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 CONTENTS IN DETAIL

COVER

TITLEPAGE

COPYRIGHT

DEDICATION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE TECHNICAL REVIEWER

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION
Who Is This Book For?
About This Book
Setting Up the Environment

Install Python on Windows

Install Python on macOS
Install Python on Linux
 Installing Third-Party Modules

Summary

CHAPTER 1: PROBLEM-SOLVING WITH

ALGORITHMS

The Analytic Approach

The Galilean Model

The Solve-for-x Strategy
The Inner Physicist

The Algorithmic Approach

Thinking with Your Neck

Applying Chapman’s Algorithm
Solving Problems with Algorithms
Summary

CHAPTER 2: ALGORITHMS IN HISTORY

Russian Peasant Multiplication

Doing RPM by Hand
Implementing RPM in Python

Euclid’s Algorithm

Doing Euclid’s Algorithm by Hand

Implementing Euclid’s Algorithm in
Python

Japanese Magic Squares

 Creating the Luo Shu Square in Python
Implementing Kurushima's Algorithm in
Python

Summary

CHAPTER 3: MAXIMIZING AND MINIMIZING

Setting Tax Rates

Steps in the Right Direction

Turning the Steps into an Algorithm

Objections to Gradient Ascent

The Problem of Local Extrema

Education and Lifetime Income

Climbing the Education Hill—the Right
Way

From Maximization to Minimization

Hill Climbing in General
When Not to Use an Algorithm
Summary

CHAPTER 4: SORTING AND SEARCHING

Insertion Sort

Putting the Insertion in Insertion Sort

Sorting via Insertion

Measuring Algorithm Efficiency

 Why Aim for Efficiency?
Measuring Time Precisely
Counting Steps
Comparing to Well-Known Functions
Adding Even More Theoretical Precision
Using Big O Notation

Merge Sort
Merging
From Merging to Sorting
Sleep Sort
From Sorting to Searching
Binary Search
Applications of Binary Search

Summary

CHAPTER 5: PURE MATH

Continued Fractions
Compressing and Communicating Phi
More about Continued Fractions
An Algorithm for Generating Continued
Fractions
From Decimals to Continued Fractions
From Fractions to Radicals
 Square Roots

The Babylonian Algorithm

Square Roots in Python
Random Number Generators
The Possibility of Randomness
Linear Congruential Generators
Judging a PRNG
The Diehard Tests for Randomness
Linear Feedback Shift Registers
Summary

CHAPTER 6: ADVANCED OPTIMIZATION

Life of a Salesman

Setting Up the Problem

Brains vs. Brawn
The Nearest Neighbor Algorithm
Implementing Nearest Neighbor Search
Checking for Further Improvements
Algorithms for the Avaricious
Introducing the Temperature Function

Simulated Annealing
Tuning Our Algorithm
Avoiding Major Setbacks
 Allowing Resets
Testing Our Performance

Summary

CHAPTER 7: GEOMETRY
The Postmaster Problem
Triangles 101
Advanced Graduate-Level Triangle Studies

Finding the Circumcenter

Increasing Our Plotting Capabilities
Delaunay Triangulation

Incrementally Generating Delaunay

Triangulations
Implementing Delaunay Triangulations
From Delaunay to Voronoi
Summary

CHAPTER 8: LANGUAGE
Why Language Algorithms Are Hard
Space Insertion
Defining a Word List and Finding Words
Dealing with Compound Words
Checking Between Existing Spaces for
Potential Words
 Using an Imported Corpus to Check for
Valid Words
Finding First and Second Halves of
Potential Words

Phrase Completion
Tokenizing and Getting N-grams
Our Strategy
Finding Candidate n + 1-grams
Selecting a Phrase Based on Frequency

Summary

CHAPTER 9: MACHINE LEARNING

Decision Trees
Building a Decision Tree
Downloading Our Dataset
Looking at the Data
Splitting Our Data
Smarter Splitting
Choosing Splitting Variables
Adding Depth

Evaluating Our Decision Tree

The Problem of Overfitting

Improvements and Refinements

Random Forests
 Summary

CHAPTER 10: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

La Pipopipette
Drawing the Board
Representing Games
Scoring Games
Game Trees and How to Win a Game
Building Our Tree
Winning a Game
Adding Enhancements

Summary

CHAPTER 11: FORGING AHEAD

Doing More with Algorithms

Building a Chatbot

Text Vectorization
Vector Similarity

Becoming Better and Faster

Algorithms for the Ambitious
Solving the Deepest Mysteries

INDEX
 DIVE INTO ALGORITHMS

A Pythonic Adventure for the Intrepid

Beginner

Bradford Tuckfield

San Francisco
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DIVE INTO ALGORITHMS. Copyright © 2021 by Bradford Tuckfield
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written
permission of the copyright owner and the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-1-71850-068-6 (print)

ISBN-13: 978-1-71850-069-3 (ebook)
Publisher: William Pollock
Execuitve Editor: Barbara Yien
Production Editors: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama and Laurel Chun
Developmental Editor: Alex Freed
Cover Design: Gina Redman
Interior Design: Octopod Studios
Technical Reviewer: Alok Malik
Copyeditor: Scout Festa
Compositor: Jeff Lytle, Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Proofreader: Rachel Monaghan
Illustrator: Jeff Wilson, Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Indexer: Valerie Perry

For information on distribution, translations, or bulk sales, please contact No Starch

Press, Inc. directly:
No Starch Press, Inc.
245 8th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
www.nostarch.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Tuckfield, Bradford, author.

Title: Dive into algorithms / Bradford Tuckfield.
Description: San Francisco : No Starch Press, [2020] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020026327 (print) | LCCN 2020026328 (ebook) | ISBN
9781718500686 (paperback) | ISBN 1718500688 (paperback) | ISBN
9781718500693 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Computer algorithms. | Computer programming.
Classification: LCC QA76.9.A43 T83 2020 (print) | LCC QA76.9.A43 (ebook)
| DDC 005.13--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020026327
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No Starch Press and the No Starch Press logo are registered trademarks of No Starch
Press, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the
trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than use a trademark symbol with
every occurrence of a trademarked name, we are using the names only in an editorial
fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement
of the trademark.
The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis, without warranty.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the
author nor No Starch Press, Inc. shall have any liability to any person or entity with
respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by
the information contained in it.
Dedicated to my parents,
David and Becky Tuckfield,
for believing in me and for
teaching me la pipopipette.
About the Author
Bradford Tuckfield is a data scientist and writer. He runs a data
science consulting firm called Kmbara (https://kmbara.com/)
and a fiction website called Dreamtigers
(http://thedreamtigers.com/).

