On this day in history: Frederick Douglass publishes the first issue of The North Star

Today in history Frederick Douglass begins to publish his newspaper, The North Star. Douglass is an important part of American history as he was a social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman at a time when the commonly held belief stated he couldn’t, shouldn’t be able to. He was the living rebuttal to the argument of many slaveowners that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to be a functioning citizen. He would escape slavery in Maryland and would become a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York. Who was Frederick Douglass? What was his newspaper, The North Star? And what legacy does he leave us today?

Frederick Douglass was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey circa February 1818. The exact date of his birth is unknown. He chose February 14 as his birthdate as his mother called him “Little Valentine.” At age 6, he was given to the Auld Family and by age 8, Lucretia Auld sent him to her brother-in-law, Hugh Auld, in Baltimore. It was there that he began his education when Hugh’s wife, Sophia, began to teach him the alphabet, Fredrick would continue his education by teaching himself. In 1837, he met and fell in love with Anna Murray, a free black woman. After gaining his freedom, they would marry on September 15, 1838. They would be married for 44 years until her death in 1882. Douglass would write three autobiographies, the most famous, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave (1845), would be a bestseller and influential in the abolition movement. He would also be an active supporter of women’s suffrage. On February 20, 1895, he attended a meeting of the National Council of Women in Washington, D.C. He would die from a massive heart attack after returning home. He was 77.

Douglass was inspired to start his newspaper in 1846 after subscribing to The Liberator, published by William Lloyd Garrison. He began to publish his newspaper, The North Star, on December 3, 1847. The antislavery newspaper would run until June 1851 when it merged with Gerrit Smith’s Liberty Party Paper. The title is a reference to the directions given to runaway slaves in order to reach the Northern states and Canada: “Follow the North Star.” The North Star’s slogan was “Right is of no Sex. Truth is of no Color. God is the Father of us all, and we are brethren.” Eventually, The North Star would have more than 4,000 readers in the US, Europe, and the Caribbean. The newspaper focused on current events concerning abolitionist issues with editorials, letters from readers, news articles, poetry, and book reviews. He would write with great passion especially about the discrepancy in America’s Christian beliefs and the prejudice and discrimination he witnessed. Sadly, very few copies of The North Star survive as many of Douglass’ papers were destroyed in a fire in June 1872.

The legacy of The North Star and Douglass himself is that it gave readers an outlet and amplified the growing political power of the African American press (Georgini, 2019). His use of words to fight for freedom and rights for African Americans as well as women’s suffrage left an unmistakable mark on America. His autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave, is still required reading for many high school and college students. He is an example of how people can shape their future (Staff, 2013). Douglass would encourage African Americans to rise above their beginnings and achieve freedom. He once stated that he “would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong” and reportedly reconciled with his former slaveowner, Thomas Auld, in 1877, when Auld was near death. Although Douglass was able to reconcile with his former owner, reconciling with slavery itself would prove harder. He once said, “Slavery is indeed gone, but its long, black shadow yet falls broad and large over the face of the whole country,” during an 1881 speech at Storer College in West Virginia (Blackmore, 2018). Douglass would devote the rest of his life to civil rights and equality.

In conclusion, Frederick Douglass and his newspaper, The North Star, were influential in the abolition movement. He is an example of human perseverance. To rise above his origins to achieve what he wanted. He worked hard, faced difficult opponents, and fought everything he had. He believed knowledge is the path to freedom. True freedom. He was correct. When knowledge is given and obtained, the possibilities are endless. The North Star would be an example of how words could be used to influence and forge change. Against all odds and critics, Douglass forged ahead to create his newspaper, to be a mouthpiece for freedom and equality.

 

References

 

Blackmore, Erin (December 4, 2018). Frederick Douglass’s Emotional Meeting With the Man Who Enslaved Him. History. www.history.com/news/frederick-douglass-meeting-former-master. Retrieved November 30, 2020.

 

Georgini, Sara (February 14, 2019). ‘The North Star’ Amplified Black Voices. How a 2019 Reboot of Frederick Douglass’ Paper Hopes to Do the Same. Smithsonian Magazine. www.smithsonianmag.com/history/frederick-douglass-north-star-amplified-black-voices-reboot-newspaper-hoping-do-same-180971500/. Retrieved November 30, 2020.

 

Staff Writer (August 12, 2013). Legacy and Significance of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass Heritage. www.frederick-douglass-heritage.org/legacy-significance/. Retrieved November 30, 2020.

 

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (November 11, 2016). The North Star. Encyclopaedia Britannica. www.britannica.com/topic/The-North-Star-American-newspaper. Retrieved November 30, 2020.