Frederick Douglass: “In good earnest then, and after the best deliberation, I now for the…”

On the recordJanuary 1, 1881

In good earnest then, and after the best deliberation, I now for the first time during this war, feel at liberty to call and counsel you to arms.

Said by

Frederick Douglass

Source

Douglass declares his considered decision to publicly urge black men to enlist in the Union army, marking a turning point in his wartime advocacy.

More from Frederick Douglass

Jan 1, 1881

Father he might be, and not be husband, and could sell his own child without incurring reproach, if in its veins coursed one drop of African blood.

Jan 1, 1881

Guilty or not guilty, to be accused was to be sure of a flogging.

Jan 1, 1881

If I have had kicks, I have also had kindness.

Jan 1, 1881

Land is not worth much where there are no people to occupy it, and a mule is not worth much where there is no one to drive him.

Frederick Douglass: “In good earnest then, and after the best deliberation, I now for the first time during this war, feel at liberty to call…”