EOTO Reflection: Frederick Douglass and The North Star

 I have always loved listening to other students present their projects in class. I like listening to different subjects and what each group found interesting. I have been learning a lot about Frederick Douglass in a couple of my other classes and this presentation tied all of that information together. 

Douglass was a key figure in the anti-slavery era and was able to accomplish many things after he himself escaped the system. Originally from Maryland, Douglass was captured and became forced to be a slave for 20 years. He managed to escape and went up to New York City. He then went on to write an autobiography about his experience as a slave and then eventually establish The North Star.  

Founded on December 3, 1847 in New York, The North Star became the first antislavery newspaper. The newspaper printed every fact, document, story, etc about slavery and the antislavery movement.

He believed that if he had his own newspaper he could change the way black americans were going through life in America. He thought he could encourage and motivate them to fight back and to not let the white people make them scared.

The North Star also strongly supported women's rights. They had a motto that read, "RIGHT IS OF NO SEX--TRUTH IS OF NO COLOR--GOD IS THE FATHER OF US ALL, AND ALL WE ARE BRETHREN."

The paper ended in 1851 due to it not bringing in enough money for Douglass to keep in running. He merged the paper with the Liberty Party Paper which was run by Gerrit Smith, another avid abolitionist. 

Douglass also owned two additional newspapers that he started after he let The North Star go, Frederick Douglass' Paper (1851-1860) and New National Era (1870-1874). 

Douglass died a few years later on February 20, 1895 from a heart attack at age 77. He died at his home in Cedar Hill. He is currently buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY.