in the Amistad case in 1841. Despite his association with the abolitionist cause, Adams said that he personally favored ending only the slave trade. Samuel F. Bemis, John Quincy Adams and the Union (New York, 1956); Leonard L. Richards, The Life and Times of Congressman John Quincy Adams (New York, 1986); Paul C. Nagel, John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life (New York, 1997).

CHARLES W. STUART1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Lora, C.[anada] W.[est] 31 December [1853.]

Frederick Douglass, Esq.:— I thank you for the transmission to me of the last few numbers of your paper,[]which I have received, and have the pleasure to enclose you two dollars as my subscription for 1854.

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CHARLES W. STUART TO DOUGLASS, 31 DECEMBER 1853

Your general course,[]as far as known to me, is highly pleasing to me, and I am persuaded, so far, that the general influence of your paper, is conducive to the best and highest interests of society and of your country.— That we may know each other the better, I beg to mention to you, that the sentiments entertained in the extract2 in your paper of December 2d, from the Progressive Christian, are cordially mine. In your previous paper, of Nov. 25th—several questions are proposed on “the just and equal rights of women.”3 Permit me the following brief replies to some of these questions: The 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th, are to me unexceptionable; not women simply, but human nature, is wronged, in my opinion, by such expressions as are therein adverted to. 5th. In every association,[]whether conjugal or other, good order indespensably needs a head; and men are the head both by nature and revelation. Where the property of the woman is separate, her separate rights are secured by law. 6th. If the question relates to unmarried women of mature age, and to their being represented by men, I see no reason. 7th. Measure the nature of woman, and her paramount and most important duties, propriety commit her political security, to the jurisdiction of men. 9th. Because the practical right of the suffrage would lead woman into circumstances totally at variance with their own best interests and happiness, and obstructive of that holy influence, so noble and so mighty, with which God has endowed them, as women, and which is impossible to man as men. A little work, called “Woman’s Mission”4 portrays my sentiments on the question of woman’s rights; her distinctive and peculiar rights as woman; and whatever exemptions may or do exist, and I believe there are exceptions; yet generally speaking, I can conceive, no greater outrage upon human happiness and virtue, than the intrusion of woman, into these walks of life, which properly belong to men only. That women are wronged in the existing state of society, I have long felt and lamented—and I delight in every thing which appear, to me, surely to lend, fully and cordially to right them. But that they would or could be righted or honored, by treating them morally and socially, as men, thereby destroying, as I think would inevitably be the case, all that gives to woman her distinctive loveliness, and her peculiarly pure and powerful influence for the regeneration of mankind, appears to me, one of the greatest fic-

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tions, which the spirit of dogmatic infidelity, could possibly broach. The enormous evils done by this spirit, to the Anti-Slavery cause especially, and even by these the integrity and benevolence of whose institutions in many cases, I cannot doubt, ever glare before me. Your letter to the most admirable Mrs. H. B. Stowe,5 greatly delights me; but I should have been glad, had you added to your idea of an Industrial College, an Agricultural department. I purpose shortly to send you a pamphlet,6 published by me, some years ago, in England,—accept and make what use, or no use of it, as you please. It is thoroughly anti-colonizationist; man rises by contending lawfully with wrong, trusting in God; not by mistrusting God, and flying from the holy strife; and greatly outraged as the class called colored are in your country, by brazen-faced guilt in power, yet, as a class, they have a nobler opportunity for heroically and lawfully contending for the most sacred rights of human nature in their own persons, than ever before has been enjoyed, by the victims of similarly outrageous oppression. In governments altogether tyrants, such as Russia, Austria, France and the popery in Europe,7 and the Slave Codes in your Slave States, this is impossible. Brute force, lords it there, without control. But with you, it is otherwise. The fundamental liberty, secured to you by the noble Constitution of your country, when not perverted and abused, stands by you thro’ God. That perversion and abuse, have not eternity in them— with all the other features of Satan’s horrible dominion on earth; they are drawing to a close, and to you and to your people, is committed in this respect, the vindication by lawful, peaceable and holy means, of the noblest of all modern causes; the cause of God and man on earth! Shrink not, fear not, fly not. Your victory, however protracted, and even this, whatever sufferings, is as sure, if you persevere, as the Supreme existence of Jehovah. C. STUART.8 PLSr: FDP, 31 December 1853. 1. Born to a British officer in Bermuda, Charles W. Stuart (1781–1865) grew up on military posts before receiving a formal education in Belfast, Ireland. He joined the East India Company’s army in 1798 and served in it for thirteen years. After his military service, he migrated to America before settling in Amherstburg, Canada, where he became a lay preacher and missionary. Later licensed as a Presbyterian preacher, he drew on his Calvinistic beliefs when forming his stance on slavery. On his return to Britain in 1829, he joined the abolitionist movement. During his participation in the antislavery cause, he wrote over two dozen pamphlets, including The West India Question. In agitating against the colonization movement, he applied the organizational techniques he had perfected in Britain to the movement in the United States. Besides being one of the major influences on the American abolition movement, he was involved in the temperance movement in England and

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Scotland. Anthony J. Barker, Captain Charles Stuart: Anglo-American Abolitionist (Baton Rouge, La., 1986); DAB, 18:162; ANB, 21:65–67. 2. Stuart identifies an untitled article he had written for Adin Ballou’s utopian periodical the Progressive Christian, which Douglass had reprinted. In the article, Stuart defended the views of political abolitionists in the Liberty party from editorial attacks made by Garrisonian members of the American Anti-Slavery Society. FDP, 2 December 1853. 3. Frederick Douglass’ Paper published a call notice entitled “The Just and Equal Rights of Women,” requesting those interested in that subject to gather at a convention in Rochester on 30 November through 1 December 1853. FDP, 25 November 1853. 4. Woman’s Mission, published anonymously in London in 1839 and later attributed to Sarah Lewis, was based on Louis-Amié Martin’s 1834 French publication De l’éducation des mères de famille. Lewis’s text argues for distinctly domestic roles for women and opposes women’s rights. Her argument to restrict women to moral influence within the home was a key text in the Victorian effort to spiritualize women. Sarah Lewis and Louis-Aimé Martin, Woman’s Mission, 4th ed. (London, 1839), 12, 152; Janet L. Larson, “Lady-Wrestling for Victorian Soul: Discourse, Gender, and Spirituality in Women’s Texts,” Religion and Literature, 23:44 (Autumn 1991); “Sarah Lewis,” ODNB (online). 5. Probably Stuart refers to the letter of 8 March 1853 from Douglass to Harriet Beecher Stowe, widely publicized at the time of the Colored National Convention held in Rochester that July and reproduced in this volume. 6. Stuart could be referring to either of his two anticolonization pamphlets. Both Remarks on the Colony of Liberia and the American Colonization Society and Prejudice Vincible; or, the Practicability of Conquering Prejudice by Better Means than by Slavery and Exile were originally published in London in 1832. C[harles] Stuart, Remarks on the Colony of Liberia and the American Colonization Society (London, 1832); C[harles] Stuart, A Letter to Thomas Clarkson, by James Cropper and Prejudice Vincible; or The Practicability of Conquering Prejudice by Better Means by Slavery and Exile; in Relation to the American Colonization Society (Liverpool, Eng.,1832); Barker, Captain Charles Stuart, 314. 7. Stuart, who by the 1850s had become an increasingly enthusiastic supporter of British imperialism, was probably referring to the suppression of rights (especially those involving suffrage) that occurred across Europe following the failure of the revolutions of 1848. The only European countries that had successfully avoided revolution—and the backlash that followed—were either ones that made sufficient concessions in time to prevent an uprising (such as Great Britain) or those where the opposition to the government was too weak or insignificant to matter, such as Russia. Robert Gildea, Barricades and Borders: Europe 1800–1914, 3d ed. (New York, 2003), 83–104; Barker, Captain Charles Stuart, 138–89, 263, 289. 8. Douglass inserted the following editorial comment after he reprinted Stuart’s letter: “Among the names of those we early learned to love, as the true friends of human nature, whether under a black or a white complexion, was that of the writer above; and we esteem it a very great privilege to welcome anything he may be disposed to write on the subject of human welfare, to a place in our columns.—Editor.”

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JULIA GRIFFITHS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS [n.p.] 9 January 1854.

Frederick Douglass: Dear Friend :— Several months ago, a friend of mine,1 who has taken a lively interest in your paper, and has done much to sustain you in your efforts to render it useful to the enslaved and oppressed people of this country, suggested to me the plan of raising the sum of one thousand dollars, (in ten dollar donations,) towards a contingent fund, to be placed at your service. This suggestion pleased me; I resolved to carry it out. I have now the pleasure of reporting the following responses to my appeal—and hope in the course of the next few months to be able to report the names of other generous friends of that cause, to which you are devoting your time and talents. Your friend, JULIA GRIFFITHS.2 PLSr, FDP, 13 January 1854. 1. The first name Griffiths placed on the list of contributors following her letter was that of Gerrit Smith. Considering Smith’s history of financial subsidization of Douglass’s journalism, he is the most likely person to whom Griffiths is referring. 2. Douglass praises Griffiths’s work in an editorial introduction to the letter. In two columns following Griffiths’s letter, Frederick Douglass’ Paper printed forty-two names of individuals who had contributed ten dollars to sustain the newspaper. One listing was for “Two Friends,” who apparently combined their donations to reach the required ten-dollar amount. FDP, 13 January 1854.

JOHN BROWN TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Akron, O[hio]. 9 Jan[uary] 1854.

F. Douglass, Esq: Dear Sir:— I have thought much of late of the extreme wickedness of persons who use their influence to bring law and order, and good government, and courts of justice into disrespect and contempt with mankind, and do what in their power lies to destroy confidence in legislative bodies, and to bring magistrates judges, and other officers of the law into disrespect amongst men. Such persons, whoever they may be, would break down all that opposes the passions of fallen men; and could they fully carry out their measures, would give to the world a constant succession of murder, revenge, robbery, fire and famine; or, first, of anarchy in all its horrid forms; and then

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of the most bloody despotisms, to be again succeeded by anarchy, and that again to terminate in a despotism. What punishment ever inflicted by man, or even threatened of God, can be too severe for those whose influence is a thousand times more malignant than the atmosphere of the deadly Upas1—for those who hate the right and the Most High? I will now inquire who are such malignant spirits—such fiends clothed in human form? Amongst the first are men who, neglecting honorable and useful labor to seek office and electioneer, have come to be a majority in our national Legislature, and in most of our State Legislatures, and who there pass unjust and wicked enactments, and call them laws. Another set are from the same description of men, and who fill the offices of Chief Magistrate of the United States, and of different States, and affix the official signature to such enactments. Next come another set from the same horde, who fill the offices of judge, justice, commissioner, &c., who follow that which is altogether unjust. Next come a set of Capt Rynders2 men—marshals, sheriffs, constables, policemen—brave cat paws of the last named, ever prompt to execute their decision. Another set are such as sometimes succeed in getting nominated for some office, and are very loud at hotels, in cars, on steam-boats and in stages, urging upon others the duty of fulfilling all our solemn engagements. And “last, but not least,”3 come the devils, drummers and fifers—such fellows as in black cloth get into the “sacred desk,” there to publish the Gospel, (no doubt;) for numbers of them are Doctors of Divinity. But what Gospel do they preach? Is it the Gospel of God, or of the Son of God? God commands, “That which is altogether just shalt thou follow;”4 and every man’s conscience says Amen! God commanded, “That thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee. He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose, in one of thy gates where it liketh him best. Thou shalt not oppress him.”5 Every man’s conscience says Amen to that command. The Son of God said— “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the Prophets.”6 The conscience of every man that ever read or heard that command says Amen! But what says these so called Divines? You must obey the enactments of the United States Congress, even to the violation of conscience, and the trampling under foot of the laws of our final Judge. “Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood.”7 There is one other set of the same throngers of the “broad way,” which I have not mentioned. (Would to God I had already done!) I mean Editors

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of, and writers to pro-slavery newspapers and other periodicals. These seem to vie with each other in urging men on to greater and still greater lengths in stifling conscience, and insulting God. What, I ask, could possibly tend so to destroy all possible respect for legislators, presidents, judges, or other magistrates or officers—or to root out all confidence in the integrity of civil rulers and courts, as well as legislative bodies, as the passing of enactments which it is self-evident are most abominably wicked and unjust, dignifying them with the name of laws, and then employing the public purse and sword to execute them? But I have done. I am too destitute of words to express the tithe of what I feel, and utterly incapable of doing the subject any possible degree of justice, in my own estimation. My only encouragement to begin, was the earnest wish that if I might express, so that it may be understood at all, an important fact, that you or some friend of God and the right, will take it up and clothe it in the suitable language to be noticed and felt. I want to have the inquiry everywhere raised—Who are the men that are undermining our truly republican and democratic institutions at their very foundation? I forgot to head my remarks “Law and Order.” Yours in Truth, JOHN BROWN. PLSr: FDP, 27 January 1854. 1. John Brown likens the destructive influence of proslavery supporters, especially those who retain some official capacity, to the upas tree. The upas, Antiaris toxicara, is native to Java and other Indonesian islands, Africa, and China. The extremely poisonous sap of some varieties is used to treat the tips of poisonous darts, spears, and arrows. Brewer, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1435. 2. Isaiah Rynders (1804–85), New York City gang leader and Tammany Hall boss of the sixth ward, was a powerful figure throughout the late antebellum era. Of German and Irish background, Rynders was born in Waterford, New York, and attended school until about age twelve, when he shipped out as a deckhand on a riverboat running between Troy and New York City. He later either owned or commanded a small Hudson River sloop, retaining the title “Captain” for the rest of his career. Abandoning maritime pursuits around 1830, Rynders spent several years in the South, where he gained a lasting, and possibly exaggerated, reputation as a duelist, gambler, and horse-racing enthusiast. In the late 1830s, he returned to New York City and established himself in the slum area known as Five Points. Active in Democratic politics from the time of his arrival, Rynders opened a public house on Park Row that became a gathering place for local Tammany leaders as well as the headquarters of the infamous Empire Club, a band of street toughs fi rst recruited by Rynders to disrupt Whig political rallies during the election of 1844. Over the next dozen years, Rynders’s services to the Democratic party brought him a series of local federal offices. When not intimidating political opponents, Rynders and his followers participated in a number of rowdy civil disturbances, including the bloody Astor Place Opera House riots of May 1849. A staunch defender of slavery, Rynders became the nemesis of New York abolitionists during the 1840s and 1850s, periodically disrupting their meetings with tactics he had perfected in the political arena. As early as 1857, however, he began to lose his grip on the Five Points gangs, and despite being a Copperhead during the Civil War, he

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had to appeal for police protection during the 1863 draft riots. Rynders remained active in New York Democratic politics after the war, holding a variety of minor city and county offices throughout the 1860s and 1870s. Pennsylvania Freeman, 17 May 1849; New York Times, 14 January 1885; New York Tribune, 14 January 1885; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 2:237n; Herbert Asbury, The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld (New York, 1928), 43–45; James McCague, The Second Rebellion: The Story of the New York City Draft Riots of 1863 (New York, 1968), 118. 3. This phrase appears to have originated in 1580 when John Lyly used it in the didactic romance Euphues and His England. John Lyly, The Complete Works of John Lyly, ed. R. Warwick Bond, 3 vols. (Oxford, Eng., 1902), 2:113. 4. Deut. 16:20. 5. Deut. 23:15–16. 6. Matt. 7:12. 7. Neh. 13:29.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO CALVIN STOWE1 Roch[ester, N.Y.] 17 Jan[uary] 1854.

Dear Dr Stowe, Please accept my Sincere thanks for the volumes five in number2—just come to hand, intended to assist me in the Study of the Claims of the Bible as a Devine revealation. The thought that I am an object of your Care has Comfort in it. I will read and Study these Books—and Some day give you some idea of the progress I have made on the Subject. At present I Shall be too much in the Lecturing field to Study—but if all be well, Shall have more time in Summer—Tomorrow Evening I begin a Series of appointments made for me in New hampShere.3 Please remember me Kindly to Mrs Stowe.4 And Believe, me very gratefully your friend FREDERICK DOUGLASS ALS: Frederick Douglass Collection, ICHi. 1. Calvin Ellis Stowe (1802–86) met Harriet Beecher during the 1830s when he was a professor of theology under Lyman Beecher at Lane Seminary in Ohio. The two were married in 1836, following the death of Stowe’s first wife. Throughout their marriage, Stowe remained a strong supporter of Harriet’s literary career. Hedrick, Harriet Beecher Stowe, 93–94, 96–99, 167–68; DAB, 18:115. 2. The books that Stowe sent Douglass have not been identified. In 1867, Stowe published Origin and History of the Books of the Bible, both the Canonical and the Apocryphal. This was one of the earliest attempts by an American scholar to assess the Bible from a historical perspective. C. E. Stowe, Origin and History of the Books of the Bible, both the Canonical and the Apocryphal, Designed to Show What the Bible is Not, What It is, and How to Use It (Hartford, Conn., 1868). 3. Douglass, in a letter he wrote and planned to publish in his newspaper, announced that he had left Rochester on 17 January 1854 and commenced a speaking tour in New Hampshire with an address in Nashua the next day. FDP, 27 January 1854. 4. Harriet Beecher Stowe.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO CHARLES SUMNER Rochester[, N.Y.] 27 February 1854.

Hon. Chas. Sumner, My Dear Sir:— All the friends of freedom, in every State, and of every color, may claim you, just now, as their representative. As one of your Sable conStituents— My dear Sir, I deSire to thank you, for your noble Speech1 for freedom, and for your country, which I have now read twice over. When Messrs. Chase,2 Wade,3 and Seward,4 had Spoken, I could not See, what remained for you to Say. The reSult Shows that the world is larger than it looks to be from the little valley where I live. If I thought you were, or could be, dissatisfied with your Speech, I Should have to conSider you a hard MaSter—and a very unreasonable man. It is Sad to think that after all the efforts of your Spartan band,5 this wicked measure will pass—A victory now for freedom, would be the turning point—in freedom’s favour—But “God dwells in eternity”, and it may be time enough yet—Heaven PreServe you—and Strengthen you. Yours, Most truly, and gratefully, FREDERICK DOUGLASS ALS: Charles Sumner Papers, MH-H. 1. Charles Sumner addressed the U.S. Senate on 21 February 1854. His speech, against the repeal of the Missouri Compromise by the proposed Kansas-Nebraska Act, was reprinted in Frederick Douglass’ Paper under the column heading “The Landmark of Freedom.” FDP, 10 March 1854. 2. Salmon Portland Chase (1808–73) served as a U.S. senator, cabinet officer, and chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He taught school briefly in Washington, D.C., before settling in Cincinnati and beginning a legal career. There he defended a number of fugitive slaves and acted as legal counsel for the abolitionist James G. Birney. Initially a Whig, Chase joined the Liberty party in 1840, and presided at the Buffalo Convention of the Free Soil party in 1848. A coalition of Free Soilers and Democrats in the Ohio legislature sent Chase to the U.S. Senate in 1849, where he remained until 1854. He strongly opposed the Compromise of 1850 and favored the restriction of slavery by federal law. In the wake of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Chase joined the Republican party and won the governorship of Ohio in 1855. After resuming his U.S. Senate seat in 1861, he resigned to become Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of the treasury. Closely aligned with radical Republicans in Congress, Chase became the focus of opposition to Lincoln within the Republican party. Although he resigned from his cabinet post and challenged Lincoln for the 1864 presidential nomination, the latter appointed him chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Throughout his political career, Chase was a strong proponent of black suffrage and the radical program of Reconstruction. In 1868, Chase again sought the Democratic presidential nomination as a Democrat, but attracted little support. Frederick J. Blue, Salmon P. Chase: A Life in Politics (Kent, Ohio, 1987); James Brewer Stewart, Joshua R. Giddings and the Tactics of Radical Politics (Cleveland, 1970), 116–18, 153–54; Richard H. Sewell, Ballots for Freedom: Antislavery Politics in the United States, 1837–1860 (New York, 1976), 90; Reinhard H. Luthin, “Salmon P. Chase’s Political Career before the Civil War,” Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 29:517–40 (March 1943); DAB, 4:27–34.

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3. The political abolitionist Edward Wade (1802–66) was born in rural Massachusetts and moved to Andover, Ohio, in 1821 with his family. He trained for the law with the nationally prominent Ohio attorney Elisha Whittlesey, who practiced alongside Edward’s more famous brother, Benjamin. Despite receiving little formal education, both Edward and Benjamin went on to practice law in Jefferson, Ohio, and had respectable political careers. In 1842, Edward joined the Liberty party and later the Free Soil party, while Benjamin remained a Whig until they both joined the Republican party at its formation in 1854. Edward served in the House in 1853 as a Free Soiler and then as a Republican until 1861, when he retired because of poor health and returned to his law practice in Cleveland. Frederick J. Blue, No Taint of Compromise: Crusaders in Antislavery Politics (Baton Rouge, La., 2005), xiv, 11, 213–14; BDUSC (online). 4. William H. Seward. 5. Douglass compares the small group of antislavery congressmen who unsuccessfully tried to block passage of the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act to the Spartans’ attempt at Thermopylae to delay the Persian invasion of Greece. Blue, Free Soilers, 280–83.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester, 6 March [1854].1

Hon: Gerrit Smith. My dear Sir: I am Slowly recovering from my illness2—and hope Soon to be at work again. I am, with you, quite Sorry, that W. H. Seward’s abolitionism is not of a more decided a type; and that he annexes So many hard conditions to the freedom of the Slave, in the D.C.3 yet So anxious am I, to See Emancipation there, I would See it at almost any price, and Since we cannot have you, and Such as you to propose plans in Congress for Emancipation I am glad of even So much as Wm H. Seward’s plan. As to “indemnifying” Slaveholders, that is by no means So repulsive to me Since your great Speech on the Nebraska Bill4 —which Speech by the way, I was reading but yesterday—I hope it will not be long before I Shall See and hear again—for I always feel the better for having Seen —I am Dear Sir, Yours as ever truly and affectionately FREDERICK DOUGLASS PLSr: FDP, 17 March 1854. Reprinted in NASS, 25 March 1854; Philadelphia Freeman, 30 March 1854; Lib., 31 March 1854; ASB, 1 April 1854. 1. Several of the events to which Douglass refers to in this letter to Gerrit Smith occurred in April 1854, leading the editors to conclude that the letter was misdated. The most probable correct date is 6 May 1854. 2. Although it is impossible to determine the exact nature of Douglass’s illness, it is likely that it resulted from exposure to the cold and snow that he complained about in his “Letters from the Editor” column in February while on a lecture tour of New England. Whatever the nature of his illness,

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it probably occurred in the later weeks of February, since he reported on 8 February that he expected to arrive back in Rochester before the next edition of Frederick Douglass’ Paper was published on the 17th. In fact, he did not return to Rochester until 3 March. FDP, 3 February, 17 February, 3 March 1854. 3. Perhaps an allusion to the position taken by William H. Seward in an address in the U.S. Senate on 17 February 1854 in opposition to passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Seward attacked the Democratic party’s position that popular sovereignty should guide whether slavery could be established in a federal territory. Seward ridiculed the Democrats’ claim that Congress had no authority over slavery in a territory, since that matter is constitutionally the right of the citizens of a territory, by noting that Congress had often exercised its authority over slavery in the District of Columbia. Smith and Douglass appear to regret that Seward did not advocate that Congress exercise those same powers to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia. FDP, 10 March 1854. 4. Smith delivered his principal address in opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act in the House of Representative on 6 April 1854. Douglass published a brief synopsis of that speech in his paper on 21 April 1854 and the entire text of the speech on 12 May 1854. Douglass alludes to a passage in Smith’s speech in which the veteran abolitionist conceded that the North had long profited from the establishment of slavery in the South and was thereby obligated to aid in its extinguishment. Smith advocated a federal appropriation of $400 million to compensate slaveholders for emancipation. In 1857, well after the end of his congressional career, Smith joined with the Quaker abolitionist Elihu Burritt to hold a national convention to advocate for compensated emancipation. Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 326–31; Betty L. Fladeland, “Compensated Emancipated Emancipation: A Rejected Alternative,” JSH, 42:183–84 (May 1976).

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester, [N.Y.] 18 March [1854].

Hon: Gerrit Smith My Dear Friend. I am at home, and have your welcome notes.1 You have only to vote and Speak the convictions of your head and heart to have my earnest, though feeble Support. I knew you would vote against the homestead Bill, as Soon as I learned that the mean and wicked—amendment of Mr Wright2 had prevailed. Thomas Davis,3 is known to me—and I was prepared to hear that he voted right. His opinions have changed much Since our first acquaintance. Now more than twelve years: but his heart is, No doubt as noble as ever. There was a good chance on Wright’s “White” amendment, to have recounted Some of the patriotic Services of the Colored people—and to have made and argument in favour of their citizenShip—But one Man cannot Say everything—and perhaps, the time, was not allowed. I brought to gether Some facts on this point for the Colored Convention4 held here last Summer—which may prove convenient to you—I therefore take the

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Liberty to Send them. My friend Julia,5 comes homes highly gratified, perhaps I ought to Say, extatic with her visit6 to Washington— Believe me always, truly and gratefully Your friend, FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Douglass refers to a letter dated 6 March 1854 from Gerrit Smith. The letter, published in the 17 March 1854 edition of Frederick Douglass’ Paper, is Smith’s account of the House vote on the homestead bill. Specifically, Smith, who had previously supported land reform, chose to vote against the bill because it limited suffrage to white people. FDP, 17 March 1854; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 255–58. 2. An experienced lawyer in Wilkes-Barre, Hendrick Bradley Wright (1808–81) served as a Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania (1853–54, 1861–62, 1877–78, and 1879–80). In his first term in Congress, Wright argued for amending the 1854 homestead bill to clarify that land entitlements be given only to whites. Laura Jensen, Patriots, Settlers, and the Origins of American Social Policy (New York, 2003), 198; BDUSC (online). 3. Thomas Davis (1806–95), a wealthy jeweler, immigrated to Providence from Ireland in 1817. He first married Eliza Chase, a friend of Helen Garrison and sister of the Providence wool merchant William M. Chase. After Eliza’s death, he married Paulina Kellogg Wright, an abolitionist and women’s rights activist, in 1849. Davis served in both houses of the Rhode Island legislature and one term in the U.S. Congress (1853–55). Davis made an address in the House denouncing the Kansas-Nebraska Act on 9 May 1854, which was republished as a pamphlet and widely circulated. Benjamin F. Moore, Providence Almanac and Business Directory for the Year 1843 (Providence, R.I., 1843), 46; Merrill and Ruchames, Garrison Letters, 1:151n, 330n, 2:308n; BDUSC (online). 4. A reference to the National Convention for People of Color, held in Rochester, N.Y., on 6, 7, 8 July 1853. 5. Julia Griffiths. 6. Julia Griffiths arrived in Washington, D.C., on 15 February 1854. While there she frequently attended sessions of Congress to hear senators and representatives speak, including Lewis Cass, Stephen A. Douglas, Charles Sumner, and William Henry Seward. She also met with Sarah Grimké, Senator Salmon P. Chase, and Gerrit Smith. FDP, 24 February, 3, 17 March 1854.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 29 April 1854[.]

Hon Gerrit Smith, My dear Sir, It is too bad that we cannot have your Speech1 when people are anxious to read it. YourS, and that of Mr Benton,2 will, I presume, be be the last on the Nebraska bill, which will be generally read. The Subject has been worn thread bare. One of the firSt privileges which I had hoped to enjoy on reaching home from Cincinnati3—was the reading of a full report of your Speech. You will be glad to know that my visit to Cincinnati added

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conSiderably to my list of Subscribers, and made me, as well as the cause, some friends. I aimed there, to uphold our hope of inspiring doctrine of of the unconstitutionality and illegality of Slavery, but what am I in the hands of the Subtle Burliegh?4 Wherever I have gone in the State of Ohio among the friends of freedom, I have met with but one feeling respecting you and your courSe in congress. I need not tell you what that feeling is, but it gives your Sable friend pleasure to know that it is not unfavorable, either your head or your heart, but honorable to both. I thank you for your Several kind notes—we are all well here. Love to Mrs Smith,5 Always yours most truly FREDERICK DOUGLASS ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Gerrit Smith’s speech against passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act was delivered in Congress on 6 April 1854 and published in an expanded form in the 12 May 1854 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Smith opposed the bill because it limited suffrage to white men who held citizenship (it completely excluded blacks and immigrants), and because it recognized a national policy of “nonintervention” that would allow each state to determine whether it would legalize slavery. 2. Thomas Hart Benton (1782–1858) served as a U.S. senator from Missouri from 1821 to 1851. Born near Hillsboro, North Carolina, Benton briefly studied at the University of North Carolina and at William and Mary College. Despite a promising legal and political career in Tennessee, Benton migrated to Missouri after service in the War of 1812. Elected to the Senate upon Missouri’s admission to the Union, he became an important Jacksonian Democrat and spokesman for western interests. His support for gradual emancipation caused Benton to lose his Senate seat in 1850. He returned to Congress as a representative from 1853 to 1855, but lost his bid for a second term after speaking out against the Kansas-Nebraska Act on 25 April 1854. Thomas Hart Benton, Thirty Years’ View; or, a History of the Working of the American Government for Thirty Years, from 1820 to 1850, 2 vols. (New York, 1854–56), 2:782; Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas H. Benton (Boston, 1899); Elbert B. Smith, Magnificent Missourian: The Life of Thomas Hart Benton (Philadelphia, 1958); William N. Chambers, Old Bullion Benton, Senator from the New West: Thomas Hart Benton, 1782–1858 (Boston, 1956); ACAB, 1:241–43; DAB, 2:210–13. 3. Frederick Douglass spoke at an antislavery convention held at Greenwood Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio, on 11–13 April, then spoke at Zion Baptist Church on Third Street in Cincinnati on 14 April 1854. FDP, 7, 28 April 1854; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 2:xxxvi; Stacey M. Robertson, Hearts Beating for Liberty: Women Abolitionists in the Old Northwest (Chapel Hill, N.C., 2010), 104–09. 4. Among those attending the Cincinnati antislavery convention was the Garrisonian abolitionist Charles Calistus Burleigh (1810–78). Burleigh was born in Plainfield, Connecticut, and received his early schooling at the Plainfield Academy. While studying law, an attack he published on the Connecticut “Black Law” attracted the attention of the abolitionist Samuel J. May. Burleigh was instrumental in protecting William Lloyd Garrison from a mob in Boston in October 1835, and shortly thereafter became a regular contributor to the Liberator. In the late 1830s, Burleigh became one of the editors of the Pennsylvania Freeman, later the organ of the Eastern Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Active in a number of reform movements, Burleigh plunged into the anti-Sabbatarian campaign after he was arrested in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1847 for selling antislavery literature

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on Sunday. In 1845 he published a pamphlet, Thoughts on the Death Penalty, condemning capital punishment. He participated in the woman suffrage conventions at Cleveland and New York in 1854 and in the American Equal Rights Association meeting in 1867. In the 1870s he joined his brother, William Henry, in the campaign for temperance reform. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn Gage, eds., History of Woman Suffrage, 6 vols. (Rochester, 1881–1922), 1:148–51; Robertson, Hearts Beating for Liberty, 104–05, 108, 113, 130; C. B. Galbreath, “Anti-Slavery Movement in Columbiana County,” Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, 30: 389–91 (October 1921); ACAB, 1:455; DAB, 3:284–85. 5. Ann Carroll Fitzhugh Smith.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 6 May 1854.

Hon. Gerrit Smith. My dear Sir: I am grateful for your notice of me in Congress.1 How lost to all sense of right, are your Brother Legislators, that in the face of your Manly and Christian opposition, the abominable and proScriptive amendment was adopted. Of your Speech on the Nebraska Bill, aSide from all my admiration and love for the friend of my poor people—I must pronounce it the mightiest and grandest production, ever before delivered in the House or Senate of this Nation. I am about leaving home for Newyork.2 I am glad to See you intend Speaking at length on the post office. And Pacific Rail Road question.3 In haste Your faithful friend FREDERICK DOUGLASS ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Perhaps Douglass refers to remarks made by Smith during a House debate over the KansasNebraska Act on 3 May 1854, during which he referred to Douglass as “the man of America” and “one of the ablest speakers and writers in this country.” Douglass later republished Smith’s remarks in his newspaper. FDP, 19 May 1854. 2. Douglass traveled to New York City to attend the meeting of the American and Foreign AntiSlavery Society, held as part of the city’s “Anniversary Week.” FDP, 19 May 1854. 3. When a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives to reduce postage rates, Smith proposed an amendment to permit the reduction for two years and then to abolish the entire Post Office Department. Smith opposed federal grants of land to railroads, but favored appropriations of tax dollars to support such construction projects. Congressional Globe, 33rd Cong., 1st Sess., 1342, 1405; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 323–24.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 19 May 1854.

Hon: Gerrit Smith My Dear Sir, I am again at my post. I found the packit of your Speech1 here on my return from Newyork—I am very glad to have them to dispose of. It is the best antiSlavery document for the times—Now extant—Is it not too bad that Antislavery men Should do up all the argument on the Slavery Side against you? I was Sick of the dogmatism and canting Superior honesty— indulged in at Newyork—by the Speakers at the late meeting of the Am A. S. Society2—With some of them the best evidence that a man can give of being a knave is to profeSS to believe in the Soundness of your views respecting the Constitution. With the manner of your opposition to the KanSas Nebraska Bill3—those who know you most and love you best are entirely Satisfied. It would not look degnified, or Consistent to see Gerrit Smith either leading or following what at best Must be pronounced a factious opposition. I hope Cuttings amendment4 will fail, and if we must have the the repeal of the Missouri reStriction5 let nothing be done to Soften the harShness of the Measure. My faithful Friend Julia6 desires best Love—Always Yours Truly FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Douglass returned from speaking in New York at the annual meetings of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society and the American Missionary Association on 10–11 May 1854. The speech to which he refers was probably the one delivered by Gerrit Smith to the House on 6 April 1854 in opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Douglass published a notice in the 16 May 1854 edition of FDP announcing that Buell & Blanchard, a printing firm in Washington, D.C., would be reproducing the contents of Smith’s speech and selling them to interested parties for $1.50 each. British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Reporter, new ser., 2:82–83 (1 April 1854); New York Daily Tribune, 11  May 1854; New York Herald, 11 May 1854; New York Daily Times, 11 May 1854; New York Morning Express, 12 May 1854; New York Independent, 18 May 1854; FDP, 19, 26 May 1854; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 2:xxxvi, 479–90. 2. The American Anti-Slavery Society held its twentieth anniversary meeting on 10 May 1854 at the headquarters of New York’s Broadway Universalist Society. The convention’s main speaker, Wendell Phillips, called for a “total revolution in the religious and political institutions of the country.” New York Daily Tribune, 11 May 1854. 3. The much-amended bill to organize the territories of Kansas and Nebraska was originally introduced into Congress by Senator Stephen A. Douglass of Illinois. The measure invoked “popular sovereignty” to allow residents of those territories to decide whether to permit slavery. In the final version, passed on 30 May 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act voided the provision of the Missouri

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Compromise of 1820 that forbade slavery in the old Louisiana Purchase north of 36° 30′’ and established the doctrine of congressional noninterventention regarding slavery in the territories. P. Orman Ray, The Repeal of the Missouri Compromise: Its Origin and Authorship (Cleveland, 1909), 16, 182–87; David M. Potter, The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861 (New York, 1976), 55, 160–77; Michael F. Holt, The Fate of Their Country: Politicians, Slavery Extension, and the Coming of the Civil War (New York, 2004), 103–05. 4. Born in New York City, Francis Brockholst Cutting (1804–70) won election to the Thirtyfifth Congress in 1853 as a Democrat from his birth state. He graduated from the Litchfield Law School in Connecticut and was admitted to the bar in 1827. Cutting practiced law in New York City until he was elected to the state assembly in 1836 and later to Congress. He served only one term in the House of Representatives, during which time he played an active role in the adoption of the 1855 statute that extended citizenship to children of Americans who were born abroad and voted in favor of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Cutting is perhaps best remembered for his quarrel with John C. Breckinridge, then a Democratic congressman from Kentucky. Cutting successfully moved to refer the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, which had already passed in the Senate, to the Committee of the Whole. Breckinridge contended that Cutting, who publicly supported the bill, had effectively buried it and suggested that Cutting was two-faced. The verbal exchanges turned insulting and almost led to a duel. After fulfilling his term in office, Cutting returned to the practice of law in New York City. New York Weekly Herald, 8 April, 9 December 1854; Montpelier Watchman and State Journal, 2 June 1854; Bangor Daily Whig & Courier, 28 June 1870; San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin, 28 June 1870; Milwaukee Daily Sentinel, 22 July 1864; Frank H. Heck, Proud Kentuckian: John C. Breckinridge, 1821–1875 (Lexington, Ky., 1976), 43; BDUSC (online). 5. A reference to the 36° 30′ line in the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which divided the Louisiana Purchase into free and slave territories. Glover Moore, The Missouri Controversy, 1819–1821 (Lexington, Ky., 1953), 41–47, 59–64, 84–89, 115. 6. Julia Griffiths.

GERRIT SMITH TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Washington, [D.C.] 12 June 1854.

Fredk Douglass— My friend, I this [day receive] the accompanying list—. There is certainly some merit in the lines1—You will judge whether enough to justify you in giving them a place in your Paper—If you print them, [do send Mr. Haynes]2 a [couple] of copies of the Paper [containing them]— I see you are [mentioned] for Congress.3 My heart would leap for joy at your election. It would be the greatest blow yet struck for the redemption of the slave. Oh how I should love [to] [work] for your election! Truly yours GERRIT SMITH ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 34, frame 3, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Smith received a poem entitled “Nebraska” from an admirer, Daniel Haynes. Douglass published the poem in his newspaper several weeks later. FDP, 30 June 1854.

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2. The published poem identifies its author, Daniel Haynes (1783–1870), as a resident of East Nassau, a small village in Rensselaer County, New York. The son of Daniel Haynes and his second wife, Mary Horton, Haynes was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts. A physician, Haynes set up practice initially in Bethlehem, Albany County, New York, where he married Magdalena Burnett in 1804. They had three children, including Dr. John H. Haynes and Daniel A. Haynes, a member of the Ohio State Legislature, judge of the Montgomery Superior Court, president of both the Dayton Bank and the Dayton Insurance Company, and director of the Dayton & Western Railroad. By 1815, Haynes had moved his family to Chatham in Columbia County, where his first wife died in 1842. The following year, he married a widow, Angeline Debol, and joined his son’s practice in Rensselaer County, New York. He was widowed a second time in 1853, and by 1860 he was living with his son’s family, having become deaf. 1850 U.S. Census, New York, Rensselaer County, 740; 1860 U.S Census, New York, Rensselaer County, 126–27; Frank Conover, ed., Centennial Portrait and Biographical Record of the City of Dayton and of Montgomery County, Ohio (Logansport, Ind., 1897), 177–78; Frances Haynes, ed., Walter Haynes of Sutton Mandeville, Wiltshire, England, and Sudbury, Massachusetts and His Descendants, 1583–1928 (Haverhill, Mass., 1929), 70, 77–76, 91–92. 3. Several newspapers hinted at the possibility of the National Liberty party running Frederick Douglass for Congress in 1854. There is no evidence, however, to prove that the party leadership ever intended to implement such a plan or that Douglass harbored this political ambition. About the time of Smith’s letter to Douglass, the Rochester correspondent of the Syracuse Evening Standard reported on rumors in the city that some Whig factions had discussed nominating Douglass for Congress. In Douglass’s absence from Rochester, his assistant editor, William J. Watkins, published a brief, humorous account of the incident. FDP, 23 June 1854; John Stauffer, The Black Hearts of Men: Radical Abolitionists and the Transformation of Race (Cambridge, Mass., 2001), 24; Charles H. Wesley, “The Participation of Negroes in Anti-Slavery Political Parties,” JNH, 29:68–69 (January 1944).

JAMES RAWSON JOHNSON1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Wading River, L[.] I., [N.Y.] 4 July [18]54.

My Dear Douglass:— I never felt so solemn—never so heavy at heart any 4th of July, in my life. While I am writing, I hear the sound of cannon from Greenport, on Long Island; and the water of the L. I. Sound,2 is such a faithful conductor of sound, that I plainly hear the booming cannon from old Connecticut, the State where I drew my infant breath, and where the bodies of my dear parents rest in their graves. But to these noisy expressions of joy, there is no response from my bosom. That fugitive from American oppression, Anthony Burns,3 has a stronger hold on my mind at this hour, than the “heroes of the Revolution.” He attempted to apply the doctrines which they asserted, and lo! the arm of the United States of America is raised to crush him! Is it so? or am I in the midst of a vexatious, troubled dream?—Yes, it is so; the terrible reality is upon us. I am sad to-day, because my hopes for the peaceful abolition of American slavery greatly decline. My expectation of its speedy abolition

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increases. But the indications seem to be, that the needful work will come amid scenes of terrible and bloody revolution. Never did such a paragraph as the preceding, ever escape from my pen, or in public from my lips; this is the first occasion on which it finds open utterance. My mind might be in a more hopeful mode if I were in your Anti-Slavery Celebration at Rochester.4 But I am on the east end of Long Island, where may be seen marked and numerous specimens of the climax of pro-slavery stupidity at the North. That devoted man of God, (who has gone to his rest,) Rev. CHARLES KNOWLES,5 who was for some twelve years pastor of the Congregational Church at River Head, L. I., made an anti-slavery mark on some minds, by his faithful testimony for the slave—“He being dead, yet speaketh.”6 What yet remains of that good man’s influence, constitutes the greater part of the anti-slavery germ which is found on this part of the Island. Such a fact may encourage all present laborers in the cause to do what they can to leave the right impress on the human mind, to be transmitted to other generations. Ah! I see; now I am getting hopeful again. My eye is directed to moral influence for the extinction of slavery. When I look at the stratagems, zeal, and union of the upholders of slavery—at the money construction which the popular mind has received from high authority concerning the Constitution of the United States— more than all, when I see popular church organization on the side of the oppressor, thus holding up a mighty shield between public opinion and the vile political parties—then am I ready to conclude, slavery will be abolished by a bloody revolution. I look, and yet cherish the hope that the great work will be done peacefully, and by appropriate and dignified legislation. For such a result, it is our business to aim zealously and continually, and for the other result, to prepare. We must try the full power of moral and legal means. We must do our best with Bibles and ballots, and only as the last resort, come to bullets and bayonets. Yours, J. R. J. PLSr: FDP, 4 July 1854. 1. Probably the frequent correspondent of Frederick Douglass’ Paper, James Rawson Johnson, an African American abolitionist from Syracuse, New York. Johnson was a supporter of the Liberty party and the religious abolitionist cause, as well as hydropathy. FDP, 26 June, 11 September, 9 October 1851, 1 January, 12, 26 February, 25 March, 8 April, 20 May, 9 July, 15 October 1852; Douglass Papers, ser. 3, 1:582–84, 587–88, 590–92, 596, 599. 2. Long Island Sound separates Long Island, New York, and the southeastern shore of New York from the East River to Upper New York Bay, and connects with the northern Block Island

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Sound, located southwest of New London, Connecticut. Ninety miles long and three to twenty miles wide, it is fed by the northern Housatonic, Connecticut, and Thames rivers. Its major port cities are New Haven, New London, and Bridgeport, Connecticut. It is a primary shipping route along the Atlantic coast and a popular residential boating center. Saul Cohen, ed., The Columbia Gazetteer of the World, 3 vols. (New York, 1998), 2:1774; Seltzer, Columbia Lippancott Gazetteer of the World, 1079. 3. The fugitive slave Anthony Burns (1834–62) precipitated one of the most dramatic incidents connected with enforcement of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law. Born in Stafford County, Virginia, Burns was hired out from age seven onward. On reaching his late teens, he was sent to Richmond, where he soon began working under the nominal supervision of a local druggist, who allowed Burns to find his own employment and report back every two weeks with his earnings. Aided by a sympathetic seaman, Burns stowed away on a Northern merchant ship in February 1854 and reached Boston early the next month. He remained there until 24 May 1854, when he was arrested on a warrant from Edward G. Loring, a fugitive slave commissioner. Fearful of his fate and apparently intimidated by the presence of his master and other hostile whites, Burns initially wanted to return south voluntarily and had to be persuaded to even accept legal counsel. Coinciding as it did with congressional passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Burns’s arrest and confinement caused intense excitement among antislavery Bostonians. An emotion-charged evening rally at Faneuil Hall ended in violence when Thomas Wentworth Higginson led an unsuccessful mob attack on the courthouse where Burns was being held. Efforts to purchase Burns’s freedom were thwarted, and Richard Henry Dana’s able but hastily contrived legal defense proved futile. President Franklin Pierce, anxious to appease Southern supporters, sent federal troops to Boston to assist in the fugitive’s rendition. On 2 June 1854, Boston police, together with 1,500 volunteer militiamen and military detachments from Rhode Island and New Hampshire, escorted Burns through crowds of would-be rescuers and saw him safely aboard the U.S. revenue cutter Morris, bound for Norfolk, Virginia. After several months’ confinement in Richmond, Burns was sold at auction for $910 to a North Carolina slave trader. In February 1855, Northern sympathizers led by the black Boston clergyman Leonard A. Grimes purchased Burns’s freedom for $1,300. As a slave, Burns had been a devout Christian and Baptist lay preacher. He continued his ministerial career as a free man, and after studying at Oberlin College and Fairmont Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio, he assumed the pastorate of Zion Church in St. Catharines, Canada West. Anthony Burns to Richard Henry Dana, 23 August 1854, in Slave Testimony: Two Centuries of Letters, Speeches, Interviews, and Autobiographies, ed. John W. Blassingame (Baton Rouge, La., 1977), 109; Charles Emery Stevens, Anthony Burns: A History (1856; New York, 1969); Marion Gleason McDougall and Albert Bushnell Hart, eds., Fugitive Slaves, 1619–1865 (1891; New York, 1967), 44–45; Jane H. Pease and William H. Pease, The Fugitive Law and Anthony Burns: A Problem in Law Enforcement (Philadelphia, 1975); Campbell, Slave Catchers, 31, 99–100, 106, 117–21; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 207–09; Samuel Shapiro, “The Rendition of Anthony Burns,” JNH, 44:34–51 (January 1959); Donald M. Jacobs, “A History of the Boston Negro from the Revolution to the Civil War” (Ph.D. diss., Boston University, 1968), 286–91; DANB, 80–81. 4. Frederick Douglass’ Paper contains no description of such an event held in Rochester in 1854. In an editorial published in the 16 June 1854 issue, Douglass suggested that his readers use that year’s Fourth of July as an occasion to find him additional subscribers. FDP, 16 June 1854. 5. The Reverend Charles J. Knowles (c. 1804–50) presided over the River Head Congregational Church in Long Island and was a regular contributor to the American Tract Society and the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. American Tract Society, Twentieth Annual Report . . . 1845 (New York, 1845), 186; American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Thirty-Ninth Annual Report . . . 1848 (Boston, 1848), 29. 6. Heb. 11:4.

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NEMO1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Long Island, [N.Y.] 19 July 1854.

To Frederick Douglass, Esq.: In the days of our last great Convention,2 (Held in that hot month, July, ‘fifty-three, Where—’tis hardly worth while for to mention— You know as well as you know A, B, C.) There arose, with “our” joint approbation Another black sheet 3 in this “Land of the Free” 4 This sheet, for each aim and intention, That had Equality—Freedom at stake, “On its face”5 seemed, without contravention, A good source from which to make A bright light, to shine on our nation— An original Light—not opaque. This light having fixed to its nucleus— (We mean the place where each ray meets a ray: Ah! its focus—for mistakes, excuse us—) A light in itself—a real Day:6 Seeming bright, clear, sunny, not nebulous— “A perfect God-send,” as some folks would say. But, to abandon this style of figurative, The name of this sheet we’ve not given; ’Twas the Aliened American, active For the rights of all black men and women. During the few months that we had a sight of it, Its columns were graced now and then With the “thoughts” of—now, pray, don’t make light of it— Some truly illustrious men. At the head of the list stood our Pennington,7 Who never did lag or grow weary, In serving up in the American, The facts of “Our Case with the” “Ferry.”8 Then there was that great man, Delany,9 Who wrote as if some foreign nation

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Would soon see him; and some say—not many— That he soon leaves for the Ivory Station.10 And Still,11 too, a great Emigrationist, Who, ’tis said—but we would believe it, As quick as we’d believe he’s a Deist— Still hangs for “the flesh-pots of Egypt.”12 Still wrote, too, and the lecturing Spectator,13 And ladies—of whose names we’ll mention, Fanny Homewood,14 Maria,15 and Ida— Of whose sex there needs be no contention. And a sensible man, styled Viator, Who “went down ’pon” the Industrial School;16 And a chap, self-entitled Occator, Who was not very bright, though no fool. And Veritas—a life-preserver— Who, by means of a powder or pill, Or e’en pistol—ha! foolish Observer17— Seems inclined more to cure than to kill. And of other good writers a host, Had this very “dear Aliened ” to boast of; But, for all that, it gave up the ghost,18 And since last May has never been heard of. But, for all that, we would not complain, If it had died like a “person of honor,” ’Stead of hinting, “I’ll be with you again,” Said, “I’m going! I’m gone!! I’m a goner !!!” Now can you, my noble Fred. Douglass, Of this lost sheet give us information; Do us good—yourself good—and justice To its patrons all over the nation? Yours, NEMO. PLSr: FDP, 19 July 1854. 1. This was the only letter from “Nemo” to Frederick Douglass’ Paper, and the correspondent’s identity has not been determined. “Nemo” is Latin for “no man.” 2. Probably an allusion to the National Convention of Colored Men, held at Corinthian Hall on 6–8 July 1853 in Rochester. FDP, 23 September 1853; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 2:xxxiii.

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3. That newspaper was the Cleveland-based Aliened American, edited by William H. Day. The newspaper was sympathetic to the plans for African American emigration advocated by Martin Delany and others. Miller, The Search for a Black Nationality, 141–42; Levine, Politics of Representative Identity, 92. 4. Nemo sarcastically alludes to the lyrics of the national anthem. 5. A literal translation of the Latin legal term prima facie. 6. A reference to the editor of the Aliened American, William Howard Day (1825–1900). Day was born in New York City. He attended a high school in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he became interested in printing. Possessing considerable skill in Latin and Greek, he was accepted to Oberlin College, from which he graduated in 1847. Day then settled in Cleveland. Soon after, he began to work on repealing the Black Laws of Ohio, calling a convention of African Americans, which met in Cleveland in 1848. He served as chairman on the council that initiated plans for the National Convention of Colored Freemen, of which Frederick Douglass later served as president. This convention served as the forerunner of the more famous meeting of 1853 that took place in Rochester. Day worked as a compositor for the Cleveland Daily True Democrat in 1851–52 before launching his Aliened American, which served as a strong advocate of abolition and social justice for blacks. Moving to Canada to improve his health, Day printed John Brown’s revolutionary provisional constitution for the United States, which was to be implemented if Brown proved successful at Harpers Ferry. Day traveled extensively overseas and founded the African Aid Society with Martin R. Delany. While in Europe, he was welcomed by the lord mayor of Dublin and spoke to several women’s organizations. Returning home after five years, Day became an inspector of schools for freedmen in Maryland and Delaware and founded 140 schools. In 1867 Day was ordained a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. I. Garland Penn, The Afrro-American Press and its Editors (Springfield, Mass., 1891), 74–76; ANB, 6: 275–76. 7. Born a slave in Maryland, James William Charles Pennington (1809–71) was a blacksmith until he ran away to Pennsylvania in his early twenties. After spending several months studying under a Quaker teacher who sheltered him, he moved to New York City, where he continued his education. He studied theology and eventually became a pastor. Pennington kept his status as a runaway slave secret until the late 1840s, when he published his autobiography, The Fugitive Blacksmith. In 1850, he went to Europe, where Scottish friends purchased his freedom the following year. From 1847 to 1855, Pennington served as pastor of Shiloh Presbyterian Church, one of the most respected African American Presbyterian congregations in the United States. In addition to his involvement in the American Anti-Slavery Society, which he helped found in 1833, Pennington was an advocate of African American abolitionist and religious organizations. He founded the Union Missionary Society, which later became the American Missionary Association. Pennington performed the marriage ceremony of Frederick Douglass and Anna Murray after Douglass’s escape from slavery in 1838. R. J. M. Blackett, Beating against the Barriers: The Lives of Six Nineteenth-Century Afro-Americans (Ithaca, N.Y., 1986), 52–53; Herman E. Thomas, James W. C. Pennington, African American Churchman and Abolitionist (New York, 1995), 3–27, 137–38, 171; Martin, Mind of Frederick Douglass, 14–15; Freeman, “Free Negro in New York City,” 405; NCAB, 14:307; DAB, 7:441–42. 8. The Reverend J. W. C. Pennington worked to publicize the discrimination practiced in the mid-1850s against black passengers aboard New York City’s Fulton Street Ferry by publishing articles in Frederick Douglass’ Paper, the New York Times, and the Aliened American. FDP, 3 December 1852; New York Daily Times, 10, 11 August 1854. 9. Martin R. Delany. 10. Delany finally completed a long-contemplated trip to West Africa in 1859–60 to study the prospects for African American immigration there. Peter Hinks and John McKivigan, eds., Encyclopedia of Antislavery and Abolition, 2 vols. (Westport, Conn., 2007), 1:212–13. 11. James N. Still (1815–?) of Brooklyn, New York, combined reform activities with a career as a self-employed tailor and clothing retailer. Still won praise from Douglass for being a leading supporter of Frederick Douglass’ Paper, and probably penned articles under the pseudonym “Observer.”

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Though not well educated, Still gained some reputation as an intellectual. An active proponent of black rights, Still argued that the way to achieve social equality with whites was through wealth, since he believed that wealth led to empowerment. Still aided fugitives to freedom through New York City via the Underground Railroad. In 1856, after he moved to Shrewsbury, New Jersey, the Commissioners of the National Emigration Convention, led by Martin R. Delany, named Still an editor of a projected scholarly journal, the Afric-American Quarterly Repository. FDP, 15 January, 11 March, 17 December 1852, 6 May, 10 June 1853, 11 January 1855; William H. Smith, Smith’s Brooklyn Directory for 1854 and 1855: Being a General Directory of the Inhabitants and a Street and Avenue Guide (Brooklyn, N.Y., 1854), 461; Miller, Search for a Black Nationality, 166; Ullman, Martin R. Delany, 182. 12. Exod. 16:3. 13. No surviving issue of the Cleveland Aliened American contains a letter from a correspondent nicknamed “SPECTATOR.” 14. Fanny Homewood was the pseudonym of Mary Frances Vashon Colder (1817–54). She was married to Benjamin Colder, lived in Pittsburgh, and was the daughter of the black abolitionist and civic leader John B. Vashon. Upon her early death, her brother, the noted black abolitionist, lawyer, and educator George B. Vashon, took charge of her four children. Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 3:226n; Paul N. D. Thornell, “The Absent Ones and the Providers: A Biography of the Vashons,” JNH, 83:284–301 (Autumn, 1998). 15. Regrettably, no surviving issue of the Aliened American contains items from the following correspondents: “Maria,” “Ida,” “Viator,” “Occator,” or “Veritas.” 16. The “industrial school” was a reference to the proposed manual labor school advanced by the National Convention of Colored Citizens at Rochester in July 1853. Douglass supported the plan and the National Council created at that convention, both of which were opposed by most African Americans favoring emigration. Miller, Search for a Black Nationality, 134–39; Levine, Politics of Representative Identity, 87–89. 17. “Observer” was the usual pseudonym employed by James N. Still. 18. A paraphrase of Acts 12:23.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 22 Aug[ust] 1854.

Hon: Gerrit Smith, My dear Sir. In this week’s paper you will See that I ask your views on Several points.1 Do go into the matters there brought for ward, as fully as you Can. I readily See that your point of look out, has been Such during the Session of Congress just closed, as to afford you Special facilities for forming intelligent views on all the points respecting which I ask you to Speak. Knowing completely your office has exposed you to the inflictions as well as the afflictions of correspondents, I have aimed to trouble you as little as possible. I wanted you to have all your precious time and Strength for this Great work in which you were engaged. I do not regret this prudence and hope you do not.

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Now about your Letter to your ConStituents: Laying aside all friendly partiality of which, I am ConScious, I pronounce it, on every point, except one, an invulnerable and every way Satisfactory document. In every Step of your Congressional movement my heart and judgement have gone with you, except your remarks touching the annexation of Cuba.2 Here I hesitated, and have finally come Strongly to wish, Such views were not your’s. This much is due to frankness. You may ask why I have not Said as much in my paper. I answer, I Saw with Shame and mortification deep & entense, that a Swarm of hungry birds were picking at you, with no other apparent motive than to prove Gerrit Smith as weak as themselves— I did wish to Show myself not of that class. Some of this class of writers, make you a great political Sinner for reSigning your Seat3 in Congress. What would have been lauded as highly democratic and magnanimous in others, is treachery and meanness in you. Giving up place and power, at a point, when that place was every hour becoming more honorable and when that power, was becoming more and more widely felt Should have given rise to other reflections than those with which you have been greeted. My dear Sir, While I do not See the wisdom of the idea of getting Cuba into the union with or without slavery, it is proper to Say, that the avowal one way or the other, does not touch the antiSlavery integrity of any man. A warm personal friend of mine Mr Jennings of Cork4 called on me this after having Spent Several months in Cuba and told me that anexation would be an incalculable benefit to the Slaves of Cuba. He instanced the terrible cruelties of Slavery in Cuba— the enormous disproportion of males to females—the dreadful evils arising therefrom— and the total moral unfitness of the Cuban population to deal with System of Slavery—the entire absence of any thought there, of the Sinfulness of Slavery— made it, as he thought desireable—even to the slaves themselves to be brought under the American government. His argument made an impression on my mind at the time— but did not at all, Satisfy me, that the Slaves of Cuba would be better off, for being in this union. Always most truly yours, FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Douglass published a letter to Smith in the 25 August 1854 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper, requesting Smith’s impressions of congressional support for antislavery issues. 2. Smith’s views on the annexation of Cuba were published in a letter to his constituents in the 18 August 1854 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Criticized for supporting the annexation of a

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country that had not abolished slavery, Smith defended his position by suggesting that such a union would ultimately bring an end to the African slave trade with Cuba and strengthen the antislavery movement in America. 3. Probably feeling uncustomarily impotent as a member of the small militant antislavery minority in the House of Representatives, Smith submitted his resignation of his seat on 7 August 1854, well before his term’s end. As Douglass states, many abolitionists of a variety of factions criticized Smith for taking that course. Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 331–32. 4. While in Cork, Douglass stayed with Ann and Thomas Jennings and their eight children. Their daughters, Charlotte, Helen, Isabel, and Jane, were active in the Cork Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society and collected contributions for the Boston Anti-Slavery Bazaar. Isabel Jennings served as co-secretary of the society and later supported Douglass’s newspaper through donations to the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Bazaar. Clare Taylor, British and American Abolitionists: An Episode in Transatlantic Understanding (Edinburgh, Scot., 1974), 159, 243–44; Patricia J. Ferreira, “Frederick Douglass in Ireland: The Dublin Edition of his Narrative,” New Hibernia Review, 5:57 (Spring 2001); Ellen M. Oldham, “Irish Support of the Abolitionist Movement,” Boston Public Library Quarterly, 10:175–80 (October 1958).

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester, [N.Y.] 23 August 1854.

Hon. Gerrit Smith: My Dear Sir :— Now that you have laid down the burden of Congressional duties, and are among your native Peterborough hills,1 allow me to solicit (what, if given, I am sure, will be of service to the Anti Slavery cause) your views, 1st. Of the present posture of the Anti-Slavery question generally. 2dly. What hope, if any, may be predicated of the present Congress. 3dly. The nature, character, and extent of influence exerted in Congress, by the Anti-Slavery members of the House. 4thly. Who are the most effective supporters of Slavery there, and the means of their efficiency. 5thly. Your impressions concerning the character, learning, ability, of members generally, and anything touching the House of Representatives, which may serve to give the public an insight into the proceedings of that body A compliance with the above, will be gratefully appreciated, by Your faithful friend, FREDERICK DOUGLASS. PLSr: FDP, 25 August 1854. 1. Today the Gerrit Smith Estate is registered as a National Historic Landmark and is located at 4543 Peterboro Road in Peterboro, New York. Gerrit Smith inherited the estate and its thirty acres

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upon the death of his father, Peter Smith, a wealthy land speculator, in 1837. Begun in 1799, the main residence was updated in 1855, but burned down in 1936. While the Smith home had an impressive exterior, the interior was described as austere, since it contained no mirrors, heavy draperies, or expensive carpets and furniture. There were approximately thirty ancillary buildings, which either housed or employed men to maintain the estate. Frothingham, Gerrit Smith, 137–38.

GERRIT SMITH TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Peterboro, [N.Y.] 28 Aug[ust] 1854.

Frederick Douglass : My Dear Friend :— I see, in your last paper, your letter to myself. I shall take great pleasure in answering your questions, since you are of the number of those whose wishes I am especially glad to gratify. 1st. As you are aware, I went to Congress with very little hope of the peaceful termination of American slavery. I have returned with less. I still see no evidence, that the North will act effectually for such termination—for I still see no evidence, that it will act honestly for it. It is true, that I learn of anti-Nebraska indignation meetings,1 all over the North. But this does not greatly encourage me. It is repentance, not indignation, which the North needs to feel, and to manifest. It becomes not the North to be angry with the South about the Nebraska bill, or about any other pro-slavery thing.—Her duty is to confess her shame and sorrow, that her political, ecclesiastical, and commercial influence has gone to uphold slavery, and to deceive the but-too-willing-to-be deceived South into the belief, that slavery is right, or, at least, excusable. Had there been such confession, there would have been no Nebraska bill to get angry about, or to make party capital of. Had there been such confession, the South would have had no heart to extend slavery. All her concern would have been to abolish it. Now, for the North to be honest in the matter of slavery, is to treat it as they would any other great crime; and, therefore, to deny, that there can be a law for it. It is, in a word, to do unto others, in that matter, as they would have others do unto them, in it. Do the people of the North believe, that they would honor and obey slavery, as law, should it ever lay claim to their own necks? If they do not, then they are dishonest, in acknowledging it to be law, when others are its victims. Is it said, that the honesty, which I here commend, would exasperate the South? I answer, that it would go far to conquer the South. Let the

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North say: “We have sinned against our enslaved brother, in acknowledging, that the immeasurable crime against him is capable of the obligations and sacredness of law. We will do so no more—whatever Constitutions and Statutes may require of us, and however great the losses we may suffer in our trade, and in our political and religious party connexions.” Let the North speak such words of penitence and principle—and the South will listen. When the Northern heart begins to melt, the Southern heart, also, will begin to melt. It is demonstrations of our honesty, not of our cunning, which are needed to influence and convert the South. The tricks,2 which Northern Legislatures have resorted to, or threatened to resort to, for the purpose of evading, or nullifying, the fugitive servant clause of the Constitution and the fugitive servant statutes of Congress, can have no tendency to inspire the South either with the fear of us, or the love of us. I need not say it for the ten thousandth time—that my eyes detect no slavery in the Constitution, and that I utterly deny, that the attempt to smuggle slavery into it was, at all, successful. But the great mass of the Northern people widely disagree with me, at this point; and, hence, what is required of them by the spirit of truth and the God of truth is, not to practice indirection and fraud, but frankly to acknowledge, that the South has their bond, and that so wicked is the bond, that conscience constrains them to refuse, at whatever hazard, to fulfil it. I referred to the fact, that my hope of the bloodless termination of American slavery is less now than it was, when I went to Congress. I confess, that I did hope to find some Southern men there, who are willing to aid in bringing about such a termination. But I found none of them, who are willing to lift so much, as a finger, to this end. A few Southern members of Congress seek, by means of nonsensical and wicked speculations on the nature of the African and on the Divine purposes, to persuade themselves, that slavery is right in itself. As a matter of course, such contend, that slavery should endure forever. But even with the mass of them, the case is very little more hopeful.—It is true, that they admit, that slavery is, in itself, an evil. But they will do nothing to put an end to it. They had rather amuse themselves with the notion, that Colonization will drain it off, or with some other equally great absurdity—if, indeed, there is, or can be, any other as great. The more, however, that I know of this class of Southern men, the more satisfied I am, that even those of them, who are the most deeply convinced of the wrongfulness of slavery, regard the evil as too formidable for their little courage to grapple with. They are

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cowed in the presence of its magnitude: and they prefer to let it roll on to an indefinite future, and to a posterity, which, they hope, will have more advantages than now exist, for happily disposing of it. 2nd. You ask, if the anti-slavery cause has any thing to hope for from the present Congress. It has not. What can Liberty hope from a Congress, that commits so heinous a crime against her, as to pass the Nebraska bill? What from a House of Representatives,3 not fifty members of which dared to say, that they were in favor of repealing the fugitive slave Act? 3d. You wish my opinions of the influence of the anti-slavery members of Congress.—I had rather give you my opinions of the members; and, then, you can judge for yourself what must be the character and extent of the influence, which they exert. I take it for granted, that you mean by anti-slavery members those only, who are known as abolitionists, and who accept the reproach of being abolitionists. Chase4 is wise, learned, upright. He is an able lawyer and an able statesman. His range of thought and information is wide; and, even without special preparation, he can speak well on the subjects, that come before him. Sumner5 is not so ready and versatile, as Chase. But put into his hands a subject, which interests his heart—Peace or Freedom, for instance—and give him time to elaborate it—and where is the man, who can speak or write better? Sumner is as guileless and ingenuous as a child: and, hence my astonishment at the base and ferocious feeling manifested toward him, at one period of the Session. Chase and Sumner are gentlemen—christian gentlemen. Great is my love of them: and were I to add, “passing the love of women,”6 I should not be guilty of great extravagance. Gillette7 has been in the Senate but a short time:—long enough, however, to give evidence, that he has a sound head and a sound heart. He loves the anti slavery cause, as well as Chase and Sumner; and surpasses them in zeal for the no less precious cause of temperance. To come to the abolitionists in the House. All know “Old Giddings.”8 An able man is he. His rough, strong, common sense is worth infinitely more than the refinement and polish of which so many light-minded men are vain. He is ready and powerful in debate. An honest and fearless man, too, is he. I shall never forget the many proofs which I witnessed of his unflinching devotion to the right and the true. If his severity upon slaveholders is, sometimes, excessive, nevertheless it is not for them to complain of it. He learned it of them. Or, to say the least, it is a very natural retaliation for the wrongs and outrages, which, for a dozen or fifteen years, they have

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been industriously heaping upon him. Greatly do I rejoice to see that the friends of freedom have taken him up for another election to Congress. They honor themselves in honoring him. There should not be one vote against him. I must not fail to advert, in this connexion, to my great obligations9 to Mr. Giddings for the assistance, which he so kindly and generously afforded me, in my ignorance of the rules of the House. We turn, next, to Edward Wade of Ohio. A stranger, looking over the House, would make no account of that black little fellow, who sits, in one corner of it. But let him read Edward Wade’s remarkably strong speech on the Nebraska bill,10 or hear one of his pithy five minutes speeches, and he will find that he has another occasion for applying the Savior’s injunction: “Judge not according to the appearance.”11 Wade is an eminently conscientious and religious man. I am glad to see, that he, too, is nominated for another election to Congress. He should be, as often as he is willing to take the nomination. Colonel DeWitt12 of Massachusetts was sick much of the Session. All, who were so fortunate, as to become acquainted with him, were impressed with his good sense, generous disposition, and agreeable manners. As Davis13 of Rhode Island was chosen by the Democratic party, that party may not thank me for calling him an abolitionist.—Nevertheless, he is one. He has a mother’s heart for every human being, and that makes him an abolitionist. I sat next to him, during the whole Session: and I esteemed it no small privilege to sit, for so long a time, by the side of one, who is so sincere, so affectionate, so philanthropic. Davis is a plain, not forcible, speaker. The city of Providence owes him much for his effective speeches in behalf of a large, (perhaps, too large) appropriation for building her custom-house. I have, now, spoken of all the abolitionists in Congress, save myself: and, since, in the judgment of many, I have fallen from abolition grace, I had better not speak of myself. Do not exult over my apostacy. Even you, though a literally “died in the wool”14 abolitionist, should rather be admonished by my apostacy to take heed lest you yourself fall. 4th. In answer to your fourth question, I would say, that all the members of Congress, who belong to the Whig or Democratic party, are necessarily “supporters of slavery.” Every national party in this country must be pro-slavery. The South will come into no party, and abide in no party, that is anti-slavery I cheerfully admit, that there is many a Whig, and that there is many a Democrat, earnestly anti-slavery. Nevertheless, their

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individual influence against slavery is as nothing compared with their party influence for it. As well may a man, with a mill-stone tied to his neck,15 try to save his drowning fellows, as a Whig or a Democrat try, under his heavy pro-slavery load, to promote the anti-slavery cause. His antislavery endeavors, however sincere, are all frustrated by his pro-slavery party connexion: and that connexion must be dissolved ere he can give effect to those endeavors.—Our national parties, ecclesiastical, as well as political, once abolished and the peaceful death of slavery would be a speedy event.—But the great reason, why we are denied the prospect of this happy event, is that the members of these parties love them too well, and are too far under their infatuating influence, to consent to their abolition. 5th. I proceed to answer your last inquiry. There are in the House a number of gentlemen of remarkable capacity and training for the transaction of business. Conspicuously among them are Haven16 of New York, and Orr17 of South Carolina, and Phelps18 of Mobile—all three of whom are not only judicious, and clear-headed, but swift, in business. Breckenridge19 of Kentucky is, perhaps, behind none of them. He gave us but few specimens of his powers. They were sufficient, however, to prove, that his very keen and vigorous intellect is habituated to business. Judging from the admirable discharge of his duties, as Speaker, Boyd20 of Kentucky must be, in all aspects, one of the best business men in the House. Letcher21 of Virginia, and Jones22 of Tennessee, are as expert in stopping business, as any members of the House are in doing it: and to stop business is, often times, more meritorious and useful than to do it. Chandler23 of Pennsylvania, is prominent among the scholars of the House. Judge Perkins24 of Louisiana, struck me as a gentleman of very great refinement, both in mind and manner. F. P. Stanton25 has a rich and beautiful mind. Its turn is as speculative, as R. H. Stanton’s26 is practical. The former of these brothers lives in Tennessee. The latter in Kentucky. With the single exception of Richard, who is all facts and figures, the whole Stanton family, in several of its generations, is highly poetical. The House can boast of wits, also. Ewing27 of Kentucky, is inferior to none of them. I could name several members of the House who are decidedly eloquent. Gov. Smith28 of Virginia, with his lively mind, smooth and ready utterance, and various other qualities, must be very effective “on the stump.”29 I wish Banks30 of Massachusetts, would lay hold of themes worthy of his fine powers of oratory. He would find it easier to be eloquent on

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them than on inferior subjects. Indeed, a great cause is itself eloquence; and the most, which he, who speaks for it, needs to do, is to stand out of its way, and let it speak for itself. Benton31 in respect to his remarkable fulness of political knowledge, and, in some other respects also, is, of course, the great man of the House. But he is not the only strong man there. There are more than twenty in the Body, who deserve to be called strong men. There is no lack of talent in it. I wish I could add, that there is no lack of morals and manners in it. But, whilst some of the members are emphatically gentlemen, in their spirit and in their personal habits, there are more of them, who use profane language, or defile themselves with tobacco, or poison themselves with rum. I trust, that the day has already dawned, in which it will not be allowed, that gentlemen can be guilty of such coarse and insulting wickedness, of such sheer nastiness, and of such low and mad sensuality. You were a slave, until you had reached manhood. Hence, the world is surprised, that you have risen into the highest class of public writers and public speakers.—It is no less cause of surprise, how ever, that you are a dignified and refined gentleman. Nevertheless, gentle man, and scholar, and orator, as you are, there are strenuous objections to your taking your seat in Congress. How ludicrous a figure, in the eye of reason, is that member of Congress (and there are more than fifty such!) who, in one breath, swears, that he would not so disgrace himself, as to sit by the side of “Fred. Douglass;” and who, in the next breath, squirts his tobacco juice upon the carpet! I became pretty well acquainted with nearly all the members of the House. In very many of them there was much to please me—much, indeed, to win my affectionate regards. Nevertheless, I could not be blind to the glaring fact, that Congress preeminently needs to witness the achievements of the Temperance reformation,32 and the Tobacco reformation,33 and the religion of Jesus Christ. Your friend, GERRIT SMITH. PLSr: FDP, 1 September 1854; NASS, 16 September 1854; [Gerrit Smith], Speeches of Gerrit Smith in Congress (New York, 1856), 403–11. 1. Stephen A. Douglas introduced his legislation to organize the territories of Kansas and Nebraska in January 1854, and it passed after considerable amending on 30 May 1854. Public protests against the measure’s voiding of the Missouri Compromise’s provisions restricting slavery within the old Louisiana Purchase began almost immediately in the North. The anti-Nebraska political coalitions produced as a result eventually merged into the Republican party. Louis Filler, The Crusade against Slavery, 1830–1860 (London, 1960), 229–30; Ray, Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, 16, 182–87.

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2. Both article IV, section 2, clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 provided for the legal return of slaves who had escaped to freedom. In 1842, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Prigg v. Pennsylvania that state officials were not required to assist in the return of fugitive slaves, essentially rendering efforts to recover slaves impossible. Connecticut passed a law that forbade judges to take cognizance of such cases; Indiana, New York, and Vermont had laws that provided for trial by jury in cases involving fugitive slaves; and Pennsylvania and Ohio passed laws to prevent kidnapping. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 attempted to circumvent all such legal obstructions by bringing federal authority to bear on the rendition of runaway slaves, but instead caused several Northern states to enact a new series of “personal liberty laws” in the 1850s to protect accused runaway slaves. John Hope Franklin and Alfred A. Moss, Jr., From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans (New York, 1994), 192; Campbell, Slave Catchers, 10; EAAH, 1:278–81. 3. Smith alludes to the failure of antislavery congressmen to get the House of Representatives to consider resolutions submitted from several Northern states during the Thirty-third Congress for the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, as well as defeat of the Kansas-Nebraska legislation. Charles Sumner headed similar efforts in the U.S. Senate. Derek R. Everett, “Frontiers Within: State Boundaries and Borderlands in the American West” (Ph.D. diss., University of Arkansas, 2008), 65–66. 4. Salmon P. Chase. 5. Charles Sumner. 6. 2 Sam. 1:26. 7. Francis Gillette (1807–79) was born in Connecticut and graduated from Yale College in 1829. He served as a Whig member in the Connecticut house of representatives in 1832, 1836, and 1838, where he aligned himself with the legislature’s antislavery contingent and supported an amendment in 1838 to remove the word “white” from the Connecticut state constitution. Gillette’s home in Hartford, Connecticut, was used as a station on the Underground Railroad. He ran unsuccessfully as the Liberty party’s candidate for governor of Connecticut in 1841. From 1841 to 1853, Gillette made repeated runs for the governor’s office as a candidate of the Liberty party and then the Free Soil party. In 1854, Gillette was elected as a Free Soil party candidate to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate, where he served until the end of 1855; he did not run for reelection. During his brief stay in Congress, Gillette voted against the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Gillette went on to help found the Republican party in Connecticut, worked in the temperance movement, and was active in educational reform, serving as chairman of the state board of education from 1849 to 1865. Darcy G. Richardson, Others: ThirdParty Politics From the Nation’s Founding to the Rise and Fall of the Greenback-Labor Party, (Lincoln, Neb., 2004), 399; BDUSC (online). 8. Joshua Reed Giddings (1795–1864), a radical abolitionist and congressman from Ohio, was first elected to the House of Representatives as a Whig in 1838. He vigorously opposed the gag rule, the annexation of Texas, and the Mexican War. In 1842, Giddings was sanctioned by the House for his actions during negotiations with Great Britain over the Creole affair. While negotiations were underway, he introduced resolutions supporting the right of slaves aboard the British ship to mutiny. In 1848, Giddings left the Whig party to join the Free Soilers and then allied himself with the Republicans after the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In late October 1852, Giddings went to New York, where he joined Douglass in the campaign to elect Smith to Congress. FDP, 29 October 1852; Stewart, Joshua R. Giddings; ACAB, 4:478; BDUSC (online). 9. Giddings befriended Smith after his election, frequently dining with him and working with him to oppose the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 317, 329. 10. During House debate on the Kansas-Nebraska Act on 3 May 1854, Edward Wade of Ohio announced his opposition to the legislation. Specifically, Wade opposed the extension of suffrage only to whites and “the exclusion of all foreigners from its bounty” in the government of those territories. FDP, 19 May 1854. 11. John 7:24.

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12. Alexander De Witt (1798–1879) was a congressman from Oxford, Massachusetts. Of limited education, De Witt began working at fifteen in the manufacturing of cotton thread. He also held numerous positions, primarily directorships, in the railroad, banking, and insurance industries. De Witt’s public service began in the state legislature (1830–36), followed by four terms in the state senate (1842–53), and two terms in Congress (1853–57). He is best known for his participation in the Free Soil party. It is unknown how he came to be called “colonel.” Lowell (Mass.) Daily Citizen, 15 January 1879; Thomas William Herringshaw, Herringshaw’s National Library of American Biography, 5 vols. (Chicago, 1909–14), 2:263; BDUSC (online). 13. Thomas Davis. 14. Perhaps Smith miswrote the idiom “dyed in the wool.” The phrase, originating from a description of how raw wool retains dye, is often used to express a person’s intransigence. Brewer, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 427–28. 15. Possibly a paraphrase of Matt. 18:6, Mark 9:42, or Luke 17:2. 16. Solomon George Haven (1810–61) was a Whig congressman from western New York who served three terms. Haven received a common education and was privately tutored in the classics. While he was working on a medical degree, his interests changed, and he entered into the study of law under the direction of Governor John Young while supporting himself by teaching school. Haven became a partner in the firm of Fillmore, Hall, and Haven. His public service included terms as commissioner of deeds, district attorney, and mayor of Buffalo before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. ACAB, 3:118; BDUSC (online). 17. James Lawrence Orr (1822–1873) was a Democratic congressman from South Carolina. He held the position of Speaker of the House during the Thirty-fifth Congress (1857–59). Educated at the University of Virginia, Orr established and ran the Anderson (S.C.) Gazette for two years before entering the practice of law. He served two terms as a state representative before being elected to Congress in 1848. Orr continued with public service after leaving Congress in 1860, serving as a Confederate state senator, governor of South Carolina, and a circuit court judge. Ulysses S. Grant appointed him U.S. minister to Russia, where he served until his death. Gerrit Smith’s observations regarding Orr’s business acumen may be attributed to his well-articulated stances on such economic issues as the tariff, public debt, and the national bank. Roger P. Leemhuis, James L. Orr and the Sectional Conflict (Washington, D.C., 1979); ACAB, 4:593; ANB, 16:768–69; BDUSC (online). 18. Born in Simsbury, Connecticut, John Smith Phelps (1814–86) was a Democratic congressman from Missouri (1845–63). Educated at Washington (Trinity) College in Hartford, Connecticut, Phelps practiced law in his hometown before moving to Missouri in 1837. He maintained a large farm and continued the practice of law until he entered the Missouri legislature in 1840, and then served for eighteen years in Congress. He chaired the influential Committee on Ways and Means during the time of Smith’s brief career in the House. When the Civil War broke out, Phelps enlisted as a private in a Missouri Union regiment, rising to the rank of colonel. He was later appointed military governor of Arkansas by Abraham Lincoln. Phelps continued to practice law until his death. ANB, 17:431–32; BDUSC (online). 19. John Cabell Breckinridge (1821–75), of Lexington, Kentucky, was a lawyer, soldier, and Democratic politician. Educated at Centre College, Transylvania University, and the College of New Jersey (Princeton), he won election to the state legislature in 1849, to Congress in 1851, and to the vice presidency in 1856. In 1859, while still vice president, he was chosen to fill a Senate term slated to begin in March 1861. During the 1860 Democratic convention in Charleston, South Carolina, he declined to be considered a presidential candidate, but later accepted nomination by the anti-Douglas wing of the party, which met in Baltimore in June 1860. In the general election, Breckinridge received nearly 700,000 votes, running third behind Lincoln and Douglas. In his brief tenure as senator, he attempted to ward off secession by urging the implementation of the Crittenden Compromise. When Union troops secured Kentucky, Breckinridge resigned from the Senate and joined both the Kentucky (Confederate) provisional government and the Confederate army, in which he rose to the

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rank of major general. After the war, Breckinridge escaped to Cuba and lived briefly in Europe and Canada before returning to his Kentucky law practice in 1868. William C. Davis, Breckinridge: Statesman, Soldier, Symbol (Baton Rouge, La., 1974); Heck, Proud Kentuckian; DAB, 3:7–10. 20. Linn Boyd (1800–59) was a Democratic congressman from Kentucky (1835–37, 1839–55). He received little formal education, ‘and became a farmer and a politician, following in his father’s footsteps. His public career began in the Kentucky statehouse, where he served four terms. Initially elected to Congress as a supporter of Andrew Jackson, Boyd capped his Washington career by serving for two terms as Speaker of the House (1851–55), including the turbulent period surrounding the House approval of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Boyd was later elected lieutenant governor, but died before taking office. Holman Hamilton, “Kentucky’s Linn Boyd and the Dramatic Days of 1850,” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, 55:3, 185–95 (July 1957); ACAB, 1:340–41; DAB, 2:527–28; ANB, 3:313–14; BDUSC (online). 21. John Letcher (1813–84) was educated at Randolph-Macon College and Washington College, both in Virginia. The editor of the Lexington (Va.) Valley Star from 1840 to 1850, Letcher also practiced law. He served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1851–59) as a Democrat. Gerrit Smith’s observation about Letcher’s business acumen may be attributed to the latter’s conservative stand against governmental spending. After leaving the House, Letcher held the governorship of Virginia (1860–64) during most of the Civil War. F. N. Boney, John Letcher of Virginia: The Story of Virginia’s Civil War Governor (University, Ala., 1966); ACAB, 3:699; DAB, 11:192; ANB, 13:526–28; BDUSC (online). 22. George Washington Jones (1806–84) was born in Virginia and later migrated with his family to Tennessee. Jones was apprenticed to work in the saddle trade. He held several public offices before being elected to the state legislature in 1835, where he established a reputation for honesty and integrity. His tenure in the state senate was marked by his distrust of banks. Jones was particularly proud of his support for the bill that abolished imprisonment for debt. Jones resigned his seat in 1840 for a position as court clerk of Lincoln County. Jones returned to politics, winning the first of eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1843. Jones sat on the Ways and Means Committee for three terms. Considered an expert on parliamentary procedure, he frequently presided over the House when the Speaker stepped down. Jones withdrew from his race for reelection in 1859, but remained active in state politics, becoming president of the state party convention in 1860 and representing Tennessee’s 7th District in the Confederate Congress. Jonathan Atkins, “The Purest Democrat: The Career of Congressman George W. Jones,” Tennessee Historical Quarterly, 65:21 (Spring 2006); BDUSC (online). 23. A native of Massachusetts, Joseph Ripley Chandler (1792–1880) relocated to Philadelphia, where he operated a female seminary and edited several periodicals. He became president of the board of directors of Girard College, founded to educate orphan boys; in addition, he championed prison reform. Elected to Congress in 1849 as a Whig, Chandler served three terms, but was defeated for reelection in 1854. In Congress, Chandler was known for scholarliness and eloquence. President Buchanan later appointed Chandler U.S. minister to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. He was an accomplished writer, publishing books, essays, pamphlets, and addresses on a number of subjects. ACAB, 1:573; DAB, 3:614–15; BDUSC (online). 24. John Perkins, Jr. (1819–85), was born in Natchez, Mississippi. Son of a cotton planter and judge, he graduated from Yale College and Harvard Law School and established a law practice in New Orleans. He began public service in 1851 when he was appointed district judge. Perkins was elected to the Thirty-third Congress in 1852, serving one term before returning to the bench. He then served as a delegate to the Louisiana Secession Convention in Baton Rouge in 1861. As chairman of the Committee of Fifteen, Perkins prepared the secession ordinance that was passed on 16 January 1861. He later served in the Congress of the Confederate States. At the conclusion of the Civil War, Perkins briefly resided in Mexico and Europe, returning to Louisiana shortly before his death. Robert Dabney Calhoun, “The John Perkins Family of Northeast Louisiana,” Louisiana Historical Quarterly, 19:70–88 (January 1936); BDUSC (online).

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25. A native of Alexandria, Virginia, Frederick Perry Stanton (1814–94) attended Columbian College, now George Washington University, in 1833. Upon graduation, he read law, was admitted to the bar of Alexandria in 1834, and later practiced in Memphis, Tennessee. Stanton was elected to Congress in 1845 as a Democratic representative from Tennessee, and served for the next ten years. He was first a member and then chair of the Committee for Naval Affairs. His last term in congress was spent on the Judiciary Committee, which he chaired, too. In 1857, President Buchanan selected Stanton as governor of the Kansas Territory. Stanton, a supporter of slavery, appointed delegates to the Lecompton Convention, which drew up a state constitution authorizing slavery. Stanton later took notice of the people’s’ wishes, reevaluated his own views, and helped promote a referendum on the Lecompton constitution. The vote resulted in the defeat of the constitution, after which Stanton switched his political affiliation to the Free-State party. He remained territorial governor until Kansas’s admission to the Union in 1861, when he was defeated for a seat in the U.S. Senate. During the Civil War, Stanton returned east to practice law in Washington, D.C., and later settled in Florida. ACAB, 5:650; DAB, 17:523–24; BDUSC (online). 26. The older brother of Frederick Perry Stanton, Richard Henry Stanton (1812–91) was also born in Alexandria, Virginia. He studied law and began a legal practice in Maysville, Kentucky, in 1835. From 1835 to 1842, he also edited the Maysville Monitor. A Democrat, Stanton served in Congress from 1849 to 1855. After failing to be reelected to a fourth term, Stanton worked as Kentucky’s state attorney from 1858 to 1861. After serving as a district judge from 1868 to 1874, he practiced law until his retirement in 1885. BDUSC (online). 27. After attending public schools, Presley Underwood Ewing (1822–54) graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, and Transylvania University’s law school in Lexington, Kentucky; he studied theology, too, at the Baptist Seminary at Newton, Massachusetts. He later practiced law in Russellville until being elected to the Kentucky legislature (1848–49). In 1851, Ewing was elected as a Whig to the U.S. House of Representatives; he died in office. BDUSC (online). 28. William Smith (1797–1887) was born in Marengo, King George County, Virginia, and educated at private schools in both Virginia and Connecticut, where he studied law. Admitted to the bar in 1818, Smith began practicing in Culpeper, Culpeper County, Virginia. After establishing a line of U.S. mail and passenger coaches through four states in 1831, Smith served in Virginia’s state senate from 1836 to 1841. He was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives (1841–43), but lost his bid for a second term. Smith was elected governor of Virginia in 1846 and served in that position until 1849. In that year, Smith made an unsuccessful attempt to run for the U.S. Senate. He moved to California, where in 1850 he served as the president of the first Democratic state convention. After returning to Virginia in 1852, Smith was again elected to the U.S. House, where he served until 1861. Following Virginia’s secession, Smith served as colonel of the Forty-ninth Regiment of the Virginia Infantry, and was eventually promoted to major general, despite being “wholly ignorant of drill and tactics.” He was elected to the Confederate Congress in 1862 and became governor of Virginia in 1864, where he served until 1865. He subsequently retired to his estate near Warrentown, Virginia, where he served as a member of the state board of delegates from 1877 to 1879. Concord NewHampshire Statesman and State Journal, 19 December 1845; Richmond Daily Examiner, 2 January 1864; Atchison (Kan.) Daily Globe, 28 March 1887; Richard Nelson Current, ed., Encyclopedia of the Confederacy, 4 vols. (New York, 1993), 4:1479–81; BDUSC (online). 29. The phrase “on the stump” refers to the use of a tree stump as a platform for public speakers. Over time, it came to be associated with political orators. Brewer, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1334. 30. After completing a common-school education in Waltham, Massachusetts, and a stint in a cotton mill superintended by his father, Nathaniel Prentiss Banks (1816–94) pursued a number of occupations—actor, lawyer, newspaper editor—before winning election to the Massachusetts legislature on his seventh attempt. Banks served two terms in Congress (1853–57), first as a Democrat and then as a Know-Nothing. He resigned from Congress to serve three one-year terms as the Republican governor of Massachusetts. In 1861, Banks was appointed major general in the Union army, but in

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December 1862, following two defeats by Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley, he was transferred to Louisiana to replace Benjamin Butler as commander of the occupation forces. Banks received considerable censure from abolitionist groups for his attempts to accommodate Louisiana planters by establishing a code for black labor that coerced “idle” freedmen either to return to their plantations or to work on government-controlled estates. In the spring of 1864, Banks’s skill as a military commander again came into question when his expedition up the Red River was routed by the Confederates. His checkered military career did not, however, deter Massachusetts voters from sending him back to Congress for seven more intermittent terms after the Civil War. Fred Harvey Harrington, Fighting Politician: Major General N. P. Banks (Philadelphia, 1948); C. Peter Ripley, Slaves and Freedmen in Civil War Louisiana (Baton Rouge, La., 1976), 45–56; James M. McPherson, The Struggle for Equality: Abolitionists and the Negro in the Civil War and Reconstruction (Princeton, N.J., 1964), 128–31; ACAB, 1:158–59; NCAB, 4:222–23; DAB, 1:577–80. 31. Thomas Hart Benton. 32. Uncoordinated efforts to reduce the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages began in the United States in the early nineteenth century. The large-scale religious revival movement known as the Second Great Awakening made “teetotalism,” or the total abstention from all alcohol, a goal of its moral reformation of the nation. The American Temperance Union (ATU), founded in 1826, claimed over a million members, female as well as male, in 8,000 chapters across the country. Nationally, temperance movement activities focused primarily on the evils of alcohol consumption and intoxication, the benefits of abstinence, and on changing American alcohol culture through moral reform. Locally, some temperance groups looked to restrict public access to alcohol as a way to limit consumption. In 1851, Maine instituted a statewide prohibition on the manufacture and sale of alcohol, setting a model that eleven other Northern states soon copied. Strong opposition from alcohol manufacturers, immigrant groups, the courts, and many politicians, however, caused this early experiment in prohibition to be abandoned by the start of the Civil War. Ian R. Tyrell, Sobering Up: From Temperance to Prohibition in Antebellum America, 1800–1860 (Westport, Conn., 1979), 33–48, 135–59, 195–206; W. J. Rorabaugh, The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition (New York, 1981), 5–122. 33. The antebellum movement to curtail tobacco consumption developed in parallel with the larger antialcohol campaign. Criticism of tobacco usage dated to the colonial era, but organized efforts to prohibit the practice of smoking began in the years following the Second Great Awakening. The American Anti-Tobacco Society, formed in 1849, focused on the deleterious impact of smoking on health and morals. The society and many individual reformers prepared and circulated literature aimed at changing public attitudes regarding smoking. The Civil War, however, produced an increase in the smoking of cigars and the newly introduced cigarettes, erasing most of the progress made by the original antitobacco crusade. Ruth Clifford Engs, Clean Living Movements: American Cycles of Health Reform (Westport, Conn., 2000), 42–44; Joseph C. Robert, The Story of Tobacco in America (New York, 1949), 106–11.

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AMOS GERRY BEMAN1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS New Haven, Conn. 4 Sept[ember] 1854.

Mr. Douglass: Dear Sir :— Previous to the arrival of your paper of the 1st inst., I had been informed by a mutual friend—one of the members of the Council, and present at the recent meeting in Cleveland, Ohio2—that W. H. Day,3 Esq., and others, had protested against the fairness and truthfulness of your published account of that meeting. Well, I took the paper expecting to find clear and explicit charges and specifications against that statement, with the proof in the shape of testimony from those who were members of the Council, and present all the time, and, therefore, able to “speak of what they knew, and to testify of what they had seen;[“] but I must say, that I am disappointed, and after carefully reviewing the whole proceedings of the Council, I am satisfied, however painful the avowal, that your statement, in all material points, is a fair and truthful representation of the doings and spirit of that meeting.—This is my opinion. “To accuse and prove are very different things;”4 and when the protesters shall proceed to fulfil their pledge now given to the public, and present a statement of facts with the proof by which they are sustained, I shall with pleasure and candor examine it in the light of what I know to be the facts in the case, and will only say now, “that when they next do ride a race, may I be there to see.” Respectfully yours, AMOS GERRY BEMAN. PLSr: FDP, 8 September 1854. 1. Denied regular admission to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, Amos Gerry Beman (1812–74) studied privately with a white student until, threatened with physical violence, he left for Hartford, where he taught briefly in a black school. In 1835 he studied at the Oneida Institute. Three years later the Hartford North Association of Congregational Churches accepted Beman as a licensed candidate for the ministry, and in 1841 he became the first settled black pastor of the Temple Street African Church in New Haven. Like his father, Jehiel C. Beman, he combined preaching with active participation in several reform movements. At the founding convention of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1840, Beman filled the post of assistant secretary, and in 1844 and 1845 he served as president of Connecticut’s black temperance society. In 1843 he presided at the National Convention of Colored Citizens in Buffalo; twelve years later, at the Philadelphia convention, he was again in the chair. In the interim, he led an unsuccessful campaign for black suffrage in Connecticut and held numerous convention offices. The Rochester convention of 1853 named Beman an original delegate to the National Council. In 1858, Beman resigned his New Haven pulpit, partly in response to pressures generated by his marriage to a white woman after the death of his first wife

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in 1856. A succession of scattered and briefly held jobs in New England and on Long Island followed. After the Civil War, he engaged in Presbyterian mission work among Tennessee freedmen and served short ministries in Baltimore, Maryland, and Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Throughout his later career, Beman maintained a New Haven residence, and in 1872 he served as chaplain of the Connecticut senate. Proceedings of the Colored National Convention, 1853, 46; Cleveland Gazette, 2 February 1884; New Haven (Conn.) Palladium, 15, 16 May 1888; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 46, 68, 79, 112; Robert A. Warner, “Amos Gerry Beman—1812–1874, A Memoir on a Forgotten Leader,” JNH, 22:200–221 (April 1937); David O. White, “Hartford’s African Schools, 1830–1868,” Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin, 39:47–53 (April 1974); Patrick C. Kennicott, “Negro Antislavery Speakers in America” (Ph.D. diss., Florida State University, 1967), 58–61. 2. A meeting of the National Council, created by the July 1853 Rochester National Convention of Colored Citizens, convened in Cleveland, Ohio, on 19 July 1854. Douglass reported the proceedings of this meeting in his newspaper on 28 July 1854. William D. Day, William C. Nell, and three others publicly protested that Douglass had knowingly published “gross misrepresentations” of what had occurred in Cleveland, especially in regard to their arguments against the Council’s proposed Manual Labor Institute. In the 1 September 1853 issue of his newspaper, to which Beman alludes, Douglass published brief letters from three Council members, J. D. Bonner, John F. Williams, and William H. Storum, attesting to the accuracy of his reporting. FDP, 28 July, 1 September 1854. 3. William Howard Day. 4. John 3:11.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO AMOS GERRY BEMAN Rochester[, N.Y.] 6 Sept[ember] 1854.

Dear Amos, Thank you. That will do exactly. We Stand five to six1—and have the advantage of Standing like six individual men—and not like “nine pins”2— Set up only to be knocked down. Day3 and Nell.4 head and tail Booker and Wall— Halland5 all. Are now driven to the wall. The paper has been Sent to the Rev. E. P. Rogers6 —as you have directed me—and that dollar came Safely to hand for which, the thanks of your friend FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: Amos Beman Manuscripts, CtNHAAHS. 1. Douglass refers to the division of opinion on the National Council of the Colored People over support of the Manual Labor Institute at the group’s 19 July 1854 meeting at Cleveland. FDP, 28 July 1854. 2. In ninepins, an early form of bowling, a player threw a heavy wooden ball (called a bowl) at nine pins set on the ground in an attempt to knock them down. If a player knocked down all the pins

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before his or her turn was up, the pins were reset up for an extra throw. After each player’s turn, the pins were set up for the next player. George Forrest, Every Boy’s Book: A Complete Encyclopædia of Sports and Amusements, Intended to Afford Recreation and Instruction to Boys in Their Leisure Hours (New York, 1855), 32. 3. William H. Day. 4. William Cooper Nell (1816–74), a black Garrisonian abolitionist, was the original publisher of Douglass’s North Star. A graduate of Boston’s segregated Smith School, Nell studied law but never practiced. During the early 1840s, he worked for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and the Liberator. From 1847 to 1851 he assisted Douglass on the North Star and served as acting editor when Douglass was absent on speaking tours. Nell remained a Garrisonian loyalist and severed his ties with the North Star when Douglass shifted his allegiances to the political abolitionist faction led by Gerrit Smith. At meetings of the Colored National Convention and its Council in the 1850s, Nell, an opponent of racially exclusive organizations, attacked Douglass’s plans for a black manual-labor college on the grounds that it would hinder, not help, the movement for racial equality. In addition to his abolitionist activities, Nell wrote important pioneer histories of American blacks. In 1858, Nell staged the first Crispus Attucks celebration. During Lincoln’s administration, Nell was appointed to be a clerk in the Boston post office. NS, 16 February 1849; FDP, 12, 19 August, 9 December 1853, 28  February, 31 March 1854, 12 January 1856; San Francisco Elevator, 27 June 1874; Pease and Pease, They Who Would Be Free, 86, 245, 254; Robert P. Smith, “William Cooper Nell: Crusading Black Abolitionist,” JNH, 55:182–99 (July 1970); NCAB, 14:306; ACAB, 4:489; DAB, 13:413. 5. William H. Day and William C. Nell rallied most of their support on the National Council from Ohio African Americans. John Booker of Columbus had been active in state organizations of free blacks in Ohio since the late 1840s. O. S. B. Wall of Oberlin attended the Ohio black state convention in 1858. Justin Holland (1819–87), a black Cleveland musician, had written to the 1850 convention advocating efforts to enfranchise African American males. NS, 8 December 1848; FDP, 28 July 1854; Foner and Walker, Black State Conventions, 1:219, 242, 247, 250, 254, 258, 274–75, 318–19, 332–33, 337; Barbara Clemenson, “Justin Holland: Black Guitarist in the Western Reserve,” Western Reserve Studies Symposium (Cleveland, 1989), 7. 6. Probably the Reverend Elymas Payson Rogers (1815–61). The son of a Connecticut free black farm family, Rogers was educated in Hartford. He taught in Peterboro and Rochester, New York, and then attended the Oneida Institute. In 1841, Rogers settled in Newark, New Jersey, where he again taught, and four years later he became a Presbyterian minister, presiding over the Plane Street Church for fourteen years. A supporter of Henry H. Garnet’s African Civilization Society, Rogers sailed to Africa as a missionary but died after less than two months there. DANB, 531.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 7 Sept[ember]1854.

Hon: Gerrit Smith. My dear friend, I have this moment got your letter. The great wrong done1 to our mutual friend (for he is my friend as well as yours) Hon: Thomas Davis, has been as well repared as it could be in this weeks edition of my paper. The whole thing is bad, and I have Suffered much about it—yet I cannot Say as you do, that the loss of a thousand dollars from my pockit book, would not

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have hurt me So much as that mistake. Money is too useful too Scarce with me too hard to get hold of and too easily got rid of in a thousand ways, and I am too often called upon by printers and paper makers to pay what I owe, to make the thought of Such a comparison, possible with me. Your letter2 was addressed to me. I was proud to have, what I must call the most beautiful letter I remember ever to have read, addressed to me. I was anxious from the moment I received it—and knowing my inaptitude as to little niceties, in composition, I did not trust myself to read the proof but gave it into the hands of my friend Miss Griffiths3 and the printer—with every injunction, that the letter Should appear absolutely free from errors. That great pains were taken with that letter I know. I am pained and mortified at the result. Had I read the proof mySelf which other errors might have crept into your letter—I think this would not—for I know Thomas Davis—have known him long. I have heard him Speak often. To me, he is even more than a plain and forcible Speaker— he is really eloquent. I have heard him, when his words have had that in them in them, which goes Straight to the Soul—and Shakes the Spirits of men. The best place in the world to try a man’s eloquence—is among his friends and neighbors—at a moment—when Some great interest is excited—and there is derision. The man that can arrest his neighbors and compel them to Stand Still when they were just about to rush on—or who can rouse them to action, when they have been revitted to the Spot by doubt—is what I call an eloquent man, and Such a man is Thomas Davis. I have Seen the proofs of what I Say in him. At the time when the Suffrage Party of Rhode Island4 committed the Sad mistake of reStricting the rights of Suffrage to white persons in the new Constitution—a mistake the effects of which that party is Suffering from at this day. Though it was committed under Strong temptation and twelve years ago—Mr Davis was deeply moved against the injustice, and poured out repeated denunciations against it, which would have commanded attention for the Speaker, in the most dignified body on earth. His Speeches were usually Short but I observed that the effect they produced was lasting. Knowing Mr Davis as I do know him—I should have detected the injustice my types have done him— But Thomas Davis is not only and eloquent man H he is also a reasonable man—and I am Sure you can make all right with him. I would write to him mySelf but I much dislike to intrude mySelf upon the attention of men So much engaged as he is. Always yours Truly FRED. DOUGLASS.

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ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Douglass expresses regret over some compositorial errors published in Frederick Douglass’ Paper and indicates the extent of his regret by comparing it to a substantial financial loss. Douglass printed a letter from Gerrit Smith dated 28 August 1854 in the 1 September issue. In the letter, Smith discussed Thomas Davis, but the reprinted version contained errors that made some of Smith’s intended compliments appear unflattering. Specifically, the reprint stated that Davis “has a mother’s [instead of ‘brother’s’] heart for every human being.” Also, Smith considered Davis to be “a plain, not [instead of ‘but’] forcible, speaker.” The “repair” that Douglass mentions is a brief correction posted in the 8 September issue. FDP, 1, 8 September 1854. 2. Douglass refers to Gerrit Smith’s letter dated 28 August 1854, in which he provides his impressions of House members and their support for issues related to antislavery. It was later printed in Frederick Douglass’ Paper on 1 September 1854 and is reprinted in this volume. 3. Julia Griffiths. 4. In the early 1840s, Rhode Island was one of the last Northern states whose constitution retained a property-owning qualification for voting. In October 1841, the Suffrage party of Rhode Island called an extralegal convention to write a new state constitution. As part of the new constitution, the party proposed eliminating all property qualifications for white males, including those foreign born, but excluded African Americans entirely. Although Douglass and other leading abolitionists joined the efforts of the Rhode Island Anti-Slavery Society to sway the new party to delete this clause, the convention delegates refused to do so, and the constitution was overwhelmingly approved. Rhode Island state authorities, however, did not recognize the Suffrage party’s constitution. In November 1841, the state government convened a legal constitutional convention, but the electorate rejected its efforts in March 1842. A month later the Suffrage party, operating under its own constitution, elected its leader, Thomas Dorr, governor of Rhode Island. After a failed attempt to seize the Providence Arsenal, Dorr fled the state and the Suffrage party fell apart. Supporters of the officially sanctioned constitutional convention—reorganized as the Law and Order party—reconvened and drafted a new constitution, which gave African Americans’ the right to vote. But it limited the franchise to nativeborn adult males and left intact a minimal property qualification for all voters. In November 1842, after a year of turmoil, Rhode Island adopted the Law and Order party’s constitution. Thomas J. Baldino and Kyle L. Kreider, Of the People, by the People, for the People: A Documentary Record of Voting Rights and Electoral Reform, 2 vols. (Denver, Colo., 2010), 1:47; Alexander Keyssar, The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States (New York, 2009), 59–60; Hanes Walton, Jr., Sherman C. Puckett, and Donald R. Deskins, Jr., The African American Electorate: A Statistical History, 2 vols. (Los Angeles, 2012), 1:138–39.

JEHIEL C. BEMAN1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Middletown, Conn. 7 Sept[ember 18]54.

Frederick Douglass, Esq: Dear Sir:— I would inform you, that we have had a recent arrival from the land of chains and whips, where the image of the Divine Being is bought and sold. But, thank the good Lord! [W]hen he arrived at our office, we, at once, recognized him as a man and a brother. Some twenty summers had passed over him in that heaven-cursed land. His conveyance was by the

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Underground Railroad.2 This company is composed of anti-Nebraska men of the first water, and Maine Law men at that; and I would just say, we passed him to the next depot, on the same road.—The Underground Railroad, by the way, is in good repair, and our office is open for business in our line at all hours, either day or night, and our cars run on the Trail.—The engine is also in first rate order, and our officers are the most trusty, selected from the most experienced of our number—some having been employed in the work for a number of years. And now, dear Sir, if you will have the goodness to recommend our road to the travelling public, you will oblige the Association. Yours, for the Oppressed, J. C. B. AGENT. PLIr: FDP, 22 September 1854. 1. Born a freeman, Jehiel Cephas Beman (1789–1858) was a black shoemaker and the pastor of an African Methodist Episcopal Zion church in Middletown, Connecticut. As an active abolitionist, Beman helped establish dozens of black congregations and attempted to found a black college in New Haven. These actions caught the attention of white abolitionists, including William Lloyd Garrison. Beman was recruited as a founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society and as an agent for Garrison’s Liberator. Beman accepted a ministerial position in Boston in 1838, but soon after cut his connection with the Garrisonians. He joined the ranks of a rival abolition group, the Massachusetts Abolition Society, and later supported the Liberty and Free Soil parties. During the 1840s and 1850s, Beman devoted most of his time to the antislavery cause: attending and chairing abolitionist conventions; raising money for indigent, former, or runaway slaves’ legal fees; and helping slaves reach freedom via the Underground Railroad. He received recognition in 1853 for his dedication and leadership when he was elected to the National Council of the Colored People. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:61n; Horatio T. Strother, The Underground Railroad in Connecticut (Middletown, Conn., 1962), 38, 91, 139–40, 153–54; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 3:17, 23, 309n, 450–56, 4:11n, 261, 263n, 312; Kathleen Housley, “ ‘Yours for the Oppressed’: The Life of Jehiel C. Beman,” JNH, 77:17–29 (Winter 1992); Jennifer Lee James, “Jehiel C. Beman: A Leader of the Northern Free Black Community,” JNH, 82:133–57 (Winter 1997). 2. Historical sources confirm that Jehiel C. Beman, Jesse G. Baldwin, and Benjamin Douglas were among the active Underground Railroad conductors in Middletown. These men assisted fugitive slaves arriving by boat on the Connecticut River from Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Old Lyme, or overland from New Haven, Madison, or Westbrook. From Middletown, fugitives were sent to Hartford by boat or to Farmington by land on their way north. Strother, Underground Railroad in Connecticut, 119–20, 139–41.

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FRANKLIN TURNER1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Philadelphia, [Pa.] 13 Oct[ober] 1854.

Frederick Douglass: Honored Sir:— For some time, it has been in the minds of many of your friends in Pennsylvania, to request you, as you have been going from post to post, doing battle for freedom, to pay them a visit. They have felt that your coming would do much to harmonize and encourage the oppressed and enable you, at the same time to deal very effective blows against the slave system. To this end the subject was introduced and considered at three public meetings, held in this city. The result is show[n] in the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted: Resolved, That in Frederick Douglass’ Paper we recognize a powerful engine to our elevation, and a true defender of our rights. Resolved, that we acknowledge in Frederick Douglass, a firm and able champion of Human Rights, and one whom we delight to honor, as worthy our warmest support and confidence. Resolved, That a committee of 50 be appointed to invite Frederick Douglass to visit Philadelphia at such time as may suit his convenience, to address the people on the subject of American Slavery, and on the elevation of the Free Colored People of the United States. In behalf thereof of the people, we, the committee organized to carry out the last resolve, cordially invite you, dear sir, to Philadelphia, to speak on the great questions appertaining to human liberty, and beg that as early as possible you will communicate to us your decision.2 The committee are authorized to say, that all expenses in travelling from and to Rochester, and those necessarily connected with your stay in Philadelphia, will be cheerfully liquidated by the people, through them. With sentiments of friendship, and esteem, we are in the cause of Freedom, Yours, very respectfully, FRANKLIN TURNER, Cha’n. CHARLES L. REASON,3 Sec’y.4 PLSr: FDP, 1 December 1854. 1. Franklin Turner, a Philadelphia abolitionist, headed the Committee of Fifty that invited Douglass to speak in that city in 1854. In 1855, Turner attended and served on the business committee at the national convention of free blacks held in Philadelphia. In 1860, he wrote a public letter

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condemning emigration; it was used by George T. Downing and Charles L. Reason at a New York City mass meeting considering Henry Highland Garnet’s African Civilization Society. Proceedings of the Colored National Convention, Held in Franklin Hall, Sixth Street, Below Arch, Philadelphia, October 16th, 17th and 18th, 1855 (Salem, N.J., 1856), 3, 8; Proceedings of the Colored National Convention, 1853, 46; FDP, 1 December 1854; Lib., 4 May 1860; Bell, Survey of the Negro Convention Movement, 232–35. 2. Douglass did not visit Philadelphia in response to this invitation until late January 1855, in the middle of a six-week lecturing tour on the Eastern Seaboard. On that stop in Philadelphia, he spoke at the Israel Church on Gaskill Street on 29 January; Franklin Hall on 30 January; and Union Church on Coates Street on January 31st. FDP, 9 February 1855; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxi. 3. Born in New York City, the son of Haitian émigrés, Charles Lewis Reason (1818–93) was a prominent leader in the black community of his native city and state for over fifty years. From the age of fourteen until his death, he taught in or oversaw black schools in New York City, except for the brief period in the 1850s when he headed the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia, and the few years before then that he spent as professor of belles lettres, French, and mathematics at New York Central College in McGrawville. He was the first black man to hold a professorship in an American college. Reason helped organize the New York Society for the Promotion of Education among Colored Children, a black organization that won from the state legislature in 1847 authority over black schools in New York City. After the Civil War, he helped lead the successful effort to integrate the city school system. Reason was no less active in the antebellum struggle to pressure the New York legislature into abolishing the property qualifications for black voters. In this connection, he served as secretary of the Association for the Political Improvement of the People of Color in 1837 (or 1838) and as secretary of the State Convention of Colored Citizens, which met in Albany in 1840. Reason’s opposition to Negro colonization, moreover, was of long standing, beginning in 1838, when he joined in the call for a “Great Anti-Colonization Meeting” in New York City, and carrying through into the 1850s, when he was outspoken in his criticism of the African Civilization Society, the black colonizationist organization. NASS, 3 May 1849; NS, 27 April, 4, 30 May 1849; FDP, 15 July 1853, 17  February 1854, 21 September 1855; Cleveland Gazette, 5 September 1885; Simmons, Men of Mark, 1105–09; Robert C. Dick, Black Protest: Issues and Tactics (Westport, Conn., 1974), 21, 50, 190; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 114, 145, 172; Pease and Pease, They Who Would Be Free, 10, 86–87, 148, 175, 258, 270–71; Anthony R. Mayo, “Charles Lewis Reason,” NHB, 5:212–15 (June 1942); Charles H. Wesley, “The Negroes of New York in the Emancipation Movement,” JNH, 24:65–103 (January 1939); Freeman, “Free Negro in New York City,” 41–42, 53, 136, 188, 237, 279, 345, 350, 353, 368. 4. The following were listed as additional signatories to this invitation: I. C. Weir, Charles H. Bustill, Charles Simpson, Henry Gordon, Jonathan C. Miller, Joshua Brown, Samuel H. Barrett, William H. Burley, John C. Bowers, David B. Bowers, Stephen Smith, William Moore, A. S. Driver, E. Black, John Hitchens, Benjamin F. Templeton, Samuel Nickless, John Balden, William Decordever, James McCrummill, S. Van Brakle, U. B. Vidal, Perry Miller, Perry Tillman, Thomas C. Burton, Davis D. Turner, E. J. Adams, Daniel Colly, J. J. Gould Bias, William Douglass, J. P. Campbell, Abraham Licklez, William G. Chapen, Jacob B. Young, John H. Hughes, John C. Cornish, William Whipper, and W. F. Keeling.

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JOSIAH LETCHWORTH1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Auburn, [N.Y.] 27 Oct[ober] 1854.

Frederick Douglass: Esteemed Friend:— I see you sign under the cognomen of “American Freedom,” that sounds well to my ear; but knowing, as I think I do, that thousands are on your side in anticipating the day when this shall no longer be a question—but shall stand on the basis on which it was originally placed; to wit, “that we hold it to be a self-evident truth.”2 You will permit me to express my sincere regret, that you are assisting to lead off a fraction under a different name, with no difference of sentiment, for which you give us no equivalent. We cannot all think alike, as is evident from the want of union among abolitionists. Now, would you not feel to regret in the event of those conflicting influences presenting themselves, if the absence of the vote of your friends should defeat the candidates, the most friendly to the cause of freedom and temperance? Perhaps we may not come quite up to your standard, but there is an onward progress in that direction. Now, sir, it is not my wish to despoil you, or Garrison, or Gerrit Smith, of any of the laurels3 you may think yourselves entitled to; but if I had time, methinks I could demonstrate that the pro-slavery folks have assisted you most mightily; and but for them and their acts, the abolition party would be but a small affair, comparatively, from the fact, that it is but few besides the friends of freedom that care to pay for your paper. The additions to your ranks are first disgusted with the acts of the pro-slavery parties, and then listen to hear what you have to say. I feel in hopes that few can be lead away by your special pleading. We know full well that the present Whig ticket,4 endorsed by the Anti-Nebraska Convention, as well as the Temperance Convention, embodies the principle of freedom; and if it succeeds, there will be no misunderstanding at Washington, but if it fails, through your failing to grant it support, then it will be in vain to carry any influence, thereby stating that we should have been in the majority, if principles were a test. No, its votes will be wanting, and I fear too many; there’s your Hards, and Softs, and Silver Grays,5 and KnowNothings.6 If these unite, we are done for, I fear. Mammon7 will do more than principles sometimes. Yours, J. LETCHWORTH

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PLSr: FDP, 27 October 1854. 1. Josiah Letchworth (1791–1857) was born in Philadelphia. After marrying Ann Hause in 1815, he moved to Burlington, New Jersey, where he pursued a living as a saddler. Letchworth later lived and worked in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and the Black River region of New York. After 1819, Letchworth removed to Moravia, New York, and later to Sherwood in the same state. It was in Sherwood, that Letchworth began to involve himself in several reform movements. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and became heavily involved in the emerging temperance movement. Letchworth similarly became involved in the antislavery movement, long before its beliefs were widely accepted. He declined the nomination of the Whig party to run for the New York State Assembly. In 1852 Letchworth moved to Auburn, New York, where he resided until his death. His sons William Pryor and Josiah Jr. later went on to earn renown as businessmen in Buffalo. Memorial and Family History of Erie County, New York: Biographical and Geneological Illustrated, 2 vols. (New York, 1906–08) 1:187–89; Elliot G. Storke and James H. Smith, History of Cayuga County, New York (Syracuse, N.Y., 1879), 269; Emily Howland, “Early History of Friends in Cayuga County, N.Y.” in Collections Of Cayuga County Historical Society (Auburn, N.Y., 1882), 49–90. 2. A paraphrase of the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence. 3. A symbolic recognition of achievement. 4. Auburn, New York, was host to a number of political conventions on 25 and 26 September 1854. The Free Democratic party met on both days and nominated a state ticket identical to that recently nominated by the state’s Whigs, headed by Myron H. Clark. An “Anti-Nebraska Convention” met on the latter date and debated organizing a state Republican party. A meeting of seceders from that convention declared that Henry J. Raymond, the “fusion” candidate for lieutenant governor and founder of the New York Daily Times, was neither sufficiently antislavery nor pro-temperance. Clark eventually won the governor’s office and identified himself with the Republican party. FDP. 6 October 1854; Bancroft, Life of William H. Seward, 1:366–71; Robert Sobel and John Raimo, eds., Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978, 4 vols. (Westport, Conn., 1978), 3:1082–83. 5. Silver Gray Whigs were conservative, proslavery supporters of President Millard Fillmore within the Whig party. The Whigs had a “Silver Gray” organization as early as 1836, but that group solely comprised men over sixty years of age. Francis Granger of New York popularized the term in the 1850s, but then the phrase was used derisively for Whigs of any age whose views were seen as out of touch with the rest of the Whig party, especially on the issue of slavery. Holt, Fate of Their Country, 87–88, 105, 107–08; Hans Sperber and Travis Trittschuh, American Political Terms: An Historical Dictionary, (Detroit, 1962), 404–05. 6. Nativists organized lodges and semipolitical clubs in reaction to the waves of Catholic immigrants that began coming to the United States in the 1830s. Frequently engaging in violence against the largely Democratic Irish voters, these lodge members were reputed to answer, “I know nothing” when questioned by police. The nativist movement, dubbed “Know-Nothings” by their opponents, became a significant political force in the 1850s as the Whig party declined. Under the banner of the American party, nativists ran ex-president Millard Fillmore for the White House in 1856. His third-place finish caused the Know-Nothings’ political power to steadily decline thereafter. Maisel, Political Parties and Elections, 1:549–50. 7. “Mammon” is the Mishnaic Hebrew word for “wealth” or “money.” It is also “broadly parallel [in meaning] to that of Qumran hoˉ n, which often refers to the money or wealth which the member is required to bring into the community when he joins it.” Mammon is referred to in the Bible, specifically in Matt. 6:24 and Luke 16:9–11. David Noel Freedman et al., eds, The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6 vols. (New York, 1992), 4:490.

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GEORGE DEBAPTISTE1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Detroit, [Mich.] 5 Nov[ember] 1854.

Dear Douglass:— Perhaps you may want to know something about the people out here. Well, all the good news I have, is, that the Underground Railroad Company2 is doing a very large business at this time, and the stock is up above any other Company here. We have had, within the last ten or fifteen days, fifty-three first class passengers landed at this point, by the Express train from the South. We expect ten more tonight. They all look well. I think our conductors take first rate care of them on the way. We have not had a single disaster on our Road, though our trains run at night altogether. We never want any head lights; our engines all know the depots, and turn off places without lights. We shall make out a Report of our doing for the last four months in a few days, and will send you a copy. Yours for the slave, G. D. BAPTIST. PLSr: FDP, 17 November 1854. 1. George DeBaptiste (1814–75) was born a free black in Fredericksburg, Virginia, to William and Eliza DeBaptiste. He married Lucinda Lee, and in 1838 moved to Madison, Indiana. While in Madison, DeBaptiste was suspected of aiding and abetting runaway slaves, and was ordered to post a five-hundred-dollar bond. Retaining a lawyer, he appealed the decision to the circuit court and finally to the state supreme court, whose decision overturned that of the lower courts. DeBaptiste went on to become the valet of William Henry Harrison, accompanying him to Washington upon his election to the presidency in 1841. Following Harrison’s death in April of that year, DeBaptiste returned to Madison. In 1846, DeBaptiste moved to Detroit and soon became a leader in the Underground Railroad. In March 1859, he participated in the meeting in Detroit between Frederick Douglass and John Brown during which Brown’s proposed slave uprising was considered. After the outbreak of the Civil War, DeBaptiste aided in the recruitment of Michigan’s colored regiment. In the 1870s, he sat on Detroit’s first black jury, was elected as a delegate to the local Republican senatorial convention, and was instrumental in integrating Detroit’s public schools. DeBaptiste became one of Detroit’s wealthiest black citizens. Katzman, Before the Ghetto, 14–15, 41, 178; Bordewich, Bound for Canaan, 1–3, 197, 202–06, 410, 412; DANB, 166. 2. Reportedly the busiest Underground Railroad gateway to Canada, Detroit had a very active Vigilance Committee by the mid-1840s, led by the white Quaker William Lambert and the black abolitionists Henry Bibb and George DeBaptiste. The group publicly reported escorting hundreds of fugitive slaves each year to safety in Canada. Bordewich, Bound for Canaan, 257–59, 382–84, 410.

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WILLIAM WRIGHT1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Columbia, Pa. 17 Nov[ember] 1854.

Mr. Editor: Sir:— Your argument on the subject of “Prejudice,” as reported in the Standard,2 I shall not attempt to follow, but will take your own sentiments as found under the editorial head of your paper of Oct 6th.3 You assert that “Poor Remond4 foolishly affirmed his belief that it was the black man’s color—an assertion which, if true, takes this hateful prejudice out of the category of sin, pride and folly, and makes it natural, and therefore unblameworthy; for, to like black, blue, green, or yellow, or to like neither black, blue, green or yellow, is a mere matter of taste, and no one can be blamed for their preference either way, or neither way; but very different is this to the feeling we denominate ‘prejudice against color;’ ‘tis the very worst form and manifestation of human pride, selfishness and hatred, and which would manifest itself quite as violently, and as wickedly, if the victims were as white as the driven snow, instead of being black.” The above extract embraces the whole force of your argument; and it is quite strange, friend Douglass, that this prejudice, which you regard as sinful when applied to condition, and which Mr. Green5 characterizes as “murderous everywhere,” should so far change its nature when applied to color, that it loses its rank in the “category of sin,” and dwindles into sinless “preference,” or matter of taste. It will require a micro-scopic vision to discover the point or dividing line between “prejudice and preference.” It must be as narrow as that which separates “light from heat,” and its geographical boundary must lie between justice and injustice. I confess, I have no chart that will guide me to that peculiar spot. It does, however, appear to my mind that if it be sinful for this “murderous prejudice” to inflict its penalties on any people, on account of their condition, (when the fault of that condition may in part be the result of their own imprudent actors,) it would be equally sinful, if not more so, when applied to their complexions over which they can have no control. Therefore, I am inclined to believe that Mr. R.6 would not have come nearer the mark if he had have been wise enough to have used the term condition, instead of color. I do most heartily agree with your description of both “prejudice and preference.” They are so universal in their nature and actions, that they

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do not separately belong to any one complexion, but are fostered by all complexions. You have admitted that sinless “preference” may rest on color; and until you prove that its concomitant “prejudice” may not also be against color, you will not have given a good reason why Remond’s “admission” was a “foolish one.” Now, this leads us to the important inquiry, From whence do these “prejudices” and “preferences” emanate? Are they not wholly instinctive in their nature, and do they not represent the various emanations of the human heart, from the most exalted purity to the most debasing corruption? I assert that they are purely instinctive, and are not “endowed with brains,” or the “reasoning faculties,” or they would at least be entitled to “toleration,” and might possibly be to the respect of mankind. They possess the same senses, and are guided by the same “light.” They have the same power of seeing, hearing, tasting, and smelling, and therefore, it is very natural they should be attracted by the same objects. Or will you have the one roaming over the world in search of condition, while the other is revelling amid the variegated hues of complexion. It appears to my mind that “prejudice” is but “preference” intensified by “human pride, selfishness and hatred;” and that the same persons may be victimized by its influence in one community and idolized in another, and all on account of their complexions. For the proof of this assertion, I will refer you to Messrs. Douglass, Remond, Garnett,7 Pennington8 and Ward,9 and all others who have visited England, Ireland and Wales, either on their own business, or as missionaries in the cause of the slaves, or travelled throughout New England, as compared with Pennsylvania. It will scarcely be denied that New England abolitionists have shown such a preference for the talents of colored men, that they have often eulogized their public efforts far beyond their own highest conception of their merits, and very far beyond what their “own people” conceived they were justly entitled to. Now, if this “prejudice” was founded on condition, it would not exist among the colored people themselves, because their condition and connexion with respect to liberty and slavery being the same, no cause for prejudice would exist; yet, however unwilling we may be to confess it, this same prejudice exercises an evil influence among the colored people, and has often affected the stability of their institutions, and the happiness of their social circles. I will now refer to an argument used by Mr. Remond, which I have not seen contradicted, viz: “That color was the pivot on which this whole question turned.”10 Now, if this be true, it is morally certain that if there

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was no pivot, or resting place, there would be no “turning,” which, being legitimately interpreted, means that if there were no difference in the complexion of the people of this count[r]y, there would be no complexional prejudice. It was both ingenious and logical in Mr. Green to say that “color was of no account.” By this assertion he probably meant to show that this prejudice had not only existed, but could continue to exist without the attracting allurements of color. To this I will agree as an ancient question; and as it affected ancient nationalities, and the Quakers, Jews, Catholics, North American Indians, and perhaps a few other—and I will accept his definition as a “Biblical” question. It was the scourge of the Children of Israel, and its potency was felt by both Jews and Gentiles. It was visible at the Crucifixion of Christ, and the martyrdom of the Apostles, as well as in the Holy Cross and the Protestant Reformation. Then the pivot on which this prejudice rested or turned, was the invasion of some territory—national feud—birthright claim to sovereignty, or the profession of some new, pure, or idolatrous faith, or worldly distinctions, such as poverty and wealth, &c. But so far as this prejudice affects the colored population of this country, more of these impediments exist. They have no peculiar titles to territories, honors or wealth; and here, in this country, poverty is no crime. They are not the advocates of any unpopular tenets of religious faith, and have no peculiar religion of their own, but have fostered and adopted the religious faith of those with whom they are surrounded.—Therefore, looking at this subject in the light of the past and present, I say I must differ with him when I say, that as an American question, the pivot on which this prejudice rests, is the “color of the skin.” W. W. PLIr: FDP, 1 December 1854. 1. Probably William Wright, a Quaker and abolitionist, who began assisting slaves to freedom at age sixteen. The grandson of the founder of Columbia, Adams County, Pennsylvania, Wright married Phebe Wierman in 1817, and the couple subsequently became active Underground Railroad conductors. Wright served as manager of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1840 and as a delegate from Adams County to the Republican state convention, where he supported the nomination of John C. Frémont for president. An account of ‘the experience of a fugitive who lived with the Wrights for six months can be found in The Fugitive Blacksmith; or, Events in the History of James W. C. Pennington. Wright’s six children and many relatives were also involved in freeing slaves. It is estimated that Wright assisted in freeing nearly one thousand slaves during his lifetime. Snodgrass, The Underground Railroad, 2:590; Still, Underground Railroad, 691–95. 2. Held in Syracuse, New York, on 29–30 September 1854, the semiannual meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society was characterized by heated debate. Sparked by a series of resolu-

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tions presented by the Business Committee, the morning and afternoon sessions on the first day focused almost exclusively on discord between the organization and the Liberty party, and the larger question whether the U.S. Constitution was “proslavery.” If so, they debated whether members of the society could in good conscience participate (in any fashion, including voting) in government without compromising their principles. As reported in the National Anti-Slavery Standard, William Lloyd Garrison, Gerrit Smith, Beriah Green, Samuel J. May, Abram Pryne, and Andrew T. Foss led the discussion that ensued. NASS, 7 October 1854. 3. Wright refers to an editorial item in the 6 October 1854 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper, entitled “State Convention of the Liberty Party—Semi-Annual Meeting of the American A. S. Society—The Jerry Rescue Celebration.” The editorial recounts and comments on a heated discussion at a special meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society held in Syracuse, New York, in which Gerrit Smith, William Lloyd Garrison, William Wells Brown, Charles Lenox Remond, Beriah Green, and Frederick Douglass debated the subject of prejudice. According to Douglass, Smith asked Remond to provide a philosophical explanation for prejudice, to which Remond replied, “It’s the black man’s color.” FDP, 6 October 1854. 4. Charles Lenox Remond (1810–73), the first black lecturer hired by any antislavery society, was born in Salem, Massachusetts, to the daughter of a black hero of the American Revolution and a former slave from Curaçao. In his youth, he learned about the horrors of slavery from his father and experienced the segregation and discrimination practiced by Northern whites. In the late 1820s and early 1830s, Remond read David Walker’s Appeal and became acquainted with William Lloyd Garrison, which led him to dedicate his life to abolitionism. He became an agent for the Liberator and joined the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society shortly thereafter. In 1838 he began lecturing for the American Anti-Slavery Society. Both his color and his ability made him a very popular speaker in both the United States and Great Britain, where he attended the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention as a delegate in 1840. Remond was the sole black lecturer for antislavery societies until Frederick Douglass began speaking in 1842. For a time, Remond and Douglass worked the lecture circuit together. Douglass admired Remond, the more experienced speaker, and named a son for him. Through the 1840s, however, Remond remained a steadfast Garrisonian while Douglass began to favor political action to end slavery, and their friendship suffered. Their goals, however, remained the same, and like Douglass, Remond recruited black soldiers for the Massachusetts Fifty-fourth Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. After the war, just before his death, Remond urged abolitionists to continue their fight by combatting the racial prejudice that persisted in both the North and South after the end of slavery. Les Wallace, “Charles Lenox Remond: The Lost Prince of Abolitionism,” NHB, 40:696– 701 (May–June 1977); William E. Ward, “Charles Lenox Remond: Black Abolitionist, 1838–1873” (Ph.D. diss., Clark University, 1977); NCAB, 2:303; DAB, 15:499–500. 5. Probably Beriah Green (1795–1874), an early immediate abolitionist who chaired the founding convention of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. A graduate of Middlebury College and Andover Seminary, Green served as a professor at Western Reserve College. He was the founder and president, from 1833 to its closing in 1844, of the Oneida Institute, a pioneering interracial college, in Whiteboro, New York. Green was active in the early Liberty party and later in Gerrit Smith’s band of radical political abolitionists. Later, he ministered to an antislavery Congregational Church in Whiteboro until 1867. Milton C. Sernett, Abolition’s Axe: Beriah Green, Oneida Institute, and the Black Freedom Struggle (Syracuse, N.Y., 1986); John R. McKivigan, War against Proslavery Religion: Abolitionism and the Northern Churches, 1830–1865 (Ithaca, N.Y., 1984), 147; DAB, 7:539–40. 6. Charles Lenox Remond. 7. Henry Highland Garnett. 8. James W. C. Pennington. 9. Samuel Ringgold Ward. 10. The issue that dominated the final sessions of the semiannual meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society was triggered by Remond, who stated that “so far from advocating the antislavery character of the Constitution and Government, it [was] better . . . to see how far there [was]

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freedom in our atmosphere.” Following an exchange between Remond and William Wells Brown (who maintained that more was being done in Europe to “ameliorate the condition of the people than in America”), Garrison asked Brown to discuss whether Europeans suffered from what he termed “colourphobia.” Brown stated that prejudice originated in “slave states because slavery existed there,” and that in Europe he had neither witnessed nor experienced any “prejudice against a person because of colour.” His conclusion, as a result, was that “prejudice against colour [was] not known” outside America and that “it [was] prejudice against condition, not colour; only the colour is a mark to instance the condition.” Beriah Green concurred, noting that “colourphobia [was] what in Europe [was] called caste, and in the Bible respect of persons.” He then stated that “colour was of no account [and that] it [was] only the index of slavery, and despised for that cause.” Green concluded by arguing, “In some parts of the world, and at some ages of the world, this colour was considered attractive.” Both Remond and Gerrit Smith disagreed, maintaining that the “prejudice against colour” was “deeper than the cord of caste.” When queried by Green, however, Remond did concede that (in the United States) the condition of being enslaved did “intensify this prejudice.” At the conclusion of the final session Garrison made a plea for unity by stating that “we must not be divided into Liberty Party, Garrisonians and Free Democrats when the South is united,” but instead “let our anti-slavery be No. 1; our party and sect No. 100.” Greeted by cheers, Garrison, however, then remarked that “every anti-slavery man [was] of necessity a Disunionist” and that even though “Gerrit Smith [thought] he [could] make the Constitution anti-slavery . . . when he [had] done it, he [could] make no one believe it.” Garrison concluded the session by noting that calling the U.S. government a Democracy “was an outrage upon man’s understanding.” NASS, 7 October 1854.

JERMAIN WESLEY LOGUEN TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Madison Co[., N.Y.] 4 Dec[ember] 1854.

My Dear Friend Douglass:— I am now snowed in within six miles of our good and glorious friend, Gerrit Smith’s house,1 and I can feel the influence so sensibly of this model man among white men, that I have thought that I could not improve the time better than to write a few lines to my model man among colored men; and that man is Frederick Douglass. I know of nothing that will be more agreeable to me, than to report to you a little of my whereabouts. I am in Clarkville,2 very comfortably situated, (after a hard day’s work on the Sabbath,) in the kind family of N. S. Cady,3 Esq., of Clarkville. I had meetings at Canastota4 and this place; they were well attended for such a day, for it snowed hard all day. The meeting in this place in the evening, was a sterling one, and I talked to the people as well as I knew how. It seemed to have a good effect upon them, and I think good was done. I had a good time myself with Brother Stickney’s5 people. I was to go North to-day to attend other meetings; but the snow—O the snow, it compells me to disappoint, and will for some days. There are some things that we cannot overrule, you know, in this world. I am trying, in connec-

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tion with talking on slavery, to do something for our brethren that are so nobly struggling from bondage to freedom; and a noble struggle it is, to try to be free. We are passing them every week, more or less. I congratulate you on your late triumphant tour at the West,6 and your safe return to your own State again, where hundreds of us rejoice to know that you are one among us, for we consider it an honor to live in the State where your influence is felt, as it is in the State of New York. Would to God we had a Frederick Douglass in every State of this wicked and hellish Union of political and church devils. O that every man among us would truly be himself, and not ape after those that would use us meanly, for their own convenience. (O, let us be men and not apes!) We cannot all be Douglasses; but we could do a mighty work in this land for outraged humanity. I rejoice at the stand that some of our friends have taken in the State of Pa., in inviting Frederick Douglass to their State,7 where much has been done by some to destroy his influence.—We are happy to see such honorable names among the many—as Dr. J. J. Gould Bias, Prof. C. L. Reason, and Wm. Whipper and others. If the Lord will enable you to raise such a flame for liberty, in other parts of the State, as you did in Sugar Grove, Pa., last summer,8 I shall rejoice greatly; for that was a time that will never be forgotten by many of the friends in Sugar Grove, Pa. I have seen a great many men that called themselves the ministers of the most high God; (and many of them, no doubt, were;) but I never, in all my remembrance, saw the man that looked more heavenly to me than did Frederick Douglass, the beautiful Sabbath day that he stood in that Grove to address the hundreds that had come from afar to listen to his unbounded eloquence. But enough from me, for the half cannot be told by our pen. Truly your friend, J. W. L. PLIr: FDP, 15 December 1854. 1. In Peterboro, New York. 2. Loguen’s letter was published in the 15 December 1854 edition of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. The paper identified his location as Clarkville, New York, but a transcription error might have occurred. Loguen more likely wrote Douglass from either Clarksville or Clockville, New York, since both of these communities and Peterboro are located in Madison County. J. Thomas and T. Baldwin, eds., Lippincott’s Pronouncing Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer, or Geographical Dictionary, of the World, 2 vols. (Philadelphia, 1856), 1:461, 467. 3. A cousin of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Nathan Stanton Cady (1803–63) was a successful merchant. Stanton also held local office in the towns of Clockville, Lenox, and Rome, New York. 1850 U.S. Census, New York, Madison County, 348; William Reddy and W. S. Smyth, First Fifty Years of Cazenovia Seminary, 1825–1875: Its History—Proceedings of the Semi-Centennial Jubilee— General

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Catalogue (Cazenovia, N.Y., 1877), 669; Orrin Peter Allen, Descendants of Nicholas Cady of Watertown, Mass., 1645–1910 (Palmer, Mass., 1910), 173, 327. 4. The farming and manufacturing community of Canastota is located in Madison County, New York, approximately twenty miles east of Syracuse. Seltzer, Gazetteer of the World, 322; Cohen, Columbia Gazetteer of the World, 522. 5. The son of Marcus Stickney, a merchant in Lockport, New York, Washington Stickney inherited that business, but also ministered to an antislavery congregation in the Niagara County community. Stickney was an officer of the Lockport Anti-Slavery Society and attended conventions of the Liberty party. FDP, 25 September 1851, 15 December 1854. 6. Douglass went on several speaking tours of the western United States and Canada in 1854. Loguen probably alludes to Douglass’s seven-week trip through Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio. FDP, 29 September, 20, 27 October, 3, 10, 17, 24 November 1854; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 1:xxxvii, 538–59. 7. This invitation from Franklin Turner of 13 October 1854 is published above. Douglass conducted that visit to Pennsylvania in late January 1855 as part of an extensive East Coast speaking tour. FDP, 9 February 1855; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxi. 8. Douglass visited Sugar Grove, Warren County, Pennsylvania, on 18 June 1854 to participate in a two-day abolitionist convention there. Douglass recounted that he had “never attended an out door meeting which was so orderly and impressive. . . . The meeting was strictly a religious AntiSlavery meeting, and left a most favorable impression for the cause.” Frederick Douglass to William J. Watkins, 19 June 1854, in FDP, 23 June 1854.

GEORGE WEIR, JR.,1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Buffalo, [N.Y.] 11 Dec[ember] 1854.

Mr. Editor:— A few mornings since, I was awakened at an early hour by an immense noise and confusion at my door. Being suddenly awakened, I sprang up, and ran down stairs to ascertain the cause of such strange excitement. When, to my surprise, I found—notwithstanding the “immense heavy snow drifts”—that a train of cars belonging to the Underground Railroad had just arrived, bringing eight passengers, six men and two women, all direct from “Old Kentuck.”—Of course the doors of the depot were thrown open, and in they marched, rank and file, led by T. R., Esq[.]., one of the conductors on the road. After a few moment’s conversation, we conducted them to a public house kept by one of our people. When they had an opportunity of thoroughly warming and refreshing themselves— the inner as well as outer man—they were allowed to remain with us until one o’clock, when a sleigh was provided, and the eight happy souls, in charge of Phoenix Lansing,2 Esq[.] , one of our active and energetic townsmen, were driven to Black Rock, and in a few moment’s more were safely landed on the other side of Jordan—when one universal shout of joy ascended to Him who had been their guide and guardian from a land

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of slavery and despotism to a land of liberty and light. But the most singular circumstance in connection with this matter is, that just as they had landed on the Canada side, the cars on the Great Western Railroad3 arrived from the West, and to the surprise and astonishment of our friends, the first man that stepped from the cars, was a Kentuckian, the next door neighbor to the owner of three of our party. You may imagine the feelings of our friends at so strange and unexpected a meeting. “But,” says they to their neighbor, “We are all here.” Yours, in hopes of another arrival, GEORGE WEIR, JR. PLSr: FDP, 4 January 1855. 1. The son of a minister of Buffalo’s Vine Street African Methodist Episcopal Church, George Weir, Jr., was a minister and abolitionist in Buffalo. Arthur O. White, “The Black Movement against Jim Crow Education in Buffalo, NewYork, 1800–1900,” Phylon, 30:383 (Winter 1969). 2. Phoenix Lansing operated a barbershop on the corner of Michigan and Seneca streets in Buffalo in the 1850s. The Commercial Advertiser Directory for the City of Buffalo, 1858 (Buffalo, 1858), 203. 3. Canada’s Great Western Railway was originally incorporated in 1834 as the London and Gore Railroad Company. It changed its name to the Great Western Rail Road Company in 1845, and again in 1853, becoming the Great Western Railway. Funded by a combination of American, British, and Canadian investments, the Great Western opened its main line, which linked Niagara Falls to Windsor (opposite Detroit), a distance of over two hundred miles, in 1854. By 1882, when the Great Western merged with its chief rival, the Grand Trunk Railway, it operated over nine hundred miles of track stretching from New York, across southern Ontario, and into Michigan. Boston American Railway Times, 19 January 1854; James H. Marsh, ed., The Canadian Encyclopedia, 3 vols. (Edmonton, 1985), 2:772.

INSPECTOR1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Albany, [N.Y.] 24 February 1855.

Dear Friend Douglass:— The principal topic of conversation among all circles in this city, for the past week, has been Frederick Douglass’ great speech on Friday evening last in the Capitol.2 The fact that “Fred. Douglass” was to speak in the Assembly Chamber, was simply announced in the daily papers,3 without any effort to give especial publicity to it; and notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, the beautiful and commodious Hall was filled to its utmost capacity, long before the hour at which the meeting was to commence arrived—not with those who usually attend such meetings, but grave judges, senators, editors, and many of the first ladies of the city. Among the most

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prominent were Judge Harris,4 Thurlow Weed5—whom every body, that is any body, knows—Speaker Littlejohn,6 Lieut. Gov. Raymond,7 Senators Crosby,8 Brooks,9 and Dickinson,10 and in fact the whole Legislature. Every body who heard the speech spoke of it as a masterly, eloquent, and unanswerable effort. I will not mention any of the encomiums which were lashed upon it, for the reason that they will never see the light. The impression produced by the speech must be great good to the cause. Our colored citizens have sent in a petition,11 numerously signed, asking the Legislature to adopt the preliminary measures to remove the political disabilities under which we labor. The feeling here among the members seems to be favorable; and all things considered among them, the good spirits in which the majority of the Legislature are, consequent upon the return of that noble champion of equal rights for all, (without regard to clime or color,) William H. Seward. It is much to be regretted that our colored friends, in various parts of the State, do not inundate the Legislature with petitions—for I think it entirely safe to affirm, that we will never get our rights unless we ask for them. The colored Methodist friends have nearly finished a very neat and comfortable House of Worship, quite eligibly situated in Hamilton Street.12 If any one person is more entitled to credit than another, that person is the Rev. Mr. Weir,13 who took hold and acted nobly in getting means to erect it. Mr. Weir is one who acts as well as talks. Verily, he will have his reward. INSPECTOR. PLSr: FDP, 16 March 1855. 1. The identity of “Inspector” cannot be determined. Douglass published one other letter in this newspaper from this correspondent, dated 24 April1855, discussing the New York legislature’s failure to permit African American suffrage in the state. Albany was home to a large black and abolitionist community, any of a number of whom could have written Douglass. FDP, 4 May 1855; Foner and Walker, Black State Conventions, 54–97. 2. Douglass published a brief editorial in Frederick Douglass’ Paper on 23 February 1855, thanking Stephen S. Myers and James W. Randolph for sending him letters attesting to the positive reception of his address in Albany. Douglass singled out Myers for his role in organizing the event and getting many distinguished people to attend. 3. This was an accurate depiction of the brief announcement in the Albany Evening Journal for Douglass’s lecture “The Rights of Man,” given the following day in the State Assembly’s chamber. Albany Evening Journal, 15 February 1855. 4. Ira Harris (1802–75) was born in Montgomery County, New York. After graduating from Union College in Schenectady, New York, he studied law in Albany. In 1827 he was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in Albany. He lectured at the Albany Law School upon its founding, in 1850. Harris served as a justice of the New York State Supreme Court from 1847 to 1859; was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate, where he served one term (1861–67); and returned to the Albany Law School in 1867, where he remained until his death in 1875. BDUSC (online).

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5. Beginning as a printer’s apprentice, Thurlow Weed (1797–1882) had become one of the nation’s leading political journalists by midcentury. In 1830 he founded the Albany Evening Journal as the state organ of the Anti-Masonic party. Allying himself with the rising politician William H. Seward, Weed became a powerful figure in the Whig and the Republican parties. Although he preferred a more moderate antislavery approach, he nevertheless frequently praised Douglass’s abolitionist activities. Weed’s national influence declined after the Civil War, but he played a key role in persuading Republicans in New York to select Douglass as one of their presidential electors in 1872. Glyndon G. Van Deusen, Thurlow Weed: Wizard of the Lobby (Boston, 1947); NCAB, 3:12–13; DAB, 19:598–600. 6. Born in Oneida County, N.Y., De Witt Clinton Littlejohn (1818–92) briefly attended college before pursuing a number of mercantile pursuits. He was elected mayor of Oswego, New York, in 1849 and again in 1855. Originally a Whig, Littlejohn joined the Republican party upon its organization. He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1853–55, 1857, 1859–61, 1866, 1867, 1870, 1871, and 1884, and he served as Speaker in 1859–61, 1866, 1867, 1870, and 1871. Littlejohn worked vigorously for Abraham Lincoln; he was offered a position as consul at Liverpool, but declined the post. In 1862, Littlejohn helped raise the 110th Regiment of the New York Volunteers, eventually becoming its colonel. He resigned his commission in the following year upon being elected to Congress from New York’s Twenty-second District, where he served until 1865. Littlejohn was deeply involved in the formation of the unsuccessful New-York and Oswego Midland Railroad Company, which opened in 1871. It was reorganized as the New-York, Ontario and Western Railroad in 1873. In 1872, Littlejohn temporarily left the Republican party to support Democrat Horace Greeley’s bid for president. He later returned to the Republican fold and was elected to the New York State Assembly for the twelfth time in 1884. BDUSC (online). 7. Henry Jarvis Raymond (1820–69), journalist and politician, was born in Lima, New York. After graduating from the University of Vermont in 1840, he moved to New York to work for Horace Greeley’s New York Daily Tribune. In 1848, uncomfortable under the sway of the liberal reformist Greeley, the more conservative Raymond left his mentor’s newspaper to become the editor of the New York Courier and Enquirer and soon after Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. Increasingly disturbed by the political partisanship of city newspapers, Raymond and another associate inaugurated the New York Daily Times in September 1851 with the intention of more dispassionately reporting the day’s events. Raymond remained editor of the prosperous paper until his death in 1869, but was also a key figure at both the state and national level in the Whig and Republican parties, eventually gaining in a seat in Congress from 1865 to 1867. Francis Brown, Raymond of the Times (New York, 1951); NCAB, 8:482–83; DAB, 15:408–12; BDUSC (online). 8. Clarkson Floyd Crosby (1817–58) was born to William Bedlow Crosby and Harriet Ashton (Clarkson) Crosby. He attended Union College, but being independently wealthy, he never practiced any particular profession. On 8 September 1838, he married Angelica Schuyler, with whom he had two children. One of them, John Schuyler Crosby, became territorial governor of Montana. Crosby resided in Albany County, New York, and served in the New York State Assembly in 1845. In both 1854 and 1855, Crosby was elected from the Eleventh District to the New York State Senate. New York Times, 23 February 1858; Franklin B. Hough, comp., The New York Civil List: Containing the Names and Origins of the Civil Divisions, and the Names and Dates of Election or Appointment of the Principal State and County Officers, from the Revolution to the Present Time (Albany, N.Y., 1858), 137, 140, 230, 268, 331. 9. Erastus Brooks (1815–1886) was born in Portland, Maine. He attended Brown University but did not graduate, leaving college early to start a newspaper in Maine. In 1840 he joined his brother James as a managing editor of the New York Express. Brooks gained recognition for his opposition in a public debate to the Roman Catholic Church’s exemption from property taxes. He served in the New York State Senate from 1853 to 1857 as a member of the Know-Nothing, or American, party. In 1856 he was the American party’s nominee for governor of New York, but lost the election and subsequently joined the Democratic party. Brooks served in the New York state constitutional convention

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of 1866–67 and on the constitution commission of 1872–73. He served Richmond County in the New York State Assembly from 1878 to 1883. Brooks was a founder of the Associated Press, and served for a time as its manager. NCAB, 6:47–48l; DAB, 3:76–77. 10. Andrew Bray Dickinson (1801–73) of Steuben County served as a member of the New York State Assembly in 1830. From 1840 to 1843 he represented the Sixth District, and from 1854 to 1855 the Twenty-sixth District, in the New York State Senate. In 1856 he was a member of the New York’ delegation to the National Republican Convention. A friend of Secretary of State William H. Seward, Dickinson was appointed U.S. minister to Nicaragua in 1861. His tenure, which lasted until 1869, is most notable for the Dickinson-Ayon Treaty (1867), which guaranteed the United States transit rights, free ports, and limited rights of military intervention. The treaty, which remained in effect until the end of the century, kept open the Nicaraguan transit route (as an alternative to Panama) for the location of a canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. De Alva Stanwood Alexander, A Political History of the State of New York, 3 vols. (1906; Port Washington, N. Y., 1969), 2: 39–45, 397–401; Jay Monaghan, Abraham Lincoln Deals with Foreign Affairs: A Diplomat in Carpet Slippers (1945; New York, 1997), 68; David M. Pletcher, The Diplomacy of Trade and Investment: American Economic Expansion in the Hemisphere, 1865–1900 (Columbia, Mo., 1998), 123. 11. In his second letter to Douglass, dated 24 April 1855, Inspector described the lobbying by New York African Americans to get the State Assembly to begin the process of removing the disabilities that restricted black ‘men’s ability to vote. A petition from Long Island blacks to remove the property qualifications for suffrage launched the effort. Political alignments in the New York legislature were undergoing a rapid transformation, and a coalition of Whigs, Know-Nothings, and Republicans passed a measure in April, by a vote of 66–34, to remove that requirement. The reform attempt, however, failed the next day in the state senate. Black leaders in New York such as James McCune Smith credited Douglass’s lecture in the state capitol in February with having assisted the suffrage effort immeasurably. FDP, 16 March, 4 May 1855; Phyllis F. Field, The Politics of Race in New York: The Struggle for Black Suffrage in the Civil War Era (Ithaca, N.Y., 1982), 89–93. 12. The Israel A.M.E. Church, on Hamilton Street, in Albany, New York, is the oldest black church in New York’s ‘ capital. The Albany congregation dates from 1828, when it was established by the Reverend William Cornish. The first structure, built on a lot purchased in 1842, burned three years after the church began building it. The second attempt at construction on Hamilton Street was finished in 1854. It is believed that the church’s pastor at the time, Thomas Jackson, designed the building. Harriet Tubman used the church as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Albany (N.Y.) Times Union, 7 May 1988; Marcella Thum, Hipocrene U.S.A Guide to Black America: A Directory of Historic and Cultural Sites Relating to Black America (New York, 1991), 231. 13. The Reverend George Weir, Sr., presided at Buffalo’s Vine Street A.M.E. Church. Both Weir and his son, carrying the same name, corresponded frequently with Frederick Douglass’ Paper on antislavery activities in the Buffalo region. FDP, 31 March 1854, 15 February 1856, 20 February, 13 November 1857, 12 November, 3 December 1858; Foner and Walker, Black State Conventions, 1:80.

LEWIS TAPPAN1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Brooklyn, N.Y. 9 March [1855].

My dear friend Douglass, I hear that you are sick.2 Receive my sympathy. But, after your great labors I am not surprised. For aught I see you must now be contented to rest awhile. You have done the work of two or three men for some time!

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[N]ature now asserts her claims, and is teaching you that you are but a man. Rest, rest, rest is absolutely necessary—that is intellectual rest. Bodily exercise in the open air (moderate and daily!) will do you good. Don’t think this temporary suspension will be lost time—O, see—it will be time gained. Wilberforce,3 after working with brains and fingers, 14 hours a day for many years, finding it was killing him, came to the resolution (probably under the advice of some good physician) to cut off one third of the time devoted to labor. He found, after a while, that he could do more work in 9 or 10 hours than he had been accustomed to do in 14! Had he come to the sage conclusion that it does not depend upon the number of hours we devote to business, but upon the strength of body & mind we bring to it. Ergo: Frederick Douglass, when discharged by his present physician—if he sticks to his advice—will probably do more in 6 hours daily labor than he has ever got done in 12; but then! this 6 or 8 hours hours must be all he does in the 24. After all, what weak creatures we are without Divine help. We must go to the Great Physician of Soul & body, and cast all our cares upon Him, for “He careth for us.”4 Is not this a delightful thought! Bear up then—be not worried—nor impatient. In good time you will resume your useful labor. Affecy yours, LEWIS TAPPAN ALS: Lewis Tappan Papers, DLC. 1. Lewis Tappan (1788–1873), an affluent New York merchant and abolitionist, devoted much of his considerable wealth and energy to religious and reform causes such as abolitionism. Tappan was an early supporter of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and the American Bible Society, a founder of the New York Evangelist, and a patron of Oberlin College. Tappan helped organize the New York Anti-Slavery Society and the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. In 1840, he broke with William Lloyd Garrison over the advisability of linking abolitionism with other reforms such as women’s rights. He was a founder and leading figure in the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society and maintained close ties with British abolitionists opposed to Garrison. Tappan played a leading part in securing the freedom of the African captives on the slave ship Amistad in 1841. In 1846, Tappan abandoned efforts to convert older benevolent societies to abolitionism and founded the American Missionary Association. Focused mainly on the religious sphere, Tappan gave only a lukewarm endorsement to political abolitionism. Wyatt-Brown, Lewis Tappan; DAB, 18:303–04. 2. In a brief editorial in Frederick Douglass’s Paper, Julia Griffiths reported that since Douglass’s return to Rochester after a seven-week speaking tour of the Northeast, he had been too ill to attend to his responsibilities at the newspaper or to answer letters. She also reported that a local physician who was caring for Douglass recommended rest as the key to his recovery. FDP, 2 March 1855. 3. William Wilberforce (1759–1833), British reformer, author, and member of Parliament, joined the antislavery movement in 1787 at the urging of Thomas Clarkson and others. Over the next two decades, Wilberforce led the parliamentary campaign, which culminated in the law of 1807 banning the

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Atlantic slave trade and establishing the African Institution. In 1823, Wilberforce joined other prominent abolitionists to organize the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery. That same year he published An Appeal to the Religion, Justice, and Humanity of the Inhabitants of the British Empire in behalf of the Slaves of the West Indies and inaugurated the emancipation struggle in Parliament by presenting a Quaker abolitionist petition. Wilberforce’s sympathy for the plight of West Indian bondsmen seldom extended to the poor of his own country. On domestic issues, he frequently aided governmental attempts to crush political dissent and control the labor force, supporting the Sedition Act of 1795, the Combination Law of 1799, and the suspension of habeas corpus in 1818. Reginald Coupland, Wilberforce: A Narrative (Oxford, Eng., 1923); David Brion Davis, The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Revolution, 1770–1823 (Ithaca, N.Y., 1975), 460–61; DNB, 21:208–17. 4. Tappan paraphrases 1 Pet. 5:7.

ISAIAH C. WEIR1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Philadelphia, [Pa.] 12 March 1855.

Mr. Frederick Douglass: Dear Sir:— I notice in your paper of the 23d of last month, a letter (purporting to be from a Philadelphian to the editor of the Liberator) attempting to give some account of you and your lectures while with us.2 I have been expecting that something would be said in that direction; but, certainly did not anticipate anything so brazen and insulting to the colored people of our city as the letter to which I refer. I do not intend to reply to said letter, at this time, but will attempt a refutation as soon as the name of the author is known. I prefer always to know the character and quality of my name before I expend my ammunition. Nevertheless, should the name fail to appear in endorsement of said article, I shall then attend to it, as I would to any other series of unendorsed falsehoods. But ‘tis proper here to say, that, should any (hitherto) respectable name appear in said connexion, I promise all the civilities that are due from one man to another, in the discussion of a subject involving similar issues. And now a word in reference to a colored friend of great respectability, in Philadelphia,3 and the disaffected to our cause. If ‘tis meant by disaffected to refer to the friends, and approves of Frederick Douglass and his course, I here say, for the benefit of all whom it may concern, (and without fear of contradiction,) that a common prison car would hold all the colored men (without crowding) who do or ever have had anything to do with public affairs in our city, who are not friends, and approve Frederick Douglass and his course; and to say that such approval and friendship

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involve, necessarily, disaffection to the anti-slavery cause, is either silly or vicious. Yours truly, ISAIAH C. WEER. PLSr: FDP, 30 March 1855. 1. Isaiah C. Wears (1822–1900) of Philadelphia, whose last name was variously reported as “Ware,” “Weer,” “Weir,” and “Wier,” was a barber and close associate of William Still in that city’s Vigilance Committee. He was an active participant at the State Convention of Colored Citizens of Pennsylvania, held in Harrisburg in December 1848. In 1855, Douglass reported that Wears was scheduled to speak at a West Indian Emancipation celebration in Philadelphia. After the Civil War, Wears attended the National Convention of Colored Men in January 1869, and campaigned with Douglass for the Republican presidential ticket in New York in 1880. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:581; Christian G. Samito, Becoming American under Fire: Irish Americans, African Americans, and the Politics of Citizenship during the Civil War Era (Ithaca, N.Y., 2009), 164–66; Foner and Branhan, Lift Every Voice, 375–77; Foner and Walker, Black State Conventions, 1:119–21; Harry C. Silcox, “The Black ‘Better Class’ Political Dilemma: Philadelphia Prototype Isaiah C. Wears,” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 113:45–47 (January 1989). 2. Douglass spoke three times in Philadelphia in early 1855. He spoke at the Israel Church on Gaskill Street on 29 January; at Franklin Hall on 30 January; and at the Union Church on Coates Street on 31 January 1855. An unsigned letter to William Lloyd Garrison, published in the 3 February 1855 issue of the Liberator, was reprinted in the 23 February 1855 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper, with the purpose of criticizing Douglass and his antislavery rhetoric. According to the author, Douglass “repeated all the stale cant and twaddle about the Anti-Sabbath and Anti-Bible, character of Mr. Garrison and his friends, and intimated that, under the garb of Humanity, they were endeavoring to uproot Christianity!—thus appealing to the lowest sectarian prejudices of his audience.” 3. The following insert was published in the 23 February 1855 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper as a response to the anonymous criticism of Douglass’s antislavery lecture in Philadelphia. The insert stated, “A colored friend, of great respectability, in Philadelphia, referring to Mr. Douglass’ venomous lectures in that city, says – ‘Allow me to say, that the disaffected to our cause, and its advocates, in Philadelphia, are no mere faction. The respect, gratitude and confidence of the great body of our people are with you. How could it be otherwise?’ ” The identities of the “friend” and the “disaffected” are unknown.

WILLIAM WELLS BROWN1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS [n.p.] [16 March 1855.]

To Frederick Douglass. Sir : Had not your many changes and re-changes prepared me to be astonished at nothing that you might say, or do, I would have been somewhat surprised at the attack made upon me by you, in your paper of the 2d of March.2 You commence by saying, “we do regret that he should feel called

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upon to show his faithfulness to the American Anti-Slavery Society by covering us with dishonor.” Let me say to you, Frederick Douglass, that my difference with you has nothing whatever to do with the American Anti-Slavery Society, and no one knows that better than yourself. And I regard such an insinuation as fit only to come from one whose feelings are entirely lost to all sense of shame. My charge against you is, that, just before I left the United States for England,3 you wrote a private letter 4 to a distinguished Abolitionist in Great Britain, injurious to me, and intended to forestall my movements there. In a note5 which I forwarded to you, to your address at Rochester on the 20th of January last, I gave you to understand that I had been made aware of your having acted in that underhand manner. The following is a part of the note I sent you more than a month ago. “During my sojourn in England, and several months after my arrival there, and while spending a few days with a friend of yours, the post brought me a letter, which had been re-mailed in London, and it proved to be from you, dated at New Bedford. After I had finished reading the letter, your friend seemed anxious to learn its contents. I handed it to her, with the request that she would read it; your friend appeared much astonished at the kindness expressed by you to me, and exclaimed, ‘Douglass has done you a great injustice,’ and immediately revealed to me the contents of a letter which she had received from you, some months before, and which was written a short time previous to my departure from America. I need not say that the very unfavorable position in which your letter placed me before your friend, secured for me a cold reception at her hands. I need not name the lady; you know to whom I refer, unless you wrote to more than one.” Your attack upon me, in your paper of the 2d inst., in which you ask for “facts,” when my note containing the above had been in your possession more than a month, shows too well your wish to make a sneaking fling at me, instead of seeking for “facts,” and acting the part of an honorable man. Why did you not give my note a place in your paper, and make such comments as you thought best? No, that would not have suited you. But, anxious to heap insult upon injury,6 you resort to the mode most congenial to your feelings and sense of justice. Had I not thought it due to the public to state the above “facts,” I would have treated your scurillous paragraph with that silence and contempt that all such articles so justly deserve. However, no future insinuation of yours, no matter how false or unjust, shall provoke from me a reply. WILLIAM WELLS BROWN.7

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PLSr: FDP, 16 March 1855. 1. William Wells Brown (c. 1814–84) was born a slave in Lexington, Kentucky, but escaped to freedom in Ohio in 1834. After settling in Cleveland, he worked on a Lake Erie steamboat, from which he helped many fugitive slaves escape to Canada. In the 1840s he moved his family to New York, where he began lecturing for the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society and the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society (1843–49). In 1847, Brown published his first book, Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave, Written by Himself, and moved to Boston. From 1849 to 1854 he traveled and lecturer in Europe, meeting many prominent figures and publishing two more books: Three Years in Europe; Or, Places I Have Seen and People I Have Met (1852) and Clotel; Or, The President’s Daughter: A Narrative of Slave Life in the United States (1853), the first novel known to be written by an African American. After friends in England purchased his freedom in 1854, he returned to the United States to continue his work in the abolitionist, temperance, woman suffrage, and prison reform movements. He also wrote four books about African American history. During the Civil War, Brown joined Douglass in recruiting blacks for the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Lib., 12 January 1855; London Lancet, 6 December 1884; DAB, 3:161; DANB, 71–73. 2. Douglass published a brief editorial under the title “WILLIAM WELLS BROWN,” complaining that Brown had shown “his faithfulness to the American Anti-Slavery Society, by covering us with reproach and dishonor.” Douglass called upon Brown to write and explain the evidence to support his charges. FDP, 2 March 1854. 3. Brown departed Boston for England in October 1849. Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 1:154n. 4. No surviving letter meeting this description has been located. 5. The letter of Brown to Douglass of 20 January 1855 has not survived. 6. A paraphrase of 1 Pet. 3:9. 7. In a printed editorial following the letter, Douglass replies to Brown and requests the “facts” of his accusations.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 27 March 1855.

Hon Gerrit Smith— My dear Sir— I am glad my Speech1 pleased you. I had a pretty high opinion of it before—and your kind approval has not detracted from that opinion—I did, in my Spoken Speech, accord all due honor to the Clear lighted, and right hearted Elizabeth Herrick.2 The omission is only in my printed Speech— The correction Shall be made in the pamphlet edition—which I am about to publish. Oh! yes—do let us have a National Liberty Party Convention3—Let us have a Strong Call—We must leave the free Soilers4 and garrisonians5—to uphold their own Standards—and Stand on our own ground—. You have but to Speak the word—to have a grand convention here—and here is the place to have it. Do you, my dear Sir, write the Call—No other

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man muSt write the Call for the Liberty Party—while Gerrit Smith lives and is able to wield a pen. Most truly yourS, Always, FRED. DOUGLASS ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. The speech that Douglass refers to was delivered to the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society on 19 March 1855 at Corinthian Hall. Douglass had delivered versions of this lecture, entitled “The Anti-Slavery Movement,” many times that winter to audiences in New England, Pennsylvania, and New York. He printed a text of the speech in his weekly on 23 March 1855, and later had it republished as a pamphlet. While Douglass failed to credit the contribution of Elizabeth Heyrick to abolitionism in his newspaper account of the speech, he did add a reference to her in the pamphlet’s text. FDP, 23 March 1855; Frederick Douglass, The Anti-Slavery Movement: A Lecture by Frederick Douglass, Before the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society (Rochester, 1855), 13. 2. The English Quaker Elizabeth Heyrick (c. 1769–1831) wrote the pamphlet Immediate, Not Gradual Abolition; or An Inquiry into the Shortest, Safest, and Most Effectual Means of Getting Rid of West Indiana Slavery (London, 1824). C. Duncan Rice, The Rise and Fall of Black Slavery (New York, 1975), 254. 3. In a public letter dated 4 April 1855, published later in this volume, Douglass joined Gerrit Smith and six other abolitionist veterans in a call for a Radical Political Abolitionist Convention to be held in Syracuse, New York, on 26–28 June 1855. FDP, 13 April 1855. 4. Members of the political organization, founded in Buffalo, New York, in August 1848, worked to resist the further extension of slavery into western territories of the United States. The group ran candidates for national office under the label Free Soil party in 1848 and Free Democratic party in 1852, as well as candidates for state and local office in the same era. Blue, The Free Soilers, 70–80, 169. 5. In May 1840, the American abolitionist movement divided into hostile, competing factions. The Boston editor William Lloyd Garrison led the most perfectionist-inclined group, most of whose members abandoned the nation’s religious and political institutions for being hopelessly corrupted by tolerance toward slavery. Garrison’s followers, who retained control of the American Anti-Slavery Society, were popularly referred to as “Garrisonians.” McKivigan, War against Proslavery Religion, 56–92.

RUSSELL LANT CARPENTER1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Birkenhead, [Eng.] 13 April [1855].

Dear Sir:— I take advantage of an opportunity, to send you a few thoughts, which have been long in my mind. Slavery is maintained in a variety of ways, and it is desirable that there should be a corresponding variety in the methods of assailing it. Liberty is promoted by liberty of action, liberty of thought, and liberty of conscience: it is endangered, when we malign or disparage those who exercise their right to differ from us. I fully believe in the honesty and talent

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of abolitionists who are much opposed to each other; if they cannot agree, let them, at least, cease from the injurious and unchristian practice of mutual recrimination.—Conflicts between those who have been friends are always painful and humiliating; and where even victory is a grief, flight is the truest honor. There are many who will be rejoiced, when you no longer admit into your columns attacks upon those to whom humanity is greatly indebted, though they have their share of human imperfections. In the judgment of impartial readers, those will show themselves the best friends of Freedom, who rise superior to provocation, and hasten to display that forbearance and love, without which Freedom itself is a doubtful and short-lived blessing. Yours, respectfully, RUSSELL LANT CARPENTER2 PLSr: FDP, 4 May 1855. 1. The Reverend Russell Lant Carpenter (1816–92), a Unitarian minister, spent his childhood in Bristol, England. He attended Bristol College in preparation for a life of ministry, continued his studies at Manchester and York colleges, and in 1840 became one of the first to graduate from London University. Because of his deep involvement in the temperance movement, Carpenter quit his pastorate at Bridgwater, England, since part of the church’s endowment came from taverns selling liquors. In August 1849 he journeyed to the United States, where he spent a full year preaching from Montreal to St. Louis to Boston. His father, Lant Carpenter, was a well-known teacher whose Unitarian writings were known to the antislavery men of the day. Russell Carpenter became acquainted with Garrison, Douglass, and others. He married in 1853 after returning to England, and continued his ministerial work there until his death. His works include an edited volume about his father’s life, Memoirs of the Life of the Rev. Lant Carpenter, LL.D. (1842); Discourses and Devotional Services (1849); A Monotessaron (1851); and a biography of his brother, Philip, Memoirs of the Life and Work of Philip Pearsall Carpenter (1880). Carpenter contributed frequently to the Inquirer and other periodicals. London Inquirer, 30 January 1892. 2. Douglass follows Carpenter’s letter by commending his philosophical approach to the contentious differences between abolitionist groups. He praises Carpenter’s approach while adding that he believes it necessary to continue to fight against exclusive abolitionist groups.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO CHARLES SUMNER Rochester[, N.Y.] 24 April 1855.

Hon Chas Sumner. My dear Sir, There were two points in your address, which grated a little on my ear at the moment, and to which I would have Called your attention immediately after the its delivery in Rochester had opportunity permitted. The first claimed that mr Garrison originated the preSent Anti Slavery

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movement—a claim which I do not regard as well grounded and I think I have succeeded in Showing this in a lecture recently delivered in Rochester1 and in Several other places during the past winter. Mr Garrison found the Anti Slavery movement already in existence when he stepped to the Side of Benjamin Lundy2 in Baltimore. The second point was your very gaurded disclaimer, touching the Social elevation of the Colored [illegible]. It seemed to me that, considering the obStinate and persecuting Character of Ameri can prejudice against color, and the readiness with which those who entertain it avail themselves of every implication in its favor, your remark on that point was un fortunate. I may be a little SenSative on the Subject of our Social position. I think I have become more so of late, because I have detected, in some of my old Comrades, Something like a falling away from their first Love, touching the recognition of the entire manhood and Social equality of the Colored people. I do not mean by this, that every Colored man, without regard to his Character or attainments, Shall be recognised as socially equal to white people, who are in these respects Superior to him; but I do mean to say, that the Simple fact of Color Should not be the criterion, by which to ascertain, or to fix the Social Station of any. Let every man, with out regard to Color go wherever his Character and abilities naturally carry him. And further let there be no public opinion already to repelxx any who are in these respects fit for high Social position. For my own individual part as a Colored man, I have little of which to Complain. I have found mySelf Socially higher than I am placed politically. The most debased white man in Newyork is my Superior at the Ballot box—but not So in a social point of view. In the one Case Color is the Standard of fitness or unfitness in the other Character. I thank you, heartily, my dear Sir, for honoring me with the opportunity of dropping these Suggestions for your perusal. With the Spirit and manner of your noble address, I was not only pleased—but profoundly gratified—and I thank God that, talents and acquirements So high as yours, are devoted to the Service of my Crushed and bleading race. Believe me, My dear Sir Your faithful[]and grateful friend, FREDERICK DOUGLASS ALS: Charles Sumner Correspondence, MH-H. 1. A reference to Douglass’s “Anti-Slavery Movement” lecture given on 19 March 1855 in Corinthian Hall, which was sponsored by the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:14–51.

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2. The child of New Jersey Quakers, Benjamin Lundy (1789–1839) was trained in the saddler’s trade. After living for a time in western Virginia, Lundy moved to Ohio, where he joined Charles Osborn in the publication of a pioneering antislavery newspaper, the Philanthropist. In 1821 he began his own paper, the Genius of Universal Emancipation, which he published first in Greenville, Tennessee, then in Baltimore, and finally in Washington, D.C. Lundy’s associate editor while in Baltimore was the young and unknown William Lloyd Garrison. In the early 1830s, Lundy championed black colonization in Texas, which he visited three times. He later supplied valuable eyewitness information about conditions in Texas to congressmen who were battling against its annexation as a slave state. From 1836 to 1838 he edited the Philadelphia National Enquirer, an organ of the Pennsylvania State Anti-Slavery Society. In the last years of his life, Lundy moved to Illinois and revived publication of the Genius. Merton L. Dillon, Benjamin Lundy and the Struggle for Negro Freedom (Urbana, Ill., 1966); Frank Luther Mott, American Journalism: A History of Newspapers in the United States through 260 Years, 1690 to 1950, rev. ed. (New York, 1950), 206; ACAB, 4:4; NCAB, 2:20; DAB, 11:506–07.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO JAMES MCCUNE SMITH1 Rochester, N.Y. 2 July 1855.

Dear Friend: I have long entertained, as you very well know, a somewhat positive repugnance to writing or speaking anything for the public, which could, with any degree of plausibility, make me liable to the imputation of seeking personal notoriety, for its own sake. Entertaining that feeling very sincerely, and permitting its control, perhaps, quite unreasonably, I have often refused to narrate my personal experience in public anti-slavery meetings, and in sympathizing circles, when urged to do so by friends, with whose views and wishes, ordinarily, it were a pleasure to comply. In my letters and speeches, I have generally aimed to discuss the question of Slavery in the light of fundamental principles, and upon facts, notorious and open to all; making, I trust, no more of the fact of my own former enslavement, than circumstances seemed absolutely to require. I have never placed my opposition to slavery on a basis so narrow as my own enslavement, but rather upon the indestructible and unchangeable laws of human nature, every one of which is perpetually and flagrantly violated by the slave system. I have also felt that it was best for those having histories worth the writing—or supposed to be so—to commit such work to hands other than their own. To write of one’s self, in such a manner as not to incur the imputation of weakness, vanity, and egotism, is a work within the ability of but few; and I have little reason to believe that I belong to that fortunate few.

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These considerations caused me to hesitate, when first you kindly urged me to prepare for publication a full account of my life as a slave, and my life as a freeman. Nevertheless, I see, with you, many reasons for regarding my autobiography as exceptional in its character, and as being, in some sense, naturally beyond the reach of those reproaches which honorable and sensitive minds dislike to incur. It is not to illustrate any heroic achievements of a man, but to vindicate a just and beneficent principle, in its application to the whole human family, by letting in the light of truth upon a system, esteemed by some as a blessing, and by others as a curse and a crime. I agree with you, that this system is now at the bar of public opinion—not only of this country, but of the whole civilized world—for judgment. Its friends have made for it the usual plea— “not guilty;” the case must, therefore, proceed. Any facts, either from slaves, slaveholders, or by-standers, calculated to enlighten the public mind, by revealing the true nature, character, and tendency of the slave system, are in order, and can scarcely be innocently withheld. I see, too, that there are special reasons why I should write my own biography, in preference to employing another to do it. Not only is slavery on trial, but unfortunately, the enslaved people are also on trial. It is alleged, that they are, naturally, inferior; that they are so low in the scale of humanity, and so utterly stupid, that they are unconscious of their wrongs, and do not apprehend their rights. Looking, then, at your request, from this stand-point, and wishing everything of which you think me capable to go to the benefit of my afflicted people, I part with my doubts and hesitation, and proceed to furnish you the desired manuscript; hoping that you may be able to make such arrangements for its publication as shall be best adapted to accomplish that good which you so enthusiastically anticipate. FREDERICK DOUGLASS. PLSr: Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 2:5–6. 1. The “Friend” to whom Douglass addressed this letter appears to be the author of the introduction to My Bondage and My Freedom, James McCune Smith.

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JULIA GRIFFITHS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Ship Yorkshire,1 [n.p.] 2 July 1855.

My Dear Friend :— As we are now two thousands miles on our way to England, I may venture to commence the letter to you that I propose mailing when I reach Liverpool. Sure I am that you will be desirous to know how it fares with me on the waters of the wide Atlantic, in the good “ship Yorkshire,”—what manner of people my fellow-passengers are? [A]nd what kind of weather we have had since leaving New York? We sailed, you will remember, on the 18th of June,2 and, with the exception of the first day, the wind has been favorable; but so light have been the breezes, and so smooth the sea, that our ship has been gliding as calmly over the placid waters, as if life were one entire holiday, and we disciples of the dolce far niente. You know how thoroughly I enjoy the sea, whether I behold it shimmering in the sunlight, or darkly heaving in the storm; but I really scarcely realized, until Saturday last, that I “was once more upon sea waters—yet once more! ”3 for Lake Ontario, on a summer’s day, could not be more tranquil than this same old ocean was for twelve days—and on we glided, somewhat monotonously it must be owned, and somewhat slowly, but safely and surely, encountering only fog and drizzling rain while off the banks of Newfoundland—meeting several sailing vessels. [A]nd schooners— seeing porpoises in abundance, and a few beautiful nautilasses—and being followed by a swarm of Mother Carey’s chickens.” 4 Before I tell you what occurred on Saturday to diversify the scene, I will give a brief sketch of my fellow-passengers. The first cabin passengers are only twelve in number; so with the Captain5 and the ship doctor, we form a snug little party. We are composed of many [illegible] and we speak several languages; English, Irish, Scotch, Southerners, Yankees, and Swedes are all here; and for the most part, they are good representatives of their respective countries. In the Swedes I am greatly interested. The family comprizes a lady and gentleman and a gem of a baby. They are returning to their father land, after spending a year or two in the States; they are well acquainted with Miss Bremer,6 and admire her as a woman, more than as a writer. Like many others, I am inclined to think they are disappointed with her American book7—indeed, they say, that [illegible] as she was, from house to house, and expected and prepared for every where, and known to be a writer, it is no wonder that all of her impressions

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of people and things are couleur de rose.8 [A]nd that she appears to take a wise discrimination in the judgments she passed.—By the way Mr. and Mrs. Sow gren are well acquainted with your excellent friend, Mr. Christian Donaldson,9 and were introduced to you in Cincinnati last year; but, as you have thousands of introductions every season, it is not likely that you remember them. The young Swedish lady, now accompanying them to Stockholm, is somewhat of a heroine, altho’ she is far too modest and unassuming to think herself one. She has travelled through the United States, for the most part alone; and having a highly cultivated mind, a keen discrimination, and a sober judgement, she is not carried away by the brilliancy of the surface of things, but can reject the dross, while she accepts the pure gold. In her sweet, pure, unsophisticated nature, her strong good sense, her self-forgetfulness, and her courage, she reminds me of some of Miss Bremer’s Swedish portraitures.10 Need I say that such a person as I have described must prove a remarkably interesting companion? She is in delicate health, and has been four years absent from her native land, and her much loved home. By the way, she has just finished reading the Proof sheets11 of a certain work not unknown to you; and she expects that a great sensation will be made by the publication of Frederick Douglass “Life as a SLAVE.” A young Irish lady, returning home after a protracted visit in the States—and a pleasing intelligent Scotch lady, who is taking her deaf and dumb, and only little child to Berlin, to consult some eminent Doctors there, in the hope of obtaining a cure for the malady—two young Virginian ladies, one beautiful, one witty—both well educated—frank, natural, and unspoiled—leaving home for the first time, to spend a year or two with English relative—a rich Louisiana gentleman, a confirmed dyspeptic travelling with his nephew, (a good-natured indolent young man,) and his son, (a bright, intelligent, “Paul Dombey”12 kind of boy complete the number of my fellow passengers. But the most important person in the ship is omitted; and I must not forget the Captain—Charles Alonzo Marshall. Although quite young, he is an experienced sailor, having been at sea from a child. His face is very much the index to his character. He is upright, downright, and straightforward, often speaking rough words but really kind-hearted. “His bark is muckle waur than his bite.”13 He brags much of being a Yankee; and often seizes occasion for denouncing England—dear, old England! His sympathies, of course, are pro Russia,14 I don’t think he knows his own reason for this sympathy—for he probably has never taken five minutes’ time to analyze them. But he is a generous, good natured man—very hospitable at his table—and in manner, so like

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some of our English, blunt-spoken sailors, that I am generally, more inclined to laugh at what he says, than to quarrel with him for saying it. He has a beaming smile, and a rich, sonorous bass voice: the latter (strange as it may seem) often reminds me in tone of H. Ward Beecher.15 Captain Marshall is much liked, and highly respected by the officers and crew of his ship; and this is the surest test of character. But the doctor--oh!-the doctor—how can I describe the doctor? I wished for Dickens16 last evening, so much, to sketch (in his own inimitable way) a picture that presented itself.—If I tried every hand at it, I might not succeed, and should only fill much paper, and occupy much time to no purpose. Suffice it to say, the doctor is, in every way, a very small specimen of a man—great only in his own estimation, and in the amount of his egotism, and entirely lacking in true magnanimity and generosity.—I was not long in discovering his contempt and aversion for the “Darkies,”17 (as he termed;) nor did the manifestations of his desire to cater to Southern prejudices, and to applaud Southern institutions, pass unnoticed. He is ever ready to have a fling at the English. In this he has evinced a sad want of wisdom, as well as of taste; for a large majority of our country are strongly attached to the old country, and where he has sought to ingratiate he has missed the mark as widely, and justly as have some who sought and sought in vain for the Presidency. The officers of the ship are extremely civil and obliging. The first mate (Mr. Williams)18 is, universally, liked by the passengers; and we have an exceedingly kind stewardess.—From all this, you will see that I have reason to congratulate myself on obtaining a passage in the good ship “Yorkshire.” I did not say that the Louisiana gentleman is a large and wealthy slaveholder; report says he purchased twenty thousand dollars’ worth of slaves the day before he sailed. He is a thorough gentleman, mild and gentle in his manners, but in miserable health; and consequently so much confined to his state room that conversing with him for any length of time is impossible. One afternoon, he gave me an account of his “black people,” as he calls them, (he does not say slaves,) and tried to show me how happy and comfortable they are. He said that, before leaving home he had himself given every single slave four new suits of clothes; and he solemnly affirmed that every gentleman in Louisiana would be shut out of all good society who did not well feed, clothe, and lodge “his servants.” He said, moreover, that the laws of the State of Louisiana19 do not permit the separation of families; and that slavery there is more like

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“serfdom in Russia;”20 and then he asserted that the master, when he is absent, does not leave his overseer in the possession of unlimited power over the servants. I must do him the justice to say that he spoke with all kindness of his servants, and entered into the particulars of his arrangements for their comfort. He expressed himself more in sorrow than in anger about “the books that have been written to give false impressions on the subject.” I told him that Frederick Douglass was an intimate friend of mine.—After that announcement we spoke but little.—He felt, doubtless, that though he might gainsay “Uncle Tom,”21 as a mere fiction, Frederick Douglass was a fact undeniable. My experience of the last fortnight convinces me, more than ever, that when the Northerners are true to their convictions—true to themselves—true to the principles laid down in their glorious “Declaration of Independence”—when they shall cease to fawn upon, and to flatter the South—when they shall refuse to smile smoothly upon its beloved and “most peculiar institution”22 —when they shall decline to do the bidding of their Southern taskmasters, and no longer aid and abet them in their system of iniquity—when the mist shall roll away from before their eyes, and they shall be enabled to see for themselves, what every one else now sees for them, that the negroes are no greater slaves than they—in a word, when they shall stand up, as men, and with gallant spirits, and true hearts, re-assert their belief that “all men are created equal”23—when they shall practically carry out this creed of human brotherhood, by doing to all men as they would be done unto, then and then only, will they be free from the sin of Slavery, and exempt from participation in those awful denunciations, which a God of Justice has pronounced against all oppressors. But, alas! I am dreaming of a far off millennium, and “Awakening with a start, The waters heave around me; and on high The winds lift up their voices”—24 [A]nd over this glorious ocean we are flying at the speed of twelve knots an hour, in delightful compensation for the tediousness of the first part of our voyage. On Friday evening, after sunset, the hitherto smooth surface of the sea became disturbed—the night was dark, and we had our first experience of “the Atlantic roll.”25 When we arose on Saturday morning, the waters were of ink, and the sky of lead—all looked portentous. By mid-day the anticipated storm raged in full fury—the maddened waves dashed around us on every side, in foaming breakers, and with ceaseless

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war. Happily the wind was in our favor; so, though our good ship “Yorkshire” rolled from side to side, to the terror of some, the discomfort of others, and the enjoyment of a few, we had the satisfaction of knowing that we were rushing onward. Rumour says, that, in forty-eight consecutive hours, we went seven hundred miles; but some of us think that five hundred and fifty are nearer the mark. Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights have been wakeful ones to most of us, I assure you; and it has been amusing to hear of the plans devised for fixing us securely in our berths. I am, in this respect, a lucky wight,26 for I have the best state-room in the ship, all to myself, and when I fear being tossed out of the upper berth, I can use the lower one.—This morning, however, the sea has greatly decreased—the sun is shining—we are going at eight knots27 an hour—and now speculations are endless as to when we shall arrive in Liverpool? Tomorrow is “Independence day,”28 and it will be duly celebrated on board our patriotic ship, by firing of revolvers, and shooting of crackers! Except something very unexpected occur, worthy of narration, I shall not resume this somewhat dull epistle until I have, once more, beheld “Albion’s white cliffs.”29 I trust that you and your readers will bear with my tediousness, and will be kind enough to remember that to be the inmate of a rocking ship at sea, does not tend very much to promote clearness of vision, originality of ideas, nor facility of expression.—You and they must be so good as to take the will for the deed—and, to believe my assurance, that it will be a sincere pleasure to me to continue, during my temporary absence from Rochester, my connection with my many kind friends, through the columns of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. My interesting Swedish friend (Miss Rosalie Roos)30 has just placed in my hands some lines, which she has written for my album. They are not only beautiful, but so appropriate to my surroundings, that I shall take the liberty of here transcribing them, in the belief that they will serve to grace my matter-of-fact epistle: Between the icebergs of the north, and zones Clad by the sun in ever verdant foliage, What constant change in climate, nature, tones, In people, manners, customs, and in language— Yes! different countries fatherland we call, One is the ocean—it belongs to all. Together we’ve been rocked upon its waves, Admired its mighty beauty and its grandeur,

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Have seen it gilt by evening’s brilliant rays, Have seen it rise and fall in foaming splendour— Our fatherlands approach eve[r] more and more— Thou go’st to Albion—I to Swea’s shore. But trackless is the way we now have made; Shall thus its mem’ry die without a token, A misty vision that will sink and fade, A meteor that shines soon to be broken? No—faithfully ’tis written in my heart— Not time, not distance shall it from me part. July 9th.— I resume briefly. Off Cape Clear.31 Yesterday, at noon, we first heard the cry of “land, land,” and soon we dimly discerned (through the captain’s glass) a thin line of something that was neither sea nor sky. We had passed Cape Clear early in the morning, but it was not visible. The wind was light, through the day, but favorable, and the sea, last evening, had scarcely a ripple on its surface. Last night, we saw the light house of “Old Kinsale.”32 We were all in high spirits; and hopes were entertained that, if the breezes freshened, and the wind continued favorable, we might be in Liverpool by to-morrow morning. But, how rapidly come the changes in life at sea! Our course is suddenly arrested by the dreaded head wind, which meets us from the Bristol Channel; and from ten o’clock last night to eight o’clock this morning, we only travelled nine miles in the wrong direction. I feel thorough confidence in our captain, who is ever at his post, allowing himself little rest, and, no sleep at this juncture. Verily ‘tis no small responsibility that rests on the commander of a ship, freighted with so many human lives; and he who realizes this responsibility, must lead a life of great anxiety. Now, I must draw largely on my small stock of patience, and learn to wait, and that almost within sight of England. July 13th.—Before five o’clock this morning, I was awakened by voices shouting, “Holyhead! Holyhead!”33 and seldom have I heard more cheering sounds; for we have had three days’ perfect calm in the Channel, and very trying have some of us found it. Up I sprung—speedily was I on deck—and thence beheld the beautiful Welsh mountains, clothed with verdure, and irradiated by the soft sunshine of early morning. The sea has great charms for me—nevertheless, it is refreshing to feast one’s eyes once more on the green, green grass. We have passed the last two days and nights in much anxiety—for never has our captain known such a fog

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in the Channel—and we have been surrounded by vessels of all kinds; so, bells have been ringing, blue lights burning, and every precaution has been taken to prevent accident; but, “Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain;”34 and to Him who has preserved me from the perils of the deep do I desire to render thanksgiving. We have passed Point Linus,35 and the Pilot is on board. Now the steamboat is tugging us along, and before the “evening shades prevail,”36 we may hope to be in sight of Liverpool. I do not expect to set foot on land to-night though, for there is some difficulty in passing the bar, and then the custom house visitation is in store for us. So, as the steamer leaves for the United States to-morrow, I must e’en close this before I reach dry land, or it will miss the post and be delayed five or eight days. Scott’s37 beautiful lines have been ringing in my ears all day. Perhaps I have, for the first time, fully realized their ennobling sentiments contained in them: “Breathes there a man with soul so dead, Who never to himself has said, This is my own, my native land? Whose heart has ne’er within him burned, When home his footsteps he has turned, From wand’ring on a foreign strand?”38 Excuse the too apparent marks of haste. Very truly yours, JULIA GRIFFITHS. PLSr: FDP, 10 August 1855. 1. The Yorkshire was a 996-ton sailing packet constructed in 1843 for the New York City–based Black Ball Line by the shipyard of William H. Webb of the same city. Edwin L. Dunbaugh and William D. Thomas, William H. Webb: Shipbuilder (Glen Cove, N.Y., 1989), 34–35, 162. 2. The press reported that the Yorkshire departed New York City on 18 June 1855. Boston Daily Advertiser, 20 June 1855. 3. This snippet is a near quotation from Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, canto 3, stanza 2: “Once more upon the waters! Yet once more!” Byron, Complete Poetical Works of Lord Byron, 2:77. 4. Eighteenth-century sailors referred to stormy petrels, small seabirds, as Mother Carey’s chickens. According to legend, the stormy petrel carries the soul of a dead seaman, and its presence is said to be a warning of an approaching storm. Sailors were cautioned against killing petrels for fear that doing so would bring them bad luck. J. C. Cooper, Symbolic and Mythological Animals (London, 1992), 218. 5. Charles Alonzo Marshall (?–1872) was the nephew of Charles H. Marshall, owner of the Black Ball Line of North Atlantic steamships. He died while captaining a ship named for his uncle on a voyage from Liverpool to London, after which Polish immigrant passengers complained of mistreatment by the ship’s crew. New York Times, 27 May 1869, 31 August 1872; Richard C. McKay, South Street: A Maritime History of New York (Riverside, Conn., 1934), 196–97.

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6. Fredrika Bremer (1801–65), a Swedish novelist, is best remembered for Hertha, or the Story of a Soul (1856), in which she explores the relationship between an overbearing father and an independent-minded daughter, and the need for women’s liberation. Bremer spent 1849 to 1851 traveling in North America, stopping in Rochester to visit Douglass in October 1850. NS, 3 October 1850; Charlotte Bremer, ed., Life, Letters, and Posthumous Works of Fredrika Bremer (New York, 1868), 1–116; Bruce Murphy, ed., Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, 4th ed. (New York, 1996), 33. 7. During her American tour, Fredrika Bremer wrote extensive letters to her sister Agathe, commenting on matters of everyday life, including slavery. Her letters were published as The Homes of the New World: Impressions of America (New York: 1853). Bremer, Fredrika Bremer, 80–88. 8. Rose colored; the phrase implies an effort to see things in a positive light or with romantic embellishments. 9. Christian Donaldson (c.1795–?) migrated from England to Clermont County, Ohio, where he farmed. In 1829 he started a successful hardware business in Cincinnati with his younger brother William. Both men became founding members of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society in 1835 and served on its executive committee. The Donaldson brothers assisted James G. Birney in the establishment of the abolitionist weekly the Philanthropist. Christian changed his religious affiliation from Congregationalist to Unitarian in protest of the former’s tolerance of slaveholding. After William returned to England in 1844, Christian returned to Clermont County and worked with his brother Thomas on the Underground Railroad. Charles T. Greve, Centennial History of Cincinnati and Representative Citizens, 2 vols. (Chicago, 1904), 1:753, 795–96; Byron Williams, History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio, 2 vols. (Milford, Ohio, 1913), 2:266–71. 10. Bremer’s early novels and collections of sketches focused on the problems faced by single women striving for independence in early nineteenth-century Swedish society. Bremer, Fredrika Bremer, 77–80, 113–16. 11. This is more than likely a reference to My Bondage and My Freedom, which would be published the following month. Given the close relationship, both personally and professionally between Griffiths and Douglass, and the high probability that Griffiths was the anonymous author of that work’s Editor’s Preface, it is quite possible that she would have had a proof copy of the unpublished work available to lend to Rosalie Roos, a Swedish passenger, as they crossed the Atlantic. Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 2:288. 12. A character in Charles Dickens’s serialized 1846 novel, Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation. The young Paul Dombey, named for his father, was timid and sickly. He died at an early age while at boarding school. Gilbert A. Pierce, The Dickens Dictionary: A Key to the Plots and Characters in the Tales of Charles Dickens (1914; New York, 1965), 288–89. 13. The quoted phrase comes from Sir Walter Scott’s The Antiquary, first published in 1816: “ ‘Monkbarn’s bark,’ said Miss Griselda Oldbuck in confidential intercourse with Miss Rebecca Blattergowl, ‘is muckle waur than his bite.’ “ Sir Walter Scott, The Antiquary (1816; London, 1966), 210. 14. An allusion to divided international sympathies caused by the Crimean War (1854–56). The conflict originated in a diplomatic contest between Russia and France to secure protective powers over Christian holy places and the Christian population of the Ottoman Empire. To force concessions, Tsar Nicholas I sent troops into Turkey’s Danubian provinces in July 1853. Earlier, Nicholas had informed the British that should negotiations fail, he planned to wage war and partition Turkey. Confident that England and France ultimately would intervene to preserve the European balance of power, the sultan declared war on Russia in October 1853. A month later, the Turks suffered a major defeat in the naval battle of Sinope. When further efforts at mediation failed, Britain and France declared war on Russia on 28 March 1854. In September, an Anglo-French army launched an invasion of Russia’s Crimean Peninsula that climaxed in a yearlong siege of the port of Sebastopol. The war, incompetently managed and fought, ended in early 1856 when the new tsar, Alexander II, agreed

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to withdraw from the Balkans and respect the neutrality of the Black Sea. W Baring Pemberton, Battles of the Crimean War (New York, 1962), 15–26; Robert C. Binkley, Realism and Nationalism, 1852–1871 (New York, 1935), 157–80. 15. Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87), fourth son of the Presbyterian clergyman Lyman Beecher and brother of antislavery novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe, was the noted pastor of Brooklyn’s Plymouth Church for forty years. After his graduation from Amherst College in 1834, Beecher studied at Lane Theological Seminary and served as pastor of Presbyterian churches in Lawrenceburg and Indianapolis, Indiana, before becoming minister at Plymouth Church in 1847. Committed to making the church an active instrument of social reform, Beecher addressed the major social and political issues of his time in forceful and dramatic sermons that established him as one of the century’s major orators. Though he denounced the evil of slavery, he denied that a constitutional basis existed for interfering with the institution in states where it already existed. Instead, Beecher urged that its exclusion from the territories would achieve abolition gradually and peacefully. His theology, minimizing doctrinal differences, stressed the religious worth of personal loyalty to Christ, and in 1882 he led his church out of the Congregational denomination. In addition to writing extensively for the secular press, Beecher edited two widely read religious journals, the New York Independent (1861–63) and the Christian Union (1870–81). The New York Congregational journalist Theodore Tilton accused Beecher of having an adulterous relation with Tilton’s wife; the allegation was made public in 1872. Beecher’s reputation survived three years of public discussion, a criminal trial, a civil trial, and an examination of the charge by the Congregational council. Caskey, Chariot of Fire, 208–48; NCAB, 3:129–30; DAB, 2:129–35. 16. Charles Dickens. 17. The first known use of the term “darky” to describe people of African descent appears in a 1775 Revolutionary War song entitled “Trip to Cambridge”: “The women ran, and the darkeys too.” Frank Moore, Songs and Ballads of the American Revolution (New York, 1856), 100. 18. John E. Williams (1816–1901), a sailing officer born in Mystic, Connecticut, was immortalized in a chorus of the sea shanty “Blow the Man Down” as “Kicking Jack Williams commands the Black Ball.” Williams achieved fame in 1860 for commanding the clipper Andrew Jackson of the Black Ball Line on a record-breaking voyage from New York City to San Francisco. Graham Seal, introduction to Ten Shanties Sung on the Australian Run, comp. George H. Haswell (1879; Mt. Hawthorn, Wash., 1992), n.p.; Charles F. Burgess, ed., Historic Groton: Comprising Historic and Descriptive Sketches (Moosup, Conn., 1909), 85. 19. Passed by France in 1724, Louisiana’s original Code Noir (Black Code) provided some legal protection to slave families. The separation of spouses was prohibited, as was the removal of children under the age of fourteen from their parents. Under Spanish rule (1762–1800), Louisiana’s slaves continued to receive some measure of protection. In the years following the Louisiana Purchase (1803), however, a series of slave codes curtailed all such legal protection offered to families. By 1829 the prohibition against separating husbands and wives was no longer in effect, and the age at which children could be sold away from their mothers had been lowered to under the age of ten. Clayton E. Jewett and John O. Allen, Slavery in the South: A State-by-State History (London, 2004), 129–31; Michael Tadman, Speculators and Slaves: Masters, Traders, and Slaves in the Old South (Madison, Wisc., 1989), 142. 20. Making up 80 percent of the population, Russian serfs were not slaves, although they could be bought and sold along with the estates they worked and lived on. In Russia, many serfs were able to exercise considerable freedom of choice in both how they farmed the land set aside for their own use and in determining how best to manage affairs in their villages. Russia’s serfs, nonetheless, lacked full civil and political rights. They were required by law to either pay rents or provide labor to their lords in exchange for access to the land. Most significantly, they were also prohibited from either selling their allotments or moving away from them. Serfdom in Russia was abolished by the Emancipation Edict of February 1861. Edward Acton, “Russia: Tsarism and the West,” in Themes in

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Modern European History, 1830–90, ed., Bruce Waller (London, Eng., 1990), 164–66, 169; David Christian, Imperial and Soviet Russia: Power, Privilege, and the Challenge of Modernity (New York, 1997), 56–58; Gildea, Barricades and Borders, 17, 155, 158–59, 183–84. 21. Published in March 1852, Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin had sold 300,000 copies by the end of that year and quickly became an international sensation. Both the novel and the novelist, however, proved to be controversial, and both were subjected to intense criticism. The Southern response was particularly harsh—one critic wrote that Stowe was “much more conversant than the majority of Southern gentlemen with moral corruption,” and another noted that the novel represented “the loathsome raking of a foul fancy.” The charges leveled against Stowe and Uncle Tom’s Cabin included complaints about the style and the accuracy of the writing, and allegations that the author’s conduct was unfeminine and motivated by a combination of malice and greed. In response to her critics, Stowe published A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1853. John R. Adams, Harriet Beecher Stowe: Updated Edition (Boston, 1989), 39–40; Hedrick, Harriet Beecher Stowe, 223, 230–32. 22. Although the origin of the term “peculiar institution” as a euphemism for Southern slavery remains unclear, John C. Calhoun is generally credited with introducing it into public discourse. In December 1828, Calhoun referred to South Carolina’s “peculiar institutions” in what is commonly known as his “Exposition and Protest.” Over the following decade, “peculiar institution” gained wide acceptance as a means of referring to slavery throughout the South. John C. Calhoun, Union and Liberty: The Political Philosophy of John C. Calhoun, ed. Ross M. Lence (Indianapolis, Ind., 1992), 364, 461. 23. From the preamble to the Declaration of Independence. 24. Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, canto 3, stanza 1. Byron, Complete Poetical Works of Lord Byron, 2:77. 25. The “Atlantic roll” refers to the rocking, pitching, and rolling motion that passengers experienced while sailing the rough waters of the Atlantic Ocean. An Atlantic roll could be experienced while crossing a bay, a channel, or the wider ocean. For many passengers, encountering an Atlantic roll was tantamount to the onset of seasickness. Others, however, found the experience exhilarating. Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Eng.) Newcastle Courant, 14 October 1859; Sheffield (Eng.) Sheffield & Rotherham Independent, 20 January 1876; Aberdeen (Scot.) Aberdeen Journal, 18 June 1873; London Daily News, 19 December 1874; London Morning Post, 2 January 1900. 26. A Middle English word for a creature or sentient being. 27. A knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, approximately 1.151 mph. Therefore, 8 knots an hour equals 9.208 miles per hour. 28. 4 July 1855. 29. Albion’s “white cliffs” are on the southern shore of Great Britain. Albion, meaning “white,” was the ancient Celtic name for the British Isles, given on account of the physical characteristics of the chalky white cliffs of the southern shore. Seltzer, Gazetteer of the World, 36. 30. Rosalie Roos (1823–98) born in Stockholm, Sweden, was a poet, educator, and feminist. Roos came to America to teach at Limestone College, in Gaffney, South Carolina, between the years 1851 and 1855. The diary she kept while there was later published as Travels in America. Upon termination of her teaching position, she returned to Sweden and married Knut Olivecrona, a lawyer and jurist. She is best remembered for her work for women’s rights in her native country. Rosalie Roos, Travels in America, 1851–1855, trans. Carl L. Anderson (Carbondale, Ill., 1982). 31. Cape Clear is the southernmost point in County Cork. Seltzer, Gazetteer of the World, 373. 32. A seaport town on the southern coast of Ireland in Cork County. Seltzer, Gazetteer of the World, 951. 33. A coastal town on the western side of Wales in the county of Anglesey. Seltzer, Gazetteer of the World, 296. 34. Ps. 127:1. 35. Located in North Anglesey, Wales, Point Lynas is the site of the lighthouse in the district of Amlwch. Seltzer, Gazetteer of the World, 62.

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36. The phrase “evening shades prevail” is taken from an untitled ode by Joseph Addison published in the 23 August 1712 issue of the London Spectator. The Spectator: Stereotype Edition, 2 vols. (1832; London, 1836), 534. 37. Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832), Scottish poet and novelist, was one of the most prominent British authors of the early nineteenth century. Roderick Dhu, Ellen Douglas, and her father, Lord James of Douglas—a medieval Scottish chieftain—are the principal characters. Sir Walter Scott, The Complete Poetical Works of Scott (Boston, 1900), 152–208; John Lauber, Sir Walter Scott, rev. ed. (Boston, 1989), 1–6; Frank N. Magill, Critical Survey of Poetry: English Language Series, rev. ed., 8 vols. (Pasadena, Calif., 1992), 6:2903–12; Margaret Drabble, ed., The Oxford Companion to English Literature, 5th rev. ed. (New York, 1998), 542, 875–76. 38. Sir Walter Scott, The Lay of the Last Minstrel, canto 6, stanza 1. Scott, Complete Poetical Works, 74.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 18 July 1855.

My dear Friend— Your note1 with five Dolls came safely to hand. We arrived safely at home—all the better for our visit at your home, Mrs Douglass2—has been unwell since reaching home—but is better to day. I am right glad you caught Mr Pierpont3 and have taken him to Peterboro—I should greatly like to be seated in a corner of your study & to hear the many good things which will fall from the lips of two men of so great experience. I hope you will talk about the Boston Convention4 —I am busy at work on my book—It is more of a Job than at first I supposed it would be—and I am beginning to be weary of it—Remember me most kindly and gratefully to MrS Gerrit Smith5—tell her that my wife is all the better for having seen her and joins me fully in love to her— With great respect and affection—yours— FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. No note or letter from Gerrit Smith matching this description has survived. 2. Anna Murray Douglass (c. 1813–82), Douglass’s first wife, was born free in Denton, Maryland. She was the eighth child of Bambarra and Mary Murray, slaves who had been manumitted shortly before her birth. At seventeen she moved to Baltimore, where she worked as a domestic and met Douglass at meetings of the East Baltimore Mental Improvement Society. In 1838, Murray helped Douglass finance his escape, and she joined him in New York City, where they were married on 15 September. During Douglass’s first tour of the British Isles (1845–47), she remained in Lynn, Massachusetts, where she supported the family by binding shoes. She gained a reputation for frugality and skillful household management, qualities that would contribute greatly to her family’s financial prosperity over the years. A member of the Lynn Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society and a regular participant in the annual antislavery bazaars in Boston, she continued her antislavery activities after

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moving to Rochester in 1847. Unlettered, reserved, and, according to her husband, never completely at ease in white company, she seldom appeared at public functions with Douglass. She was nevertheless affectionately remembered by her husband’s associates as a “warm” and “hospitable” hostess at their home. On 9 July 1882, Anna Douglass suffered an attack of paralysis in Washington, D.C., and died there on 4 August. Lib., 18 November, 2 December 1853; Philadelphia Christian Recorder, 20 July 1882; Washington (D.C.) Post, 5 August 1882; Rosetta Douglass Sprague, My Mother as I Recall Her: A Paper Delivered before the Anna Murray Douglass Union, W.C.T.U., May 10, 1900 (1900; Washington, D.C., 1923); Jane Marsh Parker, “Reminiscences of Frederick Douglass,” Outlook, 51:552–53 (6 April 1895); Dorothy Sterling, ed., We Are Your Sisters: Black Women in the Nineteenth Century (New York, 1984), 132–37; Julie R. Nelson, “The Best of Intentions: Anna Murray Douglass, Helen Pitts Douglass, and the Challenge of Social Equality,” Proteus: A Journal of Ideas, 12:39–42 (Spring 1995); Sylvia Lyons Render, “Afro-American Women: The Outstanding and the Obscure,” Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress, 32:306–10 (October 1975). 3. John Pierpont (1785–1866) was a poet and an activist Unitarian minister of Boston’s Hollis Street Church from 1819 to 1845. Douglass quoted Pierpont’s work in many speeches and writings and published this poem, composed in 1839, in the first issue of the North Star. He misquoted a line from the “The Fugitive Slave’s Apostrophe to the North Star” in a lecture to the New Lyceum in Manchester, New Hampshire, on 24 January 1854. Pierpont also appeared with Douglass and many luminaries of the abolitionist movement at the well-publicized fourteenth anniversary meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society on 9 May 1848 at the Broadway Tabernacle in New York City. NS, 3 December 1847; New York Daily Tribune, 9 May 1848; NASS, 11 May 1848; John Pierpont, The Anti-Slavery Poems of John Pierpont (Boston, 1843), 29–33; DAB, 14:586–87. 4. Possibly Douglass alludes to the planning for a “General Convention of Radical Political Abolitionists,” called for Boston on 23–25 October 1855. The call for this convention had been issued by a similarly named convention held in Syracuse on 26–28 June 1855. The earlier meeting had been attended by Douglass, Gerrit Smith, John Brown, James McCune Smith, William Goodell, and many other militant abolitionists, black and white. FDP, 28 September, 9 November 1855; Stauffer, Black Hearts of Men, 8–20. 5. Ann Carroll Fitzhugh Smith.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 14 Aug[ust] 1855[.]

