A B S T R A C T
Frederick Douglass, a former slave from Maryland during the Ante-Bellum Period of American History, rose to prominence on a wave of abolitionist fervor and crusaded both at home and abroad to achieve equal rights for Blacks throughout the nation. His oratorical talents and his journalistic skills were widely recognized by politicians, power-brokers and intellectuals of his era.
This paper discusses Douglass's background, his motives, his ascendency and his strategies for achieving Black-White parity in the days preceding the American Civil War. It delves into the style of argumentation Douglass employed, the contacts from which he derived his authority and the theoretical content of his rhetoric. Attention is devoted to specific facts underpinning his positions and to his scathing attacks on the Church and Establishment Forces which were oppressing his people. It describes the delicate balancing act performed by Douglass, as he allied himself with Women's Rights groups and Political Parties in order to further advance his cause.
In support of the paper's contentions that Douglass was a significant social activist and leader, the author analyzes the findings of Lisa Yun Lee and Benjamin Quarles, among others, who concur that Douglass was a sophisticated spokesman who embodied all of the qualities required of a respected and revered leader.
The paper concludes that Douglass will be remembered for a wide range of accomplishments, but that his having risen from silence and oppression to oratorical heights and freedom represents his greatest accomplishment.
The dehumanization of Blacks in the American South during the Ante-Bellum Period was a socio-political reality which represents, even today, a notoriously shameful page in American History. It is often a matter broached with reluctance and hesitation by scholars and academicians because of the intensity of the brutality and the unfathomable scope of the violence and inhumanity which characterized this era, extending from the earliest days of American Colonization through the 1850's, a span of some two hundred years. Slavery extended across the entirety of the American South, with the Mason-Dixon Line forming the infamous border between the Free North and the Enslaved South.
It is against this backdrop that Frederick Douglass, born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, rose from a boyhood of demeaning servitude to a position of distinguished literary and political prominence, as recorded in his first autobiography (Douglass 114). This analysis intends to focus on the motives, methods, circumstances and fortuitous factors which empowered Douglass to achieve renown in his own time and long thereafter. It will identify the principal qualities enabling Douglass to advance the cause of his people and will examine the dynamics of primary relationships, tactical devices and insightful strategies employed by the celebrated activist during the period immediately preceding the American Civil War.
The thought of this rhetorician, journalist and civil rights activist is assuredly not shallow. Douglass was motivated by a childhood of wretched misery and abjection to rise, not only socio-economically well beyond his humble origins, but to change the very fiber of the society which had engulfed him for decades. He was clearly something more than an advocate of anti-discrimination legislation, of citizenship rights and of equality.
The thrust of Douglass' argumentation was aimed at massive reform of education and at wide-reaching suppression of prejudicial attitudes which had subjugated his people for so long. He sought to topple the power structure which had underpinned Ante-Bellum society and to achieve respectability for Blacks throughout the nation. He was in favor of self-help programs and supported efforts to promote solidarity of all races (Quarles 152).
What type of man could so effectively challenge the existing power structure in the years preceding the Civil War? A glance back over the years of suffering and humiliation which Douglass experienced might provide a fragmentary answer.
In one of his three autobiographical works, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, published in 1845, the author recounts the brutality of his upbringing in Maryland and the vicissitudes of life in bondage. He recalls the love which linked slaves in a sort of spiritual brotherhood and the horror they felt when they were lashed and tortured for minor infractions of the standing laws of enslavement (Douglass 90). Chapter after chapter of compelling details describe the mistreatment of Blacks in Maryland, with more than ample reference to other States where similar practices were common. He courageously accuses the Churches of his day of refusing to denounce inhuman treatment of slaves, and criticizes them for providing forgiveness to slave owners and for offering undisguised approval of their unconscionable actions. He noted in depth how slave-owners derived solace from their beliefs and their pastors, through shameless distortion of Biblical passages.
While he was drawn to the intrinsic beauty of Chesapeake Bay, he was consistently reminded of his slave-status, lower in the eyes of men than sail boats which were often more honored than human property. The white billowing sails of free-men's boats were bitter symbols, on this beautiful Bay, of the dichotomous social realities which confronted young Douglass in Maryland.
