Jonah Patel
Frederick Douglass's beliefs about the US Constitution evolved over time, but it always held a powerful and enduring place in his career. Initially, Douglass disagreed with his fellow Garrisonian abolitionists, who believed the Constitution was a pro-slavery document. He argued that the Constitution was not inherently pro-slavery and that the true way to abolish slavery was to vote for men who would use their power to abolish it. After the Civil War, Douglass focused on advocating for Black citizenship and suffrage, believing that providing Black men the right to vote would be a social recognition of them as men and legitimize them as a moral force in society. The recent amendments to the Constitution, which established that all people were entitled to civil rights, created a new paradigm for Douglass, and he continued to view the Constitution as an ideal that the country had yet to fulfill.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Belief in the Constitution as a valid document | Yes |
| Support for the Fifteenth Amendment | Yes |
| Support for Black male suffrage | Yes |
| Support for women's suffrage | Yes |
| Interpretation of the Constitution | Antislavery |
| View of the Garrisonians | Denounced them as conflating the policies of the existing U.S. government with the Constitution itself |
| View of the U.S. government | Proslavery |
| View of the Constitution | The ideal to which the country had yet to fulfill |
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What You'll Learn
- Frederick Douglass believed the US Constitution was a valid document
- He used it as a tool to advocate for the freedom and civil rights of African Americans
- He supported the Fifteenth Amendment and Black male suffrage
- He disagreed with Garrisonians who believed the Constitution was pro-slavery
- He urged people to read the Constitution's text precisely and not interpret it as pro-slavery
Frederick Douglass believed the US Constitution was a valid document
Frederick Douglass believed that the US Constitution was a valid document. He saw it as a powerful tool in his fight for freedom and civil rights for African Americans and women. While some of his fellow abolitionists, like William Lloyd Garrison, denounced the Constitution as a "covenant with death, and an agreement with hell", Douglass took a different approach. He argued that the Constitution did not guarantee the right to hold property in men and that the true way to abolish slavery was to vote for men who would use their power to end it.
Douglass's belief in the Constitution as a valid document was shaped by his interpretation of its clauses. He urged people to read the text of the Constitution precisely, pointing out that certain clauses, like the so-called Fugitive Slave Clause, did not actually mention "fugitive slaves" when read accurately. Douglass's commitment to the Constitution led to fractures in some of his long-term relationships with women's rights allies, as they disagreed over the Fifteenth Amendment and black male suffrage.
Despite these conflicts, Douglass remained steadfast in his view of the Constitution as an ideal that the country had yet to fulfil. He saw the recent amendments as creating a new paradigm, establishing that all people, regardless of race, were entitled to civil rights. Douglass's pragmatic approach to the Constitution was influenced by the changing realities of Black life, especially in the South, in the aftermath of the Civil War. He recognised that the amendments alone would not protect African Americans from poverty, violence, or disenfranchisement.
In his advocacy for Black citizenship and suffrage, Douglass understood the importance of demonstrating that Black people were human. Providing Black men with the right to vote would be a social recognition of their humanity and legitimise them as a moral force in nineteenth-century society. Douglass's belief in the validity of the Constitution guided his career and shaped his efforts to create a more just and equitable nation.
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He used it as a tool to advocate for the freedom and civil rights of African Americans
Frederick Douglass believed that the United States Constitution was a valid document and used it as a tool to advocate for the freedom and civil rights of African Americans. He saw the Constitution as an ideal that the country had yet to fulfil.
Initially, Douglass was at odds with his fellow Garrisonian abolitionists, who believed that the Constitution was a pro-slavery document. They refused to vote or hold office under it, denouncing those who did as pro-slavery. However, Douglass disagreed with this interpretation, arguing that it conflated the pro-slavery policies of the US government with the Constitution itself. He urged people to read the text of the Constitution, which did not mention "slave trade", "slave insurrections", or "three-fifths representation of slaves".
Douglass believed that the way to abolish slavery in America was to vote for men who would use their moral and political influence to end it. He supported the Fifteenth Amendment and Black male suffrage, recognising that providing Black men the right to vote would be a social recognition of them as men and a legitimisation of them as a moral force in society.
Despite the amendments creating a new paradigm, Douglass constantly reconsidered his ideas about the Constitution as the realities of Black life in the South changed. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments did not protect African Americans from poverty, violence, or disenfranchisement. Nevertheless, Douglass remained committed to using the Constitution as a tool to advocate for the freedom and civil rights of African Americans.
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He supported the Fifteenth Amendment and Black male suffrage
Frederick Douglass's beliefs about the US Constitution evolved over time, and he eventually committed to his belief in the Constitution as a valid document. He used it as a tool to advocate for the freedom and civil rights of African Americans.
Douglass's support for the Fifteenth Amendment and Black male suffrage is a key example of his evolving constitutional beliefs. The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. This issue of suffrage for Black men was of paramount importance to Douglass. It was about more than just obtaining the right to vote; it was about social recognition of Black people as human and as moral agents in society.
