That possession
has been interrupted more than once. It is but forty years
since slavery was abolished. It is less than thirty years
since the last of the three great Amendments to the Constitution
took effect. What has happened in that time? Slavery has
been abolished. That is not a failure. The negro owns his
right to his own labor. He cannot be separated from his wife
or children. He is not prevented by law from learning to
read the Bible. These things are not failures. He can own
land. He has schools and colleges. The young colored man
is received as an equal into nearly every Northern college
and university. He has frequently taken the highest university
honors. I suppose he does not know, from the behavior of
his companions, that they think of the difference between
the color of his skin and theirs. His right to vote is secure
in thirty-four of the forty-five States of the Union. So
far, there has been no failure. When the Civil War broke
out, there were fifteen slave States and sixteen free States.
In Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia the negro seems to
have his place now like other citizens.
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