Frederick Douglass' speech, "Men to Color, To Arms" is an influential speech which in my opinion can be compared to the “Gettysburg Address.” Douglass dedicated his life to dissipate the “slave holding rebellion.” Douglass urged men to enlist in Massachusetts in Douglass’s Monthly. The impact Douglass had was unthinkable:
Two months later, on May 13, 1863, black volunteers mustered into service as the Fifty-fourth Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, under the command of Robert Gould Shaw. Eventually about 180,000 African Americans served in the Union army during the Civil War (1366).
The persuasion Douglass used was life changing to the Volunteer Infantry. The Infantry marked a crucial period in history, it marked the acts which allowed the enlistment of African Americans. One of my favorite quotes of this speech is as follows:
I am authorized to assure you that you will receive the same wages, the same rations, the same equipments, the same protection, the same treatment, and the same bounty secured to white soldiers. You will be led by able and skilled officers—men who will take especial pride in your efficiency and success. They will be quick to accord to you all the honor you shall merit by your valor—and see that your rights and feelings are respected by other soldiers (1369).
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