Then, again, if the declared purposes of an instrument are to govern the meaning of all its parts and details, as they clearly should, the constitution of our country is our warrant for the abolition of slavery in every state in the American Union.
Frederick Douglass: “Then, again, if the declared purposes of an instrument are to govern the meaning of all its parts and details, as they…”
On the recordJanuary 1, 1855
Said by
Frederick Douglass
Source
gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
From his autobiography, he argues that the Constitution, properly interpreted by its stated purposes, provides a basis for abolishing slavery nationwide.
Share
More from Frederick Douglass
Jan 1, 1881
Nothing but the shot-gun or the bull-dozer’s whip can keep them from voting their convictions.
Jan 1, 1881
The vote of the colored man, formerly beaten down and stamped out by intimidation, is now revived, sought, and defended by powerful allies, and this from no transient sentiment of the moment, but from the permanent laws controlling the…
Jan 1, 1881
Still another ground of hope I find in the fact that colored men are strong in their gratitude to benefactors, and firm in their political convictions.