One of the objectives of this War was the emancipation of slaves. Douglass took advantage and made the anti-slavery issue continue burning. President Abraham Lincoln took notice of Douglass' fervor and asked him to recruit African-American soldiers for the Union army. Douglass twice met with the President to discuss the use and treatment of African-American soldiers by the Union army. This led to the upgrading of African-American soldiers each time and the corollary increase of their military effectiveness. During the Reconstruction period, Douglass confronted a new set of responsibilities. Politicians had different concepts about race and its particular problems. Legislative battles raged to establish the concept and constitutional integrity of slavery and slave emancipation. In that occasion, Douglass was easily the only African-American with the reputation to make suggestions for the Blacks (UXL Newsmakers).
Douglass and his sons began publishing their New National Era newspaper in Washington DC in 1870 (UXL Newsmakers 2005). In 1877, he was appointed by U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes as U.S. marshal for the District of Columbia. He was also recorder of deeds for the District and minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti and charge de affaires to Santo Domingo. He later on resigned from his assignments in Haiti and Santo Domingo when he discovered the fraudulent deals between American businessmen and the Haitian government. Douglass wife died in 1882. In 1884, he married his secretary, Helen Pitts. After delivering a speech at the National Council of Women on February 20, 1895, Douglass succumbed to heart failure at his Cedar Hill home in Anascotia, Washington DC (McElrath).
Frederick Douglass wrote lyrically about the ocean on account of his escape as an impersonator of a free African-American sailor (Rice 2006). The ocean was the foundation of his career that then was just looming before him. His 18-month visit to Britain changed his concept of race, self and society. Slavery was completely banned in Britain's colonies in 1838. Furthermore, he was generously accepted everywhere in...
He wrote his friend and mentor William Garrison about the complete absence of racial prejudice towards him in stark contrast to his long and bitter experience in the United States. He marveled at his own transition and change of perception. The absence of racial prejudice was also the theme of accounts made by other Black travelers to Europe in the 19th century to the 30s and the 40s. These travelers included William Wells Brown and Paul Robeson. The latter's frequent escapes from racism brought him to journeys in Europe. His visits to Europe compared with that of Douglass in the previous century. Douglass and Robeson gave an international perspective to the African-American struggle for complete human rights. Douglass conducted successful meetings in Ediburgh whre he led a rousing campaign to force the Free Church of Scotland to deny collected money by the clergy who held slaves in the South for their mother Church. The campaign was so successful that its slogan, "Send the Money Back," became the rallying sound at street corners and texts of messages. His role in the campaign and its success was so critical that honors were poured on him by many ordinary Scot folk. The International Colloquium at Keele in 1995 celebrated the 150th year since Douglass' first visit in Britain and the publication of his first autobiography. The publication and his relationship to women and their rights, the Scots and the Irish would demonstrate the profound impact of his intervention in British life and Britain's on his life (Rice).
Bibliography
McElrath, Jessica. The Life of Frederick Douglass. Your Guide to African-American History. The New York Times Company: About.com, 2007. Retrieved on July 12, 2007 at http://afroamhistory.about.com/pd.frederickdouglass1/a/bio_douglass.fhtm
Rice, Alan. Frederick Douglass. American Studies. School of Humanities: Keele University, 2006. Retrieved on July 18, 2007 at http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/as/Portraits/rice-douglass.html
UXL Newsmakers. Frederick Douglass, 2005. Retrieved on July 12, 2007 at http://www.findarticles.com/p/article/mi_gx5221/is_n19136182
