Frederick Douglass's Address on Slavery

About two hundred persons, about one third of whom were colored, assembled in the Statehouse yard, on Saturday evening, to hear an address delivered by Frederick Douglass, a man of color, formerly a slave. His address was interesting and of an excellent style of composition, delivered in an easy, fluent manner. He preached a sermon supposed to be delivered at the South by a master to his slaves to which the relative duties of the master and slave were given in a bitter strain of sarcasm. The opinions expressed by him were, of course, not approved of by all present, and at times some symptoms of disapprobation were apparent; but the applause of the majority drowned the dissenting voices. He was brought to rather an abrupt conclusion by the preparations for closing the square, at about quarter after 7 o'clock.Philadelphia Public Ledger, August 19, 1844