The Negro Question: An Address Delivered Before the Wisconsin Bar Association (Classic Reprint)

Challenging a nation to live up to its ideals

This is a historical address that speaks plainly about race, justice, and the duty of citizens to uphold the law. It frames lynching as a national crisis and calls for courage, reform, and consistent protection of the rights guaranteed to every American.

Delivered before a state bar association, the speech argues that white Americans must confront their own prejudice and the true meaning of citizenship. It compares past wrongs to present violence, and it urges lawyers, judges, and readers to act to safeguard the rights of Black citizens while honoring the country’s democratic ideals.

• Analyzes the roots of racial injustice and the role of law in protecting or denying rights
• Draws on historical examples to show how violence and lawlessness threaten society
• Centers on civic responsibility, reform, and the protection of equal rights under law
• Offers a call to action for readers to advocate for justice and accountability

Ideal for readers of historical civil rights discourse and anyone interested in early 20th‑century American law and society.