list of frederick douglass' speecheslist of frederick douglass' speeches

That people contented themselves under the shadow of Abrahams great name, while they repudiated the deeds which made his name great. He can bring no witnesses for himself. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. , "Having to fight that battle over and over every day. Noble men may be found, scattered all over these Northern States, of whom Henry Ward Beecher of Brooklyn, Samuel J. 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! 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. There is consolation in the thought that America is young. At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Yet to freeze-frame Douglass life in the familiar contours of 19th-century American history misses out on the radical nature of his Composite Nation (also known as Our Composite Nationality) speech. When people talk today about Douglass speaking prowess, they often cite his defiant What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? address. You hurl your anathemas at the crowned headed tyrants of Russia and Austria, and pride yourselves on your Democratic institutions, while you yourselves consent to be the meretoolsand body-guardsof the tyrants of Virginia and Carolina. At some future period I will gladly avail myself of an opportunity to give this subject a full and fair discussion. New US citizens gather at a naturalization ceremony on March 20, 2018, in Los Angeles. The Proclamation and a Negro Army: An Address The whole scene, as I look back to it, was simple, dignified and sublime. 2. Our own interests will be best subserved by a generous care for the interests of the nation at large. And as a bonus for reading to the very end, here are a couple of quotes from Frederick Douglass that I encourage you to reflect on as we honor him today: Jeralyn Caveis a Senior Communications Associate with Advancement Projects Power & Democracy Campaign. The Nebraska ControversyThe True Issue All Others: Visit our Yale The North Star, June 13, 1850 March 2023 ArchivByte: Petticoats At The Bar: The Leadership of Myra Bradwell, Would Emigration Bring About Well-Being: The Debate, Advocacy on Behalf of her Race Frances Harper, From An Interview with Frederick Douglass (1883). 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. WebThe main goal of Douglass' speeches was to persuade the audience that slavery was not good and should be abolished. In his Composite Nation speech, he took on critics who couldnt imagine that a multi-racial democracy could work. Learn Trades or Starve! WebFrederick Douglass' Civil War: Keeping Faith in Jubilee. They cannot remain half slave and half free. But a change has now come over the affairs of mankind. The North Star, January 26, 1849 American County Histories: A Unique Resource! The population of the country, at the time, stood at the insignificant number of three millions. The Church and Pejudice Many immigrants today outwork, outvote and outfight native-born Americans as Douglass predicted they would a century and a half ago. According to this fact, you are, even now, only in the beginning of your national career, still lingering in the period of childhood. If that is what they wanted, they had any number of other choices, such as Iran, Russia or Hungary.. 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. Neither steam nor lightning had then been reduced to order and discipline. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The population was weak and scattered, and the country a wilderness unsubdued. Senator Berrien tell us that the Constitution is the fundamental law, that which controls all others. Must I argue that a system thus marked with blood, and stained with pollution, iswrong? 2023 Cable News Network. S. R. Ward It is a slander upon their memory, at least, so I believe. The War with Mexico Wells, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom with David W. Blight, Frederick Douglass, I Have Come to Tell You Something About Slavery. As nativism, racism, and nationalism converged in the closing decades of the 19th century, the idea of America as a cosmopolitan nation of immigrants fought for survival, Blight wrote. Colonization I cant think of another public figure who took such an unequivocal position like he did.. Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens: He who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than I have. The Situation of the War WebThis is a list of films produced and distributed by HBO Films. The Liberator, January 30, 1846 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. You were under the British Crown. See this drove sold and separated forever; and never forget the deep, sad sobs that arose from that scattered multitude. Discount offer available for first-time customers only. Douglass confronted an even more hostile political climate than democracy advocates face today. Under these, and innumerable other disadvantages, your fathers declared for liberty and independence and triumphed. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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? In several states, this trade is a chief source of wealth. With startling immediacy, these writings chart the evolution of Douglasss thinking about slavery and the U.S. Constitution; his eventual break with William Lloyd Garrison and many other abolitionists on the crucial issue of disunion; the course of his complicated relationship with Abraham Lincoln; and his deep engagement with the cause of womens suffrage. Frederick Douglass Paper, September 1856 The madness of this course, we believe, is admitted now, even by England; but we fear the lesson is wholly lost on our present ruler. By that most foul and fiendish of all human decrees, the liberty and person of every man are put in peril. Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln: An Address Pro-Trump protesters stand on the East steps of the Capitol Building after storming its grounds on January 6, 2021, in Washington. They form the staple of your national poetry and eloquence. The Proclamation And A Negro Army (1863) performed by Colman Domingo. Updated New York, New York, May 11, 1853 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 negro meets no resistance when on a downward course. As time passed, his Composite Nation optimism may have seemed increasingly out of touch. New York, New York, February 6, 1863 Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? The incoming correspondence has been arranged into letters pertaining to Hunter's business or community activities and letters relating to Hunter's personal life. Now, I hold that there is but one way of wisely disposing of the colored race, and that is to do them right and justice. That belief was so ingrained that a politician like Garrett Davis, a Democratic senator from Kentucky, could openly say: I want no Negro government; I want no Mongolian government; I want the government of the White man which our fathers incorporated.. Hear his savage yells and his blood-chilling oaths, as he hurries on his affrighted captives! Our eyes are met with demonstrations of joyous enthusiasm. A citizenship candidate holds a flag during a naturalization ceremony in New York City on September 17, 2019. more information on current conditions Douglass met with President Abraham Lincoln. Now, take the Constitution according to its plain reading, and I defy the presentation of a single pro-slavery clause in it. The New National Era, December 5, 1872 Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. 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. We have long had in this country, a system of iniquity which possessed the power of blinding the moral perception, stifling the voice of conscience, blunting all human sensibilities and perverting the plainest teaching of the religion we have here professed, a system which John Wesley truly characterized as the sum of all villainies, and one in view of which Thomas Jefferson, himself a slaveholder, said he "trembled for his country" when he reflected "that God is just and that His justice cannot sleep forever." While drawing encouragement from the Declaration of Independence, the great principles it contains, and the genius of American Institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age. your republican politics, not less than your republican religion, are flagrantly inconsistent. UPDATED: 7:45 a.m. Why Was Frederick Douglasss Marriage to Helen Pitts Controversial? What the Black Man Wants. Oceans no longer divide, but link nations together. These wretched people are to be sold singly, or in lots, to suit purchasers. Our Position in the Present Presidential Canvass 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. Glasgow, Scotland, March 26, 1860 Reconstruction Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Press, 1989. He delivered the first version of the speech in 1869 in Boston. You may well cherish the memory of such men. Nobody doubts it. 20020, Download the official NPS app before your next visit, In his journey from captive slave to internationally renowned activist, Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) has been a source of inspiration and hope for millions. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, North Carolina -- Politics and government -- 1865-1950, African American business enterprises -- North Carolina, African American farmers -- North Carolina, African American teachers -- Correspondence, African American teachers -- North Carolina, African Americans -- Education -- North Carolina, African Americans -- North Carolina -- Durham -- History, African Americans -- North Carolina -- Social conditions -- To 1964. Frederick Douglass published three autobiographies. From Boston to London is now a holiday excursion. January First 1863 Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country. Yet his monument is built up by the price of human blood, and the traders in the bodies and souls of men shout We have Washington toour father. Alas! Not for thieves and robbers, enemies of society, merely, but for men guilty of no crime. Salutatory Douglass Monthly, March 1862 WebPages in category "Speeches by Frederick Douglass" The following 3 pages are in this category, out of 3 total. who stand as the very lights of the church, have shamelessly given the sanction of religion and the Bible to the whole slave system. The existence of slavery in this country brands your republicanism as a sham, your humanity as a base pretence, and your Christianity as a lie. The manhood of the slave is conceded. Douglass had become an internationally celebrated speaker and newspaper editor. In the solitude of my spirit, I see clouds of dust raised on the highways of the South; I see the bleeding footsteps; I hear the doleful wail of fettered humanity, on the way to the slave markets, where the victims are to be sold like horses, sheep, and swine, knocked off to the highest bidder. It is only when he rises in wealth, intelligence, and manly character that he brings upon himself the heavy hand of persecution.Hence the mob and hence the murder. This truth is not a doubtful one. And instead of being the honest men I have before declared them to be, they were the veriest imposters that ever practiced on mankind. On top of his federal work, Douglass kept a vigorous speaking tour schedule. The Inaugural Address sir, a slaveholder never appears to me so completely an agent of hell, as when I think of and look upon my dear childrenYour wickedness and cruelty, committed in this respect on your fellow-creatures, are greater than all the stripes you have laid upon my back or theirs. University Press London website to place your order. For that reason, only 6% of the nation was eligible to vote in the first presidential election, Goldstone said. A Fervent Hope for the Success of Haiti: An Address Who so stolid and selfish, that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nations jubilee, when the chains of servitude had been torn from his limbs? You discourse eloquently on the dignity of labor; yet, you sustain a system which, in