As the whites could not now reestablish constitutionally their old slave system, or directly their new serf system they proceeded to do the next best thing, that is to construct a caste system based on race and color.
Grimké describes the establishment of a racial caste system as a response to the abolition of slavery.
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Under it we have the double moral standard and the double legal standard operating throughout that section with a vengeance.
This sounds amazing and it is amazing because it fits the Negro's case so exactly, because it is an accurate description of his condition as an agricultural laborer in many of the Southern states.
For myself, I had rather rob any bank to an indefinite amount than kidnap a fellow-being, or hold him in bondage; the sin would be less injurious to society, and less sinful in the sight of God.
It would reappear as Negro serfdom unless placed in the way of utter extinction.