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But "W. W." says, "If any man believes
that prejudice is heaped upon him because
his father was enslaved, then there is but
little hope of the generation which suc-
ceeds him." I am at a loss to see how we
can lose anything by admitting what I con-
sider a self evident fact, particularly when
it is not left to us to establish it, by our ad-
mission or belief—or in what way we can
put back the day for the correction of the
evil. It is a well-known fact, that prejudice
does not manifest itself against us, as it does
because we are "colored" alone—for all fare
alike. Though a man may be as fair as the
fairest Caucasian, if the admixture of blood
is made known, he, at once, falls to the posi-
tion of that assigned to the darkest Ethio-
pian. If this be true, then I hold that there
must be some other cause than the one as-
signed by "W. W."—"color"—and that it is
the contaminating influence of Slavery.—
This is the first cause, and what we com-
plain of—its effects. To meet it with any
hope of success, we must not waste our
strength in a Quixotic fight, battling against
imaginary causes.

I believe it will be admitted on all sides,
when anything occurs of an injurious ten-
dency, and we desire its correction, the
first thing necessary to be done, is to en-
deavor to discover the cause, that the cor-
rections may be applied. Imaginary issues,
such as W. W. advances, lead us off rom
the true one; and this is what our oppo-
nents desire, which would secure to them the
quiet possession of their peculiar "proper-
ty." "The African was destined, by his
Creator, to be the hewer of wood and drawer
of water." This declaration would fix upon
us from the beginning the mark of infer-
ority, denying our equal manhood; and I
would vindicate it upon the high and noble
ground received from, and recognized by the
Great Godhead—that we are men. What
ground is there that we can stand on strong-
er than this? We can make it the stand-
point of defence and attack, and bid defiance
to our calumniators and assailants—for God
and Truth are on our side.

But, to meet W. W.'s views, we must back
down—for he says, "If any man believes that
he is too degraded to possess the elective fran-
chise, I cheerfully accord to him the right of
his being his own representative." Whilst
I must accord to him the credit of lib-
eral to the extent of representation; yet I
think the inference he draws is somewhat
narrow and contracted. I cannot see where-
in we own ourselves to be degraded, by ac-
knowledging the association which Nature
has established between the free and the
slave population, or why it should be the
cause of our enfranchisement. The degra-
dation produced by the institution of sla-
very upon the enslaved, I admit, reflects in-
juriously upon the nominally free for the
time being; but as we rise (and rise we