As the reader moves through the Narrative, aware of the venomous rift separating Douglass and his people from their Masters, Slave-Breakers, and from Ante-Bellum Southern Society as a whole, there seems little doubt as to the will power and determination of the enslaved under-class to emancipate themselves from the oppression of this system. These considerations, documented in often nauseating and graphic episodes throughout Narrative and My Bondage and My Freedom, provide, in this analyst's mind, an adequate understanding of the motives for Douglass's surge to the forefront of activism and public exposure in the North subsequent to his escape in 1838 (Quarles 18).
It can be readily appreciated that Douglass was more interested in applying the entire system of moral values underlying the American Dream to the cause of Black Americans than he was to mere anti-segregationist reform or to narrow issues of citizenship. He was convinced, by the time of his flight to relative freedom in the North, that there were three prime elements, or requirements, for advancing the American Black's status in society. Firstly, the necessity for mass protest, executed in an organized and systematic manner, with all subsidiary issues being discussed during these proceedings. He felt, secondly, that self-help programs should be initiated in order to enhance racial pride and solidarity. Lastly, he foresaw economic integrity for Blacks on an equal footing with White citizens, and recommended tangible avenues for achieving parity. He expressed these goals in North Star, a journal he founded, with British funding, in the years preceding the election of Lincoln (Quarles 7, 147-148).
Within three years of his moving to the North, using a Black Seaman's identification papers to escape a cruel task-master, Douglass, a young man of not more than 24 years of age, met William Lloyd Garrison whose abolitionist journal, The Liberator, had been in full swing for ten and a half years (Quarles 4). A major turning point had been reached in the life of young Douglass during a series of abolitionist meetings (circa 1841) held in Nantucket and New Bedford, Massachusetts. Inspired by Garrison's initiative, Douglass developed qualities during this time frame which were widely recognized as "gifted" and eminently "eloquent."
Garrison occasionally used texts penned by Douglass and gradually the former slave rose within the ranks of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.
By astutely linking abolitionist issues to on-going women's rights campaigns, Douglass was able to muster considerable support from a broad sector of Northern society. He joined a series of political parties, including the Liberty Party, with linkages to the Radical Abolitionist Party later in the struggle. He broadened his base of support by appealing to a cross-section of society which included as many bankers and lawyers as it did common folks.
He used several clever vehicles and platforms for rising to prominence in Northern society and aligned himself with the most highly respected figures who embraced his cause. At times, he was compelled to "swallow" certain of his priorities in order to achieve greater ends.
It is astonishing, many critics feel, that Douglass was a man who reflected the wisdom of some of the greatest thinkers and social theorists of his era. Lisa Yun Lee, in her thoughtful critique of Douglass entitled "The Politics of Language in Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of an American Slave", delves into the recesses of his strategy which encompasses use of narrative technique -- found both in his public speeches and in his written editorials -- in such as way as to project the image of a "nonspeaking, nonparticipatory person" (Lee 59). This tactic removes him from the immediate theater of contention and drives home his message, which is largely descriptive and shockingly revealing in the eyes of his audience. Douglass thus achieves his intent. He juxtaposes this forceful thrust, voiced through his "speaking presence", Lee contends, with a "silent marginalization" that is most effective in the Narrative (Lee 59). While she is speaking specifically, in this instance, of Douglass' first autobiography, the psychologically impactful approach utilized by the former slave is replicated in other works, speeches and documents presently available to researchers.
It is curious to note that Lee relies in large measure for her interpretive insights on Michel Foucault's The Archeology of Knowledge when structuring her criticism. Foucault speaks of a "fellowship of discourse" characterizing several great thinkers. Appropriately enough, Lee applies this categorization to Douglass, whose speeches and writings admittedly possess a personal flavor and style, drawing the listener or reader into his argumentation, perhaps in the sense Foucault intended to impart (Lee 58).
An effective civil rights activist must attack the institutions which are oppressing his or her people. In public presentations, delivered at abolitionist rallies, and in his publications, Douglass was known to caricature and mock major institutions of Ante-Bellum society. Among his favorite targets were southern church leaders who mouthed Christian values while
savagely beating, literally torturing and permanently maiming their human chattel. The forcefulness of his assertions is strengthened by his having, earlier in his article or speech, established in his audience's mind that he is, in fact, a reliable "authenticator". Lee discusses this mechanism and tactical device competently in her analysis (58-59). The reader is left with the subtle, yet disturbing impression that contemporary clergy or church members may well be capable of such distortions of Sacred Scripture, even in the wake of the 1960's Civil Rights Movements.
During his earlier civil rights campaigns, whether linked with New England Abolitionist organizations or with Women's Rights groups, Douglass excelled at ironic twists of the phrase, humoristic witticisms and aphoristic ploys. His famous speech in Pittsburgh, eight years prior to the Civil War, constituted a clear indication of this talent during which heart-felt phrases rang with the outpourings of a tortured soul. His catch-phrase "The man who is right is a majority..." became quasi-legendary in the annals of oratory (Quarles 115). In defense of individual dignity and the "honorableness" of all mankind, Douglass rose to sheer eloquence at virtually every public gathering. His rhetoric and declamations outshone those of great White speakers of the era.
Minor works advanced his cause, as well. They promoted the breadth of his activism and his initiatives for broad-ranging civil rights legislation and reform. A challenging exercise for the reader, largely because Douglass's powers of reason were so advanced for his time, was his text entitled, Claims of the Negro Ethnologically Considered. In this ante-bellum work, he posits several refreshing points dealing with race relations. Some of this material will not be forthcoming once again until the crusades of the 1960's (Quarles passim).
Behind the scenes, Douglass was viewed as a gentle man, in spite of the savagery to which he had been exposed in his youth. He was thought to be tender, generous and endowed with a nature conducive to a recognition that, if men were unjust, their Creator was magnanimous (Quarles 125). Such qualities bode well for the permanency of a hard-won reputation.
James M'Cune Smith in his oft-cited introductory passage to Douglass' My Bondage and My Freedom extolls the man whom he obviously holds in the highest regard, and does so in these dramatic terms:
"When a man raises himself from the lowest condition in society to the highest, mankind pays him the tribute of their admiration; when he accomplishes this elevation by native energy, guided by prudence and wisdom, their admiration is increased; but when his course, onward and upward, excellent in itself, furthermore proves a possible, what had hitherto been regarded as an impossible, reform, then he becomes a burning and a shining light, on which the aged may look with gladness, the young with hope, and the down-trodden, as a representative of what they may themselves become. To such a man, dear reader, it is my privilege to introduce you "(Katz- Douglass xvii).
Seldom in the annals of American Literature has such praise been given so generously, particularly during the lifetime of the dignitary him or herself. Douglass was an accepted figure in the ruling circles of Northern policy-makers during his era. His rise had been gradual, but largely unobstructed once he had achieved acceptance among journalists and politicians of the North. His autobiographical materials and lengthy treatises supplemented his oratory and further consolidated his reputation.
Douglass was not reluctant, in defense of his civil rights activism, to mix God and Country and to appeal to the primal emotions of his audience. He realized that all major forces within man's soul had to be marshaled in order to cast off the yoke of slavery throughout the Land. Ultimately, his speeches and articles reached virtual fever pitch as he launched assault after assault on the established landed-gentry of the American South. "I would invoke the spirit of patriotism, in the name of the law of the living God, natural and revealed, and in the full belief that righteousness exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any people...", he is quoted as stating in an address at Rochester, New York on December 8, 1850 (Katz-Douglass 439). Lee, in her article dealing with the Narrative, also seems to recognize the sometimes naive mechanisms whereby Douglass instills in his reader, or listener, an overwhelming sense of sympathy for his cause (Lee 51-52). Such an appeal to sympathy and mercy is produced in other works, as well. For example, the intrinsic lack of stature in ante-bellum society of the entire enslaved class is magnified and accentuated by the writer's emotion-evoking style, reflected in "Covey, the Negro-Breaker", a chapter dealing with a savage slave-trainer in Douglass' My Bondage and My Freedom (Katz-Douglass 201). Many of the themes found in this autobiography are later mirrored in speeches delivered in the North at the height of abolitionist sentiment.
