If slavery, limited as it yet is, now threatens to subvert the Constitution, how can we as wise and prudent statesmen, enlarge its boundaries and increase its influence, and thus increase already impending dangers?
William H. SewardRead
But I deny that the Constitution recognizes property in man.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote asserts that the Constitution does not endorse the idea of individuals as property.
William H. Seward's quote speaks to the fundamental principle that the Constitution should not acknowledge or permit the enslavement of individuals. It highlights a moral and legal stance against the concept of human ownership and affirms the inherent dignity of all persons, advocating for a more just and equitable society where individuals are not treated as commodities.
Themes
ConstitutionHuman RightsPropertyFreedomSlavery
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about human rights, this quote could emphasize the importance of recognizing individuals as free beings.
More from William H. Seward
All quotes βBut you answer, that the Constitution recognizes property in slaves. It would be sufficient, then, to reply, that this constitutional recognition must be void, because it is repugnant to the law of nature and of nations.
William H. SewardRead
I deem it established, then, that the Constitution does not recognize property in man, but leaves that question, as between the states, to the law of nature and of nations.
William H. SewardRead
But assuming the same premises, to wit, that all men are equal by the law of nature and of nations, the right of property in slaves falls to the ground; for one who is equal to another cannot be the owner or property of that other.
William H. SewardRead
I have learned, by some experience, that virtue and patriotism, vice and selfishness, are found in all parties, and that they differ less in their motives than in the policies they pursue.
William H. SewardRead
The two systems slave and free-labor are incompatible. They have never permanently existed together in one country, and they never can.
William H. SewardRead
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