[DOUGLASS, Frederick (1818-1895)]. New York Republican Electoral College ticket for 1872 featuring Frederick Douglass's name at top.

2 7/8 x 3 1/2 in. color printed ticket listing New York's Republican Electoral College slate, beginning with Frederick Douglass (creasing, spotting). Blue heading box features black text spelling out "ELECTORS" in capital cursive script, with printed text below listing the 35 electors for President and Vice President of the United States.

[With:] 6 additional Republican tickets for the 1872 election, listing candidates for STATE offices including Governor (John A. Dix); CONGRESS including 12th Congressional District Representative (Charles St. John); JUDICIARY including Special County Judge (Theron N. Little); ASSEMBLY member (Augustus Denniston); SCHOOL COMMISSIONER (George K. Smith); and for a proposed amendment relative to the Court of Appeals. -- Together, 6 printed tickets, each approx. 2 7/8 x 3 1/8 in. or smaller, with creasing, toning, and some general wear consistent with age.

The election was held on 5 November 1872, when more than 440,000 New Yorkers voted in favor of Ulysses S. Grant through the US Electoral College system. Frederick Douglass was one of those electors. The Republican Party made clear the importance of Black voters by the positioning of Douglass's name at the top of the ticket, and later by the selection of Douglass as the person to present the election results to the Senate. The significance of this was not lost on Douglass, who wrote about it in his autobiography:

"The Republicans of [New York], not having the fear of popular prejudice before their eyes, placed my name as an elector at large at the head of their presidential ticket. Considering the deep-rooted sentiment of the masses against Negroes, the noise and tumult likely to be raised, especially among our adopted citizens of Irish descent, this was a bold and manly proceeding, and one for which the Republicans of the State of New York deserve the gratitude of every colored citizen of the Republic, for it was a blow at popular prejudice in a quarter where it was capable of making the strongest resistance."

Property from the James Milgram, M.D., Collection of Broadsides, Ephemeral Americana, and Historical Documents