Douglass's support for the Fifteenth Amendment caused a fracture in his relationships with some of his allies, particularly White female suffragists. They disagreed with his prioritization of Black male suffrage over universal women's suffrage. Despite this conflict, Douglass remained steadfast in his support for the Amendment, recognizing that it was a crucial step towards racial equality and social recognition for African Americans.
In the aftermath of the Civil War, Douglass adopted a realistic perspective on the challenges facing African Americans. He acknowledged that the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments did not automatically protect African Americans from poverty, violence, or disenfranchisement. Nonetheless, these amendments represented a significant shift in the legal framework, establishing that all people, regardless of race, were entitled to civil rights under the Constitution.
Douglass's interpretation of the Constitution was influenced by his critique of pro-slavery constitutionalism. He disagreed with the Garrisonians, who denounced the Constitution as a pro-slavery document and refused to participate in the political process. Douglass argued that the way to abolish slavery was to vote for men who would use their moral and political influence to end it. He believed that the Constitution, when interpreted precisely, did not inherently support slavery and could be used as a tool to advocate for freedom and civil rights.
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He disagreed with Garrisonians who believed the Constitution was pro-slavery
The United States Constitution played a powerful and enduring role in the career of Frederick Douglass. Initially, Douglass disagreed with his fellow Garrisonian abolitionists. Garrisonians were advocates of the direct emancipation of slaves in America without compensation to their owners. They were committed to nonviolence and non-political means of abolishing slavery. They believed in providing "light" on the issue, particularly to people in the free states.
However, Douglass later committed to his belief in the Constitution as a valid document and used it as a tool to advocate for the freedom and civil rights of African Americans and women. He viewed the Constitution as an ideal that the country had yet to fulfill.
Douglass's support for the Fifteenth Amendment and Black male suffrage caused a rift with some of his White female allies and other Garrisonians. The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. For Douglass, this was about more than just obtaining the right to vote for Black men. It was about demonstrating that Black people were human and legitimizing them as a moral force in society.
Despite the conflicts with his allies, Douglass remained committed to his interpretation of the Constitution. He constantly reconsidered his ideas as the realities of Black life, especially in the South, changed. The amendments established that through the Constitution, African Americans and all people were entitled to civil rights.
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He urged people to read the Constitution's text precisely and not interpret it as pro-slavery
Frederick Douglass believed that the United States Constitution was a valid document and used it as a tool to advocate for the freedom and civil rights of African Americans and women. Initially, Douglass was at odds with his fellow Garrisonian abolitionists, who believed that the Constitution was a pro-slavery document. However, Douglass urged people to read the text of the Constitution precisely and not interpret it as pro-slavery.
In his speeches, Douglass argued that the Garrisonian attack on the Constitution conflated the policies of the existing US government, which were indeed pro-slavery, with the Constitution itself. He claimed that when individuals referred to certain clauses, they were paraphrasing the text and giving it a pro-slavery twist that was not present in the actual document. For example, the so-called Fugitive Slave Clause, when read precisely, makes no mention of "fugitive slaves". Similarly, the Domestic Insurrections Clause does not refer to "slave insurrections". Douglass urged his listeners to read the text of the Constitution and notice that there is no mention of the "slave trade", "slave insurrections", or "three-fifths representation of slaves".
Despite his disagreements with the Garrisonians, Douglass also interpreted the Constitution beyond its written text. He believed that the true way to abolish slavery in America was to vote for individuals who would exert their moral and political influence for the abolition of slavery. Douglass's views on the Constitution evolved as the realities of Black life in the South changed. He supported the Fifteenth Amendment and Black male suffrage, even though this stance opposed some of his White female allies and fractured long-term relationships.
Douglass recognized that the recent amendments, including the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, did not protect African Americans from poverty, violence, or disenfranchisement. However, these amendments established a new paradigm by legally entitling African Americans and all people to civil rights. Douglass's commitment to the Constitution as a valid document remained strong, and he continued to view it as an ideal that the country had yet to fulfill.
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Frequently asked questions
Frederick Douglass believed that the US Constitution was a valid document that could be used as a tool to advocate for the freedom and civil rights of African Americans and women.
Douglass disagreed with the Garrisonians, who believed that the Constitution was a pro-slavery document. Douglass argued that the Constitution did not guarantee the right to hold property in men, and that the way to abolish slavery was to vote for men who would use their power to abolish it.
Douglass argued that the Fugitive Slave Clause did not mention "fugitive slaves" when read precisely. He urged his listeners to read the text of the Constitution and notice the absence of any mention of the "slave trade" or "slave insurrections."
Douglass constantly reconsidered his ideas about the Constitution as the realities of Black life in the South changed after the Civil War. While he initially supported the Fifteenth Amendment and Black male suffrage, he later recognized that the amendments did not protect African Americans from poverty, violence, or disenfranchisement.