Hon: Gerrit Smith. My dear Friend: It would have been quite compenSation enough to know that the dedication of my Book1 afforded you pleasure. That dedication was inSerted not to place you under obligations, nor to discharge my obligation to you, but rather to couple my poor name with a name I love and honor, and have it go down on the tide of time with the advantage of that name. Nevertheless, I gratefully accept your draft for fifty dollars—I do not know, just yet, what use I Shall make of it. I am ever disposed to prefer the useful to the ornamental, and shall no doubt find some useful purpose to which I may properly devote the money—

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My family are well and join me in kind regards to you and yours. I leave home tomorrow on a four weeks Campagn thorugh Niagara and Orleans Counties.2 I shall try to uphold the great principles of freedom as laid down by yourSelf, and Mr Goodell3 at the radical abolition Convention. Yours Most truly FREDERICK DOUGLASS ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Dedicated to Gerrit Smith, Douglass’s My Bondage and My Freedom, released in August 1855, tells the story of Douglass’s life as a slave, his escape, his first fourteen years as an abolitionist, his manumission, and his life a freeman, including his ventures in the printing business. The autobiography sold five thousand copies in the first two days of its release, at $1.25 per copy, and sold one thousand in Syracuse, New York, alone. The book required second and third printings in 1856 and 1857, and by the time of the release of the German edition in 1860, some twenty thousand copies had been sold. Despite the book’s limited initial circulation, it met with rave reviews and rivaled the popularity of his autobiographical Narrative. Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 2:xxx–xxxi. 2. Douglass toured central New York from 15 to 25 August 1855 in the company of William J. Watkins. After touring alone for two weeks, he attended the State Convention of Colored Men at Troy, New York, on 4–6 September 1855. FDP, August 1855; Douglass Papers, ser. 3, 3:xxii–xxiii. 3. William Goodell.

JOHN BROWN, JR.,1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Lawrence, Kansas Tr., 15 Aug[ust] 1855.

Friend Douglass : I reached this place yesterday to attend a Convention of the Free State men2 to take into consideration what means should be adopted by us in view of the present crisis in our political affairs, and though the weather has been very unfavorable, (rain every day for the past week and still raining,) yet a great number are here, and exceedingly in earnest to do something. Yesterday little more was done than accept the Report of the Business Committee.3 This morning the people in great numbers have gathered in the street and are discussing, what do you imagine? why the question which more than any other is to shake the free State party here to its very centre. I[t] is “Shall Kansas be a free White State only, or a State in which all shall have their rights protected irrespective of color?” There is a portion of the Free State party here who will recognize as a Free State only that which in letter and spirit will carry on the sublime principles of the Declaration of

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Independence; another, and perhaps larger portion, is in favor of making a free State for the white, while they would impose the most outrageous restrictions upon the colored man.4 I have said this is perhaps the largest portion of those calling themselves free State men.—Of this I am not certain; but, if they exceed [in] numbers, they do not equal in intellectual strength and discipline, and are wholly shorn of moral force. When the time comes for them to vote, the proclivities they now exhibit induce the belief that they will join the Slave State party. As usual in every great struggle between the Right and the Wrong, there is here a portion who say “let us drop all differences for the [illegible] of union, let us adopt a platform upon which all free State men can stand.” These would have us even sacrifice our most cherished anti-Slavery principles for the sake of gaining numbers. Col. Lane,5 formerly Member of Congress, [illegible] Indiana, is now addressing the Convention. He is endeavoring to extricate himself from the scrum which attaches to him here, far away, [illegible] to the very outskirts of civilization, for [having] voted in favor of the Kansas Nebraska [Bill]. He says, “I was so instructed to vote by my constituents, and as a faithful representative [am] bound to obey.”6 But this don’t take “away [out] west.” Mr. Schuyler7 of “Council City” has [illegible]ed to him, and he is “done for” in Kansas. The resolution now under discussion repudiates [a] so-called Legislature, and declares we will obey no law of its enacting. It has just passed unanimously. Another has just passed, declaring that we will resist by force the execution of [the] laws.8 Another resolution now before us calls for a Convention of delegates from the people to draft a State Convention for Kansas, and to ask for a speedy admission as a State. Upon this resolution, Col. Lane is now speaking. He says, “the line should be drawn as broad as the [ocean] between abolitionism and free Stateism.”9 As this is the sentiment of many here who [illegible] themselves “as good free State men as any body,” it is to be hoped that Anti-Slavery people at the East will, in their sympathies for the settlers of Kansas, make a just discrimination. It is certain that men pass here as good free State men, and at the same time are regarded by the pro-slavery party, as the Missourians say, all right on the goose question.”10 The last resolution referred to above has passed unanimously. Another resolution has passed approving the course of Gov. Reeder,11 and the Convention has adjourned sine die,12 but not without showing that the element of division, (the “Black law” question) though comparatively smothered, is yet sure to break out.

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Another Convention is now called to be held at a place known as Big Spring,13 12 or 15 miles above this, near the Kansas river. It was originally called by the “free white State” men in that region, and the intention is to adopt there a platform for the free State party of this Territory. While the “free white State” men loudly proclaim that they are most anxious to harmonize, and avoid any thing like division, it is perfectly evident that they are determined to secure a platform with such planks in it, that no consistent anti-Slavery man can stand upon it. I feel grieved to think that the ardent sympathies of anti-Slavery people at the North and East, and indeed of the world, are likely to be chilled if not entirely extinguished towards us, as a people, who, while struggling to defend our own rights, will consent to a scheme which robs our own fellow citizens of this republic of theirs, and that, too, in the most palpably unconstitutional manner. God grant that we may be saved from the infamy which must attach to us in the judgment of all who merit the name of freemen by so shaping our course that we shall by our united efforts promote the cause of Freedom, not that of despotism, under the specious name of the “Free State party of Kansas Territory!” Yours, for the Right, JOHN BROWN, JR. AUGUST 16TH.

P. S. I have to-day the happiness to find a much greater number of true anti-Slavery men among us than I yesterday feared, and that these are determined to maintain their principles in the trying hour. The Black Law question appears to have been sprung upon us at this juncture by those who not only hate the colored man but all lovers of Liberty for all. PLSr: FDP, 7 September 1855. 1. The eldest son of John Brown, John Brown, Jr. (1821–95), was born near Hudson, Ohio. In 1826 he moved with his family to Pennsylvania, where he was educated. Brown assisted his father in farming and tanning ventures until 1849, when the younger Brown began farming for himself in Ohio and lecturing on phrenology. In 1855 he joined the rest of his family in Kansas to fight in the Free-State cause. He was arrested and imprisoned for three months in Lecompton, Kansas, after his father killed five proslavery sympathizers in the Pottawatomie Creek massacre of May 1856. Although he assisted his father in raising funds and volunteers, the younger Brown played no active role in the raid on Harpers Ferry and went into hiding in Ashtabula, Ohio, immediately following his father’s capture. After rheumatism ended his brief service as captain of Company K, Seventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War, Brown retired to Ohio to raise grapes. Cleveland Press, 3 May 1895; Ohio Historical Society, Inventory and Calendar of the John Brown, Jr. Papers, 1830–1892 (Columbus, Ohio, 1962), 1–2; Richard J. Hinton, John Brown and His Men (1894; New York, 1968), 567; Oates, To Purge This Land, 140–45, 160, 173, 316. 2. Two simultaneous conventions met in Lawrence on 14–15 August 1855. The larger convention, led by James H. Lane and Charles Robinson, committed to organizing a Free-State party in a

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subsequent September convention at Big Springs. The second, more radical convention, attended by Brown, began organizing a rival Free-State government in opposition to the authority of the proslavery legislature recognized by the territorial governor, Andrew H. Reeder. Nicole Etcheson, Bleeding Kansas: Contested Liberty in the Civil War Era (Lawrence, Kans., 2004), 69–71; Oswald Garrison Villard, John Brown, 1800–1859, a Biography Fifty Years After, rev. ed. (New York, 1943), 102–03. 3. A committee chaired by Charles Robinson drafted the “Report of the Commission” created by the larger Lawrence gathering. It denounced the “bogus” territorial government and endorsed drafting a state constitution for Kansas’s admission to the Union that would prohibit slavery. Villard, John Brown, 102. 4. The Free-State party faction led by James H. Lane endorsed legislation to exclude all black immigration into the territory. When the party drafted the “Topeka Constitution” in late 1855, the document prohibited not only slavery but also free black settlement in the territory. A referendum on 15 December 1855 ratified the constitution overwhelmingly, including the exclusionary provision, by a vote of 1,287 to 453. Etcheson, Bleeding Kansas, 71, 75. 5. The flamboyant politician James Henry Lane (1814–66) was the son of Amos Lane, a prominent Indiana Democratic congressman and friend of Andrew Jackson. The younger Lane studied law under his father and followed him into Democratic party politics. After serving as a colonel of a volunteer regiment in the Mexican War, Lane was elected lieutenant governor of Indiana (1849–53) and then a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1853–55). He declined to run for a second congressional term when his vote in favor the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 generated considerable discontent among his constituents; he instead immigrated to the Kansas Territory. After failing to create a regular Democratic party organization in Kansas, Lane took a leading role in the free-state faction in territorial politics. He became an important militia commander of the free-staters, and in 1856 he established the “Jim Lane Trail” through Iowa to circumvent a blockade by Missourians. When Kansas was admitted to the Union in 1861, the legislature elected Lane to the U.S. Senate as a Republican. Without resigning that office, he briefly fought in Union army campaigns in the West and was among the first to recruit blacks as soldiers. Loudly condemned by most Kansas Republicans for having endorsed Andrew Johnson’s veto of the Civil Rights Bill of 1866, Lane became despondent and committed suicide. John Speer, Life of Gen. James H. Lane, “The Liberator of Kansas,” with Corroborative Incidents of Pioneer History, 2d ed. (Garden City, Kan., 1897); William Elsey Connelley, James Henry Lane: The “Grim Chieftain” of Kansas (Topeka, Kans., 1899); Glenn Noble, John Brown and the Jim Lane Trail (Broken Bow, Neb., 1977), 29–31, 43–50, 54–57; ACAB, 3:606; DAB, 10:576–78. 6. According to another report, Lane told the Lawrence Convention on the previous day that while he desired the Kansas Territory to become a free state, his faith in the principle of popular sovereignty would have guided him to vote for the Kansas-Nebraska Act again. He also denied that his former Indiana constituents would have rejected his bid for another term in Congress after that 1854 vote, had he sought it. Wakarusa Kansas Herald of Freedom, 18 August 1855; Etcheson, Bleeding Kansas, 71. 7. Douglass reported staying at the home of Philip Church Schuyler (1805–72) in Ithaca, New York, during the preceding July. He praised Schuyler as “not merely an abolitionist at the ballot box, but in all relations to life.” In 1855, Schuyler moved to Kansas and became active in the territory’s free-state movement. He founded the community of Burlingame in Osage County, Kansas. FDP, 30 July 1852, 22 September 1854, 27 July 1855; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 344. 8. These were the sentiments of the resolutions passed by the smaller, more radical convention in Lawrence. John Brown, Jr., was a member of the business committee that drafted those resolutions. Villard, John Brown, 102–03. 9. Another reporter at this Lawrence convention stated that Lane claimed both he and President Franklin Pierce hoped to see the Kansas Territory enter the Union as a free state, but also that he “would prefer to see Kansas a slave State in preference to seeing it an abolition State.” Wakarusa Kansas Herald of Freedom, 18 August 1855; Etcheson, Bleeding Kansas, 71.

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10. To be sound on the slavery question. Emmett Redd and Nicole Etcheson, “ ‘Sound On the Goose’: A Search for the Answer to an Age Old ‘Question,’ “ Kansas History, 32:204 (Autumn 2009). 11. The Pennsylvania lawyer Andrew Horatio Reeder (1807–64) was an active Democrat but never held elective political office. President Franklin Pierce appointed Reeder the first territorial governor of Kansas in June 1854. When Reeder objected to the participation of Missourians in the first election for a congressional delegate, Pierce removed him on the bogus charge of illegal land speculation. Thomas A. McMullen and David Walker, eds., Biographical Directory of American Territorial Governors (Westport, Conn., 1984), 161–62. 12. Adjournment sine die is from the Latin “without day,” meaning without assigning a future meeting date. 13. A “Free State Convention,” called by the larger convention at Lawrence, met at Big Springs, Kansas Territory, and officially organized a Free-State party, repudiated the proslavery legislature, and called for a convention to meet at Topeka on 19 September to draft a state constitution. Lane’s followers dominated and blocked endorsements of abolition and pushed for a prohibition of free black settlers in the territory. Andrew H. Reeder, recently dismissed as territorial governor by President Pierce, attended this convention and became the Free-State party’s candidate for congressional delegate. Allen Nevins, Ordeal of the Union, 2 vols. (New York, 1947), 2:306–11, 384–90; Potter, Impending Crisis, 199–204; Etcheson, Bleeding Kansas, 70–72.

URIAH BOSTON1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS [n.p.] [28 September 1855.]

Mr. Editor:— Your kind notice of my first communication on this subject,2 the objections made by you to the position taken, or which is the same thing, to the results cast up by me, and a desire I cherish, to benefit what I can my fellow beings, prompts me to reply to your objections; let me make myself understood, as that is important. To this end, I remark, 1st. While the South have not ceased to threaten the North with the cry of dissolution,3 Northern Representatives, in Congress, and Northern political leaders, have not failed when called to an account for their treachery to freedom, to make it the scape-goat for all their political sins. Here lies the secret of our failures on the slavery question; and we suffer ourselves to be humbuged and fooled by this Southern scare-crow. The South should be made to understand, that the Union is of more value to them, than it is to the North. My opinion is, that, if the South really believed and felt conscious that the Northern people desired to have the Union dissolved, we would hear no more about dissolution from that quarter. It was this opinion that prompted my former communication. And now, I will briefly notice your objections. 1st. There is but a very small portion of the 5 millions Southerners,4 who can use “bayonets,” and a smaller portion still, who would

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use them against the slaves. It is estimated that there are 250,000 slaveholders in the South.5 This is the highest estimate, I have seen. But admit this to be a true estimate, we may safely conclude, that many of these are unfit to take part in any effort to put down slave insurrections. Others would flee the instant danger was apprehended; others again are timid and tender. On the other hand, the slaves are hardy, being used to rough usage, and though ignorant, they are brave, and would, if properly led and controlled, by some daring leader, be too formidable a force for any army of high lived slaveholders, that could be brought against them. In addition to this, there are many of the whites there, who would take sides with the slaves. There are others from the North, that would be glad of an opportunity to aid the slaves for freedom’s sake; others, for plunder, and others again out of ill will toward the stiff, aristocracy of the South. Combine all these and they would never fail to brake every yoke. Secondly. With regard to the welfare of the slaves, they would be placed in a position to be benefited. Some would be benefited, others would not. On the whole I believe even the slaves, would be benefited by an insurrection, whither it would succeed or fail. I do not say that I desire this, but, I do believe, that we would witness an insurrection within ten years after the dissolution of the Union, that would shake the very foundation of the slave system. I repeat, I do not desire such an event, but as the South make such a hobby of dissolution, and as this would follow as one of the results of dissolution, I should not regret it, but should feel to rejoice over it, upon the principle of divine authority, as it is written: “wo[e] unto the wicked, for the reward of his hands shall be given him, and he shall eat the fruit of his doings.”6 I believe in divine justice as well as in divine benevolence, and one of the strongest convictions of my Christian faith is, that I shall be able cheerfully to say Amen, to God’s punishment of the incorrigibly wicked. “Then the wicked shall cease from troubling, and the weary shall be at rest, and the servant shall be released from his master.”7 The last and only objection remaining to be noticed, is the one relative to “accessions to colored churches,” with regard to which, permit me to say, that, though I should rather see no distinctive organizations of “colored people” yet, as they are already existing, and that according to the will of the greater portion of the people, as the best that can be had at the present, I can see no reason why they should not be improved, both in numbers and respectability.—The only result that I at present cheerfully acquiesce in, and heartily desire, is the grand final result—the destruction of slavery. The others are the means to an end. I cannot see how any one

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can doubt, that the speedy downfall of slavery, would follow the dissolution of the Union. Slavery is a system of weakness, and, if left to maintain itself, must die. This is especially true of American slavery, at this age. Why ask for proof to a self-evident fact. A man fatally diseased at the vitals is diseased in every limb; so is a system, and slavery being a system thus diseased, must die. If you say it is a healthy, sound system, than I shall be willing to dissect it, and prove its unsoundness. This I think you will not say, and therefore I drop the matter for the present. As I said before, I believe slavery is a weak system, and it has, within itself, the elements of death. It is a sick thing, kept alive by its connection with the North. Now, if this sick thing would behave itself, I would bear with it, but seeing it will give us no peace, but is all the while rumpusing, and boasting of its deeds of daring, and its strength, I say cut it lose and let us see what will come of it. Slavery reminds me of an aged piece of poetry, which personifies a certain personage who did live, but, did live hard. It runs thus: “Hunty-bunty on the wall, Hunty-bunty got a fall, All the doctors in the land, Couldn’t make Hunty-bunty stand.”8 Let me add in conclusion that I hope “all the doctors in the land” will let “Hunty-bunty” alone, and use their skill to better purpose.—At all events I hope the better portion of the family will consent to let “Huntybunty” have his own way,—let him go out and try his weakness. Respectfully, U. B. PLIr: FDP, 26 October 1855. 1. A black barber from Poughkeepsie, Uriah Boston (1815–89) was born free in Pennsylvania. He corresponded regularly with many newspapers, including Horace Greely’s New York Tribune, the New York Colored American, and the Albany Patriot as well as Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Despite his advocacy of disunionism, Boston supported political abolitionism and the attempt by New York African American males to remove all restrictions on their voting. Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 4:278–80; Foner and Walker, Black State Conventions, 1:81, 89. 2. Douglass published an undated letter from “U.B.” in Frederick Douglass’s Paper on 31 August 1855. In an editorial response in the same issue, Douglass branded U.B.’s arguments supporting the dissolution of the Union as a means to end slavery “unsafe, unsound, and unwarrantable.” He concluded, “But you are not the only one who has failed to convince us on this point. Try again.” 3. An allusion to the “Unionist” position taken by many Northern Whigs and Democrats on sectionally divisive issues. While often professing ethical, economic, or ideological opposition to slavery, such political leaders had opposed abolitionism as well as far milder antislavery proposals

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and instead supported various sectional “compromises” in order to avoid creating worries in the South about the security of that institution under the U.S. Constitution. Holt, The Political Crisis of the 1850s, 17–33; John M. McFaul, “Expediency vs. Morality: Jacksonian Politics and Slavery,” Journal of American History, 62:24–39 (June 1975). 4. According to the 1850 U.S. Census, the white population of the slave states was 6,184, 477, and the total number of slaves living in those states was 3,200,138. In 1860 the census reported the total number of slaves as 3,953,760, and the white population of the slave states as 8,036,700. Richard H. Steckel, “The African American Population of the United States, 1790–1920,” in A Population History of North America, ed. Michael R. Haines and Richard H. Steckel (New York, 2000), 435; Otto H. Olsen, “Historians and the Extent of Slave Ownership in the Southern United States,” Civil War History, 18:101–16 (June 1972). 5. In 1850 the U.S. Census listed 347,725 slaveholders in the United States. That figure is probably too low. In its instructions to the enumerators, the Census Bureau stipulated that only the head of each slave-owning household was to be counted as a slaveholder, since “the principal object [was] to get the number of slaves, and not that of masters or owners.” As a result, the figure is more accurately a reflection of how many slaveholding households there were in the United States in 1850, rather than the total number of slave owners. This same caveat holds true for the 395,216 slaveholders recorded in the 1860 U.S. Census. Diane Mutti Burke, On Slavery’s Border: Missouri’s Small-Slaveholding Households, 1815–1865 (Athens, Ga., 2010), 108; Susan B. Carter et al., eds., Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Times to the Present, Millennial Edition, 5 vols. (New York, 2006), 2: 379. 6. Isa. 3:10–11. 7. Job 3:17, 19. 8. U.B. makes a literary allusion to “Humpty Dumpty,” which fi rst appeared in Mother Goose’s Melody in 1803, but references to a boiled concoction of ale and brandy, known as humpty-dumpty, date back to 1698. Knowles, Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, 567; OED, 2d ed. (online).

PHILIP CHURCH SCHUYLER1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Council City, Kansas Territory. 7 Oct[ober] 1855.

F. Douglass, Esq.: My Dear Sir:— Some of my communications for your sheet I judge have failed to reach you. I receive the “Paper” regularly every month, by the Sante-Fee mail: this is as often as we now can receive mail matter from the East. On the 1st of January, we shall have a weekly service. I regret the loss of my last letter to you, as well as others, because, first the labor of preparing them in my situation, is something, and again, you feel that I neglect you. I see your “right arm”2 has left her post. Miss Griffiths has gone home,—can this be a permanent separation? I trust not; how can you get on without her?3 Her industry, talent, and tact for business fitted her remarkably well for the place she filled. Her courage and self-sacrifice is without precedent, as far as I am acquainted, in this or any other country. The accomplished of Britton’s daughters, united in mental, and literary effort, with

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America’s chatteled sons, to argue the cause of the oppressed of our land, is an incident grand beyond conception. I trust she is to return to resume and occupy her old position that she filled with so much credit to herself, and acceptance to the readers of the “Paper,” and support to its Editor. I see that “My Bondage and My Freedom” is having a run. God grant it abundant success; for the “material” aid it will render its worthy, and laborious subject and author, and that it flow like scolding lead into the mines of such stupid, senseless, wicked, diabolical men as Atchison,4 Stringfellow,5 Shannon,6 the apostle divine, and Shannon, the apostle politician, and burn out the black and devilish element of their souls, and soften them down to the consistence of reasonable men! The politics of Kansas are assuming an attitude of great interest. Be not astonished to see us pass out from under the lawless and damnable tyranny of our oppressors—like a bird from her trap—and having organized and transformed this territory into a star of the first magnitude, we go up to Washington even at the next session of Congress, and ask for a place among the galaxy that spangle the American banner.—Will our prayer be heard? I think it will, for it will be offered in great faith. You have seen our repudiation7 of the Missouri-Kansas Legislature with all its laws—in mass meeting at Lawrence on the 14th of August,8—and the Convention held at “Big Springs,” on the 5th ult., laying down a platform (the best that could be got) fixing a day of election for the “Free State” voters, nominating our candidate for delegate to Congress, Ex-Governor Reeder.9—We shall give him a large vote next Tuesday, and pack him with full affidavits10 of all the diabolical acts of our oppressors, and send him up to Washington, and ask for a seat on the floor of the House. Will he be denied? I trow not. At this last Convention we appointed a third, to meet at Sopeka on the 19th of Sept.,11 for the purpose of consulting upon the propriety, or expediency, of forming a State Constitution for Kansas. It was decided that we elect on the same day of our delegate to Congress, delegates to a State Constitutional Convention, to be holden at Sopeka on the fourth Tuesday of this month, to form a Constitution, and organize a State Government, and set the machine in full motion, lubricating its joints and bearings with all the wisdom, prudence, care and courage that accidental pioneers can command. What do you think of this move? Shall we succeed? Suppose we set our State Government in full operation, ply our hands to the business of law-making, and the General Government refuse us admission, and tell us we had better go back and submit to the Government they have

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created for us.12 Will we do it? I say No. Well, will Gov. Shannon call up the old screechy, territorial whisky machine, and call upon us to address ourselves to it? [P]erhaps he may. But we are “sovereigns” and were not educated to such drill; and when he says, “stack arms” we shall be ready to fire. Will the General Government come to his aid? I say, No; they will not dirty any further hands with this business. I could say a thousand other things in relation to this interesting country, but my space says stop, and my mind dwells at this time on matters more sad and personal. My friend, you have been an inmate of my house. You have slept and fed at my board. You were acquainted with the wife13 of that home, and the mother of those children composing that family circle; did you ever discover aught but harmony and peace in that home? [H]ave you not received welcome from that dear woman? [D]id you discover the curled lip, or hear the taunting word from those dear children? Ah! [T]here was peace there, because of the able dame’s well disciplined mind, and high moral sentiment of the woman who moved at the head. But, alas! [A]las! [S]he was mortal, and subject to the contingencies of death.— Death, oh! [T]hou relentless tyrant! [T]hou demanded the best, the richest jewel of my home, and that, too, in the absence of the one upon whom that home rested more particularly for guidance and support,—death by disease entered that house, he fastened upon the younger member of it, the struggle lay between him; and that gray-headed, venerable physician, who has stood by my family even since I had one,—thro’ the aid of the divine hand, he prevailed and the enemy was driven back. His voracious appetite for blood only seemed the more determined not to be foiled in his purposes; he sunk his venomous fangs into the vitals of the head and heart of that home—and took her as his prey—the husband to receive the shock as the oak does the lightning bolt—in a wild, distant country, whither had been directed his steps, with the advise and concurrence of her who is now no more. Think of his riven, broken heart—but his is light. Contemplate the ruin he spread around, in the destruction of the peace and joy of those six loved ones,—as they stood by the bed-side, and their mother gasp away her breath—and then to witness the corpse borne out of the door by the hands of strangers to its resting place—and they to return with hearts as desolate as the midnight hour. According to the accounts borne to me, the scenes attending this sad event partook almost of dramatic interest,—but I forbear. I thought it was she who should guide those tender and loved ones in their weakness, to manhood, and strength.

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What shall I now do? is an enquiry I most earnestly make of Him, who has power and mercy to bestow and will not withhold. Very truly, yours, PHILIP C. SCHUYLER. PLSr: FDP, 26 October 1855. 1. A member of one of the most prominent families in New York, Phillip Church Schuyler (1805–72) lived in Ithaca, New York, until 1855, when he moved his family to Council City in Osage County, Kansas Territory. The following year, the delegates of the free-state territorial legislature elected him secretary of state. In 1858, Council City was renamed Burlingame in honor of free-state leader Aaron Burlingame, and after it was officially incorporated in 1860, Schuyler was elected its first mayor. In 1862 he was defeated in a bid for election to the Kansas legislature on the Democratic ticket. An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Osage County, Kansas (Philadelphia, 1879), 7–9; Frank W. Blackmar, ed., Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc., 2 vols. (Chicago, 1912), 2:255–56; Florence C. Christoph, Schuyler Genealogy: A Compendium of Sources Pertaining to the Schuyler Families in America Prior to 1800, 3 vols. (Albany, N.Y., 1987–95), 2:36, 122. 2. Julia Griffiths. 3. Griffiths had worked as the informal business manager of Douglass’s newspapers, the North Star and Frederick Douglass’ Paper, from 1848 to the time of her return to Great Britain in early summer 1855. McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 164–65, 182. 4. David Rice Atchison (1807–86) graduated from Transylvania University and studied law in his native Kentucky before moving to Missouri in 1830. There Atchison practiced law in Liberty, Clay County, won election to the state legislature in 1834 and 1838, and rose to the rank of major general in the state militia. In 1840 he became judge of the circuit court in Platte County, and later that year he received an appointment to the U.S. Senate to complete the term of the recently deceased Louis F. Linn. He was president pro tempore of that body for much of the period between 1846 and 1855. Atchison distinguished himself in the Senate as a friend of land grants to railroads and as a foe of his Missouri colleague Thomas Hart Benton, who took a more moderate stance on slavery than Atchison. Benton, defeated for reelection in 1850 largely because of Atchison’s efforts, ran for Atchison’s seat in 1855. In a bitter campaign, Atchison appealed to proslavery sentiment in western Missouri by stressing his role in the passage of those provisions of the Kansas-Nebraska Act that repealed the Missouri Compromise. Neither Benton nor Atchison won the 1855 election, but Atchison furthered his proslavery reputation in 1856 and 1857 by leading Missourians in raids against free-soil supporters in Kansas. He later lived in Texas, where he supported the Confederate war effort, and, for his last two decades, on a farm in Gower, Missouri. Theodore C. Atchison, “David R. Atchison: A Study in American Politics,” Missouri Historical Review, 24:502–15 (July 1930); ACAB, 1:114; NCAB, 10:223; DAB, 1:402–03; BDUSC (online). 5. John H. Stringfellow (1819–1905) was a physician and a proslavery politician in Missouri and Kansas. Born into a prominent Virginia family, he went to Missouri upon graduation from the medical school at the University of Pennsylvania in 1845. He practiced medicine in Carrollton and Platte City, Missouri, until 1854, when he moved his family to Atchison, Kansas, a town he helped found and finance. Stringfellow served as Speaker of the House in the Kansas territorial legislature of 1855 and as a colonel in the territorial militia. He also founded the Squatter Sovereign, a proslavery organ and Atchison’s first newspaper. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Stringfellow enlisted in the Confederate army as a captain. He returned to Atchison after the war, and in 1877 moved to Saint Joseph, Missouri, where he lived for the remainder of his life. Walter Williams and Floyd Calvin Shoemaker, eds., Missouri: Mother of the West, 5 vols. (Chicago, 1930), 4:389.

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6. A lawyer from St. Clairsville, Ohio, Wilson Shannon (1802–77) won the governorship of that state in 1838 and again in 1842 as a Democrat. He resigned that office to accept nomination as U.S. ambassador to Mexico from President John Tyler. In 1849 Shannon migrated to California, where he was elected for a term in the U.S. House of Representatives (1853–55). President Franklin Pierce appointed Shannon territorial governor of Kansas to replace Andrew Reeder in August 1855. Shannon’s proslavery views and ineffectual leadership encouraged an escalation of the guerrilla warfare in the territory. After a year in office, Shannon resigned and began practicing law in eastern Kansas. McMullin and Walker, Territorial Governors, 163–64. 7. Kansas’s free-state settlers and their antislavery supporters across the nation contended that the territorial legislature elected in March 1855 possessed no valid authority, because of the fraudulent participation of several thousand proslavery “border ruffians” in the voting. Etcheson, Bleeding Kansas, 50–60. 8. The Lawrence Convention of 14–15 August 1855 had called for a follow-up meeting at Big Springs on 5 September to write a state constitution and apply to Congress for admission to the Union. The Big Springs convention delegates voted to ignore the “Bogus Legislature” of the territory and create one of their own. The meeting elected Andrew H. Reeder as the territory’s delegate to Congress, over the objections of followers of James H. Lane, whose faction succeeded in having the Big Springs gathering resolve against African American immigration to Kansas. Etcheson, Bleeding Kansas, 70–73. 9. Andrew H. Reeder. 10. Written sworn statements of facts voluntarily given. 11. Called by the Big Springs Convention, the Topeka Convention of 19 September 1855 issued a call for another convention in that settlement in October to draw up a state constitution barring slavery, which would allow the Kansas Territory to apply for immediate admission to the Union. Etcheson, Bleeding Kansas, 72–73. 12. An allusion to territorial governor Wilson Shannon and the federally recognized Kansas legislature elected in the 30 March 1855 election, which was marred by the illegal participation of several thousand Missouri “border ruffians.” Kansas free-state critics denied the legality of that legislature and of the slave code it quickly enacted for the territory. Etcheson, Bleeding Kansas, 55–65. 13. The daughter of John Henry Dix and Sarah Dunning Dix of Champlain, New York, Lucy Matilda Dix (1807–55) married Philip C. Schuyler in 1832 at Seneca Falls, New York. The couple lived for much of their marriage in Ithaca, New York, and had nine children. Lucy Schuyler died in Ithaca in September 1855 and was buried there. Schuyler married Louisa Bigelow in 1860. Cuyler Reynolds, Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley, 3 vols. (New York, 1914), 2:809.

JAMES RAWSON JOHNSON TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Putnam, Conn. 18 Oct[ober] 1855.

Frederick Douglass: Dear Friend:— Those Jerry Rescue celebrations1 are like the holidays; they afford opportunities to remove misunderstandings, &c. The cordial grasp of the hand which you gave me when you cheerfully said, “Do not be so reserved, brother Johnson,” has fixed my purpose to write you a free, familiar, private letter. I have long been thinking about it, but postponed.

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After the Rev. O. M.2 came to Rochester as pastor, and gained free access to your ear, I received the impression that your manner toward me was not so full of brotherly confidence as formerly. I did not enquire  into reasons, for it has long been a practice with me, to let such matters work themselves clear. For some years past, I have been accustomed to  regard the sayings and doings of the Rev. O. M. as of minor consequence. But whether I charge that “pious” man with more than what is just— in regard to his influence on your mind, to my disadvantage, or not—I think that from some source, you received the impression that I was not as thoroughly a friend to you, and to your paper, as I had professed to be. I shall present no extended argument in my defense. I will simply make a short quotation from “A. G. B.” in your paper of Aug. 3d, ’55.3 In mentioning Greenport, L. I.,4 and the condition and aspects of the colored people in that vicinity, he says: “A lecture there some time since, by Mr. J. R. J., a correspondent of your paper, was the means of doing much good. It caused your paper to be read there; and how can they but improve with it as a missionary of light in their midst.” I am thankful for this incidental, this unsought testimony. It is from a good witness. At such results I have always aimed in regard to your paper. I am reading your book with great interest. I am noticing the hand of God in your being brought to your present position for doing good. I wish I could be at Boston with you, and other friends, next week. Perhaps I may—I will see if I can. The descendants of Gen. Israel Putnam5 meet here on the same days of our Boston Convention:6 quite a number of them are members of my congregation, and they wish me to be with them. I will consider the matter. I can so arrange it (if the Lord will) as to itinerate again, as soon as next April, or May, and lecture and preach against Slavery. I wo’d like Connecticut as my field. If the question about employing lecturers comes up at the Boston Convention you may consider my name as on the list. I will be ready to go out, if the means of proper support can be definitely pledged. If you get time to answer this, I should be happy to receive a line from you, (if we do not meet at Boston,) though I do not write this to place you under any obligation to write to me, for your hands must be tenfold full. May the Lord guard, and guide you. Yours, as ever, J. RAWSON JOHNSON.

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PLSr: FDP, 26 October 1855. 1. On 1 October 1852 an estimated five thousand people attended the Syracuse celebration organized by Samuel Joseph May to honor of the first anniversary of the rescue of William “Jerry” McHenry, a black cooper arrested under the Fugitive Slave Law on 1 October 1851. The celebration continued to be held annually on the first of October by New York abolitionists until 1860. Douglass usually spoke at these public events, as he did in 1855, although that year he apologized to his readers for the “ague and fever speech” he delivered. FDP, 9 October 1851, 1, 8, 15, 29 October 1852, 5 October 1855; Carleton Mabee, Black Freedom: The Nonviolent Abolitionists from 1830 through the Civil War (London, 1970), 307–08; Yacovone, Samuel Joseph May, 150–51. 2. Ovid Miner (1803–91) was born in Middletown, Vermont, and trained as a journalist while working for the Northern Spectator in nearby Poultney. In 1824 he started the Vermont Statesman, which remained in publication in Castleton until 1855. Miner next published the Middlebury Vermont American from 1828 to 1831. In 1834 he graduated from Auburn Theological Seminary and moved to Peru, New York, quitting journalism to become a Congregational minister. Miner was actively involved with the Underground Railroad and cofounded the Ticonderoga Anti-Slavery Society. He also gained notoriety for campaigning against masonry. Thomas E. Boyce, Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College in Middlebury Vermont and All Others Who Have Received Degrees, 1800 to 1889 (Middlebury, Vt., 1890), 158; Abby Maria Hemenway, ed., The Vermont Historical Gazetteer: A Magazine, Embracing A History of Each Town, Civil, Ecclesiastical, Biographical and Military, 5 vols. (Claremont, N.H. 1877), 3:516; Calarco, The Underground Railroad, 144–45. 3. Johnson refers to and later quotes an article, “An Ecclesiastical Ordination,” in the Frederick Douglass’ Paper of 3 August 1855, by the Reverend Amos G. Beman, dated 30 July 1855. 4. A terminus of the Long Island Rail Road, Greenport is a village in Suffolk County, New York, which is twenty miles northeast of River Head. Established in 1838, the town was originally known for manufacturing barrels and awnings, shipbuilding, and several fisheries. It was also once notorious for residents’ involvement in offshore whaling. Seltzer, Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, 718; Cohen, Columbia Gazetteer of the World, 1170. 5. Israel Putnam (1718–90) was born in Salem Village, now Danvers, Massachusetts. A successful farmer, he married Hannah Pope in 1739, with whom he had ten children. In 1755, while serving in the Connecticut militia during the French and Indian War, he gained a reputation for valor, which contributed to his promotion to captain in 1755 and major in 1758. In 1758, Indians captured Putnam and were in the process of burning him alive when a French officer, Captain Molang, saved him. As a lieutenant colonel in 1759, Putnam received his first command assignment, to attack Fort Ticonderoga. After the war, he returned to his farm, but soon became involved with the Sons of Liberty and the Committee of Correspondence. In June 1775, Washington appointed Putnam one of the Continental Army’s first four major generals. Though who was in charge at the Battle of Bunker Hill is a matter of dispute, Putnam is most widely known for his participation in that battle and his words to his soldiers, “Men, you are marks-men. Don’t one of you fire until you see the white of their eyes.” Putnam was later criticized for his performance in the Battle for Long Island in August 1776. In 1779, Putnam suffered a stroke, ending his military career, and he retired to Brooklyn, Connecticut. A selfmade man, brave and compassionate, Putnam is better remembered for his personal virtues than his military accomplishments. ACAB, 5:139–41; ANB, 18:11–12. 6. Johnson alludes to the upcoming General Convention of Radical Political Abolitionists, to be held in Boston on 23–25 October 1855. That convention would adopt a constitution for the newly formed American Abolition Society. FDP, 9 November 1855.

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WILLIAM E. WHITING1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Boston, [Mass.] 23 Nov[ember] 1855.

Friend Douglass:— We have at present in our midst a representative of your suffering people,2 who has won the hearts of large numbers of the citizens of this busy, bustling metropolis. She was only about two years since “a chattel” down South, with her husband and a large number of children, and grand-children. One son, and two sons-in-law, are still in the prison house of slavery. Except these, all her other children, her grand-children, and herself, and husband, were emancipated and taken by their mistress to Iowa. With a hopeful heart, she seeks now to raise the needful sum wherewith to purchase the freedom of that one “who is bone of her bone,”3 and those two others so dear to her daughters’ hearts and to their children. Little, by little, she has gathered up by a perseverance and persuasion that none but those in her circumstances can so eloquently use, a sum almost sufficient for her purpose. She has only to collect a little more than Five Hundred Dollars more, and the work will be done! I refrain from detailing the sore trials she has endured, lest the knowledge of them should unnecessarily anger or distress your readers.—Suffice it to say, she has suffered enough, is a meek servant of the great Master, brings testimonials well authenticated, and which would interest even the most indifferent or stoical one. Next to her own touching story, and honest face, a sweetly melting appeal, written by a lady in Providence, R. I.,4 is helping to swell her collections, and I take liberty here to subjoin it,*5 that your readers may realize again the luxury of weeping over suffering humanity, if they cannot render aid thereto. WHITING. PLSr: FDP, 7 December 1855. 1. William E. Whiting (?–1882) was the treasurer and an executive committee member of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. A committed political abolitionist, Whiting joined the American Abolition Society in 1855, was treasurer of its auxiliary the New York City Abolition Society, and was a manager of the religious antislavery American Missionary Association. AM, July 1882; FDP, 27 April 1855; McKivigan, War against Proslavery Religion, 220; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 4:277. 2. Whiting alludes to Charlotta Gordon Pyles (c. 1806–80), who was the child of a slave father and a Seminole mother. She grew up in Kentucky, where she married a free black man and started a family. When Pyles and her children were inherited by Frances Gordon, the latter removed the slave family to Iowa and freed them. Pyles then toured the North to solicit funds to purchase the freedom of her two sons-in-law, and one of her sons who had been kidnapped from Gordon and sold

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to a Mississippi slaveholder. Pyles raised $4,300 and returned to Kentucky, where she purchased her sons-in-law’s freedom, but she was unable to ever win her son’s freedom. Margaret Ann Reid, “Charlotta Gordon Pyles,” in Notable Black American Women, ed. Jesse Carney Smith (Detroit, 1992), 534–36. 3. Possibly adapted from Gen. 2:23. 4. A poem erroneously entitled “Charlotte Piles” appeared in the 14 December 1855 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. 5. Frederick Douglass’ Paper carried the following statement immediately following Whiting’s letter: “* This Appeal will appear in our next.” FDP, 7 December 1855.

CYNTHIA POTTER BLISS1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Providence, Ill. 23 Nov[ember] 1855.

Frederick Douglass: Much Esteemed Friend:— Accompanying this note you will find a curious specimen of letter writing, and the interpretation thereof, which I hope you will accept as a child’s offering to the cause of liberty. In his infancy we dedicated our little boy2 to the cause of the slave, and he has given early promise that our hopes concerning him shall not be disappointed. The story of your wrongs has deeply affected him, and his grief has sometimes been so passionate that I have been compelled to lay aside the book and use all the skill I had to command of to soothe and quiet him without detracting from the interest of the narrative or the impression it was making. He would plead for me to read, then grieve and cry when I answered his request. He would sit in a deep study over your picture day after day, and when I told him that I knew you, and that his father knew you, and that we had both heard you speak, he was at first filled with joy, and then he cried because he did’nt know you. At last with a countenance beaming with pleasure he wanted to know if he might write you a letter. I told him yes, for I knew you would forgive the intrusion, and I hope you will also forgive my long introduction. He is five years old, old enough to be quite a scholar, but we have just commenced teaching him. He often “writes letters” and I write them off in his own language, to his little cousin in New England. My husband unites with me in sending much love and kind wishes to you, and an earnest desire for the prosperity and welfare of your family. God be praised that you have been raised up “for this purpose.”3

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I never allow myself to speak on the subject of Slavery of late years. My language is so tame and my feelings so strong, that I can’t trust myself to venture out, into this great ocean! But I rejoice that men and women have been raised up who can speak, and whose light gleams forth with promise to this bleeding and prostrate people. When shall we see you in the Prairie Land again?4 Nothing would give us more pleasure than to make you a welcome guest of our humble home. Illinois has been cursed by the crouching subservients of the slave power, but yet we hope for the triumph of those principles and those alone which can save our guilty nation. Yours, with respect, C. P. BLISS.5 PLIr: FDP, 7 December 1855. 1. Probably Cynthia Potter Bliss, an abolitionist originally from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where she organized fairs to support the antislavery cause. Potter attended the 1850 Worcester Women’s Rights Convention. Her son, Howard Clarkson Bliss, also corresponded with Douglass. She later participated in freedmen’s aid work for the American Missionary Association, educating black students in the District of Columbia. Proceedings of the Woman’s Rights Convention Held at Worcester, October 23d and 24th, 1850 (Boston, 1851), 81; Special Report of the Commissioner of Education on the Condition and Improvement of Public Schools in the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C., 1871), 242; Deborah Bingham Van Broekhoven, The Devotion of These Women: Rhode Island in the Antislavery Network (Boston, 2002), 102–03, 192–93. 2. Born in Rhode Island, Howard Clarkson Bliss (c. 1850–1922) relocated with his family to Illinois in the early 1850s. His mother approached Wheaton College in Illinois, presided over by the abolitionist minister Jonathan Blanchard, to have Howard accepted there, but no record shows that he attended. He later took over and operated his father’s successful farm and apple nursery in Bureau County, Illinois. Henry F. Kett, The Voters and Tax-payers of Bureau County, Illinois (Chicago, 1877), 247; Henry C. Bradsby, ed., History of Bureau County, Illinois (Chicago, 1885), 236. 3. Paraphrase of Ex. 9:16. 4. Douglass did not speak in Illinois again until August 1857. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxvii. 5. Douglass followed the letter from Cynthia Potter Bliss with the following: The following is the letter alluded to:— Frederick:—I wish you would come out here and see where we live; we live in Providence, Illinois, where I can run and jump as much as I please. Father and mother have read your book to me, and I am very glad you have got away from the Slaveholders. I wish all the slaves could get away where they could run and play, and have books and papers, and houses and horses, but I wouldn’t have oxen for father says, they are nothing but a trouble, tearing down fences and breaking into cornfields. I think the slaveholders are regular rascals, and if I had a cow skin I’d whip their legs off. I’m glad you got through that squabble with old Mr. Covey, and I’m glad you laid him down on the ground. I guess he will remember it. I’m glad your mother came and gave you that nice cake of gingerbread when old Aunt Katy was so cross and cruel to you.

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This is the nicest letter that I can write, I have written it to you. Hetty used to live in old Virginia, and she says Mr. Randolph had 400 slaves; now she lives here, and I’m so glad she came to help mother do the work because she tried every where to get a girl, and now Hetty helps her. Henry Bibb used to be a slave, but he got away, but his wife and child they couldn’t get away. Frederick, I never was in a printing mill, but mother has been in because she has been to Pawtucket. It made me cry to think Aunt Katy wouldn’t give you anything to eat, and I wouldn’t like to see a slaveholder, they bruise, and beat, and whip the slaves so, and they get into the habit and grow wickeder and wickeder. No one can do better than to work a little themselves. I don’t want to be a slave and I’m so glad I’m free. You can see my writing, but I don’t write so nice as you I know, I string it along, but I guess you can read what mother has written. Father has got a hundred (hundred thousand) trees and some corn and oranges, wouldn’t you like to see them? He tried to kill a wild goose to-night. This is my name. Howard Clarkson Bliss

HARRIET BEECHER STOWE TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Andover[, n.p.] 24 Nov[ember 18]55[.]

Dear Sir Give me leave to ask whether the within extract fairly represents the remarks you made1—Until this point is ascertained I have not a basis for expressing myself at all upon the subject—If what you said is not this will you be so kind as to favor me with a Copy of what you did say. As the American Anti-Slavery Society have never in the Slightest instance volunteered me the least advice upon the subject alluded to or addressed me a syllable in the form of a letter it is only a matter of justice to them that this should be publicly understood—The passage in question is a real annoyance to me2 & I beg that you will embrace an early opportunity of giving me some definite explanation respecting it Very Truly as Ever Yr friend H B STOWE ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frame 653, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Harriet Beecher Stowe probably refers to Douglass’s comments about her during the National Negro Convention held in Philadelphia on 16–18 October 1855. Douglass expressed disappointment at the small amount of money Stowe collected for the proposed Industrial College, especially during her tour of the British Isles in 1853–54. Stowe raised only $535 rather than the $10,000 that Douglass had expected. FDP, 26 October, 2 November 1852; Levine, Representative Identity, 88–89, 261n62. 2. In his remarks in Philadelphia, Douglass had charged: “From the assurance made to me by Mrs. Stowe I fully expected that on her return we should have sufficient funds to make a start in the

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college, but the Garrisonian Abolitionists had sent her packs of letters, and used their papers to prevent the contribution of funds towards it. They argued that we should not have such an institution as long as there were slaves in the country, but in this I think they had the cart before the horse.” Indeed, Stowe was not being completely candid with Douglass. In an undated letter to Wendell Phillips, Stowe complained about the pressure that African Americans had placed on her to be the principal fund-raiser for the manual-labor college, stating “Why don’t they have one—many men among the colored people are richer than I am—& better able to help such an object—Will they ever learn to walk?” FDP, 2 November 1855; Hedrick, Harriet Beecher Stowe, 247; Levine, Representative Identity, 261n.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO SIMEON S. JOCELYN1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 15 Dec[ember] 1855.

S. S. Jocelyn My Dear friend. Your letter enclosing ten Dollars in aid of my paper and expressing an interest in my labors for the emancipation and elevation of the oppressed and enSlaved, came Safely to hand this morning. I thank you my good friend for both your kind words—and for your money—and not less for the former, than for the latter. I can easily underStand why you prefer to do what you have done in a Silent way—and Shall therefore attend to your directions in this regard. I Should nevertheless gladly place your name among the kind friends who have assisted me in this my time of need. “A friend ten Dollars”—will Serve as well—since you So will it. I hardly know any time during the past eight years—when a donation to my paper was more opportune than that you have now Sent me. The past has been a trying year for Anti Slavery papers of limited Circulation and that Circulation mostly among the poor. Your Grateful and faithful friend FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: American Missionary Association Papers, LNArc. 1. While a student at Yale University, Simeon S. Jocelyn (1799–1879) became the minister of an African American congregation in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1831 he worked with both William Lloyd Garrison and Lewis Tappan on a controversial proposal, which provoked much local opposition, to found a college for black students in the city. In 1839 he worked with Tappan on a committee to free the slave rebels from the Amistad, who were being held for trial in New Haven. For many years Jocelyn served as the American Missionary Association’s corresponding secretary for domestic missions. McKivigan, War against Proslavery Religion, 77, 114, 191–92; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 5:36–37.

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LEWIS TAPPAN TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Brooklyn, [N.Y.] 21 Dec[ember 18]55.

Frederick Douglass My dear friend, Day before yesterday I recd your letter1—too late to answer it that day. Yesterday forenoon I went over to the City & called upon the C House Broker with whom I had left the Invoice &c. of the goods contained in the box expected from England. I learned that the vessel had not arrived. All vessels from England at this Season have long passages. I went to 48  Beekman St2 & postponed writing to you. Then I found a telegram from you. I answered it immediately & deferred sending until to-day. Your letter was 3 or 4 days reaching me. So you see, dear Douglass, that I did not neglect your request—nor will I ever if alive & well. I am glad to learn what you say about your lecturing tour, & I hope that your lectures that are to follow will be equally successful in sowing good seed & more successful at furnishing you with the material. My wife3 wants me to say, the gratification she has derived from reading your history has been very great. She reads it over & over again. Its contents will be laid up on our hearts. And the author we hold very dear. Love to your family. Yr affec friend LEWIS TAPPAN ALS: Lewis Tappan Papers, DLC. 1. That letter has not survived. 2. The New York City address of the American Abolition Society. 3. The daughter of William Jackson and Mary Woodward, Sarah Jackson Tappan (1807–84) was one of seventeen children. At the age of seventeen, she married Thomas A. Davis, who was elected mayor of Boston but died after only nine months in office. As a widow, Sarah became heavily involved in the Congregational Church and began publishing religious pamphlets for young people. Sarah met Lewis Tappan at an American Missionary Association convention in Worcester less than a year after his first wife, Susan Aspinwall Tappan, died. Tappan courted Sarah for six months before marrying her on 4 April 1854. Sarah’s reception by the Tappan children was cool, perhaps as a result of her attempts to auction off the Aspinwall family heirlooms. While her marriage with Tappan was one of convenience, it has been characterized as a good match. Sarah shared Tappan’s enthusiasm for evangelism, assumed the role of his secretary, and attended him during his travels. Along with her husband, Sarah also became involved in the activities of the Underground Railroad, hiding fugitives in the basement of their house. She continued her charity work after her husband’s death in 1873, but was forced in her final years to curtail her activities after suffering a series of strokes. Boston Congregationalist, 21 August 1884; Wyatt-Brown, Lewis Tappan, 303–04, 330, 342; EAAH, 3:225.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 1 January 1856.

Hon Gerrit Smith: My Dear friend: Your letter1 has made quite a flutter among the long Skirts—and I fear the consequences. Mrs Gage2 Seems to think that Mrs Stanton3 is not a match for you, and Summons all the sisterhood to Stand forth against the common foe. If but one in a thousand Shall respond to her call, my poor paper will have little room for aught else than their Contributions. I Shall publish Mrs—Stanton’s this week—and draw the Curtain. In truth, I think you was a little hard upon us all in that letter—Yet I cannot Say more against it—than that it was the truth over Strongly Stated. I have just returned from a Short tour in Ohio—I have had good meetings. Accept from me the heartiest Compliments of the Season—for yourself and Dear family, Yours most truly FREDERICK DOUGLASS—

[P.S.] I leave home to Spend a month in lecturing, in Maine—Saturday— ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Douglass alludes to a 1 December 1855 letter from Gerrit Smith to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, which was printed as a public circular. Stanton had earlier questioned Smith on his support for women’s rights, and Smith replied that that movement was ill prepared for the work to be done: “It is not in the proper hands; the proper hands are not to be found. The present age, although in advance of any former age, is nevertheless very far from being sufficiently under the sway of reason to take up the cause of woman and carry it forward to success.” Smith went on to endorse dress reform and woman suffrage, but despaired that most women reformers were still too timid to battle for such radical reforms. Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 106–07. 2. Matilda Joslyn Gage (1826–98), a suffragist and author, was born in Cicero, New York. She was exposed to reform movements early in life, since her family’s home served as a gathering place for suffragists, abolitionists, and temperance activists, as well as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Gage attended the Clinton Liberal Institute and eventually settled in Fayetteville, New York, with her husband, Henry, a successful dry goods merchant. She began her public activism as a suffragist at the National Women’s Rights Convention in Syracuse, in 1852. Gage befriended Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who encouraged her to lecture and organize support for the women’s rights movement. An original member of the National Woman Suffrage Association and the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, Gage became vice president and secretary of the latter in 1869, and the president of both in 1875. In 1870 she published the pamphlet Woman as Inventor, which credited women with inventing the cotton gin, medical science, and bread. Along with Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, she drafted the Woman’s Declaration of Rights in 1876, and the three coauthored the first three volumes of the magisterial six-volume History of Woman Suffrage (New York, 1881–1922). She campaigned for Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, and tried unsuccessfully to vote for him. Throughout her career, she

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published extensively, promoting the suffrage movement and calling attention to what she believed to be the inherently misogynistic nature of the doctrines of Christianity. Leila R. Brammer, Excluded from Suffrage History: Matilda Joslyn Gage, Nineteenth-Century American Feminist (Westport, Conn., 2000); Edward T. James et al., eds., Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary, 3 vols. (Cambridge, Mass., 1971), 2:4–6. 3. Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902) was the best-known feminist of her day. Born in Johnstown, New York, and educated at Emma Willard’s Troy Female Seminary, Stanton developed an interest in abolition and other reforms during visits to the home of her cousin Gerrit Smith. Stanton become determined to advance the status of women when she and other female delegates were barred from the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840. Eight years later, Stanton, along with Lucretia Mott, organized the first-ever women’s rights convention, held in Seneca Falls, New York, where Stanton had settled with her husband, Henry B. Stanton, the antislavery politician. During Reconstruction, she opposed the ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments because they granted equal rights and suffrage to black males but ignored all females. She publicly expressed these opinions in the Revolution, the woman suffrage weekly that she edited with Parker Pillsbury, and on the platform of the National Woman Suffrage Association, which she and Susan B. Anthony founded in 1869. Besides presiding over the last organization for more than two decades, Stanton wrote numerous articles and several books, including the multivolume History of Woman Suffrage, in collaboration with Anthony and Matilda Gage. Alma Lutz, Created Equal: A Biography of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1815–1902 (New York, 1940); Lois W. Banner, Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Radical for Woman’s Rights (Boston, 1980); NAW, 3:342–47.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON Springfield, Mass[.] 13 Jan[uary] 1856[.]

William Lloyd Garrison Esqr. Mr Garrison: Sir. I find the following from your pen, in the last number of the “Standard,”1— copied into that paper from the “Empire”—published in London, England—and Edited by George Thompson Esqr.2 My object in calling your attention to this last effort to injure, is respectfully to ask you (if not incompatable with your chosen mode of dealing with me) to point out in the pages of My Bondage and my freedom, the offensive portions of the Book to which you refer,3 thus the readers of the “Standard ” and the “Empire” may read and judge for themselves, of the justice of your denunciations— Respectfully yours— FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: William Lloyd Garrison Papers, MB. 1. Douglass refers to an article published in the 12 January 1856 issue of the National AntiSlavery Standard. Entitled “A Faithful Correction and Willing Acknowledgment,” the article, reprinted from the London Empire, contains portions of a letter from William Lloyd Garrison to the

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editor of the Empire. In the letter, Garrison takes issue with Douglass’s autobiography My Bondage and My Freedom, and with his ill will toward Wendell Phillips, Garrison, and the Old Organization; in addition, he characterizes Douglass as ungrateful and disloyal to his friends. NASS, 12 January 1856; Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 2:417–18. 2. George Thompson (1804–78), a leading Garrisonian abolitionist in Britain, was born in Liverpool, England. In 1833 he formed emancipation societies in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The following year, he began a fifteen-month speaking tour in the United States; mob violence from supporters of slavery forced him to leave Boston secretly in 1835. Back in England, he again worked with British abolitionists. Thompson joined Douglass at a public meeting in Glasgow on 21 April 1840 to condemn the Free Church of Scotland’s fellowship with slaveholders. He later made two more visits to the United States on behalf of abolitionism. Lib., 29 May 1846; Garrison and Garrison, William Lloyd Garrison, 1:434–522, 2:1–72; Howard Temperley, British Antislavery, 1833–1870 (Columbia, S.C., 1972), 237–38; C. Duncan Rice, “The Anti-Slavery Mission of George Thompson to the United States, 1834–1835,” Journal of American Studies, 2:13–31 (April 1968); DNB, 10:691. 3. The London Empire quoted a private letter from William Lloyd Garrison charging that My Bondage and My Freedom, “in its second portion, is reeking with the virus of personal maliginity towards WENDELL PHILLIPS, myself, and the old organizationists generally, and full of ingratitude and baseness towards as true and disinterested friends as any man yet had on earth, to give him aid and encouragement.” London Empire, 15 December 1855; FDP, 22 February 1855, Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 2:417.

JOHN MANROSS1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Hillsdale[,] Mich. 14 Jan[uary] 1856[.]

Dear Sir— I have lately got hold of your history by which I learn that we were almost neighbors. In 1828 1827 I was family teacher for the children of the Rev. Doctor w Wyatt2 in Baltimore and for six months the same year I was Classic teacher in the military Academy at Frederick, Md.3 I should have before stated that I was born at Clinton Oneida Co. N.Y. in 1800 I From Aug. 1828 to Aug. 1831 I was teacher at Hillsborough Academy4 in Caroline County on the border of Tuckahoe Creek which Separates it from Talbot County I was well acquainted with Mas.r Andrew Anthony5 and I believe your description of him is quite correct. I think that Captain Auld6 must have moved away before I came there. Edward Harper7 and Jo.s N. Carson8 were merchants under the hill and Mas.r Andrew had a whiskey shop on the hill. After that I lived at Denton 5 years and Greensborough 1 year and returned to Clinton N. Y. in 1837 and came here in 1838. Your description of scenery and seasons about Tuckahoe,9 is quite refreshing to me as I had not heard much from there since I left.

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If I make a few slight [illegible], I hope that they will be received in kindness. In page 37 you speak of rails thrown over the rafters for a floor, bedstead +c. I suspect they were under the rafters. You speak of the family of Peakess10 near L Lloyd’s.11 Among the signers of the Declaration of Independence is Wm. Paca, and one of the name was Governor of Maryland. I have always understood that they were of the same family (pronounced Peakes) near Lloyds. Your derivation of the word Tuckahoe12 may be quite correct, though I understood that it was of indian origin. In the fall of 1831 I was a soldier in N the famous Nat Turner’s War13 and was stationed at Denton. At some future time I hope to give you some of the details of that War and the noble daring of Southern Chivalry Yours with respect JOHN MANROSS

P. S. Aug 1, 1864—The above was written as dated and mislaid— I heard the Rev George Cookman14 preach several times. At a Camp Meeting in Queen Anns County15 he was reding the opening hymn the first day of the meeting—I cannot repeat the hymn but it was something like the following “Our spirits take their flight. “To realms of Joy and bliss.16 As he repeated the last line the scaffold on which he stood partially gave way and settled a few inches with something of a crash. He stoped a moment, then smiled and said “We are not gone yet.”——— [solid line] You divide the first and last six months in year at Covey’s with the month of August a mistake of one month only [Addenda] I send a communication If it suits you please have it printed with such alterations or amendments as you please and send me a Dozen printed slips of the same yours with Respect J. MANNROSS

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ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 654–56, FD Papers, DLC. 1. The U.S. Census of 1850 records a “John Manruss,” originally from New York, residing in Hillsdale, Michigan. Local histories list “John Manross” as an attorney who was elected county surveyor of Hillsdale County (1845–49, 1853–55) and marshal of the city of Hillsdale (1856–58). Crisfield Johnson, History of Hillsdale County, Michigan, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches (Philadelphia, 1879), 83, 112,133. 2. Probably the Protestant Episcopal Church minister William Edward Wyatt (1789–1864), the son of Canadian immigrants to New York City, where he graduated from Columbia University in 1809. He became associate rector of St. Paul’s Parish in Baltimore, one year after his 1813 ordination. After the 1827 death of the parish’s rector, Wyatt rose to that post and held it until his own death. He also taught theology at the University of Maryland and was a chaplain at the state penitentiary. Disputes between the Episcopal clergy and laity several times blocked Wyatt, a favorite of the laity, from election to the bishopric of the Diocese of Maryland. A Memorial of the Rev. William Edward Wyatt, D.D., Rector of St. Paul’s Parish, Baltimore (Baltimore, 1864). 3. Probably the Frederick Academy, which enrolled about one hundred students a year. Opened in 1797, the school offered courses in Latin and Greek, English, and mathematics to boys. In 1830, it received a charter from the Maryland General Assembly, which changed its name to Frederick College and granted it the right to confer “collegiate honors and degrees upon deserving students.” The college was allowed to “admit any of the students to any degree in any of the faculties, arts, and sciences, and liberal programs, except doctors of medicine.” Roger B. Taney, future chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, served on the board of the Frederick Academy from 1802 to 1822, and Salmon P. Chase, Taney’s successor as chief justice, tried but failed to acquire a teaching position there in the early 1820s. Frederick College closed in 1915, and the building was demolished in 1936. Bernard C. Steiner, History of Education in Maryland (Washington, D.C., 1894), 169–73; Steiner, Life of Roger Brooke Taney: Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (Baltimore, 1922), 52; Chris Heidenrich, Frederick: Local and National Crossroads (Chicago, 2003), 43. 4. Founded in 1797, the brick Hillsboro Academy in Talbot County, Maryland, was located on land donated by the planter John Hardcastle, Jr., and managed by a local board of trustees. County tax dollars and an annual contribution from the state legislature allowed the academy to educate two dozen or more students a year until after the Civil War in classics and more elementary subjects. Edward M. Noble, The History of Caroline County, Maryland, From Its Beginning, (Fredericksburg, Md., 1920), 291. 5. Andrew Skinner Anthony (1797–1833) was the eldest son of Aaron and Ann Catherine Skinner Anthony and the nephew of Edward Lloyd V. His father apprenticed him as a young man to James Neall, a cabinetmaker, in Easton, Maryland. After completing his apprenticeship, Anthony migrated to Indiana, where he married Ann Wingate of Martin County in 1823. He and his bride returned to Talbot County shortly thereafter. In 1826, Andrew’s father died, and he inherited a third of his estate, including eight slaves. Although he increased his estate and owned twenty slaves, Andrew suffered from alcoholism and operated a whiskey shop in his final years. In his Narrative, Douglass offers the following assessment of Anthon’s character: “He was known to us all as being a most cruel wretch.— a common drunkard, who had, by his reckless mismanagement and profligate dissipation, already wasted a large portion of his father’s property.” John Manross to Douglass, 14 January 1856, General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 654–56, FD Papers, DLC; Harriet L. Anthony, annotated copy of Bondage and Freedom, folders 93, 176, Dodge Collection, MdAA; 1830 U.S. Census, Maryland, Talbot County, 51; Douglass Papers, ser.2, 1:39; Dickson J. Preston, Young Frederick Douglass: The Maryland Years (Baltimore, 1980), 26, 29, 218, 224. 6. Born in St. Michael’s, Maryland, Thomas Auld (1795–1880) was the eldest son of Hugh and Zipporah Auld. Trained as a shipbuilder, Auld supervised the construction of the Lloyd sloop Sally Lloyd and subsequently became its captain. In 1823 he met and married Lucretia Anthony while

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a boarder in the Anthony home. Shortly thereafter, Auld became a storekeeper in Hillsborough, Maryland, and inherited Douglass along with ten other slaves from the estate of Aaron Anthony. He later managed a store in St. Michael’s, where he also served as postmaster before retiring to a nearby farm. The 1850 census listed him as a “farmer” with $8,500 worth of real estate. References to Thomas Auld in Douglass’s Narrative and public speeches are generally uncomplimentary, although Douglass disclaimed any personal hostility toward his former owner. The two men met once in the post-Reconstruction period when Douglass visited the dying Auld in St. Michael’s. Aaron Anthony Slave Distribution, 22 October 1827, Talbot County Distributions, V.JP#D, 58–59, MdTCH; 1850 U.S. Census, Maryland, Talbot County, 1169 (free schedule); NASS, 25 November 1845; NS, 8 September 1848, 7 September 1849; Baltimore Sun, 19 June 1877; Oswald Tilghman, comp., History of Talbot County, Maryland, 1661–1861, 2 vols. (Baltimore, 1915), 1:395; Emerson B. Roberts, “A Visitation of Western Talbot,” Maryland Historical Magazine, 41:235–45 (September 1946); Dickson J. Preston, “Aaron Anthony,” (unpublished paper, Easton, Maryland, 1977), 5, MdTCH. 7. Possibly Edward Harper (?–c.1857), who lived mainly in adjacent Dorchester County, Maryland, on land owned by William S. Harper in 1842. Edward Harper owned no slaves, according to the 1840 Census. In 1842, William S. Harper sold his remaining land in Dorchester County to Jacob Wilson, including the land that Edward Harper lived on. 1840 U.S. Census, Maryland, Dorchester County Maryland, 69; Dorchester County Maryland, Chattel Records: 1842–1847, Archives of Maryland (online). 8. James N. Casson of Caroline County, Maryland, (?–c.1832) sometimes used the German ß to spell his surname. In 1832, fearing the approach of death, he wrote his “last will and testament,” leaving most of his remaining money and forty-five acres of land in Queen Anne’s County to relatives. Significantly, Casson left $1,500 to a James Reyner to take care of an “old negro woman” for the remainder of her life. Caroline County Maryland, Will Book A: 1825–53, 102–03 (online). 9. In My Bondage and My Freedom, Douglass describes the cabin where his grandparents Betsy and Isaac Bailey resided. Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 2:23. 10. Douglass intended to refer to the Pacas when he mentions the Peakess family, a common local corruption of their name. The first Paca to appear in Maryland was Robert, who in 1660 was brought to the Western Shore county of Anne Arundel as an indentured servant. The death of his master soon after their arrival allowed Robert to marry his widow and come into her sizable land holdings. Despite Robert’s success as a farmer and grocer, the estate was encumbered with debt upon his death, and his stepson, widow, and son sought new opportunities in Baltimore County after extinguishing the debt. Since land was cheaper there, they began investing heavily in it; quickly increasing land values laid the foundation for the family’s prosperity. The Pacas became affluent planters in Baltimore and Harford counties and often served in official positions in the government, church, and militia. The most famous Paca in the eighteenth century was William (1740–1799), who by the 1760s was a very successful attorney in Annapolis. He became a leading opponent of British colonial policy after passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 and later signed the Declaration of Independence. He contributed much of his own money to the patriot cause, and during the Revolution and afterward he held numerous important governmental and judicial positions. In 1770, his wife inherited half of Wye Island in Queen Anne’s County, and he died there in 1799. Pacas continued to live there at elegant Wye Hall in the nineteenth century and to socialize with the nearby Lloyds and Tilghmans. Gregory A. Stiverson and Phebe R. Jacobsen, William Paca: A Biography (Baltimore, 1976); ACAB, 4:618; DAB, 14:123–24. 11. At the time of Manross’s residence in Maryland, the patriarch of the wealthy Lloyd family was Edward Lloyd V (1779–1834) of Wye House. One of the state’s largest landowners and slaveholders, he was also its most successful wheat grower and cattle raiser of the time. As a charter member of the Maryland Agricultural Society, a founder of at least two banks, and a speculator in coal lands, he became the wealthiest of a long line of Lloyds that reached back to colonial Maryland. His huge slave holdings increased from 420 in 1810 to 545 in 1830. An eager student of politics as an adolescent and

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a frequent auditor of political debate at the statehouse in Annapolis, Edward V became a DemocraticRepublican delegate to the state legislature as soon as he reached the age of majority in 1800. The following year, he was active in securing passage of a bill removing all restrictions to white male suffrage. From 1806 to 1808 he was a U.S. congressman, voting in 1807 against a bill to end the African slave trade. For the next two years he was governor of Maryland, and from 1811 to 1816 he returned to the state legislature. In 1819 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, from which he resigned in 1826 to return to the Maryland senate, where he was president until 1831. Edward V married Sally Scott Murray on 30 November 1797 and had six children with her. 1810 U.S. Census, Maryland, Talbot County, 342; Tilghman, History of Talbot County, Maryland, 1:184–210; Hulbert Footner, Rivers of the Eastern Shore: Seventeen Maryland Rivers (New York, 1944), 283–90; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 26, 30, 48–54, 57–58, 74, 82; BDAC, 1403. 12. Tuckahoe is an Algonquin term for “root” or “mushroom.” Preston, Talbot County, 140, 191, 256; Wilstach, Tidewater Maryland, 104–05. 13. Nat Turner (1800–31) was a literate, enslaved carpenter and preacher, and the leader of a slave insurrection in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831. Turner’s band, which consisted of no more than seventy followers, mostly slaves, killed at least fifty-seven whites before being dispersed and captured by the local militia. The revolt triggered retaliatory murders of innocent blacks in the general area, undercut what sentiment there was in the slave states for emancipation, and heightened the Southern fear of servile insurrections. Authorities executed approximately seventeen of Turner’s followers and banished most of the remainder. Turner himself remained at large for over two months; after being captured, he supposedly dictated his “Confessions” to a local lawyer. Tried and sentenced to death on 5 November 1831, Turner was executed by hanging on 11 November 1831. The brief uprising caused a panic among slave owners throughout the South and especially in the Chesapeake Bay region, where whites like Manross were called into special military service to guard against similar outbreaks. Denton was the seat of Caroline County, Maryland. Herbert Aptheker, Nat Turner’s Slave Rebellion (New York, 1966); Stephen B. Oates, The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner’s Fierce Rebellion (1975; New York, 1990); Henry Irving Tragle, comp., The Southampton Slave Revolt of 1831: A Compilation of Source Material (Amherst, Mass., 1971); Randall M. Miller and John David Smith, eds., Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery (Westport, Conn., 1997), 744–46; Cohen, Columbia Gazetteer of the World, 1:818; ACAB, 6:187; NCAB, 13:597; DAB, 19:69–70. 14. Born into a wealthy family in Hull, England, George Cookman (1800–41) received a careful education and had begun working in his father’s merchant firm by the age of twenty. Between 1821 and 1823, he visited the United States on business, and during that sojourn became convinced of his duty to preach the gospel. Despite his father’s protestations, he resolved to settle permanently in America and become a Methodist minister. Soon after migrating in 1825, Cookman became a popular figure in the Methodists’ Philadelphia Conference, preaching throughout parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. His powerful sermons won him the position of chaplain to the U.S. Congress. As revivals swept the Eastern Shore, Cookman became the minister of the St. Michaels Methodist Episcopal church in the summer of 1829 and labored to hold it in the denomination. He remained in that position at least through the early 1830s. By 1830, Cookman was married and had two young sons. He had some antislavery leanings and apparently persuaded Samuel Harrison, one of Talbot County’s largest slaveholders, to emancipate his adult male slaves in his will. In March 1841, President William Henry Harrison entrusted Cookman with special dispatches to be delivered to England. Unfortunately, the President was lost at sea and Cookman was among the one hundred passengers who perished. 1830 U.S. Census, Maryland, Talbot County, 6; Thomas H. Sewell, “St. Michaels Methodism” (Sardis Chapel M.E. Church, St. Michaels, Md., 1894), 665–67, 675–78, 680, 707; Matthew Simpson, ed., Cyclopaedia of Methodism, 5th rev. ed. (Philadelphia, 1882), 255–56; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 114–15, 226; ACAB, 1:722. 15. Queen Anne’s County, an agricultural community on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, was formed as a political unit in 1706. It is still recognized for its many historical structures, including the

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Centreville Courthouse, built in 1706, one of only two built in the eighteenth century still in operation. Seltzer, Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, 1541; Cohen, Columbia Gazetteer of the World, 2551. 16. In 1884 the Methodist Church revised and updated the hymnal used by the United Methodist Free Churches, previously published in 1860. This revised edition contained many hymns dating from the late 1600s. The composer and lyricist of hymn 844 is listed as “Anon.,” so the hymnal does not include a record of its origin, but the lyrics in the fifth stanza are similar to what Manross attempts to quote: “And when our spirits take their flight, / Grant they may live ‘mid saints in light; / O guide them to the realms above, / Where all is joy, and peace, and love!” Methodist Free Church Hymns (London, 1889), 340.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO ALTA LUCIA GRAY HILLIARD WALLINGFORD1 New Market[, n.p.] 28 Jan[uary] 1856.

Dear Mrs Wallingford, I am Sorry that the Snow drifts of Maine2—which entirely blocked the wheels of travel last week, made it impossible for me to spend yesterday in Dover3—and further, prevented me from expressing to you in person,—my Sincere thanks, for the valuable addition Mrs Adams4 —Kate,5 & yourself and perhaps, others—including Dear Mr Wallingford6 —have been pleased to make to my wardrobe. It would have given me Some pleasure—to have appeared in my New Suit at Dover—but failing of this—I take the Liberty of reminding of my grateful appreciation of your kindness and continued interest in my welfare, prosperity and happiness. I esteem you among my earliest antiSlavery friends and whatever differences may arise in respect to men or measures, I hope our friendShip will ever Survive. Please remember me kindly to Mr Wallingford—to Miss Kate—and especially to your kind Sister Mrs Adams— I Shall not be able to lecture in Dover before I return to my home in the West—and probably—not again before next fall. I am Dear Madam, With Best wishes for your Health and happiness, Your faithful friend FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: Miscellaneous Manuscripts, NhHis. 1. Alta Lucia Gray Hilliard Wallingford (1810–91) was the daughter of the Reverend Joseph Hilliard, minister of the Second Congregational Church of Berwick, Maine, from 1796 to 1827. In 1840 she married Zimri Scates Wallingford. Sharing her husband’s abolitionist views, she was active

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in the Dover Anti-Slavery Sewing Circle in the 1850s. D. Hamilton Hurd, History of Rockingham and Strafford Counties, New Hampshire (Philadelphia, 1882), 869–71. John B. Clarke, Sketches of Successful New Hampshire Men (Manchester, N.H., 1882), 70–73; Jody R. Fernald, “Radical Reform in Public Sentiment: Lydia Dixon and the Dover, New Hampshire Ladies’ Antislavery Society,” in Slavery/Antislavery in New England, ed. Peter Benes and Jane Montague Benes (Boston, 2005), 99–100; “Zimri Scates Wallingford,” Granite Monthly: A New Hampshire Magazine, 1: 161–68 (May 1888). 2. Although the severity of the winter of 1855–56 in New England was overshadowed by that of 1856–57, which was remembered as one of the worst on record, the region did experience significant snowfall in January 1856. The storm, which battered the Atlantic coast from Maine to New York, disrupted train travel from Portland to Boston, stranded thousands of people in railroad cars outside Boston, downed telegraph wires (cutting off communication between Boston and New York City), and drove the steamer Plymouth Rock ashore on Long Island Sound. Sidney Perley, Historic Storms of New England (1891; Beverly, Mass., 2001), 273–78; Augusta Maine Farmer, 3 January, 10 January 1856. 3. Located in Piscataquis County, present-day Dover-Foxcroft is approximately thirty-five miles northwest of Bangor. Dover, on the south side of the Piscataquis River, was first settled in 1803, and Foxcroft, on the north bank, was founded three years later. The two communities merged in 1922. Seltzer, Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, 531; Cohen, Columbia Gazetteer of the World, 863. 4. Mary Hilliard Adams (1805–82) was Alta Wallingford’s sister. She married Dr. John Owen Adams in 1831. In her later years, she and her daughter, Kate, resided with the Wallingfords in Dover, New Hampshire. 1870 U.S. Census, New Hampshire, Strafford County, 117; Marietta Frances (Stacy) Hilton, “Records of the Second Church of Berwick, Me., 1755–1857,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 74: 247, 266 (October 1920); “Zimri Scates Wallingford,” 161–68. 5. Kate Adams (c. 1834–1914) resided in the Wallingford household with her mother. The 1860 U.S. Census identifies a Kate Winn, born in Ireland, as a member of the Wallingford household. She was most likely a servant. 1860 U.S. Census, New Hampshire, Strafford County, 154. 6. Born in Milton, New Hampshire, Zimri Scates Wallingford (1816–86) was apprenticed at age twelve to a blacksmith. At fifteen he began working in the machine shop of the Great Falls Manufacturing Company in Great Falls, New Hampshire, and over the next several years he pursued that trade in Maryland, Virginia, and Philadelphia. In 1840 he married Alta Lucia Gray Hilliard. Between 1840 and 1844 they lived in Great Falls, but his increasingly outspoken support of both the temperance movement and abolition led to difficulties with his employer. Consequently, in 1844 he accepted the position of master machine builder with the Coheco Manufacturing Company in Dover, New Hampshire. Rising to the position of agent, he remained with the company until his death. Wallingford was also a partner in the Dover Navigation Company, which built schooners, one of which was the highly profitable Zimri S. Wallingford. A close friend of the Garrisonian abolitionist Parker Pillsbury, he was active in abolitionist circles in Dover throughout the 1850s. Wallingford was a vocal opponent of slavery and a leading New Hampshire Republican. In 1876 he served both as a member of the New Hampshire Constitutional Convention and as a presidential elector, casting his vote for Rutherford B. Hayes. Clarke, Sketches of Successful New Hampshire Men, 70–73; Hurd, History of Rockingham and Strafford Counties, 869–71; “Zimri Scates Wallingford,” 161–68.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 20 February 1856[.]

Hon: Gerrit Smith: I cannot conSent to leave home again (as I shall do tomorrow if all be well) without Sending you a line expressing my Sincere Satisfaction, at finding you Still leading on the moral Sentiment, opposed to Slavery in every Sense, and every where, as Shown in your letter to your friend— Governor Chase.1 Your’s is the true word in the true time. Years to come it will be easier to Say all you Say, than now—and all the easier because you have made it So. I am now going to Ohio,2 to Spend a fortnight in lecturing. Thereafter, I Shall be more at home. My lecturing this winter has been constant—and as I have lectured before Lyceums—as well as other public bodies. I have, you will be glad to know, got Some money by my lectures. Five weeks Spent in New England—gave me the handsome [sum] of five hundred Dollars. In Ohio—I mainly go out as antiSlavery lecturer—and Shall get but little compensation other than what arises out of the consciousness of doing good and hastening the regeneration of the public mind. I have Stood my work well this winter—but I dare not boast much of my health—as I draw nearer the Close of winter my old throat disorder—will probably Show itself—I already begin to feel the Symptoms of its approach. Please to remember me kindly to Mrs Smith.3 Both to you and to her Anna wishes to be remembered. Yours most truly FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Salmon P. Chase. 2. Douglass had many speaking engagements in Ohio during February and March 1856. From 21 February through 13 March, he was scheduled to speak in Xenia, Bellbrook, Cedarville, Springfield, Dayton, Painesville, and Hamilton. He was scheduled to lecture in Deshler Hall in Columbus on 24 February, Smith and Nixon Hall in Cincinnati on 3 March, an unknown location in Columbus on 4 March, and Chapin’s Hall in Cleveland on 5 March. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxv. 3. Ann Carroll Fitzhugh Smith.

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CHARLES W. STUART TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Lora, C[anada] W[est.] 10 March 1856.

Frederick Douglass, Esq.: Dear Sir:— I thank you for your publication of Gerrit Smith’s letter to Governor Chase,1 in your 426th whole number.2 What a blessing to his country— what an honor to human nature is such a man! But there are thousands and tens of thousands in the United States, more or less like him; and as long as they remain free to feel, and to write, and to act as he does, there is yet hope for your country, fearful as is its danger; crimsoned as it is with the blood of its guiltless poor; and loathsome as is its outrageous hypocrisy, ecclesiastical and civil! May Gerrit Smith’s exposition, as luminous and unanswerable as it is considerate and kind, of the striking error of minds so characteristically noble and accomplished as Chase’s and Seward’s, &c., be blessed to their perception and acknowledgment, that the clear transgression of any of God’s fundamental laws, never can be rightfuly legalized; and, of course, that the United States system of Slavery, being the sum of all villainies, can, not only have no rightfully lawful existence; but is properly and emphatically only fit for utter abhorrence, and for immediate and thorough abolition. Yet amid all the excellencies of his glorious mind, bright in intellect, fraught with knowledge, Christian in heart, heroic in will, eloquent in utterance, person and gesture as he is, Gerrit Smith seems to me to forget himself, when he says, “all admit, that Cuba should belong to us; and all should be able to see, that Mexico must be miserable, until she becomes a part of us.”3 For my part, I cannot imagine by what law, deserving the name of law, Cuba should belong to the United States; or, that Mexico, free as she is from Slavery, must be miserable, until she becomes a member of a slaveholding nation. But even if the United States were as free as they pretend to be, I cannot see, by what right, Cuba ought to be hers, or that she would have any right to annex Mexico by aggression. Does might make right! Great Britain and France, have a better right than the United States, to attack and conquer Cuba for themselves; or to defend it from the aggressions of others. Does proximity constitute right! Then is every powerful State in the neighborhood of a weaker, entitled to conquer or annex it: and to carry this principle out (a thoroughly slaveholding and tyrannical principle)—

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every strong man would have a right to take his weaker neighbor into his charge, to govern him as he thought best. Nations and Individuals, have nothing like wisdom equity, and benevolence enough, to act sanely and honestly on such principles. Let me add a few testimonies of my own judgment in relation to yourself. Your life has attested you to me, as a vigorously independent and sincere mind; sometimes mistaken, as I think you grossly were—(though all the time with decided sincerity)—in your zealous coincidence for a season with the peculiarities of W. L. Garrison and G. Thompson:4 (natural and generous coincidences as they were, considering what you at first owed to the prompt and earnest services of the former of those gentlemen.) But fully vindicating your bright and independent integrity, by acting as you have since done, truly for yourself; and by generally seeking more to live down, than to write down, their subsequent and continued abuse. Go on—let them alone, except it be to acknowledge whatever good may be in them.—But pass by with pity their striking errors; for deeply as I differ from them in many fundamental points, I am yet quite convinced, that as far as their mere intentions go, the slave has no friends more sincere and devoted than they. You have truth on your side in your difference with them; for I believe that God is leading you, in your abolition course, and you can well afford to let growlers growl, without reply. I wish you would illustrate the fundamental axiom, that, every really wise government, must contain within itself, a lawful provision, for the fearful correction of whatever abuses may exist in its principles and practices, and that such a provision undeniably exists, in the 5th Article of your Constitutional amendments.5 CHARLES STUART. PLSr: FDP, 21 March 1856. 1. Salmon P. Chase. 2. Printed in the 22 February 1856 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper (whole no. 416), Gerrit Smith’s letter to Governor Salmon P. Chase of Ohio criticizes the latter’s endorsement of the Republican party and its cautious antislavery stand. 3. Smith’s letter to Chase included an attack on what he regarded as the Republican party’s apathy toward slavery, attributing it to the party’s stance on the potential annexation of Cuba and Mexico. According to Smith, Northerners and Southerners believed it would benefit all three nations to bring Cuba and Mexico into the Union. Although opposed to the expansion of the “slave power,” the North was willing to allow slavery to continue “where it exists” rather than eliminate it altogether. Smith argued that this stance was hypocritical and would not gain the Republican party support among abolitionists. FDP, 22 February 1856. 4. George Thompson. 5. Ratification of any proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires passage by threefourths of the states, as laid out in article V.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO ALTA LUCIA GRAY HILLIARD WALLINGFORD Rochester[, N.Y.] 14 March 1856.

My dear friend. You could not have regretted more than my Self—my inability to reach Dover for a second lecture in February. For my own Sake and for the Cause’s Sake, I would have been glad if the case had been otherwise. I had a warm, fresh word to utter there, in behalf of the slave and in behalf of universal freedom, which might have been of Service. I wanted too, to meet again, yourself and other Dear friends who have manifested an interest in my welfare and happiness—but the elements were against this and I was compelled to Submit to their decision. This winter has found me abundant in Labors—and left me much worn. I travelled during the winter about four thousand miles and have delivered nearly Seventy Speeches to large meetings of the people. I have lectured in Maine, N. Hampshere Massachusetts—R Island—Conn—Newyork—and Ohio—My extreme point in the east was Bangor—and in the west Cincinnati—During my visit to Ohio1—while at Painesville—I had the good fortune to Spend an afternoon and evening with MrS N. P. Rogers2—and several of the Children of our gifted friend now resting from his labors—where the treachery of professed friends—and the malice of open foes—are alike harmless— I had a very pleasant interview—and was much reminded both of Sunny and Shady moments Spent with the same Children and mother—when the Father was living—and mantled us all in the bright Sun Shine—or the penSive Shades of his powerful mind and heart. I am to lecture this evening in Brockport—N York3 about 20, miles from home—Pardon the brevity of this note—Love to Mr Wallingford4 to your Sister—Mrs Adams5—and to all that love this cause of human progress in your Dear family and out of it in Dover. Yours most truly and with great respect. FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Miscellaneous Manuscripts, NhHis. 1. Frederick Douglass had several speaking engagements in Ohio in early 1856, including one in Painesville, between 21 February and 13 March. The manufacturing community of Painesville, a trade and distribution point, is located in Lake County, Ohio, approximately twenty-five miles northeast of Cleveland, near Lake Erie. Though designed in 1805, Painesville was not established as a village until 1832. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxiv–xxv; Seltzer, Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, 1411–12; Cohen, Columbia Gazetteer of the World, 2337. 2. A native of Vermont, Mary Porter Farrand Rogers (1796–1890) was the daughter of Daniel Farrand, a justice of the Vermont State Supreme Court, and his wife, Mary Porter. Her maternal grandfather was a prominent Tory, Colonel Asa Porter of Haverhill, New Hampshire. In 1822 she

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married the abolitionist editor Nathaniel Peabody Rogers. Frederic P. Wells, History of Newbury, Vermont: From the Discovery of the Coös Country to Present Time (St. Johnsbury, Vt., 1902), 542–43. 3. Douglass was scheduled to speak in Brockport, New York, on 14 March 1856. Brockport, located in Monroe County, is approximately seventeen miles west of Rochester. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxv; Thomas and Baldwin, Lippincott’s Gazetteer, 1:296. 4. Zimri Scates Wallingford. 5. Mary Hilliard Adams.

REBECCA WILLIAMSON1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Boston, [Mass.] 30 March 1856.

Dear Mr. Douglass:— A short time ago, I heard a lady (who spent several months last year in Cuba) express very strong Pro-Slavery sentiments, and though I argued with her to the best of my ability, I could not make her say that it was a sin to hold our fellow creatures in bondage. I finally, asked her to go with me on the next Sunday evening to Mr. Grimes’s2 Church. She went. It so happened, that the Rev. Mr. Garnet3 from Jamaica lectured that evening on the subject of Jamaica, before Emancipation,4 a lecture that was deeply interesting to me, and I think must have interested all who heard it. My friend, however, did not say much about it, although it was evident that she was a good deal surprised to hear so able a production from a black man. The next day I carried to her “My Bondage and My Freedom,” and asked her to read it carefully. Yesterday she returned the book. I asked her how she liked it. “I cannot tell you,” said she, “how much I liked it, but that you may know that it has done some good, I mean to subscribe for Mr. Douglass’ paper.” I told her that was good proof enough. I wanted no better—so here is her subscription for a year. Please send the paper to Miss A. M. Anderson, Boston. Yours, very respectfully, REBECCA WILLIAMSON. PLSr: FDP, 11 April 1856. 1. Probably Rebecca Williamson Dresser (1828–1906), who was born to English immigrant parents in New Brunswick, Canada. She married Edwin Dresser (cofounder of the Standard Diary Company, which was later incorporated as the Cambridgeport Diary Company) in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1859. A lifelong Unitarian, she was eulogized as “an abolitionist in the time when

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such opinions were unpopular.” Boston Christian Register, 4 January 1906; Molly McCarthy, The Accidental Diarist: A History of the Daily Planner in America (Chicago, 2013), 156–69, 200, 204, 244. 2. A free black born in Leesburg, Virginia, Leonard A. Grimes (1815–73), pastor of the Twelfth Baptist Church, spent his early years in Washington, D.C., where he worked for a butcher and a druggist. After traveling through the South in the employ of a slaveholder, Grimes returned to Washington and began actively participating in the movement to assist fugitive slaves. While working as a hackman, he was charged and convicted in the escape of a family of eight slaves and served two years in a Richmond prison. Upon his release, around 1845, he moved first to New Bedford, Massachusetts, and then to Boston, where from 1848 until his death he ministered to the Twelfth Baptist Church. Grimes frequently hosted abolitionist meetings at his church, and in 1851 unsuccessfully plotted to rescue the incarcerated fugitive Thomas Sims. In 1854 he organized the attempt by Boston merchants and brokers to buy the freedom of the imprisoned Anthony Burns. The effort failed, but in the following year Grimes traveled to Baltimore and ransomed Burns from his new owner. Grimes was unsuccessfully nominated for the post of chaplain to the Massachusetts legislature in 1864. Boston Commonwealth, 12 February 1864; William Wells Brown, The Rising Son; or, the Antecedents and Advancement of the Colored Race (Boston, 1874), 534–35; John Daniels, In Freedom’s Birthplace: A Study of the Boston Negroes (Boston, 1914), 64, 452; Pease and Pease, The Fugitive Slave Law, 39–41; Pease and Pease, They Who Would Be Free, 229; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 82, 146, 206, 209. 3. Henry Highland Garnet. 4. In 1833, Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act, which abolished slavery in the British West Indies. As stipulated by the act, all slaves under six years of age were freed on 1 August 1834, and all other slaves were made apprentices. Slaves who worked on the land were to serve a six-year apprenticeship before being granted their full freedom, and those who worked off the land were to serve a four-year apprenticeship. By 1838, however, the apprenticeship program had been deemed unworkable, and an Act of Emancipation granted full freedom to all former slaves on 1 August 1838. By 1844 nearly 20,000 former slave families had been settled on their own lands in Jamaica, and by 1859 it was estimated that there were roughly 50,000 black freeholders on the island. Gale L. Kenny, Contentious Liberties: American Abolitionists in Post-Emancipation Jamaica, 1834–1866 (Athens, Ga., 2010), 56; Sidney Mintz, “Labor and Sugar in Puerto Rico and Jamaica, 1800–1850,” Comparative Studies in Society and History, 1:278 (March 1959).

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 12 April 1856[.]

Hon. Gerrit Smith My Dear Sir. My throat is better1—and for ten days I have been out on a lecturing tour—I am now quite hoarse—and am [illegible] to lecture in Watertown Jefferson Co2—Tues day and Wednesday of next week. My meetings are fully attended, and I beleave, make a good impression for the cause. I however, find it hard work to get new Subscribers—or to keep old ones—and my list has fallen off considerably—from what it was last year—The coming presidential Campaign will Severely try, and perhaps break down my paper. Radical Abolitionism—is too far a head of these

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degenerate times—to be well Supported. I Shall, however nail my colors to the maSt—and if I go down—it will be with all colors flying. I Shall not be able to be preSent at our nominating Convention in Syracuse3—I have appointments in Ohio at that time.4 My presence there would be more important to myself than to any Body else Upon this rely—I Shall stand by the action of the Convention—unless it Shall be less radical—than I expect it will be. Please accept my thanks for your kind mention of me, to the assembled wisdom of the State in your speech on the colored negro suffrage question. With love to your Dear family yours Truly FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. A notice posted in the 2 March 1856 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper announced that Douglass, having returned “from his recent arduous and protracted tour,” was ill and unable to answer his correspondence. Douglass suffered from a “throat disorder,” which he mentioned in a letter to Smith dated 22 March 1856. In another letter to Smith, dated 16 April 1856, Douglass stated that he would not be making a planned trip to Watertown because he had lost his voice. Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 22 March, 16 April 1856; FDP, 2 March 1856; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxv. 2. Douglass did not make his lecture appointment in Watertown, as he related in his letter to Gerrit Smith dated 16 April 1856, printed later in this volume: “I did not go to Watertown as I told you. My voice forsook me two days before and is just returning.” Watertown, New York, was the seat of Jefferson County, located approximately 160 miles west-northwest of Albany and 86 miles northnorthwest of Utica. Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 16 April 1856, Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU; Thomas and Baldwin, Lippincott’s Gazetteer, 2:2082. 3. The first Radical Abolitionist Convention was held at city hall in Syracuse, New York, on 26–28 June 1855. Gerrit Smith was named the party’s nominee for the 1856 presidential election. A second party convention was called for on 28 May 1856, again at Syracuse’s city hall. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxv, 134–42; Foner, Life and Writings, 5:385–90; Stauffer, Black Hearts of Men, 8–9, 20; EAAH, 3:8–9. 4. Douglass spoke at the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society meeting at Corinthian Hall on 22 May 1856. It is unknown what other speaking engagements he had in late May, but he must have rescheduled them, because he spoke at the Radical Abolitionist Convention on the 28th. FDP, 30 May 1856; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxv, 114–133.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 16 April 1856[.]

Hon Gerrit Smith, My Dear friend. The engagement which will prevent my 1 if my Ohio friends insist upon it, was made as long ago, as

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december 1855. I engaged to Spend the last week in May 1856—in Warren and Clinton counties—with a view to attending Several antiSlavery Conventions in those counties—It is bearly possible that I may be able to get a postponement of those conventions. I shall write to my friend Dr Watson2—of Paintersville Ohio to a effect this if possible. Nevertheless, I cannot see any pressing necessity for being present at the Convention at Syracuse. My mind is made up as to the wisdom of the radical movement—and the reasons which have convinced me—will find able men enough to enforce them in that convention—without my aid—As to doing anything for my paper in Such a convention—I have little hope. My Subscription list must be recruited not from the veterans of the cause, who for the most part, are poor and already provided for—but from the public at Large. I did not go to Watertown3 as I told you—My voice forSook me two days before and is just returning— Yours Most Truly FREDERICK DOUGLASS ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. On 28–29 May 1856, political abolitionists dissatisfied with the weak antislavery stand of the new Republican party met at city hall in Syracuse, New York, to nominate their own candidates for president and vice president. Gerrit Smith and William Goodell, the primary promoters of this Radical Abolitionist Convention, were hoping to create a “Radical Abolition Party” to replace the moribund Liberty party. A strong personal plea from Smith persuaded Douglass to cancel a scheduled lecture tour of Ohio and appear at the Syracuse convention. Northern indignation at the attacks during the preceding week on Charles Sumner in the Senate and on the free-state settlement of Lawrence, Kansas, bolstered attendance at the gathering. Joseph Plumb of New York presided over two days of deliberations, which were highlighted by the reading of an “Address” written by Smith that strongly rebuked the Republicans, and by debate over an amendment offered by Abram Pryne sanctioning the use of force to make Kansas a free state. Douglass frequently entered into the discussions. On the afternoon of 28 May, he rose to urge adoption of Smith’s “Address,” and at the evening session he joined William J. Watkins and Beriah Green in speaking to a hall crowded with delegates to the New York State Republican Convention, which was also meeting in Syracuse. The next day, the Radical Abolitionists unanimously nominated Gerrit Smith for president and the Pennsylvania lawyer Samuel McFarland for vice president. The convention then adjourned, as Douglass wrote, “to meet again at the ballot-box, November next.” A. C. Hills, a reporter, recorded the speeches. Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 22 March, 12, 16 April, 23 May 1856, Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU; New York Daily Times, 29 May 1856; New York Daily Tribune, 29 May 1856; FDP, 6 June 1856; Washington (D.C.) National Era, 26 June 1856; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxv, 134; Stauffer, Black Hearts of Men, 20. 2. John Hampton Watson (1804–83) graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in medicine in 1829. He moved to Ohio in 1835, where he practiced medicine for a few years in Paintersville, Greene County, Ohio. He won admission to the Ohio bar in 1844. A veteran abolitionist, Watson removed his family to the Kansas Territory in the late 1850s to support the free-state cause there. In 1862, Republicans elected Watson to the Kansas supreme court, but that election was later ruled invalid. He later served on the district court bench in Kansas. Daniel W. Wilder, Annals

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of Kansas (Topeka, Kans., 1875), 325–26, 345, 475, 492, 583; Michael A. Broadstone, ed., History of Greene County, Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions, 2 vols. (Indianapolis, Ind., 1918), 1:387, 568. 3. It is unknown what “lecture” Douglass intended to deliver in Watertown in April 1856. Douglass suffered from a recurring “throat disorder,” which he mentioned in a letter to Smith dated 22 March 1856. In a subsequent letter to Smith dated 12 April 1856, Douglass stated that his throat was better, but he was hoarse because he had been on a lecturing tour and was not looking forward to his trip to Watertown. Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 22 March, 12 April 1856, Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO BENJAMIN COATES1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 17 April 1856[.]

Benjamin Coates Esqr. My dear Sir. Your two letters have reached me, and should have been soon answered but for my absence from home when they arrived here. You have, My Dear Sir, given me many and striking proofs of an honest desire to assist in changing the popular estimate in which my poor people are held in this Country. I hope and believe, I am not wanting in gratitude to you for your unostentatious labors to this end, although I am not able to agree with you as to wisdom of Colonization as a means to that end. You think I do not under Stand Colonization. Perhaps, I don’t. I am Sure, however, that I underStand and appreciate your earnest and disinterested endeavors to promote the welfare, happiness, and higher development of my unfortunate race—whither in Africa or in America. This is to me a great satisfaction. I know you less as connected with Colonization than as connected with the improvement of the Character and Condition of the Colored people here. I am not about to write you an argument against Colonization. You are already acquainted with the argument. It has been repeatedly pressed upon your attention far more ably than I am able to press it—and I know to know, that when the truth strongly presented fails to convince— convincement is not likely to follow when the Same truth is but feebly and imperfectly stated—Still I am almost compelled by your own eloquent plea for Colonization, briefly to State my Convictions touching the Colonization movement—I believe then, that the agitation of Colonization has a direct tendency to devert attention from the great and paramount duty of abolition—and Stands directly in the way of the latter; that it Serves to deaden the national conscience—when it needs quickening to the great and dreadful Sin of Slavery—that it furnishes an apology for delaying

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emancipation until the whole four millions2 Can be sent to Africa—thus interposing a physical impossibility, between the Slave and his deliverance from Chains—that aims to extinguish the hope of ultimate elevation for the free negro in this Country—and to unsettle all his plans of progress here, that it robs his future in this country of all that can gladden his heart and nerve him to manly endeavors— that it serves to confirm existing prejudice as a thing natural and insurmountable—Believing all this and more—however I may feel towards Liberia3 as an existing fact— I can not do other than oppose the Colonization movement. You have large views of the future of Africa—So have I, he My heart can never be indifferent to any legitimate movement for spreading the blessings of Christianity and Civilization in that Country—But the effort must not be to get the negroes out of this Country—but to get Christianity into that. Please send me any names you may have to whom you think my Book or paper will be recieved acceptable—and either Shall be promptly Sent as you Shall derect,— I am, My Dear Sir, Your True and grateful Friend FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Benjamin Coates Manuscripts, PHi. 1. Benjamin Coates (c. 1808–87) mostly likely formed his opinions on slavery and abolition under the influence of his devout Pennsylvania Quaker parents. A successful wool merchant and a publisher, Coates was active in many antislavery organizations in Philadelphia, such as the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. Despite his abolitionist connections, Coates argued that colonization was the best way to end slavery. From the 1840s until his death, Coates actively sought financial support from wealthy donors for colonization efforts in western Africa and started a correspondence with Joseph Jenkins Roberts, a successful immigrant to Liberia. In 1858 Coates published Cotton Cultivation in Africa: Suggestions on the Importance of the Cultivation of Cotton in Africa, in Reference to the Abolition of Slavery in the United States, through the Organization of an African Civilization Society, which advocated an increase in international cotton production in order to diminish the world’s dependence on cotton from the American South. Coates believed that with a decrease in profits, Southern slave owners would be compelled to free most, and perhaps all, of their slaves. Coates’s endorsement of colonization hurt his standing in the abolitionist movement, yet Douglass defended Coates, stating that he was a “humane and benevolent man” and “no more a negro hater than we.” Douglass Papers, ser. 3, 1:538n; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 4:322. 2. According to the U.S. Census there were 3,204,313 slaves in the country in 1850 and 3,953,760 in 1860. Steckel, “The African American Population of the United States,” 438–39. 3. Assisted by the American Colonization Society, free black American settlers arrived in what became the Republic of Liberia in 1822. Over the next twenty-five years, new settlements were established along the coast, most notably Moesurado, founded in 1822, which became Monrovia, the new nation’s capital. The settlers, who became known as “Americo-Liberians,” declared the independence of Liberia in 1847. Along with the American emigrants, several groups of indigenous people lived in the territory, including the Kru and Grebo tribes. Immigration to Liberia from the United States continued well into the 1870s, and many of the new settlers were “recaptives,” or Africans rescued from the now illegal slave ships. Despite their belief that Africa was a promised land, Americo-Liberians

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carried over many American customs and social standards. Both the Americo-Liberians and many of the recaptives considered themselves Americans and, consequently, superior to the indigenous tribal Africans. The government of Liberia was ostensibly democratic and was modeled after that of the United States. The True Whig Party, led by Americo-Liberians, dominated Liberian politics, often offering the only candidates for office, until 12 April 1980, when the military carried out a coup d’état and took control of the nation. J. Gus Liebenow, Liberia: The Quest for Democracy (Bloomington, Ind., 1987), 11–29, 88–92, 184–96; Robert Rinehart, “Historical Setting,” Liberia: A Country Study, ed. Harold D. Nelson, 3d. ed. (Washington, D.C., 1985), 1–32; Irving Kaplan et al., “The Society and Its Environment,” Liberia, ed. Nelson, 70–72.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 1 May 1856.

Hon Gerrit Smith. My dear Friend. Mrs Douglass1 wishes me to tender her thanks for the Garden Seed kindly Sent from Peterboro. These are little things—but little things rather than large things, reveal the real qualities of the heart. I had to laugh right out when I Saw that neat little bag so carefully enclosing a few seeds—intended to speak to Senses is already refined. We both, thank Mrs Smith and yourSelf, for remembering us in these nice little tokens. Did you notice Mr Garrisons reply to Mr Granger’s2 speech?3 It is full of sophistry. I have reviewed it in part in the paper just going to press.4 In doing so I have been more concerned for the argument than for the style[.] I have made free use of your ideas in my review. Your’s Most Truly FRED. DOUGLASS. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Anna Murray Douglass. 2. Born in Suffield Connecticut, Amos P. Granger (1789–1866) was a merchant who settled in Manlius, New York, in 1811. He was a New York state militia officer in the War of 1812, and ultimately rose to the rank of general in the militia. By 1825, Granger had moved to Syracuse, New York, and served as a city trustee for four years. A prominent Whig, he unsuccessfully ran for Congress several times, but abandoned that party after the 1852 presidential election. In 1853, Granger attended the Whig party’s Auburn Convention and wrote a series of adopted resolutions that later guided the development of the New York Republican party. As a Republican, Granger was elected to the House of Representatives for the Thirty-Fifth Congress, but retired from politics after one term. FDP, 2 May 1856; Syracuse Journal, 21 August 1866; BDUS (online). 3. In only the second speech made in Congress that declared slavery unconstitutional, New York congressman Amos P. Granger used the writ of habeas corpus to attack slavery. Since the Constitution guaranteed the writ of habeas corpus in peacetime, Granger argued that slavery violated this constitutional right by holding slaves, not convicted of any crime, in perpetual bondage. The Fugi-

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tive Slave Act of 1850 further violated habeas corpus by allowing Southern slave catchers to seize “black and white citizens” in the North and hold them without trial. William Lloyd Garrison attacked Granger’s arguments in the Liberator, asserting that the Constitution fully supported slavery. In a continuation of his earlier sentiments in favor of Northern secession, or “disunionism,” Garrison argued that if slavery was unconstitutional, why did Washington, Madison, Jefferson, and many founding fathers “maintain slaves”? Lib., 11 April 1856. 4. In a response to Garrison’s critique of Granger’s speech, Douglass staunchly defended the content of that speech and Granger’s “bravery” for bringing the slavery issue to the House floor. Douglass asserted, “Mr. Garrison’s opinion of the Constitution is the same as Robert Toombs’.” Douglass argued that the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution could be “fully applied to the negro,” and though the founders kept slaves, many were against slavery and the slave trade. Douglass further argued that Garrison’s call for Northern secession was against the principles of the Declaration of Sentiments of the American Anti-Slavery Society, which Garrison wrote in 1833. In conclusion, Douglass speculated on whether the South would use many of Garrison’s arguments against abolitionists. FDP, 2 May 1856.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 23 May 1856.

Hon. Gerrit Smith: My Dear Sir. I hope you are the better of your cold. If all be well I shall certainly meet you at Syracuse. I am released from my earlier appointments in Ohio. Now I want your counSel. Your unceasing interest in me and in my paper, and in the cause to which it is devoted, makes it right that I should Seek your counSel. I am almost convinced that my paper can not be sustained. I am now full fifteen hundred dollars in debt for it—and have on hand only Six hundred Dollar from my friend Julia Griffiths1—to pay my creditors. My paper is deep in its ninth year. I have done my part toward putting it on a permanent footing. I have failed, at least for the present. My credet is good and I might go on. But is it right and best? I am almost persuaded that it is not. The prospect is dark. My paper is dying of the desease which carried the “Model Worker”2 to its grave. It is opposed to the Republicans of fifty six—as it was opposed to Free Soilers in forty eight. My paper is not Republican—and therefore Republicans look coldly on it[.] It is not Garrisonian and therefore Garrisonians hate and spare no pains to destroy it. Mean while the colored people do very little to support it. Now what shall be done—Shall the paper go down and be a total wreck—or Shall it be Saved by being merged into the Radical abolitionist[?]3 Cannot the Radical abolitionist be made a weekly journal and some way be devised

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by which my subscription list be transferred to that of the abolitionist. I am sick at the thought of the failure of my paper—and humbled by the thought that no negro has yet succeeded in establishing a press in the United States—but when I a man cannot stand up he must fall down. I have struggled about nine years to establish such a press—and although I had when I began five or six thousand dollars—I should not have now, half that Sum but for the Success attending my lectures last winter and the sale of my Book—The nine years have almost gone—My Children4 are growing up—and increasing their demands upon me—and it becomes me to Submit to the humiliation of failure rather than blindly go on till all is lost. I ask nothing for my self in this business. I do not even ask for a place in the paper—but simply ask that you will help me to Save my paper from positive failure—by merging it into the radical abolitionist.5 I suggest this to your own private eye. While I do not ask any place in the Radical abolitionists—as an editor—or assistant in case my paper is merged—Yet It might be an element of strength to the concern to have me in Some way connected with it. I am, My Dear Friend, very Truly yours, FREDERICK DOUGLASS.

[P.S.] I lectured last night to the largest audience in Corinthian Hall,6 which has assembled here during the past Winter. I hope you will not consider the forgoing an appeal to your pockets— for it honestly is not. Personally I am quite “well off” in the world—Having health, and heart, a good house and lot, a little money—and a wide field of usefulness as a lecturer in the cause of freedom. My Bondage and my freedom—will Sell, as long as I can lecture—so that I regard myself well provided for— for the present. Love to Dear Mrs Smith7 Again Yours F. D. ALS: Gerrit Smith, NSyU. 1. Contributions from Gerrit Smith kept Frederick Douglass’ Paper solvent in its earliest years, and Julia Griffiths was instrumental in bringing additional revenues into the newspaper. After Griffiths’s return to Great Britain in mid-1855, the finances of Douglass’s newspaper went into steep decline: as the size of the Liberty party decreased, Douglass’s paper could not generate a sufficient number of subscribers to meet its expenses. Quarles, Frederick Douglass, 91–96. 2. The Model Worker was a weekly newspaper edited by Samuel Green in Utica, New York, in the late 1840s. It promoted the ideas of its editor’s father, Beriah Green, on manual labor education and other reform and religious causes, including abolitionism. In 1848 the Model Worker stood by

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the remnant of the Liberty party, led by Gerrit Smith, rather than joining the more popular Free Soil movement. NS, 28 July 1848; Henry J. Cookinham, History of Oneida County, New York: From 1700 to the Present Time, 2 vols. (Chicago, 1912), 1:287; Sernett, Abolition’s Axe, 27, 30–31. 3. When the Central Abolition Board, which evolved into the American Abolition Society, was created at a convention in Syracuse in late June 1855, William Goodell was a key figure. The new organization adopted Goodell’s monthly periodical, the American Jubilee, as its official journal, changing its name to the Radical Abolitionist. Although the Radical Abolitionist claimed as many as three thousand paying subscribers, it depended heavily on financial subsidies from Gerrit Smith. It was published as a monthly until December 1858, when Goodell, following quarrels with Smith on questions of religion, abandoned it. Perkal, “William Goodell,” 249–50, 253, 257, 277, 283–84; DAB, 7:384–85. 4. Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass were parents to five children: Rosetta (1839–1906), Lewis Henry (1840–1908), Frederick Jr. (1842–92), Charles Remond (1844–1920), and Annie (1849–60). 5. No such merger of Douglass’s newspaper with Goodell’s Radical Abolitionist occurred. The executive committee of the American Abolition Society discussed the idea on 17 July 1856 but tabled the notion. Smith, who remained a financial patron of both editors, most likely helped Douglass through that crisis, as he had on past occasions. Perkal, “William Goodell,” 253, 267. 6. Douglass spoke to the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society at Corinthian Hall in Rochester on 22 May 1856. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxv. 7. Ann Carroll Fitzhugh Smith.

HIRAM PUTNAM1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Syracuse, [N.Y.] 7 July 1856.

Frederick Douglass, Esq. :— Dear Sir :— I have been in hopes you would see your way clear to vote this fall with the Republican party, and thereby strengthen the good cause. But I see you are determined to throw away all the Abolition votes you can control, and thereby work directly against the only practical liberty party that stands any chance of success. Why not go as far with that party as they promise to travel with you on the same road; and when you can go no further with them, continue your own course alone. That appears to me to be the better course, and the only one which can justify you as a liberty-loving man. I am aware that the Republican party does not take strong ground against Slavery everywhere,2 (I would that they did, it would rejoice my heart,) but they promise to do the first thing to be done, and I go with them, trusting that their success will stimulate them to go further and still onward in the good cause. I am sorry to part company with you, for I have read your paper with much pleasure for several years, but the course you have adopted for this Presidential campaign is such as I cannot approve, and I

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must confine myself to papers which advocate a different course. Please discontinue the paper to me, and if the amount enclosed does not meet the balance due you, let me know, and it shall be paid. Your friend, In the cause of universal freedom, HIRAM PUTNAM. PLSr: FDP, 25 July 1856. 1. Born in Danvers, Massachusetts, Hiram Putnam (1786–1874) was a long-tenured sea captain who moved to Syracuse, New York, in the late 1820s. There he became active in the Unitarian Church and contributed much of his time and money to the local congregation until his death. Putnam became an ardent abolitionist in Syracuse and gained the respect of many local abolitionists for his vocal opposition to slavery. After Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, he joined a committee of local abolitionists and publicly denounced President Fillmore and Congress. In addition, Putnam supported social reform through education, and backed the establishment of public schools in Syracuse and central New York. New York Times, 20 July 1852; In Memory of Captain Hiram Putnam, (n.p., c. 1874); Samuel J. May, Some Recollections of our Antislavery Conflict (Boston, 1869), 350. 2. To appeal to a broad base of Northern voters during the 1856 presidential election, the Republican party took great pains to repudiate accusations that it favored the abolition of slavery. Despite disappointing many abolitionists in the North, party leaders knew that they needed to attract former Know-Nothing and Democratic voters in order to win the presidency. The 1856 Republican platform emphasized opposition to slavery’s extension into the western territories, but was content to let slavery continue “where it already exists.” William E. Gienapp, The Origins of the Republican Party, 1852–1856 (New York, 1988), 331–38, 347, 362.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO JOSEPH COMSTOCK HATHAWAY1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 29 July 1856.

J. C. Hathaway: My Dear Friend: I am just leaving for New Bedford2—and have time only for a word in response to your favor of yesterday. I should have been pleased with Burnes’3 horse—The price is higher than I wish to go—I can not allow mySelf more than two hundred dollars in horSe flesh—and from your account,—and I rely Solely upon your judgement in the matter—the beautiful dark bay mare, at two hundred dollars must answer my purpose. I shall not reach home till about the 20th August—At that time, or there after, I will be glad to have an introduction to her Lady Ship—The cash will be forth coming at that time— Tell Dear Ann4 that I was sorry not to have Seen her Self and my friend Miss Smith when they called at my office. My kindest regards to your Dear household—I am Yours Truly— FREDERICK DOUGLASS—

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ALS: African-American History Collection, MiU-C. 1. Joseph Comstock Hathaway (1810–73), a Quaker farmer from Farmington, New York, was the recording secretary of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1843. Philadelphia Friends Review, 27:328 (10 January 1874). 2. Douglass, who regularly spoke at the annual West Indian Emancipation celebrations, attended such an event in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on 1 August 1856. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxv; EAAH, 1:242. 3. This Barnes is a possible reference to Samuel Barnes, the father of Aaron Barnes. Aaron Barnes (1819–48) was introduced to his wife, Anna Mott Cornell, in 1847 by Phoebe Hathaway, the sister of Joseph Comstock Hathaway. They were married in Rochester, New York, and left for southern New York shortly afterward. Adam Mott and Anne Mott, Their Ancestors and Their Descendants (Poughkeepsie, N.Y., 1890), 186, 369. 4. Ann is a possible reference to Anne P. Adams of Farmington, New York. Adams sometimes stayed with Joseph Comstock Hathaway’s sister, Phoebe Hathaway, and was an acquaintance of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Adams wrote two articles for Frederick Douglass’ Paper in 1853. FDP, 9, 16 September 1853; Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, The Selected Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, ed. Ann D. Gordon, 4 vols. (New Brunswick, N.J., 1997–2006), 1:29.

JOHN W. HURN1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Philadelphia, [Pa.] 24 Aug[ust] 1856.

Friend Douglass:— Allow me to congratulate you on the higher position you have assumed. I say higher, for it is the greatest of human achievements to sacrifice the cherished sentiments of years, and bring the mind from a contemplation of the lofty ideal of political perfection, to the necessities and struggles of to-day. Besides the opposition of your own sense of consistency, (the jewel that is worshipped as the Koh-i-noor2 of morals,) you have to endure the misrepresentation of enemies, and the misunderstanding of friends. But I am happy to see that you have triumphed in spirit over all, and are bringing up your “war contingent” where it can be made available to assault at least the outworks of slavery. These outworks are often the most important of the enemy’s position. At the siege of Toulon,3 the genius of the young Napoleon4 saw that a certain outstanding tower was the true point of attack. They took it, and the city fell. The Malakoff5 was not Sebastopol, but it, in possession of the Allies, the city was untenable.—Kansas is now the Malakoff of the slave power. An outwork, thrown up within the last two years, but strong in its foundation, and commanding in position, must be taken as the prelude to further conquests. Left in possession of the slave power, the Senate necessarily continues for many years to come its ally. Taken by the forces of Freedom, the Senate may soon be ranged

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upon the side of the right. Is not this worth fighting for? The anti-slavery man who refuses to unite with others for the prohibition of slavery in Kansas, because they are not prepared to join him in abolishing it in all the Southern States, resembles a farmer who will not help his neighbors to prevent an inundation of their mutual possessions, because they are not willing to engage in the task of draining the lake from which the water flows. His plan may be the most effectual for future prevention, but they have not sufficient force to accomplish that, and unless they immediately and earnestly labor for present protection, they are overwhelmed by the rushing waters, and their fertile fields are forever added to its bounds. A true physician will not refuse to ameliorate the condition of his patient, because he cannot be certain of a permanent and radical cure— nor to prevent the spread of a disease, because he cannot eradicate its cause—nor will a sensible sick man object to the course, but will gladly avail himself of such aid as he can get now, as the only possible stepping stone to future improvement. Besides, if it be useless and wrong to labor for Freedom in Kansas, because we cannot at the same time secure it in Georgia and Alabama, then it would also be absurd to work for its triumph there unless we could do the same in Russia and Brazil, and we at once become the Quixotes6 of political righteousness. With those who assert that slavery should be abolished everywhere, I cordially agree, and extend the application of the principle to all other forms of wrong, wishing that a universal vote could be taken on the question, and I have no doubt it would be carried in the abstract by immense majorities. But, “Why thus longing why forever sighing, For the far off, unattained and dim?”7 The work for us to set ourselves about, is that which there is a fair prospect of accomplishing, wherein all the strength of the cause can be united, and no effort wasted. This combination exists in the case of Kansas, and success there will be an earnest of further and final victory, for, “Freedom’s battle once begun, Though baffled oft is ever won.” In this instance I trust not to be, “Bequeathed by bleeding sire to son.”8 Yours, truly, J. W. HURN.

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PLSr: FDP, 5 September 1856. 1. John White Hurn (1823–87), born in Norwich, England, was a telegraph operator in Cincinnati and later in Philadelphia. Hurn also engaged in a photography business while in Philadelphia, taking a daguerreotype of Douglass sometime around 1859 that has been reproduced frequently. When Douglass was lecturing in Philadelphia in October 1859, Hurn temporarily suppressed a telegram that ordered Douglass’s arrest for complicity in the Harpers Ferry raid. Instead of delivering the telegram to the Philadelphia sheriff, Hurn alerted Douglass, who fled the city. Hurn later moved to New Jersey and became a newspaper editor. Douglass to John W. Hurn, 12 June 1882, Frederick Douglass Mss., LNArc; FDP, 28 April 1854; Washington (D.C.) Evening Star, 21 February 1895; C. S. Williams, Williams’ Cincinnati Directory, City Guide, and Business Mirror; or Cincinnati Illustrated, 1853 (Cincinnati, 1853), 193, 378; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 2:472; Bessie Bristol Mason, “Louis Jules Gabriel Boussard Mounier,” Vineland Historical Magazine, 23:160 (January 1938). 2. The Koh-i-noor was the largest known diamond in the world in the 1850s. Its name in Persian means “Mountain of Light.” Discovered in India and owned by several Indian dynasties, the Koh-i-noor later came into possession of the British East India Company in 1850 and later the British monarchy. Edwin Streeter, The Greatest Diamonds in the World (London, 1882), 116–35. 3. Toulon was the first successful major military engagement in the career of Napoleon Bonaparte. On 16 September 1793, Bonaparte, only a captain at the time, was appointed commander of the French artillery at the siege of Toulon. Held by the British and their French Royalist allies, Toulon boasted what many considered one of the finest harbors in the Mediterranean and was the headquarters of the French Mediterranean fleet. Bonaparte convinced his senior officers that the key to retaking the city was a hill called the Needle Point (l’Aiguillette), which lay on a promontory at the entrance to the harbor. After taking Needle Point and strategically placing his artillery around it, Bonaparte rained a continual artillery barrage on the British fleet at anchor in the harbor. After several days of being under direct fire, the fleet was forced to evacuate, leaving the city open to attack. Following a series of successful assaults on the remaining allied infantry positions—Bonaparte had his horse shot out from under him and received what would be his only real battle wound, a bayonet thrust to the thigh, in the final assault—the French retook Toulon on 19 December 1793. Bonaparte, who had been raised to the rank of major in October, was promoted to brigadier general in recognition of his efforts at Toulon. Steven Englund, Napoleon: A Political Life (New York, 2004), 61–65; General Sir James Marshall-Cornwall, Napoleon as Military Commander (London, 1967), 35–40. 4. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) was emperor of France from 1804 to 1815. 5. The Malakoff and the Redan were the two most important forts protecting the city of Sebastopol, which was home to the Russian Black Sea fleet. Almost exactly one year after placing the city under siege, the British and French launched a simultaneous attack on the two forts in September 1855. While the French succeeded in taking the Malakoff, the Russians were able to hold off the British forces attacking the Redan. The French turned the Malakoff’s guns against the Redan, and the Russians were forced to abandon it, allowing the British to take possession. Less than twenty-four hours later, the Russians pulled their forces out of Sebastopol, burned what remained of the Black Sea fleet, and destroyed the city’s fortifications. Although hostilities dragged on until February 1856, the Crimean War effectively ended with the fall of Sebastopol. R. G. Grant, ed., 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of World History (New York, 2011), 597; Adrian Gilbert, The Encyclopedia of Warfare: From Earliest Times to the Present Day (Guilford, Conn., 2003), 183–85. 6. Hurn likens those who do not support the prohibition of slavery in Kansas without its simultaneous abolishment in Georgia and Alabama to the romantic idealist Don Quixote, the eponymous character in Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s picaresque novel, published in 1605. Quixote assumes the role of a knight-errant, long after the age of chivalry, and embarks on a quest to make right all that he imagines wrong with his world. Brewer, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1134. 7. Harriet Winslow Sewall, “Why Thus Longing?” in Poems (Cambridge, Mass., 1889), 19–21. 8. Hurn quotes Lord Byron’s poem “The Giaour.” Byron, Complete Poetical Works, 3:43–44.

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J. W. FOX1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS [n.p.] [29 August 1856.]

Bro. Douglass:— I see that your reasons for acting and voting with the Republicans this fall,2 are disposed of by the Reformer, in a very summary manner.3 The Editor has not read your reasons; but in his wisdom affirms, that only one true reason can be given. He is very charitable. For he says you are too honest to give any other reason for your course that “self interest.” He does not tell us how he reaches this conclusion. As to this, we are left in the dark; unless we can divine it from our knowledge of the man. Perhaps a position assumed in the same paper will shed light on this point. He has found out how men can know God, who have never heard of Him. This new discovery will reveal how he can tell your reasons, though he has not read them. For if the Divine Existence and Character, and our relations to Him can be known by “intuition,” then, as an Editor, he has the advantage of all the rest of the world: he can reply to an opponent without reading him. This saves time. But it is a peculiar manifestation of charity. Perhaps, however, it is a fair specimen of his religion of love—a love in no way, necessarily, connected with light. For Christianity, in his estimation, has no doctrines essentially connected with the existence of love in the heart of fallen man. But, you have one thing to console you, under such an unchristian mode of disposing of your motives, in this case. Mr. Pryne4 has treated you as intelligently and candidly, as he is accustomed to treat others from whom he differs. And I am not surprised that in such a connection he should speak of the danger of losing subscribers. It is sad that a brother reformer should treat an associate in such a way. But I hope you will hold on your way, until met by more valid arguments. Yours for the truth, J. W. FOX PLSr: FDP, 29 August 1856. 1. The identity of this correspondent remains unknown. 2. In the 15 August 1856 issue of his newspaper, Douglass published an editorial entitled “Fremont and Dayton,” in which he endorsed the Republican party’s presidential ticket. Acknowledging that this endorsement would be an “unwelcome surprise” to many of his readers who supported the Radical Abolitionist party, Douglass used more than two columns to present seven arguments in the Republicans’ behalf, which concluded, “Their election will prevent the establishment of Slavery in Kansas, overthrow the Slave Rule in the Republic, protect Liberty of Speech, and of the Press, give

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DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH, 31 AUGUST 1856

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ascendancy to Northern civilization over the bludgeon and blood-hound civilization of the South, set the mark of National condemnation on Slavery, scourge doughfaces from place and from power, and inaugurate a higher and purer standard of Politics and Government.” 3. Probably the Central Reformer, published weekly in McGrawville, New York, and edited by Abram Pryne. The issue with the editorial attack on Douglass has not been located. Claudine L. Ferrell, The Abolitionist Movement (Westport, Conn., 2006), 165. 4. Abram Pryne (c. 1822–62), a theologically liberal clergyman, entered New York abolitionist circles in the 1850s. Originally a supporter of Gerrit Smith and the Liberty party, he served a term in the state legislature as a Republican representative from Wayne County (1860–62). In September 1858, Pryne and the Tennessee minister William G. Brownlow participated in a public debate over slavery, which was stenographically reported and published as a book. Along with his clerical responsibilities, Pryne edited several newspapers of his own in the mid-1850s, including the Central Reformer and the Progressive Christian. Later, he assisted Douglass with editorial tasks on Frederick Douglass’ Paper and Douglass’ Monthly. DM, 3:724 (October 1862); Lib., 30 October 1862; Ought American Slavery to be Perpetuated? A Debate between Rev. W. G. Brownlow and Rev. A. Pryne, Held at Philadelphia, September 1858 (Philadelphia, 1858).

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 31 Aug[ust] 1856.

Hon: Gerrit Smith: My Dear Friend I have not yet received your letter1 to Mr Delevan2—except as it appeared in the the Albany Evening Journal.3 You have not paid me the usual complement of Sending me an advance copy of your letter in this inStance— though you have so favored Some of my neighbors—I have, however got your letter and Shall publish it—unless you otherwise wish. My Dear Sir: You must not Strike my humble name from your list of those to whom you usually Send your thoughts. You are not likely to write anything, or to Speak anything which I Shall not gladly lay before my readers. I cannot allow mySelf to think that the failure to Send me your delevan letter was intended as a rebuke to me for my Support of Fremont4 —and yet it may be So—I should not complain if Such it Should prove, though I Should deeply regret it. I have done what Seemed to me right & proper to be done in this crises—and Can afford to be calm under the cenSure of those who cannot approve my course. I support Fremont as the best thing I can do now.—but without loosing Sight of the great doctrines and measures, inSeparable from your great name and character. I am as ever Yours Most Truly FREDERICK DOUGLASS—

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ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Douglass published a letter that Gerrit Smith wrote to William Goodell on 15 August 1856, in which Smith attacked Edward C. Delevan for announcing his intention to vote for the American party ticket candidates, Millard Fillmore and Andrew Jackson Donelson. Delevan justified his action by hoping that the nativists would more strongly support the temperance cause than Republicans would. FDP, 5 September 1856. 2. Born in Westchester County, New York, Edward Cornelius Delavan (1793–1871) was one of the nation’s best-known temperance advocates. In the 1810s and 1820s, he amassed a great fortune by importing wine from Europe and speculating in real estate in the Albany, New York, area. He came to recognize the evils of alcohol and helped found the New York State Temperance Society in 1829. Six years later, Delavan became one of the original officers of the American Temperance Union and thereafter used the bulk of his fortune to advance its work. ACAB, 2:134; NCAB, 11:207; DAB, 5:221. 3. Thurlow Weed founded the Albany Evening Journal in 1830 and remained its editor and guiding force until his retirement in 1861. Originally using its pages to support the Anti-Mason party, Weed later shifted its editorial support to the Whig party and, specifically, William Seward. The editorials in its pages opposed the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, and the newspaper thus became known for its antislavery position. Frederic Hudson, Journalism in the United States, from 1690 to 1872 (New York, 1873), 397–400, 577. 4. John Charles Frémont (1813–90), the son of a French émigré schoolteacher and a mother descended from Virginia planters, was born in Savannah, Georgia, and educated at Charleston College. Frémont worked as an explorer and a topographer, a career advanced greatly by his marriage to Jessie Benton, the daughter of Senator Thomas Hart Benton, until he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the army in 1837. In the 1840s he gained national fame for commanding several mapping expeditions of the Rocky Mountains. On one of them, Frémont assumed a leading role in the Bear Flag revolt in California. When the Mexican War broke out, Frémont clashed with higher-ranking military officers in California and was court-martialed. After leaving the army, Frémont continued his western explorations and briefly served as one of California’s first U.S. senators (1850–51). Defeated for reelection as an antislavery candidate, he led another cross-continent expedition in 1853 and in 1855 moved to New York City. Opposed to both the extension of slavery and the Fugitive Slave Law, Frémont was the presidential nominee of the 1856 Republican convention and carried eleven states in a contest against the Democratic nominee, James Buchanan. At the outbreak of Civil War, Lincoln appointed Frémont major general in command of the Department of the West. On 30 August 1861, Frémont issued a proclamation emancipating the slaves of rebel Missourians, which Lincoln quickly revoked. Replaced in this western command, Frémont unsuccessfully battled Thomas (“Stonewall”) Jackson in the latter’s Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1862. A Cleveland convention of antislavery radicals seeking an alternative to Lincoln nominated Frémont for president in 1864, but the candidate withdrew when approached by the Lincoln administration. After the Civil War, Frémont lost his fortune in failed railroad promotion schemes and played only a minor role in Republican politics. Ferol Egan, Frémont: Explorer for a Restless Nation (Garden City, N.Y, 1977); Alice Eyre, The Famous Frémonts and Their America ([Santa Ana, Calif.], 1948), 17–22, 41–49, 274–80, 295–306; Allan Nevins, Frémont: Pathmarker of the West, 2 vols. (1955; New York, 1961); ACAB, 2:545–48, DAB, 7:19–23.

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AUBURN1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS [n.p.] [5 September 1856.]

My Dear Douglass:— Your leading, editorial of the 15th inst.,2 gave me a very pleasant surprise. I was not prepared to expect a change of political action so “radical,” notwithstanding I knew you to be a Radical Abolitionist. The reasons which you assign for that change are cogent, and commend my hearty approval. I have been much perplexed with our position, as Radical Abolitionists, for some weeks past; as it seemed to me, that if we went to the ballotbox, at all, we should, in effect, deposite our votes against, rather than for the end which we earnestly seek to accomplish—the overthrow of Slavery. I remember that our honored and noble standard bearer, who was nominated at Syracuse, said, on that occasion, that the nomination was made without any expectation of electing our candidate, but only to do honor to our principles.3 But it has been a question, with me, whether our Anti-Slavery and Abolition principles would be best honored by depositing our votes for a candidate who had not the remotest chance of election—which would be in effect throwing them away—or by rallying for the support of the candidate of that party, which proposes—in this special emergency, when Slavery is o’erleaping its old boundaries and displaying its piratical flag and raising its bloody battle axe, on the virgin soil of the territories of this Republic, and is seeking to make Slavery universal—to check the outsweeping tide of this terrible tyranny, and hem it in, for the time, within its present limits? There is no platform which so fully expresses my political convictions, and no Presidential candidate, which could be named, who so fully commands my sympathies and approval, as the platform and candidate of the Radical Abolition Party; and I would go a thousand miles, if need be, to vote for Gerrit Smith, if there were the faintest hope of placing him in the Presidential chair. I account him the ablest, noblest, best, and most honorable and trustworthy of all men, who have ever been put in nomination for the Chief Magistracy of our Nation, and should rejoice in a fair opportunity, to record my protest against the slanders of those who have maligned him and depreciated his eminent services in Congress. I most heartily wish Gerrit Smith might be nominated for that high office, under such auspices as would afford hope of success; it would be one of the happiest days of my life, for the hopes of the enslaved millions of our country would rise with

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the elevation of that great and good man to that post of responsibility and power. There should have been principle enough in the freemen of the North to have adopted the platform and candidate of the Radical Abolition party. There should have been sense enough in Northern men, to have seen that the very best issue and the most appropriate issue, to be made at the coming Presidential Election—in view of the manifest determination of the South to reduce the whole country to the condition of abject servility to the Slave-power—was, whether slavery should be or cease to be. This issue the Radical Abolition party would make, could it have its way, and it were well for them to put forth their address, and to disseminate their tracts and papers, and name in Convention the men whom they believed would carry out their principles and support their platform. All these things tend to enlighten and educate the people. But when we come to the ballot-box, in the present state of affairs and confess that we have no hope of our own candidate, it becomes a question of political ethics which deserves a candid and honest solution, whether we honor our principles any more by voting for a hopeless case, than by remaining at home? And further, whether the effect of a small and insignificant vote does not really retard our cause? And whether we ought not to meet Slavery on the only issue which is really made with it, at the present election, viz: Shall Slavery become national, by its extension into the territories of the United States? The design of scattering addresses, platform documents, &c., is very different from the design of voting. The former will do some good, if they do not enlighten and carry all before them; a vote has in view the single end of electing a man to office. When we confess the utter hopelessness of our candidate, we can be under no obligation to vote, at all. It is no privilege to vote, without the hope of choosing, for that is the sole object of a vote. The choice of our rulers is a great and glorious privilege; but to vote is no privilege unless there be some hope of choosing. The moral effect of a small vote, supposing it to have any moral effect, must be bad. And the influence of withholding our votes from the candidate who represents, at least the non-extension of Slavery, when they can not profitably be serviceable to our more advanced and more consistent position and candidate, seems to me must be prejudicial, on the whole to the AntiSlavery cause. I shall therefore, most conscientiously and cheerfully, join you in voting for Col. Fremont, and wait our time for a higher platform and a better man. AUBURN.

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PLSr: FDP, 5 September 1856, 1. Douglass preceded this letter with the heading “LETTER FROM AUBURN,” supplying no clue to the identity of the correspondent. FDP, 5 September 1856. 2. Douglass published an editorial entitled “Fremont and Dayton” in the “All Rights for All” column of Frederick Douglass’ Paper, transferring his support from Gerrit Smith and Samuel McFarland to the Frémont-Dayton ticket of the Republican party in the upcoming presidential election. Douglass assumed that the abolitionist candidate, Smith, would not win the election. His strategic decision to publicly back Frémont and Dayton was intended to deal a blow to the proslavery movement. FDP, 15 August 1856. 3. The Radical Abolition party had held its nominating convention in Syracuse, New York, on 28 May 1856. The approximately two hundred delegates nominated Gerrit Smith and Samuel McFarland of Pennsylvania as their presidential and vice presidential candidates. Smith wrote the party’s address to the public, declaring, “We are ready, not only to co-operate with [the Republican party], but to merge ourselves in it, the moment it shall take the ground, that there is no law for slavery—no real and obligatory law for sinking a man from manhood to chattelhood.” FDP, 6, 20 June 1856; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 363–64; Stauffer, Black Hearts of Men, 20–22, 24.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO SUSAN INCHES LESLEY1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 6 Sept[ember] 1856.

S. I. Leslie. Dear Madam: It will give me pleasure to Serve you and your friend in bringing Mother and Son together—So far as I am able. At present, I am totally ignorant of the young man’s whereabouts—but I have Several aquiantances in different parts of the Country, from North Carolina of whom I will gladly make enquiries—and Should any trace of him reach me, I will gladly inform you of the fact. It is however, exceedingly difficult to find Colored people from the South. They Change their names—and conceale their orgin for obvious reasons.2 I have been looking for a friend of mine from Slavery this 18 years—and in a measure know how to Sympathise, with your poor friend—in Search of her Son— Very Respectfully— FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: J. P. Lesley Papers, PPAmP. 1. Susan Inches Lesley (1823–1904) rose to prominence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by participating in abolitionist circles in the 1850s. Originally from Massachusetts, she left many letters about her reform activities throughout her life. Along with her husband, John Peter Lesley, a noted geologist, she financially supported an escaped slave, Mary Walker, during her stay in Philadelphia and for several years after. Lesley wrote to Frederick Douglass in 1856 to ask for his help in finding some of Walker’s children. Lesley and her husband aided the reunion of Walker with her family following the Civil War. Susan Lesley was so impressed with Walker that she named her first daughter

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after the escaped slave. Sydney Nathans, To Free a Family: The Journey of Mary Walker (Cambridge, Mass., 2012), 3–7. 2. Many slaves who escaped to the North changed their names as an act of defiance against their former masters, who often named their slaves as a sign of their ownership and the slave’s status as property. Two well-known examples are Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. Originally named Frederick Augustus Washington Baily, Douglass first changed his last name to Johnson before finally choosing Douglass. Harriet Tubman was originally named Araminta Harriet Ross, but changed her name to Harriet Tubman after she married her first husband, John Tubman. A second reason for such a name change, as Douglass related in his Narrative, was to make apprehension and return to slavery more difficult. Douglass Papers, ser.2, 1:77; Catherine Clinton, Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom (New York, 2004), 33; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 77, 80–81.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 6 Sept[ember] 1856[.]

Hon. Gerrit Smith. My Dear Friend, I am just home from Ohio where I have been lecturing1—and find your kind letters for which please accept my thanks. What I think of your letter to our Friend William Gordell, will be Seen in my paper of yesterday.2 I had noticed your letter before your note reached me—Yes! I get it all around. Mr Garrison tries his hand upon my case this week,3 the most Skillful of them all. The Liberator and “Standard”4 —Seem more shocked, at my apostacy from the Radical Abolition Society, than at Mr May’s apota[s]y from the American Society.5 They are tender with him— but harsh with me. I shall endeavour to be at the Jerry Rescue (1st oct) Celebration6 —and possibly in Syracuse at the Liberty Party meeting on the 17th Sept.7 I am as ever yours Truly and affectionately FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers. NSyU. 1. Evidence suggests that Douglass had just returned from making campaign speeches for Frémont. An article entitled “A Black Disunionist Stumping for Fremont” published in the 8 October 1856 issue of the Newark (N.Y.) Advocate indicates that Douglass delivered election addresses for Frémont in Otisco, Onondaga County, “the other day.” Newark (N.Y.) Advocate, 8 October 1856. 2. Smith’s letter to Goodell was published in the 5 September 1856 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Smith stated that he would not vote for John C. Frémont in the upcoming presidential election, but defended the Republican candidate from claims made during a recent speech by Edward C. Delavan. Specifically, Delavan acknowledged that he was drawn to the pro-temperance plank of the Know-Nothing party and asserted that Frémont was not a viable candidate for president because he

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was Catholic. Smith’s response asserted that the Republican party had a history of supporting temperance, and that Frémont was a Protestant. FDP, 5 September 1856. 3. In an editorial entitled “Gone, Gone, Sold and Gone,” Garrison criticized Douglass’s support for the Frémont-Dayton ticket in the 29 August 1856 issue of the Liberator. Garrison asserted that Douglass’s decision was for personal gain and that, as a result, the Liberator would be the sole remaining “Radical Abolitionist” newspaper. In “Another Somerset,” published in the 5 September issue, Garrison criticized Douglass’s abandonment of Smith and the transfer of his support to a candidate, party, and principles he had previously condemned. Garrison characterized Douglass as a political chameleon, morally inconsistent and self-contradictory. Lib., 29 August, 5 September 1856. 4. The Boston Liberator and the New York National Anti-Slavery Standard. 5. A leading Garrisonian, the Unitarian minister Samuel Joseph May had relocated to Syracuse from Boston in 1845. In a Fourth of July oration in 1856, May endorsed voting for the Republican party presidential ticket, causing a round of editorials and letters to the editor criticizing or defending his position in the Garrisonian press. NASS, 2, 16, 23 August 1856; Lib., 22 August 1856; DAB, 6:447–48. 6. Douglass was scheduled to speak at the Jerry Rescue Celebration in Syracuse on 1 October 1856; he published a review of the event in Frederick Douglass’s Paper. FDP, 10 October 1856; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxvi. 7. Douglass was scheduled to speak at the Liberty party meeting held in Syracuse on 17 September 1856. Minutes of the meeting published in Frederick Douglass’ Paper, however, do not confirm his attendance. FDP, 3 October 1856; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxv.

LEWIS TAPPAN TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Brooklyn, N.Y. 6 Dec[ember] 1856.

To Frederick Douglass, Esq. My dear Sir, I do not know whether the lady to whom the enclosed note is addressed as Mrs or lady. You will at once see the propriety of the course I suggest. So many calls are made upon me that I must adopt such a rule. I have rec’d the copy of your paper of 17th Oct & thank you for it. Somehow it escaped my notice—in Oct. Probably I was about or the paper did not come. My attention has been called to the Resolutions proposed by you at Syracuse.1 [B]y an English Correspondent. All I can do, in this free country, is to express an honest opinion. Your right to offer such circulations & to publish such a paper as you choose cannot justly be questioned. All who believe it would be right in a white man to use the means for obtaining his liberty: that you recommend ought not to object to a colored man using the same means. Those means in either case are abhorrent to my mind & heart. I am truly sorry you cherish such sentiments. “Vengeance is mine &c.”2 Then at sweet peace [illegible] [illegible]

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do good. [Let us] [illegible] the [illegible] of the spirit & all will be well. [illegible] [illegible] [illegible] enslaved & the case & defense of the God. Truly yours LEWIS TAPPAN. ALS: Lewis Tappan Papers, DLC. 1. At the fifth annual Jerry Rescue Celebration in Syracuse, New York, Douglass brought four resolutions before the meeting in a speech condemning slavery. In an appeal to the religion and morality of slave owners, Douglass intimated that God would inflict “terrible penalties” on slave owners, as he had on all “oppressors of people.” He further stated, “We would rejoice in a successful slave insurrection.” In one of the blunter resolutions, Douglass argued, “In killing a slave owner to secure freedom, the slave is guilty of no crime.” Though the resolutions appeared to condone violence and slave insurrection, Douglass directed his comments at slave owners as a warning, instead of at slaves. He sought to demonstrate the danger of owning slaves by relating the fates of slave owners in past insurrections in other parts of the world. FDP, 19 December 1856. 2. Rom. 12:19.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO JOHN BROWN [n.p.] 7 Dec[ember] 1856.1 2

My Dear Captain Brown. — I am very busy at home. Will you please come up with my son Fred,3 and take a mouthful with me? In haste yours, truly, FRED. DOUGLASS. ALS: Dreer Collection, PHi 1. Although Douglass supplied no year in dating this letter, John Brown was known to have passed through Rochester in December 1856 while traveling east from Kansas to raise funds in New York and New England. Franklin B. Sanborn, ed., The Life and Letters of John Brown: Liberator of Kansas and Martyr of Virginia, 2d. ed. (Boston 1891), 341, 443; Oates, To Purge This Land, 224; Villard, John Brown, 270, 674. 2. John Brown. 3. Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, Frederick Douglass, Jr. (1842–92) was the second son of Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass. Like his brothers, he was educated in Rochester’s public schools and learned the printer’s trade while assisting his father in the newspaper office. Unlike his brothers Lewis and Charles, however, Frederick Jr. did not enlist in the Union army. Instead, he acted as a recruiting agent for the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Massachusetts Infantry regiments. After the Civil War, Frederick Jr. tried but failed to gain membership in the typographical worker’s union in Washington, D.C. In 1866 he joined his brother Lewis in Denver, Colorado, and began working in the offices of the Red, White, and Blue Mining Company. While in Denver, Frederick Jr. received additional training as a typographer from his father’s old friend Henry O. Wagoner. He returned to Washington, D.C., in 1868, but racial prejudice again made it difficult for him to gain membership in the union. In 1870, Frederick Jr. joined his father at the New National Era, serving as the news-

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paper’s business manager. He was a frequent contributor of editorials to papers such as the Detroit Plaindealer, the New York Times, and the Baltimore National Leader. His efforts to gain public office, however, ended in failure with his unsuccessful 1873 campaign to be elected as a delegate to the Legislative Assembly of the District of Columbia. After the New National Era folded in 1874, Frederick Jr. worked as a court bailiff and later as a clerk in the Office of Records. Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:274, 865, 910; Douglass Papers, ser. 3, 1:126; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 248–49, 272; EAAH, 1: 422–23.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 16 Dec[ember] 1856[.]

Hon. Gerrit Smith. My Dear Sir. Please accept my thanks for your generous donation of twenty dollars—I am happy to know by this expressive Sign, that you Still desire to See my paper afloat. You ought to, for you have watched over it with almost paternal interest. No, my Dear Sir. I am not a member of the Republican party.1 I am Still a radical abolitionist—and shall as ever, work with those whose antiSlavery principles are Similar to your own. My English friends—are just now dealing with me for my Jerry rescue Resolutions2—They think you were altogether too tolerant of my “abominable Sentiments”—I am writing an article3 though not a formal reply to Strictures made upon those resolutions—yet a Sort of imbodyment of the Sentiments uttered by me at the “Jerry rescue Celebration[“]— Please make my best respects to Mrs Smith—Accept my Sincere Thanks for the donation of twenty dollars— Yours Alway Most Truly FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Douglass had editorially endorsed the 1856 Republican party ticket headed by John C. Frémont rather than the Radical Abolition ticket, headed by Gerrit Smith. Smith had alienated many in his faction that summer by strong public statements in support of violent attacks on slavery. While not abandoning his candidacy officially, he announced his preference for Frémont over either James Buchanan (Democratic party) or Millard Fillmore (American party) and contributed $500 to the Republican campaign. Stauffer, Black Hearts of Men, 293; John R. McKivigan, “The Frederick Douglass–Gerrit Smith Friendship and Political Abolitionism in the 1850s,” in Frederick Douglass: New Literary and Historical Essays, ed. Eric J. Sundquist (Cambridge, Mass., 1990), 220–22; Perkal, “William Goodell,” 255–66. 2. Many of those who heard Douglass’s resolutions at the 1856 Jerry Rescue Celebration believed that he had called for open and bloody slave insurrection. The resolutions “greatly disturbed many of [Douglass’s] friends on both sides of the Atlantic.” Though Douglass did not name the

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authors, several supporters from England were particularly vociferous in their condemnation of his resolutions. Some of Douglass’s “English friends” called his statements “those shocking resolutions” and “abominable sentiments.” FDP, 19 December 1856. 3. To ameliorate criticism from abolitionists in England and the United States, Douglass used the editorial of the 19 December 1856 edition of Frederick Douglass’ Paper to assure readers that he had not called for violent insurrection at the Jerry Rescue Celebration. He explained that he had directed the resolutions to slave owners in an attempt to persuade them to release their slaves and forestall the kinds of violent slave insurrections that had shaken the Caribbean and South America. His statements were not “directed at the slave,” but were mere “reminders to slaveowners.”

LEWIS TAPPAN TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Brooklyn, N.Y. 19 Dec[ember] 1856[.]

To Frederick Douglass My dear Sir, I thank you, and your daughter1 also, for the copy of your letter to Mrs Sturge.2 It is an ingenious defence, full as much so as was Mr Burlingame’s3 with regard to Mr Brooks.4 Killing wicked men is merely destroying their visible presence among men. They still live. God has put them in this world & we have no right to send them out of it unbidden of God. I repeat, “Vengeance is mine”.5 The slaves hear a great deal of what is said & printed at the North. What is the cause of the late insurrection. Yes, I have read your paper of the 12th very thoroughly & so has my wife.6 Your appeal is very able. But I am in doubt. In your speeches & in your paper you advocate the slaughter of slaveholders. I cannot go with you. How then can I take pains to sustain your paper? Say you, Must I cease to be independent? Must I smother my convictions to please my patrons? I answer, By no means. But while you act independently so must I. How can I encourage the wider circulation of a paper, able as it is, deserving in most respects as is the editor, when I believe he is scattering “firebrands, arrows, and death.”7 There are so many things in you, my dear friend, that claim my esteem & inspire my confidence that I regret— deeply—that I am unable to go with you in all your sentiments & purposes. I have never been called a coward & I am naturally very sensitive to aggressions; but since I cordially embraced the religion of the Prince of Peace I have believed fully that the belligerent spirit of the world is totally adverse to this princaples. Besides, I think it the most unwise & inexpedient of all conduct. What I should do if attacked or saw a friend attacked I can’t say. Instincts are often stronger than arguments or principles. But it

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is my deliberate judgment that the whole policy of private & public warfare is bad—I may say wicked—and of the devil. If you will inform me thru your columns how a friend who loves you can extend the circulation of what is consonant to his tastes & principles in your able paper without extending the circulation of what he deems wrong & of evil tendency I shall be glad to read what you write. I call myself a constant reader of your paper, tho’ occasionally a number is laid aside, in the hum of business, but [illegible] [illegible]. Truly & affecy yours’ L. TAPPAN.

[P.S.] The 20 days allowed by the law for the discharge of a cargo8— “working days”—will expire on the 22d. Probably the boxes for you were at the bottom of the [illegible]. Yesterday I found an inquiry that they were not out of the vessel. I regret this delay. Please remember me to Mrs Douglass,9 & to your daughter. She writes a good hand, & is a very correct copyist. ALS: Douglass Papers, General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 659–60, DLC. 1. Rosetta (1839–1906), the first child of Frederick and Anna Douglass, was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on 24 June 1839. As a child, she wrote and read letters for her mother, whom she assisted with housework and piece work for the shoe factories in Lynn, Massachusetts. At age seven, she was sent to school in Albany, New York, where she lived with Abigail and Lydia Mott. When the Douglass family moved to Rochester, Rosetta began attending the Seward Seminary, where her presence offended the parents of one of the white students and led to her segregation from the other pupils. Her father, in a fury, removed Rosetta from the school and hired a private tutor for her. Rosetta, along with her three brothers, then led other students in the efforts to desegregate Rochester’s public school system. From 1854 to 1855, Rosetta attended Oberlin College preparatory school, which was one of the first institutions of higher education to accept both African Americans and women. She taught in Philadelphia and Salem, New Jersey, until her marriage in 1863 to Nathan Sprague, with whom she had six children. Before her death, she wrote a memoir of her mother, which remains one of the most complete documents of Anna Murray Douglass’s life. Sprague, My Mother As I Recall Her; Sterling, We Are Your Sisters, 132–45; Ellen N. Lawson and Marlene Merrill, “The Antebellum ‘Talented Thousandth’: Black College Students at Oberlin before the Civil War,” Journal of Negro Education, 52:145 (Spring 1983); Miriam DeCosta-Willis, “Smoothing the Tucks in Father’s Linen: The Women of Cedar Hill,” Sage, 4:30–33 (Fall 1987); Render, “Afro-American Women,” 307–10. 2. Probably either Mrs. Hannah Dickinson Sturge (1816–96), second wife of the wealthy Quaker Philanthropist Joseph Sturge (1793–1859), or her sister-in-law Mrs. Lydia Albright Sturge (1807–92), wife of Edmund Sturge (1808–93). Both women, lifelong Quakers, were active in abolitionist circles in Birmingham, England. In addition to being a member of the Birmingham Ladies’ Negro’s Friend Society, Hannah Sturge was involved with the Ladies’ Temperance Movement, the antislavery Free Produce Committee, and the Infirm and Aged Women’s Society. Lydia Sturge, who served as secretary of the Birmingham Ladies’ Negro’s Friend Society for many years, was also involved with the Ladies’ Temperance Movement, the Aborigines Protection Society, and the Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade. Both women hosted Frederick Douglass while he was in England in the

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1840s. Lewis Tappan included several members of the Sturge family among his correspondents. The Annual Monitor for 1894, or Obituary of the Members of the Society of Friends in Great Britain and Ireland for the Year 1893 (London, 1893), 155–68; Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 2:383–84; Bertram Wyatt-Brown, Yankee Saints and Southern Sinners (Baton Rouge, La., 1985), 94–96; Alex Tyrrell, Joseph Sturge and the Moral Radical Party in Early Victorian Britain (London, 1987), 152, 195, 200; Claire Midgley, Women against Slavery: The British Campaigns, 1780–1870 (1992; New York, 1995), 174, 187–88. 3. Tappan is referring to a duel between Congressmen Preston Smith Brooks, a Democrat of South Carolina, and Anson Burlingame, a Republican of Massachusetts, which reportedly took place in July 1856. Brooks challenged Burlingame to a duel in response to Burlingame’s June speech in the House of Representatives denouncing Brooks’s near-fatal beating of Senator Charles Sumner in May. Choosing rifles, Burlingame accepted the challenge and proposed that the duel take place on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. After initially accepting those terms, Brooks withdrew from the duel, claiming that he feared he would be assassinated if he traveled north to reach the proposed site. Burlingame emerged from the affair with his reputation much enhanced, while Brooks was labeled a coward in Northern newspapers. A native of New Berlin, New York, Anson Burlingame (1820–70) spent his childhood in Ohio and Michigan. In 1846 he graduated from Harvard Law School and went into private practice in Boston. After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, Burlingame became active in the antislavery movement and swiftly earned a national reputation for his skills as an orator. After serving in the Massachusetts legislature, he was elected to Congress as a Know-Nothing in 1855. Soon afterward, he helped organize the Republican party in Massachusetts. He lost his bid for a fourth term in Congress in 1860, possibly because he devoted most of his time to campaigning for Abraham Lincoln in the Midwest while neglecting his own campaign back in Massachusetts. Burlingame was rewarded by the Lincoln administration with an appointment as U.S. minister to Austria in March 1861. After the Austrian government objected to his appointment, because of his views on Hungarian independence, Burlingame was appointed minister to China. He filled that post until 1867, when he resigned to accept a commission as China’s first official envoy to the West. As envoy, he was specifically charged with negotiating treaties with foreign powers. In 1868 he negotiated the Burlingame Treaty between the United States and China, which granted reciprocal privileges to both nations. At the time of his death, in 1870, he was negotiating a treaty with Russia. David L. Anderson, “Anson Burlingame: Reformer and Diplomat,” Civil War History, 25:293–308 (December 1979); DAB, 3:289–90; ANB, 3:965–66. 4. Preston Smith Brooks (1819–57) was born in Edgefield County, South Carolina. A member of one of the most prominent slaveholding families in South Carolina’s Upcountry, Brooks was privately educated. In 1839 he was expelled from the College of South Carolina for unruly behavior and did not receive a degree. After being wounded in a duel with Louis Wigfall in 1840, Brooks was forced to walk with a cane for the rest of his life. In 1844 he was elected to a single term in the South Carolina House of Representatives. He was admitted to the bar in 1846 and went into private practice in Edgefield County until 1853, when he was elected to Congress as a Democrat. While serving his second term in Congress, he assaulted Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner with his cane on the floor of the Senate on 22 May 1856 in response to Sumner’s “The Crime against Kansas” oration, which he had delivered two days earlier. The speech included a personal attack on Brooks’s cousin Senator Andrew P. Butler, who had not been present at the time and was therefore unable to defend himself. Although Sumner barely survived the caning, members of the House of Representatives were unable to muster the two-thirds majority required to expel a sitting member of Congress. Nonetheless, Brooks resigned his seat in July 1856. Viewed as a hero in his home state, he was promptly elected to fill the vacancy created by his own resignation. Brooks remained a member of Congress until his death in January 1857. Donald, Sumner and the Coming of the Civil War, 282–97; David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds., Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History, 5 vols. (Santa Barbara, Calif., 2000), 1:288–89; DAB, 3:88; ANB, 3:625–26.

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5. Rom. 12:9. 6. Sarah Jackson Tappan. 7. Prov. 26:18. 8. Tappan’s reference is to demurrage. Demurrage is a charge to the owner of any material that is not unloaded from a ship or a container before the end of a contract. The charge covers the potential lost revenue if the ship is forced to remain in port. Henry Campbell Black, A Law Dictionary Containing Defi nitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern (St. Paul, Minn., 1910), 352, 439. 9. Anna Murray Douglass.

LEWIS TAPPAN TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Brooklyn, N.Y. 27 Dec[ember] [18]56[.]

Mr Frederick Douglass, Rochester, N. Y. My dear Friend, How happy it would make me if I could read, circulate and recommend your paper Cai ámóré1 as the Italians say—without reserve with all my heart! As it is (don’t divulge it!) I consider it one of the very best papers in the land—ever protesting, as I must,—against the belligerent spirit— the vindictive spirit—the blood-thirsty spirit—what shall I call it? Now I do not think you delight in human butchery, in inflicting pain upon an enemy, in killing a slaveholder even. I could not impute any thing of the kind to you. You think the killing of slaveholders may be a sad neccessity; that the dread of slaughter operates upon their fears more than any other consideration; and that an individual, or a man of men, may achieve their liberty if in no other way by destroying the lives of those who hold them in chains. You will be asking yourself, why does my friend Tappan keep writing to me on this subject? I might reply, I think of you a great deal & especially when you appeal for aid to sustain your paper, and as I generally think with a pen in my hand it is natural that I should convey my thoughts to you. Your thoughts respecting Mr Beecher’s Sermon2 coincide with mine. He preached morning and evening on the same subject. Between writings I called upon him & expressed a regret that he had done injustice to Africa.3 He had, it seems, in his mind, not Egypt, not the inhabitants on the Mediterranean coast, but the negro race surely. I recalled to his recollection what the prince of historians, Herodotus,4 says of the negroes in Egypt, describing them as Mr B. did, and yet saying

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they were considered in those days, models of beauty.5 I might have told him that Sir John Bowring6 honestly believes that the negro race is superior to the anglo Saxon race.7 But features and the tincture of the skin are nothing; the mind is the standard of the man. I had a part, as you know, in establishing the National Era.8 It was thought a great exploit to establish an anti Slavery paper at the seat of Government. Many rather bold abolitionists thought the undertaking quite premature. The decision was about as bold a one as it would be to establish an antislavery paper in Washington now to be edited by you. If you would edit a paper there on Peace principles, asserting the equality of men before the law, their rights to citizenship, to family & parental protection; advocating the sin of Slavery, its baneful effects upon Slaveholders, Slaveholding communities, and the nation; showing that it is contrary to the Constitution & the Bible; appealing to slaveholders to cease from their cruelties, to act out the principles of the Dec. of Independence, to cooperate with the North in effecting a peaceful abolition of Slavery—I would aid in an attempt to gain friends to [illegible] you to plant your standard in the District of Columbia. The announcement would cause a [illegible] of joy through the anti Slavery ranks and quicken the pulse of every slaveholder in the United States. What say you? Truly yours’ L TAPPAN. ALS: Lewis Tappan Papers, DLC. 1. Con ámoré, a commonly used Italian expression in the nineteenth century, means “to give it its fullest operation” or, in other words, a high level of dedication. The phrase was also used to modify adjectives, for example, “with con ámoré zeal.” Though the expression could be applied to many situations, it was frequently used to describe theatrical plays. London Morning Chronicle, 7 April 1821; Dublin Freeman’s Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser, 24 October 1851. 2. In addition to printing Henry Ward Beecher’s sermon from 21 December 1856, Douglass offered some commentary and objections. While Douglass praised Beecher’s antislavery efforts, he took great exception to two of his points. The first was Beecher’s statement “if the African had been as handsome as the Circassian, there would not have been a slave among us.” Douglass countered that “ugliness” had no part in the enslavement of Africans. The second was Beecher’s long assertion that Africa was a “non-entity,” and that it was Europeans who brought civilization to Africa. Douglass argued that modern civilization could be traced through Egypt to Ethiopia via those countries’ trade activities. FDP, 26 December 1856 3. Lewis Tappan refers to Beecher’s argument that “ugliness” caused other races to view the Africans as inferior, which justified enslaving them. Beecher compared the head and facial features of non-Africans and Africans, saying, “The brow of one is wide, the other narrow.” Beecher further stated that the “mouth of one is compact and small, in the other enlarged.” FDP, 26 December 1856. 4. A well-traveled Greek, Herodotus (c. 485–425 B.C.E.) is considered the father of history. He chronicled his adventures in approximately thirty manuscripts. His travels took him throughout the

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interior of the Persian Empire, northeast to Ecbatana (the summer residence of the Persian kings, located in modern Iran), southeast to Ardericca (a village in present-day Iraq near the Euphrates), east to Phoenicia (an area of Lebanon, Syria, and northern Israel), and south to Egypt. He sailed across the Black Sea and traveled through Greece, Macedonia, and southern Italy. His manuscripts document an appreciation for different races and cultures. On the people of Ethiopia he wrote: “Its inhabitants are also remarkable for their size, their beauty, and their length of life.” Arthur Holmes and Charles Bigg, eds., Catena Classicorum (London, 1873), ix–x, xv; Herodotus, The Histories, trans. Robin Waterfield (New York, 1998), 216. 5. Beecher did not cite Herodotus in his sermon. Tappan refers to Herodotus’s description, in his third book of The Histories, of an Ethiopian delegation visiting Egypt, calling them “the tallest and best-looking people in the world.” Herodotus, The Histories, trans. Aubrey de Sélincourt (New York, 2003), 178; FDP, 26 December 1856. 6. John Bowring (1792–1872) won a seat in Parliament in 1847 after having established himself as a businessman, linguist, and political journalist. He was instrumental in commercial reform and free trade agitation in England and Europe throughout the 1820s and 1830s, and became active in the Anti–Corn Law League in 1838. Bowring participated in the British abolitionist movement, attending the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention in 1840 and working with the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. Appointed governor of Hong Kong in 1854, he developed commercial ties between Britain and the Far East over the next three years, including, in 1855, the negotiation of the first treaty with Siam. Bowring’s service earned him a knighthood that year. In later life, he wrote and translated works of poetry, history, and natural science. His three sons also became well known as politicians, translators, and scientists. “Minutes of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society,” American Antislavery Collection, UkOxU-Rh, 429; Sir John Bowring and Lewin B. Bowring, Autobiographical Recollections of Sir John Bowring (London, 1877); Joyce A. Youings, Sir John Bowring, 1792–1872: Aspects of His Life and Career (Plymouth, Eng., 1993); Douglas H. Maynard, “The World’s Anti-Slavery Convention of 1840,” Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 47:458 (December 1960); DNB, 2:984–88. 7. Sir John Bowring’s published views do not seem to bear this out. In his autobiographical writings, collected and published by his son after his death, Bowring stated that based upon his experience, he did not believe that the “intellectual aptitudes of the blacks [were] equal to those of the whites.” He did, however, believe that in “some regions they [were] superior to those of the longhaired inhabitants.” Bowring elaborated further on this notion, stating that “having had a good deal to do with black youths and the process of education,” he felt that although “up to a certain point they, [were] even more teachable and ready then Europeans of the same age, it [was] very difficult, if not impossible, to raise them above that point,” making it hard for them to master “complicated mathematical problems, . . . high studies in astronomy, or any of the abstract sciences.” Bowring, Autobiographical Reflections of Sir John Bowring, 393. 8. Based in Washington, D.C., the National Era was an antislavery newspaper edited by Gamaliel Bailey from 1847 until his death in 1859. Because it was printed on slave soil, the National Era labored under the constant threat of mob violence; Bailey nonetheless built a subscription base of over twenty-five thousand readers. Harriet Beecher Stowe aided in this popularity when the National Era serialized Uncle Tom’s Cabin from late May 1851 through April 1852. Bailey’s moderate editorial style drew severe criticism from abolitionists such as Douglass, who referred to the National Era as “powerless for Good” in 1851. Five years later, when Lewis Tappan suggested to Bailey that he hire Douglass as a coeditor, Bailey refused, citing both his personal differences with Douglass’s radical abolitionism and the potential uproar in Washington over the appointment of a black editor to his paper. Duane Mowry, “The National Era, an Abolition Document,” Publications of the Southern History Association, 8:462–64 (November 1904); Stanley Harrold, Gamaliel Bailey and Antislavery Union (Kent, Ohio, 1986), 140–41, 192.

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THOMAS SMITH1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Gratiot, Ohio[.] 28 Feb[ruary] 1857.

“Fred. Douglass: Sir:— I have taken your paper for the last four months, and feel convinced that every white man who reads it ought to be rode on a rail, and then given a coat of tar and feathers.2 “Please publish this, and stop my paper. “Thomas Smith.”3 PLSr: FDP, 13 March 1857. 1. A Thomas S. Smith (1829–60) was buried in Gratiot, Licking County, Ohio, in 1860. Born and raised in nearby Muskingum County, Smith became a tailor there. Records indicate that he was working as a farmer at the time of his decease. 1850 U.S. Census, Ohio, Muskingum County, 79; 1860 U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedule for Hopewell Township, Muskingum County, Ohio, n.p. 2. Although the origin of tarring and feathering remains obscure, the act can be traced as far back as medieval times. A well-known example dates from 1189 when Richard I of England ordered that it be used as a means of punishment for Crusaders found guilty of theft. As late as the 1770s, tarring was occasionally prescribed as a method of punishment in England. In British North America, where the earliest recorded examples of it are associated with sailors and maritime culture, tarring and feathering does not seem to have come into use until the eighteenth century. In the 1760s, however, it gained wider acceptance as a means of shaming those seen as supporting British interests against their fellow colonists. During the American Revolution, it became the nonlethal punishment of choice for those viewed as holding Tory sympathies. Tarring and feathering remained a feature of American vigilante justice into the twentieth century. Richard Maxwell Brown, Strain of Violence: Historical Studies of American Violence and Vigilantism (New York, 1975), 56–57; Bertram WyattBrown, Honor and Violence in the Old South (New York, 1986), 187–213; Benjamin H. Irvin, “Tar, Feathers, and the Enemies of American Liberties, 1768–1776,” NEQ, 76:197–203 (June 2003). 3. Douglass followed his publication of Thomas’s letter in his newspaper with the following editorial statement: “Thomas Smith having prescribed the treatment he deems proper for white men who indulge in the practice of reading our paper, and having confessed himself guilty of the practice, we trust his neighbors will take him in hand, and administer his prescription.”

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 16 April 1857[.]

Hon: Gerrit Smith. My Dear sir: I have yet only seen the concluding part of your speech delivered on the occasion of the “Dred scott” meeting in Albany.1 You will do me a kindness by sending me a Corrected copy of it for publication. From what I have seen of it, and from what I have heard of it, I am led to think it one

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of the most effective speeches you have yet given to the cause of human freedom. Your exposure of the recently proposed “act to secure freedom to all persons within this state.” is bold and startling. Compared with this magnificent thunder, my humble words are but as the rattling of a small carriage. Please Send me the speech, and accept my thanks in behalf my self & people for having made it. I am now suffering from my old complaint of the throat. The sudden changes, and dampness of the climate here, makes sad inroads upon my health. Rosetta, my daughter, who is now in the Office with me sends love to Ms Smith and family. Yours most Truly and affectionately FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Gerrit Smith’s speech was delivered in Albany on 11 April 1857 to a large gathering of citizens opposed to the recent Dred Scott decision. Published in Frederick Douglass’ Paper, Smith’s speech addressed the constitutionality of slavery and criticized a proposed personal liberty bill in New York, which, according to Smith, recognized the lawfulness of slavery. Lib., 17 April 1857; FDP, 24 April 1857.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO LYDIA DENNETT1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 17 April 1857.

My Dear Mrs Dennett. You Said to me when I was leaving your house,2 after a good break fast, and a pleasant interview with the frank and spirited Miss Charlotte Thomas,3 “do write to me.” Well, I am writing to you. The request So kindly made, was now the less grateful to my ear, because it is one which it is often my privilege to be the recipient of. I have many Such requests made of me in my Journeyings among the Children of men, but poor mortal that I am, with hands full and head full of public pressing matters, I have fallen far short of responding to this very amiable and most friendly requests. I sometimes Satisfy my conscience for failing of this duty by asSuming, that I am merely asked to write by way of harmless compliment, and it is therefore, of little or no consequence whether I respond or no. In ninety nine cases out of every hundred this assumption is doubtless well founded. You, my Dear friend, must consider your self the “one” not the “ninety and nine”! Ask Charlotte if she hears that. But in asking me to write, you very Sagely Selected the Subject of the wished for letter. You want to know something of my family—my wife and children. I confess

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that you have given me a “large” subject to discourse upon, You could not have given me a theme more fruitful, and yet for the soul of me (if black men of African descent have Souls) I do not know where to begin. Suppose I begin with the wife. I am sad to Say that she is by no means well—and if I should write down all her complaints there would be no room even to put my name at the bottom—although the world will have it that I am actually at the bottom of it all. She has the face I was going to use terms scarcely up to the standard of modern elegance) neuralegia.4 She has a great deal to do, but little time to do it in, and withal much to try her patience and all her other very many vertues. You have doubtless in your experience, met with many excellent wives and mothers, who have been in very much the Same condition in which my wife is. She has Suffered in every—member except one—she still Seems able to use with great ease and fluency her powers of speech—and by the time I am at home a week or two longer, I shall have pretty fully learned in how many points there is need of improvement in my temper and disposition as a husband, and father, the head of a family! Amid all the vicissitudes however, I am happy to Say that my wife gives me an excellent loaf of bread,—and keeps a neat house, and has moments of marked Amiability, of all which good things, I do not fail to take due advantage. I cannot Say much for my children. I cannot be expected (with my known good taste) to praise them) —and with my natural partiality—any criticisms of mine would be of little value. I can only say they are human—with a certain degree of human nature about them—enough to make them as bad as other childrens and capable, I trust of being as good. I am doing my best to give them a plain, practical English education, a thing of value all the more, perhaps, because I never had any of any Sort. I am trying to teach them to work—and eat bread that comes by earnest Labour and I have some hope of Success in this, & not in much more than this.—My Dear friend Lydia, I do not write letters in these days of speed—I cannot take the time—and you must accept this note for the present—I was more than glad to See you when in Portland and Shall be most happy to meet you again. Please make my regards to Miss Thomas—and also—to the kind young Lady in your family. I am Dear friend Very truly yours FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Pichard-Whittier Letters, MH-H. 1. Lydia Neal Dennett (1798–1881) was born in Eliot, York County, Maine, and was raised as a Quaker. She married Oliver W. Dennett (?–1852), and they resided in a house on Spring Street in

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Portland, Maine. Lydia and Oliver Dennett were active in the antislavery movement, and their home was a popular stop on the Underground Railroad. Oliver was elected a vice president of the American Anti-Slavery Society under William Lloyd Garrison in 1851. Lydia was considered an excellent conversationalist, storyteller, speaker, and entertainer. She and her husband became friends with William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and many other abolitionists, and frequently entertained them in their home. Lib., 7 June 1844, 17 May 1850; Concord (N.H.) Independent Statesman, 9 June 1881; Helen Coffin Beedy, Mothers of Maine (Portland, 1895), 239–241. 2. Since Douglass visited the Dennett residence while on a speaking tour in the summer of 1842, it is possible that he made an additional visit when he came to Portland to speak about the Dred Scott decision at Central Hall on 30 March 1857. An account of Douglass’s speech was published in the Portland Tribune and reprinted in Frederick Douglass’ Paper. FDP, 24 April 1857; San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin, 5 May 1886; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxvii. 3. Born and raised in Portland, Maine, Charlotte Julia Thomas (c. 1822–1920) was the daughter of Elias and Elizabeth Widgery Thomas, wealthy antislavery activists. The Thomas home was an important stop on the Underground Railroad, and Charlotte’s mother was known to entertain and collaborate with the activists William Lloyd Garrison, Parker Pillsbury, and Wendell Phillips. Charlotte shared her mother’s enthusiasm for activism, participating in the antislavery movement as well as the Maine Woman Suffrage Association. An accomplished entertainer, Charlotte was particularly fond of drama and the opera, and kept a literary salon that included, among others, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Newspaper accounts indicate that she donated an original oil painting of Longfellow by C. A. Cole to the Maine State Building in 1940. 1880 U.S. Census, Maine, Cumberland County, 303; Bangor Daily Whig, 25 September 1885, 1 January 1890, 5 May 1893; Beedy, Mothers of Maine, 236–39. 4. Pain associated with a damaged nerve.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH [n.p.] 20 April [18]57[.]

Hon. Gerrit Smith My dear Sir: The Bill sent to mr Green1 was by mistake. The five dollars of which he Speaks is duly Set to his credit, and the five you have now Sent shall also be Set to his credit. He Shall not be troubled with a bill again. I am amazed as well as gratified at the strength of the vote in favor of a radical abolition personal Liberty Bill.2 I am sorry the convention appointed here is given up.3 [B]ut your proposition for turning Republican Convention into Abolition oneS Strikes me fair.4 We have turned Whigs and Democrats into Republicans—and we can turn Republicans into Abolitionists. You have already gone a great way in this direction. I trace that magnificent Show of hands in the assembly directly to your Speech and Counsels.5 You cannot however, expect that your disciples Shall be quite as Successful as yourSelf—I am better of my throat trouble.

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DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH, 20 APRIL 1857

Rosa6 Joins me in Love to Mrs Smith,7 I am Dear Sir, Always yours Truly, FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Beriah Green. 2. Following the Dred Scott decision, New York’s legislature formed a joint special committee to determine the impact of the ruling and the state’s response to it. In April 1857 the committee released a series of resolutions and a bill that stated, “Every slave who shall come, or be brought, or be, in this State, with the consent of his or her master or mistress, or who shall come or be brought or be involuntarily in this State, shall be free.” On 17 April, the bill passed the assembly but failed to receive enough votes in the senate for it to continue on to the Committee of the Whole. Thomas D. Morris, Free Men All: The Personal Liberty Laws of the North 1780–1861, (Baltimore, 1974), 182–85. 3. A circular dated 1 January 1857 called for a National Convention of Radical Abolitionists to be held in Rochester in June. The convention would discuss the prospect of nominating a candidate for president in 1860. Published weekly in Frederick Douglass’ Paper, the circular last appeared in the 17 April issue. On 1 April 1857, the Radical Abolitionist, the small party’s official newspaper, issued a call for a minimum of 500 people to pledge by 10 April to attend the convention. On failing to achieve that goal, on 1 May the Radical Abolitionist published a notice that the convention had been canceled. But in that same issue, the newspaper assured its readers that since a “large part of [the] prominent leaders [of the Republican party were] about to become Radical Abolitionists,” they would “soon” be able to “avail” themselves of that party’s “extended organization [and] save the trouble of getting up one or our own.” New York Radical Abolitionist, 1 January, 1 February, 1 April, 1 May 1857. FDP, 17 April 1857. 4. Douglass was probably referring to the Republican party’s next national convention, which took place in Chicago in May 1860, although it is also possible that he was referring to New York’s upcoming Republican party convention, which took place in Syracuse on 23 September 1857. New York Times, 28 July, 24 September 1857; Stan M. Haynes, First American Political Conventions: Transforming Presidential Nominations, 1832–1872 (Jefferson, N.C., 2012), 169–75, 203–08. 5. Following the Dred Scott decision, Gerrit Smith publicly supported the passage of personal liberty bills to protect fugitive slaves and free blacks in nonslave states. Smith’s support is evident in a letter he wrote to D. C. Littlejohn, Speaker of the New York Assembly, dated 18 March and entitled “Man is Property Everywhere & Nowhere,” and in a public speech given at Albany on 11 April. FDP, 10, 14 April 1857. 6. Rosetta Douglass. 7. Ann Carroll Fitzhugh Smith.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO THE SECRETARY OF THE EDINBURGH LADIES’ NEW ANTI-SLAVERY ASSOCIATION1 Rochester. N.Y. [9] July [1857.]

To the Secretary of the Edinburgh New Anti-Slavery Association Dear Madam: Your note of june third2 has been received. I beg in response to it, to thank the members of the Edinburgh New Anti Slavery association for

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the donation of five pounds in aid of the publication of my Anti-Slavery paper. Please assure the association that I also feel deeply grateful for the kind co-operation extended to my zealous and untiring friend Miss Griffiths3—who has labored very earnestly both here and in Great Britain to place my Anti Slavery paper on a firm and permanent basis. I much fear that these exertions, of hers have been greatly beyond her Strength, but that She is, now Seriously Suffering the Consequences of over taxed persons. I am really indebted to Miss Griffiths for these voluntary—and disinterested exertions and am deeply grateful to those dear people who aided and cheered her on in those exertions. I the more especially, Speak of the disinterestedness of Miss Griffiths, because evel minded persons, I learn, have insinuated that Miss G. is receiving donations in my name for her own benefit. There is no truth in this inSinuation or charge. All all donations made through her for the paper—or for the Fugitive fund—come directly and unfailingly to those objects. You need not be told that we have not the friendship of Mr Garrison and his friends either in this Country or in England. They have carried on the war against me with no delicate regard to the means. I am not Sure that I am more obnoxious to them than is Miss Griffiths. Indeed they regard my repudiation of their religious or irreligious teaching to her influence. I am hated not as an apostate from the Anti Slavery Cause—for all know that I am, as faithful to that Cause as I ever was, but I am an apostate from Garrisonism—an “ism”—which comprehends, opposition to the Church; the ministry, the Sabbath, and the Government as Institutions in themselves conSidered—and viewed a part from the question of Slavery. I am opposed to them at these points—and could not Send my humble influence to the spread of Such opinions in the name of the Slave or his cause. No persecution which I have received causes me any regret for the Course I have felt my duty to pursue. I have nothing new—(or that you will not get through public channels) to tell you about the present prospect of our Cause. My speech at New York4 —which I hope may have met your eye states my views of the present aspects of our cause. I am now at work less under the influence or inspiration of hope—than the Settled assurances of faith in God—and the ultimate triumph of Rightiousness in the world. The cause of the Slave is a rightious and humane one—and I believe precious in the Sight of Heaven. Though long delayed, it will triumph at last. Please excuse this short epistle— Write me when ever you may desire any information I can give—

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DOUGLASS TO SECRETARY, EDINBURGH LADIES’ ASSOCIATION, 9 JULY 1857

I am Dear Madam, With grateful Regards to the Edinburgh new A.S. association— With great Respect, Yours &c. FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 661–63, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Founded in 1856, the Edinburgh Ladies’ New Anti-Slavery Association was an active abolitionist society in Scotland for ten years. Though the name contained the word “new,” the association was one of many in Edinburgh during the mid-nineteenth century. For several years the association held bazaars to raise funds for the abolitionist cause. After one such bazaar in 1857, the association sent 30 percent of the proceeds to Frederick Douglass in America, and 40 percent to aid fugitive slaves through American abolitionist societies. The remainder supported the organization’s continued existence. Its guiding motto was “Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them.” Although the organization identified itself as a “ladies” association, its prime benefactors were men. The society disbanded in 1866 and recorded the final distribution of its remaining funds. BFASR, 5:279 (December 1857), 14:86 (February 1866). 2. This correspondence has not survived. 3. Julia Griffiths. 4. Douglass probably alludes to his address on the Dred Scott decision, delivered in New York City in May 1857 before a meeting of the American Abolition Society. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:163–83.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 13 Oct[ober] 1857[.]

Hon. Gerrit Smith: My dear Sir: The fifty pamphlets of my two Speeches1 will be[]Sent to you to day. Three dollars and fifty cents will pay for them. I have just read Mr Garrison’s article2 on your compensation Speech, delivered at Cleveland.3 It is, to my thinking, very Smart, very adroit, very cunning, very artful, and very like Mr Garrison. He does not in that article, aim at the discovery or vindication of the Simple truth involved in the Subject, or to point out the true path of duty; his Sole aim Seems to be, to present you in a rediculous attitude before his readers. To those who only read his editorial as will be the Case with many who think they have a fair Synopsis of your views in his editorial, he will be Successful. Do write a reply4 to his most unfair treatment of your Speech and Send it to the Liberator Always Yours Truly, FREDERICK DOUGLASS ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. The pamphlet contained the text of two of Douglass’s recent speeches. The first speech was delivered on 4 August at the West Indian Emancipation celebration in Canandaigua, New York. The

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other speech, about the Dred Scott decision, was delivered on 14 May at the American Abolition Society’s anniversary meeting in New York City. Speech File, reel 14, frames 168–92, FD Papers, DLC; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxvii. 2. Garrison’s coverage of the Compensation Emancipation Convention characterized Smith, one of the keynote speakers, as eccentric, and his plan preposterous. Smith asserted that slaveholders had a moral right to compensation if slavery were abolished, an argument that Garrison believed gave them the moral and legal right to own slaves. Garrison equated Smith’s proposed plan to compensating criminals for breaking the law. Lib., 4 September, 9 October 1857. 3. Smith’s speech was delivered to the Compensation Emancipation Convention on 25 August 1857 in Cleveland, Ohio, and was covered in Frederick Douglass’ Paper and the Liberator. Just as Britain’s Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 included a £20 million parliamentary appropriation for the West Indian planters, Smith’s measure would compensate U.S. slave owners for the loss of their property, an act he hoped would encourage Southerners to support the abolition of slavery. The convention, which was organized by Smith and Elihu Burritt, resulted in the formation of the National Compensation Society. Lib., 4 September, 9 October 1857; FDP, 11 September 1857; Fladeland, “Compensated Emancipation,” 169–86; EAAH, 1:242. 4. No response from Smith to Garrison’s criticism of his stance on compensation can be located in the Liberator.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO MARIA G. PORTER Rochester[, N.Y.] 13 Oct[ober] 1857[.]

Miss Porter: William Oborne—Came to us last night from slavery. He looks fully able to take care of himself, but being destitute, he needs for the present, a little assistance to get him to Canada—$2.50 will be quite suffecient. Your Truly. FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society Collection, MiU-C.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 14 December 1857[.]

Hon: Gerrit Smith: My dear Sir: I am most Sincerely glad to See again a letter in your well known hand writing. In your own behalf and that of your Dear family and in behalf of my woe smitten people and the thousands to whom your life is precious, I thank my God that you have been raised up from your recent illness,1 and that you begin to feel again the strength of returning health. Yes, My dear

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DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH, 14 DECEMBER 1857

Sir, I saw you, as yourself, Mrs Smith,2 Green3 and Mr Morton4 glided by the Cars in the Station at Albany. The nights Air was cold and piercing and your Step though quick was feeble. I quickly determined that it was more kind to let you pass in Silence than to stop you for a moments recognition. I deemed myself quite fortunate that I got this early glimpse of you. I had just been on a lecturing tour in Massachusetts5 and was returning home and thought I Should be telling news to my family when I should Say that you had Started for home, but the lightning had already made them acquainted with the fact. I am just home now from a Short tour in Canada where I found much desire to hear me. The great increase of Colored people, most of them quite ignorant, and Some of them vicious has raised up prejudice against Colored people in Canada6 as well as here. The masses do not look into Causes. If they find a people degraded they pity them for a while and at length despise them. Please remember me kindly to your Dear Household all My family join me in Love to you— Yours Most Truly FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. In the late fall of 1857, Gerrit Smith developed a case typhoid fever while visiting New York City. After six weeks of recovery there, he returned to his home in Peterboro, New York. Several more months passed before Smith resumed his normal strenuous course of reform and business activities. Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 376–77. 2. Ann Carroll Fitzhugh Smith. 3. Greene Smith (1842–80) was the sole surviving son of the abolitionist Gerrit Smith. Educated by private tutors, Smith did not share his father’s appreciation of education and often clashed with his tutors. Greene Smith’s relationship with his father suffered because of Gerrit Smith’s strong belief in temperance. Smith briefly joined the Union army in 1864 and was given the rank of second lieutenant in the Fourteenth New York Artillery. After the war, he developed an interest in ornithology and built a large collection of stuffed birds. Labeled an “eccentric,” Greene Smith died among his collection at the family estate in Peterboro, New York. Chattanooga Gazette, 27 July 1864; New York Times, 24  July 1880; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 42, 189–90; Chattanooga Gazette, 27 July 1864; New York Times, 24 July 1880. 4. Edwin Morton (1832–1900) was an occasional poet and active abolitionist from Massachusetts. After graduating from Harvard in 1855, Morton easily found employment as a tutor. One of Morton’s first clients was Gerrit Smith. While in Smith’s employ, Morton became acquainted with John Brown and was present on 22 February 1859 when Brown presented his audacious plan to capture Harpers Ferry to his closest friends. To escape the possibility of having to testify against Brown and his accomplices, Morton fled to Europe in 1859 and remained there until the following year. Ill health prevented Morton from joining the Union war effort, and he remained on the home front. In 1876, Morton moved to Switzerland, where he worked as an essayist and poet until the end of his life. Franklin Sanborn, “John Brown and his Friends,” Atlantic Monthly, 30:50–61 (July 1872); E. H. Abbot, “Edwin Morton,” Harvard Graduates’ Magazine, 8:561–62 (June 1900); Edward J. Renehan, Jr., The Secret Six: The True Tale of the Men Who Conspired with John Brown (New York, 1995),

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127, 141–45, 205–06; Jeffery Rossbach, Ambivalent Conspirators: John Brown, the Secret Six, and a Theory of Slave Violence (Philadelphia, 1982), 124, 139, 141–42, 199, 220, 241. 5. Many of the issues of Frederick Douglass’ Paper from the fall of 1857 have not survived, and so no published account has been found of Douglass’s lecturing tours in Massachusetts or Canada. 6. Modern scholars concur with Douglass’s perception of growing antiblack sentiment in portions of Ontario, where fugitive slaves and free black migrants from the United States had settled in significant and gradually increasing numbers. Silverman, Unwelcome Guests, 72, 132, 157; Winks, Blacks in Canada, 114–78.

NORMAL1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Philadelphia, Penn. 25 Dec[ember] 1857. 2

Another Fugitive slave case has been called up and carried through our beautiful courts. The Fugitive whom the reports make to appear as deficient of brains as one could well be and yet lay claim to kinship with the genus homo, was condemned on his own testimony, remanded to his claimant,—without having been permitted the benefit of counsel, taken in broad day-light over the sin-cursed streets of our boasted city of Brotherly Love,3 and without a pitying voice or helping hand, thrust back into the lash-resounding knell of American slavery. Such damnable outrages are almost sufficient to drive one to atheism. How can an omnipotent Jehovah permit man whom He created “little lower than the angels”4 to ravish his fellow-men in so blackened and disgraceful a manner? One beautiful and significant feature of this whole affair is that it all took place under the very eaves of our annual Garrisonian Fair.5—Of course we do not mean to say ought against the happy ones at the Fair. Far be it from us to do so. But we must state the facts. apropos of the fair and its etecras. The Fair, that was all well enough, that is to say, it netted over a thousand dollars (so a member told us); but the convention which ran through three days we hardly know what to make of. We’ll give you the facts, and let you think of them at your leisure. The time, as was justly remarked by one of our city press, was taken up for the most part with an unprofitable discussion of points, which finally sunk down to personal abuse; and the convention barely escaped being broken up in a row. The low blackguardism of a well known loud mouthed semi-saxon individual6 who monopolized the biggest part of time, was really disgraceful to the society,—We must certainly advise the society to pandor a little less to the inordinate

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vanity and sickening self-conceit of this bombastic fulminate, and get at least some sane and sensible men to occupy their platform on Public occasions. His course bar-room attack on Frederick Douglass was as disgusting as it was cowardly. This is the second time since Mr. Douglass’ visit here, that this man has attempted to villify him before respectable audiences. Why don’t he come out when Mr. Douglass is here to answer for himself? Why does he so sedulously keep out of the way until Mr. D. is hundreds of miles off and then stab him in the dark? Why? But his attack recoiled upon him right on the spot, as the sequel will show. A hard looking customer named De Wolf7 now came forward, and commenced by declaring himself an ultra abolitionist and a non-resistant.8 He took especial pains to have people understand this last. We regret very much that he did not keep his non-resistant ideas to himself; if he had done so, he most likely would not have been called a liar and an unprincipled man, as he subsequently was.—He said he did not question the sincerity of the Garrisonians, but he was emphatically opposed to their wholesale systematic denunciations of every body and everything that does not see exactly as they do. “Honest, well-meaning men, as strong abolitionists as you are, said he, men who can go with you nine steps in ten, are driven away from you with kicks and stripes, because they cannot take the tenth.” Among other instances, he mentioned that of Frederick Douglass. “When this man was with you, he was the noblest Roman of you all,9 and you adored him almost as a son; but the instant that he changed his opinions on the constitution, you denounced him as an ingrate, the vilest of men, not because he was less an abolitionist than you, but because he differed with you on a single point.” He called such a course unwise and unjust. He then went on to say that Slaveholders should not be denounced, but reasoned with and treated like men. To those remarks Remond10 replied in his usual declamatory style, very spiritedly and with no resort to personality. The Rev. Jabes B. Campbell11 now came forward and took issue with the Garrisonians in their abuse of honest colored men and colored churches, that were fighting with all their might against oppression and wrong. He said he has had charge of colored pulpits for 20 years, and they were always open to an appeal for the slave; but he wanted his audience to understand that he was not a non-resistant, and he should never allow Chas. Lennox Remond and Robert Purvis to come into his own pulpit to denounce him and wish him and his church in perdition. Other men were as honest as they, other papers as effective as theirs. Where is a truer abolitionist than Gerrit Smith. Fred. Douglas, and Wm. Goodell, to which school he

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(Campbell) was proud to belong? Where will you find a truer advocate of the cause than “The True Wesleyan,[“]12 The N. Y. Independent13 or Fred. Douglass’ Paper? (applause) The aforesaid R. Purvis could endure this heresy no longer. He raved and tore and broke things generally, and particularly did he break vocem suam14 into sundry yells and very high notes. It was not enough for him to abuse generally everybody who sympathized with Gerrit Smith’s views, but as is his wont he had to come down to low epithets and personalties, “He said Frederick Douglass had been born a miserable suppliant slave, and he had not yet out-grown all the essential of the crawling servile, it was embedded in his bones. We did not cast him off because he changed his views, but because we believed him to be an unprincipled man. It is a libel on us; if uttered as it must have been, with a knowledge of the fact, it was a bare lie! [A]nd there was but one word which befitted its utterer, and that is, he is a liar! A black man standing for the Constitution, indeed! It was dishonesty on its very face. We have labored to very little purpose, if there were still left black men who are so detestably mean as to claim the Constitution for Freedom?” (that is to say it is a mean, cowardly piece of business for any body to differ with us, but for black men to do so, that I shan’t allow.)—Here Robert stopped for breath. In fact we believe he gave this as an excuse for stopping his classically chaste remarks. We cannot help remarking that Robert blazed from first to last without the least fraction of applause. The sharp vetran and tried warrior Dr. Bias15 here tried to get the floor, if he obtained which he would have excoriated this Purvis most thoroughly. Mr. Robert Douglass16 said he came last year to the Convention in accordance with the general invitation extended and found Spiritualists,17 Colonizationists and others allowed to speak, and he took occasion to make some remarks himself. For this he and his eloquent friend, (Dr. Bias) had been villified in The Standard,18 and he mentioned it now in order that the leading members of the Society might have an oppertunity to disclaim sympathy with the course of The Standard. ‘Brother Purvis’ was again on hand playing on his favorite harp, Frederick Douglass. De Wolf interposed, and asked what Mr. Douglass had done to merit such obloquy? Brother Purvis, said he had abused George Thomson, and doing so he has shown himself meanly base and cowardly unprincipled. He then proceeded to say “It is a lie, and the utterer is a liar four or 5 times to De Wolf whom he knew to be non-resistant. De Wolf asked to make an explanation; but ‘Brother Purvis,’ replied that a base

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calumniator should not interrupt him[.] The lordly and bombastic air of ‘Brother Purvis,’ excited laughter in De Wolf, to which ‘Brother Purvis,’ answered ‘Laugh! Oh laugh, but it is the forced laugh of conscious dishonesty &c.’ Emboldened by his triumph over a non-resistant, he was proceeding to traduce Mr. R. Douglass, when Mr. D. quietly arose and told ‘Purvis’ that he had called a man whom he knew to be a non-resistant, a liar, and had vilified absent men and dead men, but he could not throw an insult in his (Mr. D’s) teeth without meeting the consequences right on the spot. He might think of it as he chose but he could very easily tell whether he (Mr. D.) was in earnest or not. This effectually cured Purvis of personalities. Very likely this brave man, who is so good at attacking non-resistants, absent men and dead men, might have called to mind an episode a few years ago in Wesley church19 and another in Heims st.Hall.20 We know nothing about it. He quits his personalities quick enough, when he found he had a man to deal with, that we know. A lively young man, (whom we know to be a reporter of Forney’s21 paper) whose name we could not learn, now rose and took the house by storm in an eloquent vindication of Frederick Douglass and of George Washington’s22 memory. You profess sympathy for the black man in the South, but you have suffered yourself within the last hour, shamefully to abuse one of the noblest living men, Frederick Doug[l]ass. He had heard every discourse that Mr. Douglass has delivered in this city, and he strained no point when he said, that he was not only the ablest and most eloquent of American orators. But he would redeem his whole race from the charge of inferiority. Shame on you who can suffer that he should be wantonly abused on your platform, which should rather try to strengthen him and hold up his noble hand. Could his noble and manly form but enter the room at this moment, his cowardly calumniators would wilt away before him like the house-vine before the sun! And then General Washington, what is there to be gained by everlastingly traducing the memory of so great and good a man? The American people would not give audience to their doctrines if they embodied such gross calumniations of him who was first in war &c. Every sentiment of Washington was for liberty. Then he went on in the most eloquent and impressive manner. His speech acted like a rocket, (we regret that we could not [learn] the name of this young man.) Remond undertook to reply to it by calling to an account the audience for applauding. Sore yet about his defeat in the Wears23 discussion last spring, he singled out Prof. R. Cambell,24 (took him to task for applauding the [l]ast speaker) and charged him with lack of ability to un-

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derstand the Constitution and laws of the Country, and advised him to go back to the Antilles25 and try to comprehend the genius of American institutions before returning.—This was exceedingly smart in Remond, especially as he knew perfectly well that the Prof. would not have an opportunity to reply. We can tell Mr. Remond, that Prof. Campbell’s Scientific and Literary attainments have given him the audience and friendships of some of the most distinguished men of letters, not only in Philadelphia, but in the Country. Remond had better try his hand with him sometime before an impartial audience, and we guess he would come out worse excoriated than he did with Wear last spring. NORMAL. PLSr: FDP, 1 January 1858. 1. The identity of Douglass’s Philadelphia correspondent who wrote under the name “Normal” has not been determined, although he contributed numerous letters to Douglass’s newspaper in 1857 and 1858. FDP, 10 April, 8 May, 5 June 1857, 22 January, 23 April, 15 October 1858. 2. “Normal” here refers to the case of Jacob Dupen (c. 1832–?), a slave who had escaped from his owner, William M. Edelin, in Baltimore. Dupen was living as a farmer near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at the time of his arrest by U.S. marshals. He made no attempt to avoid capture and appeared confused when brought before Judge John K. Kane for a hearing on 18 December 1857. Dupen readily answered that Edelin was his master and that he had originally lived in Calvert County, Maryland, even after Kane advised him that he could refuse to answer. Dupen, who was not represented by legal counsel, was returned to slavery after the hearing. William M. Bull, a lawyer hired by Dupen’s friends, attempted to intercede on the slave’s behalf, but did not arrive until after the hearing was over. Philadelphia Bulletin, 18 December 1857; Campbell, Slave Catchers, 133, 204. 3. According to tradition, William Penn named the capital city of his colony Philadelphia, Greek for “brotherly love,” in order to reflect his ideal for the settlement. The book of Revelation mentions the name, associated with an ancient city in Asia Minor, as the location of one of the seven churches housing angels of the apocalypse. Rev. 1:11, 3:7; George R. Stewart, American PlaceNames: A Concise and Selective Dictionary for the Continental United States of America (New York, 1970), 370; Kelsie B. Harder, ed., Illustrated Dictionary of Place Names: United States and Canada (New York, 1976), 423. 4. Ps. 8:5; Heb. 2:7, 2:9. 5. From 1836 to the Civil War, the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Fair was held annually in Philadelphia under the auspices of the American Anti-Slavery Society. If possible, the fair convened in the city’s Assembly Building in conjunction with other abolitionist conventions. Many local abolitionist societies donated crafts for sale in order to raise money to support the printing of antislavery newspapers and tracts, and to provide funds for slaves fleeing north. In addition to crafts produced by local women’s abolition societies, the fair often imported crafts from British abolitionist societies. The fair, held in December, was often called the “Winter Fair.” The Pennsylvania fair was one of the longest and most successful of the many antislavery fairs in the 1850s. Prominent abolitionist speakers frequently addressed attendees and solicited donations from them. Lib., 28 January 1853; Report of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society Committee of the Fourteenth Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Fair, 9 January 1850 (Philadelphia, 1850); Julie Roy Jeffrey, The Great Silent Army of Abolitionism: Ordinary Women in the Anti-Slavery Movement (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1998), 193. 6. Probably Robert Purvis (1810–98), a prominent leader of antebellum Philadelphia’s black community and one of the most influential African Americans in the Garrisonian wing of the

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abolitionist movement. He was the son of Harriet Juda, a free black woman, and William Purvis, a white cotton broker of Charleston, South Carolina. In 1819, Robert moved north with his family to be educated. Upon his father’s death in the mid-1820s, Purvis inherited a substantial fortune, which he used to support a wide array of benevolent causes, including temperance, women’s rights, penal reform, and integrated education. He helped launch the Liberator in 1831, became a charter member of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833, and served as both president and vice president of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. From the 1830s onward, he actively assisted fugitives trying to escape slavery. Following Douglass’s split with Garrison, Purvis frequently attacked Douglass in speeches. Purvis pointed some of his canards at Douglass’s relationship with Julia Griffiths. Douglass responded to many of these attacks in speeches against Garrison and Purvis and in editorials in his newspaper. Margaret Hope Bacon, But One Race: The Life of Robert Purvis (New York, 2007), 7–9, 126, 173; Still, Underground Railroad, 711; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 24–25, 55–56; Joseph A. Borome, “Robert Purvis and his Early Challenge to American Racism,” NHB, 30:8–10 (May 1967); Pauline C. Johnson, “Robert Purvis,” ibid., 5:65–66 (December 1941); NCAB, 1:413. 7. Possibly Calvin De Wolf (1815–99), an abolitionist and lawyer from Chicago. Born in Pennsylvania, De Wolfe received an education at the Grand River Institute, an Ohio manual labor school. He relocated to Illinois, where he studied law after teaching briefly. Outraged at the murder of Elijah Lovejoy, De Wolf helped found the Anti-Slavery Society of Chicago and became its secretary. He later assisted in the creation of the Western Citizen, an abolitionist newspaper. In 1858, De Wolf was part of a group indicted for assisting a runaway slave to escape, but the case was dropped under the Lincoln administration. As a Republican, he served two terms on the Chicago board of aldermen. Milwaukee Sentinel, 29 November 1899; Bessie Louise Pierce, A History of Chicago: The Beginning of a City, vol. 1: 1673–1848, (Chicago, 1937), 243–45; Howard Louis Conard, “Calvin De Wolf,” Magazine of Western History, 13: 221–25 (December 1890). 8. A nonresistant was a believer in a principled form of nonviolence or pacifism. Many abolitionist followers of William Lloyd Garrison had adopted principles of nonresistance in whole or in part by the late 1830s; they abstained from participation in the political process, viewing government as inherently coercive. Perry, Radical Abolitionism, 45–46, 76–80. 9. Julius Caesar, act 5, sc. 5, line 68. 10. Charles Lenox Remond. 11. Jabez Pitt Campbell (1815–91) was born in Slaughter Neck, Delaware, to free black parents, Anthony and Catherine Campbell. When Jabez Campbell was a youth, his father used him as a security for a debt. When Anthony could not repay the debt, Campbell was forced into slavery. After four and a half years, he was able to pay off the debt and, at age eighteen, regain his freedom. Settling in Philadelphia, Campbell became a member of the Bethel A.M.E. Church and entered the ministry in 1839. From 1856 to 1858 he served as the editor of the Christian Recorder and in 1864 was elected bishop of the A.M.E. Church. Never prominent in black antislavery activities, Campbell was a member of the American Colonization Society and became its vice president in 1876. Throughout his lifetime, he and his wife, Mary Ann, contributed money to many philanthropic institutions, including Wilberforce College in Ohio and Jabez Pitt Campbell College (later Jackson State University) in Mississippi. African Repository and Colonial Journal, 53:48 (Washington D.C., 1877); Benjamin T. Tanner, An Apology for African Methodism (Baltimore, 1867), 158–71; Jessie Carney Smith, ed., Notable Black American Women: Book II (Detroit, 1996), 80–81; Simmons, Men of Mark, 1031–33. 12. Based in New York City, the True Wesleyan was the official organ of the small abolitionist “comeouter” sect of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection, which was launched in 1843. McKivigan, War against Proslavery Religion, 85, 86, 131; Sernet, North Star Country, 83. 13. The Independent (1848–1928) was a weekly newspaper published in New York. Originally a religious newspaper, the Independent was dedicated to the survival of the Congregationalist Church after several Presbyterian and Congregationalist leaders adopted a “Plan of Union” for missionary labors in the western territories. In 1854 the Independent’s format was changed in an attempt to broaden the newspaper’s appeal to non-Congregationalist readers. Theodore Tilton, who joined the

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newspaper in 1854, placed a stronger emphasis on antislavery, temperance, and woman suffrage. The Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, an early contributor, served as editor from 1861 until 1863, when Tilton became editor in chief. In 1867, Tilton changed the Independent’s format to a weekly political magazine, and the religious emphasis was slowly abandoned. Tilton recruited Douglass to write the article “The Work Before Us” for the Independent in 1868. The magazine absorbed a rival, Harper’s Weekly, in 1916. In 1921 the Independent merged with the Weekly Review and later with the Outlook, forming the Outlook and Independent in 1928. That final incarnation folded in 1932. Lib., 8 December 1848; New York Independent, 27 August 1868; New York Times, 23 April 1916, 21 September 1921, 29 June 1932; Louis Filler, “Liberalism, Anti-Slavery, and the Founders of the Independent,” NEQ, 27:291–306 (September 1954). 14. Latin for “his voice.” 15. James J. Gould Bias. 16. Probably Robert M. J. Douglass, Jr. (1809–87), son of a British West Indies immigrant to Philadelphia who became a successful hairdresser and leader of that city’s black community. His sister was Sarah Mapps Douglass, an abolitionist and educator. A talented portrait painter, the younger Douglass became active in abolitionism in the 1830s. He visited Haiti and reported positively on conditions there. In the 1850s he was a proponent of immigration to Africa. Julie Winch, Philadelphia’s Black Elite: Activism, Accommodation, and the Struggle for Autonomy, 1787–1848 (Philadelphia, 1988), 5, 35, 50, 61, 83, 94, 129; Merrill and Ruchames, Garrison Letters, 3:60. 17. Following the highly publicized claims in 1848 of Margaret and Kate Fox, two sisters from Rochester, New York, to be able to contact the spirits of the deceased via a system of audible “rappings,” belief in the powers of mediums to communicate with the dead became widespread across the United States. Andrew Jackson Davis, a prominent medium, worked hard to connect Spiritualism with the abolitionist, temperance, and women’s rights movements of the 1850s. Most abolitionists remained skeptical, but a few, such as the Boston minister John Pierpont and Douglass’s Garrisonian friends Amy and Isaac Post, became staunch believers in Spiritualism. Ronald G. Walters, American Reformers, 1815–1860 (New York, 1978), 163–71; Bret E. Carroll, Spiritualism in Antebellum America (Bloomington, Ind., 1997), 3–4, 248. 18. New York National Anti-Slavery Standard. 19. Several black churches in antebellum Philadelphia had “Wesley” in their names. The one referred to here is probably the Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church, founded in 1820 and located at the corner  of Lombard and Fifth Street. This congregation was one of the oldest in the A.M.E. Zion Church. W. E. B. Du Bois, The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (1899; New York, 1967), 200, 211–12. 20. Probably the Odd Fellows Hall on the corner of Sixth and Haines Street in Philadelphia. The four-story building, erected in 1846 to great fanfare, housed the Grand Lodge offices for Pennsylvania. In addition to several Odd Fellows Lodges, the hall housed the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania. The Odd Fellows erected their building on the same lot where abolitionists had built Pennsylvania Hall, which was burned in 1838. McElroy’s Philadelphia Directory for 1857 (Philadelphia, 1857), 900; [New York] The Golden Rule, and Odd Fellows’ Family Companion, 5:201–02 (September 1846). 21. A prominent Democratic party journalist from Pennsylvania, John Weiss Forney (1817–81) was a close ally of James Buchanan. After losing a race for a seat in the U.S. Senate to the Republican Simeon Cameron, Forney launched a newspaper, the Press, in Philadelphia in August 1857. After quarreling with Buchanan over his efforts to make Kansas a slave state, Forney shifted his allegiance to the Republicans. By 1876, Forney had changed the name of his newspaper from the Press to the Philadelphia Press. North American and United States Gazette, 14 July 1857; Centennial Newspaper Exhibition 1876 (New York, 1876), 277–79; NCAB, 3:267–68; DAB, 6:526–27. 22. In his will, George Washington (1732–99), first president of the United States, provided that all the slaves that he held in his own right be emancipated upon the death of his wife. In 1802, according to the estate inventory, 124 slaves were eventually freed. Fritz Hirschfeld, George Washington

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and Slavery: A Documentary Portrayal (Columbia, Mo., 1997), 209–12; Douglas Southall Freeman, Washington: A Biography (New York, 1968), 741. 23. Isaiah C. Weir. 24. Born in Jamaica to a free black mother and a Scottish-born planter, Robert Campbell (1829– 84) worked as a printer and a teacher before migrating to Brooklyn, New York, in 1852. Three years later, he accepted an instructor’s post at the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia. He was soon drawn into antislavery and Underground Railroad work in that city’s black community. In 1859, Campbell joined Martin Delany’s Niger Valley Exploring Party. After fund-raising on behalf of the expedition in Great Britain, he accompanied Delany to West Africa in 1860. After returning to the United States, he continued to promote African migration in speeches and in writing. In February 1862, Campbell permanently relocated his family to Lagos, Nigeria, where he worked at journalistic and commercial ventures. Blackett, Beating against the Barriers, 139–82. 25. The main island group of the West Indies, the Antilles span 2,500 miles from Florida to the Venezuela coast. The archipelago is composed of the Greater Antilles (the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica) and the Lesser Antilles (the Windward Islands, the Leeward Islands, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago). These islands separate the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. Seltzer, Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, 79; Cohen, Columbia Gazetteer of the World, 3441.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO MARY ANNE DAY BROWN1 Rochester, N[.]Y[.] 30 Jan[uar]y 1858[.]

