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Measuring the Man: The Writings of Frederick Douglass on Abraham Lincoln
312 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2025
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November 30, 2025
Frederick Douglass met Abraham Lincoln on three occasions beginning in 1863, but he opined in writing and speeches about Lincoln as early as 1858. Douglass saw hope in the largely unknown Illinois politician after his June 1858 “House Divided” speech, but then he became more critical as Lincoln demonstrated an antislavery more moderate than that sought by the noted abolitionist. His views remained critical during the early stages of the Civil War, that is, until the meetings with Lincoln helped Douglass understand the political limitations constraining Lincoln’s actions.
All of this and more are detailed in the writings of Douglass captured in this new anthology edited by two of the foremost experts on Douglass and Lincoln. The book is a compendium of letters, speeches, and extracts from his three autobiographies. Most notably, there are a dozen or so letters between he and Julia Griffiths Crofts, a British abolitionist Douglass met in 1846 during his first stay in the England. The two maintained a forty-seven-year-long correspondence that had been largely forgotten until Morel and White discovered they had frequently printed them in newspapers. Douglass printed more than 80 of her letters in his own newspaper, while Griffiths often gave the letters she received to the Leeds Mercury for printing. Combined with the better-known writings, these letters help fill in any gaps about how Douglass felt about Abraham Lincoln.
As noted, Douglass’s views of Lincoln evolved. Fueled by his personal experience with enslavement, Douglass wanted slavery to end, now and everywhere, along with giving African Americans a chance to enjoy social, economic, and political equality. He felt Lincoln was moving too timidly. The emancipation proclamation and the opportunity to discuss the issues as equals gave Douglass new insights into both the political realities and Lincoln’s personal commitment to ending slavery everywhere. The writings bring these complexities out for the reader, including Douglass’s rationales behind calling Lincoln “emphatically the Black man’s president” in his 1865 eulogy, then calling him “preeminently the white man’s president” when dedicating the Freedman’s Memorial statue eleven years later. Their relationship was complicated, to say the least, but also one built on mutual respect and admiration.
The letters to Julia Griffiths Crofts are especially interesting. Douglass, for example, opines that it might be better for the war to be prolonged in the belief that every day of continued fighting gave more opportunity for enslaved African Americans to escape their bondage and secure their freedom. Another letter immediately after the assassination suggests that perhaps Andrew Johnson might be better positioned than Lincoln to ensure Black freedom during reconstruction, an opinion that was quickly shown to be false hope after Douglass first met with Johnson.
As an anthology, the book does not have the running narrative that one normally sees in a standard text. The editors deal with this structural reality by organizing the writings in sections (e.g., pre-election, pre-emancipation, post-emancipation commentary, etc.) and then writing a preamble/summary of the main points brought out in the letters. The result is a perfect combination of resource and discourse for all series Lincoln readers.
All of this and more are detailed in the writings of Douglass captured in this new anthology edited by two of the foremost experts on Douglass and Lincoln. The book is a compendium of letters, speeches, and extracts from his three autobiographies. Most notably, there are a dozen or so letters between he and Julia Griffiths Crofts, a British abolitionist Douglass met in 1846 during his first stay in the England. The two maintained a forty-seven-year-long correspondence that had been largely forgotten until Morel and White discovered they had frequently printed them in newspapers. Douglass printed more than 80 of her letters in his own newspaper, while Griffiths often gave the letters she received to the Leeds Mercury for printing. Combined with the better-known writings, these letters help fill in any gaps about how Douglass felt about Abraham Lincoln.
As noted, Douglass’s views of Lincoln evolved. Fueled by his personal experience with enslavement, Douglass wanted slavery to end, now and everywhere, along with giving African Americans a chance to enjoy social, economic, and political equality. He felt Lincoln was moving too timidly. The emancipation proclamation and the opportunity to discuss the issues as equals gave Douglass new insights into both the political realities and Lincoln’s personal commitment to ending slavery everywhere. The writings bring these complexities out for the reader, including Douglass’s rationales behind calling Lincoln “emphatically the Black man’s president” in his 1865 eulogy, then calling him “preeminently the white man’s president” when dedicating the Freedman’s Memorial statue eleven years later. Their relationship was complicated, to say the least, but also one built on mutual respect and admiration.
The letters to Julia Griffiths Crofts are especially interesting. Douglass, for example, opines that it might be better for the war to be prolonged in the belief that every day of continued fighting gave more opportunity for enslaved African Americans to escape their bondage and secure their freedom. Another letter immediately after the assassination suggests that perhaps Andrew Johnson might be better positioned than Lincoln to ensure Black freedom during reconstruction, an opinion that was quickly shown to be false hope after Douglass first met with Johnson.
As an anthology, the book does not have the running narrative that one normally sees in a standard text. The editors deal with this structural reality by organizing the writings in sections (e.g., pre-election, pre-emancipation, post-emancipation commentary, etc.) and then writing a preamble/summary of the main points brought out in the letters. The result is a perfect combination of resource and discourse for all series Lincoln readers.
Displaying 1 of 1 review