Frederick Douglass: “There is no earthly inducement, in the slave’s condition, to incite…”

On the recordJanuary 1, 1855

There is no earthly inducement, in the slave’s condition, to incite him to labor faithfully.

Said by

Frederick Douglass

Source

In his autobiography, Douglass explains why enslaved people lack motivation for diligent work under the conditions of slavery.

More from Frederick Douglass

Jan 1, 1881

Another ground of hope for our race is in the progress of education.

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.

Jan 1, 1881

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

Jan 1, 1881

No power beneath the sky can make an ignorant, wasteful, and idle people prosperous, or a licentious people happy.

Frederick Douglass: “There is no earthly inducement, in the slave’s condition, to incite him to labor faithfully.”