The first thing I noticed about this letter is that it was written to Henry Clay, of course. Henry Clay was a Senator and was known as the Great Compromiser. I also noticed that the letter was written in 1847, three years before the Compromise of 1850 which was authored in the Senate by Clay and had a big impact on the issue of slavery in this country. So it was relevant that Douglass be writing him at this point in history on the issue of his views on slavery. Clay was a known opponent of slavery, however Douglass did not hesitate to point out to Clay his faults and hypocrisies in the letter. The purpose of this letter was for Douglass to use a political outlet to shape slavery policy and make get a voice in the issue. It was also to entreat Clay that compromise is not the way to solve the problem of slavery.

      What I can glean from the time period in whic Douglass lived and wrote this letter is that a lot of things were happenning at the time. Douglass was trying to get his point across any way he could before policy was made in a way that didn’t favor his side. Also, I think it makes a good point that even and maybe especially back then politicians were huge hypocrites who couldn’t be trusted to make unbiased and unsullied decisions.

      Some new questions this article yields are, obviously, did Clay read the letter? Did he take it into consideration? Did it influence his actions on the floor of the Senate in the future? What was Douglass’s relationship with politicians like? Did he meet with them regularly as a valued advisor? What was his role in the eventual abolition of slavery?

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The artifact is a contract between Mrs. Frederick Douglass and a Stone Mason for a stone tablet bearing the name Frederick Douglass. The first thing I noticed about the artifact upon reading it, was that the tablet was commissioned two years after Douglass’ death. The price of the tablet, $240, was a large sum of money in 1897, the ability of Douglass’ widow to pay such a sum means that Douglass and she were not poor when he died, and that he left behind a substantial amount of money for his widow—thus Douglass, when alive, was probably very careful in managing his finances. It would make sense, given his childhood of starvation and poverty, for Douglass to be frugal as he understood the value of what money could get one (esp. as his freedom had to be bought). The contract states that the “tablet” is to be placed in Mt. Hope Cemetery in New York. So, it is probable that the tablet is to be Douglass’ headstone. The headstone is very plain bearing bronze leaves around the top and then Douglass’ own name in plain “round” letters. Given how humble a man Frederick Douglass was, it is unsurprising for him to have an equally humble and unadorned stone on his grave. The contract also states that the tablet is to be placed in the cemetery by November 15, 1897. I wondered if there was any significance to this date for Douglass beyond it just being the date by which the craftsman could complete this project.

The name of the article is In the Memory of Frederick Douglass, which is about the death of Fredrick Douglas. Most of the article is about what Mrs. Sewalls said during a convention that talked about his death. It says how great of a man, Mr. Douglass was and his significance during the period of change. The period of change that is being referred is the Women’s Suffrage Movement and anti-slavery movement. It also mentions that before his death, he was attending a meeting. He was given an ovation at the platform, but he declined.

The document is a draft because there are editing marks over the pages. Although the exact date of the article is unknown, we can assume that it is just after the death of Frederick Douglass, which is in the year 1895. The purpose of this article is to reflect on the death of Mr. Douglass and his efforts to change society. Since Mrs. Sewall’s is quoted for most of the article with her speech, which shows that Mr. Douglass knew Mrs. Sewall very well. She is an abolitionist and a suffragist, which shows that Douglass had ties with many well-known figures at the time. It also shows that he is a large advocated of helping women gaining their right to vote. Some the things I wondered while reading this passage is what is Mr. Sewall’s relationship was with Mr. Douglass and who the originial author is of this document.

