Frederick Douglass the Orator
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Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection FREDERICK DOUGLASS THE ORATOR. CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE; HIS EMINENT PUBLIC SERVICES; HIS BRILLIANT CAREER AS ORATOR; SELECTIONS FROM HIS SPEECHES AND WRITINGS. BY JAMES M. GREGORY, A. M., H PROFESSOR OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE, HOWARD UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, D. C. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY W. S. SCARBOROUGH, A. M., PROFESSOR NEW TESTAMENT, GREEK AND^ LITERATURE, PAYNE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, WlLBERFORCE, OHIO. ILLUSTRATED. SPRINGFIELD, MASS.: WILLBY COMPANY Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1893, BY JAMES M. GREGORY, A. M.» In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. SPRINGFIELD PRINTING AND BINDING COMPANY, BLECTROTYPBRS, PRINTERS AND BINDERS, SPRINGFIBLD, MASS. Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection TO THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE PASSED UNDER MY INSTRUCTION DURING THE LAST TWENTY YEARS THIS BIOGRAPHY OF AN EMINENT ORATOR AND A CHAMPION OF HUMAN FREEDOM IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED. Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection W. S. SCARBOROUGH. Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection INTRODUCTION. WHEN it was announced that Professor James M. Gregory of Howard University would edit a volume bearing upon some phase of the remark- able career of one of the most remarkable men of our times, the Hon. Frederick Douglass, all be- came expectant, and felt that a worthier chronicler of a worthier sire would be difficult to find. Both the writer of this volume and his hero as well are eminent citizens in their respective spheres, and will doubtless receive the respectful attention they merit—the former as a representa- tive of the younger generation, and hence the product of the new dispensation; the latter, of the older generation, but the product of two dispensa- tions, the old and the new. Professor James M. Gregory by education and by training is in a high. degree qualified for the task he has undertaken. Having passed through the Cleveland (O.) city schools, he became a stu- dent of Oberlin College, and then a graduate of Howard University, Waskington, D. C, where he took high honors. Immediately upon graduation he was-tfqade tutor of mathematics in the preparatory depart- Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection 6 INTRODUCTION. ment of his alma mater. After four years as instructor here he was made professor of Latin in the college department, and was for two successive years dean of that department. He was also in- structor of political economy and general history. Professor Gregory is a forcible writer, a fluent speaker, and an acceptable orator. Aside from this he is a man of sound judgment s and great executive ability. As an educator he ranks among the first and easily holds his own. He was the first executive officer of the American Associa- tion of Educators of Colored Youth, organized under the auspices of the alumni of Howard Uni- versity, and has since been annually re-elected to that important office. This in itself is conclusive proof of his eminent fitness for the position he holds. He also served as a member of the board of trustees of the Washington city public schools for six years, and during that time was chairman of the committee on teachers. Here as in other positions he distinguished himself by his efficient service and strict integrity. The hero of this volume is too well known for even a reference from me, but a few observations will not be out of keeping with the plan and scope of this wprk. Without exception* the most cele- brated negro now living is the Hon. Frederick Douglass, Born in the lap of slavery and reared Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection INTRODUCTION. 7 by slavery's fireside at least until he succeeded in making his escape from bondage, Mr. Douglass has demonstrated beyond contradiction the possi- bilities of his race even against the most fearful odds. There are other prominent colored men in America—doctors, lawyers, theologians, orators, statesmen, nd scholars—but none of them from a national standpoint has attained the celebrity or the prestige of the " Sage of Anacostia." The pious Mrs. Auid, when she was " learning Fred how to read," little suspected that she, in reality, was shaping the future of him (though then a slave and a member of one of the despised races) who in time was destined to become one of the most distinguished men of his generation. Thus it was. Mr. Douglass himself tells us, in his autobiog- raphy, that he made such rapid progress in master- ing the alphabet and in spelling words of three and four syllables, that his old master forbade his wife to teach him, declaring that learning would spoil the best " nigger " in the world, as it forever unfits him to be a slave. He added that he should know nothing but the will of his master, and should learn to obey it. As to Fred, learn- ing will do him no good, but a great deal of harm, making him disconsolate and unhappy. If you teach him how to read, he will want to know how to write, and this accomplished he will be run- Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection 8 INTRODUCTION; mrtg.kway,with!, himself.J; -Such in substance his old master's'opinion/and that it was a true prediction / the life and career of i Mr. Douglass, tvhkhihave beian fully told elsewhere, are a suffi- cient proof- ^,:Mr.;DQAjglass!s superior abilityas an orator and ag, a writer was* early recognized by the* friends of the irace^and from that day tajibhk: his services in behalf of his peoplehave ever been in demand. On the other .hand he has been ready to sacrifice his own r best antetes'tsj for his race, and he has not failed to.rriake; the sacrifice. He is a brilliant orator, a fluent talker, and an interesting conver- sationalist. He has an excellent memory, and can recall dates and facts of history with perfect ease. A day in his society is a rare treat, a privi- lege that might well be coveted by America's greatest citizens. The greatness of the man and the inspiration that comes from every word that he utters, make one wonder how it was possible for such a remarkable character to have ever been a slave; and, further, how even now it is possible for any discourtesies to be shown him because of his color. It is nevertheless true, however, that this distinguished American citizen must suffer with the rest of his fellows and share like indig- nities—and all because of his race. Socrates used to say that all men are suffi- ciently eloquent in that which they understand. Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection UJBTRCIMPCTION. 9 Gioeqci says that; though this is plausible, it is not strictly) true. He adds that no man can be elo- cfaent even if he understands the subject ever so well but is ignorant how to form and to polish his speech. We take these views for what they are worth, but venture to add that eloquence is a spon- taneous outburst of the human soul. The cause of the oppressed could not have found a more eloquent defender than Mr. Doug- lass. Himself oppressed and denied the rights and privileges of a freeman, he felt what he said and said what he felt. The negro's cause was his cause, and his cause was the negro's cause. In defending his people he was defending himself. It was here that the brilliancy of his oratorical powers was most manifest. It was here that he was most profoundly eloquent. Themistocles, Pericles, and Demosthenes may be said to represent the three ages of Greek eloquence. Themistocles was undoubtedly the greatest orator of Athens before the time of Per- icles. " His eloquence was characterized," says Cicero, " by precision and simplicity, penetrating acuteness, rapidity, and fertility of thought." Pericles was a finished orator, the most perfect type of his school, and was regarded by Cicero as the best specimen of the oratorical art of Athens —eloquentissimus Athenis Pericles. But the third representative was one whose oratorical greatness Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection lo INTRODUCTION. seemed destined to remain forever uneclipsed. In Demosthenes political eloquence in Greece culminated. He was without doubt the greatest of all Athenian orators, and, to use the language of Longinus, " his eloquence was like a terrible sweep of a vast body of cavalry." It mowed down everything before it. Certainly a noble ambition, if, as we learn else- where, the sole purposes for which he labored were to animate a people renowned for justice, humanity, and valor; to warn them of the dangers of luxury, treachery, and bribery, of the ambition and perfidy of a powerful foreign enemy; to recall the glory of their ancestors, to inspire them with resolution, vigor, and unanimity, to correct abuses, to restore discipline, to revive and restore the generous sentiments of patriotism and public spirit. Laudable as was this ambition, it was no more laudable than that which actuated Frederick Douglass during all the years of his active life. The scathing invectives and fiery eloquence of Mr. Douglass were the inevitable outcome of a soul longing for freedom in all that the term implies, not only for himself but for an oppressed race.