Todays discussion is Frederick Douglass and the meaning of july 4 for the negro. Manys program is one of the National Archives will present in washington and president ial libraries nationwide in celebration of the 241st anniversary of the adoption of the declaration of independence. Building is the only place to begin your july 4, as we will present our annual declaration of independence reading ceremony on independence avenue. Guests, thomas jefferson, benjamin franklin, adams,jefferson, john will read the constitution. Ceremony, there will be hands on a team of these for all ages until 4 00 p. M. Inside the National Archives building. The museum will remain open until 7 00 p. M. If you are not here in d. C. , the reading ceremony which begins at 10 a lot at 10 00 will be live streamed. We will conclude our celebratory with a noon program in this theater, discussing the sus sex resolution. The sussex resolution. The discovery of a second banks script of the declaration of the discovery of manuscript of the declaration of independence. Copies in the lobby, along with a signup sheet. You will also find brochures about other National Archives programs and activities. Another way to get more involved is to become a member of the National Archives foundation. The Foundation Supports the work of the agency, especially its education and outreach grants. You can become a member online at archives foundation. Work. Is my pleasure to welcome three special guests today. Johnson is a supervisory park ranger at the Frederick Douglass National Historic site here in washington dc and will moderate our discussion later. Least, robertnot s levine, distinguished professor from the university of maryland. He is the author of the 2016 book, the life of Frederick Douglass. Following todays program he will be signing copies of his book. We you please welcome, Professor Robert s levine. You for the introduction and my thanks to tom, for organizing this event. It is a real honor to be your. My guess is that you would rather hear an actor, over an academic. So i will be relatively brief with my introduction. As a lot of you know, Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in 1818, in the Eastern Shore of maryland. For his first 20 years, he was a slave, moving back and forth between the Eastern Shore in baltimore. In 1838,d from slavery taking a train from baltimore while dressed as a sailor. Train from baltimore while dressed as a sailor. He made his way to bedford, massachusetts and worked in the shipyards there and as a minister. He stayed relatively quiet about his antislavery views, in part because he was still a fugitive slave and was afraid of being remanded back into slavery. But in 1841, he spoke out at an antislavery meeting in nantucket, massachusetts. And the great abolitionist, wayne lloyd garrison signed him up on the spot as an antislavery speaker with a good salary. And douglass, with the help of garrison, moved with his wife and two children to a house in massachusetts. Over the next several years, he was known as an electrifying antislavery speaker for garrisons antislavery society. Responding to skepticism that someone as eloquent as douglas could not possibly have been a in 1845,uglas, published his most famous work, the narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an american slave. This made douglas so famous in his own time, he had to flee to Great Britain or otherwise risk of being captured as a huge it of slave. Scotland, douglas became an International Celebrity as an antislavery speaker. British supporters bought him out of slavery in 1846, and in 1847, douglas returned to the united states. He decided to go to rochester, new york, instead of massachusetts, has british supporters had given him money so he could buy a Printing Press and start an antislavery newspaper, which he called the northstar. He did not want to compete with garrisons antislavery liberator, and he made rochester his home base untilyears and tear he relocated to washington dc around 1870. Man, was angryte at douglas for starting a competing antislavery newspaper and the two men publicly broke with each other. This is significant to the 1852 speech which is the focus of the program today. Believed the constitution was a proslavery document. That argueddocument antislavery people should not be involved in the political system. Douglass argued that slavery was an act of violence against black people which, in certain occasions, should be met by violence. He also argued it is important for the free press to be involved in the system. Accordingly, in 1850, he new believed that the constitution was, in spirit, and antislavery document. Douglass emerged as a radical abolitionist. Precipitating his break with garrison and the emergence of this new political stance was congresss passage of the compromise of 1850 which strengthen the fugitive slave law on the books. Following the passage of the fugitive slave law, people in the northeast were slavery did not exist where legally obliged to return fugitive slaves to their masters. From douglasss point of view, the compromise of 1850 with its fugitive slave law nationalized slavery and show the importance of political resistance. For douglass, the greatest example of political resistance and American History came from the revolutionary fathers and tohers who chose in 1776 declare their independence from Great Britain and to fight for their independence. , the year us to 1852 that douglass gave what many regard as the greatest antislavery speech ever delivered. What to a slave is the fourth of july . An address delivered in rochester, new york, on july 5, 1852. Douglass was invited to give this july 4th speech by the Rochester Ladies Antislavery Society and he delivered it at a large hall in rochester. Between 