WHAT THE BLACK MAN, WANTS

SPEECH OF FREDERICK DOUGLAS S

AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MASSACHUSETTS ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETYAT BOSTON.

Mr . PRESIDENT,—I came here, as I comealways to the meetings in New England, as alistener, and not as a speaker ; and one of th ereasons why I have not been more frequentl yto the meetings of this society, has been becaus eof the disposition on the part of some of myfriends to call me out upon the platform, eve nwhen they knew that there was some differenc eof opinion and of. feeling between those wh orightfully belong to this platform and myself ;and for fear of being misconstrued, as desirin gto interrupt or disturb the proceedings of thesemeetings, I have usually kept away, and- havethus been deprived of that educating influence ,which I am always free to confess is of thehighest order, descending from this platform .I have felt, since I have lived out West, thatin going there I parted from a great deal thatwas valuable, and I feel, every time I come tothese meetings, that I have lost a great deal bymaking my home west of Boston, west of Mas-sachusetts ; -for, if anywhere in the countrythere is to be found the highest sense of just-ice, or the truest demands for my race, I lookfor it in the East, I look for it here. The ablestdiscussions of the whole question of our rightsoccur here, and to be deprived of the privileg eof listening to those discussions is a great deprivation.

I do not know, from what has been said, thatthere is any. difference of opinion as to the dutyof abolitionists, at the present moment. Howcan we get up any difference at this point, orat any point, whore we are so united, so agreed ?I went especially, however, with that word of'Mr . Phillips, which' is the criticism of Gen .

Banks and Gen . Banks's policy. I hold thatthat policy is our chief danger at the presen tmoment ; that it practically enslaves the negro ,and makes the Proclamation of 1869 a mocker yand delusion. What is freedom? It is th e,right to choose one's own employment.Certainly it means that, if itmeans any thing ; andwhen any individual or combination of individ-uals, undertakes to decides for any man whe nhe 'shall work, Where he shall work, at what heshall work, and . for what he shall work, he or

they practically reduce him to slavery . (Ap-plause.) He is a slave . That I understan dGen . Banks to dot determine for the so-called freedman, when, and where, and at what ,and for how much he shall work, when he shall ,be punished, and by whom punished . I

t is absolute slavery. It defeats the beneficent inten-tions of the Government, if it has beneficen tintentions, in regard to the freedom of ourpeople .

I have had but one idea for the last thre eyears, to present to the American people, an dthe phraseology in which I clothe it is the oldabolition phraseology. I am for the "imme-diate, unconditional, and universal" enfran-chisement of the black man, in every State inthe Union . (Loud applause.) Without this,his liberty is a mockery ; without this, you migh tas well almost retain the old name of slaveryfor his condition ; for, in fact, if he is not th eslave of the individual master, he is the slav eof society, and holds his liberty as a privilege ,not as a right. He is at the mercy of the mob ,and has no means of protecting himself .

It may be objected, however, that this press-ing of the negro's right to suffrage is pre

mature. Let us have slavery abolished, it ma ybe said, let us have labor organized, and then,in the natural course of events, the right o fsuffrage will be extended to the negro. I donot agree with this. The constitution of thehuman mind is such, that if it once disregard sthe conviction forced upon it by a revelatio nof truth, it requires the exercise of a higherpower to produce the same convictio

n afterwards . The American people are now in tear &The Shenandoah has run blood —the best bloodof the North. All around Richmond, the bloodof New England and of the North has beenshed -of your sons, your brothers and yourfathers. We all feel, n the existence of thisRebellion, that judgments terrible

, wide-spread, far-reaching, overwhelming, are abroad in th eland ; and we feel, in view of these j udgments,just now, a disposition to learn righteousness .This is the hour. Our streets are in mourning,tears are falling - at every fireside, and under

the chastisement of this Rebellion we have al-most come up to the point of conceding thisgreat, this all-important right of suffrage . Ifear that if we fail to do it now, if abolitionistsfail to press it now, we may not see, for cen-turies to come, the same disposition that existsat this moment. (Applause) Hence, I say ,now is the time to press this right.

