Life and Times of Frederick Douglass

With slavery abolished, Douglass wonders what his future holds. That great cause, happily victorious, has called forth and directed all of his energies for nearly a quarter-century. Soon it becomes clear, however, that the Freedmen—the recently emancipated slaves—need advocates. With this in mind, Douglass focused his lectures on securing voting rights. A brief interview in February 1866 with the dull-minded President Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln’s unworthy successor, leaves Douglass even more convinced of the need for continued agitation on the subject of equal rights.

The citizens of Rochester elect Douglass to represent them at the National Loyalist’s Convention, which meets in Philadelphia in September 1866. Skittish Republicans, “with every respect for me personally, were unable to see the wisdom of such a course. They dreaded the clamor of social equality and amalgamation which would be raised against the party” in light of Douglass’s election to a national convention (326). Douglass experiences a cool reception in Philadelphia, albeit with notable exceptions, including from General Benjamin Butler, who always showed “a courage equal to his conviction,” and newspaper editor Theodore Tilton, who, on the march through Philadelphia, “seized me by the hand in a most brotherly way, and proposed to walk with me in the procession” (328-29).