500 and 600 people, whites and blacks, paid 12 cents each to hear the speech, which was significant money. And auditory was public entertainment during the precivil war wars and people were willing to pay to hear great speakers. Douglass insisted on giving the speech on july 5 and not july 4. He felt until all african were free, he could not celebrate fourth. N the for those of either that think this country has a ways to go to achieve all the ideals of the declaration of independence, which, of course, begins with the assertion that all men are created equal, its therefore significant and in the great douglass tradition that wer having this evente on july 3rd and july 4th. Just before douglass gave his speech, rochesters reverend raymond read the complete text of the declaration of independence. Then Frederick Douglass walked to the stage. Ladies and gentlemen, the ,eaning of july 4th for negro otherwise known as what to a slave is the fourth of july . [applause] actor as Frederick Douglass friends and fellow citizens he who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than i have. I do not remember ever to have appeared as a speaker before any assembly more shrinkingly, nor with greater distrust of my ability, than i do this day. A feeling has crept over me, quite unfavorable to the exercise of my limited powers of speech. The task the distance between the platform and the slave plantation from which i escaped is considerable and the difficulties in getting from the latter to the former are by no means slight. Today, to me, is a matter of astonishment as well as of gratitude. With little experience and less learning, i have managed to place my thoughts and perfectly together interesting to your patience and generous indulgence, i shall proceed to lay them before you. The purpose of the celebration is the fourth of july. It is the birthday of your National Independence. It is to use what the passover was to the emancipated people of god. Mind back toour that day into the act of your great deliverance. High lessons of wisdom, of justice and of truth shall yet her destiny. Were america older, the patr iots heart might be sadder. The reformers heavier. Americas future might be shrouded in gloom. And the hope of her profits go out in sorrow. There is consolation in the thought that america is young. [chuckles] andow citizens, pardon me allow me to ask why am i called upon here to speak to you today . Or anyone i represent, to do with your National Independence . Are the great of Political Freedom and natural justice embodied in that declaration of independence extended to us . Am i to confess the benefits and expressed about gratitude resulting from the blessing of independence to us . God, for both your sakes and ours. , an affirmative answer would truthfully be returned to the question. Then one by labor the light and my burden easy and delightful for who would not bend his voice to the holidays o the hal ofujahs when the chains servitude have been torn from it limb . That is not the state of the case. Sad sense of disparity between us, i am not included within the pale of your glorious anniversary, your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The rich inheritance of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness bequeathed by your forefathers is shared by you, not me. The sunlight that brought life ght strife to you brou and death to me. This fourth of july is yours. Not ours. You may rejoice. We must mourn. And therag a man grand illuminated symbols of liberty and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems is in human mockery and sacrilegious irony. Fellow citizens, by calling me here to speak to you today about the rivers by babylon . We wept one we remembered zio. N. Awayhey, who led us captive, required of us a song. They who wasted us required of us, sing that song of zion. But how should we sing the lords song in a strange land . O, jerusalem, if i say my right hand and if i do not ee, may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. Beyond yourens, national and two more choice joy. Mournful wailing of renderedho chains more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that greet them. , if i do nott remember the bleeding children of sorrow. Andmy right hand forgive may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. To forget them. Thereirass lightly over wrong and chime in with the popular theme is treason. Mores and shocking it would make me a reproach before god and the world. Fellow citizens, in american slavery, the simple story is that 76 years ago, the people of this country where british subjects. Your fathers deemed the english government as the home government and england as the fatherland. The home government did impose upon his colonial children burdens and restraints as it deemed wise, right and proper. But your fathers who had not c the popularh idea of the infallibility of government began to differ with those restraints. To pronounce english government as unruly, unjust and oppressive and altogether such as not also be quietly committed to and i scarcely need say, fellow citizens, that my opinion of those measures fully accords the fact of your fathers. To say now that americ was england waserica wa wrong is exceedingly easy and the cause of the colonies tried mens souls. Those who did so were called makers of mischief, agitators, rebels, dangerous men. But your fathers were brave men, statesman, patriots and heroes. And for the good they did and the cause they stood for, i will stand with you to honor them in their memory, feeling themselves ajustly treated, they saw redress. They petitioned and they remonstrated, loyal and respect full matter but oppression makes a wise man mad. Your fathers were wise men, and if they did not grow mad, they