being denied the right to vote, and we saw a multiracial, multiethnic coalition, everything from frederick douglas to susan b. anthony to come together and build a movement that propelled this government to act and women were granted the right to vote. we look back on how the low of segregation, how a multiracial coalition of americans came together, worked together, fought together, stood together, sacrificed together, some died together, to advance the cause of civil rights. we look back to the japanese interment and we see how people regardless of their backgrounds in america, regardless of their political parties, came together to redress this wrong. and in 1988, we saw a republican president, ronald reagan, who responded by signing the civil liberties act into law and working to right the wrong of japanese interment. future generations will look back on this moment. they will look to see whether we affirmed that in america we don't injure or imprison children, we protect them. they will look back to see that in america we don't abuse rights, we protect them. they will look back at america to

is fred rick doug douglas, how does he flay into this and the five for freedom coming to. >> frederick douglas and john brown knew each other. met in 1847, and brown tried to recruit douglas to his chatham convention in ontario when he had adopted the provisional constitution for the republic he hopes to establish in the appalachian mountains and dug has did not attend that. later on in 1858, douglass was living in rochester, and he hosted a man named shields green, who was an escaped slave from the charleston area, and it's unclear how he came to rochester, but he actually stayed with the douglass family for a few weeks and there he met john brown and learned about his plans. when john brown had recruited men to go with him to harper's ferry, he very much wanted douglass, wanted a national figure that would sort of elevate the effort a bit. so he convinced douglass to come down to chambersberg, pennsylvania in august of 1859, and meet with them and douglass brought with him shields green. they had a conversation cat thatted he weekend met at an abandoned quarry and douglass told john brown he

frederick douglas goes on to say, but slavery, soon approved its ability to divest her of these excellent qualities and slavery soon proved its ability to divest her hoax its early happiness, conscience cannot stand much violence. once broken down, who is he that can repair the damage? i think we should reas people conscience motivated to public service by a shared faith, about our responsibility to speak up for the values upon which our republic was founded and through which it has been improved, when we promote humanity, kindness, love, openness, tolerance, we advance our nation. i've been heartened by the calls i've heard from across my state and country by people of many different backgrounds, many different faith traditions, many different political views, i'm reminded of that passage by frederick douglas of the harm it causes us to impose such a cruel and thoughtful policy and turns away and fails to step forward and fails to change it. i am encouraged by what change there has been so far but i remind those listening, we must redouble our efforts. let me quote just a few. the u.s. c

. >> frederick douglas is an example of somebody who has done an amazing job, being recognized more ande i notice. african-americans vote for democrats, for the most part. vast majority. they have been doing it for over 100 years. abraham lincoln, most people don't even know he was a republican, right? does anyone know? a lot of people don't know that. people don't realize, you know, civil war -- >> yeah. >> think about it, why? people don't ask that question. why was there the civil war? why could that one not have been worked out? we had leaders like susan b. anthony, have you heard of susan b. anthony? >> what do you think? why does the president not seem curious about american history or why doesn't he think he needs to know? >> the war of 1812 was fought over canadian, meaning british at the time, incursions into america, but that's neither here nor there. >> it is definitely -- >> the president was making a joke. i think it was a funny joke. and i think the fact that we're in the all treating it like a little quip to the canadian prime minister -- >> i think had the president ever

the most recent book i did was on frederick douglas and photography. i found out he is the most photographed american in the 19th century. there are more separate photographs of frederick douglass than of any other american in the 19th century. more than of lincoln, custer, twain, anyone else. i have run the numbers, and you can ask me and i can show you. there are a few unknowns, like grant. no one has added up the archives of grant. but the larger point -- and sojourner truth is one of the most photographed women in the 19th century. douglass and truth are also hugely admired public speakers, orators, among the greatest male orators respectively in the 19th century. douglass could command a higher speaking fee than any other orator, and this was back when it came with celebrity, like being an actor. it was one of the few forms of entertainment. douglass, for the first 50 years isthe 20th century, essentially out of print. he is systematically suppressed. benjamin quarrels brings douglas back into print in 1948 with his narrative. "my bondage and my fr

frederick douglas knew how to talk like a seeman and the conductor comes to him and says, you have your free papers? says, i never take my free papers to see but i have something better and he whips out a siemens production. -- protection. the conductor looked, took his less. -- left. he looked like a sailor, he he spokeke a sailor, very good english, he did not talk like a slave, he talk like a free person. although this leads to this huge confusion of what is a citizen of the united states? whose7, came in a group ancestors were imported into this country and sold as slaves become a member of the political community? as such, come entitled to all of the rights and privileges guaranteed. the question before us is whether, the class of persons, compose a portion of the people and constituent members of the sovereignty. we think that they are not. they were not intended to be included under the word citizen therefore, cannot claim any of the rights and privileges to which the instrument provides to the citizens of the united states. on the contrary, they were at that time, considered a s

know that frederick douglas was there and it was his speech and the debate about women voting that convinced the audience that that resolution should pass but it did not pass unanimously. the declaration ended up with 100 signers. 62 women, including stanton's sister and 32 men, not including her husband. in june of 1848, the telegraph wires had been hung in seneca falls so news of this convention went out across america. otherwise nobody would have novene it had happened. it created a great stir, was condemned widely. led to more conventions. it is now a national park, they have statues of the par 'tis pants. stanton on the end. and you can see the back of m of course tt's quaker cap on the very far side. 1848 was a big deal year. it was a year like 1988 in that lots of things were happening that would have enormous impact. waves of immigration would start coming to our country in 1848 as a result of epidemics and famine and revolutions in europe. 3 million immigrants would enter the country, 1/3 irish, 1/3 german. they provided the labor that would build more factories and roads and they w

frederick douglass and william wells brown. advocatedd brown temperance, like prominent reformers who believed of staining from alcohol could improve the individual and the nation. douglas and brown further argued that alcohol function as a cheap release that rob black men of their will to resist oppression. slave men understood drunkenness as a means of liberation, and slaves in the army continued indulging in this protest. during slavery, enslaved men and women escaped the totalizing oppression of plantations by throwing parties beyond controlling masters. the parties allowed enslaved people to take control of their bodies in ways that the slave owners did not intend. women reclaimed their bodies primarily through dressing up. donnedn fancy close -- fancy clothes like white women. and even alcohol, though it broke from the thinking of important black individuals -- soldiers continued to use alcohol as a means of liberation. whiskey alsoter -- freed his body. being captured by police and civilians clothes after new orleans night out, webster explained. having received some money, i went to new orleans to have a time. not being able to get anything in soldiers clothes,