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You Have Seen How A Man Was Made A Slave; You Shall See How A Slave Was Made A Man.
-Frederick Douglass
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You Have Seen How

Frederick Douglass
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You Have Seen How A Man Was Made A Slave; You Shall See How A Slave Was Made A Man.

Understanding the Quote: "you have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall..."

This quote by Frederick Douglass reflects deeply on the theme of men. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Men, Black History, African American, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Frederick Douglass interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass is celebrated for insightful thoughts on men and black history. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Men
Black History
African American
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The White Man's Happiness Cannot Be Purchased By The Black Man's Misery.
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No Man Can Be Truly Free Whose Liberty Is Dependent Upon The Thought, Feeling And Action Of Others, And Who Has Himself No Means In His Own Hands For Guarding, Protecting, Defending And Maintaining That Liberty
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Going To Live At Baltimore Laid The Foundation, And Opened The Gateway, To All My Subsequent Prosperity.
Foundation
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The Opposite Of Compromise Is Character.
Character
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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.
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Men Of Color, To Arms! The Case Is Before You. This Is Our Golden Opportunity. Let Us Accept It, And Forever Wipe Out The Dark Reproaches Unsparingly Hurled Against Us By Our Enemies. Let Us Win For Ourselves The Gratitude Of Our Country, And The Best Blessings Of Our Posterity Through All Time.
Country
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He Who Would Be Free Must Strike The First Blow.
Blow
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Firsts
The Law On The Side Of Freedom Is Of Great Advantage Only When There Is Power To Make That Law Respected.
Law
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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.
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We Are Americans, Speaking The Same Language, Adopting The Same Customs, Holding The Same General Opinions... And Shall Rise And Fall With Americans.
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Fall
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Money Is The Measure Of Morality, And The Success Or Failure Of Slavery As A Money-making System, Determines With Many Whether...it Should Be Maintained Or Abolished.
Slavery
Morality
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If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress. Those Who Profess To Favor Freedom, And Yet Depreciate Agitation, Are Men Who Want Crops Without Plowing Up The Ground. They Want Rain Without Thunder And Lightning. They Want The Ocean Without The Awful Roar Of Its Many Waters. This Struggle May Be A Moral One; Or It May Be A Physical One; Or It May Be Both Moral And Physical; But It Must Be A Struggle.
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If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress.
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I Have Often Wished Myself A Beast. I Preferred The Condition Of The Meanest Reptile To My Own. Any Thing, No Matter What, To Get Rid Of Thinking! It Was This Everlasting Thinking Of My Condition That Tormented Me. There Was No Getting Rid Of It. It Was Pressed Upon Me By Every Object Within Sight Or Hearing, Animate Or Inanimate.
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Man's Greatness Consists In His Ability To Do And The Proper Application Of His Powers To Things Needed To Be Done.
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A Gentleman Will Not Insult Me, And No Man Not A Gentleman Can Insult Me.
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Instead Of The Bright, Blue Sky Of America, I Am Covered With The Soft, Grey Fog Of The Emerald Isle. I Breathe, And Lo! The Chattel Becomes A Man.
Men
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Once You Read, You Will Be Free Forever.
Forever
Library
There Are At The Present Moment Many Colored Men In The Confederate Army Doing Duty Not Only As Cooks, Servants And Laborers , But As Real Soldiers, Having Muskets On Their Shoulders, And Bullets In Their Pockets, Ready To Shoot Down Loyal Troops, And Do All That Soldiers May To Destroy The Federal Government And Build Up That Of The Traitors And Rebels.
Real
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I Didn't Know I Was A Slave Until I Found Out I Couldn't Do The Things I Wanted.
Slavery
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I Am Not Included Within The Pale Of This Glorious Anniversary! Your High Independence Only Reveals The Immeasurable Distance Between Us. The Blessings In Which You, This Day, Rejoice, Are Not Enjoyed In Common. The Rich Inheritance Of Justice, Liberty, Prosperity And Independence, Bequeathed By Your Fathers, Is Shared By You, Not By Me. The Sunlight That Brought Life And Healing To You, Has Brought Stripes And Death To Me. This Fourth July Is Yours, Not Mine.
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You Degrade Us And Then Ask Why We Are Degraded. You Shut Our Mouths And Ask Why We Don't Speak. You Close Your Colleges And Seminaries Against Us And Then Ask Why We Don't Know.
College
Justice
Diversity
...i Recognize The Widest Possible Difference-so Wide, That To Receive The One As Good, Pure, And Holy, Is Of Necessity To Reject The Other As Bad, Corrupt, And Wicked. To Be The Friend Of One, Is Of Necessity To Be The Enemy Of The Other.
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A Government, Founded On Impartial Liberty, Where All Have A Voice And A Vote, Irrespective Of Color Or Of Sex--what Is There To Hinder Such A Government From Standing Firm.
Sex
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I Assert Most Unhesitatingly, That The Religion Of The South Is A Mere Covering For The Most Horrid Crimes—a Justifier Of The Most Appalling Barbarity…a Shelter Under…which The Darkest, Foulest, Grossest, And Most Infernal Deeds Of Slaveholders Find The Strongest Protection
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The Thought Of Only Being A Creature Of The Present And The Past Was Troubling. I Longed For A Future Too, With Hope In It. The Desire To Be Free, Awakened My Determination To Act, To Think, And To Speak.
