Old Men Can Be as Bashful as Young Men: An Address Delivered in Washington, D.C., on February 28, 1888
OLD MEN CAN BE AS BASHFUL AS YOUNG MEN:
AN ADDRESS DELIVERED IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
ON 28 FEBRUARY 1888
Washington , 29 February 1888. Other texts in Cleveland , 24 March
1888; Speech File, reel 16. frames 252-55, 256, FD Papers, DLC.
The Bethel Literary and Historical Association organized a public celebration
of Douglass’s birth at Washington’s Metropolitan A.M.E. Church on 28 Feb-
ruary 1888. By 8 P.M., according to the Washington , the church was
“crowded with the many admirers of the foremost man of the colored race.
Many of his white friends were among the throng.” Several members of
Congress sat on the platform and representatives of social, political, and
military organizations occupied special seats. John W. Cromwell, president of
the association, presided and opened the proceedings by introducing the
Reverend James A. Handy who offered prayer. After Cromwell briefly re-
viewed Douglass’s life, numerous letters from persons unable to attend the
celebration were read. William H. H. Hart, Professor Francis L. Cardozo,
and the Reverend F. M. Jacobs then delivered short speeches. At this point
Douglass entered the church and the choir sang “Auld Lang Syne.” Students
from various local black schools made brief speeches and Kate Wall of the
Miner Normal School read selections from Douglass’s writings. Next, Kate
C. Lewis presented Douglass with a bouquet of seventy-one roses and the
church Sunday school presented him with photographs of the church. The
main portion ofthe evening’s events began with brief addresses by Theophilus
G. Stewart, Walter H. Brooks, and George W. Lee, Douglass then spoke.
After the benediction, Douglass and his wife attended a reception in the
basement of the church. Washington , 25, 29 February
1888; Washington , 29 February 1888; Cromwell, , 18-19.
Upon invitation, Mr. Douglass then came to the front of the stage, and
twirling his spectacles between his thumb and finger, pleasantly began: “I
am glad to see you here this evening, extremely glad; and I am glad to see
on my right and left these distinguished gentlemen. I am very happy to see
that Senator, I was going to say that noble Senator, who is the author, not of
the fugitive slave bill, but of the Blair bill.1Henry William Blair. A man whom neither ridicule,
sophistry, nor the denunciation of the press has been able to turn from his
course. I see something in that man that reminds me of that other great man
who should never be forgotten in any assembly of colored men, the Hon.
Chas. Sumner.
THE CELEBRATION.
“But,” he continued, in a conversational tone, “I understand from
some things that have occured since I came in that you have been celebrat-
ing my seventy-first birthday. What in the world have you been doing that
for? Why Frederick Douglass
NEVER HAD A BIRTHDAY.
That day was taken from him long before he had the means of owning it.
Birthdays belong to free institutions. We, at the South, never knew them.
We were born at times—harvest times, watermelon times, and generally
hard times. I never knew anything about the celebration of a birthday
except Washington’s birthday, and it seems a little strange to have mine
celebrated. I think it is hardly safe to celebrate any man’s birthday while he
lives. I have had children named after me, but don’t name any of yours after
me. They never live, and besides accidents happen to the best of men. For
many reasons it would have been more in accordance with my feelings to
sit quietly and not offer a remark, and yet I would have felt slighted I
suppose if I had not been asked to say something. Still I have a feeling of
timidity, for old men can be bashful as well as young men.
WHY IT WAS DONE.
“But I understand it all,” he continued, with a change of tone. “This
demonstration does not mean that Frederick Douglass has more ability than
thousands of other colored men. I know what you mean by this splendid
assemblage, by the presence of these dear little children, by these gifts of
beautiful flowers. I know it means that you consider that I have been a
faithful, inflexible, unflagging, and persistent worker in the cause of liber-
ty and of
THE ELEVATION OF THE COLORED PEOPLE.
You are asserting a principle, recognizing one man among many, who has
seen fit to devote fifty years of his life to the cause of our Oppressed and still
slandered people.” These last few sentences were delivered with the fire
and spirit which have made Fred. Douglass’ reputation as an orator world
wide. But, resuming his conversational tone again, he continued: “I thank
you, my friends and members of the Bethel Association,2African Methodist Episcopal bishop Daniel A. Payne founded the Bethel Literary and Historical Association on 9 November 1881 as a cultural and educational institution for blacks in Washington, D.C. The association sponsored a weekly series of lectures each winter season on literary, religious, political, historical, and numerous other topics. Although professional lecturers occasionally appeared on its platform, most speakers came from the Washington black community, including Douglass, Mary Ann Shadd Cary, George W. Williams, Kelly Miller, Mary Church Terrell, and scores of other ministers, educators, and govcmment functionaries. The association's lecture series grew quite popular, and speakers such as Douglass could attract local whites as well as blacks to the audience. Douglass's son, Charles, served as the president of the group for a number of years and delivered several of his own addresses there. Cromwell, ; Green, , 123, 150-51. for this notice of
my seventy-first anniversary, and I thank you for the splendid manner you
have turned out to show your appreciation of the humble labors I have
performed.”