About the Technical Reviewer

Alok Malik is a data scientist based in New Delhi, India. He
works on developing deep learning models in both natural
language processing and computer vision with Python. He has
developed and deployed solutions such as language models,
image and text classifiers, language translators, speech-to-text
models, named entity recognizers, and object detectors. He has
also co-authored a book on machine learning. In his free time
he likes to read about finance, do MOOCs, and play video
games on his console.
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

“A word is not the same with one writer as it is with another.

One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat
pocket.” This is how Charles Peguy described writing individual
words. The same thing is true of chapters and whole books. At
times, it felt like I was pulling this book out of my overcoat
pocket. At other times, it felt like I was tearing it from my guts.
It seems appropriate to acknowledge everyone who contributed
to the long process, either by loaning me an overcoat or by
helping me clean up my spilled guts.

Many kind people helped me on the long path I took to gain the
experience and skills required to write this book. My parents,
David and Becky Tuckfield, gave me so many gifts, starting
with life and education, and continued to believe in me,
encourage me, and help me in many other ways too numerous
to list here. Scott Robertson gave me my first job writing code,
even though I was unqualified and not very good. Randy
Jenson gave me my first data science job, again despite my
inexperience and limitations. Kumar Kashyap gave me my first
chance to lead a development team to implement algorithms.
David Zou was the first person to pay me for writing an article
($10 minus PayPal fees for 10 short movie reviews), and that
felt so good, it put me on a path to writing more. Aditya Date
was the first person to suggest that I write a book and gave me
my first chance to do so.

I also received encouragement from many teachers and

mentors. David Cardon gave me my first chance to collaborate
on academic research, and taught me many things during that
process. Bryan Skelton and Leonard Woo showed me examples
of what I wanted to grow up to be. Wes Hutchinson taught me
crucial algorithms, like k-means clustering, and helped me
better understand how algorithms work. Chad Emmett taught
me how to think about history and culture, and Chapter 2 is
dedicated to him. Uri Simonsohn showed me how to think
about data.

Some people helped to make the process of writing this book a

joy. Seshu Edala helped me adjust my work schedule to be able
to write, and provided constant encouragement. Alex Freed
was a joy to work with during the editing process. Jennifer
Eagar, via Venmo transfer months before initial publication,
unofficially became the first person to buy a copy of the book;
that was appreciated during a difficult time. Hlaing Hlaing Tun
was supportive, helpful, sweet, and encouraging at every step.

I cannot repay all of these debts of gratitude, but at least I can

say thank you. Thank you!
 INTRODUCTION

Algorithms are everywhere. You have probably

executed a few already today. In this book, you
will read about dozens of algorithms: some simple, some
complex, some famous, some unknown, all interesting, and all
worth learning. The first algorithm of the book is also the most
delicious—it generates a berry granola parfait, and it’s shown in
its entirety in Figure 1. You may be accustomed to calling this
type of algorithm a “recipe,” but it fits Donald Knuth’s
definition of an algorithm: a finite set of rules that gives a
sequence of operations for solving a specific type of problem.

Figure 1: An algorithm: a finite set of rules that gives a sequence of operations for
solving a specific type of problem
Parfait-making is not the only domain of life governed by
algorithms. Every year, the US government requires each adult
citizen to execute an algorithm, and strives to imprison those
who fail to do so correctly. In 2017, millions of Americans
fulfilled this duty by completing the algorithm shown in Figure
2, which is taken from a form called 1040-EZ.

Figure 2: The instructions for filing taxes fit the definition of an algorithm.

How is it that taxes and parfaits can have anything in common?

Taxes are inevitable, numeric, difficult, and universally
disliked. Parfaits are infrequent, artistic, effortless, and adored
without exception. The only trait they share is that people
prepare both by following algorithms.
In addition to defining algorithm, the great computer scientist
Donald Knuth noted that it is nearly synonymous with recipe,
procedure, and rigmarole. In the case of filing taxes via the
pictured 1040-EZ form, we have 12 steps (a finite list) that
specify operations (like addition in step 4 and subtraction in
step 6) to solve a specific type of problem: wanting to avoid
being imprisoned for tax evasion. In the case of making a
parfait, we have six finite steps that specify operations (like
placing in step 1 and covering in step 2) to solve a specific type
of problem: wanting to have a parfait in your hand or mouth.

As you learn more about algorithms, you will begin to see them
everywhere and come to appreciate just how powerful they can
be. In Chapter 1, we will discuss the remarkable human ability
to catch a ball, and find out the details of the algorithm in the
human subconscious that enables us to do so. Later, we will
talk about algorithms for debugging code, deciding how much
to eat at a buffet, maximizing revenue, sorting lists, scheduling
tasks, proofreading text, delivering mail, and winning games
like chess and sudoku. Along the way, we will learn to judge
algorithms according to several attributes that professionals
believe are important for them to possess. And we will begin to
get a sense of the craftsmanship or even, dare we say, the art of
algorithms, which provides scope for creativity and personality
in an otherwise precise and quantitative endeavor.
Who Is This Book For?
This book provides a friendly introduction to algorithms, with
accompanying Python code. To get the greatest possible benefit
from it, you should have some experience with the following:

1. Programming/coding. Every major example in the

book is illustrated with Python code. We strive to
provide walkthroughs and explanations of every code
snippet to make the book digestible for someone with
no Python experience and not much programming
experience. Nevertheless, someone who has at least
some basic understanding of the fundamentals of
programming—such as variable assignment, for loops,
if/then statements, and function calls—will be the most
prepared to benefit.

2. High school math. Algorithms are often used to

accomplish many of the same goals as math, like solving
equations, optimizing, and calculating values.
Algorithms also apply many of the same principles that
are associated with mathematical thinking, like logic
and the need for precise definitions. Some of our
discussions veer into mathematical territory, including
algebra, the Pythagorean theorem, pi, and the teensiest
bit of very basic calculus. We strive to avoid
abstruseness and we don’t venture beyond the math
taught in American high schools.
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Anyone who feels comfortable with these prerequisites should
be able to master all the content in this book. It was written
with the following groups in mind:

1. Students. This book is suitable for an introductory

class on algorithms, computer science, or programming
at the high school or undergraduate level.
2. Professionals. Several types of professionals could
gain valuable skills from this book, including developers
or engineers who want to gain familiarity with Python,
and developers who want to learn more about the
foundations of computer science and how to improve
code by thinking algorithmically.

3. Interested amateurs. The true target audience of

this book is interested amateurs. Algorithms touch
nearly every part of life, so everyone should be able to
find at least something in this book that enhances their
appreciation of the world around them.

