FREDERICK DOUGLASS: A MAN ABOVE ALL MEN
But who was Douglass?
Was he simply a former slave who escaped his fate and directed his anger toward revenge for his former hideous masters?
Was he someone who detached his loyalty from the country, giving his sole allegiance to socialist precepts?
Or was he simply a man sought to live a life of quiet respite, away from the multitude crowds and seeking isolated peace after his longsuffering as a slave?
The answer to all of the above is a firm negative.
Douglass was a man ahead of his time. He challenged the current falsities of his day, that Black men were naturally inferior. He held the highest standards of virtue while fighting tooth and nail for freedom, equal rights for all people, and the Constitution of America. He loved his fellow Black brethren and he worked closely with his beloved White brethren who supported his every effort to eradicate slavery and discrimination.
So what were some of the major accomplishments of Frederick Douglass? What major impact did he have on this country, and what were his thoughts on the Constitution, Christianity, Diversity, Equality, Self-Motivation and Education?
THE CONSTITUTION:
To Frederick Douglass, the Constitution's preamble "We the
People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,
promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
States of America", was not just words on paper, it was the single most
important prophecy for the nation to manifest. Notice the clause 'in order
to form a more perfect union'. Frederick Douglass and many other
abolitionists believed that the founding fathers knew our faulty humanity would
constantly deviate from pure perfection. This did not however, stop the
founding fathers from including this phrase into the document, so as to aim for
perfection in all facets of our individual lives.
Douglass and his abolitionist friends, viewed the constitution as an
anti-slavery document--a document created by flawed men (many of them
slaveholders), but none-the-less, a document written so generally so as to
allow an anti-slavery interpretation. Referencing the Constitution, Douglass
mentioned in his speech in Glasgow, Scotland on March 26, 1860,
"It's [the Constitution's] language is
'we the people'; not we the white people, not even we the citizens, not we the
privileged class, not we the high, not we the low, but we the people; not we
the horses, sheep, swine, and wheel-barrows, but we the people, we the human inhabitants;
and, if the Negroes are people, they are included in the benefits for which the
Constitution of America is ordained and established."
To Douglass and his life calling, 'a more perfect union' was in order, it
would take years, perhaps centuries, perhaps many lifetimes to achieve. But it
would happen.
That was the dream of Frederick Douglass. To create a more perfect union.
And he lived that out until his death. Perhaps the most notable feature of
Douglass's speeches and his mode of achieving that more perfect union, was his
understanding of the Bible. In all of his speeches made throughout the country
and abroad in Great Britain, he continually referenced biblical scripture to
appeal to the true Christians of the world. His knowledge and reading of the
Bible began while a slave to Sophia Auld in Baltimore, MD. She had begun to
teach him how to read but was eventually reprimanded by her husband to stop
teaching him for fear it would make Douglass educated and less prone to work as
a slave. But instead of putting his trust in his master, Douglass became more
motivated then ever to learn how to read and to understand the Bible for
himself.
TRUE CHRISTIANITY AND IMMEDIATE
ABOLITION ON MORAL GROUNDS:
Douglass's hope was to inspire slaveholders and pro-slavery agitators to
read and understand the Bible and its holy tenets--convicting them of their
sin, leading them to a life of repentance, and eventually joining him in his
quest to end slavery and discrimination. He often cited examples illustrating
how the most pious of men, were often the most violent. In his speech delivered
to the Plymouth County Anti-Slavery Society in Nov., 1841 entitled "The
Church and Prejudice", Douglass gave examples of the hypocrisy of the
Christian churches--preaching the word of God while also sanctioning prejudice
and discrimination. He stated,
"I used to attend a Methodist church, in
which my master was a class leader; he would talk most sanctimoniously about
the dear Redeemer, who was sent “to preach deliverance to the captives, and set
at liberty them that are bruised” —he could pray at morning, pray at noon, and
pray at night; yet he could lash up my poor cousin by his two thumbs, and
inflict stripes and blows upon his bare back, till the blood streamed to the
ground! all the time quoting scripture, for his authority, and appealing to
that passage of the Holy Bible which says, “He that knoweth his master’s will,
and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes!” (University of Rochester:
Frederick Douglass Project)
But Douglass understood that the Christianity practiced by slaveholders and
pro-slavery agitators was not the true Christianity of Christ. He distinguished
the two very easily, because he had read the scriptures for himself. In his
autobiography published in 1845, Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass, an American Slave Written By Himself, Douglass makes very clear
in the Appendix of his book, his intentions for the audience when it came to
understanding his views on Christianity,
"What I have said respecting and against
religion, I mean strictly to apply to the slaveholding religions of this land,
and with no possible reference to Christianity proper; for, between the
Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the
widest possible difference--so wide, that to receive one as good, pure, and
holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked."
(Andrews, McFeely ed., 79)
DIVERSITY AND EQUALITY
Douglass's understanding of the Bible, his ability to read it for himself
and interpret it, allowed him the power to speak so confidently and
unequivocally to thousands of audience members, mostly white. It also allowed
him to interpret the Constitution in much the same way. Prior to the 1850s,
Douglass was a supporter of William Lloyd Garrison, an immediate abolitionist
who advocated a northern break from the Union and disassociation with all
slaveholders, and a believer that the Constitution was a pro-slavery document
and needed to be rewritten entirely. Garrison also believed in the moral
suasion argument, that slavery could only be abolished effectively by appealing
to moral sentiment rather than political expediency. Garrison believed that the
government was in favor of slavery and needed to be completely reformed from
within before anyone should even consider engaging in political activity.
