It involves the question, whether after all our boasted civilization, our Declaration of Independence, our matchless Constitution, our sublime Christianity, our wise statesmanship, we as a people, possess virtue enough to solve this problem in accordance with wisdom and justice, and to the advantage of both races.
This quote raises fundamental questions about the nation's moral capacity to address social issues justly.
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More from Frederick Douglass
The laws which determine the destinies of individuals and nations are impartial and eternal.
The anti-slavery platform had performed its work, and my voice was no longer needed.
We (the people of the North) are a charitable people, and in the excess of this feeling we were disposed to put the very best construction upon the strange behavior of our southern brethren.