(DOUGLASS FREDERICK) Report of the Commission of Inquiry to

Sale 2534 - Lot 234

Price Realized: $ 406

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900

(DOUGLASS, FREDERICK.) Report of the Commission of Inquiry to the Island of Santo Domingo. Folding map. 297 pages. 8vo, 20th-century 1/4 calf, minimal wear; first 18 leaves repaired on inner margins and mounted on stubs, inked notes on pages 31-34; final leaf chipped and laid down; cover gilt-stamped with name of noted Cuban collector Oscar B. Cintas. 42nd Congress, 1st Session, Senate Ex. Doc. 9. [Washington, DC], 5 April 1871

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The United States considered the outright purchase of the Republic of Santo Domingo (now known as the Dominican Republic). This was avidly supported by Frederick Douglass, who thought it might operate as a new black-majority state to serve as an outlet for freedmen. The republic was willing, but the United States Congress wavered. In 1871, President Grant sent a commission to Santo Domingo to report back on the island's virtues. Douglass was among the commissioners, and served as their assistant secretary. He is mentioned several times in this report, on pages 34-48, 46, 57, and 71. The large audience in attendance for his oration in Santo Domingo is noted on page 223, and a summary of his interview with the residents of Samara appears on pages 231-2.