Booker T. Washington: “Nearly sixteen millions of hands will aid you in pulling the load upward, or they will pull against you the load…”

This tenderness and sympathy on the part of those held in bondage was a result of their kindly and generous nature.

As soon as it was learned that he was not an American Negro, all the signs of indignation disappeared.

Even the most ignorant members of my race on the remote plantations felt in their hearts, with a certainty that admitted of no doubt, that the freedom of the slaves would be the one great result of the war, if the Northern armies conquered.

Ever since I have been old enough to think for myself, I have entertained the idea that, notwithstanding the cruel wrongs inflicted upon us, the black man got nearly as much out of slavery as the white man did.