Political Quotes

Frederick Douglass: This spirit made me a freeman in fact, while I remained a slave in form.

On the recordJanuary 1, 1855
This spirit made me a freeman in fact, while I remained a slave in form.
Said by
Frederick Douglass

Editor's note · Context

Douglass articulates the distinction between his internal state of liberation and his external legal status, emphasizing the power of the human spirit.

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More from Frederick Douglass

Jan 1, 1881

It was perhaps better for the country and for mankind that the good man could not know the end from the beginning.

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Father he might be, and not be husband, and could sell his own child without incurring reproach, if in its veins coursed one drop of African blood.

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The day we celebrate is preëminently the colored man’s day.

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

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