Determination
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[john Brown's] Zeal In The Cause Of Freedom Was Infinitely Superior To Mine. Mine Was As The Taper Light, His Was As The Burning Sun... I Could Speak For The Slave. John Brown Could Fight For The Slave.
War
Light
Government
If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress....this Struggle May Be A Moral One; Or It May Be A Physical One; Or It May Be Both Moral And Physical; But It Must Be A Struggle. Power Concedes Nothing Without A Demand. It Never Did And It Never Will.
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Let Us Render The Tyrant No Aid.
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Everybody Has Asked The Question . . . 'what Shall We Do With The Negro?' I Have Had But One Answer From The Beginning. Do Nothing With Us! Your Doing With Us Has Already Played The Mischief With Us. Do Nothing With Us!
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Without Culture There Can Be No Growth; Without Exertion, No Acquisition; Without Friction, No Polish; Without Labor, No Knowledge; Without Action, No Progress; And Without Conflict, No Victory. The Man Who Lies Down A Fool At Night, Hoping That He Will Waken Wise In The Morning, Will Rise Up In The Morning As He Laid Down In The Evening.
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In Life You Don't Get Everything You Pay For, But You Must Pay For Everything You Get.
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In All The Relations Of Life And Death, We Are Met By The Color Line.
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I Would Unite With Anybody To Do Right And With Nobody To Do Wrong.
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Poverty, Ignorance And Degradation Are The Combined Evils, These Constitute The Social Disease Of The Free Colored People Of The Us.
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I Will Unite With Anyone To Do Good, But With No One To Do Harm.
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Neither We, Nor Any Other People, Will Ever Be Respected Till We Respect Ourselves And We Will Never Respect Ourselves Till We Have The Means To Live Respectfully.
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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.
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The Marriage Institution Cannot Exist Among Slaves, And One Sixth Of The Population Of Democratic America Is Denied It's Privileges By The Law Of The Land. What Is To Be Thought Of A Nation Boasting Of Its Liberty, Boasting Of It's Humanity, Boasting Of Its Christianity, Boasting Of Its Love Of Justice And Purity, And Yet Having Within Its Own Borders Three Millions Of Persons Denied By Law The Right Of Marriage?
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Where Justice Is Denied, Where Poverty Is Enforced, . . . Neither Persons Nor Property Will Be Safe.
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Be Not Discouraged. There Is A Future For You. . . . The Resistance Encountered Now Predicates Hope. . .
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I Ask You...to Adopt The Principles Proclaimed By Yourselves, By Your Revolutionary Fathers, And By The Old Bell In Independence Hall.
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It's A Poor Rule That Won't Work Both Ways.
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If I Have Advocated The Cause Of The Negro, It Is Not Because I Am A Negro, But Because I Am A Man.
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Once Let The Black Man Get Upon His Person The Brass Letter, U.s., Let Him Get An Eagle On His Button, And A Musket On His Shoulder And Bullets In His Pocket, There Is No Power On Earth That Can Deny That He Has Earned The Right To Citizenship.
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Yet People In General Will Say They Like Colored Men As Well As Any Other, But In Their Proper Place.
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People
Wells
Power And Those In Control Concede Nothing ... Without A Demand. Hey Never Have And Never Will... Each And Every One Of Us Must Keep Demanding, Must Keep Fighting, Must Keep Thundering, Must Keep Plowing, Must Keep On Keeping Things Struggling, Must Speak Out And Speak Up Until Justice Is Served Because Where There Is No Justice There Is No Peace.
Wisdom
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Vainly You Talk About Voting It Down. When You Have Cast Your Millions Of Ballots, You Have Not Reached The Evil. It Has Fastened Its Root Deep Into The Heart Of The Nation, And Nothing But God's Truth And Love Can Cleanse The Land. We Must Change The Moral Sentiment.
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The Relation Between The White And Colored People Of This Country Is The Great, Paramount, Imperative, And All-commanding Question For This Age And Nation To Solve.
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The More Men You Make Free, The More Freedom Is Strengthened, And The More Men You Give An Interest In The Welfare And Safety Of The State, The Greater Is The Security Of The State.
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If We Ever Get Free From All The Oppressions And Wrongs Heaped Upon Us, We Must Pay For Their Removal. We Must Do This By Labor, By Suffering, By Sacrifice, And, If Needs Be, By Our Lives, And The Lives Of Others.
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We Have To Do With The Past Only As We Can Make It Useful To The Present And The Future.
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Men And Women, Old And Young, Married And Single, Were Ranked With Horses, Sheep, And Swine
Horse
Men
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When Men Sow The Wind It Is Rational To Expect That They Will Reap The Whirlwind.
Men
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For It Is Not Light That Is Needed, But Fire; It Is Not The Gentle Shower, But Thunder. We Need The Storm, The Whirlwind, And The Earthquake. The Feeling In The Nation Must Be Quickened, The Conscience Of The Nation Must Be Roused, The Propriety Of The Nation Must Be Startled, The Hypocrisy Of The Nation Must Be Exposed: And Its Crimes Against God And Man Must Be Denounced.
