35 Frederick Douglass Quotes About Freedom, Education, Slavery & More
Last updated on January 3rd, 2024 at 11:52 am
“Frederick Douglass statue in Talbot County, Md.“, by Chesapeake Bay Program, is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
It is said that “going from the tough times makes you a great writer”; we have seen a live example of it, i.e., Frederick Douglass.
Frederick Douglass, popularly known as a vocal defender of human rights in the anti-slavery movement, was one of the strongest men world knows. He was an African-American writer, abolitionist, and orator who has written many books and journals on anti-slavery. Also, he has written many autobiographies, where Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass- an American Slave became the best seller.
His written work reflects his powerful thoughts, which were truly related to his own experience. And over the years, his thoughts became famous as quotes. Here we have combined some Frederick Douglass quotes that will be inspiring for you.
Frederick Douglass Quotes About Slavery
Frederick Douglass has experienced slavery very closely, and therefore, he had a lot to say about it. Check out Frederick Douglass quotes about slavery.
“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
“Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.”
Frederick Douglass
Source: Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
“Slaves are generally expected to sing as well as to work.”
Frederick Douglass
“Without any appeal to books, to laws, or to authorities of any kind, it was enough to accept God as a father, to regard slavery as a crime.”
Frederick Douglass
SOURCE: MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM
“The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon.”
Frederick Douglass
“I could, as a free man, look across the bay toward the Eastern Shore where I was born a slave.”
Frederick Douglass
“There is not a man beneath the canopy of heaven, that does not know that slavery is wrong for him.”
Frederick Douglass
“I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one.”
Frederick Douglass
Source: Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
“I had reached the point, at which I was not afraid to die. This spirit made me a Freeman in fact, while I remained a slave in form.”
Frederick Douglass
“If a slave has a bad master, his ambition is to get a better; when he gets a better, he aspires to have the best; and when he gets the best, he aspires to be his own master.”
Frederick Douglass
SOURCE: MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM
“The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart”
Frederick Douglass
“You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.”
Frederick Douglass
Source: The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass Quotes on Education
Read Frederick Douglass quotes on education to understand how it can actually change our lives and keep us updated with the past, present, and future.
“Some know the value of education by having it. I know its value by not having it.”
Frederick Douglass
“Once you learn to read you will be forever free.”
Frederick Douglass
“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.”
Frederick Douglass
Source: Blessings of Liberty and Education. Speech. 1894
“Intelligence is a great leveler here as elsewhere”
Frederick Douglass
Source: Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
“Experience is a keen teacher.”
Frederick Douglass
Source: The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
“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.”
Frederick Douglass
“A little learning, indeed, may be a dangerous thing, but the want of learning is a calamity to any people.”
Frederick Douglass
“To enslave men, successfully and safely, it is necessary to have their minds occupied with thoughts and aspirations short of the liberty of which they are deprived. A certain degree of attainable good must be kept before them.”
Frederick Douglass
SOURCE: MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM
Frederick Douglass Quotes About Freedom
Freedom is very important to live your life in the way you want. It couldn’t be explained better by anyone who has spent many years of his life experiencing slavery. Check out some Frederick Douglass quotes about freedom!
“I prayed for freedom for twenty years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.”
Frederick Douglass
“Freedom now appeared, to disappear no more forever. It was heard in every sound and seen in every thing.”
Frederick Douglass
Source: The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
“Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitude.”
Frederick Douglass
“The silver trump of freedom roused in my soul eternal wakefulness.”
Frederick Douglass
Source: The Life and Times of 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
Frederick Douglass Narrative Quotes
Frederick Douglass wrote many books, where ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass- An American Slave’ got the most limelight. Check out the top Frederick Douglass Narrative quotes.
“I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land.”
Frederick Douglass
Source: NARRATIVE Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
“For my part, I should prefer death to hopeless bondage.”
Frederick Douglass
Source: NARRATIVE Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
“The mere recurrence to those songs, even now, afflicts me; and while I am writing these lines, an expression of feeling has already found its way down my cheek.”
Frederick Douglass
Source: NARRATIVE Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
“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.”
Frederick Douglass
Source: NARRATIVE Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
“Sunday was my only leisure time. I spent this in a sort of beast-like stupor, between sleep and wake, under some large tree.”
Frederick Douglass
Source: NARRATIVE Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
Source: Narrative Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass is a historical figure who has done a lot for eliminating slavery from America before and during the Civil war; that’s why whatever he said matters for people. He was an inspirational leader who had survived slavery.
We hope you loved reading Frederick Douglass quotes. These will help you get inspired and understand more about Frederick Douglass. Also, check out these Top 40 Edgar Allan Poe Quotes About Love, Death, Insanity And More!
Naveen Kumar
Naveen Kumar is a writer and has a thing for collecting quotes and sharing them with people. Naveen is a space enthusiast. When he is not spreading good vibes or motivating people through quotes, you can find him sipping coffee while reading classic literature or on a long road drive.
