Political Quotes

Frederick Douglass: All that the American people needed, I thought, was light.

On the recordJanuary 1, 1881
All that the American people needed, I thought, was light.
Said by
Frederick Douglass

Editor's note · Context

Reflecting on his early anti-slavery work, Douglass articulates his belief in the power of enlightenment to sway public opinion.

Share

More from Frederick Douglass

Jan 1, 1881

The nation or people which shall comply with them will rise, and those which violate them will fall, and perhaps will disappear altogether.

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1881

No power beneath the sky can make an ignorant, wasteful, and idle people prosperous, or a licentious people happy.

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1881

If the time shall ever come when we shall possess in the colored people of the United States, a class of men noted for enterprise, industry, economy, and success, we shall no longer have any trouble in the matter of civil and political…

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1881

Everywhere in the south the colored man is learning to read.

gutenberg.org