On the record
They looked to it as the only salvation of the Union cause; the only means for securing the rights of the negro, or for protecting the credit of the Government.
Said by
Whitelaw Reid
Source
gutenberg.orgWhitelaw Reid: “They looked to it as the only salvation of the Union cause; the only means for securing the rights of the negro, or for…”
Editor's note · Context
Reid reflects on the perceived necessity of certain measures for the Union's success and the rights of African Americans during the Reconstruction era.
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And it is both natural and right that colored Americans, entitled to the rights of citizens, should claim their exercise.
They should persist in this claim respectfully, but firmly, taking care to bring no discredit upon it by their own action.
It is my firm conviction, that suffrage is not only the best security for freedom, but the most potent agent of amelioration and civilization.
It has proved, also, that universal suffrage is the surest guarantee and most powerful stimulus of individual, social and political progress.