On the recordJanuary 1, 1881
From the first I saw no chance of bettering the condition of the freedman, until he should cease to be merely a freedman, and should become a citizen.
Said by
Frederick Douglass
Source
gutenberg.orgFrederick Douglass: “From the first I saw no chance of bettering the condition of the freedman, until he should cease to be merely a…”
Editor's note · Context
Douglass articulates his early understanding that full citizenship, not just freedom, was essential for the advancement of formerly enslaved people.
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Jan 1, 1881
We (the people of the North) are a charitable people, and in the excess of this feeling we were disposed to put the very best construction upon the strange behavior of our southern brethren.
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Knowledge unfits a child to be a slave.” I instinctively assented to the proposition, and from that moment I understood the direct pathway from slavery to freedom.
Jan 1, 1881
It was perhaps better for the country and for mankind that the good man could not know the end from the beginning.