Post #1675059
2026-02-21 17:55 UTC
Douglass had urged Black men to fight for freedom hundreds of times before. Then he stopped. In "Douglass’ Monthly," he wrote that he could no longer recruit “with a whole heart.” Black soldiers were paid less, barred from promotion, and executed or enslaved if captured. This was not moral exhaustion. It was leverage—withdrawal as exposure.
2/10
Image: From a series of "Carte de Visites" produced from his visit to Hillsdale College on January 21, 1863, 9 months before meeting with Lincoln..
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@Deglassco@mastodon.social 2026-02-21 18:00
Ten days later, Douglass arrived in Washington carrying the war with him: draft riots, Fort Wagner’s dead, his own sons wounded and sick. Stanton listened, delayed, offered commissions that never came. Then Douglass walked into the White House—alone, the only Black man waiting. He expected hours. Two minutes passed. “Mr. Douglass!” 3/10 Image: Lincoln the day before meeting Douglass,, Carte de Visite. August 9, 1863: By Alexander Gardner.