ABSTRACT
The last public office held by Frederick Douglass was that of Commissioner for the Haytian Republic at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The government of Hayti erected an artistic pavilion on the Fair grounds, and here from May 1st to November 1st, he was stationed, dispensing the hospitalities demanded by his position and the occasion. The Exposition officials appreciated the importance of the man, as well as his position as the Haytian Commissioner. He was generous, almost to a fault, with his time, money, and services in behalf of any cause that meant a step forward for his people. His last moment of enthusiasm, like his first hours of aspiration when a slave-child, was for liberty; if not for himself, then for someone else. The announcement that Douglass was dead came like a shock to every one, especially to those who had seen him about the city during the day, full of animation and apparent physical vigour.
