Your donation is fully tax-deductible. Frederick Douglass Papers: Speech, Article, and Book File, -1894; Speeches, Articles, and Other Writings Attributed to Frederick or Helen Pitts Douglass, 1881 to 1887; "An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage," 1881. 5 0 obj It is to save the people of the South from themselves, and the nation from detriment on their account. A nation might well hesitate before the temptation to betray its allies. There is but one safe and constitutional way to banish that mischievous hope from the South, and that is by lifting the laborer beyond the unfriendly political designs of his former master. His address, given in January 1867 in Washington, D.C., during the Congressional debate on black male voting in the territories, appears below. It is to save the people of the South from themselves, and the nation from detriment on their account. Frederick Douglass Calls for Black Suffrage in 1866 - JSTOR Is Ireland, in her present condition, fretful, discontented, compelled to support an establishment in which she does not believe, and which the vast majority of her people abhor, a source of power or of weakness to Great Britain? <> endobj By the 1890s Douglass, aging and in ill health but still out on the lecture circuit . Yet the negroes have marvellously survived all the exterminating forces of slavery, and have emerged at the end of two hundred and fifty years of bondage, not morose, misanthropic, and revengeful, but cheerful, hopeful, and forgiving. It is impossible at this point in time to rid African Americans from the country.2. The principle of slavery, which they tolerated under the erroneous impression that it would soon die out, became at last the dominant principle and power at the South. The result is a war of races, and the annihilation of all proper human relations. Which of the following sentences from the essay "An - Physics - Kunduz The doctrine that some men have no rights that others are bound to respect is a doctrine which we must banish, as we have banished slavery, from which it emanated. Though the battle is for the present lost, the hope of gaining this object still exists, and pervades the whole South with a feverish excitement. Impartial history will paint them as men who deserved well of their country. It is enough that the possession and exercise of the elective franchise is in itself an appeal to the nobler elements of manhood, and imposes education as essential to the safety of society. Griffiths, Julia, -1895--Correspondence, - They are able, vigilant, devoted. They are too numerous and useful to be colonized, and too enduring and self-perpetuating to disappear by natural causes. The hope of gaining by politics what they lost by the sword, is the secret of all this Southern unrest; and that hope must be extinguished before national ideas and objects can take full possession of the Southern mind. In fact, all the elements of treason and rebellion are there under the thinnest disguise which necessity can impose. Something then, not by way of argument, (for that has been done by Charles Sumner, Thaddeus Stevens, Wendell Phillips, Gerrit Smith, and other able men,) but rather of statement and appeal. The spectacle of these dusky millions thus imploring, not demanding, is touching; and if American statesmen could be moved by a simple appeal to the nobler elements of human nature, if they had not fallen, seemingly, into the incurable habit of weighing and measuring every proposition of reform by some standard of profit and loss, doing wrong from choice, and right only from necessity or some urgent demand of human selfishness, it would be enough to plead for the negroes on the score of past services and sufferings. An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage by Frederick Douglass A very limited statement of the argu-ment for impartial suffrage, and for including the negro in the body politic, would require more space than can be reasonably asked here. the members of congress. What OConnell said of the history of Ireland may with greater truth be said of the negros. His right to a participation in the production and operation of government is an inference from his nature, as direct and self-evident as is his right to acquire property or education. Disfranchise them, and the mark of Cain is set upon them less mercifully than upon the first murderer, for no man was to hurt him. appeal to congress for impartial suffrage answer key As a nation, we cannot afford to have amongst us either this indifference and stupidity, or that burning sense of wrong. 1881. Was not the nation stronger when two hundred thousand sable soldiers were hurled against the Rebel fortifications, than it would have been without them? It is true that, notwithstanding their alleged ignorance, they were wiser than their masters, and knew enough to be loyal, while those masters only knew enough to be rebels and traitors. The hope of gaining by politics what they lost by the sword, is the secret of all this Southern unrest; and that hope must be extinguished before national ideas and objects can take full possession of the Southern mind. However, I noticed that all three sources relate to three civil right movements and they are all trying to help the black community. repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines of poetry. o " Foreign countries abound with his agents. They now stand before Congress and the country, not complaining of the past, but simply