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The Equality of All Men Before the Law

William D. Kelley · 1865

An 1865 pamphlet containing Frederick Douglass's own speech on Black suffrage, alongside speeches by William D. Kelley and Wendell Phillips.

This pamphlet contains Douglass's own 1865 speech arguing for Black men's right to vote.

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The Equality of All Men Before the LawPDF · 48 pages
William D. Kelley, Wendell Phillips, and Frederick Douglass, The Equality of All Men Before the Law, 1865.

About this source

What it is

This 1865 pamphlet collects speeches by Congressman William D. Kelley, abolitionist Wendell Phillips, and Frederick Douglass, together with letters from Elizur Wright and William Heighton. It argues for the equality of all men before the law, specifically the right of Black men to vote.

Why it matters

Published at the end of the Civil War, during the early period of Reconstruction, this pamphlet shows Douglass working alongside other prominent reformers to push for Black suffrage. Kelley's speech reminds readers that free Black men had voted in many states earlier in the nation's history, while Douglass and Phillips argue for restoring and expanding that right as a matter of justice.

Look closer

  • Why would it matter that Douglass's speech was printed alongside those of white reformers like Kelley and Phillips?
  • What does the pamphlet's distribution to 'antislavery men' suggest about its intended audience?
  • Why was the question of Black suffrage so urgent in 1865?

This speech is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Frederick Douglass on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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