FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO GERRIT SMITH

Rochester, [N.Y.] 6 Nov[ember] 1852.

Gerrit Smith Esq.Smith, Gerrit

Gerrit Smith (1797– 1874), a New York businessman and land speculator, became best known for his philanthropic work for such reform causes as temperance and abolition. Between 1828 and 1835, he donated large sums of money to the American Colonization Society, but abandoned that movement in 1835 when his sympathies shifted to the immediate abolitionists. In the 1840s, he gave approximately 140,000 acres of land in upstate New York to three thousand black settlers, thus qualifying them to vote. Smith was a founder and frequent candidate of the Liberty party, running for governor of New York on that ticket in 1840 and winning a seat in Congress in 1852. When the Free Soil merger with moderate antislavery Democrats and Whigs lured away many Liberty party supporters, Smith helped bankroll that organization until 1860. Smith befriended Douglass when the latter moved to Rochester, and Smith frequently helped finance Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Like Douglass, Smith supported John Brown, but psychological stress caused by the failure at Harpers Ferry brought on the first of a series of bipolar episodes that greatly reduced his subsequent reform activities. Ralph Volney Harlow, Gerrit Smith: Philanthropist and Reformer (1939; New York, 1972); Gerald Sorin, The New York Abolitionists: A Case Study of Political Radicalism (Westport, Conn., 1971), 269– 87; Lewis Perry, Radical Abolitionism: Anarchy and the Government of God in Antislavery Thought (Ithaca, N.Y., 1973), 170– 80; John R. McKivigan and Madeleine Leveille, “The ‘Black Dream’ of Gerrit Smith, New York Abolitionist,” Syracuse University Library Associates Courier, 20:61– 76 (Fall 1985); NCAB , 2:322– 23; DAB, 17:270– 71.

MY DEAR SIR,

The cup of my joy is full. If my humble labors have in any measure contributed (as you kindly say they have) to your election,¹Smith won election to Congress in November 1852. He received 8,049 votes to 5,620 for the Whig candidate and 6,206 for the Democrat. NASS, 11 November 1852. I am most amply rewarded[.] You are now, thank heaven, within Sight and hearing of this guilty nation—for the rest I fear nothing. You will do the work of an apostle of Liberty. May God give you strength. Your election forms an era in the history of the great antislavery struggle. For the first time, a man will appear in the American Congress completely imbued with the spirit of freedom. Heretofore, vertue has had to ask pardon of vice. Our friends who have nobly spoken great truths in Congress, on the subject of slavery—have all of them found themselves in straits where they have been compelled, to disavow or qualify their abolitionism so as to seriously damage the beauty and force of their testimony. Not so will it be with you. Should your life and health be spared—(which blessings are devoutly prayed for) you will go into Congress with the “Jerry Level”²The term “Jerry level” originated in a campaign speech delivered by Gerrit Smith. On 12 August 1852 at a convention in Pittsburgh, Smith urged his supporters “to come up to the Jerry level” by denying the legality of slavery. In this case, Jerry refers to the widely publicized fugitive slave case known as the Jerry Rescue. In October 1851, the fugitive William “Jerry” McHenry was rescued following his arrest by two marshals in Syracuse, New York. The ensuing legal case and the term “Jerry level” became symbols of opposition to the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. In an editorial celebrating Smith’s election, Douglass remarked, “Our representative will go to Congress with the ‘JERRY LEVEL’ IN HIS HAND.” Another editorial admonished William H. Seward, Thurlow Weed, and Horace Greeley to “avow themselves to be on the 'Jerry level,' denying that slave laws have any validity.” FDP, 3 September, 12, 26 November 1852. in your hand—regarding slavery as “naked piracy”. You go to Congress, not by the grace of a party caucus, bestowed as a reward for party services; not by concealment, bargain, or compromise, but by the unbought suffrages of your fellow citizens acting independently of, and in defiance of party!

The odds against you were not insignificant. The DixesDix, John Adams

A strong supporter of Andrew Jackson, John Adams Dix (1798–1879) entered New York politics as adjutant general, 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 protege 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 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, 6:638–39. ³A strong supporter of Andrew Jackson, John Adams Dix (1798–1879) entered New York politics as adjutant general, 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 protege 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 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, 6:638–39. the WoodburysWoodbury, Levi