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Frederick Douglass not only believed in being well spoken, well written and well educated, he also strove to be well traveled.  He gave this lecture describing his time spent traveling in Europe.  Although the date it was given was not clear, one thing that is clear about it is that it has been edited, likely by Douglass himself.  This indicates that Douglass was meticulous, not content with simply arguing or speaking emotionally, but having a planned and powerful speech.  The true interest in the piece however, is the detail in which Douglass speaks of the foreign countries.  He sounds almost reverent, and his writing is extremely poetic, which is a sharp contrast to the way he describes the United States in The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass.  However, it also important to note that Douglass does not condemn the United States.  He recognizes that some people believe that the United States will someday be the pinnacle of Western civilization, and he hopes for this, rather than scorning this positive view.  This just shows his optimism, as many would likely have little forgiveness for a country in which they were a slave.  The questions that this lecture raises are Douglass’s reasons for going abroad.  Were they purely personal, an attempt to further his self-education?  Or did he wish to educate those in foreign countries and raise international awareness of slavery?  Perhaps he simply wanted to bring his knowledge back to the United States.  Further reading of his speeches may hold the answer for these questions.

Letter to Henry Clay

As the title may reveal, “Letter to Henry Clay” is a letter printed in The North Star on December 3, 1847. It addresses, and criticizes, many of the points made in a speech given by Henry Clay at the Mass Meeting in Lexington, Kentucky, November thirteenth of the same year. All of the data about its printing is clearly labelled at the top of the letter.

The purpose of this letter is quite clear: to debunk Mr. Clay’s arguments about slavery. Douglass takes nearly every argument made by Clay and states clearly, and not without some heat, why each point is immoral, unethical, and contradictory.

With the arguments made by Douglass, it is obvious how he feels about slavery from a personal and worldly view. Slavery affects him still, even as a free man of the north, so the assumptions made my Clay are argued with a sharp tongue. It is a matter close to his heart and he will go the limit of blatantly insulting the other’s validity to prove his points.

I am filled with questions about how Fredrick Douglass can tolerate having so much bitterness and anguish towards the man he writes to. Were there other men that he successfully debunked with such detail and skill? Was this what he did from day to day, or was the speech made by Henry Clay so revolting that he no choice but write to him? The amount of material he has written on the matter shows that not only Henry Clay evoked this reaction, but how one man can tolerate being spiteful towards so many people leads one to wonder how Fredrick Douglass coped.

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In the article “Abolitionists of Western New York, Awake!” in The North Star newspaper, you can tell just how passionate Frederick Douglass is. It is typed, but of an obvious old fashion nature. It was written for a newspaper but could have easily been a speech Douglass gave. The article was written and released to the public in January 1848, and was used as a way to express Douglass’ feelings and passion about slavery to a wider public audience.  From reading the article it seems that people are afraid to stand up for what they believe in and that if it continues this way nothing will change. He urges people with great rhetoric to help fight back! The article makes me wonder just how many people believed in the abolitionist movement, but were too afraid to do anything? Also, I feel like writing in a newspaper in 1848 would not have been the most successful way to get your word and opinions out. Thus, it makes me wonder, why a newspaper? Was it a more conspicuous way of not getting caught, or am I just naïve in thinking that few people had access to a newspaper?  Overall, this artifact was very interesting. Not only because it seems like it was in a very good condition when it was scanned, considering how long ago it was written, but also because it provides a deeper look into the life of Frederick Douglass.

From Frederick Douglass’s letter to Henry Clay in 1847, we learn that he was actively involved in determining whether or not the newly acquired territories from the Mexican-American war would be slave holding or not. Frederick Douglass was extremely angered by Henry Clay’s inconsistencies regarding the issue. Douglass uses quotes from Clay’s speeches to point out his hypocracy. I think this shows us that the decade before the civil war was a time when the abolitionist movement was taking off, and more into the minds of mainstream voters. Abolitionism became a value of the Republican Party of the time, and so Republican politicians supported it in their speeches. However, as Frederick Douglass points out, they were less willing to do so in practice. This must have been insulting to people such as Frederick Douglass, who probably felt that Clay was just using his cause as a way to get votes. Furthermore, Douglass shows discomfort with the fact that Clay thinks that states and the new territories shoud choose wether or not they have slaves, showing that Clay will not commit to being a true abolitionist.

