Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Benjamin Drew

Quote by Benjamin Drew

“I had rather starve to death here, being a free man, than to have plenty in slavery. I cannot be a slave any more,--nobody could hold me as a slave now, except in irons. Old as I am, I would rather face the Russian fire, or die at the point of the sword, than go into slavery. [Philip Younger, 72 years old]”

Quote by Benjamin Drew

Book:The Narratives of Fugitive Slaves
Create image

Work

The Narratives of Fugitive Slaves

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Benjamin Drew

Browse famous quotes and profile details for Benjamin Drew. more

You May Also Like

“White Slaves: Chapter Three of “The Forgotten Cause of the Civil War: A New Look at the Slavery Issue” There were two distinctly different ways of looking at white mulattoes–socially and physiologically. Socially, a white partus slave looked as white as any white person but was considered a black person because he or she had “one drop” of black blood from a distant black female ancestor who was a slave. Such was the case when Mr. C. was told, “That’s not a white girl; she is a nigger, sir.” Physiologically speaking, however, white partus slaves were white people because all traits of their remote black ancestry had disappeared. The North saw these white slaves as whites. The South saw these white slaves as blacks. An 1857 issue of the Chicago Daily Tribune commented on racial classification in the South. “The southern census takers, it is notorious, returned all persons as blacks who, were not more than half white. Those who possessed straight hair and Anglo-Saxon features they set down as mulattoes, many of whom were as white-skinned as their owners.” The actual number of white mulatto slaves is unknowable because all shades from “one drop” to those showing some discernible degree of black admixture were classed together as mulattoes without any distinction as to color.”

Civil WarSlavery In The United States
Author:Lawrence R. Tenzer
Create image

“Your country? How came it yours? Before the Pilgrims landed we were here. Here we have brought our three gifts and mingled them with yours: a gift of story and song--soft, stirring melody in an ill-harmonized and unmelodious land; the gift of sweat and brawn to beat back the wilderness, conquer the soil, and lay the foundations of this vast economic empire two hundred years earlier than your weak hands could have done it; the third, a gift of the Spirit. Around us the history of the land has centred for thrice a hundred years; out of the nation's heart we have called all that was best to throttle and subdue all that was worst; fire and blood, prayer and sacri- fice, have billowed over this people, and they have found peace only in the altars of the God of Right. Nor has our gift of the Spirit been merely passive. Actively we have woven ourselves with the very warp and woof of this nation,--we fought their battles, shared their sorrow, mingled our blood with theirs, and generation after generation have pleaded with a headstrong, careless people to despise not Justice, Mercy, and Truth, lest the nation be smitten with a curse. Our song, our toil, our cheer, and warning have been given to this nation in blood-brotherhood. Are not these gifts worth the giving? Is not this work and striving? Would America have been America without her Negro people?”

Slavery In The United States
Book:The Souls of Black Folk
Create image

“We could be spiritual without necessarily being religious, but we can’t possibly be religious without being spiritual; otherwise, we would be missing the essence of religion, regardless of which one we practice. Without spirituality, there is no connection to the Higher Power, whom we call God or the Universe. And without that precious connection with The Divine, we would be just practicing rituals and traditions set by our ancestors at a particular time in history.”

SpiritualityWisdom QuotesSpirituality QuotesReligion QuotesHigher PowerSpirituality Vs Religion
Book:Rebel Thoughts of Wisdom: Inspiring Conscious Change for Personal & Collective Growth
Create image

“Invisible walls barricade you and all winds have ceased. You feel encased by padded glass, held by arms you cannot see. You were never claustrophobic, despite all that time spent in bunkers and narrow beds and lifelong closets. But like any reasonable person, living or dead, you'd like to have the option of running away, especially when there is plenty to run from.” Instead you find yourself immobile and optionless, the involuntary detainee of figures in white smocks. Moses to your left and He-Man to your right. They look ahead and they do not smile. Before you is Dr Ranee: white sari, ledger book and schoolyard scowl”

PsychoanalysisDeadbeatIrreverent Verse
Author:Almeida maali
Create image