Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

Now in his 60s, Douglass feels the pressure of a new generation of Black leaders vying for his position. He is at odds with some of them over issues of emigration and separation from the Republican party. An especially demoralizing moment for Black Americans occurs in the fall of 1883 when the Supreme Court hands down a number of verdicts that refuse to support the rights of individual Black men and women in the face of private acts of discrimination. The federal government defers to states’ rights in such instances, allowing southern states free reign to continue discriminatory practices against former enslaved people.

In addition to these public upsets, Douglass stirs up domestic controversy when he weds Helen Pitts in a private ceremony on January 24, 1884. That Douglass keeps his engagement a secret “demonstrates just how shocking their racially transgressive act would be to both blacks and whites” (650), writes Blight. Family members on both sides are upset by the union. Helen’s family objects on the basis of race. Douglass’s family feels that he is failing to honor the memory of his dead wife by remarrying so hastily.

Another shock occurs when Douglass receives the news that Ottilie has committed suicide. Stricken with breast cancer, she is determined not to suffer a debilitating end and swallows a vial of cyanide instead. In his writings, Douglass says almost as little about her passing as he does about the loss of Anna a few years earlier.

After Democrat Grover Cleveland wins the presidential election of 1884, Douglass loses his position as Recorder and retires from public life. According to Blight, “It was as if Gilded Age white supremacy had become a soul-killing hydra worse than slavery itself” (661).

In September 1886, Douglass and Helen depart American shores to take a grand tour of Europe. For Douglass, the initial experience is bittersweet as so many of his former abolitionist friends are deceased, though Julia is still alive to greet them.

Both Douglass and Helen keep journals recording their impressions of Europe. Douglass is particularly critical of the power and wealth of the Catholic Church: “He scolded the mystics. This rationalist student of the King James language could not resist rejecting so much of the religiosity he encountered in foreign lands” (673). Despite his religious bias, Douglass is ecstatic to visit so many sites mentioned in the Bible and in literature. The couple does not return until the following August. Inspired by his travels, Douglass goes on a speaking tour to describe his impressions to eager audiences.

The orator soon finds a new issue to occupy his mind as he begins campaigning for the Republican party prior to the election of 1888. Grover Cleveland is up for reelection, but Douglass is determined to see a Republican back in the White House. “There was no honor to be found among ex-Confederates. Douglass demanded of Republicans a politics of confrontation before it was too late” (682). Despite an extremely close popular vote, Republican Benjamin Harrison wins in the electoral college.

Between successful speaking tours in the Deep South, Douglass writes to Harrison to request a reappointment to his old job of Recorder. Instead, Harrison names Douglass the U.S. minister to Haiti.