Frederick Douglass for Kids Read online

  With limited financial resources, Anna managed to keep the household free from debt during her husband’s entire absence. From England, Frederick Douglass sent home money whenever he could. Anna also set aside a certain amount of money from her income from binding shoes and regularly donated these precious dollars to the Antislavery Societies. Regarding Anna’s great skill in managing the family’s finances, daughter Rosetta later said, “I have often heard my father speak in admiration of mother’s executive ability.”

  Twenty-One Months Abroad

  From 1845 to 1846 Frederick Douglass stayed in Great Britain for a total of 21 months, nearly two full years. Upon arriving in Liverpool, he became an instant celebrity and was greeted by many throughout the United Kingdom.

  He hadn’t planned for such a widespread reception. While traveling to Great Britain on the steamer across the Atlantic, however, he had been threatened by a mob of fellow passengers from New Orleans and Georgia. Enraged that Douglass was on board the steamboat and enjoying nearly equal privileges as they, they had declared they would throw him overboard. Their words caused the captain to threaten to lock this mob in chains.

  Upon landing, these men headed directly to the English newspapers and published a story about their anger at a fugitive who dared enjoy equal privileges as they had. The result was that every abolitionist in England (and there were many) heard the news that the famous orator, Frederick Douglass, had arrived in their country, and they welcomed him with open arms.

  During the next two years, Frederick Douglass traveled throughout England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. He said, “I visited and lectured in nearly all the large towns and cities in the United Kingdom, and enjoyed many favorable opportunities for observation and information.”

  At times while in Great Britain, Frederick Douglass traveled alone. At other times, he was in the company of American friends such as William Lloyd Garrison. And everywhere he went, he was treated as an equal with no regard to the color of his skin. What a shock this was! Douglass was so moved by the striking difference during his stay in England from his daily life in America that he remarked:

  The spirit of freedom that seems to animate all with whom I come in contact, and the entire absence of everything that looked like prejudice against me, on account of the color of my skin—contrasted so strongly with my long and bitter experience in the United States, that I look with wonder and amazement on the transition.

  Frederick Douglass had entered a different world when he landed on Great Britain’s soil. He discovered a world of equal rights that he liked very much. Regarding the people he met, Douglass noted, “They measure and esteem men according to their moral and intellectual worth, and not according to the color of their skin.”

  I can truly say, I have spent some of the happiest moments of my life since landing in this country.” —Frederick Douglass

  Longing for Anna and the children, for a brief time Douglass seriously considered moving his family to England. His new friends would have helped him settle there permanently. Weighing everything in his mind, though, he made his decision. “To this, however, I could not consent. I felt that I had a duty to perform—and that was, to labor and suffer with the oppressed in my native land.” He decided to return to America.

  No Longer a Fugitive

  Something unexpected happened while Frederick Douglass was in England. Ellen Richardson, a Quaker, along with her sister-in-law, raised money to purchase his freedom. They communicated through various means with the Aulds in Maryland, who agreed to sell Frederick Douglass his freedom for a total of 150 pounds sterling, or more than $700.

  The money was raised and papers were signed. Frederick Douglass was no longer a fugitive. He was a free man, ready to return home to the United States.

  His new friends were not finished, however. More money was raised and Douglass was presented with a gift of nearly $2,500. What would he do with these funds? Start, publish, and edit a newspaper as his friends hoped he would.

  In his discussions with his British friends, Douglass shared,

  I further stated that, in my judgment, a tolerably well conducted press, in the hands of persons of the despised race, by calling out the mental energies of the race itself; by making them acquainted with their own latent powers; by enkindling among them the hope that for them there is a future; by developing their moral powers; by combining and reflecting their talents—would prove a most powerful means of removing prejudice, and of awakening an interest in them.

  Frederick Douglass went on to explain to his friends that currently, “There was not, in the United States, a single newspaper regularly published by the colored people; that many attempts had been made to establish such papers; but that, up to that time, they had all failed.”

  With the money in his pocket for purchasing a printing press, Frederick Douglass booked passage for the United States on the same steamer he had first traveled across the Atlantic two years earlier. When he arrived at the boat, however, he was ordered to stay in a certain part of the ship. He was also told he would not be allowed to join the other passengers in the dining area. Douglass admitted, “For the first time in the many months spent abroad, I was met with proscription on account of my color.”

  Frederick Douglass was leaving the United Kingdom. He set his heart for home, and the battle ahead.

  Hard Times

  Frederick Douglass knew he would face great trials when he returned home to fight against slavery. He had not anticipated, however, that one of these trials would come from his closest friends.

  William Lloyd Garrison and others told Douglass quite frankly that publishing a new newspaper would be a waste of time. They counseled him against starting the newspaper due to the fact Douglass never had a formal education.

