On the recordJanuary 1, 1855
Our destiny was now to be fixed for life, and we had no more voice in the decision of the question, than the oxen and cows that stood chewing at the haymow.
Said by
Frederick Douglass
Source
gutenberg.orgOur destiny was now to be fixed for life, and we had no more voice in the decision of the question, than the oxen and cows that stood chewing at the haymow.
Douglass describes the utter powerlessness of enslaved individuals whose fates were decided by others, likening their lack of agency to that of farm animals.
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For the moment the northern lamb was transformed into a lion, and his roar was terrible.
Land is not worth much where there are no people to occupy it, and a mule is not worth much where there is no one to drive him.