Men
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Slaves Are Generally Expected To Sing As Well As To Work.
Literature
Slavery
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I Could, As A Free Man, Look Across The Bay Toward The Eastern Shore Where I Was Born A Slave.
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A Man Without Force, Is Without The Essential Dignity Of Humanity. Human Nature Is So Constituted, That It Cannot Honor A Helpless Man, Although It Can Pity Him.
Men
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Everybody Has Asked The Question, ... 'what Shall We Do With The Negro?' I Have Had But One Answer From The Beginning. Do Nothing With Us! You're Doing With Us Has Already Played The Mischief With Us. Do Nothing With Us! If The Apples Will Not Remain On The Tree Of Their Own Strength, ... Let Them Fall! I Am Not For Tying Or Fastening Them On The Tree In Any Way, Except By Nature's Plan, And If They Will Not Stay There, Let Them Fall. And If The Negro Cannot Stand On His Own Legs, Let Him Fall Also.
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Civil War Was Not A Mere Strife For Territory And Dominion, But A Contest Of Civilization Against Barbarism.
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Let Me Give You A Word Of The Philosophy Of Reform. The Whole History Of The Progress Of Human Liberty Shows That All Concessions Yet Made To Her August Claims, Have Been Born Of Earnest Struggle. The Conflict Has Been Exciting, Agitating, All-absorbing, And For The Time Being, Putting All Other Tumults To Silence. It Must Do This Or It Does Nothing. If There Is No Struggle There Is No Progress.
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Liberty For All; Chains For None.
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Chains
Heaven's Blessing Must Attend All, And Freedom Must Soon Be Given To The Pining Millions Under A Ruthless Bondage.
Freedom
Blessing
Heaven
As Those Who Believe In The Visibility Of Ghosts Can Easily See Them, So It Is Always Easy To See Repulsive Qualities In Those We Despise And Hate.
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My Hopes Were Never Brighter Than Now.
Brighter
I Hear The Mournful Wail Of Millions!
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Millions
A Little Learning, Indeed, May Be A Dangerous Thing, But The Want Of Learning Is A Calamity To Any People.
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Intelligence Is A Great Leveler Here As Elsewhere
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The Federal Government Was Never, In Its Essence, Anything But An Anti-slavery Government.
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Fortune May Crowd A Man's Life With Fortunate Circumstances And Happy Opportunities, But They Will, As We All Know, Avail Him Nothing Unless He Makes A Wise And Vigorous Use Of Them.
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The Ballot Is The Only Safety.
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E Have Men Sold To Build Churches, Women Sold To Support The Gospel, And Babes Sold To Purchase Bibles For The Poor Heathen, All For The Glory Of God And The Good Of Souls. The Slave Auctioneer's Bell And The Church-going Bell Chime In With Each Other, And The Bitter Cries Of The Heart-broken Slave Are Drowned In The Religious Shouts Of His Pious Master. Revivals Of Religion And Revivals In The Slave Trade Go Hand In Hand.
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A Man's Character Always Takes Its Hue, More Or Less, From The Form And Color Of Things About Him.
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Beat And Cuff Your Slave, Keep Him Hungry And Spiritless, And He Will Follow The Chain Of His Master Like A Dog. Feed And Clothe Him Well, Work Him Moderately, Surround Him With Physical Comfort And Dreams Of Freedom Intrude.
Dream
Dog
Comfort
I Do Not Think Much Of The Good Luck Theory Of Self-made Men. It Is Worth But Little Attention And Has No Practical Value.
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Men
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Find Out Just What Any People Will Quietly Submit To And You Have Found Out The Exact Measure Of Injustice And Wrong Which Will Be Imposed Upon Them, And These Will Continue Till They Are Resisted With Either Words Or Blows, Or With Both.
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Patriotic
People
I Recognize The Republican Party As The Sheet Anchor Of The Colored Man's Political Hopes And The Ark Of His Safety.
Party
Men
Anchors
This Fourth Of July Is Yours, Not Mine. You May Rejoice, I Must Mourn.
July
May
Rejoice
...there Are At The Present Moment Many Colored Men In The Confederate Army...as Real Soldiers, Having Muskets On Their Shoulders, And Bullets In Their Pockets, Ready To Shoot Down Loyal Troops, And Do All That Soldiers May Do To Destroy The Federal Government...there Were Such Soldiers At Manassas And They Are Probably There Still.
Real
War
Army
For Of All Slaveholders With Whom I Have Ever Met, Religious Slaveholders Are The Worst. I Have Ever Found Them The Meanest And Basest, The Most Cruel And Cowardly, Of All Others.
Religious
Found
Mets
Some Know The Value Of Education By Having It. I Know It's Value By Not Having It.
Value Of Education
Knows
Values
I Have No Accurate Knowledge Of My Age, Never Having Seen Any Authentic Record Containing It.
Age
Records
Accurate
Oppression Makes A Wise Man Mad.
Wise
Men
Mad
No People To Whom Liberty Is Given Can Hold It As Firmly And Wear It As Grandly As Those Who Wrench Their Liberty From The Iron Hand Of The Tyrant.
