Frederick Douglass: “Father he might be, and not be husband, and could sell his own child without incurring reproach, if in its veins coursed…”

It only abolished slavery where it did not exist, and left it intact where it did exist.

The laws which determine the destinies of individuals and nations are impartial and eternal.

The friendless and hungry boy, in his extremest need, found himself in the strong protecting arms of his mother.

That the mother was a slave was enough for its deadly purpose.