This letter raises questions about the suitability of slaves in an expanding America, and the hypocrisy of some Republican politicians. Given the desert climate of much the Mexican cessasion, not suitable for plantation agriculture, would slavery even have been feasable there? Also, how would politicians who thought that blacks were just as capable of whites, such as Jefferson and Clay, refute claims of hypocrisy such as this one from Douglass?

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The article appears to be an editorial newspaper clipping from the “Buffalo Express” on February 23^rd, 1895. The article is titled “Douglass And His Race.”

This article was published three days after Fredrick Douglass’s death. The meaning of “His Race” clearly represents all the black people that Fredrick Douglass represented though his strong abolitionist writing, speaking and action during his later life.  We learn that Douglass had “thought of spending his remaining days in England, [where he had previously lived for 2 years] because everywhere in the United States he was constantly reminded of the prejudices against his race.”

We can see from this article that even though the Civil War was won by the North and blacks were technically “free,” Douglass still saw prejudice everywhere to the point of wanting to escape it. It seems uncharacteristic of such a strongly driven proactive thinker and initiator to want to escape from the very center of his life focus. Yet, oh the other hand, we can see that Douglass has given exorbitant amounts of himself fighting slavery and as the clipping explains a great deal of prejudice still existed even in the north.

The article does shed light on slight movement throughout the country towards giving blacks “political rights.” Perhaps Douglass death provoked the country into thinking what the state of black’s “social standing” was.

From this article, we might ask how Douglass handled hope v.s. pain regarding the situation of blacks in his day? Also, while we hear a lot a bout changes in the south, how did changes in the north come about?

Speech of Fredrick Douglass to American Anti-Slavery Society

The artifact from Fredrick Douglass’s life that I reviewed is an excerpt from one of his speeches that he made to the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1848.  It is worth noting that this speech was made just three years after Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass was published.

There are a few things that I found interesting in this excerpt.  First, I was interested by the word choice of Douglass when he gives his first reason for the abolition of slavery.  He says, “A MAN IS A MAN; that every man belongs to himself, and to no one else.”  Frankly, this phrase reminds me of something that Ayn Rand would say (a century later), but I am not sure if Douglass would ever agree with the objectivist philosophy.  Another interesting thing is the part of the speech when Douglass refers to a demonstration in Washington D.C. where “77 men, women and children conceived the idea that they were men, not three-fifths men.”  Here, Douglass was probably referring to the Three-Fifths compromise, which concerns the allocation of federal tax revenue to slave states.

The questions that this artifact yields concern Douglass’s thoughts on Ayn Rand and the Three-Fifths compromise.  Obviously, Douglass’s time was before that of Rand and objectivism, but it would be interesting to know his thoughts on the philosophy.  Would he consider himself an objectivist?  I am also curious about what Douglass meant by implying the Three-Fifths compromise, if he was.  Did people back then use the Three-Fifths compromise to justify slavery?  If so, how much of the constitution actually supported slavery?

The North Star was an anti-slavery newspaper published by Frederick Douglass.  The article The North Star seems to be the very first of many articles within Douglass’ newspaper.  This first article explains why Douglass chose to name his newspaper The North Star, and uses poetic comparisons, between struggles of the actual northern star with natural phenomenons to the struggles of the anti-slavery movement towards freedom, in order to fully demonstrate the power behind the name, The North Star.  Douglass compares the movement’s struggles to tempests, earth-quakes, and storm bolts, and also compares the movement’s resolve to the power of the northern star.  Douglass also uses a very unique way of stating his ideas and goals saying, “We shall cherish the one [faith], indulge the other [hope], and endeavor to gain the last [freedom] for our slavery-smitten countrymen.”

I am amazed at the eloquence as well as the elegance of Frederick Douglass’ writing skills.  Even though he learned how to read and write late in his life, and learned it by himself at that, his writings have a way of painting a picture that captivates the reader and appeals to their emotions.  Through reading his book, and this article, I see that Douglass likes to incorporate aspects of nature into his writings to describe things likes faith, hope, and freedom on a much deeper level, both emotionally and mentally.