Hands
Tyrants
Iron
Though Conscious Of The Difficulty Of Learning Without A Teacher, I Set Out With High Hope, And A Fixed Purpose, At Whatever Cost Of Trouble, To Learn How To Read.
Teacher
Purpose
Cost
I Prayed For Twenty Years But Received No Answer Until I Prayed With My Legs.
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Atheist
Prayer
The Constitution Of The United States Knows No Distinction Between Citizens On Account Of Color. Neither Does It Know Any Difference Between A Citizen Of A State And A Citizen Of The United States.
Color
Differences
Democracy
[a] Woman Should Have Every Honorable Motive To Exertion Which Is Enjoyed By Man, To The Full Extent Of Her Capacities And Endowments. The Case Is Too Plain For Argument. Nature Has Given Woman The Same Powers, And Subjected Her To The Same Earth, Breathes The Same Air, Subsists On The Same Food, Physical, Moral, Mental And Spiritual. She Has, Therefore, An Equal Right With Man, In All Efforts To Obtain And Maintain A Perfect Existence.
Spiritual
Men
Air
The Church Of This Country Is Not Only Indifferent To The Wrongs Of The Slave, It Actually Takes Sides With The Oppressors.... For My Part, I Would Say, Welcome Infidelity! Welcome Atheism! Welcome Anything! In Preference To The Gospel, As Preached By These Divines! They Convert The Very Name Of Religion Into An Engine Of Tyranny And Barbarous Cruelty, And Serve To Confirm More Infidels, In This Age, Than All The Infidel Writings Of Thomas Paine, Voltaire, And Bolingbroke Put Together Have Done!
Country
Writing
Names
Interpreted As It Ought To Be Interpreted, The Constitution Is A Glorious Liberty Document!
Liberty
Constitution
Glorious
You Have Seen How A Man Was Made A Slave; You Shall See How A Slave Was Made A Man.
Men
Black History
African American
[...] Endless Action And Reaction. Those Beautifully Rounded Pebbles Which You Gather On The Sand And Which You Hold In Your Hand And Marvel At Their Exceeding Smoothness, Were Chiseled Into Their Varies And Graceful Forms By The Ceaseless Action Of Countless Waves. Nature Is Herself A Great Worker And Never Tolerates, Without Certain Rebuke, Any Contradiction To Her Wise Example. Inaction Is Followed By Stagnation. Stagnation Is Followed By Pestilence And Pestilence Is Followed By Death.
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I Love The Religion Of Christianity - Which Cometh From Above - Which Is A Pure, Peaceable, Gentle, Easy To Be Entreated, Full Of Good Fruits, And Without Hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy
Fruit
Christianity
Go Where You May, Search Where You Will, Roam Through All Of The Monarchies And Despotisms Of The Old World, Travel Through South America, Search Out Every Abuse, And When You Have Found The Last, Lay Your Facts By The Side Of The Everyday Practices Of This Nation, And You Will Say With Me That, For Revolting Barbarity And Shameless Hypocrisy, America Reigns Without A Rival.
Practice
America
Hypocrisy
The American Constitution Is A Written Instrument Full And Complete In Itself. No Court In America, No Congress, No President, Can Add A Single Word Thereto, Or Take A Single Word Threreto. It Is A Great National Enactment Done By The People, And Can Only Be Altered, Amended, Or Added To By The People.
America
People
President
I Escaped From Slavery And Became A Leading Abolitionist And Speaker.
Slavery
Abolitionist
Speakers
The Limits Of Tyrants Are Prescribed By The Endurance Of Those Whom They Oppose.
Freedom
Democracies Have
Tyrants
Mr. Lincoln Was Not Only A Great President, But A Great Man - Too Great To Be Small In Anything. In His Company I Was Never In Any Way Reminded Of My Humble Origin, Or Of My Unpopular Color.
Humble
Men
Color
We Are Free To Say That In Respect To Political Rights, We Hold Women To Be Justly Entitled To All We Claim For Men.
Men
Rights
Justice
A Man Who Will Enslave His Own Blood, May Not Be Safely Relied On For Magnamity.
Men
Blood
May
In A Composite Nation Like Ours, As Before The Law, There Should Be No Rich, No Poor, No High, No Low, No White, No Black, But Common Country, Common Citizenship, Equal Rights And A Common Destiny.
Country
Destiny
Rights
To Make A Contented Slave It Is Necessary To Make A Thoughtless One. It Is Necessary To Darken The Moral And Mental Vision And, As Far As Possible, To Annihilate The Power Of Reason.
Vision
Moral
Slave
Right Is Of No Sex, Truth Is Of No Color.
Sex
Color
Truth Is
People Might Not Get All They Work For In This World, But They Must Certainly Work For All They Get.
Life
Freedom
Work
I Have No Protection At Home, Or Resting Place Abroad. ... I Am An Outcast From The Society Of My Childhood, And An Outlaw In The Land Of My Birth. I Am A Stranger With Thee, And A Sojourner As All My Fathers Were.
Father
Home
Land
Despite Of It All, The Negro Remains... Cool, Strong, Imperturbable, And Cheerful.
