Frederick Douglass

When men sow the wind it is rational to expect that they will reap the whirlwind.

Without a struggle there can be no progress.

The thing worse than rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion.

I am a Republican a black dyed in the wool Republican and I never intend to belong to any other party than the party of freedom and progress.

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.

I didn't know I was a slave until I found out I couldn't do the things I wanted.

A battle lost or won is easily described, understood and appreciated; but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it.

I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.

What to the Slave is the 4th of July.

Slaves are generally expected to sing as well as to work.

The soul that is within me no man can degrade.

I prefer to be true to myself even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others rather than to be false and to incur my own abhorrence.

To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.

The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest truthful and virtuous.

People might not get all they work for in this world but they must certainly work for all they get.