Question

i am for the immediate, unconditional, and universal enfranchisement of the black man, in every state in the union. without this, his liberty is a mockery; without this, you might as well retain the old name of slavery for his condition; for, in fact, if he is not the slave of the individual master, he is the slave of 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 the pressing of the negros right to suffrage is premature. let us have slavery abolished, it may be said, let us have labor organized, and then, in the natural course of events, the right of suffrage will be extended to the negro. i do not agree with this. the constitution of the human mind is such, that if it once disregards the conviction forced upon it by a revelation of truth, it requires the exercise of a higher power to produce the same conviction afterward. the american people are now in tears. the shenandoah has run blood, the best blood of the north. all around richmond, the blood of new england and of the north has been shed, of your sons, your brothers, and your fathers. we all feel, in the existence of this rebellion, that judgments, terrible, wide - spread, far - reaching, overwhelming, are abroad in the land; and we feel, in view of these judgments, 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 almost come up to the point of conceding this great, this all - important right of suffrage. i fear that if we fail to do it now, if abolitionists fail to press it now, we may not see, for centuries to come, the same disposition that exists at this moment. hence, i say, now is the time to press this right.
it may be asked, why do you want it? some men have not got along very well without it. women have not got it. shall we justify one wrong by another? we may, at this moment, justly deplore the deprivation of the negro of the right to vote, because someone else is deprived of that privilege? i hold that women, as well as men, have the right to vote, and my heart and my voice go with the movement to extend suffrage to woman; but that question rests upon another basis than that on which our right to vote may be asked. i say, why we want it. i will tell you why we want it. we want it because it is our right, first of all. no class of men can, without insulting their own nature, be content with any deprivation of their rights. we want it, again, as a means for educating our race. men are so constituted that they derive their conviction of their own possibilities largely from the estimate formed of them by others. if nothing is expected of a people, that people will find it difficult to contradict that expectation. by depriving us of suffrage, you affirm our incapacity to form an intelligent judgment respecting public men and public measures; you declare before the world that we are unfit to exercise the elective franchise, and by this means lead us to undervalue ourselves, to put a low estimate upon ourselves and to feel that we have no possibilities like other men. again, i want the elective franchise, for once a colored man, because ours is a peculiar government, based upon a peculiar idea, and that idea is universal suffrage.
discussion questions

1. why does douglass feel that suffrage for the black man is so important?
2. do you agree with douglass that the time was right to press for suffrage for black men? explain.
3. do you think the right to vote in our time is as important as it was in douglasss time? why or why not? what would happen today if americans lost the right to vote?

Explanation:

1. Douglas believes suffrage for the black man is important as without it, his liberty is a mockery. He sees it as essential for true freedom and protection from being a slave to society or the mob.
2. Douglas doesn't think the time was right to press for suffrage for black men as he believes other issues like abolishing slavery and organizing labor should be addressed first. He also thinks the constitution, if it disregards human rights, requires a higher power to correct.
3. In our time, the right to vote is still important but the context has changed. In Douglas's time, many Americans like black men and women were systematically deprived of the right to vote. Today, while legal barriers to voting for most groups have been removed, issues like voter suppression and unequal access still exist.

Answer:

1. Because without suffrage, a black man's liberty is a mockery and he is a slave to society or the mob.
2. He believes other issues like slavery abolition and labor - organization should be dealt with first and the constitution may need a higher power to correct if it disregards human rights.
3. The right to vote is still important but the context has changed. In Douglas's time, there were legal and systemic barriers for many groups like black men and women, while today issues are more about voter suppression and unequal access.