Indeed, I now have reason to think he was not; nevertheless, the fact remains, in all its glaring odiousness, that, by the laws of slavery, children, in all cases, are reduced to the condition of their mothers.
In his autobiography, Douglass explains how the legal framework of slavery ensured that children inherited the enslaved status of their mothers, regardless of paternity.
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A son of toil himself, he was linked in brotherly sympathy with the sons of toil in every loyal part of the republic.
The sentiment that brings us here to-day is one of the noblest that can stir and thrill the human heart.
He was called upon not merely to administer the government, but to decide, in the face of terrible odds, the fate of the Republic.