,
5 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
In the final moments of President’s Day, I want to excerpt the words of Frederick Douglass from his 38 page speech about the assasination of Abraham Lincoln which I read at the @librarycongress in December. I held the original manuscript written in Douglas’ own hand:
“The fact is the people in the very depths of their souls loved Abraham Lincoln. They knew him, and knew him as one brother knows another, and they loved him as one brother lives another. He was not only the President of the country, but a member of each loyal family....
...The very picture of his plain American face was loved, as the picture of a dear relation...the American ppl saw in him, a full length portrait of themselves....
...Other men have, perhaps, been as much honored, but no American has been so much loved by the American people.” - #FrederickDouglass loc.gov/resource/mfd.3… #PresidentsDay2019
What I love about this full document is that Douglass moves from anger and outrage at Black ppl being limited from participating in the service for Lincoln, to contempt for Booth and disloyal southerners, to deep sorrow to movingly expressed love for Lincoln. It’s just stunning.
