I know it is claimed, by men in the slave States, that slavery is necessary to the highest development of human society; but I think the experience of members of Congress is, that slavery does not always produce this beneficial result.
Tompkins challenges the belief that slavery is essential for societal development, based on Congressional experiences.
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It will not be conceived, from these observations, that it is my wish to hold these unhappy people (negroes) in slavery.
They would be scourged, driven by violence from the State, and might be considered fortunate should they escape with their lives.
Liberty cannot be very secure where four million human beings are held in hopeless bondage--where human blood, bone, muscle, and, I might almost say, immortal souls, are articles of merchandise.
Was it a mere speculation, a wild fancy, that the framers of the Constitution would not admit that there could be such a thing as property in man?
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