Frederick Douglass: Run in Debt

Meaning of Frederick Douglass Money Quote: saying believing it’s wise to be wary of being in debt. Frederick Douglass said:

 

 

“I had a wholesome dread of the consequences of running in debt” — Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass: Get, Certainly Pay for All

Frederick Douglass Money Quote saying there is no escaping paying for everything, but we must also look to get full value for that spent. Frederick Douglass said:
 

 
“Men may not get all they pay for in this world, but they must certainly pay for all they get” — Frederick Douglass
 

Birthday February 14, 1818 – Died February 20, 1895

Frederick Douglass: We Cheap Americans

Frederick Douglass Money Quote saying wealth that can be had cheap will always be found by Americans to gain further wealth. Frederick Douglass said:
 

 

“It is a fact, that whatever makes for the wealth or for the reputation of Americans and can be had cheap will be found by Americans” — Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass: Slavery Money Making

Frederick Douglass Money Quote saying the American slave-trade in the 1850’s was continued by some entirely due to profit motive and regardless of human suffering it caused. Frederick Douglass said:
 

 

“Money is the measure of morality, and the success or failure of slavery, as a money-making system, determines with many whether the thing is virtuous, or villainous, and whether it should be maintained or abolished” — Frederick Douglass

criticizing the view that the morality of slavery was determined primarily by whether it was financially profitable or “a money-making system.” By pointing out that many people judged slavery based on “whether the thing is virtuous, or villainous” depending on its economic success or failure, Douglass appears to be arguing that the humanity and basic rights of enslaved people were being ignored or treated as secondary to financial interests.

His quote suggests that the abolitionist cause needed to make the moral argument that slavery was an evil institution regardless of any money it produced, and that people’s worth should not be measured merely by their economic value.

Frederick Douglass: No God But Wealth

Frederick Douglass Money Quote from an 1857 speech reflecting on how slave-holders and profiteers would respond to John the Disciple dismissing angelic visits from God to discuss wealth. Frederick Douglass said:
 

 

“But brother John, will it pay? Can money be made out of it? Will it make the rich richer, and the strong stronger? How will it affect property? In the eyes of such people, there is no God but wealth; no right and wrong but profit and loss” — Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass: Rich Tyrants vs. Slaves

Frederick Douglass Money Quote saying in 1852 that religion turned a blind eye to rich slave owners and encouraged slavery and oppression of the poor. Frederick Douglass said:
 

 

“A religion which favors the rich against the poor; which exalts the proud above the humble; which divides mankind into two classes, tyrants and slaves; which says to the man in chains, stay there; and to the oppressor, oppress on; it is a religion which may be professed and enjoyed by all the robbers and enslavers of mankind” — Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass: Judge Gets 10 Dollars

Frederick Douglass Money Quote saying Fugitive Slave Law in mid 19th Century made it profitable for judges to decide against slaves and for owners. Frederick Douglass said:
 

 

“The Fugitive Slave Law makes mercy to them a crime; and bribes the judge who tries them. An American judge gets ten dollars for every victim he consigns to slavery, and five, when he fails to do so” — Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass: Buyers & Sellers of Men

Frederick Douglass Money Quote saying in his July 5th, 1852 speech to the Rochester Ladies Antislavery Society that evil men sold slaves like animals in the Northern U.S where slavery was outlawed.https://itsamoneything.com/money/frederick-douglass-buyers-sellers-men/ Frederick Douglass said:
 

 

“I hear the doleful wail of fettered humanity on the way to the slave-markets, where the victims are to be sold like horses, sheep, and swine, knocked off to the highest bidder. There I see the tenderest ties ruthlessly broken, to gratify the lust, caprice and rapacity of the buyers and sellers of men. My soul sickens at the sight” — Frederick Douglass

In this quote, Frederick Douglass is vividly describing the horrors of the slave trade from his perspective. He speaks of hearing the “doleful wail” or cries of anguish from enslaved people being forcefully taken away in chains and transported to “slave-markets”. There, human beings would be treated as commodities and “sold like horses, sheep, and swine” to whoever offered the highest price through an auction.

Douglass emphasizes how deeply traumatic this was, as the “tenderest ties” or closest familial bonds were “ruthlessly broken” without regard for the people involved. All of this was done to satisfy the “lust, caprice and rapacity” or greedy, cruel and exploitative desires of those buying and profiting off the slave trade.

Douglass expresses his deep personal revulsion and sickness at witnessing the inhumane system of people being reduced to property and sold without mercy for the benefit of slave traders.