list of frederick douglass' speecheslist of frederick douglass' speeches

Douglass Monthly, September 1861 Edited by John R. McKivigan, Julie Husband and Heather L. Kaufman. The Liberator, September 26, 1845 Former President Ronald Reagan, once the face of the GOP, described the US in his 1989 farewell address as a nation teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, with doors open to anyone with the will and heart to get here., But Donald Trump, the leader of todays GOP, has long expressed hostility to non-White immigrants coming to the US from s***hole countries.. Is slavery among them? On top of his federal work, Douglass kept a vigorous speaking tour schedule. While I do not intend to argue this question on the present occasion, let me ask, if it be not somewhat singular that, if the Constitution were intended to be, by its framers and adopters, a slave-holding instrument, why neither slavery, slaveholding, nor slave can anywhere be found in it. We shall mold them all, each after his kind, into Americans. As the Civil War progressed and emancipation seemed imminent, Douglass intensified the fight for equal citizenship. These men were generally well dressed men, and very captivating in their manners. Washington, D .C ., October 22, 1883 Here you will see men and women reared like swine for the market. But it is answered in reply to all this, that precisely what I have now denounced is, in fact, guaranteed and sanctioned by the Constitution of the United States; that the right to hold and to hunt slaves is a part of that Constitution framed by the illustrious Fathers of this Republic. Connect with Accessible Archives on Twitter, Facebook, or Linkedin to stay up to date on news and blog posts or get our latest blog posts by email. These wretched people are to be sold singly, or in lots, to suit purchasers. Oh! DuBois and Booker T. Washington; and many North Carolina governors, in particular Zebulon B. Vance, Charles B. Aycock, Locke Craig, and Thomas Walter Bickett. Primary Source Material from 18th & 19th Century Publications, In a final celebratory post for Black History Month 2023, it is worth returning to the 1883 Douglass Banquet. Douglass reminds his audience of the continuing enslavement of his people, 76 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. As noted here, that banquet was attended by prominent African-American professional men in celebration of the twenty-first anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. In this must-read autobiography published in 1855, Douglass reflects on his life following his legal emancipation in 1846. They form the staple of your national poetry and eloquence. The President and His Speeches As with rivers so with nations. When he shakes off his rags and wretchedness and presumes to be a man, and a man among men, he contradicts this popular standard and becomes an offense to his surroundings. in preference to the gospel,as preached by those Divines! Noble men may be found, scattered all over these Northern States, of whom Henry Ward Beecher of Brooklyn, Samuel J. Though his actual voice was never recorded, the power of these performances offers an opportunity to hear the potency of his words with timely urgency over a century after his time. Its future might be shrouded in gloom, and the hope of its prophets go out in sorrow. The three correspondence subseries form almost half of the Personal and Professional Papers Series . I was blown away by how quickly I received a response and it feels good to know that quality customer service was so attainable! It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. Use this downloadable discussion guide as a starting point for further reflection and activism. 2023 Yale University Press. Douglass closed out his speech with the following emphasis on the continued presence of black Americans in the United States, their allegiance and willingness to assume their full role in developing the countrys success. The time was when such could be done. As noted here, that banquet was attended by prominent Request product #203747, ISBN: 978-1-59853-722-2 Omissions? The sunlight that brought life and healing to A champion of Americas great writers and timeless works, Library of America guides readers in finding and exploring the exceptional writing that reflects the nations history and culture. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Frederick Douglass Paper, September 1856 The country was attempting to build its first multiracial democracy through the passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, which ended slavery, granted Black men the right to vote and introduced birthright citizenship. After Frederick Douglass passed away, his second wife Helen preserved Cedar Hill as a historic house museum. They cannot remain half slave and half free. This, to you, is what the Passover was to the emancipated people of God. What Shall Be Done with the Slaves If Emancipated? Attend the auction; see men examined like horses; see the forms of women rudely and brutally exposed to the shocking gaze of American slave-buyers. But a still more inhuman, disgraceful, and scandalous state of things remains to be presented. Movement leaders like Douglass and Ida B. There Was a Right Side in the Late War: An Address weeping, as she thinks of the mother from whom she has been torn! We are met on the threshold of our efforts for the redemption of the slave, by the church and ministry of the country, in battle arrayed against us; and we are compelled to fight or flee. I Have Come to Tell You Something About Slavery. The title of Frederick Douglasss first recorded speech, delivered