Political Quotes

“I am joined today by Senator Pryor and Senator Dole to address an important issue that is all too often hidden from public view--the practice of modern day slavery. One of my political heroes is the 18th century British statesman, William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was one of the leaders of the moral crusade to rid the British empire of slavery. He devoted 20 years to abolishing the British slave trade and another 26 years to abolishing slavery altogether. He and his fellow abolitionists had a profound affect on the American abolitionist movement, and their dedication fueled some of our greatest leaders, including John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Franklin, James Monroe, and John Jay. His influence reached William Wells Brown, Paul Cuffe, Benjamin Hughes, Frederick Douglass, and Abraham Lincoln, and he helped pave the way for abolitionists like Thaddeus Stevens and Richard Allen. These great men opened the eyes of the United Kingdom and the United States to see the injustice that marked our countries. Thankfully, their work helped end the U.S. and U.K. slave trade. Later, our country constitutionally abolished slavery and took a significant step to effectuate the vision of the Declaration of Independence, that all people are created equal. We, as a country, often rush to divorce ourselves from our historic malfeasance. We want to forget the stories of human beings--women and children--suffocating on slave ships, tied to whipping posts and bound with bruising fetters.…”