Frederick Douglass papers

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) was a prominent 19th century activist, orator, journalist, author, and diplomat. Born in slavery on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, he escaped to Massachusetts via New York City in 1838. He began his career as a lecturer for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. His 1845 autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, described his childhood, family, escape North and early abolition work. He would go on to write two more autobiographies, and countless speeches and essays, despite his lack of a formal education. He was an avid correspondent, catching up with family members, discussing politics with other activists, and replying to requests for his speaking skills. Douglass was married twice; first to Anna Murray in 1838. He and Anna had five children, including two sons who fought in the Civil War. Two years after Anna’s death in 1882, Douglass married Helen Pitts, a white woman twenty years his junior. The married caused controversy in both families. In 1847, Douglass and his family moved to Rochester, NY where he started his first newspaper, the North Star. The North Star's motto was "Right is of no Sex – Truth is of no Color – God is the Father of us all, and we are all brethren." A year later he was the only African American to attend the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention. After the start of the Civil War, he worked to recruit African-American soldiers into the Union army. In 1872, after twenty-five years in Rochester, Douglass’s house burned, and he moved to Washington D.C., where he took on a number of government positions, including consul-general to the Republic of Haiti and Chargé d'affaires for Santo Domingo. He continued to crusade for the rights of African-Americans and women until his death in 1895.