reach down and lift his people up, growing brighter and
better unto the present day.

To the superficial observer, it would sometimes appear that the
American Negro did not make achievements commensurate with his
opportunities, during the nineteenth century. Yet, on taking a more
comprehensive view, the student of history and sociology must decide
in the affirmative.

In deciding upon the comparative progress of a race, along the lines
of a higher civilization, care must be taken as to the standard by
which he is to be measured, and what has been his real opportunities.
Civilization is a plant of slow growth, as evidenced by the history of
all Nations that have accomplished great things in the past. There is
a difference, as wide as the heavens, between the refined and cultured
Englishman of to-day, and the rough, uncouth Norseman of the ninth
century; but more than a thousand years were required to bring about
that transformation. A difference, as wide as the poles, exists
between the ancient Gauls, who were conquered by the Franks in the
tenth century, and the Chesterfieldian Frenchman of to-day; yet the
same time elapsed between these two periods. There is just as marked a
difference, in many respects, between those twenty uncouth savages,
brought to the shores of Virginia in 1620, and the best specimens of
the American Negro of to-day, and yet only 287 years lie between the
former and the latter.

The next question that naturally rises is, "What have been the real
opportunities of the American Negro?" Brought here a savage from his
native wilds, and thrown into abject, and, in many cases, cruel
slavery, he yet received from this iniquitous institution something of