Jan 1, 1855
I said I felt as one might be supposed to feel, on escaping from a den of hungry lions.
Frederick Douglass
The Public Record
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was "the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights in the 19th century".
gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1855
The dreams of my childhood and the purposes of my manhood were now fulfilled.
Jan 1, 1855
It is my opinion, that thousands would escape from slavery who now remain there, but for the strong cords of affection that bind them to their families, relatives and friends.
Jan 1, 1855
He probably thought I was never better satisfied with my condition, than at the very time I was planning my escape.
Jan 1, 1855
It is a blessed thing that the tyrant may not always know the thoughts and purposes of his victim.
Jan 1, 1855
Since,” thought I, “you will make a slave of me, I will await your orders in all things;” and, instead of going to look for work on Monday morning, as I had formerly done, I remained at home during the entire week, without the performance…
Jan 1, 1855
The little taste of liberty which I had had—although as the reader will have seen, it was far from being unalloyed—by no means enhanced my contentment with slavery.
Jan 1, 1855
Nevertheless,” thought I, “it is a valuable privilege another step in my career toward freedom.” It was something even to be permitted to stagger under the disadvantages of liberty, and I was determined to hold on to the newly gained…
Jan 1, 1855
He had armed my love of liberty with a lash and a driver, far more efficient than any I had before known; and, while he derived all the benefits of slaveholding by the arrangement, without its evils, I endured all the evils of being a…
Jan 1, 1855
No effort of mine or of his could silence this trouble-giving thought, or change my purpose to run away.
Jan 1, 1855
In spite of Master Thomas, and, I may say, in spite of myself, also, I continued to think, and worse still, to think almost exclusively about the injustice and wickedness of slavery.