Frederick Douglass's artile "Protection of the Ballot"

The primary source i found is a book Voices from the Reconstruction Years 1865-1877 by Glenn M. Linden, filled with recordings of letters, newspaper articles, and diary entries from people from 1865 through 1877. I chose to look at the article published by Fredrick Douglass in 1872 where he talks about the deterioration of black enfranchisement in the south at the time. In this Article he talks about the need for protection of black voters in order to preserve their newly acquired right to vote. Douglass specifies his opposition to swaying the voters ballot choice by means of this armed protection and to allow everyone to vote the way they please. Showing his unbiased opinion he states that republican should not interfere with democrats votes anymore than democrats should control republican votes. appealing to both sides he cites that both benefit from this and that no injury will come from allowing the other party to vote the way they please. Clearly Douglass has one thing on his mind, the advancement of black people in America. He would rather see the political battlefield even as opposed to his own Republican views lifted above the Democrats in order to preserve suffrage for his people. He calls out the government saying that they must protect all citizen rights in order to stay away from being a tyrannical monarchy. Douglass creates a common theme for both Republicans and Democrats to look at and desire as an attempt to repair the rift that has been created by the civil war and the oppression of the south. Though this could be considered selling out to the Democrats the ideas he sets in place are truly what the constitution of the United States calls for. its what the new amendments to the constitution call for: equal protection under the law, the right for citizens to vote uncontested. It takes someone who has had their citizenship for less than ten years to bring forth the selfless ambition that should be embodied by the government. Fredrick Douglass truly shows his wisdom in this article as well as his resolve for his cause.