He held Ireland within the grasp of his strong hand, and could lead it withersoever he would, for Ireland believed in him and loved him, as she has loved and believed in no leader since.
Frederick Douglass: “He held Ireland within the grasp of his strong hand, and could lead it withersoever he would, for Ireland believed in…”
Editor's note · Context
Douglass reflects on Daniel O'Connell's immense influence and the deep trust and affection the Irish people held for their leader.
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This was a new and special revelation, dispelling a painful mystery against which my youthful understanding had struggled, and struggled in vain, to wit, the white man’s power to perpetuate the enslavement of the black man.
I looked into this kitchen with peculiar interest, and remembered that it was there I last saw my mother.
He was called upon not merely to administer the government, but to decide, in the face of terrible odds, the fate of the Republic.
We (the people of the North) are a charitable people, and in the excess of this feeling we were disposed to put the very best construction upon the strange behavior of our southern brethren.