About This Book

This book does not cover every aspect of every extant
algorithm; it’s meant only as an introduction. After reading it,
you will have a solid grasp of what an algorithm is, know how
to write code to implement important algorithms, and
understand how to judge and optimize algorithms’
performance. You will also be familiar with many of the most
popular algorithms professionals use today. The chapters are
organized as follows:

1. Chapter 1: Problem-Solving with Algorithms, in

which we tackle the problem of how to catch a ball, find
evidence for a subconscious algorithm governing
human behavior, and discuss what that teaches us
about the utility of algorithms and how to design them.
2. Chapter 2: Algorithms in History, in which we
travel around the world and through history to find out
how ancient Egyptians and Russian peasants multiplied
numbers, how the ancient Greeks found greatest
common divisors, and how medieval Japanese scholars
created magic squares.
3. Chapter 3: Maximizing and Minimizing, in which
we introduce gradient ascent and gradient descent.
These simple methods for finding the maxima and
minima of functions are used for optimization, an
important goal of many algorithms.

4. Chapter 4: Sorting and Searching, in which we

present fundamental algorithms for sorting lists and
searching for elements within them. We also introduce
how to measure the efficiency and speed of algorithms.
5. Chapter 5: Pure Math, in which we concern
ourselves with purely mathematical algorithms,
including those for generating continued fractions,
 calculating square roots, and generating pseudorandom
numbers.

6. Chapter 6: Advanced Optimization, in which we

cover an advanced method for finding optimal
solutions: simulated annealing. We also introduce the
traveling salesman problem, a standard problem in
advanced computer science.

7. Chapter 7: Geometry, in which we go over how to

generate Voronoi diagrams, which can be useful in a
variety of geometric applications.

8. Chapter 8: Language, in which we discuss how to

intelligently add spaces to a text that’s missing them,
and how to intelligently suggest the next words in
phrases.
9. Chapter 9: Machine Learning, in which we discuss
decision trees, a fundamental machine learning
method.

10. Chapter 10: Artificial Intelligence, in which we

jump to an ambitious project: implementing an
algorithm that can play games against us—and maybe
even win. We start with a simple game, dots and boxes,
and discuss how we could improve performance.

11. Chapter 11: Forging Ahead, in which talk about how

to progress to more advanced work related to
algorithms. We discuss how to build a chatbot, and how
to win a million dollars by creating a sudoku algorithm.
Setting Up the Environment
We’ll implement the algorithms described in this book by using
the Python language. Python is free and open source, and it
runs on every major platform. You can use the following steps
to install Python on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

INSTALL PYTHON ON WINDOWS

To install Python on Windows, follow these steps:

1. Open the page dedicated to the latest version of Python

for Windows (make sure you include the final slash):
https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/.
2. Click the link for the Python release you want to
download. To download the most recent release, click
the link Latest Python 3 Release - 3.X.Y, where
3.X.Y is the latest version number, like 3.8.3. The code
in this book was tested on both Python 3.6 and Python
3.8. If you’re interested in downloading an older
version, scroll down on this page to the Stable Releases
section to find a release you prefer.

3. The link you clicked in step 2 takes you to a page

dedicated to your chosen Python release. In the Files
section, click the Windows x86-64 executable
installer link.
 4. The link in step 3 downloads a .exe file to your
computer. This is an installer file; double-click it to
open it. It will execute the installation process
automatically. Check the box Add Python 3.X to
PATH where X is the release number of the installer
you downloaded, like 8. After that, click Install Now
and choose the default options.

5. When you see the “Setup was successful” message, click

Close to complete the installation process.

There is now a new application on your computer. Its name is

Python 3.X, where X is the version of Python 3 that you
installed. In the Windows search bar, type Python. When the
application appears, click it to open a Python console. You can
enter Python commands in this console, and they’ll run there.

INSTALL PYTHON ON MACOS

To install Python on macOS follow these steps:

1. Open the page dedicated to the latest version of Python

for macOS (make sure you include the final slash):
https://www.python.org/downloads/mac-osx/.

2. Click the link for the Python release you want to

download. To download the most recent release, click
the link Latest Python 3 Release - 3.X.Y, where
3.X.Y is the latest version number, like 3.8.3. The code
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 of these events, and by the fact of the habitual leniency and
good-will cherished by the North towards the South. Our very
lack of preparation for the conflict disposed us to look for some
other than the way of blood out of the difficulty. Treason had
largely infected both army and navy. Floyd had scattered our
arms. Cobb had depleted our treasury, and Buchanan had
poisoned the political thought of the times by his doctrines of
anti-coercion. It was in such a condition of things as this that
Abraham Lincoln (compelled from fear of assassination to enter
the capital in disguise) was inaugurated and issued his
proclamation for the ‘repossession of the forts, places, and
property which had been seized from the Union,’ and his call
upon the militia of the several States to the number of 75,000
men—a paper which showed how little even he comprehended
the work then before the loyal nation. It was perhaps better for
the country and for mankind that the good man could not know
the end from the beginning. Had he foreseen the thousands who
must sink into bloody graves; the mountains of debt to be laid on
the breast of the nation; the terrible hardships and sufferings
involved in the contest; and his own death by an assassin’s
hand, he too might have adopted the weak sentiment of those
who said ‘erring sisters depart in peace.’”

