Even the most ignorant members of my race on the remote plantations felt in their hearts, with a certainty that admitted of no doubt, that the freedom of the slaves would be the one great result of the war, if the Northern armies conquered.
Washington emphasizes the unwavering conviction among enslaved people, regardless of their education or location, that a Union victory would inevitably lead to their freedom.
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More from Booker T. Washington
If my life in the past has meant anything in the lifting up of my people and the bringing about of better relations between your race and mine, I assure you from this day it will mean doubly more.
The great human law that in the end recognizes and rewards merit is everlasting and universal.
By it a race must rise or fall, succeed or fail, and in the last analysis mere sentiment counts for little.
In the economy of God there is but one standard by which an individual can succeed—there is but one for a race.