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.

Yet people in general will say they like colored men as well as any other, but in their proper place.

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.

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

I glory in the conflict, that I may hereafter exult in the victory. I know that victory is certain.

Slaves were expected to sing as well as to work. A silent slave was not liked, either by masters or overseers.

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