Voting was anathema to Garrison and his followers--it was an activity that
legitimized the government and acknowledged the country in pro-slavery terms.
Douglass, though a fervent follower of Garrison for over a decade, began to
shift his views from 'the Constitution is pro-slavery' to one that proved the
anti-slavery nature of the document. He called for political agitation
primarily through the franchise and the principle of 'absolute equality' come
the time of Reconstruction on the grounds that God had created every man and
woman of every race and endowed them with basic rights that were eternal,
universal, and indestructible. In his speech titled, "Our Composite
Nationality" in Dec. 1869, Douglass explains the uniqueness of America as
a land welcoming so many people from all over the world. While doing that he
also appeals to the prejudice of many Anglo-Protestants in order to build
patriotism and citizenship among the newly immigrated. Douglass believed if you
wanted your country to succeed, if you wanted the United States to flourish,
people had to have the incentive to work and contribute to the country that fed
them. To Douglass, American civilization and progress were hinging on equality
before the law, both civil and political, to all. It was paramount to a
successful United States. He stated in his speech he states,
"Europe and Africa are already here, and
the Indian was here before either. He stands today between the two extremes of
black and white, too proud to claim fraternity with either, and yet too weak to
withstand the power of either. Heretofore, the policy of our government has
been governed by race pride, rather than by wisdom." (Our Composite
Nationality)
He also stated,
"If we would reach a degree of
civilization higher and grander than any yet attained, we should welcome to our
ample continent all the nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples, and as fast as
they learn our language and comprehend the duties of citizenship, we should
incorporate them into the American body politic. The outspread wings of the
American eagle are broad enough to shelter all who are likely to come."
(Our Composite Nationality)
BEING 'SELF-MADE' AND EDUCATION
Furthermore, Douglass supported a 'self-made' manhood and womanhood, where
education was key to achieving true freedom. It was education that would lift
the African American from slavery to true liberation and emancipation. As a
slave, Douglass understood how millions of men were kept from their true
destiny. Slaves were kept from having families, marriages, schools, and moral
training. The result was catastrophic for slaves and newly freedmen and women,
but not impossible to remedy. Douglass believed that emancipated slaves were
expected to live free lives with limited protections on their livelihood--a
challenge which formed a stain on the nation during and after Reconstruction.
If the government could assist where most needed, most notably in securing the
franchise and protecting the property of African Americans, this would help
them to build family, society, and nation. Douglass's understanding of
'self-made' was to create from the ground up, from nothing to something, mostly
through individual effort, but also with the help of compassionate donors and
government protections. Douglass understood that working with whites was key to
a truly successful Reconstruction of the nation. He himself, would never have
achieved the great successes he had, had not white men enabled him. He stated
in his speech at the opening of the Manassas Industrial School in Virginia in
Sept. 1894,
"I insist upon it that the lesson which
colored people, not less than white people, ought now to learn is, that there
is no moral or intellectual quality in the color of a man's cuticle; that
color, in itself, is neither good nor bad; that to be black or white is neither
a proper source of pride or shame. I go further, and declare that no man's
devotion to the cause of justice, liberty, and humanity, is to be weighed,
measured, and determined by his color or race. We should never forget that the
ablest and most eloquent voices ever raised in behalf of the black man's cause,
were the voices of white men." (The Blessings of Liberty and Education)
In addition, Douglass believed that the obsession over race caused more
problems than benefits to humanity and to the country. He stated,
"I have no hesitation in telling you
that I think the colored people and their friends make a great mistake in
saying so much of race and color. I know no such basis for the claims of
justice. I know no such motive for efforts at self-improvement. In this
race-way they put the emphasis in the wrong place. I do now and always have
attached more importance to manhood than to mere kinship or identity with any
variety of the human family. RACE, in the popular sense is narrow; humanity is
broad." (The Blessings of Liberty and Education)
We can all learn something spiritually and intellectually profitable from Frederick Douglass.
Works-cited:
Douglass, Frederick. "The Constitution of the United States: Is It
Pro-Slavery or Anti-Slavery?, March 26, 1860". Teaching American History,
Ashbrook Center, Ashland University. Retrieved at https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/the-constitution-of-the-united-states-is-it-pro-slavery-or-anti-slavery/
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An
American Slave, Written by Himself. William L. Andrews and William S.
McFeely, eds. 2nd ed., New York: WW Norton & Co., 2017. Print.
Douglass, Frederick. "Blessings of Liberty and Education, Sept. 3,
1894". Teaching American History, Ashbrook Center, Ashland University.
Retrieved at https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/blessings-of-liberty-and-education/
Douglass, Frederick. "Our Composite Nationality, Dec. 7, 1869".
Teaching American History, Ashbrook Center, Ashland University. Retrieved at https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/our-composite-nationality/
Douglass, Frederick. "The Church and Prejudice, Dec. 23, 1841".
Frederick Douglass Project, University of Rochester. Retreived at https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/4369
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