asking for a better future. The ploughshare of rebellion has gone through the land beam-deep. or will you profit by the blood-bought wisdom all round you, and forever expel every vestige of the old abomination from our national borders? The South fought for perfect and permanent control over the Southern laborer. The fundamental and unanswerable argument in favor of the enfranchisement of the negro is found in the undisputed fact of his manhood. It is true that, in many of the rebellious States, they were almost the only reliable friends the nation had throughout the whole tremendous war. We have thus far only gained a Union without unity, marriage without love, victory without peace. Strong as we are, we need the energy that slumbers in the black man's arm to make us stronger. What, then, is the work before Congress? Enfranchise them, and they become self-respecting and country-loving citizens. Waiving humanity, national honor, the claims of gratitude, the precious satisfaction arising from deeds of charity and justice to the weak and defenseless, the appeal for impartial suffrage addresses itself with great pertinence to the darkest, coldest, and flintiest side of the human heart, and would wring righteousness from the unfeeling calculations of human selfishness. (Susan Brownell), 1820-1906--Correspondence, - It must cause national ideas and objects to take the lead and control the politics of those States. This evil principle again seeks admission into our body politic. All this and more is true of these loyal negroes. Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879--Correspondence, - Margaret Sanger Analysis - 836 Words | Internet Public Library It will tell how they forded and swam rivers, with what consummate address they evaded the sharp-eyed Rebel pickets, how they toiled in the darkness of night through the tangled marshes of briers and thorns, barefooted and weary, running the risk of losing their lives, to warn our generals of Rebel schemes to surprise and destroy our loyal army. An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage Frederick Douglass. If black men have no rights in the eyes of white men, of course the white can have none in the eyes of the blacks. A very limited statement of the argument for impartial suffrage, and for including the negro in the body politic, would require more space than can be reasonably asked here. Is the existence of a rebellious element in our borders--which New Orleans, Memphis, and Texas show to be only disarmed, but at heart as malignant as ever, only waiting for an opportunity to reassert itself with fire and sword--a reason for leaving four millions of the nation's truest friends with just cause of complaint against the Federal government? To appreciate the full force of this argument, it must be observed, that disfranchisement in a republican government based upon the idea of human equality and universal suffrage, is a very different thing from disfranchisement in governments based upon the idea of the divine right of kings, or the entire subjugation of the masses. It is true that, in many of the rebellious States, they were almost the only reliable friends the nation had throughout the whole tremendous war. Besides, the disabilities imposed upon all are necessarily without that bitter and stinging element of invidiousness which attaches to disfranchisement in a republic. They are too numerous and useful to be colonized, and too enduring and self-perpetuating to disappear by natural causes. It is true that, in many of the rebellious States, they were almost the only reliable friends the nation had throughout the whole tremendous war. answer choices the president of the United States. Find the collection. What is common to all works no special sense of degradation to any. For better or for worse, (as in some of the old marriage ceremonies,) the negroes are evidently a permanent part of the American population. Here they are, four millions of them, and, for weal or for woe, here they must remain. What is common to all works no special sense of degradation to any. Review Us. Statesmen, beware what you do. Something, too, might be said of national gratitude. An abolitionist, writer and orator Frederick Douglass was the most important black American leader of the nineteenth century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. As you members of the Thirty-ninth Congress decide, will the country be peaceful, united, and happy, or troubled, divided, and miserable. Their history is parallel to that of the country; but while the history of the latter has been cheerful and bright with blessing, theirs has been heavy and dark with agonies and curses. An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage "Statesmen, beware what you do. Antimetabole. In a word, it must enfranchise the negro, and by means of the loyal negroes and the loyal white men of the South build up a national party there, and in time bridge the chasm between North and South, so that our country may have a common liberty and a common civilization. The new wine must be put into new bottles. Hardships, services, sufferings, and sacrifices are all waived. We have crushed the Rebellion, but not its hopes or its malign purposes. For better or for worse, (as in some of the old marriage ceremonies,) the negroes are evidently a permanent part of the American population. "An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage." Atlantic Monthly 19 (Jan. 1867): 112-117. Weve