My dear Friends: Your brave husband and father is now my guest2—and has been since Thursday of this week. Gladly indeed we hailed him—and joyfully we entertain him. It does not seem safe—or desirable for him to come to you just now—though he would most gladly do so—I shall retain him here as long as he desires to remain and would be glad for my you to meet him here. I remember with pleasure the pleasant moments spent under your roof 3—and take [illegible] small satisfaction in the thought of your Friendship—I shall be truly glad to see either of you or both of you at my house—at any time during Capt Brown’s stay— FRED. DOUGLASS— 4 ALS: John Brown Papers, KHi. Additional text in F[rancis] B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of John Brown: Liberator of Kansas, and Martyr of Virginia (Boston, 1885), 440–41. 1. The daughter of a Meadville, Pennsylvania, blacksmith, Mary Anne Day Brown (1816–84) received no formal education after her family relocated there from Granville, New York, in 1826. She married John Brown at age sixteen and bore thirteen children, seven of whom died in childhood. While most of the males of the family were participating in the antislavery struggle in Kansas and later in Maryland and Virginia, she and three daughters managed the Brown farm near North Elba, New York. After John Brown’s execution, she remained on the farm until 1864. Mary Brown spent her last twenty years living with several of her children in California. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of John Brown, 497–99; Villard, John Brown, 19, 24–25; Oates, To Purge This Land, 26.

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2. John Brown visited Frederick Douglass in Rochester on at least four occasions: in December 1856, Brown was invited to dine at Douglass’s home; for three weeks beginning on 27 January 1858, Brown resided at Douglass’s house; he returned for one evening the following April; ‘and in April 1859 he stayed a few hours in Douglass’s newspaper office. Douglass to [John] Brown, 7 December 1856, Dreer Manuscripts, PHi; Douglass to [John Brown], 22 June 1858, Miscellaneous Manuscripts, NjP; Sanborn, Life and Letters of John Brown, 433–35, 440–41; Quarles, Frederick Douglass, 172–73; Quarles, Allies for Freedom, 38–44; Villard, John Brown, 317; Oates, To Purge This Land, 224–25; Horace McGuire, “Two Episodes of Anti-Slavery Days,” Publications of the Rochester Historical Society, 4:218–20 (1925). 3. The precise date of Douglass’s visit to John Brown’s home in Springfield, Massachusetts, cannot be confirmed. The most complete description of the meeting is found in Douglass’s Life and Times, in which he recollects that the evening spent with Brown occurred in 1847 at about the time of the North Star’s first appearance. The first issue of the North Star was published in Rochester, New York, on 3 December 1847, and Douglass toured Massachusetts later that month. More likely, the meeting occurred after Douglass’s lecture in Springfield on the evening of 1 February 1848. Soon after in the North Star, Douglass recounted meeting Brown then and described him as “one of the most earnest and interesting men that I have met in a long time.” Later North Star articles reveal that the two men probably met again in October and November 1848 when Douglass lectured three times in Springfield. NS, 17 January, 11 February, 17, 24 November, 8 December 1848; Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:245–46; Quarles, Frederick Douglass, 170–71. 4. Douglass’s letter was appended to the following letter that John Brown sent to his family: My Dear Wife & Children every one I am (Praised be God) once more in York State. Whether I shall be permitted to visit you or not this Winter or Spring I cannot now say: but it is some relief of mind to feel that I am again so near you Possibly; if I cannot go to see you; that I may be able to devise some way for some one, or more of you to meet me some where. The anxiety I feel to see my Wife; & Children once more; I am unable to describe. I want exceedingly to see my big Baby; & Ruth’s “Mums Baby”: & to see how that little company of Sheep look about this time. The cries of my poor sorrow stricken despairing Children whoose “tears on their cheeks” are ever in my Eye; & whose sighs are ever in my Ears, may however prevent my enjoying the happiness I so much desire[.] But courage Courage Courage the great works of my life* (: the unseen Hand that “girded me; & who has indeed holden my right hand; may hold it still,) though I have not known Him”; at all as I ought:)* I may yet see it accomplished; (God helping;) & be permitted to return, & rest; “[illegible]at Evening”. O my Daughter Ruth could any plan be devised whereby you could let Henry go “to School” (as you expressed it in your letter to him while in Kansas:) I would rather now have him “for another term:” than to have a Hundred average Schollars. I have a particular & very important; (but not dangerous) place for him to fill; in the “school:” & I Know of no man living; so well adapted to fill it. I am quite confident some way can be devised: so that you: & your children could be with him: & be quite happy even: & safe but “God forbid” me to flatter you into trouble. I did not do it before. My dear child could you face such music: if on a full explanation Henry could be satisfied that his family might be safe? I would make a similar enquiry of my own dear Wife; but I have kept her tumbling “here & there”; over a stormy & tempestus Sea for so many years that I cannot ask her such a question. The natural ingenuity of Salmon: in connection with some experience he, & Oliver have both had; would point him out as the next best man I could now select: but I am dumb in his case; as also in the case of Watson, & all my other sons. Jasons qualifications are some of them like Henrys also. I want to hear from you all if possible before I leave this neighborhood. Do not noise it about; that I am in these parts; & direct to N Hawkins: Care of Fredk Douglas Esqr Rochester NY. I want to hear how you all are supplied with Winter clothing, Boots, &c. God bless you all Your Affectionate Husband & Father[.]

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JOHN BROWN TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Chicago, [Ill.] 22 June 1858.

Frederick Douglas Esqr. Dear Sir When at your place I forgot in my haste to say a word in behalf of my friend Harriet Tubman1 of St Catharines C. W.2 She wants to raise $100. towards furnishing a home for herself: & her aged Father; & Mother. I know of no one better deserving assistance; has given her $25. to start the thing with. She spoke of asking you to let her travel with you a little;3 when you should be out from home. Could you not manage to make or as much as you would loose by her presence? Any thing you can do for Gen Tubman4 the man of deeds will be fully apreciated by your —— ——Sincere Friend OLD HUNDRED5 ALS: Miscellaneous Manuscripts, NjP. 1. Harriet Tubman (1820–1913) was born into slavery as Arminta Ross to slave owners Harriet Greene and Benjamin Ross, residing near Bucktown in Dorchester County, Maryland. She escaped bondage in 1849, and the following year she returned to Maryland as a conductor on the Underground Railroad to rescue her family members. Following the successful relocation of most of her family to St. Catharines, Canada, Tubman focused her efforts on rescuing as many enslaved brethren as possible, eventually directing approximately 120 men, women, and children to freedom. During the Civil War, Tubman worked for the Union army, fi rst as a cook and nurse, and then as a scout and spy in South Carolina. Jean M. Humez, Harriet Tubman: The Life and the Life Stories, (Madison, Wisc., 2003), 32–35; EAAH, 3: 247–58; EAA, 2:683–84. 2. Founded in 1790, St. Catharines was an agricultural settlement in southern Ontario that later developed into an industrial center featuring textile and paper mills. In the nineteenth century, St. Catharines was a safe haven for runaway slaves who had escaped on the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman resided in St. Catharines before the Civil War and plotted many of her daring escape plans there. Cohen, Columbia Gazetteer of the World, 3:2688; EAAH, 3:247. 3. In his 1881 autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, Douglass writes: “On one occasion I had eleven fugitives at the same time under my roof, and it was necessary for them to remain with me until I could collect sufficient money to get them on to Canada.” In 1851, Tubman led a group of eleven slaves from Philadelphia to New York and on to Albany and Rochester, where Douglass resided. It is generally accepted that this was the same group that Douglass sheltered. To keep secret the network of underground operators, Douglass never named Tubman in his autobiographies. Because of his discretion, there is not much evidence documenting the relationship and interactions between Douglass and Tubman before emancipation. Humez, Harriet Tubman, 92–96; Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:208. 4. In April 1858, John Brown was taken to St. Catharines, Canada, to meet Tubman in an effort to enlist her and other experienced Underground Railroad conductors for his prospective raid at Harpers Ferry, and to access her knowledge of the Appalachian region. Although Tubman did not join Brown in his Virginia raid, she did assist him with fund-raising and connected him with potential African Canadian recruits. Brown had such deep respect for Tubman and was so impressed with her antislavery efforts that he used male pronouns when referring to her and addressed her as “General Tubman.” Humez, Harriet Tubman, 32–35.

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5. Brown adopts the nickname “Old Hundred” perhaps as an allusion to the popular 1674 hymn “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow,” by the Anglican clergyman Thomas Ken. The song is also known as “Old Hundredth.” There are many earlier variants of the lyrics, and authorship of the melody is disputed. The version with music by Johann Sebastian Bach is the most popular. Psalm 100 and this hymn thank God for having saved the speaker from everyday dangers. William Henry Havergal, A History of the Old Hundredth Psalm Tune: With Specimens (New York, 1854), 11, 13, 22.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO SAMUEL D. PORTER1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 21 July 1858.

Sam’l Porter Esqr. Dear Sir: Mr Levi Coffin2 or Mr. John J. Gaines3 of Cincinati, will see that “a man” from Lexington Ky—is conducted through the State of Ohio Safely into Canada. On reaching Cincinati either of the gentle man named will be pleased to take charge of him, and forward him on his desired way. The getting to Cincinati is the great difficulty. I was unable to find a “Tubman” 4 or woman who would run the hazard of conductor on that end of the Road—but perhaps that has been provided for. If this be so, you may rest assured that, Levi Coffin will do the rest. I meant to have called upon you immediately on my return home— but have been confined to the house by “Jobs Comforters”5—and am so confined now. I am dear Sir, Yours Truly. FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Porter Family Papers, NRU. 1. Samuel D. Porter (1808–81), a prosperous land agent, moved to Rochester, New York, from Waldosborough, Maine, in 1835. His wife, Susan Farley Porter, founded and belonged to several reform organizations, and Porter served as the first president of the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society. The Porters aided fugitive slaves in crossing the border into Canada, and their barn was reputed to be a common hiding place. In the 1840s, Samuel joined the Liberty party and supported the Free Soil party while attempting to mediate between Garrisonian abolitionists and those who, like himself, sought the end of slavery through political agitation. Additionally, he was a perennial candidate for mayor, running on an antislavery platform. Although he became a Republican in the late 1850s, he broke with that party in the 1870s, charging that it had abandoned reform and the plight of the freedmen. 1850 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 92; Nancy A. Hewitt, Women’s Activism and Social Change: Rochester, New York, 1822–1872 (Ithaca, N.Y., 1984), 60, 120, 149, 180, 206; Dexter Perkins, “Rochester One Hundred Years Ago,” RH, 1:1–24 (July 1939). 2. Levi Coffin (1798–1877) was a Quaker antislavery advocate who grew up in North Carolina. His devout religious beliefs led him to defy Southern principles and become a supporter of the antislavery cause. In 1821, Coffin, along with his cousin Vestal Coffin, organized a Sunday school for African Americans and taught some slaves how to read the Bible. Pressured by local slaveholders,

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Coffin closed his school. In 1826, he and his wife, Catherine, moved to Indiana. Coffin established a store in Wayne County and began to aid escaping slaves to freedom. For his efforts, Coffin earned the title “President of the Underground Railroad,” and his home became known as “Grand Central Station.” During his time in Indiana, Coffin was a founding member of the Indiana State Anti-Slavery Society. In 1847, he moved to Cincinnati and started a business that sold products produced by free labor only. During the Civil War, Coffin served as a member of the Western Freedmen’s Aid Society and helped educate former slaves. In 1867, he continued his antislavery work and traveled to Paris as a delegate to the International Anti-Slavery Society. A year before his death, Coffin completed an autobiography detailing his abolitionist labors. Levi Coffin, Reminiscences of Levi Coffi n, the Reputed President of the Underground Railroad: Being a Brief History of the Labors of a Lifetime in Behalf of the Slave, with Stories of Numerous Fugitives, Who Gained Their Freedom through His Instrumentality, and Many Other Incidents (Cincinnati, 1876); Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 3:39, ANB, 5:148–49; DAB, 4:268–69. 3. John Isom Gaines (1821–59) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Isom and Elizabeth Gaines. A free black, Gaines attended a primary school and later Gilmore High School in Cincinnati, where he developed his political and oratorical skills. Although he worked for several years as a dock laborer and shop owner, Gaines decided to enter the public sphere by critiquing the institution of slavery, condemning racial violence, and supporting the idea of public schools for blacks. In 1849 Gaines served as a delegate to the State Convention of Colored Citizens of Ohio and remained involved in these state conventions until his death. The 1849 convention successfully petitioned the state legislature to establish a public school system for African American children, and Gaines became the administrator. Except for the two years when Cincinnati whites took control of the black school system, Gaines served on the school board and intermittently as its clerk and administrator from 1849 until 1859. After years of struggle, the Cincinnati Colored School Board opened a high school in 1866 and, in honor of Gaines, named it Gaines High School. Nikki M. Taylor, Frontiers of Freedom: Cincinnati’s Black Community, 1802–1868 (Athens, Ohio, 2005), 164; Samuel Matthews, “John Isom Gaines: The Architect of Black Public Education,” Queen City Heritage, 45:41–48 (Spring 1987); Foner and Walker, Black State Conventions, 1:216, 294, 320, 326. 4. Harriet Tubman. 5. Douglass alludes to Job 16:2. The term “Job’s comforter” was colloquially used to refer to a person offering consolation that resulted only in further unhappiness. Douglass may be making a veiled complaint about his wife or family to his close friend Porter.

OTTILIE ASSING1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS [n.p.] [12] August 1858.

Mr. Editor:— Any one who participated in the interesting and splendid celebration of the West India Emancipation in Poughkeepsie on the second of August,2 and witnessed the powerful impression produced by your own speech, and by the proceedings generally, will experience a strange sensation, a mixture of merriment and disgust, by reading the pretended report in the N. Y. Herald of August 3d.3 If, as is said, any one who succeeds in gaining to his side all those who want to laugh, has won his game, it might seem at first sight that the reporter of the Herald had accomplished a master-

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piece in that direction. The most stoical could not read without laughing, notwithstanding the indignation, which the malice and meanness of the report, that shine in every line of it, are calculated to arouse. But the Herald is not to be judged by ordinary rules. Taking honesty and generosity as a measure for it, would be as much out of place as expecting refinement and taste from a hog; the more so, as that journal does not even pretend to be guided by such old fashioned considerations. Therefore I abstain from expressing any indignation about the vile and base attempt to heap ridicule on a race which is daily made the subject of cruelty, humiliation and oppression; but even passing entirely over this part of the question, the wit of the Herald about this matter cannot stand a closer examination. The ridiculing of an enemy, if done successfully, is certainly one of the most effectual and powerful means of annihilating him more completely than could be done by any other weapon, and in an honest struggle may be used as well as any other, provided that the attacked party really offers weak sides and that the object can be reached without violating truth, which ought to be observed as well as in any other struggle, but the venomous sting breaks off when distortions of truth, additions and omissions must be used for accomplishing this purpose. Therefore, the malice of the Herald does not hit the aim, notwithstanding the merriment which it may excite for a moment among those who want to laugh at the expense of some one else. The chief means of the Herald consists in calling to his aid American prejudice against color, by dwelling with intentional satisfaction not on anything that would seem ludicrous to any one not imbued with that prejudice, but on every trifle characteristically African in the outward appearance of the assembly. The arrows of satire ought to hit at the point, intelligible, and striking anywhere and at any time, whilst the wit of the Herald would be entirely lost to anybody not thoroughly acquainted with that local and unnatural prejudice, and where else would it be attempted to ridicule any nation by putting a stress on their national characteristics and classifying them according to such distinction, by dwelling on the aquiline noses of the Italians, the white flaxen hair of the Norwegians, or the high cheek bones of the Chinese.4 Further, the sarcasms of the Herald is not able to excite laughter by ridiculing facts as they are, but only by distorting them and omitting the really prominent features of the celebration. Had any absurdity happened, no doubt, the Herald would have been ready to seize upon it as the buzzard on carrion, and to put it before his readers in the most striking and acceptable form; but in vain was he looking for any prey of that kind, and his endeavors

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to amuse by classifying the assembly according to mahogany or ground coffee color, yellow pine, cream, &c., or by tearing out of your speech single sentences, omitting the connecting links, besides being as cheap and coarse a trick as throwing orange-peels at the heads of passers-by, rather bears testimony for the general good conduct and the tact of all present, as for the dignified and elevated character of the whole celebration. A pleasant contrast with the attacks of the Herald is offered by the impartial and appreciating report of the Times,5 which by its faithful statements of facts, and by its rendering your speech in its whole extent, presents a brilliant vindication, if any is needed at all. With peculiar satisfaction did I read the acknowledgment of the good order maintained throughout, and the decent conduct of the assembled crowd, the natural good manners, politeness and inborn tact which distinguish the colored people, no matter how low their standing in society—being rarely appreciated in this country, although they cannot fail to strike the impartial foreigner, not yet infected with American cruelty and wickedness. O. A. PLIr: FDP, 12 August 1858. 1. Probably Ottilie Assing (1819–84), who was born to Rosa Maria Antoinette Pauline Assing, a Christian, and Assur David Assing, a Jew, in Hamburg, Germany. Assing received an accelerated education from her mother and was generally described as bright and vivacious. After the death of her mother in 1840, and her father in 1842, Ottilie and her younger sister, Ludmilla, spent time with relatives, but she grew despondent and attempted suicide in 1843. After returning to Hamburg, Assing began writing reviews of local culture. In 1851, she became a correspondent for the German periodical Morgenblatt für gebildete Leser. Assing met Frederick Douglass when she came to America in 1855, supposedly inspired to make his acquaintance after reading My Bondage and My Freedom. She arrived in Rochester and interviewed him for an article that subsequently appeared in the Morgenblatt. In succeeding years, Assing published numerous articles about Douglass for her German readership, and also translated My Bondage and My Freedom into German, contributing an introduction. In 1856, the two began an intimate relationship that lasted twenty-eight years. During that time, Douglass and Assing corresponded regularly. When in the United States, Assing was a regular visitor at the Douglass home in Rochester, including in the summer of 1858, when she probably accompanied Douglass to this West Indian Emancipation celebrations in Poughkeepsie. Although she was friendly with his children, his wife, Anna Murray, did not approve of her husband’s relationship. Douglass and Assing often appeared in public together, but contemporary public speculation did not uncover their relationship. Following Anna Murray Douglass’s death in 1882, Assing hoped that she might become Mrs. Frederick Douglass. But in January 1884, while Assing was in Europe, Douglass married his secretary, Helen Pitts. Increasingly ill, possibly from cancer, and despondent from Douglass’s rejection, Assing committed suicide in a Paris park on 21 August 1884. She left her entire estate to Douglass. Christoph Lohmann, ed., Radical Passion: Ottilie Assing’s Reports from America and Letters to Frederick Douglass (New York, 1999), 69, 329–62; Diedrich, Love across Color Lines, 7, 23, 38, 56, 184, 203, 368, 371. 2. On 2 August 1858, Douglass was the featured speaker at a celebration in Poughkeepsie, New York, commemorating the twenty-fourth anniversary of West Indian Emancipation. Between three

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thousand and four thousand blacks and whites attended. The assemblage was apparently orderly, although the New York Herald labeled it witty yet “vile and base,” claiming that the blacks in the audience “amused themselves principally in roving about the grounds, eating, drinking and . . . leaving their white brethren to listen to the speakers.” Douglass’s speech was halted by the noisy arrival of a tardy delegation from Albany. As the platform guests moved about, “crack, crack, crash, crash, went the unstable frame, and down came boards, timbers, orators, officers, reporters, black and white, Quaker and elders, in one conglomerate mass of pine, hemlock and humanity!” The correspondent for the Rochester Democrat and American “saw a good sized board strike Mr. Douglass upon the head.” No one was seriously injured, and a wagon was substituted for the collapsed platform. Douglass spoke for two hours before stating he would be unable to finish that afternoon. The meeting adjourned following a song by George W. Clark and the announcement by Douglass that his son, “said to be very like his father,” was in the crowd selling copies of My Bondage and My Freedom for one dollar. Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Eagle, 31 July, 7 August 1858; New York Times, 3 August 1858; New York Herald, 3 August 1858; FDP, 12 August 1858; Foner, Life and Writings, 5:394–411. 3. Several New York newspapers reported on Douglass’s address at the celebration. Under the title of “Darkydom Powwow at Poughkeepsie,” the New York Herald published a highly distorted account of both the celebration and Douglass’s speech. The Herald focused on only two points in Douglass’s speech. First was his suggestion that the United States join Britain in offering “freedom to its subjects.” The Herald’s account paints Douglass as a British sympathizer and a champion of monarchy. The second, more vitriolic attack concerned his point about men’s laziness. Douglass suggested that all men are generally lazy, but the Herald’s account depicts him as promoting the stereotype that only Negro men were “lazy and ignorant.” New York Herald, 3 August 1858. 4. The racism of the Herald’s account of the West Indian Emancipation commemoration was not confined to Douglass’s speech. The description of nearly every speaker included a “hue of complexion” printed next to his or her name. The newspaper likewise gave a “color” breakdown of the audience, starting with white and continuing to black. Body types figured prominently in the article. The account of the stage collapse included the news that no one was injured, because of the “thickness of their skulls.” The Herald’s racism took in nonblacks, too, noting that Irish and “coolies” were built for manual labor. New York Herald, 3 August 1858. 5. In contrast to the New York Herald, the New York Times gave a far more accurate and clearer depiction of Douglass’s points. The Times article correctly recounted Douglass’s call for the end of slavery and his commendation of the British for setting a good example. Regarding Douglass’s quip about laziness, it informed readers that Douglass meant all men sometimes have lazy attitudes. The Times did not mention the color of every speaker’s skin, and it provided a dignified account of the parade and the conduct of those in attendance. The Rochester Democrat and American informed readers that one of the “most reliable reports” appeared in the New York Times, whose reporter “took with him the manuscript from which Mr. Douglass read.” New York Times, 3 August 1858; Rochester Democrat and American, 5 August 1858.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO MARGARET DENMAN CROPPER1 Rochester. N.Y[.] 3 Sept[ember] 1858.

M. rs Edward Cropper. My dear Lady: The parcel of which you wrote in your note2 of Jan. 18, and also in that of 29th June, containing a scarf as a present, to be worn by my wife,3 and a

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vol. of Dr Livingstones’ Travels in Africa4 as a present to me only reached Rochester a few days ago. My wife, is delighted with the Scarf—and instructs me to write the very best note of thanks I can for it. It is a beautiful present and quite takes the eyes of all my household. The colour Suits nicely. I thank you very Sincerely for my share in the valuable parcel— and take it as you intend it, as an evidence of your interest in the welfare and happiness of my family and of your interest in the cause to which my life is devoted. Very gratefully yours, FREDERICK DOUGLASS,

[P.S.] 20 years ago, this morning,5 I made my escape from Slavery—and have been serving the Slave ever Since, and shall continue till the Sands of Life have fallen. FD. ALS: British Anti-Slavery Manuscripts, ViU. 1. Mrs. Edward Cropper is believed to be Margaret Denman Cropper (1815–99), daughter of Thomas Denman, first Baron Denman of Dovedale, a jurist and supporter of British West Indies emancipation. Edward Cropper was recognized in the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Reporter as having made generous contributions to its parent society, the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. Douglass was likely introduced to the Croppers while traveling in the British Isles in 1845–47. He and Margaret Cropper remained in correspondence. BFASR, new ser., 3:40 (February 1841); Charles Mosley, ed., Burke’s Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 vols. (Crans, Switz., 1999), 2:2178; DNB, 5:808–15. 2. This note has not survived. 3. Anna Murray Douglass. 4. David Livingstone (1813–73) was born in Glasgow, Scotland, where he trained as both a minister and a physician. In 1840 he immigrated to South Africa to conduct a mission among the native tribes. During the 1850s, Livingstone explored south-central Africa, becoming the first man to walk across the continent. He described his explorations in Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa (London, 1857). In the late 1860s, Livingstone embarked on an expedition to map the complicated river systems of central Africa but died in the effort. David Mountfield, A History of African Exploration (London, 1976), 90–102, 107–21, 135–43; ACAB, 6:554–55; NCAB, 21:226; DNB, 11:1263–75; DAB, 20:337–38. 5. Douglass fled slavery in Baltimore, Maryland, on 3 September 1838, briefly seeking refuge in New York City before heading to New Bedford, Massachusetts. McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 71–74.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO ISAAC BUTTS1 Rochester, [N.Y.] 11 Oct[ober] 1858.

Mr. Editor:— May I say a word to you and your readers. I am an humble citizen, a tax payer and a legal voter, and have, in common with others, a little stake in the welfare, safety and happiness of the people of Rochester. Hence, sir, I felt a glow of satisfaction while reading your faithful and fervid denunciation of the very turbulant, disgraceful, scandalous and lawless violence, by which a meeting of peaceable citizens, assembled for a lawful purpose, was broken up at the City Hall on Thursday night.2 Nevertheless, sir, allow me to say, I have somewhat against you. I fear that that impudent band of ruffians by whom the outrage in question was perpetrated, directly under the notice of his Hon. the Mayor,3 will find an apology for their infamous and dastardly proceedings in the very article containing your spirited denunciation of the mob. You say: Susan B. Anthony,4 Frederick Douglass & Co., were in their favorite element last night—that they like nothing better to be opposed in just such a spirit as was manifested by the mob at the City Hall. Sir, in this you do as serious, but perhaps, an intentional wrong. I think the imputation entirely unjust to Miss Anthony—and I know it is unjust to me. I can safely say that it was the earnest wish of all parties favorable to the meeting, that order and decorum, in unity with the solemn interest it was held to promote, should characterize all its proceedings. It is not in any degree their fault that their earnest wishes were defeated by a ruthless mob, in mockery of all law—styling themselves the conservators of law and justice. Let not, I pray you, the wholesome rebuke you so ably administer to the mobocratic element of Rochester,5 be in any measure blunted by confounding the innocent with the guilty. The meeting at the Court House was either a lawful meeting or it was not. If it was an unlawful meeting, the civil authority should have dispersed it, but if it was a lawful meeting, by every consideration of law, justice and liberty, it ought to have been protected—no matter whether Miss Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass and company, were in or out of their element; nor whether they liked or disliked to be opposed by a mobocratic spirit.—Mobs always have apologists. They are never without excuses. They usually find them in the character or conduct of their victims. The present instance is no exception. Miss Anthony called the meeting to order. Very well, what of that? Woman was first at the sepulchre,6 and was

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first who proclaimed the fact of a risen Saviour—and woman has been first and foremost in every good word and work, ever since. The meeting on Thursday night was the result of woman’s exertions. Men generally are so wedded to selfish and worldly pursuits, that the causes of humanity and mercy would perish but for woman’s intervention Sir, I believe it is usual for those who call a meeting together, to call the meeting to order, and it was not to invite or to provoke insult that this popular usage was adhered to in the present instance; and may I not safely say, that none but the base and profligate, men of vulgar and brutal habits of thought and life, could have regarded the appearance of a lady on the platform as an invitation to disorder and indecency? Do not, I beseech you, give such base men countenance, even by the implication that there was anything wrong in an honorable woman’s calling a meeting to order, which she with other ladies had been chiefly instrumental in calling together. Rochester should at least be as considerate of the feelings of its own respectable women as of the strange ladies whom it welcomes with plaudits—as they read and sing—before hundreds of citizens in Corinthian Hall.7 But sir, what shall I say for myself. Why, I have been flattering myself with being among the most peaceable and harmless of citizens, remarkably free from all violent demonstrations—and the last man that should be suspected of having a taste or tendency for the intoxicating excitements of a mob. It is true that I have often spoken to the people of Rochester within the last seventeen years, for I often visited Rochester before I came to live here, now eleven years ago, but on none of the many occasions which I have appeared before the people, has my presence been the signal for mobocratic violence till last Thursday night. It is true I presided on that occasion—and for doing this I hold myself ready to make the ampliest apologies whenever it shall be demanded by any respectable and intelligent citizen of Rochester; but sir, I shall treat with unmitigated scorn and contempt any paltry imitation of a man, who can find no better reason for offering me an insult that that his skin differs in color from mine. Respectfully, FREDERICK DOUGLASS. PLSr: Rochester Daily Union and Advertiser, 11 October 1858. Reprinted in FDP, 15 October 1858. 1. Isaac Butts (1816–74) was the editor of the Rochester Daily Union and Advertiser in 1858. Butts, a lifelong resident of Rochester, was an influential Democratic party journalist, sometimes credited with coining the phrase “squatter sovereignty” in the debates over slavery in western territories. Rochester Daily Union and Advertiser, 14 September 1858; Chicago Inter Ocean, 21 November 1874.

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2. Isaac Butts published an editorial in the Rochester Daily Union and Advertiser, describing the anti-capital-punishment meeting held at city hall in Rochester on 7 October 1858. The meeting’s specific purpose was to gain the commutation of the sentence imposed on Ira Stout. Stout was convicted of murdering his brother-in-law, Charles W. Little, who was abusive and unfaithful to Stout’s sister. Douglass produced flyers advertising the meeting, and Susan B. Anthony circulated them. Approximately 1,500 people were in attendance. Anthony called the meeting to order, and officers were elected: Douglass, president, Isaac Post, vice president, and Anthony, secretary. The crowd heckled both Douglass and Anthony, effectively denying them the opportunity to speak. According to Butts, “Noise, confusion, uproar and riot prevailed, free speech was suppressed, and nobody is better pleased with the result than some of the chief movers in getting up the meeting.” Ira Stout was hanged on 22 October. Rochester Daily Union and Advertiser, 8 October 1858; Lib., 15 October 1858; EAAH, 1:72. 3. Charles H. Clark (?–1873), a lawyer, was elected mayor of Rochester in March 1858 and served a single, one-year term. According to an editorial in the Liberator by William Lloyd Garrison, who attended the meeting, Clark took no action to calm the angry mob, but requested that Douglass adjourn the meeting. Daily American Directory for the City of Rochester [for 1847–1848] (Rochester, N.Y., 1847), 84; Lib., 15 October 1858; Appleton’s Journal: A Magazine of General Literature, 10:768 (December 1873). 4. Best known for her partnership with Elizabeth Cady Stanton during the late nineteenthcentury woman suffrage campaign, Susan Brownell Anthony (1820–1906) became an activist through the temperance and abolitionist movements in Canajoharie and Rochester, New York. She spent her childhood in eastern Massachusetts, where she attended Quaker schools and became a teacher. In 1845 she followed her family to western New York, where they had fled to escape financial difficulties and to join a radical branch of Hicksite Quakers that included the Posts, Hallowells, and Porters. Debates with Abigail Mott, whom she had met sometime before 1845, led Anthony to join the Unitarian Church shortly after her arrival in Rochester. Anthony continued to teach for another four years, but her involvement in the Daughters of Temperance and the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society soon took most of her time. By 1851, she had become interested in the women’s rights movement; she was introduced to Stanton by Amelia Bloomer, a friend of both women. For the next half century, she and Stanton tirelessly devoted themselves to the struggle for women’s access to education, professions, and politics. Between 1856 and 1866, Anthony continued to work for the end of slavery, serving as an agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society, organizing antislavery conventions in Rochester, and publishing a newspaper that endorsed suffrage for blacks and women. Ida Husted Harper, The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony, 3 vols. (Indianapolis, Ind., 1898–1908); Stanton and Anthony, Selected Papers, 1:xxvi–xxviii; Blake McKelvey, “Susan B. Anthony,” RH, 7:1–24 (April 1945); ANB, 1:547–50. 5. Butts’s editorial was sympathetic toward Anthony and Douglass. He expressed his disapproval of the actions taken by the crowd, but noted that Douglass and Anthony seemed prepared for the challenge, and inferred that the mob’s behavior would ultimately gain sympathy for their cause. Rochester Daily Union and Advertiser, 8 October 1858. 6. Douglass refers to the biblical story of Christ’s resurrection. According to the Gospels, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary, the mother of James, discovered that Jesus’s body was missing from the tomb and notified the apostles. The story is repeated in Luke 24:1–10, Mark 16:1–11, Matt. 28, and John 20. 7. Under the direction of William A. Reynolds, Corinthian Hall was built to house the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Association. The original name, The Athenaeum, was changed to Corinthian Hall due to the numerous Corinthian columns in the building’s interior. Corinthian Hall soon became a center of Rochester social life and hosted numerous speakers and musical concerts. Several universities used Corinthian Hall for classes and commencement exercises when their student bodies grew too large for campus buildings. The local abolitionist movement used the hall for numerous gatherings and conventions. Douglass spoke there often. Corinthian Hall remained in heavy use after

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the Civil War, but a fire gutted much of the interior in 1898. New York Times, 2 December 1898; William F. Peck, Semi-Centennial History of the City of Rochester with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of some of the Prominent Men and Pioneers (Syracuse, 1884), 139, 450, 529; Blake McKelvey, ed., The History of Rochester Libraries (Rochester, 1937), 39–41.

STEPHEN A. MYERS1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Albany, [N.Y.] 6 Dec[ember] 1858.

Friend Douglass: Sir:— In your paper of the 26th November, I perceive that you speak of William Rich,2 of Troy, as stating at a public meeting that Gerrit Smith was not in favor of equal suffrage to the colored man.3 Now, sir, as to this, I know that you have been misinformed. You may well be “surprised to learn that our old friend, Wm. Rich, of Troy, (who must know better,) [most certainly he does,] made some such declaration in a public meeting.”— “That, if true,” you say, “was the ‘most unkindest cut of all.’ ” Here, I perceive you entertain some little doubt as to the authenticity of this report; and well you may, for Mr. Rich does indeed know better than even to maintain such a thought, much less to make such a declaration in public. Neither Mr. Rich, nor any other colored man, ever said that Gerrit Smith was not in favor of equal suffrage to colored men; but, on the contrary, in the Convention at Troy, and every other meeting, sustained Gerrit Smith as a gentleman, a statesman, and a philanthropist. On that point they have never been divided. Had Mr. Douglass been at Troy at the Convention,4 as he should have been, he would, I think, have had a different opinion of those colored persons who supported the Republican candidate. But Mr. Douglass was at the Convention that nominated Mr. Smith; and although Frederick Douglass, the great orator and far-seeing politician, was one among the number who got up the Troy Convention, yet he was too shrewd to make his advent there at the convening of that Convention—for it would probably not have suited well his Gerrit Smith notion of going with a party that may render some aid and benefit to the colored man in some future generation—for, should the Radical Abolition party flourish, as it has done for the last twenty years, the present generation must pass off the stage of existence ere that can in any way have power to benefit us as a people. But, friend Douglass, the ambition of man pants for a present blessing; and although

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this idea of waiting may be very well for our children, yet we want—nay, we believe it to be our duty to go with that party who can secure us those rights for which we pray in our own day and generation, that we may enjoy those rights; and when we leave the stage of action, we may leave it with the blessed assurance that our offspring shall enjoy those rights, for which we now so earnestly contend, and not merely the “prospect” of their enjoying them at some future time. Mr. Douglass knows that in 1860, should Wm. H. Seward be nominated for the Presidency, he will be in a fix; but what of that? [Y]ou can stand just as you did in 1856. Well, you are a good politician; you can ride two horses at once, as well as any equestrian in the land. While you are at the head of the colored people of the Union, you cannot “play on a harp of a thousand strings.”5 You must come on with the victorious party. The right of suffrage we must and will have, and that at the next Legislature. You ask, “How are we endeavoring to keep our cause before the people?” Assuredly, not by adhering to a few, who can never have the power to do us any good, but with the party who have the power, and, we believe, the will to give those rights for which we ask. Again you ask, “Where are our letters and speeches, our resolutions and conventions?” We answer— wait until our Suffrage Association6 meets on the second Wednesday in January, to make arrangements to petition the Legislature to give us the right of suffrage, at which time we hope to hear your burning eloquence within the halls of the Capitol, to stir up the friends of freedom to immediate action. At that time these resolutions and speeches will all come to light. But, friend Douglass, methinks you will be between two fires,7 if, in 1860, (as is rumored,) Mr. Smith and Mr. Seward should be in the field for President; will you then ride both horses? if not, which one will you choose? Sir, I think that you then will come and “be a follower of the counsels of the Evening Journal.”8 Yours, truly, STEPHEN MYERS. PLSr: FDP, 17 December 1858. 1. Stephen A. Myers (1800–?), an African American journalist and reformer from Albany, New York, edited the Northern Star and Freemen’s Advocate. Myers was born into slavery in New York, but received his freedom at age eighteen. He founded his first abolitionist newspaper in 1842 and then merged it with Samuel Ringgold Ward’s True American in 1849 to create the Impartial Citizen. Myers relinquished his editing post to Ward, but acted as a general agent and business partner in the venture. In addition to abolition, Myers was a strong advocate of temperance, and on at least two occasions he published short-lived newspapers dedicated to that cause. In Albany, Myers operated a temperance boardinghouse and acted as president of the Delevan State Temperance Union of New

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York. He sheltered many fugitives in his home as an operator on the Underground Railroad and worked to raise funds for the Albany Vigilance Committee. Myers participated in the New York and national black convention movements and supported the Liberty party in the early 1850s. His ties to the Florence Settlement grew out of his advocacy of agrarian life as a means of black elevation. Myers acted as president and general agent of the Florence Farming Association, which encouraged blacks to occupy and farm land owned by Gerrit Smith. New York Colored American, 17 October 1840; NS, 30 June 1848, 31 January, 2, 16 February, 4 May, 29 June 1849; FDP, 10 September, 1 October 1852; Toronto Provincial Freeman, 6 December 1856; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 3:378–79n; Foner and Walker, Black State Conventions, 1:76. 2. Born in Massachusetts, William Rich (c. 1802–85) was a black barber. He and his wife, Hannah, resided in Troy, New York. In 1840, Rich was named a trustee for the Liberty Street Presbyterian Church in Troy and coordinated the purchase of the meetinghouse property for $1,000. He was active in the antislavery movement, signing the call notice for the National Convention of Colored Americans and Their Friends, held in Troy in October 1847. In 1855 he served as vice president of the New York State Suffrage Association and president of the State Convention of Colored Men. When the call notice for the National Convention of Colored Citizens of the United States was published in 1864, Rich was a signatory. He was also an active participant in the Underground Railroad. 1850 U.S. Census, New York, Rensselaer County, 158B; 1880 U.S. Census, New York, Rensselaer County, 7B; New York Emancipator and Free American, 14 April 1842; Lib., 17, 24 September, 1 October 1847, 9, 16, 30 September 1864; FDP, 3 February 1854, 7, 14 September 1855; Troy (N.Y.) Daily Evening Bulletin, 26 April 1883; Arthur James Weise, The City of Troy and Its Vicinity (Troy, N.Y., 1886), 246; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:91, 214. 3. Douglass published an editorial entitled “Gerrit Smith and the Right of Suffrage,” in which he took issue with a public statement made by Rich. According to Douglass’s article, Rich claimed that Gerrit Smith was not in favor of granting suffrage to blacks. Douglass responded on Smith’s behalf, asserting that the statement was absurd. FDP, 26 November 1858. 4. The Colored Men’s State Convention was held in Troy, New York, on 14 August 1858, and William Rich was elected president. Frederick Douglass did not attend. Douglass was scheduled to speak at the Le Raysville Congregational Church in Towanda, Pennsylvania, on or about 18 September, and to attend the American Abolition Society annual meeting in Syracuse from 29 to 30 September 1858. Lib., 1 October 1858; FDP, 17 September 1858; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxxviii–xxix. 5. A variation of the phrase first appeared in Isaac Watts’s lyrics to his hymn 19, which was published in the early eighteenth century. In 1794, Watts’s lyric was incorporated into “Creation,” a new hymn published in William Billings’s The Continental Harmony. A humorous sermon titled “The Harp of a Thousand Strings; or the Quintessence of Human Wit, Waggery, and Wisdom,” was published in a book in 1858. William Billings, The Continental Harmony: Containing a Number of Anthems, Fuges, and Chorusses, in Several parts: Never Before Published (Boston, 1794), 53; S. P. Avery, comp., The Harp of a Thousand Strings; or, Laughter for a Lifetime (New York, 1858), 1–11; Edward B. Davis, “Robert Boyle as the Source of an Isaac Watts Text Set for a William Billings Anthem,” The Hymn: A Journal of Congregational Song, 53:46–47 (January 2000). 6. Myers is referring to the New York State Suffrage Association, formed in Troy, New York, by a number of black abolitionists in 1855. The association’s main goal was to eliminate restrictions on black suffrage in the state of New York. The association chose Frederick Douglass as its first leader. One of the association’s appeals to white voters was the threat from immigrants. Douglass and members of the association pointed out that native black voters could be an effective counter to immigrant voters. Field, The Politics of Race in New York, 93. 7. The source of the expression “between two fires” probably originated with Beltaine, the pre-Christian Irish holiday in which all fires were extinguished and the king lit the first fire of the night, which then was used to light all the hearths of the village. Although not based on historical fact, St. Patrick is said to have usurped the king of Tara’s authority by lighting the paschal candle before the king, which caused a major dispute. By the mid-1800s, the king’s role in Beltaine had disappeared, but the holiday continued to celebrate the opening of the agricultural season, during

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which livestock were moved onto pastureland—specifically, cattle were driven between two bonfires to protect them from disease. The practice is still observed today in some areas of Ireland. Phyllis G. Jestice, Encyclopedia of Irish Spirituality (Santa Barbara, Calif., 2000), 25–26. 8. Probably the Albany Evening Journal.

JAMES MCCUNE SMITH TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS [n.p.] New York[.] 28 Dec[ember] 1858[.]

My dear Fredk. Douglass Your “soup” letter1 rec.d I duly honored. I have engaged Garnett’s Church2 for you for Thursday evening Jan 6: and am negociating for a place in Williamsburgh, where, I learn, you will ‘draw’ better than in Brookln proper. It will probably be at Washington Hall, South Fourth or South 8th St.3 Altho’ my time is so much occupied that I am not sure of perfecting the latter arrangement. By help of Prof.r Reason,4 I hope to scare up a Literary Soc. for your lecture in this City—title N. Y. Literary Union.”5 I believe Charles6 is Pres.t and he can introduce ‘very gracefully’—you know. The Society is not very large, but it has a Prest & Secretary—who are not the same person. It is very probable that at the end of your lecture (admission 10 cents, aint it?), some resolutions will be introduced in relation to the late Judge Jay,7 concluding with appointing one Fredk Douglass’ (are you acquainted with him?) to deliver a Eulogism on the Judge before said Soc. in the May Week in this city. Quite a bright idea—and, when the eulogism is delivered, I expect it to be a very grand one and that it will reflect credit not only on the deceased Judge, and the live orator, but on the very brilliant and original conceiver of the idea. I can tell you one thing you dont know, George T. Downing8 is a great man. I heard him read, last night, the lecture which he is to deliver in various parts of Rhode-Island on the School question—it is well reasoned, and very very touching, it has been tugging and wringing at my heartStrings ever Since. We must support & encourage him. If I were an orator as Brutus9 is I would make old Rhody10 shake her skirts clear of [illegible] damnable [illegible]. Sincerely yours J. MCCUNE-SMITH ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 666–67, FD Papers, DLC. 1. A “soup” letter is a personal letter written in haste and is not to be made public. The origin comes from a story about General Winfield Scott receiving orders from Secretary of War William

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L. Marcy during the Mexican War in 1846. Scott was preparing to eat “a hasty plate of soup” when he received a letter from Marcy. Instead of eating, Scott immediately penned a letter in reply. Unfortunately for Scott, the letter was made public and was used against him during his 1852 presidential campaign by many Democratic newspapers. Raleigh (N.C.) Semi-Weekly Register, 4 August 1852; Bismarck (N.D.) Daily Tribune, 27 September 1889; Athenaeum Journal of Literature, Science, and the Fine Arts for the Year 1853 (London, 1853), 346. 2. Henry Highland Garnet was the minister of the Shiloh Presbyterian Church in New York City in the late 1850s. Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 3:337. 3. Washington Hall was a popular gathering place for meetings, political events, and entertainment. It was located on the corner of South Seventh Street and Fourth Street (the original name of Bedford Avenue) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. The hall was used from 1856 to 1870. Cezar Del Valle, The Brooklyn Theatre Index, vol. 2, Manhattan Avenue to York Street, (Brooklyn, NY, 2010), 143. 4. Probably Charles L. Reason. 5. Several professionals in New York’s free black community formed associations to expand efforts to educate blacks in the 1850s, in order to “complete their education.” The New York Literary Union counted among its members James McCune Smith, Charles Lewis Reason, and other “young gentlemen of color.” The organization, which opened its doors also to interested whites, usually met at Levin Tilmon’s African Methodist Episcopal Church on Sixth Street in New York City. Frederick Douglass presented several lectures to the union’s membership and suggested other speakers for future engagements. The organization formed the Youth’s Literary and Productive Union to educate children and expose them to abolitionist ideas through lectures by Douglass and other prominent speakers. At a 1 February 1855 meeting, the union pledged $112 to support Douglass’s paper; as a demonstration of the members’ wealth, the union raised most of the money on the same night. FDP, 9 February 1855; EAAH, 3:11–13. 6. Probably Charles L. Reason. 7. Douglass delivered a public eulogy for antislavery jurist William Jay (1789–1858) in New York City on 12 May 1859. Jay had settled permanently on his family’s estate near Bedford, Westchester County, in southeastern New York in 1812. He served as a judge of that county’s courts from 1818 to 1843. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:249–76; NCAB, 8:74; DAB, 10:11–12. 8. George T. Downing (1819–1903) was the eldest son of Thomas Downing, a well-known black restaurateur in New York City. After an education at the city’s segregated Mulberry Street School and at Hamilton College, he worked in his father’s business until 1855, when he opened a hotel in Newport, Rhode Island. Downing was active in the Underground Railroad and led a successful effort to integrate Rhode Island public schools. He supported Douglass in the public controversy with Henry H. Garnet over the merits of the latter’s African Civilization Society. In 1859, Downing presided over a convention of New England blacks that gave a qualified endorsement to the Republican party. During the Civil War, Downing moved to Washington, D.C., to manage the House of Representatives dining room. In February 1866, Downing was the chairman of a committee of blacks, including Douglass, who held an interview with President Andrew Johnson during which the chief executive urged his audience to abandon their advocacy of black suffrage. Lib., 20 July 1855; New York Weekly Anglo-African, 19 September 1859, 21 April 1860; NASS, 24 February 1866; Cleveland Gazette, 12 September 1885; New York Times, 22 July 1903; Simmons, Men of Mark, 1003–06; McPherson, Struggle for Equality, 343–46; Guichard Parris, “George T. Downing,” NHB, 5:42 (November 1941); Freeman, “The Free Negro in New York City,” 46, 49–56; DANB, 187–88. 9. One of the assassins of Julius Caesar in the Roman Senate on the ides of March, 44 B.C.E., Marcus Junius Brutus is portrayed by Shakespeare as being bested by Marc Anthony in delivering eulogies for the slain general. Julius Caesar, act 3, sc. 2; William Smith, ed., Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, 3 vols. (Boston, 1849), 1:510, 539, 553–54. 10. Probably an allusion to the state of Rhode Island. The more common nickname for the state is “Little Rhode,” on account of its small size. George Earlie Shankle, State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols (1934; New York, 1941), 143–45.

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JAMES MCCUNE SMITH TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS New York, [N.Y.] 12 Jan[uary] 1859.

Mr. Editor:— When William Whipper intimated my desire to triumph over him in our late “apathy discussion,”1 he did injustice to himself and to me. We have both too deep an interest in the good cause, and are too far advanced in life, to think of any triumph but that of the truth and the right. He also misconceived the nine propositions in my last letter;2 they were simply a statement of the particulars, any one of which constitute citizenship, and all of them, except one3 being absolutely enjoyed by the black men of Pennsylvania, constitute them citizens of that commonwealth, beyond any man’s gainsaying. In regard to the ability of the black Pennsylvanians to raise a million or two of dollars wherewith to obtain the elective franchise, it will not do for Mr. Whipper to plead their poverty, for, in the petition for the right of suffrage prepared by a committee of colored citizens of Philadelphia,4 they state that “the citizens of Philadelphia” “possess $2,685,693 worth of real and personal estate” in the year 1855. If to this be added the personal and real estate owned by black Pennsylvanians outside of Philadelphia, their actual wealth must be nearly $5,000,000 dollars; surely they could give one-fifth for so great an object as the elective franchise. William Whipper invites me to visit Pennsylvania. I am deeply sensible of the hospitable and courteous compliment—but he must excuse me; I have visited the city of Brotherly Love three times; the first visit was in 1824, when, just eleven years old, and fresh from addressing General Lafayette5 on his visit to the New York African free school,6 I repeated the address aforesaid on the deck of the steamer as she floated down the Delaware, and received a pocket full of small change, twenty-five cents of which, carefully wrapped up in a piece of cloth, I enclosed in a letter to my dear mother as my first earnings; my next visit was in the year of grace 1837, when, fresh from college, and considering myself “some pumpkins,”7 I strove to enlighten the Philadelphians on the subject of Phrenology8 and the study of the classics; this time, also, I came off sensibly heavier in pocket, than when I arrived in the Quaker City; but I rather think I was not quite so sound at heart, having received sundry batterings in that region from the artillery of dark eyes for which the city aforesaid is noted. My next visit deserves a special paragraph; it was in the year 1855; you, Mr. Editor, had been the principal caller of a Convention in that city

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in October of that year;9 I did not wish to go, as I could not see very clearly what good could be accomplished by the Convention; but, my better half insisted, as a personal favor that I should go, (and afterwards told me the reason—that there were gentlemen in and at B——,10 who would have charged me with cowardice had I staid away)—and as a dutiful husband, I went; all that I can now remember of that visit, is, three days of the very hardest mental labor I ever performed, some hard fought resolutions, in the advocacy of which your tall form and commanding voice now rise up before me, of an assurance of its safety, (the resolutions, I mean,) and my getting out of Philadelphia as fast as I could; it was immediately afterwards, that people visiting “our lane” began to enquire for the “old man,” and one impertinent youngster actually called me “Pop.” “I looked in the glass and I found it so,” for my three days’ fight in Philadelphia had turned my dark hair gray! You will readily perceive why it is that I decline brother Whipper’s spider-y invitation. I would rather fight the Keystone brethren11 at a long range. Our good city of New York was refreshed last week with a visit and a lecture12 from Frederick Douglass; and although on an inclement night, and at a season when we are crowded with attractive and distinguished lecturers, it was exceedingly well attended by a numerous as well as an appreciative audience. It was a well written, eloquent discourse, full of acute remark, and wholesome thought.—Some were disappointed, as they came to hear Frederick Douglass of old, and wished their physical nature stirred up with his bursts of passionate declamation or fiery sarcasm.—But the thinking portion of his audience were at once surprised and delighted to find their higher and nobler faculties carried captive by a train of thought and reasoning, which revealed new aspects, and deeper insights into the secret of self-made men.13 At the conclusion of the lecture, a series of resolutions were introduced by Professor C. L. Reason, requesting Mr. Douglass to deliver a Eulogy on the late Judge Jay,14 in the Anniversary week of next May. They were unanimously adopted. On Tuesday, 4th inst., the Masonic Fraternity15 had a grand gathering at Stuyvesant Institute, Broadway;16 a poem was well read by Mr. Ellis Potter of this city; an oration was delivered by the Rev. J. Theodore Holly17 of New Haven, (brother of the lamented poet.)—The orator gave a concise history of Masonry,18 and exceedingly interesting account of the rise and progress of “speculative Masonry.” Although nearly two hours long, and read from manuscript, this discourse held the large audience in wrapt

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attention. A good thing is told in regard to Mr. Holly; he is not only a learned young divine, but also a very learned Mason. In Kentucky, until a few months ago, was published a Masonic Periodical, the Editor of which announced that “no man could be a good Mason who would propose as member of the fraternity, a woman, an idiot or a negro;” the pages of this magazine were occupied by a discussion on certain points of Masonic law; among the disputants were several learned Judges of the Southern bench, and the Rev. J. Theodore Holly of New Haven; so able were the communications of the last named, that the Editor placed his name at the head of his contributors, and wrote to ask for his daguerreotype19 for an engraving to be placed in the magazine! Mr. Holly is a black man—and here was a fix! The periodical is now published in the city of New York; Mr. Holly’s contributions still appear, although the Editors, who know his complexion, have not yet taken occasion to announce it. Yours, COMMUNIPAW.20 PLSr: FDP, 21 January 1859. 1. In a letter published in the 16 April 1858 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper, James McCune Smith (Communipaw) discussed what he perceived to be the apathy of black people in America. Smith felt that African Americans, who were excited at the prospect of freedom when the antislavery movement first formed, had become apathetic after witnessing years of fighting among white politicians, leaving them feeling powerless, disappointed, and alone. Douglass responded to Smith’s letter in the same issue of the newspaper. Douglass agreed that the political battles were disheartening, but felt that black people were far from apathetic and alone. In his letter to Frederick Douglass’ Paper of 30 May 1858, William Whipper asserted that the free blacks in Pennsylvania enjoyed being “the recipients of the patriotic achievements of a State that was the first in the Confederacy to strike the fetters from the bondsmen,” but that their civil rights were largely undefined in 1830. African Americans were encouraged to earn their rights and privileges by becoming virtuous, educated property owners, but twenty-five years later, their status had been significantly reduced rather than improved. Whipper concluded that blacks were apathetic because the only action that would improve their situation would require that they “become renegades in religion and morals” and a return to “ignorance, barbarism, superstition and idolatry.” Communipaw responded in the 12 August issue, noting that twenty years earlier, free blacks in Pennsylvania had had the same rights as white men, but that the state’s 1837 Constitutional Convention denied them the right to vote. He asserted that politicians were generally corrupt and that free blacks in Pennsylvania could obtain the rights they sought only by compromising their moral principles and employing corrupted means. Whipper answered Smith’s letter in the 3 September issue. According to Whipper, he characterized free blacks as “civilly and politically degraded,” while Smith characterized them as “morally and intellectually degraded.” He argued that free blacks were denied the right to vote and to hold office by the state constitution, the right to sue and to witness in a court of law by the U.S. courts, and the right to obtain passports by the government. The result, according to Whipper, was that African Americans in Pennsylvania were excluded from organized society and were unable to create or to amend their civil rights. FDP, 16 April, 4 June, 12, 20 August, 3 September 1858. 2. James McCune Smith asserted that Pennsylvania’s constitution afforded free blacks nine rights: own property, be counted in the census, marry whites, hold public office, vote, “minister in

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sacred things,” sue in the U.S. court system, obtain passports, and bear witness in a court of law. These were the same rights afforded white men. He argued that free blacks retained all these rights with the exception of the right to vote, which was denied them as a result of the 1837 Constitutional Convention. FDP, 12 August 1858. 3. Under the state constitution of 1790, Pennsylvania blacks retained the right to vote, which some had exercised since colonial times. That constitution stated its voting laws vaguely, simply declaring that “freemen” over the age of twenty-one who had lived within the state for two years and paid taxes could vote. Supporters of black voting rights determined that “freeman” meant anyone not a slave, while others believed the term did not apply to blacks in any regard. Other Northern states possessed similar voting laws regarding blacks, but in the early 1800s some of those states, including Pennsylvania, began enacting legislation to restrict blacks from voting. During the state constitutional convention of 1837–38, delegates argued over the issue of suffrage. By a vote of 77–45, the new state constitution of 1838 specified that only “white freemen” were qualified to vote. On 9 October 1838, Pennsylvania voters ratified the new constitution, officially disenfranchising the state’s black population. Winch, Philadelphia’s Black Elite, 134–35, 142; Roy H. Akagi, “The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1838,” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 48:317–19, 329 (October 1924). 4. Smith is referring to an 1855 petition entitled “Memorial of Thirty Thousand Disenfranchised Citizens of Philadelphia to the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives,” sent to Washington by a group of blacks from Philadelphia. The signatories, angered by the loss of their right to vote, sought federal aid in overturning the law. But Congress, preoccupied with national issues such as the Kansas-Nebraska Act, did not help Pennsylvania blacks. A statistic cited in the petition stated that black citizens of Philadelphia possessed $2,685,693. The figure was reiterated in an 1856 study of Philadelphia blacks published by the board of education of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. As a scholar, Smith probably read governmental documents closely and most likely derived his own statistic of black Pennsylvanian wealth by adding figures from such records to the information taken from the 1855 petition. “Statistics of the Colored People of Philadelphia taken by Benjamin C. Bacon and published by order of the Board of Education of ‘The Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery,’ Etc.” (Philadelphia: 1856), 15–16; Christopher Malone, Between Freedom and Bondage: Race, Party and Voting Rights in the Antebellum North (New York, 2008), 99; Stauffer, Black Hearts of Men, 5. 5. The French nobleman Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834), served as troop commander and liaison between American and French troops in the Revolutionary War. ACAB, 3:586–90; DAB, 10:535–39. 6. The New York Manumission Society established the New York African Free School in 1787 in order to educate black children. Classrooms were large, so trusted students assisted instructors by monitoring their peers and sometimes giving additional advice or instruction. The curriculum covered language arts, math, elocution, and the natural sciences as well as navigation (for boys who would eventually go to sea), sewing (for the girls), astronomy, moral instruction, and manners. James McCune Smith attended the African Free School No. 2 in New York City and graduated in 1828. While enrolled, Smith met the famed marquis de Lafayette. In 1788, Lafayette had been elected an honorary member of the school, and he visited it in 1824 while on his tour of the United States. On 10 September 1824, Smith delivered a short speech welcoming Lafayette to the school. Charles C. Andrews, The History of the New-York African Free-Schools From Their Establishment in 1787, to the Present Time: Embracing a Period of More Than Forty Years: Also a Brief Account of the Successful Labors, of the New-York Manumission Society (New York, 1830), 7, 34–36, 51–52, 85–86, 97, 106, 111–12; Stauffer, Black Hearts of Men, 86–88; EAAH, 3:168–69. 7. This expression most likely comes from the autobiography of the English actor James Fennell. Fennell was touring the cathedral of Rouen when one of his companions took more interest in the “immense pumpkins” in a nearby patch than in the cathedral. Amused, Fennell used the expression “some pumpkins” to refer to anything significant throughout the rest of their journey. James Fennell, An Apology for the Life of James Fennell, Written by Himself (Philadelphia, 1814), 72; John

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Russell Bartlett, Dictionary of Americanisms: A Glossary of Words and Phrases Usually Regarded as Peculiar to the United States (Boston, 1859), 427–28. 8. Phrenology was a popular pseudoscience of the nineteenth century that involved the study of the human head. Phrenologists believed that certain shapes or bumps found in the contours of the head could predict patterns of behavior. In addition, they compared the heads of subjects belonging to different races. Some phrenologists argued that Africans were inferior due to their supposedly larger skulls. Well-known phrenologists traveled between Great Britain and the United States and lectured in major cities, including New York. Proslavery ethnologists often used evidence from phrenology when attempting to prove the biological superiority of Caucasians. New York Spectator, 10 September 1835; Roger Cooter, The Cultural Meaning of Popular Science: Phrenology and the Organization of Consent in Nineteenth-Century Britain (Cambridge, Eng., 1984), 40, 80, 89. 9. Smith refers to the Colored National Convention held at Franklin Hall in Philadelphia, 17–19 October 1855. Over one hundred delegates from New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania attended. Douglass characterized the meeting as not “equal to our expectations,” because there was “too much disposition to quibble, and wrangle.” Items discussed included the adoption of resolutions pertaining to the constitutionality of slavery, the assessment of $1 per delegate, and the admission of Mary Ann Shadd to the convention. Once admitted, Shadd addressed the delegates on the subject of immigration to Canada. The delegates proposed an industrial association, the purpose of which would be the training of blacks in mechanical skills. Douglass addressed the delegates on the “present aspects of the Slavery Question.” The meeting was adjourned with no fixed date for future meetings. FDP, 26 October 1855; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxiii; Rhodes, Mary Ann Shadd Cary, 4, 211. 10. Smith most likely refers to Boston and the Garrisonians. In 1837, Smith joined the American Anti-Slavery Society, but by 1840 he had grown skeptical of abolitionist groups led by whites, such as William Lloyd Garrison. Douglass was having his own doubts about the racial attitudes of key Garrisonians by the late 1840s. When Douglass moved to Rochester and started his newspaper, Smith praised him for breaking with Garrison. Garrison and his followers promoted disunion of the United States and nonresistance, but refused to address the idea of an interracial society. Smith and Douglass believed abolition and racial equality could be gained by working with Congress to amend the Constitution. In a 20 January 1855 guest editorial in Frederick Douglass’ Paper, Smith criticized Garrison and the American Anti-Slavery Society for pushing blacks out of leadership positions even though many of them had been members of the organization from its inception. Throughout 1854– 55, Smith carried on bitter exchanges with Oliver Johnson, the editor of the National Anti-Slavery Standard, the official newspaper of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Because of this break with Garrison and his followers in the Boston area, Smith’s wife believed that Garrisonians would have labeled him a coward had he not attended the black convention in Philadelphia in October 1855 and faced his enemies. Stauffer, Black Hearts of Men, 20, 153–54, 160; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 4:259–62; David W. Blight, “In Search of Learning, Liberty, and Self Definition: James McCune Smith and the Ordeal of the Antebellum Black Intellectual,” Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, 9:7 (July 1985). 11. An allusion to Garrisonian abolitionists from Pennsylvania. The nickname “Keystone State” derives from the position of Pennsylvania as the centermost of the arching thirteen original states. Shankle, State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols, 142–43. 12. On 6 January 1859, Frederick Douglass was scheduled to speak to the New York Literary Union at Shiloh Presbyterian Church on Prince Street in New York City. FDP, 14 January 1859; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxix. 13. Douglass delivered the lecture “Self-Made Men” more than fifty times from 1859 to 1893. He first gave the speech on a tour of Illinois and Wisconsin in February 1859, but the earliest published text of the lecture is from a version delivered on 4 January 1860 at Mechanics’ Hall in Halifax, England. In this speech, Douglass discussed the ideals of manhood, free labor, and individual independence. He also described a “self-made man” as a person who attained knowledge, used life

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experiences to build a worthy character, and succeeded without the benefit of being born into privilege. For Douglass, the idea of improving oneself was intended not for the betterment of the self but for the benefit of others in society. Throughout his career, Douglass slightly modified “Self-Made Men,” but always kept it in his repertoire of speeches. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:289, 616, ser. 2, 5:545; Nicholas Buccola, The Political Thought of Frederick Douglass: In Pursuit of American Liberty (New York, 2012), 115–16, 122. 14. William Jay. 15. The Masonic Fraternity, or Freemasonry, refers to a secret communal order that first appeared in London around 1717. The order spread to the United States, and many members of the revolutionary generation, including Washington, Franklin, and John Adams were Freemasons. Freemasonry developed as a ceremonial order designed to incorporate the principles of charity, love, and brotherhood. In 1775, Prince Hall founded the first African American Masonic lodge, in Boston, and helped establish other lodges in Providence, Rhode Island, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After Hall’s death, in 1807, his name was attached to the Grand Lodge, establishing the African American Prince Hall Masonic order. Douglass criticized African American Freemasonry, claiming that it was interested only in public display rather than in accomplishing any progress for the betterment of U.S. blacks. Corey D. B. Walker, A Noble Fight: African American Freemasonry and the Struggle for Democracy in America (Urbana, Ill., 2008), vii–ix, 48–49, 109; Winch, Philadelphia’s Black Elite, 7–8, 218. 16. In 1834, the Stuyvesant Institute was established and named after Peter Gerard Stuyvesant a millionaire New Yorker. Stuyvesant donated the land that became Stuyvesant Square in New York City, and the institute was built on this land in 1837. The institute, located at 659 Broadway, housed several groups, including the New-York Historical Society, the Lyceum of Natural History, and the YMCA. The Stuyvesant Institute housed a large meeting room, which is probably where the Masonic Fraternity met in January 1859. Smith lectured at the Stuyvesant Institute in 1841, discussing the black revolutions in the French colony of Saint-Domingue and praising its leader, Toussaint L’Ouverture. Luther S. Harris, Around Washington Square: An Illustrated History of Greenwich Village (Baltimore: 2003), 38–40; Stauffer, Black Hearts of Men, 125–26. 17. The Reverend James Theodore Holly (1829–1911) was an author, missionary, and supporter of black emigration. Holly was born to free parents in a free black community in Washington, D.C. The family moved to New York in 1843. At nineteen, Holly began work as a clerk for the abolitionist Lewis Tappan, which sparked his interest in the antislavery movement. In 1851, Holly and his wife, Charlotte, moved to Windsor, Canada, in reaction to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. He began writing in support of black emigration and started as coeditor of Henry Bibb’s newspaper, the Voice of the Fugitive. In 1854, Holly attended the first National Emigration Convention, held in Cleveland. He represented the national Emigration Board as its commissioner. In 1855, he made his fi rst trip to Haiti, and subsequently argued that American blacks would have more liberties in Haiti than they did in the United States. Although raised a Catholic, Holly converted to Episcopalianism in 1855 and became a priest a year later, settling in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1861, Holly established a colony in Haiti with 110 members of his family and his church. Within a year, disease had killed a majority of the colony, and Holly returned to the United States—but not before securing enough funds to return to Haiti and establish a mission. In 1874 he became the first African American bishop consecrated by the Protestant Episcopal Church, and he served as head of the Orthodox Apostolic Church of Haiti until his death in 1911. Louis R. Mehlinger, “The Attitude of the Free Negro toward African Colonization,” JNH, 1:299–301 (June 1916); Jack Salzman, David Lionel Smith, Cornel West, eds., Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, 5 vols. (New York, 1996), 3:1293. 18. The Reverend James Theodore Holly produced A Compendium of the Fundamental Principles of Intermasonic Comity in 1858, but was unable to find a publisher, because of his race. The publication of the Grand Lodge of New York, the American Freemason, finally agreed to publish Holly’s work serially over several months throughout 1858 and 1859. Holly’s work attempted to document the rise of “speculative masonry” and to give the history and philosophy behind several key points in Masonic symbolism and ritual. Holly’s articles were useful for new members and those

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seeking to form new Masonic lodges. James Theodore Holly, “A Compendium of the Fundamental Principles of Intermasonic Comity,” American Freemason, 8:43–47 (January 1859). 19. Daguerreotypy was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate. The French inventor Louis J. M. Daguerre perfected the process after a decade of experimentation. Susan M. Barger, and William B. White, The Daguerreotype: Nineteenth-Century Technology and Modern Science (Washington, D.C., 1991), 1, 20–24, 28, 44–46. 20. The pen name of James McCune Smith.

ROSETTA DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Rochester[, N.Y.] 2 Feb[ruary] [18]59[.]

My Dear Father, Lewis1 handed me your letter last evening, I was glad to hear from you it reached me just as I was going to hear Miss Gray the Dramatic reader.2 Charley3 sent a letter to you on monday night if he had not I should. I received also with your letter one from Miss Assing4 and one enclosed for Mrs Lehman from her. She is sighing for summer still, for she says it is only then that she enjoys herself. Miss Assing says she has one stupid girl to teach in the family where she lives5 and she thinks that if those stupid spirits6 in whom those people believe or pretend to believe would, only manifest thier existence by influencing this girl with a little industry and concentration of mind, instead of upsetting tables, and performing other mischievous tricks, they would be of more account than they are. I am striving to do all I can with my music and grammar[.] I am certain that I understand the rudiments of grammar pretty well and music too; but I need practice with the latter. The Miss Riches’ were up on Friday night last and Miss Helen played a good part of the time she wishes me to come and see her very much[.] I have promised her that I would come and expected to go this week but think not now as Mr Beecher is to lecture here two evenings7 and I am going to hear him. I will be just as well contented if you find a situation for me while out west8 for this summer and will go gladly. If you do get a place please get all the information you can about thier regulations. I wrote to Mr Clark9 before you went away asking him to let me know the salary for a teacher in thier primary department but have not received an answer yet. I expect one to night. It has been beautiful weather ever since you left and I do not think we will have much snow but it will be keen and sharp. Elizabeth10 is making preparations to read her lecture next Monday night and leave us on Tuesday or Wednesday of

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next week. I beleive she has not made any of her appointments yet but I think to day or tomorrow Lewis will attend to it. I am writing in a great deal of noise and confusion being in the schoolroom and the few who have brought thier dinners are as full of glee as possible. I hope you will have as comfortable a time as possible and that you will not return home sick. Old Brown will have to keep out of sight for a little while the Governor of Missouri has a reward of $6,000 offered for his capture11 and Hamilton has given himself up.12 Mother wishes me to give her love And enclosed you will find a note from Elizabeth and perhaps Annie13 will send a few lines. Your Affec. Daughter ROSETTA DOUGLASS ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 668–69, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Lewis Henry Douglass (1840–1908) was the oldest of Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass’s three sons. Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Lewis attended school in Rochester. He also worked in his father’s newspaper office, where he learned the printer’s trade. During the Civil War, Lewis enlisted in the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry and rose to the rank of sergeant major. After the war, he spent several years working in Denver, Colorado, as a secretary for the Red, White, and Blue Mining Company. While there he also learned typography. In 1869 he moved to Washington, D.C., where he found employment at the Government Printing Office, largely through his father’s connections. That same year, he married Helen Amelia Loguen, daughter of Jermain Wesley Loguen. In 1873 he joined his father’s staff at the New National Era and was placed in charge of the paper’s editorials. During the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, Lewis served for two years as a member of the council of legislation for the District of Columbia and for another two years as a special agent for the post office. During the Rutherford B. Hayes administration, he served under his father as an assistant marshal for the District of Columbia. Upon leaving that post, he pursued a career in the real estate business. Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:860; Douglass Papers, ser. 3, 1:126; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 248, 271–72; EAAH, 1:423–25. 2. Rosetta Douglass possibly refers to a performer from England known as Miss Grey. One of the principal forms of entertainment in the nineteenth century was the “dramatic reading.” Dramatic readers, usually women, stood before an audience and recited famous literature while acting out scenes. Dramatic reading was popular on both sides of the Atlantic, and several readers from England toured the United States. A Miss Grey gave readings of Shakespearean works several times in London, including King Henry VIII, to wide acclaim. London Morning Post 18 February 1854; Belfast News-Letter, 9 December 1864. 3. Charles Remond Douglass (1844–1920), who was named after the abolitionist Charles Remond, was the youngest of Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass’s sons. He was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, and like his brothers, was educated in Rochester and trained by his father in the newspaper office. Like Lewis H. Douglass, Charles enlisted in the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry during the Civil War, but mainly served with the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment, where he was promoted to the rank of first sergeant. After the war, Charles settled in Washington, D.C., and found employment as a clerk in the Freedman’s Bureau (1867–69) and later in the Treasury Department (1869–75). After his father purchased the New National Era in 1870, Charles acted as a correspondent for the newspaper. In 1871 he served as a clerk to the Santo Domingo Commission, and President Ulysses S. Grant later appointed him consul to Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo. From 1875 to 1879 he was a clerk in the U.S. consulate in Santo Domingo. Returning to the United States in 1879, he engaged in the West Indies mercantile trade while living in Corona, New York. In 1882, Charles moved

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back to Washington, D.C., and took a job as an examiner in the Pension Bureau, where he remained until 1892, when he, like his brother, entered the real estate business. Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:860; Douglass Papers, ser. 3, 1:126; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 239, 257–58, 272; EAAH, 1:407–08. 4. Ottilie Assing. 5. Ottilie Assing worked as a governess in the 1840s while living in Hamburg, Germany, but seems to have supported herself mainly by other means after moving to the United States in 1852. Indeed, after 1858 she lived on a combination of her earnings as a journalist and foreign correspondent and on the interest generated by investing the substantial sum of money she had inherited from her uncle Karl Varnhagen von Ense. While living in Hoboken, New Jersey (when she was not traveling or, after 1856, spending her summers in Frederick Douglass’s home), she devoted some time to tutoring the children of her friends Hans and Luise Kudlich. It is quite possible that she may have done the same thing for any child living at Mrs. Clara B. Marks’s home, on Washington Street in Hoboken, where she rented rooms from 1856 to 1865. Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:834; Lohmann, Radical Passion, xiii–xvi, xxxiv, 365; Diedrich, Love across Color Lines, xvii, 113–15, 143, 203–07. 6. An allusion to the widespread interest in Spiritualism at the time. 7. Henry Ward Beecher delivered a lecture titled “Wastes and Burdens of Society” in Rochester, New York, on 4 February 1859. Halford R. Ryan, Henry Ward Beecher: Peripatetic Preacher (New York, 1990), 139. 8. Frederick Douglass was in Chicago at the time this letter was written. On 1 February 1859 he attended a formal reception held in his honor at the Jackson Street A.M.E. Church, organized by a group of Chicago’s black abolitionists. Over the next several days, he delivered a series of lectures at Metropolitan Hall. Afterward he spent seven weeks on a lecture tour across Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. He did not return to Rochester until the week of 18 March 1859. FDP, 18 March 1859; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxix–xxx. 9. Probably Peter Humphries Clark (c. 1829–1925). Clark was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but he was not (as tradition maintained) the grandson of the explorer William Clark. Recent scholarship has established that his grandfather was instead a Virginia-born planter named John Clarke, who settled in Harrison County, Kentucky, in 1798. Clark’s family was manumitted in 1814 in accordance with John Clarke’s will, and they moved in 1816 to Cincinnati, where they altered the spelling of their surname. Clark was educated in a school for black children started by the Reverend Hiram S. Gilmore. In 1849 he became a teacher in the first black public school in Cincinnati, although it took a two-year court suit to force city officials to pay his salary. In addition to teaching, Clark helped edit two Free Soil party papers in the Cincinnati area: the Wilmington Herald of Freedom and the Newport News. For a brief time in 1856 he worked as an assistant editor on Frederick Douglass’ Paper. In 1857, Clark returned to Cincinnati, where he became both principal and teacher at a black elementary school. He remained there until 1866, when he became principal of the city’s segregated high school. While principal of the high school, Clark attempted to organize black teachers for the National Labor Union. Disappointment with the Republicans’ failure to protect black civil rights led him to campaign for Cincinnati’s socialist Workingmen’s party in 1877. In later years he joined the Democratic party. Falling out of favor with Cincinnati’s African American community through a combination of his opposition to desegregation and charges that he had bribed a witness in a political corruption case in an effort to save political allies from going to jail, Clark was fired from his job in 1886. After a brief tenure as principal at the segregated State Normal and Industrial School at Huntsville, Alabama, Clark settled in St. Louis, where he taught in the segregated public schools until his retirement in 1908. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:134–35; Nikki M. Taylor, America’s First Black Socialist: The Radical Life of Peter H. Clark (Lexington, Ky., 2013); ANB, 4: 943–45. 10. Possibly Elizabeth Smith Miller (1822–1911). Gerrit Smith’s only daughter, she became a women’s rights and dress reform activist. The Smith and Douglass families developed an unusually cordial cross-racial relationship in the 1850s. Elizabeth Smith Miller was a cousin and confidant of the women’s rights leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who had canceled her speaking engagements that winter in anticipation of a child due in March 1859. Miller later defended her father’s legacy, even causing the removal of any mention of a connection with John Brown from the “authorized”

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biography written by Octavius Brooks Frothingham. Stanton and Anthony, Selected Papers, 1:383– 84; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 16–17, 32, 42–43, 54, 118, 129, 454; McKivigan, “Frederick Douglass– Gerrit Smith Friendship,” 205–32. 11. On 20 December 1858, John Brown and several associates raided a plantation in Vernon County, Missouri, and freed eleven slaves, killing a white slave owner in the process. Brown defended his actions in a letter to the New York Times, arguing that freedom for the eleven slaves was worth the life of one slave owner. After Brown’s raid, the Missouri legislature immediately authorized $30,000 for Governor Robert Marcellus Stewart to spend in an effort to stop Brown. Contrary to popular belief, the Missouri legislature did not authorize a $3,000 reward for Brown’s capture, since the Missouri Constitution allowed the governor to offer only $300 for the arrest of a wanted fugitive. New York Times, 28 January 1859; Harriet C. Frazier, Runaway and Freed Missouri Slaves and Those Who Helped Them, 1763–1865 (Jefferson, N.C., 2004), 150. 12. Probably Charles Hamilton of Georgia, who migrated to Missouri and led guerrilla raids into eastern Kansas. Hamilton was notorious for the murder of five “free-state settlers” on 19 May 1858 in what became known as the Marais des Cygnes Massacre. Hamilton returned to Missouri following the massacre and surrounded himself with proslavery supporters for protection from arrest. Though he never conducted another massacre, proslavery supporters evoked Hamilton’s name as a threat to their Kansas neighbors. Hamilton was never arrested, and in January 1859 the Kansas territorial legislature granted amnesty to both proslavery and antislavery guerrillas. New York Daily Tribune, 8 January 1859; David S. Reynolds, John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights (New York, 2005), 268–70, 280–81. 13. Annie Douglass (1849–60) was the fifth and youngest child of Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass. She was born in Rochester on 22 March 1849. Following a lengthy illness, she died at home in Rochester on 13 March 1860, nine days before her eleventh birthday. At the time of her death, Douglass was staying with friends in Scotland. He had been on a lecture tour of Great Britain since November 1859, and it had been extended after the Harpers Ferry raid because of ongoing concerns over his safety if he returned to the United States. Annie’s death, however, prompted Douglass to set aside those concerns, cancel he any plans he might have had to remain abroad, and return home. By mid-April 1859 he was back in Rochester, New York. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxx–xxxii; Douglass Papers, ser. 3, 1:377; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 161, 207–08.

JULIA GRIFFITHS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Haverstock Hill[, Eng.]1 4 Feb[ruar]y [1859].

My dear friend I regret much to waste your postage—in sending what must be to you an unsatisfactory note—but I must do the bidding of the members of some of our Societies & tell you that the interests of your nice, new interesting paper will be ruined, if the papers are not regularly sent over—Mrs Johnston2 of Montrose, (an old friend,) states, she has only had 2 papers for her 10/—all the other Montrose papers were stopped, some time ago, because they did not get them regularly—& Mrs Johnstone will stop, if her paper does not reach her—The Barnsley Society3 only now take one paper—& never get it—They are very angry—& all apply to me on the subject—my old friend Mrs Fisher4 has not had a paper for many months—I will now

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send again these three addresses—& May you, dear friend, either to see to it yourself, to employ Oliver5 to see to it, or to get some careful, competent person to mail the papers regularly—For I cannot but feel & [illegible] that the directions are often but half written—& I have true reason to know, as mine have, innumerable times, been directed JULIA GRIFFITHS, JAMES GANN6 LONDON!!

[P.S.] I always tell the ladies who write to me to enquire how it is, that I cannot, tell & yet, I have inward compunctions that I scarcely tell the truth when I to Say— I am truly grieved, dear Frederick to tease you with this business; but I am most anxious that no drawback shd. exist to the wider circulation of the Paper—& its often appearing [illegible] occasionally is a great drawback—I must not write a long letter this time—Aunt7 is still confined to bed—& four ladies are here—yet I wd. not miss the mail. Pray send these people this year’s numbers, if possible—& See their names entered— A letter from Rev: M. Fisch,8 Paris, came to day, says that nine of his lady-friends will be happy to meet me there, to talk over Slavery— God bless you, My dear friend—kiss dear little Annie9 for me. Give my kind regards to all, & believe me, ever, Your true & faithful friend, JULIA GRIFFITHS—

[P.P.S.] See that the Paper is sent to— Mrs Johnstone Water Side Montrose Scotland Mr Lister10 Post Master Barnsley— Yorkshire— Mrs Fisher Mapes Hill House Willesdeer Middlesex

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[graphic line] send these regularly— Enter papers of Miss Urwick11 Joseph Allan12 Mr Manders William Webb13 } all Dublin also, Miss Hincks14 Belfast— Miss Evans,15 Clonmel Miss Forster—Clifton Mrs Young,16 Culdaff House Ireland— all paid one year— These are old subscribers, & I conclude their addresses are, already, properly entered in the book—& I have not given them here, in full— ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 8, frames 691–95, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Haverstock Hill was initially a hamlet located on the road between London and Hampstead in Middlesex County. By the eighteenth century, only six houses remained on the land, much of which was owned by Eton College. In the 1820s, several schemes to develop the land were launched, but it was not until 1830 that the first new homes, fronting Haverstock Hill Road, were built. By the mid1850s, Haverstock Hill had become a full-blown metropolitan suburb, served by three chapels, with its own post office and railway station. Both the Journeymen Tailors’ Almshouse and the Orphan Working School were located in Haverstock Hill by 1860. John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, 6 vols. (Edinburgh, Scot., 1870–72), 3:895–96; T. F. T. Baker, ed., A History of the County of Middlesex, 12 vols. (London, 1911–2004), 9:55–63. 2. Mary Cook Johnston (1802–64) of Waterside House, Montrose, Scotland. Her husband, Joseph Johnston (1802–87), was a successful salmon curer, manufacturer, and fishery owner. 1851 Scotland Census, Montrose Parish, Angus, Scotland, 12; 1881 Scotland Census, Montrose Parish, Angus, Scotland, 6; David Mitchell, The History of Montrose (Montrose, Scot., 1866), 135–36. 3. After she returned to England, Julia Griffiths helped organize a number of women’s antislavery societies between 1856 and 1857, including the one at Barnsley in the West Riding, Yorkshire. Simon Morgan, “The Political as Personal: Transatlantic Abolitionism, c. 1833–67,” in A Global History of Anti-Slavery Politics in the Nineteenth Century, ed. William Mulligan and Maurice Bric (Houndmills-Basingstoke, Eng., 2013), 86; Midgley, Women against Slavery, 206; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 159. 4. Mary A. Smith Fisher (c. 1816–?) of Mapes Hill House, Willesden, Middlesex, England. Her husband, Samuel Fisher (c. 1813–?), was a wealthy dressing case manufacturer. 1851 England Census, Willesden Parish, Middlesex, England, 14; 1861 England Census, Willesden Parish, Middlesex, England, 4.

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5. Probably William Oliver (1835–95), a native of Scotland, whom Douglass took on as an apprentice in 1851. Remaining in Douglass’s employ for a decade, he eventually became Douglass’s printer. In 1888, Oliver was elected to a single term as clerk of Monroe County. He was also named one of the honorary pallbearers at Douglass’s funeral. 1850 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 35; 1860 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 24; J. W. Thompson, An Authentic History of the Douglass Monument: Biographical Facts and Incidents in the Life of Frederick Douglass (Rochester, 1903), 24; Phillip S. Foner, Frederick Douglass: A Biography (New York, 1969), 84; Peck, History of Rochester, 1:364. 6. Julia Griffiths seems to be making a joking reference to the fictional James Gann, once a coheir of the “London firm of Gann, Blubbery and Gann,” a character in William Makepeace Thackeray’s humorous novella “A Shabby Genteel Story.” Originally appearing in Fraser’s Magazine in 1840, the novella was republished in 1853 and again in 1857 in editions of Thackeray’s collected works. In 1861 it was included as a prefix to one of his final novels, The Adventures of Philip (1861–62). The Gann family, of which James Gann, Esq., was the head, comprised the “shabby, but genteel” subjects of the story’s title. Herman Charles Merivale and Frank Thomas Marzials, The Life of W. M. Thackeray (London, 1891), vi, 203–04; Lewis Saul Benjamin, William Makepeace Thackeray: A Biography Including Hitherto Uncollected Letters and Speeches and a Bibliography of 1300 Items, 2 vols. (1910; Grosse Pointe, Mich., 1968), 2:193, 274, 285; William Makepeace Thackeray, ODNB (online). 7. Mary Powis Griffiths (c. 1789–1877), with whom Julia Griffiths; her husband, the Reverend Henry O. Crofts; and three stepdaughters (Elizabeth, Saley, and Martha Crofts) were sharing their home in both 1861 and 1871. 1861 England Census, Halifax, Yorkshire, 110; 1871 England Census, Gateshead, Durham County, 41; Janet Douglas, “A Cherished Friendship: Julia Griffiths Crofts and Frederick Douglass,” Slavery and Abolition, 33:265–74 (June 2012). 8. The Reverend George Fisch (1814–81), pastor of the French Evangelical Church at Paris. Born in Switzerland and educated in Lausanne, Fisch spent most of his career serving pastorates in France. He was a founding member of the French branch of the Evangelical Alliance and a frequent attendee of the British branch’s annual conference. In 1863 he published Nine Months in the United States during the Crisis, an account of his observations on the Civil War. Later that same year, Fisch was a signatory to the “Address of French Protestant Pastors of Every Denomination” to their British counterparts. The address, which argued that the war in the United States was motivated solely by “the desire of the South to maintain slavery,” urged British clergy to “offer those who fight for the right of oppressing the slaves no hope of ever seeing . . . Christians . . . give them the hand of fellowship.” The Christian Observer: Conducted by Members of the Established Church for the Year 1863 (London, 1863), 383–84; George Ripley and Charles A. Dana, eds., The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge, 16 vols. (New York, 1873–76), 7:216; Evangelical Christendom, 35: 253–54 (August 1881). 9. Annie Douglass. 10. A native of Yorkshire, England, Thomas Lister (1810–88) was a well-known Quaker poet and naturalist. He first came to prominence upon the successful publication of a collection of verse, Rustic Wreath, in 1834. Through the patronage of Lord Morpeth, later the 7th Earl of Carlisle, Lister was appointed postmaster of Barnsley (Yorkshire) in 1839 without having to take the usual oath, which would have been contrary to his religious beliefs. He held the post until his retirement in 1870. He frequently contributed observations on birds and meteorological matters to the Barnsley Chronicle and regularly delivered papers on those subjects at the annual meetings of the British Association. He was also for many years president of the Barnsley Naturalists’ Society. Lister was an avid supporter of the British temperance movement. William Smith, ed., Old Yorkshire, 3 vols. (London, 1889–91), 3:241–49; ODNB (online). 11. Either Sarah Urwick (1820–1907) or her sister Elinor Urwick (1822–1902), daughters of the Reverend Dr. William Urwick (1791–1868), a Congregationalist minister and professor of dogmatics

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and pastoral theology at the Dublin Theological Institute. One of the Miss Urwicks was a member of the Ladies’ Irish Anti-Slavery Society. BFASR, 1 June 1858; Thomas A. Urwick and William Urwick, Records of the Family of Urswyk, Urswick or Urwick (London, 1893), 215–18, 224–25; ODNB (online). 12. A Quaker merchant, Joseph Allen (c. 1810–78) was the son of Edward and Ellen Allen and brother of Richard Allen (1803–86), a linen merchant and leading Dublin abolitionist. Like his brother, Joseph Allen was a member of both the Dublin Yearly Meeting and the Hibernian AntiSlavery Society. The British Friend: A Monthly Journal, 35:170 (1 June 1878), 170; Hannah Marie Wigham, A Christian Philanthropist of Dublin: A Memoir of Richard Allen (London, Eng., 1886), 97; England and Wales, National Probate Calendar: Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858–1966 (online). 13. William Webb was the husband of Maria Webb, an Irish abolitionist correspondent of Douglass’s. Webb married Maria Lamb in 1828, and the couple settled in Belfast. The family eventually included six children. A business partner in Richard Allen’s textile firm, Webb also was an active member of the Dublin Anti-Slavery Society. American Anti-Slavery Society, Letter to Louis Kossuth, Concerning Freedom and Slavery in the United States (Boston, 1852), 107; Marie-Louise Legg ed., Alfred Webb: The Autobiography of a Quaker Nationalist (Cork, Ire., 1999), 83. 14. Hannah Hincks (1798–1871), the daughter of a former professor of Hebrew at Queen’s College, the Reverend Thomas Dix Hincks (1767–1857) and his wife, Anne Boult Hincks. Hannah Hincks, an algologist, discovered a species of brown alga that was named for her, Ectocarpus hinksiae. She also contributed to George Dickie’s 1864 book, A Flora of Ulster and Botanist’s Guide to the North of Ireland. For a few years Hannah Hicks served as corresponding secretary of the Belfast Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. BFASR, 1 December 1859; Douglass Papers, ser. 3, 1:409–10; Ray Desmond, Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturalists (London, 1977), 310; Oldham, “Irish Support of the Abolitionist Movement,” 184–85; ODNB (online). 15. Either Miss A. D. Evans or Miss H. Evans of Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland. Both Miss Evanses were Quakers and members of the Ladies’ Irish Anti-Slavery Society. In the 1850s they operated a boarding school for “Daughters of Friends” out of their home at Prior Park. The British Friend, 16:6 (1 January 1858); BFASR, 1 June 1858. 16. Marianne Ffolliott Young (1794–1879), was the daughter of John Ffollliott, Esq., of Hollybrook House, County Sligo, Ireland, and the wife of George Young, Esq., of Culdaff House, County Donegal, Ireland. Mrs. Young was a member of the Irish Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. Her husband was for many years both a magistrate and deputy lieutenant of County Donegal. BFASR, 1 June 1858, 1 December 1859; Belfast (Ire.) News-Letter, 4 June 1877, 19 December 1879.

STEPHEN A. MYERS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Albany, [N.Y.] 1 March 1859. 1

2

In your “reply to Mr. Watkins,” of last week, my name is used several times in the course of your remarks. My offence, in your eyes, seems to be in acting with the Republican party, in order to affect certain reforms. Well, what other practical thing can I do? How much have you done by voting for Gerrit Smith? How much will you accomplish by voting for him at every election for a score of years to come? The only difference between us is, that one acts on the practical side of the question, and the

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other on the theoretic. It is all very fine to talk about the shor-tcomings of the Republican party, but the question is, What are you going to do about it? There can be but two parties, and no man who is worth reasoning with, will deny that the Republican is the best. Every body knows that for the next generation, probably, either the Democrats or Republicans must rule the State and Union. Now, what does all our theorizing amount to in face of this stubborn reality? It may do for scholars and recluses. But a living, earnest, working man wants to see some result to his labor.—The only real question before a man seeking for the equal rights of all men is, shall I vote for the Republican party or for the Democratic party? All other talk is a waste of words—mere hair splitting.3 Let us be done with it. I, for one, shall not vote for Democrats and consequently shall vote for Republicans. The Republicans in this State with few exceptions are in favor of Universal Suffrage and a Personal Liberty Bill.4 They give thousands of dollars to aid fugitive slaves. They defend our rights in the schools, the cars, and the steam boats. No candid man will deny these facts nor assert that the Democrats do any such things. Then what is the sense of all this rhetoric about “a head without a heart,” “the Serpent and political Eve of the Garden,”5 and the like. Common sense men will throw their influence, give their labor and cast their votes where they will tell. Others may indulge in air castles. STEPHEN MYERS. PLSr: FDP, 4 March 1859. 1. William J. Watkins. 2. The 25 February 1859 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper, mostly likely containing Douglass’s editorial reply to William J. Watkins, has not survived. 3. The most likely origin in English of the expression “hair splitting” is Robert Boyle’s Excellence of Theology Compared With Natural Philosophy (London, 1674), author’s preface, 10: “The great difficulty . . . so to behave oneself, as to split a hair between them, and never offend either of them.” 4. Though many states adopted “personal liberty laws” to nullify the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, New York was not among them. The issue remained unresolved until 1858, when Republicans gained control of the New York State Legislature. Abolitionists and antislavery Republicans sent in numerous petitions urging the legislature to adopt a law similar to one in Massachusetts in order to create obstacles to enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act. Despite divisions among conservatives in the Republican party, a select committee recommended the adoption of such a law, one that would include the phrase “every person who shall come or be brought into the State shall be free.” But conservative Republicans with Democratic allies successfully buried attempts to pass two bills sent to the legislature. Consequently, New York remained without a personal liberty law. New York Herald, 12 March 1860; Thomas D. Morris, Free Men All: The Personal Liberty Laws of the North, 1780–1861 (Baltimore, 1974), 181–83. 5. An allusion to the devil in the form of a serpent tempting Eve in the Garden of Eden. Gen. 3:1–5.

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WILLIAM JAMES WATKINS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS [n.p.] 4 March 1859.

Mr. Editor:— It is a maxim as old as the marriage covenant, that differences of opinion will exist, even in the best regulated families. This contrariety will be more or less developed, so long as man’s compound organism is in so many respects dissimilar. No two men or women are exactly alike, mentally, morally or physically. And I have never yet seen any two men, who, on all questions, entertained precisely the same opinions. And I never will until I become acquainted with two men, born with the same organism, and reared under the same circumstances. This train of thought was induced by the remark of a friend to-day, in conversation with me, “how is it that you colored men can’t all see and act alike on this Anti-Slavery question?” “For the same reason that you white men differ upon all subjects,” I promptly replied. It is, however, to me a source of the most poignant regret, when I am compelled to differ from those whose superior abilities, ripe experience, and unquestioned fidelity to the cause of Human Rights, are such as to invest any conclusion to which they may arrive, on the question of our liberties, with the force and authority of Medo-Persian law.1 But very wise men often commit very egregious blunders. They often assume positions which are untenable, and cling to the illusory imaginings of Error, with as much tenacity as they do to the living realities of an axiomatic truth. But “humanum est errare.”2 And I have no right to look for exemption in your case. I have read with much interest your strictures upon my letter.3 I beg you, however, to read that letter again. The most acute vision will fail to discern in it a single word of apology for the short-comings of the Republican party. You do not fairly meet the issue I presented, but proceed to a discussion of the characteristics of the leaders of that party. I took issue with you not because you are not a colored Black Republican, but because when a few of us are making all the exertions in our power, to secure the Elective Franchise, from those who have the ability to extend it; when we are striving to induce among our people that unanimity of action which is so desirable; instead of obtaining your co-operation, you turn a cold shoulder upon the movement, and with a spasmodic ebullition of zeal for which colored New Yorkers are eminently distinguished, press upon our consideration, the question of Equal School Rights—a

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question which, for a “long length of periods,[“] (whatever be its relative merits,) has been suffered to sleep soundly, nursed by the gentle rock of “Communipaw.”4 Ah! Mr. Editor, why is it that that sleep knew no waking until resurrected by the trumpet blast of Equal Suffrage? Now, to be candid, I am of the opinion that you are not very desirous that success should crown the special effort a few of us are now making, notwithstanding the loss of your co-operation, if not your sympathy. Why is it that this movement is now almost entirely ignored by such leading men as yourself? For I call the readers of “F. Douglass’ Paper” to bear witness to the truthfulness of  the statement, that not even you have employed your vigorous pen, during the present winter, in urging our people to act on the suffrage question. But it is not your vis inertia5 of which I most complain, but your attempted disparagement of the efforts some of us are making to induce the Republican party to act in conformity with its own platform of principles, by extending to us here in New York, while they have the power, the elective franchise. For my part, I do not feel disposed to wait for such extension until the arrival of that millennial era, when the correct views of Hon. Gerrit Smith and his gifted namesake, concerning the Constitution of the U. S., shall be adopted by the American people, and become thoroughly crystallized in their political acts. The Republican party is not, Sir, what I desire it to be, and what it must be, to preserve its vitality. Large bodies move slowly. And I am not one of those who, calling themselves Radical Abolitionists, seem to fasten upon the inconsistencies of its leaders, and because of their want of moral stamina, consign them, along with “Stephen, the colored Thurlow,”6 to “utter darkness.7” And as to your “fear that when the little joker is raised, our brethren (Meyers,8 Rich,9 Watkins,10 etc.) will look as blank with dismay, as they did in reading through Gov. Morgan’s11 first Inaugural,”12 I cannot help thinking that the wish is father to the thought, and that a defeat of the Colored Black Republican Equal Suffrage Movement,13 at present, is a consummation devoutly to be wished by you, and the few of our people who sympathize with you in your present position. For a triumph of our movement just now, would be regarded by all practical men, as a justification of the course adopted by nearly all the colored voters in the State in the recent contest for Governor. But whether successful or not this year, or the next, or the next, I know of at least one man who will not abate one jot or tittle of the perseverance of the importunate widow in the Gospel,14 the prospect of whose “continual coming” procured an answer to her petition. And of course, those who now do nothing for the cause,

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will help us celebrate the victory, and dance to the merry music of “see how we apples swim!” “Fly swiftly ‘round, ye wheels of Time, And bring the welcome day.”15 Consistency, Mr. Editor, is a jewel.16 You will remember that when the lamented Thos. L. Jennings,17 and others, were concentrating their efforts in order to procure the abolition of Caste in the cars of your city railroads, you did not see fit to attempt to divert them from the object before them, by calling in question the propriety of their throwing their entire public and organized movements into the single issue of “riding in the cars of the Third Avenue Railroad Company.”18 You urged them on. You, doubtless, were one of their number. Not even the great question of Equal School Rights was suffered to interfere. And in this you were right. In this you were wise. In this you counselled “Expediency.” One thing at a time was the emphatic language of your acts. The result of your efforts demonstrated the wisdom of your course. But now, Mr. Editor, you object to organized movements for the presentation of single issues. You appear to be very much disturbed. “Tobacco,” “signs,” “guns,” “little jokers,” “Stephen Myers,” and “purgatory,” completely block up and darken your pathway. “Single Issues!” Why, verily, my esteemed co-worker, and your able correspondent “Philo,”19 who has inaugurated an entire public and organized movement into the single Issue of the “School Question,” and who is defending it with his wonted vigor, and ability, must “stand from under.” As we both stand, pro tempore,20 as the representatives of “single issues,” I trust we shall bear each other faithful company, and not fall out by the way. A gentle hint to “Philo” is, at this time, sufficient. You “take pleasure in offering evidence” of the moral imbecility of the leaders of the Republican Party, “from no less authority than Mr. Watkins himself.” I say the leaders, for you remark, “the mass of the people are with us.” I do not know that these leaders have changed for the better. They are certainly too timid and time-serving. What I said in 1857, I have no disposition to retract, although the Address from which you quote was written not far from 55 W. Broadway,21 under the resistless influence of your mesmeric manipulations. And I never address the people on the question of Human Freedom, without endeavoring to impress upon them the necessity of compelling their leaders to maintain a more defensible, a just position. But because I denounced these leaders in 1857, am I es-

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topped from appealing to the party to forsake what you are pleased to designate, its “counting-house” policy?22 Is this a legitimate sequence of such denunciation? Every candid man must answer no. I cannot, however, sympathize with you in your wholesale denunciation of the Republican party. If what you say be correct, it is worse than modern Democracy. You give it no credit whatever. Herein lies your error.—You launch out with the broad assertion, that the “Republican party is a political, not a humanitary party, and is governed by political, not humanitary principles.” The grammatical construction of this language warrants the assertion that in your estimation, a party cannot at the same time be both political and humanitary. Political principles are not necessarily anti-humanitary; but your language implies that they are. Politics I regard as nothing more than the science of government; of good or of bad government. A man or a party may, therefore, be politico-humanitarian. You remark, farther, that the Democratic party is a party of Ideas, and is thus contra-distinguished from the Republican party, which has none. Let me quote you correctly. Speaking of the Republican party, you remark: “It is reduced to the last analysis, the party of Arithmetical Progression. In this way it is contradistinguished from the Democratic party which is the party of ideas, of bad ideas, unjust ideas, nevertheless of ideas.” The fallacy of such an assertion is as glaring as the sun in mid-heaven. The Democratic is not a party of Ideas, but of an Idea which is the exact antipode of the fundamental, all-pervading Idea or Principle which underlies the Republican party. Shall Slavery be extended or restricted? This question furnishes the battle ground of the belligerents. The Democratic party says, yes; the Republican party says, no. The Idea of extending the area of Slavery, is the only Idea which holds the Democratic party together. It lives for that purpose, and it will die for that purpose. It flashes from its eye, it burns upon its tongue, it gleams upon its brow, it rankles in its heart. Evening and morning and at noon, does it cry aloud, “Extend Slavery!” This is the burden of its song, the substance of its prayer. On the other hand, the Idea of extending the area of Freedom, is the vis preservatrix23 of the Republican party. It is, you gravely tell us, “a head without a heart.” It cares for nothing but “its own aggrandizement.” Have you fairly stated the difference between these parties? You will not affirm that you have. Look, Sir, at the origin of the Republican party. It came into being upon the wing of pro-slavery aggressions. Like the rainbow, it was born of the tempest. It was a political necessity. It was a political crystallization of that Anti-Slavery sentiment and feeling which had long

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been smothered in the Whig and Democratic parties, and which at last, burst the cerements of corruption, and with God’s sunlight flashing all around it, stood out like a promontory in the deep, blue sea, a monument of the second Revolution in our nation’s history. And shall we now refuse alliance with it, for a certain purpose, because it does not go far enough in the right direction? Let Frederick Douglass of 1856 answer the query. “We are not,” said he, “to refuse a position and actual advantage to the cause of Right and Liberty, because the entire claims of righteousness are not acceded to, and gained at the same moment. God reigns in Eternity.— The progress of mankind is slow, and when society is willing to take even one step in the right direction it may be well for the individual to help it along by precept and example.” *

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“Unquestionably, the practical carrying out of the Republican platform by the Federal Government would be a great good. We need not enumerate the various benefits which would flow from the policy therein laid down. The limitation of slavery alone would prove an immense benefit; and if the action in that direction is followed up in the States by the Republican element, as we believe it will be, all that we devoutly wish may come to pass.” Let the editor pro tem. of F. Douglass’ Paper24 swallow the above, and if the task be too difficult, let Mr. Douglass himself assist him in the attempt at deglutition. But I quote with much pleasure Wm. Lloyd Garrison’s views of the Republican party.25 I quote him for two reasons: First, because no one will accuse him of a disposition to flatter the party; Secondly, because I know of no better Anti-Slavery authority than he. What say you, Mr. Garrison? How is the Democratic party “contradistinguished” from the Republican? Hear him: “The Republican party has certainly been consistent in its efforts to prevent the extension of slavery; it has spent a vast amount of money for the purpose of enlightening the public sentiment, so as to save Kansas and Nebraska, and the vast territories of the Slave Power. Let the party have the credit of it. Why not? (Applause.) I know of nothing in this AntiSlavery cause which justifies me in being uncharitable or unfair. Give to every party its due; and I say that, up to this time, the Republican party has tried to prevent the extension of slavery, and has suffered greatly on that account. Tell me that it is to be put in the same scale with the Demo-

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cratic party—that party which is ready for every thing that the South desires, in the way of extending and eternizing slavery! How was it in the last Presidential election? Was it nothing to the credit of the Republican party, that no representative of John C. Fremont26 could stand upon Southern soil, except in peril of his life—when the whole party was outlawed in all the Southern States—when no electoral ticket bearing his name could have been tolerated in Georgia, or Alabama, or Carolina, or any Southern State—and when if Henry Wilson27 had dared to go down South, and advocate his election to the Presidency, he would have gone there as a man goes to the grave, and never would have come back to Massachusetts alive? When a party stands in that attitude to slavery, and slavery stands in that relation to it, I hold it is unfair and unjust to say that, after all, it is as bad as the party that goes all lengths for the extension and eternization of slavery. (‘Hear, hear,’ and loud applause.) “The Republican party, as a matter of fact—and we are dealing with facts—embraces the anti-slavery voters of America, wherever they are— with the exception, it may be, of the little handful who voted for Gerrit Smith.—The American people, I say, who vote, and are anti-slavery in spirit and sympathy, are all with the Republican party; not one is with the Democratic party. Among them, of course, there are all phases of sentiment, from the most radical to the most superficial.—There is a good deal of pro-slavery in the party, perhaps, but a great deal of warm and genuine anti-slavery—sympathy, generosity, kindness, pity for the slave; blindness of vision to a certain extent, a want of moral courage up to a certain point, it may be, but, nevertheless, an earnest desire and struggle to do something whereby this odious Slave Power may be driven back, hedged up, or in some way destroyed in the land. (Applause.) Judging it, as we are bound to do, by its own test, therefore, as it disclaims being an anti-slavery party, as it openly declares, that in regard to slavery where it now exists, it does not mean to raise any agitation, and only means to try to prevent its extension, to that extent, I say, the party has been true, and my sympathies, to that extent, have been with the party; for we also desire to save the great West from the encroachments of the Slave Power, and establish freedom on the Western soil. *

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“My hope is in the great Republican party; not where it stands, but it has materials for growth. The men who have gone into it are men who have suffered, or lost caste, to some extent, because they would not go

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with the Whig party or the Democratic party in their wickedness on the side of the Slave Power.” These are my sentiments, expressed much better than I can express them. And I hold that this party has accomplished at least as much practical good as those Radical Abolitionists who do little else than meet annually and quadrennially, to go through certain political motions as a compliment to the wealthy philanthropist from whom some of them are continually receiving evidences of “distinguished consideration.” WM. JAMES WATKINS. PLSr: FDP, 4 March 1859. 1. Watkins is referring to the ancient Medo-Persian Empire and the nature of its law. The MedoPersian Empire was established in 539 B.C.E. when the Medes and Persians captured Babylon. Like that of Babylon, the Medo-Persian government was monarchical, and the king’s word created laws. But under the Medo-Persian regime, once the king established a law, it could never be reversed, even by the king himself. In the Bible, Daniel refers to the nature of the Medo-Persian law: “Then the conspirators came to the king and said to him, ‘Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.’ ” Dan. 6:15; Sir Percy Molesworth Sykes, A History of Persia, 2 vols. (1915; New York, 1969), 1:172; Glenn E. Curtis and Eric Hooglund, eds., Iran: A Country Study (Washington, D.C., 2008), 4; Michael D. Coogan, ed., The New Oxford Annotated Bible (New York, 2007), 1266; Robert William Rogers, A History of Ancient Persia: From its Earliest Beginnings to the Death of Alexander the Great (1929; Freeport, N.Y., 1971), 63. 2. Latin for “to err is human.” 3. Watkins refers to his letter written to Douglass on 10 February 1859 and printed in the 11 February 1859 issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. In this letter, Watkins asked Douglass to limit his critique of the Republican party and to focus on the suffrage movement in New York State. Douglass responded to Watkins’s letter in an editorial in the March 1859 edition of Douglass’ Monthly. While Watkins argued that blacks needed to work with Republican leaders to secure enfranchisement, Douglass continued to criticize the Republican party, saying that suffrage would be inaccessible if advocates of the movement continued to rely on the aid of Republican leaders. In fact, he believed that suffrage could be attained were it not for these party leaders: “Could the question be submitted to the people, for a free vote, without the trammels or the influences of party leaders, we would gladly submit it to-morrow, secure in a triumphant majority.” Douglass then suggested that attention should be given to securing equal education opportunities for black children, which he labeled as a “decidedly more accessible” issue. To the dismay of Watkins, Douglass stressed the equal education issue and believed that gaining suffrage in New York would be difficult to achieve. William James Watkins to Frederick Douglass, FDP, 11 February 1859; DM, 1:33 (March 1859). 4. James McCune Smith. 5. Isaac Newton developed the concept vis inertiae, or force of inertia, in his laws of motion. I. Bernard Cohen and George E. Smith, Cambridge Companion to Newton (Cambridge, Eng., 2002) 61. 6. Stephen Myers of Albany edited temperance and antislavery newspapers and helped lead the movement for black suffrage in New York. Like Myers, Thurlow Weed, the influential Whig and later a Republican political boss, edited his newspaper, the Evening Journal, in Albany. Watkins refers to Myers as “Stephen, the colored Thurlow” because of the similarities between the two men’s occupations and dedication to the antislavery movement. Penn, The Afro-American Press, 48–51; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 33, 95, 154, 172–73, 219–20.

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7. Variants of this phrase occur frequently in the Bible. Ps. 107:14; Matt. 8:12, 25:30. 8. Stephen Myers. 9. William Rich. 10. William J. Watkins. 11. Edwin Dennison Morgan (1811–83) was born in Massachusetts and educated in the common schools of Hartford, Connecticut. After an apprenticeship in a Hartford general store, he moved to New York City, where he became a prosperous import merchant. In 1850, Morgan was elected to the state senate, where he served until elected governor on the Republican ticket in 1858. Reelected in 1860, he oversaw the enlistment of 223,000 New York men into the Union army during the Civil War’s first two years. From 1863 to 1869, Morgan served in the U.S. Senate, where he sided with the conservative Republican factions on most Reconstruction questions. James A. Rawley, Edwin D. Morgan, 1811–1883: Merchant in Politics (New York, 1955); Michael Les Benedict, A Compromise of Principle: Congressional Republicans and Reconstruction, 1863–1869 (New York, 1974), 164, 265, 298; ACAB, 4:398; NCAB, 3:51. 12. Watkins refers to abolitionists’ disappointment with New York governor Edwin Morgan’s first inaugural address in 1859. According to Douglass, Morgan ran his campaign on an antislavery platform, but many abolitionists feared that he would not support antislavery legislation once elected. These abolitionists were criticized for supporting Gerrit Smith for office instead of Morgan. The historian Eric Foner labels Morgan a moderate in the Republican party, so he was therefore less likely than a candidate like Smith to push the antislavery issue. In reference to the governor’s first inaugural speech, Douglass wrote in Douglass’ Monthly: “Governor Morgan, whose anti-slavery was so loudly proclaimed to the people before his election, finds no occasion, in his Message, to utter an anti-slavery sentence.” Abolitionists’ concerns over Morgan’s intentions were realized when he made no real effort, once in office, to support the antislavery movement. DM, 1:21 (February 1859); Eric Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War (New York: 1995), 210. 13. Possibly a reference to the New York State Suffrage Association. 14. Luke 18:1–5. 15. “Fly swiftly ‘round, ye wheels of Time, / And bring the welcome day” was written by the English minister and hymn writer Isaac Watts (1674–1748), and the lines serve as the final two stanzas of “Hymn 21: A Vision of the Kingdom of Christ among Men.” Watts organized his written hymns into three categories: paraphrases of biblical texts, poems on general divine subjects, and hymns written for the Lord’s Supper. Inspired by Revelation 21: 1–4, “Hymn 21” falls into the first category. The hymn paraphrases verses wherein the new heaven and new earth are introduced as God’s dwelling place. Watts noted that his use of metaphor was written to conform “to the level of vulgar capacities.” The simple language of his hymns likely contributed to their popularity, since many survive into the present. Robert Goodacre, ed., The Psalms and Hymns of the Late Dr. Isaac Watts: In Two Volumes (London, 1821), 2:29; ODNB (online). 16. Most frequently stated as “Consistency, thou art a jewel,” this phrase has been attributed to a variety of sources, including the Bible, Shakespeare, and a popular eighteenth-century Scottish ballad. According to John Bartlett, none of these claims can be verified. Bartlett suggests that the phrase evolved over time and cannot be verifiably said to originate in any one place. Instead, he notes the tendency to compare virtue or excellence to the brilliance of a jewel by way of emphasis. New York Times, 26 February 1888; John Bartlett, Familiar Quotations: A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature, 10th ed. (1855; Boston, 1919), 1046. 17. A free black dry cleaner in New York City, Thomas L. Jennings (1791–1856) was probably the first African American to receive a patent for his “dry scouring” process. Jennings attended both national and state conventions, agitating for equal civil rights. Curry, Free Black in Urban America, 222; Foner and Walker, Black State Conventions, 1:88.

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18. The Third Avenue Railroad Company was a street railroad system in New York City operating in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Like most other streetcar companies of the era, the Third Avenue Railroad Company was segregated. In 1854, an incident between a black woman and a driver led to a court case and the desegregation of the company. Elizabeth Jennings (1830– 1901), the daughter of the black leader Thomas L. Jennings, was a teacher and an organist for the First Colored American Congregational Church. In July 1854, she boarded a whites-only streetcar on her way to church. When the driver insisted that she get off and wait for the car designated for blacks, she refused. The driver attempted to physically remove Jennings, and eventually did so with the aid of a police officer. At a public meeting at the First Colored American Congregational Church, Jennings’s testimony was read, and it was resolved that her case should be brought before the legal authorities. The story gained public recognition after appearing in Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune and Frederick Douglass’ Paper. In February 1855, Elizabeth Jennings v. the Third Avenue Railroad Company was brought before the Brooklyn Circuit; future U.S. president Chester A. Arthur served as Jennings’s lawyer. The decision, which went in favor of Jennings, awarded her $225 in damages and desegregated the Third Avenue Railroad Company in New York City. FDP, 28 July 1854, 2 March 1855; John H. Hewitt, Protest and Progress: New York’s First Black Episcopal Church Fights Racism (New York: 2000), 98, 101–03. 19. Probably George T. Downing. 20. This Latin phrase is best translated as “for the time being.” 21. James McCune Smith’s combined office and pharmacy was located at 55 West Broadway. When Smith first established his medical practice, he opened his office at 93 West Broadway, but relocated to this address a few years later. Stauffer, Works of James McCune Smith, xxiii; idem, Black Hearts of Men, 125; Calarco, The Underground Railroad, 255. 22. Watkins refers to what Douglass labeled the Republican party’s “counting-house” policy. Douglass was probably criticizing the Republican party’s emphasis on economic issues, even in relation to slavery. The Republicans proclaimed the superiority of free labor and viewed the South as a stagnant and aristocratic society whose reliance on the institution of slavery threatened Northern interests. Republican leaders often used their free labor economic platform to appeal to conservatives who might not have supported an antislavery policy for its own sake but who perceived some gain from halting slavery’s spread into western territories. Douglass reluctantly supported the Republican presidential ticket in 1856 but subsequently grew disappointed by the party’s emphasis on the economic dimensions of antislavery politics. In January 1859, Douglass called on antislavery advocates to “no longer follow the partial side issues” and to focus less on “free white labor” and more on the slaves in bondage. Like other abolitionists, Douglass insisted that the moral issue of antislavery politics should trump economic arguments. DM, 1:1 (January 1859); Foner, Life and Writings, 2:396–400, 441; Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men, 40–41, 59, 61. 23. Latin for the “preserving power.” 24. While Douglass traveled on an extended lecture tour in early 1859, James McCune Smith most likely served as the editor “pro tem” of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. In the March 1859 issue of Douglass’ Monthly, an announcement states: “Dr. James McCune Smith—This gentleman has often made us obliged to him, during the last ten years, for services to our common cause, and to Frederick Douglass’ Paper as a means of promoting that cause. He has now much increased our obligations to him, by kindly consenting to write the Editorials for our paper during our five or six weeks’ lecturing tour in the West.” DM, 1:35 (March 1859). 25. The comments by William Lloyd Garrison are from his speech at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, printed in the 4 February 1859 issue of the Liberator. There is only one difference between the text in Watkins’s letter and the newspaper version. According to the Liberator, Garrison said that the Republican party acted “so as to save Kansas and Nebraska, and the vast territories of the West from the encroachments of the Slave Power.” In his letter, Watkins leaves out the phrase “of the West, from the encroachments of.” Most likely, this was a small unintentional transcription error made by Watkins. Lib., 4 February 1859.

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26. John C. Frémont was the Republican candidate for president in 1856. 27. Elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts by a coalition of Free Soilers, Know-Nothings, and Democrats in 1855, Henry Wilson (1812–75) strongly advocated the abolition of slavery as a political goal. In 1862, he introduced a bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, and as a Radical Republican, he was one of the strongest voices denouncing the Black Codes enacted under Presidential Reconstruction. In 1865 he introduced a bill aimed at nullifying all laws and ordinances discriminating against freemen and former slaves. Wilson replaced Schuyler Colfax as vice president during Ulysses S. Grant’s second term, but died in office. Ernest McKay, Henry Wilson: Practical Radical; A Portrait of a Politician (London, 1971), 94–95, 197–98.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO JOHN JAY1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 11 April 1859[.]

John Jay Esqr. My dear Sir: I am much obliged by your note and the memoranda with which you have favored me. My want of skill, not my want of heart for the work caused me to hesitate when first asked to Speak in memory of your honored father.2 I have now yielded to my friends rather than to any new confidence in my ability. The most I hope to do, is to Show that my people are capable of remembering gratefully a great friend and benefactor. I am dear Sir, With Respect and Esteem, FRED: DOUGLASS ALS: John Jay Papers, NNC. 1. The son of William Jay and grandson of Chief Justice John Jay. John Jay (1817–94) was a lawyer and diplomat. Born in New York City and graduated from Columbia College, Jay was active in the Free Soil party and then the Republican party. He served the Ulysses S. Grant administration as minister to Austria-Hungary and later served on the New York Civil Service Commission. ACAB, 3:408. 2. William Jay.

JOHN JAY TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Newyork[, N.Y.] 26 May 1859.

My Dear Sir, I have read with much interest your discourse on the life & Character of my Father.1 I beg to [illegible] to you the thanks which I hardly an opportunity fully to express at the close of the evening when we listened to its delivery. I would like to have 200 copies of it in pamphlet form if it is

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proposed so to publish it, or if not then 200 copies of your paper containing it. for circulation among my own & my father friends. I am Dear Sir, Very Truly Yours JOHN JAY

[P.S.] I beg to enclose a check to cover the cost of the copies. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 670–71, FD Papers, DLC. 1. William Jay.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO MARGARET DENMAN CROPPER Rochester[,] N.Y. 27 May 1859.

Hon: Mrs E. Cropper. Dear Madam: I have just received, from my kind friend, Mrs Crofts,1 of Huddersfield,2 the sum of ten pounds, which she received, as a donation in aid of the publication of my anti slavery papers, from the Liverpool Anti slavery Society3 of which you are president. The help thus rendered me is most gratefully appreciated—and I beg that you will accept my warmest thanks for it, on my own account and in behalf of the cause of the american slaves— whose servant I am. You will Do me a kindness by making my thankfulness known to the members of the Liverpool society. The anti slavery cause is, certainly, going forward steadily in the U.S. Its progress, however, is not to be determined by the number or the activity of special antislavery organizations. The number and efficiency of these are not so great now as ten years ago—when agents were supported and sent out into all parts of the Country to lecture upon the evils of slavery, and the duty of emancipation. There is much of this work yet to be done—and much of it being done—but the pen and press are doing more than formerly. Books, letters, and pamphlets—newspapers, and tracts are more abundant—and our work of leavening the public mind is being done more silently—than in the days of meetings and mobs. If less is done by organizations—more is done by individuals. Besides, the subject has got before societies and Churches from which it was formerly excluded—and is undergoing discussion in them, such as it used only to get in special anti slavery meetings. Slavery is such an enormity that it cannot bear the light of discussion. If we can only keep it before the people—The people will,

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sooner or later, learn to abhor it and seek its abolition. The fact that I have been a slave—and am a Colored man—and have devoted twenty years to the service of the cause of Emancipation—has done much to incline the people to read what I write and listen to what I have to say on the subject of slavery. I am often called upon to address public meetings—to draw up resolution—and write petitions, in reference to the rights and wrongs of my people. The more independently I can perform these services—of course, the more efficiently I can do so. The assistance I receive from abroad has, therefore, a double value—it facilitates my movements—and renders it unnecessary when I wish to labor in this or that place, to look around for the means by which I am to go and come. It gives me influence with my people, since they are not, immediately, called upon to give of their penury to support me in what I do for them. My paper publish[ed] weekly—is not a source of pecuniary advantage—but a means of spreading antislavery sentiments before the public—What therefore the Liverpool Antislavery Society does for the support of it—the society does for the spread of Antislavery truth among the people of this country. I have but this morning sent off a brother fugitive slave from my house to Canada4 —the land of safety. I would have gladly retained here but the hounds (slave hunters) were known to be on his track—and it was thought best that he be sent on immediately. I was talking yesterday with Miss Porter5 the treasurer of our Ladies society here—about the condition of the fugitives in Canada—when she very thoughfu[lly] Suggested that much suffering might be saved the poor destitute fugitives—if with the clothes and little money we are able to give—we could also furnish them—with an axe—a spade or hoe—so that they could go to work at onc[e] many could get work if they had implements to work with. We decided to purchase a quantity of tools—and make every man who comes—a present of one or more as he might need. Again allow me to thank you, and the Liverpool Anti Slavery society—for the material aid you are rendering me in my efforts to free and elevate my people— I am, Dear Mrs Cropper, Yours in the cause of []humanit[y] FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: British Abolition Movement Papers, ViU. 1. Julia Griffiths Crofts. 2. Located in West Yorkshire in north-central England, Huddersfield sits on the Colne River. In the mid-nineteenth century, the area was known for its production of cotton and woolen textiles. The town also manufactured machinery and other metal products. Cohen, Columbia Gazetteer of the World, 2:1326.

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3. The Liverpool Anti-Slavery Society, or the Liverpool Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, was established in 1822 by James Cropper, a British Quaker and merchant. Many of Cropper’s female relatives were also involved in the antislavery movement, and played an active role in the development of the Liverpool Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Association in 1827. Margaret Denman Cropper, James Cropper’s daughter-in-law, served as president of the Liverpool Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Association in the 1850s. In the June 1859 edition of Douglass’ Monthly, Douglass acknowledged the monetary donation made by the Liverpool Anti-Slavery Society, which he mentions in this letter. DM, 1:89 (June 1859); David B. Davis, “James Cropper and the British Anti-Slavery Movement, 1821–1823,” JNH, 45:251 (October 1960); idem, “James Cropper and the British Anti-Slavery Movement, 1823–1833,” JNH, 46:154 (April 1961); Brian Howman, “Abolition in Liverpool,” in Liverpool and Transatlantic Slavery, ed. David Richardson, Suzanne Schwarz, and Anthony Tibbles (Liverpool, Eng., 2007), 277. 4. Frederick Douglass rarely mentioned his participation in the Underground Railroad publicly. The most recent reference to a fugitive slave in Rochester preceding the date of this letter is recorded in the April 1859 edition of Douglass’ Monthly: “A fugitive slave arrived in this city last week by way of the Underground Railroad, and after recruiting a day, was sent on his way to Canada. He was from Richmond, Va., where he held the post of bookkeeper in a large establishment.” DM, 1:64 (April 1859). 5. Maria G. Porter, president of the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society in 1859.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO JAMES HALL1 Rochester[,] N.Y. 10 June 1859[.]

James Hall Esqr. My dear sir: You have made me your debtor for an act of friendship for which, I beg you to believe me, extremely grateful. The curtain dropt between me and Maryland nearly twenty one years ago.2 Since Then I have been separated from all the dear ones of my youth as if by the shadow of death. Any tidings from the place, the people, the friends, and the objects associated with my youthful days have for me an interest which you can better imagine than I can express. The manumitted persons in the record sent me— are all doubtless my blood relations—but all born Since I left Maryland. Those who were known to me on the Estate are, I have reason to believe all free. Mr Thomas Auld3–has shown himself far more benevolent and noble than I supposed him to be—and than I have given him credit for in my earlier speeches and publications. He is doubtless, a much better Christian than many here at the North who call upon slave holders to Emancipate Their Slaves. His sense of Justice cost him Something. It is noble of him to make the sacrafice & to do So in a community where his justice is not popular.

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Nevertheless, considering that the average length of human life falls far below therty years4 –it Seems to me That his Charity and justice would have appeared to far better advantage had he set an earlier age, as the one at which to emancipate his servants. I am however immeasurably thankful to God that my old master has thus far put himself in harmony with the spirit of Christ–and the requirements of justice. William Watkins5–for whom you inquire still resides in Rochester– but has not been connected with me in the publication of my paper for a year past. Please write me and say whether I am at Liberty to make any public use of the record with which you have favored me. I am, Dear Sir, Very gratefully yours, FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Maryland Colonization Society Papers, MdHis. 1. Born in Cornish, New Hampshire, James Hall (1802–89) graduated from Bowdoin College’s Medical Department in 1822. After practicing medicine in Windsor, Vermont (1822–29), he took a position with the Maryland Colonization Society, partially to recover his health via a voyage to Africa. Hall quickly rose to become governor of that society’s Cape Palmas colony (1833–36). He then returned to the United States and worked as general agent for the Maryland Colonization Society for several decades. He later engaged in mercantile activity in Baltimore. New York Times, 7 September 1889; Bowdoin College, General Catalogue of Bowdoin College and the Medical College of Maine, 1794–1912 (Brunswick, Me., 1912), 317. 2. Douglass alludes to his escape from slavery in Maryland in September 1838. 3. Thomas Auld. 4. Life expectancy in the 1850s is a subject of dispute among demographers, but Douglass’s estimate seems pessimistic. American whites seem to have lived an average of approximately forty years, and slaves thirty-six years. Robert William Fogel and Stanley L. Engerman, Time on the Cross: The Economics of American Slavery (Boston, 1974), 126, 260–61; Robert William Fogel, Without Consent or Contract: The Rise and Fall of American Slavery (New York, 1989), 32–34, 127–32. 5. William J. Watkins.

AMY POST1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Rochester, [N.Y.] 13 June 1859.

Frederick Douglass: Dear Friend: In your remarks in your last week’s paper upon “Modern Spiritualism,”2 I most heartily concur, so far as thinking it necessary that Spiritualists should be criticised and watched as closely as any other class of men and

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women, and have applyed to them the same test, “by their fruits ye shall know them,”3 as you would to any other class or sect, and when weighed in the balance and found wanting, denounce them with the same severity. But when you speak of the Spiritualism manifested in the late Waterloo Meeting of the Friends of Human Progress,4 as placing Spiritualism pre-eminently before the anti-slavery reform, you make a great mistake, I think. It was woman’s wrongs that our gentleman speaker considered pre-eminent.5 He, as I was informed, was a Spiritualist, and some twenty, or perhaps more, voted with him.—Whether they were all Spiritualists, I know not; but a much larger number, I think, of Spiritualists present voted in the negative—thoroughly understanding in their own souls that the slave woman’s wrongs are a thousand fold more terrible, and ought not for a moment to be put in competition. At a subsequent session, when the subject of Spiritualism was before the meeting for discussion, two persons, I think, expressed it as their belief that Spiritualism would do more for the overthrow of all evils in the world, than any other reform;6 but the weight of argument, and the facts presented on the negative of the question, I thought, were overwhelming. This is the point which I wish to bring out in as few words as possible. In the variety of the great and vital subjects that were presented to that meeting, and so ably discussed through the long sittings of three days, it is not strange that in some particulars your remembrance of them should be indistinct; and as a lover of truth and correctness, I tho’t you would like to have the mistake corrected. Yours, truly, A. P.7 PLIr: FDP, 24 June 1859. 1. Amy Post (1802–89) was born Amy Kirby in Jericho, New York. In 1828 she married Isaac Post, a druggist and the widower of her sister. The Posts became involved with Garrisonian abolitionism and the Underground Railroad after they moved to Rochester in 1835. Amy served as a vice president of the American Anti-Slavery Society in the 1850s and 1860s. Douglass first met the couple when he stayed at their house during a lecture tour in 1842, and their friendship influenced his choice of Rochester as the base for his newspaper the North Star. In addition to abolitionism, Amy Post participated in a broad range of reforms, including the women’s movement, which began at the convention that she helped organize in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. Hewitt, Women’s Activism and Social Change: Rochester, 116–17, 119–20, 140, 143, 184, 230–31; Blake McKelvey, “Civic Medals Awarded Posthumously,” RH, 22:10 (April 1960). 2. Frederick Douglass attended the annual meeting of the Friends of Human Progress in Waterloo, New York, and recounted his observations in his newspaper on 10 June 1859. Before his description of the meeting, Douglass gave a brief overview of “Spiritualism” as he understood it. Douglass stated that he was present at some of Spiritualism’s “peculiar exhibitions,” but did not agree with its

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“supremacy over the religion of the New Testament.” After commending Spiritualists for their advocacy of education, women’s rights, temperance, and an end to sectarianism, Douglass condemned their reluctance to accept antislavery reform. According to Douglass, several Spiritualists at the meeting voted against resolutions giving prominence to antislavery reform. Douglass perceived their reluctance as an effort to seek “harmony” with Spiritualists in the South and to ensure the survival of the Spiritualist movement. FDP, 10 June 1859. 3. A slight paraphrase of a portion of the Sermon on the Mount. Matt. 7:16. 4. Douglass attended the 1859 annual meeting of the Friends for Human Progress with his friend Amy Post. The meeting lasted three days and drew large crowds each day. Despite Douglass’s assertions, and the presence of many Spiritualists, Spiritualism was not the main focus of the meeting. Speakers thoroughly discussed temperance, women’s rights, abolitionism, education reform, and an end to sectarianism. Spiritualism came up in a series of resolutions on the second day. In an address on the third day, Phillip D. Moore argued that Spiritualism was a greater friend to human rights than any church, and a better social reformer. Douglass contested these assertions on the third day in a speech that was well received by the audience, calling Spiritualism a mere “theoretical religion.” Proceedings of the Yearly Meeting of the Friends of Human Progress held at Waterloo, Seneca Co., N.Y.: The 3d, 4th, and 5th day of June, 1859 (Rochester, 1859), 3–17; FDP, 10 June 1859; Hewitt, Women’s Activism and Social Change, 135, 141, 184, 190. 5. The Friends of Human Progress discussed a number of social reforms, and women’s rights figured prominently on the second day of the meeting. The committee on resolutions presented several that called for the equality of all men in the South. Several speakers however, contested the resolutions. Dr. O. A. Wellington argued that the enslavement of women was far worse than that of slaves. Lucy M. Coleman, who spoke after Wellington, proclaimed herself “deeply sensitive” to the cause of women’s rights, but asserted that slavery was far worse. The debate over women’s rights lasted until the meeting adjourned for one hour. Proceedings of the Yearly Meeting of the Friends of Human Progress, 6–9; Hewitt, Women’s Activism and Social Change, 190. 6. Phillip D. Moore’s speech on the third day was a direct assault on organized religion in America. Moore argued that attachment to individual denominations hindered efforts at social reform. Moore argued that men had become “American slaves” to those institutions and would never advocate reform. Moore further argued that Spiritualism would lead more people to support social reforms in the coming years. Proceedings of the Yearly Meeting of the Friends of Human Progress, 10–17. 7. Douglass inserted the following editorial comment immediately following the letter from Post in his newspaper: “Remarks.—The above communication from our respected friend is correct in this particular—two gentlemen, both Spiritualists we are informed, did insist that the wrongs of the free woman were greater than those of the slave, and that the ‘Woman’s Rights’ reform was of more importance than the anti-slavery reform; but has our correspondent forgotten that Spiritualism, it was asserted, had done more for humanity in the last five years, than the Christian religion in 1800, and as a consequence, was ‘first and pre-eminent;’ and when we questioned of what it had done for the slave, we were told we must not inquire? Of course, these questions are not put to provoke a rejoinder, as we think enough has already been said upon the subject.—Ed.”: FDP, 24 June 1859.

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GERRIT SMITH TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Peterboro, [N.Y.] 19 Sept[ember] 1859.

Mr. Frederick Douglass: My Dear Friend:— I have just read the last number of your paper. Your able and interesting article on American Civilization is entitled to a wide circulation.1 I see that neither you nor our friend J. R. Johnson2 think me right in declining to attend the approaching Anniversary of the ‘Jerry Rescue.’ And so even you are still ignorant of what I mean by the phrase: ‘No law for slavery!’3 You think that all I mean by it is ‘that there can be no righteous law for slavery.’ If this is all, then I admit that you are right in placing the ‘Jerry Rescuers’ and the Republican party on the same level with myself. But this is very far from being all my meaning. Why does the Republican Legislature of our State refuse from Session to Session to enact that fugitives from the great Southern Prison House shall be protected on our soil? Because in their judgment a law—valid and obligatory notwithstanding its immorality—forbids such an enactment. But what they see to be law I see to be no law. That which restrains them imposes no restraint on me.—Neither the Fugitive Slave Law Act, nor any thing in the Constitution, could in the least degree hinder my legislating for the protection of the fugitive slave. Do I not then at this point, where you fancy I am one with the Republican party, differ very widely from it—the Legislature being admitted to represent it? And do I not also at this same point differ as widely from those ‘Jerry Rescuers’ whose votes help make a Republican Legislature? Again, were a fugitive slave seized in Albany, and about to be hurried to the South without a trial, Governor Morgan4 would doubtless be ready to wield the whole military power of the city, if need be, to secure to him what he the Governor would call a ‘fair trial.’ So would Judge Parker,5 were he the Governor: and so would Mr. Burrows,6 were he the Governor. But were I the Governor, I should be ready to wield it not only to save the slave from being hurried away, but also from the degradation and oppression of this ‘fair trial.’ I would no more permit, could I prevent it, the trial in his case of the question whether a man is a man or a chattel—a sublime and sacred immortal or a vulgar commodity—than I would permit it in the case of any one of these three distinguished gentlemen. In a word, I would regard the self-styled Court that should attempt to carry on this trial as a mob, and as much entitled as any other mob to be

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dispersed. Do I not differ then as essentially from the Republican type as I do from the Democratic or Native American? Moreover, these gentlemen, tho’ perhaps admitting the Statute to be unrighteous, would nevertheless all enforce the Fugitive Slave Statute. But I would resist its enforcement. And does not this also prove that my views of law differ from theirs?—I beg you, my dear friend, not to try any further to make it appear that I am after all like the politicians, and am no fanatic. Let my real views of law remain undisguised, even though the world shall continue to call them fanatical. I appreciate your kindness in trying to save my reputation at this point.—But you cannot save it. And so too after all I have written these many years to make plain what I mean by helping the South bear the loss of the abolition of slavery, even you do not understand me! Some people will have it that what I mean by it is to recognize the moral—others the legal right of slaveholding. You place yourself among the latter. I confess that I am well nigh discouraged from all further attempts at making myself understood at this point. Nevertheless I will in a few words undertake it once more. First, Suppose I see one man trying to murder another. I offer the murderer a hundred dollars to desist. He accepts it: and goes away declaring that I admit the right to murder. Would he represent me fairly? Second, Suppose I tell the slaveholders that I will give them all my property, ay and my life too, if they will let my oppressed brethren go free. Is this recognizing the right to hold them in slavery? Surely, no more right is recognized in this case than in the other. I have given many thousand dollars to slaveholders to induce them to liberate their slaves. Is it not absurd to say that my gifts involved the admission of their right to be slaveholders? Third, But am I to be held as recognizing either the moral or legal right of slaveholding because when telling the slaveholders what I would have the nation offer them to induce them to emancipate their slaves, I at the same time admit the connexion of the North with the South in establishing, encouraging, upholding, and continuing slavery; and infer from such connexion that the North is a responsible sharer with the South in the crime of slavery, and is therefore bound to share in the loss of abolishing it? You ask me ‘upon what principle of ethics’ I can associate with slaveholders ‘as gentlemen.’ I confess that it is perhaps not upon principle that I do so. Perhaps it is only through the force of habit—my father having been a slaveholder7 until after I had reached manhood and had formed my

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habits of intercourse with men—my wife having been a slaveholder8 when I married her—and a number of my friends and relatives still being slaveholders. Am I not, in the light of such facts, entitled to a little patience at this point? It is however but justice to myself and to the slaveholder to add, that whilst you and I do from our more favorable stand-point see the criminality of slaveholding, most slaveholders see it very imperfectly, and many do not see it at all—Hence it is not difficult to find a slaveholder who is characterized and adorned with virtues which enter largely into the composition of a gentleman. But, my old friend, if it is a wonder that I can associate with Southern men who are blinded by their education, the greater wonder is that I can associate with Northern pro-slavery men for whom this plea of blindness cannot be made. Your friend, GERRIT SMITH. PLSr: DM, 1:158 (October 1859). 1. DM, 2:150–51 (October 1859). 2. James Rawson Johnson. 3. This phrase appeared in Gerrit Smith’s 27 August 1859 letter to John L. Thomas, declining the invitation to preside over and address the celebration marking the eighth anniversary of the Jerry Rescue in Syracuse, New York. Frothingham, Gerrit Smith, 121–22. 4. Edwin Dennison Morgan. 5. Amasa Junius Parker (1807–90) was a lawyer and educator. From 1823 to 1827, Parker was principal of the Hudson Academy, and though he never attended college, he earned a bachelor of arts degree by examination from Union College. He studied law under his uncle, Amasa Parker, and was admitted to the bar in 1828. Parker practiced law in Delhi, New York, and became an active member of the Democratic party. He served as regent of the State University of New York (1835–44), was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (1837–39), and served as a judge for the third district of the New York Supreme Court (1847–55). He assisted in the foundation of the Albany Law School in 1851. Parker unsuccessfully ran for governor of New York in 1856 and again in 1858. ACAB, 4:649–50; DAB, 14:214–15; BDUSC (online). 6. Lorenzo Burrows (1805–85) was the unsuccessful candidate of the nativist American party for governor of New York in 1858. Born in Connecticut, he settled in Albion, New York, and became a successful merchant. He was elected as a Whig to the U.S. House of Representatives (1849–53). BDUSC (online). 7. Gerrit Smith was the son of Peter Skenandoah Smith (1768–1837) of Dutch extraction. As a partner with John Jacob Astor in fur trading and land speculation, Smith eventually acquired over half a million acres of undeveloped land in upstate New York. In 1806 he established his commercial base at Peterboro, the town he founded in Madison County. Depressed after the death of his wife and increasingly obsessed with religious evangelism, Peter Smith turned his business over to Gerrit in 1819. Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 1–4; Stauffer, Black Hearts of Men, 74–81. 8. From a wealthy slaveholding Maryland family, Ann Carroll Fitzhugh had moved with her family to Rochester, New York, before becoming Gerrit Smith’s second wife at age seventeen in 1822. Stauffer, Black Hearts of Men, 92–94.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO HUGH AULD1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 4 Oct[ober] [1859.]2

Hugh Auld Esq My dear sir. My heart tells me that you are too noble to treat with indifference the request I am about to make. It is twenty years Since I ran[]away from you,3 or rather not from you but from Slavery, and Since then I have often felt a Strong desire to hold a little correspondence with you and to learn Something of the position and prospects of your dear children4 —They were dear to me—and are Still—indeed I feel nothing but kindness for you all—I love you, but hate Slavery. Now my dear Sir, will you favor me by dropping me a line, telling me in what year I came to live with you in Aliceanna st5 the year the Frigate was built by Mr. Beacham6 —The information is not for publication—and Shall not be published— We are all hastening where all distinctions are ended, kindness to the humblest will not be unrewarded[.] Perhaps you have heard that I have Seen Miss Amanda7 that was, Mrs Sears that is, and was treated kindly Such is the fact, Gladly would I see you and Mrs. Auld—or Miss Sopha as I used to call her.8 I could have lived with you during life in freedom though I ran[]away from you so uncerimoniously, I did not know how Soon I might be sold. But I hate to talk about that. A line from you will find me Addressed Fredk Douglass Rochester N. York. I am dear Sir very truly yours. FRED. DOUGLASS ALS: Hall Collection, MdAHR. 1. Born in Talbot County, Maryland, Hugh Auld, Jr., (1799–1861) moved to Baltimore as a young man. There, with his wife Sophia Keithley, he worked as a ship’s carpenter, master shipbuilder, shipyard foreman, and occasionally as a magistrate. Between 1826 and 1833, and again between 1836 and 1838, Douglass lived and worked in their household, lent to them by his owner, Hugh’s brother Thomas. In 1845, incensed by Douglass’s depiction of his family in the Narrative, Hugh Auld bought Douglass from Thomas Auld. According to the Pennsylvania Freeman, Auld was determined to reenslave Douglass and “place him in the cotton fields of the South” if the fugitive ever returned to the United States. In 1846 the British abolitionists Anna and Ellen Richardson raised $711.66 (£150 sterling) from British reformers and offered to buy Douglass’s freedom from Auld. Auld agreed to the sale and signed the manumission papers that made Douglass a free man. Walter Lourie to Ellis Gray Loring, 15 December 1846, reel 1, frame 644; Benjamin F. Auld to Douglass, 11, 27 September 1891, reel 6, frames 240–41, 257–58; Douglass to Benjamin F. Auld, 16 September 1891, reel 6, frames 246–47; J. C. Schaffer to Helen Pitts Douglass, 21 October 1896, reel 8, frames 92–93, all in General Correspondence File, FD Papers, DLC; Talbot County Records, V.60, 35–36, MdTCH (a copy is found on reel 1, frames 637–39, FD Papers, DLC); Hugh Auld Family Genealogical Chart, prepared

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by Carl G. Auld, Ellicott City, Md., 5 June 1976; Pennsylvania Freeman, 26 February 1846; Lib., 6 March 1846; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 81, 84–85, 92, 143, 173–75. 2. Internal evidence leads to the conclusion that this letter was composed in 1859 not 1857, as handwritten on the manuscript. There is no record that Hugh Auld ever responded to Douglass. Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 168. 3. Not until 1881 did Douglass publicly reveal the details of his escape from slavery. On 3 September 1838, he boarded a train bound north from Baltimore. Douglass had borrowed the uniform and seaman’s protection papers of a free black friend in Baltimore. Fortunately for Douglass, the conductor did not check the description in the papers carefully, and several white acquaintances on the train failed to recognize him. After changing trains several times, Douglass reached New York City and freedom. Douglass, “My Escape from Slavery,” Century Magazine, 23:125–31 (November 1881); Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:153–56. 4. Hugh and Sophia Auld had six children. Douglass was sent to Baltimore to act as a companion to the eldest, Thomas “Tommy” Auld (1824–48). The other Auld children were Ann Elizabeth Auld (1826–91), Benjamin Franklin Auld (1828–98), Hugh William Auld (1831–91), Edward H. Auld (1836–?), and Zepporah Frances Auld (1838–72). Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 95, 165–66, 228n. 5. Neither the 1824 nor 1827 Baltimore directories, the only extant directories in this period, list Hugh Auld’s residence. The Baltimore City Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation established that Hugh Auld’s house was on the southeast corner of Aliceanna and Durham, formerly Happy Alley, streets in Fells Point. Contemporary sources spelled the street “Alisanna” (1824) or “Alice Anna” (1827). Matchett’s Baltimore Directory for 1824 (Baltimore, 1824), 343; Matchett’s Baltimore Directory for 1827 (Baltimore, 1827), 1 (street register); Fielding Lucas, Jr., comp., Plan of the City of Baltimore (Baltimore, 1836); Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 223. 6. The firm of J. S. Beacham & Brothers, headed by James Beacham, was a leading builder of the speedy two-masted pilot schooner today remembered as the Baltimore clipper. Built in shipyards in St. Michaels and Baltimore, Beacham ships were sold to customers around the world and made their way into the opium and slave trades as well as more legitimate maritime commerce. Beacham constructed the sixty-four-gun frigate Baltimore at his Fells Point shipyard for the Brazilian navy in 1826. J. Thomas Scharf, History of Baltimore City and County: From the Earliest Period to the Present Day (Philadelphia, 1881), 293; Geoffrey M. Footner, Tidewater Triumph: The Development and Worldwide Success of the Chesapeake Bay Pilot Schooner (Centreville, Md., 1998), 9, 130, 134, 146, 151, 158–59. 7. Born in Hillsborough, Maryland, Arianna Amanda Auld Sears (1826–78) was the only child of Thomas and Lucretia Anthony Auld. In 1826, after her mother’s death and her father’s remarriage, she fell under the charge of her stepmother, Rowena Hambleton Auld. In 1843 she married John L. Sears, a Philadelphia coal merchant, with whom she had four children. The Searses moved to Philadelphia, but returned to Maryland in the early 1860s, settling in Baltimore. Amanda Sears’s childhood acquaintance with Frederick Douglass was reestablished in early October 1859 when he called upon her while on a speaking engagement in Philadelphia. Douglass and Amanda maintained a warm friendship over the years that followed. After her death, in 1878, Amanda’s husband wrote to Douglass, “God bless you for your kindness to her.” John L. Sears to Douglass, 10 January 1878, Thomas E. Sears to Douglass, 1 February 1878, General Correspondence File, reel 3, frames 215–16, 225, FD Papers, DLC; Auld Family Bible (courtesy of Carl G. Auld); New York Herald, 6 September 1866; Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, 6 September 1866; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 30, 106–07, 168–70; Roberts, “Visitation of Western Talbot,” 245. 8. Sophia Keithley Auld (1797–1880) was born in Talbot County, Maryland, to Richard and Hester Keithley. Her parents were poor devout Methodists who held to the antislavery teachings of their church. Before marrying Hugh Auld, she worked as a weaver. Soon after their marriage, the couple moved to Baltimore. Both Douglass and Sophia Auld retained enormous affection for each other long after Douglass had established himself in the North. Douglass tried to visit Auld in Balti-

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more during the Civil War. Years after her death, Auld’s son Benjamin told Douglass, “Mother would always speak in the kindest terms of you, whenever your name was mentioned.” Benjamin F. Auld to Douglass, 11 September 1891, General Correspondence File, reel 6, frame 240, FD Papers, DLC; Baltimore Sun, 5 July 1880; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 87, 165–66, 168.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO SAMUEL P. ALLEN1 Canada West. 31 Oct[ober] 1859.

To the Editor of the Rochester Democrat: I notice that the telegraph makes Mr. Cook,2 (one of the unfortunate insurgents at Harper’s Ferry, and now a prisoner in the hands of the thing calling itself the Government of Virginia, but which in fact is but an organized conspiracy by one party of the people, against the other and weaker,) denounces me as a coward—and to assert that I promised to be present in person at the Harper’s Ferry Insurrection.3 This is certainly a very grave impeachment, whether viewed in its bearings upon friends, or upon foes, and you will not think it strange that I should take a somewhat serious notice of it. Having no acquaintance, whatever, with Mr. Cook, and never having exchanged a word with him about the Harper’s Ferry insurrection, I am disposed to doubt that he could have used the language concerning me, which the wires attribute to him.—The lightning, when speaking for itself, is among the most direct, reliable and truthful of things; but when speaking for the terror stricken slaveholders at Harper’s Ferry, it has been made the swiftest of liars. Under their nimble and trembling fingers, it magnified seventeen men into seven hundred—and has since filled the columns of the New York Herald for days with interminable contradictions.4 But assuming that it has told only the simple truth, as to the sayings of Mr. Cook in this instance, I have this answer to make to my accuser: Mr. Cook may be perfectly right in denouncing me as a coward. I have not one word to say in defense or vindication of my character for courage. I have always been more distinguished for running than fighting—and tried by the Harper’s Ferry insurrection test, I am most miserably deficient in courage—even more so than Cook, when he deserted his brave old captain and fled to the mountains. To this extent, Mr. Cook is entirely right, and will meet no contradiction from me or from anybody else. But wholly, grievously, and most unaccountably wrong is Mr. Cook, when he asserts that I promised to be present in person at the Harper’s Ferry insurrection. Of whatever other imprudence and indiscretion I may have been

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guilty, I have never made a promise so rash and wild as this. The taking of Harper’s Ferry was a measure never encouraged by my word or by my vote, at any time or place; my wisdom or my cowardice, has not only kept me from Harper’s Ferry, but has equally kept me from making any promise to go there. I desire to be quite emphatic here—for of all guilty men, he is the guiltiest who lures his fellow men to an undertaking of this sort, under promise of assistance, which he afterwards fails to render. I therefore declare that there is no man living, and no man dead, who if living, could truthfully say that I ever promised him or anybody else, either conditionally or otherwise, that I would be present in person at the Harper’s Ferry insurrection. My field of labor for the abolition of Slavery has not extended to an attack upon the United States’ arsenal. In the teeth of the documents already published, and of those which may hereafter be published, I affirm that no man connected with that insurrection, from its noble and heroic leader down, can connect my name with a single broken promise of any sort whatever. So much I deem it proper to say negatively. The time for a full statement of what I know, and of all I know, of this desperate but sublimely disinterested effort to emancipate the slaves of Maryland and Virginia, from their cruel task masters, has not yet come, and may never come. In the denial which I have now made, my motive is more a respectful consideration for the opinions of the slave’s friends, than from my fear of being made an accomplice in the general conspiracy against Slavery. I am ever ready to write, speak, publish, organize, combine, and even to conspire against Slavery, when there is a reasonable hope for success. Men who live by robbing their fellow men of their labor and liberty, have forfeited their right to know any thing of the thoughts, feelings or purposes of those whom they rob and plunder. They have by the single act of slaveholding, voluntarily placed themselves beyond the laws of justice and honor, and have become only fitted for companionship with thieves and pirates—the common enemies of God and of all mankind. While it shall be considered right to protect oneself against thieves, burglars, robbers and assassins, and to slay a wild beast in the act of devouring his human prey, it can never be wrong for the imbruted and whipscarred slaves, or their friends, to hunt, harrass and even strike down the traffickers in human flesh.—If any body is disposed to think less of me on account of this sentiment; or because I may have had a knowledge of what was about to occur, and did not assume the base and detestable character of an informer, he is a man whose good or bad opinion of me may be equally repugnant and despicable. Entertaining this sentiment, I may be

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asked, why I did not join John Brown—the noble old hero whose one right hand has shaken the foundation of the American Union, and whose ghost will haunt the bed-chambers of all the born and unborn Slaveholders of Virginia through all their generations, filling them with alarm and consternation! My answer to this has already been given, at least impliedly given. “The tools to those that can use them.”5 Let every man work for the abolition of Slavery in his own way. I would help all, and hinder none. My position in regard to the Harper’s Ferry Insurrection, may be easily inferred from these remarks, and I shall be glad if those papers which have spoken of me in connection with it, would find room for this brief statement. I have no apology for keeping out of the way of those gentlemanly United States Marshals, who are said to have paid Rochester a somewhat protracted visit lately, with a view to an interview with me.6 A government recognizing the validity of the Dred Scott decision, at such a time as this, is not likely to have any very charitable feelings towards me; and if I am to meet its representatives, I prefer to do so, at least, upon equal terms. If I have committed any offense against Society, I have done so on the soil of the State of New York, and I should be perfectly willing there to be arraigned before an impartial jury; but I have quite insuperable objections to being caught by the hands of Mr. Buchanan,7 and “bagged” by Gov. Wise.8 For this appears to be the arrangement.—Buchanan does the fighting and hunting, and Wise “bags” the game. Some reflections may be made upon my leaving on a tour to England, just at this time. I have only to say, that my going to that country has been rather delayed than hastened by the insurrection at Harper’s Ferry. All knew that I had intended to leave here in the first week of November.9 FREDERICK DOUGLASS. PLSr: New York Times, 3 November 1859. Other texts in Rochester Union and Advertiser, 2 November 1859; Toronto Globe, 4 November 1859; Halifax (Eng.) Courier, 3 December 1859. 1. Founded in 1836, the Rochester Democrat was a long-established city paper. It was purchased in 1846 by Alva Strong, Samuel P. Allen, and Henry Strong. By the late 1850s, the paper had morning, triweekly, and weekly editions. In 1857, the Democrat absorbed a rival, the American, and became know as the Rochester Daily Democrat and American and the weekly Monroe Democrat. Under the editorial direction of Allen (1814–?), the Democrat upheld first the Whig and then the Republican party standard in the city. A career journalist, Allen won patronage appointments as clerk of the state senate and collector of internal revenue for Monroe and Orleans counties, New York, as rewards for his political service. The issue of the Democrat publishing Douglass’s letter has not been located, so the oldest complete text from the New York Times has been reproduced. French, Gazetteer of the State of New York, 396; James H. Smith, History of Livingston County, New York: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers (Syracuse, N.Y., 1881), 388;

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Aida DiPace Donald, “The Decline of Whiggery and the Formation of the Republican Party in Rochester, 1848–1856,” RH, 20: 4–5, 15 (July 1958). 2. Born in Haddam, Connecticut, John Edwin Cook (1830–59) studied for a time at Yale University and then worked as a law clerk in Brooklyn, New York. By 1855, Cook had migrated to Kansas and was among the first to volunteer to assist Brown in his plan to raid the South. Brown sent Cook ahead to live in Harpers Ferry for more than a year before the raid. A genial and observant young man, Cook worked as a lock tender, married a local woman, and surreptitiously gathered information about the armory and its watch patrols. Part of the rear guard during the raid, he managed to escape as far north as Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, before being captured. While in jail, he wrote a public confession that implicated several of Brown’s abolitionist supporters, including Douglass, whom Cook accused of failing to bring promised reinforcements for the raid. At his trial, Cook pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he had not been informed of Brown’s true intentions until the time of the attack. After an unsuccessful escape attempt, he was executed on 16 December 1859. Hinton, John Brown, 78–79, 110, 329, 561–64; Oates, To Purge This Land, 218–19, 251–52, 275, 286, 298, 315–16, 328; Villard, John Brown, 307–08, 338, 344, 408, 446–47, 570–73. 3. John Brown led a party of twenty-one men on a raid of Harpers Ferry on 16–17 October 1859. Seven of his followers escaped, but Pennsylvania authorities later captured two of them. Oates, To Purge This Land, 299–309, 324–27, 34–52. 4. John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry caused considerable confusion in the Northern press and led to many inaccurate reports on the number and methods of Brown and his men. The New York Herald emphasized that the raid was “led by white men,” and greatly exaggerated the number of men involved in the raid. According to the Herald, there were “several hundred negros” involved in the fighting, and escaped slaves would then reinforce this number. Before U.S. military forces recaptured the arsenal, the Herald reported that there were enough men at Harpers Ferry to threaten Washington and that the city was erecting fortifications in preparation of such an attack in the next few days. New York Herald, 18, 20 October 1859. 5. This expression is commonly attributed to the English writer Thomas Carlyle. Steven Marcus, “Conceptions of the Self in an Age of Progress,” in Progress and Its Discontents, ed. Gabriel A. Almond, Marvin Chodorow and Roy Harvey Pearce, (Berkeley, Calif., 1992), 437. 6. Governor Henry A. Wise of Virginia requested federal help in apprehending Douglass, and federal officials visited Rochester, reportedly to seize Douglass. DM, 2:162–63 (November 1859); Quarles, Allies for Freedom, 114–15; idem, Frederick Douglass, 178–85. 7. President James Buchanan. 8. Henry Alexander Wise (1806–76), governor of Virginia from 1856 to 1860, graduated from Washington College in Pennsylvania, studied law under the famed jurist Henry St. George Tucker, and briefly practiced law in Nashville, Tennessee, before entering Virginia politics as a Jacksonian Democrat and opponent of nullification. Serving in Congress from 1833 to 1844, he attracted considerable notoriety for his impassioned defense of slavery and Southern rights. Wise switched allegiances for a time to the Whig party, supporting the Harrison-Tyler presidential campaign of 1840, and served as ambassador to Brazil in the Tyler administration. During the 1850s, Wise, again a Democrat, successfully opposed Know-Nothingism in Virginia, arguing in part that the new party harbored antislavery sentiments. As governor, Wise reacted zealously to John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry and desired particularly to implicate Douglass. He requested that President Buchanan hire two Virginia detectives as special federal agents to capture Douglass and deliver him to Virginia authorities. Even after Douglass left the United States, Wise employed a detective “to find out the whereabouts of the Negro Frederick Douglass and keep an eye on his movements and associates.” The Northern press reported that a group of prominent Southerners, including Wise, had offered $50,000 for Douglass’s capture. After his term as governor, Wise served as a delegate to the Washington Peace Convention of 1861 and as a general in the Confederate army. Douglass to the editor of the Rochester Democrat (and American), 31 October 1859, in Montreal Daily Transcript, 5 November 1859; DM, 2:162–63 (November 1859); Lib., 23 December 1859; FDP, 5 January 1860; Barton H.

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Wise, The Life of Henry A. Wise of Virginia, 1806–1876 (New York, 1899); Quarles, Frederick Douglass, 180–85; idem, Allies for Freedom, 115; ACAB, 6:579–80; DAB, 20:423–25. 9. On 12 November 1859, Douglass took passage from Quebec on board the steamer Nova Scotian of the Allan Line, disembarking at Liverpool, England, on 24 November 1859. New York Herald, 15 November 1859.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO MARIA LAMB WEBB1 Halifax[,] Yorkshire[, Eng.]. 30 November 1859[.]

Maria Webb My dear Friend: I am not unmindful of your kind note2 received just before leaving america—in wh[ic]h you kindly welcome me to your dear home when it may be my good fortune to come to Dublin, as I cirtainly hope it will be. You have of course heard of the circumstances under which I was left no alternative but to leave the states or be implicated with John Brown—and perhaps, share his fate. I find here, as in America, some misapprehension as to my relation to that brave and I believe good man. My letter,3 published in reply to the sayings of Mr Cook,4 published in the American papers did much to set me right before the American people and I have no doubt will do much in the same direction here. You will have probably met with this letter—and will, I am sure, be glad that I am able to deny any part of the charges brought against me in connection with the Harpers Ferry Affair. I went to Canada after the troubles at Harpers Ferry, because I had reason to know that measures were in progress to carry me into Virginia—and even if the Courts of that Slave State Should acquit me, as they would not have been very likely to do—I could never hope to get out of that State alive. If they did not kill me for being concerned with Dear Old Brown they would have done so—for my being Frederick Douglass— My friends here are doing their utmost to counter act the influence of the false Statements of Cook which have found their way into some of the English papers—and to bring me well before the people of Yorkshire. What constant trouble do I give my friends? I hope to justify their kind Solicitude in the end. My good friends Mrs Crofts5—and the Doctor6 have made me welcome to a home with them while I Stay in the Country. Julia is the Same Zealous, active and untiring worker that She ever was—and you may well suppose that our meeting was a joyous one—I am to lecture here next Wednesday night7—under the auspices of the Halifax Ladies

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Anti Slavery Soc: 8James Stansfield M.P.9 is to take the Chair. Hoping to See you ere many months— I am, with love to your Dear Husband10 and household Your every grateful friend FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: Scrapbook of Maria Webb, Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History. 1. Born in Northern Ireland, the Quaker Maria Lamb Webb (1804–73) was the corresponding secretary of the Belfast Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society in the 1840s. She exchanged letters with many American abolitionists, including Douglass. She was a cousin of Richard D. Webb, but became a vocal critic of the Garrisonian wing of abolitionism. Her husband, William Webb, relocated the family to Dublin in the late 1840s to work for his brother-in-law Richard Allen, a textile merchant and prominent Irish abolitionist. Although her health declined to the point that she had become housebound by 1860, she authored several well-received works on Quaker genealogy. 1847 Mail Book of the North Star, Financial Papers File, reel 29, frame 399, FD Papers, DLC; Friends’ Review: A Religious, Literary and Miscellaneous Journal, 27:747 (June 1874) 27:754–55 (July 1874), 29:440 (February 1876); Douglas C. Raich, “Richard Davis Webb and Antislavery in Ireland,” in Antislavery Reconsidered: New Perspectives on the Abolitionists, ed. Lewis Perry and Michael Fellman (Baton Rouge, La., 1979), 159; Legg, Alfred Webb, 83; Taylor, British and American Abolitionists, 297; ODNB (Online). 2. Webb’s letter to Douglass has not survived. 3. Douglass alludes to his letter of 31 October 1859 to the editor of the Rochester Democrat, which appears earlier in this volume. 4. John Edwin Cook. 5. In 1859, Julia Griffiths married the Methodist clergyman Henry O. Crofts. The couple settled in Halifax, a town in Yorkshire. As was customary for Methodist clergy, Crofts and his family traveled from parsonage to parsonage in northern England for nearly twenty years. Douglass addressed this letter to Salem Parsonage, most likely the residence of Henry and Julia Crofts at this time. McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 182, 203; Frank E. Fee, Jr., “To No One More Indebted: Frederick Douglass and Julia Griffiths, 1849–63,” Journalism History, 35:22 (Spring 2011). 6. Henry O. Crofts (c. 1813–1880), an ordained minister in the Methodist Church, served as a missionary in eastern Canada. Crofts arrived in Canada in 1842 and moved to Montreal the following year, heading several missions in the region. He later served as superintendent of missions for eastern Canada before returning to England in 1852. Crofts’s first marriage, to Saley Ann Bucknell, ended with her death in 1854. Crofts married Julia Griffiths in 1859 and continued to serve as a member of Methodist missionary organizations until his death. Nottinghamshire Guardian, 25 May 1854; Colchester (Eng.) Essex Standard, West Suffolk Gazette, and Eastern Counties’ Advertiser, 31 January 1880; Hilary M. Carey, God’s Empire: Religion and Colonization in the British World, c. 1801–1908 (Cambridge, Eng., 2011), 186; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 203. 7. On 7 December 1859, two weeks after his arrival in England, Douglass spoke to a large audience at Mechanics’ Hall in Halifax. Eight other British reformers addressed the meeting, including Henry O. Crofts. At the conclusion of his address, the audience passed a resolution welcoming Douglass to England. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:276. 8. Founded by Julia Griffiths in 1857 as a vehicle to support Douglass by raising funds and collecting items to sell at antislavery bazaars in Rochester, the Halifax Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society sponsored Douglass’s public address at Mechanics’ Hall. Halifax Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, Third Annual Report of the Halifax Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, March 1860 (Halifax, Eng., 1860), 1; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxx–xxxi, 276–300, 613–14; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 1:31. 9. James Stansfield (1820–98), the son of a prominent Halifax lawyer and jurist, graduated from London University in 1844 and soon after entered the legal profession. A Unitarian and a supporter

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of numerous radical causes, including women’s rights, abolitionism, and Italian unification, he was elected to represent Halifax in Parliament in 1859; he held his seat for the next thirty-nine years. He held minor offices in the governments of Lord Palmerston and Gladstone and was an outspoken supporter of Irish Home Rule. The Annual Register: A Review of Public Events at Home and Abroad for the Year 1898 (London, 1899), Part 2:143–44; DNB, 22:1224–25. 10. William Webb married Maria Lamb in 1828, and the couple settled in Belfast. The family eventually included six children. Webb was both a business partner in Richard Allen’s textile firm and an active member of the Dublin Anti-Slavery Society. American Anti-Slavery Society, Letter to Kossuth, 107; Legg, Alfred Webb, 83.

ROSETTA DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Rochester[, N.Y.] 6 Dec[ember] 1859.

My Dear Father Nearly two weeks have past since I wrote you last.—I think my letter will have reached you in a week from this date. I have just written a letter to Miss Assing1 since in reply to one I received from her dated Nov. 26th. The Virginia [illegible] have murdered our Hero he [illegible] his fate like a brave and good man as he was. If any one even doubted Capt. Brown’s bravery they cannot help now in feeling assured that they were mistaken in their doubt. The last letter to his wife and family is touching, and cannot fail to draw tears from the eyes of the reader. The letter is full of a Christians hope and wishes. Corinthian hall was draped in mourning last friday evening and a meeting in sympathy with Capt. Brown was held between two and three hundred assembled as [illegible] audience for Rochester.2 The flag, which was also draped in mourning hung [illegible] floating in the breeze and attracting the attention of the passers by. I felt certain that a full house would be the result. Mr. Pryne3 spoke ably, he has no style scarcely, he thunders away quite loud and suddenly his voice lowers to an ordinary pitch. Parker Pillsbury4 spoke after Mr. Payne he was very sarcastic in his remarks5 and several left the hall, he thinks Brown a greater man than Washington,6 that idea did not please the reporters at all and the next day the city papers criticized his speech severely.7 I saw Banclay Coppic8 last thursday he is quite young and is suffering from a bad cold which has settled in his lungs the result of his exposure in the mountains. He looked very much haggard. Last week a young man was arrested at Charlestown supposing him to be Banclay Coppic he now lies in their jail. [illegible] and I heard Dr. George B. Windship9 on “Physical Culture” last thursday , uncanny he performed the wonderful feat of

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lifting with his hands 904 pounds of nails in kegs, besides putting a barrel of 214 pounds on his shoulder, he is a strong man certainly very young and weighing himself 148 lbs. His lecture was most much. Annie10 attends school regularly she is the favorite of her grammar teacher he says she is the best student he has. Mrs. Prinson has written to me she is pleased with the paper and thinks the allowing Mr. Payne the editorship could not be improved. Every one that I have seen who takes the paper are pleased with the manner in which it is conducted in your absence. Annie [illegible] a part of the [illegible] page she writes daily in her English writing book and intends to astonish you with her advance in penmanship. The ground is white with snow around us and winter has come in grand earnest. Gerrit Smith is improving fast and will son be able to go to his family if he has not already gone. Every Affectious Yours ROSETTA DOUGLASS ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 32, frames 4–5, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Ottilie Assing. 2. After the court assigned John Brown’s execution date, 2 December 1859, Parker Pillsbury requested Susan B. Anthony’s assistance to secure Rochester’s Corinthian Hall for a meeting the same night. Though many abolitionists lived in Rochester and the surrounding areas, only 300 came to mourn Brown and listen to several addresses. The Reverend Abram Pryne, acting editor of Douglass’ Monthly in its owner’s absence abroad, and Parker Pillsbury spoke in praise of Brown and the cause of abolition. Several newspapers throughout the state of New York reported the meeting. Genesee County Herald, 10 December 1859; Harper, Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony, 1:119. 3. Abram Pryne. 4. Parker Pillsbury (1809–98), an outspoken abolitionist orator, editor, and author, proved more demanding than Garrison himself regarding the necessity of purifying abolitionism of all tendencies toward compromise and expediency. An interest in theology and temperance led this onetime farmer to study at New Hampshire’s Gilmanton Theological Seminary. During an additional year of study at Andover, he made the acquaintance of John A. Collins, who exposed Pillsbury to the abolitionist movement. By 1840, his sharp attacks on the complicity of churches with slavery had led to the revocation of his license to preach. For the next two decades, Pillsbury lectured for the New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and American Anti-Slavery societies. He edited the Concord (N.H.) Herald of Freedom during the late 1840s and the National Anti-Slavery Standard in 1866. During the Civil War, Pillsbury criticized Union war aims, especially before the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. In 1865 he broke with Garrison over the necessity for continued activity by the American Anti-Slavery Society. After the war, Pillsbury became active in the woman suffrage movement and the Free Religious Association. Stacey M. Robertson, Parker Pillsbury: Radical Abolitionist, Male Feminist (Ithaca, N.Y., 2000); Mabee, Black Freedom, 112, 221–23, 329; McPherson, Struggle for Equality, 59–60, 100–102, 305–07; Louis Filler “Parker Pillsbury: An Anti-Slavery Apostle,” New England Quarterly, 19:315–37 (September 1946); DAB, 14:608–09.

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5. Pillsbury’s address praised John Brown and defended his violent actions at Harpers Ferry. Susan B. Anthony recalled Pillsbury’s address fondly and stated that he “spoke as never before” in Brown’s defense. Samuel D. Porter, also in attendance, recalled that the event was the “only occasion that matched Pillsbury’s adjectives.” Genesee County Herald, 10 December 1859; Harper, Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony, 1:119; Thirteenth Biennial Report of the Board of Directors of the Kansas State Historical Society (Topeka, Kans., 1902), 35. 6. The most controversial remark in Pillsbury’s speech was his comparison of John Brown with George Washington. Pillsbury stated that Brown had done more for liberty by his “sacrifice” than any of the founders. He concluded that Brown was “greater than they.” Pillsbury’s comparison is not surprising; he had compared Brown to Oliver Cromwell in a meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in February 1859, and to Kosciusko and Lafayette in Manchester, New Hampshire, on 28 November 1859. Lib., 2 December 1859; New York Evening Express, 6 December 1859; Bertram Wyatt Brown, “William Lloyd Garrison and Anti-Slavery Unity: A Reappraisal,” Civil War History, 13:18 (March 1967). 7. Pillsbury’s speech on the night of Brown’s execution drew instant criticism from newspapers throughout New York. Pillsbury was denounced for his defense of Brown, and several newspapers continued their criticism into 1860. They believed that only peaceful measures could bring emancipation. Pillsbury’s comparison of Brown and Washington drew the most criticism. Under the title of “The Memory of Washington Insulted,” the New York Evening Express assailed Pillsbury’s speech. The Express argued that according to Pillsbury, “traitors, insurgents, and murderers were greater than Washington.” New York Evening Express, 6 December 1859; New York Daily Union, 2 February 1860. 8. One of the five followers of John Brown to evade capture after the failure of the Harpers Ferry raid, Barclay Coppoc (1839–61), whose brother Edwin was captured in the raid and later executed, migrated to Kansas from his native Ohio in 1856. Coppoc fled to western Pennsylvania, where he parted company with other escapees and eventually made his way to safety in Iowa. He died while serving in a Kansas regiment early in the Civil War. Hinton, John Brown, 539–41; John R. McKivigan, “His Soul Goes Marching On: The Story of John Brown’s Followers after the Harpers Ferry Raid,” in Antislavery Violence: Sectional, Racial, and Cultural Conflict in Antebellum America, eds. John R. McKivigan and Stanley Harrold (Knoxville, Tenn., 1999), 276, 278, 280. 9. Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, George Barker Windship (1834–76) graduated from Harvard College. As a freshman, he was frequently tormented for his small stature, so he began practicing gymnastics in order to strengthen his body. After completing his undergraduate degree, Windship was introduced to weightlifting while seeking employment in acting. His father convinced him to return to Harvard Medical School. Upon graduation, he preached the importance of “physical culture” while touring the Midwest, Northeast, and parts of Canada. Windship combined his medical office with a gymnasium in hopes of inducing his patients to train in weightlifting. He patented several strength-training devices and continued to practice physical fitness until his early death at the age of forty-two. Critics attributed his death to weightlifting. Through his work, Windship influenced many later physical culture programs, including ones organized by the Young Men’s Christian Association. David L. Porter, ed., Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: Basketball and Other Indoor Sports, (Westport, Conn., 1989), 633–34; ACAB, 6:562. 10. Annie Douglass.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO HELEN DONCASTER1 Halifax[, Eng.] 7 Dec[ember] 1859.

Helen Doncaster. Secy- Sheffield A. S. S. My dear Friend, Having, for the moment, very much upon my hands, I cannot go fully into the question of the right of an enslaved people to gain their freedom by a resort to force. Nor indeed is it necessary that I should—I can, however, at once, give you the assurance that my advocacy of the cause of the Slave in England has no reference whatever to any plan or purpose involving a resort to arms, for the liberation of my Brothers & Sisters in bondage Slavery. My Mission is wholly peaceful. On that point you may feel wholly at rest. On the subject of Harper’s Ferry, I can be equally explicit—I neither took part in that transaction no counselled the taking it, but opposed the measure as fraught only with disaster and ruin, to the main object of the enterprize, which was to run off Slaves into the mountains, and into Canada where they could protect and defend themselves. I do hope that a difference of opinion on any one point will not defeat our co-operating against Slavery at other points where we agree; but of that you must judge, the liberties of England are bulwarked about by ten thousand cannon[.] The Slave is a victim of a constant insurrection, by which his blood is drawn out drop by drop! It may not be altogether impartial to lay down the rule of submission to him, too sternly—especially since he has submitted already two hundred years—First pure, then peaceable. Very truly & gratefully your friend, FREDERICK DOUGLASS— ALS: John Rylands Library, Manchester, Eng. 1. Helen Doncaster was the first secretary of the Sheffield Female Anti-Slavery Society after its revival in 1857. She took over as secretary when the original secretary, Mary Anne Rawson, was elected president. Doncaster was active in other social reforms; she was a member of the Sheffield Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and joined the temperance movement in the latter half of the nineteenth century. BFASR, 5:77 (April 1857); Sheffield and Rotherham (Eng.) Independent, 6 May 1871, 8 December 1876, 3 October 1882.

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ANNIE DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Rochester[, N.Y.] 7 Dec[ember] 1859.

My Dear Father I am proceeding in my german very well for my teacher says so.1 I am in the first reader and I can read. I expect that you will have a german letter from me in a very Short time. I have learned another piece: and it is an Anti Slavery I am going to speak it in school. my piece is this. O he is not the man for me Who buys or Sells a slave Nor he who will not set him free But send him to his grave But he whose noble heart beats warm For all men’s llife and liberty Who loves alike each human form O that’s the man for me It is in the Garland of Freedom2 and for four verses of it. My letter will not be very long. Poor Mr. Brown is dead. That hard hearted man said he must die, and they took him in and open field and about a half mile from the Jail and hung him.3 The german children like me very much but I have gone a head of them and they have been there longer than me too. They all send their love. From your affectionate Daughter ANNIE DOUGLASS.

[P.S.] [illegible illegible illegible illegible] ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 32, frames 5–6, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Annie Douglass attended Public School 13 in Rochester from 1857 until her death in 1859. Initially known as the Munger School, it opened in 1842 and operated out of rented rooms on South St. Paul Street. The school moved once its first building was erected in 1843. Two years later, it was remodeled, enlarged, and renamed in honor of Horace Mann. The school was known locally as the “German school” because so many of its students were drawn from Rochester’s German immigrant community. George W. Elliott, ed., Municipal Manual of Rochester and Register of Monroe County (Rochester, 1887), 93; William F. Peck, Semi-Centennial History of the City of Rochester (Syracuse, N.Y., 1884), 325; Rose O’Keefe, Rochester’s South Wedge (Chicago, 2005), 63. 2. The lines are taken from a poem called “The Man for Me.” Penned by an unknown author, the poem first appeared in William Wells Brown’s collection of antislavery songs, The Anti-Slavery Harp (1848), where it was set to the tune of the hymn “The Rose that all are Praising.” In 1853 it was included in the second volume of Wilson Armistead’s The Garland of Freedom. William Wells Brown, comp., The Anti-Slavery Harp: A Collection of Songs for Anti-Slavery Meetings (Boston, 1848), 33–34; Wilson Armistead, comp., The Garland of Freedom: A Collection of Poems, Chiefly AntiSlavery. Selected from Various Authors by a Friend of the Negro, 3 vols. (London, 1853), 2:27–28.

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3. Annie is commenting on the death of John Brown, who was hanged two days earlier, on 2 December 1859, in Charlestown, Virginia. The “hard hearted man” is probably a reference to the governor of Virginia, Henry A. Wise, who had ordered her father’s arrest (thus starting the chain of events that had led to Douglass’s flight to England) and refused to stay Brown’s execution. Oates, To Purge This Land, 314, 334–35, 349–51.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO ELIHU BURRITT1 [n.p.] 31 December 1859.

To the Editor of the Bond of Brotherhood. 2 Dear Sir,— A good friend, both of the cause of peace and of anti-slavery, has called my attention to an article over your initials in the “Bond of Brotherhood” for the month of December, entitled “Physical Force Abolition,”3 in which my present visit to England (much to my surprise) is set forth in a most unfavourable light. In reading that article, I was made painfully to realize that a writer may easily, under the powerful influence of a particular feeling, bias, or prejudice, so state a simple truth, as to make it answer all the malign purposes of a positive untruth. One may, without in the least intending it, under such circumstances, so state a fact, as to convey a complete misrepresentation of its natural import—and this, I think, you have done in the article referred to. I have no controversy with you, for the present, on the general question of the right of an enslaved people to gain their liberty, if they can, by means of physical force. That question is in no way, shape, or form, involved in my anti-slavery labours here; my mission to England is purely a moral, peaceable, and philanthropic one, and should be allowed, especially by th[e] friends of peace, to stand upon its own merits. All sensible men can see that the kind of aid to the anti-slavery cause, which it might be proper to employ in the United States, would be quite inappropriate to solicit in England. I have, however, to call your attention especially to the following extracts from the article in question, and to beg the privilege of a brief reply. You say, speaking of the Harper’s Ferry Insurrection— “Other names have become implicated in this sorrowful affair—some, we believe, who would never knowingly have promoted bloodshed between the slave and his oppressor. Garrett Smith, for example, is surely too true a peaceman to have countenanced an insurrectionary movement on the part of the American Abolitionists. In Frederick Douglas’s case, we fear, a heavier responsibility attaches to the line of advocacy in which he has indulged. He has not scrupled in his pages openly to advocate the right of

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shedding blood in order to emancipate the slaves. He has sought safety in flight, and writes apologetically of the course he has pursued. He leaves his friend, John Brown, to the halter, and comes to England to lecture, but to receive, as we hope, no support or sympathy in his advocacy of physical force abolition. Far be it from us to attempt to asperse a man who has done so much for the cause of freedom, but we cannot withhold the expression of our deep regret, that such a mind should ever have yielded to the seductive influence of the evil spirit of Armed Force, and that his pen should ever have contributed to precipitate the doom of such men as brave old John Brown.” Now, Mr. Editor, without accusing you of any desire whatever to asperse me, it would be difficult, in the same number of lines, to convey an idea of a deeper villany than is attributed to me in the quotations above cited. I utterly and with every emphasis deny the justice of your entire impeachment; I deny the heavy responsibility you attach to me; I deny that I left my friend, John Brown, to the halter; I deny that I came to England to advocate Physical Force Abolition; I deny having precipitated the doom of such men as brave old Brown. Your article accuses me of all this, and more, and I meet your charges with unqualified denial. While sympathising deeply with John Brown in his noble and heroic determination to deliver my heart-broken people from the chains of slavery, it was well known to that brave old man, while he lived, that I was earnestly, and to the last opposed to the particular measure, the taking of Harper’s Ferry, which resulted in disaster to himself and the whole enterprise. So far from ever having urged the noble old man, whose martyred blood will never cease to cry from the ground against American slavery, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I exhausted my powers of persuasion against the adoption of the measure which defeated all his beneficent aims and ends. In view of this fact, you must pardon in me a feeling of indignation when I see myself charged by so respectable a man as yourself, with having precipitated the doom of John Brown. I marvel that you should speak of my promoting bloodshed between the slave and his oppressor in such a way as will be well received by every slave master in America. Why should you be more shocked by the shedding of the slaveholder’s blood, than that of his victims? Is the peace for which you contend a peace only for the oppressors and enslavers of men? Are you not aware that slavery is itself a system of war and bloodshed from beginning to end? Are not the slaveholders an armed band of insurgents against the just rights of mankind? Is there any real peace to be broken in the slave states? I affirm that there is not a day in any year, not an hour in any day, not a minute in

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any hour, that the blood of the negro does not gush forth at the call of the scourge, or of some other terrible instrument of torture or of death. To me and, I doubt not, to you, the blood of the slave is as precious as the blood of the master, and this wholesale blood shedding on the part of the tyrants, is the grand violation of the peace principles, which should call down your rigorous reprehension. I have no heart for the shedding of blood in any way, but believing the justice of God, and the wisdom with which that justice stands vindicated in the history of the world, I would far rather see the slaveholder reaping the destructive consequences of his crimes, than that cruelty, robbery, and murder should flourish by the peaceful submission of their victims. A glorious holiday may tyrants have, if it were determined in the courts of heaven that they should have nothing to fear from the power and skill of their down-trodden slaves! I am a man of peace, but I have “no peace for the wicked.” 4 No truer word was ever spoken than that there can be no peace where there is oppression. He who does most to establish justice in the world, does most to establish peace in the world. You charge me with leaving “John Brown to the halter.” This is a most cruel statement—it implies the basest treachery. It implies that I was with John Brown—had the power to succor John Brown—had actually led John Brown to the ignominious doom of the gallows, and shamelessly deserted him. A man guilty of such treachery, a thousand lashes with a whip of scorpions would be too lenient a punishment. What would you have me do after the failure of the Harper’s Ferry affair, and John Brown was in the hands of his enemies? Would you have had me leave my home in the State of New York, and give myself up to the vengeance of the alarmed tyrants? And if so, what benefit do you suppose such a course would have conferred on John Brown? I was not at Harper’s Ferry—never promised to be at Harper’s Ferry—and counselled against the taking of Harper’s Ferry; and how, in the name of common sense, can any man accuse me of having left Brown to the halter? My dear sir, you must certainly know that I was engaged to come to England during this season, more than a year ago, and that I should have come here had the Harper’s Ferry affair never taken place, and had there been no attempt to implicate me in that enterprise. In justice to the cause of peace and humanity, in which, I trust, you and I are co-workers, I submit the foregoing for publication in your forthcoming number. FREDERICK DOUGLASS.

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PLSr: (London) Bond of Brotherhood, new series 114:1–3 (January 1860). 1. Elihu Burritt (1810–79), the “learned blacksmith,” taught himself several languages and sciences while working in a smithy. Born into poverty in New Britain, Connecticut, Burritt made a career of advocating pacifism, temperance, cheap international postage, and abolitionism. A tireless champion of world peace, Burritt joined the American Peace Society in the early 1840s and went to England in 1846, where he formed the League of Universal Brotherhood, disseminated peace propaganda through his “Olive Leaf Mission,” and helped organize two international peace congresses. Opposed to the Civil War because of his pacifism, Burritt determined to undermine slavery by boycotting slave-grown produce, and he later urged schemes for compensated emancipation. During his career, he edited several reform newspapers, the most notable being the Christian Citizen (1844–51). Elihu Burritt, The Learned Blacksmith: The Letters and Journals of Elihu Burritt, ed. Merle E. Curti (New York, 1937); Peter Tolis, Elihu Burritt, Crusader for Brotherhood (Hamden, Conn., 1968); George Shepperson, “The Free Church and American Slavery,” Scottish Historical Review, 30:133 (October 1951); DAB, 3:328. 2. Elihu Burritt started the Bond of Brotherhood (1846–66) as the principal organ of the League of Universal Brotherhood. It was published in England and distributed in the United States, and Burritt invited English and American authors to contribute to it. Although Burritt initially focused on articles preaching peace, he later incorporated pieces advocating abolitionism, temperance, and social reform. Burritt remained editor from 1846 to 1865, when he was appointed consul in Birmingham, England; he turned over editorial duties to his English friend Edmund Fry. After Fry’s death, Burritt resumed his position as editor and changed the periodical’s name to Fireside Words. Bond of Brotherhood (August 1846): 1–14, (December 1865): 578, 586; Charles Northend, ed., Elihu Burritt; A Memorial Volume Containing a Sketch of his Life and Labors, with Selections from his Writings and Lectures, and Extracts from his Private Journals in Europe and America (New York, 1879), 154–55. 3. After John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, several abolitionist journals praised Brown and defended the use of violence to end slavery. Burritt took exception and argued that abolitionism “would be grievously sullied” by a resort to violence. Burritt condemned Brown’s brutal methods, but praised his willingness to suffer for abolitionism. Burritt stated that Brown’s words were a far greater asset to the cause of abolition than his actions at Harpers Ferry. Bond of Brotherhood, new series 113:264–65 (December 1859). 4. Isa. 48:22.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO MARIA G. PORTER Halifax[, Eng.] 11 Jan[uary] 1860[.]

Miss Maria G. Porter My dear Miss Porter: You know that I never call upon you but when in trouble either with fugitives or with the paper. Listen to me once more: I am now three 3000 miles1 from Canal street,2 my unfailing resort in the hour of need—many reasons might be given why it is not as other times, but let that pass, for a friend in deed need is a friend indeed3—and such I have always found you to be, both to mySelf and the paper wh[ic]h I have endeavoured thus long to keep in the Service of the slave and of the free colored people. Well, I am convinced that the paper was never more needed than now—and

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it was never better deserving support than Since Mr Pryne4 has become its Editor. He is an able man, and what is better Still, he is an honest man. You see just what is coming. I have news from my Son5 that despite all efforts to collect from Subscribers the paper still runs Short of Supporting itself—and greatly needs aid from its friends independent of the Subscription list. Now considering the relation Sustained to the Rochester Ladies Antislavery Association6 the paper—and the understanding that the friends of the Cause have here of the friendliness of the two Institutions—and in view of the fact that the Society holds in its hands funds from this side the water—wh[ic]h can be the better increased when it is known that besides helping fugitives on their way to Canada, and holding Anti Slavery meetings and Causing anti slavery addresses to be delivered in Corinthian Hall it also greatly aids in the publication of an Anti Slavery Journal in the city of Rochester. The point of all this is: I beg that you will, with your kind coworker Mrs Barnes,7 move the Rochester Ladies Antislavery society to donate the sum of one hundred dollars—towards the support of my paper—and that you will make the same payable to my son Lewis—in whose honest appropriation of it I have the fullest Confidence. I have not yet gotten very well a going in my Antislavery Labour—but the prospect begins to brighten a little. The holidays mean a little more here than with us. The week before Christmas and the two weeks succeeding it are weeks of constant party going—and visiting—and John Bull,8 will not even allow his antislavery stand between him and his roast beef and his plum pudding. He is however now—becoming far less intent upon the bread that perisheth and gives me an occasional invitation to talk to him on slavery all of which I improve with right good relish. In a note to Mrs Crofts9—Mrs Barnes ventures the opinion that I can now with Safety return to Rochester. So indeed it would Seem if the Shedding of the blood of the noble old Brown—and his four companions10 —could satisfy the alarmed and enraged tyrants of Virginia. But there is no satisfying any such vengeance. While there is the chance of Summoning me as a witness in the trial—of poor Stephens11 and Hazlett12—by the United States Court it will not be Safe for me to come to Rochester. Please remember me very kindly to Miss Jane, Elmira13—and to your Dear Mother and Father.14 I Wish them and yourself—a happy new year— Very Sincerely your grateful friend FREDERICK DOUGLASS—

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ALS: Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society Papers, MiU-C. 1. Douglass spent most of December 1859, including Christmas, and January 1860 at Salem Parsonage, the home of the Reverend Henry and Julia Griffiths Crofts in Halifax, Yorkshire, England. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:276–77; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 203. 2. Maria G. Porter, along with members of her family, resided at 12 Canal Street in Rochester, New York, for over twenty years. Rochester Daily Union Annual City Directory, for 1859 (Rochester, 1859), 222; The Rochester Directory, Containing a General Directory of the Citizens, 304. 3. Probably first used in literature in the ancient Roman play by Titus Maccius Plautus: Epidicus, act 3, sc. 3, line 44. John Bartlett, Familiar Quotations: A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature, 17th ed. (1855; Boston, 2002), 86. 4. Abram Pryne. 5. During Douglass’s absence, he seems to have placed his son Lewis in charge of all the paper’s business affairs. Indeed, in February 1860, Frederick Douglass’ Paper published a “Prospectus” for the year that included the terms under which the paper could be subscribed to and the instruction that all “communications, whether on business or for publication, should be addressed to Lewis H. Douglass.” FDP, 17 February 1860. 6. In 1850, Julia Griffiths reorganized the Rochester Female Anti-Slavery Society, which had remained little more than a social club since its formation in 1835, into the Rochester Ladies’ AntiSlavery Society. Composed of both a sewing circle and an antislavery association, the society advocated faith in established churches and “morally self conscious politics,” thereby discouraging Garrisonian women from joining. Although the new organization never numbered more than twenty-five members, the group proved remarkably successful at fund-raising meant to assist Douglass. Maria G. Porter and her younger sisters, Almira and Mary Jane, were founding members of the group, and their sister-in-law, Susan Farley Porter, served as the society’s first president. FDP, 4 September 1852; Douglass Papers, ser. 3, 1:487–88; Hewitt, Women’s Activism and Social Change, 150–52. 7. “Mrs. Barnes” refers to Anna Mott Cornell Barnes (1824–72) of Rochester, New York. Barnes visited the Rochester area with her grandmother Anne Mott and married Aaron Barnes (1819–48) in 1847. Following her husband’s death, Anna Barnes joined the Rochester Ladies’ AntiSlavery Society and was elected co-secretary; she continued to live in Rochester for several years. She became a constant travel companion of Anne Mott until the latter’s death in 1852. Barnes would sometimes sign her name “A.M.C. Barnes” on official reports for the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. Twelfth Annual Report of the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society (Rochester, 1863), 5; Thomas C. Cornell, Adam and Anne Mott: Their Ancestors and their Descendants (Poughkeepsie, N.Y., 1890), 189–90, 192, 198. 8. John Bull, a character reputed to typify the English nation, was first popularized in John Arbuthnot, The History of John Bull (London, 1714). F. P. Wilson, ed., The Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs, 3d. ed. (Oxford, Eng., 1970), 412–13. 9. Julia Griffiths Crofts. 10. Virginia authorities hanged John Brown on 2 December 1859. Two weeks later, four other captured Harpers Ferry raiders were similarly executed: John Edwin Cook; Shields Green (c. 1834– 59), actually Esau Brown, an escaped slave from Charleston, South Carolina, who had conducted a house-cleaning business in Rochester, where Douglass had introduced him to Brown; Edwin Coppoc (1835–59), an Ohio-born and Quaker-bred youth who had first met Brown in Iowa; and John A. Copeland (c. 1835–59), a young black man from Oberlin, Ohio. Virginia executed the two blacks and two whites separately. Hinton, John Brown, 487–91, 508–11, 561–64; Oates, To Purge This Land, 218–19, 251–52, 275, 286, 298, 315–16, 328. 11. Among John Brown’s followers at Harpers Ferry, Aaron Dwight Stevens (1831–60) possessed, by far, the greatest amount of military experience. Born in Lisbon, Connecticut, Stevens joined a Massachusetts volunteer regiment at age sixteen and fought in the Mexican War. After returning to Connecticut for a few years, he enlisted in the U.S. Army dragoons in 1851 and saw service on the western frontier. In 1855, military authorities imprisoned Stevens for striking an officer, but

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he escaped and hid with the Delaware in Kansas Territory. Assuming the name “Charles Whipple,” he joined the free state military forces in the territory and rose to command their Second Regiment, based around Topeka. Stevens served as Brown’s second in command during the slave raid into Missouri and was the drillmaster for the Harpers Ferry raiders. Wounded and captured during the raid, Stevens was housed in the same cell with Brown. Not tried until his health had partially recovered, he was executed on 16 March 1860. Hinton, John Brown, 54, 492–99; Noble, John Brown, 27, 80, 94–95; Oates, To Purge This Land, 219–20, 223, 261, 280–81, 302; Villard, John Brown, 224, 486, 679–80. 12. Among the least known of John Brown’s followers, Albert Hazlett (1837–60) arrived in Kansas Territory from his native Pennsylvania in the winter of 1856–57. After fighting in the free staters’ guerilla forces under James Montgomery, Hazlett joined Brown’s small band in December 1858, just in time to participate in the raid against Missouri to free slaves. During the attack on Harpers Ferry, Hazlett and Osborne P. Anderson garrisoned the captured arsenal building. With Maryland and Virginia militias closing in, Hazlett and Anderson escaped unnoticed across the Potomac River in a stolen boat. Hazlett was later apprehended in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and extradited without due process back to Virginia. Although the other raiders denied any acquaintance with him, Hazlett was tried and convicted in February 1860. Refusing to appeal for clemency, he was executed along with Aaron D. Stevens on 16 March 1860. Hinton, John Brown, 158–59, 312, 383, 388, 410–11; Oates, To Purge This Land, 261, 298, 302, 328–29; Villard, John Brown, 414, 580, 682. 13. Both Mary Jane Porter (1810–60), who was known as Jane, and Almira B. Porter (1825–79), who also appears as “Elmira” in contemporary records, were sisters of the well-known abolitionists Samuel D. and Maria G. Porter. Together with their stepmother, Mrs. Isabella Callahan Porter, Jane and Almira Porter operated a coeducational school in the basement of Rochester’s Unitarian Church from 1850 to 1859. Upon Mrs. Porter’s retirement in 1859, Jane and Almira Porter opened a school for girls, variously known as the Select School, the Porter School, and the Rochester Seminary for Young Ladies. Following Jane Porter’s death in 1860, her sister accepted an offer to relocate the school to the chapel of Christ Church, and she continued teaching there until shortly before her death in 1879. Almira B. Porter also served on the executive board of the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. 1870 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 355; Rochester Herald, 14 December 1896; Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:785; Peck, History of Rochester, 1:243. 14. Douglass is referring to Maria G. Porter’s father, Samuel Porter (1780–1872), and her stepmother, Isabella Callahan Porter (1798–1877). A native of Connecticut, Samuel Porter moved to Bristol, Maine, where he married Mary Drummond in 1804. In 1813, Porter moved his growing family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following the death of his first wife, Samuel Porter married Isabella Callahan, a schoolteacher, in 1828. Porter, his wife, and his younger daughters remained in Philadelphia until 1850, when they joined his son and daughter, Samuel D. and Maria G. Porter, in Rochester, New York. 1850 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, Rochester, 29; Henry Porter Andrews, The Descendants of John Porter of Windsor, Conn. 1635–9, (Saratoga Springs, N.Y., 1893), 301; Peck, History of Rochester, 1:243.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO AMY POST [n.p.] [January 1860.]

I have therefore been compelled to do a good deal of preparatory work— in the way of making appointments. I find my war views decidedly objected to by my old Garrisonian friends in England.1 This is the more

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ridiculous Since the Garrisonians in America are So deeply interested in the whole Brown invasion now.2 I have no doubt, that Dear Isaac—your husband, stands his ground well on the peace question3—amid all the war like utterances of his Garrison friends. I have not yet found time, though I have often had the inclination to write to our Mutual friend Mrs G.4 She must be much engaged just now with the movements of the American Anti Slavery Society in Western New York. I desire to be very cordially remembered to William Hallowell5 and Mary—his wife.6 It was very kind of him to make me a call when at the bridge.7 The Sight of him was very refreshing to me—and look back to the time Spent there all the more pleasantly because his visit to me. You would have smiled if you had been in Leeds a few Evenings 8 ago —when Sarah Remond9—and Caroline her Sister10 —and my self appeared upon the Same anti slavery platform—I think it must have been imbarrassing11 to Miss Sarah—though she did not rebel—We both spoke— She with her accustomed Calmness—and I—whatever you please. The audience was much pleased with the two blacks from America[.] I am now stopping with a family of much intelligence, wealth and refinements. The Lady of the House12 is the daughter of the celebrated Dr Arnold13 and her husband Mr W. H. Forster14 is the Son—of the Forsters15 who came over to America to heal the difficulties among friends at Richmond Indiana. Mr Forster the Son is not now a quaker—but is quite a military. I was out with him Yesterday Shooting at a mark. He is a capital Shot and is prepared to defend his country from the French—and from any body Else who may be desposed to make an attack. I found my old friend Julia16 quite glad, of course to See me—and what was of equal importance, her husband17 too, Theirs is one of my homes while I stay in England—Indeed it is my main home—though I have many homes here—where I am regarded and cared for—The life however is high— full of intelligence, taste and dignity—and is at Sometimes a trifle more reserved, than I like. But you know that I am so amiable that people will sometimes allow me a little more freedom—than they allow to most men. I sometimes make even the dignified quakers to laugh—and feel funny just like other people, which you know is very unfavorable to stiffness. I should like to know that you get these flying lines and for this purpose—& you will write to me—Care of Rev. R. L. Carpenter18 Halifax Yorkshire England.

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I am under the necessity of making all my Correspondents pay double postage for I cannot in the present Condition of funds do else. Remember me kindly to Mrs G. and all inquiring friends yours Truly and affectionately FREDK DOUGLASS

[P.S.] Give my love to Isaac—and tell him that he is always affectionately remembered— I wish you all a most happy New year Excuse this miserable Scrawl— F. D. ALS: Post Family Papers, NRU. 1. Upon arriving in England, Douglass discovered that English Garrisonians were far less admiring of John Brown and less forgiving of the use of violence than their American counterparts. Although most English commentators were willing to accept that Brown and his associates had acted out of the “best of motives,” the raid itself was characterized as “rash,” and there was a general sense of “regret” that Brown and his men had “resorted to those measures which they did to break down the strong hold of oppression.” Even the sympathetic London Enquirer, as reported in the Liberator, argued that such “fruitless risings” would serve only to make conditions worse for the slaves and that Harpers Ferry was “but an insignificant incident in the history of the great social struggle.” Far harsher in its analysis was the Friends Review (whose opinion was endorsed by the Anti-Slavery Reporter), which not only “most profoundly deplore[d] the occurrence,” but took the view that even leaving aside the “immorality of the proceeding, the prospect of success was so utterly hopeless as to induce the belief that the principal actors must have been labouring under a species of insanity, or the blindest fanaticism.” Friends Review, 29 October 1859; Leeds Mercury, 29 November 1859; BFASR, new ser., 7:272 (1 December 1859); Lib., 9 December 1859; Seymour Drescher, “Servile Insurrection and John Brown’s Body in Europe,” in His Soul Goes Marching On: Responses to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid, ed. Paul Finkelman (Charlottesville, 1995), 272–79, 293. 2. In the immediate aftermath of the Harpers Ferry Raid, American Garrisonians were quick to distance themselves from the operation. While praising John Brown for his “display of courage and resolute opposition to deadly odds,” and acknowledging that the American Anti-Slavery Society was “in a sense . . . the occasion of the affair,” in late October the National Anti-Slavery Standard was adamant that such attempts “at arousing an insurrection of the slaves “ were “expressly excluded” from the society’s constitution. It further argued that such actions as Brown had undertaken were in essence a “waste of the lives of brave men,” which not only had “no reasonable chance of delivering the slaves . . . [but would] only make their present condition worse than it was before.” That same month, in the Liberator, William Lloyd Garrison characterized the raid as a “well-intended but sadly misguided effort.” By December, however, John Brown had been fully embraced by Garrison and his allies, who proclaimed him to be a “hero, saint [and] martyr.” Indeed, speaking at a gathering of the American Anti-Slavery Society in Boston on the day of Brown’s execution (2 December 1859), Garrison went so far as to state that although he remained “a peace man—an ultra peace man,” he was now “prepared to say success to every slave insurrection [in] the South, and in every slave country.” Lib., 28 October, 9, 16 December 1859; NASS, 29 October 1859; Charles Joyner, “ ‘Guilty of the Holiest Crime’: The Passion of John Brown,” in Finkelman, His Soul Goes Marching On, 314–16. 3. No source on Isaac Post’s opinions regarding the Harpers Ferry Raid has been located. Possibly he expressed them directly to Douglass while assisting his flight to Rochester to prevent arrest by federal authorities. As Douglass implies, leading Garrisonians had wavered in their support of

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nonresistance by making public remarks praising John Brown after the raid. McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 200; Paul Finkelman, “Manufacturing Martyrdom: The Antislavery Response to John Brown’s Raid,” in Finkelman, His Soul Goes Marching On, 42, 59–61; DAB, 15:117. 4. Possibly Eliza Bottum Galusha (1796–1884), widow of the Baptist minister and abolitionist Reverend Elon Galusha (1790–1856). A native of Shaftsbury, Vermont, Eliza Bottum married Elon Galusha, son of two-time governor of Vermont Jonas Galusha, in 1814. Between 1815 and 1841, she accompanied her husband as he served a series of pastorates across western New York, including ones in Whitesboro, Perry, and Rochester, before finally settling in Lockport. Sharing her husband’s abolitionist beliefs, Eliza Galusha was active in several antislavery organizations, including both the Female Anti-Slavery Society and the Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. Indeed, she was one of the cofounders of the Rochester Female Anti-Slavery Society and served as its leader for several years. 1860 U.S. Census, New York, Niagara County, 298; Rebekah Deal Oliver, The Bottum (Longbottom) Family Album: An Historical and Biographical Genealogy of the Descendants of Daniel (–1732) and Elizabeth (Lamb) Longbottom of Norwich, Connecticut (Denver, Colo., 1970), 259–61; Hewitt, Women’s Activism and Social Change, 56–57, 104–05, 111, 152. 5. Arriving in Rochester in 1841, William R. Hallowell (1816–82) ran a woolen mill and leather business. The husband of Mary Hallowell, he was a member of the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society, and of the board of education in Rochester. Peck, History of Rochester, 2:1243–44; Hewitt, Women’s Activism and Social Change, 61. 6. Mary Hallowell (1823–1913) was the daughter of Isaac Post and his first wife, Hannah. Mary and her husband, William, were numbered among Douglass’s circle of friends in Rochester and actively participated in the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society. She was also a member of local temperance and women’s rights organizations, and she acted as an agent for the National Anti- Slavery Standard in 1865. Hewitt, Women’s Activism and Social Change, 61, 131, 163, 209–10. 7. The time and place of this meeting cannot be determined with any accuracy. Hallowell might have encountered Douglass at one of bridges over the Genesee River in or near Rochester while the latter was fleeing the city to safety in Canada in the company of Amy and Isaac Post. Hallowell also might have met Douglass somewhere in Canada West before he departed for Great Britain, as at least two other Rochester friends had. Douglass to Amy Post, 27 October 1859, Amy Post Papers, NRU; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 200, 202. 8. Sarah Remond and Douglass spoke at the Young Men’s Anti-Slavery Society annual meeting in Leeds, England, on 22 December 1859. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxxi. 9. Born in Salem (Essex County), Massachusetts, Sarah Parker Remond (c. 1815–1894) was the sixth of seven children born to the free blacks John and Nancy (Lennox) Remond and the sister of the well-known abolitionist speaker Charles Lennox Remond. Her family owned and operated hair salons and a catering business in Salem. She went to both public and private schools, attended Bedford College for Ladies (London, England) from 1859 to 1861, and earned her doctor of medicine in 1871 at Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova in Florence, Italy. Raised in an abolitionist family, Sarah Remond was an antislavery activist, often joining her brother on his lecture tours. She sat on the Finance Committee of the Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society and was a spokesperson at antislavery meetings throughout the northeastern United States. In 1853, Remond was denied a seat while attending a production of Don Pasquale at the Howard Athenaeum in New York, even though she had purchased a ticket. An agent of the company and a police officer physically ejected her, pushing her down a staircase. Remond sued the owners, claiming assault and equal rights for persons of color. Remond won her case in court, and the defendants were fined. In 1858, Remond sailed for England, where she lectured for two years on the abolishment of slavery. While there, she applied for a visa so that she could visit France and Italy, but the embassy denied her request, presuming that black people were not citizens of the United States. Remond remonstrated with the officials, but was unable to obtain the necessary papers. She eventually procured a visa from a British foreign secretary. Remond, who visited Italy several times while living in England, applied to a medical school in Florence at

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the age of forty-two. After graduation, she remained in Italy and practiced medicine until her death in 1894. Lib., 29 March 1844, 13 May 1853, 19 December 1856, 24 July 1857, 18 September 1857; Boston Daily Advertiser, 17 February 1857; Dorothy B. Porter, “Sarah Parker Remond, Abolitionist and Physician,” JNH, 20:287–93 (July 1935); NAW, 3:136–37. 10. Caroline L. Remond Putnam (c. 1821–87), the sister of Sarah Parker Remond and Charles Lennox Remond, was the third of seven children born to John and Nancy (Lennox) Remond. Born in Vermont, Caroline owned a barbershop in Salem and was active in the antislavery movement. She held a number of offices in anti-slavery societies in the Northeast and sometimes lectured with her brother and sister. She was also on the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Suffrage Association. It is unknown when she died, but letters of administration for the estate of Caroline Putnam were filed in Essex County Probate Court on 7 September 1887. 1860 U.S. Census, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, 67; Lib., 29 March 1844, 14 March 1845, 5, 26 June 1846, 13 February 1857; Boston Investigator, 20 April 1853; New Hampshire Statesman, 23 April 1853, 14 May 1853; Lowell Daily Citizens and News, 30 January 1873; Boston Daily Advertiser, 7 September 1887. 11. Sarah Parker Remond had been generally well received by British audiences during her abolitionist speaking tour of Great Britain. The source of her embarrassment, if indeed it occurred, perhaps came from sharing a stage with the better-known Douglass, who had been publicly excommunicated from the Garrisonian abolitionist ranks, with which she was affiliated. Taylor, British and American Abolitionists, 440; Porter, “Sarah Parker Remond,” 290–92. 12. Jane Martha Forster (1821–99) was born in Laleham on Thames, Middlesex, London, to Dr. Thomas Arnold and Mary Penrose. She married William E. Forster, chief secretary for Ireland in William Gladstone’s cabinet, who was disowned for marrying her outside the Quaker meeting. They had no children of their own, but adopted the four orphaned offspring of her brother, William D. Arnold, who took Arnold-Forster as their surname. Friends’ Intelligencer, 56:631 (August 1899); Friends’ Intelligencer, 56:858 (November 1899); Lionell Cresswell, “The Arnolds of Rugby,” Genealogical Magazine: A Journal of Family History, Heraldry, and Pedigrees, 5:61 (June 1901); DNB, 1:61–62. 13. Born at West Cowes on the Isle of Wight, Thomas Arnold (1795–1842) was educated privately until he entered Warminster School in Wiltshire in 1803. He transferred to Winchester School in 1807 and entered Oxford University in 1811. A bright and articulate student, he graduated in 1817 and was ordained a deacon at Oxford in 1818, but suffered some religious doubt that kept him from taking orders. Arnold married Mary Penrose (1791–1873), the youngest daughter of the Reverend John Penrose, in 1820 and established a school in Laleham. He left Laleham in 1827 to assume the position of headmaster at Rugby School, mostly because it provided more money. Rugby was in a state of decline, but Arnold turned the school’s lackluster performance around, requiring regular examinations and pupil reports. The curriculum centered on the classics, discipline, and high moral standards. Arnold occasionally supplemented his income by publishing his historical, political, and religious writings, the most notable being some articles on Roman history that were later published in a twovolume collection. He was appointed Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford in 1841. Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, The Life and Correspondence of Thomas Arnold, 2 vols. (New York, 1844–45). 14. William Edward Forster (1818–86), a woolen manufacturer and reformer from Bradford, England, was educated in Quaker schools. As an active lecturer in Bradford and Leeds after the early 1840s, he urged the adoption of free-trade principles, a compromise with British Chartists, the reform of Parliament, and the worldwide abolition of slavery. In 1859 he narrowly missed election to Parliament as a Liberal, but two years later secured a seat, which he held until his death. Over his long legislative career, Forster became increasingly conservative, as illustrated by his later stands on educational reform and on the suppression of the Land League in Ireland. DNB, 7:465–71. 15. Born at Tottenham, Middlesex, William Forster (1784–1854) was trained to be a land surveyor. In 1806, he began devoting all his time to the Society of Friends ministry. He married Anna Hanbury Buxton (1784–1855), the sister of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, first baronet and antislavery

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activist, in 1816. Douglass refers to his second of three voyages to the United States, which was made in response to the secession in 1843 of approximately 2,000 antislavery Quakers from the Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends. The seceders established the Indiana Yearly Meeting of Anti-Slavery Friends and sent an epistle via Arnold Buffum to the London Yearly Meeting, praying for recognition on the grounds that they were simply obeying English admonitions to American Friends over the years not to relax their antislavery efforts. London Quakers ignored both this letter and a second letter sent in 1844. Responding to a letter sent in 1845, the London Yearly Meeting of 1845 entreated the seceders to return to their parent body and appointed a delegation to carry the message to Indiana and mediate between the rival factions. The deputation, which consisted of William Forster, Josiah Forster, George Stacey, and John Allen, in the winter of 1845–46 visited almost every settlement of antislavery seceders in a vain attempt to persuade them to “return to meet with those from whom they had withdrawn.” In their report of 1846, the members of the deputation endorsed the decision of the London Yearly Meeting to recognize the Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends and not its antislavery rival. Only a few British Quakers, such as the abolitionists Richard Webb, Joseph Sturge, and William and Robert Smeal, supported the claims of the Indiana seceders. Benjamin Seebohm, ed., Memoirs of William Forster, 2 vols. (London, 1865), 2:193–206; Walter Edgerton, A History of the Separation in Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends . . . in the Winter of 1842 and 1843, on the Anti-Slavery Question (Cincinnati, 1856), 92–99, 208–16, 337–52; Thomas E. Drake, Quakers and Slavery in America (Gloucester, Mass., 1965), 164–65, 167–68; C. Duncan Rice, “The Scottish Factor in the Fight against American Slavery, 1830–1870” (Ph.D. diss., University of Edinburgh, 1969), 252–72. 16. Julia Griffiths (Crofts). 17. Henry O. Crofts. 18. Russell Lant Carpenter.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GEORGE THOMPSON N[ew] Castle [up]on Tyne[, Eng.] 18 Feb[ruary] 1860.

