Political Quotes

On the record
On all grounds of reason, and waiving all questions of “positive” statute, the Vermont Judge was nobly right, when, rejecting the claim of a Slave-Master, he said, “No, not until you show a Bill of Sale from the Almighty.” Nothing short of this impossible link in the chain of title would do.
Said by
Charles Sumner
Massachusetts

Editor's note · Context

Sumner praises a Vermont Judge's ruling against slavery, emphasizing the need for divine justification for ownership.

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More from Charles Sumner

I am in favor of a tariff for revenue, such a one as will yield a sufficient amount to the treasury to defray the expenses of the government, economically administered.

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Confessing the Fatherhood of God, and the consequent Brotherhood of Man, we find a divine standard of unquestionable accuracy.

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In this contest, we may borrow from the ancient Greek, who, when his hands were cut off, fought with his stumps, and even with his teeth.

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They are but leaders of the two contending factions into which the Slave Power is divided.

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