Political Quotes

W.E.B. Du Bois: The alternative thus offered the nation was not between full and restricted Negro suffrage; else every sensible man…

On the record
The alternative thus offered the nation was not between full and restricted Negro suffrage; else every sensible man, black and white, would easily have chosen the latter.
Said by
W.E.B. Du Bois

Editor's note · Context

This passage clarifies that the debate was not merely about the extent of suffrage but rather about the fundamental choice between freedom and oppression.

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