From the first, I, for one, saw in this war the end of slavery; and
truth requires me to say that my interest in the success of the North
was largely due to this belief. True it is that this faith was many times
shaken by passing events, but never destroyed. When Secretary
Seward instructed our ministers to say to the governments to which
they were accredited, that, “terminate however it might, the status of
no class of the people of the United States would be changed by the
rebellion—that the slaves would be slaves still, and that the masters
would be masters still”—when General McClellan and General Butler
warned the slaves in advance that if any attempt was made by them
to gain their freedom, it would be suppressed with an iron hand—
when the government persistently refused to employ colored troops
—when the emancipation proclamation of General John C. Fremont
in Missouri was withdrawn—when slaves were being returned from
our lines to their masters—when Union soldiers were stationed about
the farm houses of Virginia to guard and protect the master in
holding his slaves—when Union soldiers made themselves more
active in kicking colored men out of their camps than in shooting
rebels—when even Mr. Lincoln could tell the poor negro that “he was
the cause of the war,” I still believed, and spoke as I believed, all
over the North, that the mission of the war was the liberation of the
slave, as well as the salvation of the Union; and hence from the first I
reproached the North that they fought the rebels with only one hand,
when they might strike effectually with two—that they fought with
their soft white hand while they kept their black iron hand chained
and helpless behind them—that they fought the effect while they
protected the cause, and that the Union cause would never prosper
till the war assumed an anti-slavery attitude, and the negro was
enlisted on the loyal side. In every way possible, in the columns of
my paper and on the platform, by letters to friends, at home and
abroad, I did all that I could to impress this conviction upon this
country. But nations seldom listen to advice from individuals,
however reasonable. They are taught less by theories than by facts
and events. There was much that could be said against making the
war an abolition war—much that seemed wise and patriotic. “Make
the war an abolition war,” we were told, “and you drive the border
States into the rebellion, and thus add power to the enemy, and
increase the number you will have to meet on the battle-field. You
will exasperate and intensify southern feeling, making it more
desperate, and put far away the day of peace between the two
sections.” “Employ the arm of the negro, and the loyal men of the
North will throw down their arms and go home.” “This is the white
man’s country, and the white man’s war.” “It would inflict an
intolerable wound upon the pride and spirit of white soldiers of the
Union, to see the negro in the United States uniform. Besides, if you
make the negro a soldier, you cannot depend on his courage: a
crack of his old master’s whip would send him scampering in terror
from the field.” And so it was that custom, pride, prejudice, and the
old-time respect for southern feeling, held back the government from
an anti-slavery policy, and from arming the negro. Meanwhile the
rebellion availed itself of the negro most effectively. He was not only
the stomach of the rebellion, by supplying its commissary
department, but he built its forts, and dug its intrenchments, and
performed other duties of its camp, which left the rebel soldier more
free to fight the loyal army than he could otherwise have been. It was
the cotton and corn of the negro that made the rebellion sack stand
on end, and caused a continuance of the war. “Destroy these,” was
the burden of all my utterances during this part of the struggle, “and
you cripple and destroy the rebellion.” It is surprising how long and
bitterly the government resisted and rejected this view of the
situation. The abolition heart of the North ached over the delay, and
uttered its bitter complaints, but the administration remained blind
and dumb. Bull Run, Ball’s Bluff, Big Bethel, Fredericksburg, and the
Peninsula disasters were the only teachers whose authority was of
sufficient importance to excite the attention or respect of our rulers,
and they were even slow in being taught by these. An important
point was gained, however, when General B. F. Butler, at Fortress
Monroe, announced the policy of treating the slaves as
“contrabands,” to be made useful to the Union cause, and was
sustained therein at Washington, and sentiments of a similar nature
were expressed on the floor of Congress by Hon. A. G. Riddle of
Ohio. A grand accession was made to this view of the case when
Hon. Simon Cameron, then secretary of war, gave it his earnest
support, and General David Hunter put the measure into practical
operation in South Carolina. General Phelps from Vermont, in
command at Carrollton, La., also advocated the same plan though
under discouragements which cost him his command. And many and
grievous disasters on flood and field were needed to educate the
loyal nation and President Lincoln up to the realization of the
necessity, not to say justice, of this position, and many devices,
intermediate steps, and make-shifts were suggested to smooth the
way to the ultimate policy of freeing the slave, and arming the
freedmen.
When at last the truth began to dawn upon the administration
that the negro might be made useful to loyalty, as well as to treason,
to the Union as well as to the Confederacy, it then considered in
what way it could employ him, which would in the least shock and
offend the popular prejudice against him. He was already in the army
as a waiter, and in that capacity there was no objection to him, and
so it was thought that as this was the case, the feeling which
tolerated him as a waiter would not seriously object if he should be
admitted to the army as a laborer, especially as no one under a
southern sun cared to have a monopoly of digging and toiling in
trenches. This was the first step in employing negroes in the United
States service. The second step was to give them a peculiar
costume which should distinguish them from soldiers, and yet mark
them as a part of the loyal force. As the eyes of the loyal
administration still further opened, it was proposed to give these
laborers something better than spades and shovels with which to
defend themselves in cases of emergency. Still later it was proposed
to make them soldiers, but soldiers without the blue uniform. Soldiers
with a mark upon them to show that they were inferior to other
soldiers; soldiers with a badge of degradation upon them. However,
once in the army as a laborer, once there with a red shirt on his back
and a pistol in his belt, the negro was not long in appearing on the
field as a soldier. But still he was not to be a soldier in the sense, and
on an equal footing, with white soldiers. It was given out that he was
not to be employed in the open field with white troops, under the
inspiration of doing battle and winning victories for the Union cause,
and in the face and teeth of his old masters, but that he should be
made to garrison forts in yellow fever and otherwise unhealthy
localities of the South, to save the health of white soldiers, and in
order to keep up the distinction further the black soldiers were to
have only half the wages of the white soldiers, and were to be
commanded entirely by white commissioned officers. While of
course I was deeply pained and saddened by the estimate thus put
upon my race, and grieved at the slowness of heart which marked
the conduct of the loyal government, I was not discouraged, and
urged every man who could to enlist; to get an eagle on his button, a
musket on his shoulder, and the star-spangled banner over his head.
Hence, as soon as Governor Andrew of Massachusetts received
permission from Mr. Lincoln to raise two colored regiments, the 54th
and 55th, I made the following address to the colored citizens of the
North through my paper, then being published in Rochester, which
was copied in the leading journals:
 “men of color, to arms.
“When first the rebel cannon shattered the walls of Sumpter
and drove away its starving garrison, I predicted that the war
then and there inaugurated would not be fought out entirely by
white men. Every month’s experience during these dreary years
has confirmed that opinion. A war undertaken and brazenly
carried on for the perpetual enslavement of colored men, calls
logically and loudly for colored men to help suppress it. Only a
moderate share of sagacity was needed to see that the arm of
the slave was the best defense against the arm of the
slaveholder. Hence with every reverse to the national arms, with
every exulting shout of victory raised by the slaveholding rebels,
I have implored the imperiled nation to unchain against her foes,
her powerful black hand. Slowly and reluctantly that appeal is
beginning to be heeded. Stop not now to complain that it was not
heeded sooner. It may or it may not have been best that it
should not. This is not the time to discuss that question. Leave it
to the future. When the war is over, the country is saved, peace
is established, and the black man’s rights are secured, as they
will be, history with an impartial hand will dispose of that and
sundry other questions. Action! Action! not criticism, is the plain
duty of this hour. Words are now useful only as they stimulate to
blows. The office of speech now is only to point out when,
where, and how to strike to the best advantage. There is no time
to delay. The tide is at its flood that leads on to fortune. From
East to West, from North to South, the sky is written all over,
‘Now or never.’ Liberty won by white men would lose half its
luster. ‘Who would be free themselves must strike the blow.’
‘Better even die free, than to live slaves.’ This is the sentiment of
every brave colored man amongst us. There are weak and
cowardly men in all nations. We have them amongst us. They
tell you this is the ‘white man’s war’; that you will be no ‘better off
after than before the war’; that the getting of you into the army is
to ‘sacrifice you on the first opportunity.’ Believe them not;
cowards themselves, they do not wish to have their cowardice
shamed by your brave example. Leave them to their timidity, or
to whatever motive may hold them back. I have not thought
lightly of the words I am now addressing you. The counsel I give
comes of close observation of the great struggle now in
progress, and of the deep conviction that this is your hour and
mine. In good earnest then, and after the best deliberation, I now
for the first time during this war, feel at liberty to call and counsel
you to arms. By every consideration which binds you to your
enslaved fellow-countrymen, and the peace and welfare of your
country; by every aspiration which you cherish for the freedom
and equality of yourselves and your children; by all the ties of
blood and identity which make us one with the brave black men
now fighting our battles in Louisiana and in South Carolina, I
urge you to fly to arms, and smite with death the power that
would bury the government and your liberty in the same
hopeless grave. I wish I could tell you that the State of New York
calls you to this high honor. For the moment her constituted
authorities are silent on the subject. They will speak by and by,
and doubtless on the right side; but we are not compelled to wait
for her. We can get at the throat of treason and slavery through
the State of Massachusetts. She was first in the War of
Independence; first to break the chains of her slaves; first to
make the black man equal before the law; first to admit colored
children to her common schools, and she was first to answer
with her blood the alarm cry of the nation, when its capital was
menaced by rebels. You know her patriotic governor, and you
know Charles Sumner. I need not add more.
“Massachusetts now welcomes you to arms as soldiers. She
has but a small colored population from which to recruit. She has
full leave of the general government to send one regiment to the
war, and she has undertaken to do it. Go quickly and help fill up
the first colored regiment from the North. I am authorized to
assure you that you will receive the same wages, the same
rations, the same equipments, the same protection, the same
treatment, and the same bounty, secured to white soldiers. You
will be led by able and skillful officers, men who will take
especial pride in your efficiency and success. They will be quick
to accord to you all the honor you shall merit by your valor, and
 see that your rights and feelings are respected by other soldiers.
I have assured myself on these points, and can speak with
authority. More than twenty years of unswerving devotion to our
common cause may give me some humble claim to be trusted at
this momentous crisis. I will not argue. To do so implies
hesitation and doubt, and you do not hesitate. You do not doubt.
The day dawns; the morning star is bright upon the horizon! The
iron gate of our prison stands half open. One gallant rush from
the North will fling it wide open, while four millions of our
brothers and sisters shall march out into liberty. The chance is
now given you to end in a day the bondage of centuries, and to
rise in one bound from social degradation to the plane of
common equality with all other varieties of men. Remember
Denmark Vesey of Charleston; remember Nathaniel Turner of
South Hampton; remember Shields Green and Copeland, who
followed noble John Brown, and fell as glorious martyrs for the
cause of the slave. Remember that in a contest with oppression,
the Almighty has no attribute which can take sides with
oppressors. The case is before you. This is our golden
opportunity. Let us accept it, and forever wipe out the dark
reproaches unsparingly hurled against us by our enemies. Let us
win for ourselves the gratitude of our country, and the best
blessings of our posterity through all time. The nucleus of this
first regiment is now in camp at Readville, a short distance from
Boston. I will undertake to forward to Boston all persons
adjudged fit to be mustered into the regiment, who shall apply to
me at any time within the next two weeks.
“Rochester, March 2, 1863.”

