I would give woman a vote, give her a motive to qualify herself to vote, precisely as I insisted upon giving the colored man the right to vote, in order that he should have the same motives for making himself a useful citizen as those in force in the case of other citizens.
In his autobiography, Douglass explains his support for women's suffrage, arguing it would provide women with the same civic motivation and opportunity for useful citizenship that he advocated for Black men.
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More from Frederick Douglass
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.
Taking all the circumstances into consideration, the colored people have no reason to despair.
A poverty-stricken class will be an ignorant and despised class, and no amount of sentiment can make it otherwise.
It was born in the tempest and whirlwind of war, and has lived in a storm of violence and blood.