Frederick Douglass's life and legacy

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The Life & Legacy of Frederick Douglass
How Would Frederick Douglass Feel
About Today's Identity Politics?
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February 20^th marks the 125^th anniversary of Frederick Douglass's passing. This former slave turned powerful orator changed the course of American history.

Douglass awakened people to the revolutionary idea in our Declaration that "all men are created equal" and endowed with natural-born rights, including "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Douglass understood the depth of this foundational principle, that honoring the ideals in the Declaration of Independence meant that all people, black Americans included, would be viewed as individuals with the same freedoms.

Martin Luther King, Jr. later said, "I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Contrary to Douglass's views, today's identity politics pits group against group and loses sight of our common principles, or more critically, no longer recognizes that those principles—equality and individual liberty among them—are at the heart of our republic.

Douglass believed that our strength would be found in building this country according to its principles, that the people's dedication to them would be the unifying element to move our country forward.

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As a young man who was born into slavery, he believed that destruction of the union was the only solution. But he came to the conclusion that such a plan would be more likely to bolster slavery than to end it.

He became a fierce proponent of the ideals in the Declaration and made powerful speeches around the country, advocating for abolition of slavery, equality and dignity for black Americans, and later, for women's suffrage.

Education as Liberation
Born in Talbot County, Maryland, Douglass was the son of a black slave and a white slaveowner. He taught himself to read and write, escaped slavery, and eventually
became a great speaker and statesman whose legacy we continue to learn from.

As in Douglass's time, many Americans today, especially young people, are unaware or hostile to our founding principles. Equality and justice are our common ideals as Americans. Dividing us into competing groups, as identity politics does, stops the progress toward the very ideals we share.

Too many do not see that our nation's founding principles are what can move our country forward. Nor are they aware of the history of those efforts.

In a speech addressing the Manassas Industrial School ([link removed]) , Douglass famously said "Education … means emancipation. It means light and liberty. It means the uplifting of the soul of man into the glorious light of truth, the light only by which men can be free."

Education protects liberty. Douglass believed education was the key to freedom. If we are to remain a free people, as Douglass desired, we must understand what freedom entails. That must start in the classroom with each new generation.
The battle for the soul of our nation will be won or lost in our classrooms.™ —Jack Miller
JMC is proud of our success so far in educating students about our founding principles and history. But there is still much work to be done.

At this moment, schools around the country are banning classic texts, promoting false narratives about America, and disparaging our history or omitting it altogether. Spurring anti-American sentiment among our young people has grave implications for our country.

Consider a
tax-deductible ([link removed]) gift to the Jack Miller Center. Your donation, large or small, is an investment in the future of our country—for you, for your children, for your grandchildren.

We cannot win this battle without your support. Will you join us in the effort?
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About the Jack Miller Center

The Jack Miller Center is a 501(c)(3) public charity with the mission to reinvigorate education in America's founding principles and history. We work to advance the teaching and study of America's history, its political and economic institutions, and the central principles, ideas and issues arising from the American and Western traditions—all of which continue to animate our national life.

We support professors and educators through programs, resources, fellowships and more to help them teach our nation's students.

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