To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Frederick Douglass More Quotes by Frederick Douglass More Quotes From Frederick Douglass Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. Frederick Douglass patrioticfreedommen Abolish slavery tomorrow, and not a sentence or syllable of the Constitution need be altered. It was purposely so framed as to give no claim, no sanction to the claim, of property in man. If in its origin slavery had any relation to the government, it was only as the scaffolding to the magnificent structure, to be removed as soon as the building was completed. Frederick Douglass givingmenneeds A man without force, is without the essential dignity of humanity. Human nature is so constituted, that it cannot honor a helpless man, although it can pity him. Frederick Douglass honorhumanitymen If we ever get free from all the oppressions and wrongs heaped upon us, we must pay for their removal. We must do this by labor, by suffering, by sacrifice, and, if needs be, by our lives, and the lives of others. Frederick Douglass sacrificesufferingneeds You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man. Frederick Douglass black-historyafrican-americanmen What to the Slave is the 4th of July. Frederick Douglass slaveconservative4th-of-july Now, take the Constitution according to its plain reading, and I defy the presentation of a single pro-slavery clause in it. On the other hand it will be found to contain principles and purposes, entirely hostile to the existence of slavery. Frederick Douglass principlesreadinghands ...there are at the present moment many colored men in the Confederate Army...as real soldiers, having muskets on their shoulders, and bullets in their pockets, ready to shoot down loyal troops, and do all that soldiers may do to destroy the Federal government...There were such soldiers at Manassas and they are probably there still. Frederick Douglass armyrealwar You degrade us and then ask why we are degraded. You shut our mouths and ask why we don't speak. You close your colleges and seminaries against us and then ask why we don't know. Frederick Douglass diversitycollegejustice Right is of no Sex-Truth is of no Color-God is the Father of us all, and we are all Brethren. Frederick Douglass colorfathersex It was a glorious resurrection, from the tomb of slavery, to the heaven of slavery. My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place; and I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact. Frederick Douglass foreverroselong Let me give you a word of the philosophy of reform. The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims, have been born of earnest struggle. The conflict has been exciting, agitating, all-absorbing, and for the time being, putting all other tumults to silence. It must do this or it does nothing. If there is no struggle there is no progress. Frederick Douglass auguststrugglephilosophy A man is worked on by what he works on. Frederick Douglass men Without Struggle There Is No Success Frederick Douglass struggle Viewing the man from the genuine abolitionist ground, Mr. Lincoln seemed cold, tardy, weak and unequal to the task. But, viewing him from the sentiments of his people, which as a statesman he was bound to respect, then his actions were swift, bold, radical and decisive. Taking the man in the whole, balancing the tremendous magnitude of the situation, and the necessary means to ends, Infinite Wisdom has rarely sent a man into the world more perfectly suited to his mission than Abraham Lincoln. Frederick Douglass menwarmean Everybody has asked the question, ... 'What shall we do with the Negro?' I have had but one answer from the beginning. Do nothing with us! You're doing with us has already played the mischief with us. Do nothing with us! If the apples will not remain on the tree of their own strength, ... let them fall! I am not for tying or fastening them on the tree in any way, except by nature's plan, and if they will not stay there, let them fall. And if the Negro cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall also. Frederick Douglass applestreefall I recognize the Republican Party as the sheet anchor of the colored man's political hopes and the ark of his safety. Frederick Douglass anchorspartymen A man's character always takes its hue, more or less, from the form and color of things about him. Frederick Douglass colorcharactermen A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me. Frederick Douglass gentlemanmotivationalmen I have often sung to drown my sorrow, but seldom to express my happiness. Crying for joy, and singing for joy, were alike uncommon to me while in the jaws of slavery. The singing of a man cast away upon a desolate island might be as appropriately considered as evidence of contentment and happiness, as the singing of a slave; the songs of the one and of the other are prompted by the same emotion. Frederick Douglass islandssongmen