grew restive under this treatment. They felt themselves the victims of grievous wrongs, wholly incurable and their colonial capacity. It was just as this time that e idea of total separation of the colonies from the crown was born. Result of these United Colonies are, ought to be free and independent states that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown and that all political connection between the colonies and the state of great betain is and are toought to dissolved, friends. Your fathers made good that revolution. Heir country better than they loved their own private interests. They states their lives, their their sacred honor they seized upon the principle and set a glorious example. Their defense marks them stands out all the more as we go through these degenerate time. Shall we take a look at this day with his popular characteristics from the slaves point of view . What to the american slave is your fourth of july . Answer. It is a data reveals more than any other day of the year, the cruelty to which he is a constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham. You know a swine drover . Drover. W you a man they inhabit all of our Southern States and they crowd the highways of the nation in droves of human stock. With pistol whips and bowie knife, driving 100 men, women and children, these souls are to be sold singly or in they are food for the cotton field and the deadly sugar mills. Mark the sad procession as they move along and the sadness drives them. See the old men. See the young womiaan whose shoulders are bear to the scorching sun. Her tears fall on the brow of the babe in her arms. See, too, the young girl of 13 weeping and she thinks of her mother from whom shes been torn. Mark the sad procession. Heat and sorrow nearly consumes ngth. Stree suddenly you hear a quick zap, like the discharge of arrival. Chains rattle. Your years are polluted with a string that seems to have b made its way into the center of your soul. The crack you heard was the sound of a whip. The screen you heard was a mother with a babe in her arms her strength has faltered under the weight of the chains and the child and the soldier tells her to move on. Follow the for session to new orleans. Attend an auction there. See men examines like horses. See the strains of women rudely and brutally exposed to the shocking gaze of american slave buyseers. Tell me where under the sun can you witness a spectacle morphine does and shocking and yet this is but it once of the american slave system that exists in the ruling part of the united states. But it is just in this moment when i hear someone in my audience say, it is just at that time that you and your fellow to make aists fails public impression. If you would argue more and announce less, if you persuade more your calluse might be much more likely to succeed. But i submit were all this plain, there is nothing to be argued. What point in the antislifer decreed would you have me argue . In th antislavery creeke would you have me argue . Is conceded already. Nobody doubts it. Slaveholders themselves acknowledge it in the enactment of the loss of their government. When they punish a slave for disobedience. Thee are 72 crimes in state of virginia which if committed by a black man may subject him to the punishment of death while only two of those same crimes if submitted by a white man may subject him to like punishment. The knowledge that that the slave is a moral and intellectual and responsible being. Southern statutes are filled with enactment teaching the slaves, penalties how to read and write, when you can point to any such laws as it relates to the beast of the field, then i will consent to argue that the manhood is a slave. Americans, your republican yourics is as well as republican religion is flagrantly inconsistent. You boast of your love for liberty. Your high civilization, your pure christianity, although why the whole political power of the nation conspires to hold in bondage 3 million of its countrymen. You celebrate fugitives from abroad, you honor them with banquets, you salute them and you bless them, but of your own fugitives at home, you you h unt, arrest, shoot and kill. You mourn the hungry. Poetry, yourf your orators and your statesmen but of the 10,000 wrongs committed against the american slave, you enforce the strictest silence an enemy ofem him the nation that would make their subjects public you say that all men are created of one blood and all men should love one another, yet you hate those whose skin is not colored like your own. You proclaim before the world, we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal and have been endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, and that of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Bondage ald in part of the inhabitants of your country. The existence of brands in this country your republicanism a sham. Your humanity a base pretense. Your christianity a lie. Powertroys your moral abroad. Corrupts your politicians at home. It saps the very foundation of religion. It make sure name a hissing and a byword to a mocking earth. Thank you. P[appluse] [applause] thank you, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Prof. Levine thank you, that was riveting as always. Thank you so much for that. Im nate johnson, the supervisory park ranger at the Frederick Douglass Historic Site in washington, d. C. About 3 1 2 miles from the site. You have an opportunity to get over there if you would like. And i just got a say this is a really cool opportunity, because i cannot believe we are staying in the National Archives. Feet away from where the declaration of independence a a few milesd from Frederick Douglasss house. I will ask some questions of you judgment. First of all of you judgment. Of you