Chapter 9 - Journalism

Summary

This chapter explores the four periodicals edited by Frederick Douglass. Made possible through the contributions of various and sundry staff members and filled with pieces from a diverse range of writers, Douglass’s newspapers were collaborative productions that he not only contributed to as a writer but, more centrally, oversaw as an editor. Douglass’s newspapers were wide-ranging, diverse publications that resist any easy summary. But considering Douglass within the context of his four periodicals offers a particularly vivid example of his interest in and use of international networks and affairs. Throughout his nearly three-decade career as an editor, Douglass used his newspapers to relate the cause of black liberation in the United States to freedom struggles abroad. This chapter looks closely at the ways in which this international focus was reflected not only in the content of Douglass’s newspapers, but also in their financing, staff, and readership.