The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress presents the papers of the nineteenth-century African-American abolitionist who escaped from slavery and then risked his own freedom by becoming an outspoken antislavery lecturer, writer, and publisher. The papers span the years 1841 to 1964, with the bulk of the material from 1862 to 1895. The printed Speech, Article, and Book Series contains the writings of Douglass and contemporaries in the abolitionist and early women's rights movements.The Subject File Series reveals Douglass's interest in diverse subjects such as politics, emancipation, racial prejudice, women's suffrage, and prison reform. Scrapbooks document Douglass's role as minister to Haiti and the controversy surrounding his interracial second marriage.

One in a series of racist posters attacking Radical Republicans on the issue of black suffrage, issued during the Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 1866. (See also "The Constitutional Amendment!," no. 1866-5.) The series advocates the election of Hiester Clymer, who ran for governor on a white-supremacy platform, supporting President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policies. In this poster a black man lounges idly in the foreground as one white man ploughs his field and another chops wood. Accompanying labels are: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread," and "The white man must work to keep his children and pay his taxes." The black man wonders, "Whar is de use for me to work as long as dey make dese appropriations." Above in a cloud is an image of the "Freedman's Bureau! Negro Estimate of Freedom!" The bureau is pictured as a large domed building resembling the U.S. Capitol and is inscribed "Freedom and No Work." Its columns and walls are labeled, "Candy," "Rum, Gin, Whiskey," "Sugar Plums," "Indolence," "White Women," "Apathy," "White Sugar," "Idleness," "Fish Balls," "Clams," "Stews," and "Pies." At right is a table giving figures for the funds appropriated by Congress to support the bureau and information on the inequity of the bounties received by black and white veterans of the Civil War. |Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1866-6.

A vindictive Northern fantasy on the aftermath of the Civil War. Confederate president Jefferson Davis, dressed in a hoopskirt or crinoline, hangs from a "Sour Apple Tree" at left, a Bowie knife in one hand and a torn flag in the other. (For Davis's costume, see "The Chas-ed "Old Lady" of the C.S.A.," no. 1865-11; for the "sour apple tree," see "John Brown Exhibiting His Hangman," no. 1865-16.) Beneath Davis is an open grave from which peers the devil. At right nooses are suspended over the heads of several "Confederate Mourners" (left to right): Gen. Robert E. Lee, Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge, Secretary of State and War Judah P. Benjamin, one of the Southern "Fire-eaters" and member of the Confederate Senate William Lowndes Yancey, Georgian Robert A. Toombs, and Louis T. Wigfall. Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth (far right) rushes to join the group. On the ground lie copperheads (symbols of Peace Democrats), skulls, and broken artillery. The infamous Confederate prisons, Libby and Andersonville, can be seen in the distance. In the upper register the blindfolded figure of Justice, holding a sword and scales, is enthroned on a bank of clouds. At left Liberty sits beside an urn partially covered by the Union flag. An eagle is beside her. A grieving soldier and sailor attend the urn, while a slave man, his wife, and child look toward the far right, where the recently assassinated Abraham Lincoln is escorted heavenward by angels. |Designed by Burgoo Zac.|Entered . . . 1865 by Charles Porah . . . Ohio, Cincinnati.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 148.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1865-13.

A sheet music cover illustrated with a portrait of prominent black abolitionist Frederick Douglass as a runaway slave. Douglass flees barefoot from two mounted pursuers who appear across the river behind him with their pack of dogs. Ahead, to the right, a signpost points toward New England. The cover's text states that "The Fugitive's Song" was "composed and respectfully dedicated, in token of confident esteem to Frederick Douglass. A graduate from the peculiar institution. For his fearless advocacy, signal ability and wonderful success in behalf of his brothers in bonds. (and to the fugitives from slavery in the) free states & Canadas by their friend Jesse Hutchinson Junr." As the illustration suggests, Douglass himself had escaped from slavery, fleeing in 1838 from Maryland to Massachusetts. He achieved considerable renown for his autobiography "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," first published in 1845. The Library's copy of "The Fugitive's Song" was deposited for copyright on July 23, 1845. An earlier abolitionist song composed by Hutchinson, "Get Off the Track!" (no. 1844-14), also used a cover illustration to amplify its message.|Boston. Published by Henry Prentiss 33 Court St.|Entered . . . 1845 by Henry Prentiss.|Lith. of E.W. Bouve Boston.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1845-7.

