By Keli Ganey
written April 28th, 2022 for History 202: Historical methods
The dawn of the nineteenth century brought the cutting-edge technology to capture life of the 1800s on small squares of paper later to become known as photographs. In 1816, this invention by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce paved the way for redefining the image of humanity, revolutionizing how we see ourselves and those around us.[i] Now unless studied directly, most will not see a connection between photography and Frederick Douglass. However, when studied closely, Douglass had a unique connection with the art form. When Frederick Douglass was born in 1818, the camera had only been around for a few years. By the time he was twenty, he had escaped slavery and reached New York in 1838, at which point the camera had evolved into the daguerreotype, named after creator Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre, a medium which Douglass would be captured on the most. Frederick Douglass eventually settled on Daguerre’ camera obscura as his device of choice.[ii] Frederick Douglass used photography as another[PN1] medium of abolition and advocacy to redefine the stereotype of the black man whilst demonstrating what a well-educated man of high status looks like to Americans.
Frederick Douglass left his mark on American society and history not only through his words but also through his public image. Douglass was the most photographed American of the nineteenth century, more so than the likes of P.T. Barnum and Mark Twain. Douglass endured sitting for a notable one hundred and sixty photographs, appearing in portraits, drawings, sculptures, and public murals based on the pictures taken of him. His first photograph would be taken during the year 1841 and his last would be 1895 about twelve hours after his death.
Douglass was a renowned abolitionist known for his eloquent writings such as his newspaper The North Star and his profound lectures to move the hearts of women and men. Before Frederick Douglass turned to those mediums of abolition, his preliminary focus was on using photography. Douglass was only twenty-three years old in his first photograph (Figure 1, Right), which was taken in Hingham when Douglass first arrived in 1841.[iii] Frederick Douglass never smiled for his photographs. He featured a stern face and piercing eyes. Renee Graham, pop culture correspondent and writer for WBUR, The ARTery, and The Boston Globe, explains, “he [Douglass] showed what black freedom and dignity looked like.”[iv] Frederick Douglass would literally become the face of the fight for emancipation and would represent the success that freed slaves could achieve.
Through photography, Frederick Douglass would go on to redefine the image of African Americans. Henry Louis Gates, author of “Frederick Douglass’s Camera Obscura” explains, “Douglass used photography in the same way, registering through image of himself… that the ‘negro,’ ‘the slave’ was as various as any human beings could be, not just in comparison to white people, but even more importantly among and within themselves.”[v] By using frequent prolific photography to further his narrative, Douglass was able to extend himself and his message of freedom beyond where his words or physical presence could reach.
Frederick Douglass would go on to print many articles in his abolitionist newspaper The North Star and penned a multitude of speeches to promote abolition. Unfortunately, his multiple publications continued to fall on deaf ears across the nation. To get the attention he required and deserved, Douglass weaved his image in into the public eye with the mission of developing a new image of African Americans. He desired to begin the long road of the reconciliation process through the power of imagery. The minds of the American people had been fed lies about the strength of African minds and bodies about based in ideas of systemic racism. Douglass’ public image was a powerful force combating systemic ideas of African Americans, which were being promoted by scientists and political leaders through their own photographs to provide visual proof to support their theories of racial inferiority.[vi] His intent behind using photography was to erase the long-culminated archive of anti-Black views, ideas, and imagery.
One of the ways he would use his personal image to combat societal views of slaves and African Americans was by featuring his face on the cover of his autobiography (Figure 2, Right). Douglass published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave in 1845, which featured his young clean-shaven face, a side part in his hair, and bright eyes that glimmered with hope and freedom.[vii] His next book My Bondage and My Freedom published in 1855, displays an older thirty-eight-year-old Douglass (figure 5, below) who has upgraded from the simple bowtie to the full ascot of an elite adult.[viii] He still dons his side part, but his once hope filled eyes have turned to a solemn and grimace outlook. Douglass’ expressions often mirrored the tone of the time in which it was taken.
The year 1856 was a point of high tensions featuring the Pottawatomie Massacre, where friend of Frederick Douglass, John Brown, and fellow abolitionists, killed five pro-slavery settlers in Franklin County, Kansas.[ix] Frederick emulated the tension in his photographed body language. During this period, Douglass can be scene with a chest puffed out and fists clenched to simulate the struggle within the world of abolitionists. As seen below in figure 7, one can note the striking stare Douglass has piercing through the camera. His posture promotes an air of someone whose desire is to be respected and viewed as an equal. Many of Douglass’ photographs during this period display the same kind of tension in his body language. His body language would eventually shift post-Civil War.
