In the heart of Rochester, New York, amidst the serene beauty of Mount Hope Cemetery, lies the hallowed ground that cradles the mortal remains of one of America’s most celebrated and influential figures: Frederick Douglass. Join us on a journey to explore the final resting place of this extraordinary abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman, where his legacy lives on. Mount Hope Cemetery: A Place of Beauty and History:Mount Hope Cemetery, founded in 1838, is one of America’s most historic and picturesque cemeteries. Nestled on the rolling hills of Rochester, it has long been a sanctuary for reflection, remembrance, and reverence.…
Author: Staff writer
1841 William Coffin, a prominent abolitionist, invited Douglass to speak at a convention in Nantucket. First duty assigned was to travel with George Foster to secure subscribers to the Antislavery Standard and Liberator. He gave lectures in the eastern counties of Massachusetts. Was called to advocate equal rights for the proposed new constitution of Rhode Island. 1842 Son Frederick (1842–1892) was born. 1843 As an agent of the Antislavery Society, Douglass toured New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania. Began to consider slavery as a matter of law instead of public opinion. He was so articulate that people…
1861 Beginning of the. Douglass began advocating for. 1862 Congress abolished slavery. His employment with the American Antislavery Society came to an end. Douglass began to receive invitations from colleges and institutions to give speeches. His best known speech became the . 1863 The went into effect on January 1st, declaring all slaves in the ten states of the Union free. The states not under Union control were exempted. Douglass assisted in for the 54th and the 55th regiments. His sons, Charles and Lewis, were the first two colored recruits to join the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. 1864 Met with…
Frederick Douglass, named at birth Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, was born in c.1818 in Tuckahoe, Talbot County, Maryland. The date of his birth is unknown as records were not kept at the time. He adopted February 14 as his birthday as his mother called him “my valentine”. Douglass was a slave by birth, his mother was a black slave woman named Harriet Bailey and his father a white man, alleged to be his master Aaron Anthony. Holmes Hill farm was his home for his first seven or eight years. Family Since day one he was subjected to the cruelties of…
Anti-Slavery convention in Nantucket The summer of 1841 was a turning point in Douglass’ career. Frederick was invited by William Coffin, the general agent for the Massachusetts Antislavery Society, to speak at a convention in Nantucket organized by leading abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. Garrison was the founder of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and editor of the Liberator. Coffin had heard him speak in the school church and invited Douglass to say a few words about his life experience as a slave. He approached the platform with embarrassment and apologized for his ignorance, reminding the audience that slavery was a…
“The Church and Prejudice” was a speech delivered at the Plymouth County Anti-Slavery Society on November 4, 1841. Source: The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass, Volume I Philip S. Foner International Publishers Co., Inc., New York, 1950 At the South I was a member of the Methodist Church. When I came north, I thought one Sunday I would attend communion, at one of the churches of my denomination, in the town I was staying. The white people gathered round the altar, the blacks clustered by the door. After the good minister had served out the bread and wine to…
“Fighting Rebels With Only One Hand” was originally published in Douglass’ Monthly, September 1861. What on earth is the matter with the American Government and people? Do they really covet the world’s ridicule as well as their own social and political ruin? What are they thinking about, or don’t they condescend to think at all? So, indeed, it would seem from their blindness in dealing with the tremendous issue now upon them. Was there ever anything like it before? They are sorely pressed on every hand by a vast army of slaveholding rebels, flushed with success, and infuriated by the…
“What The Black Man Wants” was a speech delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Anti Slavery Society in Boston on April 1865. The subject of the meeting was: Equality of all men before the law. Source: The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass, Volume IV Philip S. Foner International Publishers Co., Inc., New York, 1950 I came here, as I come always to the meetings in New England, as a listener, and not as a speaker; and one of the reasons why I have not been more frequently to the meetings of this society, has been because…
“The Hypocrisy of American Slavery” by Frederick Douglass – July 4, 1852 Fellow citizens, pardon me, and allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I or those I represent to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? And am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits, and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us? Would to God,…
“The War for the Union, whether men so call it or not, is a war for Emancipation” Since the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, Douglass began advocating for the inclusion of black soldiers in the Union Army. He believed that fighting for the Union was fighting for the freedom of the black man and the safety and security of the country therefore paving their path to citizenship. He held a meeting with President Lincoln and spread his message through meetings with political leaders, letters to influential friends, , Frederick Douglass’ Paper. The President and Union Generals were afraid…