Frederick Douglass: First Editorial of the North Star

Questions for Further Study

• 1. Why do you believe Douglass came to question the views of the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and move away to more independent positions? To what extent did this fissure represent a broader fissure between white and black abolitionists?
• 2. Many, if not virtually all, abolitionist tracts and newspapers were published in the northern states (such as New York and Massachusetts), where slavery was no longer practiced. This was particularly the case in Rochester, New York, where abolitionist sentiment was already strong. How effective would these publications have been in the South, where opinions about slavery had to be changed?
• 3. Frederick Douglass is arguably the most famous abolitionist from this era, one whose name is still widely recognized. Why do you believe he was able to attain this stature?
• 4. In the modern era, Douglass is regarded as important not only as an abolitionist but also as a man of letters. His writings are regarded as an important part of American literature from the nineteenth century, alongside the more literary works of Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and others. Why do you think his writings are held in such regard?
• 5. What impact did the Mexican-American War and the Wilmot Proviso have on Douglass and on the abolition movement? Why?