The Future of the Black Man: A Douglass Speech

On February 5^th, of 1862 Frederick Douglass gave a speech regarding the “Black man’s future in the Southern States” in the city of Boston Massachusetts; a city all too familiar with the uprising of a people from tyrannical woes. The premise of this speech primarily focused on exactly what the title entails; yet it was not limited to that. In the early focuses of Frederick Douglass’s speech, he states that he would first like to “make a few remarks, personal and general, respecting the tremendous crisis through which we are passing.” Perhaps the most significant personal remarks he made were regarding the hypocrisy of slavery, and from my perspective, how he takes the abolishment of slavery as a personal responsibility.
                Fredrick Douglass as most should know grew up in bondage. He was a slave for Twenty-two years of his life, and by the time this speech was delivered, he lived as a free man for Twenty-three years (492). Freed slaves such as Douglass must have certainly yearned for the freedom of all who found themselves in bondage, and Frederick Douglass was no exception. In this speech he criticizes the nation and the government for its hypocrisy on slavery, and the failure to rid the nation of this travesty already. Slaves had fought to secure the nations independence, yet they were prohibited from enjoying the freedom. They were good enough to serve under the command of General Washington, but not McClellan. They were permitted to fight under Andrew Jackson, but not Halleck. He doesn’t stop there. We all should be able to agree that the Emancipation Proclamation was a positive thing. However, Douglass asks why it is necessary to Douglass makes these legitimate complaints because he seems to think of it as a responsibility of his. He says “it is his mission to stand up for the down-trodden, to open his mouth for the dumb, to remember those in bonds as bound with them (494).

Imagine; if at all possible, that you spend nearly half of your life in slavery. Imagine by your own willingness to escapes the bondage of a master, you educated yourself, and thus liberate yourself. Now, a former slave has the ability to read and write; would you not feel some responsibility in fighting for the freedoms of others who are in the same position you were? I sympathize with Douglass, and could fully understand his stance. Yet, in his speech, he is yet to detail his idea of what the future of the black man will hold. Even after criticizing current commanders, and explaining how this situation is personal; he questions the whole premise of “Liberty as an Experiment.”
                This former slave is now a free man, and fully feels that all slaves should be free. However, the entire premise that emancipation is an experiment, and not simply the way it is appears to baffle him. He states that “they are not wolves, nor tigers, but men (505).” It’s enlightening to hear the common sense to be honest. Why are we questioning the ability of these people to be free? They are human, right? Well, even though Douglass is right; one must not forget that slave owners saw slaves as savage animals. So of course they did not feel they could just be set free. Remember, there were people that actually tried to argue scientific evidence of white superiority. Fredrick Douglass then begins the topic in which the title entails.
                “But would we have them stay here? Why should they not? What better is here than there? What class of people can show a better title to the land on which they lived than the colored people of the South (505).” This is an interesting point. Would the Freeing of slaves in America lead them to being shipped away and remaining separate from the race of people that previously enslaved them? This is in fact what Lincoln once proposed as a way to secure the nation’s future. Douglass argues that if Negro’s shall no longer live in the South, then the lands in the South may as well not be cultivated. Is he not correct? This has been the South’s labor force for centuries. Would it be economically wise to simply eradicate them from the South? I feel that Lincolns stance that I previously mentioned was somewhat illogical.

Douglass’s second point is equally as logical as his first. The abolitionist had fought for the freedom of these people because they saw it as a fundamental evil. Would these same people who fought so vigorously for the abolition of slavery agree “to make them leave the land of their birth, and pay the expense of their enforced removal (506).” This would make no sense, and would simply undermine what so many fought for. Douglass repeated throughout the speech poses the question, “What are we to do with four million slaves”. Would they be rounded up on ships and taken away? He notes that at the time of his speech, one could not turn around without encountering a black man (507).

All and all I feel Douglass wants to make the point that, this nation is in this together. It has suffered the hardships of slavery, the battles for freedom, and it must also stand together in “the perfection of human brotherhood (508).” Recall that Douglass appears to take this issue as a personal responsibility. He had noted early in the speech that another nation that goes unspecified had offered him citizenship, and he had turned it down. Despite the years of bondage, Douglass did not leave America. In this speech he highly doubts the ability of the country to survive if those earning freedom are simply denied a life among the nation. From this speech I take away patriotism, logic, and solutions from Frederick Douglass’s words. I find him to be one of the most fascinating men of that era; and rightfully so.

Douglass, Frederick. The Frederick Douglass Papers Series One: Speeches, Debates, and Interviews.      Edited by John W. Blassingame. New York: Yale University Press, 1985.