Role of Douglass in the Abolitionist Movement - Essay Example

Order176342 Frederick Douglass: Analysis of His Role in the Abolitionist Movement Frederick Douglass rose to glory during a time of great political turmoil in the United States. As a women's rights activist and proponent of abolition, his voice provided strength and support to other abolitionist pioneers such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Jacobs as they traveled throughout the western world speaking on the evils of slavery and facilitating the successes of the Underground. In fact, one might even say that, without his influence and activism during the nineteenth century, the abolitionist movement-and the resulting civil rights movement to follow in the next century-may not have been possible. Born in either 1817, or 1818 in Talbot County Maryland, Douglass was baptized Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey.1 His mother was a field hand and, as his father was a white plantation owner, Douglass never knew his exact identity of his father. He was orphaned at the age of seven when his mother died and thus was forced look after himself and to mature very quickly, learning to read and write under the tutelage of a woman in Baltimore who eventually purchased him. In 1838, Douglass escaped to New York City, changed his last name to Douglass, and married Maria Bailey, free women whom he had met while still in Baltimore.2 Douglass was privileged to be educated by his owner. However, he suffered the hardships of slavery and oppression firsthand, lending him expertise on the subject that no number of-even highly educated-white men could hope to match. Therefore, his insight on the subject, expressed eloquently through his writing and lectures, became pivotal in the dialogue about slavery and the abolitionist movement. Douglass began lecturing in 1841 and soon after was hired by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society to act as an agent on their behalf. He would spend the rest of his life in that capacity: writing, lecturing and publishing anti-slavery literature. Douglass became free during a point in history in which both the Abolition and the Women's Right's movement were gaining both power, and followers. He was associated with many important figures of the age including, Susan B. Anthony, Abraham Lincoln, and William Lloyd Garrison.3 His contacts, not limited to peers of the same racial background as himself, served as a growing network of potential supporters. At the very least, his rhetoric was disseminated all the more quickly along these liens of communication, ensuring that his ideas-credited to him or not-reached the general public quickly. He not only influenced how the public perceived free people of color, but how they ran the abolition movement, and the women's rights movements, by affecting the manner and one of the discourse. Douglass was known for how vehemently he disagreed with those people he called his friends. A disagreement with William Lloyd Garrison in the 1860's resulted from the inevitable conflict between the demands of Douglass, an African American anti-slavery agent for equal pay and treatment, and Garrisons' political wheeling and dealing. Both Garrison and his assistant Maria-Weston-Chapman would frequently attempt to divert Douglass from his fight for equality by characterizing him as being less than human. Oddly enough this was typical of the anti-slavery movement at the time. African American abolitionists were often relegated to playing small public roles in the abolitionist movement, while their white counterparts spoke with bravado about their upcoming revolt against slavery.4 Douglass, rather than kowtow entirely to this attitude, Douglass kept speaking what he felt to be the truth about slavery, abolition, and the movement toward basic human rights for all people. Had he simply shrunk from his oppressors, surely the tide of change would have been slowed measurably if not stalled. This is not to assign too much importance to one man, but merely to recognize the reaches of his influence at this time. His voice was heard through his speaking and writing by people in all levels of society. Douglass would even form a well-publicized friendship with President Abraham Lincoln, self-made, self-educated man like himself, during the 1850's and 1860's. That friendship would lead to his involvement as a recruiter of African American soldiers to fight in the Civil War and consultant to the president. According to John Stauffer, "Lincoln recognized early on that he needed the ex-slave to help him destroy the Confederacy and preserve the Union." 5 This was a vital necessity because Lincoln needed someone who was educated and eloquent to represent the potential of freed slaves at a time in which Lincoln was developing the Emancipation Proclamation that would free all slaves in the United States. His intelligence and ability to articulate himself made Douglass a shining example of what the African American could be if allowed. This ran directly contrary to the widely held belief at the time that African Americans were somehow intellectually inferior to white people, somehow justifying their subservience. As a bright star that other freed men and women could aim for, he set the tone for the future course of African American rights in the United States. As one of the first African American men to hold a high government office, he wielded relatively great power. However, he was responsible yet passionate when offering up his advice to the president. He chose his battles wisely, lobbying hard for the rights of the underprivileged women and hurtfully oppressed African Americans. He was a powerful influence on Abraham Lincoln's decision to go forward and implement the Emancipation Proclamation. That is not to say that Lincoln would not have found the strength to implement it otherwise, nor that other abolitionists of the time were not working tirelessly toward the same goal. However, the unique position in which Douglass found himself gave him an unparalleled opportunity to affect real change. Although Lincoln was much less radical than Douglass they both agreed on the necessity of freeing the slaves and this dream was made reality on New Years Day in 1863. Douglass and Lincoln disagreed on some fundamental points, but Lincoln trusted Douglass's advice when it came to treatment of the newly freed slaves, and how to go about developing the potential of the now free African American population. They met often to discuss the progress of the emancipation of the slaves and how to direct the future course of these freed men and women. Their friendship and political partnership would end tragically, however, in 1865 when Lincoln was assassinated by a virulent Confederate during a trip to the theater, leaving Douglass without a white face to make his message more appealing to the masses of white voters. 6 As difficult as it may be to fathom today, there was such an ingrained distrust between African Americans and the white population that the same message delivered by a man of either color would be several times more acceptable coming from a white man. However, this obstacle did not stop Douglass. On several occasions Douglass's radical position on abolition, the rights of freed slaves, and the Civil War led to outright hostility between Douglas and the general public. On at least one, occasion this lead to the destruction of Douglass's personal property. On June 1 of 1872, an arsonist burned the home of Frederick Douglass in Rochester New York to the ground. This was part of a greater situation of racial violence that was occurring at the time because of the Civil War, and the Reconstruction and Martial Law that had taken over the south in the postwar period. 7 Although many claimed that life in the North was much better than it was in the South many Free African Americans found out to their detriment that the same racism existed both in the North and the South. They were still perceived as less than human, or as stupid and unskilled. They were still treated poorly and restricted to low-level, low-paying jobs on farms and doing domestic work. It was not altogether different from slavery wherein they still worked their hands to the bone and had nothing but poverty to show for it. Even in the free northern states African Americans who were accused to have committed a crime had little legal recourse, or opportunity to receive a fair and equal trial. This is the type of racial injustice that Frederick Douglass rallied against and-perhaps consequently-the type of violence that too became a victim of in the end. Douglass characterized these actions as "the spirit of hate" 8 and scorned the type of people that participated in these actions as not worthy of his attention. He only paid them attention to fight against them, believing that the freedom of African American slaves should be accomplished by any means necessary and using the power of rhetoric to push his views forward and advance the dialogue for all African Americans. By contrast, abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison in comparison believed that freedom for slaves could only be achieved by peaceful means. Douglass was also a strong supporter of women's rights and supported the Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in gaining the right to suffrage for all citizens of the United States regardless of color, or gender. Douglass played primarily an advisory role, and an educational role in both the Abolition Movement and the Civil War. He was held up as an example of what freed slaves could become if they were educated and trained in a vocation. Douglass also played a role in recruiting for African American military units such as the 66th Massachusetts Regiment. The importance of educating the public, and acting as an advisor for politicians while not the active type of role taken by Harriet Tubman was a vital role nevertheless, providing another strong, articulate African American voice to the rising chant Douglass was a consummate politician who worked tirelessly to relieve the plight of his fellow African Americans that were still held in slavery and treated unfairly. Despite vehement arguments with some of the anti-slavery leaders of the day such as William Lloyd Garrison, Douglass, never let personal feelings stand in the way of achieving his ultimate goal. They may have disagreed about the mode, manner, and method of achieving their goals but, ultimately, they were aiming for the same thing. However, oftentimes he was cruelly mistreated and disrespected by white abolitionists merely because of the fact that he was African American. By refusing to allow this behavior to squash his spirit, rising up speaking loader and stronger, Douglass played a key role in how the people of the United States perceived the growing abolition movement during the 1850's and 1860's. Prior to African American Abolitionists such as Douglass, and Truth joining the movement, the public perception of the abolition movement was that of a bunch of bored white, men and old maids gathering together to cause trouble. He changed the face of the debate while, as previously discussed, lending his personal experience on the matter to the discussion. Douglass changed that to a much more positive perception of the abolitionist movement. He proved that an educated African American man could be eloquent, and educated. He had a powerful influence on the thinking of the day and this allowed him to gain many freedoms for African Americans that they had not been allowed before such as the right to fight and die for their country if they so chose. Douglass would therefore have an impact on the thinking and the actions of Civil Rights Activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., another man with a strong vision in his heart of the way it should be. Dr. King led the civil rights movement in much the same way: with strong, powerful words, spoken articulately to the masses-black and white alike. This influence would lead to the progress of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950's and 1960's that led to many more freedoms for the African American community, not to mention an ever evolving change in the way they are viewed in society as a whole. In conclusion, we are slowly progressing toward true equality-though we have not arrived there yet-every day becoming more aware of disparities which may have previously seemed insignificant. Yet, with the removal first of slavery, then segregation, the line between black and white is being erased. Without the initial, intense forward thrust provided by Douglass and his contemporaries, the movement toward racial equality could never have built up the same kind of powerful momentum that it has. Works Cited Douglass, Frederick, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave: Written By Himself Project Gutenberg e-book format, pp75 Guisepi, Robert the American Civil War: Frederick Douglass: http://www.history-world.org/frederick_douglass.htm , 2002 Sekora, John Mr. Editor, If You Please: Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom: and the End of the Abolitionist Imprint: Callaloo, v17, n2 (1994) pp 608-626 Stauffer, John."Across the Great Divide: The friendship between Lincoln and Frederick Douglass required from both a change of heart.(Abraham Lincoln)(Biography)."Time166.1(July 4, 2005):58.Info Trac One File. White, Richard, H "The Spirit of Hate and Frederick Douglass: Civil War History, Vol XLVI, n1 (2000) pp41-51 Read More