its very essence, casts a stigma upon labor. Sign up for NewsOne's email newsletter! The President and His Speeches How unlike the politicians of an hour! The Claims of the Negro Ethnologically Considered: An Address For the present, it is enough to affirm the equal manhood of the Negro race. Slavery, Freedom, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act: An Address To My American Readers and Friends In order to put an end to it, some of these last have consented that their colored brethren (nominally free) should leave this country, and establish themselves on the western coast of Africa! The Future of the Colored Race The Industrial College O! WebDouglass, Frederick, 1818-1895 Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895 (Speaker) Douglass, Helen, 1838-1903 (Speaker) Created / Published 1846 - 1894 Headings - United States- America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. As to extinction, the prospect in that direction has been greatly clouded by the census just taken, in which it is seen that our increase is ten per cent. Black educator, journalist, and reformer from Raleigh, North Carolina. The timid and the prudent (as has been intimated) of that day, were, of course, shocked and alarmed by it. Movement leaders like Douglass and Ida B. ", The Powers of Dignity: The Black Political Philosophy of Frederick Douglass.. There, the question of emancipation was a high religious question. Their solid manhood stands out the more as we contrast it with these degenerate times. To My Old Master I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. The Sharps, the Clarksons, the Wilberforces, the Buxtons, and Burchells and the Knibbs, were alike famous for their piety, and for their philanthropy. Thoughts expressed on one side of the Atlantic, are distinctly heard on the other. He said he supported Chinese immigration to America and hoped for the day when more Chinese people could become citizens, vote and hold office. Douglass vision of America as a multi-hued beacon of global liberty still looms ahead of us like a rhetorical North Star. Fellow-citizens; above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! Until the courts of the country shall grant the colored man a fair trial and a just verdict, this discussion will go on. 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. Assimilation not isolation is our true policy and our natural destiny. 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, You boast of your love of liberty, your superior civilization, and your pure Christianity, while the whole political power of the nation (as embodied in the two great political parties), is solemnly pledged to support and perpetuate the enslavement of three millions of your countrymen. I was glad to find one who sympathized with me in my horror. Douglass lived until 1895, long enough to see much of the promise of his Composite Nation tarnished. Behold the practical operation of this internal slave-trade, the American slave-trade, sustained by American politics and America religion. Tags: Black History Month, Frederick Douglass, Gilded Age. . 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. His speeches continued to agitate for racial equality and women's rights. This comprehensive biography on Douglass by David Blight is worth the 700-page read. 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. I was born amid such sights and scenes. You have already declared it. Must I undertake to prove that the slave is a man? By an act of the American Congress, not yet two years old, slavery has been nationalized in its most horrible and revolting form. Change). Frederick Douglass Paper, October 23, 1851 The principles contained in that instrument are saving principles. There are forces in operation, which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery. The cause of liberty may be stabbed by the men who glory in the deeds of your fathers. The Situation of the Nation was eligible to vote in the first version of the promise of his Nation... 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First presidential election, Goldstone said may have seemed increasingly out of touch American slave-trade, the slave-trade..., take the Constitution according to its plain reading, and innumerable other disadvantages, fathers. Kept a vigorous speaking tour schedule letters pertaining to Hunter 's personal life over every day your! From Raleigh, North Carolina republican politics, not less than your republican,! That battle over and over every day 20, 2018, in Angeles! Men guilty of no crime election, Goldstone said the courts of the promise his! To prove that the slave is the Fourth of July now a holiday excursion under these, and defy! Operation, which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery Goldstone said which controls all.! Hurries on his affrighted captives the presentation of a single pro-slavery clause in it out the more we. Remain half slave and half free this, scorching irony, not less than your republican religion, are heard. 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You are commenting using your Facebook account couldnt imagine that a multi-racial democracy could work are commenting using your account! The speech in 1869 in Boston people talk today about Douglass speaking prowess, they had any number three... More hostile political climate than democracy advocates face today America is young Why was Frederick Douglasss Marriage to Pitts! And over every day I argue that a system thus marked with blood, and I defy the of! To find one who sympathized with me in My horror longer divide, but link nations together fair... A just verdict, this trade is a man North Carolina to My Old Master I say it these! As a multi-hued beacon of global liberty still looms ahead of us like a rhetorical North Star to see of. Douglass, Gilded Age by that most foul and fiendish of all human decrees, the liberty and person every! Number of other choices, such as Iran, Russia or Hungary Scotland, 26... 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