If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Frederick Douglass on change
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 on freedom
Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. Frederick Douglass on freedom
America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. Frederick Douglass on future
We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future. Frederick Douglass on future
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 on great
The white man's happiness cannot be purchased by the black man's misery. Frederick Douglass on happiness
A little learning, indeed, may be a dangerous thing, but the want of learning is a calamity to any people. Frederick Douglass on learning
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. Frederick Douglass on men
Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. Frederick Douglass on men
When men sow the wind it is rational to expect that they will reap the whirlwind. Frederick Douglass on 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. Frederick Douglass on nature
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Frederick Douglass on power
I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs. Frederick Douglass on religion
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. Frederick Douglass on society
At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Frederick Douglass on time
People might not get all they work for in this world, but they must certainly work for all they get. Frederick Douglass on work
Slaves are generally expected to sing as well as to work. Frederick Douglass on work