Folder 1

This collection consists of two letters by Frederick Douglass, and a reproduction of a third letter.

Correspondence includes a November 1890 letter written from the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C. to his friend Lucy N. Coleman. In it Douglass mentions his role in "putting an end to that barbarian under Zion church." Douglass also laments being "on the wrong side of seventy."

Also included is an eight-page letter written from the Hotel Britannique in Paris in November 1886 addressed to "friends Hayden and Watson." Douglass describes the Ethiopian Singers, who distort their language, manners, and physical features to appear "more akin to apes than to men." Douglass contrasts the attitudes toward people of color in Europe with those in the United States, which wield a great influence, saying "the leprose distillment of American prejudice against the Negro is not confined to the United States." He talks about meeting French abolitionist Victor Schoelcher, who was then writing a biography of Toussaint L'Ouverture. They spoke of American and French slavery, and of the unwillingness of Alexander Dumas to speak out on behalf of the enslaved: "I have not yet seen his statue here in Paris. I shall go to see it, as it is an acknowledgement of the genius of a colored man, but not because I honor the character of the man himself." Douglass notes that the abundant art in Paris have influenced his understanding of ethnology and would have better fortified his knowledge against pro-slavery agitators such as Josiah C. Nott and George Glidden. He also remarks on his visit to the French House of Deputies: "I saw no one squirting tobacco, smoking, or his feet above the level of his head as is sometimes seen in our National Legislature." He reports that he saw in the current day's news cable of the death of President Chester A. Arthur, and, while regrettable, "there is nothing in his career as President of the U.S. that proves him to have had any sympathy with the oppressed colored people of the South." Douglass also remarks on the assumed candidacy of James G. Blaine for presidency in 1888. He remarks on the Republican Party: "We have not gained all that we had a right to expect under it, but under it we gained all that we have."

The copy of a letter, written to John W. Hurn in 1882, mentions how Frederick Douglass' friendship and prior support of John Brown "could have been sufficient to hang me" and credits Hurn with saving his life during this period. All three letters in this collection are accompanied by typed transcriptions.