Strong
Cheerful
Remains
The Sunlight That Has Brought Life And Healing To You Has Brought Stripes And Death To Me. This Fourth Of July Is Yours, Not Mine.
Healing
July
Justice
I Love The Pure, Peaceable, And Impartial Christianity Of Christ; I Therefore Hatethe Corrupt, Slaveholding, Women-whipping, Cradle-plundering, Partial, And Hypocritical Christianity Of This Land. Indeed, I Can See No Reason, But The Most Deceitful One, For Calling The Religion Of This Land Christianity. I Look Upon It As The Climax Of All Misnomers, The Boldest Of All Frauds, And The Grossest Of All Libels.
Land
Looks
Calling
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.
Freedom
Party
Black
It Is Easier To Build Strong Children Than To Repair Broken Men.
Inspirational
Motivational
Strength
Every Tone Was A Testimony Against Slavery, And A Prayer To God For Deliverance From Chains.
Prayer
Slavery
Tone
Liberty Is Meaningless Where The Right To Utter One's Thoughts And Opinions Has Ceased To Exist. That, Of All Rights, Is The Dread Of Tyrants. It Is The Right Which They First Of All Strike Down.
Freedom
Rights
Tyrants
I Have Observed This In My Experience Of Slavery, - That Whenever My Condition Was Improved, Instead Of Its Increasing My Contentment, It Only Increased My Desire To Be Free, And Set Me To Thinking Of Plans To Gain My Freedom. I Have Found That, To Make A Contented Slave, It Is Necessary To Make A Thoughtless One. It Is Necessary To Darken His Moral And Mental Vision, And, As Far As Possible, To Annihilate The Power Of Reason. He Must Be Able To Detect No Inconsistencies In Slavery; He Must Be Made To Feel That Slavery Is Right; And He Can Be Brought To That Only When He Ceased To Be A Man.
Men
Thinking
Vision
Who Would Be Free Themselves Must Strike The Blow. Better Even To Die Free Than To Live Slaves.
Freedom
Blow
Would Be
Freedom Is A Road Seldom Traveled By The Multitude.
Multitudes
Traveled
I Expose Slavery In This Country, Because To Expose It Is To Kill It. Slavery Is One Of Those Monsters Of Darkness To Whom The Light Of Truth Is Death.
Sad
Country
Depressing
Without A Struggle, There Can Be No Progress.
Inspirational
Motivational
Freedom
In The Struggle For Justice, The Only Reward Is The Opportunity To Be In The Struggle. You Can't Expect That You're Going To Have It Tomorrow. You Just Have To Keep Working On It.
Struggle
Opportunity
Justice
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.
Respect
Fear
Integrity
America Is False To The Past, False To The Present, And Solemnly Binds Herself To Be False To The Future.
Past
America
Literature
Now, Take The Constitution According To Its Plain Reading, And I Defy The Presentation Of A Single Pro-slavery Clause In It. On The Other Hand It Will Be Found To Contain Principles And Purposes, Entirely Hostile To The Existence Of Slavery.
Reading
Hands
Principles
Having Despised Us, It Is Not Strange That Americans Should Seek To Render Us Despicable; Having Enslaved Us, It Is Natural That They Should Strive To Prove Us Unfit For Freedom; Having Denounced Us As Indolent, It Is Not Strange That They Should Cripple Our Enterprises.
Strange
Strive
Natural
Where Justice Is Denied, Where Poverty Is Enforced, Where Ignorance Prevails, And Where Any One Class Is Made To Feel That Society Is An Organized Conspiracy To Oppress, Rob And Degrade Them, Neither Persons Nor Property Will Be Safe.
Peace
Patriotic
Ignorance
The Destiny Of The Colored American ... Is The Destiny Of America.
Destiny
America
Our Community Belongs To Us And Whether It Is Mean Or Majestic, Whether Arrayed In Glory Or Covered In Shame, We Cannot But Share Its Character And Destiny.
Character
Mean
Destiny
The Life Of The Nation Is Secure Only While The Nation Is Honest, Truthful, And Virtuous.
Honesty
Integrity
War
Abolish Slavery Tomorrow, And Not A Sentence Or Syllable Of The Constitution Need Be Altered. It Was Purposely So Framed As To Give No Claim, No Sanction To The Claim, Of Property In Man. If In Its Origin Slavery Had Any Relation To The Government, It Was Only As The Scaffolding To The Magnificent Structure, To Be Removed As Soon As The Building Was Completed.
Men
Giving
Needs
Power Concedes Nothing Without Demand. It Never Has And Never Will. Show Me The Exact Amount Of Wrong And Injustices That Are Visited Upon A Person And I Will Show You The Exact Amount Of Words Endured By These People.
People
Literature
Demand
Shields Green Was Not One To Shrink From Hardships Or Dangers. He Was A Man Of Few Words, And His Speech Was Singularly Broken; But His Courage And Self-respect Made Him Quite A Dignified Character.
Character
Men
Self
Our Destiny Is Largely In Our Hands.
Destiny
Hands
Our Destiny
My Great And Exceeding Joy Over These Stupendous Achievements, Especially Over The Abolition Of Slavery (which Had Been The Deepest Desire And The Great Labor Of My Life), Was Slightly Tinged With A Feeling Of Sadness.