in October 1841, just three years after his own escape from bondage, signaled the driving impulse of his extraordinary career: to lift the veil on American slavery and the white supremacist ideology that justified it. The far off and almost fabulous Pacific rolls in grandeur at our feet. WebThis is a list of films produced and distributed by HBO Films. I shall not be charged with slandering Americans, if I say I think the American side of any question may be safely left in American hands. It was slavery. David W. Blight is Sterling Professor of American History at Yale University and the author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, which was awarded the Bancroft Prize, the Francis Parkman Prize, and the Pulitzer Prize. You have no right to enjoy a childs share in the labor of your fathers, unless your children are to be blest by your labors. But, I submit, where all is plain there is nothing to be argued. I was born amid such sights and scenes. On July 5, 1852, Douglass gave one of his most famous speeches, "What to the slave is the Fourth of July," to the Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester, New York. (LogOut/ Douglass Monthly, May 1861 He was way ahead of his time, says Bromell, author of The Powers of Dignity: The Black Political Philosophy of Frederick Douglass., He was speaking for a multiracial, diverse America in the 1860s, he says. Frederick Douglass Paper, October 23, 1851 Updates? Many of you understand them better than I do. The largest single-volume selection of Frederick Douglasss writings ever published, presenting the full texts of thirty-four speeches and sixty-seven pieces of journalism | Includes the novella The Heroic Slave. Our Reading List in Honor of Frederick Douglass Day 1. His other works include Frederick Douglass Civil War: Keeping Faith in Jubilee and Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory. My soul sickens at the sight. Did you encounter any technical issues? There is also correpondence from two early African American Congressmen, Henry P. Cheatham and George H. White. Many of its most eloquent Divines. Boston, Massachusetts, February 5, 1862 I have been frequently asked to explain this phase of our national problem [a revival of lynch law in the South]. That's the life of Frederick Douglass." Until the courts of the country shall grant the colored man a fair trial and a just verdict, this discussion will go on. You live and must die, and you must do your work. The American Constitution and the Slave: An Address Read by Ava Yuninger, Music by Ava Yuninger. Inspired by David Blights Pulitzer Prize winning biography, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom and executive produced by scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (Black Art: In the Absence of Light), the film features narration of Douglass autobiographies by Andr Holland and context provided by Blight and Gates to remind us how Frederick Douglass words about racial injustice still resonate deeply today. Frederick Douglass Paper, December 7, 1855 The first autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, catapulted him to fame and invigorated the abolitionist movement. Chaffin, Tom. In the deep still darkness of midnight, I have been often aroused by the dead heavy footsteps, and the piteous cries of the chained gangs that passed our door. You discourse eloquently on the dignity of labor; yet, you sustain a system which, in its very essence, casts a stigma upon labor. To the Rochester Democrat and American The signs that people and politicians are losing faith in American democracy are everywhere. There is blasphemy in the thought. The anguish of my boyish heart was intense; and I was often consoled, when speaking to my mistress in the morning, to hear her say that the custom was very wicked; that she hated to hear the rattle of the chains, and the heart-rending cries. New York, New York, May 11, 1853 In mid-19th-century America, when public speaking was a form of mass entertainment, Frederick Douglass was a rock star. Most noteable is a transcription of Frederick Douglass' speech given at the 2nd Annual N.C. Negro State Fair. To me the American slave-trade is a terrible reality. The Mission of the War: An Address The Situation of the War Edited by John R. McKivigan, Julie Husband and Heather L. Kaufman. A Call for the British Nation to Testify against Slavery: An Address Ever ready to drink, to treat, and to gamble. The crack you heard, was the sound of the slave-whip; the scream you heard, was from the woman you saw with the babe. The manhood of the slave is conceded. Sydney Smith tells us that men seldom eulogize the wisdom and virtues of their fathers, but to excuse some folly or wickedness of their own. Douglass was sketching a vision of a post-racial America a century before the term was invented. The material discusses and illuminates the problems experienced by emancipated blacks during Reconstruction and into the early 20th century, encompassing agriculture, business, race relations, reconstruction, education, politics, voting rights, and economic improvement for African Americans. Wells, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom with David W. Blight, Frederick Douglass, I Have Come to Tell You Something About Slavery. You will not, therefore, be surprised, if in what I have to say I evince no elaborate preparation, nor grace my speech with any high sounding exordium. Douglass Monthly, January 1859 The Liberator, June 11, 1847 All Rights Reserved. WebPages in category "Speeches by Frederick Douglass". See, too, that girl of thirteen, weeping, yes! They were great men too great enough to give fame to a great age. Narrated by actor Wendell Pierce, it retraces many pivotal moments in Douglass life: How he traded biscuits as a boy with White playmates to learn how to read; the crucial contributions of his first wife; his legendary two-hour fight with an overseer; and a recreation of his famed Fourth of July speech. On how slavery destroyed Black families, Douglass had this to say: There is not, beneath the sky, an enemy to filial affection so destructive as slavery. The North Star, March 16, 1849 He also argued that immigration made the US stronger and scorned those who believed White people are the owners of this continent and that it is best not to take on board more passengers than the ship will carry.. To William Lloyd Garrison His work reminds Movement leaders that we often carry the heavy responsibility of expanding the moral and political imaginations of our leaders, even when they think our visions of liberation will never be possible. Would you argue more, and denounce less, would you persuade more, and rebuke less, your cause would be much more likely to succeed. The incoming correspondence has been arranged into letters pertaining to Hunter's business or community activities and letters relating to Hunter's personal life. Douglass used this speech to frame the coming post-Civil War debate over the nature of a true and lasting peace, even as Confederate and Union Armies were still engaged on the field of battle. What, then, remains to be argued? The Republican PartyOur Position Signs of the Times "Man is man, the world over," he said. The duty to extirpate and destroy it, is admitted even by our DOCTORS OF DIVINITY. Is that a question for Republicans? I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. This list of works by and about Frederick Douglass will help you brush up on your knowledge. University Press London. As the sheet anchor takes a firmer hold, when the ship is tossed by the storm, so did the cause of your fathers grow stronger, as it breasted the chilling blasts of kingly displeasure. Oppression makes a wise man mad. Frederick Douglass Paper, January 20, 1854 Cork, Ireland, October 14, 1845 A battle is still being fought over that idea today. The anti-slavery movementtherewas not an anti-church movement, for the reason that the church took its full share in prosecuting that movement: and the anti-slavery movement in this country will cease to be an anti-church movement, when the church of this country shall assume a favorable, instead of a hostile position towards that movement. This certainly sounds large, and out of the common way, for it is true that I have often had the privilege to speak in this beautiful Hall, and to address many who now honor me with their presence. There is consolation in the thought that America is young. His speeches continued to agitate for racial equality and women's rights. Assimilation not isolation is our true policy and our natural destiny. There are also numerous drafts and copies of outgoing correspondence that Hunter wrote. Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. This home government, you know, although a considerable distance from your home, did, in the exercise of its parental prerogatives, impose upon its colonial children, such restraints, burdens and limitations, as, in its mature judgment, it deemed wise, right and proper. It is a religion for oppressors, tyrants, man-stealers, andthugs. Douglass answer has inspired and challenged historians for over a century. For my part, I would say, welcome infidelity! It is carried on in all the large towns and cities in one-half of this confederacy; and millions are pocketed every year, by dealers in this horrid traffic. The simple story of it is that, 76 years ago, the people of this country were British subjects. Even Mammon seems to have quitted his grasp on this day. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Weekly Review of Congress Lynch Law in All Its Phases, Ida B. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. Carlisle, Pennsylvania, March 1893 Frederick Douglass Paper, March 4, 1853 The Liberator, January 30, 1846 Frederick Douglass Paper, June 2, 1854 The New National Era, April 6, 1871 A Critical Edition. It is not that pure and undefiled religion which is from above, and which is first pure, then peaceable, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits,without partiality, and without hypocrisy. But a religion which favors the rich against the poor; which exalts the proud above the humble; which divides mankind into two classes, tyrants and slaves; which says to the man in chains,stay there; and to the oppressor,oppress on; it is a religion which may be professed and enjoyed by all the robbers and enslavers of mankind; it makes God a respecter of persons, denies his fatherhood of the race, and tramples in the dust the great truth of the brotherhood of man. In a speech delivered in June 1863, Douglass spoke what the future may hold for Black people. Let this damning fact be perpetually told. The freedom gained is yours; and you, therefore, may properly celebrate this anniversary. I lived on Philpot Street, Fells Point, Baltimore, and have watched from the wharves, the slave ships in the Basin, anchored from the shore, with their cargoes of human flesh, waiting for favorable winds to waft them down the Chesapeake. They saw themselves treated with sovereign indifference, coldness and scorn. Frederick Douglass published three autobiographies. As noted here, that banquet was attended by prominent African-American professional men in celebration of the twenty-first anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.After