A satire on Andrew Jackson's "Kitchen Cabinet," the pejorative name given his informal circle of close advisors. The print appeared during the heated controversy incited by Jackson's discontinuation of federal deposits to the Bank of the United States. In the President's September 1833 message to his formal cabinet, announcing this measure he claimed sole "responsibility" for this decision. Many regardless attributed the move to the machinations of Van Buren and other figures of the "Kitchen" group. "The Government," is shown as a cart, driven by a figure made up of kitchen implements, and drawn by an ass with Jackson's head, who is in turn led by the ear by Martin Van Buren. The cart is marked "K.C." probably standing for Kitchen Cabinet, and bears an emblem composed of a broad-brimmed hat, riding crop, sword, Jackson's eyeglasses, and a cauldron. The same cauldron, inscribed with the word "unit," appears as the mid-section of the driver. (The cryptic term "unit" figures in an earlier cartoon -- again with reference to Jackson's cabinet -- Edward W. Clay's ".00001. The Value of a Unit," no. 1831-1). Into the cart a black man pours a bucket of waste, apparently from the public privvy in the background, marked "Public Accomodation / Place of Deposit" on the right.|Entered . . . 1834 by Endicott & Swett . . . New-York.|Hassan Straightshanks (David Claypool Johnston?) Del.|The title suggests that the print was to have been the first in a series, although no further numbers have been recorded. It was by the same artist, pseudonymed "Hassan Strightshanks," as "The Grand National Caravan Moving East" (no. 1833-11) and "The Grand Fantastical Parade. . ." (no. 1833-12). The Library's impression was deposited for copyright on April 7, 1834.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Murrell, p. 124.|Weitenkampf, p. 35.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1834-12.

Another in the "bobalition" series of broadsides parodying the manners, illiteracy, and dialect of Boston blacks. (See no. 1819-2.) The illustration shows a black militia troop marching from left to right. The text, facetiously dated "Bosson, Uly 14, 18021" consists of a letter of instruction from "Cesar Crappo" to "Cato Cudjoe, Sheef Marshal" for the ceremonies marking the anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. It also includes various toasts and songs for the occasion.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1821-1.

Another in the "bobalition" series of broadsides parodying the manners, illiteracy, and dialect of Boston blacks. (See no. 1819-2.) This one is facetiously dated "Uly 14, 1825, 6 month and little more beside," suggesting it appeared in 1825 or 1826. It is illustrated with silhouette figures of black men, one (on the left) saying, "Bosson, Uly 14, 1825 and little arter" and the second, "That is de day ob de grand Celebrashun." The text includes mock instructions for the procession, toasts, songs, etc., to mark the anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. One toast is to "General Jackson--Eber he get to be Presumdent ob d Nuited States, he won't hang de rascal slow."|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1825-1.

