Douglass, Frederick. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Title

Douglass, Frederick. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Creator

Douglass, Frederick

Contributor

Post, Amy Kirby, 1802-1889

Date

1872-07-18

Description

Handwritten letter from Frederick Douglass to Amy Kirby Post. Douglass writes to Post about his campaign efforts for the 1872 Presidential election.

Subject

Post, Amy Kirby, b. 1802

Is Part Of

Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Rights

The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Identifier

1907

Location

Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Transcription

(Page 1)

Washington D.C. July 18. 1872

My dear Friend:
                        I have not forgotten my promise to send you a line. I hope
you are well. I see that the heats of July li in Rochester have been
very trying- and I naturally think of health as the best thing
though among the most uncertain things of life. The heat
in Washington is greater than is remembered before by the oldest
inhabitant, from ninety five to one hundred in the shade for
weeks together. I often sigh for the shade of my Rochester trees
and for the pleasant calls I occasionally made to your
house. But I am in the harness and must needs
work while it is day. My Bonds are yet giving me
trouble. There was a mistake in the numbers and
one Bond that I represented as burnt, has been found in
the Treasury- This of course, casts a doubt upon all
the rest. I can come to no decision about building
again in Rochester while the Bonds question remains.
I am leaving here for Virginia in a few days
to stump for the election of Grant and Wilson
                                                                       (Page 2)

My line of argument will be, that Grant's position is pure
and simple - while that of Greeley is mixed and
ambiguous. I shall admit that I should on personal
grounds like to vote for Greeley if I really knew what
I am voting for.- and which of the many Greeleys
my vote would elect. For there ˆareˆ a great many
Greeleys. If I could select the right one I would gladly
give him my vote- But just here is the trouble.
This many sided man has been on all sides- One does
not know which will finally control. His going over
to Democracy to get elected president is against him-
Our country wants certainty- and wants the confidence
and repose which only certainty can give- Hence I am in short
I am for Grant.           I hope to be in Rochester for a few days about
the 1^st of August-      All good things to you my friend-
                                       Yours Truly
                                                           Fredk Douglass

Amy Post.

Annotations

Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist and former slave, is writing from Washington D.C. to fellow activist, Amy Post. Douglass mentions the upcoming 1872 Presidential election when the incumbent, President Ulysses S. Grant and his running mate Henry Wilson were re-elected, despite a split within the Republican Party that resulted in a defection of many Liberal Republicans to opponent Horace Greeley.

Tags

Personal; Reconstruction Era

Collection

D.93 Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Citation

Douglass, Frederick, “Douglass, Frederick. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.,” RBSCP Exhibits, accessed November 21, 2024, https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/items/show/4186.

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