The Poise of Frederick Douglass

Oh to be a fly on the wall when Frederick Douglass met with Lincoln at the White House.

Oct 15, 2024

Frederick Douglass Print by Stephen Crotts

“Are you the President? No, replied the stranger, I am Frederick Douglass.”

There are a number of stories from the life of Frederick Douglass that are simply astonishing. With a mere three weeks left in his life, he sang In Thy cleft, O Rock of Ages at a dinner party with “a pathos that moved us all.” A testament to his abiding faith despite a life of mistreatment. Or the time he realized that reading was his path out of slavery. That moment completely altered the direction of his life.

But there’s one story that rises above the rest in highlighting the poise and presence of Frederick Douglass. In 1864, amidst the horror of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln invited Douglass to the White House. As Douglass waited to meet with the President, a Judge Joseph T. Mills of Wisconsin was also in the waiting room awaiting a meeting. Mills recorded the following in his diary:

I saw a man quietly reading who possessed a remarkable physiognomy. I was riveted to the spot. I stood & stared at him. He raised his flashing eyes & caught me in the act. I was compelled to speak. Said I, Are you the President? No, replied the stranger, I am Frederick Douglass.1

First of all, Frederick Douglass was quietly reading a book while awaiting a meeting with the President. Most people would have been pacing nervously. Second, he had such a presence and poise about him that Mills wondered if he was the president.

I love this story. I love that Lincoln wanted to meet with Douglass. I love that Douglass had a book with him. I love that a successful judge was completely enamored with the man.

If you haven’t read Frederick Douglass’ autobiography, make a plan to do so soon. It’s a mere 76 pages and each paragraph is a work of art forged through pain and suffering. I’ve recorded two podcast episodes about Douglass, my favorite American: