"You are the children of Abraham Lincoln. We are at best only his stepchildren; children by adoption, children by forces of circumstances and necessity."

"I here and now denounce his so-called emancipation as a stupendous fraud — a fraud upon him, a fraud upon the world."

"Should a slave, when assaulted, but raise his hand in self defense, the white assaulting party is fully justified by southern, or Maryland, public opinion, in shooting the slave down."

"Truth is of no color, country, or creed. It is universal."

"The soul of the nation is in the crucible, and the result, for good or for evil, is yet to be seen."