Escape

Episode 219 deals with Frederick Douglas after his escape to the North, and his colorful and influential life as an abolitionist speaker and advocate.

While he gave thousands of speeches supporting freedom for all races, perhaps one of his most famous is What to the Slave is the Fourth of July:

"My subject, then, fellow-citizens, is American slavery. I shall see, this day, and its popular characteristics, from the slave’s point of view. Standing, there, identified with the American bondman, making his wrongs mine, I do not hesitate to declare, with all my soul, that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this 4th of July! Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. Standing with God and the crushed and bleeding slave on this occasion, I will, in the name of humanity which is outraged, in the name of liberty which is fettered, in the name of the constitution and the Bible, which are disregarded and trampled upon, dare to call in question and to denounce, with all the emphasis I can command, everything that serves to perpetuate slavery—the great sin and shame of America!

Transcript

Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 219 - Freedom!

We left the first episode about Frederick Douglass in this podcast with Douglass escaping from the South for Pennsylvania.  He continued on to New York where he lived in the safe house of David Ruggles.  Douglass later wrote of his arrival in New York City

I have often been asked, how I felt when first I found myself on free soil. And my readers may share the same curiosity. There is scarcely anything in my experience about which I could not give a more satisfactory answer. A new world had opened upon me. If life is more than breath, and the "quick round of blood," I lived more in one day than in a year of my slave life. It was a time of joyous excitement which words can but tamely describe. In a letter written to a friend soon after reaching New York, I said: "I felt as one might feel upon escape from a den of hungry lions." Anguish and grief, like darkness and rain, may be depicted; but gladness and joy, like the rainbow, defy the skill of pen or pencil.

Once Douglass had arrived, he sent for Anna Murray to follow him north to New York. She brought the basic supplies for them to set up a home. They were married on September 15, 1838, by a black Presbyterian minister, just eleven days after Douglass had reached New York. At first they adopted Johnson as their married name, to divert attention.

Now, I would be remiss in talking about Frederick Douglass if I didn’t say something about the role of religion in his life.
As a child, Douglass was exposed to a number of religious sermons, and in his youth, he sometimes heard Sophia Auld reading the Bible. - remember Sophia Auld from the previous episode? In time, Douglass became fascinated with literacy; he began reading and copying bible verses, and he eventually converted to Christianity. He described this approach in his last biography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass:
• I was not more than thirteen years old when, in my loneliness and destitution, I longed for some one to whom I could go, as to a father and protector. The preaching of a white Methodist minister, named Hanson, was the means of causing me to feel that in God I had such a friend. He thought that all men, great and small, bond and free, were sinners in the sight of God: that they were but natural rebels against his government; and that they must repent of their sins, and be reconciled to God through Christ. I cannot say that I had a very distinct notion of what was required of me, but one thing I did know well: I was wretched and had no means of making myself otherwise. I consulted a good coloured man named Charles Lawson, and in tones of holy affection he told me to pray, and to "cast all my care upon God." This I sought to do; and though for weeks I was a poor, broken-hearted mourner, traveling through doubts and fears, I finally found my burden lightened, and my heart relieved. I loved all mankind, slaveholders not excepted, though I abhorred slavery more than ever. I saw the world in a new light, and my great concern was to have everybody converted. My desire to learn increased, and especially did I want a thorough acquaintance with the contents of the Bible.
Douglass was mentored by Rev. Charles Lawson, and, early in his activism, he often included biblical allusions and religious metaphors in his speeches. Although a believer, he strongly criticized religious hypocrisy and accused slaveholders of "wickedness", lack of morality, and failure to follow the Golden Rule. In this sense, Douglass distinguished between the "Christianity of Christ" and the "Christianity of America" and considered religious slaveholders and clergymen who defended slavery as the most brutal, sinful, and cynical of all who represented "wolves in sheep's clothing”.  You might say that we have a modern-day parallel in the evangelical right wing with the Christianity of Christ and the Christianity of  Right Wing Politics - a belief system that tends to exclude non-white citizens.   But I digress.
Frederick Douglass gave thousands of speeches supporting freedom for all races - but I am going to concentrate now on one of his most famous - What to the Slave is the Fourth of July.   He began his speech by stating -

"My subject, then, fellow-citizens, is American slavery. I shall see, this day, and its popular characteristics, from the slave’s point of view. Standing, there, identified with the American bondman, making his wrongs mine, I do not hesitate to declare, with all my soul, that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this 4th of July! Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. Standing with God and the crushed and bleeding slave on this occasion, I will, in the name of humanity which is outraged, in the name of liberty which is fettered, in the name of the constitution and the Bible, which are disregarded and trampled upon, dare to call in question and to denounce, with all the emphasis I can command, everything that serves to perpetuate slavery—the great sin and shame of America! “I will not equivocate; I will not excuse;”

