FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO HORATIO C. NEWCOMB¹The Indianapolis Daily Journal was a periodical founded by 1825 by John Douglas. The paper changed hands several times over the years, and in the winter of 1866 it was sold to John’s sons, Samuel and James, along with Alexander Connor. During this period, Horatio C. Newcomb (1821– 82) was editor of the Journal. Newcomb, a former Republican mayor of Indianapolis and representative in the Indiana General Assembly, later served as a state senator, judge, and commissioner of the Indiana Supreme Court. William R. Holloway, Indianapolis: A Historical and Statistical Sketch of the Railroad City (Indianapolis, Ind., 1870); Indiana Legislator Database (online).

Ypsilanti, Mich. 18 January 1867.

MR. EDITOR:

Speaking of FREDERICK DOUGLASS, in your paper of the 16th, you say:
“He forced an association of whites and blacks, to which neither had any
inclination.”²The lecture was one of two that Douglas gave on 14 and 15 January 1867 to an integrated audience of members of the local Young Men’s Christian Association at Morrison’s Opera Hall. These speeches, “Sources of Danger to the Republic” and “An Appeal for Impartial Suffrage,” were delivered repeatedly and eventually published. The Daily Journal complained in an editorial about Douglass’s insistence that his audience be integrated. Indianapolis Daily Journal, 8, 9, 15, 16 January 1867. Pardon me; is this a fair statement? Is not the opposite of this
the simple truth? Was not the very thing to which I objected? Did I
do anything more than ask the committee to allow “whites and blacks” to
follow their own inclinations? Were there not more colored people in the
gallery at my second lecture than at my first? Does not the fact that such
was the case prove that “” may be trusted to manage
such matters without the intervention of either way?

I object to your reflections upon my part in this matter on another
ground. You represent me as demanding for the negro. I
must also ask is this quite fair? What is social equality? Does it consist of
being in the same hall, and on the same floor, listening to the same lecture? Do you regard every man as socially equal with you because you are
on the same floor at church, market, hall or elsewhere? Do not character,
wealth and intelligence control the matter of social relations? When we
meet in a public hall do not we meet as citizens, as the public, rich and
poor, noble and ignoble, standing upon a common footing? And is not this
well? But is it not quite another thing to force me into with all
I meet as equal citizens in street or hall? My parlor, and my table, and my
hand are my own, and I can choose my own friends and associates, and

you have the same right; but when you go into a public hall you venture
beyond your parlor limits, and your right ends where that of another man
begins. I am obliged to your criticisms of my style, and hope to profit by
them.

Respectfully yours,

FREDERICK DOUG LASS.

PLSr: Indianapolis , 23 January 1867.