His third and final autobiography, The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, was published in 1882, is matched with an engraving (figure 12, below) of his sixty-four-year-old self-featuring a full beard and combed back hair.[x] His picture exudes a regal presence of a wise man who has seen the turn of the century and the long-awaited freedom for his brothers and sisters.
Not only did Frederick Douglass use photography for the purpose of promoting the abolition of slavery, but he also theorized about what photography could do the cause. He gave his first speech on photography at Boston’s Tremont Temple on December 3rd, 1861.[xi] During his speech, Douglass explains the importance of placing one’s face on their accomplishment rather than their name alone. To this he says, “A man…publishes a book… and does not publish his face to the world with it [he] may almost claim and get credit for singular modesty,” but he continues this idea with, “the picture must be in the book, or the book be considered incomplete.”[xii] Douglass would demonstrate his own ideas with the application of printing his own face on all of his autobiographies.
The next major focus of his speech centered around the personality of a man and what an image could convey simply through body language. Douglass was an expert in this area through his use of his own body language. He was a keen observer of those around him and knew how to present himself in order to succeed. He used his body to document the triumphs and setbacks of the war, such as send political messages, and set new societal standards. Douglass believed that pictures are “social forces…an instrument of wit, of biting satire, the picture is admitted to be unrivaled.”[xiii] The picture is unrivaled in capturing social presence because it is untouched by any artist. The camera simply captures what is in front of it capturing humanity in its true raw and powerful form.
To the point of capturing people in their unaltered form, Douglass argued that a person who is confident in who he is, is one of the most powerful forms there is. He uses military dictator and ruler of England Oliver Cromwell as a case study for this point. In his lecture he notes that Cromwell is an exception to the criticism that man is commonly ashamed for appearing so conceited or vain in their persona. What comes across as vanity for most is displayed and understood as confidence for others. Cromwell exuded that confidence when he proclaimed to his artist, “I want no favor, no flattery, no fraud – paint me as I am.”[xiv] Douglass explains that this declaration from Cromwell did not take away from his admirability or genius among his peers. If anything, he gained more respect from his peers and new subjects that he was confident in who he was. This sent a strong social message throughout the kingdom that this new ruler would be different than the many Tudors and few Stuarts that came before him.
Douglass realized that the power of pictures would outlast his power as a great orator. To this he notes, “the influence of pictures upon this all-surrounding and all-powerful thought element may someday furnish a theme for those better able than I do it justice.”[xv] He continues to emphasize the impact the low pricing of photography has by proclaiming, “It is evident that the great cheapness and universality of pictures must exert a powerful, though silent, influence upon the ideas and sentiment of present and future generations.”[xvi] Frederick Douglass could see the long standing influence the photograph would have on mankind, and he took it upon himself to provide future generations photos that would be of great influence on numerous generations.
One of Douglass’ most powerful statements about the usefulness of photography for purposes of abolition is in his closing statement in “Lecture on Pictures.” In this speech, Douglass described the necessity for photography in order to make progress as, “Material progress may for a time be separated from moral progress. But the two cannot be permanently divorced.”[xvii] The future of abolition for the African American was in pictures, and this was what Douglass was trying to persuade the crowd to understand. Pictures would go on to capture wars, lynchings, movements and end up being a powerful tool persuading public opinion.
In the months between Lincoln’s re-election in November of 1864 and his inauguration in March 1865, Douglass wrote a speech that he titled “Pictures and Progress,” which describes in detail the necessary connection between reform and art, and how photography contributes to the upheaval of racism in society and achieving long awaited freedom. In his speech, Douglass refers to poet Robert Burns who proclaims that, “men of all conditions and classes can now see themselves as others see them, and as they will be seen by those [who] shall come after them.”[xviii]
One of the most groundbreaking attributes of the photograph was its availability to all. Douglass describes this new opportunity in the form of a story about a humble servant girl who could now possess a picture of herself.[xix] At the time only the wealthiest could commission portraits of themselves to immortalize their presence here on Earth, but with the daguerreotype the ability to immortalize one’s presence and legacy was available to all. Douglass believed that photographs created a “clear perception of things as they are…” which would help in his advocating for the redefining of the black stereotype and they would, “… stand the faithful rendering of things as they seem.”[xx] By representing those who have been dehumanized by their white superiors, Douglass’ photographs challenged the racist perception of African Americans. The power of his images was much stronger because he was born a slave, successfully escaped and then became a prominent public figure.
