Staying Fit
One man was a former slave and a radical reformer who became one of the nation’s most brilliant writers and speakers. The other was an outsider, born dirt-poor, who became one of America’s greatest presidents. While the Civil War raged, the two titans—Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln—formed an unlikely friendship that changed the nation’s course. Each man needed the other to forward his own agenda: Douglass needed Lincoln to end slavery, and Lincoln needed Douglass to mobilize blacks and destroy the Confederacy. In his latest book, Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, John Stauffer traces how each man used the other—and how their political game ultimately led to mutual admiration and respect.
Stauffer, a Harvard English professor and chair of the university’s Program in the History of American Civilization, examines how Lincoln and Douglass both mastered the art of reinvention. Naturally physically strong men, each grew up in a violent culture. Between them, they had less than one year of formal schooling; each taught himself to read, write and orate. And both married women with higher social statures—all similarities that facilitated their successes and, eventually, led to their friendship.
AARP Membership— $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal
Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.
The first biography that evaluates Lincoln and Douglass side by side arrives when America is witnessing a compelling black leader soar far beyond barriers that these two 19th-century friends helped destroy. President Barack Obama has made no secret of his personal interest in Lincoln—even being sworn in to the presidency using the same Bible as Lincoln used—and numerous historians and commentators have compared the two. But Douglass—one of the first black political figures in the United States, who ultimately earned a nomination for vice president—was also a significant influence, though less frequently acknowledged. While Obama learned how to be a successful politician from Lincoln, he learned how to inspire crowds from Douglass.
For Black History Month—chosen in 1926 because Lincoln and Douglass were both born in February—Stauffer spoke with AARP Bulletin Today about the two men’s relationship and how both figures resonate today.
Q. Why did you handle Lincoln and Douglass as a dual biography?
A. I felt like I could add a new understanding and a new appreciation of both men by framing them against the other. Dual biography allows you to move the lens, so that you obtain a fuller, rounder picture of each person. I think Abraham Lincoln has been romanticized and mythologized by many writers, especially in the way that people refer to Lincoln’s presidency as being perfect—that he made no mistakes. That creates a myth, not a man.
When you see Lincoln from Frederick Douglass’ eyes, he made numerous mistakes. He had flaws, and to be human is to have flaws. I felt that by allowing Frederick Douglass to highlight some of Lincoln’s flaws, it ultimately reveals Lincoln to be a more human figure who deserves even more respect. I also think Douglass continues to be underappreciated; in his own way, Douglass was just as significant and important to American history and literature as Lincoln.
Q. How close was their friendship?
A. Lincoln and Douglass eventually became genuinely good friends, even though they often disagreed politically. Their friendship highlights something that I think is too often lost today—that political differences don’t necessarily correlate to social relationships. In many ways, their relationship was utilitarian: Douglass understood that he needed Lincoln on his side to help end slavery, and Lincoln understood that he needed Douglass to help win the war because he could rally blacks to support the Union.
In total, though, Douglass and Lincoln only met three times, all at the White House.
Q. Was a friendship between a white man and an African American unusual at the time?
A. Yes. In fact, Douglass was the first African American to meet a U.S. president on equal terms. The next closest analogue to Douglass and Lincoln was Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr.
More From AARP
Author Jon Meacham Says Lincoln's Struggles Are Relevant Now
The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer discusses what the 16th president can teach us about a divided nation
8 Captivating Presidential Biographies
Brush up on your American history with these riveting reads
Must-Read Books About the African-American Experience
Top picks suggested by scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., author of 'The Black Church'