FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH

Washington[,] D.C. 8 Oct[ober] 1874.

MY DEAR GERRIT SMITH:

During the thirty and six years of my freedom from slavery¹Douglass dates his freedom from his successful escape from bondage in Maryland in September 1838, rather than on his manumission, purchased from Hugh Auld in December 1846. Douglass Papers, ser. 2, 3: 151–57, 199–200. you have
made me thankful for many good words from your pen—but I remember
nothing in the past for which I am more grateful than for your last circular.²Douglass probably refers to Smith’s election circular entitled Every Vote for Mr. Tilden Helps to Bring on the Ruin of the Country by Helping to Restore the Democratic Party to Power (Peterboro, N.Y. [1874]). You have placed the question of Tilden³The Democratic presidential nominee in 1876, Samuel Jones Tilden (1814–86) was long active in New York politics and played a leading role in the exposure and overthrow of the Tweed ring, which had robbed the New York City government of millions in the early 1870s. Born in New Lebanon, New York, Tilden briefly attended several colleges before commencing a lucrative legal career in New York City. Elected governor of New York in 1874, he reduced governmental expenditures and enhanced his reputation as a reformer by curbing corruption in the state canal system. Following his defeat in the disputed election with Rutherford B. Hayes, Tilden retired from public life. Alexander Clarke Flick, Samuel Jones Tilden: A Study in Political Sagacity (New York, 1939); Sobel and Raimo, Governors of the United States, 3: 1087–88; DAB, 18: 537–41. and Dix⁴A strong supporter of Andrew Jackson, John Adams Dix (1798–1879) entered New York politics as adjutant general and then gained a reputation as a champion of education as secretary of state (1833–39). In 1845, the New York legislature appointed him to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Silas Wright upon Wright’s election as governor. A protégé of Martin Van Buren, Dix supported the Wilmot Proviso, but was not considered an opponent of slavery on moral grounds. In 1848, Dix followed Van Buren into the Free Soil party, becoming its gubernatorial candidate. In 1852 he returned to the Democratic party and campaigned heavily for Franklin Pierce, but he received no political appointments until the end of the decade, when President James Buchanan made him U.S. postmaster general. In 1860 he ran as a Constitutional Unionist for governor of New York, arguing that southerners were not secessionists. In early 1861, Dix served as secretary of the treasury, and soon after the outbreak of war, Abraham Lincoln appointed him a general in the army. ANB (online). fairly before the the
people of New York—and I find in your words not only the wisdom of age
but the vigor of youth. I am very glad you were able to write that circular.

That the best man is the worst man to vote for if he is bound up in the
worst party—will startle—I have no doubt, but <it> is a pregnant truth

amply supported by history. Some of the worst things recorded have been
done with the best intentions, and by the best men. I have placed a letter
in the hands of Mr Conway⁵Thomas W. Conway. who will probably call upon you soon, on the
subject of a national convention of the friends of Equal Civil and political
rights—which I hope you will see and approve.

Mr Conway has done good service to the cause of the colored people
of the south. He has said the right word in favor of Equal Civil Rights—
and a good true man.

Unless the call can be influentially signed and attended I think it better not be held. The names of prominent abolitionists—such as yourself

Garrison⁶William Lloyd Garrison. and Phillips⁷Wendell Phillips.—would at once be an assurance of character and
earnestness in the movement.

Very truly your friend

FREDK DOUGLASS

ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU.