It kindled a fire of liberty within my breast which has never yet been quenched.

This seemed to be a part of my nature; it was first revealed to me by the inevitable laws of nature's God.

I could see that the All-wise Creator, had made man a free, moral, intelligent and accountable being; capable of knowing good and evil.

And I believed then, as I believe now, that every man has a right to wages for his labor; a right to his own wife and children; a right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and a right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.

But here, in the light of these truths, I was a slave, a prisoner for life; I could possess nothing, nor acquire anything but what must belong to my keeper.