8 Marshal Douglass

Chapter 8 Marshal Douglass Frederick needn't have worried about what would occupy his time. Invitations poured in for him to speak at lecture halls and colleges. In the late 1860s, lectures provided audiences with a mix of education and entertainment. It was a good job and paid well. But Frederick was not finished in his quest for equal rights. Although blacks "were not slaves, they were not yet quite free." Blacks were not citizens. They could not vote. Frederick felt strongly that this newfound freedom wouldn't mean much until black Americans had a say in government affairs. Frederick spoke out, as always, and supported those in power who shared his views. In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment made former slaves citizens and granted all citizens the same protection under America's laws. In 1870,

the Fifteenth Amendment gave black men the right to vote. The American Anti-Slavery Society disbanded that year. At its last meeting, Frederick said, "I seem to myself to be living in a new world." Still, many did not welcome blacks' progress. In 1872, Frederick and Anna's home in Rochester was burned. Deeply saddened, the couple moved to Washington, DC. There, Frederick was asked to run a black bank, where former slaves could invest their new savings. The bank had not been doing well, and its owners hoped Frederick's name and image would help bring it around. But the bank collapsed only three months later. Frederick was humiliated. In 1877, President Hayes appointed Frederick US marshal of the District of Columbia. RECONSTRUCTION THE PERIOD AFTER THE CIVIL WAR WAS KNOWN AS RECONSTRUCTION. THE ENORMOUS TASK OF REUNITING NORTH AND SOUTH FELL TO PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON, WHO

WAS A SOUTHERNER AND DID NOT SHARE LINCOLN'S VISION. THERE WERE FOUR MILLION FORMER SLAVES WITHOUT FOOD, HOMES, OR MONEY. FEW COULD READ OR WRITE. A GOVERNMENT AGENCY CALLED THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU HELPED PROVIDE BASIC NEEDS AND ESTABLISHED THOUSANDS OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND SEVERAL COLLEGES FOR BLACKS. SOLDIERS FROM THE NORTH WERE STATIONED IN THE SOUTH TO HELP PROTECT BLACKS AND THEIR RIGHTS. BY 1875, SIXTEEN BLACK MEN HAD BEEN ELECTED TO CONGRESS, AND HUNDREDS SERVED IN THEIR STATE LEGISLATURES. HOWEVER, THE PROGRESS WAS SHORT-LIVED. WHEN RECONSTRUCTION ENDED AND US TROOPS LEFT THE SOUTH IN 1877, MOST OF THE GAINS BLACKS HAD MADE DISAPPEARED.

Frederick's post was an honor and a first for a black man, though he had little power. He and Anna bought a large home overlooking Washington. The house, named Cedar Hill, was an elegant place to welcome friends and family. In 1881, Frederick published his third autobiography, The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. (Frederick's second autobiography, My Bondage and My Freedom, had been published in 1855.)

Around the time Frederick bought Cedar Hill, a friend invited him back to Saint Michaels, Maryland. Thomas Auld, now in his eighties and very sick, learned Frederick was there and asked him to visit.

Once master and slave, the two now met as equals. Frederick held Thomas's hand as they spoke freely about the past. Frederick asked what his old master thought of his running away. "Frederick, I always knew you were too smart to be a slave," Thomas replied, "and had I been in your place, I should have done as you did." The