Wendell Phillips, president of the American Anti-Slavery Society and an abolitionist, writes to Douglass as a friend. Phillips is happy that true recollections of slave experiences are now being published, allowing the history of slavery to be completely understood. He believes this will lead to its ultimate destruction. They had been friends since 1846 when they met at an anti-slavery meeting in New York City. Although Douglass was then a free man, living in Rochester, New York, and not yet aware of his black ancestry, he and Phillips became close friends. They traveled together to various antislavery events across the country and exchanged letters discussing current issues within the abolitionist movement. Phillips was one of the first white people to acknowledge that blacks were capable of freedom and equality. He believed that through understanding and empathy we can all learn from each other. This idea would later become central to the philosophy of pragmatism, of which Phillips was a leader. In addition to being an abolitionist, Phillips was also a feminist. He argued that women should have equal rights with men and called for female suffrage. His ideas on feminism were important factors in the evolution of women's rights in America.