The North Star

Creation and Purpose

The North Star was created as a rival paper to William Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator. Douglass had recently broken ties with Garrison and the American Anti-Slavery Society due to disagreement. Garrison believed that the political system was inherently immoral, whereas Douglass had recently come to the conclusion that it was not (Gregory). This split from Garrison and the American Anti-Slavery Society marked a turning point in Douglass's career as an abolitionist.

The North Star

Douglass chose to publish the paper in Rochester, NY (Harris). By no accident, this was the final stop of the Underground Railroad until it reached Canada. Similarly, the name North Star refers to the star that escpaing slaves would use to guide themselves to the North (Harris). In both the location and name, Douglass made it clear that his paper was centered on African American abolitionists, unlike many of the white-run papers already in existence.

The purpose of the paper was to provide Douglass a place to speak (Harris). Although he was criticized for using his paper to publish his personal thought and ideas, the paper was his way of achieving independence from what others wanted him to be (Delbanco). As one of the first independent black abolitionist presses, the paper gave Douglass a space to speak his mind on both American slavery and black Americans in general without fear of censorship. Within the paper, he advocated for universal emancipation and attacked any and all forms of slavery. Douglass also discussed and promoted the moral and intellectual improvement of black Americans and merits of a wide range of abolitionist strategies and tactics (Harris).

Other Contributors

Although Douglass was the face and founder of the paper, he was far from the only contributor to The North Star. Martin Robison Delany, co-editor of the paper, and William Cooper Nell, self-taught abolitionist, helped to run the paper itself (Harris).

In addition, the paper was fairly unprofitable. In fact, the earnings barely covered the printing costs. New York philanthropist Gerrit Smith played a large part in keeping the paper alive for years (Harris). Julia Griffiths, a close friend of Douglass, also provided financial assistance so that the paper could remain afloat (Harris).

The Technology

A steam printing press

It is very difficult to determine what kind of press was used to print The North Star. In fact, there was even debate around this topic while it was being printed (Fee). While some claim that Douglass had purchased and used his own press in the basement of the Zion church, others believed that he was using that of another paper (Fee). Both the Rochester Daily Democrat and the American were possibilities, but nothing was confirmed. However, steam presses appeared and were popularized as early as the 1830s, so it is assumed that Douglass used some sort of steam press technology (Fee).

Frederick Douglass's Paper

In June of 1851, the publication of The North Star officially ended. Due to the financial struggles of both The North Star and the Liberty Party Paper, the decision was made to merge the two to create Frederick Douglass's Paper (Harris). Aside from the name, very little changed after the merge. Even the format of the papers remained fairly similar, as did Douglass's purpose. Frederick Douglass's Paper officially ended in July of 1859 when Douglass left the US for a tour of Britain (Harris).