An anti-Lincoln satire, showing the Republican incumbent and his supporters menaced by giant "Copperheads" (Peace Democrats). After a speech on May 1, 1863, asserting that the Civil War was being fought to free blacks and enslave whites, not to save the Union, Clement Laird Vallandigham, leader of the "Copperheads," was arrested and tried for treason. He had defied Union general Ambrose E. Burnside's General Order No. 38, that "the habit of declaring sympathies for the enemy [would] no longer be tolerated" and that offenders would be punished by military procedure. Bowing to Vallandigham's widespread public support, Lincoln reduced the severity of his sentence from imprisonment to banishment behind Confederate lines. Here, three huge copperheads pursue Lincoln, who tears a piece of paper "Constitution & the Union as it was." A fourth snake curls around in front of him. The quotation is from a speech given by Vallandigham in May 1862: "To maintain the Constitution as it is and to restore the Union as it was." Lincoln, who is barefoot and in backwoods dress, drops a paper that reads, "New Black Constitution [signed] A. L. & Co." One of the snakes says, "If you cant read that document drop it." Two others hiss, "Hit him again," and "Ah, you cuss. I thought you had a little nigger on the brain." Lincoln calls to two freedmen who follow him, "Go back to your master, dont think you are free because you are emancipated," but they implore, "Fadderrrr Abrum" and "Take us to your Bussum." A minuscule black man who has fallen from inside Lincoln's hat cries, "Ise going back to de sile." At far left Burnside, who holds a flaming torch, is being choked by a snake representing Vallandigham. The significance of the torch is unclear, although it resembles the lanterns of the Wide-Awakes, active in Lincoln's 1860 presidential campaign. Burnside begs, "Oh, dear Clement you are hugging too tight." Vallandigham responds, "Look here if you think to Burn-my Side you will get foiled." Below, a snake eating a black man comments, "I say, Clement, Shriekers go good Down with him." At right a skeleton has just risen from the grave of abolitionist martyr John Brown, whose tombstone is inscribed "Hung in Virginia by Wise [i.e., Virginia governor Henry A. Wise]." On the ground are the words "Removed to No. 7 Hell Gate." The skeleton is exhorted by Satan, ". . . the Devil is to pay come get up and take your share." The skeleton responds, "Sure enough. Come Father let us start for Canada where it is colder." The "What-is-it" of the title refers to a deformed African man recently featured at P. T. Barnum's Museum on Broadway. (See also "An Heir to the Throne, or the Next Republican Candidate.," no. 1860-33.) |Entered . . . 1863 by E.W.T. Nichols . . . Mass.|The Library's impression of the work was deposited for copyright on June 30, 1863.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 138.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1863-8.

The strongly racist character of the Democratic presidential campaign of 1868 is displayed full-blown in this elaborate attack on Reconstruction and Republican support of Negro rights. Horses with the heads of Democratic candidate Horatio Seymour and running mate Francis P. Blair, Jr., pull a fine, ornate carriage in a race with a rude wagon drawn by asses with the heads of Republican candidates Ulysses S. Grant and Schuyler Colfax. The Democratic carriage pulls ahead in the race, heading toward a cheering crowd and a series of floral arches held by young maidens. The U.S. Capitol is visible beyond. In the carriage are four allegorical figures: Liberty, holding the Constitution and a banner which reads "Our Glorious Union Dˆü_ˆüąistinct, like the Billows, One, Like the Sea' This is a White Man's Government!"; Navigation, holding a miniature ship; Agriculture, holding sheaves of wheat and a scythe; and Labor, represented by a bearded man with a hammer and flywheel. In contrast to the Democratic vehicle, the Republican wagon has stalled before a pile of rocks and a cemetery strewn with bones representing "100,000,000 White Lives, the Price of Nigger Freedom!" Its wheels are blocked by a large stone "Killing Taxation" and a skeleton. Other stones represent "Ruined Commerce," "$30,000,000 stolen from the Treasury," and "Negro Supremacy." In the wagon are the grim reaper, Pennsylvania representative and abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens, an unidentified man, a black woman, and an idle black man. Stevens: "Colfax pulls like the d----l but old tangleleg [i.e., Grant] aint worth a d----n! Push at the tailboard, Ben!" Massachusetts representative and former Civil War general Benjamin F. Butler, pushing the wagon from the rear, replies, "I am pushing, Thad! but we are stuck. Seymour is a mile ahead now." Silver spoons protrude from Butler's pocket. (For the origins of Butler's nickname "Silver Spoons," see "The Radical Party on a Heavy Grade," no. 1868-14.) The black woman reassures Stevens, "Don't worry you'sef, honey, or you'll peg out afore we get de paeket for Seymour's in de White House and we's good for Salt River [colloquialism for political disaster]." The black man asks, "War's dis wagon gwine wid dis member ob Congress. I'd jes like to know?" The unidentified man remarks, "The Democracy would not take me so I thought I'd come back & stick by you Uncle Thad, and we'll all go to H-ll together!" Death announces, "My friends 1,000,000 slaughtered soldiers block the wheels--you fooled them, and they now impede your progress!" At bottom right a group of bummers, a term referring to party hangers-on, carpetbaggers, and other disreputable characters, stand in line to buy tickets to Salt River. At left New York "Tribune" editor Horace Greeley invites abolitionist preacher Henry Ward Beecher to play the thimblerig. Nearby a black couple in rags express their desire to return to their former master. At top right, next to the U.S. Capitol, a group of black youths in striped outfits dance and tumble about. In the lower right margin are prices and information regarding ordering copies of the print by mail. "Price 25 cents mailed. 5 for $1.00. 60 for $10.00, 100 for $16.00. Nothing sent C.O.D. Express charges paid by Parties ordering. Address: Bromley & Co. Box 4265. New York City.|Entered . . . l868 by Bromley & Co. . . . New York|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Lorant, p. 303.|Weitenkampf, p. 157.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1868-15.

