We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future.

Quote by Frederick Douglass

Topics: Frederick Douglass Quotes

I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.

I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.

Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops...

Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops...

One and God make a majority.

One and God make a majority.

It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower,...

It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower,...

If there is no struggle, there is no progress.

If there is no struggle, there is no progress.

The white man's happiness cannot be purchased by the black man's misery

The white man's happiness cannot be purchased by the black man's misery

People might not get all they work for in this world, but they must certainly...

People might not get all they work for in this world, but they must certainly...

Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one...

Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one...

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

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

Man's greatness consists in his ability to do and the proper application of his powers...

Man's greatness consists in his ability to do and the proper application of his powers...

Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

A man's character always takes its hue, more or less, from the form and color...

A man's character always takes its hue, more or less, from the form and color...

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.

I expose slavery in this country, because to expose it is to kill it. Slavery...

I expose slavery in this country, because to expose it is to kill it. Slavery...

America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to...

America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to...

In thinking of America, I sometimes find myself admiring her bright blue sky-her grand old...

In thinking of America, I sometimes find myself admiring her bright blue sky-her grand old...

I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule...

I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule...

The soul that is within me no man can degrade.

The soul that is within me no man can degrade.

It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower,...

It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower,...

The thing worse than rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion.

The thing worse than rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion.