Frederick Douglass: Man of the 19th Century

Earliest known image of Douglass, ca. 1840

Hi, class,

Below (and at right) are some images of Frederick Douglass. He was in his late 20s when he published his famous narrative, and in his 30s when he wrote The Heroic Slave.

This link will take you to the Douglass papers, which are part of the American Memory Project of the Library of Congress. The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress .

After navigating to the site, click on "Browse by Series" to be taken to a huge repository of Douglass's speeches, diaries, family correspondence, financial papers, and a host of other exciting materials!

Also, here are links to other Douglass pieces you should take a look at--they come from Major Speeches on The Black Past website (at left), but it's just as easy for me to post them here. 

Take a look at "Men of Color, To Arms!"--written at the height of the Civil War--those of you who have seen the film Glory will probably find Douglass's article evocative. "The Composite Nation" iterates Douglass's commitment to all immigrant groups becoming part of the American fabric--here, he focuses on Chinese immigration. We will take a look at "On Woman Suffrage" (Douglass was an early and outspoken feminist!) as we begin to examine (through additional writings of Frances E.W. Harper and maybe a few others) how black women articulated their place within the 19th century women's movement. Just click on these links:

"If There is No Struggle, There is No Progress" (1857) 

"Men of Color, To Arms!" (1863)

"The Composite Nation" (1869)

"On Woman Suffrage"  (1888)

All best,

Prof. Williams