Immediately after authority had been given by President Lincoln

to Governor John A. Andrew of Massachusetts to raise and equip
two regiments of colored men for the war, I received a letter from
George L. Stearns of Boston, a noble worker for freedom in Kansas,
and a warm friend of John Brown, earnestly entreating me to assist
in raising the required number of men. It was presumed that by my
labors in the anti-slavery cause, I had gained some influence with
the colored men of the country, and that they would listen to me in
this emergency; which supposition, I am happy to say, was
supported by the results. There were fewer colored people in
Massachusetts then than now, and it was necessary in order to
make up the full quota of these regiments, to recruit for them in other
northern States. The nominal conditions upon which colored men
were asked to enlist, were not satisfactory to me or them; but
assurances from Governor Andrew that they would in the end be
made just and equal, together with my faith in the logic of events,
and my conviction that the wise thing to do was for the colored man
to get into the army by any door open to him, no matter how narrow,
made me accept with alacrity the work to which I was invited. The
raising of these two regiments—the 54th and 55th—and their
splendid behavior in South and North Carolina was the beginning of
great things for the colored people of the whole country; and not the
least satisfaction I now have in contemplating my humble part in
raising them, is the fact that my two sons, Charles and Lewis, were
the two first in the State of New York to enlist in them. The 54th was
not long in the field before it proved itself gallant and strong, worthy
to rank with the most courageous of its white companions in arms.
Its assault upon Fort Wagner, in which it was so fearfully cut to
pieces, and lost nearly half its officers, including its beloved and
trusted commander, Col. Shaw, at once gave it a name and a fame
throughout the country. In that terrible battle, under the wing of night,
more cavils in respect of the quality of negro manhood were set at
rest than could have been during a century of ordinary life and
observation. After that assault we heard no more of sending negroes
to garrison forts and arsenals, to fight miasma, yellow fever, and
small-pox. Talk of his ability to meet the foe in the open field, and of
his equal fitness with the white man to stop a bullet, then began to
prevail. From this time (and the fact ought to be remembered) the
colored troops were called upon to occupy positions which required
the courage, steadiness, and endurance of veterans, and even their
enemies were obliged to admit that they proved themselves worthy
the confidence reposed in them. After the 54th and 55th
Massachusetts colored regiments were placed in the field, and one
of them had distinguished itself with so much credit in the hour of
trial, the desire to send more such troops to the front became pretty
general. Pennsylvania proposed to raise ten regiments. I was again
called by my friend Mr. Stearns to assist in raising these regiments,
and I set about the work with full purpose of heart, using every
argument of which I was capable, to persuade every colored man
able to bear arms to rally around the flag, and help to save the
country and save the race. It was during this time that the attitude of
the government at Washington caused me deep sadness and
discouragement, and forced me in a measure to suspend my efforts
in that direction. I had assured colored men that once in the Union
army they would be put upon an equal footing with other soldiers;
that they would be paid, promoted, and exchanged as prisoners of
war, Jeff. Davis’ threats that they would be treated as felons to the
contrary notwithstanding. But thus far, the government had not kept
its promise, or the promise made for it. The following letter which I
find published in my paper of the same date will show the course I
felt it my duty to take under the circumstances:

“Rochester, August 1st, 1863.

