The chance is now given you to end in a day the bondage of centuries, and to rise in one bound from social degradation to the plane of common equality with all other varieties of men.
In an appeal for Black men to enlist in the Union Army, Douglass emphasizes the unprecedented opportunity to end slavery and achieve full equality.
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I wished it was possible I could remain small all my life, knowing that the sooner I grew large the shorter would be my time to remain with them.
But we are not here to applaud manly courage, save as it has been displayed in a noble cause.