Jan 1, 1881
What he said on this day showed a deeper moral conviction against slavery than I had even seen before in anything spoken or written by him.
Frederick Douglass
The Public Record
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was "the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights in the 19th century".
gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1881
In his company I was never in any way reminded of my humble origin, or of my unpopular color.
Jan 1, 1881
The son of common people, wealth and education had done little for him; but he had in him a true heart, and a world of common sense; and these with industry, good habits, and perseverance, had carried him further and lifted him higher…
Jan 1, 1881
His first inauguration arrested the fall of the Republic, and the second was to restore it to enduring foundations.
Jan 1, 1881
A wink or a nod from such men might unchain the hand of violence and set order and law at defiance.
Jan 1, 1881
Heavy had been his burden, hard had been his toil, bitter had been his trials, and terrible had been his anxiety; but the future seemed now bright and full of hope.
Jan 1, 1881
He always impressed me as a strong, earnest man, having no time or disposition to trifle; grappling with all his might the work he had in hand.
Jan 1, 1881
His eyes had in them the tenderness of motherhood, and his mouth and other features the highest perfection of a genuine manhood.
Jan 1, 1881
My great and exceeding joy over these stupendous achievements, especially over the abolition of slavery (which had been the deepest desire and the great labor of my life), was slightly tinged with a feeling of sadness.
Jan 1, 1881
The prospect from that point did look about as dark as any that ever cast its gloom over the vision of the anxious, out-looking human spirit.