Frederick Douglass

A man's character always takes its hue, more or less, from the form and color of things about him.
Frederick Douglass

America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future.
Frederick Douglass

At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed.
Frederick Douglass



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.
Frederick Douglass

A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me.
Frederick Douglass

A little learning, indeed, may be a dangerous thing, but the want of learning is a calamity to any people.
Frederick Douglass

Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.
Frederick Douglass

Fugitive slaves were rare then, and as a fugitive slave lecturer, I had the advantage of being the first one out.
Frederick Douglass

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.
Frederick Douglass

I could, as a free man, look across the bay toward the Eastern Shore where I was born a slave.
Frederick Douglass

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

I recognize the Republican party as the sheet anchor of the colored man's political hopes and the ark of his safety.
Frederick Douglass

If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
Frederick Douglass

It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.
Frederick Douglass

No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck.
Frederick Douglass

One and God make a majority.
Frederick Douglass

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

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.
Frederick Douglass

It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.
Frederick Douglass

Man's greatness consists in his ability to do and the proper application of his powers to things needed to be done.
Frederick Douglass