Frederick Douglass: “We have conventions in America for Ireland, but we should have none if…”

On the record

We have conventions in America for Ireland, but we should have none if Ireland did not speak for herself.

Said by

Frederick Douglass

Source

He argues for the necessity of self-advocacy, using the example of Ireland to illustrate his point.

More from Frederick Douglass

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True it is that this faith was many times shaken by passing events, but never destroyed.

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For the moment the northern lamb was transformed into a lion, and his roar was terrible.

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If I have had kicks, I have also had kindness.

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The sentiment that brings us here to-day is one of the noblest that can stir and thrill the human heart.

Frederick Douglass: “We have conventions in America for Ireland, but we should have none if Ireland did not speak for herself.”