I can work for a living; I am not afraid of work; I have no Master Hugh to rob me of my earnings”—placed me in a state of independence, beyond seeking friendship or support of any man.
Douglass describes the profound sense of independence and self-worth he gained from earning his own wages after escaping slavery.
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True it is that this faith was many times shaken by passing events, but never destroyed.
A son of toil himself, he was linked in brotherly sympathy with the sons of toil in every loyal part of the republic.
Treason had shot its poisonous roots deeper, and had spread its death-dealing branches further than any northern calculation had covered.