Frederick Douglass Quotes

1818–1895 United States

Frederick Douglass (c. February 1818 – 20 February 1895) was an American abolitionist, orator, author, editor, reformer, women's rights advocate, and statesman during the American Civil War.

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Also known as: Douglass, Frederick, Frederick Douglas

Random Frederick Douglass quote

118 quotes

The lonely billows of the Atlantic, where every breeze speaks of courage and liberty.

The Heroic Slave (1853)

Despite of it all, the Negro remains … cool, strong, imperturbable, and cheerful.

Speech on the Anniversary of Emancipation (1883)

The destiny of the colored American … is the destiny of America.

The man who prays in secret is far more likely to be sincere than he who loves to pray standing in the street, or in the great congregation.

The Heroic Slave (1853)

Let the nation try justice and the problem will be solved.

Lessons of the Hour (1894)

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim.

What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? (1852)

I knew that however bad the Republican party was, the Democratic party was much worse. The elements of which the Republican party was composed gave better ground for the ultimate hope of the success of the colored man's cause than those of the Democratic party.

Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1941)

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

West India Emancipation (1857)

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

They will then command the respect of both races; whereas now they only shock the taste of the one, and provoke the disgust of the other.

I have often been utterly astonished, since I came to the north, to find persons who could speak of the singing, among slaves, as evidence of their contentment and happiness.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845)

I was brought into contact with the mind of Mr. Garrison, and his paper took a place in my heart second only to the Bible.

Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881)

I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slave-holding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845)

Nature does not make your existence depend upon me, or mine depend upon yours.

We shall neither die out, nor be driven out; but shall go with this people, either as a testimony against them, or as an evidence in their favor throughout their generations.

This war, let it be long or let it be short, let it cost much or let it cost little... shall not cease until every freedman at the South has the right to vote.

What the Black Man Wants (1865)

I believe that there is a moral government; and that God reigns. I am no pessimist; I give thanks to the good Lord, and also to the good men through whom He has worked.

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.

The silver trump of freedom had roused my soul to eternal wakefulness. Freedom now appeared, to disappear no more forever. It was heard in every sound, and seen in every thing.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845)

The honor of a nation is an important thing. It is said in the Scriptures, “What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” It may be said, also, What doth it profit a nation if it gain the whole world, but lose its honor?

What the Black Man Wants (1865)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Frederick Douglass (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.