[Douglass, Frederick]

Broadside (10 x 8 in.; 254 x 203 mm); a few small spots in the lower third.

See D. R. Biddle & M. Dubin, Tasting Freedom (2010), pp. 290-292

see cataloguing
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

"Are freemen less brave than slaves?"

As the Army of Northern Virginia invaded Pennsylvania, people awoke in early June in Philadelphia to see broadsides signed by 55 black citizens, plastered on the walls of the city, appealing to free blacks to enlist in the Union Army. The signers were 54 Philadelphia citizens who could read and write, possessing their own race consciousness, and one frequent visitor Frederick Douglass. On the morning of 17 June, 90 men and teenage boys were mustered into service.

This is the handbill version of this ephemeral publication; a larger, poster version is also extant. The magnificent, stirring oratory, is widely considered to be the work of Douglass: "... For generations we have suffered under the horrors of slavery ... but now the whole aspect of our relations to the white race is changed ... Let us Rush to Arms! Fail Now and our Race is Doomed on this the soil of our birth ... If we value Liberty, if we wish to be free in this land, if we love our country, if we love our families, our children, our homes, we must strike NOW while the Country calls ... We have seen what Valor and Heroism our brothers displayed at Port Hudson and at Milliken's Bend ... they have startled the world by the most exalted heroism. If they have proved themselves heroes, can not we prove ourselves men? Are Freemen less brave than Slaves? More than a Million White Men have left Comfortable Homes and joined the Armies of the Union ... cannot we leave ours, and swell the hosts of the Union ..."