Fredrick Douglas | Pinnacle of Freedom
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
― Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings
I once knew a little boy whose mother and father died when he was six years old. He was a slave and had no one to care for him. He slept on a dirt floor in a hovel, and in cold weather would crawl into a meal bag head foremost and leave his feet in the ashes to keep them warm. Often he would roast an ear of corn and eat it to satisfy his hunger, and many times has he crawled under the barn or stable and secured eggs, which he would roast in the fire and eat.
That boy did not wear pants like you do, but a tow linen shirt. Schools were unknown to him, and he learned to spell from an old Webster's spelling-book and to read and write from posters on cellar and barn doors, while boys and men would help him. He would then preach and speak, and soon became well known. He became Presidential Elector, United States Marshal, United States Recorder, United States diplomat, and accumulated some wealth. He wore broadcloth and didn't have to divide crumbs with the dogs under the table. That boy was Frederick Douglas.
Beginnings
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born into slavery in the winter of 1817. Separated from his mother at birth, Douglas was raised by his maternal grandmother as was the custom for every enslaved infant. At a young age, he was put to work in the fields and warehouses on the plantation, only seeing his mother a few times before her death. At the age of six, he was sold to the Auld family who sent him to be with a brother and sister-in-law named Hugh and Sophie Auld. Sophie made sure that Fredrick was clothed and washed. She made sure that he slept on a bed of clean sheets and that he was properly fed and groomed. Later in life, Douglas would say of her, “that she was very kind and tenderhearted, treating him as one is supposed to treat another human being”.
At the age of twelve, while still living with the Aulds, Sophie began to teach Fredrick the alphabet and how to read. Hugh found out about this tutorship and advised against her teaching him, saying that literacy would encourage slaves to desire freedom. Douglas would later recount that this was the first antislavery lecture he had ever heard, believing that “Knowledge unfits a child to be a slave”. As a result, he stated that “he at once asserted the proposition, and from that moment understood the direct pathway from slavery to freedom.” Sophie however agreed with her husband and stopped educating the young Douglas, hiding all reading materials from him. To compensate, he took whatever he could get from the white kids in the neighborhood and started reading and writing on walls. He would continue to read newspapers, pamphlets, and other literature that was free and available to strengthen his skill.
At the age of 16, he was taken away from the Aulds and sent to work for Edward Covey. Covey was considered a “slave-breaker”, which meant that he was notorious for torturing, beating, and breaking the spirits of any slave who worked his land. Douglas describes these years with great pain and lament. Covey would beat Fredrick mercilessly, sometimes to the point of death. Finally, after being beaten again, Douglas retaliated, fighting back Covey in a brawl that last almost two hours. In the end, Douglas won but didn’t kill Covey. As a result, Fredrick was allowed to live, and Covey never touched him again.
Freedom
Douglas made his first attempt for freedom at the age of 20, but was unsuccessful, realizing that he did not have the needed funds or required support to do so. After this attempt, he met and fell in love with Anna Murray, who would later become his wife for 44 years. She was a free black woman in Baltimore, Maryland, and helped Douglas plan and finance his escape.
On September 3rd, 1838 Fredrick boarded a train and then a ferry dressed in a sailor’s uniform with papers from another freed slave to use in case he was questioned. Once ashore, he continued by train until hopping on another steamboat along the Delaware River. He reached a destination called, “Quaker City” in Pennsylvania, which was considered an anti-slavery stronghold. From there, he continued to New York City, staying with an abolitionist who was known in the area for housing and providing for escaped slaves who had found their new freedom. In all, it took a little over 24 hours for Douglas to travel to free land.
When describing what it was like to be free, Douglas stated, “There is scarcely anything in my experience about which I could not give a more satisfactory answer. A new world had opened upon me. If life is more than breath, and the "quick round of blood," I lived more in one day than in a year of my slave life. It was a time of joyous excitement that words can but tamely describe. In a letter written to a friend soon after reaching New York, I said: "I felt as one might feel upon escape from a den of hungry lions." Anguish and grief, like darkness and rain, may be depicted; but gladness and joy, like the rainbow, defy the skill of pen or pencil.”
Once a free man, he sent for Anna Murray and they were married in 1838. The couple adopted the name Douglas from the poem, “The Lady in the Lake”, to hide their identity.
The Absolute Abolitionist & Civil War
Fredrick Douglas published his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself, in 1845. At first, audiences questioned the narrative and authenticity due to their perception of a black man who could speak with such eloquence, but Douglas was quick to name places, people, and circumstances that could be corroborated. The act of doing so was a turning point in societal racism at the time, as it dispelled many terrible beliefs for those that listened to his speeches and read his book. The fiery text and thundering oratory with which Douglas spoke about his enslavement captivated audiences both in the United States and aboard. It also brought attention to Douglas’s old slave owners, especially Hugh Auld. In response, Auld sought to recapture Douglas and return him to slavery, putting bounties on his head for his kidnapping and capture. As a result, Fredrick traveled overseas to Great Britain and Ireland on a book and speaking tour. While in Ireland, he for the first time experienced a society that did not discriminate against African Americans.
“Eleven days and a half gone,” he said. “And I have crossed three thousand miles of the perilous deep. I breathe, and lo! the chattel [slave] becomes a man. I gaze around in vain for one who will question my equal humanity, claim me as his slave, or offer me an insult. I employ a cab—I am seated beside white people—I reach the hotel—I enter the same door—I am shown into the same parlor—I dine at the same table—and no one is offended... I find myself regarded and treated at every turn with the kindness and deference paid to white people.”
