I was against it when it showed itself in the terrible pretensions of the slave-master; and now I am against it, as it shows itself in the most shameful oligarchy of which history has made mention,--an oligarchy of the skin.
Sumner reflects on his historical opposition to slavery and current opposition to racial oligarchy, linking the two issues.
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It is larger than the entire profit of all the commerce and manufactures of the world.
Let us at all hazards prevent the extension of Slavery and the increase of the Slave Power.
As the Brotherhood of Man is practically recognized, it becomes impossible to restrict the feeling within any exclusive circle of country, and to set up an unchristian distinction of honor between civil war and international war.
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.
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