  This was very distressing for Douglass. His closest friends spoke strongly against the newspaper. “Nevertheless,” Douglass stated, “I persevered. I felt that the want of education, great as it was, could be overcome by study, and that wisdom would come by experience.” Douglass believed that a newspaper published and edited by African Americans would help speed slavery to an end.

  Gerrit Smith helped fund Frederick Douglass’s newspapers. Smith once told Douglass, “It is your mission to break down the walls of separation between the two races.” Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Print Department

  SPREAD THE WORD ON

  BLACK ABOLITIONISTS

  Frederick Douglass was acquainted with almost every black abolitionist of his day. You can learn more about these American heroes and tell others about their significant contributions to our nation’s history. One way to do this is to research and read about one or more of these important men and women who lived during the years leading up to the Civil War. Explore their impact on history in Black Abolitionists by Benjamin Quarles (Da Capo Press, 1969). Read their autobiographies or biographies, many of which can be found online. Look up their names in encyclopedias such as the African American National Biography by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (Oxford University Press, 2008).

  After you have done your research, write an article about their important contributions to America and submit it to the community magazine or newspaper where you live. Perhaps it will get published and more people will learn about the lives of these famous black abolitionists.

  Look up the person you researched on Wikipedia at www.wikipedia.org. If there isn’t yet an entry about that person, write one and post it with the help of an adult. If there already is an entry about the person you researched, try to add at least one more fact to the encyclopedia article.

  For a list of names of black abolitionists look at the website www.frederickdouglass.wordpress.com/black-abolitionists/. Here is a partial list to help you get started:

  William Wells Brown

  Mary Ann Shadd Cary

  Alexander Crummell

  Martin R. Delany

  Robert Forten

  Henry Highland Garnet

  Cha
rlotte Forten Grimke

  Francis Grimke

  Nathan and Polly Johnson

  Jermain W. Loguen

  William Cooper Nell

  Harriet Forten Purvis

  Robert Purvis

  Charles Lenox Remond

  Sarah Parker Remond

  David Ruggles

  James McCune Smith

  Sojourner Truth

  Harriet Tubman

  William Whipper

  After much thought, Douglass decided to move away from Boston, where his friends’ newspapers circulated. Frederick and Anna packed their bags and moved their family far away to Rochester, New York, where no abolitionist paper was yet published.

  The move was hard for the Douglass family, especially for Anna. She left behind her close circle of friends as well as her active role in abolitionist groups. The city of Rochester did not welcome these trailblazers. Far away from the ideals of freedom found in Boston, the prejudice against free blacks was very strong in this northern city.

  As their daughter Rosetta explained, “Prejudice in the early [18]40s in Rochester ran rampant and mother became more distrustful.” In spite of these difficulties, however, Anna devoted her life to the abolitionist cause more than ever. Rosetta said, “Her life in Rochester was not less active in the cause of the slave, if anything she was more self-sacrificing.”

  The North Star

  Frederick and Anna Douglass settled into their new home in spite of the difficulties. A newspaper office was set up in the heart of Rochester, two miles from their house. The North Star was chosen as the name of the newspaper, symbolic of the star many fugitives followed at night in their journey north to freedom. “Publication day was always a day for extra rejoicing,” Rosetta shared, “as each weekly paper was felt to be another arrow sent on its way to do the work of puncturing the veil that shrouded a whole race in gloom.”

  The newspaper was a success. Finances were always a struggle, however, even though dedicated helpers such as Julia Griffiths worked tirelessly to raise financial support. Published every week, the newspaper had 3,000 to 4,000 faithful subscribers throughout America, Great Britain, and the West Indies.

  Frederick Douglass’s famous newspaper, the North Star. From the collection of the Rochester Public Library Local History Division

  Frederick Douglass printed his newspaper, the North Star, in this office located in the Tallman Building on Main Street in Rochester. From the collection of the Rochester Public Library Local History Division

  William Cooper Nell (1816-1874)

  Growing up in Boston, William Cooper Nell started working for the Liberator at a young age. A strong supporter of William Lloyd Garrison, Nell joined Douglass in Rochester, bringing his many years of newspaper experience to the North Star as its first publisher. A prolific author, Nell wrote a book titled The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution that highlighted key contributions of African Americans during the Revolutionary War.

  Though it changed names several times, Douglass published his newspaper for nearly 20 years. He explained, “By one means or another I succeeded so well as to keep my pecuniary engagements, and to keep my antislavery banner steadily flying during all the conflict from the autumn of 1847 till the union of the states was assured and emancipation was a fact accomplished.”

  In the newspaper’s earliest days, William Cooper Nell was listed as publisher of the North Star, Frederick Douglass as editor, and Martin R. Delany as assistant editor. The Douglass children helped set type, fold the papers for delivery, and accomplish other tasks in the office. Even Anna helped out on publication day each week, cooking delicious homemade biscuits and steaming stew to welcome home the weary workers. “Mother felt it her duty,” their daughter Rosetta shared, “to have her table well supplied with extra provisions that day, a custom that we, childlike, fully appreciated. Our home was two miles from the center of the city, where our office was situated, and many times did we trudge through snow knee deep, as street cars were unknown.”