the toast provided by former Senator Blanche K. Bruce, If so, there is a parallel to your conduct. This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. Douglass bold vision of America takes on fresh relevance today as PBS premieres a new documentary about his life by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Stanley Nelson. He who will, intelligently, lay down his life for his country, is a man whom it is not in human nature to despise. One in five Medal of Honor recipients have been immigrants. Is it to be settled by the rules of logic and argumentation, as a matter beset with great difficulty, involving a doubtful application of the principle of justice, hard to be understood? Boston, Massachusetts, December 7, 1869 Entirely self-taught, Douglass was a powerful writer and master orator, crafting speeches that called out American hypocrisy and challenged the nation to live up to its founding principles. WebSpeeches Frederick Douglass was known as a bold and passionate speaker. The Scrapbooks Series is made up of seventeen scrapbooks assembled by Hunter which contain clippings and other items concerning race relations and other social, political, and economic affairs pertaining to African Americans. Hingham, Massachusetts, November 4, 1841 Then, I dare to affirm, notwithstanding all I have said before, your fathers stooped, basely stooped. Progress of Slavery welcome anything! Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Your lawmakers have commanded all good citizens to engage in this hellish sport. What are some of Frederick Douglasss most famous writings and speeches? The North Star, September 8, 1848 Discovery Company. There are forces in operation, which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery. The navy of all the world would not be sufficient to remove our natural increase to that far-off country. Inspired by the Hebrew prophets and by the language of Shakespeare and Robert Burns, he developed a unique oratorical and literary style that combined scriptural cadences with fierce irony, moral urgency, and keen insight. Overall, Hunter's writings provide historical sketches of important figures, events, and reprecussions with an emphasis on local history. Excerpt from Frederick Douglasss Fifth of July Speech (1852). Need I tell you that the Jews are not the only people who built the tombs of the prophets, and garnished the sepulchres of the righteous? You must give them all or take from them all. Your fathers have lived, died, and have done their work, and have done much of it well. It esteems sacrifice above mercy; psalm-singing above right doing; solemn meetings above practical righteousness. All this we affirm to be true of the popular church, and the popular worship of our land and nation a religion, a church, and a worship which, on the authority of inspired wisdom, we pronounce to be an abomination in the sight of God. The Proclamation And A Negro Army (1863) performed by Colman Domingo. The North Star, November 16, 1849 The Spirit of Colonization Rochester, New York, December 8, 1850 The Republican Party The Inaugural Address A general shout would go up from the church, demanding repeal, repeal, instant repeal! Mr. Frederick Douglass spoke intelligently and articulately in this well-written letter to his old master, Thomas Auld. From Boston to London is now a holiday excursion. Frederick Douglass, circa 1880. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. That he is the rightful owner of his own body? The North Star, July 28, 1848 Heat and sorrow have nearly consumed their strength; suddenly you hear a quick snap, like the discharge of a rifle; the fetters clank, and the chain rattles simultaneously; your ears are saluted with a scream, that seems to have torn its way to the center of your soul! In a final celebratory post for Black History Month 2023, it is worth returning to the 1883 Douglass Banquet. They petitioned and remonstrated; they did so in a decorous, respectful, and loyal manner. Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895 -- Speeches, Remove constraint Names: Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895 -- Speeches, Charles N. Hunter papers, 1850s-1932 and undated, Aycock, Charles B. 688 Pages, 5.50 x 8.25 x 1.36 in, Douglass Monthly, October 1862 They convert the very name of religion into an engine of tyranny, and barbarous cruelty, and serve to confirm more infidels, in this age, than all the infidel writings of Thomas Paine, Voltaire, and Bolingbroke, put together, have done! Yea! The 19th-century leader Frederick Douglass, in an undated portrait. In speaking of the American church, however, let it be distinctly understood that I mean the great mass of the religious organizations of our land. This celebration also marks the beginning of another year of your national life; and reminds you that the Republic of America is now 76 years old. To William Lloyd Garrison When you read something like the Fourth of July speech, you get the sense that Douglass saw words as battle axes, says Derrick. The fact that the church of our country, (with fractional exceptions), does not esteem the Fugitive Slave Law as a declaration of war against religious liberty, implies that that church regards religion simply as a form of worship, an empty ceremony, andnota vital principle, requiring active benevolence, justice, love and good will towards man. Himrods Corner, New York, July 4, 1862 These rules are well established. It might seem far-fetched, but weve already seen the alternatives in the January 6 insurrection and the mounting sense of dread many Americans now feel about the