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“I dreaded going to Peoria as I expected to be compelled to walk the streets all that night to keep from freezing, as the last time went in Peoria no hotel in that city would receive me…
I went to Peoria that night with all the sin of my hated complexion upon me and found Robert G Ingersoll the Good Samaritan that Mr. Brown described him to be…
I shall certainly read your Tales of the Chesapeake. A child of the Eastern Shore myself, I share your sentiment for that section, though to me it was slavery and ignorance, and to you liberty and intelligence. You are wrong in saying I bought my liberty, a few friends in England bought me and made me a present of myself.”
In a letter to one of the Civil War’s great journalists, Douglass speaks of their different childhood experiences due to slavery. He also defends the character of noted atheist Robert Ingersoll, and corrects a point about Douglass’ own freedom. As a “runaway,” Douglass spent two years in England and Ireland until British friends purchased his freedom, allowing for his safe return to the United States.
★ FREDERICK DOUGLASS. Autograph Letter Signed to [George Alfred] Townsend. Washington, D.C., May 5, 1880. #24739