gentleman. I believe you wanted to Say Something about how the speech was given when Frederick Douglass said it in 1852. Prof. Levine i wanted to comment on the weight was given right now. That was the finest performance i have ever heard of the douglass speech. Want to kind of step [applause] i want to step back to the 1850s because things were different then. Quiet andretty beautiful and polite. But there were a few moments, maybe one moment where people laughed. Ive read a whole bunch of transcript of douglasss speeches and newspaper and you will have a few sentences, then you have parentheses laughter. And parentheses stuff like that. So, back in the 1850s, when douglass was giving speeches, people were kind of worked out. Just as he was not a passionate person speaking out against slavery but one of with a great comic performers. The other thing i wanted to say and not to embarrass you at all, when douglass gave his speeches and this annoyed the abolitionists, women lined up to meet him. There is stuff in print in which, they say, particular they want the white women to stay away and they didnt. You have a certain charisma that was douglasslike, and i will leave it at that. Be careful, my wife is in the audience. Brought a shotgun here today. When my wife tends to like to use it real quick. Thats a joke. Prof. Levine and this particular speech went douglass gave it in 1852, people in rochester loves it. Thats my understanding, and there is a chapter or section in thisgraphy about particular occasion in which he says according to newspapers that people at the end of the speech, there was wild applause. Someone said lets endorse the speech as an audience and there was unanimous approval for that. Then someone had said could have a copy of the speech . 700 copies ofold the speech on the spot by subscription. I want to say that, because the speech, the things that you were performing and stating, the speech was quite radical. 1850, abolitionists got more radical following the passage of the compromise of 1850. And douglass himself was participating in rallies against the fugitive slave law. And in the early 1850s, a year before he gave the speech, he is saying that you would be doing gods work if you were to kill a fugitive slave lender. In his autobiography my bondage and my freedom, he said something to the effect of any who kills his master is doing nothing very different than what the American Revolutionaries did to his british oppressors. It makes a major shift around 1850 in terms of his willingness to advocate violence, but it was measure. I mean, it was rhetorical. He is not about killing people. But a lot of things that are in the speech that sound kind of shocking to us, douglass was saying we know douglass is an iconic figure connected to William Lloyd garrison. Was kind of where abolition was going post compromise of 1850. We talked about your performance. What is your process for, first of all, it is a really long speech. You memorized portions of it. What is your process for doing that, and how you choose to present . In my readings of his mimic reuse of that, that was right about where he did it. What is your whole process for research . That is a very good question. When frederickt douglass presented early on, he presented like an actor p like a oneperson show. He would become the character he would talk about, because he was a master mimicker. I understood that. And there is another performance that i do where i do become different characters in his life that i did perform offbroadway. But, basically, i approach it the way an actor approaches it. What we know through writing how Frederick Douglass potentially sounded. But we do not have any recording of it. So, i always like to go for trying to find the man, the human being, the person behind heartage of where the lives and where the soul lives and where the passion lives. Is not easy memorizing Frederick Douglasss worth because we do not talk like that more. Te like that any it took a while to get comfortable with his words but trying to get of the heart at it, thinking about him as a human being has helped out a lot, and as far as memorization, my technique is just repetition. Over and over and over again. Think watching the recitals in so important because we can read Frederick Douglasss words. He was never videotaped. We do not have any audio of him. To watch you bring that speech to life is something so important to do. Listen to the speech, when you have done your own research, what you think is the main message of Frederick Douglasss speech . The speechal, just a particular . The fourth of july speech that Frederick Douglass delivers. Since you talked about the difference in language and let we do not speak in modern terms, what is he trying to say . Really, he iss doing several things in the speech. One is hes painting the graphic picture of. Hypocrisy ho. You stand for liberty and independence and freedom and yet hold human beings in bondage and then to understand where we as slaves should be, think about where your Founding Fathers were. It is the same situation. If i believe that Frederick Douglass took the opportunity and advantage of the opportunity to promote the liberation of the slaves based on everything that the Founding Fathers were standing for as it relates to freedom and independence, so, i dont think he was i think there was no bitterness or maliciousness in his speaking. I think he was very compassionate, and had a tremendous amount of heart for the people he was speaking to but he wanted them to see in a ed forc manner the ne these human beings to be free. O, believe his goal was to wrote the freedom of the slaves. To promote the freedom of the slave. Prof. Levine he is saying that the American Revolution incomplete as long as there is slavery. And