4

xvi INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME THREE

tion to "The London Committee," namely the anti-Garrisonian British and
Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. Insulted by the tone of the letter, an angry
Douglass replied to Chapman in March 1846, "I never gave you any just
cause to distrust me, and if I am to be watched over for evel rather than for
good, by my professed freinds I can say with propriety save me from my
friends, and I will take care of my enemies!"⁶ Chapman's warning to Webb
further soured Douglass's view of the manner in which the white leadership
of the American Anti-Slavery Society treated him. Nonetheless, Douglass
continued his work for the society while abroad, joining British Garrisonian
George Thompson at public meetings across the British Isles to condemn the
Free Church of Scotland's acceptance of donations from American
slaveholders.⁷

By 1847 Douglass felt bound by duty to return to America, where his
family remained, and where he could work for freedom alongside others of
his race. His Narrative had increased his danger of rendition to his old mas-
ters once he landed in the United States, a reality that alarmed his British
friends and motivated them to raise the capital to purchase Douglass's free-
dom. On 5 December 1846 the fugitive became a legally free man as a result
of a financial transaction between his transatlantic supporters, led by British
abolitionist Mrs. Henry Richardson, and the Auld family. The purchase of
Douglass's freedom sparked controversy among some American abolition-
ists, who felt that Douglass's mode of obtaining his freedom condoned the
trafficking in human beings and constituted "a violation of anti-slavery
principles."⁸ Douglass answered his critics by comparing the exchange to
"money extorted from a robber" or a "ransom" rather than an affirmation of
any man's right of ownership of another.⁹

After securing his freedom and returning to the United States, Douglass
announced his plan to start a newspaper dedicated to abolition and racial
advancement. Garrison opposed the idea, arguing that Douglass was better
suited as an orator and could contribute more to abolition in that role. The
objections that Garrison voiced to Douglass did not reveal the scope of the
former's opposition. Douglass had been the Garrisonians' most powerful
orator, winning many to the abolitionist cause. In addition, Garrison was
almost certainly concerned about the competition between Douglass's news-
paper and his own, the Liberator. Douglass regretted losing the support of

^{66. Douglass Papers, ser. 3, 1:100.}

^{77. Ibid., 101nn.}

^{88. Ibid., ser. 2, 2:216.}

^{99. Ibid.}