I have sometimes thought that the mere hearing of those songs would do more to impress some minds with the horrible character of slavery, than the reading of whole volumes of philosophy on the subject could do.
In his autobiography, Douglass asserts the unique power of slave songs to convey the true horror of slavery more effectively than academic discourse.
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The nation or people which shall comply with them will rise, and those which violate them will fall, and perhaps will disappear altogether.
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