Answer to Question #89760 in History for niah

Question

What was Frederick Douglass’s relationship with abolitionist John Brown? What view did Douglass have of violent resistance to slavery? Also, discuss the ways Douglass supported the Union during the Civil War from a personal and professional standpoint? Provide details.

Answer 1

Frederick Douglass, from his first meeting with Brown in 1847, through a testy but important relationship in the late 1850s, had long viewed the visionary abolitionist with a combination of admiration and ambivalence. 

Douglass was a firm believer in the equality of all peoples, whether black, female, Native American, or recent immigrant. He was also a believer in dialogue and in making alliances across racial and ideological divides, and in the liberal values of the U.S. Constitution. 

Douglass and the abolitionists argued that because the aim of the Civil War was to end slavery, African Americans should be allowed to engage in the fight for their freedom. During the war, Douglass also helped the Union cause by serving as a recruiter for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.

Sources:

http://ap.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/failure-compromise/essays/admiration-and-ambivalence-frederick-douglass-and-john-brow

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Douglass