On the recordJanuary 1, 1855
I was only a slave; my wishes were nothing, and my happiness was the sport of my masters.
Said by
Frederick Douglass
Source
gutenberg.orgFrederick Douglass: “I was only a slave; my wishes were nothing, and my happiness was the sport of my masters.”
Editor's note · Context
Douglass powerfully articulates the complete lack of personal agency and the arbitrary nature of an enslaved person's existence.
Share
More from Frederick Douglass
Jan 1, 1881
They cannot be coaxed or driven to vote with their enemies against their friends.
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.
Jan 1, 1881
To-day the negro, starting from nothing, pays taxes upon six millions in Georgia, and forty millions in Louisiana.