The landlord keeps books; the Negro does not; hence, no matter how hard he may work or how hard saving he may be, he is, in most cases, brought in debt at the end of the year, and once in debt he is fastened to the land as by hooks of steel.
Douglass describes the cycle of debt that traps Negro laborers to their landlords, illustrating systemic economic oppression.
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It had no interest in recognizing or preserving any of the ties that bind families together or to their homes.
The sentiment that brings us here to-day is one of the noblest that can stir and thrill the human heart.