Thus the light of this grand movement broke in upon my mind by degrees; and I must say that ignorant as I was of the philosophy of that movement, I believed in it from the first, and I believed in it, partly, because I saw that it alarmed the consciences of the slaveholders.
Douglass reflects on his gradual understanding and immediate belief in the abolitionist movement, noting that its ability to alarm slaveholders' consciences was a key factor in his conviction.
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More from Frederick Douglass
But we are not here to applaud manly courage, save as it has been displayed in a noble cause.
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.
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.