He revealed this on a more social level in his Address at the Annual Meeting of the American Missionary Association. At that meeting he remarked:
It [the "Negro problem"] is, however, not a white man?s problem or a black man?s problem, but a great national problem which involves the honor or dishonor, the glory or the shame, of the whole American people, and within their power to solve in one way or the other…(23)
In this speech, Douglass proposed to the world that all Americans work together to overcome all their hardships. He tried to resolve the problem by asking that the two races try to coexist under the same government and try to work out the problems with each other. He told the people that the power was within their hands and it was up to them to use it. Because Douglass was determined to prove that blacks and whites could work together, he re-committed himself to fight for racial integration.
Conclusion:
Douglass did many things after Reconstruction, which proved his true commitment to racial integration. His marriage to Helen Pitts, a white woman, in 1886, proved his sincerity in his resolution. Although many opposed to this marriage, he decided that it could be an example that the two races can co-exist equally and be happy. Douglass?s argument after the war was that because American society had succumbed to prejudices, the country would not prosper fully until everyone was treated with equal opportunity.
By the end of Douglass?s life in 1895, his ideas on racial integration had evolved from radical to optimistic to pessimistic to resolute. These changes occurred because of the experiences that Frederick Douglass lived though and the failures that he witnessed. Douglass never, though, abandoned the movement of rights for his people. He stated about his association with anti-slavery groups, “When it [slavery] was abolished this Association [American Missionary Association] did not disband or discontinue its work, but went forward as earnestly as ever to advance, enlighten and elevate the colored people of the South”. (24) When slavery was abolished, Douglass knew that his purpose was not yet served. He knew that he, of all people, could not give up on the black race, and because of that he overcame the hardships, and spent the rest of his life fighting for the equal rights of black citizens.
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Secondary Sources
Africans in America. “Frederick Douglass”. [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html]
This is a series of many aspects of Douglass?s life with many direct quotations by Douglass.
Graham, Shirley. There was Once a Slave?.New York: Julian Messner, Inc., 1947.
This is a biography of Frederick Douglass, focusing especially on his significance as an abolitionist.
McFeely, William S. Frederick Douglass. London: W.W. Norton & Co., 1991.
This Pulitzer Prize-winning historian focuses on the many personalities of Frederick Douglass, whom he terms ” a courageous fighter? a brilliant evocative writer and speaker, a wickedly gifted satirist, and a handsome and charismatic leader.”
Quarles, Benjamin. Frederick Douglass. New York: Atheneum, 1974.
This is a biography of Frederick Douglass focusing on how his life affected his message.
Russell, Sharman Apt. Frederick Douglass. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers. 1988.
This is part of a series on African-American men and women written by the Black Americans of Achievement and edited by Abolitionist Sharman Apt Russell. This biography is for young adults. It includes photographs, art, and documents. This biography also includes an inspirational essay, “On Achievement”, by Coretta Scott King.
Smithsonian. ” Historians commemorate political reformer Frederick Douglass”. [http://www.si.edu/resource/topics/research/african.htm]
This is a very brief biography of the life of Frederick Douglass.
Thomas, Sandra. “Frederick Douglass”. [http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/douglass/HOME.html]
This is the main menu for different parts of Thomas?s biography of Douglass.
. “Life After the 13th Amendment”. [http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/douglass/HOME.html]
This part of Thomas?s analysis is about the life of Douglass after slavery ended, telling of his new mission of racial integration.
Primary Sources
Douglass,Frederick.”An American Slave”
This document is a primary source written by Frederick Douglass himself.
Douglass, Frederick. “An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage”
[http.www.toptags.com/arma/voices/commentary/appeal.htm]
This document is a primary source written by Frederick Douglass himself. As the title says, this is an appeal to Congress for impartial suffrage. What is especially important about this document is the message he conveys.