He calmly and bravely heard the voice of doubt and fear all around him; but he had an oath in heaven, and there was not power enough on earth to make this honest boatman, backwoodsman, and broad-handed splitter of rails evade or violate that sacred oath.
In a speech commemorating Abraham Lincoln, Douglass praises Lincoln's steadfast integrity and unwavering commitment to his presidential oath amidst national crisis.
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They cannot be coaxed or driven to vote with their enemies against their friends.
None now denies the ability of the colored race to acquire knowledge of anything which can be communicated to the human understanding by letters.
The nation or people which shall comply with them will rise, and those which violate them will fall, and perhaps will disappear altogether.