A selection of Library of Congress primary sources exploring the Harlem Renaissance. This set also includes a Teacher's Guide with historical context and teaching suggestions.

Students research, evaluate, and synthesize information about the Harlem Renaissance from varied resources, create an exhibit, and highlight connections across disciplines (i.e., art, music, and poetry) using a Venn diagram.

In this video from ThinkTV Dayton, learn about Harriet Beecher Stowe and the basis of her famous book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, that documented racial injustice before the Civil War.

A caricature of Abraham Lincoln, probably appearing soon after his nomination as Republican presidential candidate. The artist contrasts Lincoln's modest posture at the Illinois Republican state convention in Springfield in 1858 with his confident appearance at the 1860 Illinois Republican ratifying convention, also held in Springfield. The two Lincolns are shown joined at the back and seated on a stump. The 1858 Lincoln (facing left) addresses a small audience of men, including a young black man. He denies any presidential ambitions, his words appearing in a cabbage-shaped balloon: "Nobody ever expected me to be President. In my poor, lean, lank face, nobody has ever seen that any Cabbages were sprouting out." In contrast, the 1860 Lincoln (facing right) states, "I come to see, and be seen." There may be, as Wilson maintains, an implied criticism here of Lincoln's reticence about his political views during the 1860 campaign, when from May to November Lincoln made no speeches except for a brief address at the meeting in Springfield. This may explain the less-than-enthusiastic, puzzled look of several of his listeners here. The lithograph is particularly well drawn. Although clearly by a trained and able artist, it is not readily attributable to any of the major known cartoonists of the time.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 124.|Wilson, p. 40-41.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1860-25.

The artist charges the Republicans with electoral corruption and extremism in their efforts to defeat Democratic presidential nominee George B. McClellan. Oblique reference is also made to Lincoln's supposed advocacy of equal rights for blacks. A ragged black soldier points a bayonet at a maimed white Union veteran, preventing him from placing his vote for McClellan in an already stuffed ballot box. The former says, "Hallo dar! you cant put in dat you copperhead traitor, nor any oder 'cept for Massa Lincoln!!" McClellan ran on the Peace Democrat or Copperhead ticket. The one-legged, one-armed soldier replies, "I am an American citizen and did not think I had fought and bled for this. Alas my country!" A worried election worker wearing spectacles tells his heavy-set colleague, "Im afraid we shall have trouble if that soldier is not allowed to vote." But the second responds, "Gammon, Hem just turn round. you must pretend you see nothing of the kind going on, and keep on counting your votes." Two townsmen converse in the background beneath a sign "Vote Here."|Signed: J.E. Baker del. (Joseph E. Baker).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Lorant, p. 269.|Weitenkampf, p. 146.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1864-35.

