We have nothing to say against those whom _necessity_ compels to do
these things, those who can do no better; we have only to do with those
who can, and will not, or do not do better. The whites are always in the
advance, and we either standing still or retrograding; as that which
does not go forward, must either stand in one place or go back. The
father in all probability is a farmer, mechanic, or man of some
independent business; and the wife, sons and daughters, are
chamber-maids, on vessels, nurses and waiting-maids, or coachmen and
cooks in families. This is retrogradation. The wife, sons, and daughters
should be elevated above this condition as a necessary consequence.
If we did not love our race superior to others, we would not concern
ourself about their degradation; for the greatest desire of our heart
is, to see them stand on a level with the most elevated of mankind. No
people are ever elevated above the condition of their _females_; hence,
the condition of the _mother_ determines the condition of the child. To
know the position of a people, it is only necessary to know the
_condition_ of their _females_; and despite themselves, they cannot rise
above their level. Then what is our condition? Our _best ladies_ being
washerwomen, chambermaids, children's traveling nurses, and common house
servants, and menials, we are all a degraded, miserable people, inferior
to any other people as a whole, on the face of the globe.
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