Again raising his voice, he said: “I ask my friends on the platform, Mr.
Gorham,3One of the forty-niner immigrants to California, George Congdon Gorham (1832-1909) was born in Greenport, New York, and educated in public schools at New London, Connecticut. In the 1850s, he alternated between town government posts in Marysville, California, and journalistic efforts on behalf of the Douglas wing of the Democratic party. Gorham was one of the founders of the state's Union party when the Civil War began and was appointed superintendent of state reform schools (1862-63) and clerk of the U.S. circuit court (1863-67). An opponent of Chinese immigration, he had the support of most California black leaders when he won the Union party's gubernatorial nomination in 1867. Rumors of corrupt ties to railroad and waterfront shipping interests, however, caused many Unionists to refuse to vote for Gorham, and the Democratic candidate triumphed. Gorham shortly thereafter moved to Washington, D.C., where he served as secretary of the U.S. Senate (1868-79) and California's representative on the Republican National Committee (1868-80). From 1880 to 1884, he edited the Washington and frequently interacted with Douglass in local political activities. George C. Gorham to Douglass, 17 April 1888, General Correspondence File, reel 4, frames 768-71, FD Papers, DLC; Royce D. Delmatier, Clarence F. Mclntosh, and Earl G. Waters, eds., (New York, 1970), 25, 33, 56-58, 72; [Hubert Howe Bancroft], , 39 vols. (San Francisco, 1883-90), 24: 323. Senator Blair, and Mr. Baker,4Douglass calls on Charles Simeon Baker (1839-1902), the U.S. representative (1885-91) from the district which included Douglass’s old hometown of Rochester, New York. Born in Churchville, Monroe County, New York, Baker had studied in local academies and commenced a law practice in Rochester in 1860. Disabled in fighting at the First Battle of Bull Run, he returned to his legal career and later represented Rochester in the state assembly (1879-82) and state senate (1884-85) as a Republican. Baker and Douglass apparently were on cordial terms during the former's years in Congress. Charles S. Baker to Douglass, 24 August [?], General Correspondence File, reel 8, frame 588, FD Papers, DLC; (Boston, 1895), 453; , 505. to look on this audience—look at
them—I can say as Daniel Webster once said of Bunker Hill Monument—
‘There it stands; it looks; it speaks; it acts.’5Douglass slightly misquotes Daniel Webster’s speech at the dedication of the Bunker Hill Monument on 17 June 1843, , 1: 262. Gentlemen, look at these
people, and think of the depravity, and the obduracy that ever reduced men
like these, women like these, children like these, to the condition of
slaves! I can say, when they were slaves I plead for them. When they were
soldiers I asked for them equal treatment and payment with other soldiers.
REMEMBER AND FORGET.
“We are often told not to look back over the past. Well, perhaps there is
too much of the past. But remember that all the present rests on all the past.
Remember is as good a word as forget. Every thing has some mode of
teaching wisdom. Every foot leaves its print, every wheel its track, and
every keel its mark in the water, and every step in the great progress of a
people leaves a mark to tell us when the proper course has been kept. I am
delighted with what I see, notwithstanding the lowering clouds in the
South. I know that the lamp of education is being lighted all over the South
and the
COLORED MAN IS BEING EDUCATED.
“We are not to be measured by the height to which the Caucasian race
ascends, but by the depths from which we have come. I never come to the
table and see those good old-fashioned Maryland bisquit[s] ready for me,
that I am not reminded of the times when I used to fight with the dogs for
the crumbs under the table.
MARKS OF THE LASH.
“They used to tell me up in New England not to refer to the stripes on
my back. But when I remembered that such a great man as Paul had told of
the stripes he had received,62 Cor. 11: 23-25. I thought why should a little fellow like me be
ashamed to acknowledge that I had been flogged. This occasion, my
friends, is one that has stirred a sentiment in my heart that no words can
express. I can only say to you all I thank you and assure you that this mark
of appreciation and respect, if deserved by my actions in the past, shall not,
if God help me, be forfeited by any act of mine in the short time that is left
to me.”