Brief analysis of the dynamic origins of Douglass' civil rights campaigns, their tangible theoretical content, and their impact may be in order, having previously viewed the scope, psychological aspects and literary nature of his writings and oratory.
A number of critics seem to acknowledge that, somewhat ironically, if Douglass had not been enslaved, he would not have achieved prominence. Benjamin Quarles, in the opening passage of Great Lives Observed: Frederick Douglass acknowledges as much, and later reinforces the interrelationship of slavery with ultimate freedom and renown by asserting, in effect, that people were mesmerized by Douglass' speeches and presentations. His authentic slave origins were, at first, a drawing-card in the eyes of a curious public and later an asset by virtue of his ability to link his past with his present status. His attacks rang true, and his life stood for the real possibility, in the eyes of 19th Century America, that Blacks could contribute constructively and meaningfully to society (Quarles 1-6).
The origins of Douglass' campaigns are due in large part to early meetings with Garrisonians, those who supported the abolitionist cause, as has been seen, through such newspapers as The Liberator and The North Star, and due to his personal qualities which included dynamism and steadfast determination. His letter to the Rochester Courier in 1848, protesting the treatment of his daughter in a public school, is only one of thousands of indications of this sense of outrage, turned -- quite justifiably -- against the entrenched oligarchic interests of his day (Quarles 9). Further, his relationship later in life with the Lincoln Administration and his rise to diplomatic prominence, during this time frame, are not the subject of our present essay; however, they represent the highly commendable direction which Douglass' early activities were taking.
A life so "illustrious" at such an early age, perhaps as young as 24, is worthy of special recognition in the sense that it stemmed from suffering and oppression and overcame massive ideological and physical obstacles. Beyond these factors, of course, there was Douglass' precise platform or socio-political agenda, advanced for its day, enlightened and visionary, which contained elements worthy of summarization and recapitulative itemization.
Firstly, Douglass enunciated the evils of slavery, using humor, anecdotal accounts and emotional appeals. Secondly, he invoked the position of the British in the Caribbean who had liberalized social conditions for Blacks. Thirdly, he attacked the hypocrisy of the Established Churches throughout both the North and the South, accusing them of cruelty, lethargy and massive distortion of Christian Principles to suit their own self-serving ends. In addition to this quiver of ideological "arrows", Douglass established a precedent for protest, civil involvement and polemical confrontation on a scale theretofore unknown during his era.
There has been a suggestion on the part of Quarles that The Garrisonians, John Brown, The Radical Abolitionists and Frederick Douglass were equally instrumental forces in having produced the tense and socio-politically unstable atmosphere of the final days of the ante-bellum period. Indeed, the North and the South had, by this time, "drifted so far apart as to create a war psychosis" (Quarles 10). It is difficult, in pre-electronic America, to define the role that powerful oratory and acerbic rhetoric might have played in the origins of the Civil War; however, one thing is certain, Frederick Douglass, a purposefully motivated and gifted intellect, tipped the equation in favor of his people, oppressed by tyrannical forces which had theretofore typified the power structure of the Southern States, and had threatened, some feel, to further entrench themselves even in the North where a Jim Crow mentality was seen to be ever present. This courageous civil rights activist succeeded where others had dared not to probe; he made a noteworthy and discernable contribution to the onward march of American History and, in so doing, served the cause of justice.
Douglass made the transition from being used by others, to using them, and from remaining silent, in suffering and sorrow, to speaking openly in defense of his cause. For this feat alone he should be remembered. Yet, of course, he is remembered for so much more.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Douglass, F. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, New American Library, Times-Mirror, New York, N.Y., 1968.
Katz, W. , Ed. My Bondage and My Freedom (Frederick Douglass), Arno Press and The New York Times, New York, N.Y., 1968.
Lee, L. Y. "The Politics of Language in Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of an American Slave", Melus, 17:2, Summer 1991-1992, 51-59.
Quarles, B. Great Lives Observed: Frederick Douglass, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N. J., 1968