On the recordJanuary 1, 1881
In that instrument we have laid down the law, now and forever, that there shall be no slavery or involuntary servitude in this republic, except for crime.
Said by
Frederick Douglass
Source
gutenberg.orgFrederick Douglass: “In that instrument we have laid down the law, now and forever, that there shall be no slavery or involuntary servitude…”
Editor's note · Context
From his autobiography, Douglass reflects on the Thirteenth Amendment's legal abolition of slavery in the United States.
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Jan 1, 1881
The anti-slavery platform had performed its work, and my voice was no longer needed.
Jan 1, 1881
His iron sentences, cold and harsh, sunk like heavy weights deep into my heart, and stirred up within me a rebellion not soon to be allayed.
Jan 1, 1881
It only abolished slavery where it did not exist, and left it intact where it did exist.
Jan 1, 1881
The father might be a white man, glorying in the purity of his Anglo-Saxon blood, and his child ranked with the blackest slaves.