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 Fredrick Douglass - Hartford, CT Posted by:  neoc1
N 41° 45.866 W 072° 40.449
18T E 693336 N 4626236
A plaque commemorating escaped slave, author, publisher, orator, abolitionist, and civil rights leader Fredrick Douglass' first speech in Hartford is located on the grounds of the Center Church at Main and Gold Streets in Hartford, CT.
Waymark Code: WM153NW
Location: Connecticut, United States
Date Posted: 10/10/2021
Views: 0
In 1838 Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery in Maryland and moved to New England where he began speaking publicly against slavery. In 1843 he visited Hartford, CT where he gave a speech the grounds of the First Church of Christ. A bronze plaque contains an image of Frederick Douglass and excerpts from his speech taken from his autobiography. The plaque is inscribed:
Frederick Douglass
First speech in Hartford on the grounds of
this Church May 18, 1843
{Image of Frederick Douglass}
"[We] found several towns in which people
closed their doors and refused to entertain
the subject. Notably among those were
Hartford, Conn., and Grafton, Mass. In the
former, [we] determined to hold our meetings
under the open sky, which we did in a little
court under the eaves of the 'sanctuary
ministered unto by the Rev. Dr. [Joel] Hawes,
with much satisfaction to ourselves and I
think great advantage to our cause."
-- From Douglass autobiography
The Rev. Dr. Joel Hawes (1789-1867) was
Minister of Center Church, Hartford from 1818
to 1864, and a founding member of the
Connecticut Anti-Slavery Society.
Books by Fredrick Douglass:
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
My Bondage and My Freedom
Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
My Escape from Slavery, and Reconstruction
The Heroic Slave
Unchained
Great Speeches by Frederick Douglass
What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
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