Douglas goes on to say - I will use the severest language I can command; and yet not one word shall escape me that any man, whose judgment is not blinded by prejudice, or who is not at heart a slaveholder, shall not confess to be right and just..  Delivered in the Corinthian Hall of Rochester, Douglass sharply criticized the attitude of religious people who kept silent about slavery, and he charged that ministers committed a "blasphemy" when they taught it as sanctioned by religion. He stated that a law passed to support slavery was "one of the grossest infringements of Christian Liberty" and said that pro-slavery clergymen within the American Church "stripped the love of God of its beauty, and leave the throne of religion a huge, horrible, repulsive form", and "an abomination in the sight of God”.
Of ministers who advocated slavery - and there were many - Douglass said that they taught, against the Scriptures, that "we ought to obey man's law before the law of God". He further asserted, "in speaking of the American church, however, let it be distinctly understood that I mean the great mass of the religious organizations of our land. There are exceptions, and I thank God that there are. Noble men may be found, scattered all over these Northern States.
During his visits to the United Kingdom between 1846 and 1848, Douglass asked British Christians never to support American churches that permitted slavery, and he expressed his happiness to know that a group of ministers in Belfast had refused to admit slaveholders as members of the Church.
On his return to the United States, Douglass founded the North Star, a weekly publication with the motto "Right is of no sex, Truth is of no color, God is the Father of us all, and we are all Brethren." In his 1848 "Letter to Thomas Auld", Douglass denounced his former slaveholder for leaving Douglass's family illiterate:
Douglass was a deeply spiritual man, as his home continues to show. Like other Christian abolitionists, he followed practices such as abstaining from tobacco, alcohol and other substances that he believed corrupted the body and soul - for the most part.According to David W. Blight - who has written perhaps the classic biography of Frederick Douglass - Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom -  "Douglass loved cigars" and received them as gifts from Ottilie Assing - a colorful German feminist and abolitionist.   
Let me take a short tangent here about this Ottilie Assing character - she proves that while Douglass may have been a religious man, he wasn’t exactly a saint. Otille read the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and, impressed, she went to Rochester, New York to interview Douglass in 1856. She suggested that she should translate his work into German. They struck up an immediate friendship. Over the next 28 years, they attended numerous meetings and conventions together. She visited and stayed with his family numerous times, living in their home for months at a time. Ottille Assing translated Douglass's works for her German audience, and even lined up a publisher.
Douglass and Assing are widely believed to have had an intimate relationship, but the surviving correspondence contains no proof for that.She also gave him shelter when "he was on the run from conspiracy charges in connection with John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry”

Her friend Helene von Racowitza said in her memoirs that Assing was deeply in love with Douglass. Eighteen years into their professional collaboration, Assing wrote "...if one stands in so intimate a relationship with a man as I do with Douglass, one comes to know facets of the whole world, of men and women, which would otherwise remain closed, especially if it is a man whom the entire world has seen and whom so many women have loved.”   

In 1884, having already been diagnosed with incurable breast cancer, Assing was in Europe trying to establish her claim to her sister's estate when she learned that Douglass had married Helen Pitts, a younger white woman who worked with him as his secretary in the Recorder's Office. Assing had struggled with depression during much of her life, and her physician was aware that she had suicidal tendencies. In August 1884, Assing killed herself by swallowing cyanide in a public park in Paris.
"Frederick Douglass was more than just a towering figure in the fight for abolition. He was a journalist, orator, social reformer, and diplomat, a man who tirelessly advocated for equal rights and human dignity for all. He challenged power structures through his powerful words, both written and spoken, and left an indelible mark on American history. His legacy lives on in countless fields, from education and politics to literature and the fight for social justice.

In conclusion, Frederick Douglass didn't merely oppose slavery; he exposed its hypocrisy and challenged the very foundations of American identity built on a lie. His life and work forced the nation to confront its demons, to grapple with the uncomfortable truths about its own history and future. Through his unwavering commitment to justice, Douglas helped reshape the American narrative, paving the way for future generations to fight for a more perfect union. His voice still echoes in our conversations about race, citizenship, and the meaning of freedom, reminding us that the struggle for equality is an ongoing journey."

"Like Edgar Allan Poe, whose works and life serve as the reason for this podcast, Frederick Douglass grappled with the dark undercurrents of American society. Both men, in their own ways, exposed the contradictions and hypocrisies that stained the American dream. But while Poe probed the depths of the individual psyche, Douglass shone a light on the collective shadows cast by injustice. Today, as we continue to grapple with issues of race, inequality, and the very definition of American identity, the voices of both men are surprisingly relevant. Douglas' call for freedom and Poe's unflinching gaze into the abyss serve as stark reminders of the work that remains to be done. The echoes of these giants of American history urge us to confront the darkness, both within ourselves and in our society, and to strive for a brighter future built on the foundations of truth and justice."

Sources include:  The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, Written by Himself, His Early Life as a Slave, His Escape from Bondage, and His Complete History to the Present Time, My Bondage and My Freedom, Life and Times of Frederick Douglas all by Frederick Douglas, and Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight.
Thank you for listening to Celebrate Poe.