Geo. Thompson Esqr. My kind friend Ellen Richardson1 assures me that you would not object to getting a line from me, and although I had about made up my mind that writing would be of no value or interest to you without my first Seeing you—I yet take pleasure in complying with the wish of one who is a friend to me and “how much more to thee.”2 I have many things to Say to you—Dear George Thompson—many things to ask and many things to explain—but laying aside all these till we meet—as I do most confidently hope we Shall meet,—allow me to express my great pleasure in learning that your natural force has so far returned to you and your freinds are So true to[]you that you are again able to be Seen and heard on the Subject of Slavery and to plead the Cause now and always dear to your heart. From my heart I thank you for your noble words in speaking of me to the people of New Castle upon Tyne3—I was very glad to know from your

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friend Ellen Richardson that you believed that all would be right should we meet and Speak together. Until then don-t hold me as an enimy.— FREDK DOUGLASS— ALS: Frederick Douglass Papers, NRU. 1. Ellen Richardson (1808–96) was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She dedicated herself to the education of working-class girls, holding supervisory posts at both the Royal Jubilee School for Girls and St. Mary’s School. In 1846, she joined her sister-in-law Anna Atkins Richardson in providing the money to purchase Douglass’s freedom from Thomas Auld. Anna Atkins Richardson (1806–92) of Newcastle-upon-Tyne married Ellen Richardson’s brother, Henry Richardson, in 1833. A Quaker, she was active in several reform causes but was particularly dedicated to antislavery activism. A member of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, she alienated British Garrisonians by continuing to support Douglass after he had severed ties with Garrison. With her husband, she helped lead the free produce movement (a boycott of goods derived from slave labor) of the 1850s in England; she was responsible for securing the black lecturers Henry Bibb and Henry Highland Garnet to publicize the cause. From 1851 to 1854, the Richardsons published The Slave, a penny newssheet promoting the free produce movement. [Mary C. Pumphrey], Ellen Richardson: In Memoriam, 1808–1896 (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1896); R. J. M. Blackett, Building an Antislavery Wall: Black Americans in the Atlantic Abolitionist Movement, 1830–1860 (Baton Rouge, La., 1983), 120, 122, 134; Temperley, British Antislavery, 245. 2. Perhaps an adaptation of Phil. 1:16. 3. On 8 February 1860 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, George Thompson delivered a lecture in which he supported the Garrisonian view of the Constitution of the United States as a proslavery document. Thompson described Garrison and his followers as a “non-political party” because their beliefs prohibited them from voting for a candidate who would then take an oath of office vowing to uphold a constitution they did not support. “Lecture by George Thompson, Esq.,” London Emancipation Committee’s Tracts, No. 5 (London, 1860), 5.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO CHARLES SUMNER Rochester[,] N.Y. 9 June 1860.

Hon: Chas Sumner. My Dear Sir. I wish I could tell you how deeply grateful I am to you, and to God, for the speech you have now been able to make in the Uni States Senate. You Spoke to the Senate and the nation, but you have a nother and a mightier audience. The civilized world will hear you, and rejoice in the tremendous exposure of the meanness, brutality, blood guiltiness, hell black iniquity and barbarism of American Slavery. As one who has felt the horrors of this stupendous violation of all human rights—I venture thus far to tresspass upon your time and attention. My heart is full Sir.—and I could pour

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out my feelings at length—but I know how precious is your time—I shall print every word of your Speech1— Yours with most grateful regards FREDK DOUGLASS— ALS: Charles Sumner Correspondence, MHH. 1. Douglass devoted almost an entire issue of his Monthly to reprinting Charles Sumner’s lengthy Senate speech of 4 June 1860, favoring the admission of Kansas as a free state. This was Sumner’s first speech on the Senate floor since his caning by Preston Brooks on 22 May 1856. In an editorial note, Douglass called the speech “the utterance of an honest man, the work of a ripe scholar, the production of a lofty statesman, who, in the face of a blood-thirsty oligarchy, and against the temporizing, time-serving, cringing, and trimming policy of his own party, has dared, with unfaltering step, to follow out the great principles of eternal justice and liberty to their logical results.” DM, 3:289–304 (July 1860).

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO JAMES REDPATH1 Rochester, [N.Y.] 29 June 1860.

James Redpath, Esq.: My Dear Sir,— Your kind note,2 inviting me to meet with yourself and other friends on the 4th of July, at North Elba,3 came into my hands only yesterday. Had it reached me only a day or two earlier, I certainly should have complied with it. Very gladly would I assemble with you and others on that revolutionary day, to do honor to the memory of one whom I regard as the man of this nineteenth century. Little, indeed, can you and I do to add lustre to his deathless fame. The principles of John Brown, attested by a life of spotless integrity and sealed by his blood, are self-vindicated. His name is covered with a glory so bright and enduring, as to require nothing at our hands to increase or perpetuate it. Only for our own sake, and that of enslaved and imbruted humanity, need we assemble. To have been acquainted with John Brown, shared his counsels, enjoyed his confidence, and sympathized with the great objects of his life and death, I esteem as among the highest privileges of my life. We do but honor ourselves in doing honor to him, for it implies the possession of qualities akin to his. I have little hope of the freedom of the slave by peaceful means. A long course of peaceful slaveholding has placed the slaveholders beyond the reach of moral and humane considerations. They have neither ears nor hearts for the appeals of justice and humanity. While the slave will

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tamely submit his neck to the yoke, his back to the lash, and his ankle to the fetter and chain, the Bible will be quoted, and learning invoked to justify slavery. The only penetrable point of a tyrant is the fear of death. The outcry that they make, as to the danger of having their throats cut, is because they know they deserve to have them cut. The efforts of John Brown and his brave associates, though apparently unavailing, have done more to upset the logic and shake the security of slavery, than all other efforts in that direction for twenty years. The sleeping dust, over which yourself and friends propose to meet on the 4th, cannot be revived; but the noble principles and disinterested devotion which led John Brown to step serenely to the gallows and lay down his life, will never die. They are all the more potent for his death. Not unwisely are the eyes and hearts of the American slaves and their friends turned to the lofty peaks of the Alleghanies. The innumerable glens, caves, ravines and rocks of those mountains, will yet be the hidingplaces of hunted liberty. The eight-and-forty hours of John Brown’s school in the mountains of Virginia, taught the slaves more than they could have otherwise learned in a half century. Even the mistake of remaining in the arsenal after the first blow was struck, may prove the key to future success. The tender regard which the dear old man evinced for the lives of the tyrants—and which should have secured him his life—will not be imitated by future insurgents. Slaveholders are as insensible to magnanimity as to justice, and the measure they mete must be meted to them again. My heart is with you. Very truly, FRED’K DOUGLASS. PLSr: Lib., 29 June 1860. 1. Born in Berwick-on-Tweed, Scotland, James Redpath (1833–91) immigrated with his family to the United States about 1850 and soon found work as a reporter for Horace Greeley’s New York Daily Tribune. In the mid-1850s, he traveled throughout the South, reporting on the institution of slavery and calling for its immediate abolition. By the late 1850s, Redpath had moved to Kansas, where he edited the Doniphan Crusader of Freedom and supported the fight to make the territory a nonslaveholding state. Redpath befriended John Brown in Kansas; after the latter’s execution, Redpath became his first biographer, writing The Public Life of Captain John Brown (Boston, 1860). In 1859 and 1860, Redpath toured Haiti as a reporter and returned to the United States as the official Haitian lobbyist for diplomatic recognition, a status he secured within two years. During the Civil War, he was a front-line correspondent with the Union army commanded by William Tecumseh Sherman, who in 1865, when South Carolina was under federal military occupation, appointed Redpath superintendent of public schools in that state. Returning north, Redpath in 1868 organized the fi rst professional lecturing bureau, which included Douglass among its clients. During the 1880s, he returned to his earlier career as a journalist-activist by editing newspapers and writing books and pamphlets on behalf of Irish nationalism, woman suffrage, and socialism. Douglass to James Redpath,

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10 April 1869, Miscellaneous Mss., ICIU; John R. McKivigan, Forgotten Firebrand: James Redpath and the Making of Nineteenth-Century America (Ithaca, N.Y., 2008); Charles F. Horner, The Life of James Redpath and the Development of the Modern Lyceum (New York, 1926); Willis D. Boyd, “James Redpath and American Negro Colonization in Haiti, 1860–1862,” Americas, 12:169–82 (October 1955); DAB, 15:443–44. 2. Redpath’s invitation to Douglass has not been located. 3. In the September issue of his Monthly, Douglass reprinted a lengthy report of the Boston Liberator’s account of the dedication ceremony for John Brown’s gravesite in New Elba, New York, on 4 July 1860. Several of Brown’s sons and a couple of his old antislavery associates from Kansas days spoke at the event. One of the latter, Richard J. Hinton, read a number of letters from prominent abolitionists, including this one from Douglass, sending regrets for not attending. Lib., 27 July 1860; DM, 3:331–33 (September 1860).

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 2 July 1860.

Hon Gerrit Smith My dear Friend: I am glad to receive your note of this morning,1 and Sincerely thank you for your draft for twenty dollars, being the Second twenty you have sent me Since I got home. Did I see my way to keep the weekly going, I would gladly retain the draft, but the paper must go down2 and I therefore return your drafts. I am as deeply grateful to you as if I retained it. During the last six months my weekly has been running behind its income at the rate of from $25 to $30 per week. On finding its low condition when I got home I at once decided to stop on the first of June—and said as much in the paper—but during the first week in june there was owing to the appeal made to the readers and friends of the paper, such an[]improvement in the reciepts that I ventured to assure its readers that the paper would be continued. Since then, however, the receipts have fallen nearly to nothing while the expenses stand as forti[]five and fifty dollars per week. Under these circumstances I See nothing for me but to let the paper go down. You may well believe that after nearly thirteen years of efforts to put the paper on a permanent bases and make it an established AntiSlavery instrumentality, that I am now very Sorry to give up the struggle. There is no escape and I submit. I shall here after only publish my monthly paper—I shall look with interest for your letter in the “Principia[.]”3 I can-t Support Lincoln4 —but whether there is life enough in the Abolitionists to name a Candidate I cannot say—I shall look to your letter5 for light on the pathway of duty.

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I am still intending to return to England in September, and whether I go or not, you may expect a call from me at Peterboro. Did our friend George L Stearns6 from Boston Call upon you ten days ago? I took the Liberty to tell him I knew you would be glad to See him. I had a call on friday from Rev Samuel Green.7 His cheerful spirit after the long years of missionary toil speaks well for a life of labor and usefulness. Thirty two years among the Heathen has left him yet hale and strong. I was Surprised to find that he had not yet Seen you—I Saw much in Mr Green to remind me of his great Brother at Whitesboro8—Please remember me kindly to Dear MrS Smith9 And Beleive Always Very Sincerely your grateful friend FREDK DOUGLASS— ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Smith’s note to Douglass has not been located. 2. The final issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper appeared on 29 June 1860. 3. The Principia, sometimes titled the National Principia, was a New York City antislavery weekly newspaper published by William Goodell from 1859 to 1864. It was the successor to his Radical Abolitionist, which had been the official organ of the moribund American Abolition Society. In the late 1850s, Goodell and his longtime patron Gerrit Smith quarreled over theological issues, since the latter publicly embraced a “religion of reason.” Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 383–90; Perkal, “William Goodell,” 293–98. 4. The Illinois politician Abraham Lincoln (1809–65), a Whig turned Republican, was sworn in as the sixteenth president of the United States on 4 March 1861. Upon meeting Lincoln at the White House in 1863, Douglass was charmed by the president’s earnest political considerations of emancipation. A year later, Lincoln granted Douglass’s request that his son Charles be discharged from the army due to illness. In a private meeting on 19 August 1864, Lincoln and Douglass discussed stepping up efforts to recruit slaves to the Union’s cause. Lincoln was elected to a second term in November 1864, and Douglass attended his inauguration festivities. James M. McPherson, Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution (New York, 1990), 109, 134–35, 139; Phillip Shaw Paludan, The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln (Lawrence, Kans., 1994), 4–5, 15–16, 183, 285–87; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 229–35. 5. In his characteristic fashion, Smith took the occasion to reply to Douglass in a printed broadside letter distributed to veteran political abolitionists and the press. Smith assailed the low antislavery standards of the Republican party and called on abolitionists to stand by their principles. [Gerrit Smith] Gerrit Smith to Frederick Douglass, 13 July 1860 (Peterboro, N.Y., 1860), n.p.; McPherson, Struggle for Equality, 17–18. 6. A leading financial supporter of John Brown, George Luther Stearns (1809–67) was the son of a teacher from Medford, Massachusetts. Stearns earned progressively larger fortunes as a ship chandler, a linseed oil processor, and a lead pipe manufacturer. He joined the antislavery movement in the early 1840s as a Liberty party activist and later was an important organizer of the Massachusetts Free Soil and Republican parties. While chairman of a committee to raise funds to arm free-state settlers in Kansas Territory, Stearns met John Brown and became a supporter of his plan to incite a slave insurrection. Although he fled to Canada after Harpers Ferry, Stearns soon returned to the United States. He testified before congressional investigators that he had no advance knowledge of Brown’s plans, and now condoned the attack. During the Civil War, Massachusetts governor John A. Andrew engaged Stearns to enlist troops for the first black regiment raised in the North, the Fifty-fourth

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Massachusetts Infantry. By establishing recruiting offices across the North and Canada and by hiring agents, including Frederick Douglass, Stearns quickly enlisted enough blacks to fill two regiments for Massachusetts. Impressed by his success, the federal government commissioned   Stearns as a major and placed him in charge of recruiting blacks into federal army units. By January 1864, Stearns had brought substantial order to these efforts, but then resigned, in part to protest the unequal pay and treatment of black soldiers. He remained an advocate of equal rights for blacks; in the 1860s, he helped found such periodicals as the Nation and the Right Way to champion that cause. Frank Preston Stearns, The Life and Public Services of George Luther Stearns (Philadelphia, 1907); Dudley Taylor Cornish, The Sable Arm: Negro Troops in the Union Army, 1861–1865 (New York, 1956), 235–38, 242–43; Rossbach, Ambivalent Conspirators, 56–63, 83–85, 221–23, 239–40, 254–57. 7. Douglass most likely meant Beriah Green’s brother Jonathan Smith Green (1796–1878) instead of his son Samuel Worcester Green. Born in Preston, Connecticut, Jonathan Smith Green studied at Andover Seminary, from which he graduated in 1827. After graduation, Green and his wife, Theodosia Arnold, left for Honolulu, Hawaii, and returned to the United States only periodically over the next fifty years. Green experimented with agricultural crops not native to Hawaii, earning the appellation the “father of the wheat culture.” Jonathan Smith Green, an ardent abolitionist, initially supported Beriah’s efforts. In the late 1850s, however, the two disagreed over Beriah’s seeming lack of commitment to Christianity. Sernett, Abolition’s Axe, 4, 12–13, 119, 132, 135, 159. 8. Beriah Green. 9. Ann Carroll Fitzhugh Smith.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO ELIZABETH CADY STANTON Rochester[, N.Y.] 25 Aug[ust] 1860[.]

Dear Mrs Stanton: I am much obliged by your letter.1 I have been in a half and half condition about attending that Worcester convention2 ever since I got the call signed by Messrs Foster3 and Peerpont.4 Of course, your letter has taken something from one half and added it to the other. I am now strongly inclined to go. The only cause of hesitation is, that the difference between myself and Mr Garrison might render me an unacceptable member to some who may come from that side of the house, Mr Foster himself, included. I have always believed in Stephen Foster—and never lifted my heel against him or against Mr Garrison until compelled to do so in self defense. I may call to see you on my way to Syracuse next week—and talk matters over with you. Thank you for your kind invitation In haste. Yours Very Truly FREDK DOUGLASS— ALS: Elizabeth Cady Stanton Papers, DLC. 1. This letter has not been located. 2. Following Gerrit Smith’s nomination by the small Radical Abolitionist party at a convention in Syracuse on 29 August 1860, a number of New England Garrisonian abolitionists led by Stephen

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Foster debated whether to unite with this effort or form a separate new abolitionist political party. Foster and the Liberty party veteran John Pierpont organized a convention that was held in Worcester, Massachusetts, on 19 September 1860. Douglass attended the convention, which organized the “Union Democratic Party.” Although the gathering endorsed no candidate, Douglass persuaded it to adopt a resolution wishing “earnest sympathy and hearty Godspeed” to Smith’s candidacy. Lib., 31 August, 28 September, 5 October 1860; DM, 2:344–45, 351 (November 1860); Stanton and Anthony, Selected Papers, 1:438–41; McPherson, Struggle for Equality, 13. 3. Born in Canterbury, New Hampshire, the radical abolitionist Stephen Symonds Foster (1809–81) studied at Dartmouth College. In 1837, a year before his graduation, he helped organize the New Hampshire Young Men’s Anti-Slavery Society. Foster briefly attended Union Theological Seminary in New York, but by 1839 he had repudiated the ministry. He developed his criticisms of American churches most fully in The Brotherhood of Thieves; or, A True Picture of the American Church Clergy (1843). His practice of interrupting a church service to speak out against complicity with slavery frequently provoked violent reaction. While Foster and his wife Abby Kelley, whom he married in 1845, were agents for the American Anti-Slavery Society for nearly twenty years, their relationship with the Garrisonians was at best one of strained cooperation. Although Foster believed that the Constitution was a proslavery document, he periodically dabbled in politics. In 1843–44, he endorsed the Liberty party. He argued in favor of slave rebellion in his Revolution the Only Remedy for Slavery (1855). In the late 1850s, having altered his view of the nature of the Constitution, Foster sought to establish a disunion party “whose avowed aim . . . [would] be the overthrow of the government . . . & whose will . . . [would] be expressed through the ballot box.” A proponent of distributing land to the freedmen, Foster was disappointed with federal Reconstruction policies. He devoted the last years of his life to agitating on behalf of temperance and women’s rights. Parker Pillsbury, Acts of the Anti-Slavery Apostles (Concord, N.H., 1883), 123–55; idem, “Stephen Symonds Foster,” Granite Monthly, 5:369–75 (August 1882); Lillie B. Chace Wyman, “Reminiscences of Two Abolitionists,” New England Magazine, 27:536–50 (January 1903); Pease and Pease, Bound with Them in Chains, 191–217; Filler, “Parker Pillsbury,” 19:315–37; ACAB, 2:514–15; NCAB, 2:328–29; DAB, 6:558–59. 4. John Pierpont.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester, [N.Y.] 7 Sept[ember] 1860[.]

My dear Sir: The more I think of that Worcester Convention1 the more feel the importance of your attending it. I do hope that no surmountable difficulty2 will prevent your being there. Your health is as precious to me as to any one outside your Dear family Circle and I would urge nothing that might endanger it. I really think that your health of body and mind would be improved by taking that Eastern trip. The freinds of Freedom and humanity know there obligations to you. You have served your day and generation as a workman who need not be ashamed of his work; but you have not done yet. When I See Lord Brougham3 over eighty years old, Standing up and delivering an address of two hours—I cannot think of your ceasing to attend public meetings.

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I am not a physician and my opinion may not be worth much—but I think I never Saw or heard you, at any time within the last ten years when you Seemed better able to with stand the wear and tear of public meetings. I did not urge you very strongly when in your presence, to go—Dear Mrs Smith 4 did that much better than either Mr Foster,5 or I, could do. I do hope She Succeeded. The Special Subject on which you would be most expected to Speak— relates to the powers of the Federal Government. You could Show as no other man can how the Federal government can reach and overthrow American Slavery. Will you my friend take this matter in to account and do attend the Convention if possible. Yours Very truly FREDK DOUGLASS ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. The Political Abolition Convention, called by Stephen Foster and John Pierpont for 19 September 1860. 2. Following the failure of John Brown’s raid at Harpers Ferry, Gerrit Smith, one of the main conspirators, suffered a psychological breakdown. He experienced guilt and regret for his actions and soon stopped eating and sleeping. He became delirious, paranoid, and fixated on the seventeen men who died in the raid as well as on Brown’s imminent execution. In November 1859, Smith’s family admitted him to the Utica Insane Asylum, where he spent a month recovering from what might have been an episode of bipolar affective disorder. The impact of this breakdown exacerbated Smith’s long-standing digestive and sleep ailments. His physical and mental state remained erratic for the remainder of his life. Stauffer, Black Hearts of Men, 42–43, 242–45, 262; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 410–11; McKivigan and Leveille, “ ‘Black Dream’ of Gerrit Smith,” 64–76. 3. Henry Peter Brougham (1778–1868), first baron Brougham and Vaux, rose from advocate in the Scottish southern circuit to become lord high chancellor in the ministry of Lord Charles Grey in the early 1830s and a prominent leader of the Whig party in Parliament. Founder of the Edinburgh Review, Brougham is chiefly remembered for his efforts on behalf of legal, educational, and electoral reform, and for the role he played in the parliamentary struggle to abolish slavery. Arthur Aspinall, Lord Brougham and the Whig Party (1927; Manchester, Eng., 1972); Chester W. New, The Life of Henry Brougham to 1830 (Oxford, Eng., 1961); DNB, 2:1356–66. 4. Ann Carroll Fitzhugh Smith. 5. Stephen Symonds Foster.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO “A FRIEND IN ENGLAND” [n.p., Eng.] [9 October 1860.]

“We are now in the thickest part of our electioneering excitement. Nothing like it has occurred since 1840, when the country was divided between Van Buren1 and Harrison.2 Not even then was the country so deeply

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stirred; for then the question of slavery—the great over-shadowing question of to-day—was not so fairly before the people as now. Then the country was divided on questions of finance and commerce. They touched the pockets, rather than the hearts and the moral convictions of the people. Men, more than principles, gave interest and force to that contest. Now the question is between two types of civilisation, and is a contest between fundamental ideas and sentiments, as to which class shall give laws to the republic, and direct its course, and determine its destiny. For more than sixty years slavery has absolutely controlled the Federal Government, in all its departments and appliances. Its friends, for the first time during this long term of years, have reason to fear that their power is about to pass from their hands. For years abolitionists have laboured here to arouse the slumbering North to the duty of arresting the spread of slavery, and of dislodging and breaking down the slave power, as a means to the final abolition of slavery; but, until now, they have contemplated victory only in the far off future. Now, however, the divisions of their enemies—the growth of anti-slavery sentiment—the general enlightenment of the people—the aggressions of the slave power—the virtual revival of the African slavetrade3—the repeal of the law restricting slavery to the south of thirty deg. thirty min.4 —the Dred Scott decision—the arrogant and defiant attempt to legalise slavery by decisions of courts and party doctrines in all the States of the Union, north as well as south—have aroused a hostile spirit so strong and so general that there is the highest probability of a decided and lasting victory for freedom in the election to take place four weeks hence. One of the most favourable indications of this result is the fact that the foreign population—the German and the Irish5—which have been the right arm of the slave power, voting steadily with the Democratic party of the country, have now, in the free States, east and west, where they are far more numerous than in the Southern States of the American Union, largely separated themselves from that contradictory and stupendous sham, the democratic party, and will, this Fall, in all the likelihoods of the case, vote with the Slavery Restriction Republican party. The German vote has been given hitherto to the Democratic party because they came to this country democrats in the true sense of the word, and supposed that that party in some measure represented the idea of liberty which the name imparted. They now see the contrary, and are acting in view of the fact. The Irish population, being mainly Roman Catholics, have been easily won to the side of the Democratic party, because that party represented power. They now see that the power of the party is broken, and that the place for them

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is on the side of victory. From whatever motive they may act, the fact is significant and cheering. The election of Lincoln6 will ensure, I think, the election of Seward7 four years hence; and, notwithstanding that he has said some things which I hate, and some things quite equivocal and unworthy of him, I still recognise him as among the most formidable foes that we can marshal against the slave system, for he is a man who so manages as always to have a strong party to support his measures. He has recently made a tour through the Western States,8 and his progress has been more like that of a prince than that of an humble citizen or a senator.” PLf: London Inquirer, 3 November 1860. 1. Martin Van Buren (1782–1862), the eighth president of the United States, began his career as a lawyer in New York. He represented Columbia County in the New York Senate in 1812, where he developed a political rivalry with DeWitt Clinton. In 1815 he was appointed state attorney general, but Clinton supporters removed him in 1819 because he opposed funding the Erie Canal. Van Buren challenged his rivals by building a Democratic-Republican organization known as the Bucktails. During Clinton’s second term as governor, the Bucktails gained control of the state legislature and appointed Van Buren to the U.S. Senate in 1821. Van Buren’s rise to power earned him the nickname “Little Magician” among his admirers. With his own designs on national politics, Van Buren campaigned on behalf of Andrew Jackson in 1828. Elected governor of New York that same year, Van Buren resigned when Jackson appointed him U.S. attorney general in 1829. In his new cabinet post, Van Buren developed an intense rivalry with Vice President John C. Calhoun. In 1832, Van Buren became Jackson’s running mate for vice president as a reward for his loyalty and political skill. He then gained the president’s support to succeed him in the oval office in 1836. Although Van Buren tried to continue Jackson’s policies, he lost popularity following the Panic of 1837; his enemies dubbed him Martin “Van Ruin” and blamed him for the country’s economic woes. Failing to be reelected, Van Buren retired to New York in 1841. In 1848, his opposition to the extension of slavery in the territories gained in the Mexican War returned him to politics as the Free Soil candidate for president, but he received a mere 10 percent of the vote. In the 1850s, once more a Democrat, he endorsed the Compromise of 1850 and gave uneasy support to the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. He died in 1862, dismayed at the dissolution of the Union. Donald B. Cole, Martin Van Buren and the American Political System (Princeton, N.J., 1984), 3–5, 9–31; ANB, 22:159–62. 2. William Henry Harrison (1773–1841), the son of a Virginia planter, gained national prominence as a military leader in the Northwest Territory in the decades after the American Revolution. After resigning his commission in 1798, Harrison embarked on a successful political career in the Old Northwest, first as secretary of the Northwest Territory, then as the territory’s representative to Congress, and finally as governor of Indiana and superintendent of Indian Affairs. Harrison favored the introduction of slavery into Indiana and called a special convention to consider the possibility in 1802. Territorial disputes with Native Americans drew Harrison back into the military, and he attracted national attention after his defeat of the western confederacy led by Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe Creek in 1811. During the War of 1812, as a brigadier general in charge of the Indiana and Illinois frontier, Harrison won a decisive victory against the British and their Native American allies, for which he was awarded a congressional gold medal. Between 1816 and 1828, Harrison served in Congress and the Ohio state senate. Following a failed bid to become John Quincy Adams’s vice presidential running mate in 1828, Harrison accepted appointment as ambassador to Colombia, a post that he held until 1830. In 1840, Harrison ran for president as a Whig, with John Tyler as his running mate, spawning the slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too.” His status as a war hero and Indian

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fighter fueled his “Log Cabin and Hard Cider” campaign, in which Harrison was portrayed as a hero of the common man. Harrison, however, died of pneumonia on 4 April 1841, after serving only one month as president. Norma Lois Peterson, The Presidencies of William Henry Harrison and John Tyler (Lawrence, Kans., 1989), 17–43; DAB, 8:348–51; ANB, 10:223–26. 3. Although the African slave trade was officially prohibited on 2 March 1807, there were recurring calls by some Southern leaders for its revival. Increasing slave prices intensified the desire for a new means to obtain cheap labor. The illegal importation of slaves into the region grew throughout the 1850s. The push to reopen the international slave trade grew in strength during the decade as the slavery issue continued to dominate Southern politics. While the governments of states such as South Carolina supported legislation to revive the slave trade, a significant number of other Southerners, mainly wealthy slaveholders, rejected the idea. They feared that an increase in availability of new Africans would decrease the value of the slaves they currently owned. Some regional political leaders viewed the issue as divisive at a time when the South needed unity, since secession was on the horizon. Following secession, the debate over this issue subsided. The Confederate States Constitution, drafted in 1861, included a clause forbidding the importation of slaves, thus ending the agitation to revive the African slave trade. DM, 1:115 (August 1859); Harvey Wish, “The Revival of the African Slave Trade in the United States, 1856–1860,” MVHR, 27:569–72, 582, 588 (March 1941); Barton  J. Bernstein, “Southern Politics and Attempts to Reopen the African Slave Trade,” JNH, 51:16, 35 (January 1966). 4. The Missouri Compromise of 1820, dividing the Louisiana Territory into free and slave territories, was effectively repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. 5. In the mid-1800s, not all Irish immigrants fully embraced the ideology of white supremacy, and in cities such as Philadelphia and Worcester, they coexisted peacefully with blacks. In 1842 over 70,000 antislavery Irish men and women petitioned Irish Americans to work with abolitionists to end slavery as well as racial discrimination. But most Irish immigrants living in the United States did not embrace the antislavery views of their European brethren. William Lloyd Garrison and his followers attempted to convince the Irish to join the antislavery forces, but to no avail. Irish Americans believed their “whiteness” entitled them to political rights and jobs, and so they overwhelmingly voted Democratic. A majority of German immigrants also voted Democratic in the 1850s, influenced by the party’s rejection of temperance legislation and nativism. Unlike the Irish, some German Americans eventually linked immigrant rights with the antislavery cause. More Germans joined the Republican party after 1854 in order to stop the spread of slavery into the western territories, an area they deemed a harbor for Europe’s displaced. Douglass recognized the differences between the Irish and German immigrants in their attitudes toward slavery in 1859. Douglass labeled the Irish “deaf, dumb and blind to the claims of liberty” and declared that they strictly adhered to Democrats’ claims that a Republican president in 1860 would free the slaves, sending them North to compete for wages. According to Douglass, the German immigrants were more “enlightened,” believing that “they are and always will be adverse to slavery.” By adopting an antinativist platform in 1860 and continuing to promote antislavery extension, the Republican party appealed to more German Americans than their Irish counterparts. DM, 2:116 (August 1859); David R. Roediger, The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class (New York, 2007), 134, 136, 151; Alison Clark Efford, German Immigrants, Race, and Citizenship in the Civil War Era (Cambridge, 2013), 53–54, 71; Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men, 257, 259. 6. Abraham Lincoln. 7. William H. Seward. 8. After his defeat at the 1860 Republican National Convention, William H. Seward embarked on a stump campaign throughout the northwestern states during summer and fall of 1860 to support Lincoln. Seward visited Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, traveling by steamboat for most of the campaign; Charles Francis Adams accompanied Seward for much of it. Seward’s speeches focused on the increasing importance of resources from the Northwest and emphasized the growing politi-

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cal power of the region. The New York Times reported that Seward was welcomed throughout his journey in areas that had been hostile to his message in previous years. New York Times, 29 September 1860; Theodore C. Blegen, “Campaigning with Seward in 1860,” Minnesota History, 8:150–71 (June 1927).

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON Rochester, [N.Y.] 15 Oct[ober] 1860.

Mr Garrison: You will oblige me by allowing me to say in your columns, that the letter of ‘J. A. H.’ which appeared in the Liberator of Sept. 28,1 did me injustice in the part it represented me as having taken in the proceedings of the recent Political Abolition Convention held in Worcester. Neither Mr. Foster2 nor I undertook the formidable work which your correspondent in his letters ascribed to us. I beg to assure you, ‘the annihilation of the American Anti-Slavery Society’ was no part of the business of that Convention. The language of your correspondent is much too strong. It conveys an exaggerated idea of what took place on the occasion it purports to describe. Every body knows, that to criticise the position of an association in respect to a single point in its plan of operation, is a very different thing from discrediting an association altogether, and working for its destruction. I plead guilty to the first, but not to the last impeachment. There is no good reason for misrepresenting even an enemy, if I must be deemed such. I did freely dissent from one of your leading doctrines, and did my best to prove it unsound; but in no such spirit as would be inferred from the language of your Worcester correspondent. My objection to the American AntiSlavery Society respected its plan, not its life. So far from working for the annihilation of that Society, I have never failed, in the worst times of my controversy with it, to recognise that organization as the most efficient generator of anti-slavery sentiment in the country. And this I did repeatedly at the Worcester Convention. The compliment which ‘J. A. H.’ pays Mr. Howland3 for the part he took in the Convention is, perhaps, natural, but scarcely modest, since the complimentor and the complimented are one and the same person. If manliness consists in calling a man a liar to his face, or what is about the same thing, telling him he knows he tells a falsehood, I must prefer manners to manliness. To me, Mr. Howland’s manners and language on that occasion, and of which he now strangely

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boasts in the Liberator, were better becoming a slave plantation among slaves, than an Anti-Slavery Convention among equals. What had I said to call forth this ill-mannered charge of falsehood from Mr. Howland? Why, in substance this: That the plan of operation adopted by the American Anti-Slavery Society did not embrace the abolition of slavery by means of the Government, and that the Radical Abolition party was the only organization which proposed such abolition. This is what I said, and what I meant to say. Mr. Howland, by suppressing or forgetting a part of what I did say, and adding a little which I did not say, makes out a case of falsehood against me. His zeal has in this instance outrun his discretion, and I leave him to retrace his steps in regard to me, as I am happy to see he has done in the case of Mr. Higginson.4 Respectfully yours, FREDERICK DOUGLASS. PLSr: Lib., 26 October 1860. 1. A letter from “J.A.H.,” reporting on the Political Abolition Convention in Worcester, appeared in the Boston Liberator’s issue of 12 October 1860. A second letter from this correspondent, dated 28 October 1860, expands on the original reporting of Douglass’s participation in that convention. Lib., 2 November 1860. 2. Stephen S. Foster. 3. Joseph Avery Howland (1826–89) was from Worcester, Massachusetts. He lived in Boston for some time, where he worked in the textile industry. Howland lectured as an agent of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and was a secretary for the 1857 New England Anti-Slavery Convention. Howland’s disagreement with Douglass was over the former’s strong support for the Garrisonian doctrine of “disunionism.” Merrill and Ruchames, Garrison Letters, 4:456–57. 4. Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823–1911) of Cambridge, Massachusetts, was a Harvard educated reformer, Unitarian minister, and soldier. Born into a prominent but recently impoverished merchant family, Higginson taught school in 1843 and 1844 in between two four-year stints at Harvard. Upon graduation from Harvard Divinity School in 1847, Higginson, already deeply committed to abolition and women’s rights, secured a pastorate at the First Religious Society of Newburyport, Massachusetts. His reform activities and his Free Soil candidacy for Congress caused a breach with the congregation in 1850. After 1852 he preached at the Free Church in Worcester. Never a pacifist, Higginson took part in slave rescues and attempted rescues in the Boston area in the early 1850s. He made two trips west in order to support Free Kansas forces in 1856, and he eventually met John Brown, for whose raid on Harpers Ferry he later raised funds. During the Civil War, Higginson served for eighteen months as the commanding colonel of the First South Carolina Volunteers, the first black regiment in the United States. After the war, Higginson wrote history, biography, fiction, literary criticism, and reminiscences, including his celebrated Army Life in a Black Regiment (Boston, 1870), and served a term in the Massachusetts legislature. Tilden G. Edelstein, Strange Enthusiasm: A Life of Thomas Wentworth Higginson (New Haven, Conn., 1968); James W. Tuttleton, Thomas Wentworth Higginson (Boston, 1978); ACAB, 3:199; NCAB, 1:394; DAB, 4:16–18.

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CHARLES HAPP 1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Auburn, [N.Y.] 15 Oct[ober] 1860.

Mr. F. Douglass:— Dear Sir— I take the opportunity to address you a few lines as follows. I have been informed that you had an onely daughter and that you desire her to marry a whight man; whereupon you giv $15,000 or $20,000 dollars to any respectable whight man that would marry her and cherish her through life. If there is any truth in this report, P. S. let me know and I will marry your daughter on these conditions, and will endeavor to make myself agreeable. Yours respectfully, CHARLES HAPP. PLSr: Rochester Evening Express, 17 October 1860. Reprinted in New York Daily Tribune, 7 November 1860; Lib., 9 November 1860; NASS, 10 November 1860. 1. A thorough search of the 1855 New York Census and the 1860 U.S. Census uncovered no indication of a Charles Happ living in Auburn, New York, at the time this letter was written. Franklin B. Hough, Census of the State of New York for 1855; Taken in Pursuance of Article Third of the Constitution of the State, and of Chapter Sixty-Four of the Laws of 1855 (Albany, N.Y., 1857); Bureau of the Census, U.S. Census 1860, Returns for the State of New York (Washington, D.C., 1864).

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO CHARLES HAPP Rochester, [N.Y.] 16 Oct[ober] 1860.

Chas. Happ, esq.— Dear Sir : You are an entire stranger to me, and direct me to no one from whom I can learn your real character and responsibility. This, if no other difficulty existed, would seriously embarrass me in making a favorable answer to your proposition. You should have at least given me one respectable reference. The fact that you have not done so, with other circumstances connected with your letter, makes it quite doubtful whether I could honorably accede to your proposition. You date from Auburn, and tell me to direct to you at Auburn, but do not name the street. Pardon me for regarding this as a suspicious circumstance. You may be an inmate of the State Prison,1 or on your way there—a fact which you see would interfere with the fulfillment of your part of the proposed bargain, even if I could fulfill the part you assign to me. You want $15,000 or $20,000. This is a common want, and

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you are not to blame for using all honorable means to obtain it. But candor requires me to state, that if you were in every respect a suitable person to be bought, for the purpose you name, I have not the amount to buy you. I have no objection to your complexion; but there are certain little faults of grammar and spelling, as well as other little points, in your letter, which compels me to regard you as a person, by education, manners and morals, as wholly unfit to associate with my daughter in any capacity whatever. You evidently think your white skin of great value. I don’t dispute it; it is probably the best thing about you. Yet not even that valuable quality can commend you sufficiently to induce even so black a negro as myself to accept you as his son-in-law. Respectfully, FREDERICK DOUGLASS. PLSr: Rochester Evening Express, 17 October 1860. Reprinted in New York Daily Tribune, 7 November 1860; Lib., 9 November 1860; NASS, 10 November 1860. 1. Auburn Prison opened in 1816 as one of New York’s first large-scale prisons. Immediately after opening, the prison became an experimental site for Protestant reformers hoping to cure criminals of their behavior. By 1860, Auburn Prison had become notorious for widely circulated reports that it was a site of torture and cruelty to inmates. Jennifer Graber, Furnace of Affliction: Prisons and Religion in Antebellum America (Chapel Hill, N.C., 2011), 73–76, 169–70; Myra C. Glenn, Campaigns against Corporal Punishment: Prisoners, Sailors, Women, and Children in Antebellum America (Albany, N.Y., 1984), 10, 29–36, 132–34.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 18 December 1860[.]

Hon: Gerrit Smith My dear Sir: I am just home from the east. I found all your kind notes1 and thank you for them. I have been roughly handled2—but not much hurt. The jar of dragging down the steps of Tremont Temple was considerable, and left me a little sore but this is hardly worth mentioning. I was well heard on the following Sunday morning in Music Hall.3 My fighting on the day of the mob was after a very small pattern—not large enough to Shock even your peace views—My aim was less to injure than to keep from being injured—and in this my Success was truly marvellous—for the crowd was at one time truly ferocious—The Tribunes account of the mob4 —was is the best. That in Mr Garrison paper5 the worse.

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It was taken from the Boston Post6 —while [there] were far more accurate and truthful accounts of the affair in the Boston Traveller7 and other papers of the City.8 Mr G—felt a little nettled that he had not been counselled with about holding the meeting. As much as this comes out in his Editorial notice of the Affair. He Should have indulged no Such feeling in view of his non resistant principles. Mr Whipple9 was less affected—Phillips10 never appeared more truly grand—than when facing the mob—I am Soon to leave home again. I was in Potsdam11 all last week—and had the misfortune of being told by an indignant proslavery man that you and I should both be hanged! He Said that the present deplorable condition of the Country was due to just such men as yourself—Will the Republicans surrender? Better the desolution of the Union many times over. I can get only a Small part of your Sermon into the present monthly12—Your faithful friend— FREDK DOUGLASS— ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. No correspondence from Gerrit Smith to Douglass in the immediately preceding period has survived. 2. In November 1860, the “John Brown Anniversary Committee,” led by James Redpath, organized a convention in Boston, Massachusetts, to memorialize the first anniversary of John Brown’s death. This convention also planned to address the question of the abolition of slavery. Following the recent election of Abraham Lincoln, many of Boston’s business leaders denounced the meeting as “anti-Southern” in nature. Regardless of this disapproval, no one expected violence at the event. The committee invited Douglass to speak, and the first meeting began at Tremont Temple on 3 December 1860. Soon a majority of the audience turned hostile, and an antiabolitionist group attempted to take control of the meetings. Douglass continued to speak despite efforts to silence him. After three hours of conflict between the two groups, the Boston mayor ordered police to disband the meeting. McKivigan, Forgotten Firebrand, 59–60; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:387–88. 3. On 9 December 1860, Douglass addressed an audience at Boston’s Music Hall. Although scheduled to deliver his lecture “Self-Made Men,” Douglass mainly commented on the mob attack that had occurred six days earlier. After repeated interruptions, Douglass finally concluded his speech, and the audience erupted in shouts and catcalls, resulting in one man’s ejection. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:420. 4. The New York Tribune described the meeting’s opponents as “a diversified mob, composed chiefly of North End toughs and Beacon street aristocrats.” New York Tribune, 4, 7 December 1860. 5. Lib., 7, 14 December 1860. 6. The Boston Post was a daily morning paper first published in November 1831. Throughout its history, the paper typically supported the Democratic party. Boston Post, 4 December 1860; Hudson, Journalism in the United States, 389. 7. The Boston Traveller was an evening and weekly newspaper that generally supported the Democratic party. In reporting on the mob attack in Boston, Douglass printed an article in his monthly newspaper written by a correspondent for the New York Tribune mentioning the Boston Traveller. In the article, the correspondent claimed that the Traveller contained a good report of the event, but that the accounts were somewhat biased towards the rioters. DM, 3:393 (January1861); Hudson, Journalism in the United States, 383.

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8. Among the other local reports of the antiabolition attack on the John Brown meeting at Tremont Temple were those in the Boston Daily Morning Journal, 3 December 1860; Boston Daily Evening Transcript, 3 December 1860; Boston Advertiser, 4 December 1860; and Boston SemiWeekly Courier, 6 December 1860. 9. Charles King Whipple (1808–1900) was an author and abolitionist. A close friend of William Lloyd Garrison, he assisted in editing the Liberator. Douglass implies that Whipple was less critical than Garrison of the event at the Tremont Temple. Garrison believed that the convention would prove a failure, mainly because “no conference or consultation whatever was had with the long-tried advocates of the Anti-Slavery cause, who, if they had been consulted, would have suggested a very different mode of procedure.” As Douglass suggests, Garrison seemed bitter that he had not been asked about how to organize the meetings. Whipple’s editorial in the Liberator was more supportive of the abolitionist convention. He described the rioters as profane supporters of slavery and questioned the delayed actions of the Boston police. He criticized the leaders of the rioters, too, who claimed that they would attempt to shut down public meetings that were, in their opinion, orchestrated by political demagogues. Lib., 7, 14 December 1860; Merrill and Ruchames, Garrison Letters, 4:582, 666. 10. Wendell Phillips made four appearances in Boston in December 1860 and January 1861, which included the ceremony to commemorate the first anniversary of John Brown’s death. When the mob attacked the abolitionists at the Tremont Temple, Phillips urged Governor John A. Andrew to call out the militia. Andrew refused, forcing the Boston police to shut down the meeting. Douglass praised Phillips’s participation in the event and acknowledged that the latter had attended the abolitionist meeting despite the mob threatening to tear down his house. Phillips also spoke at the Joy Street Church, where the abolitionists regrouped later in the evening to continue their meetings. At the conclusion of his speech, Phillips returned to his home under the guard of his friends. The mob attempted to overtake his guard as they walked home, but Phillips was not injured. DM, 3:385, 391 (January 1861); Irving H. Bartlett, Wendell Phillips: Brahmin Radical (Boston, 1961), 226–27; Oscar Sherwin, Prophet of Liberty: The Life and Times of Wendell Phillips (New York: 1958), 418; James Brewer Stewart, Wendell Phillips: Liberty’s Hero (Baton Rouge, La., 1986), 213. 11. In late 1860 Douglass traveled to the northern New York community of Potsdam in St. Lawrence County and spoke at the St. Lawrence Academy, a state-supported normal school that evolved into the State University of New York at Potsdam. Watertown Daily Times, 6 November 2011. 12. News of the rapidly worsening secession crisis and reports of the mob attack on the John Brown commemoration in Boston crowded the next several issues of Douglass’ Monthly. Douglass finally published lengthy extracts from an address Smith gave in Peterboro on 18 November 1860, in an article entitled “Gerrit Smith on Bible Civil Government,” in DM, 3:412–14 (February 1861).

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO SARAH SOUTHAM CASH1 [Halifax, Eng.] [December 1860.]

My dear Friend Mrs[.] Cash: My good friend Julia2 assures me that you would be pleased to have a line from me in company with hers. I have not at all forgotten that I was once the guest of your Dear home in Coventry, nor that you and your dear household have kindly stood by me in my anti slavery labors during the last dozen years. I do hope much to See you all at Shereburns House3 during my present tour in England. The Halifax Antislavery Society are do-

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ing all they can to bring me well before the Yorkshire people.4 I need not tell you that to this work my good friend Julia is giving her very best energies. A company of ministers and antislavery friends met me last night at the house of Dr Crofts5—where I make my home—and all seemed to take an earnest interest in the Anti slavery question[.] I shall have much to tell you about the Anti slavery movements and its prospects when it Shall be my good privilege to see you. Please, if you are seeing or writing to your Daughter Ellenor6 —remember me kindly to her—tell her I am as much like the picture she took of me as the wear and tear of thirteen years will permit me to be. Do not forget to remember me also to Dear Mary Ann7 and your dear husband8— indeed all your dear household—I love to remember you all—and Shall be most happy to see you all. I have hardly yet determined any thing as to when I Shall leave this vicinity but probably—not before January—then I expect to go North. Very Truly yours FREDK DOUGLASS— ALS: Alfred W. Anthony Collection, NN. 1. Born in Buckinghamshire, Sarah Southam Cash (c. 1794–1879) was the daughter of John Southam, a Quaker doctor who wrote of a well-regarded treatise on smallpox, and Anne Priest. In 1817 she married Joseph Cash (c. 1784–1870) of Coventry, a wealthy stuff (textile) merchant. Their children included the noted philanthropists and successful ribbon merchants John Cash (1822–80) and Joseph Cash (1826–80), whose company J. J. Cash manufactured the famous Cash’s name tapes (name tags). Sarah Southam Cash was active in the British female antislavery movement, serving as district treasurer for Coventry in the 1820s. She was also involved with the Peace Society. The Third Report of the Female Society for Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wednesbury, Walsall, and their Respective Neighbourhoods for the Relief of British Negro Slaves, Established April 8, 1825 (Birmingham, Eng., 1828), 8, 34, 54; Seventh Annual Report of the Committee of the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace for 1823 (London, 1823), 55; 1841 England Census, Warwickshire, Coventry, 15; 1871 England Census, Warwickshire, Coventry, 32; ODNB (online). 2. Julia Griffiths Crofts. 3. Sherbourne House was the name of the Cash family home in Coventry. 1841 England Census, Warwickshire, Coventry, 15; 1861 England Census, Warwickshire, Coventry, 20. 4. The Halifax Anti-Slavery Society helped Douglass arrange public addresses in northern England while he was a refugee after the Harpers Ferry raid. Douglass spoke under the group’s auspices at Mechanics’ Hall in that city on 7 and 28 December 1859 and again on 4 January 1860. Halifax Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, Third Annual Report, 1; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxx–xxxi, 276–300, 613–14; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 1:31. 5. The Reverend Henry O. Crofts. 6. Eleanor Cash Stone (1820–95) was the daughter of Joseph and Sarah Southam Cash. She was active in the British antislavery and women’s rights movements. In 1857 she married Henry Stone of Banbury, Oxfordshire. Stone was a successful bookseller, stationer, and furniture manufacturer. 1861 England Census, Oxfordshire, Banbury, 10; 1871 England Census, Oxfordshire, Banbury, 15; Gordon S. Haight, ed., The George Eliot Letters, 9 vols. (New Haven, Conn., 1954–78), 2:225, 301–02;

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Alan Crossley, et al., eds., A History of the County of Oxford, 17 vols. (London, 1939–2012), 10:66; England and Wales, National Probate Calendar: Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858–1966 (online). 7. Mary Ann Cash (1819–1916) was another of Joseph and Sarah Southam Cash’s daughters. After seeing Douglass in 1847, she and several ladies from Coventry and Leamington sent goods to be sold at the Boston Anti-Slavery Fair in 1847. Mary Ann Cash to Maria Weston Chapman, 11 [November] 1847, Boston Public Library Anti-Slavery Collection, BPL; “Notes and Queries: The Southam Family,” Journal of the Friends Historical Society, 18:110–11 (1921). 8. Joseph Cash (c. 1784–1870) was a successful Quaker businessman. Like his wife and children, he was involved in a variety of reform movements, including the Peace Society and the Society for the Abolition of Human Sacrifices. In 1835, he built an infants’ school on the grounds of his home, Sherbourne House. He later allowed a group of Wesleyans to hold services there. Cash also served on the first Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital Committee. Sixth Annual Report of the Committee of the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace, 1822 (London, 1822), 58; “Meeting for the Abolition of the Burning of Widows in India,” Oriental Herald, and Journal of General Literature, 20:545 (March 1829); Rosemary Ashton, George Eliot: A Life (New York, 1996), 34; Peter Walters, The Story of Coventry (New York, 2013), 169.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO WILLIAM BUELL SPRAGUE1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 1 May 1861[.]

William B. Sprague D.D. Dear Sir. I am obliged by your favour, and by a copy your discourse in communication of the late Hon: John McLean,2 one of the Justices of the Supreme of the U. States. I thank you for this token of your respect, and for the interest you are pleased to manifest in my humble career. I am very glad to be able to assure you that though the days of my pilgrimage here have been far from bright, I find life no burden but rather a precious privilege. The clouds and darkness which surrounded its morning—and which have brooded over it most of the way, seem now disappearing in the opening prospects of my long enslaved people. If out of the great evils you depict in the discourse you have kindly sent me, there Shall come the year of Jubilee to the Slave, as I hope it will, it will be among the grandest illustrations of the truth of the opening remarks of your address. The conduct of events seems to be taken out of human hands, and beyond the reach of human calculation or control. We have drifted into the deep current of Eternal Law—and must be carried where they lead. For once the cause of the country has become the cause of the slave, and the difficulty of separating the one from the other, is a ground of hope that in the almost cirtain triumph of the Country, the Cause of Justice and freedom to the bondman

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will triumph. I have taken the Liberty to send you a discourse of mine in Commemoration of the late Honorable Wm Jay.3 Very Respectfully Yours FREDERICK DOUGLASS ALS: Miscellaneous Manuscripts, NjP. 1. William Buell Sprague (1795–1876), pastor, biographer, and collector, was born in Andover, Connecticut. He attended Yale College and graduated with honors in 1815 and then attended Princeton Theological Seminary. In 1819 he was ordained and became the pastor of the First Congregational Church in West Springfield, Massachusetts, where he remained for ten years. His second pastoral assignment was to the Second Presbyterian Church in Albany, New York. He served there for forty years before resigning. Sprague was one of the most sought-after pastors of his time. He was recognized for his collections. He was believed to have the largest private collection of autographs of his day, including the first complete set of autographs of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He collected other kinds of documents as well, including a substantial number of letters written by George Washington. Sprague’s scholarly interests centered on history and biography; his best-known publishing project was Annals of the American Pulpit, a nine-volume collection of biographies of Protestant ministers. For his production of more than 150 literary works, he received a doctor of divinity from both Columbia and Harvard and a doctor of law in 1869 from Princeton College. ACAB, 5:638; DAB, 17:476–77; ANB, 20:501–02. 2. Born to a poor farm family, John McLean (1785–1861) rose through the legal and political ranks to the U.S. Supreme Court. He received little formal education in his youth, but nevertheless was permitted to read law in the offices of Arthur St. Clair of Cincinnati, Ohio. McLean practiced law and edited a weekly newspaper in Lebanon, Ohio, until 1812, when he was elected to Congress. Three years later he accepted an appointment to the Ohio Supreme Court. After six years as a judge, McLean served as postmaster general in the administrations of James Monroe and John Quincy Adams. As a reward for his support of Andrew Jackson in the election of 1828, McLean received an appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, where his most famous opinion was the dissent in the Dred Scott decision of 1857. Over the years, McLean was seriously considered for a presidential nomination by the Anti-Masons, Free Soilers, Know-Nothings, Whigs, and Republicans. At the 1856 Republican Convention, he finished second in the balloting, behind John C. Frémont. Francis P. Weisenburger, The Life of John McLean: A Politician on the United States Supreme Court (Columbus, Ohio, 1937); NCAB, 2:469–70; ACAB, 4:144; DAB, 12:127–28. 3. On 12 May 1859, Douglass delivered a eulogy for William Jay at a well-attended public meeting in New York City. Jay’s son, John, later assisted Douglass in republishing it in pamphlet form. Frederick Douglass, Eulogy of the Late Hon. Wm. Jay, By Frederick Douglass, Delivered on the Invitation of the Colored Citizens of New York City, In Shiloh Presbyterian Church (Rochester, 1859); FDP, 20 May 1859; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:249–76.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO SUSAN B. ANTHONY Rochester[, N.Y.] 5 June 1861.

Dear Miss Anthony: Thanks for your note.1 I see nothing at this moment against our celebrating the 4th at Clifton Springs2—but much in its favour. I will gladly make

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one of the speakers, if it shall be determined to hold Such a celebration either at Clifton Springs or any other part of Western New[]york. I rejoice not in the death of any man, but I cannot but feel, that in the death of Stephen A. Douglass,3 a most dangerous man has been removed. No man of his time has done more than he to intensify hatred of the negro, and to demoralize northern sentiment. Since Henry Clay,4 he has been the king of compromisers[.] Of course, I Shall see you before you before you make the final arrangements for the celebration. Is Clifton Springs the best place? With Such speakers as those named—the voice of genuine Antislavery might get a hearing—at a point more populous—But of this, we can speak when we meet. Very Truly yours FREDK DOUGLASS. ALS: Ida Harper Manuscripts, CSmH. 1. Susan B. Anthony’s note to Douglass has not been located. 2. Frederick Douglass did not speak at the 1861 Independence Day celebration in Clifton Springs, New York, a small town in Ontario County known for its sulfur springs spa. Douglass remained in Rochester and attended an antislavery picnic in a grove near his house. The attendance was an estimated 300 by the afternoon, which was considered “not large.” Though asked to speak Douglass “excused himself” and did not make an address. Rochester Union and Advertiser, 6 July 1861. 3. Stephen A. Douglas died on 3 June 1861. 4. Henry Clay (1777–1852), a native Virginian, entered politics during the 1790s in his adopted state of Kentucky and quickly rose to national prominence. As a congressman, senator, secretary of state, founder of the Whig party, and perennial presidential candidate, Clay espoused broadly nationalistic programs designed to avoid the sectional antagonism caused by the issue of slavery. He figured prominently in the debates that led to the passage of the Missouri Compromise, and he was a leading architect of the Compromise of 1850. His support of the American Colonization Society aroused the lasting hostility of Garrisonian abolitionists. In Congress, Clay vigorously opposed abolitionist petitions against slavery in the District of Columbia. Douglass and other abolitionists found him a particularly odious candidate because Northern Whigs attempted to cast the slave-owning Clay as “anti-slavery in his feelings,” which potentially undermined the Liberty party’s political base. Merrill D. Peterson, The Great Triumvirate: Webster, Clay, and Calhoun (New York, 1987); Robert V. Remini, Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union (New York, 1991); Sewell, Ballots for Freedom, 109; DAB, 4:73–79.

MARTHA WALDO BROWN GREENE1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Worcester[, Mass.] 8 Nov[ember] 1861[.]

Dear Friend I see you are to be in Boston Dec’ 3.2 Will you not make it in your way to stop in Worcester either on your way thence, or on your return? Per-

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haps you know that Mary and Sarah3 are living in Worcester, and we all anticipate very much pleasure in seeing you in our midst after so long time gone—Our house is 8 Oxford st, where we shall be most happy to welcome you— Your “Monthly” is at hand, and I can’t refrain from telling you how earnestly I sympathize in the many things you say, especially in your article on Freemont 4 &c, and not less with that touching our relations to England. Your’s is the 1st paper I have seen that has embodied my idea of justice and good policy in the case and I shall circulate it widely. How insignificant and mean, must we seem to a third party, and so full of hag & bully!5 But I hope to see you “face to face” ere long, when it will be much easier to talk, than it is to write, especially as I have at this moment our 2 years old Baby, jostling my arm every other minute, with “Mama Mama Geene”— William6 would desire to be remembered, were he in—Accept from us both Very much regard— MARTHA W. GREENE ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 689–90, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Martha Waldo Brown Greene (1820–1902) was the daughter of John and Mary Hodges Brown. She married William Arnold Greene (1822–73) on 9 May 1842. Her husband was engaged in the mercantile business in New York City in 1842–43, when Martha Greene was an officer of the American Anti-Slavery Society. The couple then moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, where they had six children. Martha and Douglass were close friends and remained so after the Civil War. The contents of the letters often addressed private matters such as his relationship with Ottilie Assing. Greene helped Douglass recover from depression after his first wife died in 1882. Martha died in Melrose, Massachusetts, which was the residence of her daughter Martha Greene Sherman. Martha W. Greene to Frederick Douglass, 7 July 1864, 2 August 1865, 22 July 1871 in General Correspondence File, DLC, reel 2, frames 40–42, 138–39, 604–05, FD Papers, DLC; David W. Blight, Frederick Douglass’ Civil War: Keeping Faith in Jubilee (Baton Rouge, 1989), 167; Diedrich, Love across Color Lines, 306, 368; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 313. 2. Douglass delivered his lyceum lecture “Pictures and Progress” on that day as part of the Fraternity Course at Boston’s Tremont Temple. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:452–73. 3. In this letter, “Mary” probably refers to the Greene’s daughter Martha G. Greene Sherman, since she is listed as “Mary” in the 1865 Massachusetts State Census. Sarah remains unidentified. 4. In October 1861, Douglass’ Monthly ran two editorials on John C. Frémont. The first, “The Real Peril of the Republic,” supported Frémont’s proclamation freeing the slaves in Missouri. The second, “General Fremont’s Proclamation to the Rebels of Missouri,” provided a news summary of the same event. DM, 4:529–31 (October 1861). 5. Probably an expression shortened from “haggle and bully.” Its meaning is to force a certain point of view, most notably in politics or business deals. Chillicothe (Ohio) Scioto Gazette, 14 February 1839. 6. Martha Greene could be referring to either her husband or her son. Originally from Rhode Island, William Arnold Greene (1822–73) was a teacher turned merchant when he married Martha

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Waldo. Greene engaged in business in Boston and New York City. After relocating the family to Worcester, Massachusetts, he first engaged in business and then taught modern language and elocution at the Oread Collegiate Institute and the Highland Military Academy. In 1862 their eldest son, William F. Greene (c. 1844–70), enlisted in the Thirty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry at the age of eighteen. He served about three years before contracting a disease, which ultimately led to his early death. Martha Burt Wright ed., History of the Oread Collegiate Institute, Worcester, Mass, 1849–1881, With Biographical Sketches (New Haven, Conn., 1905), 160–61, 204.

JULIA GRIFFITHS CROFTS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Leeds, [Eng.] 6 Dec[ember] [18]61[.]

My dear Friend It is with much pleasure that I enclose you a bill for £50—which Dr C.1 has obtained, & which will, I trust, reach you safely;—please acknowledge as speedily as possible, as we shall be anxious until we know it has arrived. The list I enclose, which will show you that we still have a few pounds in hand; to which I expect to add a little more, & to send when we learn this has reached— The Edinburgh £5—came after the bill was arranged—but I shall insert it, & please acknowledge it in the paper with the others—as that Committee are rather particular about early acknowledgements2—and 5 weeks will, probably, elapse before we hear from you, in reply to this, or shall send their money—I made up my mind to collect £50, if possible, to send—& not more, by one mail—I hope the £30 from the Halifax Committee,3 & Mrs Carpenter’s4 £20—will, altogether, enable you to meet emergencies & necessary expenses at the close of the year, comfortably—Please, let the paper list be attended to at once—& see that the 2 new papers, to Kelso,5 (ordered by Rev. H. Newton,6 to whom I write on the subject,) be sent regularly. He sent me a nice note—Isabel Jennings7 seems not to wish their name mentioned at all—The Cork money is sent by themselves, for back subs: & donations from them, their brothers, & the Dowdens8—During Dr C’s absence last week, our Postman gave Lizzi9 the news of the Just & “probable war with America”—& some there were placing Placards on all sides—God grant that such a horrible thing may be averted as the possibility of our coming into collision with the North—The Cotton party here, I suppose, wish it—but every one else shudders at the thought. For those wretches Mason & Slidell,10 I wish they could be shut up in prison all their days, until the former repents of framing such an iniquitous Statute as the fugitive slave bill—& the [lat-

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ter] of all his wickedness!—The Law of the matter is a difficult matter to decide about,—I suppose—I hope, my dear friend, if terms are not made, you will cross the frontier, with all your household, & edit your paper at Toronto—the same paper on the other side of Lake Ontario—I trust, however, that our government will be forbearing—& not press extremes—I send you a London Times— We are all still rather on the invalid list—[illegible] dear Aunt continues about the same, & does not leave her room—We have a good deal of foggy weather—which is trying. This time two years you were with us at Old Labour! How time passes each year more rapidly than the last—May we all try to improve it more—this life is, after all, but one of discipline for the higher & holier state of existence, upon which we shall all enter if we love God, & have faith in Him. May he guard you and [JULIA GRIFFITHS CROFTS] ALf: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 697–99, FD Papers, DLC. 1. “Dr. C.” was the Reverend Dr. Henry O. Crofts. 2. In the May 1862 issue of Douglass’ Monthly, an acknowledgment appeared for recent donations gathered by Julia Griffiths Crofts for the newspaper. No contribution was listed from the Edinburgh (New) Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. DM, 4:645 (May 1862). 3. The Halifax Committee is recorded in the Douglass’ Monthly acknowledgment as the “Halifax Emancipation Society” but might have been the Halifax Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. DM, 4:645 (May 1862). 4. Mary Browne Carpenter (c. 1824–98) was the wife of the prominent Unitarian minister Russell Lant Carpenter (1819–92). They were married in Bridgwater, Somersetshire, in 1853. She was one of four daughters born to William Browne, a wealth Unitarian merchant, and his wife, Mary. William Browne served as mayor of Bridgwater in 1854. In addition to her support of the antislavery effort, Mary Browne Carpenter was deeply involved in the woman suffrage movement, belonging to one of the more radical suffrage societies in Bridport. She also supported the animal rights and temperance movements. 1841 England Census, Gloucestershire, Bristol, 22; England and Wales Christening Records, 1530–1906 (online); England and Wales, Death Index, 1837–1915 (online); England and Wales, Marriage Index, 1837–1915 (online); England and Wales, Non-Conformist Records Index (online); Elizabeth Crawford, The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Britain and Ireland: A Regional Survey (New York, 2006), 161, 169. 5. Possibly a reference to the market town of Kelso in the Scottish Borders region, named after the twelfth-century Kelso Abbey. Stewart Cruden, Scottish Abbeys: An Introduction to the Mediaeval Abbeys and Priories of Scotland (Edinburgh, Scot., 1960), 60–62. 6. The Reverend Hibbert Newton (1817–92) was an ordained minister in the Anglican Church. In addition to his ministerial duties, Newton wrote several books of poetry on subjects from the Bible. By 1867, Newton was ordained as the vicar of St. Michael’s in Southward, England, where he served until his death. Newton subscribed to British Israelism, which advocated the pseudo theory that Anglo-Saxons were originally descended from the ten Lost Tribes of Israel. He published one tract on the subject in 1874, which was included in a collection of works on British Israelism. C*** M*** [Clarence Linden McCartha], Israel in Britain: The Collected Papers on the Ethnic and Philological Argument (London, 1877), 38, 40; Catherine Reilly, Mid-Victorian Poetry, 1860–1879: An

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Annotated Bibliography (London, 2000), 338; Colin Kidd, The Forging of Races: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600–2000 (Cambridge, Eng., 2006), 204. 7. While in Cork in the fall of 1845, Douglass stayed with Ann and Thomas Jennings and their eight children. One of their daughters, Isabel, served as co-secretary of the Cork Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society and eventually contributed to help Douglass launch the North Star. Lib., 24 September 1847; Temperley, British Antislavery, 219; Taylor, British and American Abolitionists, 159, 243–44; Ferreira, “Frederick Douglass in Ireland,” 57; Oldham, “Irish Support of the Abolitionist Movement,” 175–80. 8. The family of Richard Dowden (Richard) (1794–1861), who distinguished himself from numerous local Dowdens by the addition of the second Richard to his name, managed a soda-water firm and served as Cork’s mayor in 1845. A Unitarian and an early supporter of temperance, he and two other Protestants, Nicholas Dunscombe and William Martin, led the Cork Total Abstinence Society before the rise of Father Theobald Mathew. Dowden was also a philanthropist, acting as a Poor Law guardian and strongly supporting Daniel O’Connell. In an 1848 letter to Douglass, Dowden identified himself as a Whig-Radical and urged the United States to lead the world by example through its republican institutions. The County and City of Cork Post Office General Directory, 1842–1843 (Cork, Ire., 1842), 26; NS, 21 April 1848; Ian D’Alton, Protestant Society and Politics in Cork, 1812– 1844 (Cork, Ire., 1980), 85; Colm Kerrigan, Father Mathew and the Irish Temperance Movement, 1838–1849 (Cork, Ire., 1992), 46; Paul A. Townend, “Regenerating the Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Cork Total Abstinence Society, 1838–1848” (Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1999). 9. Probably Elizabeth Ann Crofts (c. 1841–87). Born in Canada, she was the eldest daughter of the Reverend Henry O. Crofts and his first wife, Saley Ann Bucknell, who died in 1854, and was the stepdaughter of Julia Griffiths. Elizabeth Ann Crofts, who never married, died at her stepmother’s home in St. Neots, Huntingdonshire, England. 1861 England Census, Yorkshire, Halifax, 110; 1871 England Census, County Durham, Gateshead, 41; English and Wales Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes, 1837–2005 (online). 10. James Murray Mason (1798–1871), a grandson of the revolutionary patriot George Mason, received his education in the Georgetown schools, at the University of Pennsylvania, and at the College of William and Mary. After establishing a law practice at Winchester, Virginia, in 1820, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates, the state constitutional convention of 1829, and the U.S. House of Representatives (1837–39). In 1847, Mason was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he remained until Virginia seceded. Mason supported secession in 1860 and served briefly in the Confederate Congress before being appointed commissioner to England. Educated at Columbia College, John Slidell (1793–1871) had already attempted a mercantile career in his native New York City when scandal prompted his removal to New Orleans. There he established a successful commercial law practice and represented the state in both houses of Congress. Diplomatic missions for Presidents James Polk and Franklin Pierce provided precedent for his appointment to represent the Confederacy in France. On 8 November 1861, while traveling on the British steamer Trent, Mason and Slidell were captured by the U.S. Navy and sent to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor. This affair so strained relations between the United States and Great Britain that many feared war would break out. Upon their release in January 1862, Mason and Slidell proceeded to England and France respectively, but their efforts to gain foreign recognition of the Confederacy and intervention on its behalf were unsuccessful. Emory M. Thomas, The Confederate Nation, 1861–1865 (New York, 1979), 173–79; Ezra J. Warner and W. Buck Yearns, Biographical Register of the Confederate Congress (Baton Rouge, La., 1975), 169–70; Louis Martin Sears, A History of American Foreign Relations (New York, 1927), 313–17; Beckles Wilson, John Slidell and the Confederates in Paris (1862–65) (New York, 1932), 3–26; Jon L. Wakelyn, Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy (Westport, Conn., 1976), 388; NCAB, 2:93; DAB, 12:364–65, 17:209–11; BDUSC (online).

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 22 December 1861[.]

Hon. Gerrit Smith: My Dear Sir. I have not yet seen Spooners new Book,1 when it comes I Shall remember your note. I have just read your letter2 to Thaddeus Stephens.3 It is thus far the ablest paper—and the most thrilling—I have met with on the war— either from your pen or that of any other statesman. As you ply the knife to our rotten Government—I Shudder with a feeling of something like despair of finding any sound place upon which to build a hope of national salvation. I am bewildered by the spectacle of moral blindness—infatuation and helpless imbicelety which the Government of Lincoln presents. Is there no hope? I shall think there is not if all the Antislavery measures now before Congress are laid aside as was Lovejoys4 resolution on friday. But go on, my Dear Sir, with your mighty work. Continue to fling the bright beams of truth upon the conduct of Cabinet and President and upon that of Congress. Your expereince, knowledge, age, and position all give a right to speak in this mighty and momentous struggle—besides your pen is more powerful than ever—your last letter is your best. Very Truly and Gratefully. FREDK DOUGLASS ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 697–99, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Lysander Spooner published his book A New System of Paper Currency in mid-1861. In it he proposed an economic system based on “real estate” and an “invested dollar” instead of precious metals such as gold and a “specie dollar.” Spooner argued that each banking company should adopt similar “articles of association” in order to avoid disputes and effectively trade with one another. Spooner acknowledged that state constitutions would need to be changed in order for his new system to be legal. Lysander Spooner, A New System of Paper Currency (Boston, 1861); Steve J. Shone, Lysander Spooner: American Anarchist (Lanham, Md., 2010), 32–34. 2. Gerrit Smith’s letter to Thaddeus Stevens was written as a broadside on 6 December 1861. Smith argued that colonization was now the best method of dealing with the highly racist U.S. society. Smith further informed Stevens that while he hoped blacks would be allowed to participate in the war, they would return to Africa following the war. The letter is an example of Gerrit Smith’s newfound pessimism over the future of blacks in the United States after the start of the Civil War. Stauffer, Black Hearts of Men, 263–65. 3. The son of a Vermont shoemaker, Thaddeus Stevens (1792–1868) graduated from Dartmouth College and moved to southeastern Pennsylvania to practice law. From 1833 to 1841, Stevens, an Anti-Mason, served in the Pennsylvania legislature, where he championed the establishment of a free public school system; from 1849 to 1853 he was one of the most outspoken antislavery Whigs in the U.S. House of Representatives. Stevens helped organize the Republican party in his state and again served in Congress from 1859 to his death. As chairman of the Ways and Means Committee during the Civil War, he actively worked for emancipation, high tariffs, and a transcontinental railroad. On

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5 December 1861, Stevens proposed a resolution in favor of emancipation under the president’s war powers. Many abolitionists were disappointed in President Lincoln’s early-December message to Congress because he failed to address the issue of emancipation. In a public letter to Stevens, Gerrit Smith described the president’s message as “twattle and trash.” Furthermore, Smith praised Stevens’s resolution on emancipation, claiming that while he had not expected Congress to pass a law on emancipation, Steven’s resolution was “the highest ground to which I had hoped Congress and the country could be brought.” As the leading House member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, Stevens helped push the Fourteenth Amendment, the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, and the Civil Rights Act of 1866 through Congress, despite the opposition of President Andrew Johnson and the hesitancy of conservative Republicans. Although in failing health, he served as one of the House managers in the unsuccessful impeachment trial of President Johnson. Fawn M. Brodie, Thaddeus Stevens: Scourge of the South (New York, 1959); Leonard P. Curry, Blueprint for Modern America: Nonmilitary Legislation of the First Civil War Congress (Nashville, Tenn., 1968), 26–27, 64, 98, 173; Beverly Wilson Palmer and Holly Byers Ochoa, eds., The Selected Papers of Thaddeus Stevens, 2 vols. (Pittsburgh, 1997–98) 1:232–33; Benedict, Compromise of Principle, 34–35, 137, 149–50, 190–91, 224–25, 251; NCAB, 4:30–31; DAB, 17:620–25. 4. Owen Lovejoy (1811–64), a congressman and Congregational minister, studied briefly at Bowdoin College in the early 1830s. Influenced by Theodore Dwight Weld, Lovejoy became a staunch abolitionist in 1836. He moved to Alton, Illinois, to study for the ministry under his brother Elijah P. Lovejoy, who published an antislavery newspaper, the Alton Observer. When Elijah was killed at the hands of an antiabolition mob in 1837, Owen vowed to devote himself to “the cause that has been sprinkled with my brother’s blood.” Beginning in the 1840s, Lovejoy was an active political abolitionist and supported first the Liberty party, then the Free Soilers, and eventually the Republican party. In 1856 he won a seat in Congress. In 1860, Lovejoy campaigned for Lincoln’s election to the presidency and advocated a heavy-handed prosecution of the war against the Confederacy. In December 1861, Lovejoy proposed a bill to free all slaves in the United States and called for the use of black troops. In 1862 he played a major role in the passage of the Homestead Act and the Pacific Railroad Bill, which authorized the building of the first transcontinental railroad. When Lovejoy died in 1864, Lincoln eulogized him as “the best friend I had in Congress.” Edward Magdol, Owen Lovejoy: Abolitionist in Congress (New Brunswick, N.J., 1967); idem, “Owen Lovejoy’s Role in the Campaign of 1858,” JISHS, 51:403–16 (1958); Ruth Ewers Haberkorn, “Owen Lovejoy in Princeton, Illinois,” JISHS, 36:284–315 (1943); ANB, 14:6–7.

MARIA LAMB WEBB TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS [n.p.] [31 December 1861.]

My dear Friend Along with this note I [expect] Lewis Tappan will send thee an order for 5 pounds British which I have the pleasure of sending thee as a small token of the interest some here feel in thy Antislavery Paper and the advocacy of the rights of the coloured people which thou art continuing to maintain[.] I cannot say this is from the Irish Ladies Antislavery Society[.]1 In fact it is made up of contributions from a few friends of my own. The aid formerly sent from the Society for fugitives in the Northern parts bordering on Canada not being now required and Friends in England

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who are likely also to be joined by many in Ireland are making up a handsome subscription for the assistance of the slaves who have fled within the Federal lines and thence passed into the Federal States has caused our Society this year to issue no circular and ask for no subscriptions. I often think of thy remark that [illegible] for slavery is [illegible] be hard to inflict a greater evil on a people—than to fix among them the idea that they are to be supported in some way without effort on their own part. And that there is danger sending among them from they know not where and large quantities of clothing may lead them to depend on outside help rather than upon their own energies. The good sense and the force of these remarks are exemplified in all cases of long continued assistance thus bestowed whether here as with the escaping fugitive slaves in your land. Aid must and should be given in case of peculiar pressure and poverty but if long continued the spirit of the people and their self supporting energies will be ruined[.] The families of the muslin weavers in the Cotton manufacturing districts of this country are just now passing through a dreadful ordeal—no employment and bad harvests have placed them in a very destitute state— till that fearful war of yours terminates I fear they have little chance of work and it is very bad for them as well as very difficult to support them by charity.—Still it must be done—in the present emergency. Wilhelmina2 is here beside me and [illegible] her kind remembrance[.] Our young people are greatly wishing for thy carte—It would oblige me if thou could send it. Affectionately & truly thy friend MARIA WEBB ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 9, frames 352–53, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Several veteran Dublin abolitionists formed the Irish Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society in the 1850s. Though an Irish organization, its membership was predominantly Protestant. Despite the society’s stated goal of bringing the abolitionist cause to the attention of the Irish, its members mainly sent homemade goods, such as silk goods, to Rochester for auction at the yearly antislavery bazaar. The society also made contributions to Frederick Douglass to support his newspaper, and Douglass regularly printed news of the society’s annual meetings in Dublin. FDP, 6 May 1859; Maria Luddy, Women and Philanthropy in Ireland in Nineteenth-Century Ireland (Cambridge, Eng. 1995), 66. 2. Wilhelmina Webb (c. 1832–98) was the daughter of William and Maria Lamb Webb. Legg, Alfred Webb, 83.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO “A FRIEND IN ENGLAND” Boston[, Mass.,] U.S. 7 March 1862.

“I am very much cheered this morning by the anti-slavery signs of the times. For the last six weeks clouds and darkness have seemed to overhang the immediate future of our cause. The policy of the Government at Washington seemed to aim at repressing all anti slavery sentiment at the North, and so to manage the war as that slavery should receive no detriment. This policy is distinctly abandoned in a message just read before Congress from the President, calling upon Congress to co-operate with any of the Slave States in measures for gradual emancipation.1 The President has presented the subject in the mildest possible terms, but all the more on that account do I trust to the radical character of his views concerning the necessity for putting away our great American abomination. I consider that we have fairly reached the turning point of the moral struggle involved in this terrible war. If, as I believe, the stern rebukes which have reached us from your side of the sea—though, in some instances, only based upon a partial view of the facts—have contributed to this result, we ought to thank you for the chastisement, however grievous. “I am here (Boston),2 in the service of a new association for the abolition of slavery, sprung up out of the demands of the hour, called the Emancipation League.3 Its object is to act directly upon congress by the arguments supplied by the war in favour of the entire abolition of slavery. The men most deeply interested in the association4 are those who did most to effect the exclusion of slavery from Kansas. They are mostly of the republican party; but more in earnest for the abolition of slavery than the great body of that organisation. They are sending me to certain large towns in this State, to rouse the people to the work of making this war an abolition war. Oh! [F]or the bondman’s release. I want more than I can express to live to see it. I may not live to see slavery abolished in all the Slave States, but I do hope to see it abolished in my native State of Maryland; for if slavery is abolished in the district of Columbia,5 as it now seems likely to be, it cannot continue long in Maryland.” PLf: London Inquirer, 29 March 1862. 1. In late 1861 and early 1862, President Lincoln proposed a plan for the compensated emancipation of slaves in Kentucky, Delaware, Missouri, and Maryland. The federal government would order the freeing of slaves and compensate each slave owner monetarily. This plan, the first suggestion of emancipation by the Lincoln administration, was met with opposition from two sides. Slave owners in the border states did not want to release their slaves, and Northern abolitionists argued that

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slaves should be freed immediately and without compensation. Delaware was the first state to reject the compensated emancipation plan, though it was put in operation in the District of Columbia and other federal territories. Boston Daily Advertiser, 18 July 1862; Fladeland, “Compensated Emancipation,” 169–86. 2. In early February 1862, Frederick Douglass delivered a lecture, “The Black Man’s Future in the Southern States,” at the Tremont Temple in Boston for the Emancipation League. It was the first of three speeches he gave for the league, the other two coming on 12 and 19 February. Lib., 17 January 1862. 3. Boston’s Emancipation League was formed in November 1861 to promote abolition as a war aim. Several of the founders, such as Wendell Phillips and William Lloyd Garrison, were alarmed at the Lincoln administration’s recalcitrance on the issue of slavery and wanted to change public sentiment in favor of emancipation. The league began a lecture series that included speakers such as Frederick Douglass and Orestes Brownson. The league added a call for enlisting black Union soldiers in 1862 and 1863. It frequently criticized the Lincoln’ administration for failing to win the war quickly and criticized Union generals who were not fervent in their support for black troops while pushing for changes in military strategy. Lib., 17 January 1862; New York Times, 26 May 1863; Phillip S. Foner ed., Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings (Chicago, 1999), 474; McPherson, Struggle for Equality, 80. 4. Though Wendell Phillips and William Lloyd Garrison were prominent among the founders of the Emancipation League, less well-known abolitionists led the organization. George Keely Radcliffe was elected the league’s first president, and Michael C. Teel and Oliver J. Gerrish were elected vice presidents. Radcliffe published Charles Sumner’s speech in favor of emancipation and circulated it among Union soldiers from Massachusetts in 1861. Lib., 10 November, 27 December 1861; Foner, Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings, 474; McPherson, Struggle for Equality, 80. 5. Because of the division of powers between the state and national governments under the U.S. Constitution, the federal government in 1862 could not force emancipation on loyal slave states such as Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware. Most Northern Republicans and abolitionists, however, believed that the national government could undertake emancipation in federal territories with an act of Congress. With Republican majorities, the Senate and House approved a bill on 16 April 1862, emancipating all slaves in the District of Columbia. Despite abolitionist criticism, this bill contained a clause providing monetary compensation for slave owners in the federal territory. The bill was passed over the opposition of nearly every Democratic senator and congressman. Lib., 25 April 1862; McPherson, Struggle for Equality, 97; idem, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (New York, 1988), 506.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GEORGE BARRELL CHEEVER1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 5 April 1862.

Rev. Dr Cheever Dear Sir: Let me thank you very Sincerely for your note2 informing me that the five dolls handed me a week[]ago by our friend Miss Anthony3 was from Mrs Janet Berwick,4 the president of the Dundee AntiSlavery Society;5 I wish also to thank you for your earnest words of friendship and counsel.

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Your Services to the cause of my enslaved people—have made your life and Labors very precious in my eyes. I follow you every where with devout gratitude—that one So able, clear Sighted, brave & uncompromising Should rise up in these latter times of trial—to Speak the true word without any admixture of the Spureous doctrines of expediency—which have cheated and deceived Some of our best hearted advocates of Emancipation. The blessings of at least, one of those doomed by Slavery to perish will follow you evermore. I am most happy to find that at last, by the potency of truth, and the valour of principle you have been able to compel this nation to hear your words: But I will not trespass. Yours Very truly: FREDK DOUGLASS. ALS: Cheever Family Papers, MWA. 1. Born in Maine and educated at Bowdoin College and Andover Theological Seminary, George Barrell Cheever (1807–90) held a series of prominent editorial and ministerial posts in the Congregational Church, most significantly the pastorate of New York City’s Church of the Pilgrims (1846–67). Besides his religious activities, he was active in the temperance and abolitionist movements. In the late 1850s, Cheever and his younger brother, Henry, another Congregationalist minister, were the leading figures in the Church Anti-Slavery Society, which attempted to coordinate abolitionist activities in evangelical denominations. During the early years of the Civil War, Cheever vociferously criticized the Lincoln administration for not embracing immediate abolition. McKivigan, War against Proslavery Religion, 137–41; ACAB, 1:597; DAB, 4:48–49. 2. Cheever’s letter to Douglass has not survived. 3. Susan B. Anthony. 4. Mrs. Janet Ormond Borwick (c. 1812–?) was the wife of the Reverend William Broadfoot Borwick (1808–70), pastor of the Bell Street United Presbyterian Church in Dundee from 1835 to 1866. She was active in the Dundee Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society for many years, serving as secretary and treasurer. In 1855 she was singled out by Samuel Ringgold Ward for her “indefatigable . . . promotion” of the anti-slavery movement. 1851 Scotland Census, Angus, Dundee, 4; William Peace, Peace’s Orkney and Shetland Almanac and County Directory for 1888 (Kirkwell, Scot., 1887), 36; Ward, Autobiography of a Fugitive Negro, 231. 5. Douglass failed to acknowledge receipt of this contribution in his erratically published lists of contributors in Douglass’ Monthly. The Dundee Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Association contributed regularly to the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, other abolitionist organizations, and settlements of free blacks in Canada. BFASR, (July 1860); R. J. M. Blackett, Divided Hearts: Britain and the American Civil War (Baton Rouge, La., 2001), 107; Richard William Vaudry, The Free Church in Victorian Canada, 1844–61 (Waterloo, Ont., 1989), 110.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO CHARLES SUMNER Rochester[, N.Y.] 8 April 1862[.]

Hon: Chas. Sumner. My Dear Sir: “They are men by the grace of God and this is enough.” I want only a moment of your time to give you my thanks for your speech in the Senate on the Bill for the Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia.1 I trust I am not dreaming but the events taking place seem like a dream. If slavery is really dead in the District of Columbia,2 and merely waiting for the cerimony of “Dust to dust”3—by the president, to you, more than to any other American Statesman, belongs the honor of this great triumph of justice Liberty and Sound policy. I rejoice for my freed brothers, and Sir, I rejoice for you. You have lived to strike down in Washington the power—which lifted the bludgion against your own free voice. I take nothing from the good and brave men who have cooperated with you. There is, or ought to be a head to every body—and whether you will or not, the Slaveholder and the Slave look to you as the best embodyment of the Antislavery idea now in the Counsels of the Nation. May God sustain you. This is my prayer for you and all the good men who sorround you. I am Dear Sir, Truly and gratefully yours FREDERICK DOUGLASS ALS: Charles Sumner Papers, MH-H. 1. Charles Sumner gave this speech during the congressional debate over the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. Sumner argued that slavery should be abolished in the nation’s capital and throughout the United States. His phrase “men by the grace of God, and this is enough” could be a paraphrase of Heb. 2:9. Charles Sumner, Ransom of Slaves at the National Capital: Speech of the Hon. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, on the Bill for the Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia, in the Senate of the United States, March 31, 1862 (Washington, D.C., 1862). 2. The bill that ultimately abolished slavery in the District of Columbia was introduced in Congress by Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts on 16 December 1861. The measure was reported out of committee in February, debated throughout March, and passed by the Senate on 3 April 1862. The bill quickly won approval in the House of Representatives and was signed into law by Lincoln on 16 April 1862. Congressional Globe, 37th Cong., 2d sess., 1862, 89, 183, 1516–26, 1629; Benjamin Quarles, The Negro in the Civil War (New York, 1953), 138, 146. 3. The expression “dust to dust” originated in the “Burial of the Dead” service in the Book of Common Prayer. The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the . . . Episcopal Church (New York, 2005), 485; Bartlett, Familiar Quotations, 51:14.

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THEODORE TILTON1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS [n.p.] 30 April 1862.

My dear Mr. Douglass, Mr. Beecher2 and I have had a talk about Contributions to The Independent; the upshot of which is, to add you to the number. I would be happy to publish, with your name, (as before,) an occasional article which you may feel moved to write, and to pay you the unworthy sum of Ten Dollars for it. I make this request not only for your own sake, but for the higher sake of the cause,—which seems to need, at this crisis, some Expression from men of the darker skin. I believe that if you were to come occasionally before the 65,000 subscribers of The Independent;3 with a thoughtful, careful, striking, eloquent article (such as would make part of a good lecture or oration)—something to quicken the pulse & stir the heat of the nation—something of Slavery such as only a man once a slave himself can know & tell you would add to the number of men who respect you, and would lend a helping hand to the Good Cause. Don’t say No, but do it for the sake of Your friend, THEODORE TILTON.

PS See how I got caught on Monday,—staying to dinner at Beecher’s county-seat, & missing my lecture in New York that night!4 ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 718–19, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Theodore Tilton (1835–1907), journalist, poet, and public lecturer, was born in New York City, where he attended the Free Academy (today City University of New York). As a reporter for the New York Observer, he made the acquaintance of the Reverends Henry Ward Beecher and George B. Cheever, who were instrumental in his becoming, in 1856, the managing editor of the New York Independent, a popular religious journal. In the early 1860s, Tilton tried to recruit Douglass as a regular contributor to the Independent, and the two became friends. Tilton succeeded Beecher as editor of the Independent in 1862 and continued in that position until 1871. After the Civil War, he also became a popular speaker on the topics of Radical Reconstruction and women’s rights. His public career never recovered, however, from the notoriety he attracted in 1874 as a result of an unsuccessful lawsuit charging Beecher with committing adultery with his wife. Subsequent journalistic efforts failed, and in 1883 Tilton left the United State for Europe. He eventually settled in Paris, where he wrote essays and poetry to support himself. When Douglass visited Paris in 1886, Tilton served as his guide. On Douglass’s death, Tilton published Sonnets to the Memory of Frederick Douglass (Paris, 1895). Douglass to Theodore Tilton, 22 November 1860, 2 December 1869, FD Papers, NRU; Douglass to Theodore Tilton, 2 September 1867, FD Papers, NHi; Theodore Tilton to Douglass, 30 April, 22 October 1862, 20 April 1869, 5 September 1882, General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 718–19, 745–47, reel 2, frames 464–66, and reel 3, frames 627–31, FD Papers, DLC; Chicago Open Court, 28 April 1887; New York Times, 26 May 1907; New York Independent, 10 December 1908; Robert Shaplen, Free Love and Heavenly Sinners: The Story of the Great Henry Ward Beecher Scandal (New York, 1954); ACAB, 6:120; DAB, 2:129–35.

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2. Henry Ward Beecher. 3. Subscriptions to the Independent fell and rose with the progress of the war. When the Union suffered several losses in 1861, subscriptions fell. By 1862, subscriptions were once again on the rise as Union Army’s achieved several victories in the West. By 1863, subscriptions reached an all time high of 75,000, a number not exceeded until after the war. Frank Luther Mott, A History of American Magazines, 1850–1865 (Cambridge, Mass., 1957), 367–72. 4. Tilton enclosed an undated clipping from the New York Sun: “MISHAP TO A LECTURER —Corinthian Hall in this city had an overflowing audience on Monday night, awaiting a lecture by Theodore Tilton on ‘The Latest Questions of the War.’ Th[e] speaker did not arrive at the appointed hour, and nothing was heard from him for twenty minutes when the chairman received and read the following dispatch: ‘To the Chairman of the meeting at Corinthian Hall: I am detained at Peekskill by a railroad accident, and cannot reach the city in time to lecture, but I propose to the audience three cheers in advance for the abolition of slavery from every square inch of the Republic. THEODORE TILTON.’ The reading of this dispatch elicited a storm of applause, and as the audience could not hold a lecturer responsible for a locomotive running off the track, they will doubtless be good-natured enough to fill the Hall with equal numbers on Friday evening, when Mr. Tilton is to make another effort to be present.”

W. W. TATE1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Montgomery City, C[olorado] t[erritory].2 2 June [18]62.

Fred’k Douglass Esq:— Although an entire stranger to you, and claiming no right either to your time or attention, neither as a philanthropist nor as a writer; yet I especially solicit your attention at this time, most respectfully on the score of Humanity and Justice to our oppressed and shamefully degraded race. I have been forced to this unpleasant duty from the reading of an article in the May number of your Monthly, which I have just received, entitled “Colored Men Petitioning to be Colonized,”3 and from the reading of which, I am left in a labyrinth to know your true meaning. But by way of explanation, dear friend, allow me to give you the fullest assurance that I am not a Colonizationists that is according to the American construction of the word. So far as you oppose the scheme of the Washington petitioners, petitioning Congress to colonize them either in some part of this country, or in Central America, I certainly have not a word of dissent to offer. And most heartily and religiously agree with you when you say, “We regret this movement on the part of the colored men at Washington.” “But, when a little farther along in the same thread of argument you say that it is now

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too late in the day for us to think of colonizing in any quarter of the globe freed from the presence of the white race even if that were desirable.” To which you add, “But the Washington petitioners do not wish to be free from the protection of the white race, for they would prefer to remain in some part of the United States. Whether they go to Central America or to some part of this country set apart for them, they still wish to be under the protection of the United States and in this feature of their plan and in this only are they wise.” Well, where under the canopy of heaven did these Washington petitioners derive the phrase “under the protection of the United States Government,” from. Now sir, it is from the above quoted paragraph that I must conscientiously dissent; or at least call upon you for further exemplification. Why is it so exclusively profoundly wise that the emancipated slave of this country should still hold to the coat tails of the sworn and inexorable enemies of their race, who declares by their every word and action, throughout the length and breadth of the land, in New York as in Louisiana, and in Ohio as in Texas, that the “Negro has no rights that the white man is bound to respect?”4[]Is there no living example to prove that, both the emancipated slave and the nominally free colored man might improve their conditions far more, both socially and politically, as well as Nationally, by emigrating to some country beyond the influence of the barbarous inclinations of the dominant class in these United States? And where too, the climate is congenial, the soil rich, and the ruling class a people of their own kind, of their own stock and lineage I need scarcely refer you to the elevated positions of the colored people throughout Central America and the West Indies, or even to Canada, for there the colored man is equal before the law, nor in fact to their superior condition in any other country as compared with this slavery damned and thoroughly corrupted country, wholly destitute of the essential elements necessary to the dissemination and maintenance of Justice, Freedom and Equality. For my part, individually, I look not for common justice even in a country where the ruling class is so far in advance of my race, in numbers, wealth, and intelligence; and where too they now are, and always have been our bitterest enemies, for the space of two hundred and forty years. The people of the United States have robbed us of our birthright. The right of schools, the right to read the sacred Bible, handed down to us by God himself; the right of elective franchise, without which no people can be free; also the right to call our own bodies, and those of our dear wives and children our own. These things have they done and are yet doing to-day. A nation sir, that is capable of committing these heinous, and un-

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called for deeds against my people for two centuries and a half, is wholly incapable of my esteem and confidence. But from the following I am constrained to believe that you are averse to the colored man emigrating to any country beyond the confines of the United States; whether it be to Canada, Central America, Hayti, Liberia, or anywhere else. For you say, that “The great argument for emigration, is that we must go where we shall be respected.” And further: “The best answer to this view of the case was made recently by Mr. Powers5 in New York, who took the ground that the colored race can never be respected anywhere till they are respected in America.” And by the term “America,” you evidently mean the United States, exclusively, for you further ahead adopt these words: “We thoroughly agree with Mr. Powers that the question as to the estimate which shall be formed of the negro, and the place he shall hold in the world’s esteem, is to be decided here &c.”—I ask sir, that, if it was good for the Pilgrim Fathers6 to emigrate in the Seventeenth Century to free themselves from Religious tyranny, why then may it not be good for the descendants of Africa, in the Nineteenth Century, to quit their unhomely homes, the place of their nativity, on account of oppression both social and political, as well as religious. Oppression sir for barbarity would put to shame the wicked absurdities of the Antideluvians,7 and bring to naught the atrocities of those who were the modus operandi8 of the superstitions and crimes of those who lived in the Middle and Dark Ages of the world.—And while the inhabitants of the Old World are continually fleeing from oppression at home and the civilized world cries, “Amen, so mote it be!”9 Where is the potent unanswerable argument that says “The true policy of the colored American is to make himself in every way open to him an American citizen, bearing with proscription and insult, till these evils disappear.” How long, O, Lord, how long10 must we suffer to be kicked and proscribed, and then only to be kicked and proscribed again, simply because we were born on the sacred soil of America? From what I have said do not deem me your enemy. And if I have committed an error, be assured that it has been of the head and not of the heart. Accept, then, my dear sir, my highest regards and believe me to be your abiding friend for the elevation of our despised race. W. W. TATE. PLSr: DM, 5:676–77 (July 1862). 1. Biographical information on this correspondent is limited. W. W. Tate (c. 1840–?) appears to be an Ohio-born African American restaurateur residing in the western territories. A W. W. Tate

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wrote to the Liberator on 12 August 1865 from Santa Fe, New Mexico, expressing regrets that William Lloyd Garrison had announced the suspension of that newspaper. Earlier that year, he had been part of a public meeting at which Santa Fe African Americans expressed their mourning at Lincoln’s assassination. Lib., 8 September 1865; The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Late President of the Unites States of America, and the Attempted Assassination of William H. Seward, Secretary of State, and Frederick W. Seward, Assistant Secretary, on the Evening of the 14th of April, 1865 (Washington, D.C. 1867); 1880 U.S. Census, New Mexico, Santa Fe County, 38. 2. Probably the recently established settlement in the Montgomery Mining District located in Colorado Territory. In 1862 it had over one hundred cabins, mainly for workers in the areas silver mines. Today it is a ghost town located in Park County, southwest of Denver. Robert L. Brown, Ghost Towns of the Colorado Rockies (Caldwell, Idaho, 1968), 224–27. 3. Following the passing of the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Bill, Douglass published an article in the May 1862 issue of Douglass’ Monthly in which he discussed a group of Washington blacks who put forth a petition requesting the federal government to set aside a parcel of land, either in the United States or in Central America, where they could immigrate and enjoy their freedom. Douglass wrote, “[E]xperience has demonstrated the folly and the evil of this separation, as they will demonstrate the same of this asking the Government to kick us out of the country.” Douglass published Tate’s letter in the July 1862 issue of Douglass’ Monthly. DM, 4:2 (May 1862), 5:4 (July 1862). 4. Tate slightly misquotes an infamous portion of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney’s majority opinion in the Dred Scott decision. Dred Scott v. John F. A. Sandford, 19 Howard 393 (1857), 407. 5. Tate is referring to Jeremiah Powers (c. 1819–?), a prominent black abolitionist from New York City. Powers served on the city’s Committee of Thirteen, formed by black abolitionists in response to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Powers also stood against efforts to colonize blacks in Africa. During a public meeting in 1852 in New York, Powers declared that the American Colonization Society “is organized upon a system of plunder, and they are all robbers and murders.” He also appealed to blacks to resist the colonization movement and to “vote for no man that will not vote for us, and the cause of humanity.” In 1862, following the abolition of slavery in Washington, D.C., Powers criticized blacks who favored emigration. In his monthly newspaper, Douglass wrote that the best answer to the question of emigration came from Powers during a meeting of black abolitionists at the home of Thomas Downing in New York City. During this meeting, Powers apparently made the argument that blacks could not hope to be respected anywhere until they were respected in the United States. NASS, quoted in FDP, 5 February 1852; DM, 4:642–43 (May 1862); 1850 U.S. Census, New York, New York County, 10; Leslie M. Alexander, African or American? Black Identity and Political Activism in New York City, 1784–1861 (Urbana, Ill., 2008), 123–24; Foner and Walker, Black State Conventions, 1:36, 87. 6. William Bradford, governor and historian of Plymouth Colony, first labeled as Pilgrims a group of Separatist Puritans originating in Scrooby, England. The term, however, is usually applied to all passengers of the Mayflower and anyone settling in Plymouth Colony before 1631. These Separatists believed that the Church of England could not be reformed, and they therefore challenged the church’s claim to exclusive legitimacy. This view differed from those of many Puritans as well as the king, which led to their persecution. Though hundreds of them first fled to the Netherlands for religious liberty, in 1620 nearly one-third of these Separatists sailed to America. After initially landing at Cape Cod, the Pilgrims established their permanent colony at Plymouth and enjoyed religious freedom in the New World. Godfrey Hodgson, A Great and Godly Adventure: The Pilgrims and the Myth of the First Thanksgiving (New York, 2006), 1–21; Charles L. Cohen, “Pilgrims,” in Paul S. Boyer, ed., The Oxford Companion to United States History (Oxford, 2004), 121. 7. The term “antediluvian,” meaning “before the deluge,” refers to the period before the great flood described in the first six chapters of the book of Genesis. Tate’s use of the term extends the definition to describe the people of that period. Gen. 1–6; E. D. Rendell, The Antediluvian History, and Narrative of the Flood (Boston, 1851), 15.

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8. This postclassical Latin expression translates into “mode of operation.” 9. The phrase “So mote it be” is the proper Masonic way to end a prayer. It is similar to the term “amen,” signaling agreement with the prayer that was made. The term first appeared in the Regius Manuscript, one of the earliest documents containing information on the early Masonic Lodges in Britain. S. Brent Morris, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry, 2d ed. (New York, 2013), 7. 10. Ps. 94:3.

ALEXANDER CRUMMELL TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Wilmington, Del. 12 July 1862.

My Dear Sir:— Our common friend Charles Reason showed me, the other day, your notice of my book, and I have to thank for you the same. Critics have their own will, and their own way, and it is useless to attempt to interfere with them; there is however one single point which I must call your attention to, that is, the tacit charge of disingenuousness which concludes the article. You say that I say one thing to the people of Liberia respecting progress and improvement—that my tale is different in New York. You refer to my speech in New York1 where I declare the fact of great growth and expansion in Liberia, you quote in contrast, another speech (in Liberia,) where I say that we are as “yet hardly productive certainly not self supporting.” I must say that you are exceedingly unfair, and radically unjust to me, and yet I do not think you intended to be. Now my dear sir, go back to my book, look at the date of my speech in Monrovia,2 when I told my countrymen of their weakness and unproductiveness. It was the year 1855, at which time there was not a single pound of sugar manufactured in the whole country,3 nor a single sugar mill in the land!4 I made my other speech affirming progress, improvement, and growing wealth in Liberia in 1861. What are the facts of the case? Why hundreds of acres of land are planted with sugar cane and have been cut and the cane manufactured into sugar since the former speech of 1855. Last year besides the home supply and sale to the British, French and other settlements on the coast, we shipped in two vessels, 22 hhds5 in each for England and America. We have now some 25 mills in operation,6 and yet last year at the grinding season, large quantities of cane had to be left untouched.—Twelve sugar mills are gone out this year, and four of them were shipped a fortnight ago—The Coffee trade7 has so increased that arrangements are already made to introduce machinery into the country to supersede our slow hand labor. I beg you to notice here the fact that all

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this machinery has been bought by our own planters, and that most of the money for it, is the proceeds of successful ventures in sugar manufacturing since the year 1856[.] And I declare that I know of no growth any where in the world comparable to this. I know nothing in history equal to it. It has been my great privilege in God’s providence, to see with my own eyes, this wonderful development during the period of six years, on African soil, and by the sons of Africa in their own country. And now I claim that there is no discrepancy whatever, no contradiction in my speeches. They are perfectly reconcilable, because the contrast is history—but history crowded into a brief period of time. You will be glad to hear of the warm and cordial greeting President Benson8 received in England. On the 26th of June, a splendid banquet was given him at Willis’ Hall,9 presided over by Lord Brougham.10 He has been invited by many of the nobility to their estates, and been received with great consideration and respect, at several of the great societies. He sailed for the United States on the 5th of July,11 and I look for him next week. I hear that he is likely to receive attentions from eminent persons in this country. While here we shall conclude a treaty with the United States. Most cordially yours, ALEX. CRUMMELL. PLSr: DM, 5:695 (August 1862). 1. Alexander Crummell’s speech “The Progress and Prospects of the Republic of Liberia” was given at the annual meeting of the New York State Colonization Society on 9 May 1861. Alexander Crummell, The Future of Africa (New York, 1862), 133; Gregory U. Rigsby, Alexander Crummell: Pioneer in Nineteenth-Century Pan-African Thought (Westport, Conn., 1987), 112; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 1:146–48. 2. Crummell is referring to his speech “The Duty of a Rising Christian State,” delivered before the Common Council and members of the public in Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia, on 26 July 1855. Crummell, Future of Africa, 57. 3. Liberian farmers began to cultivate cane sugar crops for profit in 1841 when Governor Thomas Buchanan appointed a white man to supervise production at the Bushrod Island Public Farm in Monrovia, resulting in the manufacture of several thousands of pounds of sugar. It soon became a popular export, but the production of sugar was labor intensive. Livestock carried the harvested cane to the mill and propelled the heavy mill rollers that extracted the juice from the stalks. A breed of livestock was needed that was not susceptible to fatal forms of malaria. Since livestock and equipment were expensive, sugar production was mostly controlled by a small group of wealthy Americo-Liberian farmers. W. R. Aykroyd, The Story of Sugar (Chicago, 1967), 23; William E. Allen, “Historical Methodology and Writing the Liberian Past: The Case of Agriculture in the Nineteenth Century,” History in Africa, 32:21–39 (2005). 4. Sugar production rose in the 1840s and 1850s when the Liberian government elected to subsidize the purchase of additional sugar mills. A report published in the African Repository indicates that it was the leading cultivated product in 1862. Sugar exports for the fiscal year ending 30 September were 14,892 pounds, with another 31,331 pounds exported in the next six months. African

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Repository, 39:257–67; Aykroyd, Story of Sugar, 23; Allen, “Historical Methodology and Writing the Liberian Past,” 32:21–39. 5. An abbreviation for the term “hogshead,” a large cask for storing liquids with a standard capacity of sixty-three gallons. 6. According to reports written by J. W. Lugenbeel and G. S. Stockwell in 1868, sugarcane, although suitable to the climate, was not a major crop in Liberia, because of competition from West Indian sugar plantations. Consequently, there were four steam sugar mills in 1863. G. S. Stockwell and J. W. Lugenbeel, The Republic of Liberia: Its Geography, Climate, Soil, and Productions (New York, 1868), 43, 197. 7. The volcanic soil and tropical climate of Liberia were particularly well suited to treeproducing crops such as coffee. Liberian coffee trees (Coffea liberica), indigenous to the plains and forests of Western Africa, produced prolific crops of beans. Wanting to capitalize on this commodity, early African American settlers planted and cultivated Liberian coffee trees and sold their yields to trading vessels in the coastal port of Monrovia. The introduction of a device invented by Edward Morris, of Philadelphia, that separated the beans from their hulls further increased production. Coffee commerce steadily increased from 1850 to 1870 as a result of increased production and demand as well as trade agreements between Liberia, the United States, the British government, the Netherlands, Italy, and Denmark; it then began to decline in 1876, finally collapsing in the 1880s. San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin, 10 December 1876; D. Morris, Public Gardens and Plantations . . . Notes on Liberian Coffee, Its History and Cultivation (Kingston, Jamaica, 1881), 2, 14; Nelson, Liberia, 164; Allen, “Historical Methodology and Writing the Liberian Past,” 32:21–39. 8. Stephen Allen Benson (1816–65), born a free black in the United States, emigrated from Maryland to Liberia in 1822. Benson served in the Liberian militia, and then served in political positions, such as secretary to Commonwealth governor Thomas Buchanan. In 1855, he was elected the second president of Liberia and served from 1856 to 1864. Throughout his term as president, international trade increased, the first modern hospital was established, and Liberia College opened. In recognition of Liberia’s political progress under Benson, Belgium, Denmark, the United States, Italy, Norway, and Sweden all officially recognized the African nation. Benson also was Liberia’s fi rst president capable of speaking multiple indigenous languages, including Bassa. D. Ellwood Dunn, Amos J. Beyan, and Carl Patrick Burrowes, eds., Historical Dictionary of Liberia, 2d ed. (Lanham, Md., 2001), 37–38. 9. The banquet for President Benson was held on Friday, 27 June 1862, and attended by approximately two hundred people. Lord Brougham held the event at the Willis’s Rooms, also known as the Almack’s Assembly Rooms, a longtime London social club. Edinburgh Caledonian Mercury, 30 June 1862; London Daily News, 30 June 1862; Bristol Mercury, 5 July 1862; London Penny Illustrated Paper, 5 July 1862. 10. Henry Peter Brougham. 11. No record confirming this date has been located, but Benson wrote a letter to a Philadelphia newspaper in April 1862, stating his intention to travel to the United States after his trip to Europe. Philadelphia North American and United States Gazette, 14 May 1862.

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AUSTIN WILLEY1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Northfield, Minnesota[.] 26 July 1862.

Friend Douglass:— I cannot well avoid writing you a line at this time, which is so momentous to our country, and to mankind—To the colored population of the United States it is the hour of destiny. At last instead of expatriation or degradation, the country has been brought to a position to ask in effect, the aid of its colored population, and pledge them a common share in its rescued liberties.2 Now let them meet this advance of the government with the magnanimity, enthusiasm and valor of which we know them to be capable, and their winter of wrongs will open to a glorious spring. How long since we affirmed that the white and colored population of the land were bound to a common fate, Liberty to both or to none! Now it is admitted, and our colored countrymen enslaved and free, must act their part like men who are worthy of the crisis and of the glory! And I know of no man who can do more than yourself to rouse these people to their duty. Whether others can do more or less, put the trumpet to your lips, let it be heard in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, to Canada, and if possible all over the south. New York should turn out a regiment, Massachusetts another, Pennsylvania another, and large bodies should rally from other States and from Canada West without delay for this war. We now have the monster by the throat, will colored men strike?— Have they not felt its fangs long enough!—The colored people of the free States can reach those in the south better than others can. Will they not now justify the defense which so many of us made during long years of suffering and toil in their behalf? I know not your views at this time for it is a long time since I have heard from you, but past acquainstance leaves no room to doubt that you are ready for the hour. God, Humanity and the Country call now to the field, and Liberty throughout all the land is the prize. Yours fraternally still, in the conflict. A. WILLEY. PLSr: DM, 5:719 (September 1862). 1. The Reverend Austin Willey (1806–96) was a clergyman, abolitionist, author, and newspaper editor. Born in Campton, New Hampshire, Willey attended Pembroke Academy and graduated from the Bangor Theological Seminary in 1837. He edited a number of abolitionist newspapers from 1837 to 1858: the (Augusta, Maine) Advocate of Freedom, the (Hallowell, Maine) Liberty Standard, and the Portland, Maine Inquirer. Willey received his license to preach in 1850, but devoted himself

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to journalism until 1859, when he was ordained a pastor in Anoka, Minnesota. That position was terminated within one year because of his ill health. Willey participated in the organization of the Free Soil party in Maine and supported John P. Hale’s 1852 presidential bid. Willey moved in 1861 to Northfield, Minnesota, where he edited and published the Northfield Journal, a religious newspaper, and wrote antislavery and temperance articles until his death. Willey was the author of The History of the Antislavery Cause in State and Nation (1886) and “History of Prohibition in Maine: A Paper Prepared for the Minnesota Temperance Union Convention,” presented in St. Paul in September 1876. New York Emancipator, 17 November 1847; Oscar Fay Adams, A Dictionary of American Authors (1884; Boston, 1970), 425; Carter, Ministry of New Hampshire, 89–90; Herringshaw, National Library of American Biography, 5:704; Edward O. Schriver, “Antislavery: The Free Soil and Free Democratic Parties in Maine, 1848–1855,” NEQ, 42:83 (March 1969). 2. In an attempt to prevent the secession of several border states, the Lincoln administration initially resisted calls to recruit black troops for the Union army. By the summer of 1862, however, deaths, battle fatigue, and the failure to win decisive victories was cutting into the North’s ability to recruit soldiers. New calls for black soldiers came from several generals in the field. In South Carolina, David Hunter was already recruiting former slaves into regiments by July 1862, and the Union government was slowly adapting to the idea. The first sign of this change was likely the Second Confiscation Act and the Militia Act, both enacted 17 July 1862. After passage of the acts, which allowed blacks to participate in the war, the recruitment of blacks began in earnest. Cleveland Daily Herald, 8 July 1862; William E. Alt and Betty L. Alt, Black Soldier, White Wars: Black Warriors from Antiquity to the Present (Westport, Conn., 2002), 33–41.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO SAMUEL CLARKE POMEROY1 Rochester, [N.Y.] 27 Aug[ust] 1862.

Hon. S. S. Pomeroy— My Dear Sir: I assent to neither the justice nor the wisdom of colonizing the free colored people in Central America,2 or elsewhere out of the United States. The American government could far better employ the energies of this people by stimulating their friendship for the country, and giving them an opportunity, in common with others, to protect and defend its institutions. But I am not now to discuss with you the policy of this colonization scheme. The power and responsibility for the measure belong alike to the government. Option is yours—necessity ours. It is a hard alternative. To see my children usefully and happily settled in this, the land of their birth and ancestors, has been the hope and ambition of my manhood; but events stronger than any power I can oppose to them, have convinced my son3 that the chances here are all against him, and he desires to join your colony,4 and perhaps a younger brother also. * * * * I have never ceased to remember you, and to observe with pleasure and gratitude your fidelity to liberty and humanity in the high position you now occupy. I shall be glad

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to know that you receive my son Lewis as one of your colony. I shall follow him with my blessing, if I do not follow him personally. * * Sadly and truly yours, FRED’K DOUGLASS. PLSr: NASS, 6 September 1862. 1. Samuel Clarke Pomeroy (1816–91) was born in Southampton, Massachusetts, and was educated at Amherst College. He became active in the Free Soil party and emigrated to Kansas in 1854 to fight the establishment of slavery there. Kansas Republicans elected him to two terms in the U.S. Senate (1861–73) where he was best known as an advocate of subsidies to western development. Unsubstantiated charges of bribing state legislators caused his defeat for reelection, after which Pomeroy moved to Washington, D.C. He and Douglass remained friends throughout his life. Douglass to Samuel C. Pomeroy, 12 November 1874, Samuel C. Pomeroy to Douglass, 14 June 1883, General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 761–62, reel 3, frames 731–32, FD Papers, DLC; Wilder, Annals of Kansas, 241, 457, 521, 570; ACAB, 5:60; NCAB, 12:69–70; DAB, 15:54–55. 2. The final push for black colonization was put in motion after the passage of the Second Confiscation Act in July 1862. Under the act, $500,000 was allocated for the colonization of recent freedmen. The site chosen for black colonization was the Chiriquí Province of Panama in Central America, then part of Colombia. The American commissioners chose the site on the Pacific Coast on account of its purported abundance of coal deposits. Senator Pomeroy started a recruitment drive for the settlement, tentatively named Lincolnia, in the summer of 1862 at the behest of the president. The plan ran into problems after the coal deposits were found to be of an inferior grade and few free blacks signed on to lead the effort. Lincoln finally abandoned the plan in response to diplomatic protests from several Central American nations. Michael Vorenberg, “Abraham Lincoln and the Politics of Black Colonization,” Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, 14:1–45 (Summer 1993). 3. Lewis H. Douglass. 4. In the fall of 1862, Lewis Douglass was one of 500 free African Americans who signed up to go to Central America as part of a colonization scheme supported by the U.S. government. Before the chartered ship could sail, however, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. A month later, instead of leaving the country, Lewis enlisted in the U.S. Army. Bell, Survey of the Convention Movement, 129–30; Sterling, Speak Out in Thunder Tones, 298.

ROSETTA DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK AND ANNA MURRAY DOUGLASS Salem[, N.J.] 31 August [18]62[.]

My Dear Father and Mother I postponed writing to you until now that I might send you some pleasing news. I passed an examination last Wednesday in Arithmetic, Geography. Grammar Reading [illegible] and spelling and have obtained the Situation at the Salem School and to morrow I begin my labors.1 I have had many little trials to contend with while waiting for this situation and when I see you I can talk them all over with you. I am thinking strongly of moving to

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a more convenient boarding place and should do so pretty soon if I could. You have been so good and kind in sending me money and you have never inquired how I was spending it. I will now tell you how I spent it. I bought a few necessary articles for my self and the remainder I spent for creature comforts. I found Uncle2 in rather a cramped place when I came to see him and after hearing that I might possibly obtain this school I remained and so as not to entirely be a burden on him I taught at School in Claysville3 partly for that reason and partly for the children sake. That School afforded me but little and that little except what amount it took to do my washing went in the family. Uncle never requested any thing from me but I did it for my own sake for the whole eight weeks I taught that school I never had any dinner but would wait from morning until night so that I was sometimes very faint. I am glad I did so now though at the time it was sometimes hard. Aunt Lizzy4 came home the other day and told me that some Quaker lady had said it was a pity I was here on Perry as he was struggling to pay for his house, but I am glad to say as they will that I have been of some help instead of hindrance. I have deprived myself of many little things that the money you sent me would have afforded me but I lived in hopes of getting this school and then I could get what I wished and repay you for your kindness for if it had not been for your aid I could not have felt so well while waiting for this school. I am quite glad since so much gossip has been about me.5 Every thing that is vile has been said of me by persons living here and strangers coming here pretending to have known me. One man whose name I cannot get a minister he has told it that Fred. Douglass himself was a very nice man but this daughter of his is one who has become low while others believe me to be still an imposter passing for your daughter as a means of getting along, but despite these rumors and various others I have this school. I think of leaving Uncle not because he is unkind nor Aunt either except that Aunt Lizzie is rather a passionate person and I have received harsh language from her that my own mother never gives me now still in many things she is kind, but I wish to leave for my own comfort. There are three small children here and she does her own work and I cannot receive just that board I should wish. All those who leave their home will certainly learn by experience that home is the best place after all and even if it were necessary for a person to leave home it adds something to one’s happiness to know that there is a home to go to. I have done many things I never have done at home or scarcely ever do and I have had to be very courageous not to write for money to come home but I hope I shall earn money to come home with myself. I heard

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from Laura Wheeler6 in Lockport7 the other day and I received a long letter from Miss [Amé-Droz]8 last Saturday week. She tells me she wrote to me a letter to Philadelphia and sent me a necktie in it I have seen nothing of it I cannot believe but that it is there I left my shawl at the Dorsey’s9 and have sent for it several times but have not yet received it perhaps my letter and shawl will come together I expect soon to write for it. After this letter I will be destitute of money even so much as to mail my letters. I was examined by a Southern minister whose son last week was sent last week, to Fort Delaware for giving information to the enemy and his father we have every reason to believe is a secessionist. After examining me he asked me very politely to attend his church saying when he preached South his galleries used to be filled with my color and he use to take much pleasure &c &c, I thanked him but did not say really what I wished as I thought of this school. Now I have the school and he being Superintendent he will ask me again, I can now answer him. That is one thing that I am much questioned about my religious views. I am never seen going to church and I never talk of the Bible and I am a sort of mystery. In the colored church here is a Sabbath School where the children are taught to read the Bible I was asked several times to take the Bible class and at last I consented and now every Sunday at two o’clock I go to hear these large girls read and answer questions from their question books. I have not been bothered about church much since I have been here. In Philadelphia10 I was worried with questions but I answered in such a manner as not to leave much doubt as to how I felt. If from reading and observation at home I became acquainted with enough to disgust me I have seen more since leaving home to make me believe that most of this religion is a cloak for sin. In Philadelphia one thing I disliked much was the feeling of caste that prevails there even in the family I was in.11 For Sarah herself told me in the presence of her mother, she did not like too dark a face to come in their house to make much of a stay there. I have been launched among strange people during the past six months. I received the Monthly with your letter.12 Mrs Reckless13 is the only person here that sympathises with my movements and is much grieved at the gossip, though she says it is more from envy than any thing else. I lend her my monthly every time it comes. I will probably stay here until you come but if I board I must have as many conveniences as I can get for my board. Uncle and Aunt hardly wishes me to leave them but after being in a noisy school all day one like quiet at night and the children are rather unruly. My love to Mother I hope to send Mother. and yourself something in a little while, My love to Miss

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Assing14 and Lewis15 and Frederick,16 What is Charly’s17 address? Please write soon. Please tell Mother Rachel Mason18 is here from Maryland she goes back Teus day I expect to see her tomorrow. Your Affectionate Daughter ROSETTA D— ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 727–31, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Rosetta Douglass studied arithmetic, geography, and grammar at the Salem Normal School in 1862. Her successful completion of the final examination qualified her to teach in the Salem schools. She taught both day and evening classes until she returned to Rochester in 1863. McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 220–23. 2. Although “Uncle Perry” is identified as Anna Murray Douglass’s brother, he does not appear to have used the surname Murray. Instead he can probably be identified as Perry Wilmer (c. 1815–?), an African American native of Maryland, who was recorded in both the 1860 and 1870 Salem, New Jersey, Census. By 1862, the Wilmer household would have consisted of Perry, a mason whose home was valued at $2,200 in the 1860 census; his wife, Elizabeth; and three young children, Gertrude, Hetty, and Perry. 1860 U.S. Census, New Jersey, Salem County, 44; 1870 U.S. Census, New Jersey, Salem County, 82. 3. Rosetta Douglass taught in Claysville for eight weeks before her successful completion of the final exam at the Salem Normal School. McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 221. 4. Probably Perry Wilmer’s wife, Elizabeth Wilmer (c. 1820–?), who was described in the census as being a native of Salem, New Jersey. 1860 U.S. Census, New Jersey, Salem County, 44. 5. Although it is impossible to determine the specific gossip to which Rosetta refers, it probably stemmed from problems that arose while she was staying with the Dorsey family in Philadelphia. In April 1862, Rosetta complained bitterly to her father that Mrs. Dorsey had publicly humiliated her by stating, in front of a room full of guests, that she had been specifically instructed by Douglass to keep his daughter “away from boys,” thus, in Rosetta’s opinion, creating the impression amongst Philadelphia’s African American community that Frederick Douglass had reason for concern over his daughter’s reputation because “that was her particular failing.” Consequently Mrs. Dorsey felt justified in berating her in public—the mildest rebuke being that she had acted no better than a “street runner”—for leaving the house on more than one occasion without fi rst informing her hostess where she was going or whom she was meeting. Rosetta Douglass to FD, 4 April 1862, General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 713–17, FD Papers, DLC; Sterling, We Are Your Sisters, 138–39. 6. Probably Laura Wheeler Moody (1843–1921), the daughter of George D. and Cordelia Whipple Wheeler of Lockport, New York. In 1863 she married George H. Moody, who operated a very successful nursery business for many years on a farm located near Lockport. He also served as a trustee of the Farmers’ and Merchants’ Bank of Lockport and was active in several state and national horticultural organizations. 1860 U.S. Census, New York, Niagara County, 312; Portrait and Biographical Album of Marshall County, Kansas (Chicago, 1889), 736–38; William Richard Cutter, Genealogical and Family History of Western New York, 3 vols. (New York, 1912), 2:735. 7. Settled in 1821 and incorporated in 1865, Lockport, located in Niagara County, New York, was built on the old Erie Canal around a series of locks. The area surrounding the city was know for its fruit and dairy production in the early nineteenth century, and Lockport itself was known as a significant manufacturing center. Cohen, Columbia Gazetteer of the World, 2:1765. 8. A Swiss national, Rosine Amé-Droz (c. 1816–?) first arrived in England on 11 July 1838, listing her profession as teacher. In 1841 she was teaching and living in the parish of Egg Buckland, Devonshire. After spending an undetermined length of time back in Switzerland, she returned to England in July 1848, this time listing her profession as governess. According to the 1861 English Census (where she was recorded as “Rosine Ann Davy,” a native of Neufchatel, Switzerland), she

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was staying in the home of Mrs. Elizabeth Read of Ecclesfield, Yorkshire. By 1871 she was serving as governess to the children of George S. Kemp, a wealthy Lancashire manufacturer. 1841 England Census, Devonshire, Egg Buckland, 11; 1861 England Census, Yorkshire, Ecclesfield, 56; 1871 England Census, Lancashire, Castleton, 1; England, Alien Arrivals, 1810–1811, 1826–1869 (online). 9. Thomas Joshua Dorsey (1810–75), one of the leading caterers in nineteenth-century Philadelphia, was born a slave in Liberty, Maryland. In 1856, William Still, an agent for Philadelphia’s Underground Railroad, helped Dorsey escape there. Abolitionist friends later raised $1,000 to purchase the fugitive’s freedom. Following his emancipation, he married a free woman by the name of Louise Tobias (?–1879) and established a popular dining establishment on Locust Street, which served many prominent individuals in the antislavery movement, such as Charles Sumner, William Lloyd Garrison, and Douglass. Douglass remained good friends with the Dorseys throughout their lives; in fact, Mrs. Dorsey accompanied Douglass to Lincoln’s second inauguration, in 1865. Philadelphia Times, 17 October 1896; Roger Lane, William Dorsey’s Philadelphia and Ours: On the Past and Future of the Black City in America (New York, 1991), 2, 301; John N. Ingham and Lynne B. Feldman, AfricanAmerican Business Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary (Westport, Conn., 1994), 226; Randall K. Burkett, Nancy Hall Burkett, and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., eds., Black Biography, 1790–1950, 3 vols. (Alexandria, Va., 1991), 1:364; Dubois, The Philadelphia Negro, 34; ANB, 20:775–76. 10. In her correspondence, Rosetta Douglass indicates that by early April she had been in Philadelphia for six weeks. By the end of August 1862, she had been living in Salem, New Jersey, long enough to have spent eight weeks teaching in Claysville, a predominantly black community that bordered Salem. Accordingly, she must have arrived in Philadelphia by late February 1862 and relocated to Salem no later than early June. Thomas Cushing and Charles E. Sheppard, History of the Counties of Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of the Prominent Citizens (Philadelphia, 1883), 440; Sterling, We Are Your Sisters, 138. 11.Thomas and Louise Dorsey had three children: William Henry, Sarah, and Mary Louise. Sarah Ann Dorsey Seville (c. 1839–1871), born in Philadelphia, married John Seville in 1858. The marriage produced two sons, Dorsey and John C. Seville, who were taken in by their maternal grandparents following their mother’s death. 1850 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 147; 1870 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 52; Lane, William Dorsey’s Philadelphia, 2, 60, 113, 301–03. 12. That letter has not been located. 13. (Amy) Hester Reckless (1793–1881) was born into slavery in Salem, New Jersey. She escaped slavery with her child and fled to Philadelphia in 1826. Reckless joined the Pennsylvania Female Anti-Slavery Society and worked with Lucretia Coffin Mott to organize that society’s projects with local free blacks. She cherished a photo of the organization’s members and a flag with inscriptions containing antislavery sentiments. A courageous woman, Hester assisted many runaway slaves in their escape to freedom by way of the Underground Railroad and ran a safe house in Philadelphia on Rodman Street. Reckless resided in Philadelphia until after the Civil War, when she returned to her hometown of Salem. Robert Clemens Smedley, History of the Underground Railroad in Chester and the Neighboring Counties of Pennsylvania (1883; New York, 1968), 348. 14. Ottilie Assing. 15. Lewis H. Douglass. 16. Frederick Douglass, Jr. 17. Charles R. Douglass. 18. Possibly Rachael Mason (c. 1800–?), a free black living in the Eleventh Ward of Baltimore, where she was recorded as head of a household of ten in the 1850 Census. 1850 U.S. Census, Maryland, Baltimore County, 132.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 8 Sept[ember] 1862.

Hon Gerrit Smith My dear Friend: Let me sincerely thank you for your kind note and for twenty dollars to help me in the further publication of my monthly.1 I had not known of your poor health until your note came.2 May you soon recover your wonted vigor, and live yet many years to cheer the heart of the lowly and suffering. I had attributed your silence of late, to what I supposed, must be your ineffable disgust at the wretched management of the war. Your gloomist predictions have been even now more than realized—and I shudder at what the future may still have in store for us. I think the nation was never more completely in the hands of the slave power. This Government is now in the hands of the army, and the army is in the hands of the very worst type of America Democracy—the chief representation of which is now in doing his utmost to destroy the Country. I think, in such hands, we shall do well if we at last succeed in buying a peace from our Southern masters without fully indemnifying them for the entire expense to which they have been put in humbling us. My good friend Julia seems to have been greatly delighted with her meeting with your Dear household in London.3 I feel sure that a quiet visit to England would do wonders for your health. Always truly and gratefully yours friend, FRED’K DOUGLASS— ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Douglass failed to publish an acknowledgment of a donation of $20 that accompanied Gerrit Smith’s 6 September 1862 letter in lists of contributors published in Douglass’ Monthly that fall. Gerrit Smith to Douglass, 6 September 1862, General Correspondence File, reel 1, frame 733, FD Papers, DLC. 2. In his letter to Douglass, Smith wrote: “My health has been poor for three months.” Gerrit Smith to Douglass, 6 September 1862, General Correspondence File, reel 1, frame 733, FD Papers, DLC. 3. In a letter to Douglass, published in Douglass’ Monthly, Julia Griffiths Crofts reported: “Since I last wrote to you I have had the happiness of spending a few days with the family of my dear and highly valued friend Gerrit Smith, while they were in London, a few weeks since. To be driving through our metropolis, and walking through our abbeys and parks and gardens with dear friends from Peterboro seemed like a dream. We had many a chat together about far distant friends and old times. I can assure you, could the noble head of the family have looked in upon us, the joy would have been augmented you will readily imagine; but I was obliged to be contented with a life like portrait of him, and with the privilege of hearing his interesting and graphic letters, which made me fully realize his present home life and occupations in Peterboro.” Julia Griffiths Crofts to FD, 18 June 1862, in DM, 5:696 (August 1862).

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MONTGOMERY BLAIR1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Washington, D.C. 11 September 1862[.]

Dear Sir:— My friend General Pomeroy2 has shown me your letter, and that of your son to him, on the subject of the new Empire he has undertaken to establish in Central America,3 and I was much gratified at the prospect it offered of securing your powerful aid in this enterprise. And it has occurred to me, that a yet more cordial co-operation on your part might be secured if the misapprehension as it seems to me upon which your protest is founded, could be removed[.] I am so solicitous for the success of this enterprise, and therefore to enlist in it the character and talent necessary to make it successful, that I have concluded to try to remove this obstacle myself. I take it for granted that your protest expresses only just indignation at the idea which has been used to maintain the propriety of African Slavery, and which you suppose also underlies the colonizing scheme. In this I am sure you are mistaken. Mr. Jefferson4 who was the first of our Statesmen to advocate the plan of colonizing the African race among us, in a neighboring country, put it upon no such unphilosophical grounds. It was the diversity, not the inferiority of race which to his mind constituted the necessity for their separation, and when he knew that it had been found necessary for harmony in various periods in history to separate tribes of people differing far less, this mode of solving the question of slavery and of caste, naturally occurred to his enlightened mind. But it may be argued that if it be true that the races ought to be separate, why should the colored people go rather than the whites, to another country. The answer to that is that here the whites rule, and it cannot be reasonably expected that they would voluntarily go away. As leading men in society do not abandon their old homes to seek advancement in new communities, so controlling races will not abdicate their power or surrender their country; and it is for the less numerous race who are of necessity overborne by the other, to imitate the young and adventurous in society, who go elsewhere to seek the positions occupied by others at home. There is in fact, no question of superiority or inferiority involved in the proposed removal. When we say that society is necessarily made up of superiors and inferiors in grades of intellect, and according to the ordinary classification of employments, it is manifest that no removal of the

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colored race would be necessary on that account, even if it were true that the race was inferior to ours. This demonstrates that the propriety of the removal arises not from any consideration of the relative merits of the different races, but simply from the differences between them which the Creator himself has made, and it seems as obvious to me as it was to the benevolent and philosophical mind of Jefferson that the opinion against which you protest, is the necessary result of indelible differences thus made by the Almighty. Mr. Jefferson was however among the greatest of men, and of a nature the least subject to mean prejudice but a man after all, and he and those of us who have adopted his teachings may therefore be in error on this point. But if so what more effective way is there to disabuse the people of the error, than for the most enlightened and enterprising of the colored race to avail themselves of the opportunity to establish for themselves an Empire. If they succeed in this enterprise, it will at once free their race from bondage, because when the poor whites see that the colored race can go away they will be for emancipation, and then the opinion against which you protest, if it be as you suppose but a prejudice produced by the enslavement of the race, will soon wear away. For my own part I do not expect that the colored people will disappear from among us in many generations, even when the colony shall have been successful, and the colored race shall have assumed the control of the whole of intertropical America. But even the first step will do wonders for the peace of this country I believe, and for the good of the colored people who remain. With a country so rich as Central America, possessed by a people adapted to develope its wealth, they must soon become wealthy and powerful, and that will soon open to them the hospitalities of your commercial cities, and admit their children to our Universities; for even now the free colored foreigner is distinguished from our own, nor do I think the bearings of this enterprise will be limited to this continent. If successful and I have no doubt it will be, because all the good men of Europe and America, will wish it to be so, we shall soon have the products of the tropics made by free labor and that puts an end to slavery and the slave trade and redeems Africa itself. I am Sir very respecfully, Your obedient servant M. BLAIR. PLSr: DM, 5:724 (October 1862). 1. Montgomery Blair (1813–83) was born in Franklin County, Kentucky. He was the son of Francis P. Blair, owner and editor of the (Frankfort, Kentucky) Argus of Western America and publisher

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of the Congressional Globe, the precursor to the Congressional Record. Montgomery Blair graduated from West Point in 1835, served in the army, and studied law in St. Louis, Missouri. He founded his practice in 1837, was appointed U.S. district attorney for the state of Missouri, elected mayor of St. Louis, and appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Blair was a political chameleon, but he supported the gradual emancipation of slaves and came to support the colonization of freed slaves. He represented Dred Scott in his Supreme Court case, and was asked but declined to defend John Brown on charges associated with his attack on Harpers Ferry. Abraham Lincoln appointed Blair postmaster general in 1861. Blair’s tenure was vexed because he expressed strong opinions and was considered tactless. He stirred controversy when he required all employees of the postal department to take oaths of loyalty, excluded from mail delivery service newspapers deemed disloyal to the Union, and organized a team of inspectors to report disloyal postmasters. Blair is perhaps best remembered for his foundational work on the development of the Universal Postal Union, which standardized the systems of weight, rates, prepayment conditions, and postage collection for all international mail. During the war, he devised a plan whereby each regiment appointed its own postmaster, thus relieving the burden on rural postal workers ill equipped to handle the volume of correspondence. Blair reduced the postal deficit by implementing reforms such as the adoption of three classes of mail, standardized rates for letters, a uniform money order system, and a redesigned railway postal service. Under pressure from radical elements in Congress, Lincoln asked for Blair’s resignation, which he tendered in September 1864. Afterward, he practiced law with his son until his death. Rita L. Moroney, Montgomery Blair, Postmaster General (Washington, D.C., 1963). 2. Samuel C. Pomeroy. 3. Frederick Douglass’s letter to Samuel C. Pomeroy, dated 27 August 1862, is published above. 4. Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), a planter and statesman from Virginia, was the third president of the United States (1801–09) and author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson first proposed colonization in his Notes on the State of Virginia in 1781. Before the invention of the cotton gin, Jefferson, like many other slaveholders, believed that slavery would eventually die out because of economic forces and that slave owners would be forced to free their slaves. Jefferson argued that free blacks and whites could not coexist peacefully and that the best way to remove this potential conflict was colonization or migration. Noble E. Cunningham, Jr., In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson (New York, 1987); Nicholas E. Magnis, “Thomas Jefferson and Slavery: An Analysis of His Racist Thinking as Revealed by His Writings and Political Behavior,” Journal of Black Studies, 29:491–509 (March 1999); DAB, 10:17–35.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO MONTGOMERY BLAIR1 Rochester, [N.Y.] 16 Sept[ember] 1862.

Hon. Montgomery Blair, Dear Sir:— I have duly received your calm and courteous letter of September 11th, in which you ably advocate the new popular scheme of colonizing the free colored people of the United States in some yet unselected part of Central America, and the founding of a new Empire, to be composed exclusively of this description of people. Being sensible of the high honor conferred upon me by this special effort on your part, to remove what you suppose to be my objections to

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this new enterprise, and thus to secure my hearty co-operation in the efforts of its friends to make it successful, I have read your statements and reasonings with very great respect, and perhaps with a spirit of deference for your ability and position as a statesman, not altogether favorable to such a presentation of my views as the importance of the subject demands. Nevertheless I sincerely thank you for your letter, first because it gives me an occasion for expressing more fully than I have yet done, the sentiments I entertain respecting this new scheme, and secondly because it is a mark of consideration towards the race of which I am in part a representative. I am not sure that you will not subject yourself to harsh criticism for condescending to address me at all; but you are not alone in this sort of recognition of the manhood and moral agency of the negro. The great Thomas Jefferson, whose name you reverentially mention in your letter, once wrote to Benjamin Bannecker,2 a black mathematician of Maryland, my native State, a noble letter, warmly commending his talents and learning; and General Andrew Jackson on the banks of the Mobile was not ashamed to address colored men as fellow-citizens and to call upon them in the sacred names of Liberty and Country, to assist their white fellowcitizens in repelling a proud and powerful enemy.3 The conduct of both these representatives of the earlier and better days of the Republic will shine even in the light of the highest future civilization. If therefore in consenting to appeal to my reason when you might have appealed to a less worthy consideration, you displease the mobocratic element of American society, I commend you to the fact that you letter places you in this respect as one of an illustrious trio of American statesmen. In reference to my letter to General Pomeroy,4 which you mention as the occasion of your writing to me, it is proper to state, that though it does not contradict my sentiments touching this new colonization enterprise, it does not fully and clearly express them. It was meant to be a simple note of introduction of my son5 to General Pomeroy as one desirous to join this contemplated Central American colony. My son is of age, forms his own opinions, pursues his own plans and agrees with me, and differs from me in the exercise of that liberty accorded to American young men generally, who have their own way to make in the world. It is hardly necessary for me to say that against natural, self-moved, spontaneous emigration, where no pressure of legislation or public opinion is exerted to compel it, and colored men are left perfectly free to consult, their own interests and inclinations as to where they shall go, and in what lands they shall make their homes, there can be no objection whatever.

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Such emigration is going on every year, with benefit to those who go and without detriment to those who stay. Man is emphatically a migratory animal, and by virtue of the possession of reason, he is master of all latitudes, longitudes, and altitudes. He can guard himself against nearly all the extremes of heat and cold, and other vicissitudes of climate. The negro in common with all other men possesses this divine faculty, and therefore can live any where in common with other men. Very evidently his choice of location should be left as it is to others, exclusively to himself. Neither the direct force of public law, nor the indirect but equally certain force of political theories should be wielded for his removal from the land of his birth. The negro has withstood under the most unfavorable conditions the rigors of this North American climate, for the space of more than two hundred years—From a company of twenty, landed on the banks of the James River in 1620,6 they have risen to be a mighty multitude, between four and five millions. If any people can ever become acclimatized, I think the negro can claim to be so in this country. Dear Sir: I am aware that I am writing to a statesman, and therefore desire to discuss this question of the removal of the colored people from this their native land, on a comprehensive basis. The idea of confining different varieties of men to different belts of the earth’s surface, with a view to keeping them separate and distinct, is chimerical in the extreme, and is ridiculously out of joint with this age of progress, and practical science.—By the triumphs of art and invention, the globe is no longer of incomprehensible dimensions, but familiar in all its parts. The ends of the earth have been brought together.—The whole tendency of modern civilization, it seems to me is at war with this isolating and classifying of races. If such a process were resorted to and carried out in Russia, half the grandeur and power of that great nation would vanish from the vision of the world.—Think of the Caucasians of that country sending off the Mongolians,7 the Muscovites8 proposing the removal of the Finns,9 and so on to the end of the chapter, and the absurdity of our sending off the blacks will readily appear. You, my dear sir, put the necessity of colonizing the free negro not upon the ground that there is not room in this country to contain the growing population, not upon the ground of climate, not upon the ground that the colored people wish to leave, not upon the ground of their inferiority, but simply upon that of difference. I thank you for the admission that it is not because of the alleged inferiority of our race, that you and others

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press this new emigration scheme. Your ground is strictly ethnological. Briefly stated it is this:—We differ, and therefore ought not to live in the same country, and as the white race is the more powerful of the two, the colored race should go and leave this land entirely to the white race. So the matter stands. There is something a little grating in this allotment, but I am quite willing to admit that we, the colored people are the party whose business it is to go, if there is really any necessity for the separation; but I see nothing in the nature of the difference between the two races, to prevent their living peaceably and happily in the same country, under the same government. It is you who with to get rid of us, not we who wish to get rid of you. We have readily adapted ourselves to your civilization, have carefully copied your manners and customs. We are Americans by birth and education, and have a preference for American institutions as against those of any other country. That we should wish to remain here is natural to us and creditable to you, and I repeat, I see no necessity for the separation. But if we really wished to get away from this great Anglo Saxon race, the plan now commended to the free colored people would be unavailing. Indeed no plan of separation can permanently be successful. The white man’s face is seen, and the white man’s hand is felt in every part of the habitable globe. Asia bows to Teutonic sway, Europe acknowledges no other than Caucasian power, Africa is invaded by the white race on all sides,10 and the Celestial Empire,11 locked in unbroken mystery for ages, now sees all her gates opening and her walls falling down, as the white man approaches. You may send us to Central America this year, and the white man will be at our elbow next year. Indeed colonies of white men have already gone and are still going. I do not myself care to go into the water to get out of the rain. I have as much reason to expect that justice and civilization will eventually do their work on North Americans, as upon Central and South Americans. For after all, the trouble is that our white fellow countrymen have not yet reached the sublime height of civilization, at which each man is contented with his just proportion of the means of comfort and happiness. But why, oh why! [M]ay not men of different races inhabit in peace and happiness this vast and wealthy country? Different races have lived in it very comfortably, and with one exception do now manage so to live.— What is it in the American branch of the Anglo-Saxon race which renders it incapable of tolerating the presence of any people in the country different from themselves? Are not Americans themselves a composite race?

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Why may not men of different colors as well as well as men of different religions live civilly together under the same Government?—Was the spirit of nativism which swept ever our country a few years ago12 a beneficial spirit to be cherished, or a malignant spirit to be frowned upon by all generous men? Are there not tens of thousands in this country who shudder at the idea of association with an Irishman, and regret every ship’s company that lands upon our shores from the Emerald Isle?13 Is not this an unworthy feeling and is it not very rapidly disappearing from amongst us, because of the great services the sons of that glorious Island are now performing for this country? Why should Americans be less tolerant of national differences in forms, features and complexion, than other nations of the white race, which in many other respects are far less enlightened that we?—Why is it that we hear of no schemes for getting rid of the free colored people of Cuba, or of the free colored people of Brazil? In the latter country where there are more than four million negro slaves,14 the free colored man is not subjected to expatriation. The moment the chains are taken from his limbs, he is at full liberty to rise to any position for which his talents and acquirements fit him.—Why should not the same be the case here? The white Brazilian is as white as the white American, and the black man in Brazil is as black as the black man here. What makes the difference? Is Protestantism less tolerant of national differences than Catholicism? Are Republics less liberal than monarchies? I will not believe anything so disgraceful to either. Political causes have operated against us and stirred up this spirit of colonization.—The same malign feelings and plottings which have brought this country to the brink of ruin, have operated against the free colored people. I am old enough to remember seeing black men on American war ships, uniformed and treated precisely as other marines.15 At the time of the adoption of the Constitution, black men were legal voters in Virginia, North Carolina and a majority of the then United States.16 What has wrought the change in their position? I answer: the same causes which have changed us from a nation gradually becoming free from slavery into a nation rapidly becoming a vast slaveholding Empire, as we were before this tremendous rebellion broke out. The fact that colored men fought for this country in common with others, in the revolution, the fact that neither General Washington17 nor General Jackson were ashamed to fight by the side of black soldiers in the wars of seventy-six and 1812,18 and the fact that colored men are not called to bear the same honorable part now in defense of the country and its institutions are explained by the same cause. Mr. Calhoun19 began a war

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upon free negroes about the same time that he began his war upon the American Union, and the results of his theories are patent to the world. To put enmity between the white people and the free colored people was an important element in the success of his ambitious plans. He would not allow them to bear arms or perform any but menial offices on board our ships or in our army.20 The teachings of this mighty man are not confined to the limits of the Southern Confederacy, but extend over the Northern States as well. You are dear sir, quite right in supposing that one ground of my opposition to this colonization scheme is the belief that in some way it favors African slavery[.]I certainly do think it liable to this objection, and I am very glad to notice that you fully recognize the justness of indignant opposition to whatever may favor such slavery. But you deny that this plan of Colonization is properly liable to this objection, and on the contrary contend that it will certainly operate against slavery, since it will bring the products of free labor in competition with slave labor. I admit the force of this last argument, but I think that the good it will do in this respect, will be entirely outweighed by the immediate evil it will do in confusing the public mind as to the high moral duty of putting down slavery without delay. I take it that of all the apologies for the continuance of slavery in this country, there is not one which so readily and completely blunts the moral sense and perverts the judgment as to the proper application of the principles of justice and liberty, as the ethnological apology. Difference of race is claimed by the superficial as a justification of almost every species of injustice and cruelty, and it is this difference of race which is at bottom of the present colonization scheme. It requires very little power of discrimination to detect the sympathetic relation between the doctrines of colonization and the doctrines of slavery. The argument that makes it necessary for the black man to go away when he is free, equally makes it necessary for him to be a slave while he remains here. I do not understand you or any as advocating the removal of the slaves from the United States. If the plan contemplated the removal of the whole colored population, slave and free simultaneously, the question would wear to my eyes a very different aspect. So far as I know, however, the first legislation for removing the slave colored population from the United States, has yet to be proposed. Of such a measure neither in the slave States nor in the free, has there arisen a single advocate. So far from wishing to send away their slaves, because of a difference of race, it is a standing complaint of the

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white people of the South that they are legally deprived of the privilege of bringing more of them from Africa. In this respect Central American colonization stands on the same footing with all its predecessors. The free colored man, not the slave colored man, has been the special object of all schemes of colonization. It was in perfect keeping with this spirit of colonization for Mr. Doolittle,21 a Republican Senator, to give out as he was understood to do, that he was opposed to all measures for Emancipation not coupled with a measure for colonizing the freed persons.—You can hardly blame me I think, for believing the colonization scheme favorable to slavery. The theory that the slaves should remain slaves until provision can be made for getting them out of the country, thrusts between them and liberty all the mountains of expense and difficulty necessary to be overcome, before they can be removed, and as these difficulties cannot be overcome in any conceivable time, so slavery has a lease of life given it by colonization, of inconceivable duration. The whole scheme therefore, becomes an opiate to the troubled conscience of the nation and barricades with insurmountable difficulties the natural course of freedom to the slave. Besides many other objections to this scheme for which you ask my support and co-operation, I have one which I trust, will commend itself to you both as a Statesman and a Philanthropist. This it is, the measure serves the bad purpose of keeping the free colored people in an unsettled condition, in a constant state of alarm, paralyses their energies, arrests the natural development of their resources, hinders the acquisition of property, and breaks up and destroys the sentiment of patriotism. You, dear sir, understand the constitution of the human mind too well, and have too long studied the effects of social forces, to make it necessary for me to dwell even for a moment on the importance of this point. A Government, a country, assured protection and permanence of location, are the essential social conditions to that steady exertion out of which character and wealth arise. For more than forty years the free colored people of this country had been systematically pursued by these crippling schemes of colonization. Men professing to interpret the designs of Divine Providence towards them, have continually beset them with such schemes, till they have almost dropped their hold on the only solid means of disproving the necessity of their removal from the country. In conclusion, throwing out of sight all questions of justice, all deficiencies in the present scheme of colonization, all violence done to our love of home and country, all considerations of past services, pushing aside the fact that we are now asked to go, nobody knows where, and to

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establish an Empire within an Empire already existing, to go, where perhaps we are not wanted, making no account of the expense and trouble of the undertaking and the great fact that colored laborers are and must be a constant source of wealth to this nation, the folly of sending away the wealth of the country, saying nothing of the millions of broad acres, which with all the Emigration from the old world will remain untilled for centuries to come, I consider this new scheme of colonization in view of the tremendous crisis now upon the nation, most shockingly inconsistent. Instead of sending any of the loyal people out of the country, it seems to me that at this time our great nation should hail with joy every loyal man, who has an arm and a heart to fight as a kinsman and clansman, to be marshaled to the defence and protection of a common country. Confidently believing that out of this terrible baptism of blood and fire, through which our nation is passing, and into which it has been plunged, not as has been most cruelly affirmed, because of the presence of men of color in the land, but by malignant and potent vices, nursed into power and activity at the poisoned breast of slavery it will come at last, renewed in its health, purified in its spirit freed from slavery, vastly greater and higher than it ever was before in all the elements of advancing civilization. I am, dear sir, respectfully, Your obedient servant, FREDERICK DOUGLASS. PLSr: DM, 5:724–26 (October 1862). 1. Blair’s letter to Douglass is reproduced immediately above in this volume. 2. Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806), a free black from Maryland, received very little formal education, but taught himself both mathematics and astronomy. He assisted Andrew Ellicott in surveying the District of Columbia in the early 1790s. From 1792 until 1797, Banneker published a highly respected almanac for the Chesapeake Bay region; he continued to provide ephemerides for other almanacs until 1804. In 1792, Banneker wrote Thomas Jefferson, the secretary of state, pleading for African American rights and enclosing a copy of his almanac. In reply, Jefferson praised the talents Banneker displayed as a credit to his race. Silvio A. Bedini, The Life of Benjamin Banneker (New York, 1972); P. Lee Phillips, “The Negro, Benjamin Banneker; Astronomer and Mathematician, Plea for Universal Peace,” Records of the Columbia Historical Society, 20:114–20 (1917); ACAB, 1:159; DANB, 22–25. 3. In 1814, Andrew Jackson led the Tennessee militia against a rebellion of Creek Indians. After being commissioned a major general in the U.S. Army, Jackson, needing to strengthen his forces in the autumn of 1814, appealed to the free blacks of Louisiana to join him. He promised them the same pay as whites and said their noncommissioned officers would be chosen from their ranks. Several units joined, and they played an important role in the Battle of New Orleans (January 1815). Jackson placed black troops on the left bank of the Mississippi River, just to the right of the advancing left column of the British. As the British assaulted Jackson’s position, these troops opened up a counterattack that was disastrous for the British. Franklin and Moss, From Slavery to Freedom, 109–10. 4. Samuel C. Pomeroy. 5. Lewis H. Douglass.

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6. In August 1619, a Dutch man-of-war brought twenty Africans to the Virginia colony of Jamestown. The colonial leader John Rolfe first wrote about this shipment of Africans in a January 1620 letter to Sir Edwin Sandys, the treasurer of the Virginia Company, which probably led Douglass to believe that the group of Africans landed in 1620 rather than 1619. John B. Boles, Black Southerners, 1619–1869 (Lexington, Ky., 1984), 3, 9; Nicholas J. Santoro, Atlas of Slavery and Civil Rights: An Annotated Chronicle of the Passage from Slavery and Segregation to Civil Rights and Equality under the Law (Lincoln, Neb., 2006), 6; Alden T. Vaughan, “Blacks in Virginia: A Note on the First Decade,” William and Mary Quarterly, 29:470 (July 1972). 7. A historically nomadic Central Asian people chiefly inhabiting Mongolia, a large territory between China and Siberia. 8. The term “Muscovite” may refer to Russians in general, or it may refer specifically to the period known as “Muscovite Russia,” from approximately 1240 to 1613. Charles E. Ziegler, The History of Russia (Westport, Conn., 1999), 25. 9. Finnish Lutherans settled in the Ingrian region of Sweden from as early as 1617, but the area became part of the Russian Conquest and was annexed into the Russian Empire in 1721. The Ingrian Finns remained in the region and retained their dialect. Ian M. Matley, “The Dispersal of the Ingrian Finns,” Slavic Review, 38:1–16 (March 1979). 10. In the second half of the nineteenth century, European influence in Africa began to rise. For centuries, Europeans had depended on an extensive trade network that brought slaves from the interior of Africa for export to their American colonies. Its population drained, and its governmental order weakened following years of warfare caused by the human slave trade, the continent became increasing susceptible to European hegemony. With the legal prohibition of the Atlantic slave trade in the early nineteenth century, European powers began to view Africa in economic terms beyond slavery. This increased interest in Africa manifested itself in the demand for further exploration as a means to chart the unknown areas of the continent. The invention of the steam engine and medication to combat malaria allowed Europeans to penetrate deeper into tropical Africa. By 1850, British influence had expanded along the Atlantic Coast as well as into the interior. France revived its trading posts in places such as Gambia and seized Algiers. Aided by superior industrial and military strength, these European countries made territorial claims in Africa and began to establish colonies there. Soon leaders in Belgium, Italy, and Germany took an interest in Africa, out of a desire to expand their empires as well. At the end of the nineteenth century, the so-called Scramble for Africa occurred, which led to the European powers colonizing most of the continent. Alice L. Conklin and Ian Christopher Fletcher, eds., European Imperialism, 1830–1930: Climax and Contradiction (New York, 1999), 4; John E. Flint, ed., The Cambridge History of Africa (Cambridge, 1976), 5:460, 464; J. F. A. Ajayi, “Africa at the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century: Issues and Prospects,” in J. F. Ade Ajayi, ed., General History of Africa, 8 vols. (Berkeley, Calif., 1981–1993)) 6:6–9; Edward Bever, Africa (Phoenix, Ariz., 1996), 24–25, 32–33. 11. For centuries, Chinese philosophy and religion emphasized heaven as a deity and as a central cultural theme. The term “celestial” is most associated with Daoism, a religion established during the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 C.E.), hence the reference to China as the Celestial Empire. In the early nineteenth century, European powers increased their interaction with China. In 1813 the British Parliament abolished the East India Company’s monopoly on trade with China, thus opening the Chinese market. With increased demand for Chinese tea, silk, and porcelain exports, the British found some Chinese eager to trade for opium, which had been long banned there. In an attempt to curb opium’s use, China ended all trade with Britain in December 1839, causing the British to declare war. Outmatched by the British, China ended the so-called Opium Wars in 1843 with a treaty that once again opened the country to trade. Other Western nations, eager to make a profit, signed similar treaties with China in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1856, war again erupted between Britain and China, with the French joining British incursions into the country. The war ended in 1860 with a new treaty, which further infringed on China’s sovereignty. Alan K. L. Chan and Yuet-Keung Lo, eds.,

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Philosophy and Religion in Early Medieval China (Albany, N.Y., 2010), 10; Benjamin I. Schwartz, The World of Thought in Ancient China (Cambridge, Mass., 1985), 29, 43, 50–51, 316; Morris Rossabi, A History of China (Malden, Mass., 2014), 291, 294–97; C. P. Fitzgerald, China: A Short Cultural History, 3d ed. (New York, 1961), 557, 564. 12. There were numerous earlier episodes of nativist violence, but Douglass probably alludes to events in the 1850s. Irish and German Americans in virtually every American city were principal targets for Election Day violence. Though some of the violence might have been instigated by Democrats, most is believed to have been committed on behalf of the American, or Know-Nothing,”party. Ray Allen Billington, The Protestant Crusade, 1800–1860: A Study of the Origins of American Nativism (1938; Chicago, 1963), 180–81, 196–97, 275, 279, 420–21; Gary Lawson Browne, Baltimore in the Nation, 1789–1861 (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1980), 191, 204–05. 13. Around 1795, William Drennen gave the nickname “Emerald Isle” to Ireland because of its widespread lush green fields. William Morris and Mary Morris, Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins (New York, 1977), 201. 14. Estimates of the number of black slaves in Brazil at particular times vary from source to source. No official governmental records were available before 1872. Most of the accounts that Douglass would have had access to estimated that between 2.5 million and 4 million slaves lived in Brazil in the middle of the nineteenth century. Douglass wrote several newspaper articles on Brazil, although he rarely mentioned the slave population. In February 1852, he estimated that between 3 million and 3.5 million slaves lived in Brazil. In 1858 another contemporary source, the Charleston (South Carolina) Mercury, claimed that the Brazilian slave population numbered around 2.5 million. When the first Brazilian census was completed in 1872, it recorded approximately 1.5 million slaves. Current historians are still unsure of the exact number of slaves in Brazil during the first half of the nineteenth century. FDP, 19 February 1852; Charleston (S.C.) Mercury, 22 January 1858; William Dougal Christie, Notes of Brazilian Questions (London, 1865), 69–70; Robert Conrad, The Destruction of Brazilian Slavery, 1850–1888 (Berkeley, Calif., 1972), 40; Herbert S. Klein and Francisco Vidal Luna, Slavery in Brazil (New York, 2010), 78; Herbert B. Alexander, “Brazilian and United States Slavery Compared,” JNH, 7:350–51 (October 1922); Mary Wilhelmine Williams, “The Treatment of Negro Slaves in the Brazilian Empire: A Comparison with the United States of America,” JNH, 15:315 (July 1930). 15. While the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps denied enlistment to blacks after the Revolutionary War, navy recruiters continued to accept them into service. The navy had more difficulty than the other branches in recruiting servicemen, because of the nature of a sailor’s work. A sailor faced long cruises, harsh discipline, and dangerous work, which forced the navy to accept anyone willing to serve, regardless of color. In the War of 1812, blacks in the navy proved valuable crew members. For example, Oliver Hazard Perry praised black sailors and their performance in the defeat of the British at Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie. Congress approved a practice that allowed native-born blacks to enlist—or reenlist—in the navy once the war ended. Blacks continued to serve on vessels, either in the navy or as privateers, well into the nineteenth century. In 1842, Senator John C. Calhoun failed in his attempt to ban from the naval service any blacks who were not cooks or servants. While the navy accepted black sailors more out of necessity than as recognition for their efforts in previous conflicts, blacks enjoyed relative equality with whites aboard warships and other vessels in the early nineteenth century. Bernard C. Nalty, Strength for the Fight: A History of Black Americans in the Military (New York, 1986), 21, 26–27; Herbert Aptheker, “The Negro in the Union Navy,” JNH, 32: 171, 173–74 (April 1947); Harold D. Langley, “The Negro in the Navy and Merchant Service, 1789–1860,” JNH, 52:274, 276–77 (October 1967). 16. After the adoption of the Constitution, most states in the North allowed black residents to vote as long as they met certain property requirements. Pennsylvania and New York, for example, established a property requirement for suffrage with no restrictions on race. Northern states started revoking black suffrage during the calls for universal white male suffrage in the 1820s and 1830s.

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States often removed property requirements for whites, but left them in place for free blacks. New York maintained its property requirement of $200 for blacks in 1822, making suffrage unattainable for all but the wealthy. Mary Frances Berry, Karen McGill Arrington, and William L. Taylor, eds., Voting Rights in America: Continuing the Quest for Full Participation (Washington, D.C., 1992), 43–46; Winch, Philadelphia’s Black Elite, 135. 17. George Washington. 18. African American soldiers served in both the army and navy during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Alexander Hamilton first proposed the recruitment of black slaves, offering freedom in exchange for military service. Slave owners would often send slaves to serve in their stead, and many saw action at the Battle of Monmouth, in 1778. The First Rhode Island Regiment was one of the first American regiments with companies composed almost entirely of black soldiers. During the War of 1812, two battalions of free blacks served with Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, where they helped repulse the British attack. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 2:180; Gail Buckley, American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military from the Revolution to Desert Storm (New York, 2001), 24–25, 50–52. 19. Best known for his advocacy of states’ rights, John Caldwell Calhoun (1782–1850), a prominent politician from South Carolina, appeared on the national political scene in 1812 as one of the “war hawks” who entered Congress on a platform that supported the War of 1812. Calhoun quickly rose to prominence, and in his third congressional term, James Monroe appointed him secretary of war. In 1824 and 1828 his popularity allowed him to be elected vice president (under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson); however, Calhoun resigned that post and returned to defend the rights of his home state of South Carolina during the Nullification Crisis of 1831 and 1832. Election to the Senate from South Carolina ensured that Calhoun would remain on the national political scene, and he returned to the cabinet as secretary of state under John Tyler. John Niven, John C. Calhoun and the Price of Union: A Biography (Baton Rouge, La., 1988); Charles M. Wiltse, John C. Calhoun, 3 vols. (New York, 1944–51); DAB, 3:410–19. 20. Secretary of War Calhoun was asked on several occasions about the use of black troops in the U.S. Army. Calhoun issued directives that allowed African Americans to serve only as teamsters and laborers assisting the building of fortifications. Several subordinates complained to Calhoun that Northern recruiters were sending blacks into the military as soldiers against his directives. Clyde N. Wilson et al., eds., The Papers of John C. Calhoun, 28 vols. (Columbia, S.C., 1959–2003), 6:148–49, 547–49. 21. James Rood Doolittle (1815–97) was born in Hampton, New York, and graduated from Geneva (Hobart) College in 1834. After practicing law in western New York for thirteen years, he moved to Racine, Wisconsin, in 1851. Originally a Democrat with free-soil principles, Doolittle joined the Republican party in 1856 and was elected to the U.S. Senate the following year. Although a supporter of a vigorous military effort in the Civil War, he favored gradual emancipation and colonization, changing his views with the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment. When he refused to follow the Wisconsin legislature’s instructions to support the Civil Rights Bill of 1866, that body called on him to resign. Doolittle voted for acquittal in Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial. Aligning himself with the Democrats after 1868, he lost his Senate seat and subsequent races for governor and the U.S. House of Representatives. LaWanda C. Fenlason Cox and John Henry Cox, Politics, Principle, and Prejudice, 1865–1866: Dilemma of Reconstruction America (1963; New York, 1976), 215–16, 224, 227; Howard K. Beale, The Critical Year: A Study of Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction (1930; New York, 1958), 123–31; ACAB, 2:201–02; DAB, 5:274–75.

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ROSETTA DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK AND ANNA MURRAY DOUGLASS Salem[, N.J.] 24 Sept[ember] 1862[.]

My Dear Father and Mother I anxiously awaited an answer to my last letter and last evening was greeted with one,1 it found me in a new home. Father your conjectures were right—when you supposed my home with Uncle2 was growing unpleasant.—My reason for not saying much of them [earlier] was because I could not speak of them as I had done and I did not wish to utter any more complaints—for two reasons, 1st because I told you much of my disappointment in Philadelphia, that I thought if I began to utter more from here you would begin to think me a great fault finder, and 2d I was anxious to obtain this situation since I was from home to make a beginning when if I should come home and I should want to get another place I would have money to start out with without calling on you for I thought if I was not successful after having asked you to give me a little start you would not feel like risking again so that I was determined to make one desperate effort even if I did undergo a few hardships, though when I begin to enumerate these trials they will appear trifling to those you have undergone. I am now with a family of the name of Gibbs3 friends of Mrs Reckless! 4 During my stay in Uncle’s family they never exacted board from me not from the time I went there until I left when I had money the most of it went in the family. [I]f I had not done so I should many times have gone supperless to bed as Uncle is busy paying for his house and his family were obliged to just live on as little as possible. When I went there I found they had but one towel and every body used it I could not get use to that, I bought three towels. I found that while I was going to bed the rest remained in the dark and as I usually take my time when I am in my room I was often hurried so that I bought myself Candles which the family used also: and so I went on getting little things when I had money only saving enough for myself to buy my paper and ink and postage stamps and thread, this I considered with what saving I could do would go towards my board. [S]ee the money that I made in my little school last summer amounted to nearly ten dollars. [A]ll went in the family except what I spent for my paper and stamps, so that I feel I have been more a help than a hindrance to them with the $10— you sent, and they tell I have done more for them than Uncle’s own daughters, that is the reason I did not say anything about that, viz. the board money. But towards the end my reasons for becoming disconsolate are these, Uncle’s wife was repeatedly

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asking me questions about my former habits. [S]he had heard I was not altogether what I should be, I was driven from my home on account of my growing intimacy with men,5 and again on account of my quarrelsome disposition towards my mother that there was some minister had come from Rochester who was acquainted knew of you having been obliged to send me away, and some Lucy Oliver6 from New Bedford had said I was in New Bedford living at our Martha Fletchers’7 but had gone astray from there and my father had come and removed me, he had taken much pains with my education having taken me to England for that purpose. This part of the story I knew who was meant Wm Brown’s daughter8 I supposed the girl meant. I was questioned had I been in New Bedford, did I know the Fletcher’s, I told them yes New Bedford was by birth place but I left when but little more than a baby. I knew of Mrs Fletcher that she was a lady of respectability living there but I was too small to have any recollection of her, That was enough I had been in New Bedford [illegible] of Mrs Fletcher the fact is not beleived that I left a mere child and the story goes, I wanted the school and I became a little frightened about these stories but did not heed them much as those circulating them I cared little for until some of the Quakers getting hold of some little came and questioned me, where was thee born? [W]as thy father married to Perry’s sister9 before he left Slavery? [A]nd many more inquisitive questions. One day a lady and daughter called and talked about many things questioning mostly about my school in Claysville as those in that district were very low indeed the daughter said I wonder at thee going there to teach them. I told her I did not feel the least ashamed of the task admitting that they were of course much neglected and were quite low and degraded. She curled her lip she said I would not care to go to school with such children and would not be engaged in teaching there[.] She could not do it she was sure. I was, quite indignant then and I tried to show as well as I could that much of degradation was owing to The white’s, much was said on both sides. A week or so afterwards Uncle who having heard the conversation repeated by some one came home and told me he had not liked it. I asked why, but he could say no more he did not think it was proper to say such things to persons who were our friends and a number of things he said were not worth while to mention for I know he did not understand me or the Quakers whose name are Gibbons.10 I told him I should certainly say what I thought when people speak so Carelessly of Slavery. Well he says you cannot speak here I saw he was cross and said many things concerning these stories about me that I need not mention here, but I certainly did not wish to hear them and as soon as I could conveniently proceeded to go to my room, when

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his wife11 jumped up and dodged me first one way and then another to prevent my going up stairs, I seated myself and waited patiently her [illegible] and seized another opportunity and started up when she followed accusing me of closing my door in her face and shook her fist in my face saying what she should do if I did it again. I knew I closed the door but she had seated herself then and was dressing her baby and knowing just how she was to the door, I laughed and said you seem determined to have a little row with me Aunt Lizzy for I left you to escape and you have followed me here. I thought I had made a pretty mistake in the character of the household and if it were not that I was soon to be employed I would not have staid. I remained until now which is three weex Since The above happened she did not wish me to go off then although I spoke of doing so as she said Uncle had promised himself if I left he should report it that I was saucy and was quite unruly and as he went among those who had shown a friendly interest for me she [illegible] I had better leave quietly. I yeilded though I blamed her for many things that was said that day and for Uncle’s singular behavior for some time for I began to distrust her over fondness for me. During this time three weeks she after persisting on my staying was more exacting and overbearing than ever and last sunday coming in my bed room for something she on going down stairs left my door open after I heard the bottom door close I closed mine returned to my seat and scarcely seated before she was up and by me shaking her fist in my face accusing me of closing the door in her face again, lately it has been a great way with her to shake her fist in my face. I left her and went down stairs out of her way she followed I said nothing to her. I started up again she followed and prevented me I went out doors and staid and determined to find a place to board. I have done so, Monday she shook me as if I were a child and threatened to pitch me out doors and my washing after me I was washing preparing to leave, I washed took my things [illegible] [letter fragment ends here]

ALf: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 736–40, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Douglass’s letter to his daughter has not survived. 2. A reference to Perry Wilmer. 3. Rosetta Douglass was probably boarding in Salem with the family of Joseph Gibbs (c. 1831– ?), an African American born in Maryland, who worked as a steward. In 1860, Gibbs’s household included not only his wife, Sarah (c. 1834–?), and their infant, but also Anna M. Brown (ca. 1810) and her daughter Tacy (c. 1848–?). 1860 U.S. Census, New Jersey, Salem County, 64–65. 4. Amy Hester Reckless. 5. Stories about Rosetta, especially regarding her supposed “growing intimacy with men,” and the possibility that such behavior was the real motivation behind Rosetta’s leaving her parents’ home

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364 ROSETTA DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK AND ANNA DOUGLASS, 24 SEPTEMBER 1862 in Rochester, were more than likely sparked by rumors that began circulating following Louise Tobias Dorsey’s public outburst on that subject months earlier in Philadelphia. The resulting gossip probably contributed to Rosetta’s decision to seek employment in Salem, New Jersey. The move apparently failed to silence the rumors, and the stories continued to spread. Rosetta Douglass to FD, 4 April 1862, General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 713–17, FD Papers, DLC; Sterling, We Are Your Sisters, 138–39. 6. Although Rosetta identified the source of those rumors about her that originated in New Bedford as coming from “some Lucy Oliver,” efforts to discover anyone by that name living in either New Bedford or Bristol County, Massachusetts, at the time in question bear questionable results. Given Rosetta’s apparent unfamiliarity with “Lucy Oliver,” it is possible that she might have confused the name. There were two women named Oliver living in New Bedford in 1862. Born in Massachusetts, Lucy A. Oliver (c. 1822–81) was the wife of Aberdeen Oliver, an English-born stevedore and the mother of six. A dressmaker, Sarah A. Oliver (c. 1837–?) and her husband, Richard W. Oliver, a barber, were both black natives of Virginia. New Bedford City Directory, Containing the City Register and a General Directory of the Citizens (New Bedford, Mass., 1859), 135; 1860 U.S. Census, Massachusetts, Bristol County, 71, 144 ; 1865 Massachusetts State Census, Bristol County, New Bedford, 65. 7. An African American native of New Bedford, Massachusetts, Martha Bailey Fletcher (c. 1811–75) was a confectioner by trade. The daughter of Abram and Rebecca Bailey, she married David  S. Fletcher, a founding member of the antislavery New-Bedford Union Society, in 1839. A widow by 1841, Martha Bailey Fletcher opened her home at 19 North Street to boarders, one of whom is known to have been William Wells Brown’s daughter Josephine. 1840 U.S. Census, Massachusetts, Bristol County, 395; The New Bedford Directory, Containing the names of the Inhabitants, Their Occupations, Places, Business and Dwelling houses (New Bedford, Mass., 1841), 70; 1850 U.S. Census, Massachusetts, Bristol County, 230; Vital Records of New Bedford Massachusetts to the Year 1850, 3 vols. (Boston, 1932), 2:38; Kathryn Grover, The Fugitive’s Gibraltar: Escaping Slaves and Abolitionism in New Bedford, Massachusetts (Amherst, Mass., 2001), 122; Sterling, We Are Your Sisters, 144–46. 8. Known as Josephine Brown, Elizabeth Josephine Brown (1839–74) was the youngest daughter of William Wells Brown and his first wife, Elizabeth Schooner. Josephine was born in Buffalo, New York, but after her parents separated in 1847, she and her older sister Clarissa were taken by their father to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where they were enrolled in public school and placed in the home of a local black family. By 1850, Josephine was living with Martha Bailey Fletcher. The following year, William Wells Brown arranged to have his daughters join him, briefly, in England before placing them in a boarding school in Calais, France. In 1853 both sisters passed the Home Colonial School examination and were admitted to the Preceptor’s College in London, where they trained to become schoolteachers. A year later, Josephine (then only age fifteen) was mistress of the East Plumstead School in Woolwich, England, where she was in charge of over one hundred pupils. In 1855, she left her teaching position and returned to the United States (she was escorted on the trip by Horace Greeley), where she joined her father, who had moved to Boston. In the months that followed, Josephine Brown accompanied her father on the lecture circuit, and that December she published Biography of an American Bondsman, a biography of her father that she had begun writing while a student in Calais. In 1856, after a brief lecture tour of her own, Josephine Brown is thought to have returned to England, but at the time of her death, she was staying in Cambridge, Massachusetts (where her father and step-mother lived), and was known as Mrs. E. Josephine Brown Campbell. 1850 U.S. Census, Massachusetts, Bristol County, 230; William L. Andrews, Two Biographies by African-American Women (New York, 1991), xxxiv–xxxv; Sterling, We Were Your Sisters, 144–47; Massachusetts Deaths and Burials, 1795–1910 (online). 9. Presumably Anna Murray Douglass. 10. Probably members of the family of Anna Denn Gibbons (1811–92). Following the death of her husband, William Gibbons, Anna returned to Salem in the 1840s. The Denn and Gibbons

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families were Quakers, and Anna Gibbons’s mother had at one time been recognized as a minister in the Society of Friends by the Salem meeting. By 1862, Anna Denn Gibbons’s household would have included her daughter Susan Gibbons as well as her sisters Susan Denn and Mrs. Rachel Denn Griscom. 1850 U.S. Census, New Jersey, Salem County, 132; 1870 U.S. Census, New Jersey, Salem County, 176; Thomas Shourds, History and Genealogy of Fenwick’s Colony, New Jersey (Bridgeton, N.J., 1876), 236; Biographical, Genealogical and Descriptive History of the First Congressional District of New Jersey, 2 vols. (New York, 1900), 2:27. 11. Elizabeth Wilmer.

ROSETTA DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Salem[, N.J.] 9 October [18]62[.]

My Dear Father Yours of the 4th inst1 arrived night before last and found me more than usual wearied with my days work for in the first place one of my scholars had several fits which frightened me as I had never seen any one in a fit and as she would stay at school I was worried all day. Lewis2 use to think I would make a pretty severe School mistress but I do not think I can be as all my scholars appear to love me and the school was noted as being a very bad one and from what I see of it when I visited it last summer I thought so too but now it is very orderly and the scholars more or less are attentive and I flatter myself with the idea that by my own Superior management that is superior to those who were before me is the sole cause of the change. I am careful of my change and I make a few cents at spare times by knitting edging and doing embroidery I am doing a peice now for the lady with whom I board who is doing my washing and ironing for pay and just now it is quite well for me that she can do it. I have done it since I have been in my school but I find it rather difficult and go to school too, my walk is a mile and a half from my boarding place I walk it in twenty five minutes. With my night school and knitting and embroidery I can make sufficient pin money and save my salary which is my object. My Evening school will commence next tuesday evening if nothing prevents. My evenings are tuesday Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, as Monday and Saturday my pupils being mostly those at service could not come on those evenings. Oh! I trust I shall succeed in finding employment. I was greatly surprised to find the little Sum of money you so generously sent me. I thank you very much for it. I often think of your loneliness for I well perceive the necessity of congenial companion I have felt it since I left home. I flatter myself if I were at home I might in a measure contribute

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to your happiness as well as to mother’s, I think my position in the family rather a singular one or rather I feel it to be so for I wish to be all you would have me be and I wish also to do something to make mother happy and if both were interested in the same pursuits it would be much easier for me [to do that] what I wish to be a comfort to both parents. Most of my ideas of morality and uprightness of character I have learned from you father, for though I never said much when our table talks were going on I made resolutions to follow your lessons, so that I am safe to say that although you may think you were talking in vain here is one that remembers, my reading has done much, and for smaller things also mother has given some counsel. Father you are mistaken in supposing that I spread family differences or in suspecting that to be the Cause of Sarah’s3 pertness for Sarah’s conduct began strange after the first two or three days I was there so far as that is concerned my opinion of Sarah or any of them is none of the best, The language and manners in the family was enough to disgust me. For however much I became vexed or angry I should not curse and there it struck me after the second night I was there when Mary4 used improper language to her sister[.] No it was not that for I never speak nor did speak of my home except with pleasure and contrasted with the Dorsey’s5 I could but speak of it in that light. And you also mistake when I wrote that Uncle’s family6 was a happy one but poor. I had just left Philadelphia and was so unhappy there that when I came here and found this family so pleasant with itself I could [illegible] make the contrast. I had no thought of home at that time, for I have seen no home since I left Rochester any happier than our own for I find every family has a something. Father I trust I have too great a family pride, pride for yourself to say any thing to make people acquainted with such things with which they have no business. I have not been asked any impertinent questions about my home indeed no questions at all, except what Aunt Elizabeth7 came and told me she had heard I was sent from home on account of my ill conduct that you and mother could not live with me, but as I knew that was so untrue I did not allow it to disturb me. Our home I should like to help keep and as this is my first attempt and first year I have used in trying to make a start I cannot do much if anything. I have begun now and I will strive to make another year more profitable to me as well as others. I have started out in rather hard times. I knew I made many mistakes in my last letter for I was worried and I wished to tell you so much, all at once that I wrote just as I speak sometimes in haste to get everything at once, and then I arose so early one morning to finish it in time for the mail. When

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I go to Philadelphia I will go to Mrs [Hurn’s]8 for I wish you to see how large I have grown. My dresses that I had made last winter are too tight for me I am fearful now I am to be large like Aunt Charlotte9 I hope not for I am not as tall. No I have no need to parade destitution on my part for I have everything to carry me through for sometime yet as regards clothing[.] Mrs Reckless10 when I thanked her but hoped she would not think of such a thing said she wished to make me some present for some time and could think of nothing but shoes and as she persisted I accepted, but as I said I have no need to represent myself destitute for I have shoes by me to last me through the fall. Yes I had heard or at least seen the notice of the death of Rev. Mr Pryne11 last Saturday in the Tribune12 and the mean article copied from the Argus.13 It brought before me the [illegible] of the John Brown Raid with all its sorrows as that was the winter I became a little acquainted with Mrs. Pryne[.] How sad it is I wish much to see your Monthly for October it has not come yet. Mrs Reckless has a friend who takes the Tribune and she has kindly got her friend to save me up the dailies and I go every saturday and get them so that was the way I heard of the sad fate of Mr Pryne. I have got my shawl from Dorsey’s after having sent the fifth time. Miss Adams sent me this week a couple of the Rochester Express one of which contained your letter to Senator Blair on the Central American scheme.14 I [was] glad to get it for I had not seen it but have seen several persons who had read it. I suppose I shall see it in the Monthly. I hope it will come soon. I see that Redpath has resigned15 and the Pine and Palm16 has fallen. Is there any prospect of your going to Hayti? I do not see how you can go now. The clock is striking eleven and I must to bed. I should think it costs something to go to Syracuse so often unless Lewis has a free pass.17 I am glad to know he is growing fine looking. I did not use to think he was but I noticed within the last year or two a change, a little of the sharp edge taken off and he will do. I think I see him give me a queer look at this criticism on his manners. My love to Mother and Lewis Frederick and Charles,18 & Aunt Charlotte and all friends Much to Yourself I remain Your Affectionate Daughter ROSETTA DOUGLASS

[P.S.] Please don’t grow despondent. and write soon. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 740–44, FD Papers, DLC. 1. This letter has not survived.

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2. Lewis H. Douglass. 3. Sarah Anne Dorsey Seville. 4. Mary Louise Dorsey Harlan (c.1849–1901) was the youngest of Thomas J. and Louise Tobias Dorsey’s three children. Like her siblings, Mary was born in Philadelphia. In the early 1870s, she married the Cincinnati native Robert J. Harlan, Jr. (1853–?). . He was the only child of Robert J. Harlan (c. 1816–97), a former slave who was an acknowledged half brother of Justice John Marshall Harlan. Robert Harlan’s first wife was Josephine Floyd (reputed to have been the daughter of Governor John B. Floyd of Virginia). The marriage produced two daughters, Caroline and Louise Harlan. In 1879, following the death of her mother, Mary Dorsey Harlan took over the Dorseys’ home while engaged in a dispute with her surviving sibling, William Henry Dorsey, for control of their parents’ estate. In 1880, however, she was arrested (under the name Mary L. “Minnie” Dorsey) for running a “disorderly house” (brothel) at a different address from the home she shared with her husband and daughters. Following her conviction, Mary Dorsey Harlan served three months in jail, and by the next year she was living in Washington, D.C., where her husband had found a job in the postal service. The family remained in Washington, D.C., until 1884, when Robert Harlan, Jr., chose to return to Cincinnati alone. The Harlan’s daughters were sent to live with their mother’s relatives in Philadelphia, where they spent the rest of their lives. Nothing more is known of Mary Dorsey Harlan’s life between her separation from her husband and her death in Washington, D.C. 1850 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 147; Loren P. Beth, John Marshall Harlan: The Last Whig Justice (Lexington, Ky., 1992), 12–13; Ronald Shannon, Profiles in Ohio History: A Legacy of African American Achievement (Bloomington, Ind., 2008), 33–35; Lane, William Dorsey’s Philadelphia, 60, 301–03. 5. Thomas and Louise Dorsey. 6. The family of Perry and Elizabeth Wilmer. 7. Elizabeth Wilmer. 8. Probably Sarah Griffin Hurn (c. 1818–?), the daughter of Gershom and Hannah Hoxie Griffin of Gates, New York, and wife of John W. Hurn (1823–87), the English-born telegraph operator who suppressed the telegram that ordered Frederick Douglass’s arrest for complicity in the Harpers Ferry raid. For most of their life in Philadelphia, John Hurn’s primary occupation appears to have been photography. By 1880, the Hurns were living in Vineland, New Jersey, where Sarah was active in the National Woman Suffrage Association. 1850 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 258; 1860 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 284–85; 1870 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 68; 1880 U.S. Census, New Jersey, Cumberland County, 33; Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, eds., National Woman Suffrage Association, Report of the Sixteenth Annual Washington Convention, March 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th, 1884 (Rochester, 1884), 140; Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:833. 9. Charlotte Murray (c. 1820–?) was the younger sister of Anna Murray Douglass. She obtained a certificate of freedom in Caroline County, Maryland, in 1832 and probably joined other family members, including Anna, in Baltimore at that time. By 1850, Murray was a member of Frederick Douglass’s household in Rochester. 1850 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 318; Archives of Maryland Online, Caroline County, Certificates of Freedom, 1827–1857. 10. Amy Hester Reckless. 11. Seriously ill from typhoid fever, Abram Pryne committed suicide with a razor in his home in Williamson, Wayne County, New York, on Saturday, 20 September 1862. New York Times, 5 October 1862; Lib., 3 October 1862. 12. Abram Pryne’s suicide was mentioned twice in the New York Tribune. A short article printed on 23 September 1862 mentioned that he had suffered from ill health, and claimed his suicide occurred “whilst laboring under a fit of insanity.” A longer piece, an editorial printed on 25 September 1862, criticized the hostile comments regarding Pryne made by the Albany Atlas & Argus, and claimed Pryne was “a gentleman of pure and blameless life” who obeyed the calling to fight against “the most gigantic crime of the age.” New York Tribune, 23, 25 September 1862.

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13. Rosetta Douglass alludes to an undated article on Abram Pryne’s suicide from the proDemocratic party newspaper the Albany (New York) Atlas & Argus, which was reprinted in Douglass’ Monthly. Among other hostile comments in that article was the statement “His association with Fred. Douglass, and other black and white Abolitionists, had rendered him rabid in his disunionism and his hatred of the Constitution.” DM, 5:724 (October 1862). 14. Rosetta Douglass refers to her father’s letter of 16 September 1862 to Postmaster General Montgomery Blair, published in the October issue of Douglass’ Monthly and reprinted in other periodicals. The letter is also reprinted earlier in this volume. DM, 5: 724–26 (October 1862). 15. In October 1862, after two years of little success in recruiting African Americans to immigrate to the Caribbean republic of Haiti, James Redpath resigned as the director of the Haytian Emigration Bureau. Redpath declared that he still believed “that the negro race, like the old Israelits will be taken out of this country, and led into fairer lands.” Lib., 3 October, 7 November 1862; McKivigan, Forgotten Firebrand, 82. 16. The Pine and Palm was the official publication of the Haitian Emigration Bureau, which was directed by James Redpath. In March 1861, Redpath had purchased the New York Weekly Anglo-African, the nation’s largest circulating blacked-edited periodical, and renamed it the Pine and Palm to advance editorially the recruitment of African American immigrants to Haiti. While Redpath hired the African American George L. Lawrence as editor, he kept a close personal rein on the Pine and Palm’s contents, and the Haitian effort provoked anger among many Northern blacks and abolitionists. James McCune Smith financed a resurrection of the Weekly Anglo-African to oppose emigration. The newspaper ceased publication when Redpath resigned as director of the bureau. McKivigan, Forgotten Firebrand, 69–71, 77–78, 80–82. 17. Lewis H. Douglass’s frequent trips to Syracuse in 1862 can be explained by the fact that he was courting Helen Amelia Loguen (1843–1936). At the time, her father, James Wesley Loguen, was the minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion church in Syracuse. The couple became engaged in 1863, but did not marry until 1869. Sterling, Speak Out in Thunder Tones, 189; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 222. 18. Charles R. Douglass.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO THEODORE TILTON Rochester, N.Y. 21 Oct[ober] 1862[.]

My dear Sir, You could not have easily asked me a more difficult question. Were your colored young friend a waiter, a cook white washer or coachman, the case would be different. Places for educated colored young men are hard to find. Why would it not be well to send some of this class as well as white young men to Fort Monroe, Hilton Head1 and elsewhere to teach contrabands.2 That might be a stepping stone to other positions of usefulness. We are setting up your “out look” from the Independent for our November number.3 I am delighted with the warmth and freshness I find in all you write. The Independent is a power—and thank Heaven not on the side of oppression—as powers generally are. Who wrote the Article Headed “Contrast” which I have copied into my October number.4

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I am mortified to find that you do not see my paper. It shall come regularly here after. In making a new list for New York my Son5 had missed your name. I send you the number with my correspondence. Mr Blair6 — writes me that it is the purpose to abandon the Colonization Scheme for the present and await the developments of time and Events: a wise ending to a singularly foolish beginning. Though obscure, my Dear Sir, I am not idle. For nearly twenty five years I have been at work—toiling over the country from town to town—speaking to [illegible] where I could find tens—and hundreds—when favored with such numbers. I shall as usual be in the lecturing field this winter.7 Of course I shall see you—Should my course bring [me] in the vicinity of New York. I do not for get the kind offer you made me some time ago. Nor the sunny moments passed with you here. I want no pay for the Article I wrote for the Independent. It was compensation enough to have my article published in its broad columns. Your favorable opinion of my abilities almost compels me to regard myself a remarkably modest man—Nevertheless I cannot yet bring myself to think that I could sustain your good opinion through a series of Articles in that paper. Are we not in danger of a compromise? If the State goes for Seymour 8 a shout will arise for peace at any price. Very Truly yours FREDERICK DOUGLASS HLSr: Frederick Douglass Miscellaneous Manuscripts, NHi. 1. Hilton Head is a forty-two-square-mile foot-shaped island located near the South Carolina– Georgia border on the Port Royal Sound. The island is part of Beaufort County, South Carolina, and lies approximately twenty miles north of Savannah, Georgia, and ninety-five miles south of Charleston. The island was named after Captain William Hilton, who explored the region in 1663. In 1860 the population of Hilton Head included almost one thousand slaves, who worked on the island’s twenty-four plantations, and their white overseers. In July 1861, Confederates built Fort Walker on Hilton Head Island in order to protect Port Royal Sound from Union attack. In November 1861, over 13,000 Union soldiers invaded the island during the Battle of Port Royal and captured Fort Walker, which was renamed Fort Welles in honor of Lincoln’s secretary of the navy, Gideon Welles. After Hilton Head was made the headquarters of the Department of the South in 1862, its population soared to over 40,000. This number included Union troops, prisoners of war, and escaped slaves, who were known as contrabands. Upon the order of General Thomas W. Sherman, the island’s contraband population was moved into one of the first freedmen’s villages. It was named Mitchelville in honor of General Ormsby M. Mitchel, commander of the Department of the South, who died of yellow fever on Hilton Head in October 1862. Between 1863 and 1865, three additional forts (Mitchel, Sherman, and Howell) were built on the island, and the number of Union troops rose to almost 30,000, which increased the island’s total population to around 50,000. Union troops remained stationed on Hilton Head until 1868. After their departure, the island’s population quickly fell to only a few thousand permanent residents. Whitelaw Reid, Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Her Generals and Soldiers,

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2 vols. (Cincinnati, Ohio, 1868), 1:614–16; Natalie Hefter, ed., Hilton Head Island (Chicago, 1998), 9–12, 18, 24; Barbara Brooks Tomblin, Bluejackets and Contrabands: African Americans and the Union Navy (Lexington, Ky., 2009), 44–47, 134–36, 288; Thomas, Lippincott’s Gazetteer, 1:1007. 2. In May 1862, Union general Benjamin Butler used the term “contraband” to describe the runaway slaves to whom he provided refuge within Union lines at Fortress Monroe. Union commanders on the South Carolina Sea Islands, including Hilton Head, which was recaptured in late 1861, adopted the same policy. Abolitionists quickly organized freedmen’s aid societies and dispatched teachers to both camps, and the Treasury Department supervised the labor of fugitive slaves in both locations. McPherson, Struggle for Equality, 156–69; McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, 355–56, 497–98. 3. Douglass is referring to the editorial entitled “The Outlook,” published in the New York Independent shortly after the issuance of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. The Independent praised the “unity” that had come to the nation after the announcement of the proclamation, and hoped that the unity was evidence that the Northern public accepted the proclamation’s consequences and that America could at last become a true symbol of a Christian nation. Douglass reprinted the piece in his Monthly. New York Independent, 25 September 1862; DM, 5:8 (November 1862). 4. DM, 5:728–29 (October 1862). 5. Likely Lewis H. Douglass. 6. Montgomery Blair. 7. During the winter of 1863, Frederick Douglass lectured in several Northern cities in support of the recently issued Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. He spoke in Rochester on 17 November and 28 December 1862; in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. in early December; and in Boston on 1 January 1863. On 6 February 1863, Douglass gave a lecture in New York City and threw his support behind calls for black recruits to enter the army. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxxvi, 543–569. 8. Horatio Seymour (1810–86) began his career as a New York Democrat in the 1840s. He was elected to the state legislature in 1841, became mayor of Utica in 1842, then returned to the legislature in 1844, where he was a strong advocate for improving the Erie Canal. Seymour was a member of the Hunker faction of the New York Democratic party, which opposed Martin Van Buren. Along with the other Hunkers, Seymour supported James K. Polk’s policy to extend slavery. When the Hunkers gained control of the Democratic party after 1848, Seymour was their candidate for governor. His opposition to nativism and his veto of the antiliquor Maine Law caused him to lose a bid for reelection. In 1862, after a decade of retirement, Seymour was again elected governor of New York. Once in office, he worked to delay and limit the implementation of the Civil War draft. He was defeated in the 1864 gubernatorial election, but remained politically active until 1868, when he was the reluctant and unsuccessful Democratic presidential nominee. Stewart Mitchell, Horatio Seymour of New York (Cambridge, Mass., 1938); ACAB, 5:470–73; DAB, 16:615–21; ANB, 19:687–88.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO THEODORE TILTON Rochester[, N.Y.] 22 Nov[ember] 1862[.]

Theodore Tilton— My best thanks. and now another favour—please enter me on the [list] of your Exchange. I only see the Independent in our reading room—The “appeal[“]1 was written at the earnest request of a friend in England—and will very likely find its way into many of the Provincial journals in that country—

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Our friend Miss Anthony2 is at home watching by the bedside of her father who has been quite ill—but now convalescent.3 I am soon to begin a lecturing tour—but hope to be able to visit the contrabands at some point in old Virginia before I enter upon my work. How bravely the rebels hold out.4 Oh! [I]f one could strike December from the Calendar. Full of hope and joy, Nevertheless— Truly your friend F. DOUGLASS— HLSr: Frederick Douglass Papers, NRU. 1. Douglass authored the article entitled “The Slave’s Appeal to Great Britain,” published in the 20 November 1862 issue of the New York Independent. 2. Susan B. Anthony. 3. Susan B. Anthony’s father, Daniel Anthony (1794–1862), passed away on 25 November 1862. Born in Massachusetts, Anthony had thrived in his home state as a cotton manufacturer, but in the mid-1820s migrated to central New York to manage a cotton mill owned by Supreme Court Justice John Mclean. Bankrupted by the Panic of 1837, Anthony struggled to support his family by farming land near Rochester. A liberal Quaker, Anthony actively supported temperance, abolitionism, and the women’s rights movement. Lib, 5 December 1862; Alma Lutz, Susan B. Anthony: Rebel, Crusader, Humanitarian (Boston, 1959), 2, 5, 8, 10–15, 98. 4. The Confederates launched a series of offensives in the fall of 1862, only to be defeated at Sharpsburg, Maryland (September 17; also known as the Battle of Antietam), Corinth, Mississippi (October 3; the Second Battle of Corinth), and Perryville, Kentucky (October 8). McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, 516–24, 537–45.

JOHN JONES TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Chicago[, Ill.] 1 De[cembe]r 1862[.]

Frederick Douglass, My Dear Friend I now attempt to break the silence that has so long existed between US by writing you a few lines that you may know that I have not forgoten Frederick Douglass and if I had done so that Appeal to the British people Published in the New York Indiependent1 Would have refreshed my mind that the GREAT CHAMPION FOR Human FREEDOM throughout the wide WORLD still lives in the beautiful City of Rochester N.—Y.— in the person of Frederick Douglass. My Dear Friend that Appeal will hand your name down to all Coming Generations. I am proud of it My dear Sir and friend keep your Head up you are all right go a head. It is my intention to wright more frequent to you and I Shall be glad to receive a letter from you as often you can Spore The Time to wright one I know I hear

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from you once a Month Through the Douglass Monthly but that is not lik a Writen letter, though we are held in suspense on the first of every month untell we receive it. and by the way you will I hope be kind enough to send me No.. 1 of Vol..—5 as I did not recieve it and I want it to make my Vol..— Complete before Binding it do not forget to Send it. My Wife2 and Daughter3 Join me in Sending My best regards to you and your Family We will Speak of that visit in Some future letter Yours ever JOHN JONES ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 754–55, FD Papers, DLC. 1. “The Slave’s Appeal to Great Britain,” New York Independent, 22 November 1862. 2. The daughter of a blacksmith, Mary Jane Richardson Jones (1819–1910) was raised in Memphis, Tennessee. The Richardson family moved to Alton, Illinois, shortly after Mary met her future husband, John Jones, in 1841. Jones followed Mary to Alton and married her in 1844. In 1845 the couple moved to Chicago. Mary, an antislavery activist in her own right, participated in her husband’s activities to further the cause. She played a major role in the Underground Railroad in Chicago, hosting antislavery meetings in their home. She and her husband were known to be gracious entertainers, and Douglass was a frequent visitor. Arna Bontemps and Jack Conroy, Anyplace but Here (1945; New York, 1966), 43–52; William Loren Katz, The Black West: A Documentary and Pictorial History of the African American Role in the Westward Expansion of the United States (1987; New York, 1996), 67–70; Juliet E. K. Walker, ed., Encyclopedia of African American Business History (Westport, Conn., 1999), 343–44. 3. Lavinia Jones Lee (c. 1845–?) was the only daughter of John and Mary Jones. She was an infant when her parents moved from Alton to Chicago, Illinois, in 1845. Little is known of her life except that she attended the National Conservatory of Music in New York, married, and was involved in philanthropic activities. Newspaper accounts indicate that Lavinia was an officer in the Prudence Crandall Club, an association dedicated to study and social activism. The club was named after the teacher in Connecticut who maintained a school for African American girls despite public pressure and criticism. In addition, records indicate that Lavinia donated John and Mary Jones’s certificates of freedom, dated 1844 in Madison County, to the Chicago Historical Society. New York Freeman, 22 May 1886; Afro-American, 9 May 1896; Chicago Historical Society: Annual Report (Chicago, 1906), 103; Karen Graves, Girls’ Schooling during the Progressive Era: From Female Scholar to Domesticated Citizen (New York, 1998), 75.

HENRY RICHARDSON1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Newcastle on Tyne[, Eng.] 4 [December] 1862[.]

Frederick Douglass My dear friend Our Scheme I think, has answered well. On receiving your excellent “appeal”2 I forwarded it to the Editor of the “Daily News,”3 with a note

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informing him that I sent it at your request. It was inserted immediately, and the very next morning after its appearance, I observed about one half of it in our “Daily Chronicle.” 4 The “Newcastle Guardean” 5 followed this example, and I have no doubt it has appeared, in whole, or in part, in very many English newspapers. I am informed that the “Leeds Mercury”6 (the most important paper in these Northern parts) gave a good part of it, and also quote the Comments of various papers. The only unfavourable notice I have seen was in a Bristol paper, in which the appeal was described in a short leader, with the remark that it was uncalled for in this country, as there was no danger of the course you deprecate being adopted. I quite think there is a turn of the tide observable, and that the Northern states are beginning to be looked upon with more favour. Your appeal has doubtless helped on this change. We shall soon see what the first of January produces, and if the proclamation takes effect, you may expect a full tide of sympathy. So far as I can see there is a better prospect for the success of the Federal arms than there has yet been; and our statesmen I think will be wise enough to demur before recognising a Confederacy which may soon have no existence. It is hardly safe to speculate however before the rapid course of events. I obtained a dozen copies of the “Daily News.” One of these I trust you would receive, as it was posted by next mail. I also sent to Lewis Tappan, Wm Goodell, and Samuel Rhoads.7 In the same paper there was the address of the French branch of the “Evangelical Alliance”,8 to the American churches. An admirable document, both Anti-slavery and pacific! No allusion whatever to lashing with scorpions,9 as in a certain other notorious document. Have you seen a work entitled “The Slave Power”, by Professor Cairns10 of Queen’s College, Galway? I have only seen extracts, but thought he placed the subject in a clearer light than any writer I have met with. You would doubtless dissent from his conclusion, vis. that the South had better be allowed to secede, with the Mississippi for its boundary, so as for the North to retain its hold on Texas and Northern Mexico. This, after all, may be the best solution that is possible. With kindest regards[,] Your friend sincerely HENRY RICHARDSON.

[P.S.] Samuel Hughan11 9. Mosley Street Newcastle on Tyne

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Please to alter S. Hughan’s address to the above. It seems that for a whole year, he got no paper. He has just paid 15/—for three years. HR. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 756–58, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Henry Richardson (1806–85) was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, attended Ackworth School in West Yorkshire, and graduated from Darlington College. He entered his father’s mercantile business upon graduation. As a young man, Henry joined the local Essay Society and the Newcastle Peace Society, and published papers promoting peace. Henry and his wife, Anna, were active members of the Society of Friends and the Anti-Slavery Society. The Richardsons orchestrated the purchase of Frederick Douglass’s freedom from Hugh Auld for £150. Henry and Anna also served as delegates to the General International Peace Congress held in Paris in 1849, and promoted the development of the Ragged School in Sandgate, an industrial school for boys and girls from poor families. The Richardsons maintained an active interest in the Newcastle Bible Society, an organization established by Henry’s father in 1809 to promote the distribution of Bibles, and ran the operation out of the family business. It is estimated that under the direction of Henry and his father, nearly 569,000 Bibles were distributed by the society. Henry and Anna remained in Newcastle following his retirement in 1858, when they began to promote The Bible House, a new business venture that merged the distribution of Bibles with the sale of other “pure literature.” Thomas Pumphrey and Emma R. Pumphrey, Henry and Anna Richardson: In Memoriam (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Eng., 1892). 2. Probably a reference to Douglass’s “Address to Our Readers and Friends in Great Britain and Ireland.” DM, 5:722–23 (October 1862) 3. In the mid-nineteenth century, Parliament removed taxes and established a halfpenny rate that made the newspaper business more profitable. The passing of this law led to the rise of daily newspapers in England, including the Daily News, which was established in 1846 by Charles Dickens, though he stepped aside as publisher and editor of the politically progressive newspaper after only seventeen issues. By 1862, the Daily News was on its sixth editor, Thomas Walker, who remained until the newspaper merged in 1870 with the Morning Post. The Literary and Educational Year Book for 1859 (London, 1859), 169; British Museum Catalogue of Printed Books Supplement . . . Newspapers Published in Great Britain and Ireland, 1801–1900 (London, 1905), 38; Harold Herd, The March of Journalism: The Story of the British Press from 1622 to the Present Day (London, 1952), 155, 163, 167–69, 218, 220, 231n, 232, 245–46, 255, 296n. 4. The Newcastle Daily Chronicle was established in 1858. The owner of the liberal paper, Colonel Joseph Cowen, ceased its publication in 1922 when it merged with the North Mail. Literary and Educational Year Book for 1859, 169; Newspapers Published in Great Britain and Ireland, 278; Herd, March of Journalism, 265. 5. The Newcastle Guardian was a liberal daily established in 1846 by Peter Stewart Macliver and George Bradley. Robert Ward assumed ownership of the paper in 1855. Literary and Educational Year Book for 1859,169; Newspapers Published in Great Britain and Ireland, 278; Herd, March of Journalism, 221. 6. First published in 1718, the Leeds Mercury was one of Great Britain’s leading liberal provincial newspapers in the nineteenth century. In the 1840s, the paper had nearly ten thousand subscribers. The Mercury became a weekly in 1861, and was noted for supporting parliamentary reform, Catholic emancipation, and the extension of civil liberties. From 1859 until the mid-1860s, the paper published numerous antislavery articles. The Mercury ceased publication in 1937, when it was absorbed by the Yorkshire Post. Laurel Brake and Marysa Demoor, eds., Dictionary of NineteenthCentury Journalism in Great Britain and Ireland (London, 2009), 354. 7. Samuel Rhoads, Jr. (1807–68) was the son of Samuel Rhoads, a member of the Continental Congress and mayor of Philadelphia in 1774. He was educated at Haverford College in Philadelphia. An orthodox Quaker, Rhoads assisted Myrtilla Miner in the establishment of her school for African Americans in Washington in the early 1850s. Rhoads actively supported the antislavery movement and wrote Considerations of the Use of the Productions of Slavery, Addressed to the Religious

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Society of Friends (1845). On 20 June 1845, a group of Philadelphia Quakers, along with Rhoads, met to discuss the merits of a free-produce association. They met again on 19 September to ratify the constitution of the Philadelphia Free Produce Association of Friends (PFPA) to promote the abolishment of slavery by the purchase and manufacture of free-labor cotton and other goods. Samuel Rhoads was designated a manager of the free-labor store and participated in the Committee on Supplies and the Committee on Manufactures. He was the editor of the Non-Slaveholder, a publication used to disseminate information relative to the PFPA’s work, from 1846 until its closure in 1850. The mission of the PFPA was later carried out through the publication of the more liberal Friends’ Review: A Religious, Literary, and Miscellaneous Journal established in 1857. Rhoads assumed the editorship and remained editor of the Friends’ Review until his death. Ruth Ketring Nuermberger, The Free Produce Movement: A Quaker Protest against Slavery (Durham, 1942), 35n, 36, 65n, 96, 105, 107; Mabee, Black Freedom, 142, 202; BDUSC (online). 8. Following an inaugural conference held in Liverpool, England, in 1845, a group of over 900 Protestant clergy and laypeople met at Freemason’s Hall in London in August 1846 for what became the founding conference of the Evangelical Alliance. While attending the conference, a group of the French-speaking delegates laid the groundwork for establishing a French division of the alliance. These French members, drawn mostly from a Reformed (Calvinist) background, met for the first time in April 1847. It was determined then that local branches of the alliance would be set up in Bordeaux, Brussels, Geneva, Lausanne, Lille, Lyons, Neufchatel, Nîmes, Paris, Strasburg, and Toulouse. “French Organization in Connection with the Evangelical Alliance,” Evangelical Christendom: Its State and Prospects, 1:137 (May 1847); Mark Hutchinson and John Wolffe, A Short History of Global Evangelicalism (New York, 2012), 1–2. 9. Richardson paraphrases from the first book of Kings: “And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” 1 Kgs. 12:11. 10. John Elliot Cairnes (1823–75) was a political economist. Born in County Louth, Ireland, he graduated with a B.A. and an M.A. from Trinity College in Dublin in 1848 and 1854. Cairnes won the Whately Chair of Political Economy in 1856, and began lecturing at the Trinity College in 1857. His first lectures were published under the title The Character and Logical Method of Political Economy. Cairnes began his tenure as professor of jurisprudence and political economy at Queen’s College, Galway, in 1859. Slave Power, published in 1862, documents Cairnes’s political and economic theory of slavery and his condemnation of the “inevitable formation of an arrogant aristocracy” and “rampant expansionism” resulting “from the slave society.” Harold D. Woodman, introduction to The Slave Power: Its Character, Career, and Probable Designs, J[ohn] E[lliot] Cairnes (1862; New York, 1969), xxi–xxiii, xxxii; ODNB (online). 11. Samuel Hughan (1837–96) was born in Devonshire and reared in Scotland. In 1861 he moved to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and entered into a partnership with John Cameron Swan as a merchant and commission agent. In 1866, Hughan immigrated to New York City and began working as an importer. In 1868 he married Margaret West, a writer and composer, with whom he had three daughters, including Jessie Wallace Hughan, a well-known educator and social activist. A pacifist, Hughan supported the single-tax movement and woman suffrage. He occasionally worked as a freelance journalist, and in 1886 managed Henry George’s unsuccessful campaign for mayor of New York City. 1851 Scotland Census, Wigtownshire, Sorbie, 12; 1880 U.S. Census, New York, King’s County, 37; Scott H. Bennett, Radical Pacifism: The War Resisters League and Gandhian Nonviolence in America, 1915– 1963 (Syracuse, N.Y., 2003), 2–3.

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JULIA GRIFFITHS CROFTS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Leeds[, Eng.] 5 Dec[ember] [18]62[.]

