Weekly Anglo-African, "The Two Great Political Parties," March 17, 1860

The two great political parties separate at an angle of two roads, that they may meet eventually at the same goal. They both entertain the same ideas, and both carry the same burdens. They differ only in regard to the way they shall go, and the method of procedure. We, the colored people of this country, free and enslaved, who constitute the burthen that so heavily bears down both of these parties – we, who constitute their chief concern, their chief thought – we, who cause all their discord, and all their dissentions, and all their hates, and all their bitter prejudices – we, say both of these religious political parties, we , the blacks, must, in some form or other, be sacrificed to save themselves and the country – to save the country intact for the white race.

The Democratic party would make the white man the master and the black man the slave, and have them thus together occupy every foot of the American soil. Believing in the potency of what they term the superior race, they hold that no detriment can come to the Republic by the spread of the blacks in a state of servitude on this continent; that with proper treatment and shackles upon him, proper terrors over him, and vigorous operations for the obliteration of his mind, if he have any – that with these, and whatever else will brutify him, he can be kept in sufficient subjection to be wholly out of the pale danger to the Republic; that he can never be so much as a consideration in any calculation of imminence to the government. On the contrary, it is held by this party that his presence, under these restrictions, is of incalculable benefit to the nation – the chief instrument in the development of her resources, and the cornerstone of her liberties. What the Democratic party complains of is that the Republican party – not for the negro’s, but for their own political advancement – advocate the necessity for a check upon the spread of the blacks – not as free, but in chain, not as men, but as slaves; for in this – that the blacks, as free men, shall have neither rights, footing, nor anything else, in common with the whites, in the land – both parties are agreed; and in looking at matters as they present themselves to us at this moment, we are not sure that if any of the many withheld rights were to be secured to us, they would not come from the Democratic side after all, notwithstanding the great excesses their leaders frequently carry them into. We mean the great body, acting, as it will some day, independent from the part leaders. The great masses, if left to themselves to act up to their true instincts, would always do much better in matters involving right and wrong than they do when operated upon by what are generally supposed to be intelligent leaders. These are generally great demagogues or great conservatives, neither of which have done the world any positive good. Whatever of worth it receives from them is the result of their negative position.

The Republican party today, though we believe in the minority, being the most intelligent, contains by far the greatest number of these two classes of men, and hence, though with larger professions for humanity, is by far its more dangerous enemy. Under the guise of humanity, they do and say many things – as, for example, they oppose the reopening of the slave trade. They would fain make the world believe it to be a movement of humanity; and yet the world too plainly sees that it is but a stroke of policy to check the spread, growth, and strength of the black masses on this continent. They oppose the progress of slavery in the territories, and would cry humanity to the world; but the world has already seen that it is but the same black masses looming up, huge, grim, and threatening, before this Republican party, and hence their position. Their opposition to slavery means opposition to the black man – nothing else. Where it is clearly in their power to do anything for the oppressed colored man, why then they are too nice, too conservative, to do it. They find, too often, a way to slip around it – find a method how not to do it. If too hard pressed or fairly concerned by the opposite party, then it is they go beyond said opposite party in their manifestations of hatred and contempt for the black man and his rights.

Such is the position of the two parties today, and it is yet to be seen whither they will drive in the political storm they are creating, and which is now raging around them. In their desire to “hem in” and crush out the black man, they form a perfect equation. They differ only in the method. We have no hope from either as political parties. We must rely on ourselves, the righteousness of our cause, and the advance of just sentiments among the great masses of the Republican people, be they Republicans or Democrats. These masses we must teach that it will not do for them to believe nor yet act upon the declaration of their party leaders that we are a naturally low and degraded race, and unfit to have or enjoy liberty and the rights of men and citizens, and hence must be crushed out of the land. We much teach these masses that all this is a fabrication, a great political lie, an abominable injustice to an outraged but honest and determined people, who cannot be crushed out – a people outraged by overpowering brute force, and then declared unfit to come within the pale of civilization. All this is our work, and rising by all the forces within our grasp high above the chicanery and vulgar policies of the day, we must perform fully and well our duty in these respects.