A Dartmouth graduate and a lawyer, Levi Woodbury (1789–1851) had a long career as a Democratic party politician. He served as governor of New Hampshire (1823–24) and then a term in the U.S. Senate (1825–31). Woodbury supported Andrew Jackson, who rewarded him with an appointment as Secretary of the Navy in 1831, then secretary of the Treasury in 1834. He remained secretary of the Treasury through the presidency of Martin Van Buren, then returned to the U.S. Senate in 1841. In 1845 James K. Polk appointed Woodbury to the Supreme Court. Although Woodbury was not a supporter of slavery, his strong support of states’ rights made him unpopular in antislavery circles. His most controversial ruling came in the 1847 case of Jones v. Van Zandt. In that decision, Woodbury upheld the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793, arguing that the act required strict enforcement to protect the property rights of slaveholders over their fugitive slaves. Woodbury also supported the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Law. Robert Sobel, Biographical Directory of the United States Executive Branch, 1774–1971 (Westport, Conn., 1971), 355; NCAB, 2:471–72; ANB, 23:792–94. ⁴A Dartmouth graduate and a lawyer, Levi Woodbury (1789–1851) had a long career as a Democratic party politician. He served as governor of New Hampshire (1823–24) and then a term in the U.S. Senate (1825–31). Woodbury supported Andrew Jackson, who rewarded him with an appointment as Secretary of the Navy in 1831, then secretary of the Treasury in 1834. He remained secretary of the Treasury through the presidency of Martin Van Buren, then returned to the U.S. Senate in 1841. In 1845 James K. Polk appointed Woodbury to the Supreme Court. Although Woodbury was not a supporter of slavery, his strong support of states’ rights made him unpopular in antislavery circles. His most controversial ruling came in the 1847 case of Jones v. Van Zandt. In that decision, Woodbury upheld the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793, arguing that the act required strict enforcement to protect the property rights of slaveholders over their fugitive slaves. Woodbury also supported the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Law. Robert Sobel, Biographical Directory of the United States Executive Branch, 1774–1971 (Westport, Conn., 1971), 355; NCAB, 2:471–72; ANB, 23:792–94. the StantonsStanton, Henry B.

After several years of attempting to forge an alliance between the Liberty party and the Barnburner faction of the Democratic party, Henry B. Stanton became a member of the Democratic party in 1849, under the mistaken impression that it was moving toward an antislavery position. He attempted to work within the Democratic party to convince it to oppose slavery. Abolitionist sentiment, however, affected only a small group of New York Democrats, and Stanton was ultimately unsuccessful. By 1854, after the Democrats had supported the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Stanton realized the error of his decision. In 1856 he joined the Republican party and attended its national convention in Philadelphia as a delegate. Arthur Harry Rice, “Henry B. Stanton as a Political Abolitionist” (Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1968), 286–352. ⁵After several years of attempting to forge an alliance between the Liberty party and the Barnburner faction of the Democratic party, Henry B. Stanton became a member of the Democratic party in 1849, under the mistaken impression that it was moving toward an antislavery position. He attempted to work within the Democratic party to convince it to oppose slavery. Abolitionist sentiment, however, affected only a small group of New York Democrats, and Stanton was ultimately unsuccessful. By 1854, after the Democrats had supported the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Stanton realized the error of his decision. In 1856 he joined the Republican party and attended its national convention in Philadelphia as a delegate. Arthur Harry Rice, “Henry B. Stanton as a Political Abolitionist” (Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1968), 286–352. the SeymoursSeymour, Horatio

Horatio Seymour (1810–86) began his career as a New York Democrat in the 1840s. He was elected to the state legislature in 1841 , became mayor of Utica in 1842, then returned to the legislature in 1844, where he was a strong advocate for improving the Erie Canal. Seymour was a member of the Hunker faction of the New York Democratic party, opposed to Martin Van Buren. Along with the other Hunkers, Seymour supported James K. Polk’s policy to extend slavery. When the Hunkers gained control of the Democratic party after 1848, Seymour was their candidate for governor. His opposition to nativism and his veto of the antiliquor Maine Law caused him to lose a bid for reelection. In 1862, after a decade of retirement, Seymour was again elected governor of New York, and once in office he worked to delay and limit the implementation of the Civil War draft. He was defeated in the 1864 gubernatorial election, but remained politically active. In 1868 he was the reluctant and unsuccessful Democratic presidential nominee. Stewart Mitchell, Horatio Seymour of New York (Cambridge, Mass., 1938); ACAB, 5:470–73; DAB, 16:615–21; ANB, 19:687–438. ⁶Horatio Seymour (1810–86) began his career as a New York Democrat in the 1840s. He was elected to the state legislature in 1841 , became mayor of Utica in 1842, then returned to the legislature in 1844, where he was a strong advocate for improving the Erie Canal. Seymour was a member of the Hunker faction of the New York Democratic party, opposed to Martin Van Buren. Along with the other Hunkers, Seymour supported James K. Polk’s policy to extend slavery. When the Hunkers gained control of the Democratic party after 1848, Seymour was their candidate for governor. His opposition to nativism and his veto of the antiliquor Maine Law caused him to lose a bid for reelection. In 1862, after a decade of retirement, Seymour was again elected governor of New York, and once in office he worked to delay and limit the implementation of the Civil War draft. He was defeated in the 1864 gubernatorial election, but remained politically active. In 1868 he was the reluctant and unsuccessful Democratic presidential nominee. Stewart Mitchell, Horatio Seymour of New York (Cambridge, Mass., 1938); ACAB, 5:470–73; DAB, 16:615–21; ANB, 19:687–438.—and the ConklingsConkling, Alfred