gathered dozens of the most important pieces from our archives on race and racism in America. Statesmen of America! The answer plainly is, they see in this policy the only hope of saving something of their old sectional peculiarities and power. Is the present movement in England in favor of manhood suffrage--for the purpose of bringing four millions of British subjects into full sympathy and co-operation with the British government--a wise and humane movement, or otherwise? The dreadful calamities of the past few years came not by accident, nor unbidden, from the ground. Can that statesmanship be wise which would leave the negro good ground to hesitate, when the exigencies of the country required his prompt assistance? Bruce, Blanche Kelso, 1841-1898--Correspondence, - The American people can, perhaps, afford to brave the censure of surrounding nations for the manifest injustice and meanness of excluding its faithful black soldiers from the ballot-box, but it cannot afford to allow the moral and mental energies of rapidly increasing millions to be consigned to hopeless degradation. King Cotton is deposed, but only deposed, and is ready to-day to reassert all his ancient pretensions upon the first favorable opportunity. Look across the sea. From "Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage" - Brainly Waiving humanity, national honor, the claims of gratitude, the precious satisfaction arising from deeds of charity and justice to the weak and defenceless,--the appeal for impartial suffrage addresses itself with great pertinency to the darkest, coldest, and flintiest side of the human heart, and would wring righteousness from the unfeeling calculations of human selfishness. If these bless them, they are blest indeed; but if these blast them, they are blasted indeed. But this mark of inferiorityall the more palpable because of a difference of colornot only dooms the negro to be a vagabond, but makes him the prey of insult and outrage everywhere. 865-425-9601. This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, . A very limited statement of the argument for impartial suffrage, and for including the negro in the body politic, would require more space than can be reasonably asked here. win the trust of an increasingly mistrustful electorate. Frederick Douglass with his second wife Helen Pitts and her sister Eva Peace to the country has literally meant war to the loyal men of the South, white and black; and negro suffrage is the measure to arrest and put an end to that dreadful strife. Enfranchise them, and they become self-respecting and country-loving citizens. Anaphora. But suffrage for the negro, while easily sustained upon abstract principles, demands consideration upon what are recognized as the urgent necessities of the case. And does not the Emperor of Russia act wisely, as well as generously, when he not only breaks up the bondage of the serf, but extends him all the advantages of Russian citizenship? Give the negro the elective franchise, and you give him at once a powerful motive for all noble exertion, and make him a man among men. But of this let nothing be said in this place. Impartial history will paint them as men who deserved well of their country. Frederick Douglass Papers: Speech, Article, and Book File, 1846-1894; Speeches, Articles, and Other Writings Attributed to Union and liberty : powers of Congress in relation to the slaves, with a form of Celebration of the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia by the colored people, in Frederick Douglass Papers: Speech, Article, and Book File, 1846-1894; Speeches, Articles, and Other Writings Attributed to Frederick or Helen Pitts Douglass, 1881-1887; "An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage," 1881, - Douglass, F. (1881) Frederick Douglass Papers: Speech, Article, and Book File, -1894; Speeches, Articles, and Other Writings Attributed to Frederick or Helen Pitts Douglass, 1881 to 1887; "An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage," 1881. It must cease to recognize the old slave-masters as the only competent persons to rule the South. We want the cheerful activity of the quickened manhood of these sable millions. The contents of The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress are in the public domain and are free to use and reuse. We have thus far only gained a Union without unity, marriage without love, victory without peace. It is no less a crime against the manhood of a man, to declare that he shall not share in the making and directing of the government under which he lives, than to say that he shall not acquire property and education. All Rights Reserved. a comparison between two different things. Under the potent shield of State Rights, the game would be in their own hands. We have thus far only gained a Union without unity, marriage without love, victory without peace. There is but one safe and constitutional way to banish that mischievous hope from the South, and that is by lifting the laborer beyond the unfriendly political designs of his former master. There is that, all over the south, which frightens Yankee industry, capital, and skill from its borders. Page 1 of "An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage" Webb family--Correspondence, - His address, given in January 1867 in Washington, D.C., during the Congressional debate on black Read More(1867) Frederick Douglass, "Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage" 104 104. Give the negro the elective franchise, and you at once destroy the purely sectional policy, and wheel the Southern States into line with national interests and national objects. It is nothing against this reasoning that all men who vote are not good men or good citizens. Request Permissions. It must cause national ideas and objects to take the lead and control the politics of those States. A character is demanded of him, and here as elsewhere demand favors supply. It comes now in shape of a denial of political rights to four million loyal colored people. You have read "An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage" by In 1867 Frederick Douglass, noted abolitionist and civil rights leader, weighed in on one of the most contentious issues of the day, suffrage for black men following the Civil War. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. This evil principle again seeks admission into our body politic. Man is the only government-making animal in the world. The spectacle of these dusky millions thus imploring, not demanding, is touching; and if American statesmen could be moved by a simple appeal to the nobler elements of human nature, if they had not fallen, seemingly, into the incurable habit of weighing and measuring every proposition of reform by some standard of profit and loss, doing wrong from choice, and right only from necessity or some urgent demand of human selfishness, it would be enough to plead for the negroes on the score of past services and sufferings. Does any sane man doubt for a moment that the men who followed Jefferson Davis through the late terrible Rebellion, often marching barefooted and hungry, naked and penniless, and who now only profess an enforced loyalty, would plunge this country into a foreign war to-day, if they could thereby gain their coveted independence, and their still more coveted mastery over the negroes? It is to save the people of the South from themselves, and the nation from detriment on their account. Frederick Douglass: An Appeal To Congress For Impartial Suffrage 753 Words | 4 Pages. Assing, Ottilie--Correspondence, - Something then, not by way of argument, (for that has been done by Charles Sumner, Thaddeus Stevens, Wendell Phillips, Gerrit Smith, and other able men,) but rather of statement and appeal. The enfranchisement of an African American man is his manhood, and that the idea ofsome men getting rights and others don't is something that must be relinquished. If the doctrine that taxation should go hand in hand with representation can be appealed to in behalf of recent traitors and rebels, may it not properly be asserted in behalf of a people who have ever been loyal and faithful to the government? Foreign countries abound with his agents. We asked the negroes to espouse our cause, to be our friends, to fight for us, and against their masters; and now, after they have done all that we asked them to do,--helped us to conquer their masters, and thereby directed toward themselves the furious hate of the vanquished,--it is proposed in some quarters to turn them over to the political control of the common enemy of the government and of the negro. As you members of the Thirty-ninth Congress decide, will the country be peaceful, united, and happy, or troubled, divided, and miserable. The South fought for perfect and permanent control over the Southern laborer. But no such an appeal shall be relied on here. Find an answer to your question Language Development: Convention and Style-from "Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage," Frederick Douglass I need this pl NarminZan20 NarminZan20 01/07/2021 The proposition is as modest as that made on the mountain: All these things will I give unto thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me.. % It is true that a strong plea for equal suffrage might be addressed to the national sense of honor. Arming the negro was an urgent military necessity three years ago, are we sure that another quite as pressing may not await us? These sable millions are too powerful to be allowed to remain either indifferent or discontented. Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage - Frederick Douglass 1867 United States, series: Speech, Article, and Book File, 1846-1894; Speeches, Articles, and Other Writings Attributed to Frederick or Helen Pitts Douglass, 1881-1887. The dreadful calamities of the past few years came not by accident, nor unbidden, from the ground. This evil principle again seeks admission into our body politic. The result is a war of races, and the annihilation of all proper human relations. Under the potent shield of State Rights, the game would be in their own hands. But in a country like ours, where men of all nations, kindred, and tongues are freely enfranchised, and allowed to vote, to say to the negro, You shall not vote, is to deal his manhood a staggering blow, and to burn into his soul a bitter and goading sense of wrong, or else work in him a stupid indifference to all the elements of a manly character. Statesmen of America! Visit American Literature's American History section for other important historical documents and figures which helped shape America. The South will comply with any conditions but suffrage for the negro. Can that statesmanship be wise which would leave the negro good ground to hesitate, when the exigencies of the country required his prompt assistance? Wells-Barnett, Ida B., 1862-1931--Correspondence, - Statesmen, beware what you do. Disguise