My hands had been furnished by nature with something like a solid leather coating, and I had bravely marked out for myself a life of rough labor, suited to the hardness of my hands, as a means of supporting myself and rearing my children.
Douglass reflects on his physical condition after years of labor and his resolve to support his family through hard work in his new life of freedom.
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My grandmother was all the world to me, and the thought of being separated from her was a most unwelcome suggestion to my affections and hopes.
It had no interest in recognizing or preserving any of the ties that bind families together or to their homes.
Lincoln was not only a great President, but a GREAT MAN--too great to be small in anything.