On this date in 1889, Frederick Douglass was appointed as the U.S. Minister Resident and Consul General to Haiti by President Benjamin Harrison. Douglass, a former enslaved person and a prominent abolitionist, orator, and writer, took on this diplomatic role at a crucial time in Haitian and American relations.

During his tenure, Douglass worked to strengthen ties between the two nations and advocated for Haitian sovereignty, especially as the U.S. sought to acquire a naval base at Môle Saint-Nicolas. However, due to tensions over American policies and Haitian resistance to U.S. influence, Douglass resigned from the post in 1891.

His experiences in Haiti deeply influenced his later speeches and writings, in which he praised Haiti’s role in the global fight against slavery while also criticizing how the U.S. and other Western nations treated the Black republic.