Abolition Of Slavery
Desire
Labor
Education Means Emancipation. It Means Light And Liberty. It Means The Uplifting Of The Soul Of Man Into The Glorious Light Of Truth, The Light By Which Men Can Only Be Made Free.
Uplifting
Mean
Men
This War, Disguise It As They May, Is Virtually Nothing More Or Less Than Perpetual Slavery Against Universal Freedoms.
War
History
Slavery
Did John Brown Fail? John Brown Began The War That Ended American Slavery And Made This A Free Republic.
War
Slavery
Republic
There Is A Class Of People Who Seem To Think That If A Man Should Fall Overboard Into The Sea With A Bible In His Pocket It Would Hardly Be Possible To Drown. I Prayed For Twenty Years But Received No Answer Until I Prayed With My Legs.
Fall
Men
Thinking
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 Mans Cause Than Those Of The Democratic Party.
Party
Elements
Causes
We Succeed, Not Alone By The Laborious Exertions Of Our Faculties, Be They Small Or Great, But By The Regular, Thoughtful And Systematic Exercise Of Them.
Exercise
Thoughtful
Succeed
Those Who Profess To Favor Freedom, And Yet Depreciate Agitation, Are Men Who Want Crops Without Plowing Up The Ground.
Freedom
Patriotic
Men
One And God Make A Majority.
God
Godly
Majority
What I Ask For The Negro Is Not Benevolence, Not Pity, Not Sympathy, But Simply Justice. ... All I Ask Is, Give Him A Chance To Stand On His Own Legs! Let Him Alone! ... Your Interference Is Doing Him Positive Injury.
Giving
Justice
Legs
Grandmother Pointed Out My Brother Perry, My Sister Sarah, And My Sister Eliza, Who Stood In The Group. I Had Never Seen My Brother Nor My Sisters Before; And, Though I Had Sometimes Heard Of Them, And Felt A Curious Interest In Them, I Really Did Not Understand What They Were To Me, Or I To Them. We Were Brothers And Sisters, But What Of That? Why Should They Be Attached To Me, Or I To Them? Brothers And Sisters Were By Blood; But Slavery Had Made Us Strangers. I Heard The Words Brother And Sisters, And Knew They Must Mean Something; But Slavery Had Robbed These Terms Of Their True Meaning.
Brother
Mean
Grandmother
If We Would Reach A Degree Of Civilization Higher And Grander Than Any Yet Attained, We Should Welcome To Our Ample Continent All The Nations, Kindreds, Tongues And Peoples, And As Fast As They Learn Our Language And Comprehend The Duties Of Citizenship, We Should Incorporate Them Into The American Body Politic. The Outspread Wings Of The American Eagle Are Broad Enough To Shelter All Who Are Likely To Come.
Eagles
Civilization
Wings
The Man Who Is Right Is A Majority. He Who Has God And Conscience On His Side, Has A Majority Against The Universe.
Men
Majority
Sides
I Have Often Sung To Drown My Sorrow, But Seldom To Express My Happiness. Crying For Joy, And Singing For Joy, Were Alike Uncommon To Me While In The Jaws Of Slavery. The Singing Of A Man Cast Away Upon A Desolate Island Might Be As Appropriately Considered As Evidence Of Contentment And Happiness, As The Singing Of A Slave; The Songs Of The One And Of The Other Are Prompted By The Same Emotion.
Song
Men
Islands
To Drag A Man In Fetters Into The Grand Illuminated Temple Of Liberty, And Call Upon Him To Join You In Joyous Anthems, Were Inhuman Mockery And Sacrilegious Irony.
Men
Liberty
Temples
Educate Your Sons And Daughters, Send Them To School, And Show Them That Beside The Cartridge Box, The Ballot Box, And The Jury Box, You Also Have The Knowledge Box.
Daughter
School
Son
It Is Better To Be Part Of A Great Whole Than To Be The Whole Of A Small Part.
Collaboration
Philanthropy
Small Parts
I Was Broken In Body, Soul, And Spirit. My Natural Elasticity Was Crushed, My Intellect Languished, The Disposition To Read Departed, The Cheerful Spark That Lingered About My Eye Died; The Dark Night Of Slavery Closed In Upon Me; And Behold A Man Transformed Into A Brute!
Eye
Dark
Night
Right Is Of No Sex-truth Is Of No Color-god Is The Father Of Us All, And We Are All Brethren.
Sex
Father
Color
I Have One Great Political Idea... That Idea Is An Old One. It Is Widely And Generally Assented To; Nevertheless, It Is Very Generally Trampled Upon And Disregarded. The Best Expression Of It, I Have Found In The Bible. It Is In Substance, "righteousness Exalteth A Nation - Sin Is A Reproach To Any People." This Constitutes My Politics, The Negative And Positive Of My Politics, And The Whole Of My Politics... I Feel It My Duty To Do All In My Power To Infuse This Idea Into The Public Mind, That It May Speedily Be Recognized And Practiced Upon By Our People.
