Who Was Involved in the Creation of The North Star?

Born into slavery in 1818, Frederick Douglass grew up to be one of the most famous and articulate free Black spokespersons during the Antebellum period. After a childhood separated from his mother, Douglass escaped slavery and fought tirelessly for emancipation and full citizenship for African Americans ("Frederick Douglass Newspapers"). During his adult life, Douglass moved his family from Lynn, Massachusetts to Rochester, New York. At the time, Rochester was a vibrant city located on the Erie Canal. Additionally, Rochester was one of the final stops of the Underground Railroad before enslaved people could find safety in Canada.

Douglass was originally mentored by abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. Garrison’s newspaper, called The Liberator, was a weekly abolitionist paper published in Boston. The North Star was originally co-edited by Martin Delany, another Black abolitionist who also served as a journalist, military officer, and physician ("Frederick Douglass Newspapers"). Delany had also published his own abolitionist newspaper, The Mystery, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The first publisher of The North Star was William Cooper Nell, another Black abolitionist from Boston. 

The funding for The North Star was primarily raised by Douglass during a speaking tour in European countries including England, Ireland, and Scotland lasting from 1845 to 1847 (Kytle). This tour followed the publication of Douglass’ first autobiography titled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. The paper later received more stable and dependable funding from a British abolitionist named Julia Griffiths. Douglass and Griffiths met during the European tour and Griffiths moved to Rochester in 1849 ("Frederick Douglass Newspapers").