that was a very profound message in the 1850s. There is an excerpt from a twohour speech, according to people who were there. I could imagine enjoying hearing you talk for two hours. With Frederick Douglass, it is very powerful inent that you could add other variants it is all about hope. He uses the word hope. Despite everything im saying, i have hope. So, part of the power of the speech i might sound like, a july 4 kind of number part of the power of speaking as he is tapping into american ideology and saying this has a lot of potential. Ideology about equality for one. So, it is a highly critical speech. Hes angry because of the fugitive slave law. He is invoking the American Revolution, and he is saying the ideology here might not be so bad. It might actually be precisely the id ideology we need to bring about the freedom of the abrahamhich is where lincoln was coming from near the end of the civil war. In the speech he refers to the constitution quite a bit. He talks about being a freedom loving document. And that is quite a different view than the guerra garrisonians. Garrison believe that the constitution was postlabor theause it had the constitution was very proslavery because it had the 3 5 slaves were 3 5 of a person. Front garrisons point of view, promotingtution was the slave power. And thus he was arguing against working within the political system. Kind of working against it, or beside it. Thethat, as i said in introduction, is an important kind of point that douglass breaks from garrison on. And i think it has to do with what it was talking about, this idea of hope. Ause but the 3 5 cl spirit of the constitution is antislavery because he links the constitution to the declaration of independence. So it is about human equality. Once he makes that assumption, he can get involved with politics. Vote andarts to start to work for political parties. So, right around this time actually is the point where he is saying, the constitution offers some hope. E exchange of ideas politics and the use of violence. Prof. Levine he has a personal kind of dispute with garrison. If you want to be cynical, you can say he came to hate garrison. Garrison says this about the constitution, and therefore i will believe the opposite of garrison. I think still today, that thate sort of speech makes us think and emotionally it makes it feel. It is a very powerful speech. Remains sothink it al relevant today . 115 years since Frederick Douglass delivered this speech. You can feel it in the crowd. Why is that . I think for a couple of reasons. This speech, and if you do not mind my mentioning, there is another speech year before he died called lessons of the hour, why the negro is linched . And i do perform that speech, also. It will make you think of today. Some of the things that he is saying. And i think there are so many parallels to today and so many things in the atmosphere. If it were 1520 years ago, i do not think we would feel the heat of the speech the way that we do today in 2017, because of some of the events that have taken place in the last 34 years. That throughout the course of time, and throughout the decades, because there is still these elements in thisountry, we relate to fourth of july speech because it resonates with a lot of the things that have been happening. The past few decades. Prof. Levine todays Washington Post had an article about the renewed popularity of james baldwin. That baldwins popular and people are reading him for similar reasons which is odd given that our president loves Frederick Douglass. [laughter] blackere is talking about humanity. Both his speech and a lot of baldwins writings. The i think with what it,e that douglass used for as ive already said, it is tapping into american ideology. And arguing that there is a powerful reform side to american ideology. And that history can change. Things can change. Why els would he have given the speech . You mentioned lessons of the hour. And you have written about Frederick Douglass and his ive autobiographical writings. What other stations that you think are important to understand Frederick Douglasss life . The context of the question, the discuss often, we are in danger sometimes when we look at one speech so much of that person, like Martin Luther king, we think instantly of his i have a dream speech. What is that speech mean . Does everyone still know the meaning of it . Martin luther kings wife, their armani moore speeches h. Morehere are many speeches. What other speeches and writings you put up there with fourth of july . I would say this speech i believe that was the most popular for in the time was a speech that had nothing to do with abolition and and that was a selfmade man. And the idea of the selfmade man was different than today. When we think selfmade men today we think of selfmade millionaires. Theback during that time, selfmade man was a reformer, someone that would change as their knowledge grew. And then they would use that knowledge to reform. And Frederick Douglass had a great speech called selfmade man. At the end of the day, it is all about overcoming what you are given limitations are. As he did. He was born into chattel slavery, but he overcame those limitations. Message, to me, is extremely powerful because it is a universal message. It does two things. One, it shows the amazing a human being, regardless of whether he is black or white. But then it also shows the, what a human being can do with that potential. And, even though it was called selfmade man, back during that time, we should also take that out and think about women, that it speaks women, too, which toward the end of his life he began to fight for womens rights with the same passion as he did against slavery. So, it is a speech that teaches us how to overcome or talk about how