My dear Friend/ I am compelled to send messages from Montrose & Kelso, about the papers for those two [illegible], as the addresses are to be changed and I hasten to congratulate you on the truly admirable “address” you have sent to “Great Britain”1—This address, (which you thought you sent over by the same steamer that brought your last long and interesting letter to me,)2 must have landed some days sooner; but as I had heard nothing about it until your letter came, (last Saturday, Nov 20th.) I wrote off at once to Mr.  H. Richardson3 to enquire. By return post came a “London Daily News,” with it in full & a nice, long letter from him—full of Anti-Slavery interest;4 no message, from his wife or mention of her!5——He hoped it might have been published in “the Mercury”6 & it should have been sent at once to “the Mercury”——& would have been had I had it sooner—As it is an “Extract” from it was given on Saturday—& Mr Frederick Baines,7 (whom I saw at his office this morning,) said, it was too late—after the Extract from the Address was given, they could not publish it whole. I mailed you, this day, from their office, the two “Mercury’s”—Containing that & the long & interesting extract from your last letter to me that you thought might be published with advantage—Mr E. Baines published it at once, in reply to my note.—& to day I bought up & sent out all I could get—also the Extract from your address—I trust both will do good—The address, (so far as your friend Julia can judge,) could not be better—& covers the whole ground—— Now, a word, my dear friend, about your personal matters—& prithie, give attention to what I say—Even if all goes as you wish it on the 1st January 63. you must not give up your paper8—this is the 15th year of its existence in some shape! & tho’ the name has vari[e]d, the Editor has always been one & the same man—now, more known than ever—The paper was started from this side the water; & the ground of obtaining material aid for your branch of the cause, is the paper—Truly, the more free colored people are in the North the more they will need a paper— to assist in elevating them & educating them;—No, my dear friend, do not be led astray, or make a mistake by hastily giving up the paper!—I feel quite afraid of this farming scheme; you know nothing about farming yourself—and would be like a fish out of water9 without mental labor—& public work! I wish I could fly over the water & have a consultation with

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you—I have felt quite uneasy in my mind since this farm business was first mentioned—& do not believe in it, in your case, pleasant & lucrative as it may be to people differently situated—while you keep at your work, & by sending your paper over let the British people know you are at work for your people you need not fear supplies failing!—the paper is your means of Communication with the many friends in Great Britain to whom you have not time to write, & who will be more interested than ever since your address is in circulation—Bear all this mind, my friend, I pray you—I hope to send remittances to you in one or two weeks according to how people send in—& I have no doubt but that Mrs Carpenter10 is sending today— I feel sorry the Rochester Society have not sent a colored teacher to a colored school!!11 It is seven years last June since I saw Rosetta—& in that time she will be much changed, & much improved, without doubt—I wish the Com: had seen fit to appoint her, as she likes teaching, but I hope she will do as well in New Jersey as she would have done in Washington!12 My love & best wishes for her & Lewis13 too, as well as the boys at home & Mrs D.—Christmas is almost here—a dismal season both here & in the States, this time. Unprecedented sums are being raised for the “Lancashire distress”14 —our hall is full of clothing for them I must close—all join in kind love to you—Ever your true & faithful friend, JULIA G. CROFTS. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 761–64, FD Papers, DLC. 1. DM, 5:722–23 (October 1862). 2. This letter from Douglass to Crofts has not been located. 3. Henry Richardson. 4. Crofts is referring to a letter she recieved from Henry Richardson in which he enclosed a copy of the issue of the Daily News that included Douglass’s “Slave’s Appeal to Great Britain.” London Daily News, 26 November 1862. 5. Ellen Richardson. 6. Probably the Leeds Mercury. 7. The sons of Edward Baines, a nonconformist Liberal party Member of Parliament from Leeds, England, Frederick Baines (1812–?) and his brother Edward Baines, Jr., inherited management of the Leeds Mercury from their father. Never healthy, Frederick generally managed the business end of the Mercury operation. Edward Baines, Jr., The Life of Edward Baines, Late M.P. for the Borough of Leeds, 2d ed. (London, 1859), 40–42, 70, 265–66, 284, 294–95; Ann Scott, Mervyn Eadies, and Andrew Lees, William Richard Gowers, 1845–1915: Exploring the Victorian Brain (Oxford, Eng., 2012), 78–79. 8. Crofts must be responding to information contained in a private letter from Douglass that is now lost. Douglass made no allusion to abandoning his editorial post for a farming scheme in any issue of Douglass’ Monthly or in public addresses in the fall of 1862.

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9. The expression “fish out of water” may originate in the “Prologue” of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, in which he likens a monk with no cloister to a fish that is waterless. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: A Facsimile and Transcription of the Hengwrt Manuscript, with Variants from the Ellesmere Manuscript, ed. Paul G. Ruggiers (Norman, Okla., 1979), 10. 10. Mary Browne Carpenter. 11. Julia Griffiths Crofts probably alludes to the freedmen’s aid activities of the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society in Virginia. The group dispatched the white Quaker teacher Julia Wilbur to Alexandria, Virginia, in October 1862. Later, the former slave Harriet Jacobs, author of a famous autobiography, joined Wilbur in her educational work with Virginia freedmen. DM, 5:773–74 (January 1863), 5:804 (March 1863); Jean Fagan Yellin, Harriet Jacobs: A Life (New York, 2004), 164–68. 12. Although it is possible that Rosetta Douglass applied for a teaching position at Myrtilla Miner’s school, no record of that has been found. Instead, Julia Griffiths Crofts seems to be referring to the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society’s decision to send a representative to Washington, D.C., to work as a teacher with contrabands. She indicates that Rosetta Douglass had been turned down for the position by the “Commissaries for the Contrabands.” Instead, Julia Wilbur received the appointment and was sent from Rochester. Hewitt, Women’s Activism and Social Change, 193; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 220. 13. Lewis H. Douglass. 14. The “distress” in Lancashire was the result of the “cotton famine” experienced by British mills because of the naval blockade of Southern ports after New Orleans fell to Union forces in April 1862. By the 1850s, Lancashire, the center of Great Britain’s textile industry, was importing 80 percent of its cotton from the South. A bumper cotton crop in 1860 and an incomplete blockade allowed British mills to operate fairly normally in the early months of the Civil War. By November 1861, however, there were 100,000 unemployed textile workers in Lancashire. After the fall of New Orleans, the situation rapidly worsened, and in November 1862 the number of out-of-work textile workers in Lancashire rose to almost 250,000; over 450,000 people in the area were on some sort of public relief. Indeed, at the lowest point of the cotton famine, one-fifth of Lancashire’s population was on a combination of public and private relief. British manufacturers were eventually able to begin replacing the blockaded American cotton with cotton imported from India and Egypt, and by the mid-1860s the crisis had begun to abate. Leicester Chronicle, 2 November 1861; John Watts, The Facts of the Cotton Famine (London, 1866), 227–28, 283–84; D. A. Farnie, “The Cotton Famine in Great Britain,” in Great Britain and Her World, 1750–1914: Essays in Honour of W. O. Henderson, ed. Barrie M. Ratcliffe (Manchester, Eng., 1975), 160–61; Sylvia Ellis, Historical Dictionary of Anglo-American Relations (Lanham, Md., 2009), 36.

JOHN ELLIOT CAIRNES TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Dublin[, Ire.] 31 Dec[ember] 1862.

Dear Sir Accept my warm thanks for your very flattering [illegible] of my lecture in the number of your paper which you have done me the favour to send me.1 I have read it with extreme pleasure, not however unmingled with a sense of pain that words should have escaped me, which, I admit, when unexplained, seem to countenance a calumny, which very naturally and

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very properly excites your indignation. Permit me now to say, that in the phrase to which you take exception2 nothing was further from my intention than to express an opinion derogatory to the negro race. I merely, sought to indicate the degradation to which, as I believe, human beings have been brought by the system of Southern slavery. I say as I believe, for certainly the impression left upon my mind (by a pretty extensive study of works upon the South) respecting the condition of the mass of the plantation slaves is what I described it in that passage. At the same time, I never thought of attributing this to any incapacity for civilization in the negro; and I think I may say that the whole scope of my remarks both in the lecture and in my larger work, shows that this was my meaning. If, for example, you will look to p. 15 of my lecture (of which I send you a copy) you will see that I there distinctly claim for the negro a capacity for high mental cultivation; and, if I have not expressed myself more strongly, it is only because I wished to strengthen my argument by putting the case in the lowest grounds. As to the question of fact, you are, of course, a far better judge than I can pretend to be. I can only say that in what I said I stated my honest opinion, without the slightest wish to disparage the negro race. If its condition under slavery be not what I have described it, then the Southern system is less accursed than I have thought it. Should the lecture go into a fourth edition, as I think probable, I shall not fail to append an explanatory note to the the objectionable passage, and shall accompany it with an extract from your article. The news of the catastrophe at Fredericksburgh3 has just reached me. What is to be the result? It seems to me that one hope now remains for freedom—a negro army! Believe me, dear Sir, With warm sympathy, Very truly yrs J. E. CAIRNES. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 774–76, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Cairnes addressed the Dublin Young Men’s Christian Association on 30 October 1862. His lecture was subsequently published. Douglass’s lengthy critique of the lecture was published in the December 1862 issue of Douglass’ Monthly under the title “Dr. Cairnes on the Rebellion,—The London Inquirer and the Proclamation.” DM, 5:754–56 (December 1862); The Revolution in America: A Lecture, By John Elliot Cairnes, Delivered before the Dublin Young Men’s Christian Association, In the Metropolitan Hall, October 30th, 1862 (Dublin, Ire., 1862). 2. In his lecture, Cairnes states that “four millions of the African race—a race capable,— . . . not merely of feeling the obligations and performing the duties of rational creatures, but of receiving a very considerable amount, of intellectual cultivation— . . . have . . . been reduced to a condition in which they are simply brutes, with the instincts of brutes, and with no aspiration beyond the aspiration of the brute.” Revolution in America, 15.

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3. Confederates under General Robert E. Lee defeated Union troops led by General Ambrose E. Burnside on 13 December 1862 on the heights just south of the Rappahannock River in Virginia at the First Battle of Fredericksburg. This key battle between the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac was Lee’s most one-sided victory. The following month, Lincoln replaced Burnside with General Joseph Hooker. Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 2:774–79.

H. FORD DOUGLAS1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Colliersville[, Tenn.] 8 Jan[uary] 1863

My Dear Douglass:— My wife 2 sent me this morning the Monthly for December containing your appeal to England3 to “hands off” in this fearful conflict for freedom. It was indeed gratifying to me who have always felt more than a friendly interest in you and yours to read your eloquent and manly words of admonition to the old Saxon mother States to give no moral or legal countenance to the claims of the impious Confederate States of America in their attempt to set up a Government established upon the idea of the perpetual bondage of the Negro. England has wisely withstood every temptation to do so—Abraham Lincoln has crossed the Rubicon4 and by one simple act of Justice to the slave links his memory with immortality. The slaves are free! How can I write these precious words? And yet it is so unless twenty millions of people cradled in christianity and civilization for a thousand years commits the foulest perjury that ever blackened the pages of history. In anticipation of this result I enlisted six Months ago5 in order to be better prepared to play my part in the great drama of the Negroe’s redemption. I wanted its drill, its practical details for mere theory does not make a good soldier. I have learned something of war for have I have seen war in its brightest as well as its bloodiest phase and yet I have nothing to regret. For since the stern necessities of this struggle have laid bare the naked issue of freedom on one side and slavery on the other—freedom shall have in the future of this conflict if necessary my blood as it has had in the past my earnest and best words. It seems to me that you can have no good reason for withholding from the government your hearty co operation. This war will educate Mr Lincoln out of his idea of the deportation of the Negro6 quite as fast as it has some of his other pro slavery ideas with respect to employing them as soldiers. Hitherto they have been socially and politically ignored by this government, but now by the fortunes of war they are cast morally and mentally

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helpless (so to speak) into the broad sunlight of our Republican civilization there, to be educated and lifted to a higher and nobler life. National duties and responsibilities are not to be colonized, they must be heroically met and religiously performed. This mighty waste of manhood resulting from the dehumanizing character of slave institutions of America is now to be given back to the world through the patient toil and self denial of this proud and haughty race. They must now pay back to the negro in Spiritual culture in opportunities for self improvement what they have taken from him for two hundred years by the constant over-taxing of his physical nature. This law of supply and demand regulates itself. And so this question of the colonization of the negro it will be settled by laws over which war has no control. Now is the time for you to finish the crowning work of your life. Go to work at once and raise a Regiment and offer your services to the government and I am confident they will be accepted. They say we will not fight. I want to see it tried on. You are the one to me of all others, to demonstrate this fact. I belong to company G, 95th Regiment Illinois volunteers—Captain Eliot N. Bush7—a christian and a gentleman. You must pardon my miserable chirography. There is not in me one particle of mechanical genius, and it does seem to me that I can learn almost any thing but to write a decent hand. If you can by what you see marked on this paper decipher my meaning, I shall be content. Very truly your friend, H. FORD DOUGLAS. PLSr: DM, 5:786 (February 1863). 1. Hezekiah Ford Douglas (1831–65) was the son of William Douglas, a white man, and Mary Douglas, a slave woman. After escaping from slavery in Virginia, Douglas settled in Cleveland, where he became a barber and a leader in the Ohio free black community. At the 1851 Ohio State Convention, which supported suffrage for black men, Douglas declared the U.S. Constitution to be a proslavery document and claimed that black men should not vote under a constitution that condoned slavery. He endorsed antislavery emigrationism and encouraged black settlement in Canada, where he had lived for two years. He returned to live in Chicago in 1858, where in February 1859 he shared a speaking platform with Frederick Douglass, who was lecturing on the changing phases of the antislavery struggle. After Douglass’s lecture, the audience demanded to hear H. Ford Douglas speak. Although they embraced opposite ideologies, Douglass and H. Ford Douglas traveled together for much of Douglass’s Illinois lecture tour. Douglas lectured throughout New England, beginning in 1860, and advocated a violent overthrow of slavery, frequently praising John Brown in his speeches. In 1861 he returned to Chicago and became an agent for James Redpath’s Haitian Bureau. His job was to persuade people of African and Indian descent to immigrate to Haiti. DM, 1:40 (March 1859); Robert L. Harris, Jr., “H. Ford Douglas: Afro-American Antislavery Emigrationist,” JNH, 62:217–34 (July 1977).

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2. A mulatto born in Illinois to Alfred and Maria Steele, Statira Steele (c. 1840–?) married H. Ford Douglas on 26 October 1857 in Racine, Wisconsin. She worked as a teacher, and they had one daughter, Helen Ford Douglas. The family lived with her parents in a Chicago home that included other boarders. Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 2:338; Harris, “H. Ford Douglas,”233. 3. “The Slaves Appeal to Great Britain,” New York Independent, 20 November 1862. 4. To take irreversible action. The phrase refers to Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon River, which marked the boundary of his territory, to invade Italy in 49 B.C.E. and begin a war with Pompey. Brewer, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 336. 5. The Civil War ultimately became Douglas’s hope for an end to slavery. He was one of the few black men to join a white regiment, one of fewer than thirty black commissioned officers, and the only black officer to command his own company. He contracted malaria in Mississippi in 1863, but began speaking and recruiting again in 1864, receiving a commission as captain in February 1865. His unit experienced only five months of active duty, however, and Douglas, too weak for strenuous activity after leaving the Union army, died in November of that year. DM, 1:40 (March 1859); Harris, “H. Ford Douglas,” 217–34. 6. Lincoln first publicly endorsed the idea of African colonization during his eulogy for Henry Clay in 1852. Clay had supported colonization, and it was possibly Lincoln’s idolization of the Kentucky politician led him to endorse that policy, too. In 1853 and again in 1855, Lincoln addressed the Illinois Colonization Society, and in 1858 his name appeared on the list of the society’s Board of Managers. Although a believer in the natural rights of blacks, Lincoln did not accept full equality between the races before the Civil War. He often argued that the only way blacks could enjoy their rights was for them to emigrate, and he believed that many would welcome the opportunity. Lincoln continued to support colonization well into the Civil War period. In an effort to promote gradual emancipation in the border states, Lincoln tied it to colonization, which would curb slaveholders’ fears of a society made up of free blacks. In July 1862 he established the Emigration Office in the Department of the Interior and directed the State Department to begin searching for territories appropriate for a colony. Douglass criticized the president’s support of colonization, claiming that it demonstrated “his pride of race and blood, his contempt for negroes and his canting hypocrisy.” Although Lincoln did not publicly address colonization after issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, on 1  January 1863, he did not completely desert the idea until later that year. The ultimate abandonment of colonization efforts by Lincoln and his administration followed the failed attempt by a group of 450 men, women, and children to establish a colony at Île-à-Vache, an island off the coast of Haiti, in late 1863. Lincoln might have continued to support voluntary emigration, but he no longer endorsed extensive colonization. DM, 5:707 (September 1862); Eric Foner, The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery (New York, 2010), 61, 127, 184, 258–59; Phillip W. Magness and Sebastian N. Page, Colonization after Emancipation: Lincoln and the Movement for Black Resettlement (Columbia, Mo., 2011), 1, 3–4, 24. 7. Elliott N. Bush (c. 1826–1864) served as the captain in Company G of the Ninety-fifth Illinois Infantry Regiment. He was killed at the Battle of Brice’s Crossroads in Guntown, Mississippi, on 10 June 1864. 1860 U.S. Census, Illinois, Boone County, 482; Bobby Roberts and Carl Moneyhon, Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of Mississippi in the Civil War (Fayetteville, Ark., 1993), 323, 354; Wales W. Wood, A History of the Ninety-Fifth Regiment Illinois Infantry Volunteers (Chicago, 1865), 16, 215.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO SAMUEL J. MAY Rochester[, N.Y.] 28 January 1863[.]

Rev S. J. May. My Dear sir. The donation to the Freed Men, which I had designed to make to the Freed Men’s Association1 had your letter come sooner, I have already sent through another Channel. I bought fifty dollars worth of shawls and sent to Miss Wilbur2 the agent of the Rochester Ladies Antislavery society at Alexandria who has already distributed them to the needy women and children of that place. I have stated the fact to Mr Leigh3 who approves of what I have done. I have to thank you for five dollars, in aid of my paper.4 I am just home from a fortnights tour in the west as far as Chicago and am to be off again in a day or two on a similar tour in Connecticut5 where as elsewhere powerful efforts are making to turn the Current of Sentiment against the Emancipation proclamation. The work before the Abolitionists is now to make the north a unit in favour of that great measure—and if possible to cary it beyond it. The slaves’ liberation is the country’s salvation. So I preach in all the Congregations—and the people hear me gladly. To have lived to see this truth so generally acknowledged is a great and precious privilege. God bless Abraham Lincoln, bless the old and faithful Abolitionists and bless you, My Dear sir, who have contributed your full share to this grand result, In love and veneration I am yours very truly FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: Thomson-King Collection, CHSL. 1. The prominent Unitarian minister and active Garrisonian abolitionist Samuel J. May worked for the Syracuse Freedmen’s Aid Society between 1863 and 1869. The society was part of the larger freedmen’s aid movement, whose goal was to bring social and political equality to the freed slaves through education. McPherson, The Struggle for Equality, 386–88; Yacovone, Samuel Joseph May, 175. 2. Douglass likely refers to the antislavery efforts of Julia A. Wilbur (1815–95), a white Quaker from Rochester, New York, who advocated for the rights of blacks and women. A teacher and member of the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, Wilbur was hired by the society as a freedmen’s agent and in October 1862 was sent to Alexandria, Virginia, to assist contrabands. She formed a close alliance with Harriet Jacobs, who arrived in Alexandria in January 1863 to support Wilbur’s activities. Sometimes clashing with army officials in the area, Wilbur and Jacobs assisted schoolteachers and established a number of sewing circles and other work sites. Wilbur continued to help free blacks after the war, most notably at her residence in the Pennsylvania Freedmen’s Relief Association building in Georgetown, and campaigned for women’s right to vote via the National Woman Suffrage Asso-

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ciation in Washington, D.C.DM, 5:773–74 (January 1863), 5:804 (March 1863); Julia A. Wilbur to E[dwin] M. Stanton, 24 March 1863, in The Civil War and Reconstruction: A Documentary Reader, ed. Stanley Harrold (Malden, Mass., 2008), 134–36; Carol Faulkner, Women’s Radical Reconstruction: The Freedmen’s Aid Movement (Philadelphia, 2004), 15–17, 85, 91. 3. Charles C. Leigh (1812–95) was a merchant, politician, and Methodist Episcopal clergyman. He was born in Philadelphia, but his family soon after relocated to New York, where he was orphaned at the age of twelve. Leigh lived in New York City and then moved to Brooklyn, where he worked as a merchant. In the 1850s he joined the temperance movement, and was elected president of the City Temperance Alliance. Leigh was elected on a temperance ticket to the New York state legislature from the Seventh Assembly District. When the slavery question began to dominate all political issues in the mid-1850s, Leigh joined the Republican party and attended the 1856 national convention, which nominated John C. Frémont for president. During the Civil War, Leigh became increasingly concerned with race relations and the future of the slaves in the United States. Sympathetic to the plight of slaves escaping to Union army lines, he called on others who felt similarly to attend a 22 February 1862 meeting at the Cooper Institute in New York City. This meeting led to the formation of the National Freedmen’s Relief Association, and Leigh was chosen chairman of the executive committee. The association’s objective, with support from the government, was to treat blacks as free men, offering education and financial support until they were able to provide for themselves. The government gave the association permission to take possession of abandoned plantations in the South and direct the work of freedmen there. In addition, the association established schools in occupied Southern areas, employing hundreds of teachers throughout the war. Leigh traveled to Europe to raise funds for the association and met with great success. Upon returning from Europe in 1867, he applied to the New York state legislature for the right to secure a cable line from New York to France. Permission granted, he traveled back to Europe, formed a company with a capital of $5 million, and successfully laid a cable from France to New York. In 1872, Leigh left the Republican party for the Prohibition party and ran for New York governor (1872) and mayor of Brooklyn (1881) on that ticket. “Charles C. Leigh,” National Magazine: A Monthly Journal of American History, 19:406, 413–19 (April–May 1894); G. K. Eggleston, “The Work of Relief Societies during the Civil War,” JNH, 14:277 (July 1929); Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 1: 553. 4. Douglass failed to acknowledge the contribution from Samuel J. May in the erratically published lists of donors in Douglass’ Monthly. 5. In January 1863, Douglass traveled west on a speaking tour. On 19 January, he delivered the address “Truth and Error” at Metropolitan Hall in Chicago, Illinois. In a letter to Gerrit Smith dated 28 January, Douglass reported that he had just returned to Rochester from a two-week lecture tour in Chicago and “other places in the west” and was scheduled to speak in Buffalo, New York, the following evening. Douglass continued his lecturing into February 1863, speaking in Connecticut at some point during this time. Although he did not mention the specific date he would speak in Connecticut, he was most likely there sometime during the first week of February, since he spoke at the Cooper Institute in New York City on 6 February, the first Friday of that month. Chicago Tribune, 19 January 1863; New York Times, 5 February 1863; DM, 5:793 (February 1863); Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 28 January 1863, Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3: xxxiv–xxxv.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 6 March 1863.

Hon Gerrit Smith: My Dear Sir: I have thought much of your letter to Mr May,1 expressing the wish that we should send at least one colored company of soldiers from the state of New York to make part of the regiment now forming at Readville Massachusetts.2 At first I saw some ground for hesitation.3 Subsequent reflection and conversation with our friend Mr George L Stearns from Boston have convinced me that your suggestion should be carried out. I have therefore already set myself to the work of raising at least one company in this state for the war to be a part of the first colored regiment of Massachusetts. I have visited Buffalo and obtained seven good men.4 I spoke here last night and got thirteen.5 I shall visit Auburn, Syracuse, Ithica, Troy and Albany and other places in the state till I get one hundred men. Charley my youngest son was the first to put his name down as one of the company.6 It is a little cruel to say to the black soldier that he shall not rise to be an officer of the United States whatever may be his merits;7 but I see that though coupled with this disadvantage—colored men should hail the opportunity of getting on the United States uniform as a very great advance. I sent you a few days ago my call upon colored men to inlist.8 It was published in all the papers here, and is having a good effect. In your letter to Mr May, you say that you will give two hundred dollars towards raising the proposed company.9 I have already been at at the expense of two journeys to Buffalo and shall be at more before I get a hundred good names on my list. Mr Stearns and I talking over the matter came to the conclusion to apply to you for my expenses in getting up the company within the limits of your your promised two hundred dollars. I believe I can get up this company so as to hand it over to Governor Andrew’s10 agents who will take them at the expense of Massachusetts, for less than the sum you promise to contribute. I shall be in Syracuse on Wednesday for the purpose of getting men for this company11 and in Troy on Thursday, Friday in Albany.12 I shall go to New York13—and at the request of Mr Stearns go to Philadelphia and Stimulate inlistments there.14 Returning from Philadelphia I shall revisit the places named and make calls at others in this State for the purpose of accommodating those who wanted time to decide. I have taken nothing from Mr Stearns and rely upon your contribution for my expenses. Should you not think it well

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to send me any part of the sum you have named and prefer to send it to Boston—mr Stearns, has promised to have my expenses paid and to allow me ten dollars per week, for my services. I think my services ought to be worth a little more than this and if you have the paying me, I shall get more. But more or less I am now fully bound to get up the company. I heard of your Speech in Albany15 and see it complemented even in the Evening journal16 —a paper never very lavish in approval of your words and works. Please write me what you will do and direct your letter to the care of Mr May of Syracuse for I shall call upon him on Wednesday the 11th Very Truly and gratefully yours FREDK DOUGLASS. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Samuel J. May. 2. Readville was the location of an important training camp for black volunteers in the Union army. It was constructed in early 1863 just outside Boston, Massachusetts. Colonel Robert Gould Shaw was placed in command of the camp, with Norwood Hallowell as his second. The Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was the first to muster at Readville, near the end of March; it was among the first black regiments to serve in the Civil War. Governor John A. Andrew, who received authorization from the secretary of war, Edwin M. Stanton, to raise black troops for the unit, initiated the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts on 26 January 1863. Although initial efforts to recruit volunteers proved disappointing, by May the number of black volunteers was so high that the Fiftyfifth Massachusetts was formed to take in the surplus recruits. Albert G. Browne, Sketch of the Official Life of John A. Andrew (New York, 1868), 4, 108; Luis F. Emilio, A Brave Black Regiment: The History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1863–1865, 2d ed. (1894; New York, 1995), 24; Quarles, Negro in the Civil War, 8–9; idem, Frederick Douglass, 204–06; Cornish, Sable Arm, 106–10, 152–56; ACAB, 5:31. 3. Initial efforts to recruit Massachusetts blacks into the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry proved disappointing because of the small number of black residents in that state—less than 1 percent of the population. In response to the low turnout, Governor John A. Andrew turned to a committee of private citizens, headed by the veteran abolitionist George L. Stearns, to undertake an enlistment campaign for the Fifty-fourth throughout the North and in occupied portions of the Confederacy. As part of his strategy to engage prominent blacks as recruiting agents, Stearns traveled to Rochester, New York, in late February 1863 to persuade Douglass to aid in encouraging enlistment in the Fifty-fourth. Douglass immediately agreed, published a call to arms in his Monthly, and toured upstate New York to enlist recruits. By mid-April, Douglass had enrolled a company of more than one hundred men, including his own sons Charles and Lewis. Gerrit Smith contributed $700 to pay the expenses for raising these men; Douglass bragged to him that “no other company has been raised for less than twice that sum.” By May 1863, as a result of the recruiting agents’ work and of newspaper advertisements for enlistments, more than one thousand blacks from every state in the Union as well as from Canada were enrolled in the regiment. Recruiting efforts continued, permitting Massachusetts to raise a total of three black regiments by the end of the war. Douglass to Gerrit Smith, 14 April 1863, Norcross Papers, MHiS; U.S. Bureau of the Census, Negro Population in the United States, 1790–1915 (1918; New York, 1968), 57; Ira Berlin et al., eds., Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861–1867; Selected from the Holdings of the National Archives of the United States, ser. 2: The Black Military Experience (New York, 1982), 75–76; Emilio, Brave Black Regiment, 8–14,

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24; Douglass Papers, ser 1, 3:585–86; Quarles, Frederick Douglass, 204–06; idem, Negro in the Civil War, 8–9; Cornish, Sable Arm, 107–10. 4. Reports of Douglass’s recruiting efforts in upstate New York appeared in several newspapers. Nine Buffalo residents joined the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in March 1863. These recruits were Thomas Hamilton, Charles Kane, Garnet G. Cezar, John H. Dover, John F. Harrison, George Lucas, John R. Neal, Alexander W. Renkins, and Albert D. Thompson. New Albany Daily Ledger, 18 March 1863; DM, 5:1–2 (April 1863); Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the Civil War, 8 vols. (Norwood, Mass, 1932–35), 4:656–714. 5. An appeal for recruits appeared in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and was reprinted in multiple newspapers. Early Rochester enlistees include Louis and Charles Douglass, Thomas Edward Platnek, Nathan C. Jeffrey, Samuel Robinson, Nathan Sprague, Nathaniel Hurley, Ferdinand Cunningham, James S. Weir, George Madrey, and Warren McEwan. Cleveland Morning Leader, 6 March 1863; Massachusetts Soldiers, 4:656–714. 6. Charles R. Douglass. 7. Initially, both commissioned officer and noncommissioned first sergeant and corporal posts were restricted to whites by order of the War Department. While the restriction on noncommissioned posts was quickly lifted, Secretary Stanton refused to accept the promotion of African American officers unless their appointments were individually authorized by special pieces of legislation and approved by Congress and the president. Black soldiers, however, demanded that the Boards of Examination (the normal procedure for promotion) be opened to them, and in early 1864 the governor of Massachusetts ignored Stanton’s wishes and approved the promotion of a black sergeant in the Fiftyfourth to the rank of lieutenant. By the end of the war, 1 in every 2,000 African American soldiers had been promoted into the officer corps. Even so, the vast majority of such appointments did not take place until after the fighting had stopped; for most of the war, promotion commissions remained off limits to black soldiers. Howard C. Westwood, Black Troops, White Commanders, and Freedmen during the Civil War (Carbondale, Ill., 1992), 28–29; Edwin S. Redkey, ed., A Grand Army of Black Men: Letters from African-American Soldiers in the Union Army, 1861–1865 (New York, 1992), 206; Cornish, Sable Arm, 214–15; Jonathan Sutherland, African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia, 2 vols. (Santa Barbara, Calif., 2004), 1:32–35. 8. On 2 March 1863, Douglass issued a public call urging black men to enlist in the Union army. He claimed that a war being fought to perpetuate the enslavement of blacks naturally demanded that these blacks join the fight for freedom. He argued that victory won only by white men would not mean as much, and quoted Lord Byron in support: “who would be free themselves must strike the blow.” The state of New York did not issue a call for black soldiers, so Douglass implored blacks to join the “first colored regiment from the north”, which was forming in Massachusetts. He closed his appeal by urging blacks to fight and win “the gratitude of our Country—and the best blessings of our posterity through all time.” DM, 5:801 (March 1863); Lib., 13 March 1863. 9. Douglass reported Gerrit Smith’s pledge of $200 to promote the recruitment of a company among New York blacks for the new Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. This was money in addition to $500 already committed to the overall recruitment drive for that unit. DM, 5:804 (March 1863). 10. John Albion Andrew (1818–67), governor of Massachusetts, was born in Windham, Maine, and educated at Bowdoin College. After his graduation in 1837, he settled in Boston and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar. Although he was one of the founders of the Free Soil party, Andrew did not hold public office until 1858, when he was elected to the Massachusetts General Court as a Republican. On 19 November 1859, Andrew was chosen to chair and speak at the meeting of John Brown’s sympathizers in Tremont Temple. In 1860 he not only headed his state’s delegation to the Republican National Convention but was also elected governor, a position he held until January 1866. Throughout the Civil War, he was an outspoken advocate of emancipation and a leader in persuading the Lincoln administration to enlist blacks in the Union army. After the Confederate surrender, however, Andrew recommended a conciliatory Reconstruction policy toward Southern whites. Lib.,

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25 November 1859; Henry Greenleaf Pearson, The Life of John A. Andrew, Governor of Massachusetts, 1861–1865, 2 vols. (Boston, 1904); ACAB, 1:72–73; NCAB, 1:118; DAB, 2:279–81. 11. Douglass recruited troops at the Syracuse A.M.E.Z. Church on 11 and 26 March 1863. Syracuse Daily Standard, 11, 13 March 1863; NASS, 4 April 1863; Sernett, North Star Country, 240. 12. Douglass lectured at the Hamilton Street Methodist Church in Albany on Friday, 13 March 1863. Albany Evening Journal, 10 March 1863. 13. Douglass’s first known recruitment lecture in New York City occurred on 27 April 1863 at the Shiloh Presbyterian Church, which was presided over by the Reverend Henry Highland Garnet. New York World, 29 April 1863. 14. On 18 March 1863, Douglass delivered a lecture entitled “The Crisis” at the Bethel A.M.E. Church on Sixth Street in Philadelphia before a meeting presided over by the Reverend Jabez Campbell. DM, 5:828 (April 1863). 15. On 27 February 1863, Gerrit Smith spoke in Albany, New York, emphasizing the dire importance of supporting the Union and defeating the Confederacy. In the speech, titled “Stand by the Government,” Smith argued that the party and issue-based affiliations of Northerners must be temporarily ignored for the sake of the Union. Furthermore, he argued that despite the Union government’s flaws, unconditionally supporting it was the best chance to end the Confederate rebellion. DM, 5:822 (April 1863). 16. Describing Smith’s speech as “free from all that could offend the most fastidious conservative patriot,” the Albany Evening Journal reported a large turnout for the event. Albany Evening Journal, 28 February 1863.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester. N.Y. 9 March 1863.

My Dear Sir: I congratulate you upon your Sixty Sixth birth day.1 May Heaven spare you to see yet many more birth days. Your life has been a blessing to all classes and conditions of men, but to none more than to those who are now meted out and trodden down in slavery. For the sake of these as well as for your own—and your dearly loved ones at home, my hearts desire and prayer is that you may long be preserved in health and vigor. If you said in your Albany speech,2 (and I have not seen it) that you are for the preservation of the union at all hazards and at all costs, and that you should prefer the union even with slavery than to allow the slave holders to go off—and set up a government for themselves. I should agree with you even in that, for I fear that there is more hope for the slave, even in the old union, if that were possible than there would or could be in an exclusively slave holding Government. You will have received a line from me ere you get this, on the Subject of inlistments for the 54th Mass. regiment.3 I hope for an answer at Syracuse on Wednesday. [FREDERICK DOUGLASS.]

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ALf: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Gerrit Smith was born 6 March 1797. Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 3. 2. Gerrit Smith’s “Stand by the Government” address delivered in Albany, New York, on 27 February 1863. DM, 5:823–26 (April 1863). 3. In his letter to Smith, written on 6 March 1863 and reproduced in this volume, Douglass expressed a hope that the abolitionist would send him a letter, pledging financial support for his recruiting activity, in care of the Reverend Samuel J. May, whom he planned to visit at Syracuse.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 14 Ap[ril] 1863.

Hon Gerrit Smith: My Dear Sir. I send you herewith an acc.t, of my Stewardship. I have recruited and sent forward to camp at Readville Mass. more than one hundred men for the 54th regiment. Lewis and Charles, my two sons, are a part of that regiment, Lewis a sargeant major—and Charles an orderly.1 Upon the earnest request of Mr Stearns,2 I am endeavouring to raise another company. The two hundred dollars you gave me and the five hundred you donated in Boston3 will about cover the cost of raising the company raised by me— While I venture to say that no other company has been raised for less than twice that sum. You will see per acc.t, that I have given you credit to Mr Stearns for two hundred Dolls—I feel that the work to be done now is to fill up this Massachusetts regiment without delay—and I am leaving home to day to add its numbers. With neverfailing love for you and yours, FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: Grenville H. Norcross Manuscripts, MHiS. 1. Muster rolls list Charles R. Douglass as a private in Company F in the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Lewis H. Douglass initially enlisted as a private in Company F and was promoted to the regiment’s sergeant major effective 23 April 1863. Massachusetts Soldiers, 4:658, 686. 2. George Luther Stearns. 3. Reports indicate Smith sent a check for $500 to Massachusetts governor John A. Andrew in early 1863. There is no record of funds sent directly to Douglass, but the $200 might have been the sum mentioned in Douglass’ Monthly as an additional pledge that Smith made to recruit 100 New York free blacks for the Fifty-fourth. Lib., 6 March 1863; DM, 5:804 (March 1863).

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GEORGE EVANS1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Army of the Potomac—on Rappahannock River[,] Va. 6 June 1863[.]

Dear Frederick. I suppose you will be surprised to learn that your old friend is in the Army of the Potomac—and much more to receive a letter from him— How strangely changing are the things of time—Human life is indeed a shifting scene—While all the things that are about us show the works of Man—Marked with his imperfections and infirmities and often with his depravity it is nevertheless a great thing to live—in a world like this— Two years ago the fifth day of next July I went into camp in Massachusetts, to prepare myself for three years service in the field2 in behalf of the cause to which I had given a good portion of my lifetime. I never have yet regretted the step I then took—If My term of service expired tomorrow, and I could by any effort of mine hasten the overthrow of the base system of slavery which is the cause of this rebellion I would re-enlist—I need not say to you that I have watched with intense interest the movements to organize the colored people of the Country for active Military service—My mind has often been exercised contemplating what is to be the future of the immense Multitudes of the flying fugitives that have met my eyes almost daily as I have passed over Virginia—There seems to be no organised system in this state to remove them out of the reach of the uncertainties of War—(One army occupying the country to day and the other tomorrow)—thronging the roads with their bundles upon their heads not knowing which way to go—Many of them are caught up and sent to the extreme south—thousands of them I have seen throwing up rifle pits—and building fortifications for the rebels3—Alas many of them—(as the two Mighty contending armies surge backward and onward) are swallowed up in death—Its an amazing subject for our thoughts,—and calls loudly for the immediate efforts of the humane and Christian world—I cannot now while our army is moving say what I would to you—of the great cause, which has been so near our hearts in the past—I have lived more in the last two years the than all my lifetime before. I was in battle of West Point4 —the Seige of Yorktown5—battle of Mechanicsville6 —Gaines Mills7—the seven days battles in front of Richmond8—the second Bull Run9—South Mountain10 and Antietam11—twice at Fredericksburg12 and again today June 6th we are driving them again from their Works around the fated City13—If the hour for criticism had come I might say something of the causes of so much

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disaster to the Army of the Potomac—Its a splendid Army and deserves a better record—ambitious men may conspire for its ruin—but impartial history will accord to it—its full measure of justice. I feel that all will yet be well with our Country—Let us be of good courage—He who has overcome the world is round about us—The revolutions—the miseries—the trials of time are the great instrumentalities used by the Ruler of all to show us that their can be no permanent peace until we cease trading in the bodies and souls of Men— Yours truly in haste GEORGE EVANS.

P. S. When I began my letter I was going to ask you to write a letter for me to Gov Andrew.14 I am anxious to receive a commission as Lieutenant15 in the 55th Mass Regt (colored) now organising in Boston—I have a faith in the colored Mans ability and courage to vindicate his manhood and his Country, honor—which dates a long way back. I know that a letter from you to Gov Andrew on my behalf will secure for me what I desire. G.E. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 814–16, FD Papers, DLC. 1. George Evans (c. 1821–?) was a clerk residing in Reading, Massachusetts, on the eve of the Civil War. He joined the First Battery of the Massachusetts Volunteer Light Artillery on 6 September 1861. Evans remained a private throughout the war and was discharged on 19 October 1864. Massachusetts Soldiers, 5:347. 2. When the war began, the Massachusetts militia organization the Boston Light Artillery, or Cook’s Battery, was the only artillery command sent from the state under the first call for troops. Cook’s Battery was discharged on 2 August 1861 and promptly reorganized for three years of service as the Massachusetts First Battery, Light Artillery. The unit left Massachusetts for Camp Duncan, Washington, D.C., on 3 October 1861. In the spring of 1862, it joined the First Corps under General Irvin McDowell and was present at the siege of Yorktown. The artillery entered into its first action at West Point, Virginia, and participated in the Peninsula Campaign, including the Battles of Mechanicsville and Gaines’ Mill. It then joined the march to Fredericksburg and was active in the first battle there. In 1863, the unit engaged in the Battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. It participated in the Battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and others. The artillery served a short term with the Fifth U.S. Artillery before being transferred to the Ninth Massachusetts Battery, with which it completed its service. The company was mustered out of service on 19 October 1864. Its total enrollment was 8 officers and 261 men, with 7 killed or dead from wounds, 12 from accident or disease, and 1 while in Confederate prison. The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal States, 1861–65—Records of the Regiments in the Union Army—Cyclopedia of Battles—Memoirs of Commanders and Soldiers, 8 vols. (Madison, Wisc., 1908), 1:219. 3. During the Civil War, the Confederacy employed slaves to work on fortifications and other military construction projects. At times, even free blacks were forced to labor for the South, and six states enacted legislation allowing for the impressment of free blacks into labor regiments. Several

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states passed legislation to compensate slave owners for any slave they handed over to aid the Confederate cause. Virginia passed such an act in October 1862 and immediately put the slaves to work on fortifications. In the same month, the Confederate Congress passed a law declaring that runaway slaves captured by soldiers were to be returned to their masters or placed in holding depots set up throughout the South. The three depots in Virginia were located near army camps at Richmond, Petersburg, and Dublin Station. While in custody, these blacks were put to work on projects, both public and military in nature. As the war dragged on and the South exhausted its manpower, the Confederate government issued quotas to states for slave laborers to dig entrenchments as well as perform other military work. Slave military labor was needed most in Virginia because the majority of battles fought in the eastern theater of war occurred in that state. Stephen V. Ash, The Black Experience in the Civil War South (Santa Barbara, Calif., 2010), 9, 43, 46, 88; William Blair, Virginia’s Private War: Feeding Body and Soul in the Confederacy, 1861–1865 (New York, 1998), 78; James M. McPherson, The Negro’s Civil War: How American Negroes Felt and Acted during the War for the Union (1965; Urbana, Ill., 1982), 24–25; Bernard H. Nelson, “Confederate Slave Impressment Legislation, 1861–1865,” JNH, 31:394–95 (October 1946). 4. The Battle of West Point, also called the Battle of Eltham’s Landing, occurred on 7 May 1862 on the Pamunkey River in Virginia. Union general William B. Franklin engaged in a heavy skirmish with General William H. C. Whiting’s Confederate forces. The fighting allowed General Joseph Johnston’s Confederates to continue their retreat to Richmond unmolested by Union forces. Stephen W. Sears, To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign (New York, 1992), 85–86; John S. Salmon, The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide (Mechanicsburg, Pa., 2001), 83, 85. 5. The siege of Yorktown in southeastern Virginia began in early April 1862 and lasted thirty days before the Confederate troops under the direction of Major General John B. Magruder withdrew overnight, ending the siege on 5 May. While the Confederates lost Yorktown to General George B. McClellan, they used the monthlong siege to shore up their protection around Richmond. Sears, To the Gates of Richmond, 66–68; Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 4:2163–66. 6. Although McClellan and his subordinate General Fitz John Porter drove off Lee’s attacking Confederate forces at the Battle of Mechanicsville, Virginia, on 26 June 1862, the loss was a turning point in the Peninsula Campaign. Lee’s aggressive style in his first battle as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia caused McClellan to halt his advance toward Richmond and shift to a defensive posture, marking the beginning of the Seven Days Campaign. Sears, To the Gates of Richmond, 208; Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 3:1298–1301. 7. The Battle of Gaines’ Mill, in Virginia, was fought on 27 June 1862 between Lee’s Confederate forces and Union troops under the command of McClellan and Porter. This engagement was the second of the Seven Days Battles, and one of the bloodiest, with 15,587 casualties. Gaines’ Mill revived Southern hopes and was a disappointment for the North, which viewed McClellan’s change of position as a retreat. Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 2:799–803. 8. The Seven Days Campaign was a series of battles in Virginia between Lee and McClellan. The battles, beginning on 25 June 1862 with McClellan’s first push toward Richmond and ending with the Battle of Malvern Hill on 1 July, were the climax of McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign. Suffering losses equaling a quarter of his troops, Lee was disappointed by his failure to destroy the Union forces, although the campaign marked McClellan’s last serious attempt on Richmond. Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 4:1732–35. 9. Union forces under Major General John Pope met Lee’s Confederate troops in a battle from 29 to 30 August 1862 in northern Virginia at the Second Battle of Bull Run. The Union army, suffering almost twice the casualties of the Confederate forces, retreated toward Centerville. The Southern forces occupied Henry House Hill, but because of disrupted organization and oncoming darkness did not pursue Pope’s men. Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 1:316–21. 10. McClellan’s Union forces pushed back Lee’s men in the Battle of South Mountain, Maryland. Taking place on 14 September 1862 between the Catoctin and Elk mountains, this battle was the

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opening engagement in the Antietam Campaign. Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 4:1830–32. 11. The Battle of Antietam took place between Lee’s and McClellan’s forces outside Sharpsburg, Maryland, on 17 September 1862. The bloodiest single-day battle of the Civil War, with a total of 22,719 casualties, Antietam was a strategic success for the North, proving the military advantage of its greater population. Stymied in his plans for a Northern invasion, Lee retreated back to Virginia. This battle was followed by Lincoln’s Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation six days later on 23 September. Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 1:55–67. 12. Lee met General Ambrose E. Burnside on 13 December 1862 on the Rappahannock River in Virginia at the First Battle of Fredericksburg. This key battle between the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac was Lee’s most one-sided victory. The following month, Lincoln replaced Burnside with General Joseph Hooker. The Second Battle of Fredericksburg, part of the Chancellorsville Campaign, was fought in Virginia on 3 May 1863 between a Union army commanded by Major General John Sedgwick and Confederate forces led by Major General Jubal A. Early. The Union forces took Marye’s Heights outside Fredericksburg. Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 2:774–81. 13. Major General John Sedgwick’s Sixth Corps conducted a reconnaissance in force across the Rappahannock River just southeast of Fredericksburg on 5 June 1863. Sedwick hoped to test rumors that Confederate units around that city were withdrawing from defenses to participate in an invasion of the North led by General Robert E. Lee. The Confederate defenders drove regiments from Vermont and New Jersey back across the river after several hours of moderate skirmishing. E.B. Long and Barbara Long, The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865 (Garden City, N.Y., 1971), 362. 14. John Andrew. 15. By the end of the war, approximately one in every 2,000 black soldiers had attained the rank of officer, totaling about 110. Most of these men served as chaplains or physicians, with few receiving commands in infantry or artillery. Many whites doubted the leadership ability of black men and were reluctant to place them in positions of equality, let alone superiority. In addition, most blacks had not attained the level of literacy required for a command post. Despite this, some leaders, such as General Benjamin F. Butler and General James Henry Lane, readily appointed black men officers, although these appointments were met with resistance from white officers and the War Department. Massachusetts governor John A. Andrew supported and encouraged the appointment of black officers, especially within the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Massachusetts Regiments. Charles Barnard Fox, Record of the Service of the Fifty-Fifth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Cambridge, Mass., 1868), 28, 96–97, 108; Joseph T. Glatthaar, Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers (Baton Rouge, La., 1990), 176–78, 182; Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 4:2002.

LUCINDA HOSMER1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Bedford[, Mass.] 7 June [18]63[.]

Long-remembered friend Douglass, I have often thought of writing to you in these stirring times, and on this rainy Sabbath morning I feel stimulated to do so, as I heard my sister Reed tell of meeting you in cars as she was returning from Ill. with her sick son. She said you had not forgotten some of us, here in the quiet little village of B.2 I have so much in me that I would like to say to you, perhaps[s] I may weary your patience.

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I live alone with my father 3 now. Last year we lived in Washington, D. C. I and sister Ann4 and father went there to live with a brother,5 who had buried his wife, and wished us to take a boarding house with him. My father,s health was not good there, so I returned to our home with him, last Nov. and he is now enjoying good health, for an old man of 76  yrs. My sister still remains at W. I have two brothers there. If you should ever go there, they would be very glad to see you. I will now tell you where to find them. They live on the Island or, Greenleaf,s Point6 as it is sometimes called. Enquire for Castalio Hosmer at R. B. Clarks store, Corner of 5 1/2 and M. Sts.7 I heard Wendal Philips lecture there winter before last,8 and the time may come ere long that you can go there, and speak too. When I was there two years before the war broke out, I would not have believed that Mr. W. could have spoken as he did and be applauded too, by a crowded house, in two years from that time. But so mighty is the power of Christian truth, that it works wonders, and is indeed like the leaven, which will ere long who hope “leaven the lump,”9 or raise this Republic to the elevation, were it can see the principles of “loving our neighbor”10 without distinction of race or color or country. After I returned from W. three years ago, I sat down and wrote a long letter to a cousen, who held a slave there, with whom I had a good deal of talk during my visit I reccollect of saying to her in that letter. “there is an aweful retribution awaiting this nation sometime, for this dreadful sin of slavery, that is eating out its vitals.” But I did not then think it would come upon us so soon; or in my day on the earth. As Mr Garrison said at Convention “We can recognize the hand of God in this struggle”11 How wonderful it is, to see how mysteriously He brings good out of evil;12 To see the good which will result from this bloody war to the future of America Oh, how beautifully W. H. Channing13 spoke in a sermon at the Capitol in W. He tells the large assembly in that Senate Chamber, (whose walls have been little used to Anti-Slavery Sermons) of the misdeeds it of this nation, and its retribution. He said “We would not make the life sacrafice, therefore, the Angel of God had passed over and demandinged the first-born of every family” writing blood on their door posts.14 There is no reckoning the amount of good that earnest man, is doing in W. a place which so much needs to be benefited.

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We attended one of the colored people,s churches, the Sabbath after Slavery was Abolished in D.C.15 I never shall forget the feelings I had as I saw and heard them rejoice over their emancipation, and giving all the Glory to God and all thanks for “letting his people go”16 They shouted and one of the Speakers leaped for joy, and said it was a day for them to express themselves as their hearts prompted for they were free. Withal they showed more inteligence than I expected to see, as they told their tales of wo, and raised their prayers for the Army and the President. We too wept for joy to see them, and our hearts were thankful too: We were more elevated by feeling than we could have been by the deepest Sermon that ever was written My father got up and addressed them in a few words of feeling and sympathy telling them that he signed the Petition for the abolition in the District, which J. Q. Adams presented to Congress,17 which they had alluded to. X see signature Truly we can see the wisdom of God in this struggle; never so much in any thing before, in my experience To see how the South has opened the door to “Let the people go free”18 at the same time they were trying to open a door to shut them up in interminable slavery. How little any of us could see when they first fired at Sumpter,19 in what way they were slaying their beloved Institution. although we felt that somehow its death-blow was struck. But “we waited for events,” and they have showed us. I never hear Slavery called an Institution without thinking of the way Wendal P. caricatured it, by telling a story of the yankee who had made a pool of spittle about him; and an Englishman came along and turned up his nose at his filthiness. at which the man of the pool replied, “You Britishers have a mighty notion of finding fault with our Institutions.”20 While I am writring father sits in his armed char reading over again the “Narrative”21 of one of the escaped victims of this American Institution. Nowadays I see the Boston papers call him “Mr. Douglass but I believe they used a good while ago to call him “the” nigger Douglass.” It is his first little book that he put out, when he was so fresh from its “Divinity” that his friends were fearful of his being devined and caught for letting out its secrets. Father says he knows of no man that he should be more glad to see than this “same noble fellow—” as he called you. I hope you will find a time to visit Bedford again. I think you would draw a full house now. We women should not have to teaze Church Committees for a place to speak but our new Town Hall22 would be opened free.

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B. Perhaps you and your wife will remember Eliza Bacon (now Porter) and myself taking dinner at your house in Lynn,23 and of our singing Lang Syne at the Convention, with Anti-slavery words set to it.24 The first Convention I ever attended was the one at Boston the winter before you came here and stirred up the people.25 That hundred conventions (of which this one was) did Mass. a great deal of good.26 I presum[e] she has done better service in this war for it. I never shall forget how waked up my brothers were then, and they have always been true abolitionists ever since I felt then as if there was nothing that I could do that should be left undone, and I believe I have done all in my power to [make] people see that, when we stood upon the bodies and souls of millions of living, breathing inteligencies, we had no better foundation than one standing upon the crater of a volcano. These people who are so shortsighted as to say abolitionists made the war, are doing us great credit, for history will do justice by those who battle for the right. I suppose if the man who sees a fire in the distance and cries out, to wake the people, is to blame for the fire because he sees it first, then the abolitionists are the cause of the war. I was always antislavery since I thought of it at all, but never till I saw you did I feel it in my power to do any thing about it. That nervous brother of mine (whose sympathies were too strong for him to hear the tales you told without speaking out “my God” in the anguish he felt with his colored brother as the flames burned around him) has been in the spirit land thirteen years.27 My sister Laura28 lives in New Ipswich N. H. she has three daughters. She has often said she would give a good deal to see you. She is a good woman a kind, pleasant mother It seems you have two sons in the 54th reg.29 I suppose those little babbies I saw when at your house are now soldiers. We are thankful the time has come at last when black men can fight for their country and their freedom. Now they are no longer chattels, but U. S. soldiers. What a good discipline it will be for those who could feel no manhood, for they were owned by their fellows. Thank God we are slowly taking forward steps; but perhaps as fast as we can, for we have to wait for Pulick Opinion to reform before a government can do its duty. With kind regards to yourself and family I will close Yours truly Lucinda HOSMER ALWAYS.

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ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 817–21, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Lucinda Hosmer (1814–?), an abolitionist from Bedford, Massachusetts, was the daughter of Castalio and Ruth (Clark) Hosmer. During the 1840s, she was active in both the New England AntiSlavery Society and the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and contributed money to each organization. During the One Hundred Conventions campaign, which was organized by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in 1844, she attended the meeting in Bedford and heard Douglass speak. After the convention, she wrote to William Lloyd Garrison, praising Douglass and the success of the society’s campaign in her hometown. In the 1880s, she supported temperance legislation, which proposed a law requiring public schools in Massachusetts to teach “scientific temperance.” Lib., 15 October 1841, 16 June 1843, 14, 21 June 1844; Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Boston, 1885), 170; Abram English Brown, History of the Town of Bedford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its Earliest Settlement to the Year of Our Lord 1891 (Bedford, Mass., 1891), 18; Vital Records of Bedford, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (Boston, 1903), 31. 2. Settled around 1637 and incorporated in 1729, Bedford is a residential suburb of Boston in Middlesex County. In the nineteenth century, Bedford became know for its production of machinery. Several pre-Revolutionary houses still stand in the area. Cohen, Columbia Gazetteer of the World, 1:295. 3. Castalio Hosmer (1787–1869), the son of John Hosmer and Anna (Fosgate) Hosmer, was a shoe manufacturer and a lieutenant in the War of 1812. He married Ruth Clark from Braintree, Massachusetts, on 19 December 1805, and together they had nine children. He moved from Bedford, Massachusetts to New Ipswich, New Hampshire, around 1832, and ran a small foundry. Later, he lived for a brief period on a farm owned by Francis Appleton before returning around 1842 to Bedford, where he remained until he died. Charles Henry Chandler and Sarah Fiske Lee, The History of New Ipswich, New Hampshire, 1735–1914: With Genealogical Records of the Principal Families (Fitchburg, Mass., 1914), 477; Brown, History of the Town of Bedford, 18; Vital Records of Bedford, 31. 4. Ann Fosgate Hosmer (1808–?), the daughter of Castalio Hosmer and Ruth (Clark) Hosmer, was from Bedford, Massachusetts. During the 1860s, she operated a boardinghouse in Washington, D.C., located at P South 4 1/2 West. Her brother Castalio Hosmer, Jr., resided at her boardinghouse during this time. Andrew Boyd, Boyd’s Washington and Georgetown Directory. Containing also a Business Directory of Washington, Georgetown and Alexandria (Washington, D.C., 1864), 178, 318; Brown, History of the Town of Bedford, 18; Vital Records of Bedford, 31. 5. Castalio Hosmer, Jr. (1819–?), from Bedford, Massachusetts, was a member of Brook Farm, a transcendentalist utopian community in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, in the 1840s. His wife, Mary Hosmer, and three of his siblings, Charles, Granville, and Laura Hosmer, were also members of the community. During this time, Hosmer, a supporter of antislavery causes, contributed money to the New England Anti-Slavery Society. During the 1860s he lived in Washington, D.C., and resided at a boardinghouse run by his sister Ann F. Hosmer. In the 1890s, he worked as a clerk in the U.S. Treasury Department. Lib., 6 June 1845; J. G. Ames, Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service on the First of July 1893; Together with a List of Vessels Belonging to the United States, 2 vols. (Washington, D.C., 1893), 1:65; Sterling F. Delano, Brook Farm: the Dark Side of Utopia (Cambridge, Mass., 2004), xi, 158, 212, 385n; Boyd, Boyd’s Washington and Georgetown Directory, 178, 318; Brown, History of the Town of Bedford, 18; Vital Records of Bedford, 31. 6. Located in the southwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., this area is where the Anacostia and Potomac rivers meet. First known as Buzzard Point, or Turkey Buzzard Point, the area was renamed Greenleaf Point, or Greenleaf’s Point, after James Greenleaf, a land speculator from Massachusetts who purchased the land, among other lots, in the 1790s. During this time, an arsenal was established at this site, and it remained a military post throughout the nineteenth century. In 1878, Douglass purchased “Cedar Hill,” an estate in nearby Anacostia. Robert V. Bruce, Lincoln and the Tools of War (1956; Champaign, Ill., 1989), 89–90; Allen C. Clark, Greenleaf and Law in the Federal

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City (Washington, D.C., 1901), 119; David L. Lewis, District of Columbia: A Bicentennial History (New York, 1976), 128; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 296. 7. According to a 1864 Washington, D.C., city directory, Reuben B. Clark owned a grocery store located at 337 4 1/2 West. Boyd, Boyd’s Washington and Georgetown Directory, 126, 332. 8. As part of a speaking tour, Wendell Phillips gave a pro-emancipation lecture to an immense crowd in Washington, D.C., on 16 March 1862. Although previously labeled a radical abolitionist and disunionist by much of Washington, he was then welcomed to the city as a distinguished antislavery leader. After receiving praise for his abolitionist speech, Phillips was invited to give a second lecture on the following day. He did so, delivering an address on Toussaint L’Ouverture, leader of the Haitian slave revolt in the late eighteenth century. Lib., 21 March 1862; New York Tribune, n.d., quoted in DM, 5:637 (April 1862); Bartlett, Wendell Phillips, 247–48; Sherwin, Prophet of Liberty, 459. 9. A paraphrase of “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” Gal. 5:9. 10. A paraphrase of “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Mark 12:31. 11. Garrison delivered a lecture at the Cooper Institute in New York City on 14 January 1862, titled “The Abolitionists and Their Relations to the War.” He discussed a common theme, his belief that God played an active role in the war and the struggle for freedom: “Let us reverently acknowledge the hand of God in this.” Lib., 24 January 1862. 12. Possibly a paraphrase of Gen. 50:20. 13. William Henry Channing (1810–84), a Unitarian minister, reformer, and author, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. The son of Francis Dana Channing, an attorney, and Susan Higginson, William grew up in privilege. He studied under his uncle William Ellery Channing and attended Boston Latin School. He graduated from Harvard College in 1829 and completed Harvard Divinity School in 1833. He married Julia Allen in 1836, and they had three children. After failing to establish a church in New York City, he served as minister of the First Congregational Church of Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1838 to 1841 while also working as an editor of the Western Messenger. In the 1840s, he connected with a group of transcendentalists and became associated with one of their communities, Brook Farm, for a brief time. During this time, he edited two periodicals, the Present and the Spirit of the Age. In 1854 he moved to England and eventually served as a minister in four Unitarian churches. He returned to the United States after the start of the Civil War, moving to Washington, D.C., where he served as minister to the Unitarian society and later as chaplain to the House of Representatives (1863–64). After the war, he moved back to England, where he lived until his death. During his lifetime, he wrote many articles for periodicals and published sermons and addresses. His most significant work is his three-volume biography of his uncle, Life of William Ellery Channing (1848). In this letter, Lucinda Hosmer is probably referring to Channing’s sermon delivered in the Senate on 18 January 1863. Lib., 30 January 1863; David Robinson, “The Political Odyssey of William Henry Channing,” American Quarterly, 34:178 (Summer 1982); DAB, 4:9–10; ANB, 4: 683–84. 14. In the Exodus account of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt, the Jews could be spared from the tenth plague by sacrificing a lamb and painting its blood upon their doorposts as a sign for God to “pass over” their houses and not kill their fi rstborn sons. Exod. 12:21–23. 15. On 16 April 1862, Lincoln signed a bill abolishing slavery in Washington, D.C. Lucinda claims that she attended a church on the Sunday after this legislation went into effect, which would have been 20 April 1862. James M. McPherson, Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief (New York, 2008), 85–86; Quarles, Frederick Douglass, 194. 16. Hosmer is paraphrasing the book of Exodus, in which variations of the phrase “let my people go” is used numerous times: Exod. 5:1–11, 7:16, 8:1–2, 8:8, 8:20–21, 8:28–29, 8:32, 9:1–2, 9:7, 9:13, 9:17, 10:3–4, 10:27. 17. While serving in the House of Representatives from December 1831 until his death in February 1848, John Quincy Adams presented numerous petitions to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia. Even after Congress adopted the “gag rule” in 1836, tabling all petitions in regard to slavery, he continued to present these appeals made by abolitionists. In early 1842, Southern representatives

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attempted to censure Adams for his repeated attacks on the gag rule and his insistence on presenting abolitionist petitions. The American Anti-Slavery Society sent a majority of these antislavery petitions to Congress, and Adams often served as the spokesman for its cause. In 1837–38 alone, the society flooded Congress with over 130,000 petitions calling for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in Washington, D.C. As an active Massachusetts abolitionist, Castalio Hosmer likely signed one or more of these. William H. Seward, Life and Public Services of John Quincy Adams, Sixth President of the United States (New York, 1849), 280–82; Nagel, John Quincy Adams, 354–55; Richards, The Life and Times of Congressman John Quincy Adams, 3, 95, 99, 120, 126, 139–141. 18. Possible paraphrase of Exod. 9:1. 19. On 20 November 1860, Colonel Robert Anderson assumed command of the U.S. Army troops in Charleston. He concentrated them at Fort Sumter, in the center of the city’s harbor, after South Carolina’s secession on 20 December. Southern forces resisted all efforts by the federal government to reinforce the Fort Sumter garrison. Lincoln’s dispatch of a small flotilla to resupply the fort triggered the crisis at Fort Sumter. Anderson surrendered the fort to the Confederates on 14 April 1861 after withstanding thirty-four hours of artillery bombardment from batteries lining the harbor. Mark Mayo Boatner III, The Civil War Dictionary, rev. ed. (1959; New York, 1988), 15, 299–300. 20. Phillips’s vignette comes from a speech that he gave on 21 March 1860 at the Cooper Institute in New York City, entitled “Agitation Indispensable to Reform.” Reporters differed in quoting Phillips. For example, the New York Tribune printed: “A Yankee expectorating yards around him, when spoken to on the subject, by an Englishman, will say: ‘You Britishers are remarkably prejudiced against our institutions.’ ” The reporter for the New York Herald quoted Phillips as saying: “You know Dickens has painted one of his characters on the deck of a Western steamboat in the presence of a Yankee . . . against the too liberal extent of his benefaction—the reply is, ‘You Englishers are amazing prejudiced against our institutions.’ ” While the two reports differed from each other as well as from Lucinda Hosmer’s version, the general theme of Phillips’s metaphor about the American institution of slavery remained the same. New York Herald, 22 March 1860; New York Tribune, 22 March 1860. 21. Published in 1845 by the American Anti-Slavery Society, with accompanying prefatory letters by William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips, Douglass’s first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, was released to the antebellum American public when the author was twenty-seven years old. The Narrative achieved widespread success not only in the United States but also in the United Kingdom and Europe. In the eight years following its initial publication, Douglass’s Narrative was translated into French, German, and Dutch, and was published in over twenty U.S. editions, selling at least 30,000 copies by 1853. Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 1:xvii, xxv, xxxii. 22. The new Town Hall in Bedford, Massachusetts, was dedicated at a ceremony on 16 January 1857. The building cost a reported $9,000 to construct. Lowell (Mass.) Lowell Daily Citizen, 21 January 1857. 23. Ann Eliza Bacon Porter (1821–90) was born in Bedford, Massachusetts, to Reuben Bacon and Sarah Clark Bacon. She came from an antislavery family, and was a cousin of Lucinda Hosmer on her mother’s side. She married Joseph K. P. Porter on 21 February 1847 in Lowell, Massachusetts, and together they had four children. Soon after her marriage, she moved to Rock County, Wisconsin, where the couple established a farm. She remained in Wisconsin until her death. Her visit to Douglass’s home, which Lucinda recalls in this letter, most likely took place sometime between late 1841, when Douglass moved to Lynn, and August 1845, when Douglass traveled overseas on a speaking tour of the British Isles. Lib., 10 November 1837; The History of Rock County, Wisconsin, Containing a History of Rock County, Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources Etc. (Chicago, 1879), 871; Vital Records of Bedford, 10; Chandler and Lee, The History of New Ipswich, 326; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 92. 24. The phrase “auld lang syne” is Scottish for “old long since” or, more loosely, “times past.” The song of that title is commonly sung at the conclusion of dances and revelries in the New Year’s

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season. The words of the song are attributed to a 1796 Robert Burns poem of the same name. The music is derived from Scottish folk dance tunes. In 1841, William Lloyd Garrison wrote the lyrics of “Song of the Abolitionist,” an antislavery hymn sung to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne.” Garrison’s lyrics were published in the Liberty Bell (1842), a publication of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Fair. Maria Weston Chapman, ed., Liberty Bell (Boston, 1842), 64–66; Robert Burns, The Songs of Robert Burns: Now First Printed with the Melodies for Which They Were Written, A Study in Tone-Poetry, ed. John C. Dick (London, 1903), 433; Garrison and Garrison, William Lloyd Garrison, 3:42; Brewer, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 82. 25. Lucinda Hosmer claims that she and Ann Eliza Bacon Porter visited Douglass at his home and attended an antislavery convention with him in Lynn, Massachusetts. These two events, which seem to have occurred during the same time period, most likely took place sometime between late 1841 and August 1845. Between these dates, Douglass spoke in Lynn six times: October 1841, 21 August 1841, 28–31 January 1843, 9–11 March 1843, 25–27 April 1844, and 15 August 1845. Gregory  P. Lampe, Frederick Douglass: Freedom’s Voice, 1818–1845 (East Lansing, Mich., 1998), 225, 274, 294, 298–99, 303, 307; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 92. 26. The initial proposal to conduct a series of one hundred antislavery meetings in several western states was made at the American Anti-Slavery Society meeting in May 1843. Later that month, the proposal was approved at the New England Anti-Slavery Society meeting, and a board of managers of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society was authorized to organize the campaign. The board chose Douglass as one of the lecturers who would speak at conventions in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. This initial One Hundred Conventions campaign began on 13 July and lasted until 7 December 1843. These meetings were deemed so successful that the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society decided to conduct a similar campaign in the central counties of Massachusetts beginning in early 1844. Once again, Douglass was chosen to speak. Lucinda Hosmer is probably referring to the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society meeting as the fi rst convention she ever attended. Chronologically, she explains that she attended this meeting in Boston before Douglass spoke in Bedford. The society met in Boston in January 1844, and Douglass, as part of this statewide One Hundred Conventions campaign, spoke in Bedford for two days beginning on 1 March. Hosmer wrote to Garrison that she believed the meetings “have done good here” and praised Douglass’s speech in Bedford. Lib., 16 June 1843, 15 March 1844; Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:176–80; Lampe, Frederick Douglass: Freedom’s Voice, 171, 196n, 207–08, 215. 27. Elias Pool Hosmer (1810–50), Lucinda Hosmer’s brother, was born in Bedford, Massachusetts, and married Harriet Wyman Hosmer on 14 October 1830 in Lexington, Massachusetts. He is buried in Kankakee, Illinois. Portrait and Biographical Record of Kankakee County, Illinois (Chicago, 1893), 315; Lexington, Mass., Record of Births, Marriages and Deaths to January 1, 1898 (Boston, 1898), 162; Vital Records of Bedford, 31; Findagrave.com (online). 28. Laura Hosmer (1817–?), the daughter of Castalio Hosmer and Ruth (Clark) Hosmer, was from Bedford, Massachusetts. In the 1840s she was involved in the New England Anti-Slavery Society, along with at least four of her eight siblings. She married Leander Clark, a poet from New Ipswich, New Hampshire, on 29 June 1845, and they had five children. Lib., 14 June 1844; Brown, History of the Town of Bedford, 18; Vital Records of Bedford, 31, 83; Chandler and Lee, The History of New Ipswich, 326, 477. 29. Lewis H. Douglass served as sergeant major of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry regiment. Charles R. Douglass initially enlisted in the same regiment, but illness held him back in the training camp in Readville, Massachusetts, when the unit deployed to South Carolina. Charles ultimately served in the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment. McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 224–26, 230, 234–35.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 19 June 1863.

My Dear Friend: My best thanks for your kind note and a check for twenty dollars. I have by the same mail, a call from our common friend Mr Stearns1 to Philadelphia. He now holds a commission not from Massachusetts but from the United States giving him the whole United States as his field for recruiting purposes.2 The work is not to my taste—and I had enough of it while recruiting for Massachusetts: Nevertheless as this is not a time to be governed by one’s taste—I shall probably go soon into the work again. I have read your speech at Utica3—which so pleased your old enemies and distressed some of your old friends. I see nothing but sound wisdom in all its conclusions. It was the word for you to say. I have endeavoured on sundry occasions to say in a feebler way about the same thing. I see no hope for the American slave outside the salvation of the Country. Rebellion is the greatest enemy both of the slave and the Country—and the highest service which can be done the slave is to put down the rebellion. Successful rebellion is now our greatest danger—and to arrest overwhelm and annihilate the rebellion our first and highest duty. I have, held since I received your views of the Constitution of the United States—believed that the Emancipation of the slaves is far more certain and speedy within than out of the union—hence if the question were—between a union peace—leaving slavery still existing in some of the states—and imposing no new conditions—on the one hand—and protracted war with al its perils and terrible consequences to individuals and the Nation on the other—I should side with the former. The day that sees the rebellion killed will see slavery as good as dead in the United States. Hence, with you, I say put down the rebellion, first— second and third—for with that goes down Slavery. No power can protract the life of slavery when the ten thousand agonies of this terrible war shall confront and shake their gory locks at the old Monster. Thus far I am not ashamed of the part the colored troops have borne in this war. Lewis my son is now in Florada.4 My son Charles reports to Col. Hallowell5 of the Mass. 55th6 next week— Col. Miller7 will have told you how grandly the 54th went off to their work.8 He took marked interest in the regiment—as indeed did all the best of Boston. I am Dear friend, Truly and gratefully yours FREDK DOUGLASS—

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ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. George L. Stearns. 2. George Luther Stearns was commissioned by Massachusetts governor John Andrew in 1863 as a military recruiter to enlist black troops. Because of the small black population in Massachusetts, Stearns was then directed to go to New York, where he set up headquarters in the greater Buffalo and Rochester region. In addition to his efforts in New York, Stearns sought recruits throughout the Midwest and in Canada. He encouraged black leaders such as Frederick Douglass to support and advertise his recruiting efforts. Stearns’s success as a recruiter was recognized by the War Department, and he was granted permission to recruit nationally, after which he traveled even more extensively throughout the North and into Tennessee. Russell Duncan, ed., Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune: The Civil War Letters of Robert Gould Shaw (Athens, Ga., 1992), 26–34; Noah Andre Trudeau, Like Men of War: Black Troops in the Civil War, 1862–1865 (Boston, 1998), 72; Stearns, Life and Public Services, 286–95; Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 1854–55. 3. On 26 May 1863, Gerrit Smith spoke at the Loyal League of the State of New York Convention, which was held 26–27 May at Mechanics Hall in Utica, New York. Smith’s speech reiterated many of his remarks from his Albany speech in February 1863, in which he called for the continued fight to end the Confederate rebellion. In his speech in Utica, Smith asserted once again that the Confederacy had to be toppled at any cost, even if it meant risking the fate of the Union, the Constitution, and the entire country. Smith called for the cultivation of earnestness and resentment against the rebels, which would help the North more vigorously and effectively fight the Confederacy. Ultimately, Smith urged that a man’s love for his country should be measured by his hatred for the rebels, and that only that would effectively end the Confederacy. DM, 5:855–56 (August 1863). 4. Douglass was probably in error regarding the position of Lewis H. Douglass and the Fiftyfourth Massachusetts. Shortly after arriving at the Union army camp at Port Royal, South Carolina, in early June 1863, the regiment was sent to participate in the infamous attack on Darien, Georgia, as part of a brigade of black soldiers commanded by James Montgomery. The next month, the Fifty-fourth was transferred back to South Carolina, where it would join the assault on Fort Wagner. Emilio, Brave Black Regiment, 36–50. 5. Norwood Penrose Hallowell (1839–1914), a banker and wool merchant, served briefly as lieutenant colonel of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. On 30 May 1863, he was named colonel of the newly organized Fifty-fifth Massachusetts. Hallowell graduated from Harvard in 1861 and then promptly joined the volunteer forces. He served as first lieutenant of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteers, and was wounded at Glendale and Antietam before transferring to command African American troops. His brother, Edward N. Hallowell, succeeded Robert Gould Shaw as commander of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts following the latter’s death at Fort Wagner. Disability from previous wounds forced “Pen” Hallowell to leave military service in November 1863. Following the war, he entered into a successful partnership as a commission merchant in the wool business. John C. Rand, comp., One of a Thousand: A Series of Biographical Sketches of One Thousand Representative Men Resident in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, A.D. 1888–‘89 (Boston, 1890), 277–78; Josiah Granville Leach, History of the Penrose Family of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1903), 79–80; Benjamin Brawley, A Social History of the American Negro (New York, 1921), vii. 6. This second regiment of Massachusetts black troops was organized in May 1863 and mustered into federal service on 22 June. The efforts of Douglass and other war recruiters resulted in an especially large number of volunteers, who consequently made up the first recruits for the new regiment. The Fifty-fifth spent much of the war assigned to fatigue duty, finally seeing action at James Island, South Carolina, in the late spring and summer of 1864. Massachusetts Soldiers, 4:715–16; James Fuller, Men of Color, To Arms!: Vermont African-Americans in the Civil War (Lincoln, Neb., 2001), 174–75. 7. Born in Utica, New York, Charles Dudley Miller (1818–96) married Gerrit Smith’s only surviving daughter, Elizabeth, a reformer and women’s rights activist, in 1843. Miller supported his

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father-in-law during the Jerry Rescue by disposing of incriminating evidence, and later defended Smith when he was implicated in John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. During the Civil War, Miller served as colonel of the 129th New York Infantry Regiment. In addition to backing the abolitionist activities of Smith, Miller was also an avid supporter of his wife’s suffrage activities. Hamilton Literary Monthly, 30:219 (February 1896); Free Thought Magazine, 14:202 (February 1896); Cookinham, History of Oneida County, New York, 1:361; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 43, 408, 415–16, 483. 8. The Fifty-fourth Massachusetts departed for service on 28 May 1863 after a grand review in Boston with Governor John A. Andrew in attendance. The regiment arrived at Hilton Head, South Carolina, on 3 June. Massachusetts Soldiers, 4:656–57.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO EDWIN M. STANTON1 Philadelphia[, Pa.] 13 July 1863.

Hon: E. M. Stanton. Sect y of War. Sir: I wish, very respectfully to commend to your consideration my friend, mr George T. Downing, of New Port Rhode Island, as an applicant for the office of Brigade Quarter master of Colored Troops. Mr Downing is an experienced business man and in my judgment, he is a man everyway qualified by Character and ability to fill the place he Seeks with entire Satisfaction to your views of its requirement. I moreover think the appointment of Mr Downing would have an excellent effect upon the Colored Citizens all over the north—and tend to facilitate Colored enlistments here in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. I am one of those Colored men who Say office or no office, equal or unequal pay,2 bounty or no bounty. the place for Colored men is in the army of the United States: nevertheless I see that the appointment of Such a man as Mr Downing would vastly strengthen the claims of the country upon this class of its people. With very great Respect I am, Honored sir. Your Obedt. Servt. FREDERICK DOUGLASS ALS: Gilbert A. Tracey Papers, CtHIS. 1. Edwin McMasters Stanton (1814–69), a Democrat, was a prominent lawyer from Ohio. In 1862, President Lincoln appointed him secretary of war to replace the discredited Simon Cameron. While in office, Stanton restored the War Department’s credibility and switched his allegiance to the Republican party. He remained in office after Lincoln’s assassination, but differences with President Andrew Johnson regarding Reconstruction led to a falling out with the new administration. Johnson tried to dismiss Stanton from office, but Congress reinstated him and impeached Johnson for violating the Tenure of Office Act. Stanton resigned in 1868 when Congress failed to remove Johnson from office. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Stanton to the Supreme Court in 1869, but Stanton died

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before taking the bench. Benjamin P. Thomas and Harold M. Hyman, Stanton: The Life and Times of Lincoln’s Secretary of War (New York, 1962); DAB, 17:517–521; ANB, 20:558–562. 2. Before the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts was mustered, potential recruits were promised wages equal to those of white Union soldiers. After the unit’s formation, the federal government rescinded this offer, deciding instead to pay all black soldiers the laborer’s rate of ten dollars a month, regardless of rank. The Fifty-fourth, along with most other black units, refused their pay, demanding equality. The issue bothered Douglass, the father of two black soldiers, and he voiced his concerns in his first meeting with President Abraham Lincoln, which occurred at the White House on 10 August 1863. In June 1864, the administration relented and Congress granted equal pay to all black soldiers who had been free in April 1861. In March 1865, in the face of further protest, former slaves were also granted full wages. Full back pay was dispersed for the entire unpaid period. Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:271–72; Redkey, Grand Army of Black Men, 206; Sutherland, African Americans at War, 1:32–35; Glatthaar, Forged in Battle, 169–175; EAAH, 258–59.

LEWIS H. DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK AND ANNA MURRAY DOUGLASS Morris Island, S.C. 20 July [1863.]

My Dear Father & Mother and all: Wednesday July 8 our regiment left St Helena Island for Folly Island, arriving there the next day, we were ordered to land on James Island,1 which we did in the upper end of James Island is a large rebel battery with eighteen guns. After landing on James Island we threw out pickets to within two miles of the rebs. fortification. We were permitted to do this in peace until last Thursday the 16th inst. when about four in the morning the rebels made an attack on our pickets—who were about two hundred strong—with a force of nearly nine hundred men.2 Our men fought like tigers one sergeant killing five men by shooting and bayonetting. The rebels were held in check by our few men long enough to allow the 10th Connecticut to escape being surrounded and and captured3 for which they received the highest praise from all parties who knew of it.4 It earned us our reputation as a fighting regiment. Our loss was in killed wounded and missing 45. That night we took—according to our officers—one of the hardest marches on record through woods and marsh. The rebels we defeated and drove back in the morning. They however were reenforced with 14000 men we having a only half dozen regiments, so it was necessary for us to escape. I cannot write in full. I am expecting every moment, to be called into another fight. Suffice it to say we are now on Morris Island.5 Saturday night we made the most desperate charge of the war on Fort Wagoner.6 Our loss

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in killed wounded and missing was 300. The splendid Fifty Fourth is cut to pieces, all of our offficers with the exception of eight are either killed or wounded. Col. Shaw7 is a prisoner and wounded Major Hallowell8 is wounded in three places the Adjutant9 in two place, Sergt Simmons10 is killed Nat Hurley11 missing and a host of others. I had my sword sheath blown away while on the parapet of the fort. I have received the praise of the officers for [illegible]. The quartermaster says I have made my mark. The knife and canister shell and [illegible] swept us down like chaff, still our men went on and on, and if we had been properly supported we would have held the fort. But the white troops could not be Union made to come up,12 the consequence is we had to fall back dodging shells and other missiles. If I have another oppportunity I will write more fully. Good bye to all. If I die to night I will not die a coward. Good Bye LEWIS ALS: Gilbert A. Tracy Manuscripts, CtHiS. 1. On 23 June 1863, the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts was ordered to depart St. Simons Island, Georgia, for Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. On the next day, the Fifty-fourth was ordered to move to St. Helena Island, across the harbor from Hilton Head. The regiment remained on St. Helena until 8 July, when, after only one hour’s notice, they were ordered to move to neighboring Folly Island to aid in Brigadier General Quincy A. Gillmore’s effort to capture Charleston, which involved threatening Confederate positions on nearby James Island. On 11 July, the Fifty-fourth landed on James Island, where it remained until the 18 July assault on Fort Wagner. Emilio, A Brave Black Regiment, 46–60; Trudeau, Like Men of War, 73–77. 2. The 16 July 1863 attack by Confederate forces on the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts’s pickets on James Island is alternately known as the Battle of James Island and the Battle of Grimball’s Landing. The attack, meant to isolate the remaining Union forces on James Island, was led by Brigadier General Johnson Hagood and involved approximately 3,000 Confederate troops from Brigadier General Alfred H. Colquitt’s brigade of South Carolinians and Georgians and the Fifty-fourth Georgia Infantry. The battle served as the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts’s first real combat test, the black soldiers standing alongside their white counterparts and holding their ground long enough to allow other white Union army units to retreat. David J. Eicher, The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War (New York, 2001), 567; W. Scott Poole, South Carolina’s Civil War: A Narrative History (Macon, Ga., 2005), 88; Frances H. Kennedy, ed., The Civil War Battlefield Guide (New York, 1998), 192; Russell Duncan, Where Death and Glory Meet: Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry (Athens, Ga., 1999), 107–09. 3. The first recruits of what became the Tenth Connecticut Infantry began to assemble at Hartford in September 1861, but the unit was not formally organized until 22 October. Within a few days of mustering, the Tenth was ordered to Annapolis, Maryland, where it trained until being deployed to North Carolina in early January 1862. In that year, the men of the Tenth were cited for their bravery during battles at Roanoke Island, New Bern, Kinston, and Goldsboro, all in North Carolina. In July 1863, the Tenth Connecticut was ordered to join the Union assault on Fort Wagner, on Morris Island, South Carolina, where the regiment was saved from annihilation by the famous all-black Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, which held its ground and prevented the Confederates from flanking the Union lines. Following a period of rest and recuperation in St. Augustine, Florida, over the fall of 1863, the Tenth

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was ordered to the front lines in Virginia in February 1864. Once there, the Tenth Connecticut saw action at City Point, Bermuda Hundred, and Fort Darling. In October 1864, the Tenth fended off a Confederate counterattack on the Union’s march toward Richmond, and was credited with saving the Army of the James. On 2 April 1865, the men of the Tenth Connecticut played an important role in the assault on Fort Gregg, and they were once again commended for their gallantry under fi re. The Tenth was part of the Union forces marshaled to pursue General Robert E. Lee on his retreat from Richmond and was among the units on hand to witness the Confederate surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House on 9 April 1865. The surviving members of the Tenth Connecticut mustered out on 15 August 1865 and returned to Hartford later that month. William A. Croffut and John W. Morris, The Military and Civil History of Connecticut during the War of 1861–1865 . . . (New York, 1869), 163–74, 342–48, 541–52, 786–95; Christopher Cox, History of Connecticut Civil War Regiments: Artillery, Cavalry, and Infantry (Raleigh, N.C., 2013), 31; Leslie M. Alexander and Walter C. Rucker, eds., Encyclopedia of African American History, 3 vols. (Santa Barbara, Calif., 2010), 2:479; Boatner, Civil War Dictionary, 123–27, 301. 4. The Battle of James Island was the proving ground for the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, demonstrated in part by the tributes its troops received from white soldiers after the battle. In a letter dated 16 July 1863, Robert Gould Shaw reports praise from General Alfred Terry, the commander of the Union army division on James Island. A member of the Tenth Connecticut Infantry, saved by the Fifty-fourth during the battle, is quoted as writing to his mother, “But for the bravery of three companies of the Massachusetts Fifty-Forth (colored), our whole regiment would have been captured . . . They fought like heroes.” Robert Gould Shaw to Annie K. Shaw, 16 July 1863, in Duncan, Blue Eyed Child of Fortune, 385; Glaathar, Forged in Battle, 136. 5. Morris Island, a small island in Charleston Harbor, was a strategic Confederate stronghold throughout the Civil War, especially during the Second Battle of Charleston Harbor. Along with Sullivan Island, Morris Island formed the mouth of Charleston Harbor, in the middle of which sat Fort Sumter. Before the Civil War, Morris Island was the home of Charleston’s lighthouse and a hospital for patients afflicted with contagious illnesses. Following the secession of South Carolina, Morris Island became a strategic location for the Confederate military, since it was the closest land to Unioncontrolled Fort Sumter. After South Carolina troops occupied and fortified the island, they were easily able to win the Battle of Fort Sumter on 12–13 April 1861. Morris Island remained unprotected until June 1862, when it became vulnerable to Union capture. Confederate troops reoccupied it, and Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Wagner oversaw the construction of a fortification at Cummings Point. A second fortification, named Fort Wagner after Lieutenant Colonel Wagner, was constructed on a narrow section of the island; it was designed to keep invading Union forces from reaching Cummings Point and Charleston Harbor. Following the First and Second Battles of Fort Wagner in July 1863, the Confederacy abandoned Morris Island in September 1863. Stephen R. Wise, Gate of Hell: Campaign for Charleston Harbor, 1863 (Columbia, S.C., 1994), 1–30; Long and Long, The Civil War Day by Day, 373–79. 6. The Fifty-fourth Massachusetts led an assault on Fort Wagner on the night of 18 July 1863, and the fighting lasted through the next morning. The regiment, led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, sustained 247 casualties while spearheading the unsuccessful attack. Official reports of the battle portrayed the black regiment’s performance as courageous and disciplined, dispelling widespread doubt about the efficacy of black soldiers in combat. Quarles, Negro in the Civil War, 13–17; Cornish, Sable Arm, 152–156; EAAH, 2:11–12. 7. Businessman and soldier Robert Gould Shaw (1837–63) was born in Boston and educated at Harvard College. He was living in New York City when the Civil War began and enlisted in the Seventh New York Regiment. In 1862 he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Second Massachusetts Regiment, later rising to the rank of captain. When Governor John A. Andrew of Massachusetts sought white officers for the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, the North’s first black regiment, he offered the command to Shaw, who, after first declining, became its colonel in May 1863. After acquitting itself well at James Island on 16 July 1863, the regiment led an assault on Fort Wagner during the night of 18–19 July. Among the 247 casualties of that battle was Shaw himself, who died

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while rallying his men at the fort’s parapet. He was buried in a common grave with others from the regiment. Stephen T. Riley, “A Monument to Colonel Robert Gould Shaw,” Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 75:27–38 (1963); ACAB, 5:31; NCAB, 8:142–43. 8. Major Edward “Needles” Hallowell (1836–71) served in the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts from the unit’s inception. Raised in a fervently abolitionist Quaker family, Hallowell was initially selected as third in command of the Fifty-fourth, behind Robert Gould Shaw and his own brother, Norwood Hallowell. When Norwood was selected to lead the newly created Fifty-fifth Massachusetts, Edward took over as executive officer of the Fifty-fourth. Following the battle of Fort Wagner and Shaw’s death, Edward was promoted to colonel. After recuperating from wounds received in that battle, he commanded the Fifty-fourth for the remainder of the war. Hallowell supported his troops’ decision to reject the unequal pay offered them and vigorously lobbied state and federal officials for redress. He also successfully championed the commissioning of one of his unit’s sergeants, Stephen A. Swails, as a lieutenant. Donald Yacovone, A Voice of Thunder: The Civil War Letters of George E. Stephens (Urbana, Ill., 1997), 61–62, 71–79, 89; Duncan, Where Death and Glory Meet, 53, 63, 117. 9. Garth Wilkinson James (1845–83) served as the adjutant of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts under the command of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw during the First and Second Battles of Fort Wagner in July 1863. Born in New York City, James, known as “Wilkie,” was the son of the theologian Henry James, Sr., and the younger brother of the philosopher William James and the novelist Henry James, Jr. James enlisted in the Forty-fourth Massachusetts at the age of seventeen, and because of his support of the abolitionist cause and the inclusion of black regiments in the Union army, he was recruited by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw to be an officer in the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts. James was severely wounded during the Second Battle of Fort Wagner on 18 July 1863. His wounds kept him in poor health for the remainder of his life and contributed to his death at age thirty-eight. New York Times, 23 November 1883; Howard M. Feinstein, Becoming William James (Ithaca, N.Y., 1984), 76; Duncan, Where Death and Glory Meet, 58, 65, 87. 10. Sergeant Robert J. Simmons (?–1863) was a veteran of the British Army and a native of Bermuda who immigrated to New York and joined the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts. Simmons and his company participated in the assault on James Island on 16 July 1863, offering assistance to the Union troops on picket when Confederate forces attacked. Simmons was wounded and captured during the Battle of Fort Wagner on 18 July 1863, and he died in a Charleston Confederate prison a short time later. Three days before the Battle of Fort Wagner, Simmons’s New York City home was burned and his seventeen-year-old nephew killed during the New York draft riots. Simmons’s fellow soldiers noted his bravery, particularly during the Battle of Fort Wagner, following his capture and death. Christopher B. Booker, “I Will Wear No Chain!”: A Social History of African American Males (Westport, Conn., 2000), 78–79; Edwin S. Redkey, “Brave Black Volunteers: A Profile of the FiftyFourth Massachusetts Regiment,” in Blatt, Brown, and Yacovone, Hope and Glory, 28–29. 11. Private Nathaniel Hurley was a nineteen-year-old laborer from Rochester, New York, when he joined Company E of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts in March 1863. He fought at the Battle of Fort Wagner on 18 July 1863, where he was wounded and captured by Confederate forces. He remained a prisoner until his death on 15 February 1865 in Florence, South Carolina. Emilio, Brave Black Regiment, 361. 12. Following the initial attack by the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, the movements of the supporting Union troops allowed for too much time between assaults, which gave the Confederate forces the advantage in battle. Heavy losses, the rapid incapacitation of several commanding officers, and general chaos on the battlefield during the Battle of Fort Wagner led to an absence of Union reinforcements. Specifically, Brigadier General Truman Seymour sustained wounds that forced him off the battlefield, resulting in his orders for Brigadier General Thomas Stevenson’s brigade to advance as reinforcements to be ignored. Stevenson’s brigade remained in position, and the battle, already in disarray, fell apart shortly thereafter. John Johnson, The Defense of Charleston Harbor, Including Fort Sumter and the Adjacent Islands, 1863–1865 (Charleston, S.C., 1890), 105–06; Glatthaar, Forged in Battle, 139–40.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO ROBERT HAMILTON1 Rochester, N.Y. 27 July 1863.

Mr. Editor :— Let me say a word to Mr. Parker T. Smith,2 who has in the last number of your paper made me the subject of sundry querulous and—I fear, malicious remarks.—Let me tell the said Mr. Smith, if you please, that when he or his influential friend, of whom he speaks, shall have furnished any considerable evidence of his ability to fill my place at the North, he will have done something to convince me that I ought to assume the position he assigns me in the army at the South. I certainly have a pretty high sense of my importance, but Mr. Smith carries it a peg higher when he represents my not enlisting as being the cause of hesitation in his influential friend and others. According to him, there are numerous fighting men in Philadelphia, burning to go to battle, who are only kept back from deeds of valor, because I do not lead them. This is very strange. Whence came this general confidence in me, as a warrior? When have I been heard of as a military man? How happens it that among all the fighting material of Philadelphia, of which Mr. Smith speaks, not one man can be found, who could raise a company of these eager warriors? I suspect there is a cat in the meal.3 It is not because I don’t form a company, that these influential gentlemen don’t enlist. If the truth were known, there are other reasons, far more satisfactory, for their tardiness. If they really wish to go and don’t wish to hang round the corner of Lombard and 6th Streets,4 they would soon find their way into Camp William Penn.5 It is very safe in Mr. Smith to thrust my example between himself and the battlefield, for he knows very well that for the present, at least, the Government is not ready to grant me a captaincy.6 There is something cowardly therefore in the boast of the influential gentleman, that he is ready to go to war when he can get a Captain, which he knows it is impossible to get. For the present I must think that this whole thing is a miserable and contemptible excuse for cowardice. Mr. Smith in alluding to the fact that two of my sons are already in the army, flippantly remarks: “no man’s sons can work out his political salvation.”7 I shall not stop here to combat this very profound remark. I depend upon no man, father or son, to work out my political salvation, and I hope to aid in working out the political salvation of others as faithfully as my assailant. But while I depend on my own energies for the place I shall hold among my fellow-men, I recognize the fact, which every intelligent colored man must recognize, that the black troops now in the field, and others, now on their way, can evince no patriotism, exhibit no courage,

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display no gallantry, win no laurels, achieve no victories over the insolent slaveholding rebels of the South, which will not directly and powerfully tend to the social, civil and political advancement of every colored man and woman in the country. If therefore I am proud to refer to my two sons, as giving all that men can give to a common cause, I do not think that any sneers at this weakness—if it be a weakness, should be flung from the pen of the black man, for whose civil and political liberty those young men willingly endure hardships, dangers and death. If Mr. Parker T. Smith can thus sneer, I can only say as John Randolph said of another recreant: “I envy neither the head nor the heart of that gentleman.”8 In these dark days, Mr. Editor, when colored men of New York and other cities are scourged and driven from their homes,9 hiding in the woods like hares, affrighted and tremulous, unarmed and defenceless it is sad to think that any who claim to be the friends of our persecuted race, can find no better employments for their talents than in framing sentences of disparagement of those, who whatever may be their faults, have never failed in any trial to hold up and defend the colored race against all comers. At such a time as this I have no heart for the consideration of spiteful attacks from any quarter. But due respect for your readers has compelled me to denounce malice, to unmask pretense, and expose hypocrisy, which might have passed in the minds of some for manly frankness and honest devotion. FREDERICK DOUGLASS. PLSr: New York Weekly Anglo-African, 1 August 1863. Another text is in DM, 5:852 (August 1863). 1. At the time Douglass wrote this letter to the editor of the Weekly Anglo-African, the editor was probably Robert Hamilton (1819–70), but it is possible that the intended recipient might have been his brother Thomas Hamilton (1823–65), who had at various times been owner, publisher, and coeditor of the newspaper. Natives of New York City, the Hamilton brothers were the sons of William  T. Hamilton (1773–1836), a mixed-race carpenter by trade who became a noted orator and abolitionist, and was rumored to be the illegitimate son of Alexander Hamilton. The Weekly AngloAfrican, commonly referred to as the Anglo-African or the Anglo, was a New York City newspaper owned and managed from 1859 to 1865, with a short interruption in 1861, by Thomas and Robert Hamilton. The Hamilton brothers sought to produce a paper that would be the voice of the New York black community, but they hoped its influence would extend beyond the state as well. The four-page newspaper was produced and printed at 48 Beekman Street in downtown Manhattan and was distributed every Saturday. The newspaper’s motto, which appeared on the masthead, read, “Man must be free; if not within the law, why then, above the law.” Douglass’s close friend James McCune Smith was a financial backer as well as a regular contributor of articles to the Anglo-African. The paper was closed shortly after Thomas’s death from typhoid fever in early 1865. 1860 U.S. Census, New York, King’s County, 397–98; Emma J. Lapsansky-Werner and Margaret Hope Bacon, eds., Back to Africa: Benjamin Coates and the Colonization Movement in America, 1848–1880 (University Park, Pa.,

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2005), 150; Sterling, Speak Out in Thunder Tones, 377; Debra Jackson, “ ‘A Cultural Stronghold’: The ‘Anglo African’ Newspaper and the Black Community of New York,” NYH, 85:331–57 (Fall 2004); EAAH, 1:71, 2:44–45. 2. Parker T. Smith, an abolitionist, journalist, and president of Philadelphia’s Banneker Institute, a black literary society and library, headed the Weekly Anglo-African’s Philadelphia Department and wrote many of its editorials. In the 25 July 1863 edition of the Anglo, Smith criticized prominent black leaders for failing to enlist in the Union army. He argued that their enlistment would encourage other black men to join. Parker’s main target, Frederick Douglass, was criticized for not enlisting when his own sons were members of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Parker wrote, “No man’s sons can work out his political salvation . . . [I]f men will not enlist and fight themselves, they have no just cause to make heavy burdens and bind them on other men’s shoulders, when they will not do so much as touch them with one of their fingers.” New York Weekly Anglo-African, 25 July 1863; Yacovone, A Voice of Thunder, 8. 3. This phrase is drawn from Aesop’s fable in which a cat hides in a bag of meal in order to catch mice. William Dwight Whitney, ed., Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, 10 vols. (New York, 1889–1895) 1:852. 4. This intersection was located in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Society Hill, which was characterized by socioeconomic and racial diversity in the first half of the nineteenth century. The neighborhood was home to a large population of free blacks, immigrants, and whites. By the midnineteenth century, the city had begun to expand westward, and Society Hill lost much of its diversity as neighborhoods became more segregated. According to one Philadelphia newspaper in 1858, the area south of Lombard Street had “long been noted as a neighborhood of villainy and crime,” a comment on the large foreign population there. This negative view of the local population was likely a by-product of xenophobia and racism. Douglass’s mention of Lombard and 6th Street may be in reference to a Parker T. Smith editorial in the Anglo (11 July 1863) in which he wrote, “Large posters were stuck in various parts of the city, calling the colored people together at Bethel A.M.E. church, South 6th st., above Lombard, and at the Union A.M.E. church, Coates st., below 5th.” Philadelphia North American and United States Gazette, 7 August 1858; New York Weekly Anglo-African, 11 July 1863; Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, “Society Hill (and Pennsylvania Hospital of Washington Square West) Historic District: Nomination” (Philadelphia, 1999), 2–3. 5. Camp William Penn, the first training facility for Northern black soldiers in the Civil War, was located approximately eight miles north of Philadelphia in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County. Established in the summer of 1863 by the self-funded Philadelphia Supervisory Committee for Colored Enlistments, the camp began receiving its first recruits—hailing from Delaware, New Jersey, and the commonwealth—on 23 June of that year. Under the command of Colonel Louis Wagner, a native of Germany, the initial volunteers formed the camp’s first two units: the Third and Sixth Regiments of U.S. Colored Troops. The facility ultimately trained nearly 11,000 soldiers and was honored with visits from such prominent abolitionists as Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Lucretia Mott, whose residence in Roadside sat directly beside the camp. Proceedings of the 48th Annual Encampment, Department of Pennsylvania, Grand Army of the Republic, Indiana, June 11th and 12th, 1914 (Harrisburg, Pa, 1914), 32; James M. Paradis, Strike the Blow for Freedom: The 6th United States Colored Infantry in the Civil War (Shippensburg, Pa., 1998), 13; Donald Scott, Sr., Camp William Penn (Charleston, S.C., 2008), 7–8; William Blair and William Pencak, Making and Remaking Pennsylvania’s Civil War (University Park, Pa., 2001), 145–46; Cornish, Sable Arm, 220, 248; Quarles, Negro in the Civil War, 187. 6. After being promised the commission of adjutant assistant to General Lorenzo Thomas by the secretary of war, Edwin M. Stanton, Douglass immediately disbanded Douglass’ Monthly. In its final issue, 16 August 1863, Douglass proclaimed, “I am going South to assist Adjutant General Thomas, in the organization of colored troops, who shall win for the millions in bondage the inestimable blessings of liberty and country.” Although Douglass technically never received his officer’s

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commission, Charles W. Foster, a recruiter for the War Department, repeatedly urged Douglass to join Thomas in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Because of strict policies and general racial prejudice, only about one hundred African Americans were commissioned by the War Department over the course of the Civil War. Douglass was never one of those men. C. W. Foster to Douglass, 13, 21 August 1863, reel 1, frames 834–35, 842–43L, FD Papers, DLC; DM, 5: n.p. (August 1863); Cornish, Sable Arm, 214; Quarles, Negro in the Civil War, 208. 7. New York Weekly Anglo-African, 25 July 1863. 8. In a speech in the House of Representatives on March 9, 1826, Edward Everett, a congressman from Massachusetts, proclaimed, “I cannot admit, that, while it [slavery] subsists, and where it subsists, its duties are not pre-supposed and sanctioned by religion.” The religious justification of slavery was not yet a mainstream idea, and fellow congressmen rebuked Everett’s remarks. One such person, John Randolph, a congressman from Virginia and a wealthy slave owner, responded, “Sir, I envy neither the head nor the heart of that man, from the North, who rises here to defend slavery on principle.” Horace Greeley, The American Conflict: A History of the Great Rebellion in the United States of America, 1860–‘64, 2 vols. (Hartford, Conn., 1864), 1:109. 9. In March 1863, when it had become clear that recruitment could not keep pace with Union army requirements, Congress passed a conscription act. Legal attempts by Democratic politicians to block enforcement of the draft failed, and the drawing of names began in New York City on 11 July 1863. Two days later, a mob composed mainly of foreign-born laborers sacked the city’s draft headquarters and looted and burned homes and businesses. A major target of the mob was the city’s black population. Rioters lynched at least a dozen blacks, burned a black orphanage, and plundered and terrorized black neighborhoods. Local authorities proved unable to quell the violence, and federal troops fresh from the Gettysburg battlefield had to be rushed to New York City. Order was not restored until 16 July. Iver Bernstein, The New York City Draft Riots: Their Significance for American Society and Politics in the Age of the Civil War (New York, 1990); Eugene Converse Murdock, Patriotism Limited, 1862–1865: The Civil War Draft and the Bounty System (Kent, Ohio, 1967), 63–80; McCague, The Second Rebellion, 116–63.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GEORGE L. STEARNS Rochester[, N.Y.] 1 August 1863.

Major G. L. Stearns :— My Dear Sir— Having declined to attend the meeting to promote enlistments, appointed for me at Pittsburgh, in present circumstances, I owe you a word of explanation. I have hitherto deemed it a duty, as it certainly has been a pleasure, to cooperate with you in the work of raising colored troops in the free states, to fight the battles of the Republic against the slaveholding rebels and traitors. Upon the first call you gave me to this work, I responded with alacrity. I saw, or thought I saw a ray of light, brightening the future of my whole race as well as that of our war troubled country, in arousing colored men to fight for the nation’s life, I continue to believe in the black man’s arm, and still have some hope in the integrity of our rulers. Nevertheless, I must for the present leave to others the work of persuading colored men

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to join the Union Army.1 I owe it to my long abused people, and especially those of them already in the army, to expose their wrongs and plead their cause. I cannot do that in connection with recruiting. When I plead for recruits, I want to do it with all my heart, without qualification. I cannot do that now[.] The impression settles upon me that colored men have much overrated the enlightenment, justice and generosity of our rulers at Washington. In my humble way I have contributed somewhat to that false estimate. You know, that when the idea of raising colored troops was first suggested, the special duty to be assigned them, was the garrisoning of forts and arsenals in certain warm, unhealthy and miasmatic localities in the South.2 They were thought to be better adapted to that service than white troops[.] White troops, trained to war, brave and daring, were to take fortifications, and the blacks were to hold them and keep them from falling again into the hands of the rebels—Three advantages were to arise out of this wise division of labor. 1st. The spirit and pride of white troops was not to waste itself in dull and monotonous inactivity in fort-life. Their arms were to be kept bright by constant use. 2dly. The health of the white troops was to be preserved. 3rdly. Black troops were to have the advantage of sound military training, and be otherwise useful at the same time that they should be tolerably secured from capture by the rebels, who early avowed their determination to enslave and slaughter them in defiance of the laws of war. Two out of the three advantages, were to accrue to the white troops. Thus far however, I believe that no such duty as holding fortifications has been committed to colored troops. They have done far other and more important work than holding fortifications. I have no special complaint to make at this point, and I simply mention it to strengthen the statement that from the beginning of this business it was the confident belief among both the colored and white friends of colored enlistments that President Lincoln as Commander-in[-]Chief of the army and navy would certainly see to it, that his colored troops should be so handled and disposed of as to be but [little] exposed to capture by the rebels, and that—if so exposed—as they have repeatedly been from the first, the President possessed both the disposition and the means for compelling the rebels to respect the rights of such as might fall into their hands[.]3 The piratical proclamation of President Davis, announcing Slavery and assassination to colored prisoners4 was before the country and the world. But men had faith in Mr. Lincoln and his advisors. He was silent, to be sure, but charity suggested that being a man of action rather than words, he only waited for a case in which he should be required to act This faith

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in the man enabled us to speak with warmth and effect in urging enlistments among colored men. That faith, my dear Sir, is now nearly gone. Various occasions have arisen during the last six months for the exercise of his power in behalf of the colored men in his service. But no word comes from Mr. Lincoln or from the War Department, sternly assuring the Rebel Chief that inquisitions shall yet be made for innocent blood. No word of retaliation when a black man is slain by a rebel in cold blood[.] No word was said when free men from Massachusetts were caught and sold into slavery in Texas. No word is said when brave black men who according to the testimony of both friend and foe, fought like heroes to plant the star spangled banner on the blazing parapets of Fort Wagner, and in doing so were captured, some mutilated and killed, and others sold in to slavery.5 The same crushing silence reigns over the scandalous outrage as over that of the slaughtered teamsters at Murfeesboro—the same as over that at Millikens Bend and Vicksburg.6 I am free to say, my dear sir, that the case looks as if the confiding colored soldiers had been betrayed into bloody hands by the very Government in whose defense they were heroically fighting. I know what you will say to this; you will say; “wait a little longer, and after all, the best way to have justice done to your people is to get them into the army as fast as possible.” You may be right in this; my argument has been the same, but have we not already waited, and have we not already shown the highest qualities of soldiers and on this account deserve the protection of the Government for which we are fighting? Can any case stronger than that before Charleston ever arise? 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 54ths must be cut to pieces, its mutilated prisoners killed and its living sold into Slavery, to be tortured to death by inches before Mr. Lincoln shall say: “Hold, enough!”7 You know the 54th. To you, more than any one man belongs the credit of raising that Regiment. Think of its noble and brave officers literally hacked to pieces while many of its rank and file have been sold into slavery; worse than death, and pardon me if I hesitate about assisting in raising a fourth Regiment until the President shall give the same protection to them as to white soldiers.8 With warm and sincere regards, FREDERICK DOULGASS.9 PLSr: DM, 6:649 (August 1863). 1. Douglass determined to end his recruiting duties after growing impatient with the government’s unequal treatment of black troops. Black troops were denied officer commissions, and Con-

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gress decreed in June 1863 that U.S. Colored Troops, even noncommissioned officers, would be paid only $10 a month, with three dollars deducted for clothing, while white privates were paid $13 monthly, and white noncommissioned officers between $17 and $21. In addition, Douglass was dismayed by reports of mistreatment of black troops at the Battle of Fort Wagner, which were made even more personal through a letter from his son Lewis, who survived the debacle. Blight, Frederick Douglass’ Civil War, 160–63; Donald Yacovone, “The Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, the Pay Crisis, and the ‘Lincoln Despotism,’ ” in Blatt, Brown, and Yacovone, Hope and Glory, 37–39. 2. The discrimination that African Americans faced in society was mirrored in their experience in the military. Many white commanders, believing them to be inferior, assigned them to manual labor and other menial duties. In the humid conditions of South Carolina and Louisiana, for example, black troops were often set to “fatigue duty,” digging trenches and fortifications. In June 1864, Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas issued an order dividing fatigue duty equally between white and black soldiers. Michael A. Eggleston, President Lincoln’s Recruiter: General Lorenzo Thomas and the United States Colored Troops in the Civil War (Jefferson, N.C., 2013), 42–48; John David Smith, Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops (Carbondale, Ill., 2013), 56–57; Cornish, Sable Arm, 244–47. 3. Although Lincoln learned of the atrocities that black soldiers faced at the hands of Confederates, he waited until the end of July 1863 to issue a special general order providing for their protection in the field. Cornish, Sable Arm, 168–69; Westwood, Black Troops, White Commanders, 94–95. 4. On 12 January 1863, Jefferson Davis officially responded to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation by declaring that “all negro slaves captured in arms” would be tried under the laws of the Confederate states. The Confederate War Department soon stipulated that runaway slaves captured while fighting for the Union army could either be reenslaved and returned to their masters or executed for inciting servile rebellion. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 130 vols. (Washington, D.C., 1880–1901), ser. 2, 5:807–08 (1885); John Davis Smith, Black Soldiers in Blue: African American Troops in the Civil War Era (Chapel Hill, N.C., 2002), 45–46. 5. None of the soldiers captured at Fort Wagner were enslaved. Of twenty-four U.S. Colored Troops captured, four were determined by the Confederate authorities to be fugitive slaves. All twenty-four were held in a jail in Charleston, South Carolina, for several months following their capture. A trial involving the four alleged slaves ended with the finding that the court lacked jurisdiction to convict them. All were eventually exchanged according to the rules of war. Howard C. Westwood, “Captive Black Union Soldiers in Charleston: What to Do?,” in Black Flag over Dixie: Radical Atrocities and Reprisals in the Civil War, ed. Gregory J. W. Unwin (Carbondale, Ill., 2004), 38–39; Westwood, Black Troops, White Commanders, 86–95; Cornish, Sable Arm, 169. 6. The Battle of Milliken’s Bend in June 1863, part of the Vicksburg Campaign, was one of the first live engagements of U.S. Colored Troops that resulted in a Union victory, but black troops suffered heavy casualties. Unable to fathom an armed engagement with blacks, Texas infantry brutally hanged, shot in ditches, or otherwise murdered captured African American troops. Black troops captured during the siege of Vicksburg likewise faced brutal treatment that was sanctioned by the Confederate government. Anne J. Bailey, “A Texas Cavalry Raid: Reaction to Black Soldiers and Contrabands,” in Unwin, Black Flag over Dixie, 22–25; Westwood, Black Troops, White Commanders, 28–31; Cornish, Sable Arm, 169–170. 7. Macbeth, act 5, sc. 8. 8. Following the debacle at Fort Wagner and in the wake of Confederate atrocities committed against African American troops, President Lincoln issued General Order No. 252 on 30 July 1863. The order affirmed the responsibility of the federal government to protect all U.S. soldiers, regardless of race. The order specifically provided for retaliation against the Confederate murder or enslavement of U.S. Colored Troops. It provided that one Confederate soldier would be executed in retaliation for each black soldier killed in violation of the rules of war. For each Union soldier enslaved, one Confederate soldier would be placed at hard labor on public works until the Union soldier was released. DM, 5:853 (August 1863); Donald Yacovone, ed., Freedom’s Journey: African American Voices of the Civil War (Chicago, 2004), xxxiv.

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9. When Douglass had his letter reprinted in Douglass’ Monthly, it was accompanied by the following editorial comment: “Since writing the foregoing letter, which we have now put upon record, we have received assurances from Major Stearns that the Government of the United States is already taking measures which will secure for the captured colored soldiers, at Charleston and elsewhere, the same protection against slavery and cruelty, extended to white soldiers. What ought to have been done at the beginning, comes late but it comes. The poor colored soldiers have purchased this interference dearly. It really seems that nothing of justice liberty or humanity can come to us except through tears and blood.”

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GEORGE L. STEARNS Phila[delphia, Pa.] 12 Aug[ust] 1863[.]

Maj Geo. L Stearns. Dear Sir. According to your request I paid a flying visit to Washington.1 I spent the entire day (Monday) in calling upon the Heads of Depts there and other influential persons[.] I had the good fortune, early in the morning after reaching there, of meeting with Senator Pomeroy2 who at once offered to accompany me and facilitate my mission. First I called on Secty Stanton3 at the War Department who kindly granted me an interview of about thirty minutes which must be considered a special privalege in sum of the many pressing demands upon his time and attention. His manner was cold and business like throughout but earnest. I at once gave him in brief my theory of the elements of negro character which should be had in view of all measures for raising colored troops. I told him that the negro was the victim of two extreme opinions. One claimed for him too much and the other too little. That it was a mistake to regard him either as an angel or a demon. He is simply a man and should be dealt with purely as such. That a certain percentage of negroes were brave and others cowardly. That a part were ambitious and aspiring and another part quite otherwise and that the theory in practice of Government in raising colored troops should conform to these essential facts. The Secty instantly inquired in what respect the present conditions of colored enlistments conflicted with the views I had expressed. I answered “In the unequal pay accorded to colored soldiers and in the fact that no incentive was given to the ambition of colored soldiers and that the regulations confined them to the dead level of privates or non-commissioned officers[.] In answer the Secty went into an interesting history of the whole subject of the employment of Colored Troops briefly mentioning some

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of the difficulties and prejudices to be surmounted Gave a history of the bill drawn up by himself giving equal pay, the same rations, the same uniforms, and equipments, to colored troops as to White, and spoke with much apparent regret. [T]his his bill, though passed in the House was defeated in the Senate on what he considered quite an insufficient reason alleging that the President already possessed necessary powers to employ colored troops.4 I told Mr Stanton that I held it to be the duty of Colored men to fight for the Government even though they should be offered but subsistance and arms considering that we had a cause quite independent of pay or place. But he quickly responded “that he was in favor of giving the same pay to black as to white soldiers and also of making merit the criterion of promotion further stating his readiness to grant commissions to any reported to him by their superior officers for their capacity or bravery.[“] The conclusion of our conversation was, That Gen Thomas5 was now vigorously engaged in organizing colored troops on the Mississippi and that he (the Secty) wished me to report to Gen Thomas and cooperate with him in raising said troops. I told the Secty that I was already at war under the direction of Major Stearns and that I thought that he would still need my services. But the Sectry thought I had better report as aforesaid, adding that he would send me the sufficient papers immediately. Thus you see, My dear Sir. that you have sent me to Washington to some purpose. Mr Stanton was very imperative in his manner, and I did not know but that you had suggested this prompt employment of me, from the fact that you inquired as to my willingness to go South in this work. My interview with Mr Stanton was free from compliments of every kind. There was nothing from him to me, nor from me to him, but I felt myself stopped in regard to your own efficient services not so much from his manner as from what I knew to be your own wishes— From the War Office I went directly to the White House Saw for the first time the President of the United States.6 Was received cordially and saw at a glance the justice of the popular estimate of his qualities expressed in the [press] in “Honest” to the name of Abraham Lincoln.7 I have never seen a more transparent countenance There was not the slightest shadow of embarrassment after the first moment. The drift of my communication to the President, except that I thanked him for extending Equal protection to Colored Prisoners of War, was much the same as that to the Secty of War. I desired only to say so much as to furnish a text for a discourse from Mr Lincoln himself. In this I was quite successful for the President instantly upon my ceasing to speak proceeded with an

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earnestness and fluency of which I had not suspected him, to vindicate his policy respecting the whole slavery question and especially that in reference to employing colored troops. I need not here repeat his views[.] One remark, however, of his was of much significance[.] He said he had frequently been charged with tardiness, hesitation and the like, especially in regard to issuing his retaliatory proclamation. But had he sooner would that proclamation such was the state of public popular prejudice that an outcry would have been raised against the measure[.] It would be said “Ah! We thought it would come to this. White men were to be killed for negroes.[“] His general view was that the battles in which negroes had distinguished themselves for bravery and general good conduct was the necessary preparation of the public mind for his proclamation. But the best thing said by the President was “I have been charged with vacillation even by so good a man as Jno. Sherman8 of Ohio. But said he [“]I think the charge cannot be sustained No man can say that having once taken the position I have contradicted it or retreated from it[.]” This remark of the President I took as our [assurance] that the whoever else might abandon his anti slavery policy President Lincoln would stand firm to his. My whole interrim with the President was gratifying and did much to assure me that Slavery would not survive the War and that the Country would survive both Slavery and the War. I am very sorry my Dear Sir, not to see you before leaving[.] I should be glad to have a line from you if convenient before I leave Rochester. With Great Respect and Regard Your Ol’ Servant. FREDK DOUGLASS ALS: Abraham Barker Manuscripts, PHi. 1. Stearns suggested that Douglass visit Washington to talk to federal officials about reports of Confederate mistreatment of black Union army prisoners captured at Fort Wagner in South Carolina, since such accounts, if true, would hamper recruiting efforts. Charles E. Heller, Portrait of an Abolitionist: A Biography of George Luther Stearns, 1809–1867 (Westport, Conn., 1996), 156–57. 2. Samuel S. Pomeroy. 3. Edwin M. Stanton. 4. On 25 August 1862, Secretary Stanton promised black soldiers standard army pay in his War Department authorization for the enrollment of African American troops. But section 15 of the Militia Act of 17 July 1862 stated that black recruits would be paid $10 a month, with $3 withheld for clothing. Black recruits thus received a monthly paycheck of $7, compared with $13 for white Union soldiers. In his 1863 annual report, Stanton urged Congress to correct these racial pay inequities. The discrepancy was partially rectified on 15 June 1864 when Congress passed an act that equalized the pay of black and white soldiers and authorized retroactive pay for black soldiers. But this bill applied only to black soldiers who could prove that they were not enslaved from 19 April 1861, and therefore

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did not apply to many black soldiers recruited from the South. It was not until 3 March 1865 that section 5 of the Enrollment Act allowed for pay to be issued in arrears to black troops recruited from the enslaved population. George P. Sanger, ed., The Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations of the United States of America, December 5, 1859, to March 3, 1863 (Boston, 1863), 12:599; George P. Sanger, ed., The Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations of the United States of America, December 1863, to December, 1865 (Boston, 1866), 13:129, 488; OR, ser. 1, 14:377 (1885); Berlin, Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, ser. 2, 21; Blight, Frederick Douglass’ Civil War, 161–63; Cornish, Sable Arm, 184–85, 189, 192–95. 5. Born in New Castle, Delaware, Lorenzo Thomas (1804–75) graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1823 and went on to serve in both the Seminole and Mexican wars. He served as General Winfield Scott’s chief of staff until promoted to the position of adjutant general of the army in 1861, with the rank of brigadier general. In March 1863. Thomas was ordered to organize black regiments in the Mississippi Valley, where he was supposed to have met with Douglass. In February 1868, Thomas permitted President Andrew Johnson to appoint him secretary of war ad interim in the place of Edwin Stanton, precipitating the impeachment crisis. Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America’s Unfi nished Revolution, 1863–1877 (New York, 1988), 8, 335; Eggleston, President Lincoln’s Recruiter; Benedict, Compromise of Principle, 297; Cornish, Sable Arm, 216; ACAB, 6:84; DAB, 18:441–42. 6. On 10 August 1863, after his interview with Secretary Stanton, Senator Pomeroy escorted Douglass to the Executive Mansion, where, after a brief wait, he was ushered into the president’s private upstairs office. He outlined his concerns about African American troops to Lincoln, whom he found receptive to his ideas. L. Diane Barnes, Frederick Douglass: Reformer and Statesman (New York, 2013), 94–95; Blight, Frederick Douglass’ Civil War, 168–69. 7. Abraham Lincoln gained the epithet “Honest” before beginning his political career. As a lawyer, Lincoln held himself to the highest standards of honesty and truthfulness. Often referred to as the lawyer who could not lie, he quickly became known as “Honest Abe” or “Honest Old Abe.” As Lincoln gained political fame, some of his advisors believed that the descriptor “Honest” was colorless and could negatively affect his chances of getting elected. Nevertheless, Lincoln was known as “Honest Abe” for the rest of his life. David Herbert Donald, Lincoln (New York, 1995), 149, 244–45. 8. The younger brother of the Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, John Sherman (1823–1900) worked as a surveyor before he began practicing law at the age of twenty-one. A founder of Ohio’s Republican party, he served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from the Cleveland district (1855–61). In 1861 the Ohio legislature elected Sherman to the U.S. Senate, where he stayed until 1897 except for four years as Rutherford B. Hayes’s secretary of the treasury. The war turned Sherman from a proponent of gradual emancipation into a strong abolitionist and a critic of Lincoln’s even slower evolution. In 1864 he was a public supporter of the efforts to replace Lincoln as the Republican presidential nominee with the secretary of the treasury, Salmon P. Chase. A highly pragmatic politician, he usually sought the middle ground on controversial Reconstruction and economic issues. Sherman’s efforts to obtain the Republican presidential nomination in 1880, 1884, and 1888 proved futile. He served as William B. McKinley’s secretary of state, but resigned in 1900 because of his antiexpansionist sentiments. John Sherman, Recollections of Forty Years in the House, Senate and Cabinet: An Autobiography, 2 vols. (Chicago, 1895); Sobel, Biographical Directory of the U.S. Executive Branch, 328; NCAB, 3:198–201.

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CHARLES W. FOSTER1 TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Washington, D.C. 13 Aug[us]t 1863[.]

Frederick Douglass Esqr. Rochester, N. Y. Sir, I am instructed by the Secretary of War to direct you to proceed to Vicksburg, Mississippi, and on your arrival there to report in person to Brig’r General L. Thomas,2 Adjutant General, U. S. Army, to assist in recruiting colored troops. Enclosed please find copy of order for your transportation at public expense. I am Sir. Very respectfully, Your Ob’t Servant, C. W. FOSTER ASSIST ADJ’T GENERAL[.] HLS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 834–35, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Following the issuance of General Order 143 in May 1863, Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas appointed Major Charles W. Foster (1830–1904) chief of the Bureau for Colored Troops, giving him the title assistant adjutant general. A Massachusetts native, Foster had risen through the regular army ranks from private to major. During the war, he was promoted to major and then brevet lieutenant colonel. Foster helped regularize the recruitment and training of the U.S. Colored Troops, but remained dubious concerning the promotion of African Americans to officer ranks. He retired from the Army in September 1867. Adjutant General’s Office, Official Army Register for 1868 (Washington, D.C., 1868), 139; William A. Dobak, Freedom by the Sword: The U.S. Colored Troops, 1862–1867 (Washington, D.C., 2011), 14–15; Hondon B. Hargrove, Black Union Soldiers in the Civil War (North Carolina, 1988), 104; Thomas and Hyman, Stanton, 263–64; Samito, Becoming American under Fire, 62–63; Cornish, Sable Arm, 130; Nina Mjagkij, Organizing Black America: An Encyclopedia of African American Associations (New York, 2001), 109. 2. Lorenzo Thomas.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO EDWARD M. STANTON Rochester[,] N.Y. 17 August 1863.

Hon. E. M. Stanton Sec.y of War. U. S. Washington D. C. Sir: In pursuance of your order just received, I shall proceed to Vicksburg on receipt of transportation, and on my arrival will report to Brig’r General L Thomas, Adjudant General of the U. S Army—but before leaving home

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I should like to know upon what conditions you require me to enter upon the proposed recruiting service.1 Very Respectfully, your Obedt. Ser.t FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: Record Group 94, Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1762–1984, DNA. 1. At his 10 August 1863 meeting with President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton, Douglass came away with the understanding that he would receive an officer’s commission and the concomitant rank and salary before he entered the Southern recruiting field. He was hesitant to proceed to the South without the promised commission appointing him assistant adjutant to General Lorenzo Thomas. Blight, Frederick Douglass’ Civil War, 169–70.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO THOMAS WEBSTER1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 18 Aug[ust] 1863.

Thomas Webster Esqr. My Dear Sir. I am obliged by your friendly note. I can hardly hope to see you before leaving or while en route to Vicksburgh—Whither it seems I am to go. I do not yet know by what route my transportation will require me to go—nor upon what conditions, rank, pay or duty. It pleases his excellency the Secy of war to keep me in the dark on all essential points. He only commands me to go. Like King Lewes, he thinks a citizen a person having duties but no rights.2 I shall obey however, hoping that all will be well in the end. I only do justice to the feelings of my heart when, I tell you that my humble labors under your management in Philadelphia3 were rendered very pleasant by your evident kind appreciation of them and that I should have very gladly continued in your service. I am full of hope for the Country—but deeply anxious for the safety of some who are very near me, and who are now exposed to all the horrors of war. I have pleasant recollections of most of the members of the Committee over which you preside.4 Hoping that we shall soon rejoice in the Complete triumph of peace and freedom, Yours Very truly FRED’K DOUGLASS ALS: Dreer Collection of American Statesmen, PHi. 1. Thomas Webster (1818–94), a leading black Philadelphia businessman, helped organize and chaired the Supervisory Committee for Colored Enlistments (sometimes called the Supervisory Committee on Enlistments for Colored Regiments or the Supervisory Committee on Colored

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Enlistments) in the summer of 1863. Located at 1210 Chestnut Street, this Philadelphia organization raised funds to recruit black troops and properly equip them while they trained at Camp William Penn. Webster further created the Free Military School for Applicants for the Command of Colored Troops, which trained nearly five hundred officers for the newly organized black Union army regiments. M[oses] Auge, Lives of the Eminent Dead (Norristown, Pa., 1879), 622–23; Berlin, Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, ser. 2, 408; Quarles, Negro in the Civil War, 187. 2. Douglass appears to be referring, specifically, to Louis XI of France, as portrayed in Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 3. In the play, King “Lewis” concludes his scene by issuing a string of stinging commands to an audience consisting of both English and French courtiers and diplomats. But in describing the king in question as thinking that “a citizen [is] a person having duties but no rights,” Douglass appears to have conflated Louis XI with the absolutist monarch Louis XIV, or possibly even his successors Louis XV or Louis XVI in the years before the outbreak of the French Revolution. Henry VI, Part 3, sc. 12, lines 1805–09, 1814–20, 1833–37; John Stauffer, Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln (New York, 2008), 23; Mark Bevir, ed., Encyclopedia of Political Theory, 3 vols. (Thousand Oaks, Calif., 2010), 1:2–3. 3. George L. Stearns had dispatched Douglass to Philadelphia in June 1863 to recruit volunteers for black regiments. FD to Gerrit Smith 19 June 1863, published earlier in the volume; FD to Edwin M. Stanton, 13 July 1863, published earlier in the volume. 4. The Supervisory Committee for Colored Enlistments.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO CHARLES W. FOSTER Rochester[, N.Y.] 24 August 1863.

C. W. Foster: Assistant Adjutant General War Department. Adjutant Generals, office. Washington D. C. Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your official favour of the 21st instant1—written under the direction of Honorable E. M. Stanton2 Secretary of war in reply to a note from me, written on the 17th instant3 inquiring of the war Department—“upon what conditions” I was expected to enter the Service of recruiting Colored Troops in the South west under Adjutant General Thomas.4 I beg most respectfully to State that since the War Department is pleased to understand my inquiry as referring only to remuneration and further, assures me that it is informed that I am to be paid by Major George L Stearns, I Shall Consider my self at Liberty to Correspond with that Gentleman directly, both as to the position I shall hold and the remuneration I shall receive in the recruiting service of the U. States. I am, Sir, Respectfully Your Most Obedt. Ser.t FRED:K DOUGLASS

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ALS: Record Group 94, Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1762–1984, DNA. 1. Douglass accurately characterizes the content of the letter sent him by Charles W. Foster, dated 21 August 1863. General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 842–843L, FD Papers, DLC. 2. Edwin M. Stanton. 3. Douglass alludes to his letter to Stanton dated 17 August 1863, published earlier in this volume. 4. Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas.

GEORGE L. STEARNS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Phila[delphia, Pa.] 29 Aug[ust] 1863[.]

FredK. Douglas Esq Hon. Adjt. Genl. Thomas1 U.S.a Vicksburgh Miss. Esteemed friend I enclose Your a/c made up to the 1st of August. balance due you $30.97 which is enclosed. The other charges you will present in New a/c, At Washington I was told the Secy. of War2 expected me to pay for services & You will therefore present Your accounts as usual to me for payment. Your Salary from Aug. 1st will be One Hundred dollars per month and Expenses of Subsistence. I presume the War Department has furnished you with transportation. I regret you did not see me before leaving. It would have been useful to both of us. But I am glad You are going to Genl. Thomas and hope to hear from you frequently. I leave Sunday Evg. if possible—My address will be. Major George L. Stearns A.A.L. U.S.S. Recty. Comr U.S. Col Troops Ha Gas. Dept of the Cumberland Tenn.3 Truly Your friend GEORGE L. STEARNS ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 843–44, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Lorenzo Thomas. 2. Edwin M. Stanton. 3. First designated the Army of the Ohio, the Union army’s Department of the Cumberland occupied and operated in areas of the Ohio River Valley, as well as in much of Kentucky and Tennessee. Formed in 1861 under the command of Brigadier General Robert Anderson, the Army of the Cumberland, as it became officially known in 1861, became the North’s second most powerful army. By 1863, the Army of the Cumberland, then under the command of Major General Ulysses Grant, had participated in a number of major engagements in Tennessee. Larry J. Daniel, Days of Glory: The Army of the Cumberland, 1861–1865 (Baton Rouge, La., 2004), 1, 7.

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CHARLES R. DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Boston[, Mass.] 8 Sept[ember] 1863[.]

Dear Father I have just received your letter of Aug 28th with five dollars enclosed which I am very thankful for as I was in want of it very much. I have never brought any disgrace upon the family and I never mean to I have never stolen from any body a chicken or any thing else no one can bring any such thing up against me I have said that I would take a chicken or any thing else to eat when I was hungry but I have not done so I wrote that there had been chickens stolen by the boys in camp but as I have had to take charge of the camp I have never left it without permission and I have the praise to day of Gen. Peirce1 of keeping things neat and orderly about the camp when all were sick except myself I worked hard to supply all the wants of the sick as I was the only one able to do duty some nights I was up all night and stood over those that died and laid them out wrote to their friends and in fact done most all that was to do except doctor them and I felt after a while to get sick myself2 I could not drink coffee sweetend with mollasses and of course I had to eat dry bread alone for we only got meat once a week and that was used to make soup for the sick we could say nothing to nobody against it I was the only one on the ground that could get a chance to speak the rest being sick I fell away like a skeleton. I spoke to the doctor about it he could not account for it nor did he care he had plenty, they would tell us that hospital rations were small and that, we could not draw full rations that is a funny way to starve a lot of men in a State where there is plenty We were used mean and when I wrote home I said any thing that came in my head. It dont seem to you that are home true that this can be but upon honor it is the truth and to day there are men dying out to camp I was out last night for the first time in a week and the boys said that there had been no doctor there all that day and there is one man there that will die and others that are very sick I am agoing to complain about it to day. We were treated like men when the Regt. was here but now they are treated worse than dogs I am treated better now that I am in the city and Lieut Wulff 3 is a man every inch of him he is a Sweede by birth but he is my friend he has done all he could to have the men satisfied but there are higher officers than him the fault lies in the Quarter master it is for the benefit of his pocket that we dont have our rations. Lieut Wulff to day is agoing to establish a new camp new tents and every thing for the fifty fourth men that we are recruiting4 and he will have charge of every

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thing commissary department and all and then our men will have what is right. I am well and in the office I stay in Boston altogether. I saw a discharged soldier yesterday from the fifty fourth and he told me that he saw Lewis the day he left and that Lewis had been sick (this the 17th of Aug) but that he was better again they have such poor water down there and a great many are sick from the effects of it5 I have been told that the fifty fourth would get their full pay in a month it has been explained that the U.S Government would pay us ten dollars per month and Massachusetts will pay the other three and that we will get just what was promised us I hope that our boys wont except of any less than what they enlisted for. I can get my full pay next month right here when any of my acquaintences meet me in the street they say why how thin you are I once could say that it was from sickness but this time it was from something else. give my love to all at home and dont think hard of me because of what I said a person will do most anything before they will starve and will say anything I did not starve but I felt myself falling away more and more and one while I did expect to be laid up sick. Your Aff. Son. Please direct care LIEUT WULFF READVILLE CHARLES R. DOUGLASS ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 847–49, FD Papers, DLC. 1. A lawyer and justice of the peace in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Richard A. Peirce (1835?– 69) also served as adjutant in a pre–Civil War militia unit. At the war’s start, Peirce served as a major on the staff of Brigadier General Ebenezer Peirce, who commanded a brigade of three-month Massachusetts volunteers rushed south to defend Washington, D.C., early in the crisis following Fort Sumter. Peirce then worked as inspector general on the military staff of Massachusetts governor John A. Andrew, and was promoted to brigadier general of the Massachusetts volunteers. In September 1862, Peirce was appointed commandant of Camp Meigs, at Readville, where he supervised the training of recruits and was the state’s chief of ordinance. Annual Report of the Trustees of Free Public Library of the City of New Bedford (New Bedford, Mass., 1870), 11–13; Massachusetts Registrar, 163; New Bedford Directory . . . 1859, 5; Pearson, Life of John A. Andrew, 1:253. 2. It is impossible to establish exactly what illness struck Charles’s unit at Camp Meigs, but some reasonable assumptions can be made. Poor camp conditions often led to outbreaks of dysentery, typhoid, and cholera. The most common, and therefore most likely, culprit for the sickness at Readville was dysentery, which is caused by drinking contaminated water. Heidler and Heidler, Encylopedia of the American Civil War, 2:603–04. 3. The regimental history confirms that Lieutenant Erick Wulff (1837–?) was born in Sweden. He served in the Twentieth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment from August to October 1862 and joined the Fifty-fourth when it was mustered in February 1863. He served on the staff of Camp Meigs’s commandant, Brigadier General Richard A. Peirce, from June 1863 until March 1864, when he left the Fifty-fourth to accept a captaincy in the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry. He resigned from military service on 4 July 1864. Emilio, Brave Black Regiment, 334. 4. The Battle of Fort Wagner, in which nearly half the unit’s soldiers were killed or wounded, took a heavy toll on the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts. The camp that Lieutenant Wulff worked to

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establish was for new recruits, likely replacements for the heavy casualties suffered in South Carolina. Emilio, Brave Black Regiment, 90–91. 5. After the battle of Fort Wagner, the surviving troops of the Fifty-fourth returned to camp at nearby James Island. The camp, established on a swampy island under combat conditions as the unit lay siege to Fort Wagner, lacked proper sanitation, which allowed the spread of common camp diseases. Lewis might have been struck with typhoid fever at this time. Emilio, Brave Black Regiment, 105; Yacovone, A Voice of Thunder, 256.

CHARLES R. DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Boston[, Mass.] 18 September 1863.

Dear Father I have just read your kind letter to me.1 Yesterday I had an interview with Col Hallowell2 of the 54th and he told me that I may have to go down to Morris Island early next month with a batch of conscripts for the 54th3 giving me to understand that I must be ready at a moments notice. I also had an interview with my Capt who is on furlough. he said that Col. Shaw4 never told him that I was to report to the 55 and after my furlough had passed two weeks Capt. Bridge5 put me down as a deserter but Col Shaw saw it and had it taken off as he knew that I was sick and not a deserter. I will never desert I take a bullet first. Lieut. Wulff6 is trying hard to have me stay and help him as I suit him first rate. Are you acquainted with an old colored man in Boston by the name of Col. Mandiuku.7 I believe He is thought a great deal of here he died yesterday and will be buried sunday: I wrote to you for a couple of your Photographs with your name written upon them or upon the card I would like to give one to Lieut Wulff whom I esteem as a true Friend and the other I want for myself as I have one from each member of the Family except your own and Lewis’. There is a report around here that Lewis is agoing to have a commission as Lieut as soon as Gov. Andrew returns from Washington8 I dont know how true it is but Lew is highly spoken of in Boston and New Bedford to, Everyone says that he will receive the first commission. Col Hallowell says that the 54 boys have been worked hard but they are plucky yet and want to be in a fight. If I have to go by the 3d of next month I will write as soon as I receive orders to pack my knapsack my love to all the family and Friends if there are any I suppose that the McVicars9 and our folks dont visit any more. Your Aff. Son Care Lieut Erik Wulff Camp Meigs Readville CHARLES R. DOUGLASS

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ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 849–50, FD Papers, DLC. 1. The letter has not survived. 2. Edward Needles Hallowell. 3. No such assignment developed for Charles Douglass. He continued his rear-line service with the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment until being transferred to the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment in March 1864. Emilio, Brave Black Regiment, 364. 4. Robert Gould Shaw. 5. A Methodist minister’s son, Captain Watson Wilberforce Bridge (1836–84) commanded Company F of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts. He had served as a first sergeant in the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts before accepting an officer’s commission in February 1863. After the war, he became a businessman in New Haven, Connecticut. William Frederick Bridge, An Account of the Descendants of John Bridge, Cambridge, 1632 (Boston, 1884), 36, 39; Emilio, Brave Black Regiment, 331. 6. Erick Wulff. 7. Information about E. F. B. Mundrucu (1792?–1863) is sparse and garnered mostly from an obituary in the Boston Liberator. Mundrucu was identified as a black colonel who fought in “the revolutionary struggles of the Brazilian Government,” which suggests that he led a government regiment against insurgent forces. Following his military career, Mundrucu relocated to Boston and established a business that was particularly well respected among African Americans. Mundrucu’s obituary describes him as “enterprising and public spirited” and notes that he left behind a wife and family. Lib., 25 September 1863. 8. Lewis H. Douglass was never promoted to the rank of officer by Massachusetts governor John A. Andrew or any federal government official. 9. Possibly the family of Duncan McVicar (?–1863), a Scottish-born soldier who served in the British Army in Canada. McVicar settled in Rochester, New York, in 1861; he and his son John joined the Sixth New York Cavalry Regiment in the Civil War. Duncan died in combat in Virginia in May 1863, but John finished the war as a captain and later became a typographer. DM, 5:814 (March 1863);Indianapolis (Ind.) Typographical Journal, 39:510 (November 1911); Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, One Hundred and Thirty-Fourth Session, 1911 (Albany, N.Y., 1911) 31:346, 459.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 10 Oct[ober] 1863.

Hon: Gerrit Smith My dear Sir: I am this day from NewYork where I have been during the last three weeks bending over the Sick bed of my Dear Son Lewis, who has been until now quite too ill to be removed home.1 My absence will explain my silence. Lewis left Morris Island on a furlough granted him for “good Conduct in the field”—and will return to his post as soon as his health is restored.2 I was in hopes when Dear Rose3 told me in a letter—that a note had arrived from you—she would have mentioned my absence—but she did not open it till last night—Hoping to See you on Tuesday— As ever Yours Very Truly FRED’K DOUGLASS—

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ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Lewis received a furlough to travel from Hilton Head, South Carolina, to New York City to obtain medical treatment. He arrived in New York in September 1863 and consulted with two black physicians, J. F. Chauveau and his father’s longtime friend James McCune Smith. Their assessment for the military authorities stated that Lewis was seriously ill from “diarrhea, cachexy (cachexia) and spontaneous gangrene of left half of scrotum.” They recommend several months of recuperation before a return to active duty. An U.S. Army surgeon later examined Lewis in Boston and found him “incapable of performing the duties of a soldier because of a scrotal gangrenous now a fistulous opening.” Douglass traveled to New York City to attend to his ill son. He and his friend Ottilie Assing visited Lewis daily for approximately two weeks. Robert Ewell Greene, Swamp Angels: A Biographical Study of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment: True Facts about the Black Defenders of the Civil War (Madison, Fla., 1990), 87–88; Diedrich, Love across Color Lines, 254. 2. Lewis never fully recovered his health and was discharged from the Fifty-fourth in May 1864. Lewis H. Douglass to FD, 22 August 1864; Greene, Swamp Angels, 87–88. 3. Rosetta Douglass.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO LOUISE TOBIAS DORSEY Rochester[, N.Y.] 21 Nov[ember] 1863[.]

My Dear Friend: I am, you see, still at home, I however, shall leave here on Monday for Boston to say “good bye,” to Charley who expects to start from that city soon, in company with two hundred men, to fill up the broken ranks of the 54th[.]1 I shall spend a few days in Boston and proceed to New York, where I am to lecture in Cooper Institute, on the 30th November,2 shall come thence to Philadelphia—speak a few words to the Lyceum on the second December, remain and attend the Decade meeting on the third and 4th3 and leave on the 6th for Washington where I am to Speak on the 7th[.]4 My Lecture here on the 17th was a very great Success—Corinthian Hall being full, and hundreds leaving unable to gain admission.5 The war news for a day or two past has not raised my spirits much— but I am yet sanguine that the war will end in the freedom of the Slave and in the elevation of the Colored man. If this result shall only come, I shall be content to spend the balance of my life in retirasy. Tell, Dear William6 that while I should have been glad to see him in some office connected with the war, I am glad that he has not gone as a private. The hardships of a private are painful to think of. You will have seen, that Massachusetts has done by her Colored Soldiers as I predicted it would do. The State will pay the men precisely as white soldiers are paid—and let the old people at Washington do as they please about wicking out their reproach. I do not doubt however, that, Congress will at once do the honorable thing about the pay, if it does not about promotion.

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Congress was the first to respect the claims of justice and obey the instinctive judgment of the people, in fixing the fraud of its reprobation upon slavehunting in shoulder straps7—and my belief is that that body will show progress at its present meeting. Large bodies move slow but they move—and sometimes move far more swiftly than we give them Credit for. We have recently had a lecture here8 from Miss Anna Dickenson,9 she spoke wonderfully well—and paid a high and most eloquent tribute to the valour of our Colored troops. I tell you, my Dear friend that we are rising—and we have only to acquire wealth—and education as to attain our rights at last. Please make my regards to Mr Dorsey10 — Sarah11—and Mary12 William—and your brother Henry13—and receive my best regards for yourself[.] Yours Truly FRED’K DOUGLASS ALS: Frederick Douglass Collection, CtY. 1. Because of ongoing health problems, Charles Douglass did not, in fact, accompany the rest of his unit to South Carolina, where it joined the Fifty-fourth in the field. Instead, he was asked to remain in Massachusetts and assist in recruitment activities. In March 1864, Charles was transferred to the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry and appointed first sergeant. Shortly after, the regiment was deployed to participate in the abortive Bermuda Hundred Campaign (outside Richmond, Virginia) and then to guard Confederate prisoners in southern Maryland. Because of continuing problems with his lungs, Charles was discharged from the service in September 1864. Colin Powell, foreword to Blatt, Brown, and Yacovone, Hope and Glory, xv–xx; Greene, Swamp Angels, 85; Sernett, North Star Country, 242. 2. Douglass did not lecture at Cooper Hall in New York City until 13 January 1864, when he delivered his “The Mission of the War” lecture. New York Daily Tribune, 14 January 1864; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:3–24. 3. Douglass attended the thirtieth-anniversary celebration of the American Anti-Slavery Society at Philadelphia’s Concert Hall on 3–4 December 1863 and delivered a major speech on the event’s second day, rebutting William Lloyd Garrison’s sentiment that the day for abolitionist organizations was drawing near its end. Lib., 29 January 1864; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:598–609. 4. Douglass spoke in Washington, D.C., on 7–8 December 1863 in the company of John Mercer Langston, of Ohio, at the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church on behalf of the Contraband Relief Society. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxxvi. 5. Douglass delivered his lecture “The Mission of the War” on 17 December 1863 at Rochester’s Corinthian Hall. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 3:xxxvi. 6. William Henry Dorsey (1837–1923) was the eldest child and only son of Douglass’s friends Thomas and Louise Tobias Dorsey. In 1859 he married Virginia Cashen, a dressmaker from Georgia, with whom he had six children. In 1860 he was working as a waiter, but from 1870 until his death, Dorsey consistently listed his occupation as artist in city directories and on the census. Although he had no formal training as a painter, he studied under an Austrian artist named Antonio Zeno Shindler, and while he never exhibited outside Philadelphia, he contributed paintings to numerous local exhibitions, beginning in the 1880s. He occasionally worked as an artist for the Philadelphia Tribune. From 1879 until 1881, he held his only regular salaried job as a special messenger to the mayor of Philadelphia. For most of his life, his income consisted of what he earned as an artist, money that he received from a trust that his father had set up in 1876, and his own investments in real estate. In 1897 he was

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one of five cofounders of the American Negro Historical Society in Philadelphia. 1860 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 464; 1870 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 55; 1880 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 8; 1920 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 4B; Lane, William Dorsey’s Philadelphia, 1–2, 77, 110, 122–25. 7. This is a reference to the policy, adopted by at least some Union commanders (whose insignia denoting rank were carried on the shoulder straps of their uniforms), of returning runaway slaves to their masters in the early months of the Civil War. Lacking clear guidance from the federal government on how to respond to the appearance of thousands of slaves seeking freedom behind Union lines, some generals, such as George B. McClellan, chose to use their troops to return slaves to their masters, while others issued orders to free all slaves in the areas under their command. Neither action was supported by President Lincoln. Stationed in Virginia in May 1861, the Union general Benjamin Butler, a lawyer in civilian life, declared runaway slaves under his jurisdiction to be contraband, or property taken during war. Following Butler’s lead, in August of that same year Congress passed the First Confiscation Act, which authorized the seizure of all property, including slaves, used in aid of the rebellion. Interpreted loosely, this law provided a legal justification for Union commanders to stop returning slaves to their masters. Reid Mitchell, The American Civil War, 1861–1865 (2001; New York, 2013), 27–29; Noralee Frankel, “Breaking the Chains, 1860–1880,” in To Make Our World Anew: A History of African Americans, ed. Robin D. G. Kelley and Earl Lewis, 2 vols. (New York, 2005), 1:230; Martin A. Klein, Historical Dictionary of Slavery and Abolition (Boston, 2002), 95; Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 4:1996. 8. On the evening of 13 November 1863, Anna E. Dickinson made her first public appearance in Rochester, New York, at Corinthian Hall. Her lecture “The Duties of the Hour” offered a rousing endorsement of President Lincoln, support for the Union cause, and praise for the gallantry of the nation’s black soldiers. Although the Rochester Evening Express had nothing but praise for Dickinson’s performance, the paper reported that its chief rival, the Rochester Union, characterized the audience as mostly comprising “spirit rappers,” attendees of the “women’s rights and Bloomer conventions,” and “women who lead their husbands by a string,” and described the lecture as a combination of “free-loveism, abolitionism, and all other isms . . . set to destroy American institutions.” Rochester (N.Y.) Evening Express, 14, 16 November 1863. 9. Anna Elizabeth Dickenson (1842–1932), Philadelphia-born and Quaker-educated, was employed first as a copyist, then as a schoolteacher, and finally in the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. At the age of eighteen, she first appeared on lecture platforms as a feminist and antislavery crusader. After she lost her job at the mint in December 1861 for accusing General George B. McClellan of treason, she became a full-time lecturer. Throughout the Civil War, Dickinson delivered Republican campaign speeches in New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania, and on 16 January 1864 she spoke before a distinguished audience of statesmen and military officials, including President Lincoln, in the hall of the House of Representatives. At the end of the war, she joined the lyceum lecture circuit and spoke on behalf of Radical Reconstruction measures and women’s rights, and against Mormonism, large corporations, and craft unions. In the early 1870s, Dickinson’s popularity as an orator waned, and her attempts to regain her popularity, first as a playwright and actress in the late 1870s and early 1880s and then as a political orator during the 1888 election, proved unsuccessful. She spent the last forty years of her life in obscurity. Giraud Chester, Embattled Maiden: The Life of Anna Dickenson (New York, 1951); J. Matthew Gallman, America’s Joan of Arc: The Life of Anna Elizabeth Dickinson (New York, 2006), 34–35; NCAB, 3:109; DAB, 21:244–45; NAW, 1:475–76. 10. Thomas Dorsey. 11. Sarah Anne Dorsey Seville. 12. Mary Louise Dorsey Harlan. 13. Henry Tobias (c. 1838–90) was the much younger brother of Louise Tobias Dorsey. Like his sister, he was born a free black in Philadelphia, and like his brother-in-law he was in the catering industry. 1870 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 142; 1880 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 125A; Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803–1915 (online).

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MARY BROWNE CARPENTER TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Halifax[, Eng.] 19 February 1864[.]

My dear Mr Douglass It is a very long time since we have exchanged greetings with you, and, since we do not hear of you through our old friend the Monthly paper, it is more needful than ever that you should give us a few lines now & then if we are not to be quite in the dark about you. Besides we used to fancy you busy writing for the paper, and now, though we are quite sure that you are working as earnestly as ever for the same good cause, in some way or other,—it is matter of speculation to us how & where you are, & how occupied. You are lecturing a good deal I dare say.—Thank you for sending us a New York Tribune Containing Your Speech at Washington some weeks ago1—I think I recognized your writing in the address—we were much interested in it & delighted at the improved state of public feeling which is shown by you being able to give such a lecture in that place. Mrs Crofts2 came over to attend a meeting of our ladies AS. Socy3 a short time ago, she kindly read parts of one or two of your recent letters to us.— I hope I may Congratulate you on your daughter’s marriage4 and that it is one which will prove a blessing & happiness to her and to you. It seems a nice plan that she & her husband should live with you for a time,5—they will help to cheer you in the absence of all your Sons.—It must be a very anxious time for you while they are all away with the army, & of course Continually in danger. I trust they will all be preserved to you, & return home none the worse morally or physically for their military life. A soldier’s life is not one that in the general way one would expect to improve a young man, but your son’s have so strong a motive to well doing in the desire they must all feel to maintain the credit & honor of their race, & to prove themselves not unworthy of their father, that I should hope they will be enabled to resist all low & Corrupting influences, & to extract good out of the evil thing War, proving themselves brave & true men, able to endure hardship for a good cause. At our last meeting we (the HxA.S. Socy) determined to send a box of clothing to a few of the freed negroes in the neighbourhood of Washington, and Mrs Crofts advised us to send to a “Contraband Relief Association”6 of which you had written to her as composed of “intelligent humane Colored men & women”.—You had met them in Washington, & been pleased with their earnestness & good methods of proceeding. Now these are just the people we should like to send our mite of help to, but Mrs Crofts could not give us the name or address

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of any officer of the asso: to whom we could direct our box when ready. Of course it is desireable to have a full & definite address; will you kindly procure this for me, and send it to me as soon as possible. I am sorry that I did not write to you about it a fortnight ago, as soon as we decided to get up the box; I certainly should have done so, but was under the impression that Mrs Crofts could give us the information we needed—she however refers me to you.—I fear we shall not now send the things in time for the poor people to benefit by them during the cold of this winter, however it is too late to think of this now.—I have no doubt that our things will be ready before we can hear from you—but we must keep them till I get your answer, & the proper address. I have been writing to some Birkenhead friend’s who hope to get a free passage for our box, & I hope we may get it over free of duty—but we do not know whether we shall Succeed in either of these points. Our Society has had a valuable addition this last year in Mrs John Smithson7—your old friend Miss Morris of Manchester. Both she & her husband are pleasant people—we have not seen very much of them, as Mr. Smithson has been a good deal from home & out of health.— She has just left Halifax for some Months, but when she returns I hope we may be nearer neighbours than we have been, & see more of each other. They are giving up a good & very prettily situated house in which they have been living, because it is rather too far from the town, and Mrs Smithson has felt too much isolated from her family & friends. They are thinking I fancy of taking one in the neighbourhood of the Parks, I hope they may do so. You know of course that destiny in the shape of the Methodist Conference—is sending Dr. Crofts & his family to Hanley8 in the Pottery district— I shall be very sorry to lose Mrs C. from this neighbourhood— tho’ I quite hope we shall see her more sometimes, for she is attached to Halifax, & has many friends here. A lecture was given in Halifax last week by Mr  Spence,9 whose name you perhaps know,— he is a friend to the South—tho’ he is of course professing to be as much opposed to slavery as any one;— he is a good speaker & very plausible in his arguments but, tho’ Mr Ackroyd10 & other locally influential people gave all their influences to the meeting, there was a good deal of opposition & dissatisfaction shown by the audience.—Both the Hx newspapers, I am sorry to say, side with the South,11 but the Halifax people are quite with the North—there are two lectures arranged for next week by a Mr Mason Jones12—a popular orator & friend of the North. My husband13 is to

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preside at one of these lectures, tho’ he says that he is no partizan of the North—he is unmistakably & decidedly opposed to the South—and for real anti-slavery men wherever they are to be found. I enclose a check for £5; being donations of £ [illegible] from my Mother14 5£. 5£. 5£.

from Mrs H. Thomas15 of Bristol Miss Little Carlisle Halifax Miss Ralph16

& the remainder from Mr Carpenter & myself. I wish I had a much larger sum to send, but to say the truth since your paper has been given up I have not known exactly how to ask people for money! one wants something definite to ask for when we apply to strangers, or those who dont know you personally, & cannot be expected to feel the same entire confidence that we do ourselves—that helping you in any way must be helping the cause of your people enslaved or free. We know that you live we may almost say to promote that cause, but others ask what is F.D. doing now that his Paper is given up? I tell them generally, (not knowing very definitely,) that you are constantly lecturing—& occasionally writing for some of the most visibly circulated Papers in the U.S. or visiting the stations of freed negroes, & investigating their conditions:—this is somewhere about the truth is it not? Mr Carpenter hoped to hear, when the Monthly dropped, that you were employed, profitably to yourself, as one of the regular staff of writers for the Tribune.—or some such paper,—are you doing any thing in this way? I think your visiting the different settlements of the freed negroes must be useful. only then I shd long for yr paper to be going on—& to get the reports of what you were seeing & doing amongst these people. We are always glad to get a paper from you, or news of you in any way, &, if we do not write often to say so, you may be sure that we sympathize affectionately with you as much as ever in the painfully exciting life you must now be living—but surely you must more than ever be cheered with the hope of seeing the end of slavery—the world does seem moving on. [illegible phrase] I hope this letter will find you at home as I shall be very glad to get a reply, if only a few lines, with the proper address for [illegible] by the earliest post that you ca[n] [let] me have it. With our United Kindest rememberances Ever Sincerely Yours MARY CARPENTER.

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ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 10–17, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Douglass lectured in Washington on 7–8 December 1863 at the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church on behalf of the Contraband Relief Society. New York Tribune, 8 December 1863 . 2. Julia Griffiths Crofts. 3. The Halifax Anti-Slavery Society. 4. Rosetta Douglass married Nathan Sprague in Rochester, New York, on 24 December 1863. Rose O’Keefe, Frederick and Anna Douglass in Rochester, New York: Their Home Was Open to All (Charleston, S.C., 2013), 77; Barnes, Frederick Douglass, 101; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 222. 5. While pregnant with their first child, Rosetta and Nathan Sprague appear to have lived with her parents in Rochester, New York. Rosetta and the baby, Annie, continued to reside with Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass while her husband served in the war. Norman K. Risjord, Representative Americans: The Civil War Generation (Oxford, Eng., 2002), 52; O’Keefe, Frederick and Anna Douglass in Rochester, 77, 90; Sterling, We Are Your Sisters, 418. 6. Founded in Washington, D.C., in 1862 by Elizabeth Keckley (Mary Todd Lincoln’s dressmaker), the Contraband Relief Association was organized to provide aid to the thousands of fugitive slaves held in squalid camps that received insufficient supplies of food and clothing and provided inadequate sanitation. Frederick Douglass and Mary Todd Lincoln were among the many well-known public figures that made substantial financial contributions to the organization. Besides donating financially, Douglass agreed to lecture on its behalf. In 1863 the group was renamed the Ladies’ Freedmen and Soldiers’ Relief Association, and it expanded its relief efforts to provide assistance to African American soldiers and their dependents. Jean H. Baker, Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography (New York, 1987), 274; Sterling, We Are Your Sisters, 249–50; Judith E. Harper, ed., Women during the Civil War: An Encyclopedia (New York, 2004), 77–78. 7. Sarah Ann Morris Smithson (1826–?) was the daughter of Alexander Morris, a Quaker from Manchester, England, who had been an early supporter of Frederick Douglass’s efforts to establish his first newspaper. In 1859 she married John Smithson (1824–1903), a cotton manufacturer and fellow Quaker. British Friend, 5:108 (April 1847), 17:192 (July 1859); 1881 England Census, Chorley, Cheshire, 26; George R. Smithson, Genealogical Notes and Memoirs of the Smithson Family (London, 1906), 15–16. 8. Located in the county of Stafford, famous as a center of ceramics production since medieval times, the Hanley district was known, from as early as the seventeenth century, for its production of pottery: its jugs and vases were renowned in the eighteenth century, and its earthenware in the nineteenth. Today Hanley is recognized as one of the six historic “pottery towns” of Staffordshire, all of which were incorporated into the modern town of Stoke-on-Trent. Frederick Litchfield, Pottery and Porcelain: A Guide to Collectors (London, 1900), 164; Howard Coutts, The Art of Ceramics: European Ceramic Design, 1500–1830 (New Haven, Conn., 2001), 155. 9. A wealthy Liverpool tin merchant and cotton broker, James Spence (d. 1893) was a major figure in Britain’s pro-Confederate movement and the leader of Britain’s Southern lobby. In the fall of 1861, he published The American Union, considered by some scholars to be the most sustained and coherent argument for Southern independence published at the time. Quite popular in Great Britain, the book went through four editions in as many months. It was translated into French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Spence was instrumental in the founding of the Liverpool Southern Club, the first organization in Great Britain to promote the interests of the Confederacy, and by 1863 he was at the center of almost all similar groups. Serving as a paid consultant to the Confederate government from October 1862 to December 1863, he was intimately involved in efforts to raise money for the Confederacy through the sale of bonds in the financial markets in both Great Britain and Europe. Spence organized dozens of public meetings in support of the South, most notably during the weeks leading up to the submission of motions in both houses of Parliament calling for recognition of the Confederacy in 1863. He published forty-five influential articles in the London Times between February 1862 and January 1865, making the case for the Confederacy’s right to exist. Following the end

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of the Civil War, Spence remained in business in Liverpool until 1871, when he moved to London. By 1890, he was operating a tinplate works in South Wales. He later retired to London, where he died in 1893. John D. Bennett, The London Confederates: The Officials, Clergy, Businessmen, and Journalists Who Backed the American South during the Civil War (Jefferson, N.C., 2008), 59, 157; R. J. M. Blackett, “Pressure from Without: African Americans, British Public Opinion, and Civil War Diplomacy,” in The Union, the Confederacy, and the Atlantic Rim, ed. Robert E. May (West Lafayette, Ind., 1995), 77; idem, “British Views of the Confederacy,” in Britain and the American South: From Colonialism to Rock and Roll, ed. Joseph P. Wood (Jackson, Miss., 2003), 141–43. 10. Probably the Halifax native Edward Akroyd (1810–87), a wealthy industrialist, politician, and philanthropist. In 1847, Akroyd and his brother Henry inherited a fortune of £300,000 and one of the most successful textile firms in Great Britain. He was first elected to Parliament (as a Whig) in 1857. Following a narrow defeat in 1859, Akroyd was reelected in 1865 and retained his seat until his retirement in 1876. During the Civil War, he was a member of the pro-Confederate Southern Independence Association. In Halifax, Akroyd was well known for devoting much of his wealth and time to local social and religious causes. He was particularly interested in developing model industrial communities as well as in supporting schools, evening classes for women, and a workingmen’s college. Akroyd contributed to horticultural, literary, and scientific societies, as well as a recreation club, a clothing club, a mutual improvement society, and the Penny Savings movement. Blackett, Divided Hearts, 67–68; ODNB (online). 11. Although Halifax, in Yorkshire, was generally recognized as a pro-Union community with a well-established history of antislavery activity, the two leading local newspapers, the Guardian and the Courier, maintained a more neutral position in their responses to the Civil War. While neither newspaper was overtly pro-South in its views, over the course of the war both papers published articles and editorials that could be seen as favoring first one side and then the other. Their calculated middle-of-the-road approach might easily have been construed as pro-Confederate by committed antislavery advocates such as the Reverend Russell Lant Carpenter and his wife, Mary Browne Carpenter. Blackett, Divided Hearts, 20, 22, 24, 29, 35, 163–64, 201, 214–15. 12. An Irish native of Shropshire, England, Thomas Mason Jones (1833–73) was a well-known orator who lectured on a variety of literary and political topics in Great Britain and the United States in the 1860s. In 1865 and again in 1868, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in Parliament as a representative of the radical wing of the Liberal party. He was the author of a three-volume novel, Old Trinity: A Story of Real Life, which was published in 1867. Jones died at his home in the Kensington neighborhood of London in 1873 after a lengthy period of “nervous depression” brought on in part by accusations of corruption that emerged following his failed 1868 campaign for Parliament in the borough of Boston. New York Times, 20, 25 November 1862; Bury Saint Edmund (Eng.) Bury and Norwich Post, and Suffolk Herald, 23 December 1873; Report of the Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire into the Existence of Corrupt Practices at Parliamentary Elections in the Borough of Boston (London, 1876), vii–viii, 8, 28, 74–76, 102, 184, 192, 200, 244, 256, 264; T. W. Whitley, The Parliamentary Representation of the City of Coventry from the Earliest Times to Present Date (Coventry, Eng., 1894), 347–50. 13. Russell Lant Carpenter. 14. Mary Osler Browne (c. 1785–1877) was the wife of the businessman William Browne (c. 1791–1859) and the sister of Thomas Osler (1783–1861), founder of F. & C. Osler, who was one of the most prominent crystal manufacturers in nineteenth-century Britain, specializing in chandeliers and fountains. 1841 England Census, Gloucestershire, Bristol, 22; England and Wales, Christening Records, 1530–1906 (online); England and Wales, Death Index, 1837–1915 (online); Sandra Davison, Conservation and Restoration of Glass (1989; Burlington, Mass., 2003), 71. 15. Probably Herbert Thomas (1819–1903), a wealthy industrialist from Bristol, England. Thomas’s first wife, Anna Carpenter (d. 1870), was daughter of the Reverend Lant Carpenter and his wife Anna Penn Carpenter. He was a partner, with his brother Charles, in the Bristol firm of Thomas,

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Fripp and Thomas, which manufactured soap and candles. Thomas and Anna were active in both the British antislavery and woman suffrage movements. Special Report of the Bristol and Clifton Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society; During the Eighteen Months, from January 1851 to June 1852: With a Statement of the Reasons for its Separation from the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (London, 1852), 41–42; Lesser Columbus, Greater Bristol (London, 1893), 247; Crawford, The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Britain and Ireland, 155. 16. Probably the Halifax native Sarah Rhodes Ralph (1787–1873). Independently wealthy, she was the daughter of the Reverend John Ralph, minister of Northgate End Unitarian Chapel, Halifax, and his wife, Dorothy Rhodes. Sarah Ralph and several of her sisters, including Elizabeth Ralph Sudworth, were active in the Halifax Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. One of her nephews was the British politician and social reformer Sir James Stansfeld. DM, 3:279 (June 1860); 1861 England Census, Yorkshire, Halifax, 9; 1871 England Census, Yorkshire, Halifax, 80; Joseph Hunter, Familiae Minorum Gentium, 4 vols. (London, 1894–96), 1:91; ODNB (online).

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO EDWARD GILBERT1 Rochester, [N.Y.] 22 May 1864.

E. Gilbert, Esq. Sir: I mean the complete abolition of every vestige, form and modification of Slavery in every part of the United States, perfect equality for the black man in every State before the law, in the jury-box, at the ballot-box and on the battle-field; ample and salutary retaliation for every instance of enslavement or slaughter of prisoners of any color. I mean that in the distribution of offices and honors under this Government no discrimination shall be made in favor of or against any class of citizens, whether black or white, of native or foreign birth.2 And supposing that the convention which is to meet at Cleveland3 means the same thing, I cheerfully give my name as one of the signers of the call. Yours, respectfully, FREDERICK DOUGLASS. PLSr: New York Daily Tribune, 26 May 1864. Other text in New York Times, 27 May 1864. 1. The letter that Douglass sent to Edward Gilbert endorsing the Cleveland Convention was published in the 26 May 1864 issue of the New York Tribune. The New York Times also printed the letter, but dated it 22 May 1863. Edward Gilbert was an abolitionist, lawyer, and president of the Frémont Club of New York, an organization that supported John C. Frémont for president in the 1864 election. He presided over the convention of Radical Republicans, abolitionists, and War Democrats that met in Cleveland, Ohio, in May 1864 to nominate Frémont as presidential candidate. Boston Daily Advertiser, 9 May 1864; New York Tribune, 26 May 1864; Cleveland Daily Herald, 31 May 1864; John C. Waugh, Reelecting Lincoln: The Battle for the 1864 Presidency (New York, 1998), 178; McPherson, The Struggle for Equality, 19.

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2. After Lincoln issued his preliminary plans for Reconstruction in late 1863, Douglass criticized the president for not addressing the issue of racial equality. As the election year of 1864 opened, Douglass vowed to support a presidential candidate who would support a more radical plan for Reconstruction to improve life for blacks after slavery. When he learned that a third party made up of abolitionists, Radical Republicans, and War Democrats was to meet in Cleveland, Ohio, to elect a presidential candidate, Douglass supported the movement. He and abolitionists such as Wendell Phillips supported John C. Frémont and a platform that included black suffrage and Southern land redistribution. Washington, D.C., Daily National Intelligencer, 27 May 1864; Stauffer, Giants, 280; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 231; Stewart, Wendell Phillips, 251–52. 3. At the Cleveland convention, members of the third-party movement labeled themselves “Radical Democrats”; they opposed Lincoln as well as General George B. McClellan, the projected Democratic candidate. John Cochrane of New York was selected as Frémont’s running mate. Hoping to split the Republican party, the convention adopted a platform that called for a constitutional amendment permanently abolishing slavery. The Radical Democrats advocated stricter Reconstruction laws for the South, believing that Congress should control Reconstruction, without the input of Confederate state governments, and confiscate rebel property. Only four hundred—the highest estimate—attended the convention, and its proceedings were deemed informal. Since there were no official delegates, anyone could make a speech or cast a ballot. For example, the Vermont Watchman and State Journal claimed that the paper would have supported Frémont if the convention had consisted of “delegates elected to represent the people.” Instead, the paper labeled Frémont a “factionalist,” concerned only with acquiring office, regardless of the public will. Ultimately, opposition to McClellan rallied behind Lincoln, causing Frémont and the Radical Democrats to withdraw from the race before the election. Cleveland Daily Herald, 7 May 1864; Montpelier Vermont Watchman and State Journal, 3 June 1864; Charles Bracelen Flood, 1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History (New York, 2009), 107–10; Doris Kearns Goodwin, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (New York, 2005), 624; ACAB, 2:545–48, DAB, 7:19–23.

CHARLES R. DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS City Point[, Va. ]1 31 May 1864.

Dear Father I received your letter with Lewis yesterday afternoon I was very much pleased to hear from home and to know if any were sick I hope that you will be about soon. It is pretty warm here at present and has been so for several days. Sunday we all had green peas for our dinners this morning I had chicken for breakfast our Company went out on picket yesterday afternoon, and Capt Wulff made a raid on an old farm house outside our picket lines and shot seven chickens one he sent to me I staid in from picket just as I am writing this there is heavy firing just above our picket line & expect to be called into line of battle every moment we have been fighting ever since our Reg[t]. came here I mean our forces. Genl. Martindale 2 passed right by our camp day before yesterday with his whole division he is from Rochester a Brig. Gen has command of a division I

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also saw Col. Fairchild3 of the New York 89th4 the firing I just mentioned on my first page is Butler bombarding Petersburg5 which is about seven miles from this camp but the firing only seems to be about half mile distant the firing is very steady we have just sent three colored Regiments toward Petersburg the 22nd Penn 3rd Ohio and 4th Mary land6 these are the Regts that whipped Gen. Fitch. Lee7 up the river the other day at Fort Powhatan8 I suppose you heard of it through the papers as they were under Gen. Wild9 at that time our boys are very anxious for a fight I think their wishes will be complied with shortly as for myself I am not over anxious but willing to meet the devils at any moment and take no prisoners remember Fort Pillow10 will be the battle cry of the fifth Mass Cavalry11 although I have been the first to take a prisoner last week when on picket I espied a man in grey clothes dodge behind a tree (Capt Wulff12 had just left me) in a moment I had my piece to bear on him I was only about a dozen yards off once the old wild cat had got so near me without being per ceived I ordered him to step from behind the tree or I would knock a hole through him he stepped out I could see no gun I then ordered him to go on a head of me which he did very reluctantly as soon as he had passed in front of me I cocked my piece which went click: click he stopped stone still and wanted to know if I meant to murder him I spoke in a harsh tone for him to go on and if he stopped before I ordered him that I would shoot him he went on I took him to Capt. Wulff who was sitting under a tree Capt. Ordered me to search him which I did well making him st[r]ip off every rag for he was covered with them I found a revolver dirk knife $50 in reb money $13.in gold and some silver coin and green backs he proved to be the man that carried the land where we were picketed I have the the revolver that I took from him it is a pepper box. I also brought in [illegible] contrabands from a farm house. I have had the praise of bringing in the first prisoner, the firing is getting very heavy out front. Lew spoke of Capt Wulff shooting a man he did in Baltimore the way it happened is this he ordered all to fall in line which we did except Sergt Jackson13 he staid out he was a little drunk but not drunk enough to not know what was right the Capt fell us in to tell us that he was agoing to let us go around and if we were insulted to go in with a hill and defend ourselves so turning around he saw Jackson out of the ranks he merly took him by the arm and told him to keep in the ranks when Jackson cursed him the Capt then ordered him to take off his stripes which he refused to do or to let any body else do he said if they took off his stripes that he would have to be shot first the Capt then said I will shoot you then and immediately drew his

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revolver and shot at Jacksons head Jackson dodged his head and the ball passed through the heart of Albert White14 the man that H. O. Waggoner 15 brought out of bondage no more at Present. Your Affectionat, Son C R DOUGLASS 1ST SERGT C.T[.] ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 32–34, FD Papers, DLC. 1. A village on the south bank of the James River near its confluence with the Appomattox River and across the James from Bermuda Hundred, City Point was captured from the Confederates in early May 1864 by General Benjamin Butler’s Army of the James, composed of the Tenth and Eighteenth Corps, the latter including Charles Douglass’s Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment. Although Butler’s offensive operations soon failed, City Point became a major supply depot and headquarters for Ulysses S. Grant during the siege of Petersburg. In the following month, the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry was transferred from Butler’s command to Point Lookout, Maryland. William Glenn Robertson, Back Door to Richmond: The Bermuda Hundred Campaign, April–June 1864 (Newark, Del., 1987), 21–22, 32–33, 60–61, 250–51; Massachusetts Soldiers, 6:528. 2. The son of New York congressman Henry C. Martindale, John Henry Martindale (1815–81) graduated from West Point in 1835. He soon quit the U.S. Army to practice law, first in Batavia, New York, and after the early 1850s in Rochester. Commissioned a brigadier general in August 1861, Martindale served in the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. Promoted to major general after the Battle of Malvern Hill, he became military governor of the District of Columbia for the next two years. Martindale returned to the field to command the Eighteenth Corps of the Army of the Potomac in the summer of 1864, fighting at Cold Harbor and the siege of Petersburg. After resigning his commission on account of ill health in November 1864, Martindale returned to New York to practice law and served one term as the state’s attorney general, 1865–67. New York Times, 14 December 1881; Robertson, Back Door to Richmond, 110, 115, 233–34; Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 3:1256–57. 3. Born in Cazenovia, New York, Harrison Stiles Fairchild (1820–1901) worked as a bank teller and bookkeeper in Rochester before the Civil War. During the 1850s, he served as a captain in the Rochester Light Guard and then as colonel of the Fifty-fourth New York militia regiment. He commanded the Eighty-ninth New York Infantry Regiment throughout the war, although he also served as an acting brigade commander at times. He was cited for gallantry displayed at the Battle of Antietam in an attack commanded by General Ambrose Burnside and mustered out as a brevet brigadier general in August 1865. After the war, Fairchild returned to work in Rochester as a real estate agent and as a pension claims agent. New York Times, 26 January 1901; Rochester Daily Democrat and Chronicle, 26 January 1901. 4. Recruited in the fall of 1861 by the War Democrat political leader Daniel S. Dickinson and thereafter nicknamed the Dickinson Guard, the Eighty-ninth New York Infantry Regiment was commanded by Colonel Harrison Stiles Fairchild. This regiment initially participated in Union army operations along the Atlantic Coast in North and South Carolina. It returned to the Army of the Potomac and fought in the Battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. The Eighty-ninth again was dispatched to coastal operations and joined the siege of Charleston, South Carolina. The unit then returned to Virginia and fought in actions around Petersburg. Frederick Phisterer, New York in the War of the Rebellion, 3rd ed., 6 vols. (Albany, N.Y., 1912), 1:445–46. 5. After surprising the Confederates in a series of landings along the James River, Butler’s Army of the James advanced irresolutely in the direction of the railroad lines between Richmond and Petersburg. Delays by Grant’s Army of the Potomac in rendezvousing with Butler south of Richmond allowed Confederate forces under General P. G. T. Beauregard to block further advances by Butler’s

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small army from the Bermuda Hundred Peninsula toward the capital. At the time of this letter, Butler was attempting to shift his attacks southward and capture Petersburg, but his efforts were frustrated by Grant’s transfer of the Eighteenth Corp to the Army of the Potomac to participate in the disastrous Battle of Cold Harbor. Robertson, Back Door to Richmond, 234–40, 251–54; McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, 740; Boatner, Civil War Dictionary, 61, 162. 6. Charles Douglass mistakenly identifies these infantry regiments, none of which were African American units. 7. The nephew of Robert E. Lee, Fitzhugh Lee (1835–1905) graduated from West Point in 1856. He distinguished himself as a cavalry commander, rising steadily through the Confederate ranks until being made a major general following the Gettysburg Campaign. Lee turned to farming in Virginia after the war and successfully won a term as governor (1886–90). Grover Cleveland appointed Lee U.S. consul general in Havana, and William McKinley retained him there, where he handled the initial diplomatic response to the sinking of the American warship U.S.S. Maine. Lee returned to army duty as a major general during the Spanish-American War, although he saw no combat. He commanded American occupation forces in Cuba before retiring in 1901. Edward G. Longacre, Fitz Lee: A Military Biography of Major General Fitzhugh Lee, C.S.A. (Cambridge, Mass., 2005); DAB, 11:103–105; ANB, 13:366–68. 8. On 24 May 1864, approximately 2,500 Confederate cavalrymen led by Major General Fitzhugh Lee attacked a force of 1,100 black Union army infantrymen defending Fort Pocahontas, commanded by Brigadier General Edward A. Wild. Located on the north bank of the James River at Wilson’s Wharf, in Charles City County, Virginia, Fort Pocahontas was intended to defend the supply lines for General Benjamin Butler’s Bermuda Hundred Campaign; it was under construction by Wild’s men at the time of the battle. The Confederates attacked Wild’s position after learning that he and his men had been freeing and recruiting local slaves. Supported by a Union gunboat, the black troops successfully held off Lee’s forces. This engagement marked the first significant victory of African American soldiers over Confederate troops in the Virginia theater. Charles Douglass mistakes this battle’s location as Fort Powhatan, which was several miles farther west and on the opposite bank of the James River. Gordon C. Rhea To the North Anna River: Grant and Lee, May 13–25, 1864 (Baton Rouge, La., 2000), 362–68; Robertson, Backdoor to Richmond, 21, 49, 58, 60–61, 231. 9. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, Edward Augustus Wild (1825–91) graduated from Harvard in 1846 and began a career as a homeopathic physician. He practiced medicine in his hometown until 1855, when he joined the army of the Ottoman Empire as a surgeon during the Crimean War. When the Civil war began, Wild enlisted as an infantry rather than as a medical officer. He saw considerable action with the Army of the Potomac and rose through the ranks until he was promoted to brigadier general in April 1864. A fervent abolitionist, he recruited white officers such as Robert Gould Shaw for the new African American regiments. Wild commanded a brigade of black troops, including the Fifty-fifth Massachusetts and two North Carolina–raised regiments, in skirmishes in South Carolina. In early 1864, Wild’s “African Brigade” was transferred to Virginia, where it performed well in combat during the siege of Petersburg and elsewhere. The unit’s most conspicuous action was in the repulse of an attack by Fitzhugh Lee’s Confederate cavalry division at Wilson’s Wharf on 24 May 1864. After the war, Wild, having lost an arm during battle, supervised mining activities in western territories and South America. Frances H. Casstevens, Edward A. Wild and the African Brigade in the Civil War (Jefferson, N.C., 2005); James L. Bowen, Massachusetts in the War, 1861–1865 (Springfield, Mass., 1888), 1008–1010. 10. On 12 April 1864, Confederate cavalry led by Nathan Bedford Forrest overran and captured Fort Pillow, a small, fortified Union army camp on the Mississippi River near Henning, Tennessee. African Americans made up about half of the 600-man garrison of Fort Pillow. Forrest’s 2,500 troops surrounded the fort and subjected its poorly trained defenders to heavy fire. After the Union commander refused to surrender, the Confederates assaulted the fort’s embankments and quickly drove the panicking Union soldiers back toward the riverbank. Although disputed by Confederate accounts

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of the engagement, historians largely agree that Southern soldiers refused to accept their opponents’ surrender and continued firing until nearly two-thirds of the defenders were killed or wounded. The higher proportion of white Union survivors among those captured strongly suggested that Confederates singled out the black Union soldiers for slaughter. Forrest abandoned Fort Pillow on the evening of the day of its capture, but the controversy over the massacre of African American combatants continued for the rest of the war and beyond. John Cimprich, Fort Pillow: A Civil War Massacre, and Public Memory (Baton Rouge, La., 2005), 70–107. 11. The Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment was mustered between January and May of 1864 at Camp Meigs in Readville, while Charles Douglass was stationed there. The African American unit never acted as a proper cavalry force; it served dismounted as an infantry regiment throughout the remainder of the war. Commanded by Colonel Henry S. Russell, the unit experienced major combat involvement in the Second Battle of Petersburg in Virginia in June 1864. The regiment later supplied guards for the large camp of Confederate prisoners at Point Lookout, Maryland. Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, 3 vols. (Des Moines, Iowa, 1908), 1:1240; Massachusetts Soldiers, 6:492. 12. Eric Wulff. 13. There were two Jacksons serving in Company I of the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment: Corporal Amos F. Jackson (1840–?), a farmer from West Brookfield, and William Jackson (1839–?), a coachman from Dorchester. Neither man left the service as a sergeant, but Douglass’s comments seem to suggest the Jackson to whom he is referring was to be demoted for insubordination. William left the service as a private on 13 December 1864 for disability. Amos mustered out on 31 October 1865 as a ccorporal. Massachusetts Soldiers, 6:28–29. 14. Although he gave his occupation as a farmer, Albert White (1836–64) was a Boston resident when he was mustered into Company I of the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment on 11 March 1864 as a private. By May 12, he was dead. While Charles Douglass describes White’s death as the result of an accidental shooting, the official records indicate he died of disease in Baltimore. Massachusetts Soldiers, 6:531. 15. Henry O. Wagoner.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO MARY BROWNE CARPENTER1 [n.p. June 1864.]

“My knowledge of the character and efficiency of the Freedman’s Relief Society2 at Washington was obtained last summer by attending its Annual Meeting3 at the Fifteenth-street Presbyterian Church in that city.4 There were present about fifty ladies and gentlemen. Those who could see coloured people only as labourers and loungers about the streets of our cities, would smile at my designation of any considerable number of the coloured race as ladies and gentlemen. But these were to all outward seeming well entitled to the name I give them. I was never in a more orderly and business-like Society. The site of these kind, good people endeavouring to do something towards mitigating the sufferings of their race, and to assist in their improvement, would have been gratifying to you. I shall send your

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letter to Miss E.V. Brown,5 the corresponding secretary of the Washington Freedman’s Association. She is better able than I to give you direct information as to what the society has done, is doing, and proposes to do. When the question of organizing these Freedman’s Associations was first raised I opposed such organizations, chiefly on the ground that they would tend to keep alive the hurtful idea that the negro cannot take care of himself. And, even now, I insist that these societies ought not to be necessary, and would not, if the Government and people of the country would only be just in their dealings with them. These newly-freed people are victimized on every hand.6 Their strong men have been literally swept into the army, and the weak ones left to endure untold suffering. Heretofore our Government has hardly paid them money enough to buy the shoes they march in. Had we justice, we should not need generosity. “You have said some sharp things in the Inquirer of the conduct of the Washington Government, but none too sharp.7 The more you can say of the swindle by which our Government claims the respect of mankind for abolishing slavery—at the same time that it is practically re-establishing that hateful system in Louisiana, under General Banks8—the better. I have not readily consented to the claims set up in the name of anti-slavery for our Government, but I have tried to believe all for the best. My patience and faith are not very strong now. The treatment of our poor black soldiers—the refusal to pay them anything like equal compensation, though it was promised them when they enlisted; the refusal to insist upon the exchange of coloured prisoners, and to retaliate upon rebel prisoners when coloured prisoners have been slaughtered in cold blood, although the President has repeatedly promised thus to protect the lives of his coloured soldiers,9 have worn my patience quite threadbare. The President has virtually laid down this as the rule of his statesmen: Do evil by choice, right from necessity.10 You will see that he does not sign the bill adopted by Congress restricting the organization of State Governments only to those States where there is a loyal majority.11 His plan is to organize such Governments wherever there is one-tenth of the people loyal!12—an entire contradiction of the constitutional idea of Republican Government. I see no purpose on the part of Lincoln and his friends to extend the elective franchise to the coloured people of the South, but the contrary. This is extremely dishonourable. No rebuke of it can be too stinging from your side of the water. The negro is deemed good enough to fight for the Government, but not good enough to vote or enjoy the right to vote in the Government. We invest with the elective franchise those who with broad

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blades and bloody hands have sought the life of the nation, but sternly refuse so to invest those who have done what they could to save the nation’s life. This discrimination becomes more dishonourable when the circumstances are duly considered. Our Government asks the negro to espouse its cause; it asks him to turn against his master, and thus fire his master’s hate against him. Well, when it has attained peace, what does it propose? Why this, to hand the negro back to the political power of his master, without a single element of strength to shield himself from the vindictive spirit sure to be roused against the whole coloured race. “You can easily imagine that my life during all this war has been an anxious one. Constituted as I am, and identified as I am with the hated class whose fortunes tremble constantly in the balance, there is no rest for my spirit amid this terrible strife. My son Lewis has been honourably discharged from the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, but he is still with the regiment in South Carolina, acting as sutler’s clerk.13 My son Charles has been in several of the recent battles around Petersburg, Virginia.14 A week ago he was still unharmed. We take up the paper each morning with a hesitating hand, for we know not what it may bring. Our country—I mean the North as well as the South—seems rapidly tending to ruin. Our financial condition is rapidly ranging itself to the level predicted for it by some of your statesmen as well as ours. Our people don’t want to be taxed to sustain the public credit, and impose upon our financiers the Egyptian task of making bricks without straw.15 Chase’s resignation, I fear, will prove a heavy blow to our credit abroad.16 Of all the members of the Cabinet Mr. Chase was perhaps the most anti-slavery. I am expecting to visit the freed men’s camp about Washington and Alexandria soon, and may thereafter give you some account of their condition and prospects. My friends about Washington think that it does some good to have me go down and talk to them. I am sure it does me good.” PLe: Leeds (Eng.) Mercury, 17 August 1864. Reprinted in Leeds (Eng.) Mercury, 18 August 1864; Lib., 16 September 1864. 1. The editors have identified Mary Browne Carpenter as the most likely “English Correspondent” referred to by the Leeds Mercury’s accompanying introduction to the excerpt from this letter. In a letter dated 19 February 1864, which is also included in this volume, Carpenter informed Douglass of the Halifax Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society’s desire to send a box of clothing to aid some of the distressed freedmen living in Washington, D.C. She indicated that Julia Griffiths Crofts had suggested that the group send the box to the Contraband Relief Association and that it had agreed to do so, but needed Douglass to supply an address for that organization. Carpenter concluded by noting that they hoped to be able to send the clothing to Washington, D.C., sometime before winter arrived.

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2. Originally known as the Contraband Relief Association or the Freedmen’s Relief Society, the Washington, D.C., organization was renamed Ladies’ Freedmen and Soldiers’ Relief Association. 3. A correspondent of the New York Weekly Anglo-African reported on an address that Douglass delivered at a meeting on behalf of the Contraband Relief Association, held at the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church, in Washington, D.C., on 11 August 1863. At the end of his address, Douglass announced that he would contribute fifty dollars of his own funds to assist the association’s work. New York Weekly Anglo-African, 22 August 1863; Philadelphia Christian Recorder, 22 August 1863. 4. The Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., was formally organized on 21 November 1841 in a small frame schoolhouse located on H Street near 14th Northwest. In 1853 the church moved into a small building on Fifteenth Street between I and K streets, and John F. Cook was selected as its first pastor. In 1860, the Fifteenth Street congregation was the only black Presbyterian church in the city. Some of its better-known pastors over the years included John F. Cook, Henry Highland Garnet, Benjamin T. Tanner, J. Sella Martin, and Francis J. Grimké. Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave and dressmaker for Mary Todd Lincoln, organized forty other women and fellow members of the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church to form the Contraband Relief Association in August 1862. The church allowed the association to use its building for fund-raising purposes, and the Contraband Relief Association held its first anniversary celebration at the church on 9 August 1863. William Benning Webb, John Wooldridge, and Harvey W. Crew, eds., Centennial History of the City of Washington, D.C.: With Full Outline of the Natural Advantages, Accounts of the Indian Tribes, Selection of the Site Founding of the City, Pioneer Life, Municipal, Military, Mercantile, Manufacturing, and Transportation Interests, the Press, Schools, Churches, Societies, Public Buildings, etc., etc., to the Present Time (Dayton, Ohio, 1892), 565; William Seraile, Fire in His Heart: Bishop Benjamin Tucker Tanner and the A.M.E. Church (1998; Knoxville, Tenn., 2000), 10; Ripley, The Black Abolitionist Papers, 5:248–52; John W. Cromwell, “The First Negro Churches in the District of Columbia,” JNH, 7:80–81 (January 1922); ANB, 12:432. 5. Emma V. Brown (c. 1843–1902), born Emmeline Victoria Brown in Georgetown, D.C., was an educator. Her parents were John Mifflin Brown, a bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Emmeline Brown, a dressmaker. She attended Miss Myrtilla Miner’s School for Colored Girls and distinguished herself as an outstanding student. When Miner was forced to take a leave of absence because of illness, Brown assisted her replacement, Emily Howland, and even ran the school in 1858 when Howland took a leave of absence. Brown enrolled in Oberlin College in February 1860 to continue her education and refine her teaching skills. In June 1861, ongoing health issues, which included severe headaches and insomnia, forced her to leave college early. Her health improved when she returned to Washington, D.C., and in 1862 she opened her own small school and dedicated herself to the education of newly freed slaves. In March 1864, she was offered a teaching position at the newly established black school in Ebenezer Church on Capitol Hill, where she remained until 1869, when her health once again deteriorated. After serving as a clerk in Washington’s Pension Office, teaching in Charleston, South Carolina, and working in Jackson, Mississippi, she returned to Washington, D.C., and became principal of the John F. Cook School. In 1872 she was then named principal of the new Sumner School. She married Henry P. Montgomery, a former slave from Mississippi, in 1879. As a married woman, she could no longer work as a teacher, and she became a corresponding secretary for the Manassas Industrial School in Virginia. Faulkner, Women’s Radical Reconstruction, 32; Sterling, We Are Your Sisters, 190–96, 202; ANB, 3:667–68. 6. Slavery was abolished in Washington, D.C., in April 1862. Although Congress also repealed the city’s black codes at this time, life remained difficult for freed slaves. During the war, the black population in the nation’s capital soared as fugitive slaves sought refuge in the city. By April 1863, an estimated 10,000 fugitives were in the district, and by the time of Lee’s surrender, the black population had tripled. Although the government and the freedmen’s aid societies attempted to help these freed slaves in officially sponsored camps, many of them were forced to live in shanties, built in alleys that lacked proper facilities for cooking and the disposal of sewage. During this period, despite aid

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from relief societies, the majority of the free blacks in Washington faced unemployment, poverty, and overcrowding. Robert Harrison, Washington during Civil War and Reconstruction: Race and Radicalism (New York, 2011), 8, 14, 21, 28, 48, 62; Foner, The Fiery Trial, 201; Melvin R. Williams, “A Blueprint for Change: The Black Community in Washington, D.C., 1860–1870,” Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 71/72:371 (1971/1972). 7. Probably an unidentified article in the London Inquirer, a Unitarian weekly newspaper in which Carpenter published regularly. 8. In January 1863, the Union general Nathaniel P. Banks issued an order regulating black labor in Louisiana. He believed that it would unburden the army from having to care for freed slaves, help restore the state’s economy, and gain support for Reconstruction. His order required blacks to sign a yearly contract with planters for either 5 percent of the profit of the year’s crop or a wage of $3 per month. In turn, the employer was required to provide food and shelter. Once the contract was signed, blacks were prohibited from leaving the plantations unless granted permission by their employers. Furthermore, freedmen who were uncooperative were threatened with arrests and terms of unpaid labor. Radical Republicans especially criticized Banks for implementing this plan, claiming it resembled slavery too closely. Joseph G. Dawson III, Army Generals and Reconstruction: Louisiana, 1862–1877 (Baton Rouge, La, 1982). 14; Foner, Reconstruction, 47–50, 54–56. 9. On 30 July 1863, Lincoln issued an executive order that guaranteed protection for every soldier regardless of color and promised retaliation for the unlawful killing of black soldiers or prisoners of war. Although Douglass and others praised this order, the Lincoln administration never executed a Confederate soldier or placed any of them at hard labor. After the massacre of three hundred black soldiers by rebel forces at Fort Pillow on 12 April 1864, Lincoln gave a speech in Baltimore. He briefly spoke on his resolve to use black soldiers and addressed the question whether his administration was doing its duty to protect them: “Having determined to use the negro as a soldier, there is no way but to give him all the protection giving to any soldier . . . It is a mistake to suppose the government is indifferent to this matter, or is not doing the best it can in regard to it.” He nonetheless remained unwilling to sanction retribution for black soldiers massacred by rebel forces. Abraham Lincoln, “Order of Retaliation, 30 July 1863,” in Speeches and Writings, 1859–1865, ed. Don E,. Fehrenbacher (New York, 1989), 484–85; idem, “Address at Sanitary Fair, Baltimore, Maryland, 18 April 1864,” 589–91; McPherson, Tried by War, 204–05, 215. 10. This statement is Douglass’s characterization of Lincoln’s philosophy toward blacks, both in the war and in his proposed plan for Reconstruction. During most of 1864, Douglass criticized the president for not doing enough for blacks serving in the army or those still in slavery. He argued that Lincoln’s desire for leniency and quick readmission to the Union for the rebellious Southern states would interfere with guaranteeing the rights of blacks. His statement written to this English correspondent is the culmination of Douglass’s frustration with Lincoln and represents one of the harshest criticisms he ever made about the president. William C. Harris, Lincoln’s Last Months (Cambridge, Mass., 2004), 27; Paul Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick, Douglass and Lincoln: How a Revolutionary Black Leader and a Reluctant Liberator Struggled to End Slavery and Save the Union (New York, 2008), 192; Blight, Frederick Douglass’ Civil War, 182. 11. The Wade-Davis bill was a congressional effort to implement a Reconstruction plan before the end of hostilities. Sponsored by the Republicans Henry Winter Davis and Benjamin Wade, this bill, more radical than Lincoln’s proposed Ten Percent Plan, asserted that the restoration of the Union should be executed by Congress rather than the president. The bill supported the “state suicide” theory of Reconstruction, stipulating that 50 percent of eligible voters in a state—measured by those who legally voted in the 1860 presidential election—were required to swear a loyalty oath before a state government could be reestablished. Furthermore, no one who had participated in or supported the rebellion could vote for delegates to the constitutional convention, and no high-ranking members of the Confederate military or government could vote or hold office under the new state constitution. The bill emancipated all slaves in the Confederacy, and although it did not include black suffrage, it

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contained guarantees that free blacks would have equality before the law of the Reconstructed Southern governments. The bill passed both houses of Congress on 2 July 1864, but Lincoln pocket vetoed it. His refusal to sign the bill stemmed mainly from his opposition to the clause that emancipated slaves in the Confederacy. He believed such an act would be unconstitutional if made by Congress. Lincoln’s unwillingness to undermine his Reconstruction efforts in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee as well as state-level emancipation movements in border states contributed to his decision to veto the bill. James Oakes, The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics (New York, 2007), 148; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, 2 vols. (Baltimore, 2008), 2:659–60; McPherson, Struggle for Equality, 245–46; Foner, The Fiery Trial, 301–02. 12. Lincoln introduced his Ten Percent Plan in the Proclamation of General Amnesty and Reconstruction in December 1863. This plan derived from the idea that the rebellion was one of individuals rather than states. Lincoln called for a pardon for most Confederates, excluding high civil and military officials, those who resigned positions in the Union to support the Confederacy, and anyone who had abused Union prisoners of war. When 10 percent of a state’s eligible voters, measured by those who voted in the 1860 presidential election, swore a loyalty oath to the Union, those men would be able to organize a new state government. Lincoln’s plan stipulated that these new state governments had to uphold any acts the executive or Congress made in regard to slavery. Also, states would be required to provide education for the freed slaves, but the president left the question of civil and political rights of blacks for each state to determine. Lincoln issued his Ten Percent Plan as part of the war effort to weaken the Confederacy, secure emancipation, and piece the Union back together as peacefully as possible. Oakes, The Radical and the Republican, 221; McPherson, The Struggle for Equality, 239, 240–41, 245; Foner, The Fiery Trial, 271–72, 302. 13. Lewis H. Douglass never fully recovered from service-related injuries incurred in the Fort Wagner Campaign in the summer of 1863. He was honorably discharged from the military for medical reasons in May 1864. In a letter to his father on 22 August 1864, reprinted below, Lewis describes returning to South Carolina in pursuit of economic opportunities. He worked for the sutler fi rm of DeMortie and Whitfield, supplying his old regiment, the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts. Lewis H. Douglass to FD, 22 August 1864, General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 52–53. FD Papers, DLC; Greene, Swamp Angels, 87–88. 14. Charles R. Douglass’s Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment participated in General Benjamin Butler’s abortive assault on Petersburg, Virginia, in May and June 1864. Charles R. Douglass to FD, General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 32–34, FD Papers, DLC; Dyer, Compendium of the War, 1:1240; Massachusetts Soldiers, 6:492; Robertson, Back Door to Richmond, 234–40, 251–54. 15. Douglass is alluding to the fifth chapter of Exodus, in which pharaoh ordered his foremen to no longer supply straw to the Israelite slaves, who were nonetheless still required to make bricks: “And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.” Exod. 5:6–7. 16. Following the controversy surrounding the February 1864 Pomeroy circular, which criticized Lincoln and endorsed Chase for the Republican presidential nomination, the relationship between the president and the treasury secretary became strained. Chase offered his resignation, although Lincoln did not accept it. A few months later, the two men once again clashed, this time over the issue of Treasury patronage, and Chase once again submitted his resignation. Having secured the presidential nomination and grown tired of the secretary’s numerous threats of resignation, Lincoln decided, with uncharacteristic haste, to accept Chase’s offer in June 1864. Although Chase’s political opponents were pleased with this outcome, others worried what his resignation would mean to the country’s already fragile financial situation. During this period, the deficit ballooned, gold rose, and speculation caused a major decline in the value of currency. Members of Congress, especially those on the congressional finance committees, stressed the importance of selecting another trustworthy

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secretary of the treasury, believing that doing so would affect not only the war effort but also the ability to borrow funds from Europe. David Montgomery, Beyond Equality: Labor and the Radical Republicans, 1862–1872 (1967; New York, 1981), 60; John Niven, Salmon P. Chase: A Biography (New York, 1995), 365–68; Blue, Salmon P. Chase, 149, 235–37.

JULIA GRIFFITHS CROFTS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Hanley, Staffordshire, [Eng.] 19 Aug[u]st 1864[.]

My dear Friend/ Your letter of June 13th1 was most welcome. & would have been earlier replied to but that you therein spoke of speedily writing again to enclose me the receipt for the Bristol £20—sent for Contrabands—Washington—& each week I have been hoping to hear again for I need scarcely tell my dear old friend Frederick, that the terrible & long continuous sad state of things in the States makes us cast many an anxious thought across the ocean concerning the safety & well being of our Colored friends in general & you & yours in particular—Oh! how I miss your newspaper! If no letter came we were certain to know what your movements were from that—I deeply regret its ceasing to be on other grounds. Our English friends have, so much the notion that they now can do little or nothing more to aid the cause of the slave—your paper kept them alive, & placed yourself before them & your work also—& in justice to your long self denying course of devoted labor in behalf of the enslaved this was only just——as your last letter referred mainly to Mrs E. Sturges2 remarks, I sent it to her to read—& she, in return, sends you her very kind regards & thanks[—]She was delighted with your letter; & had some of it printed;— but I failed to procure aid for you, I expect mainly on the Peace subject, the majority of the quakers, you know, keep strict on this subject,3 and, I beleive that this yeaR—although my friend, Mrs Goodrick,4 (a quaker, but not strict in this matter,) would, I know, gladly have sent, some portion of the proceeds of her drawing-room Bazaar to you this year, as last, the Birmg: Negroes’ Friend Society5 decided that all should go to aid Contrabands. Some part has gone to Washington Colored Society,6 I hope—more to Mrs Barnes7 & Rochester8—some to Loguen9——I know that our mutual friend Mrs Robbens10 & Mrs Carpenter11 continue sound and true to your interests, or rather to those of your people, represented by you—My heart aches when I read of the poor Negroes, placed in front of the cannon at Petersburg12—The Leeds Mercury well says that they have been

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too severely tried—I fervently trust that poor Charlie13 is safe—Lewis,14 I find has quitted the army—you don’t say where Freddy15 is? Please tell me all particulars when you next write—& pray let me hear very soon again. we do, indeed, feel anxious—a line about poor Charlie, when you can— God grant that the poor lads are all safe—I begin to loathe the American Government—I quite believe that the North in being severely punished for their unfaithfulness to the Cause of freedom—& their treachery to the Negro! Pray, dear Frederick, do not go toward Washington at this time of uncertainty—your life is one that would be sacrificed at once if you ever reached the hands of those Southern tyrants——I shudder to think, for an instant, of the possibility—May our Heavenly Father mercifully preserve you to your family—your friends & your people. Look to Him for guidance, my dear friend: & He will guide you aright,—& protect you from harm——Canadian friend of the Doctor’s was visiting us on Monday—In the vessel in which he sailed from Quebec was “Miss Bell Boyd ”,16 the Celebrated Confederate spy—She is, according to his showing, a wonderfully gifted young lady. One day at dinner the Capn asked her, “When the Southerners would give in”?—She said, “never—if the present generation were all killed off, the next would take it up”—My heart is quite full when I think of all the wretchedness & misery, & blood shedding going on; & I distrust most of the Northern generals—I heartily wish that all the Colored people of the North could, with honor have backed out altogether, & quitted America—but, I dare say, that Course wd not be a wise one; nor do I ever publicly declare this opinion—I deeply regret to say that the leading people here are nearly all, “sympathizers with the South”! Shame on them—but, I believe in many cases, that it is more from want of sympathy with the North than from any thing else—& about Slavery itself & its workings, they know but little—I intend circulating “My Bondage & My Freedom” among our friends here & I doubt not but that great good will be done by it among the more intelligent of them—Now, my dear fd a word about ourselves—We moved here in June—are not yet quite settled with a house—but shall winter, ([illegible], [illegible],) in the present one—we all regretted quitting Leeds—but we are in the midst of refined & cultivated Society here—& meet with extra-ordinary manifestations of kindness, from a large circle of friends,—indeed we are more out visiting than is desirable, on some accounts—The leading Chapel of our Society17 holds 3000——& the Doctor’s preaching seems to be fully appreciated by the best Congregations who hear him—The Grahams are with us again—but 3 miles off—It seemed so strange my dear friend to

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listen to Mr Graham telling, in a social party in Hanley, two of the Capital stories you used to tell us in Halifax—but, of course, he gave them as coming from our mutual dear friend Mr Douglass—He has a vivid & most pleasant recollection of you——Will you please, tell Rose,18 with my love, that I have not forgotten I owe her a letter?—I meant to enclose a note to her in this—but am summoned out, away from home this afternoon—& therefore, must delay. She wrote me such a nice letter—with plenty of news—which I liked to have about so many people I used to know years ago—thank you for Lewis’ Carte. What a fine looking young man! how changed since 49–55—Do send me the others, please—& don’t omit yourself. Give my love to Mrs Douglass. I am glad Rose’s husband19 is a good fellow—& I hope they will continue happy & in the old hill home! I trust I may, one day, be permitted to see Grandpapa Douglass & a troop of lively little gchildren under the old peach trees—& taste some of Grand mama’s “Maryland biscuits”—Doctor20 Lizzie21 & Matty22 join me in kindest love & best wishes, we should all unite in giving you even a warmer welcome than you had before, beneath our roof were you to come again. We have plenty of room—Oh! that war & Slavery may cease together, & then you wd come over & rejoice with your British friends! God bless you—I remain as ever, your faithful & affectionate friend JULIA G. CROFTS— ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 47–51, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Douglass’s letter to Julia Griffiths Crofts has not survived. 2. Probably Mrs. Edmund (Lydia Albright) Sturge. 3. The Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, adopted pacifism as a guiding principle with a declaration known as the Peace Testimony, which was presented to the English monarch Charles II upon his restoration to the throne in 1660. The declaration stated that Quakers “rejected fighting with outward weapons for any human kingdom or even the Kingdom of God.” In the years that followed, however, individual Friends struggled with the issue and sometimes chose to take up arms in conflicts ranging from the Jacobite Uprisings of 1715 and 1745 to the American Revolution. At the start of the Civil War, Yearly Meetings in both the United States and Great Britain uniformly adopted statements affirming their opposition to bearing arms. Even so, many young Friends in the North who opposed slavery chose to ignore their Yearly Meetings and volunteer to fight. While some Northern meetings disowned members who took up arms, many opted to ignore it and allow their returning soldiers to remain members in good standing after the war ended. At the same time, Quakers generally had little difficulty if they sought an exemption from service once the government began conscripting soldiers. In Great Britain, members of the Society of Friends were equally divided in their opinion of the war, torn between their sincere belief in pacifism and their commitment to abolition. Many individual British Quakers felt compelled to acknowledge, either publicly or privately, their support for the Union cause, viewing it as synonymous with a war for emancipation and the best hope for an end to slavery in the United States. Margery Post Abbott et al., eds., Historical Dictionary of the Friends (Quakers), 2d ed. (Lanham, Md., 2012), 75–76; Lonnie Valentine, “Quakers, War,

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and Peacemaking,” in The Oxford Handbook of Quaker Studies, ed. Stephen W. Angell and Pink Dandelion (New York, 2013), 363–76; Thomas C. Kennedy, British Quakerism, 1860–1920: The Transformation of a Religious Community (New York, 2001), 244; Blackett, Divided Hearts, 35, 107. 4. Ann Mary Pritchard Goodrick (1806–87) was active in the Birmingham Ladies’ AntiSlavery Society. Her husband, George Goodrick (1802–94), was a successful rope manufacturer, alderman, magistrate, and political ally of the Quaker reformer Joseph Sturge. 1871 England Census, Warwickshire, Birmingham, 41; BFASR, 11:45 (February 1863); Dennis Smith, Conflict and Compromise: Class Formation in English Society, 1830–1914; A Comparative Study of Birmingham and Sheffield (London, 1982), 96. 5. The Birmingham Ladies’ Negro’s Friend Society, originally known as the Female Society for Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wednesbury, Walsall, and their Respective Neighborhoods, for the Relief of British Negro Slaves, was founded in 1825. The society’s original purpose was to raise charity funds to relieve the suffering of slaves. During the Civil War, however, the members chose to shift their labors toward providing aid for contrabands, or freedmen. After the war, the society shifted its focus to missionary work in Africa and providing support for the education of African Americans in the southern United States. Among the organizations it supported was Booker T. Washington’s school at Tuskegee. The Birmingham Ladies’ Negro’s Friends Society did not disband until 1919. Jean Fagan Yellin and Cynthia D. Bond, comps., The Pen Is Ours: A Listing of Writings by and about AfricanAmerican Women before 1910, with Secondary Bibliography to the Present (New York, 1991), 132; Midgley, Women against Slavery, 137, 189; Catherine Hall, “Black Pasts, Birmingham Futures, Birmingham, March 2002,” History Workshop Journal, 55:264 (Spring 2003). 6. This is probably a reference to the Ladies’ Freedmen and Soldiers’ Relief Association, originally known as the Contraband Relief Association, which was based in Washington, D.C. 7. A native of Rochester, New York, and member of a well-known Quaker family, Anna Mott Cornell Barnes (1824–1908) was the daughter of Silas and Sarah Mott Cornell, and the niece of James and Lucretia Coffin Mott. In 1847 she married Aaron Barnes, co-owner of Cromwell and Barnes, a retail hardware store in Rochester. Widowed the following year, she spent several years traveling before returning to Rochester in 1852 and taking a job as a schoolteacher. In the early 1860s, she served as secretary of the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. By the end of 1864, she was living in Toledo, Ohio, with her sister Sarah Cornell Waldridge. She remained there until 1868, when she moved with her widowed sister and three nephews to Yonkers, New York. In 1878, following her sister’s death, she returned, with her nephews, to Toledo, where she spent the rest of her life. 1860 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 80; 1870 U.S. Census, New York, Westchester County, 510; 1880 U.S. Census, Ohio, Lucas County, 28; Cornell, Adam and Anne Mott, 186–98, 367–69; Faulkner, Women’s Radical Reconstruction, 17, 19–24, 32, 85. 8. Probably an allusion to the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. 9. James Wesley Loguen. 10. Probably Elizabeth Blake Robberds (1817–81), daughter of the Reverend William Blake of Crewkerne, Somerset, a Presbyterian minister, and his second wife, Elizabeth. In 1841 she married the Reverend John Robberds (1814–92), a Unitarian minister who served at the Ancient Chapel of Toxteth Park, Liverpool, from 1840 to 1866. Mrs. Robberds was active in the British antislavery and the suffrage movements. BFASR, 11:48 (February 1863); Crawford, The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Britain and Ireland, 133–34, 150; ODNB (online). 11.Mary Browne Carpenter. 12. Possibly a reference to what black troops experienced in the Battle of the Crater on 30 July 1864, which occurred during the protracted Petersburg Campaign. Before the battle, Union forces tunneled under the Confederate lines and, after exploding four tons of powder, created a crater that was 170 feet long, almost 70 feet wide, and at least 30 feet deep. Although black troops had been specially trained to lead the charge through the crater, General George Meade, fearing adverse publicity in Northern papers should the charge fail and black causalities be high, instead ordered ill-prepared

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white troops to take the lead and black troops to follow. Under heavy Confederate fi re, the charge failed; Union troops, both white and black, became trapped in the crater. Out of 450 men who entered the crater, only 128 survived. Overall, Union forces suffered almost 4,000 causalities, of which over 1,300 were black; many of the casualties were killed after they had surrendered. Petersburg did not fall for another eight months. Charles M. Christian, Black Saga: The African American Experience: A Chronology (New York, 1995), 202; Hargrove, Black Union Soldiers, 183–87; Spencer C. Tucker, ed., American Civil War: The Defi nitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection, 6 vols. (Santa Barbara, Calif., 2013), 1:457–58; Sutherland, African Americans at War, 29. 13. Charles Remond Douglass. 14. Lewis H. Douglass. 15. Frederick Douglass, Jr. 16. Maria Isabella Boyd (1844–1900) was born in Martinsburg, Virginia (later West Virginia), to Reed and Mary Boyd, both of prominent families, and was educated at Mount Washington Female College in Baltimore. Her career as a Confederate spy began when she shot and killed a soldier trying to raise a Union flag in her home. She became acquainted with the Northern troops posted in her home to guard her, and passed information gathered from these troops to the Confederate generals Jackson and Beauregard. Her most significant act on behalf of the Confederacy came in May 1862 when she informed Jackson that Union troops planned to burn several bridges near Front Royal during their retreat. With this warning, Jackson was able to mobilize his troops and use the bridges in his advance. For her actions as a spy, she was arrested three times, banished to the South, and later exiled to Canada. She traveled to England where she wrote her memoir, Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison, for financial support. While in England, and upon her return home, she began acting and speaking on a lecture circuit to support herself. She was married three times and had four children before she died in Kilborne, Wisconsin, on a lecture stop. Belle Boyd, Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison, Written by Herself (New York, 1865); Ruth Scarborough, Belle Boyd: Siren of the South (Macon, Ga., 1983); Current, Encyclopedia of the Confederacy, 1:201; Heidler and Heidler, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, 1:260–61; DAB, 2:24–25; ANB, 3:308–09. 17. In 1798, members of the Methodist New Connexion, a group that split from the Wesleyan Methodists in 1797, founded the Bethesda Methodist Chapel in Hanley. The original structure seated 600. In 1811, the chapel’s seating capacity was increased to 1,000. It was demolished in 1819, and a new chapel, featuring checkered brickwork, was built. Forty years later, Bethesda Chapel underwent a final renovation that added a colonnaded Corinthian portico to the building’s front façade and increased the seating capacity to 3,000. J. G. Jenkins, History of the County of Stafford, 20 vols. (London, 1908–2007), 8:276–307. 18. Rosetta Douglass Sprague. 19. Born a slave in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Nathan Sprague (1840–1907) married Rosetta Douglass on 24 December 1863 in Rochester, New York. On 3 September 1864, he enlisted in the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry in Rochester, listing his occupation as gardener. After spending his entire military career as a private with that regiment’s Company D, Sprague mustered out of the service in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, on 20 August 1865. With neither a trade nor an education, he found it very difficult to obtain steady employment after the war. Relying upon his father-in-law’s influence and resources, Sprague returned to Rochester in 1865 and spent the next decade pursing one failed career after another. Between 1865 and 1876, he tried his hand at farming, driving a hack, selling chickens, and working as a gardener. At one point, he even left his family (the Spragues would eventually have seven children) and moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where he hoped to succeed as a baker. Failing once again, he returned penniless to Rochester several months later. Following that, Frederick Douglass intervened and arranged for his son-in-law to get a job with the post office. In 1877, however, Sprague was convicted of opening the mail and stealing valuables from it; he was sentenced to a year in the Monroe County jail. That same year, Rosetta and the children joined her parents in Washington, D.C., after being evicted from their house in Rochester by Sprague’s

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creditors. Following Sprague’s release from jail, he followed his family to Washington, D.C. where he once again failed to find steady employment. Among his jobs, Sprague worked for a time as a stable hand at the home of Salmon P. Chase’s daughter, Kate Chase Sprague (no relation). For much of their time in Washington, D.C., however, Rosetta Douglass Sprague supported the family by clerking in government offices. Before his death in 1907, Sprague was working as a real estate agent. 1870 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 70; 1880 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington City, 52; 1900 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington City, 4B; Emilio, Brave Black Regiment, 358; Blight, Frederick Douglass’ Civil War, 205; Booker, “I Will Wear No Chain!,” 100–01; O’Keefe, Frederick and Anna Douglass in Rochester, 70, 90; Barnes, Frederick Douglass, 101, 107, 114, 117; Sterling, We Are Your Sisters, 418–23; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 222–23, 248, 287. 20. Julia Griffith Crofts’s husband, the Reverend Henry O. Crofts. 21. Elizabeth Crofts. 22. Martha “Mattie” Nichol Crofts (1853–98) was the youngest of Julia Griffiths Crofts’s three stepdaughters. In 1881 she married Arthur Joseph Griffiths (1855–96), with whom she had three daughters, Vera, Ella, and Martha “Mattie.” In 1895 she was her stepmother’s sole heir, inheriting Julia Crofts’s estate, which was valued at just under £900. 1861 England Census, Yorkshire, Halifax, 110; 1871 England Census, Durham, Gateshead, 41; London Gazette, 12 July 1895, 3960; England and Wales, National Probate Calendar (online).