Massachusetts senator and prominent antislavery advocate Charles Sumner is attacked here. The artist questions his sincerity as a humanitarian as he shows him dispensing a few coins to a black child on the street, while ignoring the appeal of a ragged white urchin. The scene is witnessed by two stylishly dressed young women. Though unsigned, the print has the relatively skillful draftsmanship and atmospheric quality found in the works of Boston lithographer Fabronius. See, for instance, that artist's "The Mower" (no. 1863-14). "The Secession Bubble" (no. 1862-12) also appears to be by Fabronius. Weitenkampf gives the 1862 date and publisher's imprint.|Boston. Published by G.W. Cottrell. |Probably drawn by Dominique C. Fabronius.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 136.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1862-11.

AMH 2091 is an introductory-level survey course that provides an overview of the major events and developments in African American history, from Africa to the present. At its core, the history of African Americans has been connected to attempts to gain freedom. Starting with the West African empires, the course traces African Americans’ quest for freedom through the Slave Trade, Slavery, Reconstruction, the Jim Crow Era, World War I, the Great Migration, the Great Depression, and World War II. It then examines key political, social, and cultural developments of the post-war period focusing on social movements such as the Long Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power Movement, and Women’s Rights Movement. There will be an emphasis on learning the basic chronology and topics of African-American history, analyzing a range of primary and secondary sources, and practicing writing interpretive essays, using primary and secondary sources to support a clear argument.  Students can expect to dedicate 4 – 5 hours a week to writing. 

Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1865 by Gibson & Co. in the Clerks Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of Ohio.|Inscribed in ink below title: Filed June 19 1865.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)

An illustrated sheet music cover for an anti-Confederate comic song. Confederate president Jefferson Davis stands on a bale of cotton and asks John C. Breckinridge, former U.S. Vice President and fellow secessionist, to "Black Me." Breckinridge, in military uniform, complies and begins to paint Davis's face with blacking. Around Breckinridge's feet coils a "Copperhead," symbol of the Peace Democrats. Another snake winds around the broken, inverted staff of a Union flag. At right a grinning black man sits on boxes of "Butler's Blacking" and holds a tin of blacking in his hand. The name "Butler" probably refers to Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, a figure despised in the South. Among other things, Butler had forced the Confederacy to recognize the military status of U.S. Negro troops. At left under the heading "Memminger's Funeral Pile," bare-chested Confederate secretary of the treasury Christopher G. Memminger is partially submerged in a pile of C.S.A. bonds. Under his management, the Confederate Congress issued so many bonds that the people doubted its ability to redeem them, and prices skyrocketed. "Repudiation" appears in large letters on one of the bonds.|Alexander McLean lith.|Entered . . . 1864 by Mrs. Eunice Bussett . . . Missouri.|Published for the Author by Endres & Compton, no. 52, 4th St., St. Louis.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1864-43.

A selection of Library of Congress primary sources exploring Jim Crow in the US. This set also includes a Teacher's Guide with historical context and teaching suggestions.

An illustrated election ticket for the presidential campaign of 1836. Oddly, the ticket lists Ohio's Democratic electors for Van Buren while making a vicious and obscene slur on the wife of his running-mate Richard M. Johnson. It seems to reflect the widespread internal dissatisfaction with the party's choice of Johnson as vice-presidential candidate. The image is of a black woman, supposedly Johnson's mulatto mistress Julia Chinn. She sits on a small knoll holding a bag, and says, "Let ebery good dimicrat vote for my husband, and den he shall hab his sheer ub de surplum rebbenu wat is in my bag." Evidently "surplum rebbenu" refers (at least on one level) to the Distribution Act, popularly known as the Surplus Bill, providing for the distribution of surplus federal revenue among the states. The bill was signed by Andrew Jackson in June 1836, to aid Van Buren's campaign. (See "Caucus on the Surplus Bill," no. 1836-9 ). Beneath her are the words "She plucks Dick [i.e. Johnson]--and Dick plucks you--and Van [Buren] plucks Dick." Below the title are two quotes, possibly campaign cries, "Go it, ye Cripples!" and "The people will it!!!" Three other Democratic tickets, apparently from the same press, are also included here (see nos. 1836-16, -17, and -19).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1836-18.