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Frederick Douglass on fatherhood, character, and how to live

8 sourced quotes from Frederick Douglass, each with the original work, the year, and links to a primary or scholarly source you can check yourself. Selected for what they say to a man raising children.

“I would unite with anybody to do right; and with nobody to do wrong.”
"The Anti-Slavery Movement" lecture (1855), 1855
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
"West India Emancipation" speech, Canandaigua, New York (August 4, 1857), 1857
“Slavery does away with fathers, as it does away with families.”
My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), Chapter 3: Parentage, 1855
“From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom... Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out…”
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Chapter VII, 1845
“You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.”
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Chapter X, 1845
“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.”
Speech at Civil Rights Mass Meeting, Washington, D.C. (October 22, 1883), 1883
“Notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country.”
What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? (Rochester, NY), 1852
“The arm of the Lord is not shortened, and the doom of slavery is certain.”
What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? (Rochester, NY), 1852

The right words for exactly where you are right now.

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Works quoted here: "The Anti-Slavery Movement" lecture (1855), "West India Emancipation" speech, Canandaigua, New York (August 4, 1857), My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), Chapter 3: Parentage, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Chapter VII, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Chapter X, Speech at Civil Rights Mass Meeting, Washington, D.C. (October 22, 1883), What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? (Rochester, NY).