“Major George L. Stearns:
“My Dear Sir—Having declined to attend the meeting to
promote enlistments, appointed for me at Pittsburgh, in present
circumstances, I owe you a word of explanation. I have hitherto
deemed it a duty, as it certainly has been a pleasure, to
coöperate with you in the work of raising colored troops in the
free States to fight the battles of the Republic against
slaveholding rebels and traitors. Upon the first call you gave me
to this work I responded with alacrity. I saw, or thought I saw a
ray of light, brightening the future of my whole race as well as
that of our war-troubled country, in arousing colored men to fight
for the nation’s life. I continue to believe in the black man’s arm,
and still have some hope in the integrity of our rulers.
Nevertheless I must for the present leave to others the work of
persuading colored men to join the Union army. I owe it to my
long-abused people, and especially to those already in the army,
to expose their wrongs and plead their cause. I cannot do that in
connection with recruiting. When I plead for recruits I want to do
it with all my heart, without qualification. I cannot do that now.
The impression settles upon me that colored men have much
over-rated the enlightenment, justice, and generosity of our
rulers at Washington. In my humble way I have contributed
somewhat to that false estimate. You know that when the idea of
raising colored troops was first suggested, the special duty to be
assigned them, was the garrisoning of forts and arsenals in
certain warm, unhealthy, and miasmatic localities in the South.
They were thought to be better adapted to that service than
white troops. White troops trained to war, brave, and daring,
were to take fortifications, and the blacks were to hold them from
falling again into the hands of the rebels. Three advantages
were to arise out of this wise division of labor: 1st, the spirit and
pride of white troops was not to waste itself in dull monotonous
inactivity in fort life; their arms were to be kept bright by constant
use. 2d, The health of white troops was to be preserved. 3d,
Black troops were to have the advantage of sound military
training and to be otherwise useful, at the same time that they
should be tolerably secure from capture by the rebels, who early
avowed their determination to enslave and slaughter them in
defiance of the laws of war. Two out of the three advantages
were to accrue to the white troops. Thus far, however, I believe
that no such duty as holding fortifications has been committed to
colored troops. They have done far other and more important
work than holding fortifications. I have no special complaint to
make at this point, and I simply mention it to strengthen the
statement, that from the beginning of this business it was the
confident belief among both the colored and white friends of
colored enlistments that President Lincoln as commander-in-
chief of the army and navy, would certainly see to it that his
colored troops should be so handled and disposed of as to be
but little exposed to capture by the rebels, and that, if so
exposed, as they have repeatedly been from the first, the
President possessed both the disposition and the means for
compelling the rebels to respect the rights of such as might fall
into their hands. The piratical proclamation of Jefferson Davis,
announcing slavery and assassination to colored prisoners was
before the country and the world. But men had faith in Mr.
Lincoln and his advisers. He was silent to be sure, but charity
suggested that being a man of action rather than words he only
waited for a case in which he should be required to act. This
faith in the man enabled us to speak with warmth and effect in
urging enlistments among colored men. That faith, my dear sir, is
now nearly gone. Various occasions have arisen during the last
six months for the exercise of his power in behalf of the colored
men in his service. But no word comes to us from the war
department, sternly assuring the rebel chief that inquisition shall
yet be made for innocent blood. No word of retaliation when a
black man is slain by a rebel in cold blood. No word was said
when free men from Massachusetts were caught and sold into
slavery in Texas. No word is said when brave black men who,
according to the testimony of both friend and foe, fought like
heroes to plant the star-spangled banner on the blazing parapets
of Fort Wagner, and in doing so were captured, some mutilated
and killed, and others sold into slavery. The same crushing
silence reigns over this scandalous outrage as over that of the
slaughtered teamsters at Murfreesboro; the same as over that at
Milliken’s Bend and Vicksburg. I am free to say, my dear sir, that
the case looks as if the confiding colored soldiers had been
betrayed into bloody hands by the very government in whose
defence they were heroically fighting. I know what you will say to
this; you will say ‘wait a little longer, and after all the best way to
have justice done to your people is to get them into the army as
fast as you can.’ You may be right in this; my argument has been
the same, but have we not already waited, and have we not
already shown the highest qualities of soldiers, and on this
account deserve the protection of the government for which we
are fighting? Can any case stronger than that before Charleston
ever arise! If the President is ever to demand justice and
humanity, for black soldiers, is not this the time for him to do it?
How many 54th’s must be cut to pieces, its mutilated prisoners
killed, and its living sold into slavery, to be tortured to death by
inches, before Mr. Lincoln shall say, ‘Hold, enough!’
 “You know the 54th. To you, more than to any one man
belongs the credit of raising that regiment. Think of its noble and
brave officers literally hacked to pieces, while many of its rank
and file have been sold into slavery worse than death, and
pardon me, if I hesitate about assisting in raising a fourth
regiment until the President shall give the same protection to
them as to white soldiers.
With warm and sincere regards,
Frederick Douglas.”
“Since writing the foregoing letter, which we have now put
upon record, we have received assurances from Major Stearns
that the government of the United States is already taking
measures which will secure the captured colored soldiers at
Charleston and elsewhere the same protection against slavery
and cruelty extended to white soldiers. What ought to have been
done at the beginning, comes late, but it comes. The poor
colored soldiers have purchased interference dearly. It really
seems that nothing of justice, liberty, or humanity can come to us
except through tears and blood.”

the black man at the white house.