Although the country was in turmoil and beginning one of the most drastic shifts in history, Douglass wanted to capture such a transition through the art of photography. He believed that photos served as the “appropriate representation” for the emerging period as, “each new period, and each new condition seeks its needed and appropriate representation.”[xxi] The representation would come from Douglass himself as he paved the way for many others to use the platform of photography to further their voices.
In the introduction of Maurice O. Wallace and Shawn Michelle Smith’s book, named after Douglass’ speech, Pictures and Progress: Early Photography and The Making of African American Identity, they specifically note Douglass’ enthusiasm for photography as “the primary catalyst for social change as these practices uniquely enabled criticism…”[xxii] They continue with Douglass’ personal voice explaining that “where there is no criticism there is no progress – for the want of progress is not felt where such want is not made visible by criticism.”[xxiii] Douglass was open to criticism because it engaged and brought discussion. More importantly, those discussions became catalysts for conversations of reconciliation about not only their nation’s past, but also the present they found themselves living in.
One point that most historians have failed to make is the similarity of Frederick Douglass’ speeches on photography. His three main speeches cited in historical literature and scholarship are: “Lecture on Pictures” (1861); “Age of Pictures” (1862); and “Pictures and Progress,” which all include common examples and personal analysis from Douglass on why he chose photography on his medium for abolition. Each of these speeches include repeated sections of a previous one such as: “The humblest servant girl” (Lecture on Pictures & Pictures and Progress) and “paint me as I am” (all three). This exemplifies Frederick Douglass’ literary genius using repetition to make his case. He crafted strong points, shared relatable examples, and used stories that would appeal to his massive audiences’ personal experiences. Many could relate to the experience of the servant girl. While others required the encouragement to confidently allow themselves to be photographed as they are, letting their picture tell their story instead of simply pen and ink. Photographs created another dimension to the act of abolition that could not be misinterpreted or unseen. Photos captured the subject in their true form, highlighting, and debunking anti-black myths of racial inferiority. Douglass put the stereotypical images to rest with his poised and educated form.
The portraits of Frederick Douglass have been used and analyzed by many scholars and admirers alike. In Joshua Brown’s article “Historians and Photography,” he analyzes that the “photographs of Douglass’ stern, direct-gaze face, which have played a pivotal role in the public perception of the man from the 1840s to this day, are used to illustrate just about every study of the great abolitionist.”[xxiv] When it comes to studying the progression of Douglass, one of the best ways to study him is through his multitude of portraits. He never smiled in any of his pictures except one (figure 17, below).
Taken on October 31, 1894, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the 76-year-old Douglass is seen relaxed, his eyes looking off camera, and the corners of his mouth slightly turned upward. In drastic comparison, most of the photos of Douglass feature a sharp glare into the camera with a discernable frown (Figure 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12). His portraits also never included a fancy background – typical of the nineteenth century. Douglass chose to make himself the center piece and eliminate all distractions from his portraits. Many nineteenth-century photos featured props of fabric, mirrors, or chairs, however, in true Douglass fashion, there was none of that. His portraits solely focused on him.
In the study of Douglass, historians can see through photographs that Douglass used his body to visualize the country in transition. There is a notable shift in his persona post-Civil War and emancipation. During the time of constant turmoil before the war began, Douglass would clench his fists, which was symbolic towards his attitude of a fighting spirit. Frederick Douglass was a known friend of abolitionist John Brown, who took matters into his own violent hands for the sake of progression and bringing justice. Douglass can also be seen making direct eye contact with the camera (figures 1, 3, 5, 7). He does this as if to challenge the viewer to a battle of wits and morals as he would similarly do throughout his many speeches and newspaper articles. Douglass’ words and image would challenge people to re-think their pervious notions about abolitionism and their fellow black Americans.
There is a tension in his character and mannerisms displaying the power of a man who is not afraid of a fight. Frederick Douglass has been through incredible hardship in his life. Growing up as a slave and seeing the horrors or rapes, beatings, and murders firsthand is enough to scare anyone, let alone a child. He brings out all this inner trauma in the intensity of his stare. Glaring deeply into the heart of anyone who has hurt him, his family, and his people. This intensity was representative of the national tension and eager abolitionists held on to fuel the fight for emancipation.
