Frederick Douglass, the Orator - Monroe County Library System

Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection
I46 LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS.
civilization that has, in their judgment, come here
with the abolition of slavery. They no longer
dread the gaze of civilized men. They no longer
fear lest a word of liberty should fall into the ear
of a trembling captive and awaken his manhood.
They are no longer required to defend with their
lips what they must have condemned in their
hearts. When the galling chain dropped from
the limbs of the slave, the mantle of shame
dropped from the brows of their masters. The
emancipation of the one was the deliverance of
the other; so that this day, in fact, belongs to the
one as truly as it belongs to the other, though it is
left to us alone to keep it in memory."
The largest and most representative convention
of colored men ever held in the United
States was held in Liederkranz Hall, Louisville,
Kentucky, September 25-27, 1883. It was, in
fact, their first real national convention. There
were in attendance nearly three hundred delegates
from twenty-eight states. Mr. Douglass
was chosen permanent president and addressed
the convention. His speech on this occasion, for
sound reasoning and eloquence of expression, is
not surpassed by the most distinguished orators
of our time.
The Louisville Courier-Journal^ one of the
best known Democratic newspapers in the country,
in its issue of September 26, speaking .of