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Source identified
“Personal independence is a virtue.”

Frederick Douglass

Source
Self-Made Men
Date
c. 1872
Attribution
Source identified
Meaning

What does this quote mean?

Douglass values personal agency and self-dependence while rejecting the idea that anyone creates a life entirely alone, placing independence within a wider network of social assistance and obligation.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Self-Made Men lecture, commonly dated to 1872 in edited versions. The compact statement occurs within an argument that values self-dependence while the lecture’s opening explicitly denies that anyone is literally or completely self-made; Library of Congress manuscript materials anchor the source identity and preserve later versions.

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Attribution

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This wording is connected with the named source shown above. Translations and editions can vary, so consult the source note when exact wording matters.

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