A government recognizing the validity of the Dred Scott decision at such a time as this, is not likely to have any very charitable feelings towards me, and if I am to meet its representatives I prefer to do so at least upon equal terms.
From his autobiography, Douglass explains his refusal to surrender to authorities, citing the government's stance on the Dred Scott decision.
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More from Frederick Douglass
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.
The laws which determine the destinies of individuals and nations are impartial and eternal.
It was perhaps better for the country and for mankind that the good man could not know the end from the beginning.