My efforts to secure just and fair treatment for the colored
soldiers did not stop at letters and speeches. At the suggestion of my
friend, Major Stearns, to whom the foregoing letter was addressed, I
was induced to go to Washington and lay the complaints of my
people before President Lincoln and the secretary of war; and to
urge upon them such action as should secure to the colored troops
then fighting for the country, a reasonable degree of fair play. I need
not say that at the time I undertook this mission it required much
more nerve than a similar one would require now. The distance then
between the black man and the white American citizen, was
immeasurable. I was an ex-slave, identified with a despised race;
and yet I was to meet the most exalted person in this great republic.
It was altogether an unwelcome duty, and one from which I would
gladly have been excused. I could not know what kind of a reception
would be accorded me. I might be told to go home and mind my
business, and leave such questions as I had come to discuss to be
managed by the men wisely chosen by the American people to deal
with them. Or I might be refused an interview altogether.
Nevertheless, I felt bound to go; and my acquaintance with Senators
Charles Sumner, Henry Wilson, Samuel Pomeroy, Secretary Salmon
P. Chase, Secretary William H. Seward, and Assistant Secretary of
War Charles A. Dana, encouraged me to hope at least for a civil
reception. My confidence was fully justified in the result. I shall never
forget my first interview with this great man. I was accompanied to
the executive mansion and introduced to President Lincoln by
Senator Pomeroy. The room in which he received visitors was the
one now used by the president’s secretaries. I entered it with a
moderate estimate of my own consequence, and yet there I was to
talk with, and even to advise, the head man of a great nation.
Happily for me, there was no vain pomp and ceremony about him. I
was never more quickly or more completely put at ease in the
presence of a great man, than in that of Abraham Lincoln. He was
seated, when I entered, in a low arm chair, with his feet extended on
the floor, surrounded by a large number of documents, and several
busy secretaries. The room bore the marks of business, and the
persons in it, the president included, appeared to be much over-
worked and tired. Long lines of care were already deeply written on
Mr. Lincoln’s brow, and his strong face, full of earnestness, lighted up
as soon as my name was mentioned. As I approached and was
introduced to him, he rose and extended his hand, and bade me
welcome. I at once felt myself in the presence of an honest man—
one whom I could love, honor, and trust without reserve or doubt.
Proceeding to tell him who I was, and what I was doing, he promptly,
but kindly, stopped me, saying, “I know who you are, Mr. Douglass;
Mr. Seward has told me all about you. Sit down. I am glad to see
you.” I then told him the object of my visit: that I was assisting to
raise colored troops; that several months before I had been very
successful in getting men to enlist, but that now it was not easy to
induce the colored men to enter the service, because there was a
feeling among them that the government did not deal fairly with them
in several respects. Mr. Lincoln asked me to state particulars. I
replied that there were three particulars which I wished to bring to his
attention. First, that colored soldiers ought to receive the same
wages as those paid to white soldiers. Second, that colored soldiers
ought to receive the same protection when taken prisoners, and be
exchanged as readily, and on the same terms, as any other
prisoners, and if Jefferson Davis should shoot or hang colored
soldiers in cold blood, the United States government should retaliate
in kind and degree without delay upon Confederate prisoners in its
hands. Third, when colored soldiers, seeking the “bauble-reputation
at the cannon’s mouth,” performed great and uncommon service on
the battle-field, they should be rewarded by distinction and
promotion, precisely as white soldiers are rewarded for like services.
Mr. Lincoln listened with patience and silence to all I had to say.
He was serious and even troubled by what I had said, and by what
he had evidently thought himself before upon the same points. He
impressed me with the solid gravity of his character, by his silent
listening not less than by his earnest reply to my words.
He began by saying that the employment of colored troops at all
was a great gain to the colored people; that the measure could not
have been successfully adopted at the beginning of the war; that the
wisdom of making colored men soldiers was still doubted; that their
enlistment was a serious offense to popular prejudice; that they had
larger motives for being soldiers than white men; that they ought to
be willing to enter the service upon any conditions; that the fact that
they were not to receive the same pay as white soldiers, seemed a
necessary concession to smooth the way to their employment at all
as soldiers; but that ultimately they would receive the same. On the
second point, in respect to equal protection, he said the case was
more difficult. Retaliation was a terrible remedy, and one which it was
very difficult to apply; one which if once begun, there was no telling
where it would end; that if he could get hold of the confederate
soldiers who had been guilty of treating colored soldiers as felons,
he could easily retaliate, but the thought of hanging men for a crime
perpetrated by others, was revolting to his feelings. He thought that
the rebels themselves would stop such barbarous warfare, and less
evil would be done if retaliation were not resorted to. That he had
already received information that colored soldiers were being treated
as prisoners of war. In all this I saw the tender heart of the man
rather than the stern warrior and commander-in-chief of the
American army and navy, and while I could not agree with him, I
could but respect his humane spirit.
On the third point he appeared to have less difficulty, though he
did not absolutely commit himself. He simply said that he would sign
any commission to colored soldiers whom his secretary of war
should commend to him. Though I was not entirely satisfied with his
views, I was so well satisfied with the man and with the educating
tendency of the conflict, I determined to go on with the recruiting.
From the president, I went to see Secretary Stanton. The
manner of no two men could be more widely different. I was
introduced by Assistant Secretary Dana, whom I had known many
years before at “Brook Farm,” Mass., and afterwards as managing
editor of the New York Tribune. Every line in Mr. Stanton’s face told
me that my communication with him must be brief, clear, and to the
point; that he might turn his back upon me as a bore at any moment;
that politeness was not one of his weaknesses. His first glance was
that of a man who says, “Well, what do you want? I have no time to
waste upon you or any body else, and I shall waste none. Speak
quick, or I shall leave you.” The man and the place seemed alike
busy. Seeing I had no time to lose, I hastily went over the ground I
had gone over to President Lincoln. As I ended, I was surprised by
seeing a changed man before me. Contempt and suspicion, and
brusqueness, had all disappeared from his face and manner, and for
a few minutes he made the best defense that I had then heard from
any body of the treatment of colored soldiers by the government. I
was not satisfied, yet I left in the full belief that the true course to the
black man’s freedom and citizenship was over the battle-field, and
that my business was to get every black man I could into the Union
armies. Both the President and Secretary of War assured me that
justice would ultimately be done my race, and I gave full faith and
credit to their promise. On assuring Mr. Stanton of my willingness to
take a commission, he said he would make me assistant adjutant to
General Thomas, who was then recruiting and organizing troops in
the Mississippi valley. He asked me how soon I could be ready. I told
him in two weeks, and that my commission might be sent me to
Rochester. For some reason, however, my commission never came.
The government, I fear, was still clinging to the idea that positions of
honor in the service should be occupied by white men, and that it
would not do to inaugurate just then the policy of perfect equality. I
wrote to the department for my commission, but was simply told to
report to General Thomas. This was so different from what I
expected and from what I had been promised, that I wrote to
Secretary Stanton that I would report to General Thomas on receipt
of my commission, but it did not come, and I did not go to the
Mississippi valley as I had fondly hoped. I knew too much of camp
life and the value of shoulder straps in the army to go into the service
without some visible mark of my rank. I have no doubt that Mr.
Stanton in the moment of our meeting meant all he said, but thinking
the matter over he felt that the time had not then come for a step so
radical and aggressive. Meanwhile my three sons were in the
service. Lewis and Charles, as already named, in the Massachusetts
regiments and Frederick recruiting colored troops in the Mississippi
valley.
 CHAPTER XII.
HOPE FOR THE NATION.

Proclamation of emancipation—Its reception in Boston—Objections brought

against it—Its effect on the country—Interview with President Lincoln—
New York riots—Re-election of Mr. Lincoln—His inauguration, and
inaugural—Vice-President Johnson—Presidential reception—The fall of
Richmond—Fanueil Hall—The assassination—Condolence.

