A barbarous standard is established; the duel is not dishonorable; a contest peculiar to our Slave-Masters, known as a “street fight,” is not shameful; and modern imitators of Cain have a mark set upon them, not for reproach and condemnation, but for compliment and approval.
Sumner critiques societal norms that glorify violence and dueling, particularly in the context of slavery.
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The most distant are not without a present influence on our daily lives.
Let loyalty to one man be exchanged for Love to Man.
Their existence is a disgrace to civilization; for it implies the common consent of nations to the Arbitrament of War, as regulated by these laws.
They are but leaders of the two contending factions into which the Slave Power is divided.
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