LEWIS H. DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Morris Island, [S.C.] 22 August 1864.

Dear Father: Yours of the 8th1 I found on my return here from Hilton Head.2 I heard from you indirectly at Toledo Ohio3 from one of our men who received a letter from that place. I am glad to learn that Charley is at Point Lookout4 and likely to remain there. I hope that his fever is not serious. There is nothing new here. We still keep banging away at Sumter.5 Gen. Foster6 has prohibited any letter writing giving account of what is going on here, as though something very important is to be done. There is one business very [illegible] thriving here just at present; and that is recruiting for Massachusetts’ sy quota.7 If Rochester or the State of New York would give me an appointment to recruit for them I could get a great many men providing the bounty is large enough. Massachusetts is paying $450,00.8 I see that the Express in noticing going to Vicksburgh9 calls the attention of the people to Massachusetts’ example. I have had two offers of partnership as Sutlers since I have been down here O one of them was a first rate. The Sutler off of a capital of $500, has made in a year $3000. De Mortie10 don’t wish me to leave him. He intends as soon as the regiment is paid, to dissolve partnership with Whittier 11 and Jones,12 and leave his business in my hands while he goes home on a visit.

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You will have received before this a letter by express from me containing $50,00. Remember mother, and all enquires Your Son ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 52–53, FD Papers, DLC. 1. This letter has not survived. 2. Although discharged from the military the previous May, Lewis H. Douglass appears to have traveled via the large Union army transportation center at Hilton Head, South Carolina, to visit his old regiment, the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry, a part of the forces attempting the capture of Charleston. Greene, Swamp Angels, 87–88. 3. Douglass spoke in Toledo, Ohio, in early summer 1864. He criticized Lincoln’s plans for Reconstruction as being more generous toward Southern whites than to the freed slaves. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:12–13; Stauffer, Giants, 282. 4. Point Lookout, at the confluence of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, was the site of a Union army garrison and prisoner-of-war camp for captured Confederates. The prison facilities became greatly overcrowded after the suspension of exchanges by Ulysses S. Grant, and mortality rates among detainees rose. After serving in the campaign in Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, the African American Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment was stationed at Point Lookout from June 1864 to March 1865. Massachusetts Soldiers, 6:492. 5. Beginning in April 1863, the Union army and navy attempted numerous times to capture Fort Sumter and the strategically and symbolically important city of Charleston, South Carolina. Beginning in August 1863 after the capture of Morris Island, the fort in Charleston harbor was subjected to a steady bombardment by Union artillery that eventually reduced it to a rubble pile, which the Confederates defiantly continued to occupy. In July 1864, shortly before Lewis’s letter, a series of amphibious Union attacks on Confederate defenses near Charleston failed. The Confederates held the city until February 1865, when Sherman’s advance northward from Georgia forced the Confederates to abandon the city. Long and Long, Civil War Day by Day, 335–36, 382–83, 387, 396–406, 97. 6. Charles W. Foster. 7. Regimental histories list only one South Carolinian, Marshall Lamb of Newbury, serving in the ranks of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts. Just nineteen, Lamb died in the July 1863 assault on Fort Wagner. Emilio, Brave Black Regiment, 341. 8. The Massachusetts state government began offering a $100 bounty to enlistees in September 1862. Some counties and cities later offered additional compensation. The highest total bounty rate recorded in the state was $350 to a recruit. Cady Alpert and Kyle D. Kaufman, “The Economics of the Union Draft: Institutional Failure and Government Manipulation of the Labor Market during the Civil War,” Essays in Business and Economic History, 17:101–02 (1999) 9. This issue of the Rochester Evening Express has not been located. Douglass’s second son, Frederick Jr., apparently accepted the recruiter position, which had been previously offered to his father, to recruit troops under the command of General Lorenzo Thomas in Mississippi. Eggleston, President Lincoln’s Recruiter, 7–8, 105, 126–28; EAAH, 1:422–23. 10. A free black born in Norfolk, Virginia, Mark René DeMortie (1829–1914) relocated to Boston in 1851 and founded a shoe store and several other retail businesses. DeMortie worked with Lewis Hayden on the Underground Railroad and was a close friend of the Reverend Leonard Grimes of Boston. He married the daughter of the wealthy African American George T. Downing of Rhode Island. Governor John A. Andrew appointed him sutler to the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in 1863. In need of cash to fulfill his provisioning responsibilities, DeMortie entered a partnership with Joseph Paul Whitfield. When the soldiers of the regiment refused to accept a lower pay rate than that given white troops, DeMortie extended each recruit two dollars a month in credit until that

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discrimination ended. After the war, he briefly operated a tailoring business in Boston before moving to Chicago to become a partner in a real estate business. A Republican candidate for Congress in Virginia who claimed his defeat was a product of electoral fraud, DeMortie was compensated by a lucrative appointment as a revenue collector in the Treasury Department. He returned to Boston in the late 1880s and resumed his tailoring business. DeMortie was a leading member of the Colored National League, which campaigned for new federal civil rights legislation and helped organize the centennial celebration of the birth of William Lloyd Garrison in 1905. New Era Magazine, 1:31, 35–39 (February 1916); Lois Brown, Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins: Black Daughter of the Revolution (Chapel Hill, N.C., 2008), 14, 17–18, 21–22; Yacovone, Freedom’s Journey, 142–43. 11. Born in New Hampshire to a runaway slave father and a free black mother, Joseph Paul Whitfield (c.1814–?) and his younger brother James Monroe Whitfield moved to Buffalo, New York, shortly after his father’s death in 1832. James became a successful barber and advocate for emigration schemes, and Joseph prospered modestly in real estate and signed petitions for both black civil rights as well as the emigrationist cause. After his partnership with Mark R. DeMortie as sutlers for the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, Joseph returned to Buffalo, where he died in the 1870s. Robert S. Levine and Ivy G. Wilson, eds., The Works of James M. Whitfield: America and Other Writings by a Nineteenth-Century African American Poet (Chapel Hill, N.C., 2011), 8–9, 12, 25, 27; Verner D. Mitchell and Cynthia Davis, Literary Sisters: Dorothy West and Her Circle, a Biography of the Harlem Renaissance (New Brunswick, N.J., 2012), 49–51; Sherman, “James Monroe Whitfield,” 169–76. 12. The firm of Jones and Whitfield was listed as the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment’s sutlers during the unit’s participation in the Florida Campaign, which culminated in the Battle of Olustee in early 1864. Emilio, Brave Black Regiment, 177.

LEWIS

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN Rochester[,] N. Y. 29 August 1864[.]

Hon Abraham Lincoln President of the United States: Sir: Since the interview with which your Excellency was pleased to honor me a few days ago,1 I have freely conversed with several trustworthy and Patriotic colored men concerning your suggestion that Something Should be Speedily done to inform the Slaves in the Rebel States of the true State of affairs in relation to them, and to warn them as to what will be their probable condition should peace be concluded while they remain within the Rebel lines; and more especially to urge upon them the necessity of making their escape. All with whom I have thus far spoken on the Subject, concur in the wisdom and benevolence of the Idea and some of them think it practicable. That every Slave who escapes from the Rebel States is a loss to the Rebellion and a gain to the Loyal Cause I need not stop here to argue. The proposition is self-evident. The negro is the Stomach of the Rebellion. I

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will therefore breifly Submit to your Excellency, the ways and means by which many such persons may-be wrested from the enemy and brought within our lines: 1st Let a general agent be appointed by your Excellency charged with the duty of giving effect to your Idea as indicated above: Let him have the means and power to employ twenty or twenty five good men having the Cause at heart to act as his agents. 2dly Let these agents which shall be Selected by him have permission to visit Such points at the front as are most accessable to large bodies of Slaves in the Rebel States: Let each of the Said agents have power to appoint one or more Sub agents or more in the locality where he may be required to operate—the said Sub agents to be thoroughly acquainted with the Country—and well instructed as to the representations he is to make to the Slaves and conduct Such squads of Slaves as he may be able to [illegible], within the Loyal lines: Let the Sub agents [illegible] Service be paid a Sum not exceeding two dolls—per day while upon active duty. 2dly In order that these agents Shall not be arrested or impeded in their work—let them be properly ordered to report to the Generals Commanding the Several departments they may visit—and receive from them permission to pursue their vocation unmolested. 4th Let provision be made that the Slaves or freedmen thus brought within our lines Shall receive subsistence until Such of them as are fit Shall enter the service of the Country—or be otherwise employed and provided for. 5th Let Each agent appointed by the General Agent be required to keep a strict account of all his transactions—of all monies received and paid out—of the number and the names of Slaves or freedmen brought into our lines under his auspices—of the plantations visited—and of every thing properly connected with the prosecution of his work—and let him be required to make full reports of his proceedings at least once a fortnight to the General Agent. 6th Also let the General Agent be required be required to keep a strict account of all his transactions with his agents—and report to your Excellency as or to an officer designated by you—to receive Such reports. 7th Let the General Agent be paid a salary Sufficient to enable him to employ a competant Clerk—and let him be Stationed at Washington or at some other point where he can most readily receive Communications from, and send communications to his agents: The General Agent Should also, have a kind of roving Commission within our lines So that he

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may—have a more direct and effective oversight of the whole work—that [illegible] and faithfulness on the part of his Agents. Your Obedient Servant FREDK DOUGLASS— ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 54–47, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Douglass met in private with Lincoln on 19 August 1864 in the White House. The president had summoned him to discuss the possible fate of blacks still enslaved in the Confederacy. Lincoln feared that his Emancipation Proclamation would be rendered ineffective by a premature end to the war and wondered aloud to Douglass whether the national government might not sanction an unofficial Underground Railroad by encouraging slaves to escape while assisting them to freedom behind Union lines. Douglass would have been the most likely candidate to serve as general agent for such an endeavor. Benjamin Quarles, Lincoln and the Negro (New York, 1962), 215–16; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 229–35.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON Rochester, N.Y. 17 Sept[ember] 1864.

William Lloyd Garrison, Esq.: Dear Sir,— You were pleased to remark in the last number of the Liberator, (heading it with “Frederick Douglass on President Lincoln,”) that the secessionist newspapers in Great Britain are publishing with exultation a letter recently addressed by Mr. Douglass to an English correspondent;1 and you further favor your readers with an extract from the same letter, which criticises in plain terms the policy of the present Administration towards the colored people of the country. I am sure you will allow me space in the columns of the Liberator, (not to qualify, not to take back any charge, statement, or argument contained in that letter, not even to find fault with its publication here or elsewhere,—though it was flung off in haste, and was not written for publication, but for the eyes of the esteemed friend to whom it was addressed,) to remove an inference respecting my present political course, which may possibly and will probably be drawn from the extract in question. In the first place, it is proper to state that that letter was not written recently as you mistakenly allege, but three months ago, and was in no wise intended to be used against the present Administration in the canvass and issues as now made up between the great parties, and especially by the disloyal and slavery perpetuating nominations placed before the country by the Chicago convention.2 Since the date of those nominations, we are

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met by a new state of facts, and new considerations have arisen to guide and control the political action of all those who are animated by a sincere desire to see justice, liberty, and peace permanently established in this rebellion and slavery cursed land. While there was, or seemed to be, the slightest possibility of securing the nomination and election of a man to the presidency of more decided anti slavery convictions and a firmer faith in the immediate necessity and practicability of justice and equality for all men, than have been exhibited in the policy of the present Administration, I, like many other radical men, freely criticised, in private and in public, the actions and the utterances of Mr. Lincoln, and withheld from him my support.3 That possibility is now no longer conceivable; it is now plain that this country is to be governed or misgoverned during the next four years, either by the Republican party represented in the person of Abraham Lincoln, or by the (miscalled) Democratic party, represented by George B. McClellan.4 With this alternative clearly before us, all hesitation ought to cease, and every man who wishes well to the slave and to the country should at once rally with all the warmth and earnestness of his nature to the support of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson,5 and to the utter defeat and political annihilation of McClellan and Pendleton;6 for the election of the latter, with their known antecedents, declared sentiments, and the policy avowed in the Chicago platform, would be the heaviest calamity of all these years of war and blood, since it would upon the instant sacrifice and wantonly cast away everything valuable, purchased so dearly by the precious blood of our brave sons and brothers on the battle-field for the perfect liberty and permanent peace of a common country. Let me say one other word. I would never give intentionally the slightest joy to the enemies of human liberty. My rule is to do that least that they like most, and that most that they like least. But nothing strange has happened to me in the said exultation over my words by the secessionist newspapers in Great Britain or elsewhere. The common example of those who do not go at all, playing off those who go farthest against those who go, but do not go fast and far enough, is but repeated in this exultation; and if I mistake not, in other days, there were often utterances of the Liberator itself, both on the eve and in the middle of Presidential campaigns, which caused even greater exultation among the known enemies of liberty against timid, short-sighted and trimming anti-slavery men in the high places of the country, than anything I ever wrote concerning Mr. Lincoln and his Administration could produce. Yours for freedom and the equal rights of all men, FREDERICK DOUGLASS.

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PLSr: Lib., 23 September 1864. Other text in HLSr, General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 59–60, 61, FD Papers, DLC. 1. In its 16 September 1864 issue, the Liberator reprinted a portion of a letter that Douglass sent to an unknown English correspondent, suspected to be Mary Browne Carpenter. In that letter, Douglass criticizes the Lincoln administration’s treatment of blacks, attacking the government for the unequal treatment of black soldiers as well as the refusal to retaliate against Rebel prisoners when Confederate armies massacred black soldiers unlawfully. Furthermore, he criticized Lincoln for not fully supporting black suffrage, saying, “The negro is deemed good enough to fight for the Government, but not good enough to vote or enjoy the right to vote in the Government.” The Liberator claimed that pro-Confederate newspapers in Great Britain were publishing Douglass’s letter “with exultation.” The letter in question is published in this volume, and although Douglass claims that he wrote the letter three months earlier, the exact date is unknown. Lib., 16 September 1864. 2. The Democratic National Convention commenced on 29 August 1864 in Chicago and lasted three days. As in 1860, the Democratic party was highly factionalized. During the convention, the party was split between Peace Democrats, more commonly known as Copperheads, and War Democrats. Although the peace wing of the party, under the leadership of the Copperhead Clement Vallandigham of Ohio, was in the minority, its influence was greatly felt at the convention. Vallandigham, who had been exiled to the Confederacy in 1863 as a result of his Southern sympathies and public anti-Lincoln statements, was selected to serve on the seven-person platform committee. During the afternoon session on 30 August, the committee submitted the proposed party platform, and its six planks were decidedly a product of Vallandigham and the Copperhead faction. It declared that the Democratic party would adhere to the Union with “unswerving fidelity”; that the war was a failure and that immediate efforts should be made for a cessation of hostilities; that federal interference in state elections must be resisted; that the rights of the Union, state, and individual must be preserved; that the administration’s disregard of Union soldiers in Southern prisons should be denounced; and that the nation’s soldiers and sailors had the party’s full sympathy. The party assured these men that if it were successful in the election, they would receive the care, protection, and regard they deserved. Although opposed to Vallandigham’s “war-failure” resolution, War Democrats deemed nominating General George B. McClellan for president more important, so the platform was adopted without debate. McClellan was chosen to head the ticket, with the Copperhead George H. Pendleton from Ohio as his running mate. Republicans were outraged at the Democratic platform, and many labeled it disloyal for its condemnation of Lincoln’s administration and for the claim that the war was a failure. One Philadelphia paper commented on the convention by saying it was made up of Confederate sympathizers and that “no word of condemnation of the rebels was there uttered.” Philadelphia North American and United States Gazette, 6 September1864; The Official Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, Held in 1864 at Chicago (Chicago, 1864), 27, 43; Jennifer L. Weber, Copperheads: The Rise and Fall of Lincoln’s Opponents in the North (Oxford, Eng., 2006), 168–71; Stephen W. Sears, George B. McClellan: The Young Napoleon (New York, 1988), 372–74; Waugh, Reelecting Lincoln, 283, 285–86. 3. Throughout early 1864, Douglass criticized Lincoln and his administration. His disapproval stemmed mainly from the president’s early outline for a Reconstruction plan in December 1863. While Lincoln vowed to make emancipation permanent, he did not address the issue of racial equality. Douglass and other abolitionists wanted Reconstruction efforts to include the abolition of slavery as well as black enfranchisement. He criticized the administration’s failure to grant blacks suffrage in occupied Southern states and continued to press the issue of equal pay for black soldiers. Douglass disapproved of Lincoln’s refusal to sign the Wade-Davis bill, a radical proposal for Reconstruction, and denounced the president’s alternative Ten Percent Plan. Douglass also offered a new perspective on the Emancipation Proclamation, claiming that while it was a step in the right direction, “it settles nothing.” He charged Lincoln with showing “moral indifference” to abolition and claimed that through the progress of the war, the government, too preoccupied with saving the Union, had not

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accepted its true mission: freeing the slaves. FDP, ser. 1, 4:12–13, 25–30; Oakes, The Radical and the Republican, 222–24; Blight, Frederick Douglass’ Civil War, 182–83. 4. George Brinton McClellan (1826–85) was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1846. He fought in the Mexican War, studied European military systems while serving on a commission that toured Europe and the Crimea, and was an officer of the Illinois Central Railroad before being placed in command of the Department of the Ohio in May 1861. He commanded the Army of the Potomac from July 1861 until November 1862, when an unsuccessful attempt to march on Richmond and his reluctance to pursue Lee’s army across the Potomac after the Battle of Antietam led to his replacement by Ambrose E. Burnside. Nominated as the Democratic candidate for the presidency in 1864, McClellan later was appointed chief engineer of the New York City Department of Docks (1870–72). He served as governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881. H[amilton] J. Eckenrode and Bryan Conrad, George B. McClellan: The Man Who Saved the Union (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1941); Warren W. Hassler, Jr., General George B. McClellan: Shield of the Union (Baton Rouge, La., 1957); ACAB, 4:79–84; DAB, 11:581–85. 5. Andrew Johnson (1808–75) assumed the presidency on 15 April 1865, following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, the self-educated Johnson served in the Tennessee legislature (1834–37, 1839–43) before being elected a Democratic congressman (1843–53), governor (1853–57), and U.S. senator (1857–62). In 1862, Lincoln appointed Johnson, a Unionist, to be the military governor of Tennessee, and two years later Johnson was elected as Lincoln’s vice president. Radical Republicans opposed Johnson’s Reconstruction policies, and in 1867, after the president had attempted to oust Edwin M. Stanton as secretary of war in defiance of the Tenure of Office Act, they succeeded in impeaching him. At the Senate trial in 1868, Johnson was saved from conviction by one vote. After his presidential term, Johnson returned to Tennessee, which elected him to the U.S. Senate in 1874. Robert W. Winston, Andrew Johnson: Plebeian and Patriot (New York, 1928); James E. Sefton, Andrew Johnson and the Uses of Constitutional Power (Boston, 1980). 6. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, George Hunt Pendleton (1825–89) was a congressman, senator, and minister to Germany. He was the eldest child of Nathaniel Greene Pendleton, a lawyer and Whig congressman, and Jane Frances Hunt Pendleton. He attended local schools until he went abroad in 1844, traveling around Europe and briefly attending the University of Heidelberg. Upon returning to the United States in 1846, he married Alicia Lloyd Nevins Key, the daughter of Francis Scott Key and niece of Roger B. Taney. Pendleton studied law in Cincinnati and was admitted to the bar in 1847. He practiced with George E. Pugh until he was elected to the state senate as a Democrat in 1853. He won a seat in Congress in 1856 and served until March 1865. He supported Stephen A. Douglas in the fight over Kansas’s status as a free or slave state, and in Douglas’s unsuccessful 1860 campaign for the presidency. During the Civil War, Pendleton was a vocal Peace Democrat. Because he was a leading opponent of Lincoln and an advocate for an immediate end to the war, “Gentleman George” was nominated for vice president on the Democratic ticket with General George B. McClellan in 1864. Although he retired from Congress in 1865, Pendleton continued his political career and ran for governor of Ohio in 1869. After his defeat by the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, he was elected president of the Kentucky Central Railroad. In 1878, Pendleton was elected to the Senate and served until 1885, when President Cleveland appointed him minister to Germany, where he served until his death. DAB, 14: 419–20, ANB, 17: 279–81.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 21 September 1864.

Hon. Gerrit Smith. My dear Sir: Just a word, thanking you for your circular on McClellan and his letter of acceptance.1 I am in the habit of thinking your last production your worthiest. This one conferms me in this amiable habit. No one can be in doubt as to the path of duty in this campaign, who reads your circular. The whole case is plainly, strikingly and admirably Stated—If I have any fault to find with any part of the circular [it is that] in which you seem to admit that Some Abolitionists have Shown a disposition to pervert the war to Abolitionism.2 You and I know that the natural use of this war is to abolish slavery and that that only is a perversion [of it] which would divert it from this its natural work. But merely wished to thank you for your excellent circular which I do most heartily. Very Truly yours FREDK DOUGLASS ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Because Gerrit Smith’s nephew John Cochrane had played a leading role in the abortive effort to have John C. Frémont supplant Lincoln as the Republican party nominee, the wealthy abolitionist published a twelve-page circular designed to clarify his own view of the upcoming election. The circular, titled “On McClellan’s Nomination and Acceptance,” was distributed in September 1864 to clarify Smith’s position on the opposing candidates in the presidential election. Smith minced no words regarding General George B. McClellan and his party, declaring that the Democratic party was, in short, neither more nor less than the Northern wing of the rebellion. Smith prophesied that after Lincoln’s reelection, the Democratic party, that “ugliest of all the enemies of human rights and human happiness,” would be dead. Gerrit Smith, Speeches and Letters of Gerrit Smith (From January 1864 to January 1865) on the Rebellion, 3 vols. (New York, 1865), 2:25–36; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 440–41. 2. In his circular, Smith made the passing comment “I admitted that there were instances of a disposition to pervert the war.” Rather than accuse the abolitionists of this failing, Smith turned this charge into an accusation that McClellan as a general had attempted to pervert the war’s mission by being extremely solicitous toward slaveholders within his army’s lines. Smith, Speeches and Letters, 2:30.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO THEODORE TILTON Rochester[, N.Y.] 15 Oct[ober] 1864[.]

My Dear Mr. Tilton: I am obliged by your favor containing a copy of your recent Speech in Latimer hall.1 I had read that speech in the Tribune several days ago, and

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in my heart thanked you for daring thus to break the spell of enchantment which slavery, though wounded dying and despised, is still able to bind the tongues of our republican orators. It was a timely word wisely and well spoken, the best and most luminous Spark Struck from the flint and steel of this canvass. To all appearance we have been more ashamed of the negro during this canvass than those of 56 and 60. The President’s “To whom it may concern,”2 frightened his party and his party in return frightened the President. I found him in this alarmed condition when I called upon him six weeks ago—and it is well to note the time. The country was was struck with one those bewilderments which dethrone reason for the moment. Every body was thinking and dreaming of peace—and the impression had gone abroad that the Presidents antiSlavery policy was about the only thing which prevented a peaceful settlement with the Rebels. McClellan3 was nominated—and at that time his prospects were bright as Mr Lincolns were gloomy. You must therefore, judge the President’s words in the light of the circumstances in which he Spoke. Atlanta had not fallen; Sheridan had not swept the Shenandoah4 —and men were ready for peace almost at any price. The President was pressed on every hand to modify his letter “To whom it may concern”—How to meet this pressure he did me the honor to ask my opinion. He Showed me a letter written with a view to meet the peace clamour raised against him. The first point made in it was the important fact that no man or set of men authorized to speak for the Confederate Government had ever submitted a proposition for peace to him. Hence the charge that he had in some way stood in the way of peace fell to the ground. He had always stoode ready to listen to any such propositions. The next point referred to was the charge that he had in his Niagara letter committed himself and the country to an abolition war rather than a war for the union, so that even if the latter could be attained by negotiation, the war would go on for Abolition.5 The President did not propose to take back what he had said in his Niagara letter6 but wished to relieve the fears of his peace friends, by making it appear that the thing which they feared could not happen, and was wholly beyond his power. Even if I would, I could not carry on the war for the Abolition of Slavery—The country would not sustain such a war, and I could do nothing without the support of Congress. I could not make the abolition of Slavery an absolute, prior condition to the reestablishment of the Union. All that the President said on this point was to make manifest his want of power to do the thing which his enemies and pretended friends professed to be afraid he would do. Now the question he put to me

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was shall I send forth this letter? To which I answered certainly not—It could be given a broader meaning than you intend to convey—it would be taken as a complete surrender of your antiSlavery policy—and do you serious damage. In answer to your copperhead7 accusers—your friends can make this argument of your want of power—but you Cannot wisely say a word on that point. I have looked and feared that mr Lincoln would say something of the sort, but he has been perfectly silent on that point— and I think will remain so. But the thing which alarmed me most—was this: The President said he wanted some plan devised by which we could get more of the Slaves within our lines. He thought that now was there time—and that such only of them as succeeded in getting within our lines would be free after the war is over. This shows that the President only has faith in his proclamations of freedom—during war—and that he believes their operation will Cease with the war. We were long to gether and there was much said—but this enough— I gave my address—to the People of the U.S.8 to the Committee appointed to publish the minutes of the Convention. It is too lengthy for a news paper article—though of course I should be very glad to see it noticed in the Independent.9 You may not be aware that I do not see the Independent now a days—It was discontinued several months ago—If you were not like myself taxed on every hand—both by your own disposition to give, and the desposition of others to ask, I should ask you to send me the Independent for one year—on your own account. We had Anna Dickenson10 here on thursday night. Her speech made a profound impression. Nothing from Phillips,11 Beecher12 or yourself could have been more eloquent, and in her masterly handling of statistics she reminded one of Horace Mann in his palmiest13 days. I never listened to her with more wonder. One thing however, I think you can say to her, if you ever get the chance, for it ought to be said—and she will hear it and bear from you, as well or better than from most other persons—and that is: stop that walking. She walked incessantly—back and forth—from one side the broad platform to the other. It is a new trick and one which I neither think useful or ornamental—but really a defect and disfigurement. She would allow me to tell her so—I think—because she knows—how sincerely I appreciate both her wonderful talents and her equally wonderful devotion to the cause of my enslaved race. I am not doing much in this Presidential Canvass for the reason—that Republican Committees do not wish to expose themselves to the charge of being the “Niggar” party. The negro is the deformed child, which is put out of the room when company comes. I hope to speak some after the

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Election—though not much before—and I am enclined to think I shall be able to speak all the more usefully because I have had so little to say during the present Canvass. I now look upon the Election of Mr Lincoln settled. When there was any shadow of a hope that a man of more decided anti slavery convictions and policy could be elected—I was not for Mr  Lincoln—but as soon as the Chicago convention—my mind was made up—and it is made up still. All dates changed with the nomination of McClellan. I hope, that in listening to Mr Stanton’s14 version of my visit to the President you kept in mind something of Mr Stanton’s own state of mind concerning public affairs. I found him in a very gloomy state of mind— much less hopeful than myself—and yet more cheerful than I expected to find him. I judge from your note that he must have imparted somewhat of the hue of his own mind to my statements.15 He thinks far less of the President’s honesty than I do—and far less of his Anti Slavery than I do. I have not yet come to think that honesty and politics are incompatable. Well, here I am, my Dear Sir, writing you a long letter—needlessly taking up your precious time—and with no better expense for the impertenence than a brief note from you and a knowledge of your good temper and disposition toward me. Make all the speeches of this Latimer Hall kind you can—They will look better after the election than now—though they bear with them the grace of fitness now. Please remember me kindly to Mrs Tilton16 —and all the Dear bright eyed little Tiltons—who sparkle like diamonds about your hearth— Truly yours Always, FREDERICK DOUGLASS.

P.S. I wish you would drop a line to John S. Rock17 Esqr asking him to send you advanced sheets of my address to the people of the United states. He is at 6. Fremont Street— Boston. ALS: Gluck Collection of Manuscripts, NBu. 1. Theodore Tilton spoke in Latimer Hall in Brooklyn, New York, on 7 October 1864. He complained that too many of those campaigning for Lincoln’s reelection ignored the Republican party’s platform pledge to ensure slavery’s final abolition and instead stressed that the war was being fought principally to restore the Union. Latimer Hall, located at 210–12 Court Street, was a popular venue for political, religious, and reform meetings. The speech was reprinted in the New York Daily Tribune, 12 October 1864; New York Independent, 13 October 1864; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 29 December 1864.

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2. Douglass refers to a public letter that President Lincoln wrote on 18 July 1864 and that was printed in Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune. Addressing “To Whom it may concern,” Lincoln declared, “Any proposition which embraces the restoration of peace, the integrity of the whole Union, and the abandonment of slavery, and which comes by and with an authority that can control the armies now at war against the United States will be received and considered by the Executive government of the United States, and will be met by liberal terms on other substantial and collateral points; and the bearer, or bearers thereof shall have safe-conduct both ways.” With the major Union armies seemingly stalled before their objectives in Virginia and Georgia, Northern antiwar sentiment seemed to be growing rapidly. Lincoln’s offer to negotiate with Confederates generated controversy because many, doubting its sincerity, saw it as a calculated effort to diffuse potential support for the Democratic candidate, George B. McClellan, among Northern and border state War Democrats. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, 760–62. 3. George B. McClellan. 4. The tide of the Civil War seemed to have turned in the Confederates’ favor in midsummer 1864. Confederate forces under General Joseph Johnston were successfully thwarting the Union army’s efforts, under General William T. Sherman, to capture the strategic transportation hub of Atlanta, Georgia. Johnston’s replacement, John Bell Hood, launched a series of unsuccessful counterattacks on Sherman in August and had to evacuate the city on 1 September 1864. In July, Confederate troops under Jubal Early marched the length of the Shenandoah Valley, invaded Maryland, and reached the outskirts of Washington, D.C., before being forced to retreat. A Union force led by Phillip Sheridan defeated Confederate forces early in September and laid waste to the valley’s harvests, which the Confederates needed desperately. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, 743–50, 756–58, 774–77; Long and Long, Civil War Day by Day, 495–574. 5. This issue must have been discussed when Douglass met privately with Lincoln at the White House on 19 August 1864. Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:271–73. 6. An unauthorized group of Northerners and Southerners met at Niagara Falls, New York, in July 1864 to discuss ending the war. Organized by the New York Tribune editor, Horace Greeley, the so-called peace conference brought Peace Democrats into contact with Confederate agents in Canada, including Clement Claiborne Clay, a former U.S. senator from Alabama; James P. Holcombe of Virginia; and Jacob Thompson of Mississippi. Greeley claimed that the Confederates were anxious for peace and were willing to negotiate, but when Lincoln called their bluff by providing Greeley with a letter authorizing an end to the war if the Union was restored and slavery ended, the talks collapsed. Glyndon G. Van Deusen, Horace Greeley: Nineteenth-Century Crusader (Philadelphia, 1953), 305–07; Frank H. Severance, “The Peace Conference at Niagara Falls in 1864: An Episode of the Civil War,” Buffalo Historical Society Publications, 18:79–80 (1914); Ludwell H. Johnson, “Lincoln’s Solution to the Problem of Peace Terms, 1864–1865,” JSH, 34:577–78 (November 1968). 7. During the Civil War, Republican politicians frequently charged that Democratic opposition to many Union war policies was evidence of treasonous sympathy for the Confederate cause. Republicans called their political opponents “Copperheads” after a venomous snake that lies in ambush and strikes without warning. Recent scholarship generally dismisses the accusations of Northern Democratic disloyalty as a product of overheated wartime partisan spirit. Joel H. Silbey, A Respectable Minority: The Democratic Party in the Civil War Era, 1860–1868 (New York, 1977), 166–69, 243; Mitford M. Mathews, ed., A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles, 2 vols. (Chicago, 1951), 1:392. 8. Douglass was the presiding officer at the National Convention of Colored Men held in Syracuse, New York, on 4–7 October 1864, and he addressed the gathering on several occasions. In this letter to Tilton, Douglass seems to allude to an address delivered on 4 October that was summarized in accounts of the convention. No text or notice of the speech subsequently appeared in the Independent. Proceedings of the National Convention of Colored Men, 1864, 13–14; Douglass Papers, ser.1, 4:xix; Foner, Frederick Douglass, 3:408–22. 9. New York Independent.

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10. Anna Dickenson. 11. Born and raised in Boston and educated at Harvard, Wendell Phillips (1811–84) was one of the most prominent advocates of reform in the nineteenth century. In 1837, the young Phillips distinguished himself by denouncing the murder of the abolitionist editor Elijah Lovejoy. Active in the American Anti-Slavery Society, Phillips tended to support, but did not completely adhere to, William Lloyd Garrison’s brand of nonpolitical, disunionist abolitionism. For example, as a delegate to the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention of 1840, Phillips agreed with Garrison that female delegates should be seated, but disagreed with him on nonresistance to slavery. Following the Civil War, Phillips became devoted to a number of reforms, including prohibition, penal reform, concessions to Native Americans, woman suffrage, and the labor movement. Bartlett, Wendell Phillips; Sherwin, Prophet of Liberty; Stewart, Wendell Phillips; DAB, 24:546–47. 12. Henry Ward Beecher. 13. Prosperous or flourishing. 14. Edwin M. Stanton. 15. Stanton had become convinced of the need to recruit African Americans into the army as early as the spring of 1862, and had worked to persuade Lincoln to authorize it. Tilton apparently conversed with Stanton when the former lectured in the capital. In later years, Tilton praised Stanton for his stand against Andrew Johnson in the early phase of Reconstruction. Theodore Tilton, Sanctum Sanctorum; or, Proof-Sheets from an Editor’s Table (New York, 1870), 213–18; Altina L. Waller, Reverend Beecher and Mrs. Tilton: Sex and Class in Victorian America (Amherst, Mass, 1982), 43; Thomas and Hyman, Stanton, 229–46, 262–65. 16. Theodore Tilton married Elizabeth Richards (1834–97), the daughter of a Brooklyn jeweler, in 1855. She had been a student at the Brooklyn Female Seminary, and one of her classmates was a daughter of the prominent Congregational minister Henry Ward Beecher. Elizabeth joined Beecher’s Plymouth Church in Brooklyn and was active in its programs to help the neighborhood’s poor. The Tiltons had five children, one of whom died in infancy. In 1870, Elizabeth confessed to Theodore that she had engaged in an eighteen-month affair with Beecher after the death of her child. Theodore confronted Beecher privately, and the matter at first seemed resolved. But word leaked to the public, and a scandal quickly ensued. Tilton filed criminal charges against Beecher, which led to a highly publicized six-month trial. Elizabeth recanted her accusations against Beecher, and the trial ended in a hung jury. With his reputation and journalistic career ruined by the scandal, Theodore left his wife and fled to Paris. In 1878, Elizabeth reversed herself and publicly confessed to committing adultery with Beecher. The Plymouth Church excommunicated Elizabeth for her accusations against its pastor, and she died blind and socially ostracized in her daughter’s home. Shaplen, Free Love and Heavenly Sinners, 27, 34–35, 47–65, 245–47; Waller, Reverend Beecher and Mrs. Tilton, 8, 11, 14–15, 38–41, 54–63. 17. John Sweat Rock (1825–66) was born to free black parents in Salem, New Jersey. From 1844 to 1848, he taught public school while studying dentistry in his spare time. In 1850, Rock opened a dental practice in Philadelphia and enrolled in the American Medical College. Following his graduation in 1852, he moved to Boston, where he practiced both medicine and dentistry. When his health declined in 1858, Rock journeyed to France. Upon his return, he began studying for a less arduous career as a lawyer. He was admitted to practice before the Massachusetts bench in 1861 and before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1864. Rock was widely known as a lecturer on both scholarly and antislavery topics, and shared the platform with Douglass on several occasions. During the Civil War, he served as a recruiting agent for Massachusetts black regiments. NASS, 15 December 1866; William Wells Brown, The Black Man, His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements (Boston, 1863), 266–70; Eugene P. Link, “The Civil Rights Activities of Three Great Negro Physicians (1840–1940),” JNH, 52:169–84 (July 1967); Wilhelmina M. Crosson, “Do You Know That?” NHB, 5:3, 9 (October 1941); DANB, 529–31.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO JACOB C. WHITE, JR. [n.p. December 1864.]1

“The work of an age has been suddenly compressed into a single day. Events have succeeded each other so rapidly, overlapping and overstepping each other so thickly, each rising higher than the other, that we are puzzled to separate and estimate at its value any one of all of them. Their variety, velocity, and proximity dazzle us and cause us to lose our reckoning. Only after coming generations of men, far remote from this stormy and bewildering hour, will be able to describe with accuracy these great events, and give to each its true granduer and importance. There is one, however, which towers aloft above all the rest, like the mountain rock amid the dashing waves of a troubled ocean—solid, calm, unshaken, and immoveable—and that is the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln, whose second anniversary you are about to commemorate. Hayti and Liberia recognized;2 the colored man received at the capital of the United States; slavery abolished in the District of Columbia; slavery prohibited in all the Territories of the country;3 slavery recognized as the cause of the war, and its abolition decreed as the only wise remedy; Virginia half free; Missouri soon to follow; Tennessee not far behind; Kentucky trembling; “Maryland, My Maryland,”4 unfettered, her chains broken, and her limbs all free; Judge Taney dead; Judge Chase alive;5 McClellan defeated; Abraham Lincoln elected;6 slaveholding abolished; and brave black men, side by side with loyal white soldiers, winning laurels for their race upon every battlefield where they are permitted to confront the foe—constitute a few of the points of progress which rivet the attention, command our gratitude, and waken high hopes for the future of our race upon this our native soil. *** Until the colored man can handle the ballot as well as the musket—until he can vote in the country, as well as fight under its flag—until he shall be as welcome as a citizen as he now is as a soldier, he will be a despised and persecuted man, floundering in the depths of social degradation, a tempting target for all that is mean and malicious in the American mind and heart—having no rights which a white man is bound to respect.7 Let no man say within himself that this is untimely. The iron is hot, and now is the time to strike.8 The nation is looking about for safe anchoring ground for the ship of state, and you and I know where the safe ground is. Then let us firmly point out that ground. Our own cause, and the cause of the country, alike demand this at our hands. I will not argue here. The cause is a plain one. It would be a shame,

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deeply scandalous and disgraceful in the nation, to treat us as citizens in war and as aliens in peace—tax us to support the country, and arm us to defend it, and yet deny us the full rights of American citizenship. Profoundly grateful for what has been already accomplished, in full faith in the ultimate triumph of our country and our cause, I am, very truly, FREDERICK DOUGLASS.” PLe: Philadelphia Daily Evening Bulletin, 3 January 1865. Other text in Lib., 20 January 1865. 1. In January 1865, a meeting was held at the National Hall in Philadelphia to celebrate the second anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Douglass was invited to the celebration but did not attend. He instead sent this letter, most likely to Jacob C. White, Jr., who served as president of the meeting, discussing the recent victories of the antislavery cause and his belief that the fight for black suffrage should continue. While this letter has no confirmed date, Douglass probably wrote it sometime in December 1864. The letter was published in the 20 January 1865 issue of the Liberator, along with a letter from Charles Sumner and details from the celebratory meeting. Lib., 20 January 1865. 2. In his first annual message to Congress, in December 1861, Lincoln suggested establishing diplomatic relations with Haiti and Liberia. Although John Adams had initiated diplomatic contacts with the black leaders of Haiti after the country won its liberty from France in the 1790s, Thomas Jefferson refused to formally recognize the nation, thereby establishing a tradition followed by every presidential administration until Lincoln’s. The United States likewise ignored diplomatic advances from Liberia, a country established by black emigrants from America. At Lincoln’s urging, Congress passed a bill in April 1862 that appropriated funds to establish missions to Haiti and Liberia. By July, Lincoln had appointed the first U.S. diplomatic representative to Haiti, and in February 1863, Haiti returned the gesture, sending Ernest Roumain to Washington, D.C. After Lincoln’s first choice declined the post, he appointed Abraham Hanson to serve as U.S. diplomat to Liberia in June 1863. Lib., 6 June 1862; Peter Duignan and L. H. Gann, The United States and Africa: A History (New York, 1984), 87, 117; Foner, The Fiery Trial, 186, 222, 224; Oakes, The Radical and the Republican, 156–57. 3. In May 1862, two months after the abolition of slavery in Washington, D.C., Congressman Isaac N. Arnold of Illinois introduced a bill to abolish slavery in places of exclusive federal jurisdiction, including territories, forts, dockyards, federal buildings, and American sea vessels. Moderates in Congress hesitated to pass the bill, believing it too far-reaching. A modified version of the bill that abolished slavery only in the territories was passed by both houses of Congress, and Lincoln signed it into law on 19 June 1862. Silvana R. Siddali, From Property to Person: Slavery and the Confiscation Acts, 1861–1862 (Baton Rouge, La., 2005), 154; McPherson, The Struggle for Equality, 97; Foner, The Fiery Trial, 203–04. 4. A staff writer for the New Orleans Sunday Delta, James Ryder Randall, composed the poem “Maryland, My Maryland” on 21 April 1861 after learning of the bloodshed on the streets of Baltimore in the early days of the Civil War. The poem was quickly adapted into a song under the medieval tune “Lauriger Horatius” (also the tune used for the Christmas carol “O Tannenbaum”) and became widely popular across the Confederacy early in the war for its denunciation of Abraham Lincoln as a “despot.” Shankle, State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols, 399. 5. President Lincoln had to nominate a replacement for Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, who died in October 1864 after nearly three decades on the court. Salmon P. Chase had sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1860, but eventually accepted Lincoln’s offer of secretary of the treasury. Appealing to Northerners who sought a firmer antislavery direction to the war, Chase covertly maneuvered to win the 1864 Republican nomination, only to see the party nominate Lincoln for a

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second term. Chase offered his resignation as treasury secretary, and Lincoln accepted in June 1864, but nominated him to be chief justice in order to mollify more radical Republicans. Blue, Salmon P. Chase, 111, 129–33, 224–25, 242–46. 6. In the 1864 presidential election, Lincoln and the Republican party—known also as the National Union party—carried every participating state except New Jersey, Delaware, and Kentucky, and won 212 electoral votes. The Democratic candidate, General George B. McClellan, managed to secure only 21 electoral votes. Lincoln also won 55 percent of the popular vote (2,206,938 votes), to McClellan’s 45 percent (1,803,787 votes). One of the greatest deciding factors in Lincoln’s victory was the soldier vote. Nineteen states counted the ballots of soldiers, and although McClellan was popular with his men in the Army of the Potomac while in command, Lincoln won over 70 percent of the soldier vote. Foner, The Fiery Trial, 310–11; Flood, Lincoln at the Gates of History, 372; Goodwin, Team of Rivals, 665–66. 7. A paraphrase of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney’s majority opinion in the Dred Scott decision. Dred Scott v. John F. A. Sandford, 19 Howard 393 (1857), 407. 8. Douglass loosely paraphrases Publius Syrus’s maxim “When the iron is hot, strike.” John Heywood, The Proverbs, Epigrams, and Miscellanies of John Heywood, ed. John S. Farmer (1562; London, 1906), 221.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO JULIA GRIFFITHS CROFTS1 Rochester, [N.Y.,] U.S., 4 January 1865.

“I long to be able to report all chains broken, and the slaves free; the end, however, is not yet, though I believe the long prayed-for event is at hand, and that I shall live to see it, and to tell you that the work is done. The dreadful war in our country is drawing to a close; the rebellion will be suppressed, and I now have high hopes that slavery will go down with it. My reasons are, first, the re-election of Mr. Lincoln, who was mainly opposed on the ground of his alleged abolition designs; secondly, the elevation of your old friend and correspondent, Solman P. Chase, to the ChiefJusticeship of the Republic, in place of Judge Taney, deceased;2 thirdly, the general tone of public opinion, demanding the entire abolition of slavery and the unification of the nation on the basis of universal freedom. Any other end of the war must brand it as murderous and useless, for the country can never be united while slavery exists. The signs of the times are nearly all indicative of abolition. The Constitution will be changed, if not by this congress, certainly by the next, so that no slave State can ever be a member of the Union.3 I have recently been on a lecturing tour—where do you suppose? In the State of Maryland and in Virginia—in Maryland, the State of my birth and my bondage. I gave six lectures in Baltimore4 (where three years ago I should have been murdered at sight) without molestation. The papers here have been full of my sayings and doings during my visit.

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Among the most interesting incidents was meeting my dear sister Eliza,5 whom I had not seen for nearly thirty years, and with whom, under the slave laws, I could not correspond, and did not know but that she was dead. She heard of my coming to Baltimore, and at once left her home, traveling sixty miles to see me. Our meeting can be better imagined than described. She had (before the Act of Emancipation in the State)6 bought and paid for herself by her own toil, has nine children, most of them men and women, and she is still quite straight and vigorous. From her I got some facts concerning other members of our family, most of them painful, for they have been sold and scattered throughout the rebellious slave States . . . For my own part, time and toil begin (in spite of my determination to be young) to leave their marks upon me. The constant travelling from place to place, changing my bed and board every twenty-four hours— are of themselves enough to wear an iron constitution. Most of the antislavery lecturers who began when I did have withdrawn from the field, or at least speak only occasionally. I want to hold out until the jubilee. When that comes I hope to be able to return to the soil for my bread; to spend what shall remain to me of life in a quiet equal to the storms through which I have passed. Before doing this, however, you may yet see me editing a paper in Baltimore, for there is a serious effort to have me start one in that city.7 I have told my friends there that if they get me one thousand paying subscribers in that city, all paying in advance, I will come. You will see that there is something poetic in the idea of my returning to Maryland for such a purpose. Think of my going into that State from which I escaped as from a doomed city; and after an absence of more than twenty-six years, starting a paper to promote the elevation of my people! I do not say, mark you, that I shall be able to do this, but only that the thing is in contemplation. Should I go forward I know I may rely on your hearty co-operation; for whatever you might hear or read to the contrary, I am now as ever earnestly and actively at work in the righteous cause to which I have pledged the best energies and years of life. I shall send you the proceedings of the Coloured National Convention held at Syracuse in Oct. last,8 by this mail. It might be well to circulate that paper in England as the black man’s view of the state of affairs here. At any rate you can pass this copy around among your friends: it will show that some of us take an intelligent interest in the question of our future in this country. I was never heard, here or elsewhere in this country, more willingly than now. But I will not glory in this, but rather rejoice that through the all-wise

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and inscrutable workings of Providence, the chains of my long enslaved race are soon to be broken.” PLe: Leeds Mercury, 2 February 1865. Reprinted in Leeds Mercury, 4 February 1865; Birmingham (Eng.) Daily Post, 11 February 1865; Manchester (Eng.) Times, 25 February 1865; New York Independent, 2 March 1865; Syracuse Journal, 20 March 1865. 1. In an article titled “Mr. Frederick Douglass on the Prospects of Slavery,” the Leeds Mercury reproduced an excerpt from a letter from Douglass to an English friend believed to be Julia Griffiths Crofts. In a letter to Douglass dated 28 April 1865, which also appears in this volume, Crofts mentions that extracts from this letter appeared in several British newspapers, and advises Douglass not to move back to Baltimore. 2. Despite some reservations, Lincoln nominated Salmon P. Chase to succeed Roger B. Taney as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The president submitted the nomination to the Senate on 6 December 1864. The Senate unanimously confirmed Chase’s appointment, and he was sworn in as the sixth chief justice on 15 December. Blue, Salmon P. Chase, 242–45; Niven, Salmon P. Chase, 374–75. 3. A proposal for a constitutional amendment was made in Congress by the Ohio Republican James M. Ashley very soon after Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. In early 1864, Senators John Henderson of Missouri and Charles Sumner of Massachusetts introduced similar measures, and the Senate Judiciary Committee consequently began drafting the language of a formal amendment. In April 1864, Senate Republicans joined by a few Democrats passed the measure 38–6. Opposition in the House of Representatives proved more formidable. Most Democrats argued that it would poison attempts to reach a negotiated peace with the Confederacy. On 31 January 1865, enough Democrats, through the use of considerable patronage promises and vote swapping, were enlisted to pass the measure; the 119–56 vote was exceeded the required two-thirds majority for a constitutional amendment by 2 votes. Michael Vorenberg, Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment (New York, 2001), 48–60, 112–14, 197–210. 4. Douglass spoke on six evenings in locations throughout Baltimore on 17–29 November 1864. His speeches advocated both the acceptance of emancipation and reconciliation between whites and blacks in Maryland, a former slave state. Many city officials attended Douglass’s speeches, and no violence due to his visit was reported in the city. Lib., 25 November 1864; Chattanooga Daily Gazette, 25 November 1864; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:xix–xx, 38–50. 5. On 17 November, Douglass lectured at Bethel Church in Baltimore. The press reported that his sister, Eliza Bailey Mitchell, accompanied him arm in arm up that church’s aisle before the start of Douglass’s three-hour talk. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:xix–xx, 38–50. 6. The Emancipation Proclamation did not authorize the freeing of slaves in the border states, including Maryland. Wartime economic dislocation and the Union army’s recruitment of more than ten thousand black Marylanders put the continuation of slavery in Maryland in doubt. Recognizing the inevitable, leading Marylanders such as Reverdy Johnson, Thomas Hicks, and John Pendleton Kennedy publicly advocated emancipation in late 1863. A convention in Annapolis in April 1864 approved a new state constitution, which included an article prohibiting slavery. A referendum in the following October approved the measure by an extremely narrow margin. Barbara Jeanne Fields, Slavery and Freedom on the Middle Ground: Maryland during the Nineteenth Century (New Haven, Conn., 1985), 126–29, 133. 7. No other details of this effort to induce Douglass to return to Baltimore to edit a newspaper have been uncovered. The matter may have been discussed between him and leaders of that city’s African American community during his lecture tour there in November 1864. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:38–39; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 160–65. 8. The National Convention of Colored Men met on 4–7 October 1864 in Syracuse, New York. The convention’s purpose was to urge the president and Congress to grant black soldiers serving in the Union army the right to vote. Two hundred delegates attended the convention, representing sixteen states. Frederick Douglass was elected president and served on several committees. An officer in

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the Second Louisiana, a black regiment that fought at Port Hudson, made one of the more significant speeches. Though there were no reports of violence at the convention, the press stayed away on the first day; it was in attendance on the following days. Lowell (Mass.) Daily Citizen and News, 11 October 1864; Lib., 14 October 1864.

CHARLES R. DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Washington, D.C. 9 Feb[ruary] [18]65.

Dear Father I rec[eive]d your letter day before yesterday but have been so busy moving our hospital1 that I have been unable to answer it before now. We are looking forward for a grand time here on the fourth of March and I hope you will not fail to be here.2 Saturday I expect to call on Father Abraham3 and Sec’y Stanton4 with Dr. Rapier5 Sergt. Wormley6 and David Wycoff 7 as we are the committe appointed to present our memorial to the Secretary of War.8 We have got the names of nearly two third[s] of the Senators; and quite a lot of Representatives, copperheads have signed our petition in large numbers and I believe we will succeed every thing is working well. I was somewhat surprised to hear that Mary Smith9 was at our house, I thought that she had forgotten us long ago as we never could hear from her. I should be very much pleased to see Mary and if I know where she will stop I will surely call on her, when I was in Baltimore I saw her brother and he invited me to take Thanksgiving dinner with him I called but did not stay to dinner. I hear from Fred. quite often but Lew I have not heard from in some time.10 I never do any of the boys that way. I always answer their letters promptly. I wish that you could have been here the day that the constitutional amendment was passed forever abolishing slavery in the United States, such rejoicing I never before witnessed cannons firing people hugging and shaking hands (white people I mean) flags flying all over the city.11 I tell you things are progressing finely, and if they will only give us the elective franchize and shoulder straps (which is only simple practice) that will be all I ask every thing else which is right will surely follow these two rights. Did you receive a letter from Dr. Abbott12 inviting you to speak here on or about the fourth of March? if you did I hope you will accept of it as you will have a different class of men to hear you than you had before. I spent a day in the Senate and House both on Tuesday with David Wycoff, I had the pleasure of hearing the rankest copperheads and the blackest abolitionists in congress such as Sumner13 Wilson14 Gratz Brown15

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Pendleton16 Saulsbury17 Davis18 Ben.19 and Fernandy Wood.20 (as they call them) It is a big thing for me to see all this and hear the great men of the country. I took notice that whenever Cha[rle]s Sumner arose to speak every body listened to hear what the smartest man in the U. S. Senate had to say. With love to all and hoping soon to see you I will close. Your Aff. Son CHAS R. DOUGLASS ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 88–89, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Thousands of runaway slaves sought refugee in camps in and around Washington, D.C. Medical care was provided for them at a facility initially known as the Contraband Hospital, located in the northwest of the district. In May 1863, the approximately one-year-old hospital was placed under the direction of Dr. Alexander Augusta, the nation’s first African American hospital director. Augusta recruited more African American physicians, some of whom were given military officer commissions and others who were contracted as civilian surgeons. After several moves, the facility was relocated to Campbell Army Hospital in late 1864 and renamed the Freedmen’s Hospital. At the end of the war, the hospital was put under the control of the Freedmen’s Bureau. In 1868, the Freedmen’s Hospital became the teaching hospital for the medical department of the newly founded Howard University. Daniel Smith Lamb, Howard University Medical Department: A Historical, Biographical, and Statistical Souvenir (Washington, D.C., 1900), 8–9; Thomas C. Holt, Cassandra Smith Parker, and Rosalyn Terborg-Penn, A Special Mission: The Story of Freedmen’s Hospital, 1862–1962 (Washington, D.C., 1975); W. Montague Cobb, “A Short History of the Freedmen’s Hospital,” Journal of the National Medical Association, 54:271–87 (May 1962). 2. Charles is referring to Lincoln’s second inauguration, on 4 March 1865, which his father attended. McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 240. 3. Abraham Lincoln. 4. Edwin M. Stanton. 5. Born to moderately prosperous free black parents in Alabama, John H. Rapier, Jr. (1835–65), received a rudimentary education under the care of his grandmother in Nashville, Tennessee. Disillusioned by the opportunities available to him in the United States, Rapier joined an uncle in immigrating to Central America in the mid-1850s. After a brief return to the United States to work as a journalist in Minnesota Territory, Rapier immigrated again, first to Haiti and then to Jamaica. In 1862, he moved to Iowa and received a medical degree from the Keokuk Medical College. From January 1864 to February 1865, Rapier served as a surgeon at the Campbell Army Hospital, later the Freedmen’s Hospital, in Washington, D.C. His younger brother, James T. Rapier, later represented Alabama in the House of Representatives (1873–75). Ira Berlin, Slaves without Masters: The Free Negro in the Antebellum South (New York, 1974), 280, 356, 387; Loren Schweninger, “John H. Rapier, Sr.: A Slave and Freedman in the Ante-Bellum South, CWH, 20:23–34 (March 1974); idem., “The Dilemma of a Free Negro in the Ante-Bellum South,” JNH, 62: 283–88 (July 1977); BDUSC (online). 6. The son of James Wormley, a Washington, D.C., free black hotelier, James Thompson Wormley (1844–?) enlisted as a private in the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry on 17 March 1864. After seeing action in Virginia, Wormley’s unit was shipped to Texas, where he was discharged in July 1865 as a sergeant. In 1870, Wormley became the first graduate of the medical school at the newly created Howard University. He soon operated the first black-owned pharmacy, near his father’s boardinghouse in the district. After his father’s death in 1884, Wormley ran his father’s hotel into the 1890s. Carol Gelderman, A Free Man of Color and His Hotel: Race, Reconstruction, and the Role of the Federal Government (Washington, D.C., 2012), 12, 17–19; Robert Benedetto, Jane Donovan, and Kathleen DuVall, eds., Historical Dictionary of Washington, D.C. (Lanham, Md., 2003), 247.

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7. In Rochester on 22 July 1862, nineteen-year-old David E. Wycoff enlisted as a corporal in Company F of the 108th New York Infantry Regiment. The unit fought in the Second Corps of the Army of the Potomac from the Battle of Antietam until the war’s end. A Record of the Commissioned Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Privates, of the Regiments Which Were Organized in the State of New York and Called into the Service of the United States to Assist in Suppressing the Rebellion, 8 vols. (Albany, N.Y., 1865–68), 4:72; George H. Washburn, A Complete Military History and Record of the 108th Regiment N.Y. Volunteers, from 1862 to 1894 (Rochester, N.Y., 1894), 469. 8. Charles Douglass refers to a petition that he and over two hundred African American noncommissioned officers, enlisted men, and army surgeons, along with supportive abolitionists and congressmen, drafted, signed, and presented to the War Department in early 1865, requesting “that permission be given to raise a number of colored regiments to be officered exclusively by colored men.” Berlin, Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 340–41. 9. An 1889 newspaper report by a correspondent identified only as “ARAB” described a “Mary Smith of Troy, N.Y.,” as one of a number of young people who had lived in the Douglass household in Rochester for several years while receiving an education. Smith was reported as married and residing in California. Washington Bee, 19 October 1889. 10. Frederick Douglass, Jr., and Lewis H. Douglass. 11. According to press reports, the Thirteenth Amendment passed the House of Representatives on 31 January 1865 before a very large audience, which reacted with cheers and handkerchief waving. At the White House, Lincoln spoke from a second-story window to a gathered crowd of revelers, thanking Congress for the passage of the amendment and urging the states to ratify it swiftly. All around the city, crowds gathered to celebrate the decision with speeches and serenades. New York Daily Tribune, 1–3 February 1865; New York Times, 1 February 1865; Harper’s Weekly, 18 February 1865. 12. A Toronto-born black, Anderson Ruffin Abbott (1837–1913) attended Oberlin College and then received a medical degree from the University of Toronto. After his request for an appointment as an assistant surgeon with the U.S. Colored Troops was ignored, Abbott became a civilian surgeon at the Contraband Hospital (later the Freedmen’s Hospital) in Washington, D.C. After the war, he returned to Ontario to practice medicine. Charles alludes to a possible invitation by Abbott to Douglass to speak to blacks in the District of Columbia on the day of Lincoln’s second inauguration. Quarles, Frederick Douglass, 233; DCB (online). 13. Charles Sumner. 14. Henry Wilson. 15. The son of a judge in Lexington, Kentucky, Benjamin Gratz Brown (1826–85) graduated from Yale College in 1847. Two years later he entered the practice of law in St. Louis, Missouri, as a partner of Francis Blair, Jr. Brown served in the Missouri House of Representatives (1852–58) and was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1857; he represented a free-soil political faction that later evolved into the state’s Republican party. After brief service in the Union army at the beginning of the Civil War, Brown was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1863. Although he originally held to Radical Republican positions on such issues as black suffrage and Confederate disenfranchisement, his views moderated, and in 1870 a coalition of Democrats and other opponents of the Radical Republicans elected him governor. In 1872, Brown ran as Horace Greeley’s vice presidential candidate on the unsuccessful ticket of the Democratic and Liberal Republican parties. Norma L. Peterson, “The Political Fluctuations of B. Gratz Brown: Politics in a Border State, 1850–1870,” Missouri Historical Review, 50:22–30 (October 1956); Sobel and Raimo, Biographical Directory of Governors, 2:850–51; DAB, 3:105–06. 16. George H. Pendleton. 17. A member of a politically prominent Delaware family, Willard Saulsbury, Sr. (1820–92), practiced law before being elected state attorney general (1850–55) and then U.S. senator (1859–71) as a Democrat. He returned to the practice of the law before holding the post of state chancellor from

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1873 until his death. During the Civil War, Saulsbury was a vocal critic of the Lincoln administration, especially the president’s suspension of habeas corpus. BDUSC (online). 18. The son of an Episcopal minister from Annapolis, Maryland, Henry Winter Davis (1817–65) graduated from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, and then studied law at the University of Virginia. Davis practiced law first in Alexandria, Virginia, and then in Baltimore. Originally a Whig, Davis won three terms in Congress with support of a nativist coalition (1855–61). He supported John Bell in the 1860 presidential election but failed to win reelection to Congress. Davis then aligned with the Republican party and won back his U.S. House seat (1863–65). He became a leading Radical Republican and fought for black suffrage and against Lincoln’s lenient program for Southern Reconstruction. Davis did not seek reelection in 1864. BDUSC (online). 19. Benjamin Wood (1820–90) was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky, and became a merchant in New York City in the 1850s. The younger brother of New York City mayor Fernando Wood, he participated in local Democratic party politics. In 1860 Wood purchased the New York Daily News and acted as its editor. From 1861 to 1865, he served in Congress, where he was a leading opponent of the Civil War. In 1867, Wood converted the Daily News into an evening journal that eventually attained the largest circulation of any daily newspaper in the United States. Silbey, A Respectable Minority, 133; ACAB, 6:592–93; DAB, 20:456–57. 20. Born in Philadelphia, Fernando Wood (1812–81) moved to New York City and became a successful shipping merchant. He and his younger brother, Benjamin, became leaders of the city’s Democratic party. He served nine terms in the House of Representatives (1841–43, 1863–65, and 1867–81), but won his greatest fame as mayor of New York City (1855–57, 1860–62). During his first mayoral term, he feuded with other Democratic factions as well as with the state’s Republicancontrolled legislature over control of the city’s police department. In his second term, Wood attracted much controversy when he advocated that the city join the Southern states in secession. In Congress during the Civil War, Wood was a leading Peace Democrat and a vociferous opponent of the Thirteenth Amendment. Jerome Mushkat, Fernando Wood: A Political Biography (Kent, Ohio, 1990); BDUSC (online).

CHARLES R. DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Washington, D.C., 19 Feb[ruar]y [18]65[.]

Dear Father I received a letter from you some time ago, but supposing that you were away from home I did not answer it. I have strong notions of going either to Savannah Georgia or Nashville Tennesee, as I believe from what I have heard that I can make some money at either of these places. I have a friend here who is to start for Tennesee to night, he wants me to come out there and go into business with him. His father is dead and he has considerable property of his own, he proposes to raise cotton and wishes me to go into the trade with him. He offered me if I would go to pay my way out there and a home for a year or as long as I might stay, he has a mother keeping house there and has written for him to come home and start in business. This young man’s name is Thomas J. White1 he has been a student at

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Wilberforce2 for some time and he and I have roomed together ever since I have been here I believe I introduced him to you at Mr. Stewarts coal office3 when you were here. I mean to have some money and I want to go off as Fred[eric]k has done4 and go it on my hook as every young man does, I see nothing ahead for me unless I have money and that I am bound to have soon. I write to get your consent before I take any step. My situation here amounts to nothing, and I mean to make a bold start for my self in some direction for I am not contented. If I fail I will not return home a beggar I will stay and strive until I am worth something[.] I am in earnest and mean to go ahead. I have been writing po Fred[eric]k to see if there was anything ahead out his way to do. but as yet he sees nothing enough to make it an object. I dont care to wait any longer for something to turn up but I intend to make a start out on trail of an employment. I hear from Fred. very often and he is about the only one I do hear from in the family except once in a while. It seems that all have taken the pledge not to write. My thoughts now are mostly about what I am to do I can see that a black man can be something if he wants to all he has to do is to make a start, love to all. Affectionately Your Son. CHAS R. DOUGLASS ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 90–91, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Precise identification of Thomas J. White and his mother cannot be made, because of the destruction by fire, in 1865, of most of Wilberforce College’s early records. It is probable, however, that like many students at the school in the late 1850s, he was the son of a wealthy white Southerner and an African American woman. After the Civil War started, many of these students were forced to drop out of school because of their fathers’ inability to continue paying their tuition. The biographer William McFeely believes that Douglass dissuaded his son from this Tennessee adventure while visiting Washington to attend Lincoln’s second inauguration a couple of weeks following the date of this letter. Frederick A. McGinnis, A History and an Interpretation of Wilberforce University, (Blanchester, Ohio, 1941), 37–39; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 239–40. 2. Founded in 1856 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Wilberforce College, located in Ohio, was the first American college created solely for the higher education of blacks. At the Cincinnati Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church held on 28 September 1853 in Hillsboro, Ohio, a committee of seven was elected to “promote the welfare of the colored people among us.” This committee of seven, at a subsequent meeting on 9 August 1854, determined that the primary way to promote the welfare of their people was to have qualified and educated teachers, and that education should be at the college level. John F. Wright, one of the members of the committee, attended the conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ohio, on 22 August of the same year to discuss cooperation between the two churches in establishing a black college. Wright’s appeal was met with enthusiasm; however, the A.M.E. church chose to continue putting its efforts into the continued progress of its Union Seminary, which was established in 1847. The Cincinnati Conference committee met again in October and December 1855 to discuss purchasing land for the university, finally settling on a property named Tawawa Springs in Green County. Wilberforce College was formally dedicated

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in October 1856, and M. P. Gaddis, Jr., was elected its first president. The university thrived until the outbreak of the Civil War, after which income and enrollment decreased dramatically. Facing crippling debts, the school closed in 1862. On 10 March 1863, the board of trustees met with Bishop Daniel Payne, who, along with fellow A.M.E. members James A. Shorter and John G. Mitchell, agreed to purchase the school for $10,000. The A.M.E. church chose to close the struggling Union Seminary and merge its faculty and students with those of Wilberforce College; Bishop Payne, its leader, became the first African American college president. On 14 April 1865, the same day that the Confederate capital, Richmond, fell to the Union army, and one day before the assassination of President Lincoln, the campus’s main building was destroyed by fire. President Payne petitioned prominent members of society, including the benefactors Salmon P. Chase, Charles Sumner, and Gerrit Smith, to contribute to its reconstruction. McGinnis, History and an Interpretation of Wilberforce University, 28–35, 37–39. 3. In 1864 there were two coal offices in Washington, D.C., run by men named Stewart. Located at Canal Corner, 7th Street West was the coal and wood firm of Fenwick & Stewart, run by William A. Fenwick and John A. Stewart. James Warder and Clay H. Stewart ran another coal and wood company, Warder & Stewart, which was located at the corner of H Street North and 12th Street West. Frederick Douglass probably met Thomas J. White at one of these two coal offices when he visited Charles in late November 1864 to attend a lecture at Washington’s Israel Baptist Church. Boyd, Boyd’s Washington and Georgetown Directory, 150, 271; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:xix. 4. Frederick Douglass, Jr., was acting as a military recruiter in Mississippi at this time. EAA, 1:422.

ROSETTA DOUGLASS SPRAGUE TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Rochester[, N.Y.] 21 Feb[ruar]y [18]65.

My Dear Father Yours dated Feb. 18th Phila.1 reached me last night it found us all well and Lewis2 at home, he still has his sick times though not as violent as in the early part of winter. I have heard from Nathan3 he is at Hilton Head, he writes that after having been placed in the regiment he was changed to the 21st South Carolina regiment4 but on refusing to do duty in that regiment he was sent back to the 54th and now they tell him they (they meaning the officers) will send him to the 55th5 doing duty at Savannah and Nathan says he will go there willingly I am waiting anxiously to hear from him and to know really where he is. Fred. has also sent two more letters to you6 he says he is well and doing well, having just at the moment comparatively nothing to do but his pay running on. There are no more letters of importance arrived Since I wrote to you last. We live very quietly no one coming and with the exception of my going to the office for the mail no one going any where. I have been so housed all winter I am glad of the chance to go to the office and Hannah says it makes her ache to walk so much so that I go with pleasure, mother

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takes charge of little Annie.7 She grows more and more playful each day she lives. Mother8 sends love also Lewis and baby would send hers if she could speak. I am happy to know that you had such a pleasant time in Phila.9 Give my love to Charley10 I intend writing him Soon. Affectionately Your Daughter ROSA D SPRAGUE.

[P.S.] Please give my love to Mrs Gordon and Mary,11 if you see them. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 92–93, FD Papers, DLC. 1. Douglass lectured in Philadelphia on 16 February 1865 and on the next night in nearby Wilmington, Delaware. On 21 February, he spoke in Baltimore. No letter from him to his daughter from this period has survived. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:xx. 2. Lewis H. Douglass. 3. Nathan Sprague. 4. The Twenty-first Regiment of South Carolina Colored Infantry was organized in March 1864 by consolidating the Third, Fourth, and Fifth South Carolina U.S. Colored Regiments, which were understaffed. It was attached to the Third Brigade of Vogdes’ Division, District of Florida, Department of the South, in April 1864. In October the regiment was deployed to Morris Island, South Carolina. From February through August 1865, the Twenty-first served as part of the garrison of Charleston, South Carolina. After being moved from Charleston, the regiment was stationed at a number of posts across South Carolina and Georgia until being mustered out in October 1866. Walter B. Edgar, South Carolina: A History (Columbia, S.C., 1998), 373–74; Dyer, Compendium of the War, 1:1727; Westwood, Black Troops, White Commanders, 138. 5. The Fifty-fifth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. 6. These two letters from Frederick Douglass, Jr., to his father have not survived. 7. Annie Rosine Sprague (1864–93) was the eldest of Nathan and Rosetta Douglass Sprague’s six children and the first grandchild of Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass. Born in November 1864 in Rochester, New York, eleven months after her parents’ marriage, she was named after the Douglass’s youngest child, Annie, who died in 1859. Annie Sprague spent most of her childhood living in her maternal grandparents’ homes in Rochester and Washington, D.C. After Anna Murray Douglass’s death in 1882, Annie Sprague assisted her aunt, Louisa Sprague, in managing her grandfather’s home at Cedar Hill. On 6 April 1893 in Washington, D.C., she married her grandfather’s former secretary, Charles Satchell Morris (1865–1931). After her marriage, she joined her husband in Ann Arbor, where he was a law student at the University of Michigan, but in November, Annie, who was pregnant, fell ill and died. 1870 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 70; 1880 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington, 143; Herbert Shapiro, White Violence and Black Response: From Reconstruction to Montgomery (Amherst, Mass., 1988), 483; Genna Rae McNeil et al., Witness: Two Hundred Years of African-American Faith and Practice at the Abyssinian Baptist Church of Harlem, New York (Grand Rapids, Mich., 2013), 61–68; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 222, 248, 312–13, 372–73; District of Columbia Marriages, 1830–1921 (online). 8. Anna Murray Douglass. 9. For most of the latter half of February 1865, Douglass’s itinerary was filled with speaking engagements. On 16 February he spoke at Concert Hall in Philadelphia at a meeting of the Social, Civil and Statistical Association of the Colored People of Pennsylvania. The following day he spoke in Wilmington, Delaware, and on the 22nd he was in Baltimore, Maryland. Apparently, his son Charles (who had been discharged from the army in 1864) accompanied him on this speaking tour. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:xx; EAAH, 2:407.

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10. Charles R. Douglass. 11. Probably Sarah Gordon (c. 1813–98) and Mary A. Jones (c. 1838–?). The wife of Henry Gordon, a wealthy and successful mixed-race Philadelphia caterer, and a schoolteacher in her own right, Sarah Gordon ran a private school that attracted students from Philadelphia’s elite black families. Mary A. Jones, who may have been related to Mrs. Gordon, resided (along with her husband, John W. Jones) with the Gordon family for many years and served as their housekeeper. 1860 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 88; 1870 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 156–57; 1880 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, 421; Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803–1915 (online); Monroe N. Work, ed., Negro Yearbook: An Annual Encyclopedia of the Negro, 1921–1922 (Tuskegee, Ala., 1922), 247; Marilyn Ogilvie and Joy Harvey, eds., The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to the Mid–20th Century, 2 vols. (New York, 2000), 1:65.

JULIA GRIFFITHS CROFTS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Hanley, Staff[ord]s[hire, Eng.] 28 April [1865.]

My dear friend Frederick / The joyous news of “Lee’s surrender”1 only reached us last Saturday, & our rejoicing had not ceased when we were stunned by the appalling intelligence that the noble Lincoln has fallen by the assassin’s hand2 & that my old friend Senator Seward’s life has been attempted under such harrowing circumstances3—Dr. C.4 & I were both thoroughly ill on Wednesday, after the awful news came—we were so entirely unprepared for anything of the kind: and the future of your country & especially of your people seemed so much improving, that there seemed everything to hope—now, alas, a melancholy change has come—& I fear this is but the beginning of this new & cowardly style of vengeance. Pray, my dear old friend stay in the Northern States & leave Baltimore—an untried field of labor—Do not throw your valuable life away by venturing near the old home—think of realities—& let those romantic visions remain in abeyance for the present5—Certain men will be marked—you may be one—have so long & successfully labored to expose the villany of the South, & the wrongs of the Slave—so, Beware my dear friend, & stay in New York State or in New England—& think of a faithful friend’s warming—These dreadful murders are never anticipated by the sufferers, or they w[oul]d rarely happen!! I have been hoping to hear from you for some time—: I now enclose this in a letter to Mrs Snow,6 who lately writes me a very pleasant & kind letter partly on behalf of the R. Society7—They appeal strongly for aid for the Freed people—I write in much haste—we have had sickness all through winter—& & long for summer—Pray, write speedily to

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me—Extracts from your last8 have been published all over England—& Scotland9—I am waiting to hear again from Liverpool soon—to send you a small donation for your own work—How are Rose & baby & Mrs D- & the boys? Pray send me particulars—I am longing for news of you all— especially since these dreadful tidings The Doctor & children10 join in kindest love & with fervent prayers for your safety & well being, I remain, as ever, Unchangeably your friend JULIA G. CROFTS—

[P.S.] I heard from Mrs C.D. Miller11 the other day—& enclose a note for her. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 117–19, FD Papers, DLC. 1. On 9 April 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union forces commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Soon after the South’s defeat, there surfaced a revisionist interpretation of the Confederacy’s motivations that became known as the “Lost Cause.” It rewrote the Southern view of the war’s purpose and outcome. The South’s intent became a noble struggle for states’ rights rather than the continuation of slavery, and Southerners were not so much defeated in the war as simply outnumbered by the Yankees. This self-serving, inaccurate rewriting of history enjoyed wide acceptance well into the twentieth century, and even influenced Northern states’ interpretation of the Civil War. The South’s struggle was romanticized and glorified; the cruelty of the institution that it fought to uphold was completely ignored. David W. Blight, Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory (Cambridge, Mass., 2001), 37–38, 258–60, 452–53; Grady McWhiney, Braxton Bragg and Confederate Defeat (New York, 1969), vii–xi; Dwight T. Pitcaithley, “The American Civil War and the Preservation of Memory,” Cultural Resource Management, 25:5–9 (2002). 2. Abraham Lincoln died at 7:22 A.M. on 15 April 1865. On the previous evening, he had attended a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. At approximately 10 P.M., the Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth entered the president’s unguarded box and shot Lincoln in the head from behind with a derringer. Fatally wounded, Lincoln was carried out of the theater and across the street to the house of William Peterson, where he was placed upon a bed in a rear room. The president, who never regained consciousness, died surrounded by surgeons, cabinet members, congressmen, and other federal officials. Louis J. Weichmann, A True History of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln and of the Conspiracy of 1865 (New York, 1975), 147–58; Benjamin P. Thomas, Abraham Lincoln: A Biography (New York, 1952), 520–21; Francis Wilson, John Wilkes Booth: Fact and Fiction of Lincoln’s Assassination (Boston, 1929), 112–17; Mark E. Neely, Jr., The Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia (New York, 1982), 11–13. 3. As part of the broader conspiracy spearheaded by John Wilkes Booth, an attempt was made to assassinate William H. Seward, the secretary of state, on 14 April 1865. Timed to coincide with both Booth’s assassination of Lincoln and a planned attack on Vice President Johnson, Lewis Payne (aka Lewis Thornton Powell) gained entry to the Seward residence at 10:15 P.M. by claiming that he was there to deliver medicine for the secretary of state, who was recovering from serious injuries sustained in a carriage accident nine days earlier. Payne forced his way upstairs to Seward’s bedroom, attacking both Seward’s son Frederick and his soldier nurse, Sergeant George Robinson, along the way. Once there, he stabbed the Secretary several times in the throat. Thinking that he had succeeded in killing Seward, Payne fled the house, stabbing one final victim (Emerick Hansell, a State Department messenger) on his way out the door. Although Payne’s victims were seriously injured, none of

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them succumbed to their wounds. Secretary Seward’s life was saved by a neck brace, which partially deflected Payne’s knife. The death, two months later, of Mrs. Seward, whose health had suffered from the shock of the attack on her husband and son, was blamed upon the assassination attempt. Payne, along with three other coconspirators, was executed on 7 July 1865. Deborah A. Marinelli, The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (New York, 2002), 19–20; Benn Pitman, ed., The Assassination of President Lincoln and the Trial of the Conspirators (1865; Clark, N.J., 2006), 20; Edward Steers, Jr., and Harold Holzer, eds., The Lincoln Assassination Conspirators: Their Confi nement and Execution as Recorded in the Letterbook of John Frederick Hartranft (Baton Rouge, La., 2009), 13–20. 4. The Reverend Henry O. Crofts. 5. In a letter dated 1 January 1865, which also appears in this volume, Douglass mentions the possibility of moving back to Baltimore to start a newspaper there. Although it is difficult to know how serious he was about this proposition, Julia Crofts was concerned enough to advise against it out of fear for his safety in Maryland in the aftermath of both the war’s end and the Lincoln assassination. McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 240. 6. Possibly Emma Snow, the widow of Augustus Snow, who briefly lived in Rochester in the mid-1860s, but more likely Emily A. Laing Snow (1835–1920), the wife of Samuel Snow (1822–78). Born in New Jersey, Emily Laing was the daughter of Thomas and Emily Baker Laing. Thomas Laing, a cabinetmaker, and his family were living in Rochester by 1850. In 1855 Emily Laing married Samuel Snow, a Massachusetts native and moderately successful wire cloth manufacturer who also operated a hardware store in Rochester. 1850 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 48; 1860 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 61; 1870 U.S. Census, New York, Monroe County, 74; 1920 U.S. Census, Texas, El Paso County, 2B; Andrew Boyd, comp., Boyd’s Rochester and Brockport Directory, with a Business Directory, and Names of Farmers and Planters in Monroe County, 1864–65 (Rochester, 1864), 196–97; Boyd’s Rochester Directory, with a Business Directory and an Appendix of much Useful Information, 1866–7 (Rochester, 1866), 163. 7. Most likely the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. Starting in 1862, its members decided to concentrate their efforts on “comforting, cheering, advising and educating” freed men, women, and children. As a result, Julia A. Wilbur was hired to act as the group’s agent and sent to Washington, D.C., in October of that year. She was relocated to Alexandria, Virginia, the following month. In addition to collecting cash and clothing to send to its agent in Alexandria, the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society provided assistance to a freedmen’s school in Kansas. Carol Faulkner, “ ‘A New Field of Labor’: Antislavery Women, Freedmen’s Aid, and Political Power,” in The Great Task Remaining before Us: Reconstruction as America’s Continuing Civil War, ed. Paul A. Cimbala and Randall M. Miller (Bronx, N.Y., 2010), 89; Hewitt, Women’s Activism and Social Change, 193; Faulkner, Women’s Radical Reconstruction, 50. 8. Possibly the letter that Douglass wrote on 1 January 1865, which also appears in this volume. It was addressed to “An English Friend,” presumably Julia Griffiths Crofts. 9. Douglass’s letter of 1 January 1865 was excerpted in at least three leading English newspapers under the headline “Mr. Frederick Douglass on the Prospects of Slavery.” Leeds Mercury, 4 February 1865; Birmingham Daily Post, 11 February 1865; Manchester Times, 25 February 1865. 10. Elizabeth, Saley, and Martha Crofts. 11. Elizabeth Smith Miller, the wife of Charles Dudley Miller, and only daughter of Gerrit Smith.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO CHARLES SUMNER Rochester[,] N.Y. 29 April 1865.

Hon: Charles Sumner: Dear Sir: Allow me to entroduce to your kind notice my son Lewis H. Douglass, He was born in Massachusetts, served as Sergeant Major in the 54th Massachusetts under the lamented Col: Shaw,1 took part in the memorable and disasterous, though glorious assault on Fort Wagner, and was long under fire on Morris Island. His health having broken down in the Service, he was honorably discharged.2 His object now is to obtain, if possible a clerkship, in the newly created Bureau for Freedmen.3 Anything you can do for him in that direction will be highly appreciated and most gratefully remembered both by him and by your friend FREDERICK DOUGLASS.

[P .S.] The friends of freedom, all over the country have looked to you, and confided in you, of all men in the U.S. Senate, during all this terrible war. They will look to you all the more now that peace dawns, and the final settlement of our national troubles is at hand. God grant you strength equal to your day and your duties, is my prayer and that of millions. F.D. ALS: Charles Sumner Papers, MH-H. Another source in Edward L. Pierce, ed., Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner, 4 vols. (Boston, 1877), 3:228–29. 1. Robert Gould Shaw. 2. Lewis H. Douglass was honorably discharged from his position as sergeant major of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment for reasons of health in May 1864. Greene, Swamp Angels, 87–88. 3. Congress passed legislation proposed by President Lincoln to create the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, popularly known as the Freedmen’s Bureau, in March 1865. Although the legislation authorized the bureau for only a single year after the conclusion of military hostilities, it remained in operation until 1872. The bureau originally supplied displaced Southerners, whites as well as blacks, with temporary rations, shelter, health care, and other essential services. Most whites soon ceased taking assistance from the Freedmen’s Bureau, and Andrew Johnson unsuccessfully attempted to block legislation to extend its mandate. Under the leadership of General O. O. Howard, the bureau soon expanded its mission to include establishing schools and arbitrating labor disputes concerning freedmen. Its actions faced vociferous opposition in the South, and President Grant allowed financial appropriations for bureau operations to dwindle. He terminated the agency in 1872 after reassigning Howard to deal with western Indian problems. Ultimately, Charles R. Douglass, not his brother Lewis, obtained a clerkship with the Freedmen’s Bureau. Foner, Reconstruction, 68–70, 82–88, 144–51; McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 257–58.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO JAMES MILLER MCKIM1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 2 May 1865. c

J. M. M Kim Esqr My dear Sir: You may consider me as held and firmly bound to be present at the proposed meeting of the American Freedmen’s Aid Union2 in Cooper Institute on the 9th[.]3 If the able and eloquent speakers you name Shall be present on that occasion I Shall not be needed as a speaker at all. It will however be a satisfaction to listen. I ought tell frankly before hand, that I have my doubts about these Freedmen’s Societies. They may be a necessity of the hour and as such may be commended—but I fear everything looking to their permanence. The negro needs justice more than Liberty more than old cloths—rights more than training to enjoy them. Once given him Equality before the Law and special associations for his benefit may cease. He will then be comprehended as he ought to be, in all those schemes of benevolence, education and progress which apply to the masses of our countrymen every where. In so far as these special efforts, shall furnish an apology for excluding us from the general schemes of Civilization so multitudinous in our country—they will be an injury to the colored race. They will serve to keep up the very prejudices, which it is as desirable to banish from the country. My mission, for the present is, to ask equal Citizenship for the negro —in the State: and equal fellowship for the negro in the Church. Equal rights in the street Cars, and equal admission into the state schools. Of course till we get this, we shall be a crippled people, and shall be thankful for crutches to hobble along with—but this is what we want—and what we must not lose sight of in all our schemes of benevolence with special reference to negroes. While I cooperate in efforts to establish schools for Freedmen—and shall continue to do so—I do it under protest. Our Home Mission Societies—and others of like Character ought to take this class in common with all other ignorant and destitute people (whites as well as colored) at the South in hand. But I will not weary you. I was sorry not to have seen you when I called at your office.

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On reading over this note I find it pretty Strong. It is just possible you may think, if these are my views, I shall not be of much use at your meeting—If so a line from you will be sufficient and I will not intrude. Yours Truly FREDK DOUGLASS ALS: Anti-Slavery Manuscripts, NIC. 1. James Miller McKim (1810–74) was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Dickinson College in 1828. After beginning the study of medicine, McKim decided to enter the Presbyterian ministry and attended both Princeton Theological Seminary and Andover Theological Seminary. After ordination, he was assigned a parish in Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania. After reading William Lloyd Garrison’s Thoughts on African Colonization, McKim became an abolitionist, and in 1836 he became a lecturer for the American Anti-Slavery Society. McKim was also an ardent supporter of Garrison, whom he followed after the 1840 abolitionist rupture. Also in 1840, he settled in Philadelphia and became the editor of the Pennsylvania Freeman, the voice of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society; he was also active in the Underground Railroad. McKim continued as editor of the Pennsylvania Freeman until it merged with the National Anti-Slavery Standard in 1854. He welcomed the Civil War. He promoted the use of black troops and supplied aid to Southern freedmen in Port Royal, South Carolina, through his membership in the American Freedman’s Union Commission. Still, Underground Railroad, 654–59; William Cohen, “James Miller McKim: Pennsylvania Abolitionist” (Ph.D. diss., New York University, 1968); ANB, 15:115–16. 2. Private Northern efforts to aid Southern freedmen were undertaken by a number of organizations, including religious groups such as the pro-abolition American Missionary Association as well as regional secular societies. As the Civil War progressed, many secular groups coalesced into a loose confederation known as the American Freedmen’s Aid Commission, led by the veteran Garrisonian abolitionist J. Miller McKim. Besides offering material aid to displaced runaway slaves, McKim’s commission hired teachers and operated hundreds of schools for freedmen in the former slave states. Over the objections of abolitionists such as Wendell Phillips, who feared the group’s mission would be diluted, McKim merged his organization in early 1866 with the American Union Commission, an organization that provided assistance from private sources to Southern white Unionists. The new group adopted the name American Freedmen’s Union Aid Commission and supported a large system of schools open to students of both races in the South. The new group competed with the American Missionary Association and several denominational agencies for steadily decreasing Northern donations. Since the Freedmen’s Bureau fostered the creation of public school systems across the South, the AFUC concluded that its work was completed and dissolved in 1869. McPherson, Struggle for Equality, 394, 398–407; Foner, Reconstruction, 144–47. 3. On 9 May 1865, an anniversary meeting was held for the American Freedman’s Aid Union at New York’s Cooper Institute. Judge Hugh Lenox Bond of Baltimore, Maryland, spoke on the association’s purpose to educate and prepare freedmen for the duties of citizenship. Other speakers included William Lloyd Garrison, John Jay, and Frederick Douglass. In his speech, Douglass addressed his hesitancy to support the association because the term “freedman” implied that all members were former slaves; he preferred the term “freeman” instead. Douglass explained that he had opposed such societies because they treated freedmen as an experiment, when, in his opinion, slavery was the true experiment. He accepted the usefulness of these organizations because of their expansive notions of aid. New York Times, 10 May 1865.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO SYLVESTER ROSA KOËHLER1 Rochester[, N.Y.] 9 June [1865.]

My dear Mr Koëhler: I thank you for your note of advice2 not the less because I did not ask it. In a matter of this kind it is well to know the opinions of others. I have been in the habit of regarding myself as extremely obnoxious to the whites of the South and perhaps, this has land led me to decline invitations thither which in other circumstances I might have accepted. My course has been dictated in the matter by the thought that my going South might be construed into a taunt—a display of bravado and be made the occasion of violence against me and upon the colored people generally. I have never given any public notice of an intention to make a tour through the South— and I am quite at a loss to know how such announcements as that in the Tribune3 find their way to that & other papers. The mere fact that the public expect me to go—would not weigh with me—if my judgement or inclination were against it. Giving all proper consideration to what it might think or say I should be likely to pursue my own course. Whenever the Republican Organization through its appointed com: Shall deem my Services valuable to the cause at the South and shall appoint me to “stump”4 the southern States—and provide the means as they have done in the case of other speakers I am ready to go. As the case Stands I Shall make no general tour through the South but only go to a few points this Summer where I am called by special invitation. My good friend—Miss Assing,5 is wise in many things—but is sometimes disposed to look at “mole Hills” as mountains.6 She has herself to thank for your assistance in this Southern business—for I only mentioned to her that I thought of going to Georgia, when lo and behold! My thought is magnified into a purpose—and my purpose is trumpited to the world. I must be a little more careful how I whisper my thoughts to my dear Miss Assing— The vehemence of her opposition some times makes it necessary to a just sense of Independence to go straight forward— With my best Respects to Mrs Koëhler—and your Dear Children7— Your Friend FREDERICK DOUGLASS.

[P.S.] I shall be glad to have a line from you at any time—

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ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Born in Leipzig, Germany, Sylvester Rosa Koëhler (1837–1900) immigrated to the United States with his family and settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1849. Koëhler married Amalie Susanne Jaeger in 1859, and soon after they had three children. He made a meager living by working as a clerk in Hoboken, New Jersey, so the family took in boarders to supplement their income. In 1868 the Koëhlers resettled in Boston, where Sylvester worked as a manager for the engraving firm of Louis Prang. Koëhler wrote regularly on the graphic arts, and he eventually became a curator of the engraving collections of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and then the Smithsonian Institution. As alluded to in this letter, Koëhler was a close friend of Douglass and an intimate of the German emigré Ottilie Assing. Assing occasionally boarded with the Koëhler family, and Douglass probably became friends with them on his visits with her. Diedrich, Love across Color Lines, 126, 263, 275–88, 307; DAB, 5, pt. 2, 485–86; ACAB, 3:570. 2. This note has not survived. 3. The specific announcement in the New York Tribune and other newspapers to which Douglass refers to has not been located. On 1 June 1865, the Tribune published highly complimentary reports of his address at New York City’s Cooper’s Union concerning Lincoln’s assassination, and those stories might have fanned speculation that Douglass could be a valuable political advocate for the nascent Republican party in Southern states. Douglass lectured twice in Maryland in 1865 but did not venture farther south that year. New York Daily Tribune, 1, 2 June 1865; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:xx–xxi, 86–95. 4.In political parlance, the term “stump” derives from the early nineteenth-century practice of delivering campaign speeches while standing on a tree stump when a more conventional platform could not be located. William Safire, Safire’s Political Dictionary, rev. ed (New York, 2008), 712–13. 5. Ottilie Assing. 6. Douglass adapts an idiom that first appeared in English in Nicholas Udall’s translation of The first tome or volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus upon the newe testamente (1548). The Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs, 3d ed. (Oxford, Eng., 1970), 547. 7. Sylvester Koëhler’s wife was named Amalie, and two of their children were named Hedwig and Walter. Deidrich, Love across Color Lines, 281.

LEWIS H. DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Tiny Creek[, Md.] 9 June 1865.

My Dear Father: I have just returned from St. Michaels. I started from here last Monday morning on foot, the distance instead of being as I supposed four miles proved to be eight miles. I walked over these in three hours. On the road I passed John Mitchell1 aunt Eliza’s2 oldest son and her sister Katy3 but did not know who they were although I spoke to them and enquired the distance to St. Michaels. On arriving at St. Michaels I met aunt Eliza in the street and she knew me immediately from my resemblance to Charley. It being Whitsuntide4 the street were full of colored peole, my aunt introduced me to the crowd and I soon became a lion. Before going to her house she made several calls with me, just to show the people she

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said that her brother’s family were not too proud to come and see her. Aunt Eliza lives a little more than a half mile from St. Michaels towards Capt Auld’s5 place on what is called the County road.6 They rent about an acre of ground on which they raise vegetables enough for the family; they raise their own meat. There are seven of the nine children at home or in the neighborhood. John Edward and Peter7 are farmers and work like Turks. Susan8 the oldest girl at home lives out to service, also the little girl named Mary Douglass9 Aunt Eliza says after you, then there is Ellen10 and Richard at home. Aunt Eliza reqested me to thank yourself and mother for the presents sent her. Your cousin Tom Bailey11 called on me. He said he remembered you well. I showed him your photograph he remembed the scar over your nose.12 He stutters. He stammers a great deal. He told me that your grandmother was of Indian descent.13 I saw a daughter of Perry’s14 she goes by the name of [illegible] her father was sold about three years ago. Jim Mitchell wished to be remembered to you, also a Betsey Wells15 when you used to get milk at Miss Polly Harrisons,16 also Lloyd Mitchell17 Denny Marshall’s Lloyd.18 A white woman by the name of Harriet Auld19 called to see me, she said she used to know you. A white man named Ned Hamilton20 told cousin John yesterday that he was the last man that took you to jail. I kept pretty quite while in St. Michaels because I know it to be one of the worst places in the South. A colored was mobbed there about two weeks ago21 for advising the colored people to do business for themselves those who were not able to work to open stores and the rest should trade with them, the white shopkeepers took offense at that and broke up his meeting. The white people will do any thing they can to keep the blacks from advancing. There seems to be a combination among the white people to keep the blacks from buying land.22 Large tracts of woods that the white will neither use nor sell to the blacks is idle, and wasting. There are a great many colored people who would buy land if the whites would sell The whites think to control the labor by selling land to the black. The highest price paid a farm hand now is fifteen dollars a month. A large number of colored men make from eighteen to twenty dollars a month oystering.23 They have surplus mony and can’t use it to any advantage around here; and they do not want to move away. My school owing to some repairs in the church will not open until Monday the 12th inst.24 I will have about thirty scholars to commence with. Whether they are paying scholars or not is yet to bee seen. Once in awhile I would like to see

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a Rochester paper. There are no papers about here nor no mail but once a week. My address is Royal Oak. Talbot Co. Give my love to all. Your Affectionate Son LEWIS ALS: Moorland-Springarn Collection, DHU. 1. Douglass’s sister Eliza and her husband Peter Mitchell had nine children. The second-oldest son was named John Emory Mitchell (1843–?). Dickson, Young Frederick Douglass, 164, 206–07. 2. Frederick Douglass’s sister Eliza Bailey (1816–c. 1876), the third oldest of six children born to Harriet Bailey, was a slave owned by Aaron Anthony. When Anthony died in 1826, Eliza became the property of Thomas Auld, Anthony’s son-in-law. Eliza married Peter Mitchell, a free black who worked as a field hand in Talbot County, with whom she eventually had nine children. In 1836, Mitchell bought Eliza and their two children from Thomas Auld for $100. After settling on an acre of land that they rented from Samuel and John Hambleton of Talbot County, they raised their own vegetables and livestock and hired themselves out as a domestic and a field hand. Eliza and her brother Frederick were separated after the latter’s escape from slavery in 1838. On 6 June 1844, Mitchell freed Eliza and the other children because state laws no longer required removal from Maryland upon manumission. Eliza and Frederick were reunited in 1865 when Douglass stopped in Baltimore while on a speaking tour. Lewis Douglass to Douglass, 9 June 1865, FD Papers, DHU-MS; Thomas Auld to Peter Mitchell, 25 January 1836, Talbot County Records, V.52, 258, Aaron Anthony Slave Distribution, 22 October 1827, Talbot County Distributions, V.JP#D, 58–59, Sale of Slaves, Manumission of Eliza Mitchell, 1 July 1844, Talbot County Records, V.58, 234–35, all in MdTCH; New York Independent, 2 March 1865; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 164–65, 184, 206–07, 229. 3. Probably Kitty Bailey (1820–?), a younger sister of Frederick. Details about her life are elusive. She had three known children: Sam (1842–1846), Nathan (1845–?), and Henry IV (1847–?). Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 207. 4. The week following Whitsunday, the seventh Sunday after Easter. Whitsunday, meaning “White Sunday,” derived its name from the white garments worn by believers during their baptisms, and commemorates the descent of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. Brewer, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1486. 5. Thomas Auld. 6. Eliza and Peter Mitchell, along with Peter’s brothers, James and Washington Mitchell, each rented an acre of land on the Perry Cabin Farm, the estate of the brothers Samuel and John N. Hambelton. The Mitchell brothers built small houses on the land, where they farmed pigs, chickens, and vegetables to sustain their families. The “county road” is now known as Mitchell Street in St. Michaels. Preston, Young Douglass, 164–65. 7. It is difficult to confirm the identities of all the members of the large family of Eliza Bailey Mitchell and Peter Mitchell. Three of their sons were John Emory (1843–?), Edward Napoleon (1840–?), and Peter II (c. 1842–?). 1860 U.S. Census, Maryland, Talbot County, 99; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 164–65, 206–07. 8. Susan Mitchell (c. 1849–?) was the daughter of Peter Mitchell and Eliza Bailey Mitchell. 1860 U.S. Census, Maryland, Talbot County, 99; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 206–07. 9. Mary Douglass Mitchell (1856–?) was the daughter of Peter Mitchell and Eliza Bailey Mitchell. She was named in honor of Eliza’s brother, Frederick Douglass. 1860 U.S. Census, Maryland, Talbot County, 99; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 164. 10. Lewis refers to Ellen or Ella Mitchell (1851–?) and Richard Mitchell (1859–?). The two eldest Mitchell daughters, Jane (c. 1834–?) and Louisa (1835–?), had already married and left the family household by 1865. Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 164–65, 206–07.

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11. Tom Bailey (1814–?), the fourth of Milly Bailey’s seven children and Douglass’s cousin, was a slave belonging to Aaron Anthony. When Anthony died in 1826, Bailey became the property of Thomas Auld. Auld granted Bailey his freedom in 1845. Aaron Anthony Slave Distribution, 22 October 1827, Talbot County Distributions, V.JP#D, 58–59, MdTCH; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 91, 174, 206, 221, 230. 12. At the age of nine, Douglass got into a fight with another slave, Ike Copper, one year his senior. Copper struck Douglass in the face with a piece of iron-fused cinder, leaving a permanent crossshaped scar on his forehead. Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 2:75; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 54. 13. There is no solid evidence of Douglass’s grandmother, Betsey Bailey, being of Native American descent; however, family tradition claimed so. Aaron Anthony, Douglass’s childhood master, often referred to him as his “little Indian boy,” and on several occasions Douglass was mistaken for a Native American because of his facial features and yellow-brown skin. Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 9. 14. Perry Bailey (1813–80), Frederick Douglass’s brother and the eldest of seven children born to Harriet Bailey, was the slave of Aaron Anthony. When Anthony died in 1826, Perry was inherited by Anthony’s son, Andrew S. Anthony. Andrew died in 1832, leaving Perry, by then married to a slave named Maria, to John P. Anthony, who sold Maria to a slave owner in Brazos County, Texas. Perry followed his wife to Texas, where a postemancipation labor shortage allowed him to earn “fifteen dollars gold wages a month.” In 1867, Perry, Maria, and their four children traveled to Rochester to reunite with Frederick. Elated by this reunion, Douglass built a cottage for them on his Rochester estate, where the family stayed for two years. In 1869, Perry and Maria returned to Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where Perry died sometime after 1878. Perry Downs to Douglass, 21 February 1867, FD Collection, DHU-MS; Douglass to J. J. Spellman, 11 July 1867, reprinted in New York Independent, 25 July 1867; Douglass to Theodore Tilton, 2 September 1867, FD Papers, NHi; Anna Downs to Douglass, 5 October 1869, General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 497–99, FD Papers, DLC; Aaron Anthony Slave Distribution, 22 October 1827, Talbot County Distributions, V.JP#D, 58–59, MdTCH; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 175–77, 206. 15. Betsey Wells (c. 1823–?) was possibly a slave of Polly Harrison and could have known Douglass as a child. 1870 U.S. Census, Maryland, Talbot County, 24. 16. Probably Mary Harrison (c. 1792–1877), more commonly known as “Miss Polly.” She was married to her distant cousin Joseph Harrison (b. 1780–1835) and lived at the Haphazard Plantation on Broad Creek in St. Michaels, Talbot County, Maryland. 1850 U.S. Census, Maryland, Talbot County, 11. 17. Lloyd Mitchell (c. 1807–?) was of mixed descent and possibly the slave of Denny Marshall. In the 1870 census his occupation was listed as “catches oysters.” 1870 U.S. Census, Talbot County, Maryland, 41. 18. Denny Marshall (b. 1805–?) was listed as owning three slaves on the 1830 census and may have owned Lloyd Mitchell, as suggested by Lewis Douglass. 1830 U.S. Census, Talbot County, Maryland, 37. 19. Possibly misidentified by Lewis. This woman could be one of several female Aulds living in St. Michaels at the time of Lewis’s visit who were old enough to have known Douglass in the 1830s. Ann Harper Auld (c. 1806–?), who married Thomas Auld in 1865, lived in St. Michaels in the 1830s and could have known Douglass. Another possibility is Sarah E. Battee Auld (c. 1813–?), who was married to a different Thomas Auld. Her father, John W. Battee, lived in Talbot County in the 1830s, and so it is possible that she knew Douglass. Other possibilities are Mrs. Sarah Auld (c. 1816–?), married to James Auld in the 1860s, or Rebecca Auld (c. 1795–?), who was living in St. Michaels at the time of Lewis’s visit. 1830 U.S. Census, Talbot County, Maryland, 31; 1850 U.S. Census, Talbot County, Maryland, 96A; 1860 U.S. Census, Talbot County, Maryland, 78, 185, 219, 234; 1880 U.S. Census, Talbot County, Maryland, 497C. 20. Probably Ned Hambelton, not Ned Hamilton, a white constable who was among the white men who arrested Douglass and Charles Roberts, Henry Bailey, and John Harris for attempting to run

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away. The constables marched the men to St. Michaels to allow Captain Thomas Auld to determine their fate. After an interrogation by Auld, the constables marched the would-be fugitives twelve more miles to the county seat of Easton to be put in jail. Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:125–37; Preston, Young Douglass, 136–38. 21. The Easton (Md.) Gazette of 20 May 1865 reports that the circuit court for Talbot County fined Alex W. P. Robinson, William Willis, and B. F. Newman $10 each for assault and battery on Harrison Hopkins. Census records reveal two men named Harrison Hopkins living in Talbot County: a black man born c. 1824, and a mulatto born c. 1847. It is possible that this is the mobbing to which Lewis refers. Easton (Md.) Gazette, 20 May, 1865; 1870 U.S. Census, Talbot County, Maryland, 34, 94. 22. Following emancipation, many former slaves were left disoriented and confused by the transition from slavery to freedom. Southern whites intent on maintaining their dominance sought to control the land and labor market. Laws were enacted that made it difficult for blacks to buy land or obtain honest work. Many were left with no option except to work on their old masters’ plantations for menial wages. Most of those freed had little or no money, and white landowners charged high interest when lending money to blacks to rent parcels of land. These systems of land and labor control kept many former slaves in extreme poverty and indentured servitude. According to one study, in eight Maryland counties in 1880 (Anne Arundel, Charles, Dorchester, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s, and St. Mary’s), only about 2 percent of free blacks owned land, and the rest depended on tenant farming. Michael W. Fitzgerald, Splendid Failure: Postwar Reconstruction in the American South (Chicago, 2007), 30–35; Fields, Slavery and Freedom on the Middle Ground, 175–76. 23. Oyster fishing was a popular occupation among blacks on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Men would move through the shallows in a boat and use tongs, resembling two long-handled garden rakes hinged together, to skim the oyster beds. They would shuck the oysters in the boat, returning the shells to the oyster bed. Besides requiring strength, the difficult job involved long hours and exposure to bitterly cold winds. By the 1870s, laws had been passed that required oyster fishers to obtain a license, which made it more difficult for people to oyster without paying hefty fees and taxes. Lewis’s claim that black men could earn $18–$20 a month would have been a substantial wage for blacks at that time. Fields, Slavery and Freedom on the Middle Ground, 183–85; Preston, Young Douglass, 107, 164–65. 24. Public discussions concerning the education of local blacks were well underway in Talbot County by mid-1865. One letter to the editor of the Easton Gazette, dated 10 June 1865 and signed “J.V.,” discussed the importance of making blacks literate: “now that the negro is free, our next duty will be to educate him.” No specific details about Lewis’s attempts to open a school in St. Michaels can be found, but it appears that he was working with the “Northern” Methodist Episcopal Church in the nearby town of Royal Oak around this time. Easton Gazette, 10 June 1865; L. M. Hagood, The Colored Man in the Methodist Episcopal Church (1890; Westport, Conn., 1970), 116, 118, 142.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO WILLIAM SYPHAX AND JOHN F. COOK Rochester, [N.Y.] 1 July 1865.

Messrs. William Syphax1 and John F. Cook:2 Gentlemen : Accept my best thanks for your note of the 28th June, inviting me to be present at your proposed celebration of the 4th, in Washington.3 Had your note come a few days earlier, I might have been able to mingle my voice with those who shall participate in the commemoration of the birthday of

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freedom at the Capital. As the matter now stands, I can only send you the assurance that I shall be with you in spirit and purpose. The one thought to be emphasized and deeply underscored on that occasion is this: The immediate, complete, and universal enfranchisement of the colored people of the whole country. This is demanded both by justice and national honor. Besides, it is the only policy which can give permanent peace and prosperity to the country. The great want of the country is to be rid of the negro question, and it can never be rid of that question until justice, right, and sound policy are complied with. I hope the able men who will speak on the occasion of your celebration will show that the prophecy of 1776 will not be fulfilled till all men in America shall stand equal before the laws. Yours, very truly, FRED’K DOUGLASS. PLSr: Celebration by the Colored People’s Educational Monument Association, in Memory of Abraham Lincoln, on the Fourth of July, 1865, in the Presidential Grounds, Washington, D.C. (Washington, D.C., 1865), 5; Subject File, reel 10, frame 14, FD Papers, DLC. 1. William Syphax (1825–91) was born into slavery to Charles Syphax and Maria (Carter) Syphax. Both of his parents belonged to George Washington Parke Custis, stepgrandson and adopted son of George Washington, and owner of the large Arlington estate in Arlington County, Virginia. Custis freed Maria and her children in 1826, and when Syphax was about eleven, he was sent to Washington, D.C., to study at a private school. In 1850 he helped establish the Civil and Statistical Association, which promoted the educational, moral, and financial advancement of blacks in Washington, D.C. In 1851 he was hired as a copyist in the Department of the Interior, and he was eventually promoted to the position of chief messenger. While working for the government, he served under nine secretaries of the interior. Syphax was deeply involved in the effort to advance education for blacks and served as the president and chairman of the District of Columbia Board of Trustees of the Colored Public Schools from July 1868 to June 1871. In 1870 he helped establish the Preparatory High School for Negro Youth, the nation’s first high school founded for blacks. Washington (D.C.) Daily National Intelligencer, 20 May 1863; New York Age, 27 June 1891; Alison Stewart, First Class: The Legacy of Dunbar, American’s First Black Public High School (Chicago, 2013), 27–28; Kofi Lomotey, ed., Encyclopedia of African American Education, 2 vols. (Thousand Oaks, Calif., 2010), 1:235–236; E. Delorus Preston, Jr., “William Syphax, a Pioneer in Negro Education in the District of Columbia,” JNH, 20:449, 455–57, 472, 474 (October 1935). 2. John Francis Cook, Jr. (1833–1910) was born in Washington, D.C. His father, John F. Cook, was a prominent African American clergyman and educator. Cook initially attended Union Seminary, which was his father’s school, and later studied at Oberlin College in Ohio. In 1855, his father died, and Cook and his brother George took over direction of Union Seminary. In 1867, Cook began his governmental career by securing a clerkship with the District of Columbia tax collector. The following year, he was elected to the Washington Board of Aldermen. Cook also served as a justice of the peace (1869–76) and collector of taxes for the District of Columbia (1874–88). Cook continued to serve on numerous social welfare, education, and cultural boards after his retirement. By 1895, Cook was considered one of the wealthiest African American men in the United States, with an estimated net worth of $200,000. John W. Cromwell, The Negro in American History: Men and Women Eminent in the Evolution of the American of African Descent (Washington, D.C., 1914), 67–70; DANB, 126–27; ANB, 5:382–83.

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3. On 4 July 1865, the Colored People’s Educational Monument Association held a Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C. Thousands of blacks, many celebrating this holiday as free people for the first time, joined congressmen and other governmental officials on the White House grounds. John F. Cook, a member of the association’s board of directors, presided over the assembly. After the Reverend D. W. Anderson opened the event with a prayer, Cook read letters from several abolitionists, Douglass included, and then William Howard Day, John Pierpont, General Edgar Gregory, and U.S. senators Henry Wilson and Michael Hahn addressed the audience. The letter of invitation that Douglass received on 28 June 1865 from William Syphax and John F. Cook seems not to have survived. Washington (D.C.) Daily National Intelligencer, 6 July 1865; Celebration by the Colored People’s Educational Monument Association, in Memory of Abraham Lincoln, on the Fourth of July, 1865, in the Presidential Grounds, Washington, D.C. (Washington, D.C., 1865), 3–10, 18, 26, 33–34; Harold Holzer, Edna G. Medford and Frank J. Williams, The Emancipation Proclamation: Three Views (Baton Rouge, 2006), 39.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO LYDIA MARIA CHILD1 Rochester, N.Y. 30 July 1865.

Mrs Child: Dear Madam: Use the story of my life in any way you see fit.2 I am sure it will not, in your hands, be employed to the injury of myself or the cause of my people. I do not think it well to make known the manner of my escape from slavery. No good end could be served by such publications—and some evil might possibly come of it.3 Several inqueries—will be answered—when I tell you that Hugh Auld died4 before I reached Baltimore and Thomas Auld was not in Baltimore.5 The story of an interview between us is a news paper story for which I am in no way responsible. Any such meeting could not fail to be awkward. He would find it hard to approach me as Mr Douglass—and I sh[oul]d find it equally so to approach him as Master Thomas. We could hardly get at each other. Still I should be glad to see him—especially if I could do so simply by meeting him half way. I do not fancy making a journey to see a man who gave me so many reasons for wishing the greatest distance between us. Time and events have made changes—and it is just possible that the Lamb may yet venture into the den of the Lion without danger of being eaten up. I learned from my sister6 who still lives near Master Thomas, that he says he would be glad to see me. He has but to say so to me by letter—and Considering his age, and for getting his past, I will make him a visit.

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I am about leaving town7—and am too much in a hurry to write you at length. I have no recollection of ever receiving a copy of the Life of Isaac T. Hopper.8 from you—Your present note is the first I ever received from you. though I have always read with grateful pleasure what you have from time to time written on the question of slavery— I am just now deeply engaged in the advocacy of Suffrage for the whole colored people of the South. I see little advantage in emancipation without this. “Unfriendly Legislation—“ by a state may undo all the “friendly legislation” by the Federal Government. Very Truly &c. FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: Frederick Douglass Project, NRU. Reprinted in Foner, Life and Writings, 4:170–71. 1. Born in Medford, Massachusetts, Lydia Maria Francis Child (1802–80) published her first of many novels, Hobomok, at age twenty-two. From 1826 to 1834 she edited the bimonthly Juvenile Miscellany, the first periodical for children to be published in the United States. She married David Lee Child (1794–1874) in 1828, and William Lloyd Garrison drew both into the abolitionist movement in 1831. Her An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans (1833) was the first of a dozen antislavery books and pamphlets that caused the popularity of her literary writings to decline drastically. A longtime officer of the American Anti-Slavery Society, Child edited its official newspaper, the New York National Anti-Slavery Standard, from 1841 to 1843. In addition to abolition, she supported most of the other humanitarian causes of the time with her never-idle pen. William S. Osborne, Lydia Maria Child (Boston, 1980); Milton Meltzer, Tongue of Flame: The Life of Lydia Maria Child (New York, 1965); ACAB, 1:603–04; NAW, 1:330–33. 2. Lydia Maria Child published The Freedmen’s Book in 1865 as a textbook for freedmen’s schools. The book is a collection of essays, biographies, poems, and anecdotes written by Child, other abolitionists, and black authors. The book initially sold for sixty cents, a price intended to allow newly freed men and women to purchase it. Furthermore, Child explained in the preface that all proceeds from the sale of the book would be given back to her readers for their education. The book included a short segment by Douglass entitled “A Pertinent Question,” as well as a biography of him written by Child. Lydia M. Child, The Freedmen’s Book (Boston, 1865), 93, 156; Jessica Enoch, Refiguring Rhetorical Education: Women Teaching African American, Native American, and Chicano/a Students, 1865–1911 (Carbondale, Ill., 2008), 52. 3. Douglass did not reveal the story of his escape from slavery until late 1881. In an essay written for the Century Magazine to generate interest in his forthcoming third autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, Douglass recounted his escape in detail for the first time. He claimed he waited so long to share his story in order to protect those who aided him, as well as any slaves who might have attempted a similar escape. Chicago Tribune, 27 November 1881; Douglass, “My Escape from Slavery,” Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3:153–56. 4. Hugh Auld died on 23 December 1861. Findagrave.com (online). 5. Douglass made a short address in Rochester before travelling to Baltimore in November 1864. He stated, “I may meet my old master there, whom I have not seen for many years.” He went on to call his former master “a very good man” and claimed that he had “no malice to overcome in going back among those former slaveholders.” Because this short speech was published in several newspapers, it is possible that some misinterpreted it to mean that Douglass did in fact meet with Thomas Auld during his visit to Baltimore. In June 1865, the Baltimore correspondent for the New

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York Weekly Anglo-African reported that Douglass had passed through the city on “private business” en route to Washington, D.C. After some persuading, he gave two speeches, but his unannounced visit to the city might have also led some to believe that he met with his old master during this time. Despite possible rumors of their reunion, Douglass and Auld did not meet until 17 June 1877 in St. Michaels, Maryland. Lib., 25 November 1864; New York Weekly Anglo-African, 24 June 1865; Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 182–85. 6. Douglass refers to his sister, Eliza Bailey Mitchell. He was reunited with her in November 1864 when he travelled to Baltimore. They had not met or corresponded since 1836. Preston, Young Frederick Douglass, 163. 7. After writing this letter, Douglass traveled to Brooklyn, New York, to deliver a speech on 1 August 1865 at the West Indian Emancipation celebration. New York Daily Tribune, 2 August 1865; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:xxi. 8. In 1853, Child wrote a biography of the Quaker abolitionist Isaac T. Hopper entitled Isaac T. Hopper: A True Life. In this book, published a year after Hopper’s death, Child called him “an honored friend,” and her biography reflects her admiration for his devotion to the abolition movement as well as to prison reform. Lydia M. Child, Isaac T. Hopper: A True Life (Boston, 1853), v; James Emmett Ryan, Imaginary Friends: Representing Quakers in American Culture, 1650–1950 (Madison, Wisc., 2009), 76.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO WILLIAM J. WILSON1 Rochester, N.Y. 8 Aug[ust] 1865.

W. J. Wilson, Esq.— My Dear Sir: In answer to your note requesting me to allow my name to stand as one of the officers of the “Educational Monument Association,”2 I beg to state that I cannot allow my name as you request, nor can I, with my present views, favor the plan adopted by the Association. On many accounts, I wish I could unite with you in this enterprise, and not the least among them is the pleasure I experience in finding myself coöperating with yourself, and other gentlemen connected with this Educational Monument Association, for the common elevation and improvement of our condition as a people. But I must be true to my conviction of fitness. When I go for anything, I like to go strong, and when I cannot go thus, I had better not go at all. You cannot want a man among you who cannot bring his whole heart to the work. I can’t do this, and hence will not fill the place, which, if filled at all, should be filled more worthily. You will, my old friend, naturally inquire why I cannot do this? Here there is no difficulty but the time required to answer. There is much I could say, but I must be brief. First of all, then, I must say, this whole monument business, in its present shape, strikes me as an offence against good taste,

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and as calculated to place the colored people in an undesirable and discreditable position before the country. Such, I say, is my present conviction. Do not consider me hostile to monuments nor to colleges; I am not to either. Things good in standing alone are not always good when mixed. Now, a monument by the colored people, erected at the expense of the colored people, in honor of the memory of Abraham Lincoln, expressive of their gratitude and affection for their friend and great benefactor, however humble and inexpensive the marble, I could understand and appreciate, and the world would understand and appreciate the effort.3 A monument like this would express one of the holiest sentiments of the human heart. It would be, as all such offerings should be, free from all taint of self-love or self-interest on our part, as a class. It would be our own act and deed, and would show the after-coming generations, in some degree, the sentiments awakened among the oppressed by the death of Mr. Lincoln. A monument of this kind, erected by the colored people—that is, by the voluntary offerings of the colored people—is a very different thing from a monument built by money contributed by white men to enable colored people to build a monument. We should bury our own dead and build our own monuments, and all monuments which we would build to the memory of our friends, if we would not invite the continued contempt of the white race upon our heads. Now, whenever a movement shall be made for such a monument, I am with it, heart and soul, and will do my best to make it a success. So much for the monument part of your plan. Now a word of the college. I am heartily in favor of all needful educational institutions for the present education of colored people, even though they be separate institutions. Present circumstances are the only apology for such institutions. When a colored lad or girl can go to school or college with the white people of the country, it is best for all that they should do so. Hence, I am not for building up permanent separate institutions for colored people of any kind. Even in the matter of the college, therefore, in so far as the idea of permanent isolation is contemplated, I am opposed to your plan. The lesson now flashed upon the attention of the American people, the lesson which they must learn, or neglect to do so at their peril, is that “equal manhood means equal rights,” and further, that the American people must stand each for all and all for each, without respect to color or race. The spirit of the age is against all institutions based upon prejudice, or providing for prejudice of race. I, therefore, am opposed to doing anything looking to the perpetuity of prejudice. I expect to see the colored people of this country enjoying the same freedom, voting at the

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same ballot-box, using the same cartridge box, going to the same schools, attending the same churches, travelling in the same street-cars, in the same railroad-cars, on the same steamboats, proud of the same country, fighting the same foe, and enjoying the same peace and all its advantages. This is no new position with me. Having held it when the prospect was dark, I shall not relinquish it now when the clouds are disappearing and the heavens are bright. But, supposing the college a desirable thing, I am opposed to obtaining it in the way proposed. As I understand the matter, you propose to establish a general collecting agency, persons to travel and solicit five hundred thousand dollars from the public, white as well as colored, to enable you to build a monument to the memory of your departed friend and benefactor, which monument you propose shall be in the form of a college, for the exclusive use of colored people. If I am right in this statement, I beg you to hear me a moment further. A college is a college, and has its own peculiar claims, and ought to stand upon its own merits. A monument is a monument, and has its own peculiar claims and merits. The two things spring from different motives, and are suggestive of different ideas and sentiments. For a monument, by itself, and upon its own merits, I say good. For a college, by itself, (with the limitations already suggested,) and upon its own merits, I say good. But for a college-monument, or for a monument-college, I do not say good; for the things, however good separately, are incongruous and offensive when connected as now proposed. The whole scheme is derogatory to the character of the colored people of the United States. It carries on its front a distasteful implication. It looks to me like an attempt to wash the black man’s face in the nation’s tears for Abraham Lincoln! It places the paddle-wheels of the colored man’s boat in the tide of the popular grief, with a view to his special advantage. I am for washing the black man’s face, (that is, educating his mind,) for that is a good thing to be done, and I appreciate the nation’s tears for Abraham Lincoln; but I am not so enterprising as to think of turning the nation’s veneration for our martyred President into a means of advantage to the colored people, and of sending around the hat to a mourning public. When the colored people want a college, let them beg for a college on its own merits, and in the name of the living, and I am with them. When they want a monument to perpetuate the memory of a good man, I am with them. But when they want to raise a college for themselves out of the general affection of the American people for the dead, I am not with them,

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and frankness requires me to say so in all earnestness. If these views are ill-founded, and you can show them to be so, I shall only be too happy to abandon them. With best wishes and great respect for you, personally, I am, dear sir, very truly yours, FREDERICK DOUGLASS. PLSr: Lib., 29 September 1865. 1. William Joseph Wilson (1818–?), a free black man from New Jersey, operated a boot-making shop in New York City as early as the 1830s. In the 1840s, he became a secondary school teacher and later the principal of a black school in Brooklyn. He was an advocate for black education and encouraged greater access and increased attendance. Eventually, he opened his own library. Wilson campaigned to secure the franchise for New York African Americans, and he served as a member of the Committee of Thirteen, organized by New York black leaders to stop enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act. In the early 1850s, Wilson’s letters appeared frequently in Frederick Douglass’ Paper, and Douglass referred to him as the newspaper’s “Brooklyn correspondent.” Wilson’s letters to the newspaper, published under the pseudonym “Ethiop,” were often part of an ongoing debate on the condition of blacks in New York and the United States. Wilson’s most frequent sparring partner in the war of letters was “Communipaw,” actually James McCune Smith, a prominent black physician in New York City. Carleton Mabee, Black Education in New York State: From Colonial to Modern Times (Syracuse, N.Y., 1979), 54, 63–67, 123, 129, 155, 158; Foner and Walker, Black State Conventions, 1:79–88; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 87, 212, 229; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 4:144–45n. 2. In the spring of 1865, Henry Highland Garnet and other prominent black leaders in Washington, D.C., formed the Colored People’s Educational Monument Association. The main purpose of this organization was to establish a school for the children of freedmen as a memorial to Lincoln and his leadership in the movement to emancipate the slaves. Following its foundation, the association began to collect funds for the proposed National Lincoln Memorial Institute. In the spring of 1866, advertisements for donations ceased, and the proposed school was never constructed. Kirk Savage, Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race, War, and Monument in Nineteenth-Century America (Princeton, N.J., 1997) 93; Celebration by the Colored People’s Educational Monument Association, 34; Holzer, Medford, and Williams, The Emancipation Proclamation, 42–43. 3. While the entire country mourned Lincoln’s death, the reaction of African Americans to his death was particularly strong. Since many blacks viewed Lincoln as their great benefactor and emancipator, they felt immensely loyal to him and publicly mourned his loss. When Gideon Welles, secretary of the navy, went to the White House on 15 April 1865, the morning of the president’s death, he encountered a group of several hundred blacks standing in the rain, weeping for their loss. An emotional Welles remarked that the group’s “hopeless grief affected me more than almost anything else.” At a meeting in Rochester on 17 April, Douglass called Lincoln’s death “a personal as well as national calamity.” He continued: “Yet I feel that though Abraham Lincoln dies the Republic lives; though that great and good man . . . is struck down by the hand of the assassin, yet I know that the nation is saved and liberty is established forever.” His words reflected the sentiments of many freedmen toward Lincoln and demonstrated why they reacted so strongly to his death. Milwaukee (Wisc.) Daily Sentinel, 25 April 1865; Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy under Lincoln and Johnson, ed. Edgar Thaddeus Welles, 3 vols. (Boston, 1911), 2:287–88, 290; Thomas Goodrich, The Darkest Dawn: Lincoln, Booth, and the Great American Tragedy (Bloomington, Indiana, 2005), 141, 149; Thomas Reed Turner, Beware of the People Weeping: Public Opinion and the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Baton Rouge, La., 1982), 27.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO MARY TODD LINCOLN1 Rochester, N.Y. 17 August 1865.

Mrs. Abraham Lincoln: Dear Madam: Allow me to thank you, as I certainly do thank you most Sincerely for your thoughtful kindness in making me the owner of a cane—which was formerly the property and the favorite walking staff of your late lamented husband, the honored and venerated President of the United States.2 I assure you, that this inestimable memento of his Excellency will be retained in my possession while I live—an object of Sacred interest, a token not merely of the kind consideration in which I have reason to know that President was pleased to hold me personally, but of as an indication of the his humane consideration interest [in the] welfare of my whole race. With every proper Sentiment of Respect and Esteem I am, Dear Madam, Your Obed[ient]t Servt FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: Gilder-Lehrman Collection, Item # GLC02474. 1. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Mary Todd Lincoln (1818–82) married the future president of the United States in 1842. During the Civil War, gossip circulated regarding her extravagance and thoughtlessness. Antiadministration newspapers reported on her alleged willingness to accept gifts and then ask her husband to do favors for the donors. In 1861, Mrs. Lincoln naively befriended Henry Wickoff of the New York Herald, who secretly reported on the Lincolns’ family life. When the Herald published part of Lincoln’s first annual message to Congress before its delivery, a congressional investigation found Wickoff guilty of leaking the text; Mrs. Lincoln’s reputation thenceforth included the taint of political indiscretion. Charges of treason, however, soon overshadowed all others. With six siblings and nine stepbrothers and stepsisters, Mrs. Lincoln was, like many natives of the border states, a close relative of men fighting in the Confederate army and a comforter of their wives. She also was an advocate for their personal needs, although the president refused to grant substantive favors in the absence of Union loyalty. Besides general rumors of transmitting information to the enemy, Mrs. Lincoln was specifically accused of using her half-sister, Martha Todd White, to send information to the Confederates. Both the Lincolns, in fact, had refused Mrs. White’s requests for exemption from the requirements on transporting goods across Union lines, and both refused to see her at the Executive Mansion. Though there was talk of indiscretion, the White House secretary Noah Brooks firmly defended Mrs. Lincoln’s loyalty. When the Committee on the Conduct of the War proposed an investigation of the rumors, President Lincoln allegedly appeared before it without announcement and gravely stated his certainty that no such relations with the enemy existed. During and after the war, Douglass unswervingly defended Mrs. Lincoln’s reputation. Ruth Painter Randall, Mary Lincoln: Biography of a Marriage (Boston, 1953); Ishbel Ross, The President’s Wife: Mary Todd Lincoln (New York, 1973); NAW, 2:404–06. 2. Mary Todd Lincoln gave away four of her husband’s canes following his assassination. They went to Douglass, Charles Sumner, Henry Highland Garnet, and William Slade, who was a messenger for Lincoln at the White House. Ross, President’s Wife, 247; Randall, Mary Lincoln, 364.

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WILLIAM J. WILSON TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS Washington, D.C. 6 Sept[ember] 1865.

Frederick Douglass, Esq. Dear Sir: In reply to your letter,1 I must say, I am quite surprised at its tone. So will everybody else be, especially when they read in connexion with it, an extract from a published letter of yours, in answer to an invitation to be present at the 4th of July celebration of the Lincoln Monument Association.2 The said extract reads thus: “Gentlemen, had your note come a few days earlier I might have been able to mingle my voice, &c., &c. As the matter now stands I can only send you the assurance that I shall be with you in spirit and purpose.” So my dear sir, you were with the Association in spirit and purpose on the 4th day of July, 1865, and you find yourself opposed to the spirit and purpose of the Association on the 8th day of August, 1865. One of those very sudden summersets not unusual, but as yet, I believe, unaccountable to even your best friends. But, then you have attempted to give some reasons for your present position which perhaps may afford some temporary relief. Let us give them a brief examination. And first, you say you are not opposed to Monuments or colleges. “Things good in standing alone are not always, good when mixed.” If their ever was expressed upon paper a sentiment more copperish3 than this, I have yet to see it. It seems as though it was clipped directly from the genuine negro haters’ prejudice monger’s creed. I do not say that you so clipped this sentiment from their creed. Do not misunderstand me; but to hear my friend F.D., who has all his life long been engaged in mixing, now expressing his detestation of the thing when wholly practicable, is a little too much. Only think of it; Frederick Douglass will not support or favor the erection of a Monument with the money of the American people—a free gift—if the conception—the plan emanate from colored men, and its erection be under the auspices of colored men. He is indeed opposed to mixing; mixing our white friends money with our own; for he distinctly says. “Now a monument by the colored people, erected at the expense of the colored people, I can appreciate; and whenever a movement shall be made for such a Monument, I am with it, heart and soul.” Strange language this for F.D., the head and front of whose offending has been “trying [to] mix[.]” A company of colored men propose to erect in Washington, in

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memory of our lamented President, a monument, and will accept contributions from their friends and the friends of that good man everywhere to that end. Now are these men to be told by Mr. Douglass at this day, that they must look into the faces of the contributors to spy out the complexion of each, and reject all proffers from those they find to be white? Mr. Douglass says “when he goes for anything, he likes to go it strong.” Truly in his own language “this is going it strong” against mixing; and yet it does sound a little odd coming from him, and the general public will so regard it. But Mr. Douglass says “It can not be a colored peoples’ monument if white friends contribute.” We did think and still hold, and defy Mr. Douglass to show to the contrary, that if we conceive a monument ought to be erected, conceive a plan, collect and are the sole custodians of the means, and projectors of the work, it is a Colored People’s Monument, if we see fit to so denominate it; as much so, as the beautiful Methodist Church opposite our office window is a Methodist Church, notwithstanding many well-wishers either of progress or religion contributed to its erection.4 And we desire to say, we could erect no monument to the memory of the lamented dead whose purpose and spirit were in any sense more distinctive than this. To do so would be in our opinion an act of injustice to ourselves and to the memory of our lamented President. We would make no war upon Mr. Douglass, nor any one else who would erect what he considers a purely Colored Monument, but for ourselves, we would mix and mingle all the contributions of the kindly disposed towards carrying out of the great work of elevating the American People and remembering the great dead, though the projectors are colored men. But Mr. Douglass not only denies the propriety of the American People placing into the custody of colored men money to erect a monument to Mr. Lincoln, but he decidedly objects to the propriety of the monument taking the form of a College. “It may be permanent” he says. This is his great fear, of course, he would have white men build colleges whenever and wherever needed; and have no fear on account of their permanency and we fail to see why any other person seeing its need, may not do the same thing irrespective of color without raising Mr. Douglass’ dread of permanency. Mr. Douglass says “ I am in favor of all needful educational institutions for the present education of colored people though they be separate institutions. Present circumstances are the only apology for such Institutions,” “When a colored girl or boy can go to school or college with the

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white people of the country it is best for all they should do so.” Agreed— But I go beyond Mr. Douglass and say, when a white girl or boy can go to school or college with the children of the country without regard to complexion it is better far better. The college we propose hath this extent;—no more; perfect equality; and full freedom for all who are worthy. “But says Mr. Douglass I am not for upbuilding permanent separate Institutions for colored people;” and yet in this same letter he tells us that “he goes it strong against mixing, and that therefore the only monument he will support, heart and soul, must be purely and distinctly a Colored Monument, done up only, and in every sense by colored people;” said monument; to be of course as permanent as the hills upon which it shall stand. We have read somewhere of a boy who jumped into a brier bush and scratched out both his eyes; and jumped into the brier bush and scratched them in again. But he was a boy.—But I could for the credit of manhood have wished my friend might have kept the possession of his, at least to the end of the chapter. He would not have us build this College here for fear it will be a permanent separate concern. I would remind him if he does not know, that colored people in these regions are numerous, and as active as they are numerous.5 I am not sure that anymore, if as much can be said of the aggregate of the whites about here; and hence is demanded for these colored persons greater educational facilities. Shall we have them or shall we sit down and wait for our white neighbors till they provide them expressly for themselves and then edge our way in, if we can? I would plainly remind Mr. Douglass, that if we would do our part in learning the American people those lessons of equal manhood he speaks of, we shall have to originate as well as imitate; lead as well as follow; conceive, plan and erect Monuments and build Colleges as well as with hats in hand go continually knocking at the doors by others;—we shall have to do these things even though we may not know the exact complexion of the friends who may see fit to make us the custodians of the means with which to build them. When we shall boldly do these things, then shall we be able to enjoy with our white neighbors that equal freedom he seems to so devoutly long for. Then shall we vote with them at the same ballot box; sit with them in the same jury box; use the same cartridge box; travel with them in the same rail car; and be alike proud of the same country; and to fight alike the same foe; advantages certainly of which none seem to have a clearer perception than Mr. Douglass; but from which I can logically see why he has yet realized so little.

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501

He has been over spending his strength in knocking at his white neighbors door for permission to come in to (his) the white neighbor’s feast, rather than garnishing his own castle and spreiding his own table, and inviting his white neighbor to (his) Frederick Douglass’ repast. Men acknowledge the equality of those only who show ability to do the same things they do, and though late I think Mr. Douglass has yet to learn this lesson. He says he “would not at this late day relinquish these long cherished sentiments; now that light is beginning to break.” I would not have him do so. I would only, now that it is well nigh day, change his dreams or visions to realities. If Mr. Douglass will take the pains to look over the list of the managers of the Lincoln Monument Association he will find that they are a little mixed; being partly colored gentlemen and partly white gentlemen;6 only by one of these changes I suppose, that these new times have thrown up to the surface of human affairs the colored gentlemen are in the lead. And from these latter first came the proposition to build a College whose doors shall be open all. This may be an objection, but we do not so regard it; nor till now did we suppose so firm a believer in true progress as Mr. Douglass professed to be did. But not satisfied with running a tilt against our Monument, and making a dash into our College, our Quixotic7 friend breaks a lance against the combination of Monument and College; and as he thinks razes them to the ground, so thought he of whom he (Douglass) is a prototype, when he dashed into the wind mills until the flock of sheep, against all remonstrances of his man Sancho Panzo. Hear Mr. Douglass. He says, “a monument is a monument and has its own peculiar claims; but the two things are incongruous and offensive when connected.” It does seem a little strange that one with Mr. Douglass’ sagacity should be betrayed into this error. That he should fail to see that a monument is simply, and only a thing by which the memory of a person or an event is preserved. It may be a building; it may be a stone; it may be a combination of both; but it is a thing that reminds—that is all. This is the plain definition; and to it I may add that which most continually and most forcibly reminds is the highest and most noblest form of monument. What peculiar claims, I would ask Mr. Douglass has a monument but to keep foremost and sacredly in memory the leading traits;—feature;—or idea of the individual or event it serves to commemorate? And if a Monument to Abraham Lincoln has any peculiar claim, it is to exhibit and keep

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WILLIAM J. WILSON TO DOUGLASS, 6 SEPTEMBER 1865

alive what was prominent in his great life; namely, the elevation of the long oppressed in this land, and what better than a Memorial College, carrying out what he in his lifetime had begun will accomplish this end? Which then is preferable? Which shall we have? The mere cold stone which the ignorant youth, beholding will scarcely be able to decypher the meaning thereof and the future coming throng passing, will be too busy, or too indifferent to appreciate, or a memorial of learning, whose light shall [illumine] coming generations, and point the mind in its cultivated state back to him of whom it is a perpetual tribute? I leave an intelligent public to answer:— But we weary as the reader also must, of following Mr. Douglass through his various errors and fallacies. All his talk about the “scheme being derogatory to our character” and about attempts to wash the Black man’s face in the nation’s tears,” “and about turning veneration into advantage, &c., &c.” is not deducible from anything expressed or implied, o[r] contemplated by the Association; and (we hope we are mistaken,) it does seem to contain an amount of virus that is strangely unaccountible. Till further light, therefore, I leave this portion of his theme, adding only, that there are death of Mr. Lincoln—a nation’s tears;—and let them flow as they ought;—but there is something more for his memory; and that is the faithful carrying out of the great desire of his great heart—the desemination among all-classes of the American people, the great principles of right and truth which underlie all equality and all true manhood. The Lincoln Monument Association propose a Memorial College, for the perpetual diffusion of these high and holy principles in the most cultivated and broadest form attainable; because they are right and because in their light Abraham Lincoln can best be seen, longest remembered, and highest appreciated. Truly, your old friend and co-laborer, WILLIAM J. WILSON. PLSr: New York Weekly Anglo-African, 7 October 1865. Reprinted in Lib., 27 October 1865. 1. The letter Douglass sent to William J. Wilson, dated 8 August 1865, is printed earlier in this volume. 2. Although Wilson labels it the Lincoln Monument Association, it was officially the Colored People’s Educational Monument Association, for which he served as corresponding secretary. Douglass was invited to attend the group’s 1865 Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C., but did not attend. Celebration by the Colored People’s Educational Monument Association, 3, 5, 34. 3. Alluding to the racism of contemporary Northern Democrats, or “Copperheads.” 4. The Colored People’s Educational Monument Association’s office was located at 201 G Street in Washington, D.C. The Methodist church that Wilson refers to is most likely the East Washington

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503

Station Church of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. According to an 1864 city directory, the church’s address was East 4th Street between South G Street and South Carolina Avenue, in the southern part of the city, which would place it in proximity to the association’s office. Boyd’s Washington and Georgetown Directory, 87; Celebration by the Colored People’s Educational Monument Association, 34. 5. Wilson is presumably referring to the number of blacks in the District of Columbia, where the Colored People’s Educational Monument Association proposed to establish its school. In the city of Washington proper, the number of blacks tripled between 1860 and 1870, from 10,983 to 35,455. In the remaining areas of the District of Columbia, including Georgetown, the black population in 1860 was about 3,333, compared to 7,949 in 1870. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Report on Population of the United States at the Ninth Census: 1870, 97; Lois E. Horton, “The Days of Jubilee: Black Migration during the Civil War and Reconstruction,” in Urban Odyssey: A Multicultural History of Washington, D.C., ed. Francine Curro Cary (Washington, D.C., 1996), 67, 71; Williams, “A Blueprint for Change,” 371. 6. While black leaders served as the principal officers of the Colored People’s Educational Monument Association, one list of directors and state representatives, published in the Philadelphia Christian Recorder, reveals that a few whites held honorary leadership roles within the organization. For example, Senator Charles Sumner, Gerrit Smith, and William Duane Wilson, a former editor of the Chicago Tribune, served as life directors. Philadelphia Christian Recorder, 15 July 1865; Celebration by the Colored People’s Educational Monument Association, 34. 7. Wilson refers to the novel Don Quixote, by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1605. The main character, Quixote, is considered impulsive, idealistic, and obsessed with the romance of chivalry. Sancho Panza is Quixote’s servant turned squire. Wilson alludes to one of the most famous scenes in the book, in which Quixote and Sancho come upon a field of windmills. As part of the delusion that he is a knight-errant, Quixote see the windmills as giants and decides to fight them, despite Sancho’s warnings and protests. In a later chapter, Quixote imagines that the dust stirred up by a flock of sheep indicates the advance of an invading army. Sancho is again unsuccessful at puncturing his master’s illusion. Wilson seems to imply that Douglass is quixotic, perhaps irrational, and even delusional in thinking that the idea of a combined monument and school threatens the cause of education and equality for blacks. L. A. Murillo, A Critical Introduction to Don Quixote (New York, 1988), x, 1, 42, 58–59, 62; Anthony Close, A Companion to Don Quixote (Rochester, N.Y., 2008), 52, 90–91.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO LOUISE TOBIAS DORSEY Rochester[, N.Y.] 19 Sept[ember] 1865.

My Dear Mrs Dorsey: I am greatly pleased by a line from you which has just reached me.1 Our Kind Friend Carter Stewart2 had informed me of the illness of Dear Maine3 before your note came to hand—and I rejoice to be assured that the precious child is again on her feet. I did not receive a single line from you while you were in New York—so you see your notes must have miscarried. Had I known that yourself and the Dear Mary were still in New York, and Mary sick I Should have travelled from Rochester to have seen her. It must have been a relief to you both to have Dorsey come over to see

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DOUGLASS TO LOUISE TOBIAS DORSEY, 19 SEPTEMBER 1865

you at New York. I know something of the skill of Doctor Cheveux4 — And also of the kindness of the Dear Reasons.5 I am sure they were very kind in their Attentions to you and Dear Maine. You express the hope of seeing me and of having much to tell me. I sh[ould be] very glad both to see and hear you. I am to speak in Chester Co. Pa on Friday of next week and shall probably spend Thursday night at your house—if it shall be convenient.6 I have nothing very important or pressing to communicate. My summer has not been a very pleasant one; for I have been much at work. Please remember me kindly to Dear Tom.7 Tell him to touch her light, and save his health. My household are all well, Love to you and yours. Your Friend FREDK DOUGLASS. ALS: Frederick Douglass Collection, CtY. 1. Louise Tobias Dorsey’s letter to Douglass has not survived. 2. Born in Virginia, Carter A. Stewart (c. 1828–91) was a successful mixed-race barber who was prominent in the District of Columbia’s black community. In 1868 he was elected to the city’s common council, and in 1869 he was appointed to the board of aldermen. 1860 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington, 12; 1870 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington, 14; 1880 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington, 32–33; Scott E. Casper, Sarah Johnson’s Mount Vernon: The Forgotten History of an American Shrine (New York, 2008), 122; Kate Masur, An Example for All the Land: Emancipation and the Struggle Over Equality in Washington, D.C. (Chapel Hill, N.C., 2010), 153–54, 162. 3. Mary Louise Dorsey Harlan’s familiar nickname was “Minnie.” 4. Probably Jean Fresne Chauveau (c. 1831–1903), who was a successful physician in New York City. Chauveau was born on the island of Martinique and received his medical degree from the Geneva (New York) Medical College in 1853. After graduation, he set up practice in Manhattan, where he remained for the rest of his life. In 1860 his race was listed as mulatto, as was that of his wife, Amina, and son, Frank. By 1880, however, when he was listed with a second wife, named Margaret, who was born in Russia, and his race was listed as white. This remained consistent through the 1900 Census. 1860 U.S. Census, New York, New York, 66; H. Wilson, comp., Trow’s New York City Directory, for the Year Ending May 1, 1865 (New York, 1864), 157; 1880 U.S. Census, New York, New York, 1880, 20; 1900 U.S. Census, New York, New York, 291; P. Brynberg Porter, ed., Yearbook of the Medical Association of the Greater City of New York (New York, 1904), 50. 5. Possibly the family of Charles L. Reason. 6. Although Douglass’s visit with the Dorsey family following a speech in Chester County cannot be confirmed, there is evidence that Douglass spoke at the third anniversary celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation in Avondale in the same Pennsylvania county on 22 September 1865. In a letter to Gerrit Smith dated 8 October 1865, which is also included in this volume, Douglass mentions that he has just returned from making speeches in Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore. New York Weekly Anglo-African, 14 October 1865; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:xxi. 7. Thomas J. Dorsey.

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH Rochester[, N.Y.] 8 Oct[ober] 1865.

Hon. Gerrit Smith My Dear Sir: I am glad of your opinion of my letter to Mr Wilson.1 You have not seen Mr Garnets answer.2 It is very severe upon me. I read your letter to Messrs G— and Phillips3 twice: once in the cercular and once in the Liberator. I need not tell you how fully it expresses my own views and feelings in view of the present state of affairs. I wish you could be in Congress this winter for Congress is now to determine whether all that has been fairly purchased by the patriot blood of the North—and by the brave negroes of the South, shall be given back again to the spoilers of the Nation. I have just been making speeches in Vermont, Penn.4 and Maryland. In Baltimore the Colored people have been establishing and Institute which they have been pleased to Call Douglass Institute.5 I send you the Baltimore “American” Containing my speech made on the Dedication occasion.6 The “American”—has done well to publish any of it. It would have done better if it had published all I said on that occasion. There were a number of the Radical Leaders in Baltimore present on the occasion— and among them was Mr Snethen7—the Baltimore Correspondent of the Boston Commonwealth. Our old friend John Needles8 was also present. He has been has been the black mans friend in Baltimore during more than forty years. Dear Old Man, what an expression of satisfaction sat upon his benignant face as he looked upon the free people before him. By the way, there is a rare man down there named Stockbridge.9 He is the Phillips of our Cause in Baltimore. He spoke for a few moments after me—and it was a delight to hear such sentiments rolling out from one so white in Baltimore. I am soon to leave home on another tour. Always Truly yours, FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. 1. Gerrit Smith’s correspondence to Douglass concerning the latter’s 8 August 1865 letter to William J. Wilson has not survived. In a 7 November 1865 letter from Smith to Douglass, however, he did comment positively on previous letters from Douglass to both Wilson and Garnet. Gerrit Smith to Douglass, 7 November 1865, General Correspondence File, reel 2, frame 163, FD Papers, DLC. 2. Henry Highland Garnet, the president of the Colored People’s Educational Monument Association, wrote Douglass a letter on 7 September 1865. Garnet responded to Douglass’s letter to

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DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH, 8 OCTOBER 1865

Wilson, in which he criticized the organization and rejected the offer to serve as its representative. Garnet wrote that Douglass’s letter was nothing more than “glaring fallacies and erroneous statements” and that Douglass alone stood in opposition to the association. Douglass responded to Garnet on 4 October 1865, writing that it was unfair to make him appear “as if opposed to those highest interests of our common race.” He emphasized that he did not criticize the organization itself but only its proposed plan to establish a combined monument and school. Both letters were printed in the New York Weekly Anglo-African, making this argument between Garnet and Douglass public. New York Weekly Anglo-African, 16 September, 21 October 1865. 3. Gerrit Smith sent a long letter to both William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips on 12 September 1865, in which he discussed the necessity of securing black suffrage and equality during Reconstruction. Smith argued that the nation must not ignore the freedman any longer and “shut him out from the enjoyment of political and social rights.” Douglass, who also continued to fight for the ballot, supported Smith’s argument. This letter was published as a circular and was also printed in the Liberator. Printed Ephemera Collection Portfolio 126, Folder 15b, DLC; Lib., 22 September 1865. 4. On 22 September 1865 in Avondale, Pennsylvania, Douglass attended the celebration of the third anniversary of the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation. He was the main speaker at the event, attended by more than 20,000 people. While he claimed to have made speeches in Vermont during this time, a confirmation of his activities in that state cannot be made. New York Weekly Anglo-African, 14 October 1865. 5. On 29 September 1865, Douglass delivered the dedicatory address for the Douglass Institute on Lexington Street in Baltimore, Maryland. Six hundred blacks and two hundred whites heard Douglass praise the new endeavor for the moral and intellectual uplift of the city’s African American youth. Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:86–96. 6. The Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser was the oldest newspaper in Maryland. It was first published by Alexander Martin, a native of Boston, on 14 May 1799. The American was a firm ally of the Whig party and became prominently identified with the Union cause and the Republican party. The American carried a report of Douglass’s speech in its 30 September 165 issue. Scharf, History of Baltimore, 609. 7. Worthington Garrettson Snethen (c. 1805–?) was an attorney and journalist born in Maryland. He published the New Orleans Morning Advertiser (1842), edited the Baltimore Patriot (1859–60), and served as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and the Boston Commonwealth. In addition, Snethen compiled The Black Code of the District of Columbia (1848) and practiced law in Washington, New York, and Baltimore for over two decades. A War Democrat, he supported Frémont for president in 1864 and served as chairman of the Sub-National Committee of the Radical Democracy for Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia. Snethen both reported on and spoke at the inauguration of the Douglass Institute. Frederick (Md.) Examiner, 15 June 1864; Lib., 13 October 1865; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:86; Andrew Johnson, The Papers of Andrew Johnson, eds., LeRoy P. Graf, Ralph W. Haskins, and Paul H. Bergeron, 16 vols. (Knoxville, Tenn., 1967–2000), 5:221n, 7:434n. 8. John Needles (1786–1878) was a Baltimore Quaker and cabinetmaker. Benjamin Lundy recruited him to the abolitionist movement in 1831. Merrill and Ruchames, Garrison Letters, 5:207. 9. Born in Massachusetts, Henry Stockbridge (1822–96) graduated from Amherst College and then moved to Baltimore to practice law. A strong unionist during the Civil War, Stockbridge was elected to the Maryland state legislature and sponsored the legislation for a constitutional convention to abolish slavery in that state. For the remainder of his life, Stockbridge remained an active Republican in state and national politics. Frederick Clifton Pierce, ed., Field Genealogy: Being the Record of All the Field Family in America Whose Ancestors were in this Country prior to 1700, 2 vols. (Chicago, 1901), 1:165.

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Calendar of Correspondence Not Printed

This calendar summarizes the remainder of Douglass’s correspondence for the period covered by this volume. Letters are organized chronologically and, when multiple letters were published or written on the same day, by the sender’s last name. The day and month, when known or ascribed, of each entry appear in the left-hand column. The right-hand column lists the correspondent(s), sigla describing the format of the letter, sources, and a brief synopsis. The project editors have attempted to provide the most complete information for each letter. Any information provided by the editors has been deduced through internal information in the letter, information in other letters, or information from other scholarly sources. Brackets enclosing a date indicate that the editors have assigned that date. The need to ascribe a date occurs because no date appeared in a handwritten letter or the original date was incorrect as a result of scrivener or typographer errors. When a letter from a newspaper does not include a date, and none can be inferred, the newspaper publication date is given in brackets, and the letter is listed after other letters of that date. Full names of months are silently supplied. If a date is followed by an asterisk, then the editors have ascribed the year. When a letter includes or has been assigned a month only, the letter appears at the end of the entries for that month. If the only date attributed to the letter is the year, then the entry for that letter appears at the end of the section for that year. Correspondents are listed at the start of the right-hand column, sender(s) followed by recipient(s). When a name or a portion of one appears in brackets, the editors have supplied the bracketed information. In a few instances, a letter does not contain enough information to allow the correspondent to be inferred, so “Unknown” appears instead of a name. Some correspondents use pseudonyms. When known, the correspondent’s name appears in brackets after the pen name. After the correspondents’ name, the source note appears. The sigla used to describe the format of the calendared letters are the same as for the published letters. If two or more dates precede the month of publication, the letter was originally published in installments. 507

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508

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

Each entry concludes with a synopsis of the letter. Because of the scale of this calendar, providing complete summaries is impracticable. Synopses highlight the major points discussed, and include the names of people and places only when they are crucial to the meaning of the letter. Content that occupies brief portions of calendared letters may not be mentioned in the synopses. 1853 13 January

18 January

19 January

21 January

[21 January]

21 January

24 January

[28 January]

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Samuel R. Ward to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 January 1853. Delineates objections to the Refugee Home Society in Canada; mentions C. C. Foote’s involvement in the same. Albro S. Brown to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 January 1853. Argues for ministers to take active antislavery stances in their communities and churches. John S. Mann to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 January 1853. Requests a copy of Autographs for Freedom; expresses appreciation for the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society’s assistance. Loring Moody to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 April 1853. Censures the Reverend Henry Adams, a black minister from Illinois, for supporting slavery. Geo[rge] G. Ritchie to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 January 1853. Addresses the plight of the slave from the perspective of leaving home. A slave, he argues, faces much harsher consequences than a free man does when taken from his home. Gerrit Smith to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 January 1853. Positively reviews the Boston writer Richard Mildreth’s novel The Slave. C[harles] C. Foote to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 February 1853. Replies to Samuel R. Ward’s letter; defends the Refugee Home Society in Canada; reprints articles of the society. [E.] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 January 1853. Condemns “flunkeyism” in Washington, D.C.; claims the Whig party has fallen prey to the slave power.

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CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

29 January

30 January

31 January*

4 February

6 February

7 February

11 February

[18 February]

4 March

[4 March]

509

Hiram Corliss to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 February 1853. Thanks him for accepting an invitation to speak at Union Village, New York. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLeSr: FDP, 18 February 1853. Mentions recent lectures in New York by Theodore Parker and James W. C. Pennington’s appointment as moderator of the New York Presbytery. FD to Maria G. Porter. ALS: Rochester Ladies’ AntiSlavery Society Papers, MiU-C. Requests she send goods to sell at a festival to Hannah Fuller, president of the Anti-Slavery Ladies of Skaneateles, New York. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 February 1853. Misidentifies the former First Lady Julia Tyler, who recently published a letter to the “Dutchess of Sutherland and the Ladies of England,” defending the practice of slavery in America. A[sa A]. Caldwell to FD. PLIr. FDP, 18 February 1853. Argues that by sending their sons and daughter to New York Central College, reformers will be acting in accordance with their principles. Levi J. Hicks to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 February 1853. Reports that the question whether slaveholders could hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church was held over until April. A Citizen of Syracuse to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 February 1853. Believes the Oswego, New York, Presbytery allies itself with those who sanction slavery. A Citizen of Syracuse to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 February 1853. Discusses a recent statement from the Oswego, New York, Presbytery condemning slavery. William Harned to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 March 1853. Suggests he publish records of contributions to the Chaplin Bail Fund in order to encourage more donations. Observer [James N. Still] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 March 1853. Replies to Ethiop’s [William J. Wilson] letter of 4 February; suggests a series of winter lectures in Brooklyn Heights.

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510

5 March

8 March

9 March

[11 March]

[11 March]

12 March

13 March

14 March

15 March

[18 March]

[19 March]

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CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 March 1853. Argues blacks must elevate themselves by learning the fine arts. H[enry] O. Wagoner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 March 1853. Reacts to a law passed in the Illinois General Assembly prohibiting black immigration; recommends a “North American Convention of colored men.” N. W. Sherley to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 April 1853. Requests personal information, including his birth place and date, whom he served while a slave, and when he escaped from slavery. C[harles] A. Hammond to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 March 1853. Argues against a claim made in the 18 February issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper that New-York Central College is without sectarianism. R.S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 11 March, 1853. Mocks the editor of the Richmond Examiner for placing slaves in the same taxonomy as animals. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25  March 1853. Continues argument in favor of increasing black participation and representation in the fine arts. H[enry] O. Wagoner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 March 1853. Suggests founding permanent lyceums with accompanying libraries for black residents in every community. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 March 1853. Reports on a recent meeting of the County Colonization Society in Syracuse, New York, and claims that its leader, John Pinney, held prejudiced views toward blacks. Thomas P. Boyd to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 March 1853. Expresses outrage at the attack upon abolitionist newspapers by the Reverend Joel Parker in the New York Observer. P.C.S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 18 March 1853. Agrees with Douglass’s position that blacks must learn trades in order to remain employed in the North. FD to Unknown. PLe: ASB, 19 March 1853. Outlines the guiding principles of the Liberty party.

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CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

19 March

21 March

25 March 25 March

[25] March

28 March 31 March

[1 April]

2 April

2 April

2 April

511

Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 April 1853. Describes an experience at a New York restaurant; argues the establishment of black-owned businesses is as important as gaining equal treatment aboard public conveyances. A[sa] A. Caldwell to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 April 1853. Reports that Professor William G. Allen of New-York Central College resigned to teach in Europe, mourns the college’s loss and the prejudice that caused it. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 1 April 1853. Praises the life of Deacon Allen Kingsbury. Peter Pringle to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 April 1853. Wonders about lack of letters from Bob Markle; condemns Illinois’s new “Negro Law”; praises Douglass’s opinion that blacks must learn trades. Wappinumoc to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 March 1853. Critiques Theodore Parker’s defense of Anglo-Saxons; argues that the intellectual elevation of black women is paramount for the elevation of all blacks. Martin Cross to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 April 1853. Sends a poem condemning colonization schemes. G[eorge] W. C[lark] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 15 April 1853. Condemns liquor sales in New York City; reports on current entertainments in that city. Lyndon King to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 April 1853. Scolds Douglass for publishing a letter to him from L.  D. Tanner. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 April 1853. Defends his position from Wappinumoc’s criticism; reports that William Harned retired as secretary of the Anti-Slavery Office; laments that a white man will replace him. Peter Pringle to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 April 1853. Bemoans the subordination of “Democratic Principles” to “Despotism” as codified in many federal and state laws. Andrew B. Stater to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 April 1853. Advocates using money raised from West Indian Emancipation celebrations to open workshops where blacks can teach and train.

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512

4 April

[8 April]

[8 April]

11 April

13 April

14 April

15 April

15 April

[15 April]

[15 April] [15 April]

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 512

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

A Mother Who Sympathizes with the Female Slave to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 April 1853. Hopes to draw on the sympathies of Southern women by reporting on the daring escape of a female slave with her children. W[illiam] O. Duvall to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 April 1853. Condemns recent attempts by the American Colonization Society to receive financial support from the U.S. Treasury. William Shattuck to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 April 1853. Argues that since the U.S. Constitution prohibits the passing of any bill of attainder, imprisoning blacks from free states for the nonpayment of fines in slave states is illegal. Peter Pringle to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 April 1853. Complains that black character is too weak to shed the perception that African Americans are best suited for menial labor. M[artin] R. Delany to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 April 1853. Criticizes “Colonel Wood,” the escort of Eliza Greenfield, also known as the Black Swan; argues that Wood is a bigot. C. C. Foote to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 April 1853. Recommends that free blacks consider moving to Canada West as an alternative to African colonization. J. D. Copeland to FD. PLeSr: FDP, 22 April 1853. Sends a list of new subscriptions to Frederick Douglass’ Paper; praises his work. M[artin] R. Delany to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 April 1853. Discusses the news that the Reverend Josiah Henson, now living in Canada West, was the basis for the Christian hero in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. A[melia] B[loomer] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 15 April 1853. Praises editorial and oratorical work; commends industrial education ideas. P.C. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 15 April 1853. Encourages him to carry on his work. R.S. to FD. PLeIr: FDP, 15 April 1853. Thanks him for sending a paper on trust; praises work.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

[15 April]

16 April

17 April

17 April

18 April

20 April

[22] April

24 April

30 April

4 May 5 May

6 May

513

William C. Shapcott to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 April 1853. Suggests that the forthcoming New York State Liberty Party Convention be held in Auburn. J[ames] N. Still to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 April 1853. Suggests that a convention be held and an antislavery paper published in Brooklyn while the Exhibition of the Industries of All Nations is held in the city. Johnson Woodlin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 May 1853. Believes that blacks will never achieve racial equality until they achieve a “national political existence.” L. D. Tanner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 April 1853. Comments on racial “amalgamation”; refers to the recent high-profile wedding of William G. Allen, a black man, to Mary G. King, the daughter of the renowned white minister Lyndon King. M[artin] R. Delany to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 May 1853. Objects to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s support of colonization. A Citizen of Syracuse to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 May 1853. Describes a new argument for colonization: blacks should leave America so that they will not use sugar or cotton products made by slaves. G[iles] W. S[tebbins]. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 22 April 1853. Points out inconsistencies between the principles and realities of the slave system. Cha[rle]s A. Hammond to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 May 1853. Comments on the sectarian character of NewYork Central College. J. W. Randolph to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 May 1853. Delineates reasons for not holding a national black convention. Francis Barry to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 May 1853. Supports the marriage of William G. Allen and Mary E. King. H[enry] O. W[agoner] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 13 May 1853. Recommends sending an agent of Frederick Douglass’ Paper into southern Illinois; calls for more organized antislavery agitation. P.C.S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 13 May 1853. Praises the editorial work of the New York Tribune; suggests

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 513

1/26/18 9:42 AM

514

9 May

13 May

23 May 23 May 24 May

30 May

31 May

1 June 1 June

1 June

5 June

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 514

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

the establishment of a similar newspaper to be led by blacks. Vive la Republic to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 May 1853. Provides a Wilmington, North Carolina, newspaper clipping offering a reward for the return of two runaway slaves. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 3 June 1853. Reports on recent antislavery meetings in New York City; criticizes Douglass for not rebuking organized-church fixtures more sternly. D[avid] Jenkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 June 1853. Calls for a black national convention at Rochester. S[amuel] D. Porter to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 June 1853. Submits the treasury report of the Chaplin Bail Fund. Elymas Payson Roger to FD. PLIr: FDP, 10 June 1853. Sets to verse his description of the Chesapeake Bay from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. M[artin] R. Delany to FD. PLeSr: FDP, 17 June 1853. Responds to the call for a national convention; requests that it be rescheduled to 24–26 August instead of 6 July. John Jones to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 June 1853. Announces the appointment of three delegates from Chicago, including Henry O. Wagoner, to the national convention to be held in Rochester. FD to Gerrit Smith. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. Looks forward to their upcoming meeting in Syracuse. S[tephen] Smith to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 July 1853. Conveys details of a Philadelphia meeting convened to consider the nomination of convention delegates and to decide upon points of discussion. J[ohn] B. Vashon to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 June 1853. Regrets that there is not more time to collect information about the number of black U.S. inhabitants before the national convention in Rochester on 6 July. [John] Montgomery to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 June 1853. Encourages faith in God for the deliverance of his people.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

6 June

7 June

9 June

11 June

13 June

13 June

15 June 20 June

[24 June]

25 June

28 June

515

William Shapcott to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 June 1853. Condemns “the pulpit and the press” as instruments of the slave system. John Campton to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 June 1853. Reports that delegates O. S. B. Wall, George Perry, and John Mercer Langston were elected to represent Ohio at the upcoming national convention. E. S. Jenkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 June 1853. Discusses the proceedings of the recently concluded annual meeting of Congregational Friends. William G. Allen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 July 1853. Describes his journey to England and his time spent there thus far; compares race relations in the two countries. Woodford Mills to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 July 1853. Reports that Messrs. Henry D. Brooks and George Miller were elected delegates to the national convention for Lockport, New York. J[acob] P. Morris to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 June 1853. Reports on the meeting in Rochester to nominate delegates for the upcoming National Convention of Colored People to be held in July; James Sharpe, J[ames] C. Holly, and R. H. Johnson were elected delegates. A Colored Canadian to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 June 1853. Hopes for the future of blacks in America. A. E. Arnold to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 June 1853. Reports that nine delegates from Canandaigua and Geneva (New York) were elected; conveys resolutions adopted at the county convention. U[riah] B[oston] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 24 June 1853. Rejects a statement made in the New York Tribune that blacks must prove their equality with whites. Again [Uriah Boston] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 July 1853. Criticizes Horace Greeley’s idea that the Amazon could not be improved by whites, despite his assertion that Liberia could be improved by blacks. J[ames] R[awson] Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 July 1853. Writes from the home of William Cullen Bryant

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 515

1/26/18 9:42 AM

516

8 July

11 July

12 July

16 July

17 July

18 July

23 July

27 July

5 August

6 August

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 516

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

in Roslyn, New York; regrets that Bryant does not support the Maine Liquor Law. J[ohn] T[homas] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 29 July 1853. Reports that Amelia Jenks Bloomer, who popularized wearing trousers with dresses, was on a temperance and women’s rights lecturing tour of Homer, New York, and the surrounding area. Again [Uriah Boston] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 July 1853. Chastises Horace Greeley for silencing voices critical of colonization; reports a secondhand story about the situation in Liberia. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 July 1853. Describes his experience of the National Black Convention held in Rochester, 6–8 July 1853. Again [Uriah Boston] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 July 1853. Comments on President Pierce’s visit to New York City. O. A. Bowe to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 July 1853. Celebrates the life and mourns the death of George Ently, a fugitive slave. William H. Burleigh to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 July 1853. Counters an account of a New York State Temperance Society meeting in which Burleigh was accused of hissing Douglass; praises work and friendship. P. Knight to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 September 1853. Relates details of the commencement at New-York Central College. Lewis Woodson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 August 1853. Points out contradictory provisions in the constitution of the National Council of the Colored People. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 August 1853. Discusses a recent trip to Maine and the connection between agitators for temperance and those for abolition; comments on the Rochester convention. Geo[rge] T. Downing to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 August 1853. Donates $13 to Frederick Douglass’ Paper; expresses the need for others to do the same.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

12 August

18 August

18 August

19 August

19 August

20 August

24 August

25 August

30 August

1 September

[2 September]

517

A Colored Canadian to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 August 1853. Reports that the artist Charity Govan’s work was refused display in Baltimore because she was black. An Abolitionist in the South to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 August 1853. Refutes the popular opinion held by slave owners that slaves are content to be in bondage. FD to Gerrit Smith. ALf: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. Recommends that Smith acquaint himself with the parliamentary rules of Congress. W[illiam] C. Nell to FD. PLSr: Lib., 2 September 1853. Reprinted in Woodson, Mind of the Negro, 341–45. Criticizes views in the 12 August issue of Frederick Douglass’ Paper. H[enry] O. Wagoner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 September 1853. Conveys the resolutions of a Chicago meeting of black leaders and abolitionists. E. M. Griffing to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 August 1853. Recounts the public speeches of Jermain Wesley Loguen in the towns of Troy, Keller’s Grove, Ingham Mills, and Little Falls, New York. Anonymous to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 September 1853. Cancels subscription to Frederick Douglass’ Paper; encourages his continued efforts. G[eorge] W. F. Mellen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 September 1853. Comments on the fugitive slave trial of Washington McQuerry, which was decided against McQuerry; argues for an antislavery reading of the Constitution. Lewis H. Payne to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 November 1853. Describes life for a free black in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; compares slavery in Brazil and the United States. Pittsburgh to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 September 1853. Criticizes a recent call for a “National Emigration Convention”; opposes it as part of the larger colonization movement. L.J. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 2 September 1853. Promotes a new book on colonization by Giles B. Stebbins, with an introduction by William Jay.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 517

1/26/18 9:42 AM

518

6 September

6 September

[9 September]

[9 September]

12 September

14 September

15 September

17 September

23 September

23 September

23 September

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 518

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

Alpha to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 September 1853. Defends Douglass’s new views regarding the antislavery nature of the Constitution; encourages him to maintain his new position. Henry Catlin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 September 1853. Reports on a recent nominating convention in Warren County, Pennsylvania. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 September 1853. Comments on the difficulty of training skilled handymen, engineers, and inventors as long as slavery remains. Lewis Tappan to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 September 1853. Announces the opening of a mercantile jointly owned by a free black and a white abolitionist in New York City. Leonard A. Grimes to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 September 1853. Summarizes proceedings of the American Baptist Missionary Convention held in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Alpha to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 September 1853. Takes issue with the treatment Douglass received from Garrison-affiliated newspapers; approves of his criticism of George Thompson. Lewis Woodson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 September 1853. Argues that wealth is the surest means of elevating black citizens; believes gardening can assist in that goal. George Buchanan to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 September 1853. Comments on the hypocrisy of church platforms that allow their officers to vote for slavery while remaining church officers. Leonard G. Calkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 September 1853. Condemns a man named Thomas Clarkson as an imposter posing as a fugitive slave. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 September 1853. Tells the story of an immigrant whitewasher from Africa. William Piper to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 September 1853. Reports a meeting in New Bedford responding to the call for a “National Emigration Convention,” which

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

[23 September]

25 September

30 September

[30 September]

1 October

6 October

13 October

14 October

17 October

519

resolved that the emigration movement works against the antislavery movement. Lewis Tappan to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 September 1853. Cautions that letters forged with Tappan’s name have been sent to prominent professionals throughout the country. J. M. Whitfield to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 October 1853. Advocates for the “National Convention of the friends of Emigration.” Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 October 1853. Comments on the mingling of royal Bourbon (French) blood with African via intermarriage among New York City blacks; reports that St. Philip’s Church was admitted to the New York Diocese with help from John Jay. James L. Taylor to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 September 1853. Argues that Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Fugitive Slave Law have aided the abolitionist cause more than anything; reports that Jermain Wesley Loguen was recently in Vermont. Charlotte K—— to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 October 1853. Recounts experience as the former wife of an Odd Fellow; blames Odd Fellowship for ruining her first marriage. D[avid] Jenkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 October 1853. Reports from Columbus, Ohio, on a meeting to decide how to respond to the fugitive slave trial of a free black. H.B.W. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 28 October 1853. Defends Douglass from criticism of Charles Remond, Garrison, and others. L[ewis] Woodson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 October 1853. Relates trip from Pittsburgh to New York City to attend antislavery lectures; theorizes that free blacks must “do something” to elevate themselves. James Sharp to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 October 1853. Reports on the meeting of Rochester’s black community and the establishment of a county committee, subordinate to the National Council.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 519

1/26/18 9:42 AM

520

20 October

21 October

25 October

26 October

[28 October]

31 October

October

3 November

4 November

7 November

7 November

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 520

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

M[ark] B[aker] Bird to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 December 1853. Appeals for patronage to raise money for a boarding school in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. L[ewis] Woodson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 October 1853. Enumerates the resolutions of a meeting in New York City; includes steps for improving the economic situation of free blacks. A Philo to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 November 1853. Responds to Charlotte K——‘s letter of 1 October; defends Odd Fellowship; criticizes Charlotte K——. J[ames] R[awson] Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 November 1853. Advocates all antislavery Christian men to support the Maine Law, which prohibits alcohol in the state. J[oseph] C. H[olly] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 28 October 1853. Remarks on an article in the Voice of the Fugitive; refutes the emigrationist position that blacks cannot be socially elevated in America. E.A.S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 4 November 1853. Responds to an article from Frederick Douglass’ Paper of 28 October by “J[ohn] T[homas]”; defends the Free Democratic party. FD to Amy Post. ALS: Post Family Papers, NRU. Hopes that she is getting some rest while caring for her sick child. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 11 November 1853. Provides name and background for a subscription to Frederick Douglass’ Paper. L[ewis] Woodson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 November 1853. Reproves Frederick Douglass’ Paper for misprinting his previous letter; outlines perceived deficiencies in the constitution of the National Council of the Colored People. M[artin] R. Delany to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 November 1853. Attacks John Jones for criticizing the emigration movement. B.D.J. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 18 November 1853. Denounces the Emigration Convention and emigrationist policies; includes a fragment of J. M. Whitfield’s speech in Buffalo.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

11 November

17 November

21 November

25 November

28 November

[2 December] 2 December

3 December

5 December

10 December

521

John Jones to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 November 1853. Reports from Illinois that agitation has increased there and that the Underground Railroad has been busy. FD to [Susan F.] Porter. ALS: Rochester Ladies’ AntiSlavery Society, Mi U-C. Declares his intention to attend and assist in any way possible the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Sewing Society Festival around Christmastime. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 November 1853. Reports that William H. Topp won the “Colored People’s Election” in New York City, defeating Stephen Meyers. William H. Day to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 December 1853. Reports that he will forward the proceedings of the National Council session held in New York City when they are made available to him by William C. Nell. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 December 1853. Describes the meeting of the National Council of black leaders held in Chicago on 23 November. Johnson Woodlin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 December 1853. Rebuts Douglass’s arguments against emigration. L[ewis] Woodson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 December 1853. Elaborates on points made in his 21 October letter; concludes that blacks must lead blacks, and devise a unified plan for the elevation of all blacks. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 December 1853. Remarks on articles by Horace Greeley and Lewis H. Putnam: the former regarding blacks’ preferences among New York City dailies, the latter regarding the further colonization of Liberia. W[illia]m H. Hallowell to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 December 1853. Thanks a women’s group for appointing him to a committee; declines the offer. Geo[rge] W. Clark to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 December 1853. Discusses the conflicting efforts of temperance, abolition, and woman suffrage; reflects on the World Temperance Convention on 12 May 1853 in New York, from which the female delegates were expelled.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 521

1/26/18 9:42 AM

522

10 December

11 December

14 December

21 December

27 December

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

W. L. Crandal to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 December 1853. Applauds Douglass for his rebuttal of attacks from the Garrison press. John Jones to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 December 1853. Explains the resolutions approved by the Convention of Colored Citizens of the State of Illinois last October that denounced emigration policies and Martin R. Delany; denies that he was their author, only the convention’s president. James R. Starkey to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 January 1854. Reports improvements in quality of life of free blacks in San Francisco. George T. Downing to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 December 1853. Recounts resolutions adopted at a public meeting of blacks in Providence, Rhode Island; requests a lecture. William J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 January 1854. Relates his return trip to Boston; recalls hearing Theodore Parker preach; reports voting against Jonathan P. Bigelow, the proslavery mayor of Boston. 1854

4 January

6 January

13 January

16 January

17 January

17 January

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 522

Charles Stuart to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 January 1854. Contends that the Constitution is not a proslavery document; urges all abolitionists to work together. William J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 January 1854. Reports on the proceedings of the Massachusetts State Council of Colored People. Sigma to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 January 1854. Relates news from Buffalo; mentions attending a speech by Solomon Northrop, a free-born escaped slave. John Peck to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 January 1854. Complains Douglass has not published circulars sent to him on behalf of the Allegheny Institute. FD to T[homas] W[entworth] Higginson. ALS: Douglass Collection, CtY. States he will speak in New Hampshire on 18 January. William P. Green to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 February 1854. Outlines a plan for “reformatory libraries,” which he

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

19 January

26 January

[27 January]

3 February

6 February

8 February

9 February

11 February

14 February

18 February

523

will furnish with books paid for by citizens of each town; defends himself against accusations appearing in other papers. J. C. Morrel to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 January 1854. Corrects a report by James N. Still on the proceedings of the New York State Council. William J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 February 1854. Reports from Boston the popularity of Autographs for Freedom; comments on the ousting of William Howard Day from reporting on the Ohio legislature because of his mixed heritage. John I. Goines to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 February 1854. Refutes a published letter by the poet James Monroe Whitfield, defending emigration policies; argues that blacks born in America belong here. Byrd Parker to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 February 1854. Compliments the National Convention in Rochester; criticizes colonization schemes; questions Garrison’s motives for attacking Douglass. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 February 1854. Praises the editing and design of Autographs for Freedom. H[enry] O. Wagoner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 February 1854. Reports on a mass meeting of Chicago blacks to discuss John Mitchel, an Irish exile from Britain, who, once in the United States, began a proslavery newspaper called the Citizen in New York City. S[amuel J.] May to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 February 1854. Provides a receipt for shipping costs for items donated to the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society Bazaar. Samuel [J.] May to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 February 1854. Defends reasons for the delay in sending parcels from Britain to Boston for the Rochester Ladies’ AntiSlavery Bazaar. D[aniel] Plumb to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 February 1854. Decries John Mitchel’s infamous speech given upon arrival in the United States; argues against proslavery doctrines pronounced by Mitchel. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 February 1854. Reports details of her trip to Washington, D.C.;

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 523

1/26/18 9:42 AM

524

18 February

20 February

20 February

22 February

[24 February]

24 February

24 February

25 February

27 February

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 524

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

recounts meeting Representative Gerrit Smith and Senators Salmon P. Chase and William Henry Seward, and of hearing General Sam Houston speak to the House of Representatives. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 March 1854. Comments on a speech delivered to the Senate by William Henry Seward on the subject of Nebraska; provides details of sightseeing in Washington, D.C. A Colored Canadian to FD. PLfSr: FDP, 3 March 1854. Condemns emigration and colonization; argues that the slave power is dooming itself with its actions. D[aniel] Plumb to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 March 1854. Calls for the creation of a fund to support “friends of the slave” who incur court costs for being loyal to the cause. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 March 1854. Provides details of her visit to Washington, D.C., including a visit from Sarah M. Grimké and a speech by Charles Sumner. Antiquary to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 February 1854. Offers two historic writings that defend freedom as the will of God. Betsey D. Hawks to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 March 1854. Suggests that Solomon Northrop, a free-born black arrested as a fugitive then enslaved for twelve years, should receive compensation for his lost liberty and wealth, since slaveholders were compensated for their lost slave “property.” Charlotte K—— to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 March 1854. Defends her position that the Odd Fellowship destroyed the New York literary societies by substituting balls and suppers for lectures. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 March 1854. Continues the review of her trip to Washington, D.C., including a speech from Stephen A. Douglas on the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and a trip to Mount Vernon. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 March 1854. Encourages abolitionists to have faith

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

28 February

28 February

February

3 March

6 March

7 March

13 March

16 March

[17 March]

525

in the “Higher Law,” claiming that by obeying the laws of God, not man, slavery will be exterminated. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17  March 1854. Offers a poem, “The Beggar Girl”; comments on the harsh winter and coming spring; reports on the Siloam Church in Brooklyn, led by the Reverend Amos Noe Freeman. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 March 1854. Documents her return trip from Washington, D.C.; comments on a speech made by General Lewis Cass; reports that the Kansas-Nebraska Bill passed the Senate. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17  March 1854. Comments on William H. Day’s Cleveland newspaper the Aliened American; mentions a feud between John Mitchel and the New York Herald’s James Gordon Bennett. J. Stuart to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 March 1854. Argues from a scriptural perspective for abolitionists to consider the rights of women in their fight for equality. Gerrit Smith to FD. PLSr: FDP 17 March 1854. Explains his vote against the Homestead Bill because of last-minute changes that limited land grants to whites only. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 April 1854. Believes that the Kansas-Nebraska Bill has angered many and that violence is inevitable in the fight against slavery; states that some Democrats in Syracuse are antislavery. T. Meyers Ward to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 March 1854. Celebrates the antislavery candidate Rodney French’s reelection as mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Brick to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 March 1854. Expresses concern that the National Council proceedings from New York on 22 November 1853 have yet to be printed; sends a pamphlet containing the proceedings of the Illinois State Council. Francis Barry to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 March 1854. Comments on a women’s rights lecture given by Lucy Stone from which blacks were excluded; reflects on

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 525

1/26/18 9:42 AM

526

[17 March]

[17] March

18 March

20 March 20 March

21 March

[24 March]

24 March

27 March

27 March

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 526

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

the consistent application of equality called for in a 10 February 1854 editorial. J[ames] W. Duffin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 March 1854. Reports the proceedings of a convention held in Elmira, New York. William F. Goodman to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 March 1854. Presents his view of the character and election of William Bishop as general superintendent of the American Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. William J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 March 1854. Details his lecture opposing the Kansas-Nebraska Bill given in Buffalo; remarks on Douglass’s absence from the lecture; announces plans for future meetings. James Elliot to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 March 1854. Claims that land monopoly is the true cause of slavery. John W. Lewis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 April 1854. Reports the arrival of four fugitive slaves in St. Albans, Vermont; criticizes the “American Church” for not condemning slavery uniformly. Charles W. Stuart to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 April 1854. Comments on a series of letters between John Mitchel and Henry Ward Beecher; commends free public discourse as one of the nation’s most valuable assets. Philo to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 March 1854. Defends the Odd Fellowship from Charlotte K——‘s accusations; questions the language of resolutions adopted by the Massachusetts State Council and whether all antislavery organizations stand ready to elevate blacks. George Weir, Jr., to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 March 1854. Reports on the lectures of William J. Watkins in Buffalo on the subjects of slavery and the KansasNebraska Bill; presents the resolutions of antislavery meetings there. R[ichard] H[arvey] Cain to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 April 1854. Provides the minutes of the proceedings of the Illinois State Council. Woodford Mills to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 March 1854. Requests aid in finding his lost brother, Peter Hughes; fears he has been made a slave.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

30 March

1 April

2 April

3 April

4 April

6 April

[7 April]

7 April

12 April

15 April

15 April

15 April

527

Amyntas to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 April 1854. Reports on the growing antislavery sentiments in Elmira, New York. LaRoy Sunderland to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 April 1854. Denounces drugs and medicine as quackery; advocates a personal theory of nutritional health. John T. Waugh to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 April 1854. Comments on the motion of Senator John Pettit to select a minister to report to the Senate whether the KansasNebraska Bill was a violation of “the law of God.” James McCune Smith to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 April 1854. Reprinted in Lib., 14 April 1854. States that the Mechanics’ Institute in New York City is neither an industrial school nor a substitute for the proposed industrial school. H[enry] O. Wagoner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 April 1854. Defends himself and the State Council of Illinois from the criticism in Brick’s letter of 16 March. M. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 14 April 1854. Reports on the growing bond between Representatives Joseph Ripley Chandler and Gerrit Smith. B. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 7 April 1854. Makes suggestions for the planned industrial school in New York, including ideas for funding, location, and building materials. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 April 1854. Describes black high society in Brooklyn, including a party attended by many of the city’s elite. John W. Lewis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 April 1854. Remarks upon the antislavery sentiments of the people of Vermont. John W. Lewis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 5 May 1854. Departs from home in Vermont for more antislavery lectures in New York; comments on proslavery politicians and religious leaders he has encountered. John Roberts to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 May 1854. Discusses thoughts about the repeal of the Missouri Compromise; comments on possible political alliances. Charles Stuart to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 April 1854. Illustrates the reality of women’s roles in church and

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 527

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528

18 April

22 April

22 April

24 April

26 April

28 April

1 May

2 May

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 528

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

politics; argues for the separation of the causes of women’s rights and abolition; believes women do not belong in politics. John N. Still to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 April 1854. Recommends that interested parties write to their state or national councilmen for information; suggests patronizing Frederick Douglass’ Paper, the Aliened American, the Voice of the Fugitive, and the Provincial Freeman. A Colored Canadian to FD. PLSr: FDP, 5 May 1854. Criticizes the Baltimore Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church for repudiating antislavery principles; quotes extensively from the conference minutes. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 5 May 1854. Reports events in Brooklyn, including a concert given by Madam Miller; comments on an exchange of letters between himself and Fanny Homewood. Scioto to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 May 1854. Supports the building of the industrial school; expresses surprise that William H. Day opposes it; refutes Day’s argument. J[ames] R[awson] Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 May 1854. Proposes unifying both sides of the Consitutition-as-a-proslavery-document debate; suggests solidifying a platform for the next election. Artemas Carter to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 May 1854. Tells the story of a woman and her infant daughter escaping slavery in St. Louis; commends Underground Railroad conductors for helping so many to freedom. John W. Lewis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 June 1854. Describes wave of antislavery activity in terms of the coming of spring. Lewis Woodson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 May 1854. Questions the veracity of a notice from James McCune Smith; argues the current notice is immoral and unconstitutional, according to the constitution of the National Council of the Colored People.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

4 May

6 May

6 May

8 May

24 May

30 May 30 May

31 May

May

May

1 June

529

Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 May 1854. Argues that blacks are not united in the opposition to oppression because not all blacks are equally oppressed. William W. Quonn to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 May 1854. Reports the resolutions of the Connecticut State Meeting of Colored Men held on 27 April. William J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 May 1854. Comments on life during a lecture tour; misses home; finds hope in the song of a robin; suggests blacks ought to be more hopeful generally. Charles Stuart to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 May 1854. Questions the rights of women in relation to public duties; says he follows the Bible on this question; calls for the union of all antislavery groups. Henry Miles to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 June 1854. Announces formation of the Free Produce Association of Western Vermont. A[bner] H. Frances to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 July 1854. Reports the resolutions of a meeting in San Francisco. J[ames] N. Gloucester to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 June 1854. Describes a meeting held in New York City to support James W. C. Pennington, whose brother, Stephen Pembroke, and two nephews were remanded to slavery. W[illiam] W. Chapman to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 June 1854. Corrects a statement made in an earlier letter regarding James Rawson Johnson’s vote for Martin Van Buren; states that Johnson voted for antislavery Whig candidates. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 June 1854. Condemns the Fugitive Slave Law and the Kansas-Nebraska Bill; argues for a strong stance on both. Stephen Shaw to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 June 1854. Sends a dollar for continuing his subscription; attacks Congress for passing proslavery legislation; praises Gerrit Smith. A[bner] H. Francis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 September 1854. Supports his change in position on the issue of

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 529

1/26/18 9:42 AM

530

3 June

10 June

12 June

15 June

23 June

23 June

[30 June]

1 July

[6 July]

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 530

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

slavery in the Constitution; encourages all abolitionists to do the same; describes affairs in Oregon. FD to J. C. Kendall. ALS: Miscellaneous Manuscripts, NN. Thanks Kendall for his contributions to Frederick Douglass’ Paper. A Colored Canadian to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 June 1854. Comments on the Baltimore Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church; criticizes its support of colonization. S[ydney] H. Gay to FD. ALS: Sidney Howard Gay Manuscripts, NNC. Requests a copy of his speech from August 1847, printed in the National Anti-Slavery Standard. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 4 August 1854. Suggests a conference be held to discuss how best to defeat slavery in the upcoming presidential election. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 July 1854. Recounts the Sinking Fund Association’s anniversary, including a speech by the New Jersey poet Elymas Payson Rogers; describes involvement in a near duel between the Frederick Douglass’ Paper correspondents Observer [James N. Still] and Veritas. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 June 1854. Describes a trip to Canada to sell goods on behalf of the Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Association in Toronto; praises speeches heard there. C[harles] C. Foote to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 June 1854. Furnishes a letter by W. S. Moore for Mr. Clarkson of Virginia; provides background for the letter: Sina Pago and her husband fled to Canada from Clarkson. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 14 July 1854. Quotes a friend’s letter to illustrate his belief that Christianity cannot truly spread through the world until all the world is liberated; uses the war in Hungary as an example. Cromwellian to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 July 1854. Compares the newly inaugurated Racine County League to

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

[6 July]

9 July

11 July 12 July

17 July

21 July

21 July

24 July

28 July

1 August 7 August

531

Oliver Cromwell’s Eastern Association of the English Civil War; quotes Thomas Carlyle. E. S. Jones to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 July 1854. Recommends the abolitionist speaker Castus S. Depp; reports resolutions of “the Twenty Mile Anti-Slavery Society,” composed of members from all antislavery parties. J[ames] D. Bonner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 July 1854. Eulogizes the Chicago agitator James H. Collins, who died of cholera. William J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 July 1854. Details his antislavery lecture in Rome, New York. Lyman E. Eppes to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 July 1854. Informs grantees of land donated by Gerrit Smith, and of the land’s increasing value and impending sale to pay taxes; suggests using money to redeem lands instead of celebrating Smith’s donation. John W. Lewis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 July 1854. Reports details of the Vermont State Temperance Convention, the Vermont Liberty party’s convention, the State Mass Convention, and the Franklin County Convention. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 28 July 1854. Endorses Abram Pryne to succeed Gerrit Smith in Congress. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 28 July 1854. Complains of a typographical error in a previous letter to Frederick Douglass’ Paper. David A. Warren to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 August 1854. Defends Gerrit Smith from Horace Greeley’s criticism that Smith retired early the night before the vote on the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. Gerrit Smith to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 August 1854. Reports that the House of Representatives lacks enough votes to stop passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. Laura S. Haviland to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 August 1854. Mourns the death of the abolitionist Henry Bibb. William H. Day, O. S. B. Wall, John Booker, Justin Holland, and William C. Nell to FD. PLSr: FDP,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 531

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532

8 August

10 August

20 August

21 August

21 August

[25 August]

[25 August]

25 August

27 August

29 August

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 532

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

1  September 1854. Denies report in an editorial of 28 July regarding a council meeting in Cleveland. J[ohn] W. Lewis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 August 1854. Reports growing antislavery sentiments in Vermont; requests support for campaigning in the state; provides information about the Underground Railroad there. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 September 1854. Details the progress of blacks in San Francisco; mentions hearing Samuel Ringgold Ward’s nephew preach. J[ames]D. Bonner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 September 1854. Endorses newspaper account of the Cleveland council meeting; dislikes the sectional sentiments of the meeting. William H. Storum to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 September 1854. Agrees with account of the Cleveland council meeting. John F. Williams to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 September 1854. Pronounces account of the Cleveland council meeting correct; believes that the council wished to censure national council members. A[mos] G[erry] B[eman] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 25 August 1854. Praises the oratory and poetry of Elymas Payson Rogers, who spoke in New Haven, Connecticut. Charles Russell to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 August 1854. Discusses the celebration of West Indian Emancipation in Dayton, Ohio. Gerrit Smith to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 September 1854. Describes the release from prison of a man named Hanson for harboring fugitive slaves; remarks how often he has been asked to aid in liberating slaves in Washington, D.C. S. Ottman to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 September 1854. Comments on an address given in Rush, New York; defends the position that the Christian church hinders the antislavery movement. James Davis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 September 1854. Reports the freeing of a slave girl via the Underground Railroad in Smithfield, Ohio.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

August

August

1 September

1 September

7 September

[8 September]

8 September

9 September

12 September

13 September

533

John Peck to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 September 1854. Reprinted in FDP, 8 September 1854. Criticizes the Cleveland meeting of the National Council for holding up new business with divisive politics. Charles Russell to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 August 1854. Reports on J. M. Langston’s antislavery lecture at a celebration commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Dayton, Ohio. W[illiam] W[ells] Brown to FD. PLSr; Lib., 20 October 1854. Opposes immigration of Canadian blacks to the West Indies. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 September 1854. Recounts visit to Bridgeport, Connecticut. Phillip Schuyler to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 September 1854. Questions the state of the Free Democratic party; wonders whether it will merge with other, stronger parties. B[etsey] D. Hawks to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 September 1854. Praises William J. Watkins’s speech in Columbus, Ohio; condemns the subservient position of women and blacks. William Thompson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 September 1854. Remarks on the lectures of William J. Watkins in Danville, Pennsylvania, to an audience of mixed heritage. A[mos] G[erry] B[eman] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 September 1854. Comments on and provides information about the status of the citizenship question for blacks in the United States. Richard Packham to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 September 1854. Sends a clipping from the Milwaukee Free Democrat regarding the annual conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Wisconsin. M. H. Freeman to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 September 1854. Criticizes a letter by “G.,” published in the National Era, for the author’s position on racial and gender superiority.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 533

1/26/18 9:42 AM

534

14 September

[15 September]

16 September

16 September

18 September

23 September

25 September

29 September

30 September

September

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 534

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

A Glen Haven Patient to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 September 1854. Describes a fire at the Glen Haven Water Cure; reports no serious injuries. Egypt to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 September 1854. Reports on a recent speech given by Senator Stephen A. Douglass to the citizens of Chicago regarding the Nebraska Bill. A[mos] G[erry] B[eman] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 22 September 1854. Celebrates the upcoming sixteenth anniversary of the Connecticut State Temperance Society in Middletown, Connecticut; expresses desire that Douglass attend. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 September 1854. Argues for separate schools for blacks in Brooklyn; bemoans the lack of letters from Communipaw [James McCune Smith], Observer [James N. Still], and others. H[enry] O. Wagoner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 September 1854. Endorses Douglass’s plan for the prevention of slavery in the Kansas Territory, by assisting black freemen to move there. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 September 1854. Calls on black ministers to take more responsibility in their communities; compares the problems in schools to those of the church. A[mos] G[erry] B[eman] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 29 September 1854. Writes to correct his last letter: the society was in fact celebrating its eighteenth anniversary. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 October 1854. Defends his arguments regarding the education of black children from the attacks of church leaders who argue that blacks should attend white schools. Beginner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 October 1854. Reports on a meeting in Middletown, Connecticut, regarding black enfranchisement; praises a speech given there by Amos Gerry Beman. John J. Moore to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 October 1854. Reports on the West Indian Emancipation celebration in San Francisco.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

3 October

7 October

7 October

13 October

17 October

[20 October]

23 October

27 October

28 October

28 October

31 October

535

A[mos] G[erry] B[eman] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 13 October 1854. Describes his education and history in Middletown; provides minor details from the convention. A Bible Student to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 October 1854. Encourages all who are able to vote in the upcoming election. A[mos] N[oe] Freeman to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 October 1854. Counters claims made by Ethiop [William J. Wilson] in his most recent letter. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 October 1854. Rejoins the debate raised by Amos Noe Freeman. D[avid] Jenkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 October 1854. Calls for a national convention of blacks to unify opposition to colonizationists. Candor to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 October 1854. Defends Gerrit Smith from attacks on his position to allow Cuba to enter the union “even with slavery.” A[nna] H. Richardson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 November 1854. Argues against Ethiop’s [William J. Wilson’s] position on separate schools; believes that educating black and white children separately will do nothing to solve the root of the problem. J[osiah] Letchworth to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 November 1854. Counters Gerrit Smith’s arguments for standing against the Whig gubernatorial candidate Myron H. Clark. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 November 1854. Compares the wrecking of the steamer Arctic to the “spirit of American character” and to slavery; condemns manifest destiny and progress as seeds of America’s destruction. John Mosher to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 November 1854. Defends Myron H. Clark’s antislavery stance from Gerrit Smith’s attacks; encourages “friends of freedom” to vote for Clark. W[illiam] W[hipper] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 17 November 1854. Continues debate on prejudice; concludes that

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 535

1/26/18 9:42 AM

536

[3 November]

10 November

[17 November] 18 November

23 November

25 November

26 November

29 November

30 November

1 December

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 536

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

prejudice affects all blacks equally, regardless of their condition. W[illiam] W[hipper] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 3 November 1854. Takes up a debate on prejudice begun by William Wells Brown in the Standard; argues that prejudice applies to color, not condition. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 November 1854. Remarks upon the transition from autumn to winter in New York City. W[illiam] Garbutt to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 November 1854. Laments the Fugitive Slave Law. William Garbutt to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 November 1854. Notes printing errors in his “article on slavery” published in Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 17 November 1854. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 December 1854. Describes the state of antislavery groups in San Francisco; compares the differences between Garrison and Douglass to the rivalries emerging in California. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 December 1854. Criticizes a “Mr. Richardson of Illinois” for suggesting that blacks should “cling fast to whites”; argues for the independence of blacks, especially in schools. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 December 1854. Requests the acknowledgment of a monetary contribution from Joseph Sturge of Birmingham, England. FD to S[amuel] J. May, R. R. Raymond, R. W. Pease. ALS: Anti-Slavery Collection, MB. Suggests a date of 11 December for Douglass’s lecture in Syracuse, New York. Laura S. Haviland to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 December 1854. Reprinted in Lib., 29 December 1854. Provides information regarding Calvin Fairbanks that was previously requested by a subscriber; states that Fairbanks is a prisoner in Kentucky. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 December 1854. Raises concerns that the American Anti-Slavery Society sometimes pays black lecturers less than whites.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

[1 December]

4 December

5 December

6 December

14 December

[15 December]

15 December

17 December

20 December

[22 December]

537

J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 1 December 1854. Reports on the condition of John N. T. Tucker, editor of the Brooklyn Advertiser, imprisoned for murdering his son; believes Tucker was temporarily insane. J[ohn] B[rown] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 15 December 1854. Joins the debate regarding the causes of prejudice; argues that it is neither color nor condition, but rather that blacks are the descendants of slaves. J[ermain] W[esley] L[oguen] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 15 December 1854. Reports on his recent antislavery lecture in Canastota, New York. George T. Downing to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 December 1854. Reproves the colonizationist sentiments of Uncle Tom’s Cabin; praises Mary Hayden Green Pike’s novel Ida May; criticizes Myrtilla Miner’s school in Washington, D.C., for supporting colonization. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 January 1855. Joins the debate regarding the causes of prejudice; argues that prejudice against color does not exist, rather that color indicates condition. F. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 15 December 1854. Criticizes Douglass’s editorial on the Cleveland Convention; claims that it ridicules rather than reasons against it. FD to Gerrit Smith. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. Reports having received copies of Smith’s speeches; mentions forthcoming lectures in New England. W[illiam] W[hipper] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 29 December 1854. Joins the debate regarding the causes of prejudice; argues that color is the cause of prejudice and that blacks’ complexion is their condition. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 January 1855. Comments on the literary successes of selfemancipated blacks; argues that blacks striving for literary achievements are not aping whites. F. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 22 December 1854. Objects to Douglass’s editorial on the Cleveland Convention; claims that distinguishing terms such as “black” and “colored” are effects of distinction, not causes of it.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 537

1/26/18 9:42 AM

538

23 December

25 December

25 December

27 December

28 December

30 December

30 December

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

W[illiam] W. Chapman to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 January 1855. Defends the Liberty party from Communipaw’s [James McCune Smith’s] attacks regarding the number of party members, published in Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 15 December 1854. D[avid] Jenkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 January 1855. Regrets that colonizationists have become more active in speaking and rallying support for their cause. Robert Purvis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 January 1855. Praises Douglass for criticizing James McCune Smith. H. W. J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 4 January 1855. Reports that James W. C. Pennington spoke in Newport, Rhode Island; regrets a lack of energy for the antislavery cause; requests that Douglass return to speak again. J. W. Billing and Levi Terry to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 January 1855. Provides dates and locations for upcoming lectures by William J. Watkins in Chautauqua County, New York. J. P. Clark to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 February 1855. Sends a portion of Thomas Anderson’s Interesting Account of Thomas Anderson, a Slave for publication in Frederick Douglass’ Paper. W[illiam] J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 January 1855. Comments on the growth of Know-Nothingism around Cattaraugus County, New York; reports on diminishing abolitionist sentiments there. 1855

1 January

1 January

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 538

J[ohn] Mercer Langston to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 January 1855. Reprinted in NASS, 13 January 1855. Reports that Douglass must not have received an earlier reply accepting an invitation to lecture in New York. John W. Lewis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 January 1855. Wishes Douglass a Happy New Year; hopes for progress within the Christian church regarding its position on slavery.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

3 January

[4 January] 6 January

6 January

8 January

9 January

10 January

11 January

11 January

12 January

17 January

539

W[illia]m J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 January 1855. Discusses recent lectures; argues the most important issue for abolitionists now is to stop the spread of slavery into new territories. F. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 4 January 1855. Defends the recent Emigration Convention. Samuel Rhoads to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 January 1855. Disagrees with George T. Downing’s criticism of Myrtilla Miner’s school; argues that she does not support colonization. Charles W. Stuart to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 January 1855. Rejects Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s statements regarding the Bible and her argument that humans have an “inner feeling” of moral correctness. Uriah Boston to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 January 1855. Describes the threefold nature of American prejudice; argues that raising the national character of Africa can remove prejudice. FD to [Charles H. Plummer]. ALS: L. S. Alexander Gumby Collection of Negroiana, NNC. Informs him of the planned address by “Mr. Marshall,” a former slave, who will be speaking in Taunton, Massachusetts. Geo[rge] W. Goines to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 April 1855. Writes from Australia; reports that conditions there are better for blacks than in America. Observer [James N. Still] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 February 1855. Corrects his own opinion from a recent letter; suggests that Christians hold the Sabbath too sacred. W. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 19 January 1855. Praises a lecture delivered by William J. Watkins in Gerry, New York; links the causes of abolition and temperance. W[illia]m J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 January 1855. Reports that he will be delivering a lecture before a literary association; believes this is a hopeful sign. Observer [James N. Still] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 February 1855. Discusses the organization of the Egyptian Institute, renamed the Brooklyn Library Association,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 539

1/26/18 9:42 AM

540

18 January

18 January

20 January

20 January

20 January

28 January

30 January

January

January

January

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 540

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

and its efforts to enable practical reforms in the community. John W. Lewis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 February 1855. Reports that the Massachusetts legislature has sixty Know-Nothing clergymen members that oppose both Catholics and abolition; retains hope for the Liberty party. W[illiam] W[hipper] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 2 February 1855. Rejoins the debate on the cause of prejudice; argues that it is complexion, since the condition of blacks would qualify them for citizenship, but not their color. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 January 1855. Explores the history of the relationship between free blacks and the American AntiSlavery Society. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 January 1855. Reports the news from Brooklyn and New York. Observer [James N. Still] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 February 1855. Discusses the growing animosity between white and black longshoremen. J[ames] D. B[onner] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 9 February 1855. Expresses concern over the political direction of the Illinois legislature; fears the passage of laws that will hurt blacks. Newport to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 January 1855. Summarizes a lecture delivered by Dr. J[ohn] S. Rock of Boston in Newport, Rhode Island. Albro S. Brown to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 February 1855. Denounces anti-Catholic, anti-immigration sentiments of Know-Nothingism. G.P.I. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 19 January 1855. Comments on George T. Downing’s defense of the practice of Northern lyceums not putting black lecturers’ names on course lists. Samuel Ringgold Ward to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 February 1855. Praises his “Ethnological Address”; suggests the time is right to disseminate his ideas about the equality of blacks and whites.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

2 February

3 February

3 February

6 February

7 February 13 February

14 February

14 February

15 February

[16 February]

16 February

17 February 18 February

541

J[ohn] W. Lewis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 February 1855. Reports on efforts to promote abolitionism in northeastern Vermont. T. A. Jackson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 February 1855. Describes the Minnesota Territory; hopes for its admittance to the union as a free state. Byrd Parker to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 February 1854. Opposes emigration until all other antislavery tactics have failed. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 March 1855. Reports from San Francisco that Americans are dispossessing Spanish Californians of their property. Minnesota to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 March 1855. Reports on the political activities in the Minnesota Territory. H. Williams, Jr., to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 February 1855. Announces the organization of new antislavery associations in the Midwest, including a Baptist group; hopes for more churches to join the cause. George T. Downing to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 February 1855. Asks Douglass to publish a letter that Garrison refused to print in the Liberator. Betsey D. Hawks to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 March 1855. Criticizes Charles Stuart’s position on the inner being of man, and his theological beliefs. William J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 February 1855. Reports from Attica and Arcade, New York; comments on the nature of winter revival meetings and their temporary effect on prejudice. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 February 1855. Traces the American AntiSlavery Society’s former dedication to the education of free blacks. Samuel Salisbury to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 March 1855. Praises the work of William J. Watkins, whom he heard speak in Castile, New York. Observer [James N. Still] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 April 1855. Reports the sale of a black church in Brooklyn. H[enry]O. W[agoner] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 2 March 1855. Defends himself against James D. Bonner’s claim that