THE first of January, 1863, was a memorable day in the progress of

American liberty and civilization. It was the turning-point in the
conflict between freedom and slavery. A death blow was then given
to the slaveholding rebellion. Until then the federal arm had been
more than tolerant to that relict of barbarism. It had defended it
inside the slave States; it had countermanded the emancipation
policy of John C. Fremont in Missouri; it had returned slaves to their
so-called owners; and had threatened that any attempt on the part of
the slaves to gain their freedom by insurrection, or otherwise, would
be put down with an iron hand; it had even refused to allow the
Hutchinson family to sing their anti-slavery songs in the camps of the
Army of the Potomac; it had surrounded the houses of slaveholders
with bayonets for their protection; and through its secretary of war,
William H. Seward, had given notice to the world that, “however the
war for the Union might terminate, no change would be made in the
relation of master and slave.” Upon this pro-slavery platform the war
against the rebellion had been waged during more than two years. It
had not been a war of conquest, but rather a war of conciliation.
McClellan, in command of the army, had been trying, apparently, to
put down the rebellion without hurting the rebels, certainly without
hurting slavery, and the government had seemed to coöperate with
him in both respects. Charles Sumner, William Lloyd Garrison,
Wendell Phillips, Gerrit Smith, and the whole anti-slavery phalanx at
the North, had denounced this policy, and had besought Mr. Lincoln
to adopt an opposite one, but in vain. Generals, in the field, and
councils in the Cabinet, had persisted in advancing this policy
through defeats and disasters, even to the verge of ruin. We fought
the rebellion, but not its cause. The key to the situation was the four
million of slaves; yet the slave who loved us, was hated, and the
slaveholder who hated us, was loved. We kissed the hand that
smote us, and spurned the hand that helped us. When the means of
victory were before us,—within our grasp,—we went in search of the
means of defeat. And now, on this day of January 1st, 1863, the
formal and solemn announcement was made that thereafter the
government would be found on the side of emancipation. This
proclamation changed everything. It gave a new direction to the
councils of the Cabinet, and to the conduct of the national arms. I
shall leave to the statesman, the philosopher, and historian, the more
comprehensive discussion of this document, and only tell how it
touched me, and those in like condition with me at the time. I was in
Boston, and its reception there may indicate the importance attached
to it elsewhere. An immense assembly convened in Tremont Temple
to await the first flash of the electric wires announcing the “new
departure.” Two years of war prosecuted in the interests of slavery,
had made free speech possible in Boston, and we were now met
together to receive and celebrate the first utterance of the long-
hoped-for proclamation, if it came, and, if it did not come, to speak
our minds freely; for, in view of the past, it was by no means certain
that it would come. The occasion, therefore, was one of both hope
and fear. Our ship was on the open sea, tossed by a terrible storm;
wave after wave was passing over us, and every hour was fraught
with increasing peril. Whether we should survive or perish, depended
in large measure upon the coming of this proclamation. At least so
we felt. Although the conditions on which Mr. Lincoln had promised
to withhold it, had not been complied with, yet, from many
considerations, there was room to doubt and fear. Mr. Lincoln was
known to be a man of tender heart, and boundless patience: no man
could tell to what length he might go, or might refrain from going in
the direction of peace and reconciliation. Hitherto, he had not shown
himself a man of heroic measures, and, properly enough, this step
belonged to that class. It must be the end of all compromises with
slavery—a declaration that thereafter the war was to be conducted
on a new principle, with a new aim. It would be a full and fair
assertion that the government would neither trifle, or be trifled with
any longer. But would it come? On the side of doubt, it was said that
Mr. Lincoln’s kindly nature might cause him to relent at the last
moment; that Mrs. Lincoln, coming from an old slaveholding family,
would influence him to delay, and give the slaveholders one other
C
chance. Every moment of waiting chilled our hopes, and
strengthened our fears. A line of messengers was established
between the telegraph office and the platform of Tremont Temple,
and the time was occupied with brief speeches from Hon. Thomas
Russell of Plymouth, Miss Anna E. Dickinson (a lady of marvelous
eloquence), Rev. Mr. Grimes, J. Sella Martin, William Wells Brown,
and myself. But speaking or listening to speeches was not the thing
for which the people had come together. The time for argument was
passed. It was not logic, but the trump of jubilee, which everybody
wanted to hear. We were waiting and listening as for a bolt from the
sky, which should rend the fetters of four million of slaves; we were
watching, as it were, by the dim light of the stars, for the dawn of a
new day; we were longing for the answer to the agonizing prayers of
centuries. Remembering those in bonds as bound with them, we
wanted to join in the shout for freedom, and in the anthem of the
redeemed.

C
I have reason to know that this supposition
did Mrs. Lincoln great injustice.

Eight, nine, ten o’clock came and went, and still no word. A
visible shadow seemed falling on the expecting throng, which the
confident utterances of the speakers sought in vain to dispel. At last,
when patience was well-nigh exhausted, and suspense was
becoming agony, a man (I think it was Judge Russell) with hasty step
advanced through the crowd, and with a face fairly illumined with the
news he bore, exclaimed in tones that thrilled all hearts, “It is
coming!” “It is on the wires!!” The effect of this announcement was
startling beyond description, and the scene was wild and grand. Joy
and gladness exhausted all forms of expression from shouts of
praise, to sobs and tears. My old friend Rue, a colored preacher, a
man of wonderful vocal power, expressed the heartfelt emotion of
the hour, when he led all voices in the anthem, “Sound the loud
timbrel o’er Egypt’s dark sea, Jehovah hath triumphed, his people
are free.” About twelve o’clock, seeing there was no disposition to
retire from the hall, which must be vacated, my friend Grimes (of
blessed memory), rose and moved that the meeting adjourn to the
Twelfth Baptist church, of which he was pastor, and soon that church
was packed from doors to pulpit, and this meeting did not break up
till near the dawn of day. It was one of the most affecting and thrilling
occasions I ever witnessed, and a worthy celebration of the first step
on the part of the nation in its departure from the thraldom of ages.
There was evidently no disposition on the part of this meeting to
criticise the proclamation; nor was there with any one at first. At the
moment we saw only its anti-slavery side. But further and more
critical examination showed it to be extremely defective. It was not a
proclamation of “liberty throughout all the land, unto all the
inhabitants thereof,” such as we had hoped it would be; but was one
marked by discriminations and reservations. Its operation was
confined within certain geographical and military lines. It only
abolished slavery where it did not exist, and left it intact where it did
exist. It was a measure apparently inspired by the low motive of
military necessity, and by so far as it was so, it would become
inoperative and useless when military necessity should cease. There
was much said in this line, and much that was narrow and
erroneous. For my own part, I took the proclamation, first and last,
for a little more than it purported; and saw in its spirit, a life and
power far beyond its letter. Its meaning to me was the entire abolition
of slavery, wherever the evil could be reached by the Federal arm,
and I saw that its moral power would extend much further. It was in
my estimation an immense gain to have the war for the Union
committed to the extinction of Slavery, even from a military necessity.