On January 2, 1893, Frederick Douglass delivered an
address at the dedication of the Haitian Pavilion at the World's Columbian Exposition located in Jackson Park in Chicago. Douglass, a prominent writer, abolitionist, and publisher of the North Star, spent the years 1889 to 1891 in Haiti serving the Benjamin Harrison Administration as United States minister and general consul. In his speech, Douglass discussed the character and history of Haiti, its evolution from slave colony to free and independent republic, and its relevance to African Americans. He expressed optimism about the country's future despite its numerous problems. Douglass used the occasion to speak of the commercial potential and historical importance of Haiti and to argue for improved relations between Haiti and the United States. "It is a land strikingly beautiful," Douglass explained, "diversified by mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers and plains, and contains in itself all the elements of great and enduring wealth."
With one out of every three men in Haiti engaged in military service, Douglass observed, the prosperity of the country depended largely upon the women:
They supply the towns and cities of Haiti with provisions, bringing them from distances of fifteen and twenty miles, and they often bear an additional burden in the shape of a baby . . . Thousands of these country women in their plain blue gowns and many colored turbans, every morning line the roads leading into Port au Prince."Lecture on Haiti,"
Frederick Douglass,
January 2, 1893.
African American Perspectives, 1818-1907
Douglass understood the complex history of Haiti and how its French colonial experience had laid the ground work for poverty, inequality, and military rule. "Economic Conditions in Haiti," an 1899 consular report issued by the U.S. Department of State, echoed Douglass's message about the economic potential of Haiti, "There is probably no other country in the world where capital is so greatly needed as in Haiti, or where it ought to yield greater results, all things considered."
- Search the American Memory collections on Haiti to locate more photographs of the island nation as well as documents pertaining to its history. See "Decades of Instability, 1843-1915," in Haiti: A Country Study for information on conditions in the country at the time of Douglass's visits.
- Learn more about Frederick Douglass and abolition. Search the Today in History Archive using those terms. Learn about other events related to Jackson Park or the Columbia Exposition. Search on those terms.
- Go to Session 3 of The Progress of a People, a special presentation in the collection African American Perspectives, 1818-1907 to hear an excerpt read from Booker T. Washington's address at the opening ceremonies of the 1895 Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition. Select "An Address Delivered at the Cotton States Exposition" by Washington, then choose either to listen to a recording or read a transcript.
- Also on January 2, 1893, the Emancipation Clubs of Salem and Roanoke, Virginia gathered at the Salem Town Hall to hear an "Emancipation Address" by Professor Daniel B. Williams on the subject of civic responsibility. This address can be found in African American Perspectives, 1818-1907.
