There was a right side and a wrong side in the late war, which no sentiment ought to cause us to forget, and while today we should have malice toward none, and charity toward all, it is no part of our duty to confound right with wrong, or loyalty with treaso
Douglass disagrees with people who think everyone should forget the Civil War.
“Let us have peace.” Yes, let us have peace, but let us have liberty, law, and justice first. Let us have the Constitution, with it thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, fairly interpreted, faithfully executed, and cheerfully obeyed in the fullness of their spirit and the completeness of their letter….
Frederick believes the country must have liberty, justice and obey the constitution before there can be true peace.
FRIENDS AND FELLOW CITIZENS: In this place, hallowed and made glorious by a statue of the best man, truest patriot, and wisest statesman of his time and country; I have been invited – I might say ordered – by the Lincoln Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, to say a few words to you in appropriate celebration of this annual national memorial day…
Douglass starts by honoring Abraham Lincoln and explaining why everyone has gathered.
In this speech, Douglass calls on Americans to remember the war for what it was—a struggle between an army fighting to protect slavery and a nation reluctantly transformed into a force for liberation.
Background info about what the speech is about
Frederick Douglass on Remembering the Civil War, 1878
Tittle of the book or page