Those who cared nothing for the slave, and were willing to tolerate slavery inside the slave States, were nevertheless not quite prepared to find themselves and their children excluded from the common inheritance of the nation.
Douglass explains that even those indifferent to the plight of slaves opposed slavery's expansion when it threatened their own opportunities and national inheritance.
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More from Frederick Douglass
The battle against popular prejudice will have been fought and won, and in common with all other races and colors, we shall have an equal chance in the race of life.
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.
Every dollar you lay up, represents one day’s independence, one day of rest and security in the future.
To-day the negro, starting from nothing, pays taxes upon six millions in Georgia, and forty millions in Louisiana.