Had he with all his men, as might have been the case, gone down in the shock of battle, the world would have had no true basis for its judgment, and one of the most heroic efforts ever witnessed in behalf of liberty would have been confounded with base and selfish purposes.
Douglass argues that had John Brown died in battle, his heroic efforts for liberty would have been misunderstood.
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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 could not but believe that there existed at the South a latent and powerful Union sentiment which would assert itself at last.