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 541

1/26/18 9:42 AM

542

20 February

20 February

20 February

[23 February]

23 February

25 February

28 February

[February]

[February]

2 March

2 March

2 March

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 542

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

black correspondents from Illinois were not speaking out against the political policies of the state legislature. A Friend to Humanity to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 March 1855. Criticizes a proposed plan of Henry Baldwin to manumit slaves and send them to Liberia. J[ohn] S. R[ock] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 March 1855. Defends the antislavery sentiments of Know-Nothing party members in Massachusetts. Samuel Salisbury to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 April 1855. Defines Christianity; questions Christians who do not support the antislavery movement. J[ames] W. C. Pennington to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 February 1855. Defends himself from accusations of harboring proslavery sentiments. William J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 March 1855. Encourages stronger resistance to slavery and proslavery bills, such as the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Fugitive Slave Law. John W. Lewis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 February 1855. Discusses the winter activities for abolitionists in Vermont. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 April 1855. Reports conditions in San Francisco following a run on several banks caused by speculation and extravagant spending. W[illia]m Nesbit to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 March 1855. Defends his criticism of Liberia and the American Colonization Society. Observer [James N. Still] to FD. PLSr, FDP, 16 February 1855. Reports on recent events in the New York City area, especially the dispute over black longshoremen. Ohio to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 March 1855. Compares the quick admittance of Texas as a state with the hesitancy of the federal government to send diplomats to Haiti. W[illia]m H. C. Stephenson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 March 1855. Corrects errors in letters published on 12 February and 29 January. Charles Stuart to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1855. Bemoans political arguments over the gradual abolition of slavery versus immediate abolition.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

3 March

3 March

3 March

6 March

8 March

8 March

10 March

12 March

12 March

14 March

14 March

14 March

543

Cosmopolite to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 March 1855. Comments on lectures before the New York Library Association by C. W. Elliott and William Lloyd Garrison. Philo to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 March 1855. Praises Rhode Island’s new law allowing black military units to bear arms; condemns the “special act” allowing the American Colonization Society to ignore new regulations safeguarding passengers on overseas ships. W[illia]m J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 March 1855. Comments on the snowy weather experienced while traveling through New York state. J. B. Lang to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 March 1855. Suggests developing a system for aiding fugitive slaves in Canada. FD to Margaret Denman Cropper. ALS: British Abolition Movement Papers, ViU. Alerts the recipient that a package is en route to her; thanks her for her interest in the antislavery cause. Henry Williams to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 March 1855. Sends a letter from the religious newspaper the Journal & Messenger for publication in his paper. J[ohn] W. Lewis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 April 1855. Praises Canada and its hospitality; celebrates Republican victories in New Hampshire. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 30 March 1855. Argues for stronger efforts at the ballot box to engender confidence among abolitionists. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 16 March 1855. Reports the news from Boston; comments on speeches by Theodore Parker, Wendell Phillips, and Anthony Burns. William Epson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1855. Recommends a boycott against goods produced by slave labor. H. M. Gilbert to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 March 1855. Encourages plans for a “new association” that will advocate for the immediate overthrow of slavery. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 April 1855. Reports on San Francisco bank closings and the state legislature’s

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 543

1/26/18 9:42 AM

544

14 March

19 March

20 March

26 March

26 March

26 March

29 March

30 March

March

[March]

March

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 544

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

efforts to prevent Chinese immigrants from gaining citizenship. Ohio to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 April 1855. Bemoans the pervasive nature of prejudice against blacks; provides an essay from a temperance association named Ark. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 6 April 1855. Reports the news from Boston, the death of the emperor of Russia (Nicholas I), and the results of the New Hampshire elections. Charles W. Stuart to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 April 1855. Defends his position on women’s rights; argues B. D. Hawks’s points thereon. Asher Bliss to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1855. Encourages abolitionists to take heart and to persevere, for their cause is the righteous will of God. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 6 April 1855. Reports the migration of a group of Boston abolitionist families to Kansas and the passage of Boston’s new liquor law. U.B.V. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 13 April 1855. Responds to the letters of “W[illiam] W[hipper]” regarding the cause of American prejudice; argues that slavery is that cause. L.C. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 20 April 1855. Proposes that the “New Association” be committed to a plan whereby “He that would be free, himself must strike the blow.” Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 May 1855. Bemoans San Francisco’s new “School Law,” which appropriates funds only for white children. A[lbro] S. Brown to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 March 1855. Condemns the position of the “American Party,” which seeks to remove any foreign-born politician from office. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 March 1855. Contends that blacks must learn to love their “negro nature” in order to elevate the race. J[ames] W. C. Pennington to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 April 1855. Denies charges of having proslavery sentiments and taking proslavery actions; provides extract from his first published address in the Long Island Star.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

[March]

March

March

4 April

5 April

5 April

[6 April]

6 April

[6 April]

7 April

9 April

545

Phila to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 March 1855. Takes issue with William Whipper’s arguments for the causes of prejudice against people of color; argues that whites are educated to be prejudiced. S[amuel] R[inggold] W[ard] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 13 April 1855. Continues ongoing series of correspondence, entitled “The Modern Negro”; discusses inequality among Garrisonian abolitionists’ salaries. Samuel Ringgold Ward to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1855. Provides third installment of “The Modern Negro”; compares differences between whites and blacks. Cosmopolite to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1855. Describes a trip to rare book shop, Bailliere’s, in New York City. Henry Miles to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1855. Expresses gratitude for the Free Soil party’s recent praise; describes that party as opposed to the legalization of slavery everywhere. Minnesota to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1855. Reports from Minnesota on the misuse of taxes in that state and the resolutions of the Republican party there. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 April 1855. Delivers news from San Francisco, including the uproar caused by a black man voting at a convention of whites. Levi Tilmon to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 April 1855. Informs readers of a group of free blacks in Key Neck, New York, who purchased a plot of six acres, and of Douglass’s forthcoming speech there. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 April 1855. Recounts speeches made in Delaware; describes the growing antislavery sentiment there and the Underground Railroad stations in that state. Minnesota to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 April 1855. Proposes the acquisition of Canadian lands for settlement by free blacks. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1855. Reports that he has been circulating petitions around New York to acknowledge the civil rights of blacks.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 545

1/26/18 9:42 AM

546

9 April

14 April

15 April

16 April

17 April

18 April

[20] April

23 April

24 April

27 April

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 546

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 20 April 1855. Recounts a new resolution passed by the Boston Committee on Education abolishing all distinctions on account of race, color, and religion. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 May 1855. Provides the news from San Francisco: the economy continues at a slow pace; public schools remain segregated, although the school for blacks is prospering. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 20 April 1855. Details the proceedings of the indictments against the so-called Burn’s rioters; reports that the accused were not indicted. John W. Lewis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 May 1855. Encourages abolitionists via reports from a staunch proslavery newspaper that warn of the growing popularity of the antislavery movement. Thomas C. Bowles to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 April 1855. Furnishes Douglass with a copy of a critique of The Black Swan from the Pennsylvania Inquirer, praising the black lead’s performance. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 27 April 1855. Asks for his subscription of Frederick Douglass’ Paper to be sent to his new congregational post at Quinnebaugh, Connecticut. Uriah Boston to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1855. Suggests that the proper title for blacks in America is “Colored Americans” rather than “African Americans,” which decreases the distinction between blacks and whites. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 27 April 1855. Reports the news from Boston: a lawyer charged with jury tampering, and the passage of a new act regulating the weighing of coal. Inspector to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 May 1855. Discusses effects of a failed attempt to pass a law amending the New York state constitution to allow blacks to vote without a property qualification. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 June 1855. Praises the Alta California newspaper for its moral tone and opposition

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

27 April

30 April

30 April

April

1 May

[4 May]

7 May

7 May

7 May

[11 May]

12 May 13 May

547

to slavery; remarks on new laws taxing Asian immigrants and barring gambling. William J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 May 1855. Outlines his recent travels through New York, including a meeting at Deposit, New York. Philo to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 May 1855. Criticizes the lack of financial and moral support for the black leaders of antislavery groups. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 4 May 1855. Communicates the news from Boston, including the adoption of a strict new liquor law. Uriah Boston to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1855. Comments on the dispute between Ethiop and Communipaw on African American identity. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 11 May 1855. Acknowledges his mistake of calling the newly elected congressman Sidney Dean, George. J[ames] W. C. Pennington to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 May 1855. Counters claims that he was a member of a proslavery Presbyterian church. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 18 May 1855. Discusses implications of the Personal Liberty bill, which came out of committee in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, on the Fugitive Slave Act. Phillip C. Schuyler to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 May 1855. Describes a boat trip up the Missouri River, and his experience of the Kansas migration. Gerrit Smith to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 May 1855. Compares a ruling on the prohibitionary Maine Liquor Law by Judge Nicholas Hill, Jr., to that of American slavery, concluding that the latter is unconstitutional. J[ames] W. C. Pennington to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 May 1855. Reveals another insulting article written by the Albion Anti-Slavery Society. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 18 May 1855. Discusses local politics and other events occurring in the Boston area. Marcus Stickney to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 May 1855. Mentions the establishment of the Free Labor Produce

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 547

1/26/18 9:42 AM

548

14 May 17 May

21 May

21 May 28 May 29 May

31 May

2 June

3 June

4 June

4 June

[8 June]

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 548

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

Association in Lockport, New York; calls for the opening of a free-labor store there. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 June 1855. Updates a number of significant issues in California. John C. Bowers to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 May 1855. Denounces colonization and reports the invention of a fire-extinguishing apparatus developed by Aaron Roberts, a black Philadelphian. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 25 May 1855. Comments on Bostonians’ opinions of the Massachusetts Personal Liberty Law. Gerrit Smith to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 May 1855. Expresses opinions on the constitutionality of slavery. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 1 June 1855. Describes ongoing political events in Boston. Barbara Ann Stewart to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 June 1855. Expresses dismay at the lack of support for industrial education and the creation of industrial schools for blacks. J. W. Adams to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 June 1855. Argues that the black community should become more selfreliant and take charge of its destiny. Gerrit Smith to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 June 1855. Suggests that constitutional opposition to the Maine Liquor Law provides a legal advantage against slavery. Alexander Dorsey to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 August 1855. Sends Douglass $50; suggests the Pacific Islands may  be the best place for free black Americans to emigrate. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 15 June 1855. Discusses implementation of the new liquor law, anniversary meetings of the Boston Anti-Slavery Society, and national political news. W[illiam] W[hipper] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 8 June 1855. Returns to the continuing argument concerning prejudice against color or condition. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 June 1855. Thanks workers of the Underground Railroad

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

11 June

14 June 16 June

18 June

20 June

22 June

25 June

29 June

2 July

9 July

10 July

549

for their efforts; questions whether any in Syracuse will employ fugitive slaves. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 15 June 1855. Updates readers on the news in Boston; supports Boston as the host of the next national convention; believes Frederick Douglass’ Paper should be a national organ for antislavery views. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 July 1855. Updates readers on events in San Francisco’s black community. D[avid] Jenkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 June 1855. Expresses concerns with Douglass’s call for a national convention; suggests that western delegates would have to travel too far to reach Philadelphia. Phillip C. Schuyler to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 July 1855. Relates events from the Kansas-Missouri border, and the possibility of slavery’s future there. Marcus Stickney to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 June 1855. Opposes legislative representation based on population numbers that count slaves. G[eorge] B. V[ashon] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 29 June 1855. Catches up on local news; looks forward to meeting Douglass at the upcoming national convention. An Old School Liberty Man to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 July 1855. Questions some points of constitutional law made in a speech by Charles Sumner. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 August 1855. Provides news from San Francisco; reminds readers of the importance of West Indies Emancipation Day. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 13 July 1855. Mentions the KnowNothing convention in Boston, a new antislavery organization, and a meeting of Masons. A[bner] H. Francis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 August 1855. Describes his move to Portland, Oregon, and the political climate there. H. D. Pinney to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 July 1855. Pays for his subscription to Frederick Douglass’ Paper; suggests setting up a lecturing tour in Oswego County, New York.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 549

1/26/18 9:42 AM

550

14 July

15 July

16 July

17 July

[20 July]

21 July

22 July

24 July

26 July

27 July

[27 July]

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 550

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 August 1855. Discusses financial news from San Francisco; sends news of the revolution in Mexico and of William Walker’s actions in Nicaragua. Samuel Salisbury to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 July 1855. Includes a resolution from the New York Western Christian Conference supporting abolition and prohibition. W.P.W. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 27 July 1855. Pays for Frederick Douglass’ Paper subscription; encourages cashonly business. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 27 July 1855. Describes Fourth of July celebrations in Putnam, Connecticut; mentions the speaker, Francis Gillette. John Thomas to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 July 1855. Reprinted in NASS, 28 July 1855. Warns against electing representatives who would overturn the Maine Liquor Law. A[sher] B. B[urdick]. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 27 July 1855. Congratulates Douglass for adopting a cash-only payment system for Frederick Douglass’ Paper, although it does not favor the writer. A[bner] H. Francis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 August 1855. Criticizes an Oregon law requiring him to pay taxes, even though they will not accept his oath because he is black. Cincinnatus [W. Perkins] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 August 1855. Provides updates of political news in Cincinnati; reports the continued efforts of the Underground Railroad there. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 August 1855. Relates her journey from Liverpool to London and gives an account of racial prejudice in an inn. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 August 1855. Discusses pros and cons of industrial education and its proposed benefits for blacks. An Old Practitioner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 July 1855. Gives a detailed legal argument that there can be no “legal” slavery, thus no abolition, since slaves are already held illegally.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

31 July

2 August

4 August

6 August

10 August

10 August

13 August 14 August

14 August

14 August

[17 August]

20 August

551

J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 17 August 1855. Corrects an earlier published letter; summarizes a lecture by C. C. Burleigh. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 August 1855. Describes an antislavery meeting in Long Island; contends that many more will be needed in the future. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 August 1855. Continues commentary on industrial schools; includes references to an article in the Herald of Freedom. C[ortland] Van Rensselaer Creed to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 August 1855. Narrates his experience of training to become a doctor and studying at Yale Medical School, and gives some details of his life in New Haven. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 August 1855. Promotes the idea of a national convention in 1856; opposes critics of it. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 August 1855. Describes her impressions of London; comments on Samuel Ringgold Ward; mentions letters received from the South. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 24 August 1855. Discusses fashion, politics, and Douglass’s speech at Boston. Jason Jeffrey to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 August 1855. Mentions that a black freeholder, “Mr. Berry,” has been summoned to act as a juror in court. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 September 1855. Provides updates of events in San Francisco, including the celebration of West Indies Emancipation Day. John Thomas to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 August 1855. Sends an obituary notice for Latitia Elizabeth Loguen, oldest daughter of Jermain Wesley Loguen; notes her efforts supporting abolition. B. D. Hawks to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 August 1855. Uses scripture to advocate the union of the antislavery and women’s rights movements. C. Brooks to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 August 1855. Reports that a black man, John D. Berry, was chosen as a juror

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 551

1/26/18 9:42 AM

552

20 August

21 August

22 August 22 August

23 August

23 August

25 August

28 August

[August]

[August]

[August]

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 552

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

in Watkins, New York; believes it a sign of growing equality. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 24 August 1855. Mentions events in Boston, including the new antislavery hall, the black militia, and political justice meetings. Luke Lichen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 September 1855. Critiques the oratorical styles of different reform groups; praises women’s rights speakers for their rhetorical powers. H. N. G. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 31 August 1855. Provides an excerpt of Phyllis Wheatley’s poetry. L[evin] Tilmon to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 August 1855. Gives a brief account of the meeting of the First Colored American Congregational Church, which met outside New York City. Cincinnatus [W. Perkins] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 August 1855. Discusses events in Cincinnati, including West Indies Emancipation Day and a speech by Salmon P. Chase. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 September 1855. Describes an extended stay in London, the people she met, the antislavery movement there, and more. William Nebbit to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 September 1855. Announces his rhetorical victory over Thomas Chester in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on the topic of Liberian colonization. Isaac J. Rice to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 August 1855. Relates the subjects of a batch of letters from California discussing, among other things, the state of the black population there. U[riah] B[oston] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 31 August 1855. Makes a case for the dissolution of the Union both for free blacks and for current slaves. Cosmopolite to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 August 1855. Denies charge that he is not providing good care to fugitive slaves as a missionary; suggests a rival group is behind the rumors. William Rich to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 August 1855. Mentions a number of antislavery meetings in upstate New York.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

1 September

3 September

3 September

4 September

7 September

7 September

10 September

10 September

12 September

14 September

17 September

553

Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 September 1855. Provides comments from a convention in Brooklyn; remarks that the churches could do more to enlighten the black race. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 7 September 1855. Discusses events in Boston, including an antislavery meeting at Liberty Grove, and the “Massasoit Guard,” a black militia, seeking a loan of the state’s arms. John Thomas to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 September 1855. Calls the Democratic party the party of rum and slavery; asks the Republican party to take a stand on temperance. Erastus F. Brown to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 September 1855. Agrees with Uriah Boston that dissolution of the Union would benefit the antislavery cause. O.Y.C. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 5 October 1855. Describes the growing city of Chicago in a very positive light; discusses its prospects for the future. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 October 1855. Mentions the imminent publication of My Bondage and My Freedom in England; reports her experiences while traveling in England. A[mos] G[erry] B[eman] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 14 September 1855. Mentions a lecture by a man imprisoned for helping a fugitive slave; describes seeing the Underground Railroad at work in Connecticut. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 14 September 1855. Supplies many news items from Boston, including Barnum’s “baby show” and Bateman’s “black baby show.” J[ames] D. Bonner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 5 October 1855. Discusses the whereabouts and reputation of Stephen A. Douglas; provides a general account of events in Chicago. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 September 1855. Debates the role of the church in the black community from a theoretical and practical perspective. A[mos] G[erry] B[eman] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 28 September 1855. Writes about the elevation of free blacks in Northern society.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 553

1/26/18 9:42 AM

554

18 September

[21 September]

22 September

22 September

22 September 30 September

September

1 October

1 October

1 October

4 October 8 October 9 October

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 554

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

An Old Practitioner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 September 1855. Argues that the use of “contempt of court” doctrines to indefinitely imprison American citizens is a tool of the slave power. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 September 1855. Discusses industrial education, political participation, and leadership in the black community. A[mos] G[erry] B[eman] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 5 October 1855. Requests that Douglass lecture in New Haven, Connecticut. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 October 1855. Describes her visits to Manchester and Glasgow as well as the antislavery movements there. R. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 28 September 1855. Gives his opinion why the Republicans badly lost the Maine elections. Mrs. Hurdenburgh to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 October 1855. Reports on elections for the Dutchess County Suffrage Association and a meeting of the group. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 5 October 1855. Mentions a “Convention of Ideas” to be held in Philadelphia and the need for an exchange of ideas. Captain Jake to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 October 1855. Offers to report on the “doings of the colored people” in New York; lists the names of delegates to the National Negro Convention. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 12 October 1855. Reports on the Boston delegation selected to attend the Philadelphia convention. William E. Whiting to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 October 1855. Discusses the economic benefits of ending slavery and rumors of emancipation in Kentucky. J[ames] R[awson] Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 October 1855. Satirizes proslavery ministers. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 12 October 1855. Provides an assortment of political news from Boston. FD to Gerrit Smith. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. Outlines upcoming travel plans to Boston and Philadelphia.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

10 October

11 October

[12 October]

15 October

15 October

19 October

23 October

[26 October] 26 October

27 October

29 October 29 October

5 November

555

A[mos] G[erry] B[eman] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 19 October 1855. Provides news from New Haven, including a lecture by Wendell Phillips. A Member of the [New York Suffrage] Association to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 October 1855. Corrects an earlier report on the New York Suffrage Association. John Thomas to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 October 1855. Argues that Republicans should endorse temperance as well as prohibition as planks of the party platform. Martin Cross to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 December 1855. Reports on a meeting of African Americans held in the Catskills that endorsed voting for the Republican party. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 November 1855. Reports on efforts to raise funds for the Frederick Douglass’ Paper in England. Cincinnatus [W. Perkins] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 October 1855. Provides news from Cincinnati, including blacks voting and the Conference of Cincinnati passing a resolution against slavery. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 November 1855. Discusses his travels across the state of New York while lecturing and selling copies of My Bondage and My Freedom. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 October 1855. Reports the political news from California. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 2 November 1855. Describes the recent convention in Philadelphia and some of its delegates, including Douglass, William J. Watson, and James McCune Smith. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 November 1855. Discusses traveling in Ireland and gathering support for Frederick Douglass’ Paper. J[ohn] R[awson J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 9 November 1855. Regrets the publication of his last letter. Isaiah C. Wears to FD. ALS: Leon Gardiner Papers, PHi. Disputes James McCune Smith’s claim, published in a letter, regarding Wears’s responsibilities at the Philadelphia convention. C. Van Rensselaer Creed to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 November 1855. Criticizes “Quakery” and fake medicine.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 555

1/26/18 9:42 AM

556

5 November

9 November

10 November

1 December

7 December

7 December 13 December

[14 December]

17 December 20 December 24 December

[27 December] 28 December

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 556

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

George Needham to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 November 1855. Discusses the character of blacks: their work ethic, intelligence, and morality. J[ames] R[awson] Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 November 1855. Announces the resolution by the Congregational Church of Putnam, Connecticut, to purchase a copy of My Bondage and My Freedom for its library. A[bner] H. Francis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 January 1856. Reports attacks on Oregon settlers by indigenous tribes. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 January 1856. Reports the news from San Francisco; details the Convention of Colored Persons held in Sacramento on 20 November 1855. Captain Jacob to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 December 1855. Reflects on the future leadership of the antislavery movement. H[enry] O. Wagoner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 December 1855. Reports the death of James Bonner. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 January 1856. Continues the description of her English tour and the abolitionists and lecturers that she met there. U[riah] B[oston] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 14 December 1855. Enumerates differences between slaves and free blacks. John Brown to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 January 1856. Describes incidences of violence in the Kansas Territory. Henry H[ighland] Garnet to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 March 1856. Provides an obituary for Stella Weims. Frances D. Gage to FD. PLSr: Lib., 4 January 1856. Replies to a published debate between Gerrit Smith and Elizabeth Cady Stanton; defends the women’s rights movement against criticism. L[ewis] Tappan to FD. ALS: Lewis Tappan Papers, DLC. Reports the arrival of boxes from England. J[ohn] T[homas] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 11 January 1856. Credits Gerrit Smith for a recently signed reciprocity treaty between Canada and the United States in support of reciprocal commerce.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

December

[1855]

557

George W. Goines to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 April 1856. Describes life in Australia; claims that laws in English colonies are less prejudiced against blacks than those in the United States. Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. ALfS: Leon Gardiner Papers, PHi. Describes Mary Ann Shadd and Isaiah C. Weir. 1856

3 January

5 January

12 January

12 January

14 January

15 January

19 January

21 January

FD to Gerrit Smith. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. Urges Smith to meet the abolitionist A. F. Case of Penfield, New York, to discuss Case’s political and religious views. Martin Cross to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 January 1856. Disputes the election results for state council seats certified by Junius C. Morrel, the secretary of the New York State Council. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 February 1856. Reports on her travels in antislavery circles in Dundee and Glasgow, Scotland, during Christmas and the New Year. Philip C. Schuyler to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 January 1856. Asks that Rochester citizens call a forum to discuss the kind of financial support and media attention needed to ensure that Kansas would become a free state. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 March 1856. Reports on the political climate and legal issues relating to the status of free blacks in California. S.J.T. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 1 February 1856. Recommends printing the Weems family slave narrative; summarizes their flight to Canada after one brother’s initial escape. J[ohn] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 25 January 1856. Reports Salley Holley’s antislavery lectures in Connecticut, and her antislavery entreaties to the American Tract Society. Jabez to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 February 1856. Reports on antislavery efforts in Ohio and proslavery mob violence in Kentucky and southern Indiana.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 557

1/26/18 9:42 AM

558

21 January

22 January

25 January

30 January

2 February

7 February

10 February 10 February

16 February

18 February

19 February

20 February

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 558

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

William Marsh to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 January 1856. Argues that the church sanctions slavery by permitting slaveholders to call themselves Christians; accuses Congress of allowing slaveholders to shape policy. H. Blackmarr to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 February 1856. Argues that slavery limits opportunities for free blacks to receive an education and achieve success. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 February 1856. Reports on her travels in antislavery circles in Edinburgh, Scotland. George Weir, Jr., to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 February 1856. Argues black men should be judged on their ability not their race. H. Blackmarr to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 February 1856. Criticizes the idea that the black man is the evolutionary link between monkey and man. Jacob Lybrand to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 March 1856. Criticizes Garrisonian abolitionists for not taking more aggressive actions against the institution of slavery. G. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 22 February 1856. Reports on a fugitive slave case in Cincinnati, Ohio. Philip C. Schuyler to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 February 1856. Recounts his visit with Gerrit Smith and Smith’s support for the free-state movement in Kansas. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 March 1856. Argues that the next presidential election should be about whether the Constitution upholds the rights of all the people in the United States. Tertullian to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 February 1856. Reports on the end of slavery in Jamaica and the consequences for that British colony. FD to Maria G. Porter. ALS: Rochester Ladies’ AntiSlavery Society Papers, MiU-C. Thanks the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society for their donation to Frederick Douglass’ Paper. J[ames] R. Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 March 1856. Criticizes the immigrationist Joseph R. Hawley of Connecticut for signing a Republican circular supporting states’ rights.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

20 February

22 February

25 February

25 February

28 February

[29 February]

29 February 1 March

3 March

4 March

10 March

10 March

559

Philo to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 March 1856. Questions the credibility of James McCune Smith’s antislavery efforts. Lewis Tappan to FD. HLS. Requests a receipt for his subscription to Frederick Douglass’ Paper and reimbursement for the shipment of goods from British abolitionists for an antislavery fair in Rochester. A[sashel] N[icols] Cole to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 March 1856. Reports on the status of equal suffrage legislation in New York State. G. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 7 March 1856. Reports on the George Washington’s Birthday celebration in Cincinnati. H. Blackmarr to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 March 1856. Supports blacks opening and running their own educational institutions. L. A. Hine to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 February 1856. Compares the labor monopoly of Southern slaveholders to the land monopoly of wealthy Northerners. Jabez to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 March 1856. Reports on enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law in Ohio. D.J. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 14 March 1856. Reports on the National Dress Reform Convention held in Glen Haven, New York. J[ames] W. Duffin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 March 1856. Criticizes Ohio’s enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law. A Layman to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 March 1856. Complains about the inaccuracies of an article in the Syracuse American Wesleyan reprinted in Frederick Douglass’ Paper. A Republican to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 March 1856. Responds to James McCune Smith’s article regarding his criticism of the lack of political urgency to end slavery among antislavery congressmen. S. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 21 March 1856. Reports on a meeting of the declining Know-Nothing party and the prospects of its presidential nominee in the upcoming election.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 559

1/26/18 9:42 AM

560

11 March

12 March

[14 March]

14 March 22 March

22 March

24 March

25 March 27 March

28 March

31 March

2 April

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 560

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

J[ames] W. Duffin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 March 1856. Warns of false claims made by a woman purporting to raise money to free her husband, a fugitive slave. Abner H. Francis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 May 1856. Reports on military skirmishes with indigenous tribes in the Pacific Northwest. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 March 1856. Questions the importance of the free-state movement in Kansas, since its legislature adopted a code of Black Laws that ban blacks from entering the state. Nubia to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 May 1856. Reports on the social and political climate of California. FD to Gerrit Smith. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. Supports Smith’s decision to give financial support to the free-state movement in Kansas. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 April 1856. Reports on his abolitionist activities; requests that Douglass speak in Syracuse, New York. W[illiam] James Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 March 1856. Rejects Douglass’s criticism that Watkins exhibited prejudice toward the Irish. Gerrit Smith to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 March 1856. Forwards a letter from Dr. Moses Bloomfield to FD. [John S.] Rock to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 April 1856. Reports on laws passed by the Massachusetts legislature; notes a visit from Henry Highland Garnet to Boston; lists abolitionists working in Massachusetts. L[aura] S. Haviland to FD. PLSr: ASB, 12 April 1856. Details the treatment received by Calvin Fairbanks in the Kentucky penitentiary. Henry Miles to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 April 1856. Argues that the only way to expect slaveholders to emancipate their slaves is to remunerate them for the loss of free labor. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 May 1856. Reports on travel in antislavery circles in Falkirk, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, Scotland.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

2 April

4 April

9 April

14 April

14 April

15 April

17 April

17 April

19 April

19 April 21 April

561

Philo to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 April 1856. Disputes James McCune Smith’s report of discussions of the industrial school at the October 1855 Colored National Convention in Philadelphia. J[ohn] B[rown], Jr., to FD. PLIr: FDP, 2 May 1856. Discusses the probability of border warfare between Missouri and Kansas. G. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 18 April 1856. Criticizes abolitionists in Cincinnati for not supporting the black artists. John Freedom to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 April 1856. Reports on antislavery activities in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Jabez to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 April 1856. Reports on the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act and on Underground Railroad activity in Cincinnati, Ohio. J[ohn] B[rown] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 25 April 1856. Argues that the Hartford Courant is the organ of the Know-Nothing party and that Frederick Douglass’ Paper is that of the Republican party. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 April 1856. Criticizes the behavior of free blacks posing as fugitive slaves in Canadian border towns; reports on segregated schools in St. Catharines, Ontario. W[illia]m H. Newby to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 May 1856. Argues that the Republican party will end slavery with its antiextensionist policies sooner than the Radical Abolitionist party, which distracts the antislavery movement with extremism. [John S.] Rock to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 April 1856. Comments on the public dispute between the Frederick Douglass’s Paper correspondents Communipaw [James McCune Smith] and Philo; reports on legislative matters in Massachusetts; describes antislavery papers and activities in Boston. A. P. Smith to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 May 1856. Criticizes the conditions of blacks in New Jersey. R[obert] B. Forten. PLSr: FDP, 2 May 1856. Comments on a critique of the Washington Daily Union’s

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 561

1/26/18 9:42 AM

562

24 April

26 April

30 April

30 April

1 May 8 May

16 May

16 May

19 May

22 May

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 562

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

article claiming that the law of nature prohibits political equality between blacks and whites. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 May 1856. Disputes that the Free Church of Scotland remains allied with slaveholding. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 June 1856. Reports on sightseeing in Edinburgh, Scotland, and her antislavery activities. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 May 1856. Reports on travels through Canada; comments on the failure of Wilberforce, an all-black colony founded in London, Canada; suggests abandoning the colonization movement. J[ohn] T[homas] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 9 May 1856. Criticizes leadership of the New York Republican party under Horace Greeley for its failure to support temperance; questions its commitment to ending slavery. FD to Passmore Williamson. ALS: Susan Zeiger Personal Collection. Responds to fan mail. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 May 1856. Reports attending a Temperance Society meeting and an antislavery meeting run by fugitive slaves in St. Catharines, Canada; recounts his escape from slavery into Hamilton, Canada. W[illia]m H. Newby to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 June 1856. Reports on the attempted assassination of the whistleblower James King, editor of the San Francisco Bulletin. [John S.] Rock to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 May 1856. Describes the response in Boston to South Carolina representative Preston Brooks’s attack on Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner following Sumner’s speech “Crime against Kansas.” Seaman to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 June 1856. Warns of the arrests of free black sailors in New Orleans, Louisiana, who leave their vessels. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 June 1856. Reports on tour sites in Scotland; visits the fishing town of Portobello, a viewing point atop Arthur’s Seat, and the Scottish Parliament.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

22 May 24 May

24 May

29 May

2 June

2 June

2 June

7 June

12 June

15 June

19 June

20 June

563

Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 June 1856. Describes sightseeing in Roslin, Scotland. G. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 6 June 1856. Reports on the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 July 1856. Describes a tour of Sir Walter Scott’s estate in Abbotsford, Scotland. W[illia]m H. Newby to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 July 1856. Updates readers on the case of the attempted murder of James King, editor of the San Francisco Bulletin. H[oratio] W. Foster to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 June 1856. Warns that a conflict with the Southern slaveholding states is inevitable. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 July 1856. Describes the architectural beauty of Edinburgh, Scotland, and her attendance at antislavery lectures. [John S.] Rock to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 June 1856. Reports on the activities of the Massachusetts legislature and the meeting proceedings of the New England Anti-Slavery Society. A. P. S[mith] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 20 June 1856. Criticizes the Republican party for its interpretation of the Constitution as a proslavery document. H. Williams, Jr., to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 June 1856. Warns of governmental and religious suppression of antislavery agitation. A. A. Luca to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 June 1856. Describes antislavery activities and antiracist attitudes among Ohio’s citizenry. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 August 1856. Reports on establishing a Ladies Anti-Slavery Society in Montrose, Scotland, and her plans to send aid to the annual Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society Bazaar; describes tours of Scottish castles. H.R. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 27 June 1856. Corrects a report on a civil suit against the New York 6th Avenue Railroad for the expulsion of a black man and his family from one of its cars.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 563

1/26/18 9:42 AM

564

21 June

25 June

[27 June] [4 July]

10 July

14 July

28 July

30 July

July

July 3 August

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 564

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

J. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 27 June 1856. Reports on the Annual Meeting of the National Dress Reform Association. W[illiam] H. Newby to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 August 1856. Describes the attempted attack upon the city of San Francisco by the California State Supreme Court judge David S. Terry, a proslavery extensionist. O. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 27 June 1856. Complains about the proslavery character of important party politicians. P. Ross to FD. PLSr: FDP, 4 July 1856. Reports on a resolution to push for desegregated schools in the Northern states, passed by the New England A. M. E. Zion Conference. Hiram Wilson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 August 1856. Emphasizes the importance of tending to slaves fleeing on the Underground Railroad into St. Catharines, Canada; reports on the spread of commerce into St.  Catharines via the Welland Canal and on the influence of the antislavery and temperance movements upon the sailors passing through. H. Williams to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 July 1856. Denounces a Northern paper for posting a reward notice for a fugitive slave. D[avid] Jenkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 August 1856. Praises the antislavery character of the Luca family, who refused to segregate the audience at their concert in Columbus, Ohio. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 August 1856. Describes touring the humble origins of the poet Robert Burns outside Ayr, Scotland. H. Williams, Jr., to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 August 1856. Calls the A. M. E. church proslavery; accuses its black membership of owning slaves. C. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 8 August 1856. Reports on efforts to establish a Female Kansas Aid Society. Argus to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 August 1856. Complains about the rejection of articles on the South by the new editor, F. G. Hibbard, of the Northern Christian Advocate, an antislavery paper.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

4 August

7 August

[8 August]

8 August

8 August

9 August

15 August

[15 August]

18 August

25 August 27 August

[5 September]

565

James H. White to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 September 1856. Supports the election of John C. Frémont to the presidency; believes voters are ready to elect an antiextensionist but not an abolitionist. E. J. A[dams] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 15 August 1856. Recounts the events of a First of August Celebration, commemorating Emancipation Day in the British West Indies. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 August 1856. Criticizes the British for providing financial reimbursement to West Indian slaveholders; states that only freedom fought for is respected by the white man. Samuel Fuller to FD. PLSr: FDP, 5 September 1856. Criticizes abolitionist support for the Republican platform of nonextensionism. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 August 1856. Describes her visit to Loch Lomond, the “Queen of the Scottish Lakes.” Robert Everett to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 August 1856. Argues that abolitionists should nominate John C. Frémont as the Republican party presidential candidate. B. Horton to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 August 1856. Announces a bequest from the late William A. Tweed to New-York Central College. Committee to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 August 1856. Describes a First of August celebration by Ohio free blacks. J. J. Briggs to FD. PLSr: FDP, 5 September 1856. Supports the decision to endorse John C. Frémont for president with his newspaper. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 October 1856. Recounts visits to abolitionist circles in England. J[abez] P[itt] Campbell to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 September 1856. Disputes the claim that the African Methodist Episcopal Church allows slaveholders to remain in its membership. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 5 September 1856. Boasts of African kings’

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 565

1/26/18 9:42 AM

566

10 September

[12 September]

16 September

25 September

[26 September]

27 September

3 October

7 October

8 October

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 566

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

accomplishments in comparison with those of the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy; criticizes John C. Frémont’s antislavery voting record. James T. Crozier to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 October 1856. Argues that electing John C. Frémont will prevent the South from extending slavery further into the territories and into free states. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr; FDP, 12 September 1856. Describes the events of the Fourteenth Annual Committee Celebration of the Grand United Order of the Odd Fellows in New York City on 4 September. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 October 1856. Recounts travels through Ipswich and Willesden, England; reports that radical abolitionists hope for a John C. Frémont presidency. Philo to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 October 1856. Disagrees with abolitionist support of the Republican party; disputes that it is an antislavery party. A[nna] H. Richardson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 September 1856. Reports that the Galena Anti-Slavery Association in Illinois supports the decision to endorse the Republican party. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 October 1856. Argues that African Egyptians understood the laws of discovery and the scientific method before Kepler and Newton. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 November 1856. Describes a tour of London’s oldest and most famous cemetery, Kensal Green, and the Palace of Westminster; recommends May and June as the best time to sightsee in London. [John S.] Rock to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 October 1856. Reports on political intrigue inside the Republican and Democratic parties in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Israel Campbell to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 October 1856. Encourages voters to elect John C. Frémont to the presidency in order to end slavery.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

8 October

13 October

15 October 16 October

[17 October]

21 October

21 October

23 October

23 October

[24] October

29 October

567

Benjamin Coates to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 October 1856. Criticizes the reprinting of a portion of William Nesbit’s pamphlet Four Months in Liberia, Or, African Colonization Exposed, a highly critical essay of the feasibility of colonization. FD to [Mary Anne Rawson]. ALS: Sheffield Ladies Anti-Slavery Society Collection. Laments his newspaper’s lack of subscribers; suggests it may be discontinued; requests financial help. J.C.P. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 31 October 1856. Praises an antislavery oration of Frances Watkins. Gulielma Stephens to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 658–59, FD Papers, DLC. Invites Douglass to visit. A. P. Smith to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 October 1856. Warns that New Jersey’s failure to support John C. Frémont in the presidential election will hamper its antislavery movement. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 November 1856. Reports the founding of an antislavery society in Liverpool; describes touring Ireland. J. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 31 October 1856. Argues that slavery is inconsistent with the principles found in the Bible and the Constitution. Duquesne to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 October 1856. Describes apathy toward the antislavery movement among Pennsylvania blacks and the denunciations of abolitionism among Republican politicians running for office. John Rees to FD. PLSr: FDP, 31 October 1856. Urges readers to vote for John C. Frémont for president in order to avoid slavery’s extension and counteract a proslavery Congress. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 October 1856. Criticizes Horace Greeley, Gerrit Smith, and William Goodell for their antislavery politics; praises William H. Day, John [S.] Rock, and John Mercer Langston for their antislavery rhetoric. J[ames] R[awson] Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 November 1856. Argues that even if John C. Frémont

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 567

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568

1 November 6 November

9 November 9 November

13 November

14 November

17 November

17 November

19 November

20 November

[21 November]

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 568

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

loses the election, God will not allow slaveholding to continue. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 December 1856. Reports on her travels in abolitionist circles. C. B. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 21 November 1856. Defends the efforts of the colonization movement to elevate the black race, claiming that it is as important as abolition. C. Whiford to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 November 1856. Reports election results for Brookfield, New York. Duquesne to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 November 1856. Describes the founding of a black college, the Allegheny Institute, in 1850 in Pennsylvania; reports that a woman dressed in men’s clothing appeared at the polls to vote against Buchanan. Thomas Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 November 1856. Asks whether the New York Republican party will support black suffrage. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 January 1857. Provides the family history of George Gordon, Lord Byron, and describes a tour of his ancestral home. FD to My Dear Sir. ALS: Frederick Douglass Manuscripts, NRU. Responds to a request for a lecture in Danbury, Connecticut. [John S.] Rock to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 November 1856. Reports that even attempted voter fraud in Massachusetts could not defeat the Republican party. W[illiam] Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 December 1856. Recounts H. Ford Douglass’s speech; discusses the effort to remove the Black Laws at the State Convention of Colored Citizens of the State of Illinois, held in Alton, 13–15 November. Benjamin Coates to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 December 1856. Refutes William Nesbit’s claims of slaveholding in Liberia. J. W. Fox to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 November 1856. Argues that the Constitution does not authorize Congress to legislate against slavery, because doing so would interfere with a state’s rights.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

23 November

26 November

[27 November]

5 December

[8 December]

12 December

[12 December]

23 December

23 December

24 December

569

Ethiop [William J. Wilson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 November 1856. Advocates for the introduction of military science into African American schools. W[illia]m Shapcott to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 December 1856. Argues that the New York state constitution does not reflect the current political climate, and a new constitutional convention should be held to address the issue of black suffrage. L[ewis] Tappan to FD. ALS: Lewis Tappan Papers, DLC. Requests instructions for sending packages from England to Rochester for the Rochester Ladies’ AntiSlavery Bazaar; claims he was not surprised that Republicans lost the presidential election. Duquesne to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 December 1856. Criticizes the Pennsylvania public education system for taxing the state’s blacks for schools they are not allowed to attend. Lewis Tappan to FD. ALS: Lewis Tappan Papers, DLC. Repeats request for instructions for sending packages from England to Rochester for the Ladies Anti-Slavery Bazaar. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, [12] December 1856. Compares the U.S. government to the imperial government of China. L[ewis] Tappan to FD. ALS: Lewis Tappan Papers, DLC. Informs Douglass that payment for packages forwarded from England was received and that more items have been sent. E.D.B. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 9 January 1857. Describes quarrels over the paternalistic attitudes of white Garrisonians toward black Garrisonians at their annual bazaar. Eli Nichols to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 January 1857. Argues for a revival of the colonization plan of Benjamin Lundy. F[rancis] Hawley to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 January 1857. Argues that a slave insurrection would command the respect of Southern slaveholders, just as the American Revolution forced England to honor U.S. sovereignty.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 569

1/26/18 9:42 AM

570

27 December

30 December

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 January 1857. Argues that to resolve James W.  C. Pennington’s case against the Sixth Avenue Railroad Company, the New York state legislature should strike down discriminatory laws. J.C.G. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 9 January 1857. Describes the social and economic status of the black population of Troy, New York. 1857

2 January

5 January

[10 January]

16 January [16 January]

19 January

[30 January]

3 February

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 570

A[lfred] J. Anderson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 January 1857. Clarifies an election error printed in Frederick Douglass’ Paper and the New York Tribune regarding the voting results of eligible black men in Representative Campbell’s district. John Jones to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 February 1857. Reports on the success of the Chicago Repeal Association’s petition campaign against Illinois’s Black Laws. L[ewis] Tappan to FD. ALS: Lewis Tappan Papers, DLC. Provides invoices for goods sent from England for an antislavery fair in Rochester. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 February 1857. Recounts Christmas parties attended in antislavery circles. John Rankin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 January 1857. Argues that by insisting on free blacks’ inability to live successfully in white society, the colonization movement justifies the existence of slavery. J.C.B. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 30 January 1857. Reports on a fugitive slave case in Pennsylvania presided over by the son of the late abolitionist David Paul Brown. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 January 1857. Questions the sincerity of William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and Theodore Parker, who were attended by black waiters at an abolitionist gathering. A. A. Luca to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 February 1857. Argues against colonization in favor of frontier immigration.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

5 February

7 February

10 February

14 February

16 February

19 February

21 February

21 February

27 February

3 March

24 March 25 March

571

J[ames] R[awson] Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 February 1857. Criticizes free blacks of Philadelphia for not rescuing the fugitive slave Michael Brown from custody. Mary Jane Anderson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 February 1857. Reports that her father, Elijah Anderson, who was traveling west for work, was falsely arrested for aiding fugitive slaves. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 27 March 1857. Reminisces about her childhood days in Coventry, England; reports on her antislavery activities there. George Weir, Jr., to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 February 1857. Reports on the consecration services of a new Presbyterian church erected in Buffalo, New York. O.B.W. to FD. PLIr: ASB, 21 March 1857. Requests that sample newspapers be sent to a group of abolitionists in Kentucky. Alexander Clark to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 March 1857. Updates readers on the rights and struggles of free blacks in Iowa. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 March 1857. Criticizes the antislavery movement for its inactivity since the Republican party’s defeat in the 1856 election. Lulu to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 March 1857. Reports on the political and social activities of free blacks in New York City. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 April 1857. Reports that she assisted with the organization of a Sheffield Ladies Anti-Slavery Society and gathered donations for Frederick Douglass’ Paper and for fugitive slaves. George W. Clark to FD and the New York legislature. PLSr: FDP, 6 March 1857. Argues that the repeal of the prohibition law in New York State is leading to personal immorality and social decay. H. Williams to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 April 1857. Remarks on the differences between the North and the South. FD to W[illia]m J. Watkins. PLIr: FDP, 3 April 1857. Recounts the events of his current speaking itinerary in New England.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 571

1/26/18 9:42 AM

572

29 March

3 April

[6 April]

11 April

25 April

27 April

30 May

3 June

11 June

[12 June]

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 572

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 April 1857. Requests financial support for a black inventor. Normal to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 April 1857. Reports on disagreements over resolutions of a Philadelphia abolitionist meeting crafted in response to the Dred Scott decision. Lewis Tappan to FD. ALS: Lewis Tappan Papers, DLC. Informs Douglass of receipt of payment for duties on packages forwarded from England for the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society Bazaar. Philo to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 April 1857. Responds to a report, adopted at a meeting of Philadelphia’s black citizens, of resolutions passed in response to the Dred Scott decision. Senior to FD. PLSr: FDP, May 1857. Reports that in Philadelphia, black children and their families attending church with their white teachers were segregated in separate pews. Normal to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 May 1857. Reports that the debate at an antislavery meeting in Philadelphia over the Constitution as proslavery document continued for three days. Normal to FD. PLSr: FDP, 5 June 1857. Recounts the treatment he received upon entering a lecture hall reserved for white men and the pervasive racism in Philadelphia’s public venues. Samuel J. May to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 June 1857. Defends himself against J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen’s accusations that May exposed the activities of the Underground Railroad in Syracuse, New York. Ion to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 June 1857. Describes a frontier settlement in eastern Minnesota and political corruption during its election of delegates to the state’s constitutional convention. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 June 1857. States that the Radical Abolitionist party of New York refuses to accept the Dred Scott decision.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

June

3 August

5 August

18 August

22 August

23 August

[30 September] 2 October

4 November

9 November

573

Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 June 1857. Hopes to end his estrangement from Philo by making it public. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 September 1857. Describes the area around the English resort town of Brighton and its Anglican roots; reports public response to a recent biography of Charlotte Brontë. FD to Amy Post. ALS: Amy Post Papers, NRU. Requests that she send him last week’s copy of the American Anti-Slavery Standard. FD to Gerrit Smith. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. Requests a copy of a speech Smith is to give in Cleveland, Ohio, at an antislavery convention; thanks him for offering to purchase a pamphlet of Douglass’s speech given on 1 August. Jacob Lybrand to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 September 1857. Expresses hope for the unification of the Garrisonians and Radical Abolitionists based on general principles of freedom and liberty for the slave. [John S.] Rock to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 September 1857. Criticizes white abolitionists for not treating blacks as equals in business and friendship; questions black Baptist ministers’ interest in colonizing Africa rather than uplifting their immediate community. FD to Lewis Tappan. ALS: Lewis Tappan Papers, DLC. Sends Julia Griffiths’s London address. W[illiam] H. Newby to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 October 1857. Takes offense at the New York Tribune’s use of the word “negro” in its reporting. George Weir, Jr., to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 November 1857. Reports that the Buffalo antislavery group that Douglass addressed remains active. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 December 1857. Reports on her activities in antislavery circles in Scotland; informs readers that Robert M. Johnston, who was ejected from a Cleveland medical school, now attends medical school at Edinburgh University.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 573

1/26/18 9:42 AM

574

[13 November]

21 November

5 December

5 December

8 December

14 December

30 December

31 December

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

E. J. A[dams] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 13 November 1857. Criticizes a black stewardess for ejecting a black woman from the main saloon of a boat; accuses her of practicing the white man’s prejudice. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 January 1858. Reports that she assisted in the organization of the Aberdeen Ladies Anti-Slavery Association; describes the area around Aberdeen and Lord Byron’s ancestral home. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 January 1858. Describes Balmoral Castle and its grounds; updates contributions gathered for the Rochester Ladies’ AntiSlavery Society Bazaar. Mrs. L. Reddon to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 December 1858. Defends herself against E. J. Adams’s accusations that she is a racist. Hiram Wilson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 December 1858. Describes the escape of two slave families to freedom in Canada. Normal to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 December 1858. Updates readers on the social and political status of blacks in Boston. Verite to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 January 1858. Suggests abolitionists should have a religious holiday on which to give thanks; questions the Republican party for not aligning itself with the interests of recent immigrants. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 February 1858. Describes her visits to industrial schools in Aberdeen, Scotland; reports on her activities among Scottish antislavery societies. 1858

1 January

4 January

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 574

George W. Goines to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 January 1858. Notifies readers of recent black suffrage organization efforts. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 January 1858. Thanks readers for monetary support of fugitive slaves recently fled to Canada.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

[8 January]

11 January

11 January 19 January

6 February

10 February

13 February

18 February

25 February

[26 February]

27 February

575

Dead Rabbit to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 January 1858. Offers a facetious plan for President Buchanan to silence his Democratic critic Stephen A. Douglas. Normal to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 January 1858. Describes a visit to Philadelphia from the abolitionist lecturer William J. Watkins. Gerrit Smith to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 January 1858. Thanks him for an editorial he printed. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 March 1858. Reports financial and personal losses among Glasgow friends following the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 April 1858. Reports on the activities of the Glasgow and Falkirk Anti-Slavery Societies; updates readers on the progress of Robert M. Johnston, a former slave attending medical school in Scotland. A. A. Luca to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 February 1858. Describes bills in the Ohio legislature meant to curtail the rights of free blacks. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 February 1858. Criticizes Gerrit Smith for endorsing Horace Greeley’s derogatory comments about the behavior of free blacks in New York City. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 April 1858. Reports on her activities in antislavery circles in Berwick and Newcastle, England. Silas Shoecraft to FD. PLSr: FDP, 5 March 1858. Announces that he has formed a club of subscribers to Frederick Douglass’ Paper; suggests that other readers do likewise. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 February 1858. Thanks the Edinburgh Ladies AntiSlavery Society, the Reverend Dr. Marsh, and Julia Griffiths for aid received for fugitive slaves in Canada. FD to John Brown. PLSr: Franklin B. Sanborn, ed., The Life and Letters of John Brown: Liberator of Kansas and Martyr of Virginia (Boston 1885), 443. Postpones their planned meeting in March in Philadelphia.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 575

1/26/18 9:42 AM

576

27 February

5 March

[5 March]

5 April

[16 April]

17 April

[23 April]

24 April

20 May

30 May

8 July 25 July

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 576

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

John Hiner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 March 1858. Discusses an emigration plan adopted by Iowa’s free blacks. Normal to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 March 1858. Reports on political disputes between Stephen A. Douglas’s supporters and James Buchanan’s backers at the Democratic State Convention in New Haven, Connecticut. Republican to FD. PLSr: FDP, 5 March 1858. Argues that the Constitution does not give the federal government the right to abolish slavery; surmises that once voters remove the proslavery influence from Congress, emancipation parties will help end slavery. [John S.] Rock to FD. PLSr: FDP, 9 April 1858. Reports the passage of a resolution denouncing the Dred Scott decision by the Massachusetts legislature. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 April 1858. Laments the ineffectiveness of free blacks to abolish slavery. Normal to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 April 1858. Reports growing political corruption and an increasingly hostile attitude toward free blacks in Philadelphia. Veritas to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 April 1858. Informs readers of a Virginia bill banning free blacks from the state. Rebecca Williamson to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 664–65, FD Papers, DLC. Notifies Douglass of subscription cancellation. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 June 1858. Reports on antislavery activities in Yorkshire; promises to publish Jermain Wesley Loguen’s letters in newspapers. W[illiam] W[hipper] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 4 June 1858. Describes the decline and elimination of blacks’ civil rights in Pennsylvania over the last twenty-five years. [John S.] Rock to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 August 1858. Describes his current residence in Paris, France. A[bram] Pryne to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 July 1858. Calls for abolitionists to nominate Gerrit Smith for governor of New York.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

27 July

30 July 8 August

16 August

19 August

21 August

24 August

25 August

30 August

1 September

577

Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 September 1858. Complains about changes in the monthly delivery schedule of Frederick Douglass’ Paper in England; describes traveling through the West Pennine Moors and Bolton, England. Normal to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 August 1858. Describes the annual commencement ceremonies at Yale College. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 August 1858. Responds to William Whipper’s articles; argues the diminished rights of Pennsylvania blacks is due to the moral depravity of urban blacks. Benezet to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 September 1858. Describes the West Indies Emancipation Day celebration in Philadelphia. [John S.] Rock to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 September 1858. Translates a Parisian newspaper article reporting on the intellectual achievements of Haitians attending the Sorbonne. W[illiam] W[hipper] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 3 September 1858. Defends his views about the diminishing rights of blacks in Pennsylvania against Communipaw’s [James McCune Smith’s] argument that the restrictions are due to the moral, religious, and intellectual depravity of urban blacks. Samuel Kingsbury to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 September 1858. Reports on a Pennsylvania minister opposed to slavery who preached that antislavery lecturers are the “greatest slaves to sin.” A. P. S[mith] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 3 September 1858. Questions the reasons that antislavery men associate themselves with a proslavery church and its organs, such as the American Tract Society. W[illiam] P[erkins] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 September 1858. Supports an 1858 campaign to elect Gerrit Smith governor of New York, and president in 1860. Benjamin Coates to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 September 1858. Argues for colonization as a method to civilize Africans and empower them against white rule; maintains the importance of elevating American black men.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 577

1/26/18 9:42 AM

578

[3 September]

6 September

[10 September]

12 September

16 September 17 September

21 September

22 September

27 September

30 September

2 October 4 October

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 578

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

J. J. L. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 3 September 1858. Informs readers of the life and death of Caesar Augustus Mundy, a slave freed by his master as a young man. Samuel N. Sweet to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 September 1858. Supports the nomination of Gerrit Smith for governor of New York because he is in favor of temperance and abolition. Maria G. Frost to FD. PLSr: FDP, 10 September 1858. Argues that antislavery reformers have not relied enough on the true spirit of God. J[ohn] S[ella] Martin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 September 1858. Reports on the Convention of the Colored Citizens of Western New York, 21–22 August, which considered the questions of suffrage and emigration. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 October 1858. Describes her travels through Devonshire, England. J[ohn] Sella Martin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 September 1858. Reasons that Buffalo abolitionists will vote for Gerrit Smith because they favor a fellow abolitionist and temperance supporter for New York governor. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 5 November 1858. Describes her travels through Devonshire and Bristol, England. Ohio to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 October 1858. Describes the Oberlin community’s rescue of a fugitive slave from a U.S. deputy marshal; supports resolutions for continued resistance to enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law. W[illia]m J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 1 October 1858. Defends his decision to campaign for Gerrit Smith’s opponent in the New York governor’s race. [John S.] Rock to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 October 1858. Argues that the only route to racial equality is black unification, despite class divisions and religious differences. Normal to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 October 1858. Reports on abolitionist debates and lectures in Philadelphia. A[bram] Pryne to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 October 1858. Criticizes William J. Watkins, an abolitionist lecturer,

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

12 October

14 October 16 October

18 October

22 October

28 October

1 November

5 November 8 November

17 November

579

for not supporting Gerrit Smith’s run for New York governor. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 October 1858. Thanks British abolitionists for their monetary donations to the Underground Railroad in Syracuse, New York. Jabez to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 October 1858. Reports on political news and abolitionist activities in Cincinnati. FD to Gerrit Smith. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. Compliments Smith on his speech given in Rochester; inquires about future speaking dates. Robert Campbell to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 October 1858. Argues that the evangelization of Africa will provide for lawful commerce and consequently end the slave trade. J[ohn] Sella Martin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 October 1858. Criticizes the abolitionist orator William J. Watkins for his refusal to support Gerrit Smith’s run for New York governor. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: FDP, 19 November 1858. Compliments the active memberships of the Halifax Anti-Slavery Society and the Yorkshire Anti-Slavery Association for their successful Second Annual AntiSlavery Bazaar; requests the annual report of the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. J[ohn] Sella Martin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 November 1858. Complains of the Philadelphia black population’s lack of interest in the antislavery movement. P. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 12 November 1858. Supports opposition to capital punishment. George Weir, Jr., to FD. PLSr: FDP, 12 November 1858. Celebrates the election of Republican candidates to New York state political offices; regrets Gerrit Smith’s loss in the governor’s race. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: DM, 1:24–25 (February 1859). Reports on the English textile industry’s importation of slave-produced cotton; hopes that free-labor cotton of equal quality will become available from Africa.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 579

1/26/18 9:42 AM

580

18 November

26 November

26 November [3 December] 20 December

30 December

31 December

[December]

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

J[ohn] Sella Martin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 26 November 1858. Criticizes the separate treatment of black and white schools; applauds the number of black-owned business he finds in Philadelphia. J[ames] R[awson] Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 December 1858. Recommends action be taken to elect Gerrit Smith president in 1860. George Weir, Jr., to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 December 1858. Reports on antislavery lectures in Buffalo, New York. W. C. Shaw to FD. PLSr: FDP, 3 December 1858. Disputes that the Bible mandates slavery. George W. Clark to FD. PLSr: FDP, 7 January 1859. Explains that the abolitionist C. C. Chaffee was not reelected to Congress because of redistricting, not because of his marriage to a widowed slaveholder. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: DM, 1:22 (February 1859). Thanks British abolitionists for their monetary donations to aid fugitive slaves en route to Canada. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: DM, 1:38–39 (March 1859). Laments the passing of another year that American slavery still exists. Henry O. Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 1:15 (January 1859). Sympathizes with American slaves; promises to continue the work of British abolitionists. 1859

[14 January]

[14 January]

18 January

[21 January]

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 580

A[bram] Pryne to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 January 1859. Responds to a threatening letter received from a Southern slaveholder. A[bram] Pryne to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 January 1859. Describes his antislavery lecture itinerary in New York State. E.H. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 21 January 1859. Discusses the harm that prejudice against color does to the antislavery cause, and to black and white persons alike. R. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 21 January 1859. Argues providing blacks with equal opportunities will discredit the

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

27 January

January

4 February

8 February 8 February

10 February

26 February

[February]

5 March

9 March

581

commonly held belief in their inferiority and unfitness for freedom. Julia Griffiths to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 8, frames 686–91, FD Papers, DLC. Sends plans for submissions to Frederick Douglass’ Paper for spring issues. Observer [James N. Still] to FD. PLSr: DM, 1:20 (February 1859). Describes the Tennessee legislature’s and Supreme Court’s ruling prohibiting an owner, upon his death, from liberating his slaves in a free state. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: DM, 1:48 (March 1859). Expresses thanks for monetary donations from British abolitionists to benefit fugitive slaves en route to Canada. C. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 11 February 1859. Introduces a novice black female abolitionist to the lecture circuit. J[ohn] Sella Martin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 18 February 1859. Describes the events of his latest lecture itinerary in New York State. W[illia]m James Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 February 1859. Asks him to curtail his criticism of the Republican party and focus his efforts solely on the suffrage movement in New York State. Julia Griffiths to FD. PLSr: DM, 1:54–55 (April 1859). Disputes a rumor that she has ceased her antislavery activities; gives evidence of her ongoing efforts to free the slave, support equal rights for the black race, and empower the disenfranchised. Henry Highland Garnet to FD. PLe: DM, 1:19–20 (February 1859). Complains that Douglass has ignored the antislavery potential of the African Civilization Society’s program. J[ohn] Sella Martin to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 March 1859. Blames political apathy among free blacks for the slow progress made by state legislatures to pass suffrage laws. W[illia]m J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 March 1859. Denounces Douglass for criticizing the Republican legislators in the last election and then asking

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 581

1/26/18 9:42 AM

582

10 March

11 March

19 March

19 March

23 March

26 March

29 March

31 March

8 April

12 April

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 582

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

those same legislators to support the Rochester Colored Home. Ebenezer Burr to FD. PLSr: DM, 1:75 (May 1859). Inquires about the origins of an American minister touring England and lecturing on the strong Christian sentiments of some American slaveholders. William E. Whiting to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 March 1859. Remarks on the intelligence of black men and their capacity to achieve greatness; comments that white men monopolize everything except genius. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 March 1859. Reports on New York City’s abolitionist lectures and festivals. Philo to FD. PLSr: DM, 1:63 (April 1859). Discusses the opposition’s tactics in George T. Downing’s campaign to desegregate Rhode Island’s public schools. Stephen Myers to FD. PLSr: FDP, 25 March 1859. Announces the likely passage of equal suffrage resolutions eliminating the property qualification for black male voters in New York State. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 April 1859. Reports that the equal suffrage resolutions have not yet passed the New York legislature; argues that even if voters remove the property qualification and pass black suffrage, the legislature will interpret the state constitution so as to prevent blacks from voting. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 2:90–91 (June 1859). Describes her tour of the Louvre on her recent trip to Paris, along with its history. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: DM, 1:70 (May 1859). Thanks British abolitionists for their monetary support of fugitive slaves in Canada. Stephen Myers to FD. PLSr: FDP, 15 April 1859. Reports that the equal suffrage resolutions have passed the New York Senate. J[ames] R[awson] J[ohnson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 22 April 1859. Argues that if Americans recognized the fundamental principle of protecting the weak, slavery would

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

15 April 16 April

16 April

23 April

26 April

29 April 16 May

29 May

June

8 June

10 June

10 June

583

be outlawed and their democracy would serve as a model for others. Philo to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 April 1859. Recounts details of the school integration effort in Rhode Island. L. E. Loomis to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 April 1859. Remarks on a reader who used a subscription to Frederick Douglass’ Paper as a donation to a missionary society. John W. Sullivan to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 April 1859. Announces a contest for the best antislavery tract on the subject of praying for the oppressed. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 29 April 1859. Discusses the value of housing in New York City. H[enry] O. Wagoner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 May 1859. Clarifies his decision, as reported by a Chicago daily, to postpone his immediate immigration to Haiti. A.F.R. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 6 May 1859. Reports on a local criminal case involving adultery and murder. Julia [Griffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 June 1859. Reprinted in DM, July 1859. Recounts her antislavery activities in Paris and England; criticizes the revival movement in New England for not supporting abolition. John Jay to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 672–73, FD Papers, DLC. Sends payment for a requested pamphlet by Douglass about Jay’s father. H.M. to FD. PLIr: DM, 2:100 (July 1859). Advises abolitionists to stop fighting with one another and instead to focus their efforts on ending slavery. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: DM, 2:101 (July 1859). Acknowledges British abolitionists for their financial donations to aid fugitive slaves en route to Canada. J[ames] R[awson] Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 17 June 1859. Suggests organizing an antislavery lecture tour in preparation for the 1860 presidential election. J[ames] W. C. Pennington to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 June 1859. Argues that the African Civilization Society

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 583

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584

[17 June]

20 June

20 June

27 June

27 June

30 June

[1 July] 4 July

12 July

15 July

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 584

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

should not be criticized for its colonization efforts, since it trains black missionaries to build a Christian society and morally uplift to the entire race. C.M.P. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 17 June 1859. Criticizes the practitioners of Spiritualism for failing to address the sin of slavery. Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 June 1859. Praises the progress of the antislavery movement as a whole. Henry H[ighland] Garnet to FD. PLSr: FDP, 24 June 1859. Inquires why his rebuttal of George T. Downing’s support for the African Civilization Society was never published. W[illia]m Herries to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 July 1859. Disputes George T. Downing’s claim that only intelligent black men oppose the African Civilization Society. J[ames] R[awson] Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 July 1859. Suggests commissioning Joshua Reed Giddings, Henry Highland Garnet, and James W. C. Pennington to plan an antislavery lecture tour before the 1860 presidential election. FD to John Jay. ALS: John Jay Manuscripts, NNC. Apologizes for the printing quality of the pamphlet on Jay’s father. A.F.R. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 1 July 1859. Defines “freedom.” J[ames] R[awson] Johnson to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 July 1859. Argues that if America’s religious and political bodies unequivocally denounce slavery, the country can quickly abolish it. George T. Downing to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 July 1859. Accuses William Herries of being a paid agent of the New York Tribune and deliberately misinforming readers about the nature of those who criticize and those who support the African Civilization Society. Ben[jamin] Banneker to FD. PLSr: FDP, 22 July 1859. Accuses the correspondent Communipaw [James McCune Smith] of intellectual elitism, divisiveness, and

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

15 July

15 September

15 September

23 September

23 September

26 September

27 September

27 September [September]

7 October

17 October

585

slander in his recent report on the African Civilization Society. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 2:120–21 (August 1859). Reports on antislavery activities among her acquaintances. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 2:152 (October 1859). Describes autumn in the area surrounding Halifax, England. John W. Menard to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 October 1859. Recounts the inhumane death of an Illinois fugitive slave at the hands of his careless captors. John W. Reames to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 September 1859. Reports on a law passed in Massachusetts that allows blacks to join the military. D[aniel] Worth to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 October 1859. Reports that North Carolina Quakers, after having promised to vote for the Liberty party candidate, voted for a slaveholding Republican candidate. FD to Maria G. Porter. ALS: Rochester Ladies’ AntiSlavery Society Collection, MiU-C. Thanks the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society for its donation to aid the publication of Frederick Douglass’ Paper; informs her that he is preparing to leave for England. William Wells Brown to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 September 1859. Defends record of receiving donations to sustain his antislavery speaking. E.H. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 30 September 1859. Hopes that the time is nearing for women’s equality with men. W[illiam] J. Wilson to FD. PLIr: New York Weekly Anglo-African, 24 September 1859. Praises lectures by A. M. Green of Detroit. George Weir, Jr., to FD. PLSr: FDP, 14 October 1859. Urges him to support a committee established to lobby for the passage of universal suffrage in New York State. George Weir, Jr., to FD. PLSr: FDP, 21 October 1859. Informs him that Weir’s recent letter on universal suffrage was mistaken.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 585

1/26/18 9:42 AM

586

22 October

27 October

[2 December]

9 December

17 December

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

Communipaw [James McCune Smith] to FD. PLSr: FDP, 28 October 1859. Condemns the Virginia authorities’ rushed trial of John Brown. FD to Amy Post. ALS: Amy Post Papers, NRU. Believes he is not safe in America; states he will travel to England and return when suspicions have faded regarding his involvement in the Harpers Ferry raid. L. J. Madden to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 December 1859. Argues that the heroism of John Brown has struck fear into the hearts of Virginia’s slaveholders. W[illiam] J. W[ilson] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 16 December 1859. Reports that there is a divisive political climate in Albany, New York, following the Harpers Ferry raid. Ethan Lamphear to FD. PLSr: FDP, 5 January 1860. Predicts that a bill prohibiting free blacks from living in Missouri would pass; reports that because of Harpers Ferry, slave owners fearing for their lives are selling their slaves to the South. 1860

13 February

21 February

7 March

7 March

19 March

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 586

Amy Post to FD. ALS: Amy Post Papers, NRU. Responds to news that Douglass has reached Great Britain safely. W[illia]m J. Harden to FD. PLSr: FDP, 2 March 1860. Reports that he has created a club in Janesville, Wisconsin, to subscribe to Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Miami to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 March 1860. Argues that U.S. commissioners are not empowered by the Constitution to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act. H[enry] O. Wagoner to FD. PLSr: FDP, 16 March 1860. Reports that the Democratic party in Chicago imported Irishmen to sway the vote against the Republican party. L[ewis] H. D[ouglass] to FD. PLIr: FDP, 23 March 1860. Opposes a leading Republican journal’s endorsement, out of fear of sectionalism, of a candidate other than William H. Seward for president.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

19 March

20 March

23 March

29 March

5 April [13 April] 16 April

16 April

16 April

30 April

[11 May]

25 May

587

Oliver Old School to FD. PLSr: FDP, 23 March 1860. Boasts of the lavishness of a new school built for black children in New York City. Charles R. Douglass to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 674–75, FD Papers, DLC. Describes a vacation with family friends. Miami to FD. PLSr: FDP, 30 March 1860. Reports that a local Cincinnati abolitionist, Levi Coffin, has taken in more white boarders from Kentucky who fled the state because of their views of slavery. Oliver Old School to FD. PLSr: FDP, 6 April 1860. Complains of the low quality of public schooling for black children in the Hudson River Valley of New York State. James Gregg to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1860. Gives a glowing report of a lecture by William J. Watkins. Miami to FD. PLSr: FDP, 13 April 1860. Reports on visiting colonization and antislavery lecturers. W[illiam] O. Duvall to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1860. Defends the Garrisonians against Douglass’s charge that they demand dissolution of the Union but refuse to take action. Oliver Old School to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1860. Denounces the American Colonization Society for tactics stifling debate over the objectives of the African Civilization Society. W[illia]m J. Watkins to FD. PLSr: FDP, 20 April 1860. Reports resolving his differences with New York Garrisonians during a speaking tour of Jefferson County, New York. W[illiam] O. Duvall to FD. PLSr: FDP, 11 May 1860. Argues that justice for the slave and the free black man can be achieved only by abolishing the federal government. E. H. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 11 May 1860. Thanks Pennsylvania representative O. H. P. Kinney for denying a petition to prohibit the immigration of free blacks into the state. FD to Amy Post. ALS: Post Family Papers, Rush Rhees Library, NRU. Recounts his abolitionist activities in Great Britain.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 587

1/26/18 9:42 AM

588

28 May

29 May

1 June 30 June

2 July

5 July

13 July

16 August

12 September

September

September

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 588

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

H. N. Gilbert to FD. PLSr: FDP, 8 June 1860. Promotes James Redpath’s book Echoes of Harpers Ferry. Mary Jones to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 676–77, FD Papers, DLC. Expresses concern over his return home; provides updates on their friends’ activities in New York State. E.H. to FD. PLIr: FDP, 8 June 1860. Describes a recent lecture tour of southern New York State. FD to W[illia]m H. Seward. ALS: William H. Seward Manuscripts, NRU. Forwards a letter from Julia Griffiths Crofts, who was disappointed in his failure to win the Republican presidential nomination. FD to Anna H. Richardson. PLf: Anna H. Richardson, Anti-Slavery Memoranda (Newcastle, Eng., 1860), 6–7. Testifies that faith keeps him optimistic about the ultimate victory of abolition. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: DM, 3:320 (August 1860). Thanks British abolitionists for their ongoing aid to fugitive slaves. Gerrit Smith to FD. PLSr: NIC. Argues that the federal government must abolish slavery because the nation is bound by the Constitution, which fails to uphold the practice. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 682–88, FD Papers, DLC. Considers traveling to the United States. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 3:360–61 (November 1860). Reports on the activities of the Halifax Anti-Slavery Committee. J[ames] R[awson] Johnson to FD. PLSr: DM, 3:343 (October 1860). Argues that voting for Abraham Lincoln, who views the Fugitive Slave Act as constitutional, is not an endorsement of slavery, because he supports free-state status for the territories. C[harles] A. H[ammond] to FD. PLIr: DM, 3:343 (October 1860). Argues that voting for Abraham Lincoln and the Republican party defends the entire slaveholding system.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

September

October

October

October

5 November

[November]

[November]

19 December

589

J. C. H[ammond] to FD. PLIr: DM, 3:342–43 (October 1860). Argues that voting for Abraham Lincoln and the Republican party will further compromise radical abolitionists. Russell L. Carpenter to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 8, frame 656, FD Papers, DLC. Regrets the loss in the mail of an earlier letter with a financial contribution. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 8, frames 747–49, FD Papers, DLC. Offers advice on planning his next visit to Great Britain. George A. Johnson to FD. PLSr: DM, 3:345 (October 1860). Announces the organization of the Elective Franchise Club of Ithaca, hoping to strike down New York’s property qualification clause. A[bner] H. Francis to FD. PLSr: DM, 3:389 (January 1861). Reports on the positive racial conditions in British Columbia. J. C. H[ammond] to FD. PLIr: DM, 3:357–58 (November 1860). Warns radical abolitionists not to vote for Abraham Lincoln. A[bram] Pryne to FD. PLSr: DM, 3:358 (November 1860). Defends Abraham Lincoln and the Republican party against charges of enforcing laws that protect slavery. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 3:406–07 (February 1861). Reports on William H. Day’s lecture and on British abolitionists’s support for the Underground Railroad. 1861

18 January*

[January]

Kate Newell Doggett to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 758–60, FD Papers, DLC. Sends an article on John Brown printed in a French newspaper. H[enry] H[ighland] Garnet to FD. PLSr: DM, 3:394 (January 1861). Argues that only God’s will can abolish slavery.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 589

1/26/18 9:42 AM

590

5 February

18 February

21 February

22 February

[February]

1 April

20 April

27 April

9 May

8 June

27 June

[June]

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 590

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

George C. Anderson to FD. PLSr: DM, 3:420 (March 1861). Asks whether immigration to Haiti would benefit the black race, and whether Douglass would immigrate himself. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 3:440 (April 1861). Provides a travelogue of Sherwood, England; criticizes William Seward for moderating his views on slavery. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 678–80, FD Papers, DLC. Compares Italian nationalists, fighting for a unified country, to abolitionists. H[enry] O. Wagoner to FD. PLSr: DM, 3:439 (April 1861). Updates readers on the success of blacks prospecting for gold and setting up businesses from Missouri to California. W[illiam] King to FD. PLSr: DM, 3:409 (February 1861). Reports a Canadian court ruling disallowing the rendition of a fugitive slave. J. M. McLain to FD. PLSr: DM, 4:471 (June 1861). Solicits farmers, mechanics, and religious men to come to Williams County, Ohio. Immaterial to FD. PLSr: DM, 3:452 (May 1861). Argues that a black regiment should be raised to fight in the Civil War. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 4:472–73 (June 1861). Reports fears that the South’s secession has eroded the already-weak abolitionist sentiment in England. J[ohn] Sella Martin to FD. PLSr: DM, 4:469 (June 1861). Criticizes the North’s failure to extend rights to free blacks or to fight for the freedom of the slave. R[ussell] L[ant] C[arpenter] to FD. PLIr: DM, 4:482 (July 1861). Argues that the North would protect slavery to restore the Union. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 4:504–05 (August 1861). Comments on popular sentiment and knowledge about the secession crisis. A Reader to FD. PLSr: DM, 4:478 (June 1861). Submits an antislavery poem for publication.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

12 August

21 August

21 September

24 September

5 October

14 October

8 November*

13 November

25 December

591

FD to Gerrit Smith. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. Thanks Smith for his continued monetary and essay contributions to Douglass’ Monthly. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 4:533–34 (October 1861). Comments that Europe is uncertain about the goals and possible outcomes of the war; requests he print the number of fatalities in his next monthly. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 4:549–51 (November 1861). Describes her tour of William Shakespeare’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 4:582–83 (January 1862). Describes agricultural celebrations in England; criticizes Abraham Lincoln for revoking Frémont’s emancipation proclamation. J[ames] R[awson] Johnson to FD. PLSr: DM, 4:551 (November 1861). Laments his son’s death for a government that will not fight to end slavery. S. Dutton to FD. PLSr: DM, 4:546–47 (November 1861). Argues that the return of a fugitive slave to his master in the nation’s capital suggests that slavery will not end soon. Martha W. Greene to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 68–70, FD Papers, DLC. Considers relocating to either New York or New England. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 691–96, FD Papers, DLC. Misses his daughter, Rosetta; reports a move to Cheltenham, England. Gerrit Smith to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frame 700, FD Papers, DLC. Contributes $10 to his newspaper. 1862

14 January

Geo[rge] T. Downing to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 701–02, FD Papers, DLC. Requests that Douglass lecture at the Cooper Institute on the condition of blacks.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 591

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592

16 January

17 January 20 February

15 March

27 March

3 April

4 April

5 April

16 May

27 May

3 June*

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 592

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

Julia Griffiths Crofts to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 703–04, FD Papers, DLC. Sends financial contributions from sympathetic British abolitionists. C[harles] Stuart to FD. PLSr: DM, 4:597 (February 1862). Criticizes Gerrit Smith’s abolitionism. [A. Cade] to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 705–07, FD Papers, DLC. Sends a financial contribution to support Douglass’ Monthly. Maria Webb to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 707–08, FD Papers, DLC. Sends a contribution from Irish Ladies Anti-Slavery Society to aid fugitive slaves en route to Canada. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 708–710. FD Papers, DLC. Provides an update on antislavery activities in the Yorkshire and Humber regions in England. George B. Cheever to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 711–12, FD Papers, DLC. Argues that abolitionists’ refusal to demand immediate emancipation hurts the movement. Rosetta Douglass to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 713–17, FD Papers, DLC. Discusses racial prejudices encountered while staying with the Dorsey family in Philadelphia. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 108–10, FD Papers, DLC. Forwards a financial contribution from an English businessman. John Smith to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 720–22, FD Papers, DLC. Sends a financial contribution and good wishes for the emancipation cause. FD to Lewis Tappan. ALS: American Mission Association Manuscripts, LNArc. Thanks him for forwarding subscriptions collected by Anna H. Richardson. Julia [Griffiths] Crofts to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 705–08, FD Papers,

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

18 June

2 July

31 July

7 August

16 August

21 August

28 August*

1 September

6 September

25 September

593

DLC. Reports on receiving a visit from several members of Gerrit Smith’s family. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:696 (August 1862). Recounts Gerrit Smith’s visit; describes the Great London Exposition. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:726–27 (October) 1862. Describes a tour of Houghton, England, and a trip to the Great London Exposition; provides updates on popular sentiment about the war. T. Perronet Thompson to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:712–13 (September 1862). Criticizes the government for its lack of initial military aggression toward the rebellion. M[artin] R. Delany to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:719 (September 1862). States that the federal government would rather have a qualified black man represent the interests of Haiti than a white man. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:719 (September 1862). Acknowledges receipt of a donation from the Ladies’ Negro’s Friend Society of Birmingham (England). Unknown to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 724–26, FD Papers, DLC. Updates the health of family members. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 8, frames 726–28, FD Papers, DLC. Inquires about the well-being of his family. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 732–34, FD Papers, DLC. Updates him on her health and shared acquaintances in Britain. Gerrit Smith to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frame 735, FD Papers, DLC. Worries about the health of the nation and sends a contribution to Douglass’ Monthly. H. Oscar to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:744 (November 1862). Describes tensions between Irish laborers and escaped Confederate slaves in Cairo, Illinois.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 593

1/26/18 9:42 AM

594

26 September

13 October

22 October

26 October

15 November

20 November

20 November

25 November

5 December

5 December

9 December

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 594

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:772 (January 1863). Reports that the British and Foreign AntiSlavery Society supports the U.S. government, while the London Times supports the rebellion. Rosetta Douglass to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 744–45, FD Papers, DLC. Expresses her hope of meeting with her brother Lewis while he is in Philadelphia. Theodore Tilton to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 745–47, FD Papers, DLC. Criticizes Northern attitudes toward educated black men; announces a lecture that he will be giving in Boston. J.E.R. to FD. PLIr: DM, 5:747 (November 1862). Promises to bequeath a legacy gift to fund Douglass’ Monthly if slavery still exists at the time of his death. Ernest Roumain to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 748–49, FD Papers, DLC. Extends an invitation to visit Haiti. Janet G. Boswick to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 750–51, FD Papers, DLC. Cancels the Dundee Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society’s subscription. [M. Mair] to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 750, FD Papers, DLC. Expresses uncertainty about the emancipation cause. Ernest Roumain to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 752–53, FD Papers, DLC. Requests an appointment before returning to Haiti. [Mary Browne] Carpenter to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, 759–61, FD Papers, DLC. Hopes that the Emancipation Proclamation encourages slaves to desert their masters. Unknown to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 765–68, FD Papers, DLC. Expresses dismay that the British government does not support the Union cause officially. D. M. Vicar to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:814 (March 1863). Criticizes the Canadian and British press that oppose the U.S. government’s war on Southern slavery.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

23 December

28 December

595

Alexander Innes to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 769–71, FD Papers, DLC. Criticizes the British aristocracy for its support of slavery; requests publication of an editorial on the mistreatment of coastal Africans by European traders. Rosetta Douglass to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 772–74, FD Papers, DLC. Inquires about his health and lecture tour; updates him on her teaching career. 1863

1 January 1 January

9 January

16 January

28 January

[January]

2 February

L.N.C. to FD. PLIr: DM, 5:771–72 (January 1863). Recommends Louisa De Mortia as an antislavery lecturer. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 777–81, FD Papers, DLC. Reports the lack of English antislavery sentiment for the government’s war on the South. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 8, frames 684–85, FD Papers, DLC. Sends a collection from British abolitionists. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 781–83, FD Papers, DLC. Questions her host’s Southern sympathies after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. FD to Gerrit Smith. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. Informs Smith that the February edition of Douglass’ Monthly will be dedicated entirely to his antislavery advocacy. Richard J. Hinton to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:779–80 (January 1863). Reports on the victory of the First Regiment of the Kansas Colored Volunteers at Island Mound in Bates County, Missouri, as evidence of blacks soldiers’ competence. M[ary] A[nne] Rawson to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 784–87, FD Papers, DLC. Commends Rosetta Douglass’s desire to provide for herself as a teacher; questions his refusal to support colonization.

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 595

1/26/18 9:42 AM

596

4 February

12 February

21 February

[February]

1 March

5 March

9 March

10 March

10 March

12 March

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 596

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:803–04 (March 1863). Reports on antislavery demonstrations across England following the Emancipation Proclamation. A[nna] M. C. Barnes to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:804 (March 1863). Reports on the mistreatment and welfare of emancipated and contraband slaves in Alexandria, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. J[ermain] W[esley] Loguen to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:811 (March 1863). Acknowledges receipt of British donation for contraband slaves fleeing to Canada via Syracuse, New York. FD to H[enry] Ford Douglass. PLSr: DM, 5:786 (February 1863). Criticizes the former correspondent for suggesting that Douglass’ Monthly cease publication. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 788–92, FD Papers, DLC. Expresses concern that he has not responded to her letters because he does not have her address; requests a subscription to Douglass’ Monthly; asks about his family’s health. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 792–97, FD Papers, DLC. Informs Douglass that a pickpocket took her purse, which contained a contribution to aid the antislavery cause in America; asks about his family’s health. FD to Mrs. W. D. Griffing. ALS: Miscellaneous Manuscripts, NN. Thanks her for her poem dedicated to him and to the abolition movement. John W. Menard to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:820–21 (April 1863). Argues that the real aim of the war is to unite the Union under white nationalism and to deny equal rights to blacks. Gerrit Smith to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frame 798, FD Papers, DLC. Pledges financial support for a company of black troops recruited by Douglass. G. E. Robinson to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:820 (April 1863). Reminds readers that although jubilee is upon them, the glory belongs to God, not man.

1/26/18 9:42 AM

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

16 March

24 March

[March]

3 April

17 April

20 April

1 May

12 May

20 May*

17 June

19 June

597

Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 799–801, FD Papers, DLC. Reports on raising money for Douglass’ Monthly to replace a stolen donation. George L. Stearns to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 802–03, FD Papers, DLC. Sends instructions regarding the railroad transportation of new army recruits. FD to John W. Menard. PLSr: DM, 5:821 (April 1863). Refutes Menard’s argument that whites and blacks cannot live peacefully in America. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 806–08, FD Papers, DLC. Praises his antislavery work; sends another contribution. FD to W[illia]m E. Whiting. ALS: American Missionary Association Manuscripts, LNArc. Forwards signed receipts; comments that he is busy enlisting the Fifth-fourth Massachusetts Regiment, including two of his three sons, Lewis and Charles. Solomon Peneton to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:837 (June 1863). Updates readers on the passage of the Testimony Bill, which gives San Francisco blacks the right to testify under oath in court. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. PLSr: DM, 5:836–37 (June 1863). Informs him of the activities of antislavery friends. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 808–13, FD Papers, DLC. Sends her best wishes to the entire Douglass family. Julia [Griffiths] Crofts to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 8, frames 700–702, FD Papers, DLC. Sends a financial contribution from the British Ladies Anti-Slavery Society on behalf of contraband slaves. Gerrit Smith to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 32, frame 10, FD Papers, DLC. Praises a recent issue of Douglass Monthly and sends a financial contribution. Philip P. Carpenter to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 822–23, FD Papers, DLC.

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598

20 June

10 July

12 July

24 July

17 August

21 August

1 October

18 October

10 December

15 December

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 598

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

Asks for his assistance in locating an immigrant resettled in Rochester. FD to Theodore Tilton. ALS: Gluck Collection, NBu. Informs him that his speech will appear in the July edition of Douglass’ Monthly and that he will spend the rest of the summer in Boston recruiting for the Fifty-fourth Regiment. Mary Browne Carpenter to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 826–29, FD Papers, DLC. Sends a financial contribution; reaffirms her friendship with Douglass and American abolitionists. [Rosine Amé-Droz] to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 829–31, FD Papers, DLC. Apologizes for the small size of the financial contribution to Douglass Monthly. FD to Unknown. ALS: American Freedmen’s Inquiry Commission Manuscripts, MH-H. Responds to an inquiry about the number and condition of fugitive slaves in Canada. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 839–41, FD Papers, DLC. Sends money and gifts for his family. C[harles] W. Foster to FD. ALS. General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 842–43 FD Papers, DLC. Asks about the conditions for working as army recruiter in Tennessee. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 851–54, FD Papers, DLC. Regrets the closing of Douglass’ Monthly. FD to Gerrit Smith. ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. Requests a contribution to secure a war widow’s mortgage; informs him of a visit from the former slaveholding attorney Richard Busteed. Julia Griffiths Crofts to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 855–60, FD Papers, DLC. Applauds him and his sons for their roles in the Civil War and the abolitionist effort. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 860–65, FD Papers, DLC.

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CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

20 December

December

599

Reports being criticized in “Free England” for her support of abolitionism. Charles R. Douglass to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 1, frames 865–66, FD Papers, DLC. Takes leave from the army to visit home; lacks funds for the trip because of an unsettled legal suit. FD to James N. Gloucester. PLSr: New York Tribune, 5 January 1864. Regrets he will not be able to speak at the American Freedmen’s Friend Society Jubilee Celebration. 1864

12 January

31 January

5 February

5 March

24 March

15 April

30 May

6 June

Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 1–5, FD Papers, DLC. Expresses gratitude for a photograph of his family. Thomas Webster, Jr. to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frame 6, FD Papers, DLC. Complains that the current session of Congress has not done enough for African Americans. Julia Griffiths Crofts to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 709, FD Papers, DLC. Notes a division among British Quakers regarding a Union victory in Civil War. [Mary F. Cropper] to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 17–19, FD Papers, DLC. Reports raising funds for African Americans. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 20–25, FD Papers, DLC. Hopes to be remembered by the Douglasses. [Julia Griffiths Crofts] to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 8, frames 698–700, FD Papers, DLC. Sends proceeds of fund-raising for Rochester abolitionists by English supporters. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 26–31, FD Papers, DLC. Worries about his safety while recruiting for the army. —— Saxton to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frame 34, FD Papers, DLC. Offers to sell

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 599

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600

16 June

2 July 5 July

7 July

12 July

5 August

5 September

15 September

17 October

October*

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CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

him the stereotype plates of My Bondage and My Freedom. C[harles] R[emond] Douglass to FD. PLSr: NASS, 2  July 1864. Reports on several African American regiments from the 16 June battleground of the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign. FD to J. D. Husband. ALS: General Manuscripts Collection, NRU. Replies to a request for a copy of his paper. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 35–39, FD Papers, DLC. Recommends that Douglass and his sons tour Great Britain on behalf of the Union cause. Martha W. Greene to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 40–42, FD Papers, DLC. Advises him to speak out for African American enfranchisement. [Margaret Denman] Cropper to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 42–43, FD Papers, DLC. Sends a contribution. [Mary Browne Carpenter?] to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 44–46, FD Papers, DLC. Asks for instructions on how to aid freed people in Virginia. FD to A friend in England. PLe: Rochester Union & Advertiser. Criticizes the federal government’s treatment of black soldiers; fears for the safety of newly emancipated blacks. Charles R. Douglass to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frame 58, FD Papers, DLC. Relays his discharge from the army; plans to return home. Charles R. Douglass to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frame 67, FD Papers, DLC. Reports that he arrived safely in Washington, D.C., from Elmira, New York, where he visited his sister, Rosetta, and brother-in-law, Nathan Sprague. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 8, frames 795–99, FD Papers, DLC. Fears that she will become homeless.

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CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

23 November

22 December

*

601

Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 71–74, FD Papers, DLC. Reports on her fund-raising for freedmen’s aid. Anna H. Richardson to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 75–78, FD Papers, DLC. Shares news of her family’s activities. Mary Carpenter to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 8, frames 783–89, FD Papers, DLC. Regrets cessation of Douglass’ Monthly. 1865

1 January

6 February

17 February

23 February*

25 February

26 February

20 March

24 March

[Rosine Amé-Droz] to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 79–87, FD Papers, DLC. Supports efforts to educate freed people. FD to C. K. Rochler. ALS: Charles L. Blockson AfroAmerican Collection, PTu. Affirms request to lecture on 25 February in Hoboken, New Jersey. Unknown to FD. ALS: Douglass Collection, CtY. Replies to a request to lecture on 7 March in Worcester, Massachusetts. [Julia Griffiths Crofts] to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 8, frames 695–98, 718–20, FD Papers, DLC. Reports activities of British abolitionists. Thomas Cook to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frame 102, FD Papers, DLC. Believes British abolitionists should help assist the freed people. [Rosine Amé-Droz] to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 94–101, FD Papers, DLC. Reports on winning more British supporters. R[usell] L[ant] Carpenter to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 8, frames 656–58, FD Papers, DLC. Believes Douglass should be a leader of the Freedmen’s Bureau. Mary Browne Carpenter to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 103–07, FD Papers, DLC. Suggests he tour Great Britain to raise support for the freed people.

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602

25 April

19 May

24 May

26 May

18 July

18 July

2 August

2 August

18 August

19 August

30 August

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 602

CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 110–16, FD Papers, DLC. Rejoices in Union victory in the Civil War. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 120–24, FD Papers, DLC. Saddened by news of Lincoln’s assassination. Mary Carpenter to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 125–29, FD Papers, DLC. Reports great efforts by British abolitionists to send useful supplies to the freedmen. Charles R. Douglass to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 130–31, FD Papers, DLC. Hopes his father will visit him and his brother Frederick Jr in Washington, D.C. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 132–34, FD Papers, DLC. Recalls her visit with him before the Civil War. Mary Anne Rawson to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 135–36, FD Papers, DLC. Argues that slaveholders’ pride led to the rebellion and the subsequent war. Charles R. Douglass to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 137–38, FD Papers, DLC. Recommends a teenage boy to help with work at Douglass’s Rochester home. Martha W. Greene to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 138–39, FD Papers, DLC. Chides him for his impatience with Andrew Johnson. Charles R. Douglass to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 140–41, FD Papers, DLC. Reports on his work at hospitals for freed people in Washington, D.C. Charles R. Douglass to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frame 142, DLC. Expresses gratitude for a letter from his father. W. M. Yates to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 143–44, FD Papers, DLC. Seeks to correct past misunderstandings.

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6 October

10 October

15 October

17 October

18 October

23 October

29 October

7 November

22 November

25 November

November

25 December

603

FD to Thomas Morry. ALS: Charles F. Jenkins Papers, PSC-Hi. Confirms a speaking engagement on the topic of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination for 12 December in Brookfield, Massachusetts. Gerrit Smith to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 145–46, FD Papers, DLC. Thanks him for a copy of a recent speech in Baltimore. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 63–67, FD Papers, DLC. Sends him a contribution for his personal use. FD to Cha[rle]s H. Chase. ALS: Paine Family Papers, MWA. Confirms a speaking engagement on 14 December. Charles R. Douglass to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frame 147, FD Papers, DLC. Sends news of both brothers’ health and activities. William Woodman to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, 148–60, FD Papers, DLC. States that a will in which Woodman and others were left minor sums is null and void. Charles R. Douglass to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 161–62, FD Papers, DLC. Reports his imminent arrival in Rochester. Gerrit Smith to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 163, FD Papers, DLC. Applauds his recent public letters to Republican politicians. [Rosine Amé-Droz] to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 164–69, FD Papers, DLC. Inquires about the well-being of Rosetta Douglass. Martha W. Greene to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 170–71, FD Papers, DLC. Invites him to stay at her house when he lectures in Worcester. Rosine Amé-Droz to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 172–74, FD Papers, DLC. Sends a letter of introduction for a British visitor to the United States. Julia G[riffiths] Crofts to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 175–77, FD Papers, DLC. Wishes he would visit her in Great Britain.

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604

December *

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CALENDAR OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT PRINTED

FD to Gerrit Smith. Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. Discusses the South’s goals for Reconstruction. J. Delphinia Borg to FD. ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 9, frames 190–92, FD Papers, DLC. Requests a photograph of him for an album to raise funds for the Good Shepherd Asylum of Quebec.

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Index

Page numbers in italics indicate detailed biographical sketches. Abbotsford, Scot., 563 Abbott, Anderson Ruffin, 471, 473n Aberdeen Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Association, 574 abolitionists: John Quincy Adams and, 64; African Americans as, xxii; in Albany, N.Y., 120, 208–09, 209n, 403n, 586; American party opposed by, 544; Anti-Corn Law movement and, 207n; in Baltimore, Md., 5n, 130, 131n, 506n; Baptists as, 197n, 297n, 541; bazaars of, 3n, 89n, 143n, 217, 221n, 282n, 292, 292n, 317n, 327n, 401n, 521, 523, 563, 569–70, 572, 579; in Bedford, Mass., 394, 398n; in Birmingham, Eng., 203–04n, 291n, 447, 450n, 536; in Boston, xxx–xxxi, 4–5n, 43n, 60n, 77n, 83n, 143–144n, 157, 158n, 179n, 304, 312n, 314, 315n, 317n, 328, 386, 407n, 453n, 543, 548, 561; in Brooklyn, N.Y., 122–23, 164, 199–200, 205–06, 460–64, 509, 513; in Buffalo, N.Y., 119n, 454n, 526, 573, 580; in Canada, 3n, 65–67, 67–68n, 304n, 530, 561–62, 574–75, 590; in Chicago, 222n, 226, 249n, 373n, 517, 531; churches and, 6n, 10n, 266, 284n, 508, 518; churches of, 141n, 465n, 525; churches criticized by, xxvii, 5n, 37n, 70; in Cincinnati, Ohio, 72n, 76, 77n, 110n, 191n, 228n, 550, 552, 561, 579, 587; Civil War and, 64n, 397, 411n, 596; colonization opposed by, 2n, 5n, 7n, 44n, 45, 182–84, 355, 511, 517, 523–24, 530, 538, 541–42, 552, 570, 573, 587; comeouterism and, 6n; Congregational Church and, 4n, 82, 83n, 158n, 164n, 330n, 546; in Connecticut, 77n, 96n, 157, 546, 556–58; in Cork, Ire., 89n; in Delaware, 545; disunionism and, 17, 64n, 115n, 312nn; Douglass as, xxii, 22n, 25, 117, 118n, 177, 179, 188, 189n, 218, 267, 370, 571; Douglass praises, 384; in Dublin, Ire., 86n, 254n, 283n, 327n; in Edinburgh, Scot., 167n, 212–14, 214n, 322, 323n, 560, 575; in France, 589; free

blacks as, xxii–xxiii, xxvii, 4n, 6–7nn, 17n, 19n, 22n, 25, 39n, 41, 42n, 53–54nn, 58–60nn, 82n, 86–87n, 101n, 106n, 108n, 115n, 116–17, 118n, 126, 157, 188, 189n, 218, 222–23nn, 239, 241, 243n, 245n, 262n, 267, 295, 300n, 336n, 346n, 360, 370, 411n, 511, 516, 521, 523, 529, 531, 535–40, 542–44, 547, 546, 559, 560, 567, 569, 571, 575–76, 582–84, 587, 589, 591; fundraising by, xxvii, 19–20n; gift books of, xxvii; in Glasgow, Scot., 167n, 554, 557, 560, 575; opposes gradual emancipation, 328–29n; in Great Britain, xxii, xxiv, xxviii–xxx, 3, 5n, 17, 19–20n, 25, 41–42, 67n, 115n, 126, 128–29, 129n, 152–53, 162, 166, 201–202, 202–203n, 221n, 232n, 250–52, 252–55nn, 268n, 282n, 299–300nn, 307n, 316, 317–18nn, 322–23, 323n, 373–75, 375, 377, 434n, 449–60, 508–09, 543, 554, 556, 550–54, 556–57, 560, 562–63, 565–67, 569–71, 574, 579–81, 585, 589–90, 592–99, 601–02; in Halifax, Eng., 281–82, 431–33, 585, 588; in Illinois, 160–61, 222n, 326n, 373n, 513; immigrants as, 302n; in Indiana, 227–28n; in Iowa, 62n, 64n, 148n, 285n, 293n; in Ireland, 86n, 88, 254n, 282n, 310n, 324n, 327n, 326, 592; in Kansas Territory, 148n, 181–82n, 285n, 301–03nn, 312n, 342n, 544, 547; KansasNebraska Act opposed by, xxiii, 31n, 63n, 76, 77n, 79, 79n, 83n, 90n; in Kentucky, 536, 571, 587; in Leeds, Eng., 322, 448; Lincoln criticized by, xxiv, xxxii, 436n, 445–46nn, 460–63, 483n, 591; literary contributions by, 10, 17–21nn, 127n, 144n, 216n, 287n, 590, 596; in London, Eng., 166n, 550–52; in Massachusetts, xxvii, xxx, 5n, 10n, 43n, 83n, 115n, 197n, 225n, 304–05n, 312n, 397, 398n, 560; merchants as, 58n, 123n, 228n, 268n, 453n, 518, 556, 580; Methodist Episcopal Church and, 64n, 528, 533; in Michigan, 4n; in Middlesex County, Mass., 398n; ministers 605

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606 abolitionists (continued) as, 12, 60n, 178, 187n, 193n, 218, 239, 240n, 297n, 305n, 312n, 323n, 330n, 374, 389n, 444n, 567; in Minnesota, 340, 340–41n, 541; mobs attack, 47, 77n, 167n, 223n, 326n, 557; in New Bedford, Mass., 561; in New England, 4n, 113, 398n; in New Hampshire, 173n, 284n, 306n, 401n; in New Jersey, 567; in New York, xxii–xxiii, xxvii–xxix, 3n, 6, 6–7nn, 25n, 37n, 43n, 60n, 63n, 71n, 78, 78n, 118n, 127n, 145n, 158–59n, 165n, 193n, 214n, 216n, 227n, 235n, 265n, 296–97nn, 332–33nn, 336n, 372n, 401n, 509, 514, 529, 538, 557, 582, 587–88; in New York City, xxix, 25n, 37n, 43n, 60n, 71n, 78, 78n, 141n, 159n, 214n, 216n, 265n, 332–33nn, 336n, 509, 514, 529, 582; in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Eng., 374, 375n, 575; in Newport, R.I., 538; newspapers of, xxi, xxvii–xxviii, 1, 3–7nn, 21n, 29, 30n, 41, 41n, 43n, 49n, 54n, 59, 60n, 77n, 112, 193n, 115n, 131n, 144n, 166, 166n, 186–87nn, 192, 193n, 198, 199, 219–20, 221– 23nn, 225n, 245n, 266, 275n, 284n, 297n, 303, 304n, 324n, 326n, 340n, 483n, 492n, 510, 530, 536, 573; in Ohio, xxviii, 50n, 53– 54nn, 72n, 74n, 140n, 147n, 181–82n, 285n, 401n, 532–33, 557, 563; in Oregon, 530, 549; pacifism and, 5n, 10n, 43n, 60n, 206, 222n; in Parliament, 123–34n, 207n, 232n; in Pawtucket, R.I., 161n; in Pennsylvania, 30n, 65n, 77n, 183n, 221–22nn, 244n, 294n, 346n, 401n, 483n, 533; petitions of, 65n, 320n, 396, 399–400n; in Philadelphia, 50n, 60–61n, 107, 107–08nn, 118n, 189–90, 191n, 197, 217–18, 221n, 294n, 367, 368n, 467n, 483n, 572, 575, 578–79; in Pittsburgh, 110n; poems of, 84–85, 144n, 287n; political actions of, xxii–xxiii, xxviii, 31n, 37n, 39n, 64n, 68n, 123n, 308; Maria G. Porter and, 267, 268n, 294n, 558; in Portland, Me., 209–10, 211n, 340n; in Providence, R.I., 93, 159; purchase slaves, 346n; Quakers as, 60n, 65n, 114n, 124n, 189n, 203n, 235n, 252n, 268n, 295, 299–300nn, 317–18nn, 430n, 434n, 449n; racism opposed by, 10n, 34–35, 112, 205; Reconstruction and, 73n, 307n; religious views of, xxvii, 6n, 37n, 60n; Republican party and, 109, 195–96, 436n, 553, 555, 561– 62, 565; in Rhode Island, 76n, 240n, 538; in Rochester, N.Y., xxii–xxiii, xxviii–xxix, 3n, 6, 6n, 82, 83n, 187n, 200, 200n, 212n, 227n,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 606

INDEX 235–36nn, 282n, 291–92, 292–93nn, 297n, 429, 430n, 557; in San Francisco, 551; in Scotland, xxii, xxx, 50n, 167n, 307n, 323n, 329, 330n, 560, 563, 573–75; spiritualism and, xxii, xxx, 50n, 167n, 223n, 269–70, 270–71nn, 307n, 323n, 329, 330n, 560, 563, 573–75, 584; in Syracuse, 10n, 59–60, 145n, 188n; temperance movement and, 2n, 6n, 10n, 60n, 78n, 95, 96n, 109, 223n, 284n, 306n, 465n, 516, 520–21, 539, 550, 553, 555, 562; in Tennessee, 131n; in Toronto, 3n, 530; in Union army, xxii, xxx, 50n, 167n, 223n, 269–70, 270–71nn, 285n, 291n, 307n, 312n, 322–23n, 329, 330n, 408n, 440n, 560, 563, 573–75, 584; in the Unitarian Church, 10n, 144n, 178n, 199n, 235n, 312n, 323n, 436n; U.S. Constitution and, xxx, 3, 5n, 43n, 63–64, 64–65nn, 67, 82, 91, 115n, 141n, 176, 176n, 184, 185n, 245n, 257, 272, 300n, 306n, 382n, 512, 517, 522, 528, 547–48, 550, 572, 587; in Vermont, 401n, 527, 532, 541–42; violent tactics and, xxiv, xxix–xxx, 39n, 81–82, 181n, 199–200, 200–02nn, 202, 205, 250n, 382n, 544, 556, 569, 580; in Western Reserve, Ohio, 31n; women as, xxii, 3–5nn, 7n, 60n, 76n, 86n, 89n, 114n, 127–28nn, 130n, 145n, 152–53, 172–73n, 180n, 187n, 203n, 223n, 232n. 235n, 250–52, 252–55nn, 268n, 282n, 291–92, 292–93nn, 294n, 295, 297–98n, 300, 300n, 316, 317n, 321n, 322–23, 323n, 327n, 329, 330n, 346n, 360n, 373n, 375n, 377, 411n, 430n, 431–33, 436nn, 450n, 478, 508, 521, 523, 525, 530, 550–54, 556–58, 560, 562–63, 566–67, 569–72, 574, 579–81, 585, 590–93, 595–97, 599; women’s rights and, 5–6nn, 10n, 43n, 60n, 65–67, 68n, 78n, 123n, 223n, 270n, 284n, 302n, 306, 465n, 521, 525, 544, 551, 556, 585; in Worcester, Mass., 312n, 320–21, 603; in Yorkshire, Eng., 576, 579, 592. See also Garrisonians; Liberty party; Underground Railroad Aborigines Protection Society (Great Britain), 203n Ackworth School, 475n Acton Park, Eng., 9n Adams, Anne P., 188, 189n Adams, Charles Francis, 310n Adams, E. J., 108n, 565, 574 Adams, J. W., 548 Adams, John, 246n, 467n

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INDEX Adams, John Owen, 173n Adams, John Quincy, 65n; abolitionists and, 64, 396, 399n; appointments of, 309n; in Congress, 64, 65n, 399–400n; presents petitions in Congress, 399n; as president, 309n, 319n, 360n Adams, Kate, 173n Adams, Mary Hilliard, 171, 173n, 177, 178n Adams County, Pa., 114n Addison, Joseph, 143n Advent Mission Church (New York City), 35–36, 37n Advocate of Freedom (Augusta, Me.), 340n Aesop, 411n Africa: colonization efforts in, 18–19n, 269n, 353, 542, 584, 595; economic conditions of, 337–38, 336–39nn, 539; emigration to, xxiii, 21n, 46n, 86n, 103n, 224n, 335, 337–38, 338–39nn, 515; European colonies in, 337, 358n; exploration of, 232n; kings of, 565; missionaries to, 103n, 183, 232n, 579, 584; trees of, 71n African Aid Society, 86n African American Prince Hall Masonic Order: Douglass criticizes, 246n African Civilization Society, 18n; black critics of, 108n, 240n, 585; Douglass opposes, 240n; Henry H. Garnet leads, 103n, 240n, 584; James W. C. Pennington supports, 583; supporters of, 587 African Education and Benevolent Society (Ohio), 57n African Free School (New York City), 18n African Institution (Great Britain), 124n African Methodist Episcopal Church: churches of, 122n, 222n, 240n, 389n, 411n, 470n; conferences of, 563; critics of, 564–65; ministers of, 119n, 222n, 476n; in New York, 119n, 240n; officers of, 50n, 476n, 526; in Ohio, 475n; in Pennsylvania, 50n, 58n; periodicals on, 51n, 222n; schools of, 51n, 475–76n African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church: in Connecticut, 106n; ministers of, 39n, 106n, 369n; in New England, 564; in Philadelphia, 223n African Repository (Washington, D.C.), 338n African Society for Mutual Relief, 59n “Agitation Indispensable to Reform” (Phillips), 400n Akron, Ohio, 69 Akroyd, Edward, 433, 436n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 607

607 Alabama: free blacks in, 472n; freedmen in, 249n; politicians from, 464n, 472n; slavery in, 190 Alaska, 26n Albany, N.Y., 180n: abolitionists in, 120, 208– 09, 209n, 403n, 586; churches in, 118, 120, 122n, 389n; Douglass speaks in, 1, 3, 119–20, 120n, 122n, 237, 386, 389n; free blacks in, 108n, 120–21, 122n, 204n, 231n, 236–37, 237–38n, 262n, 386, 389n; newspapers of, 120–21nn, 151n, 194n, 237–38n, 262n, 267, 269n, 367, 368–69nn; schools in, 120n; state capitol in, 119–20nn, 122n; temperance movement in, 194n; trials in, 2n, 10n; Underground Railroad in, 122n, 226n, 237–38n; Union army recruits from, 389n, 403n Albany Atlas & Argus, 367, 369n Albany Evening Journal, 120–21nn, 194n, 238n, 262n, 387, 389n Albany Law School, 120n, 274n Albany Patriot, 151n Albany Vigilance Committee, 237n Albion Anti-Slavery Society, 547 Albion, N.Y., 274n Alexander II (Russia), 140n, 544 Alexandria, Va., 99n, 379n, 474n; freedmen’s aid in, 384n, 443, 480n, 596 Algiers, 358n Algonquins, 52n Aliceanna Street, Baltimore, Md., 275, 276n Aliened American (Cleveland): agents of, 528; letter in, 47, 54n, 87n; William H. Day edits, 54, 54–55nn, 86n, 523, 525 Alighieri, Dante, 40n Allan Line (steam ships), 281n Allegheny College, 30n Allegheny Institute, 58n, 522, 568 Allegheny Mountains, 59n, 302 Allen, Henry, 60n Allen, John, 299n Allen, Joseph, 252, 254n Allen, Macon Bolling, 18n Allen, Richard (Ireland), 282n Allen, Samuel P., 279–80n; Douglass writes, 277–81 Allen, William G., 511, 513, 515 Almack’s Assembly Rooms (London), 339n Alta California, 546 Alton, Ill., 51n; free blacks in, 56n, 373n, 568; newspapers in, 326n Alton Observer (Ill.), 326n

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608 America, and Other Poems (Whitfield), 49n American Abolition Society, 164n; Central Board of, 187n; conventions of, 187n, 214n, 238n; Douglass addresses, xxix, 214n, 238n; William Goodell and, 187n; headquarters of, 258; newspapers of, 187n, 304n; officers of, 159n American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society: annual meetings of, 25n, 78, 78n; Douglass and, xxvii, 25, 25n, 78–79, 78–79nn; founding of, 37n, 123n; free blacks and, 7n, 18n, 101n; meetings of, xxvii; officers of, 37n, 159n; political action and, 60n American Anti-Slavery Society: accused of racial discrimination, 536, 540; agents of, 10n, 115n, 235n, 284n, 306n, 483n; annual meetings of, 25, 79, 79n, 114–15n, 144n, 428, 429n; bazaars on behalf of, 221n; British supporters of, 162, 282; Maria W. Chapman and, 43n; Declaration of Principles of, 185n; disbanding of, xxxiii, 5n, 284n, 311, 429n; disunionism, 17, 64n, 185n, 465n; Douglass and, xxvii, xxvii, xxxiii, 25n, 79, 79n, 185n, 295; founding of, 5n, 37n, 115n, 123n, 222n; free blacks and, 19n, 58n, 106n, 115n, 126, 222n, 245n, 536; Garrison and, xxxiii, 5n, 60n, 64n, 115n, 123n, 128n, 396, 429n; Liberty party opposed by, 114–15n; meetings of, xxvii, xxxiii, 115n, 296n; newspapers of, xxvii, 5n, 37n, 41, 43n, 49n, 59–60, 60n, 77n, 103n, 106n, 112, 115n, 124, 125n, 166, 166n, 198, 199n, 214, 215n, 219–20, 221–23nn, 245n, 264n, 275n, 284n, 296–97nn, 303n, 311–12, 312n, 314, 315–16nn, 336n, 427n, 456–57, 467n, 483n, 492n, 530, 536, 541, 573; officers of, 114n, 189n, 211n, 270n, 321n, 492n; One Hundred Conventions campaign and, 401n; pacifism and, 59n, 296n; petition campaign of, 400n; political action and, 311; publishes Douglass’s Narrative, 400n; Quakers in, 114n, 189n; schism of, 37n, 68n, 128n, 483n; Unitarians in, 144n American Anti-Tobacco Society, 100n American Bible Society, 37n, 123n, American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions: abolitionists criticize, 123n; supporters of, 83n American Colonization Society: abolitionists oppose, 37n, 68, 512, 587; auxiliaries of, 269n, 543; free blacks oppose, 19n, 336n, 513; Liberia established by, 183n; Gerrit

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 608

INDEX Smith and, 2n, 63n; post–Civil War operations of, 222n American Equal Rights Association, 78n American Freedmen’s Aid Union: Douglass addresses, xxxiii, 482–83; James Miller McKim leads, 483nn; Wendell Phillips criticizes, 483n American Freedmen’s Friend Society, 599 American Freedmen’s Union Commission: American Missionary Association as competitor, 483n; schools of, 483n American Freemason (Louisville, Ky.), 243, 246–47n American Home Missionary Society, 37n American Jubilee (New York City), 187n American Medical College (Philadelphia), 465n American Missionary Association: abolitionists and, 37n, 123n, 164n; Douglass supports, 79n; free blacks support, 86n; freedmen’s aid work of, 483n; officers of, 159n, 163n; schools of, 161n, 483n American Negro Historical Society, 430n American party, 194n, 319n; abolitionists oppose, 544; Millard Fillmore and, 40n, 110n, 194n; in New York City, 121n; rioting by, 359n American Peace Society, 291n American Revolution, 23–24nn; battles of, 158n, 360n; celebrations about, 81; continental army, 158n; Declaration of Independence and, 350n; free black soldiers in, 115n, 354, 360n; French aid in, 244n; in Maryland, 170n; Patriot leaders in, 324n; Quakers in, 449n; Tories in, 24n, 177n, 208n; violent tactics of, 569; George Washington in, 158n; Western territories and, 309n American Temperance Union, 100n, 194n American Tract Society: abolitionists and, 37n, 557, 577; supporters of, 83n American Union, The (Spence), 434n American Wesleyan (Syracuse, N.Y.), 559 Americo-Liberians, 183–84n Amherst College, 141nn, 342n, 506n Amherstburg, Ont., 19n, 67n Amistad case: 65n, 123n, 163n, Anderson, A. M., 177 Anderson, Alfred J., 570 Anderson, Elijah, 571 Anderson, George A., 589 Anderson, Mary Jane, 571 Anderson, Osborne P., 294n

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INDEX Anderson, Robert, 400n, 423n Anderson, Thomas, 538 Anderson (S.C.) Gazette, 97n Andover, Conn., 319n Andover, Mass.: Douglass visits, 17n Andover, Ohio, 73n Andover Theological Seminary, 115n, 284n, 305n, 330n, 483n Andrew, John, xxxi Andrew, John A., xxxi, 388–89n; as governor, 204n, 316n, 387n, 425n, 426; recruits blacks for army, 386, 387nn, 394n, 403n, 407n, 453n Andrew Jackson (ship), 141n Anglesey County, Wales, 142n Anglo African Magazine (New York City), 7n animal rights, 323n Annals of the American Pulpit (Sprague), 319n Annapolis, Md., 170n; churches of, 474n; Civil War and, 406n, 470n Anne Arundel County, Md., 170n “Anniversary Week” (New York City), 78n Anoka, Minn., 341n Anthony, Aaron: death of, 487–88nn; family of, 169n, 488n; slaves of, 52n, 487–88nn Anthony, Andrew Skinner, 167, 169n, 488n Anthony, Daniel, 372n Anthony, John P., 488n Anthony, Lucretia. See Auld, Lucretia Anthony Anthony, Susan B., 235n; as abolitionist, 329; American Woman Suffrage Association and, 166n; as author, 165n; John Brown memorialized by, 284–85nn; Douglass supports, xxxiii; Douglass writes, 31–20; family of, 235n, 371, 372n; Rochester and, xxxiii, 371n; as teacher, xlviii; writes Douglass, 319 Anti-Corn Law movement, 207n, Antietam, Md., Battle of, 372n, 394nn, 403n, 473n antiextensionism: abolitionist critics of, 190; abolitionist support of, 539, 561; Free Soil party endorses, 309n; Northern whites support, xxiii; Republican party and, 188n, 192–93nn, 196, 259, 308, 561, 565 Antilles, 221, 224n Anti-Masonic party, 26n, 121n, 158n, 194n, 319n Antioch College, 65n antisabbatarianism, 77n, 125n, 539 Anti- Slavery Bugle (New Lisbon, Ohio), 60n Anti- Slavery Harp, The (Brown), 287n Anti-Slavery Ladies of Skaneateles, N.Y., 509

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 609

609 “Anti-Slavery Movement, The” (Douglass), 128n, 130, 130n Anti-Slavery Society of Canada, 4n, Anti-Slavery Society of Chicago, 222n Anti-Slavery Society of Windsor, 5n Apology (Tertullian), 40n Appalachian Mountains, 59n, 226n, Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans, An (Child), 492n Appeal to the Religion, Justice, Humanity of the Inhabitants of the British Empire on the behalf of the Slaves of the West Indies (Wilberforce), 124n Appomattox Courthouse, Va., 407n, 479n Arapaho County, Colo., 22n Arctic (ship), 535 Ardericca, 207n Argus of Western America (Frankfort, Ky.), 349n Arkansas, 446n Army Life in a Black Regiment (Higginson), 312n Army of Northern Virginia: naming of, 393n; in Peninsula campaign, 392–94nn; surrender of, 479n; victories of, 381n Army of the Cumberland, 423n Army of the Ohio, 423n Army of the Potomac: battles of, 393–95nn; commanders of, 381n, 468n; officers of, 440n; second corps of, 473n Arnold, A. E., 515 Arnold, Isaac N., 467n Arnold, Mary Penrose, 298n Arnold, Thomas, 295, 298n Arthur, Chester, 264n Ashley, James M., 470n Ashtabula, Ohio, 147n Asia Minor, 221n Assembly Building (Philadelphia), 221n Assing, Assur David, 230n Assing, Ludmilla, 230n Assing, Ottilie, 230; befriends Douglass’s children, xxxii, 247, 428n; as correspondent, 230n, 249n; defends Douglass, 228–30; Douglass meets, xxviii; Rosetta Douglass writes, 283, 345; friends of, 485n; as governess, 249n; Martha W. Greene and, 321n; intimacy with Douglass, 230n, 248n, 484; resides in New Jersey, 485n; writes to Douglass, xxv, 228–31; writes to Rosetta Douglass, 283; writes introduction for My Bondage and My Freedom, 230n

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610 Assing, Rosa Maria Antoinette Pauline, 230n Associated Press, 122n Association for the Political Improvement of the People of Color (New York State), 108n Astor, John Jacob, 274n Astor Place Opera House (New York City), 71n Atchison, David Rice, 152, 155n Atchison, Kans., 155n Atlanta, Ga., 461, 464n Atlantic Ocean, 83n, 122n, 133, 136–37, 142n, 224n Attucks, Crispus, 103n “Auburn,” writes to Douglass, 195–97 Auburn, N.Y., 109, 313; conventions in, 110n, 184n, 513; free blacks in, 386 Auburn Prison, 313n Auburn Theological Seminary, 158n Augusta, Alexander, 472n Auld, Amanda. See Sears, Amanda Auld Auld, Ann Elizabeth, 276n Auld, Ann Harper, 485, 488n Auld, Benjamin Franklin, 276n, 277n Auld, Edward H., 276n Auld, Hugh, Jr., 275n; children of, 275; death of, 491, 492n; Douglass resides with, 275–76nn; Douglass writes, xxx, 275–77; manumits Douglass, 275n, 375n; Narrative describes, 275n; owns Douglass, 275, 275–75n; as ship carpenter, 275n Auld, Hugh, Sr., 169n Auld, Hugh William, 276n Auld, James, 488n Auld, Lucretia Anthony, 169–70n, 276n Auld, Rebecca, 486, 488n Auld, Rowena Hambleton, 276n Auld, Sarah, 486, 488n Auld, Sarah E. Battee, 486, 488n Auld, Sophia Keithley, 276–77n; Douglass resides with, 275, 276n; as mother, 276n Auld, Thomas, 169–70n; as captain, 169n; children of, 276n; as Douglass’s owner, 167n, 170n, 300n; family of, 169n; manumits his slaves, 268–69, 488n; as Methodist, 268; resides in St. Michaels, 486; slaves of, 487–88nn; wives of, 488n; reunions with Douglass, 491, 492–93n Auld, Tommy, 276n Auld, Zipporah, 169n “Auld Lang Syne” (song), 400–401n “Aunt Katy,” 161n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 610

INDEX Australia, 539, 557 Austro-Hungarian Empire: revolutions in, 62n, 204n, 530; tyrannical government of, 67; U.S. and, 62–63n, 204n, 265n Autographs for Freedom: Douglass writes for, xxvii; Julia Griffiths edits, xxvii; praise for, 523, sales of, 508, 523 Avery College, 18n Avondale, Pa., 5–6n , 504n Ayr, Scot., 564 Babylon, 262n Bach, Johann Sebastian, 227n Bacon, Reuben, 400n Bacon, Sarah Clark, 400n Bailey, Abram, 364n Bailey, Betsey, 170n; Indian ancestry of, 485, 488n; raises Douglass, 52n Bailey, Eliza, 487n; Douglass and, xxxii; Lewis H. Douglas visits, 485–87; reunion with, 469, 470n, 487n, 491, 493n Bailey, Gamaliel, 207n Bailey, Harriet (Douglass’s mother), 487–88nn Bailey, Henny, IV, 487n Bailey, Henry, 488–89n Bailey, Isaac, 170n Bailey, Kitty, 485, 487n Bailey, Maria, 488n Bailey, Milly, 488n Bailey, Nathan, 487n Bailey, Perry, 486, 488n Bailey, Rebecca, 364n Bailey, Sam, 487n Bailey, Tom, 486, 488n Baines, Edward, 377, 378n Baines, Frederick, 378n Baldwin, Henry, 542 Baldwin, Jesse G., 106n Balin, John, 108n Balkans, 141n Ballou, Adin, 68n Balmoral Castle, Scot., 574 Baltimore, Md.: abolitionists in, 5n, 130, 131n, 506n; churches of, 50n, 102n, 530; Civil War and, 441n; colonizationists in, 530; Douglass speaks in, 468, 470n, 476–77, 477n, 487n, 504n, 505, 506n; Douglass visits, xxxii– xxxiii, 232n, 491, 493n, 603; free blacks in, 50n, 143n, 345–46n; freedmen’s aid work in, 483n; Know-Nothing party in, 467n;

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INDEX Lincoln speaks in, 445n; merchants in, 170n, 269n; political conventions in, 97n; Quakers in, 506n; Republican party in, 474n, 506n; schools in, xxxiii, 167, 451n, 505, 506n; ship building in, 275, 275–76nn; slave escapes from, 46, 143n, 221n, 232n, 269n, 276n, 491, 492n; slaves in, 221n, 232n, 275n; Whig party in, 474n, 506n Baltimore (ship), 276n Baltimore American, 505, 506n Baltimore National Leader, 201n Bangor, Me., 173n; Douglass speaks in, 177 Bangor Theological Seminary, 340n Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss, 94, 99–100n, 442 Banneker, Benjamin, 351, 357n Banneker Institute (Philadelphia), 411n Baptist Church: abolitionists in, 197n, 297n, 541; in Massachusetts, 518; missionaries of, 518; in New York, 297n; seminaries of, 99n; slaves as members, 83n Barbados, 224n Barnes, Aaron, 189n, 293n, 450n Barnes, Anna Mott Cornell, 292, 292n, 447, 450n, 596 Barnes, Samuel, 188, 189n Barnsley, Eng., 250, 252n Barnsley Naturalists’ Society, 253n Barnum, P. T., 37n, 553 Barrett, Samuel H., 108n Barry, Francis: writes to Douglass, 513, 525 Bates, Abner, 6–7, 6n Baton Rouge, La., 98n Battle of the Crater, Va., 447, 450–51n Beacham, James, 276n Beacham & Brothers (Baltimore, Md.), 275, 276n Beaufort County, S.C., 370n Beauregard, Pierre G. T., 451n Bedford, Mass.: abolitionists in, 394, 398n; Douglass speaks in, 401n; Town Hall of, 396, 400n Bedford, N.Y., 240n Bedford College for Ladies (London, England), 297n Beecher, Henry Ward, 135, 141n, 526; as lecturer, 247, 249n, 462; New York Independent edited by, 14n, 223n, 332, 333n; sermons by, 205, 206n; Theodore Tilton’s charges against, 332n, 465n Beecher, Lyman, 72n, 141n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 611

611 Beecher family, 17n, 72n, 141n Belfast, Ire., 67n, 283n Belfast Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, 254n, 282n Belgium: African colonies of, 358n; imports from Liberia, 339n Bell, John, 40n, 474n, Bellbrook, Ohio, 174n Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison (Boyd), 451n Beltaine, 238 Beman, Amos Gerry, 101–02n; abolitionist activity of, 554–55; Douglass writes, 102–03, 157, 158n; writes to Douglass, 101–02, 532–35; Underground Railroad and, 553 Beman, Jehiel C., 101n, 106n: Douglass writes, 105–06 Benson, Stephen Allen, 338, 339n Benton, Thomas Hart, 76, 77n, 100; family of, 194n; Missouri opponents of, 155n; Gerrit Smith praises, 95 Bermuda, 59n, 67n, 408n Bermuda Hundreds, Va., xxxii, 407n, 429n, 440n, 453n Berry, John D., 551–52 Berwick, Me., 172n Berwick-on-Tweed, Scot., 302n, 575 Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Baltimore, Md.), Douglass speaks in, 470n Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Philadelphia), 222n, 389n, 411n Bethesda Methodist Chapel (Hanley, Eng.), 451n Bias, James J. Gould, 44n, 50n, 108n: defends Douglass, 219, 223n; invites Douglass to speak, 117 Bibb, Henry, 4n; in Canada, 4n, 51n, 246n; death of, 531; as editor, 34n, 51n, 246; leads fugitive slaves, 1, 4n; visits Great Britain, 300n; as slave, 162n; wives of, 5n, 162n Bibb, Mary E., 5n Bibb, Mary Frances, 4n Bibb, Melinda, 1, 4n Bible: Acts, 87n; Daniel, 24n, 262n; denied to slaves, 334; Eve in, 255n; Exodus, 87n, 161n, 399–400nn, 446n; Galatians, 399n; Genesis, 160n, 255n, 336, 399n; Hebrews, 83n, 221n, 331n; Isaiah, 53n, 152n, 291n; Job, 152n, 228n; John, 96n, 235; Joshua, 19n; 1 Kings, 376n; Luke, 31n, 97n, 110n, 235n, 263n; Mark, 28, 29n, 97n, 235n, 399n; Matthew,

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612 Bible (continued) 28, 29n, 72n, 97n, 110n, 235n, 263n, 271n; Micah, 40n; Nehemiah, 72n; Pentecost described in, 487n; 1 Peter, 124n, 127n; Philemon, 300n; Proverbs, 205n; Psalms, 221n, 263n; Revelations, 221n, 263n; Romans, 200n, 205n; Samuel, 96n; slavery opposed by, 580; ten “lost tribes” in, 323n Big Spring, Kans., 147, 148–49nn, 153, 156n Bill of Rights, 23, 24n Billings, J. W., 538 Billings, William, 238n Biography of an American Bondsman (Brown), 364n Bird, Mark Baker, 520 Birkenhead, Eng., 128–29, 432 Birmingham, Eng.: abolitionists in, 203–04n, 291n, 447, 450n, 536; Douglass visits, 203–04n; temperance movement in, 203n Birmingham Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, 450n Birmingham Ladies’ Negroes’ Friend Society, 203n, 447, 450n Birney, James G., 72n, 140n Bishop, William, 526 Black, E., 108n Black Ball Line, 139n, 141n Black Code of the District of Columbia, The (Snethen), 506n Black Laws, 23, 24n, 56n, 111n, 510–11, 540, 568, 570 “Black Man’s Future in the Southern States, The” (Douglass), 328, 329n Black River (New York), 110n Black Sea, 141n, 191n Blackmarr, Richard, 558–59 Blair, Francis P., 349n Blair, Montgomery, 349–50; advocates colonization, xxxi, 348–49, 370; Douglass writes, 350–57, 367, 369n, 370; as postmaster general, 350n; writes Douglass, 348–49, 350, 357n, 370 Blake, William, 450n Blake (Delany), 21n Blanchard, Jonathan, 161n Bliss, Asher, 544 Bliss, Cynthia Potter, 161n: writes to Douglass, 160–62 Bliss, Howard Clarkson, 161n “Bloody Assizes” (Eng.), 9n Bloomer, Amelia, 235n, 512, 516

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 612

INDEX Bloomfield, Moses, 560 Bloss, William C., 6, 6n “Blow the Man Down” (song), 141n Bolton, Eng., 577 Bond, Hugh Lenox, 483n Bond of Brotherhood (London): Elihu Burritt and, 291n; Douglass writes, 288–91 Bonner, James D., 531–32, 540, 553, 556 Book of Common Prayer, 332n Booker, John, 103n Booth, John Wilkes, 479–80nn “Border Ruffians,” 155n Border States: Confederate sympathizers in, 497n; Democratic party in, 464n; emancipation in, 328–29n Borg, J. Delphinia, 604 Borwick, Janet, 329, 330n Borwick, William Broadfoot, 330n Boston, Uriah, 27n, 151n: free blacks and, 546, 552, 556; writes to Douglass, 26–27, 149–52, 515–16, 539; views U.S. Constitution as antislavery, 553 Boston, Mass., 5n, 42n, 164n, 399n, 547: abolitionists in, xxx–xxxi, 4–5n, 10n, 43n, 60n, 77n, 83n, 143–144n, 157, 158n, 179n, 304; 312n, 314, 315n, 317n, 328, 386, 407n, 453n, 543, 548, 561; antiabolition mobs in, xxx, 167n; British abolitionists visit, 129n; churches of, 10n, 144n, 179n, 316n, 453n; Civil War and, 324n, 402, 404n, 424–25; courts of, 83n; Douglass in, xxx–xxxi, 43n, 320, 321n, 328, 329n, 371n, 428, 551; elections in, 522; free blacks in, 18n, 83n, 103n, 127n, 179n, 246n, 315n, 364n, 424, 426, 427n, 453n, 522, 546, 552–53, 574; Free Soil party in, 388n; fugitive slaves in, 4n, 83n, 159n, 179n, 543; German Americans in, 495n; lawyers in, 204n, 388n; merchants in, 37n, 315n, 407n, 427n, 453n; mobs in, 314, 315–16nn; newspapers of, 5n, 37n, 41, 43n, 49n, 60n, 77n, 103n, 106n, 115n, 125n, 185n, 214n, 235n, 296n, 303n, 311–12, 312n, 314–15, 315–16nn, 336n, 396, 427n, 456, 467n, 505, 506n, 541; police of, 316n; racism in, 103n, 396; Republican party in, 388n; schools of, 103n, 546; suburbs of, 398n; temperance movement in, 547–48; Underground Railroad in, 179n, 453n Boston Commonwealth, 505, 506n Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society: Maria W. Chapman and, 43n; bazaars of, 143n, 317n

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INDEX Boston Latin School, 399n Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 485n Boston Post, 315, 315n Boston Traveller, 315, 315n Boswick, Janet G., 594 bounties, 451–52, 453n Bowdoin College, 18n, 61n, 269, 326n, 330n, 388n Bowe, O. A., 516 Bowering, John, 206, 207n Bowers, David, 108n Bowers, John C., 108n, 547 Boyd, Belle, 448, 451n Boyd, Linn, 98n Boyd, Mary, 451n Boyd, Reed, 451n Bradford, William, 336n Bradford, Eng., 298n Bradley, George, 375n Brazil: free blacks of, 354, 427n, 517; navy of, 276n; slavery in, 190, 359, 517; U.S. relations with, 280n Brazos County, Tex., 488n Breckinridge, John C., 80n, 94, 97–98n: Bremer, Frederika, 133, 140n Brice’s Crossroads, Va., Battle of, 383n Bridge, Watson Wilberforce, 426, 427n Bridgeport, Conn., 83n, 533 Bridgewater, Eng., 129n, 323n Briggs, J. J., 565 Brighton, Eng., 573 Brimfield, Mass., 81n Bristol, Eng., 129n, 374, 435n, 447, 578 Bristol, Me., 7n, 294n Bristol Channel, 138 Bristol College, Eng., 129n Bristol County, Mass., 364n British-American Dawn Institute, Ont., 19n British and Foreign Anti- Slavery Reporter (London), 232n British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society: contributors to, 330n; members of, 207n, 232n, 300n; supports Union cause, 594 British Columbia, 589 British Methodist Episcopal Church, 51n British West India, 179n Broadway Tabernacle (New York City), 25n, 79n, 144n Brockport, N.Y., 177, 178n Brontë, Charlotte, 573 Brook Farm (West Roxbury, Mass.), 399n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 613

613 Brookfield, Mass, 603 Brookfield, N.Y., 558 Brookline, Mass., 440n Brooklyn, Conn., 158n Brooklyn, N.Y.: abolitionists in, 122–23, 164, 199–200, 205–06, 460–64, 509, 513; churches of, 141n, 465n, 525; Douglass speaks in, 239, 493n; free blacks in, 86–87n, 224n, 509, 513, 527–28, 534, 540, 553; lawyers in, 280n; merchants in, 385n; Methodists in, 385n; newspapers in, 36n, 537; Republican party in, 385n; schools in, 465n, 496n, 534; temperance movement in, 385n; Williamsburg in, 239, 240n Brooklyn Advertiser, 537 Brooklyn Circular, 36n Brooklyn Female Seminary, 465n Brooklyn Library Association, 539–40 Brooks, Erastus, 120, 121n Brooks, Henry, 515 Brooks, Noah, 497n Brooks, Preston, 204n; assaults Charles Sumner, 181n, 204n, 301n, 562; duels with Anson Burlingame, 204n; duels with Louis Wigfall, 204n Brooks brothers, 121n Brotherhood of Thieves; or, A True Picture of the American Church Clergy, The (Foster), 306n Brougham, Lord Henry Peter, 306, 307n, 338, 339n Brown, Albro S.: opposes nativism, 544; writes to Douglass, 508, 540 Brown, Anna M., 363n Brown, Benjamin Gratz, 471, 473n Brown, Clarissa, 364n Brown, David P., 570 Brown, Emma V., 442, 444n Brown, Erastus F., 553 Brown, Esau, 293n Brown, John, Sr., 39n; biographies of, 302n; in Canada, 52n, 86n; children of, 224n; compared to Oliver Cromwell, 285; Douglass eulogizes, 301–02; Douglass recruits for, 404n; Douglass supports, 277–29; Douglass visits, xxx, 111n, 224, 225n; Douglass writes, xxiv, 200–201, 281, 575; execution of, 224n, 283, 284n, 288n, 292, 293n; French support for, 589; free blacks’ support for, 22n, 50n, 56n, 86n, 111n, 382n; Garrisonians criticize, 294– 95, 296n; Garrisonians praise, 315, 316n;

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614 Brown, John, Sr. (continued) Harpers Ferry Raid and, xxix, 2n, 39n, 86n, 191n, 216n, 224n, 277–79, 281, 293n, 294–95, 296n, 302, 307n, 312n, 350n, 367, 404n; in Iowa, 293n; in Kansas Territory, xxiv, 39n, 147n, 224n, 244n, 302n; memorialization of, xxx, 283, 284–85nn, 388; photograph of, xxxv; Pottawatomie Creek massacre and, 147n; racism opposed by, 537; Radical Abolitionist party and, xxviii, 144n; slaves freed by, 22n, 250n, 294n; Gerrit Smith and, xxviii, 2n, 216n, 249–50n, 403–04nn; violent tactics advocated by, xxiv, 39n, 250n, 556; trail of, 350n, 586; Harriet Tubman and, 226, 226n; visits Douglass, xxix, 200, 200n, 224, 225n; writes to children, 225n; writes to Douglass, xxiv, 38–40, 69–72, 226–27, 556; writes to wife, 224, 225n, 283 Brown, John, Jr., 147n: in free state movement, 148n, 561; in Kansas Territory, 145–47, 147–48nn; Pottawatomie Creek massacre and, 147n; writes to Douglass, 145–49 Brown, Josephine, 364n Brown, Joshua, 108n Brown, Mary Anne Day, 225n; Douglass writes, 224–25; John Brown writes, 283 Brown, Michael, 571 Brown, Norma, xxvi Brown, Oliver, 225n Brown, Ruth, 225n Brown, Tacy, 363n Brown, Watson, 225n Brown, William Wells, 127n; as abolitionist, 115–16nn, 287n, 536, 585; criticized by Douglass, 126; emigration opposed by, 533; family of, 364n; in Great Britain, 126, 127n, 364n; writes to Douglass, 125–27 Brown University, 121n Browne, Mary, 323n Browne, Mary Osler, 433, 435n Browne, William, 323n Brownlow, William G., 193n Brownson, Orestes A., 329n Brutus (character), 240n Bryant, William Cullen, 515 Buchanan, George, 518 Buchanan, James: appointments by, 98–99nn; feuds with Stephen A. Douglas, 575–76; political allies of, 223n; as presidential candidate, 62n, 194n, 201n, 568; responds to Harpers Ferry Raid, 279

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 614

INDEX Buchanan, Thomas, 338n Bucknell, Saley Ann, 282n, 324n Bucktails, 309n Bucktown, Md., 226n Buell & Blanchard, 79n Buffalo, N.Y.: abolitionists in, 119n, 454n, 526, 573, 580; businesses in, 110n; churches in, 119n; Douglass visits, 49n, 385n, 386; free blacks in, 18n, 44–49, 49–51nn, 118–19, 119n, 364n, 386, 454n, 526; Free Soil party convention in, 72n; Underground Railroad in, 118, 119n; Union army recruits from, 386, 403n; Whig party in, 97n Buffum, Arnold, 299n Bull, William M., 221n Bull Run, Va., Second Battle of, 393n Bunker Hill (Boston), 23n, 158n Burdick, Asher, 550 Bureau County, Ill., 161n Burleigh, Charles C. 60n, 77n, 551 Burleigh, Cyrus M., 60n Burleigh, William H., 78n, 516 Burley, William H., 108n Burlingame, Anson, 155n, 204n Burlingame, Kans., 155n Burlingame Treaty, 204n Burlington, N.J., 110n Burns, Anthony, 83n; manumission of, 179n; rendition of, 81, 179n, 543; rescue attempted of, 546 Burns, Robert: Julia Griffiths praises, 564; poetry of, 401n Burnside, Ambrose E., 381n, 394n Burr, Ebenezer, 582 Burritt, Elihu, 291n; as abolitionist, 75n; advocates compensated emancipation, 75n, 215; Douglass writes, 288–91; edits Bond of Brotherhood, 288–89; condemns Harpers Ferry Raid, 291; pacifism of, 291n Burrows, Lorenzo, 272 Burton, Thomas C., 108n Bush, Eliot N., 382, 383n Busteed, Richard, 598 Bustill, Charles, 108n Butler, Andrew P. 204n Butler, Benjamin: Bermuda Hundreds campaign of, 438, 439–40nn, 446; coins term “contraband,” 371n, 430n; as commander in Louisiana, 394; raises black units, 394n Butts, Isaac, 234n; Douglass writes, 233–36 Buxton, Thomas Fowell, 298n

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INDEX Byron, Lord: home of, 568, 574; quoted, 54n, 136, 139n, 142n, 191n, 388n Cade, A., 592 Cady, Nathan S., 116, 117–18n Caesar, Julius, 240n, 383n Cain, Richard Henry, 526 Cairnes, John Elliot, 376n; writes to Douglass, 379–80 Calais, Fr., 364n Caldwell, Asa A., 509, 511 Calhoun, John Caldwell, 142n, 360n; attacks free black rights, 354, 359n; favors secession, 355, 360n; as secretary of war, 360nn; as vice president, 309n California: anti-Chinese immigrant sentiment in, 454, 546; churches in, 36n; Democratic party in, 156n; free blacks in, 48, 532, 534, 548, 552, 556–57, 560; legislature of, 543; nativism in, 454; newspapers of, 546; proslaveryism in, 564; statehood of, 194n Calkins, Leonard G., 518 calomel, 30, 31n Calvert County, Md., 221n Cambridge, Eng., 9n Cambridge, Mass., 312n, 364n Cambridge University (Cambridge, Eng.), 9n Cambridgeport Diary Company, 178n Cameron, Simon, 404n Camp Delaware (Ohio), 54n Camp William Penn, 409, 410n; black recruits trained at, 411n, 422n; Douglass visits, 411n Campbell, Anthony, 222n Campbell, Catherine, 222n Campbell, Israel, 566 Campbell, Jabez Pitt, 108n, 218, 222n, 389n, 565 Campbell, Mary Ann, 222n Campbell, Robert, 220, 224n, 579 Campbell Army Hospital, Washington, D.C., 472nn Campton, John, 515 Campton, Me., 340n Canada, 25, 427n; abolitionists in, 3n, 65–67, 67–68n, 304n, 530, 590; churches in, 51n, 67n; Confederates in, 97–98n, 464n; Douglass visits, xxx, 216, 217n, 281, 297n; free blacks in, 3–5nn, 13, 19n, 21n, 39–40nn, 47, 51n, 56n, 83n, 86n, 145n, 216, 217n, 245–46nn, 305n, 330n, 334–35, 340, 382n, 387n, 512, 515, 533, 545, 561–62, 574–75,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 615

615 589; fugitive slaves in, 1, 4, 4–5nn, 19n, 39, 39–40nn, 51n, 119, 127n, 215, 226, 226n, 267, 268n, 292, 508, 543, 557, 561–62, 564, 574– 75, 581–82, 590, 592, 596, 598; Methodists in, 282n; missionaries in, 282n; newspapers in, 4n, 51–52nn; Presbyterian Church in, 67n; racism in, 19n, 51n, 216, 217n; temperance movement in, 562, 564; trade with the U.S., 556; Underground Railroad in, 22n, 39n, 51n, 111n, 119, 127n, 226n, 564; Union army recruits from, 387n, 403n Canada West. See Ontario Canajoharie, N.Y., 235n Canandaigua, N.Y., 39, 215n, 515 Canastota, N.Y., 116, 118n, 537 Candlish, Robert, 50n Canonsburg, Pa., 50n Canterbury, N.H. 306n Canterbury Tales (Chaucer), 379n “Canzone” (Dante), 40n Cape Clear, Ire., 138, 142n Cape Cod, Mass., 336n Cape Palmas, Africa, 269n capital punishment: abolitionists and, 6n, 10n, 78n, 234; Douglass opposes, xxix, 233–34, 235n; opposition to, xxix, 10n, 233–34, 235n, 537, 579 Caribbean Sea, 224n Carlisle, Pa., 50n, 58n, 294n, 483n Carlyle, Thomas: quoted, 280n, 531 Caroline County, Md., 167, 170–71nn, 368n Carpenter, Lant, 129n Carpenter, Mary, 602 Carpenter, Mary Browne, 323n; as abolitionist, 435n, 447, 450n, 594; contributes to Douglass’ Monthly, 322, 378, 379n, 598, 601; Douglass writes, 441–43, 443n; freedmen’s aid and, 600; writes to Douglass, 431–33 Carpenter, Phillip P., 597–98 Carpenter, Russell Lant, 129n; as abolitionist, 323n, 432, 435n, 590; as Douglass friend, 295, 601; writes to Douglass, 128–29, 589 Carroll, Charles, 3n Carrollton, Mo., 155n Carter, Artemas, 528 Cary, Isaac N., 5n Cary, Mary Ann Camberton Shadd. See Shadd, Mary Ann Camberton Cary, Thomas Fauntleroy, 4n Case, A. F., 557 Cash, John, 317

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616 Cash, Joseph, 317n Cash, Mary Ann, 316, 317n Cash, Sarah Southam, 317n; Douglass writes, 316–17 Cass, Lewis, 76n, 525 Casson, James M., 167, 170n Castile, N.Y., 541 Castleton, Vt., 158 Catholic Emancipation Bill, 375n Catlin, Henry, 31n, 518 Catlin, James, 30–31n; writes to Douglass, xxiii, 29–31 Catskills, N.Y., 555 Cedar Hill, Washington, D.C. 477n Cedarville, Ohio, 174n Central America: emigration to, 46–47, 49n, 56n, 334–35, 348–57, 367, 369n, 472n. See also Haiti; Jamaica; Nicaragua Central Hall, Portland, Me., 211n Central Reformer (McGrawville, N.Y.), 192, 193n Centre College (Danville, Ky.), 97n, 99n Centreville Courthourse, Va., 17, 21n, 393n Cervantes, Miguel de, 191n Chambersburg, Pa., xxx, 21n, 280n Champlain County, N.Y., 156n Chancellorsville, Va., Battle of, 394n Chandler, John Ripley, 94, 98n, 527 Channing, Francis Dana, 399n Channing, Julia Allen, 399n Channing, Susan Higginson, 399n Channing, William Ellery, 399n Channing, William H., 396, 399n Chapen, William D., 108n Chapin’s Hall (Cleveland, Ohio), 174n Chaplin Bail Fund, 509, 514 Chapman, Henry Grafton, 43n. See Chapman, Maria Weston Chapman, Maria Weston, 41–42, 43n Chapman, William Williams, 32n; opposes National Convention of Colored People, 31–32; writes to Douglass, 31–32, 529, 538 Character and Logical Method of Political Economy, The (Cairnes), 376n Charles II (Eng.), 9n, 449n Charles City County, Va., 440n Charleston, S.C., xxxii, 97n, 222n, 370n; in Civil War, 400n, 405–06, 406–08nn, 414, 415n, 453n; freedpeople in, 444n; prisons in, 415n; schools in, 444n; slaves in, 293n; Union capture of, 477n Charleston College, 194n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 616

INDEX Charleston Mercury, 359n Charlestown, Mass., 178n Charlestown, Va., 288n Chartism, 298n Chase, Charles H., 603 Chase, Salmon P., 72n, 76n, 169n, 476n, 523– 34; as abolitionist, 443, 552; as chief justice, 468, 468n, 470n; family of, 452n; as lawyer, 72, 92; opposes Kansas-Nebraska Act, 72, 96n; rival with Lincoln for presidency, 419n, 446n, 467n; Gerrit Smith praises 92, 174–75, 176n; as secretary of treasury, 443, 446–47n, 467–68n Chase, William M., 76n Chatham, Ohio, 81n Chatham, Ont., 21n, 52n Chautauqua County, N.Y., 538 Chauveau, Jean Fresne, 428n, 504, 504n Cheever, George Barrell, 330n; as abolitionist, 332n, 592; Douglass writes, 329–30; writes Douglass, 329 Cheever, Henry, 330n Chesapeake Bay, 357n, 453n; Douglass describes, 514; slavery in region of, 171n Chester, Conn., 106n Chester County, Pa.: Douglass speaks in, 504, 504n Chicago, Ill.: abolitionists in, 222n, 226, 249n, 373n, 517, 531; conventions in, 461, 463, 517; Democratic party in, 534, 586; Douglass lectures in, 247, 249n, 382n, 385n; economic prospects of, 553; fire in, 56n; free blacks in, 22n, 55, 56n, 249n, 373n, 381–82, 382n, 454n, 514, 517, 523; Irish Americans in, 596; newspapers of, 55, 503n, 583; Underground Railroad in, 222n, 373n Chicago Daily Tribune, 55, 503n Child, David Lee, 492n Child, Lydia Maria, 492n; Douglass writes, 491–92 Chillicothe, Ohio, 57n China: dynasties of, 358n, 569; geography of, 358; immigrants from, 35, 36n, 454; nicknames for, 353; religions of, 358n; silk from, 358n; tea from, 358; trees of, 71n; U.S. relations with, 294n Chiriqui Province, Panama, 342n Choptank River, Md., 52n Christian Citizen (Worcester, Mass.), 291n Christian Herald (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 51n Christian Recorder (Philadelphia), 51n, 222n Christian Union (New York City), 141n

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INDEX Christianity: persecution of, 40n; racism in, 35; slavery and, 542 Church Anti-Slavery Society, 58n, 330n Church of England: abolitionists in, 322, 323n; British monarchy and, 24n; churches of, 573; Puritans oppose, 336n Church of the Pilgrims (New York City), 330n churches: abolitionists and, 6n, 10n, 266, 330n; abolitionists criticize, xxvii, 5n, 37n, 70, 330n, 482, 540, 558; African Americans and, 37n; antislavery and, 82; proslaveryism of, 412n, 514, 554, 563, 577, 582; racism in, 482–83 Cicero, N.Y., 165n Cincinnati, Ohio: abolitionists in, 72n, 76, 77n, 110n, 191n, 228n, 550, 552, 561, 579, 587; churches in, 77n; Douglass visits, 76, 77n, 134, 140n, 177; free blacks in, 52n, 228n, 249n, 368n, 552, 561; fugitive slaves in, 72n, 227, 227–28nn, 561; lawyers in, 72, 92, 319n; schools of, 228, 249n; socialists in, 249n; Underground Railroad in, 228n, 550, 561 City Point, Va., 407n, 437, 439n City Temperance Alliance (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 385n Civil Rights Act (1866), 148n, 326n, 360n Civil War, xxii, 18n, 42n; abolitionists and, 64n, 397, 411n, 596; Annapolis, Md., and, 406n, 470n; Baltimore, Md., and, 441n; battles of, 357n, 360n, 372, 380, 381n, 383n, 391, 393, 393–95nn, 403n, 405–06, 406– 09nn, 412n, 414, 415–16nn, 418n, 425–26nn, 429n, 438, 440–41nn, 443, 446, 446n, 447, 450–51n, 454n, 471n, 473n, 481, 595, 600; black soldiers in, xxiv, xxxi–xxxii, 19n, 21n, 127n, 204n, 248n, 342n, 380, 386, 387–88nn, 401n, 402, 403n, 415–16n, 424–27, 425n, 427n, 428, 428–29nn, 431, 440n, 443, 446n, 448, 452, 477n, 481, 481n, 597–600; Border States in, 97n; Boston and, 324n, 402, 404n, 424–25; casualties in, 357; Charleston, S.C., and, 400n, 405–06, 406–08nn, 414, 415n, 453n; conscription in, 412n; Democratic party and, 71–72n; Douglass recruits soldiers for, xxiv, 127n, 304–05n; draft riots in, 59n, 71–72n, 371n, 410; in fiction, 252n; in Florida, 402, 403n, 406n, 454n; in Georgia, 405, 406n, 453n, 461, 464n, 476–77nn; goals of, 596; Great Britain and, xxxi, 252n; Hilton Head, S.C., and, 370n, 404n, 405, 406n; in Illinois, 22n, 326n; in Kentucky, 372n, 423n; “Lost Cause” interpretation of,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 617

617 479n; in Louisiana, 98–100nn, 442n, 471n; military progress of, 333n; in Mississippi, 372n, 383n, 412n, 440n; in Missouri, 97n, 194n, 321n; Lucretia Mott during, 411n; in New Orleans, 98n, 379n; New York State and, 10n, 59n, 263n, 371n; in North Carolina, 306n; Ohio and, 54n; opposition to, 59n, 71–72n, 370, 462, 464n, 474n; pacifists oppose, 449; Pennsylvania and, 440n, prisoners in, xxiv, 413–14, 415n, 453n; reporters during, 302n; secession and, xxiv, xxxi, xxxi, 97–98n, 309n, 324n, 587, 602; slaves freed by, 99–100n; soldiers in, 121n, 194n; in South Carolina, xxiv, xxxi–xxxii, 369, 370n, 400–401nn, 403nn, 405, 406–07nn, 414–15, 415–16n, 418n, 427, 428n, 440n, 446n, 451n, 477n; in Tennessee, 98n, 423n; tobacco smoking during, 100n; Union victory in, 602; Unionists in, 97n, 483n, 506n; in Virginia, xxiv, xxxii, 98–99nn, 194n, 380, 381n, 392–95nn, 407n, 427n, 430n, 437–39, 439–41nn, 446n, 450–51n, 464n. See also individual military units Clark, Alexander, 571 Clark, Charles H., 233, 235n Clark, George W.: as antislavery singer, 231n; on politics, 579; as temperance advocate, 511, 521, 571 Clark, J. P., 538 Clark, Leander, 401n Clark, Myron H., 110n, 535 Clark, Peter Humphries, 247, 249n Clark, Reuben B., 395, 399n Clark, William, 249n Clarke, John, 249n Clarke, Molson M., 44, 50–51n Clarkson, Thomas, 123n Clarkson, Thomas (black), 518 Clarksville, N.Y., 116, 117n Clay, Claiborne, 464n Clay, Henry, 40n, 320n Claysville, N.J., 343, 345n, 362 Clermont County, Ohio, 140n Cleveland, Grover, 440n Cleveland, Ohio: abolitionist meetings in, 214, 215n, 573; churches of, 55n; Douglass speaks in, 174n; free blacks in, l, 47–48, 51n, 55n, 86n, 101, 103n, 525, 532; fugitive slaves in, 127n, 382n; lawyers in, 74n; newspapers of, 86n, 525; racism in, 47–48, 86n; dissident Republican convention in, 436, 436n; women’s rights convention in, 78n

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618 Cleveland Daily True Democrat, 86n Clifton Springs, N.Y.: Douglass speaks at, 319–20 Clinton, DeWitt, 309n Clinton, N.Y., 167 Clinton County, Ohio, 181 Clinton Liberal Institute, 165n Clockville, N.Y., 117n Clonmel, Ire., 254n Clotel; Or, The President’s Daughter: A Narrative of Slave Life in the United States (Brown), 127n Coates, Benjamin, 183n; colonization defended by, 567–69, 577; Douglass writes, 182–84; writes to Douglass, 182 Cochrane, John, 437n, 460n coffee, 337, 339n Coffin, Levi, 227, 227–28n, 587 Coffin, Vestal, 227n Coheco Manufacturing Company (Dover, N.H.), 173n Colder, Benjamin, 87n Colder, Mary Frances, 87n, 528 Cole, Asashel N., 559 Coleman, Lucy D., 271n Colfax, Schuyler, 265n College of South Carolina, 204n College of William and Mary, 324n Collins, James H., 531 Collins, John Anderson, 284n Colly, Daniel, 108n colonization: abolitionists oppose, 2n, 5n, 7n, 44n, 45, 182–84, 219, 355, 511, 517, 523–24, 530, 538, 541–42, 552, 570, 573, 587; British support for, 338, 339n; to Cape Palmas, 269n; to Central America, xxxi, 323–24, 341–42, 342n, 348–57; Henry Clay supports, 320n; Benjamin Coates defends, 567–69, 577; Douglass opposes, xxxi, 45, 182–83, 320n, 341–42; free blacks oppose, xxiii, 7n, 14, 45, 55, 59n, 333–35, 348–57, 535, 537, 573; free blacks support, xxiii, 18–19nn, 333, 342n, 568, 573; Thomas Jefferson supports, 348; to Liberia, 183; Lincoln’s support for, 381; Methodist Episcopal Church support for, 530; as missionary tool, 183; Samuel Clarke Pomeroy advocates, xxxi, 348; Quaker support for, 182–83; racism and, 183n; Southern support for, 91; supports slavery, 355; Gerrit Smith and, 325n, Harriet Beecher Stowe and, 17n, 513, 537; in Texas, 131n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 618

INDEX colonizationists: in Baltimore, Md., 530; in New York State, 338n, 510; in Syracuse, N.Y., 510 Colorado: free blacks in, 22n, 333–35, 225–26n; Republican party in, 22n Colored American (New York): agents of, 50n; correspondents of, 58n, 151n; Alexander Crummell and, 19; founding of, 7n; printers at, 59n Colored Citizen (Cincinnati), 52n Colored National Convention (Philadelphia, 1855): Douglass attends, xxviii; James McCune Smith attends, 241–42, 245n Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, 502n Colored National League, 454n Colored People’s Educational Monument Association, xxxiii, 493, 496n: Douglass opposes, 494–96, 498; William J. Wilson defends, 498–502, 502n Colored Vigilant Committee (Michigan), 51n Colquitt, Alfred H., 406n Columbia, 309n Columbia, Pa., 114n Columbia County, Ohio, 80n Columbia University, 7n, 169n, 265n, 319n, 324n Columbian College (George Washington University), 99n Columbiana County, N.Y., 309n Columbus, Ohio, 47–48; Douglass speaks in, 174n; free blacks in, 51n, 53n, 57n, 103n, 519, 533; racism in, 564 Colvin, Andrew J., 8, 10n Combination Act (Great Britain), 124n comeouterism, 6n, 128n, 222n Committee of Correspondence, 158n Committee of Thirteen (New York City), 59n, 336n, 496n “Communipaw.” See Smith, James McCune Compendium of the Fundamental Principles of Intermasonic Comity, A (Holly), 246–47n compensated emancipation, 74, 75n, 179n; Elihu Burritt supports, 75n, 215n; Garrison opposes, 214; Gerrit Smith advocates, 74, 75n, 214, 215n, 573; support for, 560; free blacks oppose, 565 Compromise of 1850: Henry Clay and, 42n, 320n; Democratic party and, 30, 31n, 309n; Millard Fillmore supports, 40n; Free Soil party opposes, 30, 31n, 65n, 72n; Winfield Scott and, 29n; William H. Seward opposes, 26n; territorial issue and, 31n; Daniel Web-

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INDEX ster supports, 40n; Whig party and, 31n, 40n, 42n, 194n Concert Hall (Philadelphia), 429n, 477n Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States, Politically Considered (Delany), 21n Confederate States of America: abolitionists criticize, 403n; army of, 97–100nn, 155n, 280n, 370n, 381n, 400n, 406–08nn, 461, 464n; Border States and, 97–98n; seeks British diplomatic recognition, xxxi, 26n, 324n, 381, 434n; congress of, 97–99nn, 324n; disenfranchisement of, 445–46n; Douglass praises valor of, 372; foreign agents of, 434n; free blacks in, 355; seeks French diplomatic recognition, 324n; “Lost Cause” ideology of, 479n; massacres black military prisoners, 415n, 440–41n; peace negotiations proposed by, 461, 464n, 470n; as prisoners, 429n, 441n, 445n, 453n; prisoners of, 408n, 413, 415n, 418n; popular support for, 467n; slave trade and, 310n; soldiers of, xxiv, xxxi, 440n, 451n; spies of, 448, 451n; surrender of, 388n, 476n, 479n; territory of, 387n. See also Davis, Jefferson Congregational Church: abolitionists and, 4n, 82, 83n, 158n, 164n, 330n, 546; in Connecticut, 101n, 556; free blacks in, 4n, 101–03nn, 546, 552–53; in Maine, 172n, 326n; in Massachusetts, 319n; in New York, 82, 83n, 115n, 141n, 158n, 238n, 319; in Ohio, 55n; ministers of, 4n, 82, 83n, 141n, 326n, 330n; missions of, 222n; racism in, 77n; Underground Railroad in, 553 Congregational Friends, 515 Congressional Globe (Washington, D.C.), 350n Connecticut: abolitionists in, 77n, 96n, 157, 546, 556–58; African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in, 106n; Congregational Church in, 101n, 556; Democratic party in, 576; Douglass speaks in, 177, 384, 385; free blacks in, 4n, 101, 101–102n, 101–03nn, 106n, 156–57, 157–58nn, 245n, 529, 534, 546, 552–53, 557; Free Soil party in, 96n; legislature of, 96n; militia of, 158n; Quakers in, 294n; Republican party in, 96n, 106, 430n, 558; suffrage movement in, 101n; temperance movement in, 96n, 101n, 106, 534; Underground Railroad in, 105–06, 106n; Union army units from, 406–07n; Whig party in, 96n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 619

619 Connecticut River, 106n conscription, 412n Considerations of the Use of the Productions of Slavery, Addressed to the Religious Society of Friends (Rhoads), 375–75n Constitutional Union party: John Bell and, 40n Continental Harmony, The (Billings), 238n Contraband Hospital, Washington, D.C., 471, 472–73nn Contraband Relief Association (Washington, D.C.), 249n; founding of, 434n; contributions to, 431, 434n, 443–44nn, 450n; Douglass addresses, 443–44nn. See also Ladies’ Freedmen and Soldiers’ Relief Association contrabands, 369, 371n, 372, Cook, John Edwin, 280n; denounces Douglass, 277, 280n; Douglass refutes, 281; execution of, 293n; as Harpers Ferry raider, 277, 280n Cook, John Francis, 490n; Douglass writes, 489–90; writes Douglass, 489; as minister, 444 Cook, Thomas, 601 Cookman, George, 168, 171n Cooper Institute (New York City): Douglass speaks in, 385n, 428, 429n, 482, 483n, 485n, 591; Garrison speaks in, 399n; Wendell Phillips speaks in, 400n Copeland, John A., 293n, 512 Copper, Isaac “Ike,” 488n “Copperheads,” 462, 464n, 471, 502n Coppoc, Barkley, 283, 285n Coppoc, Edwin, 285n, 293n Corinth, Miss., 372n Corinthian Hall (New York City), 333n Corinthian Hall (Rochester, N.Y.): 52n, 85n, 186, 235–36n; Douglass speaks in, 85n, 128n, 130n, 180n, 292, 428, 429n; John Brown memorialized at, 283, 284n; women’s rights convention in, 234 Cork, Ire.: abolitionists in, 89n; Douglass in, 89n, 324n Cork Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, 89n, 324n Cork Total Abstinence Society, 324n Corliss, Hiram, 509 Cornell, Mary Ann, 188, 189n Cornell, Sarah Mott, 450n Cornell, Silas, 450n Cornish, John C., 108n Cornish, N. H., 269n Cornish, Samuel, 18n

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620 Cornish, William, 122n Corona, N.Y., 248n Cosmopolite, 543, 552 cotton, 34, 97–98nn, 222n; from Africa, 183n, 579; blockaded during Civil War, 379n; British textile industry and, 267n, 327, 434–35nn, 579; Egypt grows, 379; free labor production of, 376n, 579; India grows, 379n; Mississippi grows, 98n; slaves grow, 275n; textile mills and, 99n, 267n, 372; in Tennessee, 474 Cotton Cultivation in Africa (Coates), 183n Council City, Kansas, 146, 155n County Cork, Ire., 142n County Donegal, Ire., 254n County Louth, Ire., 376n County Sligo, Ire., 254n County Tipperary, Ire., 254n Coventry, Eng., 316, 317–18nn, 571 Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital Committee, 318n Covey, Edward, 161n, 168 Cowen, Joseph, 375n Crandal, W. L.: writes to Douglass, 59–61, 522 “Creation” (hymn), 238n Creed, Cortland Van Rensselaer, 551 Creeks (tribe), 357n Creole (ship) slave revolt, xxvii, 96n “Crime against Kansas, The” (Sumner), 204n, 562 Crimean War, 134, 140n, 440n “Crisis, The,” (Douglass), 389n Crittenden Compromise, 97n Crofts, Elizabeth Ann, 252n, 324n, 449, 452n Crofts, Henry O., 282n, 478; as abolitionist, 282n, 322, 323n, 580; marries Julia Griffiths, 3n, 253n; as Methodist minister, 282n, 448; as missionary in Canada, 282n; hosts Douglass, 282, 293n, 295, 316n Crofts, Julia G. See Griffiths, Julia Crofts, Martha “Mattie” Nichol, 253n, 449, 452n Crofts, Saley, 253n Cromwell, Oliver, 285n, 530–31 Cropper, James, 268n Cropper, Margaret Denman, 232n; as abolitionist, 232n, 268n, 599; aids freedmen, 500, 600; Douglass writes, 231–32, 266–68, 543 Crosby, Clarkson Floyd, 120, 121n Crosby, John Schuyler, 121n Cross, Martin, 511, 555, 557

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 620

INDEX Crozier, James T., 566 Crummell, Alexander, 19n; Douglass praises, 19n; as emigration advocate, 337–38, 338n; as minister, 12; writes to Douglass, 337–38 Crusades, 208n Crystal Palace Exhibition (London), 37n Cuba, 224n; emancipation in, 53n; exConfederates in, 97–98n, 440n; filibusters and, 53n; free blacks in, 35; Great Britain and, 53n; slavery in, 47, 53n, 88, 178; U.S. attempted purchase of, 53n, 62n, 88n, 175, 535; U.S. occupation of, 440n Culpepper, Va., 99n Cummings Point, S.C., 407n Curacao, 115n Cutting, Francis B., 80n Daguerre, Louis J. M., 247n daguerreotypy, 247n Dana, Richard Henry, 83n Danbury, Conn., 568 Daniel (Biblical character), 262n Danvers, Mass., 158n, 188n Danville, Ky., 99n Danville, Pa., 533 Daoism, 358n Darien, Ga., 403n Darlington College, Eng., 375n Dartmouth Case (1816), 40n Dartmouth College, 64n, 306n, 325n Daughters of Temperance, 235n Davis, Andrew Jackson, 223n Davis, Henry Winter, 445n, 472, 474n Davis, James, 532 Davis, Jefferson, 413–14, 415n Davis, Thomas: as abolitionist, 75, 76n; as politician, 76n, 93n, 97n; Gerrit Smith praises, 93n, 103, 105n Davis, Thomas A., 164n Day, William H., 86n; attends black conventions, 33n; critics of, 528, 567; edits Aliened American, 54, 54–55nn, 84, 86n, 523, 525; as National Council member, 101–02, 102–03nn, 521, 531; Underground Railroad and, 589 Dayton, William, xxix Dayton, Ohio, 174n, 532–53 Dayton Bank, 81n Dayton Insurance Company, 81n Dayton & Western Railroad, 81n

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INDEX De l’éducation des mères de famille (Martin), 68n Dean, Sidney, 547 Debaptiste, George, 111n; writes Douglass, 111 Declaration of Independence: as antislavery document, 64, 185n, 533; Douglass quotes, 11, 18n, 185n; equal rights protected by, 22, 145–46; hypocrisy of, 136; Thomas Jefferson authors, 350n; quoted, 109, 110n, 136, 142n; signers of, 168, 170n Decordever, William, 108n Deep River, Conn., 106n Delaware (tribe), 294n Delaware, 419n; abolitionists in, 545; Democratic party in, 468n, 473–74n, 566; emancipation in, 328–29n; free blacks in, 4n, 50n, 222n, 411n; Republican party in, 566; slaves in, 222n; Underground Railroad in, 545; Union army recruits from, 411n Delaware River, 141n Delany, Martin R. 20n; black critics of, 86n, 107–08n; criticizes Harriet Beecher Stowe, 513; African emigration plans of, xxiii, 20–21, 21n, 44, 50n, 54–55, 55–56n, 86n, 224n; supporters of, 23n, 44, 49n, 50n, 53n, 55–56n, 224n; writes to Douglass, 20–22, 24n, 54–56, 512, 514 Delevan, Edward C., 193, 194n, 199n Delevan State Temperance Union of New York, 237n Delhi, N.Y., 274n Democratic party, 188n; abolitionists criticize, 460n; antiabolitionism of, 151–52n; in Chicago, 534, 586; Civil War and, 71–72n; Compromise of 1850 and, 30, 31n, 309n; in Congress, 62n, 80n, 274n, 474n; in Connecticut, 576; conventions of, 457–58, 459n; in Delaware, 468n, 473–74n, 566; Stephen A. Douglass and, 95n; Douglass criticizes, 259; freedmen and, 249n; William L. Garrison on, 260–61; German Americans and, 308, 310n, 359n; “Hunker” faction of, 371n; in Indiana, 146, 148n; Irish American support, 308; in Kansas, 155n; Kansas-Nebraska Act supported by, 31n, 62n, 75n, 76, 77n, 80n, 95n, 98n, 146, 148n, 155n, 309n, 525; in Kentucky, 80n, 97–98n, 97–99nn, 468n; Liberty party and, 2n; in Massachusetts, 42n, 265n; in Missouri, 77n, 97n, 473n; in New Haven, Conn., 576; in New Jersey, 468n, 566–67;

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 621

621 in New York, 2, 71n, 80n, 121n, 274n, 309n, 370, 371n, 566; in New York City, 71n, 80n, 474n, 516, 552; newspapers of, 223n, 315n; in Ohio, 156n, 404n; “Peace” faction of, 370, 462, 464n, 474n; in Pennsylvania, 76n, 149n, 223n; in Philadelphia, 223n; Franklin Pierce as, 62n, 156n; proslavery and, 28, 93–94, 259, 261–62; racism of, 24, 255; in Rhode Island, 93; in Rochester, N.Y., 234n; in South Carolina, 204n; states’ rights and, 62; in Syracuse, 525; temperance and, 310n; 553; temperance and, 553; in Tennessee, 98–99nn; union supported by, 151–52n; in Virginia, 99n, 280n, 440n; “War” faction of, 404n, 436–37nn, 464, 506n; in Wisconsin, 360n DeMortia, Louisa, 595 DeMortie, Mark René, 451, 453–54n DeMortie and Whitfield (sutlers), 446n, 452 demurrage, 205n Denhighshire, Wales, 9n Denman, Thomas, 232n Denmark, 339n Dennett, Lydia Neal, 210–11n; Douglass writes, 209–11 Dennett, Oliver, 210n Denton, Md., 167–68, 171n Denver, Colo., 22n, 200n, 248n Department of the Cumberland (Union army), 423n Deposit, N.Y., 547 Depp, Castus S., 522 Deshler Hall (Columbus, Ohio), 174n Detroit, Mich.: churches in, 52n; free blacks in, 50–52nn, 111, 111n; fugitive slaves in, 4n, 50–51nn, 111, 111n; vigilance committee in, 111n Detroit Plaindealer, 201n Devonshire, Eng., 345n, 376n, 578 De Witt, Alexander, 93, 97n De Wolf, Calvin, 218–20, 222n Dick, John, 3n Dickens, Charles, 135, 375n Dickie, George, 254n Dickinson, Andrew J., 120, 122n Dickinson, Anna E., 429, 430n, 462 Dickinson-Ayon Treaty (1867), 122n Dickinson College, 483n Discourses and Devotional Services (Carpenter), 129n Disenfranchised American (Cincinnati), 52n

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622 disunionism: abolitionists and, 17, 64n, 115n; American Anti-Slavery Society and, 17, 64n, 185n; Douglass advocates, 17, 151n; Douglass dismisses, 17, 312n; Garrison advocates, 185n; Garrisonians and, 5n, 17, 64n, 185n, 245n, 312n Dix, John H., 156n Doggett, Kate Newell, 589 Dombey, Paul (Dickens character), 140n Dominican Republic, 224n Don Quixote (character), 190, 191n, 501, 503n Donaldson, Christopher, 134, 140n Donaldson, William, 140n Doncaster, Helen, 286n; Douglass writes, 286 Donelson, Andrew Jackson, 194n Doniphan (Kans.) Crusader of Freedom, 302n Doolittle, James Rood, 356, 360n Door, Thomas, 105n Dorchester, Mass., 441n Dorchester County, Md., 170n, 226n Dorsey, Alexander, 548 Dorsey, Louise Tobias, 346n, 364n, 368; children of, 368n, 429n; Douglass writes, 428–29, 503–04; Rosetta Douglass lives with, 345n, 366, 592 Dorsey, Mary Louise, 346n, 503, 504n Dorsey, Thomas Joshua, 345, 346n, 368, 429, 504; children of, 368n, 429n; Rosetta Douglass lives with, 345n, 366, 592 Dorsey, Virginia Cashin, 429n Dorsey, William Henry, 346n, 368n 428, 429n Douglas, Hezekiah Ford, 382n; as orator, 568; volunteers as soldier, 381; quarrels with Douglass, 596; writes Douglass, 381–82 Douglas, Mary, 392n Douglas, Stephen A.: death of, 320, 320n; Douglass criticizes, 320; feuds with James Buchanan, 575–76; Kansas-Nebraska Act authored by, 29n, 95n, 524, 534, 553; as orator, 76n, 524 Douglas, Statira Steele, 383n Douglas, William, 382n Douglass, Anna Murray, 143–44n, 203, 232; as abolitionist, 143n; Ottilie Assing and, 230n, 248n, 378; born free, 143n; children of, 143n, 200, 200n, 203, 248–50nn, 244–45, 366–27, 434n; death of, 144n, 230n, 477n; Douglass writes, 361; as grandmother, 477, 477n; Julia Griffiths and, 449, 479; health of, 210, 211n; in Lynn, Mass., 143n; marries Douglass, 86n, 143n, 362; Lewis H. Douglass writes,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 622

INDEX 405–06; Rosetta Douglass writes, 342–25, 361–63, 365–67; siblings of, 345n, 367, 368n; Gerrit Smith and, 184 Douglass, Annie, 187n, 250n; death of, xxx, 250n, 477n; education of, 284, 287, 287n; Julia Griffiths and, 251; writes to Douglass, xxiv, 248, 287–88 Douglass, Charles Remond, 19n, 187n, 248n, 345; birth of, 248n; visits Baltimore, 471, 477n, 485; as clerk, 19n; as consul, 19n; Douglass writes, 424, 426, 471, 602; education of, 19n; freedmen’s aid work by, 602; military service of, xxiv, xxxi–xxxii, 19n, 204n, 248n, 386, 388n, 401n, 402, 403n, 424–25, 425n, 426, 427n, 428, 429n, 431, 440n, 443, 446n, 448, 452, 477n, 597–600; named for free black abolitionist, 19n; photograph of, xxxvii; siblings and, 367, 475, 485; travels of, 602–03; in Washington, D.C., 471–72, 474–76, 600, 602; writes to Douglass, 247, 424–25, 437–39, 471–72, 474–75, 587 Douglass, Frederick: as abolitionist, xxii, 22n, 25, 117, 118n, 177, 179, 188, 189n, 218, 267, 370, 571; African American Prince Hall Masonic Order and, 246n; African Civilization Society and, 240n; American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society and, xxvii, 25, 25n, 78–79, 78–79nn; Ottilie Assing and, xxv, xxviii, xxxii, 228–31, 230n, 248n, 428n, 484; Thomas Auld and, 167, 170n, 300n, 491, 492–93n; autobiographies of, ii, xxii, xxviii, 134, 140n, 145, 145n, 152, 164, 166, 166–67n, 169–70nn, 178, 186, 198, 226n, 230–31nn, 275, 386, 400n, 448, 492n, 514, 553, 556, 600; Perry Bailey and, 488n; in Baltimore, xxxii–xxxiii, 143n, 232n, 275–76nn, 468–69, 470n, 476–77, 477n, 487n, 491, 493n, 504n, 505, 506n, 603; biographers of, 491–92, 492n; attends black conventions, 22n, 32–33, 32–33n, 49n, 52–54nn, 86n, 464n, 469, 470–71n; black suffrage supported by, 600, in Boston, xxx–xxxi, 43n, 320, 321n, 328, 329n, 371n, 428, 551; John Brown and, xxiv, xxix– xxx, 38–40, 69–72, 111n, 191n, 200–201, 200n, 224–27, 225n, 250n, 277–79, 281, 289–90, 301–02, 556, 575, 586; in Canada, xxx, 216, 217n, 281, 297n; capital punishment opposed by, xxix, 233–34, 235n; children of, xxxi, 187n, 200, 200n, 202–03, 210, 231n, 247, 248–50nn, 341, 405n, 485; churches

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INDEX criticized by, 482; Civil War and, xxxi, 127n, 304–05n; colonization opposed by, xxiii, xxx, 14, 341–42, 348–49, 595; as possible congressional candidate, 81n, 95; Martin Delany and, 20–22, 24n, 54–56, 56n, 512, 514; discrimination against, xxii; disunionism advocated by, 17, 151n; disunionism dismissed by, 17, 312n; Douglass’ Monthly and, xxix, xxxii, 20–21, 193n, 250, 303n, 369, 371n, 430n, 591, 596; on education, 262n, 369, 493–96, 498–502; emigration opposed by, 20–21, 21n, 44, 50n, 55, 521, 537; escapes slavery, 46, 143n, 269n, 276n, 491, 492n; European honeymoon of, 22n; extended family of, xxiv, xxvii, xxxii–xxxiii, 2n, 19n, 145, 209, 485–87; free blacks and, xxiii, 42n, 222n; freedmen’s aid and, xxxiii, 369, 384, 441–43, 444n, 482–83, 599; Freedmen’s Book essay by, 492n; friends of, 22n, 69–72, 200, 270, 294–96, 346n, 373n, 428–29, 503–04, 504n, 510, 517, 527, 573, 586–87; as fugitive slave, 143n; fugitive slaves and, 6, 6–7nn; William Lloyd Garrison and, xxii, xxvii, xxxiii, 1, 17n, 34, 36n, 41–42, 43n, 61n, 166–67, 176, 185n, 198, 199n, 213, 305, 312–14, 429n, 456–57, 519, 523; Garrisonians and, xxii, xxvii, 1, 3n, 34, 36n, 41, 42–43nn, 59, 59–60nn, 61, 79, 79n, 93n, 115n, 125n, 163nn, 189, 213, 218, 221–22n, 245n, 294–95, 296n, 311, 395, 517–19, 522–23, 536, 587; on German Americans, 310n; grandchildren of, 477n; in Great Britain, xxii, xxiv, xxx, 3n, 41, 43n, 113, 204–05n, 250n, 279, 281–83, 286, 288, 288n, 294–96, 296n, 304, 323–24nn, 400n, 585–88; Julia Griffiths and, xxii, xxvii, 3, 3n, 61, 69, 69n, 123n, 133–34, 222n, 250– 54, 266, 281–82, 291–92, 292–93nn, 316, 322–23, 347, 377–78, 447–49, 468–70, 470n, 478–79, 523–24, 536, 550, 573, 578, 580, 585, 593, 603; Haitian emigration and, xxx, 367, 590, 594; Harpers Ferry Raid and, xxiv, xxix–xxx, 191n, 250n, 277–79, 280n, 281–82, 285n,, 286, 288–92, 288n, 292–93nn, 586; health of, xxii, 1, 25, 74, 74–75n, 122, 123n, 174, 179, 180n, 182n, 186, 211, 227, 305, 595; Heroic Slave written by, xxvii; horses of, 188; hydropaths and, xxii–xxiii; Independent and, xxxi, 369, 372, 372–73nn; in Ireland, 86n, 89n, 282; criticizes Irish Americans, 310n; jailed for escape attempt, 486, 488n; as journalist, xxiii, xxvii, xxxii, 6n, 200–201n,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 623

623 202–03, 248n, 370, 377–78, 469; Liberty party and, 8n, 186n, 510; Life and Times of Frederick Douglass by, 226n; Abraham Lincoln and, xxiv, xxxi–xxxii, 303, 304n, 309, 325, 328, 383n, 384, 405n, 413, 417–18, 419n, 421n, 436, 436–37nn, 442, 445n, 453n, 454–56, 456n, 457, 461–63, 464n, 468, 472n, 498n, 603; at Lincoln’s second inaugural, 472n, 475n; lyceums and, xxix, xxxi, 302n, 321n; in Lynn, Mass., 19n, 143n, 200n, 397, 400–401nn; advocates manual–labor college, xxiii, xxviii, 20–21, 67, 103n, 162, 162–63n; manumission of, 275n; marriage to Anna, 86n; marriage to Helen Pitts, 230n; from Maryland, 46; in Massachusetts, xxx–xxxi, 19, 42–43nn, 46, 126, 188, 189n, 232n, 320, 321n, 328, 329n, 371n, 428, 551; as military recruiter, xxxi–xxxii, 304–05n, 402, 403n, 405n, 411n, 412–14, 415–16n, 416–18, 596–99; mob attacks, xxx; My Bondage and My Freedom, ii, xxii, xxviii, 7n, 132, 132n, 134, 140n, 144, 145n, 152, 166, 166–67n, 170n, 178, 186, 230–31nn, 448, 553, 556, 600; name changed by, 198n, on Native Americans, 14; in New Bedford, 19, 126, 188, 189n, 232n; New National Era edited by, 200–201n, 248n; in New York City, xxix– xxx, 25n, 78–79, 78–79nn, 144n, 154n, 213, 232n, 239n, 240n, 241–43, 371n, 386, 389n, 427–28, 428–29nn; in New York State, xxiii, xxvii, xxix–xxxiii, 1–6, 3n, 19n, 25–26, 28–29, 32–33, 40–41, 43n, 46, 49n, 58n, 62, 72–76, 78–79, 88–89, 102–04, 117, 119–20, 120n, 122n, 127–31, 128n, 143–45, 145n, 158n, 163, 174, 177, 178n, 179–84, 188, 193, 197–201, 199–202nn, 201, 208–10, 213–15, 227, 233–34, 236n, 237, 237–38n, 239, 249–50nn, 262n, 268–69, 275, 292, 297n, 300–305, 311–16, 316n, 318–20, 325, 329–31, 341–42, 347, 367, 368–69n, 371n, 372, 384, 385n, 386–87, 401n, 402, 409–10, 412–14, 420–21, 427–29, 436, 454–57, 460–63, 468–70, 481–84, 491–96, 493n, 503–05; North Star edited by, xxi, 1, 3–4nn, 7n, 21n, 49n, 103n, 144n, 225n, 270n, 324n; officer’s commission denied to, xxiv, 411–12n, 421n; in Ohio, xxviii–xxix, 118n, 165, 165n, 174, 177, 180, 181n, 198, 198n, 401n; pacifism and, 59; in Pennsylvania, xxx, 113, 117, 128n, 476–77, 477n, 504; photograph of, xxxviii, 191n, 426, 604; political action and, xxiii,

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624 Douglass, Frederick (continued) xxix, 60n, 96n, 103n, 115n, 236; Maria G. Porter and, 215, 291–92, 509, 558, 585; as presidential elector, 121n; racism denounced by, 112–15, 494–95; as Radical Abolitionist, xxviii, 36n, 128n, 144n, 179–81, 185, 185n, 187, 192, 192–93n, 195–96, 198, 199n, 201, 201n, 207n, 236, 254, 303; Reconstruction proposals of, 604, recruits Civil War soldiers, xxiv, xxxi, 386–87, 388–89nn, 454–56; religious views of, 72; Charles Lenox Remond and, xxvii, 112, 115n; Republican party and, xxiii–iv, xxix, 109, 125n, 187, 192, 192–93n, 195–96, 201, 201n, 236–37, 259, 272, 315, 484, 485n, 603; in Rochester, xxiii, xxvii, xxix–xxxii, 1–6, 19n, 25–26, 28–29, 32–33, 40–41, 43n, 58n, 62, 72–76, 78–79, 88–89, 102–04, 127–31, 143–45, 163, 174, 177, 178n, 179–84, 188, 193, 197–98, 201, 208–10, 214–15, 227, 233–34, 236n, 249–50nn, 268–69, 275, 292, 297n, 300–305, 311–15, 318–20, 325, 329–31, 341–42, 347, 371n, 372, 384, 386–87, 402, 409–10, 412–14, 420–21, 427–29, 436, 454–57, 460–63, 468–70, 481–84, 491–96, 503–05; in Scotland, xxx, 250n; as slave, 28, 46, 131, 143n, 161n, 170n, 197, 219, 267–69, 380, 488n, 491, 510; Gerrit Smith and, xxiii, xxviii, 1–6, 2n, 25, 32–34, 60n, 62–63, 69n, 74–80, 78n, 90–100, 103–05, 103n, 127–28, 143–44, 165–66, 174, 179–82, 180n, 184–87, 186–87nn, 193–94, 198–99, 199n, 201–02, 201n, 208–09, 211– 12, 214–17, 303–04, 314–15, 347n, 402, 427, 460, 504n, 505, 514, 517, 537, 554, 557, 560, 573, 579, 591, 593, 595, 603–04; speeches of xxii, xxviii, xxxi–xxxiii, 1, 17n, 22n, 25, 42n, 72, 115n, 117, 118n, 127, 132, 165, 165n, 174, 177, 179, 202, 213, 214, 214–15n, 236, 242, 249n, 264n, 267, 294–95, 319–20, 320n, 370, 384, 385n, 397, 401n, 428, 429n, 444n, 468, 476–77, 477n, 484, 485n, 492n, 504n, 537, 571, 598, 601, 603; spiritualism and, xxii–xxxiii, 269–70, 270n; Harriet Beecher Stowe and, xxvii, 10–17, 17–18nn, 20, 22n, 67, 68n, 162; as suffrage campaigner, 238n; Theodore Tilton and, 223n, 332n, 369–72, 460–63, 598; Harriet Tubman and, 226n, 227; as Underground Railroad conductor, xxiv, 6, 6–7nn, 226n, 268n, 291; U.S. Constitution and, xxx, 8n, 60n, 63–64, 64n, 219, 518; as U.S. marshal, 248n; violent abolitionist

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 624

INDEX tactics and, xxiv, 199–202, 200–202nn, 205, 288–91, 294–95, 301–02; Henry O. Wagoner and, 22n, 200, 510, 517, 527; women’s rights and, xxii, xxix, 66, 234 Douglass, Frederick, Jr., 19n, 187, 200, 200n, 345; birth of, 19n, 200n; during Civil War, 448; as editor, 201n; education of, 19n, 200n; experiences racial discrimination, 19n, 200n; as military recruiter, 452, 476; as printer, 19n, 33n, 200n; siblings and, 367, 471, 473n, 475, 602; Henry O. Wagoner and, 22n, 200n; writes Douglass, 476 Douglass, Helen Amelia Loguen, 248n, 369n Douglass, Lewis Henry, 19n, 187, 248n, 345, 365, 378; Ottilie Assing and, 428n; birth of, 19n, 248n; clerk position sought, 481; considers Central America colonization, 342, 342n, 351; Douglass writes, 247; assists in editing Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 586; education of, 19n, 248n; in Fort Wagner battle, 405–06, 406–09nn, 415–16n; health of, xxxii, 425n, 427, 427n, 437, 443, 446n, 476–77, 481; marriage of, 367, 369n; visits Maryland, xxxiii, 468, 485–87; military service of, xxiv, xxxi– xxxii, 19n, 248n, 342n, 387n, 401n, 402, 403n, 415–16n, 426–27, 428n, 431, 443, 446n, 448, 481, 481n, 597–98; photograph of, xxxvii, 426, 449; in Philadelphia, 594; as printer, 19n, 22n, 248n; siblings and, 367, 471, 173n, 594; as sutler, 446n, 452–53, 453n; as teacher, 486, 488–89nn; Henry O. Wagoner and, 22n, 248n, works for Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 292, 292n; writes to Douglass, 405–06, 452–53, 485–87; writes to mother, 405–06 Douglass, Robert M. J.: defends Frederick Douglass, 219; emigration and, 223n; Garrisonians attack, 219–220 Douglass, Rosetta, 187, 203n; assists at Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 202, 208–09; Ottilie Assing writes, 283; birth of, 203n; children of, 434n, 477; Douglass writes, 365, 476; Rosine Amé Droz writes, 344, 345n, 591; Julia Griffiths and, 449, 479; marriage of, xxxii, 203n, 431, 434n; morals questioned, 343, 345n, 361–62, 363–64n, 366; in New Jersey, 342–45, 346n, 361–63, 365–67, 378; in Philadelphia, 344, 345–46nn, 361, 364n, 367, 592, 594; photograph of, xxxiv; encounters racism, 592, recollects mother, 203n; resides in Rochester, 434n, 476–77; siblings and, 594, 600; as teacher, xxxi, 203n, 342–45,

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INDEX 345n, 361–63, 364n, 365–67, 378, 595; writes to Ottilie Assing, 283; writes to Douglass, xxiv–xxv, 247–50, 283–85, 342–45, 361–63, 365–67, 427, 595, 599 Douglass, Sarah Mapps, 223n Douglass, William, 108n Douglass Institute (Baltimore, Md.), xxxiii, 505, 506nn Douglass’ Monthly (Rochester, N.Y.): agents for, 592; articles in, 268n, 272, 274n, 301n, 303n, 316n, 321, 321n, 336n, 369–70, 369n, 371n, 373, 379n, 416n, 595, 597–98; British subscribers to, 250, 375n, 377–78; contributions to, 268n, 322–323, 322n, 326, 327n, 330n, 347, 347n, 378, 384, 385n, 592, 594– 96; correspondence in, xxi, 262n; Douglass edits, xxix, 344, 367, 369n, 591, 596, 600; editorials in, 263n, 386, 387–88nn, 416n; name change considered, 377; Abram Pryne edits, 193n, 284, 284n, 292; Gerrit Smith assists, 347, 347n, 591, 593, 597; subscribers to, 370, 373, 596; suspended, xxxii, 377, 411n, 430n, 433, 596, 598, 600–01 Dover (Dover-Foxcroft), Me., 172, 173n, 177 Dover Anti-Slavery Sewing Circle, 173n Dover Manufacturing Company, 173n Dowden, Richard (Richard), 324n Downing, George T., 240n; as abolitionist, 239, 516, 537, 539–40, 591; attends black conventions, 33n, 522; Douglass recommends, 404; family of, 453n; Garrisonians opposed by, 541; opposes emigration, 108n, 584; advocate school integration, 562; as restaurateur, 240. See also “Philo” Downing, Thomas, 240, 336n Draper, Edward Garrison, 18n Dred (Stowe), 17n Dred Scott decision (1857): dissenting opinions from, 319n; Douglass condemns, xxix, 211n, 213, 215n, 279, 308; Montgomery Blair as lawyer in, 350n; free blacks condemn, 572; Gerrit Smith condemns, 208–09, 209n; quoted, 334, 336n, 466 Drennen, William, 359n dress reform, 165n, 235n, 249–50n, 559 Dresser, Edwin, 178n Dresser, Rebecca Williamson. See Williamson, Rebecca Driver, E. S., 108n Droz, Rosine Amé, 344, 345n, 588, 590; as abolitionist, 595, 600; befriends Rosetta Doug-

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 625

625 lass, 591, 596, 603; freedmen’s aid efforts of, 601; raises funds for Douglass, 592, 597–98, 603; visits Douglass, 602 Dublin, Ire.: abolitionists in, 86n, 254n, 283n, 327n; Douglass in, 281; merchants in, 283n; Quakers in, 254n Dublin Anti-Slavery Society, 254n, 283n Dublin Yearly Meeting of Friends, 254n Dublin Young Men’s Christian Association, 380n Duffin, James W., 526, 559–60 Dundee, Scot., 329, 330n, 557 Dundee Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Association, 329, 330n, 594 Dunscombe, Nicholas, 324n Dupen, Jacob, 221n Dutchess County Suffrage Committee (N.Y.), 27n, 554 Dutton, S., 591 Duvall, William O., 512, 587 Early, Jubal A., 394n, 464n East Baltimore Mental Improvement Society, 143n East India Company: army of, 67n; in China, 358n; wealth of, 191n East Indies, 35 East Nassau, N.Y., 81n East Washington Station Church (Washington, D.C.), 499, 502–03n Eastern Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, 60–61n, 77n Easton, Md., 489n Easton (Md.) Gazette, 489n Ebenezer Church (Washington, D.C.), 444n Ecbatana, 207n Ecclesfield, Eng., 346n Echoes of Harpers Ferry (Redpath), 588 Eclectic Medical College of Philadelphia, 50n, 223n Edelin, William M., 221n Edgefield County, S.C., 204n Edinburgh, Scot.: abolitionists in, 167n, 212–14, 214n, 322, 323n, 560, 575; beauty of, 563; schools of, 573 Edinburgh Ladies Anti-Slavery Society: contributes to Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 213, 214n; Douglass writes secretary of, 212–14; Julia Griffiths and, 213, 575; writes to Douglass, 212, 214n Edinburgh (New) Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, 322, 323n

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626 Edinburgh Review, 307n Egypt, 205, 206n, 379, 566 Eighty–ninth New York Infantry Regiment, 438, 439n Election of 1824, 360n Election of 1828, 309n, 360n Election of 1832, 309n Election of 1840: candidates in 307; Democratic party in, 309n; Whig party in, 309n Election of 1844: Democratic party in, 71n; Whig party in, 320n Election of 1848: Free Soil party in, 31n, 128n, 187n, 309n; Liberty party in, 187n; Whig party in, 40n Election of 1852: Democratic party in, 62n, 240n; Free Soil party in, 31n, 128n, 341n; Winfield Scott in, 29n, 62n, 240n; Whig party in, 40n, 62n Election of 1856: Democratic party in, 62n, 97n, 194n, 201n, 566; Douglass participates in, xxix, 186–87, 192, 192–93n, 198n, 201n, 264n; Know-Nothing party in, 110n, 194n, 198n, 201n, 261, 559; Radical Abolitionist party in, 195–95; Republican ticket in, xxix, 26n, 114n, 187, 194n, 195, 198n, 261, 319n, 385n, 565, 588; Southern Republicans in, 261 Election of 1860: abolitionists on, xxiv, 303, 588; Democratic party in, 97n; Constitutional Union party in, 40n, 474n; Douglass on, xxiv, 303; German American voters in, 310n; immigrant voters in, 308–09; Republican ticket in, 26n, 121n, 204n, 303, 308, 310n, 315n, 388n; William H. Seward as possible candidate, 237, 586; voters in, 445n Election of 1864: Democratic party in, 457, 459n, 466, 468n; Douglass on, xxiv, xxxii, 436, 457–58, 462–63; John C. Frémont in, 194n, 265n, 347n, 506n; opposition to Lincoln’s re– nomination and, xxiv, xxxii, 73n, 436, 436n, 457, 467–68n; outcome of, 466, 468n Election of 1868, 371n Election of 1872, 165n Election of 1876, 173n Election of 1880, 419n Election of 1884, 419n Election of 1888, 419n, 430n Elective Franchise Club of Ithaca, N.Y., 589 Eliot, Me., 210n Ellicott, Andrew, 357n Elliot, James, 526

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 626

INDEX Elmira, N.Y., 526–27, 600 emancipation: Civil War push for, 326n, 402; in federal territories, 465n, 466, 467n; in Missouri, 328–29n, 350n, 466, 470n. See also gradual emancipation Emancipation League (Boston), xxxi, 328, 329n Emancipation Proclamation: abolitionists praise, xxiv, xxxi, 369, 371n, 594–95; Border States and, 470n; celebrations of, 467n, 504n, 506n, 596; Douglass praises, xxiv, xxxi, 369, 371n, 377, 466; Lincoln issues, 381n, 456n, 470n; opposition to, 384 emigrationism: abolitionists oppose, 524, 533, 541; African Civilization Society and, 103n, 240n, 584; to Canada, 4n, 19n, 51n, 246n; to Central America, 46–47, 49n, 56n, 334–35, 348–57, 367, 369n, 472n; conventions for, 49–51nn, 54, 55–56n, 246n, 539; Martin R. Delany and, xxiii, 21n, 86n, 224n, 520; Douglass opposes, 20–21, 21n, 44, 50n, 55, 521. 537; free blacks oppose, 20–21, 21n, 44, 50n, 55, 335, 518, 521–22, 533, 537; free blacks support, 44–49, 50–51nn, 55–56, 224n, 382n, 529; to Haiti, xxx, 42n, 47, 246n, 302n, 335, 367, 369n, 382n, 472n, 583, 590, 594; to Jamaica, 472n; Lincoln supports, 381; newspapers support, 54n, 86–87nn, 367, 369n; to Pacific Islands, 548; James McCune Smith opposes, 7n Empire (London), 166, 166–67n Empire Club (New York City), 71n Ently, George, 516 Eppes, Lyman E., 531 Epson, William, 543 Equal Rights League (Ohio), 54n Erie Canal, 309n, 345n, 371n Erie County, N.Y., 8n Essay Concerning Human Understanding, An (Locke), 18n Essex County, Mass., 297n Essex County, N.Y., 19n “Ethiop.” See Wilson, William J. Ethiopia, 206n ethnology: Douglass opposes, xxviii, 355, 540 Eton College, 252n Euphues and His England (Lyly), 72n Evangelical Alliance: formation of, 376n; in France, 253n, 374, 376n; free black delegates to, 50n Evans, A. D., 252, 254n Evans, H., 252, 254n

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INDEX Everett, Edward, 412n Everett, Robert, 565 Ewing, Presley Underwood, 94, 99n Excellence of Theology Compared With Natural Philosophy (Boyle), 255n “Exposition and Protest” (Calhoun), 142n Fairbank, Calvin, 536, 560 Fairchild, Harrison Stiles, 438, 439n Fairmount Theological Seminary (Cincinnati), 83n Falkirk, Scot., 560, 575 Faneuil Hall (Boston), 83n Farmington, Conn., 106n Farrand, Daniel, 177n Fayetteville, N.Y., 165n Fells Point, Baltimore, Md., 276n Fennell, James, 244–45n Fenwick William A., 476n Fenwick & Stewart (Washington, D.C.), 475, 476n Ffolliott, John, 254n Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church (Washington, D.C.): Douglass speaks in, 429n, 434n, 444n; founding of, 444n; meetings at, 441 Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment: Charles R. Douglass in, xxiv, xxxii, 248n, 401n, 427n, 429n, 440n, 446n; mustering of, 440n; officers of, 425n, 441n; as prisoner guards, 453n; soldiers of, 441n, 472n; in Texas, 472n Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 115n; casualties of, 405–06, 407–08n, 425–26n; departs training camp, 402, 404n; Douglass recruits for, xxiv, xxxi, 304–05, 386–87, 387–89n, 451n, 597–98; Douglass’s sons serve in, xxiv, 19n, 248n, 386, 397, 401n, 429n, 446n, 453n, 481, 481n, 597; Fort Wagner assault by, 403n, 405–06, 406–09nn, 414, 415–16n, 425–26nn, 481; officers of, 387n, 394n, 406, 407–08nn, 427n, 440n; other recruiters for, 127n, 465n; replacements for 426, 426n; in South Carolina, 403n, 405–06, 406–08nn, 425n, 429n, 443, 452–53, 453–55nn, 476; sutlers with, 443, 446n, 452–53, 453–54nn; wage controversy and, 405n, 425 Fifty-fifth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 115n; Douglass recruits for, 403n; officers of, 394n, 403n, 408n, 476; Nathan Sprague in, 476

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 627

627 filibusters, 47; attack Cuba, 53n; Nicaragua invaded by, 550, Southern support for, 53n Fillmore, Millard, 39, 40n; as American party candidate, 201n; as lawyer, 8n, 97n; cabinet of, 9n; Compromise of 1850 and, 40n, 188n; Fugitive Slave Law enforced by, 188n; Kansas-Nebraska Act and, 29n; as Whig, 40n, 110n Finns, 352, 358n Fireside Words (London), 291n First Colored American Congregational Church (New York City), 264n, 552 First Confiscation Act (1862), 430n First Congregational Church (Cincinnati, Ohio), 399n First Congregational Church (West Springfield, Mass.), 319n First Continental Congress, 24n First Religious Society (Newburyport, Mass.), 312n First South Carolina Volunteers, 312n Fisch, George, 251, 253n Fisher, Mary Ann Smith, 250, 252n Fisher, Samuel, 252n Fitzhugh, Ann Carroll. See Smith, Ann Carroll Fitzhugh Fitzhugh, William, 3 Five Points, New York City, 71n Fletcher, David S., 364n Fletcher, Martha Bailey, 262, 364n A Flora of Ulster and Botanist’s Guide to the North of Ireland, A (Dickie), 254n Florence, Italy, 297n Florence Farming Association, 238n Florida, 99n, 224n, 402, 403n, 406n, 454n Floyd, John B., 368n Floyd, Josephine, 368 Foote, Charles C., 4n, 508, 512 Ford’s Theatre, Washington, D.C., 479n Forney, John W., 223n Forrest, Nathan Bedford, 440n Forster, Anna Hanbury Buxton, 295, 298–99n Forster, Jane Martha, 295 Forster, Josiah, 299n Forster, William, 295, 298–99n Forster, William Edward, 295, 298n Fort Darling, Va., 407n Fort Delaware, Del., 344 Fort Gregg, Va., 407n Fort Pillow, Tenn., 440–41nn, 445n Fort Pocahontas, Va., 438, 440n

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628 Fort Powhatan, Va., 440n Fort Sumter, S.C.: Battle of (1861), xxxi, 10n; military engagements around, 400n, 407n, 452–53nn Fort Ticonderoga, 158n Fort Wagner, Battle of: black soldiers fight in, xxiv, xxxii, 403n, 405–06, 406–09nn, 425–26nn; Lewis H. Douglass in, xxxii, 405–06, 406–09nn, 446n, 481; treatment of prisoners from there, 414, 415n, 418n Fort Walker, S.C., 370n Fort Warren, Mass., 324n Fort Welles, S.C., 370n Forten, Robert Bridges: writes to Douglass, 561 Fortress Monroe, 369, 371n Foss, Andrew T., 115n Foster, Charles W., 420n; Douglass writes, 422; writes to Douglass, 420, 423n, 598; with War Department, 411n, 420, 452 Foster, Horatio W., 563 Foster, Richard Baxter, 64n; writes to Douglass, 63–65 Foster, Stephen S. 306n; American AntiSlavery Society and, 306n; Douglass and, xxx, 60n; Garrisonians and, 306n; marriage of, 306n; political action and, xxx, 305, 305–07nn, 311, 312n; religious views of, 60 Four Months in Liberia, Or, African Colonization Exposed (Nesbit), 567 Fourth Maryland Infantry Regiment, 438 Fourth of July Celebrations: in Connecticut, 81, 550; hypocrisy of, 81. 137, 199n; in New York, 81, 199n Fox, J. W.: writes to Douglass, 182–94, 568 Fox, Kate, 223n Fox, Margaret, 223n France, 62n; abolitionists in, 589; blacks in, 35, 37n, 364n, 465n, 576; China and, 358n; colonies of, 37n, 47, 337, 358n; Crimean War and, 140n; Cuba and, 175; emancipation by, 37n, 47; Haiti revolts from, 467n; immigrants from, 194n; Napoléon I and, 191n; Protestants in, 374; Revolution in, 422n; Second Empire of, 67; Second Republic of, 37n; U.S. Civil War and, 324n Francis, Abner H.: writes to Douglass, 529–30, 549–50, 556, 560, 589 Franklin, Benjamin, 40n, 246n Franklin, William B., 393n Franklin, Mass., 64n Franklin County, Ky., 349n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 628

INDEX Franklin County, N.Y., 19n Franklin Hall (Philadelphia), 108n, 125n Fraternity Course (Boston), 321n Frederick, Md., 167 Frederick Academy (Frederick, Md.), 169n Frederick Douglass’ Paper: agents of, 512–13, 520, 528; articles in, 18n, 20–21, 21n, 25, 25n, 41, 42–43nn, 56n, 60, 60n, 66, 68–69nn, 72n, 75n, 76–77, 77–78nn, 80n, 82n, 86–87nn, 101, 102n, 103–04, 105n, 112, 115n, 125n, 149, 151n, 157, 158–59nn, 175, 176n, 184, 185n, 199n, 205. 206n, 208–09, 209n, 211n, 269, 270n, 510, 520, 536, 538, 559, 570, 575, 581; black critics of, 54n, 219, 247–48, 264n, 548; Peter H. Clark and, 248n; contributors to, 7n, 86n, 163, 165, 165n, 189n, 213, 221n, 240n, 243n, 264n, 266, 268n, 291–92, 496n, 516, 518–19, 521, 528, 530, 534, 544, 558, 565–66, 571, 582, 585; correspondence in, xxi, 27n, 39n, 57n, 75, 76n, 151n; Martin R. Delany writes, 24n; Douglass edits, xxvii; editorials of, 27n, 120n, 192n, 195, 198, 198n, 201–02nn, 202, 238n, 254–55, 255n, 537; Free Soil party and, 520; finances of, xxii, xxvii–xxviii, 1, 26n, 69, 69n, 162, 179–80, 185, 186, 186n, 201, 240n, 267, 291–92, 303, 550, 557, 585; Julia Griffiths and, xxii, xxvii, 61, 69, 69n, 104, 123n, 152–53, 155n, 185, 186n, 213, 251, 266, 268n, 447, 571, 576, 581; letters to, 4n, 21n, 32n, 39, 40n, 116–17, 117n, 137, 208n; Liberty party and, 186n, 520; lost issues of, 217n; name change considered, 1–2; notices in, 50n; Abram Pryne edits, 193n, 284, 284n, 292; readers of, 34; Gerrit Smith and, 1, 25, 69, 69n, 88n, 185–86, 186–87nn, 192n, 201, 201n, 208–09, 208n, 272, 303, 600; James McCune Smith writes for, 243n, 264n, 496n, 534; Douglass’s sons work for, 292; endorses Republican party, 192, 561; staff of, 252, 253n; subscribers to, 61, 63, 64n, 65, 107, 178, 179, 181, 187–88, 205, 208, 250–51, 253n, 292, 517, 546, 549–50, 557, 560, 575–76, 583, 586, 589; suspension of, 304n; William J. Watkins and, 42n, 81n, 254, 260, 269, 282n; women’s rights in, 165, 165n Fredericksburg, Va., Battle of, 394nn free blacks: as abolitionists, xxii–xxiii, xxvii, 4n, 6–7nn, 17n, 19n, 22n, 25, 39n, 41, 42n, 53–54nn, 58–60nn, 82n, 86–87n, 101n, 106n, 108n, 115n, 116–17, 157, 223n, 239, 241, 243n, 262n, 295, 300n, 336n, 346n, 360,