Alfred Conkling (1789–1874) is best known as a New York jurist. In 1825 John Quincy Adams appointed him as a federal judge for the northern New York district. He sat on the bench for twenty-seven years. In 1851 Conkling drew the ire of many antislavery activists when he bound over for trial the rescuers of William “Jerry” McHenry and then allowed himself to be removed from the subsequent trials. Conkling later served as U.S. minister to Mexico (1 852) and practiced private law upon his return. His son, Roscoe, became a Republican U.S. congressman and senator and sometime political ally of Douglass after the Civil War. FDP, 30 October 1851, 5 February 1852; BDAC, 816; DAB, 4:345–46. ⁷Alfred Conkling.—the very flower of your opponents were pitted against you. You are elected and they are defeated “nough said.” You go to congress, not from quiet nor seclusion—shut out from the eye of the world where your thoughts and feelings had to be imagined—but you go from the very whirlwind of agetation, from “rescue trials”—from womans’ rights conventions⁸Gerrit Smith was an advocate of women’s rights. On 8 September 1852 he attended a women’s rights convention held at Syracuse, where he was the only male designated as an officer, one of five vice presidents. On 17 September 1851, in his speech to the Liberty party convention, Smith openly supported a “righteous civil government” that would fulfill the goals of all reformers. At that time, he noted that “the heart’s desire of the advocate of woman’s rights will be realized, for, then justice will be done both to man and woman. Come that blessed day! Come quickly!” FDP, 16 October 1851; Washington (D.C.) National Era, 16 September 1852. and from “Jerry Celibrations,” where your lightest words were caught up and perverted to your hurt.

You go to Congress a FREE MAN. I will not weary you with congratulations. My friend JuliaCrofts, Julia Griffiths

A native of London, Julia Griffiths (1811–95) was the oldest of seven children born to Thomas Griffiths, a onetime stationer turned publisher and bookseller, and his wife Charlotte Powis. She first met Douglass during the latter half of 1846 when he lectured in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where she was visiting with friends. Her mother had been a friend of William Wilberforce, who had advocated for the abolition of slavery in England, and she herself was active in the British antislavery movement. Charmed by the American, Griffiths followed Douglass back to the United States with her younger sister, Eliza, in 1848. In 1850, Eliza married John Dick, one of Douglass’s printers for the North Star, and the couple moved to Toronto. Julia became a constant companion and partner to Douglass and a leading antislavery organizer in Rochester for the next five years. She contributed to the North Star as copy editor and journalist, and saved the paper from financial ruin by organizing its books and by aggressively pursuing subscribers and donations. She helped found the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society, acting as its secretary, and organized the Rochester Anti-Slavery Fair. Initially, she lived with the Douglass family, which led to tension in the household and to unsubstantiated rumors that Douglass and Griffiths shared more than a business relationship. In 1853, the vicious attacks upon her in abolitionist newspapers drove her from the Douglass home and finally forced her to return to England in 1855, ostensibly to raise funds for the North Star. In 1859 she married a Methodist minister from Halifax, Henry O. Crofts (1814–80), who acted as an agent for Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Through the Civil War, she continued to organize and revitalize ladies’ antislavery societies and to lecture against slavery. After the war and her husband’s death, she ran a boarding school and worked as a governess. Her friendship with Douglass continued in frequent correspondence, and she welcomed him and his second wife, Helen Pitts Douglass, when they visited England in 1886. British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Reporter, new ser., 5:82 (1 April 1857); 1871 England Census, Durham County, Gateshead, 41; London, England: Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812, Ancestry.com; Maria Diedrich, Love Across Color Lines: Ottilie Assing and Frederick Douglass (New York, 1999), 179–84; Waldo E. Martin, Jr., The Mind of Frederick Douglass (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1984), 40–41; Janet Douglas, “A Cherished Friendship: Julia Griffiths Crofts and Frederick Douglass,” Slavery and Abolition, 33:265–74 (June 2012); Erwin Palmer, “A Partnership in the Abolition Movement,” University of Rochester Library Bulletin, 26:1–17 (Autumn/Winter 1970–71). ,⁹Julia Griffiths. is even more extatic than myself about your election.

Please remind, favourably, Mrs. SmithSmith, Ann Carroll Fitzhugh

On 2 January 1822, Ann Carroll Fitzhugh (1805–75), sometimes called “Nancy,” became the second wife of Gerrit Smith. She was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, where her father, William Fitzhugh (1761–1839), was a prominent planter connected to elite families. In 1800 Fitzhugh entered into a real estate venture with his neighbors Charles Carroll and Nathaniel Rochester. The three purchased land in upstate New York and established the town of Rochester, where Fitzhugh moved his family in 1815. He became a prominent resident and philanthropist, contributing to the growth of the town into a City. Gerrit and Ann Smith had eight children, including Elizabeth Smith Miller (1822–1911), who followed in her father’ s footsteps to become an activist and reformer in her own right. Octavius Brooks Frothingham, Gerrit Smith: A Biography (New York, 1909), 27; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 16; Robert McNamara, “Charles Carroll of Belle Vue: Co-founder of Rochester,” RH, 42:1, 13 (October 1980). ,¹⁰Ann Carroll Fitzhugh Smith. of your faithful friend.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS.

ALS: Gerrit Smith Papers, NSyU. PLSr: Foner, Life and Writings, 2:219–20.