On the record
In some of the slave States laws have been passed establishing a censorship of the press, for the exclusive and special benefit of the slaveholders.
Said by
Lewis Tappan
Source
gutenberg.orgLewis Tappan: “In some of the slave States laws have been passed establishing a censorship of the press, for the exclusive and special…”
Editor's note · Context
Tappan discusses the legal measures taken to ensure that the press serves the interests of slaveholders exclusively.
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Statesmen may differ about policy, or the means to be employed in the promotion of the public good, but surely they ought to be agreed as to what prosperity means.
But what a commentary on slavery and slaveholders is afforded by the gross ignorance prevailing in the old States of South Carolina, Virginia, and North Carolina!
In 1837, Governor Clarke, in his message to the Kentucky Legislature, remarked, "By the computation of those most familiar with the subject, ONE THIRD OF THE ADULT POPULATION OF THE STATE ARE UNABLE TO WRITE THEIR NAMES.
If we are permitted to apply this rule in testing the moral condition of the South, the result will not be favorable.