But I deny that the Constitution recognizes property in man.
William H. SewardRead
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?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions the wisdom of expanding something dangerous, like slavery, that already poses a threat to society and governance.
William H. Seward reflects on the dire implications of slavery's existence within the United States, suggesting that allowing its expansion would only exacerbate the threats it poses to the Constitution and the nation as a whole. He challenges the logic of wise statesmen who would consider broadening the reach of such a dangerous institution, indicating a preference for prudence and caution in the face of a clear moral and political hazard.
Themes
SlaveryConstitutionDangerStatesmanshipInfluence
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on civil rights, one might quote Seward to emphasize the need to confront injustices that threaten democratic principles.
More from William H. Seward
All quotes →But 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
Similar quotes
Vengeance comes from the individual and punishment from God.
Victor HugoRead
When the yogi starts to meditate, he must leave behind all sensory thoughts and all longings for possessions by quieting the waves of feeling (chitta), and the mental restlessness that arises therefrom, through the application of techniques that reinstate the controlling power of the untrammeled superconsciousness of the soul.
Paramahansa YoganandaRead
Shortly, the public will be unable to reason or think for themselves. They'll only be able to parrot the information they've been given on the previous night's news.
Zbigniew BrzezinskiRead
Islam has always been part of America
Barack ObamaRead
Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.
Oswald ChambersRead
There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.
William ShakespeareRead