Frederick Douglass Speaks on American Democracy

About the Event

Join Frederick Douglass for a conversation celebrating American democracy. In 1876, on the country’s centennial, Douglass joined Lucy Stone, Wendell Phillips, and Mary Livermore before a standing-room-only audience at Faneuil Hall in Boston. The protest speech he delivered that day challenged America to move toward a more inclusive and perfect union.

In celebration of America 250, the semiquincentennial of our democracy, you are now the audience as Frederick Douglass reflects on his transformation from bondsman to statesman. Leave this performance with a deeper understanding of how the American Revolution, slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction shaped Douglass’s views.

When many abolitionists argued that the Constitution was a “pro-slavery document,” how did Douglass come to believe it was “a glorious liberty document?”

About Nathan M. Richardson

Nathan M. Richardson is a published author, performance poet, and Frederick Douglass historian. He is the author of four collections of poetry and teaches a variety of workshops for emerging writers and spoken word artists.

Nathan is now in the 14th year of The Frederick Douglass Speaking Tour, a living history performance that captures the physical, spiritual, and intellectual essence of the former slave, writer, orator, and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Nathan is a Chautauqua scholar with more than 500 living history performances across the country.

This living history program annually supports American Studies programs at Christopher Newport University, Founding Forward at Valley Forge, PA, Rochester Institute of Technology, and other universities. The Frederick Douglass Speaking Tour is also featured on American Cruise Lines (Small Ship Historic Cruises).

You can learn more about Nathan Richardson and his work at www.scpublishing.com.

Moderator Susan Marie Frontczak is a living history performer with 24 years of experience developing six Chautauqua portrayals, presented in 43 U.S. states and nine countries. Her characters include Marie Curie, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary Shelley, Irene Castle, Clara Barton, and Erma Bombeck. She has coached Living History presenters since 2004 and is the author of the Young Chautauqua handbooks for Colorado Humanities.

This program is made possible in part through partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Leach Foundation.