Frederick Douglass

It is the first time that, in this form and manner, we have sought to do honor to an American great man, however deserving and illustrious.

Truth is proper and beautiful at all times and in all places, and it is never more proper and beautiful in any case than when speaking of a great public man whose example is likely to be commended for honor and imitation long after his…

The laws which determine the destinies of individuals and nations are impartial and eternal.

To protect, defend, and perpetuate slavery in the States where it existed Abraham Lincoln was not less ready than any other President to draw the sword of the nation.

It came, not by the sword, but by the word; not by the brute force of numbers, but by the still small voice of truth; not by barricades, bayonets, and bloody revolution, but by peaceful agitation; not by divine interference, but by the…

It shows what can be done against wrong in the world, without the aid of armies on the earth or of angels in the sky.

The honest and comprehensive statesman, clearly discerning the needs of his country, and earnestly endeavoring to do his whole duty, though covered and blistered with reproaches, may safely leave his course to the silent judgment of time.

Few great public men have ever been the victims of fiercer denunciation than Abraham Lincoln was during his administration.

Her fervent piety and watchful uprightness made it impossible to see her without thinking and feeling “that woman is a Christian.” There was no sorrow nor suffering for which she had not a tear, and there was no innocent joy for which she…

But slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these excellent qualities, and her home of its early happiness.

I was grander upon my mother’s knee than a king upon his throne.

There were many reasons for believing this whisper, not only from his personal appearance, but from the undeniable freedom which he enjoyed over all others, and his apparent consciousness of being something more than a slave to his master.