future. A series of postwar amendments sought to make some of these tremendous changes. All the political, social and literary forces around us tend to unificationThe American people have their prejudices, but they have their other qualities as well. I do not remember ever to have appeared as a speaker before any assembly more shrinkingly, nor with greater distrust of my ability, than I do this day. Mark the sad procession, as it moves wearily along, and the inhuman wretch who drives them. S. R. Ward The North Star, January 21, 1848 The clippings have been copied and arranged chronologically; the originals are closed to use. The Lords of Buffalo, the Springs of New York, the Lathrops of Auburn, the Coxes and Spencers of Brooklyn, the Gannets and Sharps of Boston, the Deweys of Washington, and other great religious lights of the land have, in utter denial of the authority ofHimby whom they professed to be called to the ministry, deliberately taught us, against the example or the Hebrews and against the remonstrance of the Apostles, they teachthat we ought to obey mans law before the law of God. Nobody doubts it. Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln: An Address What Shall Be Done with the Freed Slaves? Where these are, man is not sacred. At an anti-slavery convention, Douglass recounts his story of being raised as a slave publicly for the first time. Many immigrants today outwork, outvote and outfight native-born Americans as Douglass predicted they would a century and a half ago. This is a test popup to ensure its working as expected. The historian Jill Lepore called it one of the most important and least-read speeches in American political history. And the historian Andrew Roth said Douglass address is one of the earliest and still most eloquent tributes to the beauty of Americas ever-expanding definition of the We in We the people.. Fellow-citizens! WebManuscript/Mixed Material Image 2 of Frederick Douglass Papers: Speech, Article, and Book File, 1846-1894; Speeches and Articles by Douglass, 1846-1894; 1848; Jan.; New York, New York, May 11, 1847 These gentlemen have, as I think, fully and clearly vindicated the Constitution from any design to support slavery for an hour. In glaring violation of justice, in shameless disregard of the forms of administering law, in cunning arrangement to entrap the defenseless, and in diabolical intent, this Fugitive Slave Law stands alone in the annals of tyrannical legislation. And let me warn you that it is dangerous to copy the example of a nation whose crimes, lowering up to heaven, were thrown down by the breath of the Almighty, burying that nation in irrecoverable ruin! That trade has long since been denounced by this government, as piracy. Actors Nicole Beharie ( Scenes from a The Political Thought of Frederick Douglass: In Pursuit of American Liberty. They were quiet men; but they did not shrink from agitating against oppression. I shall see, this day, and its popular characteristics, from the slaves point of view. I doubt if there be another nation on the globe, having the brass and the baseness to put such a law on the statute-book. The glue holding together this Composite Nation would be the principle of absolute equality, he said, no matter ones race, ethnicity or religious beliefs. But, such is not the state of the case. See this drove sold and separated forever; and never forget the deep, sad sobs that arose from that scattered multitude. The Union and How to Save It In a final celebratory post for Black History Month 2023, it is worth returning to the 1883 Douglass Banquet. But overt White supremacy was still a social and political norm. , that banquet was attended by prominent African-American professional men in celebration of the twenty-first anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. by Frederick Douglass. He barely knew his mother, who lived on a different plantation and died when he was a young child. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour. The vision he had of America was in tatters, the historian David Blight, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, said in an essay. Fellow-citizens, I shall not presume to dwell at length on the associations that cluster about this day. On the 2d of July, 1776, the old Continental Congress, to the dismay of the lovers of ease, and the worshipers of property, clothed that dreadful idea with all the authority of national sanction. So should we. Douglass wrote an open letter his former master, Thomas Auld, who prior to Tell me citizens, WHERE, under the sun, you can witness a spectacle more fiendish and shocking. that gash on her shoulder tells her to move on. Yet this is but a glance at the American slave-trade, as it exists, at this moment, in the ruling part of the United States. Their conduct was wholly unexceptionable. It is admitted in the fact that Southern statute books are covered with enactments forbidding, under severe fines and penalties, the teaching of the slave to read or to write. January First 1863 The flesh-mongers gather up their victims by dozens, and drive them, chained, to the general depot at Baltimore. The Final Struggle But I differ from those who charge this baseness on the framers of the Constitution of the United States. To side with the right, against the wrong, with the weak against the strong, and with the oppressed against the oppressor! WebThe Writings and Speeches Subseries includes addresses given by Hunter and others. It makes its pathway over and under the sea, as well as on the earth. That system was American slavery. Is it at the gateway?

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