In our continuing series in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Historical Society of the New York Courts is highlighting New York’s role in the creation of our nation and its legacy through its annual calendar. In February, we are spotlighting the work of Frederick Douglass.
February: Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass, an African American man born into slavery, who chose February 14th as his birthday, escaped and found freedom, eventually settling in Rochester, New York. A leader in the abolitionist movement, Douglass published an antislavery newspaper, The North Star, advocating for the end of slavery and reflecting his belief in racial and gender equality. In 1852, Douglass spoke of how the existence of slavery undermined the ideals within the Declaration of Independence, asking “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Douglass died on February 20, 1895.
Image Captions
Frederick Douglass, engraving by John Chester Buttre, created approximately between 1800-1899, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library.
“Harper’s Weekly portrait of Frederick Douglass seated at desk holding newspaper,” December 13, 1879. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library.blog
Top of the front page of Frederick Douglass’s antislavery newspaper, The North Star, published in Rochester, New York, Vol. I, No. VII, February 11, 1848. Library of Congress, Digital Collections, Frederick Douglass Newspapers, 1847 to 1874, DLC sn84026365.