it as we may, we are still a divided nation. There is that, all over the South, which frightens Yankee industry, capital, and skill from its borders. Exclude the negroes as a class from political rights,teach them that the high and manly privilege of suffrage is to be enjoyed by white citizens only, that they may bear the burdens of the state, but that they are to have no part in its direction or its honors,and you at once deprive them of one of the main incentives to manly character and patriotic devotion to the interests of the government; in a word, you stamp them as a degraded caste,you teach them to despise themselves, and all others to despise them. Give the negro the elective franchise, and you at once destroy the purely sectional policy, and wheel the Southern States into line with national interests and national objects. It will swallow all the unconstitutional test oaths, repeal all the ordinances of Secession, repudiate the Rebel debt, promise to pay the debt incurred in conquering its people, pass all the constitutional amendments, if only it can have the negro left under its political control. The South will comply with any conditions but suffrage for the negro. The first primary source on Frederick Douglass. We asked the negroes to espouse our cause, to be our friends, to fight for us, and against their masters; and now, after they have done all that we asked them to do,helped us to conquer their masters, and thereby directed toward themselves the furious hate of the vanquished,it is proposed in some quarters to turn them over to the political control of the common enemy of the government and of the negro. The lamb may not be trusted with the wolf. Founded in 1969 and hailed by The New York Times as a journal in which the writings of many of todays finest black thinkers may be viewed, THE BLACK SCHOLAR has firmly established itself as the leading journal of black cultural and political thought in the United States and remains under the editorship of Robert Chrisman, Editor-In-Chief, Robert Allen, Senior Editor, and Maize Woodford, Executive Editor. It early mastered the Constitution, became superior to the Union, and enthroned itself above the law. Do you find this information helpful? the repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order. Strong as we are, we need the energy that slumbers in the black mans arm to make us stronger. He is a man, and by every fact and argument by which any man can sustain his right to vote, the negro can sustain his right equally. It comes now in shape of a denial of political rights to four million loyal colored people. The fundamental and unanswerable argument in favor of the enfranchisement of the negro is found in the undisputed fact of his manhood. Frederick Douglass Papers: Speech, Article, and Book File, -1894; Speeches, Articles, and Other Writings Attributed to Frederick or Helen Pitts Douglass, 1881 to 1887; "An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage," 1881. An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage :: :: University of Statesmen, beware what you do. And does not the Emperor of Russia act wisely, as well as generously, when he not only breaks up the bondage of the serf, but extends him all the advantages of Russian citizenship? Will you repeat the mistake of your fathers, who sinned ignorantly? Statesmen, beware what you do. The new wine must be put into new bottles. Will you repeat the mistake of your fathers, who sinned ignorantly? The spectacle of these dusky millions thus imploring, not demanding, is touching; and if American statesmen could be moved by a simple appeal to the nobler elements of human nature, if they had not fallen, seemingly, into the incurable habit of weighing and measuring every proposition of reform by some standard of profit and loss, doing wrong from choice, and right only from necessity or some urgent demand of human selfishness, it would be enough to plead for the negroes on the score of past services and sufferings. National interest and national duty, if elsewhere separated, are firmly united here. They who waged it had no objection to the government, while they could use it as a means of confirming their power over the laborer. The proposition is as modest as that made on the mountain: All these things will I give unto thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me.. Is not Austria wise in removing all ground of complaint against her on the part of Hungary? We have crushed the Rebellion, but not its hopes or its malign purposes. Massachusetts and South Carolina may draw tears from the eyes of our tender-hearted President by walking arm in arm into his Philadelphia Convention, but a citizen of Massachusetts is still an alien in the Palmetto State. appeal to moderate voters despite the parties' ideological orientation. They who waged it had no objection to the government, while they could use it as a means of confirming their power over the laborer. Men are so constituted that they largely derive their ideas of their abilities and their possibilities from the settled judgments of their fellow-men, and especially from such as they read in the institutions under which they live. It is no less a crime against the manhood of a man, to declare that he shall not share in the making and directing of the government under which he lives, than to say that he shall not acquire property and education. Three years later, the .
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