Expression
Ideas
People
The Day Dawns; The Morning Star Is Bright Upon The Horizon! The Iron Gate Of Our Prison Stands Half Open. One Gallant Rush From The North Will Fling It Wide Open, While Four Millions Of Our Brothers And Sisters Shall March Out Into Liberty. The Chance Is Now Given You To End In A Day The Bondage Of Centuries, And To Rise In One Bound From Social Degradation To The Place Of Common Equality With All Other Varieties Of Men.
Brother
Morning
Stars
[...] Allowing Only Ordinary Ability And Opportunity, We May Explain Success Mainly By One Word And That Word Is Work! Work!! Work!!! Work!!!! Not Transient And Fitful Effort, But Patient, Enduring, Honest, Unremitting And Indefatigable Work Into Which The Whole Heart Is Put[...] There Is No Royal Road To Perfection.
Heart
Opportunity
Perfection
The Soul That Is Within Me No Man Can Degrade.
Life
Being Yourself
Men
A Man Is Worked On By What He Works On.
Men
Viewed From The Genuine Abolition Ground, Mr. Lincoln Seemed Tardy, Cold, Dull, And Indifferent; But Measuring Him By The Sentiment Of His Country, A Sentiment He Was Bound As A Statesman To Consult, He Was Swift, Zealous, Radical, And Determined.
Country
Zealous
Dull
There Is No Negro Problem. The Problem Is Whether The American People Have Loyalty Enough, Honor Enough, Patriotism Enough, To Live Up To Their Own Constitution
Loyalty
People
Black History
Freedom Now Appeared, To Disappear No More Forever... I Saw Nothing Without Seeing It, I Heard Nothing Without Hearing It, And Felt Nothing Without Feeling It. It Looked From Every Star, It Smiled In Every Calm, Breathed In Every Wind, And Moved In Every Storm.
Stars
Wind
Forever
The Mind Does Not Take Its Complexion From The Skin.
Teaching
Intellectual
Intelligence
Interpreted As It Ought To Be Interpreted, The Constitution Is A Glorious Liberty Document. Read Its Preamble, Consider Its Purposes. Is Slavery Among Them? Is It At The Gateway? Or Is It In The Temple? It Is Neither.
Liberty
Purpose
Slavery
Truth Is Proper And Beautiful In All Times And In All Places.
Beautiful
Truth
Truth Is
Without Struggle There Is No Success
Struggle
Praying For Freedom Never Did Me Any Good Til I Started Praying With My Feet.
Feet
Praying
Viewing The Man From The Genuine Abolitionist Ground, Mr. Lincoln Seemed Cold, Tardy, Weak And Unequal To The Task. But, Viewing Him From The Sentiments Of His People, Which As A Statesman He Was Bound To Respect, Then His Actions Were Swift, Bold, Radical And Decisive. Taking The Man In The Whole, Balancing The Tremendous Magnitude Of The Situation, And The Necessary Means To Ends, Infinite Wisdom Has Rarely Sent A Man Into The World More Perfectly Suited To His Mission Than Abraham Lincoln.
War
Mean
Men
If There's No Struggle, There's No Progress.
Struggle
Math
Progress
If The Negro Knows Enough To Pay Taxes To Support The Government, He Knows Enough To Vote; Taxation And Representation Should Go Together. If He Knows Enough To Shoulder A Musket And Fight For The Flag, Fight For The Government, He Knows Enough To Vote.
Fighting
Government
Support
It Was A Glorious Resurrection, From The Tomb Of Slavery, To The Heaven Of Slavery. My Long-crushed Spirit Rose, Cowardice Departed, Bold Defiance Took Its Place; And I Now Resolved That, However Long I Might Remain A Slave In Form, The Day Had Passed Forever When I Could Be A Slave In Fact.
Long
Rose
Forever
The Silver Trump Of Freedom Roused In My Soul Eternal Wakefulness.
Soul
Silver
Trump
He Who Is Whipped Oftenest, Is Whipped Easiest.
Strength
Self Respect
These Were Choice Documents To Me... They Gave Tongue To Interesting Thoughts Of My Own Soul, Which Had Frequently Flashed Through My Mind, And Died Away For Want Of Utterance.
Interesting
Choices
Soul
What Is Possible For Me Is Possible For You.
Black History
Liberty
At A Time Like This, Scorching Irony, Not Convincing Argument, Is Needed.
Irony
Argument
Needed
These Dear Souls Came Not To Sabbath School Because It Was Popular To Do So, Nor Did I Teach Them Because It Was Reputable To Be Thus Engaged. Every Moment They Spent In That School, They Were Liable To Be Taken Up, And Given Thirty-nine Lashes. They Came Because They Wished To Learn. Their Minds Had Been Starved By Their Cruel Masters. They Had Been Shut Up In Mental Darkness. I Taught Them, Because It Was The Delight Of My Soul To Be Doing Something That Looked Like The Bettering The Condition Of My Race
Taken
School
Race
From The First I Saw No Chance Of Bettering The Condition Of The Freedman Until He Should Cease To Be Merely A Freedman And Should Become A Citizen.
Citizens
Saws
Firsts
American Labor Rights Activist, On Activities Of The National Farm Workers Association Human Law May Know No Distinction Among Men In Respect Of Rights, But Human Practice May.
