Everyone knows Frederick Douglass for being a famous orator and also for his famous writings, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. People very seldom talk about his famous newspaper the North Star. This newspaper contained alot of material on Douglas's analysis on the Constitution and many other conflicts that were going on at the time.
Many people may ask, "How did Douglass come about publishing the North Star." On October 27, 1847 he wrote a letter to a fellow abolitionist Amy explaining his plan to publish his newspaper. The letter stated, "My Dear Amy, I have finally decided on publishing the North Star in Rochester and to make that city my future home." http://www.lib.rochester.edu/index.cfm?PAGE=2524 Douglass moved to downtown Rochester, New York where he was to start printing his weekly newspaper. The first copy of the North Star was printed on December 3, 1847. The North Star had a slogan that said, "Right is of no Sex--Truth is of no Color--God is the father of us all, and we are all Brethren." http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr085.html The slogan was to tell people the meaning of the newspaper which was to cover his analysis on the Constitution, women's suffrage, and emancipation.
The North Star was sent to over 4,000 readers in the United Sates, Europe, and West Indies. In June of 1851 the paper merged with the Liberty Party Paper of Syracuse, New York. When the two papers combined they changed the name of the North Star to Frederick Douglass' Paper. http://www.pbs.org/blackpress/news_bios/douglass.html Even though those numbers sound good for that time period, that was not enough subscribers to help support the financial status of the newspaper. The paper kept publishing for another 10 years until it was forced to close because of its financial status.
This video shows a reading of one of the articles in the North Star.
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