Some Favored Nook, Pt. 2: No. 13, That Shamed the Nation

HIGGINSON:

We had touched the pivot of the war. Whether this vast and dusky mass Should prove the weakness of the nation

or its strength,

Must depend in great measure,

We knew, upon our efforts.

Till the blacks were armed,

There was no guaranty of their freedom. It was their demeanor under arms

That shamed the nation into recognizing

them as men.