Frederick Douglass, on the Inaugural Committee for President Benjamin Harrison’s Inauguration, Seeks a Position For the Son of a Prominent African American Leader
George L. Ruffin was the first black judge in Massachusetts, and had written the introduction to Douglass’s own autobiography.
Plans for the inauguration of President Benjamin Harrison on March 4, 1889, were handled by the Executive Committee of the Inaugural Ceremonies, which was created by the Republican National Committee after the 1888 election. Alexander Swords was the Chairman, and serving on the Committee was the foremost black leader in the country,...
Plans for the inauguration of President Benjamin Harrison on March 4, 1889, were handled by the Executive Committee of the Inaugural Ceremonies, which was created by the Republican National Committee after the 1888 election. Alexander Swords was the Chairman, and serving on the Committee was the foremost black leader in the country, Frederick Douglass, who was also likely the first black American to be given such an honored, ceremonial post for a presidential Inauguration. The Chief Marshall for the Inauguration was Pennsylvania Governor and former Union general James A. Beaver, and his Chief of Staff for the event was Gen. D.H. Hastings. The Marshals were responsible for seeing that the Inaugural Parade went off without a hitch.
Harrison supported civil rights, and during his administration endorsed two bills designed to prevent southern states from denying black citizens the vote. He thought highly of Douglass, and in a move designed not only to honor Douglass but to send a message, Harrison selected him to serve as U.S. Minister Resident and Consul General to the Republic of Haiti.
George L. Ruffin was the first black person to graduate from Harvard Law School (class of 1869), and later that year was admitted to the Suffolk County Bar. From 1876 to 1877 he served on the Boston City Council. In 1883 Ruffin was named the first black person to serve in the Massachusetts judiciary. A trusted friend of Douglass, he wrote the introduction to Douglass’s autobiography, The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, Written by Himself. Ruffin died in 1886.
With the 1889 Inauguration imminent, Douglass reached out to secure for Ruffin’s son an official post for the Inaugural ceremonies. Autograph note signed, Washington, D.C., February 22, 1889, ten days before the Inauguration, to either Beaver or Hastings, requesting that Ruffin’s son Robert be given a position for the Inauguration. “I have pleasure in recommending the appointment of Mr. R.D. Ruffin as one of the aides to the Chief Marshal on the day of the Inauguration of President Harrison..”
This is a fascinating memento of Douglass’s influence in high Republican circles at that time.
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