I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7378 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Frederick Douglass 
in recognition of his contributions to the cause of freedom, human 
rights, and the abolition of slavery in the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 15, 2024 
Mr. IVEY (for himself, Mr. HARRIS, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. ARMSTRONG, Ms. 
BARRAGA´N, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. BROWN, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CARSON, Mr. 
CARTER of Louisiana, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. CHU, Ms. 
CLARKE of New York, Mr. CORREA, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. DAVIS of Illi-
nois, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mrs. 
FOUSHEE, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. GREEN 
of Texas, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. HOYER, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JOHNSON 
of Georgia, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, 
Ms. KUSTER, Mr. LAWLER, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. MCCLELLAN, Mr. 
MFUME, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MULLIN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. 
NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. PLASKETT, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. 
RASKIN, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. SALAZAR, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. 
SA´NCHEZ, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. 
SEWELL, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. THANEDAR, Ms. 
TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TRONE, Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, 
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Ms. DAVIDS of 
Kansas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House 
Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Fred-
erick Douglass in recognition of his contributions to the 
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cause of freedom, human rights, and the abolition of 
slavery in the United States. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Frederick Douglass 
Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Frederick Douglass overcame the harrowing 
circumstances of slavery to become one of America’s 
most prominent and influential figures as an aboli-
tionist, journalist, and activist. He used his voice 
and influence to advocate for the end of slavery, the 
advancement of civil rights, and the right of black 
men to vote. 
(2) Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in 
February 1818 in the northeast corner of Talbot 
County near the town of Queen Anne. At age 6, 
Frederick Douglass began laboring at the wheat 
plantation of Colonel Edward Lloyd. He was soon 
transferred to Baltimore, where he worked for 7 
years in the residence of Hugh and Sophia Auld. 
(3) Despite laws that prohibited literacy of 
enslaved individuals, Frederick Douglass secretly 
taught himself to read and write by examining dis-
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carded newspapers and studying books on rhetoric, 
mastering the style of the time period. On literacy, 
Douglass was clear, stating: ‘‘Once you learn to 
read, you will be forever free.’’, and that ‘‘Knowl-
edge makes a man unfit to be a slave.’’. 
(4) Douglass moved to a plantation near St. 
Michael, Maryland, where he started a secret school 
for slaves that was later broken up by an angry mob 
of white townspeople. As punishment, Douglass was 
loaned out to a local farmer with a reputation as a 
‘‘slave breaker’’. Undaunted, Douglass started an-
other school for slaves and began plotting to escape 
and liberate himself from slavery. 
(5) Sent back to the Auld residence in Balti-
more, Douglass unsuccessfully attempted to buy his 
freedom, and instead escaped in 1838 at the age of 
20. Speaking of his freedom, Douglass said, ‘‘I 
prayed for freedom for twenty years, but received no 
answer until I prayed with my legs.’’. He traveled to 
New York where he worked on whaling ships while 
avoiding slave catchers. He adopted the surname 
‘‘Douglass’’ on the suggestion of his friend, Nathan 
Johnson, who was inspired by a character in Sir 
Walter Scott’s poem The Lady of the Lake. 
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(6) Speaking at the August 1841 convention of 
the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society on Nan-
tucket Island, Douglass garnered the attention of 
leading abolitionists, catapulting him into a speaking 
tour of northern states, where he and his fellow 
speakers often endured verbal and physical abuse. 
(7) Douglass supported women’s rights. He at-
tended the renowned Seneca Falls Convention in 
1848, supporting the inclusion of a landmark resolu-
tion that demanded the right for all women to vote. 
(8) His groundbreaking autobiographies, includ-
ing ‘‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an 
American Slave’’ (1845), ‘‘My Bondage and My 
Freedom’’ (1855), and ‘‘Life and Times of Fred-
erick Douglass’’ (1881), provided detailed accounts 
of the life of an enslaved individual, the struggles to 
escape, and the fight for freedom. His abolitionist 
newspaper, the ‘‘North Star’’, promoted freedom for 
slaves domestically and abroad. These writings not 
only exposed the brutalities of slavery, but also dis-
pelled myths about African American inferiority. 
(9) Douglass spoke forcefully about human op-
pression. On August 3rd, 1857, he delivered an ad-
dress in Canandaigua, New York, emphasizing the 
work required to win freedom. ‘‘If there is no strug-
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gle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor 
freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who 
want crops without plowing up the ground; they 
want rain without thunder and lightning. They want 
the ocean without the awful roar of its many 
waters.’’ ‘‘This struggle may be a moral one, or it 
may be a physical one, and it may be both moral 
and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power con-
cedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it 
never will. Find out just what any people will quietly 
submit to and you have found out the exact measure 
of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon 
them, and these will continue till they are resisted 
with either words or blows, or with both. The limits 
of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those 
whom they oppress.’’. 
(10) Douglass was active politically, endorsing 
the anti-slavery platform of the Republican Party. 
He advised President Abraham Lincoln during the 
Civil War, pressing him to emancipate all slaves and 
allowing their enlistment in the Union Army. This 
policy would prove crucial to the Union Army’s re-
cruiting efforts and eventual victory over the Con-
federacy. 
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(11) Douglass became the first Black journalist 
granted access to the Capitol press galleries. Hold-
ing membership from 1871 to 1875, he diligently re-
ported on legislative developments within the House 
and Senate during the Reconstruction era. His re-
ports consistently provided vital information to 
Black communities, bridging the gap between legis-
lative actions and their impacts on these commu-
nities. 
(12) After the war, Douglass continued to work 
on full implementation of abolition. Despite the pas-
sage of the Thirteenth Amendment that outlawed 
slavery, Douglass argued that ‘‘the work of Aboli-
tionists is not done’’, and that equal citizenship and 
rights were essential to finish the cause. He sup-
ported the passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth 
Amendments, pushing above all for the right for 
black men to vote. 
(13) Douglass continued to advocate for full en-
gagement and enfranchisement of Blacks in society, 
denouncing and speaking on segregation and the 
growing wave of violence against Blacks in the 
American South. Frustrated that the promises of 
Reconstruction had not come to fruition, Douglass 
spoke in New Hampshire during the winter of 1875. 
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He pondered to audiences why ‘‘the American people 
could stand for the centralization of slavery’’, but 
not ‘‘stand the centralization for liberty’’. 
(14) Douglass held several important public of-
fices, including U.S. Marshal for the District of Co-
lumbia (1877 to 1881), Recorder of Deeds for the 
District of Columbia (1881 to 1886), and Minister 
to Haiti (1889 to 1891), further solidifying his role 
as a statesman and leader. 
(15) Douglass was relentless in his push for 
equality through forceful speeches and writings until 
his death on February 20th, 1895. On February 
21st, 1895, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution to 
adjourn to mourn his passing. Douglass laid in state 
in City Hall as tributes to his life spread across the 
country. 
(16) Frederick Douglass’s impact is not con-
fined to his era. His speeches, writings, and actions 
set precedents and laid foundations for future stages 
of the civil rights movement. His life story serves as 
a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and 
the power of determination. Reminding Americans 
that, ‘‘If there is no struggle, there is no progress.’’, 
the legacy of Frederick Douglass persists today in 
Easton, Maryland and across the world as his teach-
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ings, values, and ideals continue to inspire, chal-
lenge, and guide our nation towards a brighter, more 
inclusive future. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, 
of a gold medal of appropriate design to Frederick Doug-
lass, in recognition of his contributions to the cause of 
freedom, human rights, and the abolition of slavery in the 
United States. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 
devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec-
retary. 
(c) AWARD OF MEDAL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—After the award of the gold 
medal referred to in subsection (a), the gold medal 
shall be given to the National Museum of African 
American History and Culture, where it shall be dis-
played as appropriate. 
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(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that the National Museum of African 
American History and Culture should make the gold 
medal received under paragraph (1) available for 
display elsewhere, particularly at other locations and 
events associated with Frederick Douglass. 
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre-
scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 
sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck under this 
Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 
31, United States Code. 
(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 
5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 
under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 
SALE. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 
authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 
Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec-
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essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 
to this Act. 
(b) PROCEEDS
OF SALE.—The amounts received 
from the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under 
section 5 shall be deposited into the United States Mint 
Public Enterprise Fund. 
Æ 
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