After the war he is seen with unclenched fists, resting hands, as if to show the viewer that the fight is over. Douglass then uses the classic statesman three-quarter pose used by many influential figures of the time. He also returns to his short bowtie look that is featured on his first autobiography (figure 9) and stays that way till his death. On the back of one of his photographs taken in 1868, five years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, Douglass writes, “For myself, I ask nothing I would not freely grant to all men” (Figure 10, below).
Featuring a solemn face on the front, Douglass’s comment resembles his feelings post emancipation. Douglass is acknowledging the never-ending fight and long road ahead towards true freedom and equality. His portraits demonstrate the transformed spirit of a fighter and fugitive into a citizen who has fulfilled the “American dream” of a “self-made” man, who has risen from the lowest station to being among some of the highest respected individuals in the country.
Frederick Douglass also made sure to leave behind not only portraits of himself, but also photos of him with family (figures 4, 14 & 15), at professional events (figure 16), and even after his death (figure 18, below). Henry Louis Gates describes Douglass’s mission as, “attempting both to display and displace: he is seeking…to show in two dimensions the contours of the anti-slave…[who] shares the blood of the blood of the flesh of the flesh of every other white human being.”[xxv] Through his photography Douglass is portraying that every slave can be just as intelligent and well off as their white counter parts, but most importantly that slaves are humans too. Their color does not make them any less human than their peers, and Douglass would include this point in every photograph he took by wearing clothes of the same status as his elite counterparts.
Frederick Douglass would pass away suddenly on February 20th, 1895, from a heart attack. He was in the process of leaving his house and heading to his carriage to be transported to Hillsdale African Church where he was supposed to be giving a lecture that evening. It is written in an article covering the passing of the great orator that he “succumbs to heart disease in the hallway of his home near Washington; only his wife was with him.”[xxvi] The article also included that “he gasped, and putting his hand on his breast, fell to his knees and then rolled over on the floor” (figure 19). His peaceful state was captured about twelve to twenty-four hours later (figure 18). Douglass wanted to make a point that even in death his presence held outlasting power.
Frederick Douglass had a way with his words and his presence that impacted generations of individuals. His use of photography for abolition, activism and re-defining stereotypes has paved the way for fellow activists to use the medium of photography in the same light. His photo has been used for social and political movements. It is located on murals, engravings, and monuments. Frederick Douglass was the first African American to ever have a statue erected in his honor. It still stands today in Rochester New York, where he made his home. Today, there are now thirteen statues around Rochester. His photo appeared on the $20 bill when the black community printed their own money in Chicago. There was a Douglass stamp made during 1967 and then a second one in 1995. Ebony Magazine featured Frederick Douglass’ face on the cover, wrote an article about him naming him the father of the protest movement in honor of the 100th anniversary of the emancipation proclamation.[xxvii]
Frederick Douglass would be able to use photography in a way that no one else was able to accomplish during his time. He knew and understood the power of public image and what that could do for African Americans everywhere. Through this medium Douglass was able to expand his outreach of abolition and advocacy for the emancipation of slaves across the United States. At the same time Douglass demonstrated that a slave could become a well-educated man of stature and rank in society all on his own. He set a new standard for how African Americans can build their lives in America. Douglass built his successful life with his words, mind, and own two hands. There has never been another public figure who has used media quite as well as Frederick Douglass. Douglass was able to turn a hobby and pleasure activity into one of his greatest assets in promoting freedom from oppression and slavery. There were many photographers who attempted to accomplish similar goals, but what sets Frederick Douglass apart is that he did not use media for his own personal gain. He used it for the gain of everyone else and what he stood for. Douglass turned an invention of pleasure and preservation, often reserved for the wealthy, into a tool for the gain of all who are oppressed. The image of Frederick Douglass is more than just one man. It represented the African American struggle and hardship so many were burdened with and battled daily.
Appendix figure Gallery
Bibliography
[i] MasterClass, “When Was the Camera Invented? A History of Photography,” MasterClass (MasterClass, 2020), https://www.masterclass.com/articles/when-was-the-camera-invented#a-brief-history-of-the-camera.
[ii] Henry Louis Gates, “Frederick Douglass’s Camera Obscura,” Aperture, no. 223 (2016): 25–29, https://www.jstor.org/stable/43825318.
[iii] “pbagger”, “Hingham’s First Glimpse of Frederick Douglass,” Out of the Archives (Out of the Archives, February 17, 2021), https://outofthearchives.org/2021/02/17/hinghams-first-glimpse-of-frederick-douglass-2/.