  Meeting a New Friend

  Shortly after starting the North Star, Frederick Douglass received an invitation from John Brown to visit his home in Springfield, Massachusetts. Douglass had heard of this man before. His friends Henry Highland Garnet and Jermain W. Loguen had spoken of Brown with high regard. Eager to visit, Douglass willingly agreed to have dinner with this renowned and outspoken abolitionist.

  John Brown and his family made Frederick Douglass feel at home. They served a simple stew called New England boiled dinner. After dinner, Brown sat down with Douglass and explained his reason for the invitation. John Brown denounced slavery with a vengeance. He said he did not believe it would ever end through political means or persuasive speeches.

  Martin Robison Delany (1812-1885) Catherine A. Delany (1822-1894)

  At times working with Frederick Douglass, and at other times associated with free blacks who settled in Liberia, Martin Delany promoted nationalism, black pride, and self-reliance. Before working with the North Star, Delany, who was a physician, published his own abolitionist newspaper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, called the Mystery. His wife, Catherine, actively supported her husband in the antislavery cause.

  Courtesy of Documenting the American South, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries

  John Brown Courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-89569

  NEW ENGLAND BOILED DINNER

  In Frederick Douglass’s autobiography, he remembered the tasty meal he shared with John Brown and his family in their home. It was a simple meal but very flavorful and hearty.

  Ingredients

  1 corned beef brisket (2½ pounds)

  Large pot with cover

  Water

  Pepper to taste

  Salt to taste

  3 white potatoes, cut into thick pieces

  3 carrots, cut into thick slices

  2 turnips, peeled and sliced into thick slices

  1 onion, cut into thick pieces

  1 cabbage, cut into 8 wedges

  Adult supervision required

  Put the beef in the pot and cover it with water. Bring the water to a boil, then simmer with the salt and pepper for 2 hours or until the meat is tender. Add the vegetables to the pot and simmer for 30 minutes more, or until the vegetables are tender. Makes four 2-cup servings.

  John Brown had a plan to snatch slaves from the plantations and set them free. It was a violent plan, and he shared the details with his guest. Frederick Douglass remembered that Brown said that “he had observed my course at home and abroad, and he wanted my cooperation.”

  Frederick Douglass admired John Brown’s passion and leadership. After he returned home, that evening’s visit haunted him. Over the days and months ahead, he wondered if John Brown was right. Would it take violent action to end slavery in America forever?

  The Women’s Rights Movement

  Also during this time, another movement was rapidly gaining strength. Organized by such influential leaders as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony, the women’s rights movement took great strides toward achieving equal rights among men and women.

  Always supporting equal rights among the races as well as among men and women, Frederick Douglass eagerly joined the cause. In July 1848 a convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Frederick Douglass advertised the convention in his newspaper and attended this landmark event.

  A list of resolutions was created. Based on the Declaration of Independence, it was called the Declaration of Sentiments and proposed giving equal rights to women in a dozen areas. On one controversial issue, however, tempers ran high. No one could agree to include in the declaration woman’s suffrage, or allowing women the right to vote. Frederick Douglass stepped forward to the speaker’s platform and spoke in defense of giving women the vote.

  Speaking with his passion for this cause, Frederick Douglass declared to his audience, “Many who have at last made the discovery that the Negroes have some rights as well as
other members of the human family, have yet to be convinced that women are entitled to any.” He went on to state, “Standing as we do upon the watch-tower of human freedom, we cannot be deterred from an expression of our approbation of any movement, however humble, to improve and elevate the character of any members of the human family.” His speech ended with a powerful challenge, “There can be no reason in the world for denying to woman the exercise of the elective franchise, or a hand in making and administering the laws of the land.”

  As a result of Douglass’s passionate and impromptu speech, a narrow majority agreed to include a woman’s right to vote in the Declaration of Sentiments. The resolution passed.

  A National Crisis

  In 1850 there was a crisis so sudden and so shocking that it rocked the entire nation. A new law was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. This law, the Fugitive Slave Act, affected Frederick Douglass and the free blacks living in America, changing their lives in countless ways.

  In essence, the Fugitive Slave Law declared, “No trial by jury for fugitives!” “No fugitive may testify in his own defense!” “One white man’s word is all it takes to send a supposed fugitive into slavery!”

  The lives of many men, women, and children throughout the northern states were in danger as never before. Countless fugitives had settled successfully in the North. Now they were no longer safe even in their own beds at night. Any black person—fugitive or not—could be arrested, claimed to be a runaway slave, then sent down South without a fair trial.