It may be asked, " Why do you want it ?Some men have got along very well withou tit. Women have not this right." Shall w eustify one wrong by another? That is

a sufficient answer. Shall we at this moment jus-tify the deprivation of the negro of the righ tto vote, because some one else is deprived o fthat privilege? I hold that women, as well a smen, have the right to vote (applause), an dmy heart and my voice go with the movement .to extend suffrage to woman ; but that ques-tion rests upon another basis than that on which .our right rests. We may be asked, I say, why ,we want it. I will tell you why we watt it .We want it because it is our right, first of all.(Applause.) No class of men can, withoutinsulting their own nature, be content with 'any deprivation of their rights. We wantit, again, as a means for educating our race.Mon are so constituted that they derive theirconviction of their own possibilities largely fro mthe estimate formed of them by others . . Ifnothing is expected of a people, that peoplewill find it difficult to contradict that expecta-tion . By depriving us of suffrage, you affirmour incapacity to form an intelligent judgmentrespecting public men and public measures ;

you declare before the world that we are unfi texercise the elective franchise, and by thismeans load us to undervalue ourselves, to pu ta low estimate upon ourselves, and to feel tha twe have no possibilities like other men . Again,I want the elective franchise, for one, as acolored man, because ours is a peculiar gov-ernment, based upon a peculiar idea, and thatidea is universal suffrage. If I were in a mon-archical government, or an autocratic or aristo-

atic government, where the few bore rule an dthe many were subject,there would be no specialstigma resting upon me, because I did not ex-ercise the elective franchise. It would do meno great violence . Mingling with the mass, Ishould partake of the strength of the mass ;I should be supported by the mass, and I shouldhave the same incentives to endeavor with themass of my fellow-men ; it would be no

particular burden, no particular deprivation ; buthere,where universal suffrage is the rule, whorethat is the fundamental idea of the Govern-ment, to rule us out is to make us an exception ,to brand us with the stigma of inferiority, andto inviteto our heads the missiles of those abou tus ; therefore, Iwant the franchise for the blackman.

There are, however, other reasons, not derived from any consideration merely o fourrights, but arising out of the condition of th eSouth, and of the country considerations

which have already been referred to by Mr.Phillips — considerations which must arrestthe attention of statesmen. I believe tha twhen the tall heads of this Rebellion shallhave been swept down, as they will be sweptdown, when the Davises and Toombses andStephenses, and others who are leadin g inthis Rebellion shall have been blotted out, there ;will be this rank undergrowth of treason, towhich reference has been made, growing upthere, and interfering with, and thwarting th equiet operation of the Federal Government inthose States. You will see those traitors hand-ing down from sire to son, the same malignan tspirit which they have manifested, and whichthey are now exhibiting, with malicious hearts ,broad blades, and bloody hands in the field ,against our sons and brothers . That spirit will

still remain ; and whoever sees the FederalGovernment extended over those SouthernStates will Bee that Government in a strang eland, and not only in a strange land, but in an

' enemy's land . A post-master of the UnitedStates in the South will find himself surround-ed by a hostile spirit ; a collector in a Southernport will. find himself surrounded by a hostil espirit ; a United States marshal or UnitedStates judge will be surrounded there by ahostile element. That enmity will not dieout in a year, will not die out in an age . TheFederal Government will . be looked upon inthose States precisely as the Governments o fAustria and France are looked upon i n Italyat the present moment. They will endeavo rto circumvent, they will endeavor to destroy,the peaceful operation of this Government .Now, where will you find the strength t ocounterbalance this spirit, if you do not fin dit in the negroes of the South? They areyour friends, and have always been yourfriends. They were your friends even whe nthe Government did not regard them as such.They comprehended the genius of this warbefore you did. It is a significant fact, it is amarvellous fact, it seems almost to imply a di-rect interposition of Providence, that this war,which began in the interest of slavery on bothsides, bids fair to end in the interest of libert yon both sides. (Applause.) It was begun, I say,in the interest of slavery on both sides. TheSouth was fighting to take slavery out of theUnion, and the North fighting to keep it in theUnion ; the South fighting to get it beyond the

limits of the United-States Constitution, and theNorth fightin g to retain it within those limits.;the South fighting for new guarantees, and theNorth fighting for the old guarantees ;—bothdespising the negro, both insulting th e negro.Yet, the negro, apparently endowed with wis-dom from on high, saw more clearly the en dfrom the beginning than we did. When Sew-ard said the status of no man in the countrywould be changed by the war, the negro did notbelieve him. (Applause.) When our generalssent their underlings in shoulder-straps to huntthe flying negro back from our lines into thejaws

of slavery, from which he had escaped, the negroes thought that a mistake had been made ,

and that the intentions of the Government ha dnot been rightly understood by our officers i nshoulder-straps, and they continued to comeinto our lines, threading their way throug hbogs and fens, over briers and thorns, fordingstreams, swimming rivers, bringing us tiding sas to the safe path to march, and pointing ou tthe dangers that threatened us . They are ouronly friends in the South, and we should b etrue to them in this their trial hour, and see t oit that they have the elective franchise .

I know that we are inferior to you in som ethings—virtually inferior. We walk aboutamong you like dwarfs among giants. Ourheads are scarcely seen above the great sea ofhumanity. The Germans are superior to us ;the Irish are superior to us ; the Yankees aresuperior to us (laughter) ; they can do what w ecannot, that is, what we have not hitherto been

allowed to do. But while I make this admission, I utterly deny that we are originally, or

naturally, or practically, or in any way, or inany important sense, inferior to anybody onthis globe . (Loud applause.) This charge ofinferiority is an old dodge. It has been mad eavailable for oppression on many occasions. Itis only about six centuries since the blue-eyedand fair-haired Anglo-Saxons were consideredinferior by the haughty Normans, who onc etrampled upon them. If you read the historyof the Norman Conquest, you will find that thi sproud Anglo-Saxon was once looked upon as of

' coarserclay than his Norman master, and mightbe found in the highways and byways of oldEngland laboring with a brass collar on hi sneck, and the name of his master marked uponit. You were down then I (Laughter an dapplause.)- You are up now . I am glad yo uare up, and I want you to be glad to help u sup also (Applause . )

The story of our inferiority is an old dodge,as I have said ;; for wherever men oppress thei rfellows, wherever they enslave them, they willendeavor to find the needed apology fo r suchenslavement and oppression in the character o fthe people oppressed and enslaved . When wewanted, a few years ago, a slice of Mexico, i twas hinted that the Mexicans were an inferiorrace, that the old Castilian blood had becom eso weak that it would scarcely run down hill ,and that Mexico needed the long, strong an dbeneficent arm of the Anglo-Saxon care ex -tended over it. We said that it was necessar yto its 'salvation, and a part of the "manifes tdestiny" of this Republic, to extend our ar mover that dilapidated government. So, too,when' Russia wanted to take possession of p

art of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks were"an inferior race,." too, when Englandwants to set the heel f her power more firml yin the quivering heart of old Ireland, the Celt

s are an "inferior race." So, too, the negro, when he is to lie rob of any right which i

s justly his,is an "inferior man . It is said that we are ignorant

; I admit it. But if we knowenough to be hung, we know enough to vote .If the negro knows enough to pay taxes tosupport the government, he knows enough tovote ; taxation and representation should g otogether. If he knows enough to shoulder amusket and fight for the flag, fight for the gov-ernment, he knows enough to vote . If heknows as much when he is sober as Irish -man knows when drunk, he knows enoughto vote, on good American principles. (Laug

hter and applause.)But I was saying that you needed a cou

nterpoise in the persons of the slaves to the en-mity that would exist at the South after th eRebellion is put down. I hold that the Ameri-can people are bound, not only in self-defence ,to extend this right to the freedmen of th eSouth, but they are bound by their love ofcountry, and by all their regard for the futur esafety of those Southern States, to do this —to do it as a measure essential to the preser-vation of peace there. But I will not dwellupon this: I put it to the American sense ofhonor. The honor of a nation is an importan tthing . It is said in the Scriptures, " Wha tdoth it profit a man if he gain the whole world ,and lose his own soul?" It may be said, also ,What doth it profit a nation if it gain th ewhole world, but lose its honor? I hol dthat the American government has taken upo nitself a solemn obligation of honor, to see thatthis war — let it be long or let it be short, let i tcost much or let it cost little — that this warshall not cease until every freedman at th eSouth has the right to vote . (Applause .)" Ithas pound itself to it . What have you askedthe black men of the South, the black men ofthe whole country, to do ? Why, you hav easked them to incur the deadly enmity of thei rmasters, in order to befriend you and to befrien dthis Government. You have asked us to calldown, not only upon ourselves, but upon ourchildren's children, the deadly hate of the en-tire Southern people. You-have called uponus to turn our backs upon our masters, to aban-don their cause and espouse yours ; to tarnagainst the South and in favor of the North ;to shoot down the Confederacy and uphold theflag—the American fla g. You have calle dupon us to expose ourselves to all the subtl emachinations of their malignity for all time .And now, what do you propose to do whenyou come to make peace? To reward you renemies, and trample in the dust your friends ?Do you intend to sacrifice the very men who -have come to the rescue of your banner in theSouth, and incurred the lasting displeasure o ftheir masters thereby? Do you intend tosacrifice them and reward your enemies? D oyou mean to give your enemies the right tovote, and take it away from your friends ? I sthat wise policy ? Is that honorable ? CouldAmerican honor withstand such a blow ? I donot believe you will do it. . I think you willsee to it that we have the right to vote . There