to overcome are given limitations and the potential that we have within us. Prof. Levine douglass had a fatal heart attack three hours after he gave a speech at a womens rights convention. He did do a lot of speaking about womens rights. I, in taking with a speech he gave just a year later, the claims of the negro pathologically understood. It is kind of a fascinating, Scientific Study of race and racism but mostly of race. What do racial scientists know . Why are they saying things about black people as though they are radically different from what people . At case western reserve. He was invited to give the Phi Beta Kappa speech. I want to learn more about that. How about it how as it these white students came to know douglass well enough to invite him to give the speech . Two other things i would quickly mention in terms of were sort of interesting to me and they were not speeches. Published aglass novella called the heroic slave, which some that say was in response to uncle toms cabin. Ctionalization ship. Lave rebellion on a it is a douglass that not a lot of people know. As mentioned, i am very douglasssin autobiography which would make me different from a 19thcentury person because 19thcentury people basically loved the speeches and some people knew the autobiography but not many. I love his last autobiography, the life and times of Frederick Douglass, where there are chapters on his involvement with john brown, chapters with, on his friendship with abraham think that there is a problem in the way that a lot of us understand douglass in terms of that very famous first autobiography the narrative of the slave Frederick Douglass, 45, when he is83 all of 28. 1895. Ed to see has this fascinating life and he has this massive, venable 650 page autobiography that covers some of the aspects of his life. And so, i hope that my own work on that autobiography will lead ahers to read it and for greater recovery. Year by year, he is so fascinating and we tend to focus on the precivil war wars. Im land you mentioned the antilynching speech. Lesserknownem aspects of Frederick Douglasss life that interest you the most. Having research Frederick Douglass and pretrade Frederick Douglass there will be time for questions. I will let the audience members to know when to stand up and go towards the microphone. Prof. Levine i will give a cleric response. Quickss was a response. Douglass was an ambassador to haiti in the late 1880s and he became friendly with haitian leaders. He lost his job because american governmental people thought he was too sympathetic to haiti. To run thepped him haitian pavilion at the chicago worlds. That is a whole different story about douglass. About hait, his interesting political friendships. And the problems of actually being a politician because he could not hold on to the job. He started a bank. Well, but he did start a bank. He really Frederick Douglass was a rock star. He was like the jimi hendrix of his day. Today, everybody wants to be a basketball star or rap star. Well, public speaking was that he was the sydney 48, the great actor, as far as his fame. So, a lot of times we do not know that Frederick Douglass had that kind of power and he was the most photographed man of that century, too. That is something to know about Frederick Douglass. Going to letim audience members know if you have any questions to please, you can begin to line up at the microphones. Im going to ask one more question, and then we will take some questions from the audience. I want to mention when you are talking about Frederick Douglasss life and times, that he wrote that while he was living in the house that is now part of the Frederick Douglass National Historic site. I got to sit on frederick think hes porch and was just sitting right in sound that right inside house. All he was serving as ambassador to haiti, he was inside this house. It was an interesting place to visit. I want to let everyone know that during 2018 year is bicentennial Frederick Douglasss birth. There are going to be a lot of programs at the site and probably internationally, nationwide, to recognize Frederick Douglasss life and legacy. That is what my last question is why doo get it is that you think it is important that we recognize the life and legacy of Frederick Douglass today . I believe it is important, one of the reasons why am mentioned earlier is he represents freedom and liberty universally. He represents it for me as an africanamerican man and my wife is an africanamerican woman. But he also represents freedom as a relates to all the different aspects that we go through in our lives, being able to overcome our limitations. Some of us are experiencing certain bondage as it may relate relate to a, it may relationship, relate to a job, it may relate to a certain aspect of how you are living in life. And what i have noticed is when i perform Frederick Douglass my audiences are normally like this, there he diverse. I believe it is like that because the message of liberty and the message of freedom speaks to our spirits, speaks to our heart. I believe that is the reason why we should continue to remember Frederick Douglasss legacy. And also to remember that, you know, one of the things we said after one of the speeches is this discussion is not over. The discussion of slavery is not over. The discussion of racism is not over. The discussion of discrimination is not over. And so, because it is not over, we should continue to remember. Would agree with everything that you said. I do not want to repeat that. I am a literary historian, in addition to everything you said, i value the fact he is a great writer. And i work in the 19th century, and i he is someone who really opens up solely aspects of the 19th century. And one of the 19th century people who think if you