On the recordJanuary 1, 1881
They could not of course sell them, but they retained the power to starve them to death, and wherever this power is held, there is the power of slavery.
Said by
Frederick Douglass
Source
gutenberg.orgThey could not of course sell them, but they retained the power to starve them to death, and wherever this power is held, there is the power of slavery.
From his autobiography, Douglass defines the essence of slavery not just by direct ownership but by the power to control another's survival through economic means.
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More from Frederick Douglass
We (the people of the North) are a charitable people, and in the excess of this feeling we were disposed to put the very best construction upon the strange behavior of our southern brethren.
True it is that this faith was many times shaken by passing events, but never destroyed.
We could not but believe that there existed at the South a latent and powerful Union sentiment which would assert itself at last.
It had no interest in recognizing or preserving any of the ties that bind families together or to their homes.