In this particular article, Frederick Douglass mentions the morning star and the evening star as other suggested names for his newspaper, and says he was requested to not use the name the north star.  This brings to question who suggested the others names, and who requested him to not use the name the north star.  In the final paragraph, Douglass refers to his newspaper as a “humble sheet”, what does this mean?

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This poem, a quatrain to be specific, speaks of the injustice of the time, presumably slavery. It speaks of a better time, when injustice (slavery?) on earth shall be no more. Idealistic: possibly; historically relevant: definitely. It is unclear whether Douglass wrote this poem himself or whether some other anonymous poet crafted these lines. This poem seems to speak of the problems that Douglass may have been experiencing, as he longed for a time “When earth’s injustice to her son’s shall end.”

The fact that Douglass even owns the poem tells us that he valued an intellectual life (further shown in the book we read over the summer) and the benefit one receives in reading. Poetry, obviously, was therefore one piece of writing in particular that Douglass valued and respected.

The fact that the document contains no information other then the poem itself brings forth many unanswered questions. Who, if not Douglass, is the author? Why did they write it? When did they write it? Could a slave, or even former slave, possibly have written it? Did an abolitionist or sympathetic humanitarian write this? How did Douglass get a copy of it? Why is the handwriting so cool? All of these questions are avenues for further research into the origin and purpose of this document.

Ben Renne

I examined a letter of Douglass’s which he had printed in a newspaper (the North Star), titled “To My Old Master”. The letter was written to Douglass’s former master,  Thomas Auld.

The letter was written September 3rd, 1848, ten years after Douglass escaped to freedom. It is twelve pages long. The first page and a half is Douglass’s explanation of why he wrote and published the letter in such a public manner; he indirectly accuses Mr. Auld of committing theft and murder by holding slaves. Several pages are then devoted to Douglass informing his former master about his life since his escape from slavery, and he ends with an appeal for Mr. Auld to send his old grandmother north, and let him know how his sisters are doing.

One interesting thing about this letter is that, while Douglass is frankly insulting, he apparently does expect Mr. Auld to comply with his demands. he calls Mr. Auld a thief and a murderer, refers to his “wickedness and cruelty”, and calls his actions “an outrage upon the soul”. Despite this, he still appears to expect Mr. Auld to send him news of his family, for no other reason than that Douglass asked him.

Was this attitude common at the time? Was there a general expectation that one would accommodate someone who insulted you in this way? Perhaps Douglass was actually trying to make it easier for Mr. Auld to accede to his demands; Auld would certainly look the bigger man if he agreed.

Poem part 1

Poem part 2

Poem part 3

The item of Fredrick Douglass’ that I reviewed was a poem called “An Eastern Voile”. This poem was written by Rose Terry Cooke and was kept by Fredrick’s mother.  The poem’s date of publish cannot be verified these days as it does not appear in here collections. The author is from Connecticut, which brings about the question as to how it got all the way to Maryland. The poem is a message that even after death, Fredrick’s mother will be “high in the heaven above” watching over him and wait for him there. The purpose of the poem was to comfort Fredrick and his siblings after their mother died. It was found by him in his mother’s chest after her death. The artifact shows that his mother knew how to read and write because she was able to make a copy of this poem, but raises the question where did she get the copy of the poem as literature was not readily available for slaves. Another question it raises is that if she knew how to read and write, then why had Fredrick not been taught at a younger age or if he even knew his mother could read and write? It also raises the question, why didn’t Fredrick mention this in his narrative? If he was allowed his mother’s belongings which contained important things to him, then why did he mention nothing of this poem or any other contents? Another question brought up, is that if Fredrick hadn’t been taught how to read, how was this ever suppose to bring him or his siblings comfort? This artifact revealed a personal part of Fredrick’s life and revealed so many new doors, leading to new facts about his life, to be opened

