On the record
It was the plain duty of the colonies to crush the trade and the system in its infancy: they preferred to enrich themselves on its profits.
Said by
W.E.B. Du Bois
Source
gutenberg.orgW.E.B. Du Bois: “It was the plain duty of the colonies to crush the trade and the system in its infancy: they preferred to enrich…”
Editor's note · Context
This quote highlights Du Bois's belief that the colonies had a moral obligation to oppose slavery from its inception.
Share
More from W.E.B. Du Bois
Jan 1, 1903
If somewhere in this whirl and chaos of things there dwells Eternal Good, pitiful yet masterful, then anon in His good time America shall rend the Veil and the prisoned shall go free.
Jan 1, 1903
Actively we have woven ourselves with the very warp and woof of this nation,—we fought their battles, shared their sorrow, mingled our blood with theirs, and generation after generation have pleaded with a headstrong, careless people to…
Jan 1, 1903
Around us the history of the land has centred for thrice a hundred years; out of the nation’s heart we have called all that was best to throttle and subdue all that was worst; fire and blood, prayer and sacrifice, have billowed over this…