[Ads-l] Quotation: I prayed with my legs

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

I received a request to look into a quotation attributed to orator
Frederick Douglass. Here is a common version:

I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.

Bestselling author James Clear placed an instance of this expression
into his newsletter recently, and a skeptical subscriber contacted me.

I found pertinent direct citations from speeches delivered by Douglass
in June 1859 and November 1876. The phrasings differed from the
popular version above, but the crucial figurative language about
praying with legs was employed.

I Prayed That God Would Emancipate Me, But It Was Not Till I Prayed
With My Legs That I Was Emancipated
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/11/23/pray-legs/

Additional early citations would be welcome. Thanks
Garson

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