On the recordJanuary 1, 1855
The slave’s happiness is not the end sought, but, rather, the master’s safety.
Said by
Frederick Douglass
Source
gutenberg.orgFrederick Douglass: “The slave’s happiness is not the end sought, but, rather, the master’s safety.”
Editor's note · Context
In his autobiography, Douglass asserts that the true purpose of slave holidays was to ensure the security of the slave system, not the well-being of the enslaved.
Share
More from Frederick Douglass
Jan 1, 1881
Knowledge unfits a child to be a slave.” I instinctively assented to the proposition, and from that moment I understood the direct pathway from slavery to freedom.
Jan 1, 1881
I looked into this kitchen with peculiar interest, and remembered that it was there I last saw my mother.
Jan 1, 1881
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.