know the 19th century, you know the 20th and 21st centuries. For all these reasons, i think hes such a compelling figure. I also like to read him in relation to other writers. I do not want to simply celebrate douglass all by himself. Actually, i have a book on douglass and herman melville. And they were in conversations in very interesting ways. Ill stop there. You so much. We are now going to take some questions from the visitors. [applause] on . S this mike i have a common and then a question of Frederick Douglass. Thank you for organizing this. A young man born in columbia who was raised in washington, d. C. , not someone who was a basket allstar or rap artist, having studying the u. S. History in chicago, that that is related to the relationship between lincoln and douglass. Douglass was the first black man invited to the white house. I want to know your thoughts especially on lincolns tragic end, but also my believe it was this best the speech, the president second inaugural what your thoughts, all of you, about on the very topic, on the fourth of july indiscernible] thank you. You want to answer . Prof. Levine ive kind a revisionary chapter on the douglasslincoln relationship in my new books. So, i think the story that has been told is kind of inherent, implicit in the question, that lincoln very much admire douglass, douglass very much admired lincoln. They had profound interactions during the civil war. Those interactions had an impact on both people. And douglass in particular was arguing very first to firstly for the rightusly for black men to fight in the civil war. Then, douglass loves lincoln. I will say that. And then the revisionary part of my reading from the kind of picking up on douglass autobiographical writings and speeches, i think the relationship has been overly mystified. Several times. My estimate as they met for a total of one hour over four years of the civil war. Douglass had speeches about lincoln that are highly critical. Douglass never voted for lincoln which is very interesting, in 1864, he does not vote for lincoln. He thinks that lincoln is the uniontoo much to and does not care as much about the sleighs. And there is fascinating material and in douglasss magazine in which months by months, going after lincoln. And he is concerned that lincoln wants to colonize blacks, to central america. So, the revision as part of my reading is that this was a more prickly relationship than has been previously been thought. That does not mean that by 1865, that these people have not profoundly influenced each other. I think that is also there. I think it is one of the more fascinating stories about the civil war, this particular relationship. Lincoln was keeping an eye on douglass. In the early 1860s and reading what he was saying, there is evidence of that. And douglass was following the lincolndouglass debates Stephen Douglass debates in 18 58. To make a long argument short, my book is that there are more profound Human Connection between Frederick Douglass and john brown than there is between Frederick Douglass and lincoln. At least to the time of the second inauguration. Still see profound influences on both sides, and the lincoln is a fascinating gives, speaking of great speeches, he gives some great speeches about lincoln and about his love of lincoln and about lincoln as a great savior of the country. It is a complex, prickly and still very moving relationship between these two great figures. Than you. Another question . I have a quick question that may be anyone on the panel can answer. One is about the relationship between douglass and Harriet Tubman, because they were both from the Eastern Shore. Although they were from different counties. I am not sure about the dates on that. I thoughtecond one is, more about this over the years as i have studied african American History, my history, when douglass was making his speeches about slavery, what were thoughts of native americans . What did douglass think about the status of late americans native americans, because slaves were not citizens, free blacks were not citizens and native americans were not citizens. So we had three categories where there was no citizenship. Back to harry tubman, since harry todman is real big right now uHarriet Tubman is real big in dorchester county. Did they meet, did they have similar thoughts . Know tooine i dont much about his relationship with harriet taubman. They knew each other and spent time together. In particular when Frederick Douglass lives in rochester new york, he is fairly close to the canadian border. And wheres Harry Taubman trying to take the people she is helping across that border . Shes going to rochester staying at the douglass home. And ive seen in our collection, we have a collection of jects thatof ob belong to Frederick Douglass. Among them is one biography on Harriet Tubman. We know that Frederick Douglass included collected other peoples narratives and that included Harriet Tubman. Dont rememberi him commenting on Harriet Tubman in his autobiography, which is why have not explored that relationship. Douglass was always someone who forued for citizenship people who were disenfranchised. And i think very powerfully, not to deflect too far away from your question, but in the 1870s, the 1890s, the time of his death, he was are going for Citizen Rights for Asian Americans for socalled coolies. That put them in the real minority of voices during that time. Know less about his interest or champion of native americans. More about other immigrants who he was championing for citizenship and was arguing for Voting Rights for women. Excepted accepted the constitutional amendments that initially gave black men and not white women the right to vote. And that led to extraordinary friction for a couple of years between