[iv] Renee Graham, “Frederick Douglass Used Photographs to Force the Nation to Begin Addressing Racism | WBUR News,” Wbur.org (WBUR, July 21, 2016), https://www.wbur.org/news/2016/07/21/picturing-frederick-douglass.
[v] Henry Louis Gates, “Frederick Douglass’s Camera Obscura,” Aperture, no. 223 (2016): 25–29, https://www.jstor.org/stable/43825318.
[vi] Donna M. Wells, “Visual History and African American Families of the Nineteenth Century on JSTOR,” Jstor.org, 2016, https://www.jstor.org/stable/44177136.
[vii] Steven Mintz, “Digital History,” Uh.edu, 2022, https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/exhibits/douglass_exhibit/douglass_timeline.html.
[viii] Steven Mintz, “Digital History,” Uh.edu, 2022, https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/exhibits/douglass_exhibit/douglass_timeline.html.
[ix] “Historical Events in 1856,” OnThisDay.com (On This Day, 2022), https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1856.
[x] “The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass,” NYPL Digital Collections, 2018, https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-ac24-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.
[xi] John Stauffer et al., Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography of the Nineteenth Century’s Most Photographed American (New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, A Division Of W. W. Norton & Company, 2018).
[xii] Douglass, Frederick. “Lecture on Pictures” (1861) Cited in John Stauffer et al., Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography of the Nineteenth Century’s Most Photographed American (New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, A Division Of W. W. Norton & Company, 2018).
[xiii] Douglass, Frederick. “Lecture on Pictures” (1861) Cited in Ibid
[xiv] Douglass, Frederick. “Lecture on Pictures” (1861) Cited in Ibid
[xv] Douglass, Frederick. “Lecture on Pictures” (1861) Cited in Ibid
[xvi] Douglass, Frederick. “Lecture on Pictures” (1861) Cited in Ibid
[xvii] Douglass, Frederick. “Lecture on Pictures” (1861) Cited in Ibid
[xviii] A paraphrase of the line from Robert Burns’s poem “To a Louse, On Seeing One on a Lady’s bonnet at Church” (1786): “O would some Power the giftie gie us / To see oursels as others see us!” Cited in John Stauffer et al., Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography of the Nineteenth Century’s Most Photographed American (New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, A Division Of W. W. Norton & Company, 2018).
[xix] Douglass, Frederick. “Pictures and Progress” (1864) Cited in Ibid
[xx] Douglass, Frederick. “Pictures and Progress” (1864) Cited in Ibid
[xxi] Frederick Douglass, “The Age of Pictures” in “Lecture on Pictures” [title varies], Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress: Speech, Article, and Book file—A: Frederick Douglass, Dated; American Memory, Library of Con- gress Manuscript Division, available online at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/doughtml/dougFolder5.html,ms. page 35. Cited in Maurice O Wallace, Pictures and Progress: Early Photography and the Making of African American Identity (Durham: Duke University Press, 2012). https://www.dukeupress.edu/Assets/PubMaterials/978-0-8223-5085-9_601.pdf.
[xxii] Maurice O Wallace, Pictures and Progress: Early Photography and the Making of African American Identity (Durham: Duke University Press, 2012). https://www.dukeupress.edu/Assets/PubMaterials/978-0-8223-5085-9_601.pdf.
[xxiii] Maurice O Wallace, Pictures and Progress: Early Photography and the Making of African American Identity (Durham: Duke University Press, 2012). https://www.dukeupress.edu/Assets/PubMaterials/978-0-8223-5085-9_601.pdf.
[xxiv] Joshua Brown, “Historians and Photography on JSTOR,” Jstor.org, 2016, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/526475.
[xxv] Henry Louis Gates, “Frederick Douglass’s Camera Obscura,” Aperture, no. 223 (2016): 25–29, https://www.jstor.org/stable/43825318.
[xxvi] Douglass Frederick , “Douglass, Frederick (1818-1895): Cabinet Card Portrait by C.M. Bell, Inscribed Front and Back - American History 1493-1945 - Adam Matthew Digital,” Amdigital.co.uk, 2022, http://www.americanhistory.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/SearchDetails/GLC05146.
[xxvii] Ebony magazine, “‘Ebony’ Magazine - African American Communities - Adam Matthew Digital,” Amdigital.co.uk, September 1963, https://www.aac.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/SearchDetails/UIC_BHC_0001_0001#Snippits.