Political Quotes

Frederick Douglass: “Slaves were expected to sing as well as to work.”

On the recordJanuary 1, 1881
Slaves were expected to sing as well as to work.
Said by
Frederick Douglass

Editor's note · Context

In his autobiography, Douglass notes the expectation that slaves should sing while working, a practice often misinterpreted by outsiders.

Share

More from Frederick Douglass

Jan 1, 1881

The vote of the colored man, formerly beaten down and stamped out by intimidation, is now revived, sought, and defended by powerful allies, and this from no transient sentiment of the moment, but from the permanent laws controlling the…

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1881

Everywhere in the south the colored man is learning to read.

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1881

We are no longer four millions of slaves, but six millions of freemen.

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1881

Still another ground of hope I find in the fact that colored men are strong in their gratitude to benefactors, and firm in their political convictions.

gutenberg.org