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Quote by Lysander Spooner

“Now a slave is not 'held' by any legal contract, obligation, duty, or authority, which the laws will enforce. He is 'held' only by brute force. One person beats another until the latter will obey him, work for him, if he require it, or do nothing if he require it.”

Book:A Defence for Fugitive Slaves

Work

A Defence for Fugitive Slaves

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the legal and ethical debates surrounding the status of fugitive slaves in the United States. It delves into the arguments made by abolitionists and defenders of the institution of slavery, offering a nuanced perspective on the complex issues at play during this period of American history. more

Author

Lysander Spooner

Lysander Spooner was an American philosopher, abolitionist, and legal theorist who lived from January 19, 1808, to May 14, 1887. He is recognized for his contributions to the philosophy of individual rights and his advocacy for the abolition of slavery. Spooner's work has had a profound impact on the fields of law and philosophy. more

“The commerce of a free people is many times more valuable than that of slaves. Freemen produce and consume vastly more than slaves. They have therefore more to buy and more to sell. Hence the free states have a direct pecuniary interest in the civil freedom of all the other states. Commerce between free and slave states is not reciprocal or equal.”

People States Interest Produce Equal Direct Sells Slave Valuable Commerce Reciprocal Freeman Free State

Book:The Unconstitutionality of Slavery

Source: The Unconstitutionality of Slavery

“The desertion of Jesus, by his followers, furnishes an argument in support of the supposition that he attempted to be king of the Jews, rather than that he was a superior being.”

Jesus Support Kings Argument Jew Superiors Followers Supposition Desertion

Book:The collected works of Lysander Spooner

Source: The collected works of Lysander Spooner

“The imaginations of believers have dressed up and exaggerated the excellence of the style and matter of the New Testament generally, in the same manner, in which they have the moral instructions of Jesus.”

Matter Jesus Imagination Moral Style Excellence Believer Instruction Testament New Testament Exaggerated Dressed Up

Book:The collected works of Lysander Spooner

Source: The collected works of Lysander Spooner

“The mental capacity of a person to make reasonable contracts, is the only criterion, by which to determine his legal capacity to make obligatory contracts. And his mental capacity to make reasonable contracts is certainly not to be determined by the fact that he is, or is not, twenty-one years of age.”

Years Persons Facts Age Capacity Twenties Determine Determined Reasonable Contracts Criteria Twenty One

Book:A Letter to Grover Cleveland on His False Inaugural Address, the Usurpation and Crimes of Lawmakers and Judges, and Consequent Poverty, Ignorance, and Servitude of the People

Source: A Letter to Grover Cleveland on His False Inaugural Address, the Usurpation and Crimes of Lawmakers and Judges, and Consequent Poverty, Ignorance, and Servitude of the People

“The number who actually consented to the Constitution of the United States, at the first, was very small. Considered as the act of the whole people, the adoption of the Constitution was the merest farce and imposture, binding upon nobody.”

People Firsts States Whole United Numbers United States Constitution Adoption Binding Constitution Of The United States Farce

Book:No Treason: No. 1-

Source: No Treason: No. 1-

“The right and the physical power of the people to resist injustice, are really the only securities that any people ever can have for their liberties. Practically no government knows any limit to its power but the endurance of the people.”

People Knows Government Liberty Security Limits Injustice Endurance

Book:A Defence for Fugitive Slaves

Source: A Defence for Fugitive Slaves

“The right of absolute and irresponsible dominion is the right of property, and the right of property is the right of absolute, irresponsible dominion. The two are identical; the one necessarily implying the other.”

Two Absolutes Property Identical Dominion Irresponsible Implying

Book:Let's Abolish Government

Source: Let's Abolish Government