He would spend two years in Great Britain and Ireland, constantly touring and speaking to packed houses about his book, his life, and his belief that all people should be free and equal in the eyes of society. During this time his supporters in England raised funds to officially purchase Douglas from Hugh Auld, guaranteeing his freedom and ending the bounty on his head. With his freedom ensured, Douglas moved back to the United States in 1847, starting a newspaper and reinforcing his work within the abolitionist movement. He would continue to deliver oratory masterpieces such as, What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?, and ongoing criticisms of the lack of church involvement in the freeing of slaves.
As Douglas’s drive to end slavery grew, so did his personal reflections on the life he had as a slave. One way he did this was to write a letter to Thomas Auld, his former slave master. In the direct letter, Douglas confronts the evils perpetrated during his time as a slave. He also challenges Auld to consider how he would feel if his own daughter were put into such an institution.
“How, let me ask, would you look upon me, were I some dark night in company with a band of hardened villains, to enter the precincts of your elegant dwelling and seize the person of your own lovely daughter Amanda, and carry her off from your family, friends and all the loved ones of her youth—make her my slave—compel her to work, and I take her wages—place her name on my ledger as property—disregard her personal rights—fetter the powers of her immortal soul by denying her the right and privilege of learning to read and write—feed her coarsely—clothe her scantily, and whip her on the naked back occasionally; more and still more horrible, leave her unprotected—a degraded victim to the brutal lust of fiendish overseers, who would pollute, blight, and blast her fair soul—rob her of all dignity—destroy her virtue, and annihilate all in her person the graces that adorn the character of virtuous womanhood?”
Like all of his writings, this letter was vivid, and clear, and made the evils of slavery manifest to all. It is important here to stop and remind you, our audience, that not everyone in the United States was aware of what happened to slaves at this time. In our recent discussion with James D. Richardson about his book, “The Abolitionists Journal”, the author of the journal explained how slavery was just a concept for many in the north. The stories of slaves were usually conveyed via ghostwriters, with little primary source material considering the intentional lack of education held by those in bondage. Letters like this and Douglas’s autobiographies put the realities in plain detail, showing the evil that was the rancid opposite of what the United States represented. In an extraordinary statement at the end of the letter, Douglas stated, “I entertain no malice towards you personally. There is no roof under which you would be safer than mine, and there is nothing in my house that you might need for your comfort, which I would not readily grant. Indeed, I should esteem it a privilege, to set you an example as to how mankind ought to treat each other. I am your fellow man, but not your slave.” The example shown in these words is one that should cause awe in us all.
As an abolitionist, Douglas spilt from many of his longtime influences and supporters due to a turn in philosophy regarding the US Constitution. Gerrit Smith, a friend, and abolitionist believed the Constitution to be an invalid document due to the evils of slavery. Douglas however believed that it was a valid legal document that could be used to ensure emancipation. As a result of this spilt, Douglas become more involved than ever in politics as he pursued freedom for all black men and women. This culminated with the outbreak of the Civil War, where Douglas advocated for the black soldiers in the Union Army.
The Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 and freed all African Americans throughout the United States. The Proclamation also applied to slave states, which was a dichotomy given those states had succeeded from the Union. Douglas used this as a way to explain freedom and the nature of it, that no man or government could give it or take it away. He believed it was inherent to all peoples, and part of the natural order proclaimed by God. Douglas would later describe the feeling of those who waited on the signing of the Proclamation, “We were waiting and listening as for a bolt from the sky ... we were watching ... by the dim light of the stars for the dawn of a new day ... we were longing for the answer to the agonizing prayers of centuries." After its signing, Douglas openly advocated for suffrage for black men, especially those serving in the Union Army.
After the Civil War, Douglas continued his work in government during the Reconstruction era, holding several appointments and as he continued to advocate for equal rights. In addition, he supported and worked with Ulysses S. Grant during the 1868 campaign. This led to a lasting friendship between the two which provide Douglas with the ability to influence Grant to put down southern uprisings, specifically the Klu Klux Klan, which were operating as a military arm of the Democrat Party. Douglas’s work led to the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1871 and the Enforcement Acts by Grant, which were aggressive pushes to arrest or put to death members of the Klan.
Throughout this time, he continued speaking, writing, and advocating for work, voting rights, and equality in American society. He held many official positions both in government and in private life until his death from a heart attack in 1895.
Legacy
It is difficult to summarize the life of Fredrick Douglas. As it is with many of our podcasts, the feat of summarizing is sometimes insurmountable, and in our vain attempt, both Jon and I appreciate the grace that you, our outstanding audience, give us.
From an abandoned child living in rags, Fredrick Douglas grew into one of the greatest men in American history. He saw the path to freedom through education, was convinced that every person was free regardless of their circumstance, and sought to change his circumstance with every step forward.
When discussing heroes, we examine the acts of a moment or a lifetime, weigh the motivations of both, and discuss the effects on history. Fredrick Douglas affected society by showing slavery in its true form. He did it by showing the person abused and tortured because of chattel slavery and proving the hypocrisy of the institution within American society. He believed that because it was hypocrisy within the system, then he could use the system and the promise of equality to correct it. And then he dedicated his life to doing so.
He once stated that “Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears.” Douglas used the same words of sorrow and through his words, he thunderously and powerfully influenced the end of slavery in America.