Men
Rights
Law
Allow Us The Dignity To Fight For Our Own Freedom
Patriotic
Fighting
Dignity
Slaves Were Expected To Sing As Well As To Work. A Silent Slave Was Not Liked, Either By Masters Or Overseers.
Literature
Slave
Silent
Every One Of Us Should Be Ashamed To Be Free While His Brother Is A Slave.
Brother
Slave
Should
What, To The American Slave, Is Your Fourth Of July? I Answer: A Day That Reveals To Him, More Than All Other Days Of The Year, The Gross Injustices And Cruelty To Which He Is The Constant Victim. To Him Your Celebration Is A Sham.
July
Years
Justice
Fugitive Slaves Were Rare Then, And As A Fugitive Slave Lecturer, I Had The Advantage Of Being The First One Out.
Firsts
Slave
Advantage
A Slave Is Someone Who Sits Down, And Waits For Someone To Free Them.
Waiting
Down And
Slave
Opportunity Is Important But Exertion Is Indispensable.
Opportunity
Important
Self Made
In Regard To The Colored People, There Is Always More That Is Benevolent, I Perceive, Than Just, Manifested Towards Us. What I Ask For The Negro Is Not Benevolence, Not Pity, Not Sympathy, But Simply Justice.
People
Justice
Pity
I Glory In The Conflict, That I May Hereafter Exult In The Victory. I Know That Victory Is Certain.
Victory
May
Conflict
It Is The Mission Of The Printer To Diffuse Light And Knowledge By A Judicious Intermingling Of Black With White.
White
Light
Black
We May Explain Success Mainly By One Word And That Word Is Work! Work!! Work!!! Work!!!!
Motivational
Black History
May
Slaves Sing Most When They Are Most Unhappy. The Songs Of The Slave Represent The Sorrows Of His Heart; And He Is Relieved By Them, Only As An Aching Heart Is Relieved By Its Tears.
Song
Heart
Sorrow
Power Concedes Nothing Without A Demand. It Never Did And It Never Will.
Freedom
Power
Tyrants
A Great Man, Tender Of Heart, Strong Of Nerve, Boundless Patience And Broadest Sympathy, With No Motive Apart From His Country.
Country
Strong
4th Of July
Once You Learn To Read, You Will Be Forever Free.
Reading
Book
Forever
Your National Greatness, Swelling Vanity; Your Denunciation Of Tyrants, Brass-fronted Impudence; Your Shouts Of Liberty And Equality, Hollow Mockery; Your Prayers And Hymns, Your Sermons And Thanksgivings, With All Your Religious Parade And Solemnity, Are, To Him, Mere Bombast, Fraud, Deception, Impiety, And Hypocrisy-a Thin Veil To Cover Up Crimes Which Would Disgrace A Nation Of Savages.
Religious
Prayer
Greatness
Knowledge Makes A Man Unfit To Be A Slave.
Wisdom
Freedom
Men
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.
Fire
Light
Earthquakes
My Theory Of Self-made Men Is, Then, Simply This; That They Are Men Of Work. Whether Or Not Such Men Have Acquired Material, Moral Or Intellectual Excellence, Honest Labor Faithfully, Steadily And Persistently Pursued, Is The Best, If Not The Only, Explanation Of Their Success... All Human Experience Proves Over And Over Again, That Any Success Which Comes Through Meanness, Trickery, Fraud And Dishonour, Is But Emptiness And Will Only Be A Torment To Its Possessor.
Men
Self
Intellectual
You Have To Take Power. No One Gives It.
Giving
From My Earliest Recollection, I Date The Entertainment Of A Deep Conviction That Slavery Would Not Always Be Able To Hold Me Within Its Foul Embrace; And In The Darkest Hours Of My Career In Slavery, This Living Word Of Faith And Spirit Of Hope Departed Not From Me, But Remained Like Ministering Angels To Cheer Me Through The Gloom. This Good Spirit Was From God, And To Him I Offer Thanksgiving And Praise.
Cheer
Angel
Careers
This Struggle May Be A Moral One, Or It May Be A Physical One, And It May Be Both Moral And Physical, But It Must Be A Struggle. Power Concedes Nothing Without A Demand. It Never Did And It Never Will. Find Out Just What Any People Will Quietly Submit To And You Have Found Out The Exact Measure Of Injustice And Wrong Which Will Be Imposed Upon Them, And These Will Continue Till They Are Resisted With Either Words Or Blows, Or With Both. The Limits Of Tyrants Are Prescribed By The Endurance Of Those Whom They Oppress.
Struggle
Blow
Tyrants
...of Whom I Can Say With A Grateful Heart, 'i Was Hungry, And He Gave Me Meat; I Was Thirsty, And He Gave Me Drink; I Was A Stranger, And He Took Me In.'
Grateful
Heart
Meat
A Man's Rights Rest In Three Boxes: The Ballot Box, The Jury Box, And The Cartridge Box.
Men
Gun
Rights
I Know No Class Of My Fellowmen, However Just, Enlightened, And Humane, Which Can Be Wisely And Safely Trusted Absolutely With The Liberties Of Any Other Class.
Trust
Government
Class
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