Is something too mean in looking upon th enegro, when you are in trouble, as a citizen ,and when you are free from trouble, as an alien.When this nation was in trouble, in its earl ystruggles, it looked neon the negro as a citizen.In 1776 he was a citizen. At the time of theformation of the Constitution the negro hadthe right to vote in eleven States out of theold thirteen. In your trouble you hate madeus citizens . In 1812 Gen . Jackson addressedus as citizens—" fellow-citizens ." He wantedus to fight. We were citizens then I Andnow, when you come to frame a conscriptionbill, the negro is a citizen again . He has bee na citizen just three times in the history of thi sgovernment, and it has always been n time o ftrouble. In time of. trouble we are citizens .Shall we be citizens in war, and aliens in peace ?Would that be just ? -

I ask my friends who are apologizing for notinsisting upon this right, where can the blac kman look, n this country, for the assertion ofthis right? if he may not look to the Massachu-setts Anti-Slavery Society ?' Where under th ewhole heavens can he look for sympathy, in as-serting this right, if he may not look to thi splatform ? Have you lifted us up to a certainheight to see that we are men, and then ar eany disposed to leave us there, withoutseeingthat we are put in possession of all our right s?We look naturally to this platform for the as-sertion of all our rights, and for this on

e especially. I understand the anti-slavery societie sof this country to be based on two principles, —first, the freedom of the blacks of this country ;and, second, the elevation of them. Let menot be misunderstood here . I am not askin gfor sympathy at the hands of abolitionists,sympathy at the hands of any. I think th eAmerican people are disposed often to be gen-erous rather than just . I look over this coun-try at the resent time, and I see EducationalSocieties, Sanitary Commissions, Freedmen'sAssociations, and the like,—all very good : butin regard to the colored people there is alwaysmore that is benevolent, I perceive, than just,manifested towards us. What I ask for thenegro is not benevolence, not pity, no

t sympathy, but simply justice. (Applause.) TheAmerican people have always been anxious toknow what they shall do with us. Gen. Bankswas distressed with solicitude as to what he

should do with the negro. Everybody hasasked the question, and they learned to ask i tearly of the abolitionists, " What shall we d owith the negro?" I have had but one answe rfrom . the beginning. Do nothing with us !Your doing with us has already played th emischief with us. Do .nothing with us !If the apples will net remain on the tree oftheir own strength, if they are worm-eaten a tthe core, if they are early ripe and disposed tofall, let them fall! I am not for tying or fas-tening them on the tree in any way, except b ynature's plan, and if they will not stay these ,let them fall . And if the negro cannot standon his own legs, let him fall also . All I ask is ,give him' a chance to stand on his own legs !Let him alone! If you see him on his way toschool, let him alone,—don't disturb him! Ifyou see him going to the dinner-table at ahotel, let him go ! If you see him going, to theballot-box, let him alone,— don't disturb him !(Applause.) If you see him going into a -work-shop, just let him alone, — your inter-ference is doing him a positive injury . Gen .Banks's "preparation" is of a piece with thi sattempt to prop up the negro . Let him fall if'he cannot stand alone ! If the negro canno tlive by the line of eternal justice, so beautifull ypictured to you in the illustration used by Mr:Phillips, the fault will not be yours, it will b ehis who made the negro, and established thatline for his government. (Applause .) Lethim live or die by that . If you will only untiehis bands, and give him a chance, I think h ewill live. He will work as readily for himself .as the white man. A great many delusionshave been swept away by this war. One was,that the negro would not work ; he has prove dhis ability to work . Another was, that thenegro would not fight ; that he possessed onlythe most sheepish attributes of humanity ; wasa perfect lamb, or an " Uncle Tom ; " disposedto take off his coat whenever required, fold hi shands, and be . whipped by anybody whowanted to whip him . But the war has provedthat there is a great deal of human nature i nthe negro, and that "he , will fight," as Mr.Quincy, our President, said, in earlier daysthan these, "when there is a reasonable prob-ability of his whipping anybody ." (Laughterand applause.)