Political Quotes

Frederick Douglass: “If oppression makes a wise man mad it may do the same, and worse, to a people who are not reputed wise.”

On the record
If oppression makes a wise man mad it may do the same, and worse, to a people who are not reputed wise.
Said by
Frederick Douglass

Editor's note · Context

This quote suggests that oppression can lead to irrational behavior, affecting even those perceived as wise.

Share

More from Frederick Douglass

Jan 1, 1881

The nation or people which shall comply with them will rise, and those which violate them will fall, and perhaps will disappear altogether.

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1881

To-day the negro, starting from nothing, pays taxes upon six millions in Georgia, and forty millions in Louisiana.

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1881

None now denies the ability of the colored race to acquire knowledge of anything which can be communicated to the human understanding by letters.

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1881

Everywhere in the south the colored man is learning to read.

gutenberg.org