No man can be truly free whose liberty is dependent upon the thought, feeling, and action of others; and who has himself no means in his own hands for guarding, protecting, defending, and maintaining that liberty.
Douglass articulates a fundamental principle of liberty, asserting that true freedom requires self-reliance and the means to protect one's own rights, not dependence on others.
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More from Frederick Douglass
I wished it was possible I could remain small all my life, knowing that the sooner I grew large the shorter would be my time to remain with them.
But we are not here to applaud manly courage, save as it has been displayed in a noble cause.
Treason had shot its poisonous roots deeper, and had spread its death-dealing branches further than any northern calculation had covered.
The sentiment that brings us here to-day is one of the noblest that can stir and thrill the human heart.