Justin Morrill: “Having emancipated a whole race, shall it be said that there our duty ends, leaving the race as cumberers of the ground…”

“Having emancipated a whole race, shall it be said that there our duty ends, leaving the race as cumberers of the ground, to live or to wilt and perish? They are members of the American family, and their advancement concerns us all. While swiftly forgetting all they ever knew as slaves, shall they have no opportunity to learn anything as freemen?”