We knew that if, by extraordinary exertion, a large quantity of work was done in one day, the fact, becoming known to the master, might lead him to require the same amount every day.
Douglass explains that enslaved people understood that exceptional work output on one day could lead masters to demand that same high level of labor consistently.
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The sentiment that brings us here to-day is one of the noblest that can stir and thrill the human heart.
A son of toil himself, he was linked in brotherly sympathy with the sons of toil in every loyal part of the republic.