douglass and womens rights advocates. And not just with the native americans but we know for sure the mexicans as well as women. And he became very famous in ireland because of the oppression some of the irish were having there. They look to do frederick writings for inspiration and hope. And when he was overseas there, he was very famous for speaking to what was happening with them. But he did, his speeches and his ideas did inspire and connect to people outside of africanamericans. He did have a relationship with Harriet Tubman. Somehere were letters or kind of correspondence between the two of them, and i believe she sent him a gift of one of her walking sticks. And he also had probably even more of an internet friendship with sojourner truth. An internet friendship. Prof. Levine good question. Was wondering, slavery,etts made outlawed slavery almost immediately after independence. And some of the other states felt it was incompatible with what looked coercion of independence also seemed Like Washington and jefferson were aware that slavery, supporting slavery was hypocritical. But it looks like more than just simple hypocrisy. Greed, the lifestyle they wanted to maintain, overrode what we are aware of. How, by the time douglass was speaking, how much had that, does it seem like the south had convinced itself totally that they were justified or were they still aware to some degree that that there was hypocrisy there . The think generally so, context and as circumstances changed by the time that douglass gives his speech. Some of the Founding Fathers maybe did see that maybe that if slavery did not extend, it would die, but they could not perceive the cotton gin. Ee thatuld not fores would slave traders would bring a lot more slaves into the country. Really strengthened the nation and the south in particulars commitment to slavery. They could not personally that that but we know that by douglasss generation, the Founding Fathers called slavery and necessary people. By the time of douglass, they are referring to it as a positive good, good socially, economically and politically for the country. Prof. Levine by the 1830s, slavery was not going to go away in the south. I recently held a visiting fellowship at a Southern University where they are all saying, you know what . Why did they fight the civil war . Slavery was going to end naturally. I dont see that. Slavery did not just and in the northeast in any kind of natural too. There is no specific moment in massachusetts where they said, slavery is over. It was like a series of court cases through the late 18th century. New yorkas legal in state until 1827, which is kind of remarkable. New jersey had slaves up to the 1840s. So, when douglass is concerned about the nationalizing of slavery to the fugitive slave law, you can also look to the north. And even in places where there was not slavery like philadelphia, there is extraordinary segregation and racial strife. Proslavery where people can say to black people, run away to philadelphia at your peril. You are not going to meet a very nice state. 1780s son in the in the state of virginia he imagines the end of slavery. By the 1810s, 20s, that is over. Interestingly, washington freeze his slaves on his death. Slaves. His it did not do much in virginia beyond being a symbolic action. It was really about the money. About the money that slavery i mean, just think about it. If i am a slave owner, and each of you are on my plantation, and everything that you are doing is free labor, imagine what that does for me and imagine what it can do for economy an economy. Lincolns argument to frederick was, you know, we can look toward ending slavery but it will take at least 100 years. So, lincolns idea of ending it was we will end it but hell have to be set up two and 100 years later because nobody could, connect with the idea of it just abruptly ending. And so, a lot of times we forget about the economic part of the reason why slavery existed. As slavery still exists today. Women, withn, with one of the things i think frederick of us would have stood up for in this day, the injustice in the criminal system. Criminal justice system. The injustice in the prison system. Frederick duckworth would have been just as controversial today as he was yesterday Frederick Douglass would have been just as controversial as a relates to some of the things that we are experiencing right now. There is slave labor that is going on right under our noses right now. And the reason why it is here is because of the money that it brings in. In so that is the reason why. I believe that it was hard for them to let go during that time because it is hard for us to let go of this today. And just as we do not know much about it, and we kind of look the other way, it is how the public was looking away and did not know much about it back during that time and it took people like Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd garrison, john brown and many others to bring it to public attention of what was actually going on. And then you go to other countries, and there is chattel slavery in other countries. That concludes the program. [applause] thank you very much everybody for coming. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] thank you. A look now at 94th of lineup here on cspan. Coming up, a debate over u. S. Rights, in particular whether Law Enforcement should have access to Online Customer information. Former president barack obama receives the jfk profile in courage award for his work on health care and climate change. After that, a discussion on american patriotism in a free society, what that means, and how it might be changing. Later, Army Special Ops special agent gary lynn foot of the how he became the first veteran to use and access going exoskeleton lo