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The Promissory Note that I reviewed was issued September 1st, 1868 in Washington D.C. It is a promise note from Charles R. Douglass to pay back Frederick Douglass the amount of $300.  This would have  been an extremely large amount of money which indicates that the person who was borrowing the money was someone Frederick Douglass trusted immensely.  He granted a period of two years for the borrower to repay him.  He was both confident in, and sympathetic to Charles R. Douglass.  The questions that this artifact provokes are: who was Charles R. Douglass in relation to Frederick, and for what is this money being used?  These questions could be broader to include: what major events were happening in D.C. at the time?  Charles R. Douglass was the youngest son of Frederick Douglass.  Despite not being able to find an exact explanation as to what the money was for, I found that Charles was enlisted in the army until around that time.  There are three stamps at the top of the note.  Questions this may incite would be about where it was stamped and why.  It could be an official bank that issued the note, leaving the stamps for proof of legitimacy.  This illustrates the graciousness of Douglass for lending money for various causes, especially during the time after the Civil War, where many people looked to him for guidance and support.

Studies for the Piano

Frederick Douglass kept a book of piano compositions by Albert Loeschhorn, throughout which he made basic notes, reminding himself to “watch [his] notes”, and so on. The book was a compilation of easy compositions, meant to be used by a beginner piano player.

I believe that the most prominent information that can be derived from the book is the date in which it was published, 1895, which also happened to be the year Frederick Douglass died. This reinforces the idea that Frederick Douglass was a man that continually strove to better himself, both intellectually and culturally, very late into his life. Though this book was published post America’s period of slavery, it was still a time in which African Americans were imposed upon with immense disadvantages and prejudice. Frederick Douglass fought against that grain, proving again and again that African Americans were capable of the same thoughts and talents that Caucasians possessed.

One question that might arise from this artifact is whether or not Frederick Douglass’s talents actually did extend to music. Despite my extensive Google researching, I have found nothing indicating that it did. Perhaps this could be attributed to the fact that Frederick Douglass had discovered his desire to play the piano rather late in his life. Nonetheless, it would be interesting to discover whether or not Frederick Douglass was simply an exceptional writer/orator, or if he was a budding musical virtuoso as well.

     Men of Color, To Arms!

     Fredrick Douglass wrote “Men of Color, To Arms!” in 1863 while in New York. He wrote this short article to arouse his fellow slaves to fight for their freedom, and more importantly for their country. The Civil War was fought over slaves, yet the slaves could be the cure for ending the war, according to Douglass. He told his brothers and sisters not to question, but to respond to the call and fight. “Action! Action! and not criticism, is the plain duty of this hour” (Douglass 1). Douglass’s words “Better to die free than live slaves” foreshadowed what Patrick Henry would say roughly 100 years later in his work “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death.” Douglass went on to encourage his fellow slaves to ignore the white men, who said that this was their war. He invoked them to run to Massachusetts, where they would be welcomed into the army. He assured them that they would be treated just as the white soldiers were treated. They would be given the same wages, food, and equipment. He implored his brothers and sisters to pounce on the opportunity to win back their freedom.

Our goal with this research exercise is to begin thinking about the kind of researchable questions we can ask of the world, using Frederick Douglass as our test case. Begin by exploring the Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress’s American Memory digital archive. If you don’t know where to begin with the archive, look at the list of the various sections and simply select one that sounds intriguing. Eventually, settle upon one artifact and examine it as closely as you can. (You can often click on the “higher quality image” link to view the images full-size.)

When you’re ready, log into our blog and select the New Post button. The first thing you should do in your post for the HNRS 110 Research Journal is name the item you examined. Use this chain icon:

in the toolbar to link the item’s name to its page at the Library of Congress. Then consider the following questions:

1. What can you learn about the artifact itself by looking at it? What can you learn about its date, its age, its purpose, and so on.
2. What kind of things could this artifact tell us about Frederick Douglass or the world he lived in?
3. What kind of new questions does examining this artifact yield?

You only have 200-300 words, so be concise and precise. There’s no need to provide a lofty introduction or to write up a thesis statement followed by supporting evidence. Just dive right into your analysis of this object and the kind of questions it both answers and provokes. Be sure to have this exercise completed and posted by the time class starts on Tuesday, September 7.