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INDEX 411n 511, 516–17, 519, 521, 523, 529, 531, 535–40, 542–44, 546–48, 559, 567, 569, 571, 575–76, 582–84, 587, 591; African emigration and, xxiii, 7n, 21n, 44–49, 86n; in Alabama, 472n; in Albany, N.Y., 108n, 120–21, 122n, 204n, 231n, 236–37, 237–38n, 262n, 386, 389n; in Alton, Ill., 373n, 568; American and Foreign AntiSlavery Society and, 7n, 18n, 101n; as artists, 37n, 223n, 429n, 510, 561; in Auburn, N.Y., 386; in Baltimore, Md., 50n, 143n, 345–46n; as barbers, 26–27, 27n, 49n, 58n, 119n, 125n, 151n, 223n, 238n, 298n, 364n, 382n, 504, 504n; as blacksmiths, 51n, 373n; in Boston, 18n, 83n, 103n, 127n, 179n, 246n, 315n, 364n, 424, 426, 427n, 453n, 522, 546, 552–53, 574; in Brazil, 354, 427n, 517; in Brooklyn, N.Y., 86–87n, 224n, 509, 513, 527–28, 534, 540, 553; John Brown supported by, 22n, 50n, 56n, 86n, 111n, 382n; in Buffalo, N.Y., 18n, 44–49, 49–51nn, 118–19, 119n, 364n, 386, 454n, 526; as butchers, 179n; in California, 48, 532, 534, 545, 548–50, 552, 556–57, 560, 597; in Canada, 3–5nn, 13, 19n, 21n, 39–40nn, 47, 51n, 56n, 83n, 86n, 145n, 216, 217n, 245–46nn, 305n, 330n, 334–35, 340, 382n, 387n, 512, 515, 533, 545, 561, 589; as carpenters, 410n; as caterers, 297n, 346n, 430n, 478n; churches of, xxiii, xxx–xxxi, 4n, 7n, 35–36, 37n, 39n, 50–52nn, 55n, 58n, 83n, 86n, 101n, 105–06nn, 108n, 119n, 121–22nn, 125n, 150–51, 163n, 178, 179n, 220, 222–23nn, 238n, 239, 240n, 245n, 249n, 344, 389n, 411n, 429n, 434n, 441, 444n, 453n, 470n, 476n, 499, 502–03n, 525, 541, 546, 552; in Cincinnati, Ohio, 52n, 228n, 249n, 368n, 552, 561; class divisions among, xxv; as coachmen, 369, 441n; as college graduates, 18n; colonization opposed by, xxiii, 7n, 14, 45, 55, 59n, 333–35, 348–57, 535, 537, 573; colonization supported by, xxiii, 18–19nn, 225–26n; 333, 342n, 568, 573; in Colorado, 22n, 333–35, in Columbus, Ohio, 51n, 53n, 57n, 103n, 519, 533; compensated emancipation opposed by, 565; in Connecticut, 4n, 101, 101–03nn, 106n, 156–57, 157–58nn, 245n, 529, 534, 546, 552–53, 557; conventions of, xxvii, xxviii, 4n, 19n, 20, 22n, 48, 50n, 54n, 57–59nn, 464n; as cooks, 369; as coopers, 158n; in Cuba, 354;

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 629

629 in Delaware, 4n, 50n, 222n, 411n; demand equal rights, xxiii, xxx; as dentists, 465n; in Detroit, Mich., 50–52nn, 111, 111n; discrimination against, xxii–xxiii, xxx, 18n, 86n, 130, 546; Douglass as leader of, xxiii; as dressmakers, 364n, 429n, 434n, 444n; economic opportunities of, xxiii, 11–13, 558; education of, xxiii, xxv, xxvii–xxviii, xxxi, xxxiii, 5n, 7n, 10–17, 18n, 22n, 27, 39n, 50n, 369, 510, 534, 548, 558; as farmers, 238n, 441n; as Garrisonians, 39n, 41, 42–43nn, 103n, 115n, 163nn, 221–22n, 245n, 517, 569, 587; in Georgia, 429n; visit Great Britain, xxii, xxiv, xxx, 3n, 41, 43n, 50n, 113, 115n, 126, 204–05n, 224n, 250n, 279, 281–83, 286, 288, 288n, 294–96, 296n, 300n, 304, 323–24nn, 364n, 400n, 515, 585–88; as hairdressers, 223n, 297n; Haitian emigration and, xxx, 51–52n, 223n, 367, 369n, 382n; in Harrisburg, Pa., 125n, 552; in Hartford, Conn., 59n, 101n, 103n; as hoteliers, 472n; as house–cleaners, 293n; in Illinois, 22n, 24n, 51n, 55, 56, 56n, 373n, 381–82, 382–83n, 508, 510, 525–27, 540, 551, 568; as inventors, 548; in Iowa, 472n, 571, 576; Irish Americans disliked by, 560; in Ithaca, N.Y., 386; in Jamaica, 18n, 178, 179n; Thomas Jefferson on, 348–49, 350n; in Kansas Territory, 145–46; kidnapping of, 523–24, 526; as lawyers, 11, 18n, 37n, 42n, 87n, 465n; leadership struggles among, xxiii, xxvii; Liberty party and, 4n, 18n, 82n, 106n, 151n, 238n; Lincoln’s reelection and, xxxii; literary accomplishments of, xxvii, 21n, 127n, 537; in Lockport, N.Y., 515; in London, Eng., 50n; as longshoremen, 540, 542; in Louisiana, 37n, 334, 357n; as machinists, 42n; in Maine, 18n; in Maryland, 16n, 18n, 22n, 50n, 143n, 263n, 351, 357n, 368n, 469, 470n, 485–87, 487n; as freemasons, 243, 246n, 345n, 549, 565; in Massachusetts, 5n, 18–19nn, 22n, 42n, 83n, 86n, 115n, 145n, 238n, 297–98n, 304–05, 340, 414, 441n, 526, 552–53, 560; Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and, 103n, 115n, 127n; as mathematicians, 351, 357n; as merchants, 58n, 228n, 453n, 518, 580; Methodist Episcopal Church and, 21n, 51–52n, 475–76n; in Michigan, 50–52nn; in Middletown, Conn., 105–06, 106n, 534–35; join militia, 585; as ministers, 4n, 11–12, 19n,

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630 free blacks (continued) 37n, 39n, 50n, 58, 83n, 86n, 101–02n, 106n, 178, 178–79nn, 218, 239, 240n, 243, 389n, 444n, 508–09, 534, 547, 589; in Minnesota, 472n; in Mississippi, 51n; in Missouri, 51, 51n, 586; Lucretia Mott and, 346n; as musicians, 37n, 103n, 373n; in Nashville, Tenn., 52n, 474n; Native Americans compared to, 14; as nativists, 238n; in New Bedford, 19n, 179n, 203n, 248n, 362, 364n; in New England, 113; in New Hampshire, 8n, 14n, 49, 145n, 454n; in New Haven, Conn., 101, 101n, 106n, 163n, 243, 246n, 532, 554–55; in New Jersey, xxxi, 87n, 103n, 203n, 342–45, 346n, 361–63, 363–64nn, 365–67, 378, 496n, 530, 561; in New Orleans, 37n; in New York City, 6, 6–7nn, 18n, 21n, 35, 51n, 59n, 108n, 239, 240n, 241–43, 245–46nn, 297n, 336n, 386, 389n, 408n, 410–12nn, 509, 519–20, 529, 540, 542, 552, 571, 587; in New York State, xxiii, xxx–xxxi, 2n, 4n, 6–7n, 14, 19n, 37n, 42n, 52n, 59n, 82n, 86n, 103n, 108n, 121, 130, 149–51, 151n, 233, 237–38nn, 245n, 247–48, 248–49n, 262n, 264n, 269, 334, 340, 359–60n, 368n, 389n, 408n, 444n, 509, 515, 519, 545, 555, 570, 573, 578, 589; in Newport, R.I., 240n, 324n, 404, 540; newspapers of, xxi, xxvii, 1, 3–4nn, 7n, 11, 18–19nn, 21n, 33n, 49–52nn, 54, 54–55nn, 63, 84, 86–87nn, 103n, 144n, 225n, 237n, 249n, 262n, 270n, 324n, 369n, 377, 409–10, 410–11nn, 444n, 492–93n, 505–06n, 523, 525; in North Carolina, 56n, 354; as officers in army, 394, 408n, 420n, 472–73nn; in Ohio, 18, 22n, 47, 50–54nn, 57n, 86n, 103n, 228n, 334, 335–36n, 382n, 429n, 515, 519, 533, 565, 575; as painters, 369, 517–18; in Pennsylvania, xxviii, 18n, 36n, 50–51nn, 56–57, 57n, 59n, 113, 125n, 151n, 218, 241, 243–45nn, 340, 359n, 404n, 478n, 533, 567, 569, 571, 587, 594; in Peterboro, N.Y., 103n; petition U.S. Congress, 244n; in Philadelphia, 36n, 50n, 57, 107, 107–08nn, 118n, 124, 203n, 217–21, 221–24nn, 241–42, 246n, 310n, 344, 345– 46nn, 361, 364n, 357, 368n, 386, 389nn, 409– 10, 411n, 421, 421–22n, 430n, 478n, 514, 548, 554, 575–77, 579–80, 592, 594; in Pittsburgh, 20–21nn, 50n, 54–57, 57–58nn, 61, 87n, 519; as poets, 49, 242, 525, 530, 532, 552; as pharmacists, 472n; as physicians, 6–7nn, 11, 21n, 50n, 264n, 465n, 472–73nn, 496n, 504n,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 630

INDEX 573, 264n, 496n; in Presbyterian Church, 18n, 50n, 86n, 103n, 444n, 509, 544, 547; as printers, 22n, 59n, 86n, 248n; in Protestant Episcopal Church, 7n, 19n, 51–52nn, 246n, 519; in Providence, R.I., 246n; racial castes among, 344; Radical Abolition party and, 254; Republican party and, xxiii, 111n, 236, 240n, 254, 356–57, 454n, 555, 558, 572, 580; as restaurateurs, 240n, 335n, 511; in Rhode Island, 5n, 104, 105n, 239, 240n, 360n, 453n, 522, 543; in Richmond, Va., 179n; riots against, 52n, 412n; in Rochester, N.Y., xxxi, 14, 19n, 42n, 52n, 103n, 233, 247–48, 248–49n, 269, 368n, 408n, 515, 519, 573; in Roman Catholic Church, 51n, 246n; as sailors, 275n, 562; in Salem, N.J., 203n, 342–45, 345n, 361–63, 365–67; in San Francisco, 545, 549–50, 556, 597; schools of, 37n, 228n, 375n, 546, 559, 564, 569, 580, 587; in Scotland, 573; as shoemakers, 106n, 143n, 203n, 496n; as singers, 231n, 564; Gerrit Smith aids, 13, 19n, 39n; as stewards, 363n; in Syracuse, 4n, 39n, 82n, 367, 386; as tailors, 51n, 56n, 86–87n; as teachers, xxxi, 18n, 37n, 50n, 57n, 59n, 86–87nn, 101n, 103n, 108n, 203n, 223n, 228n, 249n, 264n, 342–45, 345n, 361–63, 364n, 365–67, 369, 378, 383n, 444n, 465n, 478n, 486, 488–89nn, 496n, 595; temperance movement and, xxiii, 4n, 50n, 53n, 101n, 222n, 237n, 262n, 511, 520–21, 534, 544, 571; in Tennessee, 52n, 56n, 373n, 472n; in Texas, 334; in Troy, N.Y., 145n, 236, 238n, 389n, 517, 570; Uncle Tom’s Cabin criticized by, 537; in Underground Railroad, xxiv, 6, 6–7nn, 111n, 179n, 224n, 226n, 268n, 291, 346n, 439, 441n, 453n, 526, 533, 545, 548, 571–72, 574, 581, 589; Union army recruits, xxiv, xxxi–xxxii, 19n, 21–22nn, 39n, 64n, 111n, 200n, 204n, 248, 248n, 304–05, 326n, 329n, 340n, 342n, 371n, 381–82, 387–88, 387–89nn, 401n, 402, 403n, 405–06, 406–08nn, 412–14, 415–16n, 424–25, 425n, 426–27, 427–28nn, 428, 429n, 431, 440n, 442–43, 446n, 448, 450–51n, 452, 466, 471–73nn, 477n, 481, 481n, 595, 597–600; in U.S. Navy, 57n, 359n; denied U.S. passports, 297n; in Vermont, 298n, 519; vigilance committees of, 111n, 237n; violent antislavery tactics advocated by, 81–82, 201–02n, 202; in Virginia, 21n, 50–51nn, 53n, 57n, 111n, 141n, 179n, 354, 364n, 453n, 576; voting rights of, xxiii, xxx, 6n, 130n, 354,

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INDEX 359n, 513; as waiters, 369, 429n; serve in War of 1812, 351, 357n; in Washington, D.C., xxxiii, 50–52nn, 179, 179n, 240n, 246n, 328, 329n, 331, 331nn, 336n, 429n, 441–42, 444nn, 472n, 496n, 503–04nn; women’s rights and, 222n; in Worcester, Mass., 310n Free Church (Worcester, Mass.), 312n Free Church of Scotland, 50n, 562 free labor ideology, 264n Free Military School for Applicants for the Command of Colored Troops (Philadelphia), 422n Free Produce Association of Western Vermont, 529 Free Produce movement: abolitionists and, 203n, 228n, 291n, 543, 547; in Great Britain, 203n, 291n, 300n, 376n; in New York, 547; in Ohio, 228n; in Pennsylvania, 376n; Quakers support, 228n, 300n, 376n; in Vermont, 529 Free Religious Association, 284n Free Soil party: antiextensionism endorsed by, 309n; antislavery Democrats and, 2n; in Boston, 388n; candidates of, 128n, 309n, 312n, 319n; Compromise of 1850 opposed by, 30, 31n, 65n, 72n; in Connecticut, 96n; in Congress, 72n, 96–97nn; conventions of, 72n, 128n; declining strength of, 533; Democratic party and, 2; Douglass and, l; founding of, 72n, 187n; free blacks support, 106nn; in Illinois, 64, 326n; in Iowa, 64; Kansas-Nebraska Act opposed by, 31n, 72, 72–73nn, 96n; in Kentucky, 249n; Liberty party and, 2n, 7, 8n, 115n, 128, 128n, 187n; in Massachusetts, 42n, 65n, 97n, 265n, 304n, 312n, 342n; in New York, 2n, 7, 8n, 110n, 365n; newspapers of, 249n; in Ohio, 31n, 47, 72n, 74n, 96n; in Pennsylvania, 30, 31n; in Rochester, N.Y., 227n; Whig party and, 2n; in Wisconsin, 64 Free-State movement (Kansas), xxiv, 147–48, 147–48nn free trade, 298n Freedom, John, 561 Freedom’s Herald (New York City), 18n Freeman, Amos Noe, 525, 535 Freeman, M. H., 533 freedmen’s aid movement, 228n; abolitionist support for, 483n; British support for, 327, 385n, 441–42, 447, 450n; church support for, 483n; Douglass’s views on, xxxiii, 369, 384, 441–43, 444n, 482–83, 483n, 599; Garriso-

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 631

631 nians support, 483n; Charles C. Leigh and, 385n; in New York, 385n; schools supported by, 369, 378, 384n, 482, 483n, 486, 494; in Virginia, 384n; in Washington, D.C., 384n, 430n, 434n, 441–43, 443–44nn, 447, 480n, 596. See also individual aid societies Freedmen’s Book, The (Child), 492n Freedmen’s Bureau: bill to create, 326n, 481n; closing of, 481n; Charles R. Douglass works for, 19n, 248n; Lewis H. Douglass and, 481; Martin R. Delany and, 21n; hospitals of, 472n; Andrew Johnson opposes, 481n; leadership of, 601; schools of, 302n, 481n, 483n Freedman’s Hospital, Washington, D.C., 472n Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company, 59n Freemason’s Hall (London), 376n freemasonry: in California, 49n; Douglass and, 246n, free blacks as, 49n, 53n, 242, 246, 246n, 566; members of, 246n; in New York City, 242; rituals of, 336n; George Washington and, 246n Frémont, John C., xxix, 114n, 194n; alternative to Lincoln in 1864, 436n, 460n, 506n; Douglass praises, 321, 321n; proclamation of, 321, 321n, 591; as Republican candidate in 1856, 196, 201n, 261, 265n, 319n, 385n, 565–66; religion of, 198–99n Frémont Club (New York), 436n Frémont’s Proclamation, 194n, 591 French, Rodney, 525 French and Indian War, 158n Friends’ Review (Philadelphia), 296n, 376n Front Royal, Va., 451n Frothingham, Octavius Brooks, 249–50n Frost, Maria G., 578 Fry, Edmund, 291n Fugitive Blacksmith, The (Pennington), 86n, 114n Fugitive Slave Law (1793): Millard Fillmore enforces, 188n; legal cases under, 96n Fugitive Slave Law (1850): abolitionists oppose, 2n, 30, 39, 39n, 60n, 92, 188n, 272, 529, 536, 542; free blacks’ response to, 4–5nn, 39, 59n, 81–82, 246n, 336n, 496n, 529, 542; legal cases under, 9n, 81, 82–83nn, 179n, 217, 221–22nn, 517, 519, 532, 553, 558–59, 561, 570–71, 578, 586; commissioners under, 83n, 586; personal liberty laws frustrate, 255n, 547–48; Republican party opposes, 194n, 204n; rescues from, 2, 6n, 83n, 158n, 179n, 571, 578; as unconstitutional, 185n; Daniel Webster supports, 40n

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632 fugitive slaves: in Albany, N.Y., 2n, 272; autobiographies by, 4n; in Boston, 4n, 83n, 159n, 179n, 543; British assistance to, 588, 592–93; in Canada, 1, 4, 4–5nn, 19n, 39, 39–40nn, 51n, 119, 127n, 215, 226, 226n, 267, 268n, 292, 508, 543, 557, 561–62, 564, 574–75, 581–82, 590, 592, 596, 598; in Cincinnati, Ohio, 72n, 227, 227–28nn, 561; in Cleveland, Ohio, 127n, 382n; in Connecticut, 106; in Detroit, Mich., 4n, 50–51nn, 111, 111n; Douglass assists, 6, 6–7nn; during the Civil War, 327n; in Harrisburg, Pa., 221; imposters as, 518; in Indiana, 111n; in Massachusetts, 83n, 179n; in Michigan, 4n, 51n; name changes by, 198n; in New Haven, Conn., 106n; in New York, 6, 6–7nn, 60n, 226n; in New York City, 6, 37n, 86n, 114n 143n, 226n, 529; in Ohio, 127n, 382n, 578; in Pennsylvania, 86n, 96n, 217, 221n, 552, 570; personal liberty laws and, 96n, 255n; in Philadelphia, 197n, 217, 226n, 346n; rescues of, 2n, 4n, 6n; rendition of, 529; in Rochester, 39n, 49n, 215, 226–27nn, 268n, 291–92, 292–93n; in Syracuse, 2n, 4n, 6, 6–7nn, 39, 40n, 82n; in Washington, D.C., 472 Fuller, Hannah, 509 Fuller, Samuel, 565 Fulton Street Ferry (New York City), 86n fur trade, 274n Future of Africa, The (Crummell), 337, 338n Gaddis, M. P., Jr., 476n Gaffney, S.C., 142n “gag rule”: Henry Clay supports, 320n; John Quincy Adams fights, 65n, 399n; Joshua R. Giddings opposes, 96n Gage, Frances D., 556 Gage, Henry, 165n Gage, Matilda Joslyn, 165n Gaines, John J., 227, 228n Gaines’ Mill, Va., Battle of, 393n Gainesville, Ohio, 57n Galena, Ill., 566 Galusha, Elon, 297n Galusha, Eliza Bottum, 295, 297n Galusha, Jonas, 297n Gambia, 358n Gann, James (fictional character), 251, 253n Garbutt, William, 536 Garland of Freedom, The (Armistead), 287n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 632

INDEX Garnet, Henry Highland, 18n; as abolitionist, 560, 589; critics of, 108n; leads African Civilization Society, 103n, 240n, 584; Douglass disagrees with, xxxiii, 240n; in Great Britain, 113, 300n; given Lincoln’s cane, 497n; as minister, 12, 178, 239, 240n, 389n, 444n; favors freedmen’s memorial to Lincoln, 496n, 505, 505–06n; writes to Douglass, 556 Garrison, Helen, 43n. See Garrison, William Lloyd Garrison, William Lloyd, 5n, 128n; abolitionists criticize, 37n, 123n, 129–30, 505, 506n, 570; as American Anti-Slavery Society president, xxxiii, 5n, 128n, 396; in Baltimore, 5n; John Brown criticized by, 296n; antisabbatarianism and, 5n, 125n; capital punishment opposed by, 235n; churches criticized by, 5n; during Civil War, 399n; colonization opposed by, 5n; disunionism and, 5n, 17, 64n, 185n, 306n, 587; criticizes Douglass, xxvii, 1, 34, 36n, 41–42, 61n, 166, 176, 198, 199n, 213, 519, 523; Douglass breaks with, xxii, 17n, 43n, 305; Douglass criticizes, 185n; Douglass writes, 166–67, 312–14, 456–57; as editor of Liberator, xxii, xxvii, 5n, 37n, 60n, 125n, 185n, 214, 296n, 311n, 316n, 336n, 541; Emancipation League and, 329n followers of, xxii, 39n, 211n, 492n; free blacks and, 32, 32n, 39n,106n, 115–16nn, 163n, 346n, 454n, 541; Julia Griffiths attacked by, xxvii, 61, 213; Irish Americans and, 10n; Liberty party opposed to, 306n; Benjamin Lundy and, 5n, 130, 131n; Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and, 164n; mobs attack, 77n, 167n; pacifism and, 5n, 60n, 222n, 315; perfectionism and, 5n; Wendell Phillips and, 69n, 167n, 211n; Parker Pillsbury criticizes, 284n; politics and, 5n, 68n; religion and, 5n; Republican party and, 109, 260–61, 264n; retirement of, 5–6n, 429n; temperance and, 60n; U.S. Constitution and, 5n, 63–64, 64n, 115n, 184, 185n; voting and, 5n; women’s rights and, 5n, 60n; World’s Anti-Slavery Convention and, 465n. See also Garrisonians Garrisonian Boston Anti-Slavery Bazaar, 89n Garrisonians: abolitionist critics of, 37n, 558, 569–70, 587; antisabbatarianism and, 5n, 125n; bazaars of, 89n, 217, 221n; in Boston, 10n, 315; John Brown criticized by, 294–95, 296n; John Brown praised by, 315, 316n; Maria W. Chapman and, 41–42, 43n; churches

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INDEX and, 284n; comeouterism and, 128n; disunionism and, 5n, 17, 64n, 185n, 245n, 306n, 587; Douglass breaks with, xxii, xxvii, 43n, 79, 79n, 125n, 245n; Douglass criticized by, xxvii, 1, 3n, 34, 36n, 41, 42–43nn, 59–60nn, 61, 93n, 115n, 163nn, 189, 213, 218, 221–22n, 245n, 395, 522–23, 536; Emancipation League and, 329; free blacks and, 39n, 41, 42–43nn, 60n, 103n, 115n 163nn, 221–22n, 245n, 517, 569, 587; Free Soil party and, 227n; freedmen’s aid and, 483n; in Great Britain, xxx, 41, 213, 296n, 300n; Julia Griffiths attacked by, xxvii, 61, 213, 222n; react to Harpers Ferry Raid, 294–95, 296n; in Ireland, 86n, 89n, 282; Liberty party opposed to, 115n, 227n, 306n; Lincoln criticized by, 462; in Maine, 211n; in Massachusetts, xxx, 145n; in New England, xxx; in New York, 10n, 270n; In Ohio, 77n; newspapers of, 5n, 41, 43n, 59, 60n, 77n, 112, 115n, 166, 166n, 198–88, 219–20, 223m, 245n, 275n, 284n, 297n, 483n, 492n, 518, 530, 536, 573; pacifism and, 5n, 10n, 43, 59, 60n, 218, 222n, 315; in Pennsylvania, 60n, 218; perfectionism and, 5n, 128n; Parker Pillsbury criticizes, 284n; political action and, xxx, 5n, 68n, 128n, 305, 306n; Quakers and, 60n, 270n; radical political abolitionists and, 573; religious views of, xxvii, 10n, 60n, 125n, 213; in Rochester, 270n; on Reconstruction, 505, 506n; in Scotland, xxx; temperance and, 10n, 60n; as Underground Railroad conductors, 270n; U.S. Constitution and, xxx, 5n, 43n, 60n, 63–64, 64n, 115n, 184, 185n, 300n; Wendell Phillips as, 60n, 79n, 165n, 211n, 315, 316n, 395–96, 399n, 465n, 543; women’s rights and, 5n, 10n, 43n, 60n, 78n Gay, Sydney H., 530 Genesee River, 297n Geneva, N.Y., 33, 34n, 515 Geneva, Switz., 376n Geneva Medical College, 7n, 360n, 504n Genius of Universal Emancipation (Garrison and Lundy), 5n, 131n George, Henry, 376n George III, 23 Georgia, 370n; Civil War in, 405, 406n, 453n, 461, 464n, 476–77nn; free blacks in, 429n; slavery in, 190 German Americans, xxv, 22, 56n, 71n; in Boston, 495n; Democratic party and, 308,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 633

633 310n, 359; in U.S. elections, 308, 359n; in Massachusetts, 485; as nativist targets, 359n; Republican party and, 310n; in Rochester, N.Y., 287, 287n Germany: African colonies of, 358n; immigrants from, 287, 287n, 485n Gerrish, Oliver J., 329n Gerry, N.J., 539 Gettysburg, Pa., Battle of, 412n, 440n Gibbons, Anna Denn, 362, 364–65n Gibbons, Susan, 365n Gibbons, William, 364–65n Gibbs, Joseph, 361, 363n Gibbs, Sarah, 363n Giddings, Joshua Reed, 96n; in Congress, 92–93; Gerrit Smith praises, 93 Gilbert, Edward, 436n; Douglass writes, 436 Gilbert, H. M., 543, 587 Gillette, Francis, 92, 96n, 550 Gillmore, Quincy A., 406n Gilmanton Theological Seminary (N.H.), 284n Gilmore, Hiram S., 249n Giltner v. Gorham (1848), 9n Girard College, 98n Gladstone, William E., 283n, 298n Glasgow, Scot.: abolitionists in, 167n, 554, 557, 560, 575; Douglass visits, 167n; merchants of, 575; universities in, 7n, 232n Glen Haven Water Cure, 534 Gloucester, James M. 529 Goines, George W., 539, 557, 574 Goines, John I., 523 Goldsboro, N.C., 406n Goodell, William: as abolitionist, 60n, 187n, 218, 374, 567; American Abolition Society and, 187n, 304n; Douglass and, 60n, 145; aids free blacks, 31, 32n; edits Principia, 304n; edits Radical Abolitionist, xxviii, 304n; Radical Abolitionist party and, xxviii, 144n, 145, 181n, 567; Gerrit Smith and, 194n, 198, 198n, 304n; U.S. Constitution and, 63–64, 65n Goodman, William F., 526 Goodrick, Ann Mary Pritchard, 447, 450n Goodrick, George, 450n Gordon, Charlotte Ann, 51n Gordon, Francis, 159n Gordon, Henry, 108n, 478n Gordon, Sarah, 478n Govan, Charity, 517

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634 Government Printing Office. See U.S. Government Printing Office Gower, Mo., 155n gradual emancipation, 542; Thomas Hart Benton advocates, 77n; Montgomery Blair supports, 350n; churches and, 141n; Civil War proposals for, 328, 328–29n, 350n, 360n, 419n; colonization and, 360n; compensation and, 215n; Lincoln supports, 328, 328–29n, 419n; in West Indies, 47, 179n Grand River Institute, 222n Grand Trunk Railroad (Ont.), 119n Granger, Amos P., 184n Granger, Francis B., 110n Grant, Ulysses S.: appointments of 248n, 265n, 404n; as Civil War officer, 407n, 423n, 453n, 479n; halts prisoner exchanges, 453n; as president, 165n, 265n, 481n Granville, N.Y., 224n Gratiot, Ohio, 208n Great Britain, xxi; abolitionists in, xxii, xxiv, xxviii–xxx, 3, 5n, 17, 19–20n, 25, 41–42, 67n, 115n, 126, 128–29, 129n, 152–53, 162, 166, 201–202, 202–203n, 221n, 232n, 250–52, 252–55nn, 268n, 282n, 295, 299–300nn, 307n, 316, 317–18nn, 322–23, 323n, 373–75, 375n, 377, 431, 434n, 449–60, 508–09, 543, 550–54, 556–57, 560, 562–63, 565–67, 569–71, 574, 579–81, 585, 589–90, 592–99, 601–02; Americans revolt against, 569; army of, 67n, 408n, 427n; Civil War and, xxxi, 26n, 372–73, 373n, 594, 599, 601; colonies of, 337, 358n; colonization supported by, 338, 339n; Confederate propaganda in, xxxi; Confederate support in, 322, 374, 432, 434–35nn, 457–58, 590, 594–95, 599; Crimean War and, 134, 140n; Cuba and, 175; Douglass in, xxii, xxiv, xxx, 43n, 113, 143n, 232n, 245n, 281–82, 291–92, 293n, 294–96, 316n, 587, 589, 601; Emancipation Proclamation celebrated in, 596; free blacks visit, xxii, xxiv, xxx, 3n, 41, 43n, 50n, 113, 115n, 126, 204–05n, 224n, 250n, 279, 281–83, 286, 288, 288n, 294–96, 296n, 300n, 304, 323–24nn, 364n, 400n, 515, 585–88; Free Produce movement and, 203n, 291n, 300n, 376n; freedmen’s aid assisted by, 602; immigrants from, 140n, 427n; imperial growth of, 68n; industry of, 434–35nn; judiciary of, 9n; merchants in,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 634

INDEX 375n; Methodists in, 282n, 342; monarchs of, 191n, 208, 208n; newspapers in, 375n, 594; nicknames for, 137, 142n; Opium Wars and, 358n; pacifism in, 291n, 317n, 447; parliament of, 375n; Presbyterian Church in, 450n; Quakers in, 124n, 193n, 253–54nn, 268n, 298–300nn, 317–8nn, 375n, 447, 449n, 599; Charles Remond in, 115n; racism absent in, 115n; sailors of, 135; Harriet Beecher Stowe visits, 17, 19n, 162; temperance movement in, 67–68n, 129, 252n, 323–24nn, 286n, 291n; Underground Railroad supported by, 589; Unitarians in, 129n, 178n, 323–24nn; U.S. relations with, 65n, 96n; in War of 1812, 309n, 357n, 360n; women’s rights in, 5n, 283n, 323n, 436n, 450n Great Falls, N.H., 173n Great Falls Manufacturing Company, 173n Great Western Railway, 119, 119n Greater Antilles, 224n Grebo (tribe), 183n Greece, 74n, 206–07n, 221n Greeley, Horace, 6n; abolition opposed by, 531; abolitionists criticize, 562, 567, 575; advocates Civil War peace negotiations, 464n; colonization supported by, 515–16, 521; free blacks and, 364n, 521, 575; New York Tribune and, 6n, 8n, 121n, 151n, 264n, 302n; Republican party and, 121n; Whig party and, 8n Green, A. M., 585 Green, Augustus R., 51n; advocates emigration, 44; as Methodist minister, 51n Green, Beriah, 112, 114, 115n; Douglass and, 211; family of, 186n, 304, 305n; as Radical Political Abolitionist, 181n Green, Jonathan Smith, 305n Green, Samuel Worcester, 186–87n, 304, 305n Green, Shields, 293n Green, Theodosia Arnold, 305 Green, William R., 522 Greene, John, 321n Greene, Martha W., 321n; writes to Douglass, 320–21, 591, 600, 602, 603 Greene, Mary Hodges, 321n Greene, William Arnold, 321, 321–22n Greene, William F., 321, 322n Greene County, Ohio, 181n Greenfield, Eliza (“Black Swan”), 512, 546 Greenleaf Point, D.C., 395, 398n

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INDEX Greenport, N.Y., 81, 157, 158n Greenville, Tenn., 131n Greenwood Hall (Cincinnati), 77n Gregg, James, 587 Grew, Mary, 60n Grey, Miss, 247, 248n Grey, Charles, 307n Grier, Robert, 9n Griffin, Gershom, 368n Griffin, Hannah Hoxie, 368n Griffing, E. M., 517 Griffing, W. D., 596 Griffiths, Arthur Joseph, 452n Griffiths, Charlotte Powis, 3 Griffiths, Eliza, 3n Griffiths, Julia, 3n, 155n; abolitionist activity of, 250–52, 295, 316, 377, 431, 550–54, 556–57, 560, 562–63, 566–67, 570–71, 574, 580–81, 590–91, 593, 595–97; Douglass meets, 3; Douglass writes, 377, 447, 468–70, 470n, 478; fundraising by, 266, 322, 323n, 592, 599; Frederick Douglass’ Paper and, xxii, xxvii, 61, 69, 69n, 104, 123n, 152–53, 155n, 185, 186n, 213, 251, 266, 268n, 447, 571, 576, 581; freedmen’s aid efforts of, 443n, 601; Garrisonians criticize, xxvii, 3n, 61, 213, 222n; hosts Douglass, 281–82, 291–92, 292n, 295, 603; Lincoln criticized by, 591; North Star and, 155n; in Rochester, xxviii; returns to Great Britain, xxviii, 133–39, 152–53, 155n, 186n, 550; admires William H, Seward, 588, 590; Gerrit Smith and, 1, 25n, 33, 34n, 69, 69n, 76, 76n, 79, 80n, 104, 523–24, 592–93; travels of, xxii, 523–24, 530, 550–51, 553–54, 556–57, 560, 562–68, 574, 578, 582–83, 593; writes to Douglass, xxii, 69, 133–43, 250–54, 266, 322–23, 377–78, 447–49, 478–79, 523–24, 536, 550, 573, 578, 580, 585, 593 Griffiths, Mary Powis, 251, 253n Griffiths, Thomas, 3 Grimball’s Landing, S.C., Battle of, 406n Grimes, Leonard A., 83n, 179n; Anthony Burns and, 179n; church of, 178, 453n; writes to Douglass, 518 Grimké, Angelina, 10n Grimké, Francis J., 76n Grimké, Sarah, 76n, 524 Griscom, Rachel Denn, 365n Gulf of Mexico, 224n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 635

635 habeas corpus, 124n, 184–85n Haddam, Conn., 106n Hagerstown, Md., 3, 22n Hagood, Johnson, 406n Haiti, 224n; emigration to, xxx, 42n, 44–49, 246n, 302n, 335, 367, 369n, 382n, 472n, 583, 590, 594; immigration from, 108n; missionaries to 51–52nn; philanthropy for, 520; poverty of, 52n, 223n; revolution against French rule over, 467n; slave revolution in, 53n, 246n; slavery in, 399n; U.S. recognition of, 52n, 466, 467n, 542, 593 Haitian Emigration Bureau: abolitionists and, 302n; Douglass and, 367, 590, 594; free blacks and, 42n, 382n; Pine and Palm and, 367, 369n; James Redpath leads, 369n, 382n Hale, John Parker, 341n Halifax, Eng., 245n; abolitionists in, 281–82, 431–33, 585, 588; churches in, 436n; debate over Civil War in, 434–35nn; Douglass in, 281–82, 286, 291–92, 293n, 294–96, 316, 317n, 449; Methodists in, 282n; newspapers in, 432, 435n Halifax (Eng.) Courier, 435n Halifax (Eng.) Guardian, 435n Halifax Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society: contributes to Douglass’s work, 322, 323n; freedmen’s aid efforts of, 431, 443n, 436; Julia Griffiths founds, 282n; hosts Douglass lecture, 316, 317n; assists Rochester abolitionists, 579, 588; Douglass writes, 281–82 Hall, James, 268n; Douglass writes, 268–69 Hall, Nathan Kelsey, 7–8, 8–9n, 9–10n Hall, Nicholas, 547 Hall, Prince, 246n Hallowell, Edward Needles, 403n, 406, 408n, 426 Hallowell, Mary, 295, 297n Hallowell, Norwood Penrose, 387n, 402, 403n Hallowell, William R., 235n, 295, 297n, 521 Hambleton, Ned, 486, 488n Hambleton, Samuel, 487n Hambleton, Thomas, 487n Hamburg, Ger., 230 Hamilton, Alexander, 360n, 410n Hamilton, Charles, 250n Hamilton, Robert, 410n; Douglass writes, 409–10 Hamilton, Thomas, 410n Hamilton, William T., 410n

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636 Hamilton, Ohio, 174n Hamilton, Ont., 562 Hamilton College, 240n Hamilton Street Methodist Church (Albany, N.Y.), 389n Hammond, Charles A., 510, 513 Hammond, J. C., 588–89 Hampstead, Eng., 252n Hampton, N.Y., 360n Han Dynasty, 358n Hanley, Eng.: churches of, 451n; Julia Griffiths resides in, 432, 434n, 447–49, 478–79 Hanna, Robert, 29, 30n, 31n Hansell, Emerick, 479n Hanson, Abraham, 467n Haphazard Plantation, Talbot County, Md., 488n Happ, Charles, 313n; Douglass writes, 313–14; writes to Douglass, 313 Hardcastle, John, Jr., 1690n Harden, William J., 586 Harlan, John Marshall, 368n Harlan, Mary Louise Dorsey, 366, 368n Harlan, Robert J., 368n Harned, William, 509, 511 Harper, Edward, 167, 170n Harper, William S., 170n Harper’s New Monthly Magazine (New York City), 121n Harper’s Weekly, 223n Harpers Ferry Raid (1859): John Brown leads, xxiv, xxix–xxx, 39n, 147n, 280n, 302, 404n; Douglass and, xxiv, xxix–xxx, 191n, 250n, 277–79, 280n, 281–82, 285n,, 286, 288–92, 288n, 292–93nn, 586; memory of, 367; raiding party members, 277, 280n, 283 285n, 292, 292–93nn; James Redpath and, 588; “Secret Six” and, 304–05n, 307n, 312n, 404n; slave response to, 302 Harris, Dennis, 35, 37n Harris, Ira, 118, 120n Harris, John, 488–89n Harrisburg, Pa.: free blacks in, 125n, 552; fugitive slaves in, 221n Harrison, Joseph, 488n Harrison, Mary, 488n Harrison, Polly, 486, 488n Harrison, Samuel, 171n Harrison, William H., 309–10n; George DeBaptiste and, 111n; election of, 307; as president, 111n, 171n; Daniel Webster and, 40n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 636

INDEX Harrison County, Ky., 249n Hartford, Conn.: churches of, 101n; Civil War and, 406–07n; free blacks in, 59n, 101n, 103n; Liberty party in, 96n; merchants of, 263n Hartford (Conn.) Courant, 561 Harvard Divinity School, 312n, 399n Harvard Law School, 98n, 204n Harvard Medical School, 21n, 285n Harvard University, 42n, 285n, 319n, 399n, 407n, 440n, 465n Hathaway, Joseph C., 189n; Douglass writes, 188–89 Hathaway, Phebe, 189n Haven, Solomon George, 94, 97n Haverford College, 375n Haverhill, N.H., 177n Haverstock Hill, Eng., 250, 252n Haviland, Laura S., 531, 536, 560 Hawaii Islands, 305n Hawks, Betsey D.: advocates women’s rights, 454, 533, 551; praises William Watkins, 533; criticizes Charles Stuart, 541; writes Douglass, 454, 533, 541, 551 Hawley, Francis, 569 Hayden, Lewis, 453n Hayes, Rutherford B., 173n, 248n, 419n Haynes, Daniel, 80n, 81n Hazlett, Albert, 292, 293n, 294n Henderson, John, 470n Henry, Patrick, 23, 24n Herald of Freedom (Concord, N.H.), 284n Herald of Freedom (Wilmington, Ohio), 249n Herodotus, 205, 206–07n Heroic Slave, The (Douglass), xxvii Herries, William, 584 Hertha, or the Story of a Soul (Bremer), 140n Heyick, Elizabeth, 127, 128n Hibbard, F. G., 564 Hibernian Anti-Slavery Society, 254n Hicks, Levi J., 509 Hicks, Thomas, 470n Hicksite Quakers, 235n Higginson, Thomas W., 312n; Anthony Burns rescue and, 83n; Douglass writes, 522 “Higher Law,” 26n, 525 Highland Military Academy (Worcester, Mass.), 322n Hilliard, Joseph, 172n Hillsboro, N.C., 77n Hillsboro Academy, 169n

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INDEX Hillsboro Circuit (A.M.E. Church), 50n Hillsborough, Md., 52n, 167, 170n, 276n Hillsdale, Mich., 167, 169n Hilton, William, 370n Hilton Head, S.C.: Civil War engagements at, 370n, 404n, 405, 406n; freedmen aid mission at, 369, 370–71n; military camp at, 427n, 452–53, 453n, 476 Hincks, Hannah, 252, 254n Hincks, Mary B., 254n Hincks, Thomas D., 254n Hine, L. A., 559 Hiner, John, 576 Hinton, Richard J. 303n, 595 History of the Anti- Slavery Cause in State and Nation, The (Willey), 341n History of Woman Suffrage (Stanton, Anthony, and Gage), 165n Hitchens, John, 108n Hoboken, N.J., 249n, 485n, 601 Hobomok (Child), 492n Holland, Justin, 103n Holley, Sally, 557 Hollis Street Church (Boston), 144n Holly, J. C., 515, 520 Holly, James Theodore, 51–52n; advocates emigration, 44, 51–52n, 246n; lectures on freemasonry, 242–43 Holyhead, Wales, 138, 142n Homer, Elias Pool, 397, 401n Homer, N.Y., 516 The Homes of the New World: Impressions of America, The (Bremer), 141n homestead proposals, 75, 76n, 326n Hong Kong, China, 207n Hood, John Bell, 464n Hooker, Joseph, 394n Hopkins, Harrison, 489n Hopper, Isaac T., 493 Horton, B., 565 Hosmer, Ann Fosgate, 395, 398n Hosmer, Castalio, Jr., 398n Hosmer, Castalio, Sr., 395, 400n Hosmer, Harriet Wyman, 401n Hosmer, Laura, 397, 401n Hosmer, Lucinda, 398n; writes to Douglass, 394–97 Hosmer, Ruth Clark, 398–99nn, 402n Houghton, Eng., 593 Housatonic River, 83n Houston, Samuel, 524

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 637

637 Howard, O. O., 481n Howard Athenaeum, (New York City), 297n Howard University, 472n Howland, Emily, 444n Howland, Joseph Avery, 311, 312n Huddersfield, Eng., 266, 267n Hudson, Ohio, 147n Hudson Academy (New York City), 274n Hudson River, 71n, 587 Hughan, Jessie Wallace, 376n Hughan, Samuel, 374–75 Hughes, John H., 108n Hughes, Peter, 526 Hull, Eng., 171n “Humpty Dumpty” (character), 152n Hunter, David, 341n Huntingdonshire, Eng., 324n Hurdenburgh, Mrs., 554 Hurley, Nathaniel, 406, 408n Hurn, John W., 191, 368n; as photographer, 368n; rescues Douglass, 368n; Rosetta Douglass resides with, 368n; writes to Douglass, 189–91 Hurn, Sarah Griffin, 368n; Rosetta Douglass resides with, 367, 368n hydropathy, xxii–xxiii, 29, 82n, 534 Ida May (Pike), 537 Idaho, 49n Illinois: abolitionists in, 160–61, 222n, 326n, 373n, 513; Black Laws in, 23, 24n, 56n, 510–11, 540, 568, 570; churches in, 36n; Civil War and, 22n, 326n; Douglass in, xxix, 22n, 56n, 118n, 161n, 245n, 249n; free blacks in, 22n, 24n, 51n, 55, 56, 56n, 373n, 381–82, 382–83n, 508, 510, 525–27, 540, 551, 568; Free Soil party in, 64, 326n; fugitive slaves in, 585, 593; legislature of, 510, 540–42; Liberty party in, 326n; newspapers of, 55; Republican party in, 222n, 304n, 326n, 467n; Underground Railroad in, 56n, 373n, 521; Whig party in, 304n Illinois Colonization Society, 383n Illinois Colored Convention (1856), 56n Immediate, Not Gradual Abolition; or An Inquiry into the Shortest, Safest, and Most Effectual Means of Getting Rid of West Indiana Slavery (Heyrick), 128n immigrants: as Catholics, 119n, 540; from China, 35, 36n, 454; from East Indies, 35; from England, 3n, 178; from France, 194n;

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638 immigrants (continued) from Germany, 287, 287n, 485n; from Great Britain, 3n, 178; from Ireland, 173n; in Philadelphia, 411n; in Rochester, N.Y., 287, 287n, 598; in Union army, 411n; from Scotland, 302n; from Sweden, 424, 425n; from West Indies, 223–24nn Impartial Citizen (Syracuse, N.Y.), 4n indentured servants: in Maryland, 170n Independent (New York City): articles in, 269, 271n; as abolitionist paper, 218, 222n; Henry Ward Beecher edits, 14n, 223n, 332, 333n; Congregationalist Church and, 222n; Douglass praises, 369; Douglass writes for, xxxi, 372, 372–73nn; subscribers to, 333n; Theodore Tilton edits, 141n, 222–23n, 332n, 371n, 379, 462 Independent Methodist Episcopal Church, 51n India: grows cotton, 379n; kingdoms in, 191n; Sepoy Rebellion in, 575 Indiana, 169n; abolitionists in, 227–28n, 299n; antiabolitionists in, 557; Black Laws of, 24n, 111n; churches in, 141n; Democratic party in, 146, 148n; Douglass speaks in, 402n; fugitive slaves in, 111n; government of, 309n; personal liberty law of, 96n; Quakers in, 227n, 295, 299n; Underground Railroad in, 227–28n Indiana State Anti-Slavery Society, 228n Indiana Yearly Meeting of Anti-Slavery Friends, 299n Indianapolis, Ind., 141n Indians. See Native Americans industrial schools. See manual-labor colleges Infirm and Aged Women’s Society (Birmingham, Eng.), 203n Ingraham, Nathanial, 62n Innes, Alexander, 595 Inquirer (London), 129n, 442 “Inspector,” 120n; writes to Douglass, 119–22 Institute for Colored Youth (Philadelphia), 108n, 224 Interesting Account of Thomas Anderson, a Slave (Anderson), 538 International Peace Conference (Paris), 375n Iowa: abolitionists in, 62n, 64n, 148n, 285n, 293n; free blacks in, 472n, 571, 576; Free Soil party in, 64; Quakers in, 293n Ipswich, Eng., 566 Ireland: abolitionists in, 86n, 88, 254n, 282n, 310n, 324n, 326, 327n, 592; British rule,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 638

INDEX 298n; Celtic religion in, 238n; Douglass in, 88, 113, 324n; free blacks, 113; Home Rule and, 283n, 324n; immigrants from, 173n; kings of, 238n; Land League in, 298n; merchants in, 254n; nationalism in, 302n; nicknames of, 354, 359n; Quakers in, 254n, 282n; Protestantism in, 327n Irish Americans, 23; antiabolitionism of, 76n, 310n, 523; in Chicago, 596; support Democratic party, 110n, 308, 310n, 586; in Massachusetts, 18n; nativism against, 354, 359n, 540; in New York City, 71–72n, 523; in Philadelphia, 310n; racism of, 310n, 593; Republican party and, 308; as Roman Catholics, 308; reject temperance, 310n; in Worcester, Mass., 310n Irish Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, 326, 327n, 592 “Irrepressible Conflict, The,” (Seward), 26n Isaac T. Hopper: A True Life (Child), 492, 493n Island Mound, Mo., Battle of, 595 Isle of Wight, Eng., 298n Israel A.M.E. Church (Albany, N.Y.), 122n Israel Baptist Church (Washington, D.C.), 476n Israel Church (Philadelphia), 108n, 125n Italy, 207n; African colonies of, 358n; imports from Liberia, 339n; in Roman times, 383n; unification of, 283n, 590 Ithaca, N.Y., 148n, 156n, 386 Jackson, Andrew, 40n; appointments by, 309n, 319n, 349n; commands free black soldiers, 354, 357n; Democratic supporters of, 98n, 148n, 309n; as president, 360n; Martin Van Buren and, 309n; in War of 1812, 351, 357n, 360n Jackson, Amos G., 441n Jackson, Sarah Woodward, 164n Jackson, T. A., 541 Jackson, Thomas, 122n Jackson, Thomas (“Stonewall”), 99–100n, 194n, 451n Jackson, William, 164n Jackson, William (Fifth Massachusetts Calvary Regiment), 441n Jackson, Miss., 444n Jackson Street A.M.E. Church (Chicago), 249n Jacobite Rebellions, 449n Jacobs, Harriet, 379n

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INDEX Jamaica: free blacks in, 18n, 178, 179n; emigration to, 472n; immigrants from, 224n; slavery in, 179n James II (Eng.), 9n James, Garth Wilkinson, 406, 408n James, Henry, Jr., 408n James, Henry, Sr., 408n James Island, S.C., 403n, 405, 406–07nn James River (Va.), 352, 440n Jamestown, Va., 358n Janesville, Wisc., 586 Japan, 36n Java, 71n Jay, John (1745–1829), 265n Jay, John (1817–94), 265n; Douglass writes, 265–66; as Protestant Episcopalian, 519; publishes Douglass’s pamphlet, 319n, 583; writes Douglass, 265–66 Jay, William, 240n; colonization opposed by, 517; Douglass eulogizes, xxx, 239, 242, 265–66, 319, 319n, 583 Jefferson, Thomas, 350n; Benjamin Banneker and, 351, 357n; supports colonization, 348–49; Declaration of Independence and, 350n; on race, 348–49; opposes recognition of Haiti, 467n; as secretary of state, 357n; as slaveholder, 350n Jefferson, Ohio, 74n Jefferson City, Mo., 64n Jefferson College (Cannonsburg, Pa.), 50n Jefferson County, N.Y., 179, 587 Jeffersonian (Albany, N.Y.), 8n Jeffery, Mary Ann, 33, 33n, 34n Jeffrey, Jason, 33n, 551 Jeffreys, George, 7, 9n Jehovah, 67 Jenkins, David, 53–54n; colonization opposed by, 535, 538; advocates emigration, 44; racism denounced by, 564; Rochester convention and, 514; writes to Douglass, 519, 549 Jenkins, E. S., 515 Jennings, Ann, 89n, 324n Jennings, Charlotte, 89n Jennings, Elizabeth, 264n Jennings, Helen, 89n Jennings, Isabel, 89n, 324n Jennings, Thomas L., 263n; as abolitionist, 324n; Cuba visited by, 88, 89n; family of, 264n; friendship with Douglass, 88, 89n, 258 Jericho, N.Y., 270n “Jerry Level, The” (Douglass), 1–2, 6n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 639

639 Jerry Rescue (Syracuse, N.Y.): abolitionists and, 6n, 115n; free blacks and, 4n; Gerrit Smith and, 6n, 404n Jerry Rescue celebrations: Douglass speaks at, 158n, 198–201, 199–202nn; Gerrit Smith speaks at, 272, 274n; in Syracuse, N.Y., xxix, 1, 156–57, 158n, 201n; John L. Thomas organizes, 274n Jerry Rescue trial (Albany, N.Y.), 1–2, 8, 9–10nn; accused in, 39, 40n; Samuel J. May, Jr., and, 8, 9–10n, 158n; Gerrit Smith, 7–8, 9–10n Jews, 114 Jim Crow. See racism Jim Lane Trail, 148n Joanna (Biblical character), 235n Jocelyn, S. S., 163n; Douglass writes, 163 John Brown League (Detroit, Mich.), 50n “John Bull” (symbol), 293n John F. Cook School (Washington, D.C.), 444n Johnson, Andrew, 148n; assassination contemplated, 479n; clashes with Simon Cameron, 404, 419n; meets Douglass, 240n; impeachment trial of, 326n, 360n; Radical Republicans oppose, 326n; as vice–presidential candidate, 457 Johnson, George A., 589 Johnson, H. W., 538 Johnson, James Rawson, 82n; as abolitionist, 157, 511, 543, 567, 571, 582–83; children of, 591; criticizes Douglass, 514; as Frederick Douglass’ Paper agent, 520, 546; friendship with Douglass, 156; Lincoln supported by, 588; as pacifist, 530; proslavery churches criticized by, 514, 554; as Radical Abolitionist, 531; Republican party criticized by, 558, 572, 580; criticizes Gerrit Smith, 272, 274n; as temperance advocate, 520; votes for Whig candidate, 529; writes to Douglass, 81–83, 156–58, 515–16, 524–25, 537, 543, 551, 556, 567–68, 582 Johnson, Oliver, 60n, 245n Johnson, R. H., 515 Johnson, Reverdy, 470n Johnson, Thomas, 568 Johnson, William, 568 Johnston, Joseph, 252n, 393n, 464n Johnston, Mary Cook, 250, 252n Johnston, Robert M., 573, 575 Johnstown, N.Y., 166n Jones, E. S., 531

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640 Jones, George Washington, 94, 98n Jones, John, 56n; opposes Black Laws, 570; opposes emigration, 56n, 520, 522; writes to Douglass, 55, 372–73, 514, 521–22 Jones, John W., 478n Jones, Mary A., 478n Jones, Mary Jane Richardson, 373, 373n, 588 Jones, Thomas Mason, 432, 435n Journeyman Tailors’ Almshouse, Haverstock Hill, Eng., 252n Joy Street Church (Boston), 316n Juba, Harriet, 222n Juvenile Miscellany (Boston), 492n K_____, Charlotte: writes Douglass, 56–59, 519 Kane, John K., 221n Kankakee, Ill., 401n Kansas (state): freedmen’s aid work in, 480n; legislature of, 342n; Republican party in, xxxi, 342n Kansas Territory: abolitionists in, 148n, 181–82n, 285n, 301–03nn, 312n, 342n, 544, 547; admission as a free state, 301n; Border Ruffians in, 155–56nn, 250n; John Brown in, xxiv, 39n, 147n, 224n, 244n, 302n; Civil War and, 147n, 155n; Democratic party in, 155n; free blacks in, 145–46; free state struggle in, xxiv, 39n, 64n, 99n, 145–47, 147–49nn, 153, 156n, 181–82nn, 189, 285n, 294n, 302n, 304n, 312n, 328, 342n, 544, 549, 557, 564; Lecompton Constitution of, 99n; Native Americans in, 294n; Franklin Pierce and, 148n, 156n; racism in, 145–46, 148–49nn, 534, 560; reporters in, 302–03nn; Republican party in, 181–82n, 328; territorial government of, 99n, 146, 148–49nn, 153, 155–56nn Kansas-Nebraska Act: abolitionists oppose, xxiii, 31n, 63n, 76, 77n, 79, 79n, 83n, 90n, 308, 526–27, 529, 542; Democratic party supports, 31n, 62n, 75n, 76, 77n, 80n, 95n, 98n, 146, 148n, 155n, 309n, 525; Stephen A. Douglas authors, 79–80n, 95n, 534; Free Soil party opposes, 31n, 72, 72n–74nn, 76n, 96n; Franklin Pierce supports, 62n; Gerrit Smith opposes, xxiii, 63n, 79, 79n, 90; South supports, 90–91; Whig party and, 63n, 75n, 109, 110n, 194n, 524, 531 Keckley, Elizabeth, 434n, 444n Keeling, W. F., 108n Kelley, Abigial, 306n Kelso, Abby, 323n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 640

INDEX Kelso, Scot., 323n, 376 Kemp, George S., 346n Ken, Thomas, 227n Kendall, J. C., 530 Kennedy, John Pendleton, 470nn Kentucky: abolitionists in, 536, 571, 587; antiabolitionist mobs in, 557; Civil War in, 372n, 423n; Henry Clay and, 320n, 383n; Democratic party in, 80n, 97–99nn, 468n; emancipation in, 328–29n, 466, 554; free blacks in, 159n; Free Soil party in, 249n; fugitive slaves from, 227; lawyers in, 155n; legislature of, 97–99nn; slaveholders in, 119; slavery in, 4n, 118, 127n, 159n, 227n, 249n, slaves in, 58n, 127n, 159n, 227; Underground Railroad in, 57n; Whig party in, 99n, 320n Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, 474n Keokuk Medical College, Keokuk, Iowa, 492n Kepler, Johannes, 566 Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, A (Stowe), 142n Kilbourne, Wisc., 451n King, James, 562–63 King, Lyndon, 511 King, Mary G., 513 King, William, 590 King George County, Va., 99n Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, 98n Kingsbury, Allen, 511 Kingsbury, Samuel, 577 Kinney, O. P., 587 Kinston, N.C., 406n Knight, P., 516 Knowles, Charles, 82, 83n “Know-Nothing” party: abolitionists denounce, 194n, 540; antislavery sentiment in, 542; in Baltimore, Md., 467n; in Connecticut, 561; decline of, 599; Kansas-Nebraska Act and, 109; lodges of, 110n; in Massachusetts, 99–100n, 204n, 261, 265n, 540, 542; in New York City, 121n; in New York State, 274n, 559; Republican party competes with, 188n; rioting by, 359n; sectional division in 1856, 261; in Virginia, 280n. See also American party; nativism Koëhler, Amalie Susanne Jaeger, 484, 485n Koëhler, Sylvester Rosa, n; Douglass writes, 484; writes Douglass, 484 Koh-i-noor, 189, 181n Kosciuszko, Andrej Tadeusz Bonawentura, 285n

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INDEX Koszta, Martin, 62–63n Kru (tribe), 183n Kudlich, Hans, 249n Kudlich, Luise, 249n Ladies’ Freedmen and Soldiers’ Relief Association, Washington, D.C., 434n, 441, 444n, 447n, 450n Ladies’ Irish Anti-Slavery Society, 254n Ladies’ Negro’s Friend Society of Birmingham, Eng., 593 Ladies’ Temperance Movement, 203n Lafayette, Marquis de (Marie-Joseph-PaulYves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier), 241, 244n, 285n Lagos, Nigeria, 224n Laing, Emily Baker, 480n Laing, Thomas, 480n Lake County, Ohio, 177n Lake Erie, 51n, 177n, 359n Lake Ontario, 133 Laleham, Eng., 298n Lamb, Marshall, 453n Lambert, William, 51n; advocates emigration, 44; Underground Railroad and, 111n Lamphear, Ethan, 586 Lancashire County, Eng., 346n, 378, 379n land reform, 30; abolitionists support, 526, 559; Homestead Act and, 525; Gerrit Smith supports, 25, 25n, 76n, 238n, 515, 531 Lane, James H., 146, 147–48n, 148n, 394n Lane Theological Seminary, 72n, 141n Lang, J. B., 543 Langston, John Mercer: as abolitionist, 533; attends black conventions, 33n, 514; as lawyer, 18n; freedmen’s aid work of, 429n; James McCune Smith praises, 567; writes Douglass, 538 Lansing, Phoenix, 118, 119n Latimer Hall (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 460, 463, 463n Lausanne, Fr., 253n, 376n Law and Order party (Rhode Island), 105n Lawrence, George L., 369n Lawrence, Kans., 147–48nn, 153, 156n, 181n Lawrenceburg, Ind., 141n League of Universal Brotherhood, 291n Lebanon, Ohio, 319n Lecompton, Kansas, 147n Lecompton Constitution, 99n Lee, Fitzhugh, 438, 440n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 641

641 Lee, Lavinia Jones, 373n Lee, Robert E.: battles of, 381n, 393–95nn; surrender of, 407n, 444n, 478, 479n. See also Army of Northern Virginia Leeds, Eng., 298n; abolitionists in, 322, 448; Douglass in, 295; Liberals in, 378n; newspapers in, 374, 375n, 470n Leeds Mercury, 374, 375n, 377, 378n, 443n, 447–48, 470n Leesburg, Va., 179n Leeward Islands, 224n Leigh, Charles C., 384, 385n Leipzig, Ger., 485n Lenon, N.Y., 117n Le Raysville Congregational Church, 238n Lesley, John Peter, 197n Lesley, Susan Inches, 198n; Douglass writes, 197–98 Lesser Antilles, 224n Letcher, John, 94, 98n Letchworth, Josiah, 110n; writes to Douglass, 109–10, 535 Letter to Thomas Clarkson, by James Cropper and Prejudice Vincible (Stuart), 68n Lewis, John W.: on abolitionism in Vermont, 541–42, 546; supports Liberty party, 540; on Republican party, 543; supports Underground Railroad, 526; writes Douglass, 526–28, 531–32, 538 Lewis, Sarah, 68n Lexington, Ky., 97n, 127n, 227, 473n, 497n Lexington, Mass., 401n Liberal party (Great Britain): leadership of, 283n; newspapers of, 375n; parliamentarians of, 298n, 378n, 435n Liberal Republican party, 121n, 473n Liberator: agents of, 106n, 115n; articles in, 296n, 303n, 311–12, 312n, 314, 315n, 336n, 427n, 456, 467n; Maria W. Chapman and, 41, 43n; Douglass criticized by, 59, 60n, 124, 125n, 198, 199n, 456–57; financial contributions to, 37n; free blacks and, 49n, 106n, 115n, 125n, 222n, 336n, 541; Garrison as editor, xxvii, 5n, 43n, 60n, 125n, 185n, 214n, 235n, 314, 541; letters to, 125n; William C. Nell and, 103n; poetry in, 49n; Edmund Quincy and, 43n; on Republican party, 264n; Gerrit Smith criticized in, 214, 215n; suspension of, 336n; temperance advocated by, 43n; writers for, 77n, 316n. See also Garrison, William Lloyd

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642 Liberia, 18–19nn, 542; critics of, 567–68; economy, 337–38, 336–39nn; emigration to, 335, 337–38, 338–39nn, 515; founding of, 465n; government of, 183n; population of, 183n; U.S. recognition of, 466, 467n. See also American Colonization Society; colonization Liberty Bell (Boston), 43n, 401n Liberty party: conventions of, 7, 8n, 513; declining numbers in, 538; Democratic party and, 2n; Douglass supports, 8n, 186n, 510; founding of, 37n; free blacks and, 4n, 18n, 82n, 106n, 151n, 238n; Free Soil party and, 2n, 7, 8n, 115n, 128, 128n, 187n; Fugitive Slave Law opposed by, 8n; Garrisonians criticize, 115–16nn, 12; in Hartford, Conn., 96n; in Illinois, 326n; in Massachusetts, 304n; in New York, 2n, 32n, 37n, 82n, 115n, 118n, 513; newspapers of, 72n, 186–87nn, 340n; in Ohio, 72n, 74n; Radical Abolitionist party replaces, 181n; in Rochester, N.Y., 227n; Gerrit Smith and, 2n, 7, 7–8nn, 32n, 39n, 65n, 115–16nn, 128, 128n, 187n, 193n, supporters of, 8n, 68n, 193n; U.S. Constitution and, 8n, 63–64, 65n, 115–16nn; Whig party and, 2n Liberty Standard (Hallowell, Me.), 340n Library of Congress, xxi Lichen, Luke, 552 Licking County, Ohio, 208n Licklez, Abraham, 108n Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass, The (Foner), 492n Life of William Ellery Channing (Channing), 399n Lima, N.Y., 121n Limestone College (Gaffney, S.C.), 142n Lincoln, Abraham, 304n; abolitionists criticize, 284n, 325, 326n, 330n, 460–63, 463n, 588, 590, 593; antiextensionist views of, 588; appointments of, 103n, 121n, 204n; assassination, xxxii, 336n, 476n, 478, 479n, 602; black prisoners of war and, 413, 415n, 442, 445n; black soldiers accepted by, 388n, 418, 430n, 445n, 454; black soldier delegation meets, 473, 473n; cabinet of, 26n, 72n, 350n, 370n, 404–05n, 419n, 496n; canes of, 497, 497n; Civil War objectives of, xxxi, 284n, 464n; Henry Clay as idol, 383n; colonization plans of, 342n, 382, 383n; Democratic critics of, 474n; Douglass criticizes, xxiv, xxxi–xxxii, 325, 328, 383n, 413, 436, 436–37nn, 442, 445n, 453n, 457, 461–63; Douglass meets,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 642

INDEX xxxii, 304n, 417–18, 419n, 421n, 454, 456n, 461–62, 464n; Douglass praises, 384, 468; Douglass writes, 454–56; in Election of 1860, 204n, 304n, 309, 315n, 589; issues Emancipation Proclamation, xxiv, 342n, 381, 383n, 418, 456n; fugitive slaves and, 430n, 588; gradual emancipation advocated by, 328, 328–29n; habeas corpus suspended by, 474n; memorials to, 494, 498–502; mourning over, 495; nicknames of, 417, 419n; opposition to re–nomination of, xxiv, xxxii, 194n, 419n, 436, 436n, 446n, 457; peace negotiation proposals and, 461, 464n; photograph of, xxxvi, xxxviii, 368n; racial views of, 383n; Radical Republicans criticize, 326n, 445–46n, 474n; recognizes black nations, 467n; Reconstruction plans of, 437n, 442, 445–46nn, 453n, 474n; reelection of, 466, 468, 468n; second inauguration of, xxxii, xxxviii, 304n, 346n, 472–73nn; slavery issue and, 194n, 304n; Southerners denounce, 467n; Supreme Court nominees of, 467–68n, 470n; supports Thirteenth Amendment, 470n, 473n; encourages Unionists, 97n Lincoln, Mary Todd, 497n; Douglass writes, 497; Elizabeth Keckley and, 434n; sends Douglass her husband’s cane, 497, 497n Lincoln County, Tenn., 98n Lincoln Institute (Jefferson City, Mo.), 64n Linn, Louis F., 155n Lisbon, Conn., 293n Lister, Thomas, 251, 253n Litchfield Law School, 80n Little, Charles W., 235n Littlejohn, De Witt, 120, 121n, 212n Liverpool, Eng., 121n, 376n; abolitionists in, 167n, 266, 550, 567; churches in, 450n; Douglass in, 281n; merchants in, 434n; as seaport, 133, 137, 139, 281n Liverpool Anti-Slavery Society, 266–67, 268n, 567 Liverpool Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Association, 268n, 479 Livingston, David, 232, 232n Lloyd, Edward V, 168n, 170–71n Lloyd, Sally Scott Murray, 171n Lloyd family, 168, 169–71nn Loch Lomond, Scot., 565 Locke, John, 18n Lockport, N.Y., 118n, 297n, 344, 345n; free blacks in, 515; free produce store in, 547–48

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INDEX Lockport Anti-Slavery Society, 118n Log Cabin (New York City), 8n Loguen, Helen Amelia. See Douglass, Helen Amelia Loguen Loguen, Jermain Wesley, 39n; as abolitionist, 517, 519, 537, 576, 582, 587; in Canada, 561–62, 574–75; attends black conventions, 33n, 39n, 516, 517; British contributions to, 579, 593, 596; children of, 248n, 369n, 551; freedmen’s aid work of, 447, 450n; lectures with Douglass, 17n, 39n; supports Republican party, 561; as Underground Railroad conductor, 545, 548, 572, 574, 581; writes to Douglass, 39, 39n, 40n, 116–18, 510, 516, 525, 560 London, Eng., 3n, 252n; abolitionists in, 166n, 550–52; cemeteries of, 566; exhibitions in, 593; free blacks visit, 50n; newspapers of, 296n, 373, 445n, 594; Westminster Palace in, 566 London, Ont., 562 London and Gore Railroad (Ont.), 119n London Daily News, 373n, 377 London Enquirer, 296n London Inquirer, 445n London Morning Post, 375n London Spectator, 143n London Times, 434n, 594 London University, 129n, 282–83n London Yearly Meeting of Friends, 299n Long Island, Battle of, 158n Long Island, N.Y., 81–82; abolitionists in, 551; churches of, 82; free blacks in, 102n, 122n, 157 Long Island Railroad, 158n Long Island Sound, 81, 82–83n Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 211n López, Narciso, 53n Lora, Ont., 175 Loring, Edward G., 83n Louis XI (Fr.), 421, 422n Louisiana: Nathan Banks in, 99–100n, 442, 445n; Black Code of, 141n; Civil War in, 98–100nn, 442n, 471n; free blacks in, 37n, 334, 357n; New Orleans, 37n, 562; Reconstruction in, 44–46nn; segregation in, 36n; slaveholders in, 134–36; slavery in, 134–35, 141n, 442n, 445n; Spanish rule over, 141n; Union army recruits from, 471n Louisiana Purchase, 80n, 95n, 141n, 310n L’Ouverture, Toussaint, 246n, 399n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 643

643 Lovejoy, Elijah, 222n, 326n, 465n Lovejoy, Owen, 326n Lowell, Mass., 400n Loyal League of the State of New York, 403n Luca, A. A., 563, 570, 575 Luca family, 564 Lugenbeel, J. W., 339n Lundy, Benjamin, 131n; as abolitionist, 60–61n, 130, 131n; in Baltimore, 131n, 506n; William Lloyd Garrison and, 5n, 131n Lutherans, 358n Lybrand, Jacob, 558, 573 lyceum industry: Anna E. Dickson in, 430n; Douglass speaks in, xxix, xxxi, 302n, 321n; racism in, 540; James Redpath organizes, 302n; Wendell Phillips speaks in, 395–96, 399n, 555 Lyceum of Natural History (New York City), 246n Lynn (Mass.) Herald of Freedom, 551 Lynn, Mass.: abolitionists in, 143n, 401n; Douglass resides in, 19n, 143n, 200n, 397, 400–401nn; free blacks in, 19n, 143n, 248n Lynn Anti-Slavery Sewing Circle, 143n Macedonia, 207n Macliver, Peter Stewart, 375n Madden, L. J., 596 Madison, Conn., 106n Madison, Ind., 111n Madison County, Ill., 373n Madison County, N.Y., 116, 117n, 274n Magruder, John B., 393n Maine: abolitionists in, 172–73n, 209–10, 330n, 340–41n, 516; Congregationalists in, 172n, 326n; Douglass in, xxx, 172, 210, 211n; free blacks in, 18n; newspapers in, 121n; Quakers in, 211n; Republican party in, 554; temperance in 100n, 516; Underground Railroad in, 211n; women’s suffrage in, 211n Maine Laws, 100n, 361n, 520, 547, 550. See also temperance Maine Woman Suffrage Association, 211n Mair, M., 594 Malakoff, Russia, 189, 191n Malvern Hill, Va., Battle of, 393 Malvin, John, 55–56n Manassas Industrial School (Manassas, Va.), 444n Manchester, Eng., 434n, 554 Manchester, N.H., 144n, 385n

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644 Manlius, N.Y., 184n Mann, Horace, 64–65n; as lecturer, 462; school named for, 287n; U.S. Constitution and, 63 Manners, John, 508 Manross, John, 169n; writes to Douglass, 167–72 Mansfield, L. Delos, 36n; writes to Douglass, 34–38 manual-labor colleges: Douglass supports, xxiii, xxviii, 10–17, 20–21, 67, 103n, 162, 162–63n; free black support for, 33n, 51n, 87n, 527, 548, 550–51, 561; Garrisonian opposition to, 163n; Beriah Green advocates, 186n; in Ohio, 222n; Harriet Beecher Stowe and, xxvii–xxviii, 8n, 20–21, 67, 162n; opposition to, xxviii, 20–21, 87n, 102–03nn, 561 manumission, 18n, 83n, 86n, 159, 179n, 222–24nn, 249n, 255n, 268–69, 275n, 346n, 375n, 469, 488n, 541, 578, 581 Marais des Cygnes Massacre, 250n Marcellus, Onondaga County, N.Y., 8n Marcy, William M., 240n Marengo, Va., 99n Markle, Bob, 511 Marks, Clara B., 249n Marsh, William, 558 Marshall, Charles Alonzo, 133–34, 139n Marshall, Charles H., 139n Marshall, Denny, 486, 488n Martin, Alexander, 506n Martin, J. Sella, 444n, 578–81, 590 Martin, Louis-Amié, 68n Martin, William, 324n Martin County, Ind., 169n Martindale, Henry C., 437, 439n Martinique, 504n Martinsburg, W.V., 451n Mary, the mother of James (Biblical character), 235n Mary Magdalene (Biblical character), 235n Maryland: agriculture of, 170n, 221n; Civil War in, xxiv, 328, 372n, 394n, 429n, 464n, 470n; constitution of, 470n; Denton, 143n, Douglass relatives in, xxiv, xxxii–xxxiii, 268–69, 485–87, 487–89nn; Douglass resides in, 46, 268–89; Douglass speaks in, 468, 470n; Lewis H. Douglass visits, 485–87; Eastern Shore of, xxxiii, 86n, 488n; emancipation in, 328–29n, 466, 470n, 506n; free blacks in, 16n, 18n, 22n, 50n, 143n, 263n, 351, 357n,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 644

INDEX 368n, 469, 470n, 485–87, 487n; freedpeople in, 485–87, 487–89nn; laws of, 171n; legislature of, 171n, 506n; manufacturing in, 173n; Methodists in, 168, 171n, 276n, 489n; plantations in, 10–71n; racism in, 486, 489n; Republican party in, 506n; slaveholders in, 3, 52n, 169–71nn, 170–71nn, 221n, 268, 275– 76nn, 485–86, 488n; slavery in, xxiv, 346n; slaves in, xxiv, xxxii–xxxiii, 46, 52n, 86n, 169–71nn, 170n, 221n, 266–69, 278, 328, 451n, 469, 470n, 485–87, 487–89nn; state song of, 466, 467n; Underground Railroad in, 22n, 221n, 226n; Union army recruits from, 470n; Unionists from, 506n “Maryland, My Maryland” (song), 466, 467n Maryland Agricultural Society, 170n Maryland Colonization Society, 269n Mason George, 324n Mason, James Murray, 322, 324n Mason, Rachael, 345, 346n masons. See freemasonry Massachusetts: abolitionists in, xxvii, xxx, 5n, 10n, 43n, 83n, 115n, 197n, 225n, 304–05n, 312n, 397, 398n, 560; Andover, xxvii; antiabolition mobs in, 316n; Civil War and, 22n, 304–05, 322n; Congregational Church in, 319n; constitution of, 42n; Democratic party in, 42n, 265n; Douglass resides in, 19n; Douglass speaks in, xxx–xxxi, 177, 215, 217n, 225n; farmers in, 64n, 73n; free blacks in, 5n, 18–19nn, 22n, 42n, 83n, 86n, 115n, 145n, 238n, 297–98n, 304–05, 340, 414, 441n, 526, 552–53, 560; Free Soil party in, 42n, 65n, 97n, 265n, 304n, 312n, 342n; fugitive slaves in, 83n, 179n; German Americans in, 485; governors of, 99–100n, 304n; industries of, 97n, 99n, 304n; Irish Americans in, 18n; Know-Nothing party in, 99–100n, 204n, 261, 265n, 540, 542; lawyers in, 64n, 99–100n; legislature of, 65n, 97n, 179n, 204n, 312n, 540, 547, 560–61, 563, 576; Liberty party in, 304n; Lynn, 203n, 248n; Mexican War and, 42n; militia of, 42–43n, 83n, 425n, 553, 585; personal liberty laws of, 255n, 547–48; politicians of, 42n; Puritans in, 336n; racism in, 36n, 42n; Republican party in, 99–100, 203–04nn, 304n, 328, 568; Salem, 203n; schools in, 64–65n; temperance movement in, 43n, 398n, 544; textile industry in, 312n, 372n; Union army units raised in, 322n,

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INDEX 329n, 402, 403n, 414, 428, 429n, 440–41n, 452n; Unitarian Church in, 144n, 178n, 312n, 399n; Daniel Webster in, 40n; Whig party in, 40n, 65n, 97n, 99–100; Worcester, 164n Massachusetts Abolition Society, 106n Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society: agents of, 103n, 127n, 284n, 312n; Maria W. Chapman and, 43n; conventions of, 285n; free blacks and, 103n, 115n, 127n; William Lloyd Garrison and, 264n; officers of, 398n; One Hundred Conventions campaign of, 397, 398n, 400n Massachusetts Suffrage Association, 298n Mathew, Theobald, 324n May, Samuel J., Jr., 10n; as abolitionist, 8, 39n, 77n, 115n, 384, 523; Douglass writes, 384, 384n, 536; freedmen’s aid work by, 384; as Garrisonian, 115n, 198, 199n; Jerry Rescue trial and, 8, 9–10n, 158n; aids military recruiting, 387, 388n; supports Republican party, 198, 199n; Underground Railroad and, 572; as Unitarian minister, 10n; women’s rights and, 10n; writes to Douglass, 523 Mayflower (ship), 336n Maysville (Ky.) Monitor, 99n Maysville, Ky., 99n McClellan, George B.: abolitionists criticize, 430n, 437n, 460, 460n; Douglass criticizes, 457, 462–63; advocates peace, 464n; Peninsula Campaign of, 393nn; as presidential candidate, 461, 466, 468n; returns runaway slaves, 430n McCrummill, James, 108n McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), 40n McElrath, Thomas, 8n McFarland, Samuel, 181n McGrawville, N.Y., 108n, 193n McHenry, William “Jerry,” 2n, 6n, 39, 40n, 158n McKim, James Miller, 483n; as abolitionist, 60n; Douglass writes, 482–83; freedmen’s aid and, 482 McKinley, William B., 419n, 440n McLain, J. M., 560 McLean, John, 318, 319n, 372n McQuerry, George Washington, 517 McVicar, Duncan, 426, 427n Meade, George, 450n Meadville, Pa., 30n, 224n Mechanics’ Hall (Halifax, Eng.), 282n, 317n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 645

645 Mechanics’ Institute (New York City), 527 Mechanicsville, Va., Battle of, 391, 393n Medes. See Medo-Persian Empire Medford, Mass., 304n, 492n Mediterranean Sea, 191n, 205 Medo-Persian Empire, 256, 262n Mellen, George W. F.: writes to Douglass, 517 Melrose, Mass., 321n Memoirs of the Life and Work of Philip Pearsall Carpenter (Carpenter), 129n Memoirs of the Life of the Rev. Lant Carpenter, LL.D. (Carpenter), 129n Memphis, Tenn., 99n Menard, John W., 585, 596–97 Mercer County, Pa., 31n Mercer Water Cure, 30, 30–31nn Methodist Episcopal Church: abolitionists and, 64n, 528, 533; colonization support in, 530; free blacks and, 21n, 51–52n, 475–76n; hymns of, 172n; in Maryland, 171n, 489n; ministers of, 51–52n, 64n, 171n; in New Jersey, 171n; in New York, 385n; in Pennsylvania, 171n, 385n; schools of, 475–76n, 489n; slaveholders in, 171n, 509; in Washington, D.C., 171n; in Wisconsin, 533 Methodist New Connexion, 451n Methodists: in Brooklyn, N.Y., 385n; in Canada, 282n; in Great Britain, 3n, 218n, 282n, 342, 448, 451n; in Maryland, 168, 171n, 276n; in Montreal, Quebec, 282n Metropolitan Hall (Chicago), 249n, 385n Mexican War: in California, 194n; Massachusetts and, 42n; opposition to, 42n; Winfield Scott in, 240n, 419n; slavery expansion and, 31n, 309n; Zachary Taylor and, 40n; volunteer soldiers in, 62n, 148n, 293n; Whig party and, 42n, 96n Mexico: ex-Confederates in, 98n; filibusters invade, 550; U.S. relations with, 156n, 175 Michigan: abolitionists in, 4n; churches of, 52n; Douglass lectures in, 249n; free blacks in, 50–52nn; fugitive slaves in, 4n, 51n; Quakers in, 111n; Republican party in, 310n Underground Railroad in, 51n, 111, 111n Michigan Anti-Slavery Society, 4n Michigan Freedmen’s Aid Society, 50n Middle Ages, 335 Middlebury, Vt., 158n Middlebury College, 18n, 115n Middlesex County, Eng., 252n

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646 Middlesex County, Mass., 398n Middletown, Conn., 101n, 158n; free blacks in, 105–06, 106n, 534–35; Underground Railroad in, 105–06, 106n Mildreth, Henry, 508 Miles, Henry, 529, 545, 560 Militia Act (1862), 341n Miller, Charles Dudley, 402, 403–04n, 480n Miller, Elizabeth Smith, 3, 247–48, 249–50n, 479, 480n Miller, George, 515 Miller, Jonathan C., 108n Miller, Perry, 108n Milliken’s Bend, Miss., Battle of, 414, 415n Mills, Woodford, 515, 526 Milton, Fairfax C., 57, 59n Milton, N.H., 173n Milwaukee Free Democrat, 533 Miner, Myrtilla, 375n; health of, 444n; school of, 379n, 444n, 537, 539 Miner, Ovid, 157, 158n Minetto, N.Y., 32n Minnesota, 301n; abolitionists in, 340, 340–41n, 541; free blacks in, 472n; Republican party in, 545, 572; temperance movement in, 341n “Mission of the War, The” (Douglass), 429nn Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa (Livingstone), 232n Mississippi: Civil War in, 372n, 383n, 412n, 440n; cotton grown in, 98n; free blacks in, 51n; freedpeople in, 444n; military recruiting in, 453n; slaves in, 159n, 444n Mississippi River, 357n, 374, 419n, 440n Missouri: John Brown raids, 250n, 294n; Border Ruffians from, 155n, 250n; Civil War in, 97n, 194n, 321n; Democratic party in, 77n, 97n, 473n; emancipation in, 328–29n, 350n, 466, 470n; free blacks in, 51, 51n, 586; freedmen in, 64n; John C. Frémont in, 321n, 591; Kansas dispute and, 148–49nn; legislature of, 97n, 155n, 250n, 473n; Liberal Republicans in, 437n; militia of, 155n; Republican party in, 473n; slaves in, 250n, 321n, 596; Underground Railroad in, 22n, 250n; Union army recruits from, 473n, 595; Unionists in, 97n Missouri Compromise: Henry Clay and, 320n; Daniel Webster and, 40n; repeal of, 72, 79, 80n, 95n, 310n. See also Kansas-Nebraska Act

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 646

INDEX Missouri River, 547 Mitchel, John, 523, 525–26 Mitchel, Ormsby M., 370n Mitchell, Edward Napoleon, 487n Mitchell, Eliza Bailey. See Bailey, Eliza Mitchell, Ellen, 486, 487n Mitchell, James, 487n Mitchell, Jane, 487n Mitchell, Jim, 486 Mitchell, John Emory, 486, 487n Mitchell, John G., 476n Mitchell, Lloyd, 486, 488n Mitchell, Louisa, 487n Mitchell, Mary Douglass, 486, 487n Mitchell, Peter, 487–88nn Mitchell, Peter, Jr., 486, 487n Mitchell, Richard, 486, 487n Mitchell, Susan, 486, 487n Mitchell, Washington, 487n Mitchelville, S.C., 370n Mobile, Ala., 351 Model Worker (Utica, N.Y.), 185, 186–87n Mongolians, 352, 358n Monmouth, Battle of, 360n Monmouth, Duke of, 9n Monotessaron, A (Carpenter), 129n Monroe, James (president), 65n, 319n, 360n Monroe County, N.Y. See Rochester, N.Y. Monrovia, Liberia, 183n, 337, 338n Montana Territory, 121n Montgomery, James, 294n, 403n Montgomery, John, 514 Montgomery, Miss., 444n Montgomery City, Colo., 333, 336n Montgomery County, N.Y., 120n Montgomery County, Pa., 411n Montreal, Quebec, 129n, 282n Montrose, Pa., 18n Montrose, Scot., 250, 377, 563 Montrose Ladies Anti-Slavery Society, 563 Moody, Laura Wheeler, 344, 345n Moody, Loring, 508 Moore, Phillip D., 271n Moore, William, 108n Moravia, N.Y., 110n Morgan, Edwin Dennison, 272 Morgenblatt für gebildete Leser (Stuttgart, Ger.), 230n Mormons, 430n Morpeth, Earl of, 253n

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INDEX Morrel, Junius C., 523, 557 Morris (ship), 83n Morris, Alexander, 434n Morris, Charles Satchell, 477n Morris, Edmund, 339n Morris, Jacob P., 515 Morris, Robert, 18n Morris Island, S.C., 405, 407n, 427, 452–53, 453n, 477n, 481 Morton, Edwin, 215, 216n Mosher, John, 535 “Mother Carey’s Chickens,” 139n Mother Goose’s Melody, or Sonnets for the Cradle (anon.), 152n Mott, Abigail, 203, 235n Mott, Anna, 293n Mott, James, 450n Mott, Lucretia: during Civil War, 411n; free blacks and, 346n; relatives of, 450n; women’s rights and, 166n Mott, Lydia, 203 Mount Pleasant, S.C., 451n Mount Vernon, Va., 524 Mount Washington Female College (Baltimore, Md.), 451n Mundrucu, E. F. B., 426, 427n Mundy, Caesar Augustus, 578 Munger School (Rochester, N.Y.), 287n Munroe, William C., 44, 52n, 54n Murfreesboro, Tenn., Battle of, 414, 415n Murray, Charlotte, 367, 368n Murray, Mary. See Douglass, Anna Murray Music Hall (Boston), 314 My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), ii, xxii, 170n; William Lloyd Garrison criticizes, 166, 166–67n; English edition of, 553; German language edition of, 145n, 230n; Julia Griffiths and, 134, 140n, 448, 553; Douglass publishes, xxviii, 140n; readers praise, 152, 178; sales of, 186, 231n, 556; stereotype plates of, 600; dedicated to Gerrit Smith, 144, 145n; James McCune Smith and, 7n, 132, 132n Myers, Stephen, A., 237–38n; as abolitionist, 262n, 521, 582; advocates black suffrage, 236–37, 262n, 582; Douglass criticizes, 254; as editor, 247n; lectures with Douglass, 17n; writes to Douglass, 120n, 236–39, 275–85; as Republican, 254, 356–57; as temperance advocate, 262n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 647

647 Myrtilla Miner’s School for Colored Girls (Washington, D.C.), 444n Mystery (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 21n Mystic, Conn., 141n Napoleon I, 188, 191n Napoleonic Wars, 188, 191n Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Douglass), 198; Chesapeake Bay described in, 514; Garrison’s introduction to, 400n; Wendell Phillips’s letter in, 400n; praise for, 396; publication of, 400n; sales of, 400n; slaveholders descried in, 169n, 275n; translations of, 400n Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave, Written by Himself (Brown), 127n Nashville, Tenn.: free blacks in, 52n, 474n; lawyers in, 280n; Underground Railroad in, 52n Nashua, N.H., 72n Natchez, Miss., 98n Nation (New York City), 305n National Anti- Slavery Standard (New York City), 536; agents of, 297n; American AntiSlavery Society and, 41, 43n, 60n; Maria W. Chapman and, 41, 43n; Lydia Maria Child edits, 492n; Douglass attacked by, 43n, 59, 60n, 112, 115n, 166, 166n, 198, 199, 219–20, 223n; Douglass reads, 166, 573; Sydney Howard Gay edits, 530; James Miller McKim edits, 483n; Oliver Johnson edits, 245n; Parker Pillsbury edits, 284n National Conservatory of Music (New York City), 373n National Convention of Colored Citizens (Cleveland, 1848), 20, 22n; William H. Day presides over, 86n; Martin R. Delany attends, 22n; Douglass attends, 22n, 86n National Convention of Colored Citizens (Rochester, N.Y., 1853), 49n; address of, 33, 33n, 52n, 58n, 76, 76n; attendance at, 32, 34n, 53–54nn, 56n, 58nn, 85–86nn, 101n, 515–16; call for, 31, 32n, 514; in Corinthian Hall, 52n; debate manual–labor college, xxvii, 33n, 87n; Douglass endorses, 32n, 58n; emigration discussed at, 49n, 53n National Convention of Colored Men (Washington, D.C., 1869), 125n National Convention of Colored People (Buffalo, N.Y., 1843), 18n, 34n, 101n

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648 National Convention of Colored People (Syracuse, N.Y., 1864): Douglass presides at, xxxii, 464n, 470–71n; endorses Lincoln’s reelection, xxxii; proceedings of, 469, 470–71n National Council of Colored People: constitution of, 516, 520, 528; creation of, 33n, 53n, 87n; debates the manual labor college, 102, 102–03nn; meetings of, xxiii, 101, 102n, 521, 532–33; members of, 57–58nn, 101–02, 101–03nn, 106n, 519, 521, 525, 528, 531; opposition to, 56n; support for, 20, 58n, 528 National Dress Reform Convention (Glen Haven, N.Y.), 559, 564 National Emigration Conventions, 21–22nn, 49n, 51–52nn National Equal Rights League, 58n National Era (Washington, D.C.), 533; Gamaliel Bailey founds, 207n; publishes Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 17n, 207n; Lewis Tappan and, 206, 207n National Freedmen’s Relief Association, 385n National Hall (Philadelphia), 467n National Labor Union, 249n National Liberty party: conventions of, 128, 128n; Douglass and, 81n, 128, 128n. See also Liberty party National Lincoln Memorial Institute, 496n National Negro Convention (Philadelphia, 1830), 59n National Negro Convention (Philadelphia, 1855), 101n, 162n National Woman Suffrage Association, 166n, 368n, 384–85n Native Americans: abolitionists and, 465n; captives of, 158n; Douglass on, 14n; free blacks compared to, 14; intermarry free blacks, 18n; mistreatment of, 114, 556, 560; in Northwest Territory, 309n; in Oregon, 556; U.S. Army treatment of, 481n nativism, 24n, 40n, 110n, 310n; in California, 454; in Republican party, 574; riots caused by, 359n. See also American party Neall, James, 169n Needham, George, 556 Needles, John, 505, 506n Nell, William C., 103n; attends conventions, 33n; Douglass and, 60n, 517; on National Council, 102, 102–03nn, 521, 531–52; on North Star staff, 103n “Nemo,” 85n; writes to Douglass, 84–87 Nesbit, William, 542, 555, 566, 568

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 648

INDEX Netherlands: imports from Liberia, 339n; Puritans in, 336n; slavery and, 358n; U.S. relations with, 65n Neuchâtel, Switz., 345n, 376n New Bedford, Mass.: abolitionist meetings in, 561; Douglass resides in, 19, 126, 188, 189n, 232n; free blacks in, 19n, 179n, 203n, 248n, 362, 364n; Republican party in, 525; Union army volunteers from, 425n New Bedford Union Society, 364n New Berlin, N.Y., 204n New Bern, N.C., 406n New Britain, Conn., 191n New Castle, Del., 419n New Congress Sugar Refinery, 37n New England: abolitionists in, 4–5nn, 113, 312n, 397, 398n, 400n, 563; Douglass in, l13, 128n, 174; free blacks in, 113; winters in, 173n New England Anti-Slavery Convention: annual meetings of, 312n; One Hundred Conventions and, 397 New England Anti-Slavery Society: founding of, 5n; meetings of, 563; members of, 398n; One Hundred Conventions campaign of, 397, 400n New Hampshire: abolitionists in, 173n, 284n, 306n, 401n; American Revolution in, 177n; Douglass visits, 72, 72n, 144n, 177, 401n, 522; free blacks in, 18n, 49n, 454n; legislature of, 62n; manufacturing in, 173n; militia of, 83n; Republican party in, 173n, 430n, 543–44; temperance in, 173n; Daniel Webster in, 40n New Hampshire Anti-Slavery Society: agents for, 284n; Douglass and, 177, 178n New Hampshire Young Men’s Anti-Slavery Society, 306n New Haven, Conn.: churches of, 101n, 163n; Democratic party in, 576; free blacks in, 101, 101n, 106n, 163n, 243, 246n, 532, 554–55; fugitive slaves in, 106n; merchants of, 427n; schools in, 163n New Ipswich, N.H., 397, 398n, 401n New Jersey: abolitionists in, 567; army units from, 394n; Democratic party in, 468n, 566–67; Rosetta Douglass in, 342–45, 346n, 361–63, 365–67, 378; free blacks in, xxxi, 87n, 103n, 203n, 342–45, 361–63, 363–64nn, 365–67, 378, 496n, 530, 561; Methodist Episcopal Church in, 171n; newspapers in,

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INDEX 191n; Quakers in, 131n, 362, 364–65nn; Republican party in, 566; slavery in, 346n; Union army recruits from, 411n; women’s rights and, 368n New London, Conn., 83n New London River, 83n New Mexico, 336n, 374 New National Era (Washington, D.C.): Douglass edits, 200–201n, 248n; Douglass brothers and, 200–201n, 248n New Orleans, La.: Battle of, 357n, 360n; Civil War in, 98n, 379n; free blacks in, 37n; merchants in, 324n; newspapers in, 467n, 506n New Orleans Morning Advertiser, 506n New Orleans Sunday Delta, 467n New School Presbyterian Church, 222n New System of Paper Currency, A (Spooner), 325, 325n New York, Ontario and Western Railroad, 121n New York Academy of Medicine, 7n New York African Free School, 7n, 241, 244n New York African Society for Mutual Relief, 7n New York Anti-Slavery Society, 63n New York Central College (McGrawville, N.Y.), 108n, 509, 511, 513, 516, 565 New York Citizen, 523 New York City: abolitionists in, xxix, 25n, 37n, 43n, 60n, 71n, 78, 78n, 141n, 159n, 214n, 216n, 265n, 332–33nn, 336n, 509, 514, 529, 582; American party in, 121n; anniversary meetings in, 25n, 141n; “Anniversary Week,” 78n; churches in, 7n, 35, 51n, 86n, 144n, 239, 240n, 245n, 264n, 330n, 389n, 399n, 509, 519, Democratic party in, 71n, 80n, 474n, 516, 552; Douglass visits, xxix–xxx, 25n, 78–79, 78–79nn, 144n, 154n, 213, 232n, 239n, 240n, 241–43, 371n, 386, 389n, 427–28, 428–29nn; draft riots in, 59n, 408n, 412n; free blacks in, 6, 6–7nn, 18n, 35, 51n, 59n, 108n, 239, 240n, 241–43, 245–46nn, 297n, 336n, 386, 389n, 408n, 410–12nn, 509, 519–20, 529, 540, 542, 552, 571, 587; fugitive slaves in, 6, 37n, 86n, 114n 143n, 226n, 529; government of, 376n, 474n; immigrants in, 169n, 412n, 523; Irish Americans in, 71–72n, 523; Know-Nothing party in, 121n; merchants of, 37–38nn, 263n, 321–22nn, 324n, 376n, 407n, 474n, 518, 545; mobs in, 59n, 71–72n; newspapers of, 7, 8–10n, 18n, 33n, 43n, 47, 54n, 60n, 61, 62–63n, 110n, 121n, 139n, 151n, 228–30, 230–31nn, 250n, 253,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 649

649 264n, 277, 277n, 280n, 285n, 302n, 311n, 314, 315n, 332–33nn, 368n, 400n, 410–11n, 431, 433, 436n, 453n, 460, 462, 463–64nn, 474n, 484–85nn, 497n, 506n, 510, 513–15, 523, 525, 570. 573, 584; physicians in, 428n; Republican party in, 194n, 263n; schools in, 7n, 208n, 263n, 587; racism in, 264n, 297n, 563; Tammany Hall and, 71n; temperance movement in, 511; as seaport, 133, 139n, 141n; Underground Railroad in, 6, 6–7nn, 37n, 87n, 143n, 226n; Union army recruits from, 386, 389n; Whig party in, 8n; women’s rights convention in, xxix New York City Abolition Society, 159n New York City Young Men’s Association, 7n New York Civil Service Commission New York Courier and Enquirer, 121n New York Crystal Palace Exhibition. See New York’s World Fair (1853) New York Evening Express, 121n, 285n, 453n New York Herald: opposes abolitionists, 47, 400n; James Gordon Bennett and, 54n, 525; criticizes Douglass, 277n; Mary Todd Lincoln and, 497n; misreports Harpers Ferry Raid, 277, 280n; racism expressed by, 229, 231n; reports Douglass’s speech poorly, 228–30, 230–31n New-York Historical Society, 246n New York Literary Union: Douglass addresses, 239, 240n, 245n; members of, 240n New York Manumission Society, 244n New York Observer, 332n, 510 New York and Oswego Midland Railroad Company, 121n New York Political Association, 59n New York Society for the Promotion of Education among Colored Children, 108n New York State: abolitionists in, xxii–xxiii, xxviii–xxix, 3n, 37n, 60n, 63n, 118n, 158n, 165n, 193n, 265n, 296–97nn, 372n, 401n, 538, 557, 587–88; African Methodist Episcopal Church in, 119n, 240n; Albany, xxviii, 1, 118–20, 203n, 215; Baptist Church, 297n; black suffrage in, xxiii, xxxi, 27n, 120n, 122n, 237, 238n, 496n, 545–46, 589; churches in, 36–37nn, 118n, 158n; Civil War and, 10n, 59n, 263n, 371n; colonizationists in, 338n, 510; Congregational Church in, 82, 83n, 115n, 141n, 158n, 238n, 319; constitution of, 121–22n; courts of, 120n; Democratic party in, 2, 71n, 80n, 121n, 274n, 309n,

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650 New York State (continued) 370, 371n, 566; Douglass in, xxiii, xxvii, xxix–xxxiii, 1–6, 3n, 19n, 25–26, 28–29, 32–33, 40–41, 43n, 46, 49n, 58n, 62, 72–76, 78–79, 88–89, 102–04, 117, 119–20, 120n, 122n, 127–31, 128n, 143–45, 145n, 158n, 163, 174, 177, 178n, 179–84, 188, 193, 197–201, 199–202nn, 201, 208–10, 213–15, 227, 233–34, 236n, 237, 237–38n, 239, 249–50nn, 262n, 268–69, 275, 292, 297n, 300–305, 311–16, 316n, 318–20, 325, 329–31, 341–42, 347, 367, 368–69n, 371n, 372, 384, 385n, 386–87, 401n, 402, 409–10, 412–14, 420–21, 427–29, 436, 454–57, 460–63, 468–70, 481–84, 491–96, 493n, 503–05; free blacks in, xxiii, xxx–xxxi, 2n, 4n, 6–7n, 14, 19n, 37n, 42n, 52n, 59n, 82n, 86n, 103n, 108n, 121, 130, 149–51, 151n, 233, 237–38nn, 245n, 247–48, 248–49n, 262n, 264n, 269, 334, 340, 359–60n, 368n, 389n, 408n, 444n, 509, 515, 519, 545, 555, 570, 573, 578, 589; Free Produce movement in, 547; Free Soil party in, 2n, 7, 8n, 110n, 365n; fugitive slaves in, 6, 6–7nn, 60n, 226n; legislature of, xxvii, 80n, 108n, 120, 121–22n, 212n, 255, 309n, 371n, 385n, 474n, 570, 582; Liberty party in, 2n, 32n, 37n, 82n, 115n, 118n, 513; Methodist Episcopal Church in, 385n; militia of, 184n; newspapers in, xxi, 1, 3–4nn, 4, 7, 6–10n, 18n, 21n, 33n, 42–43nn, 47, 54n, 60n, 61, 62–63n, 81, 103n, 110n, 120–21nn, 139n, 144n, 151n, 194n, 225n, 228–30, 230–31nn, 233–34, 234n, 237–38n, 250n, 253, 262n, 264n, 267, 269–70nn, 277, 277n, 279–80nn, 285n, 302n, 311n, 314, 315n, 324n, 332–33nn, 367–68, 368–69nn, 400n, 410–11n, 431, 433, 436n, 453n, 460, 462, 463–64nn, 474n, 484– 85nn, 487, 497n, 506n, 510, 513–15, 523, 525, 570, 573, 584; personal liberty law of, 96n, 209n, 211, 212n, 255n, 272; Poughkeepsie, xxix, 26, 228–30; Presbyterian Church in, 509; Quakers in, 110n, 169n, 235n, 372n, 384n; racism in, l5, 35, 264n; Republican party in, xxiii, 26n, 110n, 120–22n, 181n, 184n, 255, 265n, 385n, 430n, 555–56, 579; Syracuse, xxviii–xxix, 4n; temperance movement in, 6n, 10n, 165nn, 194n, 222n, 237n, 371–72nn, 385n, 516, 571; textile industry in, 372n; Underground Railroad in, xxix, 4n, 6, 6n, 36n, 158n, 226n; Union army units of, 407n; Utica, 39n, 63n; Unitarian Church in,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 650

INDEX 188n, 235n; voting requirements in, 360n, 569, 582; Whig party in, 6n, 8n, 26n, 40n, 54n, 71n, 81n, 97n, 110n, 121n, 194n, 274n, 535; women’s rights movement and, xxiii, xxix, 165n, 372n, 376nn, 516, 554 New York State Colonization Society, 338n New York State Suffrage Association, 237, 238n, 263n New York State Temperance Society, 6n, 194n, 516 New York State Woman Suffrage Association, 165n New York Suffrage Association, 555 New York Sun, 333n New York Times, 311n; John Brown writes, 250n; founding of, 110n, 121n; reportage of, 230 New York Tribune: articles in, 7, 9–10n, 61, 62–63n, 314, 315n, 367, 368n, 400n, 431, 433, 436n 460, 463n, 484, 485n, 506n, 513–15, 570, 584; free blacks write, 151n, 573; Horace Greeley edits, 8n, 121n, 151n, 264n, 302n, 464n; Lincoln writes, 462, 464n; temperance and, 8n; Whig party and, 8n New York World’s Fair (1853), 35, 36–37nn New York’s World Fair (1853), 37n, 513 Newark (N.J.) Advocate, 198n Newark, N.J., 103n, 198n Newbury, S.C., 453n Newburyport (Mass.) Free Press, 5n Newburyport (Mass.) Herald, 5n Newby, William H., 561, 563–64, 573 Newcastle (Eng.) Chronicle, 374, 375n Newcastle (Eng.) Guardian, 374, 375n Newcastle (Eng.) North Mail, 375n Newcastle Bible Society, 375n Newcastle Peace Society, 375n Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Eng., 299, 300n; abolitionists in, 374, 375n, 575; Douglass visits, 3; newspapers of, 374, 375n Newfoundland, 133 Newman, B. F., 489n Newport, R.I.: abolitionists in, 538; free blacks in, 240n, 404, 540 News (Newport, Ky.,), 249 newspapers: of abolitionists, xxvii–xxviii, 5n, 6n, 7n, 29, 30n, 43n, 54n, 60n, 77n, 131n, 186–87nn, 192, 193n, 221–22nn, 266, 303, 304n, 326n, 340n, 510; in Cleveland, Ohio, 86n, 525; in Great Britain, 375n, 594; in Massachusetts, 99n; in New Jersey, 191n; in New

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INDEX Orleans, 467n, 506n; in New York City, 18n, 43n, 60n, 121n, 139n, 332–33nn, 410–11n, 474n, 521, 523; in New York State, xxi, 1, 3–4nn, 4, 7, 6–10n, 18n, 21n, 33n, 42–43nn, 47, 54n, 60n, 61, 62–63n, 81, 103n, 110n, 120–21nn, 139n, 144n, 151n, 194n, 225n, 228–30, 230–31nn, 233–34, 234n, 237–38n, 250n, 253, 262n, 264n, 267, 269–70nn, 277, 277n, 279–80nn, 285n, 302n, 311n, 314, 315n, 324n, 332–33nn, 367–68, 368–69nn, 400n, 410–11n, 431, 433, 436n, 453n, 460, 462, 463–64nn, 474n, 484–85nn, 487, 497n, 506n, 510, 513–15, 523, 525, 570, 573, 584 Newton, Isaac, 262n, 566 Newton, Mass., 99n Niagara County, N.Y., 118n, 145, 345n Niagara Falls, 119n, 204n, 461, 464n Niagara Letter, 461 Nicaragua, 122n, 550 Nicholas I (Russia), 140n, 544 Nichols, Eli, 569 Nickless, Samuel, 108n Niger River, 21n Niger Valley Exploring Party, 224n Nigeria, 224n Nine Months in the United States during the Crisis (Fisch), 253n nonresistance. See pacifism Non- Slaveholder (Philadelphia), 376n Norfolk, Va., 83n “Normal,” 221n; writes to Douglass, 217–24 North Carolina: Civil War in, 306n; free blacks in, 56n, 354; Quakers in, 227n, slaves in, 83n, 227n, 514; slaves run away from, 514; Union army recruits from, 440n; Wilmington, 514 North Elba, N.Y., 201, 303n North Star (Rochester, N.Y.): agents of, 4n; articles in, 225n; correspondence in, xxi; Martin R. Delany and, 21n; finances of, 3n, 324n; founding of, 225n, 270n, 324n; Julia Griffiths and, l, 3n; poetry in, 49n, 144n; James McCune Smith and, 7n; staff of, 3n, 103n Northern Christian Advocate (Auburn, N.Y.), 564 Northern Spectator (Poultney, Conn.), 158n Northern Star and Freemen’s Advocate (Albany, N.Y.), 237n Northfield, Minn., 341n Northfield (Minn.) Journal, 341n Northgate End Unitarian Chapel (Halifax, Eng.), 436n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 651

651 Northampton, Mass., 86n Northrup, Solomon P., 17n, 522, 514 Northwest Territory, 309n Norwich, Eng., 191n Notes on the State of Virginia (Jefferson), 350n Nova Scotian (ship), 281n Noyes Academy (Canaan, N.H.), 18n Nullification Crisis, 40n, 360n Nyack, N.Y., 36n “O Tannenbaum” (song), 467n Oberlin, Ohio: abolitionists in, 293n; contributors to, 37n, 123n; free blacks in, 18n, 83n, 86n, 103n, 293n, 473n; fugitive slave rescue in, 578 Oberlin College (Oberlin. Ohio): blacks attend, 53n, 203n, 444n; graduates of, 36n “Observer.” See Still, James N. O’Connell, Daniel, 324n Odd Fellows, 220, 223n, 519–20, 514, 526, 566 Odd Fellows Hall (Philadelphia), 220, 223n Ohio: abolitionists in, xxviii, 50n, 53–54nn, 72n, 74n, 140n, 147n, 181–82n, 285n, 401n, 532–33, 557, 563; African Methodist Episcopal Church in, 475n; Civil War and, 54n; Congregational Church in, 55n; Democratic party in, 156n, 404n; Douglass in, xxviii–xxix, 118n, 165, 165n, 174, 177, 180, 181n, 198, 198n, 401n; farmers in, 208n; free blacks in, 18, 22n, 47, 50–54nn, 53n, 57n, 86n, 103n, 228n, 334, 335–36n, 382n; 429n, 515, 519, 533, 565, 575; Free Produce movement in, 228n; Free Soil party in, 31n, 47, 72n, 74n, 96n; fugitive slaves in, 127n, 382n, 578; Hudson, xxviii, 39n; legislature of, 72n, 81n, 309n, 523; Liberty party in, 72n, 74n; personal liberty laws of, 96n; Quakers in, 131n, 293n, 595; racism in, 50n, 52n, 86n, 228n, 570, 575; Republican party in, xxix, 72n, 96n, 419n, 470n; supreme court of, 319n; temperance movement in, 53n; Underground Railroad in, 57n, 140n, 532; Whig party in, 72n, 74n, 96n; women’s rights in, 533 Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, 50n, 140n Ohio River, 423n Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 54n Old Kinsale, Ire., 138, 142n Old Lyme, Conn., 106n Old Trinity: A Story of Real Life (Jones), 435n Olive Leaf Mission, 291n Olivecrone, Knut, 142n

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652 Oliver, Aberdeen, 364n Oliver, Lucy, 362, 364n Oliver, Richard W., 364n Oliver, William, 251, 253n Olustee, Battle of, 454n Omaha, Neb., 451n “One Hundred Conventions” (Massachusetts), 397, 398n, 400n One Hundred and Eighth New York Infantry Regiment, 473n Oneida County, N.Y., 167 Oneida Institute (N.Y.), 18n; Beriah Green and, 115n; black students at, 103n Onondaga County, N.Y., 60n, 121n, 198n Onondaga (N.Y.) Standard, 60n Ontario County, N.Y., 320n Opium Wars, 358n Oread Collegiate Institute (Worcester, Mass.), 322n Oregon: abolitionists in, 530, 549; Black Laws of, 24n, 550; Native Americans in, 556 Origin and History of the Books of the Bible, both the Canonical and the Apocryphal (Stowe), 72, 72n Orleans County, N.Y., 145 ornithology, 216n Orphan Working School, Haverstock Hill, 252n Orr, James Lawrence, 94, 97n Orthodox Apostolic Church of Haiti, 51n, 246n Osage County, Kans., 155n Osborn, Charles, 131n Oscar, H., 593 Osler, Thomas, 435n Oswego, N.Y., 121n, 509 Oswego County, N.Y., 549 Otisco, N.Y., 199n Ottman, S., 532 Ottoman Empire, 140n, 440n “Our American Cousin” (play), 479n Outlook and Independent (New York), 223n Oxford, Mass., 97n Oxford University, 298n oyster fishing, 489n Paca, Robert, 170n Paca, William, 168, 170n Paca family, 168, 170n Pacific Appeal (San Francisco), 49n Pacific Ocean, 122n pacifism: abolitionists and, 5n, 10n, 43n, 60n, 206, 222n; American Anti-Slavery Society

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 652

INDEX and, 59n, 296n; Elihu Burritt and, 291n; Douglass and, 59; William Lloyd Garrison and, 5n, 60n, 222n, 315; Garrisonians and, 5n, 10n, 43, 59, 60n, 218, 222n, 315; in Great Britain, 291n, 317n, 447; Quakers and, 375n, 449–50n Packham, Richard, 533 Painesville, Ohio, 174n, 177 Paintersville, Ohio, 181, 181n Palmerston, Lord Henry John Temple, 283n Pamunkey River, Va., 393n Panama, 122n Panic of 1837, 309n papacy, 67 Paris (Fr.), 230n; blacks in, 35, 576–77; Douglass visits, 332n; museums of, 582; Protestants in, 252, 253n, 376n; Theodore Tilton resides in, 332n Parker, Amasa Junius, 272, 274n Parker, Byrd, 523, 541 Parker, Joel, 510 Parker, Theodore: as minister, 522; racial views of, 511, 570; speeches by, 509, 543 Parker Fraternity Course (Boston), xxxi Parliament: abolitionists in, 123–34n, 207n, 232n; Chartism and, 298n; legislation of, 179n; Quakers in, 298n; suffrage reform by, 298n Patrick, Henry: writes to Douglass, 23–24 Pawtucket, R.I., 161n Payne, Daniel A., 50n, 476n Payne, Lewis, 479–80nn, 517 Peace Society (Great Britain), 317–18nn Peck, John, 57, 58n, 522, 533 “peculiar institution,” 136, 142n Peirce, Ebenezer, 425n Peirce, Richard A., 424, 425n Pembroke, Stephen, 529 Pembroke Academy (Me.), 340n penal reform, 465n Pendleton, George H., 457, 472, 473n Peneton, Solomon, 597 Penfield, N.Y., 557 Penn, William, 221n Pennington, James William Charles, 86n; as abolitionist, 86n, 538, 542, 544; supports African Civilization Society, 583; American Anti-Slavery Society founding and, 86n; attends conventions, 33n; in Europe, 86n, 113n; family of, 529; as fugitive slave, 86n, 114n, 529; manumission of, 86n; marries Douglass,

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INDEX 86n; in Maryland, 86n; as minister, 86n, 509, 547; as Presbyterian, 544, 547; Sixth Avenue Railroad case and, 570 Pennsylvania, 59n; abolitionists in, 30n, 65n, 77n, 183n, 221–22nn, 222n, 244n, 294n, 346n, 401n, 483n, 533; African Methodist Episcopal Church in, 50n, 58n; Anti-Masons in, 325n; churches in, 50n; Civil War and, 440n; constitution of, 243–44nn; Democratic party in, 76n, 149n; Douglass in, xxx, 113, 117, 128n, 476–77, 477n, 504; farmers in, 147n; free blacks in, xxviii, xxx, 18n, 36n, 50–51nn, 56–57, 57n, 59n, 113, 117, 125n, 128n, 151n, 218, 241, 243–45nn, 340, 359n, 401n, 404n, 476–77, 477n, 478n, 504, 533, 567, 569, 571, 587, 594; Free Produce movement in, 376n; Free Soil party in, 30, 31n; fugitive slaves in, 86n, 96n, 217, 221n, 552, 570; legislature of, 325; Methodist Episcopal Church in, 171n, 385n; newspapers of, 5n, 21n, 30n, 51n, 60–61nn, 77n, 217, 223n, 275n, 339n, 411n, 429n, 483n, 546; nicknames of, 242, 245n; personal liberty law of, 96n; Quakers in, 60n, 65n, 86n, 114n, 183, 183n, 294n, 375n, 430n; racism in, 36n, 241, 243– 44nn, 569; Republican party in, 114, 325n, 430n, 567; responds to Harpers Ferry Raid, 280n; schools in, 569; suffrage in, 241, 243n; temperance in, 50n; Union army recruits from, 404; Underground Railroad in, 30n, 86n, 346n, 483n; Whig party in, 98n, 325n Pennsylvania Abolition Society, 183n, 244n Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Fair, 221n Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, 222n, 483n Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention (1837), 243–44nn Pennsylvania Female Anti-Slavery Society, 346n Pennsylvania Freedmen’s Relief Association, 384n Pennsylvania Freeman (Philadelphia), 275n; Charles C. Burleigh edits, 77n; Douglass attacked by, 5n, 60n; James Miller McKim edits, 483n Pennsylvania Hall (Philadelphia), 223n Penny Savings movement (Eng.), 435n Penrose, John, 298n Perkins, John, Jr., 94, 98n Perkins, William, 577 Perry, George, 515 Perry, Oliver Hazard, 359n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 653

653 Perry, N.Y., 297n Perryville, Ky., 372n Persia, 74n, 191n, 207n. See also Medo-Persian Empire Personal Liberty laws: fugitive slaves aided by, 96n, 255; Indiana passes, 96n; Massachusetts passes, 255n, 547–48; New York State passes, 96n, 209n, 211, 212n, 255n, 272; Ohio passes, 96n; Pennsylvania passes, 96n; Republican party supports, 255, 272; Vermont passes, 96n Peru, N.Y., 158n Peterboro, N.Y.: Douglass visits, 304; founding of, 274n; free blacks in, 103n; Gerrit Smith and, 7, 62, 63n, 89–90, 89–90n, 116, 272–75, 316n Petersburg, Va., xxiv, 438, 441n, 443, 446n, 447, 450–51n, 600 Peterson, William, 479n Pettit, John, 427 Phelps, John Smith, 94, 97n Philadelphia, Pa., 110, 474n; abolitionists in, 50n, 60–61n, 107, 107–08nn, 118n, 189–90, 191n, 197, 217–18, 221n, 294n, 367, 368n, 467n, 483n, 572, 575, 578–79; African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in, 223n; American Revolution and, 24n, 375n; artists in, 429n; Camp William Penn in, 409, 410n; churches in, 50n, 108n, 389n; Democratic party in, 223n; Douglass visits, xxx, 108n, 118n, 124, 125n, 191n, 218, 371n, 386, 389n, 404, 416–18, 428, 429n, 476–77, 477; free blacks in, 36n, 50n, 57, 107, 107–08nn, 118n, 124, 203n, 217–21, 221–24nn, 241–42, 246n, 310n, 344, 345–46nn, 361, 364n, 357, 368n, 386, 389nn, 409–10, 411n, 421, 421–22n, 430n, 478n, 514, 548, 554, 575–77, 579–80, 592, 594; fugitive slaves in, 197n, 217, 226n, 346n; government of, 375n; immigrants in, 411n; Irish Americans in, 310n; manufacturing in, 173n, 339n; newspapers in, 60–61n, 217, 223n, 339n, 411n, 429n, 483n, 546; nickname for, 217, 221n, 141; Quakers in, 294n, 375–76nn, 430n; racism in, 36n, 344, 572, 576–77; Republican party in, 223n; schools in, 203n, 224n, 478n, 572; Underground Railroad in, 224, 226n, 346n; Union army recruits from, 386, 389n, 402, 409–10, 411n, 421, 422n; Whig party in, 98n Philadelphia Free Produce Association of Friends, 376n

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654 Philadelphia Inquirer, 546 Philadelphia Press, 223n Philadelphia Tribune, 429n Philanthropist (Cincinnati), 140n Philanthropist (Mount Pleasant, Ohio), 131n Phillips, Wendell, 167n, 465; as abolitionist, 60n, 211n, 315, 316n, 395–96, 399n, 543; in Boston, 315; praises John Brown, 315, 316n; criticizes Douglass, xxvii, 60n; Douglass praises, 505; Emancipation League and, 329n; freedmen’s aid and, 483n; William Lloyd Garrison and, 167n, 211n; Garrisonians and, 79n, 465n; labor movement and, 465n; as lecturer, 395–96, 399n, 555; Lincoln criticized by, 462; murder of Elijah Lovejoy and, 465n; Native Americans and, 465n; penal reform and, 465n; prohibition and, 465n; racial views criticized, 570; on Reconstruction, 505, 506n; Toussaint L’Ouverture lecture of, 399n; supports Frémont in 1864, 347n “Philo,” 258, 264n, 543, 583. See Downing, George T. Phoenicia, 207n Phoenix Society, 59n phrenology: John Brown, Jr., and, 147n; ethnologists adopt, 245n; James McCune Smith on, 241 “Pictures and Progress” (Douglass), xxxi, 321n Pierce, Franklin, 61n, 516; appointments of 148–49nn; diplomacy on, 62–63n, 324n; enforces Fugitive Slave Act, 83n; messages of, 61, 61n; supports Kansas-Nebraska Act, 62n; Kansas Territory and, 148–49nn Pierpont, John, 144n, 223n, 305, 306n Pike, Mary Hayden Green, 537 Pilgrims, 335 Pillsbury, Parker, 284n; as abolitionist, 60n, 173n, 211n; criticizes Garrison, 184n; as lecturer, 284, 284nn; memorializes John Brown, 283, 284–85nn; religion and, 60n; women’s rights and, 166n Pine and Palm (New York), 367, 369n Pinney, John, 510 Piper, William, 518 Piscataquis River, 173n Pittsburgh, Pa., 59n; abolitionists in, 110n; churches in, 58n; conventions in, 6n; Douglass visits, 58n, 412; free blacks in, 20–21nn, 50n, 54–57, 57–58nn, 61, 87n, 519; iron manufacturing in, 56, 57n Pittsburgh African Educational Society, 58n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 654

INDEX Pittsfield, Mass., 102n Plainfield, Conn., 77n Plainfield Academy, 77n “Plan of Union,” 222n Plane Street Church (Newark, N.J.), 103n Plate City, Mo., 155n Platte County, Mo., 155n Plumb, Daniel, 523–24 Plumb, Joseph, 181n Plummer, Charles H., 539 Plymouth Church (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 141n, 465n Plymouth Colony, 336n Plymouth Rock (ship), 173n Point Lookout, Md., 441n, 452, 453nn Point Lynas, Wales, 139, 142n Poland, 139n Political Abolition Convention (Worcester, Mass.), 305–07, 306–07nn, 311–12, 312n Polk, James K.: Cuba annexation and, 53n; Mexican War and, 324n; plan to extend slavery, 371n Pollok, Robert, 23, 24n Pomeroy, Samuel Clarke, 342n; advocates colonization, xxxi, 348; Douglass writes, 341–42, 348, 350n, 351; escorts Douglass, 416, 419n; oppose Lincoln’s re-nomination, 446n Pomeroy Circular, 446n Pompey, 383n Pope, John, 393n popular sovereignty, 234n; Kansas-Nebraska Act and, 75n, 79–80n; violence incited by, 515 Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 52n Port Hudson, La., Battle of, 471n Port Royal, S.C.: Lewis H. Douglass at, 403n; freedmen’s aid societies in, 369, 483n Porter, Almira, 293–94nn Porter, Ann Eliza Bacon, 397, 400n Porter, Asa, 177n Porter, Fitz John, 393nn Porter, Isabella Callahan, 292, 294n Porter, Joseph K. P., 400n Porter, Maria, G., 7n; as abolitionist, 267, 268n, 294n, 558; Douglass writes, 215, 291–92, 509, 558, 585; as Hicksite Quaker, 235n; as Underground Railroad conductor, 7n, 267, 291 Porter, Mary Jane, 292, 293n, 294n Porter, Samuel, 292, 293n, 294n Porter, Samuel D., 227n; as abolitionist, 227n, 285n, 294n, 514; as Hicksite Quaker, 235n;

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INDEX Douglass writes, 227–28; Underground Railroad and, 227, 227n Porter, Susan Farley, 227n, 293n; Douglass writes, 521 Porter School (Rochester), 294n Portland, Me., xxx, 121n; abolitionists in, 209–10, 211n, 340n; Douglass in, 210, 212n; Underground Railroad in, 211n Portland, Ore., 49n, 549 Portland (Me.) Enquirer, 340n Portland (Me.) Tribune, 211n Portobello, Scot., 562 Post, Amy, 270n; children of, 520; Douglass writes, 294–95, 573, 586–87; as Hicksite Quaker, 235n; husband of, xxxiii; photograph of, xxxv; as spiritualist, xxxiii, 223n, 269–70, 270–71nn; writes to Douglass, 69–72, 586 Post, Hannah, 297n Post, Isaac: befriends Douglass, 296; capital punishment opposed by, 235n; children of, 297n; as Hicksite Quaker, 235n; as pacifist, 296–97n; as spiritualist, xxxiii, 223n; wife of, xxxiii Potomac River, 294n, 453n Potsdam, N.Y.: Douglass speaks in, 316, 316n Pottawatomie Creek, Kans., 39n Pottawatomie Massacre, 147n Potter, Ellis, 242 Poughkeepsie Political Suffrage Association, 27n Poultney, Conn., 158n Powers, Jeremiah, 333, 336n “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow” (hymn), 227n Prang, Louis, 485n Preceptor’s College (London), 364n Presbyterian Church: abolitionists and, 6n; Calvinism and, 67n; in Canada, 67n; comeouters from, 6n; free blacks in, 18n, 50n, 86n, 103n, 444n, 509, 544, 547; in Great Britain, 450n; ministers of, 141n, 483n; New School and, 222n; in New York, 509; proslavery sentiments in, 547; slavery and, 509 Presbytery of New York, 509 Presbytery of Troy (N.Y.), 18n Present (West Roxbury, Mass.), 399n President (ship), 171n Presidential Reconstruction, 265n Preston, Conn., 305n Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842), 96n Prince George’s County, Md., 451n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 655

655 Princeton Theological Seminary, 319n, 483n Princeton University, 97n, 319n Principia (New York City), 303, 304 Pringle, Peter, 511–12 prison reform, 313n Progressive Christian (Hopedale, Mass.), 66, 68n, 193n Prohibition party, 385n Protestant Episcopal Church: free blacks in, 7n, 19n, 51–52nn, 246n, 519; ministers of, 51–52nn, 170, 474n Protestant Reformation, 114 Providence, Ill., 160 Providence, R.I.: abolitionists in, 93, 159; arsenal in, 105n; free blacks in, 246n Provincial Freeman (Toronto), 4n, 50n, 528 Prudence Crandall Club (Chicago), 373n Prussia, 65n Pryne, Abram, 193n, 284n; memorializes John Brown, 283; edits Douglass’ Monthly, 284, 284n, 292; in Liberty party, 531; defends Abraham Lincoln, 589; as Radical Abolitionist, 192, 576, 578–79; suicide of, 367, 368–69nn; U.S. Constitution and, 114n; violent abolitionism and, 181n, 580 Public Life of Captain John Brown, The (Redpath), 302n Publius Syrus, 468n Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo, 248n Puerto Rico, 224n Puritans, 336n Purvis, Robert, 221–22n; criticizes Douglass, 219–20; as Garrisonian, 60n, 218–19; wealth of, 222n; writes Douglass, 538 Purvis, William, 222n Put-in-Bay, Battle of, 359n Putnam, Charlotte L. Remond, 295, 298n Putnam, Conn., 556 Putnam, Hiram, 188n; writes to Douglass, 187–88 Putnam, Israel, 157, 158n Pyles, Charlotta Gordon, 159n Quakers: as abolitionists, 60n, 65n, 114n, 124n, 189n, 203n, 235n, 252n, 268n, 295, 300n, 317–18nn, 430n, 434n, 449n; in Baltimore, Md., 506n; in Civil War, 408n, 449n, 599; colonization supported by, 182–83; in Connecticut, 294n; in Dublin, Ire., 254n; as farmers, 189n; free blacks educated by, 4; Free Produce movement supported by, 228n,

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656 Quakers (continued) 300n, 376n; freedmen’s aid and, 384n; in Great Britain, 124n, 193n, 268n, 298–300nn, 317–8nn, 375n, 449n, 599; in Indiana, 227n, 295, 299n; in Michigan, 111n; in New Jersey, 131n, 362, 364–65nn; in New York, 110n, 169n, 235n, 372n, 384n; in North Carolina, 227n; in Ohio, 131n, 293n, 595; pacifism and, 375n, 449–50n; in Parliament, 298n; in Pennsylvania, 60n, 65n, 86n, 114n, 183, 183n, 294n, 375n, 430n; persecution of, 114; petition Congress, 65n; in Philadelphia, 294n, 375–76nn, 430n; Republican party supported by, 114n, 585; in Rochester, N.Y., 235n, 384n, 450n; schisms among, 295, 299n; shelter fugitive slaves, 86n, 111n, 114n; Joseph Sturge as, 299n; as teachers, 294n; temperance movement and, 110n, 235n; in Virginia, 131n; Whig party supported by, 110n. See also Congregational Friends Quebec, Canada, xxx, 281n Queen Anne’s County, Md., 168, 170–71nn Queen’s College, Galway, Ire., 254n, 274n, 376n Quincy, Edmund, n; criticizes Douglass, 43n, 60n, Quinebaug, Conn, 546 Quonn, William W., 529 racism: abolitionists oppose, 10n, 34–35, 112, 205; in Australia, 557; in Canada, 19n, 51n, 216, 217n; in churches, 35, 208; in Cleveland, Ohio, 47–48, 86n; colonization and, 183n; colonization as response to, 325n; in Columbus, Ohio, 564; in Congregational Church, 77n; of Democratic party, 24, 255; in education, 15, 18n; epithets of, 141n; in Europe, 116n; free blacks battle, 59n, 135, 535–36, 561; of Irish Americans, 310n, 593; in Kansas Territory, 145–46, 148–49nn, 534, 560; in Maryland, 486, 489n; in Massachusetts, 36n, 42n; in New York, l5, 35, 264n; in New York City, 264n, 297n, 563; in North, 34–35, 45–46, 50n; in Ohio, 50n, 52n, 86n, 228n, 570, 575; origins of, 115–16n, 537, 539–40, 544–45, 547–48, 576; in Pennsylvania, 36n, 241, 243–44nn, 569; in Philadelphia, 36n, 344, 572, 576–77; in press, 229; on railroads, 34–35, 36n, 56, in Republican party, 462–63; in Rhode Island, 240n, 582; in Rochester, N.Y., l9n,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 656

INDEX 203n, 258; on ships, 135, 574; as related to slavery, 380; on stages, 35; in Union army, xxiv, xxxii, 19n, 305n, 386, 388n, 415–16n, 416–17, 418–20n, 428, 429n 442, 450–51n; of Whig Party, 24 Radcliffe, George Keely, 329n Radical Abolitionist (New York City), xxviii, 187n Radical Abolitionist party: candidates of, xxx, 180n, 195–96, 261, 531, 576–77; conventions of, 128n, 144n, 145, 158n, 180, 180n, 185, 195, 198, 199n, 212n, 395, 305–06nn; John Brown supports, xxviii, 144n; criticize Republican party, 181n, 211; Douglass defects from, 192, 192–93n, 198, 199n; Douglass supports, xxviii, 36n, 128n, 144n, 179–81, 185, 185n, 187, 195–96, 199n, 201, 201n, 207n, 236, 254, 303; Dred Scott decision condemned by, 572; founding of, xxviii, 36n; Garrisonians and, 573; William Goodell and, xxviii, 144n, 145, 181n, 567; Republican party criticizes, 561; Gerrit Smith and, xxviii, xxx, 115n, 128n, 144n, 179–80, 180n, 180–81nn, 185, 187n, 193–94nn, 195–96, 211, 254, 261, 305–06nn, 306, 567, 576–78; violent tactics supported by, 181n Radical Democrats, 437n Radical Republicans: black suffrage supported by, 473–74nn; Confederate disenfranchisement advocated by, 473n; criticize Nathaniel Banks, 445n; support Frémont in 1864, 436–37nn; Reconstruction plans of, 164n, 445–46nn, 474n Ragged School (Sandgate, Eng.), 375n railroads: Douglass travels on, xxii; segregation on, xxii, 36n, 258, 264n; transcontinental, 325–26nn Ralph, Dorothy Rhodes, 436n Ralph, John, 436n Ralph, Sarah Rhodes, 433, 436n Randall, James Ryder, 467n Randolph, James W., 120n, 513 Randolph, John: quoted, 410, 412n Randolph-Macon College, 98n Rankin, John, 570 Rapier, James T., 472n Rapier, John H., Jr., 471, 472n Rappahannock River, Va., 394nn Rawson, Mary Anne, 286n, 567, 595, 602 Ray, Charles, 33n

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INDEX Raymond, Henry J., 110n, 120, 121n Read, Elizabeth, 346n Readville, Mass.: black regiments trained there, 386, 387n, 401n, 425, 425n; Camp Meigs at, 425n, 426, 440n Reames, John W., 585 Reason, Charles L., 108n, 504, 504n; attends black conventions, 33n, 108n; Alexander Crummell and, 337; invites Douglass to lecture, 117, 239, 242; supports black education, 240n Reckless, (Amy) Hester, 344, 246n, 361, 367–68, 368n Reconstruction: abolitionists and, 73n, 307n; in Arkansas, 446n; conservative Republicans in, 263n; land redistribution during, 306n; Lincoln’s proposals for, 437n, 442, 445– 46nn, 453n, 474n; presidential, 265n; Radical Republican plans for, 164n, 437n, 445–46nn, in South Carolina, 21n, 302n, 370n; in Tennessee, 446n; in Virginia, 453n Red River, 100n Red, White, and Blue Mining Company, 200n, 248n Reddon, L., 574 Redpath, James, 302–03n; Douglass writes, 301–02; promotes Haitian emigration, 382n; edits Pine and Palm, 367, 369n; memorializes John Brown, 315n, 588 Reed, Enoch, 8, 9n Reeder, Andrew H., 146, 149n, 153, 156n Rees, John, 567 Refugee Home Society (Canada), 1, 3–4n, 50–51nn, 508 Remarks on the Colony of Liberia and the American Colonization Society (Stuart), 67, 68n Remond, Charles Lenox, 115n; as abolitionist, 60n; attends black conventions, 33n, 221–21; as debater, 115–16nn, 219–221; Douglass and, 112, 218, 519; family of, 297n; Garrisonians and, 60n, 115; in Great Britain, 113, 115n; as lecturer, 115n; opposes manual-labor college, xxvii; as military recruiter, 115n; on racism’s origins, 115–16n Remond, Charlotte. See Putnam, Charlotte L. Remond Remond, Sarah Parker, 297n; lectures with Douglass, 295, 297n Rensselaer County, N.Y., 81n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 657

657 Republican party: abolitionists and, 109, 195–96, 436n, 561, 565; abolitionist endorse, 565–66; abolitionists oppose, 181n, 211; 565–66, 569; antiextensionist position of, 188n, 192–93n, 196, 259, 308, 561, 565; in Baltimore, Md., 474n, 506n; black suffrage and, 568; in Boston, 495n; in Brooklyn, N.Y., 385n; candidates of, 319n; colonization support in, 351–57; in Colorado, 22n; in Connecticut, 96n, 106, 430n, 558; conventions of, 463; in Delaware, 566; Democrats join, 211; Douglass and, xxiii–iv, xxix, 109, 125n, 187, 192, 192–93n, 195–96, 201, 201n, 236–37, 259, 272, 315, 484, 485n, 603; in Election of 1856, xxix, 26n, 114n, 187, 194n, 195, 198n, 261, 319n, 385n, 565, 588, in Election of 1860, 26n, 121n, 204n, 303, 308, 310n, 315n, 388n; free blacks and, xxiii, 111n, 236, 240n, 254–55, 258, 261–62, 264n, 356–57, 454n, 555, 558, 572, 580; free labor ideology of, 264n; fugitive slaves aided by, 255; William L. Garrison on, 109, 260–61, 264n; German Americans and, 310n; Horace Greeley and, 121n; in Illinois, 222n, 304n, 326n, 467n; Irish Americans and, 308; in Kansas, 148n; in Kansas Territory, 181–82n, 328; Kansas-Nebraska Act and, 95n; Liberal Republican faction of, 121n, 473n; Abraham Lincoln leads, xxiv, 26n; in Maryland, 506n; in Massachusetts, 99–100, 203n, 204n, 304n, 328, 568; Samuel J. May, Jr., supports, 198, 199n; in Michigan, 310n; in Minnesota, 545, 572; in Missouri, 473n; as National Union party, 468n; nativism in, 574; in New Bedford, Mass., 525; in New Hampshire, 173n, 430n, 86n, 509, 547, 543–44; in New Jersey, 566; in New York, xxiii, 26n, 110n, 120–22n, 181n, 184n, 255, 265n, 385n, 430n, 555–56, 579; in New York City, 194n, 263n; newspapers of, 223n; in Ohio, xxix, 72n, 96n, 419n, 470n; opposition to Lincoln in, xxiv, xxxii; in Pennsylvania, 114, 325n, 430n, 567; support personal liberty laws, 255, 272; in Philadelphia, 223n; Quakers support, 114n, 585; racism in, 462–63; Radical Abolitionists criticize, 181n, 211, 272; Radical faction of, 164n, 265n, 436–37nn, 445–46nn, 473–75nn; in Reconstruction, 125n, 264–65nn, 454n; in Rochester, N.Y., 227n, 279n; William H. Seward and, xxiii, 26n, 122n; view slavery

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658 Republican party (continued) as constitutionally protected, 576; in South, 21n; Charles Sumner and, xxiii; tariffs supported by, 325n; temperance and, 194n, 553; in Virginia, 453–54nn; Thurlow Weed and, 121n, 262n; Whigs join, 211; in Wisconsin, 10n, 360n Revolution (New York City), 166n Revolution the Only Remedy for Slavery (Foster), 306n Revolutions of 1848, 68n Reyner, James, 170n Reynolds, William A., 235n Rhoads, Samuel, Jr., 374, 375n, 539 Rhoads, Samuel, Sr., 375n Rhode Island: abolitionists in, 76n, 240n, 538; in American Revolution, 360n; Democratic party in, 93; Douglass visits, 105n, 177; free blacks in, 5n, 104, 105n, 239, 240n, 360n, 453n, 522, 543; legislature of, 76n, 105n; militia of, 83n; nicknames of, 140n; racism in, 240n, 582; schools in, 239, 240n, 582; suffrage struggle in, 104; Underground Railroad in, 240n; women’s rights in, 76n, 161n Rhode Island Anti-Slavery Society, 105n Rice, Isaac J., 552 Rich, William, 236, 238n, 552 Richard I (Eng.), 208, 208n Richardson, Anna Atkins, 300n; as abolitionist, 300, 375n, 377; helps free Douglass, 275n, 300n, 375n Richardson, Anna H., 535, 588, 592, 601 Richardson, Ellen: 300n; advises Douglass, 299; helps free Douglass, 275n, 300n Richardson, Henry, 375n; as abolitionist, 300n, 377; writes to Douglass, 373–75 Richardson, Mary, 56n Richmond, Ind., 295 Richmond, Va.: battles nearby, 393n, 407n, 429n, 600, free blacks in, 179n newspapers in, 510 Richmond Examiner, 510 Right Way (Boston, Mass.), 305n Rights of Man (Rochester, N.Y.), 6n Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 517 Ritchie, George G.: writes to Douglass, 508 River Head, N.Y., 82, 83n, 158n Roanoke Island, N.C., 406n Rob Roy (Scott), 58n Robberds, Elizabeth Blake, 447, 450n Robberds, John, 450n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 658

INDEX Roberts, Aaron, 548 Roberts, Charles, 488–89n Roberts, John, 527 Roberts, Joseph Jenkins, 183n Robinson, Alex W. P., 489n Robinson, Charles, 147–48n Robinson, G. E., 596 Robinson, George, 479n Rochester, Nathaniel, 3n Rochester, N.Y.: abolitionists in, xxii–xxiii, xxviii–xxix, 3n, 6, 6–7nn, 82, 83n, 89, 127, 128n, 130nn 180n, 187n, 200, 200n, 212n, 215, 227–28, 227n, 235–36nn, 267, 268n, 269–72, 270n, 282n, 285n, 291–92, 292–94nn, 294–96, 294n, 296–97nn, 327n, 429; 430n, 421, 450n, 478, 509, 514, 523, 530, 557–58, 563m 569–70, 572–74, 579, 585–87; Susan B. Anthony and, xxxiii, 233, 235n, 284, 284–85nn; Baptists in, 297n; churches of, xxxi, 157, 158n, 297n; City Hall of, 133; Democratic party in, 234n; Douglass in, xxiii, xxvii, xxix–xxxii, 1–6, 19n, 25–26, 28–29, 32–33, 40–41, 43n, 58n, 62, 72–76, 78–79, 88–89, 102–04, 127–31, 143–45, 163, 174, 177, 178n, 179–84, 188, 193, 197–98, 201, 208–10, 214–15, 227, 233–34, 236n, 249–50nn, 268–69, 275, 292, 297n, 300–305, 311–15, 318–20, 325, 329–31, 341–42, 347, 371n, 372, 384, 386–87, 402, 409–10, 412–14, 420–21, 427–29, 436, 454–57, 460–63, 468–70, 481–84, 491–96, 503–05; founding of, 3; Fourth of July celebrations in, 320n; free blacks in, xxxi, 14, 19n, 42n, 52n, 103n, 233, 247–48, 248–49n, 269, 368n, 408n, 515, 519, 573; Free Soil party in, 227n; fugitive slaves in, 39n, 49n, 215, 226–27nn, 268n, 291–92, 292–93n; German Americans in, 287, 287n; government of 245, 253n; immigrants in, 287, 287n, 598; Liberty party in, 227n; merchants of, 450n, 480n; mob in, 233, 235n; National Negro Convention in, 49n, 57–58nn; newspapers of, 6n, 33n, 42n, 231n, 233–34, 234n, 279n, 368, 487; Quakers in, 235n, 384n, 450n; racism in, l9n, 203n, 258; Republican party in, 227n, 279n; schools in, 19n, 200n, 203n, 248n, 287, 287n, 294n, 450n; Southerners visit, 274n; spiritualism in, 223n, 269–70, 271–72nn; temperance movement in, 235n, 297n; Underground Railroad in, 6, 6–7nn, 42n, 215n, 226–27nn, 268n; Union army recruits from, 403n, 437, 451n;

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INDEX Whig party in, 279n; women’s rights convention in, 68n, 297n; woolen mills in, 297n Rochester American, 279n Rochester Anti-Slavery Fair, 3n Rochester Anti-Slavery Society, 6n Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Association, 235–36n Rochester Daily Advertiser, 34n Rochester Daily Union, 33n Rochester Democrat and American, 31n, 279n; Douglass writes, 277–79, 279n, 281, 282n; Union army recruiting and, 388n Rochester Express, 368, 452 Rochester Female Anti-Slavery Society, 293n, 297n Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society, 294n, 297n; hosts bazaar, 89n, 282n, 292, 292n, 327n, 521, 523, 563, 569–70, 572, 579; British assistance to, 523, 569, 574; Douglass addresses, xxviii, 127, 128n, 130n, 180n, 187n, 292; aids Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 291–92, 293n, 558, 585; freedmen’s aid activities of, 378, 384, 384n, 447, 450n, 480n; aids fugitive slaves, 292, 292n, 508; Julia Griffiths organizes, 293n, 530, 574; officers of, 450n, 478; Maria G. Porter in, 7n, 292 Rochester Seminary for Young Ladies, 294n Rochester Union and Advertiser: Douglass writes, 233–34, 235n Rock, John Sweat, 463, 465n, 540, 542, 560–61, 563; criticizes black ministers, 573; on Dred Scott decision, 576; visits France, 576–77; analyzes racism, 578; predicts Republican victory, 568; James McCune Smith praises, 567 Rock County, Wisc., 400n Rockland Female Institute (Nyack, N.Y.), 36n Rocky Mountains, 194n Rodman, N.Y., 36n Rogers, Elymas Payson, 103n, 514, 530, 532 Rogers, Mary Porter Farrand, 177, 177–78n Rogers, Nathaniel Peabody, 177, 178n Rolfe, John, 358n Roman Catholic Church: free blacks in, 51n, 246n; hostility towards, 110n, 114, 121n; immigrants in, 119n, 540; Irish Americans support, 308; racial tolerance in, 354 Roman Empire, 40n, 383n Rome, N.Y., 117n, 531 Roos, Rosalie, 137, 140n, 142n Roslin, Scot., 563

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 659

659 Roslyn, N.Y., 516 Ross, Arminta. See Tubman, Harriet Ross, P. 564 Roumain, Ernest, 467n; writes Douglass, 594 Roxbury, Mass., 485n Royal Jubilee School for Girls (Newcastle– upon–Tyne, Eng.), 300n Royal Navy, 191n Royal Oak, Md., 485–87, 489n Rugby School, 298n Rush, N.Y., 532 Rushville, N.Y.: Douglass speaks in, 3 Russell, Charles, 532–53 Russell, Henry S., 441n Russellville, Ky., 99n Russia: Crimean War and, 134, 140n; czars of, 141n, 544; ethnic groups in, 352, tyrannical government of, 67, 68n, 140n; sends visitors to U.S., 36n; serfdom in, 136, 141n, 190; U.S. relations with, 65, 204n Russworm, John Brown, 12, 18n Rustic Wreath (Lister), 253n Rynders, Isaiah, 70, 71–72n St. Albans, Vt., 526 St. Augustine, Fl., 406n St. Catharines, Ont., 226, 226n, 562, 564 St. Clair, Arthur, 319n St. Clairsville, Ohio., 156n St. Helena Island, S.C., 405, 406n Saint Joseph, Mo., 155n St. Lawrence Academy (Potsdam, N.Y.), 316n St. Louis, Mo., 129n, 350n; freedpeople in, 249n; newspapers in, 473n; Republican party in, 473n; Underground Railroad in, 528 St. Mathews Church (Detroit, Mich), 52n St. Michaels, Md.: Douglass relatives in, xxxiii; Douglass revisits, 493n; Lewis H. Douglass visits, 485–87; Methodists in, 171n; mobbing in, 486, 489n; shipbuilding in, 169n; slaveholders in, 169–70n, 489n St. Neots, Eng., 324n St. Patrick, 238n St. Paul, Minn., 341n St. Paul’s Parish (Baltimore, Md.), 169n St. Phillip’s Episcopal Church (New York City), 7n St. Simon Island, Ga., 405, 406n Salem (Mass.) Female Anti-Slavery Society, 297n Salem (N.J.) Normal School, 345n

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660 Salem, Mass., 115n, 158n, 297n Salem, N.J.: free blacks in, xxxi, 203n, 342–45, 345–46n, 361–63, 365–67; Rosetta Douglass in, 342–45, 346n, 361–63, 365–67 Salisbury, Samuel, 541–42, 550 Sally Lloyd (ship), 169n Sandys, Edwin, 358n San Francisco, Calif., 49n, 141n, 522–23, 534, 536, 541; abolitionist activity in, 551; economic conditions in, 542–44, 546; free blacks in, 545, 549–50, 556, 597; school segregation in, 546 San Francisco Bulletin, 562–63 Sancho Panzo (character), 501 Sante Fe, N.M., 336n Sante Fe mail, 152 Santo Domingo, 19n, 248n Saulsbury, Willard, Sr., 472, 473–74n Saunders, Romulus M., 53n Savannah, Ga. 370n, 474, 476n Schenectady, N.Y., 130n Schuyler, Angelica, 121n Schuyler, Lucy Matilda Dix, 156n Schuyler, Philip C., 148n, 155n; in Kansas Territory, 156, 549, 557–58; as Republican, 533; writes to Douglass, 152–56, 557–58 Scotland: abolitionists in, xxii, xxx, 50n, 167n, 307n, 323n, 329, 330n, 560, 563, 573–75; churches of, 50n; Douglass in, xxx, 250n; free blacks in, 573; fugitive slaves in, 86n; Garrisonians visit, xxx, 50n; Julia Griffiths in, xxii; immigrants from, 302n; literature of, 143n; temperance in, 67–68n Scott, Walter, 143n; estate of, 563; quoted, 58n, 139, 143n Scott, Winfield, 62, 239, 239–40n Scrooby, Eng., 336n Sears, Amanda Auld, 275, 276n Sears, John L., 276n Sebastopol, siege of, 140n, 191n Secession Crisis: compromise efforts during, 97–98n; Democratic party and, 309n, 324n; Douglass on, xxiv, 587; Garrisonians on, 587 Second Bank of the United States, 40n Second Confiscation Act, 341–42nn Second Congregational Church (Berwick, Me.), 172n Second Great Awakening, 100n Second Louisiana Infantry Regiment, 471n Second Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 407n Second Presbyterian Church (Albany, N.Y.), 319

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 660

INDEX Sedgwick, John, 394nn Sedition Act (Great Britain), 124n “Self-made Men” (lecture), xxix, 242, 245–46n, 315n Seminole Wars, 419n Seneca Falls, N.Y., 156n; Amy Post and, 270n; women’s rights convention at, 166n serfdom, 136, 141n Seven Days Campaign, Va., 391, 393nn Seventh New York Infantry Regiment, 407n Seville, John C., 346n Seville, Sarah Ann Dorsey, 346n, 366n, 368n, 429, 430n Sewall, Harriet Winslow, 190, 191n Seward, Frederick, 479n Seward, William H., 6n, 26n, 76n, 524; abolitionist critics of, 590; attempted assassination of, 478, 479n; campaigns for Lincoln, 310n; Douglass criticizes, 74, 75n, 237; Douglass writes, xxiii, 26, 28–29; free black rights and, 121, 237; opposes Kansas-Nebraska Act, 524; as potential president, 309, 588; as secretary of state, 122n, 479n; slavery opposed by, 28, 175; Thurlow Weed and, 121n, 194n; as Whig, 28 Seward Seminary (Rochester, N.Y.), 203n Seymour, Horatio, 370, 371n Seymour, Truman, 408n “Shabby Genteel Story, A” (Thackeray), 253n Shadd, Mary Ann Camberton, 4n, 557; in Canada, 4n, 145n; as editor, 50n; fugitive slaves and, 1, 4n; relatives of, 5n Shaftsbury, Vt., 297n Shakespeare, William: home of, 591; plays of, 222n, 240n, 415n, 422n Shannon, Wilson, 153–55, 156n Shapcott, William C., 513–14, 569 Sharpe, James, 515, 519 Sharpsburg, Md., Battle of, 372n, 394n Shattucks, William, 512 Shaw, Robert Gould: as colonel, 387n, 406, 407n, 426, 440n; death of, 406, 407n Shaw, Stephen, 529 Sheffield, Eng., 286n Sheffield Female Anti-Slavery Society, 286n, 571 Sheffield Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 286n Shelbyville, Ky., 474n Shenandoah Valley, Va., 99–100n, 194n, 461, 464n

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INDEX Sherberne, N.Y., 32n Sheridan, Phillip, 461, 464n Sherley, N. W., 510 Sherman, John, 418, 419n Sherman, Martha Greene, 321n Sherman, Thomas W., 370n Sherman, William Tecumseh. 302n, 419n, 453n, 464n Sherwood, Eng., 590 Sherwood, N.Y., 110n Shiloh Presbyterian Church (New York City), 86n, 239, 240n, 245n, 389n Shindler, Antonio Zeno, 429n Shoecraft, Silas, 575 Shorter, James A., 476n Shrewsbury, N.J., 87n Shropshire, Eng., 435n Siam, 207n Siberia, 359n silk, 358n Siloam Church, 525 Simmons, Robert J., 406, 408n Simpson, Charles, 108n Sims, Thomas, 179n single-tax movement, 376n Sinope, Battle of, 140n Sixth Avenue Railroad (New York City), 563, 570 Sixth New York Cavalry Regiment, 427n Sixth Regiment U.S. Colored Troops, 411n Skaneateles, N.Y., 509 Slade, William, 497n Slaughter Neck, Del., 222n Slave, The (Mildreth), 508 Slave Power, The (Cairnes), 374, 376n slave trade: Atlantic and, xxvii, 53n, 89n, 123–24n; efforts to revive, 308, 310n; Great Britain opposes, 53n, 96n, 123–24n; opposition to, 53n, 65n, 123–24n, 171n, 579; “recaptives” from, 183n; ships of, xxvii, 96n; ships built for, 276n; Spain and, 53n, 89n; in United States, xxvii, 83n, 171n; West Indies and, xxvii, 96n “Slave’s Appeal to Great Britain, The” (Douglass), 372–73, 373n, 375n; praise for, 377, 381; reprinted in Great Britain, 373–74, 374–75nn, 377 slaveholders: in Border States, 328–29n; character of, 52n, 132, 301–02; compensation to, 215n, 560; Douglass corresponds with, xxvii; fear of revolts, l71n, 202n; in Kentucky, 119;

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 661

661 in Louisiana, 134–36; manumit slaves, 159, 222–4nn, 249n, 268, 541, 581; in Maryland, 3, 52n, 169–71nn, 221n, 268, 275–76nn, 485–86, 488–89nn; mistreatments by, 39n, 302; morality of, 200n; number of, 150, 152n; oppose wartime emancipation plans, 328–29n; Republican party feared by, 28; in St. Michaels, Md., 169–70n, 489n; sell slaves, 39n; in South Carolina, 142n, 204n, 222n; Unionists as, 598; in Virginia, 134, 171n, 194n, 223–24n, 249n, 309n, 350n, 368n, 382n; George Washington as, 223–24n slavery: in Alabama, 190; in Brazil, 190, 359; Civil War and, xxv, 440n; in Cuba, 47, 53n, 88, 178; in District of Columbia, 75n, 320n, 331, 444n, euphemisms for, 142n; fictional depictions of, 17–18n, 141n; in Haiti, 399n; in Georgia, 190; in Jamaica, 179n; in Kentucky, 4n, 118, 127n, 159n, 227n, 249n; in Louisiana, 134–35, 141n, 442n, 445n; in Maryland, xxiv, 346n; in New Jersey, 346n; in Norfolk, Va., 83n; political disputes regarding, xxiii, 308; profitability of, 183n; in South Carolina, xxiv, 142n, 346n; in Tennessee, 481; in Texas, 131n, 414; as unconstitutional, 184–85n; as inherently violent, 289–90; in Virginia, 21n, 39n, 83n, 171n, 194n, 268n, 309n, 350n, 352, 368n, 382n, 412n, 430n, 440n; in West Indies, 178 slaves: abolitionists purchase, 275, 346n; in Baltimore, Md., 221n, 232n, 275n; in Baptist Church, 83n; Bible denied to, 227n; in Brazil, 190, 359, 517; breeding of, 30; in Caribbean, 202n; in Charleston, S.C, 293n; in Delaware, 222n; in District of Columbia, 65n; escapes of, xxxii, 198n, 293n, 512, 528; family life of, 141n, 159, 197–98n, 508, 512, 528; hiring out of, 83n; in Kentucky, 58n, 127n, 159n, 227; life expectancy of, 269n; literacy of, 11; in Louisiana, 141n; manumission of, 18n, 83n, 86n, 159, 249n, 268, 346n, 469, 578; in Maryland, xxiv, xxxii–xxxiii, 46, 52n, 86n, 169–71nn, 221n, 266–69, 278, 328, 451n, 469, 470n, 485–87, 487–89nn; in Mississippi, 159n, 444n; in Missouri, 250n, 321n, 596; numbers of, 152n; in North Carolina, 83n, 227n, 514; old age of, 170n; prices of, 310n; purchase freedom, 469; rebellions of, xxvii, 39n, 96n, 150, 168, 171n, 202, 202n, 205, 286, 296n, 306n, 399n, 569, 586; recruited by Union army, 304n, 312n; sales, 30, 39n;

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662 slaves (continued) in South America, 202n; in South Carolina, 142n, 293n, 370n; in Tennessee, 39n, 474n, 481; Union army and, 440n, 462; in Virginia, 21n, 39n, 83n, 162n, 168, 171n, 268n, 278, 586; whipping of, 202; women as, 39n “Slaves’ Appeal to Great Britain, The” (Douglass), xxxi Slidell, John, 324n Smeal, Robert, 299n Smeal, William, 299n Smith, Ann Carroll Fitzhugh, 3n, 77, 78n, 144n, 174, 186, 201, 208–09, 211, 215, 216n, 304; children of, 2; formerly a slaveholder, 274; in Great Britain, 347n; Julia Griffiths and, 33, 34n, 347n; health of, 1, 307 Smith, A. P., 561, 567, 577 Smith, Gerrit, 2n; as abolitionist, xxviii, 208– 09, 218, 263n, 304n, 325, 325n; advocates black suffrage, 236; John Brown and, xxviii, 2n, 216n, 249–50n, 403–04nn; as candidate, xxiii, xxx, 579–80; children of, 3, 216n, 249–50n, 403n; during Civil War, 389n; advocates colonization, 325n; advocates compensated emancipation, 74, 75n, 214, 215n, 573; congressional career of, xxiii, xxviii, 1–2, 62, 63n, 64, 76, 76n, 78, 78n, 87–90, 88–89nn, 96n, 517, 524, 527, 529, 531–32; during Civil War, 325, 403n; Cuban annexation and, 88, 88–89n, 175, 535; Douglass aided by, xxiii, xxviii, 2n, 25, 60n, 69n, 78, 78n, 103n, 143–44, 180n, 185–86, 186–87nn, 199n, 201, 201n, 303–04, 347n, 402, 573, 591, 593, 603–04; Douglass writes, xxiii, 1–6, 25, 32–34, 62–63, 74–80, 90–100, 103– 05, 127–28, 165–66, 174, 179–82, 184–87, 193–94, 198–99, 201–02, 208–09, 211–12, 214–17, 303–04, 314–15, 347, 385n, 402, 427, 460, 504n, 505, 514, 517, 537, 554, 557, 560, 573, 579, 595; Douglass’ Monthly and, 347, 591, 593; Frederick Douglass’ Paper and, 1, 25, 69, 69n, 88n, 185–86, 186–87nn, 192n, 201, 201n, 208–09, 208n, 272, 303, 600; family of, 460n, 593; aids free blacks, 13, 19n, 32, 32n, 35, 39n, 238n, 476n, 531; freedmen’s aid and, 503; opposes Garrisonians, 115n; Joshua R. Giddings supports, 96n; William Goodell and, 187n, 194n, 198, 198n, 304n; Julia Griffiths and, 1, 25n, 33, 34n, 69, 69n, 76, 76n, 79, 80n, 104, 523–24, 592–93, travels of, xxii, 523–24, 530, 550–51, 553–54,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 662

INDEX 556–57, 560, 562–68, 574, 578, 582–83, 593; Harpers Ferry Raid and, xxix, 2n, 284, 288, 307n; health of, 2n, 32, 185, 215, 216n, 284, 306, 307n, 347, 347n; opposes homestead legislation, 525; Jerry Rescue and, 1–2, 6n, 7–8, 198, 199n, 272–74, 274n, 404n; supports Kansas free state movement, 558, 560; land reform and, 25, 25n, 76n, 238n, 515, 531; Kansas-Nebraska Act opposed by, xxiii, 63n, 74–75nn, 78–79, 78–79nn, 90; Liberty party and, 2n, 7, 7–8nn, 32n, 39n, 65n, 115–16nn, 128, 128n, 187n, 193n; mental health of, 307n; aids military recruiting, 386–87, 388n, 403n, 596; Peterboro home of, 89–90, 89–90n, 116, 166n, 216n, 347n; philanthropy of, 2n, 13, 19n, 236, 238n, 476n, 531; photograph of, xxxiv; Radical Abolitionist party and, xxviii, xxx, 115n, 128n, 144n, 179–80, 180–81nn, 185, 187n, 193–94nn, 195–96, 211, 254, 261, 305–06nn, 306, 567, 576–78; Republican party and, 109, 175, 176n, 201n, 211, 304n, 325, 460, 603; religious views of, 35, 187n, 304n, 557; speeches of, 62, 76–77, 77n, 208–09, 211, 387, 389n, 579; Charles Stuart and, 592; temperance movement and, 2n, 95, 194n, 216n, 548, 578; tobacco usage opposed by, 95, 100n; Underground Railroad and, 532; U.S. Constitution and, 65n, 91, 115n, 209n, 257, 272, 548, 588; U.S. Post Office opposed by, 78n; wealth of, 2n, 19n; women’s rights and, 165, 165–66n; writes to Douglass, 7–10, 75, 76n, 80–81, 87–90, 103, 143–45, 172–74, 215, 304n, 347, 508, 515, 532, 548, 560, 575, 603 Smith, Greene, 216n Smith, James McCune, 6–7n; as abolitionist, 559, 567, 569, 576, 584; opposes African Civilization Society, 585; attends black conventions, 33n; on classical history, 566, 569; compensated emancipation opposed by, 565; as contributor to Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 7n, 264n, 496n, 518–19, 521, 528, 544, 565–66, 582; Douglass criticizes, 538; Douglass writes, 131–32; supports black education, 240n, 246n, 527, 541, 550–51, 554, 561, 576; black enterprise advocated by, 572, 576, 583; free black rights and, 7n, 41, 558; as freemason, 566; Garrisonians criticized by, 570; writes to Douglass, 238–47, 536; as National Council member, 528; penname of, 247n, 496n; as physician, 264n,

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INDEX 496n; Radical Abolitionist party and, xxviii, 144n, 257, 538; critical of Republican party, 559–60, 567, 571; Gerrit Smith and, 575; suffrage movement and, 122n, 257, 582; treats Lewis H. Douglass, 428n; as Underground Railroad conductor, 6, 6n; Weekly Anglo– African and, 369n Smith, John, 592 Smith, Mary, 471, 473 Smith, Parker T, 409, 410n Smith, Peter Skennandoah, 273, 274n Smith, Stephen, 108n, 514 Smith, Thomas S., 208n: writes to Douglass, 208 Smith, William, 94, 99n Smith and Nixon Hall (Cincinnati, Ohio), 174n Smith School (Boston), 103n Smithson, John, 432, 434n Smithson, Sarah Ann Morris, 432, 434n Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.), 485n Snethen, Worthington Garrettson, 505, 506n Snow, Augustus, 480n Snow, Emily A. Laing, 480 Snow, Emma, 478, 480n Snow, Samuel, 480n Social, Civil and Statistical Association of the Colored People of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), 477n socialism, 249n, 302n Society for the Abolition of Human Sacrifices (Great Britain), 318n Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery, 124n Society for the Promotion of Education among Colored Children, 7n Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade (Great Britain), 203n Society Hill, Philadelphia, 411n Somersetshire, Eng., 323n, 450n Sonnets to the Memory of Frederick Douglass (Tilton), 332n Sons of Liberty, 158n Sophocles, 19n South: Douglass fears to travel in, 484; political power of, 189–90; secession threatened by, 149–51 South America: emigration to, 46–47, 56n; mining in, 440n; slavery in, 202n, South Carolina: John C. Calhoun and, 142n, 360n; Civil War in, xxiv, xxxi–xxxii, 369,

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 663

663 370n, 400–401nn, 403nn, 405, 406–07nn, 414–15n, 415–16n, 418n, 427, 428n, 440n, 446n, 451n, 477n; Democratic party in, 204n; freedmen schools in, 370n; government of, 97n, 204n; Reconstruction in, 21n, 302n, 370n; secession of, 407n; slave trade and, 310n; slaveholders in, 142n, 204n, 222n; slavery in, xxiv, 142n, 346n; slaves in, 142n, 293n, 370n; Union army recruits from, 452, 476 South Mountain, Md., Battle of, 393n Southam, John, 315n Southampton, Mass., 342n Southampton County, Va., 171n Southern Club (Liverpool, Eng.), 434n Southern Independence Association (Halifax, Eng.), 435n Southward, Eng., 323n Spain, 53n Spartans, 74n Spence, James, 432, 434n Spirit of the Times (West Roxbury, Mass.), 399n spiritualism, 248n; abolitionists and, xxii, xxx, xxxii, 50n, 167n, 223n, 269–70, 270–71nn, 307n, 323n, 329, 330n, 560, 563, 573–75, 584; Douglass and, xxii–xxxiii, 269–70, 270n; Fox sisters and, 223n; Garrisonians and, 219; Amy Post and, xxxiii, 223n, 269–70, 270–71nn; Isaac Post and, xxxiii, 223n; in Rochester, N.Y., 223n, 269–70, 271–72nn; women’s rights and, 270, 271n Spooner, Lysander, 65n, 325, 325n Sprague, Annie Rosine, 434n, 477, 477n Sprague, Kate Chase, 452n Sprague, Louisa, 477n Sprague, Nathan, 451n; marries Rosetta Douglass, xxxii, 203n, 434n, 449, 451n; military service of, 476, 600; recruited into army by Douglass, 288n, 451n; resides in Rochester, 434n Sprague, Rosetta Douglass. See Douglass, Rosetta Sprague, William Buell, 319n; Douglass writes, 318–19; writes to Douglass, 318 Spring Street A.M.E. Church (Rochester, N.Y.), xxxi Springfield, Mass., John Brown resides in, 225n; Douglass in, 166, 225n Springfield, Ohio, 174n Squatter Sovereign (Atchison, Kans.), 155n “squatter sovereignty.” See popular sovereignty

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664 Stacey, George, 299n Stafford County, Va., 83n Staffordshire, Eng., 434n, 447–49 Stamp Act, 170n Standard Diary Company, 178n Stansfield, James, 282, 282–83n Stanton, Edwin M., 404–05n; abolitionists praise, 465n; black soldier delegation meets, 471, 472n; Douglass visits, xxxii, 416, 419n, 421n, 463; Douglass writes, 404, 420–21; orders to Douglass from, 420, 422–23, 423n; permits black army recruiting, 387n, 465n; promises Douglass officer’s commission, 411n; removal by Andrew Johnson, 419n, 465n Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, 117, 166n; as ally of Susan B. Anthony, 235n; as author, 165n; Douglass writes, 305; dress reform and, 249– 50n; friends of, 189n; attacks Gerrit Smith, 165, 165n, 556; writes to Douglass, 305 Stanton, Frederick Perry, 94, 99n Stanton, Henry B., 166n Stanton, Richard Henry, 94, 99n Starkey, James R., 522 State Normal and Industrial School (Huntsville, Ala.), 249n State University of New York, 274n Stater, Andrew B. 511 states’ rights, 62 Stearns, George L., 304–05n; aids John Brown, 304n; Douglass advises, 304; Douglass writes, 412–14, 416–18; photograph of, xxxvi; recruits for Union army, 304–05, 386, 387–89nn, 402, 403n, 416n; supervises Douglass as recruiter, 386–87, 402, 422n, 423, 597; writes to Douglass, 416, 418n Stebbins, Giles B., 513, 517 Steele, Alfred, 383n Steele, Maria, 383n Stephens, Aaron Dwight, 292, 292–93n Stephens, Gulielma, 567 Stephenson, William M., 30, 30n, 31n, 542 Steuben County, N.Y., 122n Stevens, Aaron Dwight, 293, 293n Stevenson, Thomas, 408n Stewart, Barbara A., 548 Stewart, Carter A., 503, 504n Stewart, Clay H., 476n Stewart, John A., 476n Stewart, Robert Marcellus, 250n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 664

INDEX Stickney, Marcus, 116, 118, 547, 549 Stickney, Washington, 116, 118n Still, James N., 86–87n, 530; on free black longshoremen, 540, 542; on Tennessee slavery, 581; writes for Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 86n, 534; writes to Douglass, 509, 513, 528, 539–41 Still, William, 125n, 346n Stockbridge, Henry, 505, 506n Stockholm, Swed., 134, 142n Stockwell, G. S., 339n Stoke-on-Trent, Eng., 434n Stone, Eleanor Cash, 317, 317–18n Stone, Henry, 317n Storum, William H., 632 Stout, Ira, xxix, 235n Stowe, Calvin Ellis, 62n, 72n; Douglass writes, 72 Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 17n; abolitionists criticize, 539; colonization and, 17n, 513, 537; Martin Delany criticizes, 513; Douglass supports, 22n, 72; Douglass visits, xxvii, 10n, 17n, 20; Douglass writes, 10–20, 18n, 67, 68n; family of, 17n, 72n, 141n; funds raised by, 19–20n; manual-labor college and, xxiii, xxviii, 8n, 10–17, 20–21, 162; visits Great Britain, 17, 19n, 162; writes to Douglass, 162–63; writes Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 10, 17n, 142n, 207n, 512 Stratford-on-Avon, Eng., 591 Stringfellow, John H., 152, 155n Strong, Alva, 279n Strong, Henry, 279n Stuart, Charles W., 67–68n; gradual emancipation and, 542; pamphlets by, 67, 68n; political abolitionism and, 68n, 522; writes to Douglass, 65–68, 174–76, 522, 526; Gerrit Smith criticized by, 592; Harriet Beecher Stowe criticized by, 539; opposes women’s rights, 527–29, 544 Stuart, J., 525 Sturge, Hannah Dickinson, 203–04n; Douglass writes, 202 Sturge, Joseph: as abolitionist, 203n, 299n, 450n; contributes to Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 536; as Quaker, 299n Sturge, Lydia Albright, 203–04n, 447 Stuyvesant, Peter Gerard, 246n Stuyvesant Institute (New York City), 242, 246n Sudworth, Elizabeth Ralph, 436n

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INDEX Suffield, Conn., 184n suffrage: of free blacks, 27n, 77n, 101n, 108n, 151n, 180, 236, 262n, 359–60n, 559, 574, 581, 589; of freedmen, 54n, 58n, 73n, 442–43, 467n, 492; in Maryland, 171n; in New York, 108n, 180, 236, 262n, 559; of women, xxxii– xxxiii, 78n, 104, 105n, 323, 376n, 404n, 568 sugar, 337, 338–39n Sugar Grove, Pa., 30–31nn, 117, 118n Sullivan, John W., 583 Sumner, Charles, 42n; as civil rights advocate, 42–43nn; assault on, 181n, 293n, 301n, 562; Douglass writes, xxiii, 41–43, 73–74, 129–31, 300–301, 331, 481; emancipation advocated by, 329n, 331, 467n, 497n; free blacks and, 346n, 476n; as freedmen’s advocate, 503n; opposes Fugitive Slave Law, 96n; opposes Kansas-Nebraska Act, 72, 72n, 96n; Gerrit Smith praises, 92; speeches of, 73, 76n, 92, 129–30, 130n, 300–01, 301n, 524, 549; supports Thirteenth Amendment, 470n, 471; writes Douglass, 41, 41n Sunderland, LaRoy, 527 Supervisory Committee for Colored Enlistments (Philadelphia), 421n Sutherland, Duchess of, 509 Swails, Stephen A., 408n Swan, John Cameron, 376n Sweden, 133–34; immigrants from, 424, 425n; novelists of, 140n, 142n; Russia and, 358n; women’s rights in, 142n Sweet, Samuel N., 578 Switzerland, 216n, 253n, 345n Syphax, William, n; Douglass writes, 489–90 Syracuse, N.Y., 118n; abolitionist conventions in, xxviii–xxix, 36n, 115n, 144n, 180n, 185n, 195, 198, 199n, 514; abolitionists in, 10n, 59–60, 145n, 188n; churches in, 188n, colonizationists in, 510; Democratic party in, 525; Douglass in, xxviii–xxix, xxxii, 115n, 144n, 386, 389n, 536; free black conventions in, xxxii, 464n; free blacks in, 4n, 39n, 82n, 367, 386; freedmen’s aid work in, 384, 384n; fugitive slaves in, 2n, 4n, 6, 6–7nn, 39, 40n, 82n; newspapers in, 4, 81n; Jerry Rescue in, xxix, 1–2, 4n, 6n, 9–10n; Republican party in, 187–88; Underground Railroad in, xxix, 6, 6–7nn, 10n, 39n, 548–49, 572, 579, 596; Union army recruits from, 389n; Whig party in, 18n; women’s rights convention in, 165n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 665

665 Syracuse Evening Standard, 81n Syracuse Freedmen’s Aid Society, 384n Syracuse University Library, xxi Talbot County, Md., 167; agriculture of, 487n; antislavery sentiment in, 171n; Douglass relatives in, xxiv, 485–87, 487–89nn; free blacks in, 487n; Methodists in, 276n; schools in, 169n, 486–87, 489n; slaveholders in, 171n, 275–76nn, 486, 488n Talman, John T., 3n Talman, Mary E. Fitzhugh, 1, 3n Talman Building (Rochester, N.Y.), 3n Tammany Hall (New York City), 71–72n, 511 Taney, Roger B., 169n; death of, 466, 467n, 468, 470n; quoted, 468n Tanner, Benjamin T., 444n Tanner, L. D., 511, 513 Tappan, Arthur, 35, 37n Tappan, Lewis, 123n; as abolitionist, 25, 123; leads American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, 25, 123n; British friends of, 204n, 326, 374, 556, 569–70, 572; Douglass writes, 164, 573, 592; aids free blacks, 163n, 246n; opposes Garrison, 123n’ as merchant, 123n, 556; Underground Railroad and, 164n; opposes violent tactics, 202–03, 205; opposes women’s rights, 123n; writes to Douglass, 25, 122–24, 164, 199–200, 202–07, 518–19, 556; writes to Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 4n, 559 Tappan, Sarah Jackson, 164, 164n, 205n Tappan, Susan Aspinwall, 164n tar and feathering, 208, 208n Tara, 238n tariff, 97n, 325n Tate, W. W., 335–36n; writes to Douglass, 333–35 Taunton, Mass., 539 Taylor, James N., 519 Taylor, Zachary, 40n, 62n tea, 358n Tecumseh, 309n Teel, Michael C., 329n telegraph, 385n temperance: abolitionists and, 2n, 6n, 10n, 60n, 78n, 95, 96n, 109, 223n, 284n, 291n, 306n, 465n, 516, 520–21, 539, 550, 553, 555, 562; in Albany, N.Y., 194n; American party and, 194n, 198–99n; in Birmingham, Eng., 203n; in Boston, 547–48; in Brooklyn, N.Y.,

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666 temperance (continued) 385n; churches and, 222n; in Connecticut, 96n, 101n, 106, 534; Democratic party and, 553; Douglass and, xxiii; free blacks and, xxiii, 4n, 50n, 53n, 101n, 222n, 237n, 262n, 511, 520–21, 534, 544, 571; in Great Britain, 67–68n, 129, 252n, 323–24nn, 286n, 291n; in Ireland, 324n; Irish Americans reject, 310n; in Massachusetts, 43n, 398n, 544; in Minnesota, 341n; in New Hampshire, 173n; in New York, 6n, 10n, 165nn, 194n, 222n, 237n, 371–72nn, 385n, 516, 571; newspapers of, 237n; in Ohio, 53n; organizations of, 100n, 194n; in Pennsylvania, 50n; Prohibition party and, 385n; Republican party and, 194n, 553; in Rochester, N.Y., 235n, 297n; in Scotland, 67–68n; Second Great Awakening and, 100n; Gerrit Smith and, 2n, 95; in Vermont, 531; women advocate, 521 Temple Street African Church (New Haven, Conn.), 101n Templeton, Benjamin F., 108n “Ten Percent Plan,” 446n Tennessee: abolitionists in, 131n; Civil War in, 98n, 423n; cotton in, 474; Democratic party in, 98–99nn; emancipation in, 466; free blacks in, 52n, 56n, 373n, 472n; freedmen in, 102n; government of, 98n; militia of, 357n; missionaries in, 102n; politicians of, 77n, 98n; Reconstruction in, 446n; slavery in, 481; slaves in, 39n, 474n, 481; Union army recruits from, 403n; Underground Railroad in, 52n Tenth Connecticut Infantry Regiment, 405, 406–07n Tenure of Office Act, 404n Terry, Alfred, 407n Terry, Davis S., 564 Texas: admission of, 542; annexation of, 62n, 96n, 131n; Civil War in, 155n, 274; colonization and, 131n; Confederate army unions from, 415n; colonization in, 131n; slavery in, 131n, 414 textile industry: in Great Britain, 378, 379n; in New York, 372n Thackeray, William Makepeace, 253n Thames River, 83n The Slave (London, Eng.), 300n Thermopylae, 74n Third Avenue Railroad Company (New York City), 258, 264n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 666

INDEX Third Ohio Infantry Regiment, 438 Third Regiment U.S. Colored Troops, 411n Thirteenth Amendment: celebrations of, 473n; Douglass advocates, 468; congressional debate on, 470n, 471; William Lloyd Garrison and, 5n; opposition to, 470n, 472, 474n Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 427n Thomas, Anna Carpenter, 435n Thomas, Charles, 435–36n Thomas, Charlotte Julia, 209, 211n Thomas, Edward, 211n Thomas, Elizabeth W., 211n Thomas, Herbert, 433, 435–36n Thomas, John L., 274n, 516, 520, 551; criticizes Republican party, 553, 555, 562; praises Gerrit Smith, 556; supports temperance, 550, 553, 555, 562 Thomas, Lorenzo, 411–12n, 419; as recruiting officer, 415n, 417, 419–20nn, 420, 421n, 422, 453n; as interim secretary of war, 419n Thompson, George: as abolitionist, 5n, 166, 219; condemns Free Church of Scotland, 167n; Douglass and, xxx, 176, 219, 518; Douglass writes, 299–300; as Garrisonian, 5n; in Scotland, xxx, 167n; views U.S. Constitution as proslavery, 300n; visits U.S., 167n Thompson, T. Perronet, 593 Thompson, William, 533 Thoughts on African Colonization (Garrison), 483n Thoughts on the Death Penalty (Burleigh), 78n Three Years in Europe; Or, Places I Have Seen and People I Have Met (Brown), 127n Ticonderoga Anti-Slavery Society, 158n Tillman, Perry, 108n Tilmon, Levi, 545, 552 Tilton, Elizabeth Richards, 463, 465n Tilton, Theodore, 223n; as abolitionist, 594; Henry Ward Beecher and, 141n, 332n, 465n; Douglass writes, 369–72, 460–63, 598; edits Independent, 141n, 222–23n, 332n, 371n, 379, 462; Lincoln criticized by, 460–63, 463n; temperance and, 223n; writes to Douglass, 223n, 332n; women’s rights supported by, 223n Tiny Creek, Md., 485–87 Tippecanoe, Battle of, 309n tobacco, 8n, 30, 95, 100n

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INDEX Tobago, 224n Tobias, Henry, 429, 430n Toledo, Ohio, 450n; Douglass speaks at, 452, 453n Toombs, Robert, 185n Topeka Constitution, 148–49nn, 153, 156n Topp, William H., 521 Toronto, Ont.: abolitionists in, 3n, 530; black residents of, 473n Torrington, Conn., 39n Tory party (Great Britain), 24n Tottenham, Eng., 298n Toulon, Fr., 188, 191 Towanda, Pa., 238n Townsend, S. P., 35, 38n Tracts on American Slavery (Clark), 50n Transcendentalists, 399n Transcontinental Railroad, 78, 78n Transylvania University, 97n, 99n, 155n Travels in America (Roos), 142n Tremont Temple (Boston), 314, 316n, 321n, 388n Trent (ship), 324n Trent Affair, 324n Trinidad, 224n Trinity College (Dublin, Ire.), 376n Trinity (Washington) College (Hartford, Conn.), 97n Troy, N.Y.: Douglas speaks in, 3n, 145n, 386; free blacks in, 3n, 145n, 236, 238n, 386, 389n, 517, 570 Troy Female Seminary, 166n True American (Erie, Pa.), 30n True American (Ward), 237n True Wesleyan (New York City), 219, 222n True Whig party (Liberia), 184n “Truth and Error” (Douglass), 385n Tubman, Harriet, 122n, 226n; during Civil War, 411; Douglass and, 226n, 227; John Brown endorses, 226; name change by, 198n; Underground Railroad and, 226, 226n Tubman, John, 198n Tuckahoe Creek, Md., 52n, 167–68 Tucker, Henry St. George, 280n Tucker, John N. T., 537 Turkey, 36n Turner, Davis D., 108n Turner, Franklin, 107–08n; invites Douglass to lecture, 118n; writes to Douglass, 107–08 Turner, Nat, 168, 171n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 667

667 Tweed, William A., 565 Twelfth Street Church (Boston), 179n Twentieth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 425n Twenty–first South Carolina Infantry Regiment, 476, 477n Twenty–second Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, 438 Twilight, Alexander, 18n Tyler, John, 509; appointments by, 156n, 280n; John C. Calhoun and, 360n; as vicepresidential candidate, 309n; Daniel Webster and, 40n Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Stowe), 10; abolitionists praise, 519; characters in, 512; Douglass praises, 21n; free blacks criticize, 537; sales of, 17n, 19n, 142n; Southerners disparage, 136, 142n Underground Railroad: in Albany, N.Y., 122n, 226n, 237–38n in Boston, 179n, 453n, British support for, 589, John Brown and, 22n, 286, in Buffalo, N.Y., 118, 119n, Canada and, 39n, 51n, 111n, 119, 127n, 226n, 564; in Chicago, 222n, 373n; in Cincinnati, Ohio, 228n, 550, 561; during Civil War, 454–56, 456n; in Congregational Church, 553; in Connecticut, 105–06, 106n; in Delaware, 545; Douglass as conductor of, xxiv6, 6–7nn, 226n, 268n, 291; in fiction, 17n; free black conductors of, xxiv, 6, 6–7nn, 111n, 179n, 224n, 226n, 268n, 291, 346n, 439, 441n, 453n, 526, 533, 545, 548, 571–72, 574, 581, 589; in Illinois, 56n, 373n, 521; in Indiana, 227–28n; in Kentucky, 57n; in Maryland, 22n, 221n, 226n; in Michigan, 51n, 111, 111n; in Middletown, Conn., 105–06, 106n; in Missouri, 22n, 250n; in Nashville, Tenn., 52n; in New York, xxix, 4n, 6, 6n, 36n, 158n, 226n; in New York City, 6, 6–7nn, 37n, 87n, 143n, 226n; in Ohio, 57n, 140n, 532; in Pennsylvania, 30n, 86n, 346n, 483n; in Philadelphia, 224, 226n, 346n; Maria G. Porter as conductor of, 7n, 267, 291; Samuel D. Porter and, 227, 227n; in Rhode Island, 240n; in Portland, Me., 211n; in Rochester, 6, 6–7nn, 42n, 215, 215n, 226–27nn, 268n; in St. Louis, Mo., 528; William Still as conductor of, 346n; in Syracuse, xxix, 6, 6–7nn, 10n, 39n, 548–49, 572, 579, 596; Harriet Tubman and, 226, 226n; in Vermont, 526,

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668 Underground Railroad (continued) 532; violent abolitionism and, xxiv, xxix, 201–02n; in Washington, D.C., 532; women as conductors of, 7n, 226, 226n, 267, 291 Union army: abolitionists in, xxii, xxx, 50n, 167n, 223n, 269–70, 270–71nn, 285n, 307n, 312n, 322–23n, 329, 330n, 408n, 440n, 560, 563, 573–75, 584; blacks assigned to fatigue duty by, 413, 415n; black units in, 21n, 326n, 341n, 404, 405–06. 406–08nn, 440n, 471n, 477n, 590; black soldiers captured by Confederates, 413, 415n, 440–41n; Democratic generals in, 347; departments of, 423n, 477n; Douglass recruits for, xxiv, xxxi, 386–87, 388–89nn, 454–56; free blacks in, xxiv, xxxi–xxxii, 19n, 21–22nn, 39n, 64n, 111n, 200n, 204n, 248, 248n, 304–05, 326n, 329n, 340n, 342n, 371n, 381–82, 387–88, 387–89nn, 401n, 402, 403n, 405–06, 406–08nn, 412–14, 415–16n, 424–25, 425n, 426–27, 427–28nn, 428, 429n, 431, 440n, 442–43, 446n, 448, 450–51n, 452, 466, 471–73nn, 477n, 481, 481n, 595, 597–600; fugitive slaves returned by, 429, 430n, 591; immigrants served in, 411n; in Massachusetts, 322n, 329n, 402, 403n, 414, 428, 429n, 440–41n, 452n; officers of, 64n, 97n, 99–100n, 121n, 147–48nn, 194n, 216n, 302n, 312n, 347, 381n, 382, 383n, 388n, 403–04nn, 406, 411n, 419–20nn, 423n, 425n, 427n, 430n, 437, 439n, 440–41nn, 445n, 450–51n; racial discrimination in, in, xxiv, xxxii, 19n, 305n, 386, 388n, 415–16n, 416–17, 418–20n, 428, 429n 442, 450–51n; recruiting for, xxiiv, xxxi–xxxii, 115n, 127n, 263n, 304–05n, 386–87, 387–89nn, 394n, 402, 403n, 405n, 407n, 411n, 412–18, 417–20nn, 420–22, 421–22nn, 423, 452, 453n, 454–56, 465n,476, 596–99; seceded states occupied by, 302n; slaves recruited for, xxxii, 200n, 312n, 326n, 329n, 341n, 415n, 454–46, 462, 466, 471n soldier vote by, 468n; volunteers in, 322n. See also Army of the Potomac Union Church (Philadelphia), 108n, 125n, 411n Union College (Schenectady, N.Y.) 120–21nn, 274n Union Missionary Society, 58n, 86n. See also American Missionary Association Union Theological Seminary (New York), 306n, 475n Union Village, N.Y., 509

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 668

INDEX Unitarian Church: abolitionists in, 10n, 144n, 178n, 199n, 235n, 312n, 323n, 436n; in Great Britain, 178n, 282n, 323n, 399n, 436n, 445n, 450n; in Massachusetts, 144n, 178n, 312n, 399n; ministers of, 10n, 199n, 399n, 450n; in Ohio, 140n, 399n; in New York, 188n, 235n; in U.S., 10n; in Washington, D.C., 399n United Anti-Slavery Society, 59n United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, 18n, 330n U.S. Congress: abolitionist petitions to, 399n; black members of, 472n; chaplains of, 171n, 399n; Committee on the Conduct of the War of, 497n; Democratic party in, 62n, 80n, 274n, 474n; Free Soil party in, 72n, 96–97nn; John Quincy Adams and, 64, 65n, 399–400n; Haitian recognition and, 467n; Liberian recognition and, 467n; members of, 62n, 65n, 96–100nn, 412n, 547; Republican party in, 184n; restaurant of, 240n; Gerrit Smith in, xxiii, xxviii, 1–2, 62, 63n, 64, 76, 76n, 78, 78n, 87–90, 88–89nn, 96n, 517, 524, 527, 529, 531–32; Senate of, 189; Speakers of House in, 97–98nn; Texas annexation and, 62n; Whig party in, 274n U.S. Constitution: abolitionists and, 5n, 67; adoption of, 354; as antislavery document, 43n, 3, 63–64, 64–65nn, 67, 82, 91, 115n, 176, 176n, 209n, 245n, 257, 272, 512, 517, 522, 528, 547–48, 550, 572, 587–88; Bill of Rights of, 23, 24n; Douglass and, xxx, 8n, 60n, 63–64, 64n, 219, 518; Fifteenth Amendment to, 166n; Fourteenth Amendment to, 166n, 326n; fugitive slave clause in, 92, 96n; Garrisonians and, xxx, 43n, 60n, 63–64, 64n, 115n, 300n; Liberty party and, 8n, 65n, 115–16nn; Privileges and Immunities Clause of, 23, 24n; as proslavery document, xxx, 5n, 43n, 60n, 63–64, 64n, 115n, 141n, 184, 185n, 300n, 306n, 382n, 528, 572; Republican party views on, 576; Thirteenth Amendment to, 5n, 468, 470n, 471–72, 473n, 474n; Three-Fifths Compromise to, 549 U.S. federal courts, 7, 9n, 65n U.S. Government Printing Office, 19n, 249n U.S. marshals, 221n, 279 U.S. Military Academy (West Point), 350n, 419n U.S. Mint (Philadelphia), 430n

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INDEX U.S. Navy: in Civil War, 324n, 370n; in War of 1812, 27n, 359n; officers of, 62n; in Spanish American War, 440n; Trent Affair and, 324n U.S. Pension Bureau, 249n, 444n U.S. Supreme Court: Amistad case and, 65, 163n; blacks practice before, 465n; justices of, 73n, 169n, 319n, 470n; upholds segregation, 36n; Daniel Webster and, 40n U.S. Treasury Department, 19n, 248n; freedmen’s aid and, 371n; patronage appointments at, 454n U.S. vs. Morris (1851), 9n U.S.S. Maine, 440n Universal Postal Union, 350n University of Glasgow, 7n University of Maryland, 169n University of Michigan, 477n University of North Carolina, 77n University of Pennsylvania, 155n, 181n, 324n University of Rochester Library, xxi, xxxi University of Vermont, 121n University of Virginia, 97n, 474n Upas tree, 70, 71n Urwick, Elinor, 252, 253n Urwick, Sarah, 252, 253n Urwick, William, 252–53n Utica, N.Y., 180n, 371n, 402, 403n Utica Insane Asylum, 307n Van Brackle, S., 108n Van Buren, Martin, 307, 309n; as Democratic party leader, 371n; as Free Soiler, 529; as lawyer, 10n Van Metre v. Mitchell (1853), 9n Van Rensselaer, Martha, 30–31nn Vashon, George B., 87n, 549 Vashon, John B., 58n, 59n; as abolitionist, 58n; attends conventions, 33n, 58n; education and, 58n; writes to Douglass, 61, 514 Venezuela, 53n, 224n Vermont, 325n; abolitionists in, 401n, 527, 532, 541–42; army units from, 394n; Douglass in, 401n, 504n; free blacks in, 298n, 519; Free Produce movement in, 529; Liberty party in, 531; newspapers in, 158n, 437n; personal liberty law of, 96n; temperance movement in, 531; Underground Railroad in, 526, 532 Vermont American (Middlebury, Vt.), 158n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 669

669 Vermont Spectator (Castleton, Vt.), 158 Vermont Watchman and State Journal (Montpelier, Vt.), 437n Vernon County, Mo., 250n Vicar, D. M., 594 Vicksburg, Miss.: black Union army units and, 414, 415n; Douglass ordered to, 420–21; Union army recruiting at, 412n, 420, 452 Vidal, S. B., 108n Views of the American Constitutional Law, in Its Bearing on American Slavery (Goodell), 65n Vindication of the Capacity of the Negro Race for Self- Government and Civilized Progress (Holly), 51n Vine Street African Methodist Episcopal Church (Buffalo, N.Y.), 119n, 121, 122n Vineland, N.J., 368n Virginia, 59n, 320n; American Revolution in, 24n; John Brown tried by, 586; arrests Harpers Ferry raiders, 277; attempted arrest of Douglass in, 281; Civil War in, xxiv, xxxii, 98–99nn, 194n, 380, 381n, 392–95nn, 407n, 427n, 430n, 437–39, 439–41nn, 446n, 450–51n, 464n; contrabands in, 372, 430n; Democratic party in, 99n, 280n, 440n; Douglass speaks in, 468; emigrants from, 155n; executes John Brown, 283, 292, 293n; free blacks in, 21n, 50–51nn, 53n, 57n, 111n, 141n, 179n, 354, 364n, 453n, 576; freedmen’s aid activity in, 379n, 600; freedpeople in, 379n, 444n; government of, 98–99nn, 324n, 368n, 440n; Know-Nothing party in, 280n; manufacturing in 173n; militia of, 171n; Quakers in, 131n; Reconstruction in, 453n; Republican party in, 453n; Richmond, 83n; schools in, 444n; secession of, 99n, 324n; slave revolts in, 39n, 171n, 586; slaveholders in, 194n, 223–24n, 350n, 368n, 382n; slavery in, 21n, 39n, 83n, 171n, 194n, 268n, 309n, 350n, 352, 368n, 382n, 412n, 430n, 440n; slaves in, 21n, 39n, 83n, 162n, 168, 171n, 268n, 278, 586; western counties secede from, 466 Virginia Company, 358n Voice of the Fugitive: Henry Bibb founds, 4n; James T. Holly and, 51n, 246n, 520; support for, 34n, 528 von Ense, Karl Varnhagen, 249n voting rights. See suffrage

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670 Wade, Benjamin, 74n, 445n Wade, Edward, 72, 73n, 93 Wade–Davis Bill, 445n Wading River, N.Y., 81 Wagner, Louis, 411n Wagner, Thomas, 407n Wagoner, Henry O., 22n; attends conventions, 514; friendship with Douglass, 22n; considers Haitian emigration, 583; as entrepreneur, 590; political activism of, 541; trains Douglass’s sons, 200n; Underground Railroad and, 439, 441n; writes to Douglass, 510, 517, 527; writes to Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 20, 22n, 513, 523, 534, 556, 586 Wagoner, Henry O., Jr., 22n Waldosborough, Me., 227n Waldridge, Sarah Cornell, 450n Wales, 113, 138; coast of, 138, 142n; industry of, 435n Walker, David, 115n Walker, Mary, 197n Walker, Thomas, 375n Walker, William, 550 Wall, O. S. B., 103n, 515, 531–32 Wallingford, Alta Lucia Gray Hilliard, 172, 172–73n; Douglass writes, 172–73, 177–78 Wallingford, Zimri Scates, 173n, 177 Waltham, Mass., 99n War of 1812, 40n, 77n; blacks serve in, 57n, 352, 354, 357n, 360n; Andrew Jackson in, 351, 357n; in New York, 184n; in Northwest Territories, 309n; officers in, 398n; “War Hawks” and, 360n Ward, Robert, 375n Ward, Samuel Ringgold, 4n, 19n, 532; in Canada, 4n; criticizes Garrisonians, 545; as editor, 237n; fugitive slaves and, 1; Douglass praises, 4n; in Great Britain, 25, 113, 330n, 551; Liberty party and, 60n; as minister, 4n, 12; praises Douglass, 540; writes to Douglass, 508 Ward, T. Myers, 525 Warder, James, 476n Warder & Stewart (Washington, D.C.), 475, 476n Warren, David A., 531 Warren County, Ohio, 181 Warren County, Pa., 118n, 518 Warrentown, Va., 99n Washington, Booker T., 450n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 670

INDEX Washington, George, 220, 223–24n; abolitionists on, 283, 559; commands free black soldiers, 354; as freemason, 246n; letters by, 319n; as slaveholder, 223–24n Washington, Madison, xxvii, 18n Washington, D.C., 99n, 342n; abolitionists visit, 76, 76n, 131n, 397n; churches in, 50–51nn, 429n, 441, 444nn, 476n, 499, 502–03n; in Civil War, 425n, 464n; district council of, 248n; Charles Douglass in, 471–72; Douglass resides in, 144n, 451–52n, 477n; Douglass children reside in, 248–49nn; Douglass visits, xxxii, 371n, 416–18, 428, 429n, 431, 443, 444n, 475, 475–76nn; emancipation in, 265n, 397, 444n, 466, 493n; free blacks in, xxxiii, 50–52nn, 179, 179n, 240n, 246n, 328, 329n, 331, 331nn, 336n, 429n, 441–42, 444nn, 471–72, 472n, 474–76, 496n, 503–04nn, 600, 602; founding of, 357n; freedmen’s aid work in, 384n, 430n, 434n, 441–43, 443–44nn, 447, 480n, 596; freedpeople in, 368n, 378, 394–97, 398n, 444n, 498–502; fugitive slaves in, 472; government of, 201n; Methodist Episcopal Church in, 171n; newspapers in, 200–201n, 206, 207n, 248n; panic during Harpers Ferry Raid, 280n; racism in, 200n; real estate in, 249n; schools in, xxxiii, 72n, 161n, 378; slavery in, 75n, 320n, 331, 444n; Underground Railroad in, 532 Washington College (Washington, Pa.), 280n Washington (Washington and Lee) College, 98n Washington Hall (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 239, 240n Washington Peace Convention, 280n Waterford, N.Y., 71n Waterloo Meeting of the Friends of Human Progress, 269–70, 270–71nn; Douglass attends, 271n Watertown, N.Y., 179, 180–82nn, 181 Watkins, Frances, 567 Watkins, William K., 42, 528, 533; as abolitionist, 531, 538–39, 542, 547, 575, 587; as assistant editor, 81n, 254, 260, 269, 282n; campaigns for black suffrage, 581; as emigration opponent, 44; Garrisonians and, 41; denounces Kansas-Nebraska Act, 526, 542; Douglass criticized by, 581–82; Douglass criticizes as a nativist, 560; Douglass writes, 571; on racism, 541; as Radical Abolitionist, 181n, 578–79, 581; as Republican, 255, 258,

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INDEX 261–62, 264n; speeches by, 41, 42n, 145; writes Douglass, 256–62, 262n, 522–23, 543 Watkins, N.Y., 552 Watson, John Hampton, 181, 181–82n Watts, Isaac, 238n, 263n Waugh, John T., 527 Wayne County, Ind., 228n Wayne County, N.Y., 193n, 368n Webb, Maria Lamb, 282n; Douglass writes to, 281–83; fundraises for Douglass, 326, 592; writes to Douglass, 254n, 281, 326–27 Webb, Richard D.: as abolitionist, 282n, 299n; Garrison and, 282n; as Quaker, 299n Webb, Wilhelmina, 327n Webb, William (American), 44, 50n Webb, William (British), 252, 254n, 282, 283n, 327n Webb, William H., 139n Webster, Daniel, 39, 40n Webster, Thomas, 421–22n; Douglass writes, 421; writes Douglass, 599 Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842), 40n Weed, Thurlow, 6n, 120, 121n; aids Douglass, 121n; as editor, 194n; Anti-Masonic party and, 194n; Stephen Myers and, 257, 262n; as Republican, 121n, 262n; as Whig, 262n Weekly Anglo-African (New York City): articles in, 409–10, 410n, 444n, 492–93n, 505–06n; Martin R. Delany and, 21n; opposes emigration to Haiti, 369n; Hamilton brothers and, 410–11nn; James McCune Smith and, 7n, 369n Weems family, 557 Weimer v. Sloane (1854), 9n Weims, Stella, 556 Weir, George, Jr., 119n; as abolitionist, 573, 579–80; as minister, 120, 122n, 571; on racism, 558; writes to Douglass, 118–19, 122n, 526, 585 Weir, Isaiah C., 108n, 125n, 557; as abolitionist, 220, 224n, writes to Douglass, 124–25 Weld, Theodore Dwight, 326n Welland Canal, 564 Welles, Gideon, 370n, 496n Wellington, O. A., 271n Wells, Betsey, 486, 488n Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church (Philadelphia), 220, 223n Wesleyan Methodist Connection, 222n Wesleyan Methodists, 451n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 671

671 Wesleyan University, 101n West, Margaret, 376n West Brookfield, Mass., 441n West Chester, Pa., 77–78n West India Question, The (Stuart), 67n West Indies: deportations to, 9n; emancipation in, 215n, 232n, 558; emigrations to, 45–46, 56n, 334; immigrants from, 223–24nn; missionaries to, 36n, 52n; slavery in, 47, 67n 178, 179n; slavery abolished in, 47, 67n, 179n; sugar grown in, 339n; trade with, 248n West Indies Emancipation Day Celebrations, 511; abolitionists and, xxix, 188, 189n, 532, 549, 565; in California, 551; in Canandaigua, N.Y., xxix. 215n; in Cincinnati, Ohio, 552; Douglass speaks on, xxix, 18, 189n, 214–15n, 228–30, 493n; immigrants from, 35; in New Bedford, 188, 189n; in Ohio, 552, 565; in Philadelphia, 125n, 577; in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., xxix, 228–30, 230–31n West Springfield, Mass., 319n West Stockbridge, Mass., 6n West Virginia, 277, 465n West Yorkshire, Eng., 375 Westbrook, Conn., 106n Westchester County, N.Y., 194n, 240n Western Citizen (Chicago), 222n Western Freedmen’s Aid Society, 228n Western Messenger (Cincinnati, Ohio), 399n Western New York Anti-Slavery Society, 297n; agents of, 127n; Susan B. Anthony and, 235n; Julia Griffiths and, 3n; Porter family and, 227n Western Reserve (Ohio), 31n Western Reserve College (Hudson, Ohio), xviii, 115n whaling, 158n Wheatley, Phillis, 552 Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.), 161n Wheeler, Cordelia Whipple, 345n Wheeler, George H., 345n Wheeler, Laura. See Moody, Laura Wheeler Whig party (Great Britain), 307n, 434n Whig party (U.S.): abolitionists criticize, 93– 94, 151–52n; antiabolitionism of, 151–52n; antislavery members of, 28, 175, 325n, 529, 535; in Baltimore, Md., 474n, 506n; in Buffalo, N.Y., 97n; candidates of, 309n; Henry Clay and, 40n, 320n; Compromise of 1850 and, 31n, 40n, 42n, 194n; in Connecticut,

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672 Whig party (U.S.) (continued) 96; Douglass as possible candidate of, 81n; free blacks support, 529; in Illinois, 304n; Kansas-Nebraska Act and, 31n, 63n; in Kentucky, 99n, 320n; Know-Nothingism and, 110n; Liberty party and, 2n; in Massachusetts, 40n, 65n, 97n, 99–100; Mexican War and, 42n, 96n; in New York, 6n, 8n, 26n, 40n, 54n, 71n, 81n, 97n, 110n, 121n, 194n, 274n, 535; in New York City, 8n; newspapers of, 54n, 194n; in Ohio, 72n, 74n, 96n, in Pennsylvania, 98n, 325n; in Philadelphia, 98n; as proslavery, 93–94, 110n, 260–62, 508; Quakers support, 110n; racism of, 24; in Rochester, N.Y., 279n; William H. Seward and, 26n, 28; Silver Gray faction of, 109, 110n; in Syracuse, N.Y., 18n; support Union, 151–52n; in Virginia, 280n; Daniel Webster and, 40n; Thurlow Weed and, 262n Whipper, William, 108n; debates James McCune Smith, 241, 243n; invites Douglass to lecture, 117; on origins of racism, 540, 544, 548, 576; writes to Douglass, 535–37 Whipple, Charles King, 315, 316n Whipple, George: writes to Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 4n White, Jacob C., 466n; Douglass writes, 466–67 White, James H., 565 White, Martha Todd, 497n White, Thomas J., 474–75, 475n Whitesboro, N.Y., 18n, 115n, 297n Whitfield, James Monroe, 49–50n; advocates emigration, 49–50n, 520, 523; family of, 454n; as poet, 49–50, 523; writes to Douglass, 44–54, 519 Whitfield, Joseph Paul, 452, 453n, 454n Whiting, William E., 159n; Douglass writes, 597; writes to Douglass, 159–60, 554, 582 Whiting, William H. C., 393n Whittier, John G., 60n Whittlesey, Elisha, 74n Wickoff, Henry, 497n Wierman, Phebe, 114n Wigfall, Louis, 204n Wilberforce, William, 3n, 123, 123–24n Wilberforce, Ont., 19n, 562 Wilberforce College, 7n. 58n, 222n, 475; founding of, 475n; students at, 475–76n

Y7271-Douglass_9780300218305.indb 672

INDEX Wilbur, Julia, 384n; Douglass contributes to, 384; freedmen’s school of, 379n, 384n, 480 Wild, Edward A., 440n Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 76n Willard, Emma, 166n Willesden, Eng., 566 Willey, Austin, 340–41n; writes to Douglass, 340 William and Mary College, 77n Williams, H., 564 Williams, H., Jr., 541, 543, 563–64, 571 Williams, John E., 135, 141n Williams, John F., 532 Williams County, Ohio, 590 Williamson, Passamore, 562 Williamson, Rebecca, 178–79n; writes to Douglass, 178–79, 576 Williamson, N.Y., 368n Willis, William, 489n Wilmer, Elizabeth, 343, 345n, 363, 366, 368n Wilmer, Perry, 343, 345n, 361–63, 363n Wilmington, Del.: Douglass speaks in, 477n Wilson, Henry, 42–43n, 265n; advocates emancipation, 331n, 471; as Know-Nothing, 261 Wilson, Hiram, 564, 574 Wilson, Jacob S., 170n Wilson, William D., 503n Wilson, William J. (“Ethiop.”), 496n; criticizes proslavery churches, 553; at black convention, 516, 551; John Brown and, 586; Douglass disagrees with, xxxiii; Douglass writes, 494–96, 498, 502n, 505; supports black schools, 559; writes to Douglass, 493, 498–502, 509–11, 523, 525, 527–29, 533–37, 540, 551, 557, 585 Wilson’s Wharf, Va., 440n Winchester, Va., 324n Windham, Me., 388n Windship, George B., 283, 285n Windsor, Ont., 119n, 246n Windsor, Vt., 269n Windward Islands, 224n wine, 194n Wingate, Ann, 169n Winn, Kate, 173n Wisconsin: Democratic party in, 360n; Douglass lectures in, xxix, 118n, 245n, 249; Methodist Episcopal Church in, 53; Republican party in, 10n, 360n

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INDEX Wise, Henry A., 280n; attempts Douglass’s capture, 279, 280n, 288n; responds to Harpers Ferry Raid, 280n, 288n; as Virginia governor, 279, 280n Woman as Inventor (Gage), 165n woman suffrage: abolitionists support, 404n; conventions for, 78n; Susan B. Anthony and, xxxiii; Douglass supports, xxii–xxxiii; in Great Britain, 323n; in New York State, 568 Woman’s Mission (Lewis), 66, 68n Womelsdorf, Pa., 483n women: as abolitionists, xxii, 3–5nn, 7n, 60n, 76n, 86n, 89n, 114n, 127–28nn, 130n, 145n, 152–53, 172–73n, 180n, 187n, 203n, 223n, 232n, 235n, 250–52, 252–55nn, 268n, 282n, 291–92, 292–93nn, 294n, 295, 297–98n, 300, 300n, 316, 317n, 321n, 322–23, 323n, 327n, 329, 330n, 346n, 360n, 373n, 375n, 377, 411n, 430n, 431–33, 436nn, 450n, 478, 508, 521, 523, 525, 530, 550–54, 556–58, 560, 562–63, 563, 566–67, 569–72, 574, 579–81, 585, 590–93, 595–97, 599; as actresses, 430n; as Douglass’s correspondents, xxii; freedmen’s aid and, 378, 384, 384n, 441, 447, 450n, 480n; as lecturers, 462; as teachers, 5n, 203n, 342–45, 376n, 377, 379n, 383n, 384n, 430n; support temperance, 100n, 235n, 323n, 521; as Underground Railroad conductors, 7n; as writers, 376n. See also woman suffrage; women’s rights women’s rights: abolitionists and, 5–6nn, 10n, 43n, 60n, 65–67, 68n, 78n, 123n, 223n, 270n, 284n, 302n, 306, 465n, 521, 525, 544, 551, 556, 585; Susan B. Anthony and, xxxiii, 235n; conventions of, xxiii, xxix, 68n, 161n; Douglass supports, xxii–xxix, 66, 234; free blacks and, 222n; Garrisonians and, 10n, 43n, 60n, 78n; in Great Britain, 5n, 283n, 323n, 436n, 450n; in Massachusetts, 161n; Samuel J. May, Jr., and, 10n; Lucretia Mott and, 166n; in New Jersey, 368n; in New York, xxiii, xxix, 165n, 372n, 376nn, 516, 554; in Ohio, 533; opposition to, 528–29; press and, 222–23n; religion and, 166n; in Rhode Island, 76n, 161n; speakers supporting, 552; spiritualism and, 270, 271n Wood, Fernando, 472, 474n Woodlin, Johnson, 513, 521 Woodman, William, 603 Woodson, Lewis, 57–58n, 516, 518–21, 528

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673 wool, 97n, 183n; American textile industry and, 403; British textile industry and, 267n, 298n Woolwich, Eng., 364n Worcester, Mass., 312n; abolitionists in, 312n, 320–21, 603; churches of, 312n; Douglass in, 305, 305n, 601, 603; free blacks in, 310n; Irish Americans in, 310n; merchants in, 322n; women’s rights convention in, 161n Workingmen’s party (Cincinnati), 249n World’s Anti-Slavery Convention (1840): American abolitionists attend, 5n, 166n, 465n; blacks attend, 115n; British delegates to, 207n; Garrison attends, 5n; women’s rights and, 5n, 166n, 465n World’s Temperance Convention, 521 Wormley, James, 472n Wormley, James Thompson, 471, 472n Worth, Daniel, 585 Wraxham, Eng., 9n Wright, Hendrick Bradley, 75, 76n Wright, Henry C., 50n, 60n Wright, John F., 475n Wright, Jonathan Jasper, 18n Wright, Paulina Kellogg, 76n Wright, William, 114n; writes to Douglass, 112–16 Wulff, Erick, 424, 425n, 427, 437 Wyatt, William E., 167, 169n Wycoff, David E., 471, 473n Wye Hall, 170n Wye Island, Md., 170n Xenia, Ohio, 174n Yale Medical School, 551 Yale University: graduates of, 96n, 98n, 163n, 319n, 473n; students at, 280n, 577 Yates, W. M., 602 yellow fever, 51n YMCA, 246n Yonkers, N.Y., 450n York County, Me., 210n Yorkshire (ship), 133, 137, 139n Yorkshire, Eng., 267n, 346n, 435n; abolitionists in, 252n, 576, 579, 592; Douglass visits, 281–82, 291–92, 293n, 294–96, 316n; proConfederate sympathy in, 435n Yorkshire Post, 375n Yorktown, Va., Battle of, 391, 392n Young, Jacob, 108n

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674 Young, John, 97n Young, Marianne Ffolliott, 252, 254n Young Men’s Anti-Slavery Society (Leeds, Eng.), 297n Young Men’s Christian Association, 285n Young Men’s Debating Society (Carlisle, Pa.), 50n Young Men’s Union Society of Cleveland, 49n

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INDEX Youth’s Literary and Productive Union (New York City), 240n Zimri S. Wallingford (ship), 173n Zion Baptist Church (Cincinnati), 77n Zion Church (St. Catharine, Ont.), 83n Zuille, John J., 57, 59n

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