On This Date One Hundred and Fifty-six Years Ago - December 3, 1847

Submitted by:

Cathy Nelson
Historian, Friends of Freedom Society
Coordinator, Ohio Underground Railroad Association

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North Star Begins Publication

On December 3, 1847, in Rochester, New York, Frederick Douglass and Martin Delany began publishing the North Star, an abolitionist newspaper. As the most sought after speaker on slavery, women's suffrage, and other subjects, Douglass had raised thousands of dollars to help found the paper. The North Star became one of the most widely read antislavery newspapers in the country. Douglass finally had a forum by which to address the Black population in this country. Douglass's cofounder, Martin Delany, was a militant abolitionist and agent on the Underground Railroad. Douglas used his own home in Rochester as an Underground Railroad station.