Frederick Douglass, the Orator - Monroe County Library System

Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection
264 LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS.
then coming back to edit his paper, which many
of you read.
" Meanwhile history was making. All of the
streams directly to the east of the Rocky
mountains flow into the Mississippi river. So
at that time all of the streams of national life
were flowing into one valley, and that valley was
the valley of slavery. War followed. The war
ended and history was made. Frederick Douglass
became a free American citizen; he became
Elector-at-Large of the state of New York; he
became Marshal for the District of Columbia;
he became Minister of the United States Government
to Hayti; he became a leader in oratory
and a part of the nation's history.
" He is here in our presence to-day and we are
paying tribute to him. Not alone do we pay
tribute to him because he was a self-made man.
He was a man of large heart. Who ever had
greater opportunity to be large hearted ? And
who ever needed more to be large hearted?
When the lash was lifted from his back still the
line was drawn. He was always under that
opportunity of sensitiveness, but under that
chronic race sensitiveness, the victim of chronic
insult, there beat a heart of chronic forgiveness,
a heart of charity, an ever growing charity.
" Frederick Douglass was a gentleman born.
Although he grew up under insult he became a