On the record
We know that this result is so startling and unexpected, that you will scarcely credit the testimony of figures themselves.
Said by
Lewis Tappan
Source
gutenberg.orgLewis Tappan: “We know that this result is so startling and unexpected, that you will scarcely credit the testimony of figures…”
Editor's note · Context
Here, Tappan expresses skepticism about the acceptance of statistical evidence regarding slavery, suggesting that the findings may be hard for some to believe.
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You have lamentable experience, that such is not the case where slaveholders bear rule.
There is not a State or Territory in the Union in which you, fellow-citizens, have not an overwhelming majority over the slaveholders; and the majority is probably the greatest in those in which the slaves are the most numerous, because in…
Slavery is maintained by you whom it impoverishes and degrades, not by those upon whom it confers wealth and influence.
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.