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Slave Owners Quotes

Browse 40 quotes about Slave Owners.

Slave Owners Quotes

“These demographics presented real threats to white planters, including a potential cross-racial labor movement. Plantation work was close and intimate, and it fostered a troubling solidarity between the growing Black population and white indentured servants. White planters could not afford for such a dangerous bond to form--which is why in 1705 Virginia's legislature did as much to codify white privilege as it did to establish Black subjugation.”

ClassLaborSlaveryAfrican AmericansBlacksWhitesWhite PrivilegeSlavesSlave Owners
Book:Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019
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“We have men sold to build churches, women sold to support the gospel, and babes sold to purchase Bibles for the poor heathen, all for the glory of God and the good of souls. The slave auctioneer's bell and the church-going bell chime in with each other, and the bitter cries of the heart-broken slave are drowned in the religious shouts of his pious master. Revivals of religion and revivals in the slave trade go hand in hand.”

SlaverySlaveOppressionPietySuperstitionSlave OwnersRevivals
Book:Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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“The contents of Mr. Thorne's letter, as nearly as I can remember, were as follows: "I have seen your slave, Linda, and conversed with her. She can be taken very easily, if you manage prudently. There are enough of us here to swear to her identity as your property. I am a patriot, a lover of my country, and I do this as an act of justice to the laws.”

SlaveryPatriotismLawsSlavesSlave OwnersFugitive Slaves
Book:Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
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“It is due, however, to my mistress to say of her, that she did not adopt this course of treatment immediately. She at first lacked the depravity indispensable to shutting me up in mental darkness. It was at least necessary for her to have some training in the exercise of irresponsible power, to make her equal to the task of treating me as though I were a brute. My mistress was, as I have said, a kind and tender-hearted woman; and in the simplicity of her soul she commenced, when I first went to live with her, to treat me as she supposed one human being ought to treat another. In entering upon the duties of a slaveholder, she did not seem to perceive that I sustained to her the relation of a mere chattel, and that for her to treat me as a human being was not only wrong, but dangerously so. Slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me. When I went there, she was a pious, warm, and tender-hearted woman. There was no sorrow or suffering for which she had not a tear. She had bread for the hungry, clothes for the naked, and comfort for every mourner that came within her reach. Slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these heavenly qualities. Under its influence, the tender heart became stone, and the lamblike disposition gave way to one of tiger-like fierceness.”

SlaveryCorruptionAfrican AmericansBlacksSlavesSlave Owners
Book:Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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“Mr. Thomas Lanman, of St. Michael's, killed two slaves, one of whom he killed with a hatchet, by knocking his brains out. He used to boast of the commission of the awful and bloody deed. I have heard him do so laughingly, saying, among other things, that he was the only benefactor of his country in the company, and that when others would do as much as he had done, we should be relieved of "the d-----d [n***ers].”

ViolenceMurderSlaveryAfrican AmericansBlacksSlavesSlave Owners
Book:Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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“But alas! this kind heart had but a short time to remain such. The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon.”

ChangeSlaveryCorruptionAfrican AmericansBlacksWhitesSlavesSlave Owners
Book:Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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“His reply was, (as well as I can remember,) that Demby had become unmanageable. He was setting a dangerous example to the other slaves,--one which, if suffered to pass without some such demonstration on his part, would finally lead to the total subversion of all rule and order upon the plantation. He argued that if one slave refused to be corrected, and escaped with his life, the other slaves would soon copy the example; the result of which would be, the freedom of the slaves, and the enslavement of the whites.”

SlaveryPunishmentRace RelationsSlavesSlave Owners
Book:Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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“We live in an age of apologies. Apologies, fake or true, are expected from the descendants of empire builders, slave owners and persecutors of heretics, and from men who -in our eyes- just got it all wrong. So, with the age of 85 coming up shortly, I want to make an apology. It appears I must apologize for being male, white, and European.”

MenWantEyeAgeWhiteSlaveMalesExpectedFakeEmpiresOwnersApologyApologizingBuilderDescendantsHereticSlave Owners
Author:Alec Guinness
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“Just as the worst slave-owners were those who were kind to their slaves, and so prevented the horror of the system being realized by those who suffered from it, and understood by those who contemplated it, so, in the present state of things in England, the people who do most harm are the people who try to do most good.”

PeopleTryingKindStatesWorstHorrorUnderstoodEnglandSlaveHarmOwnersBeing RealSlave Owners
Book:The Artist as Critic: Critical Writings of Oscar Wilde
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“My favorite quote is Thomas Jefferson`s "The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time." Well, he was a slave-owner. But these institutions, while they weren't perfect at the time, did allow people to prosper and to continue to struggle and build toward them. That's what you need, is good institutions and I think people will eventually live up to them.”

PeopleThinkingNeedsWellsPerfectLibertyStruggleInstitutionsSlaveMy FavoriteOwnersSlave Owners
Author:Condoleezza Rice
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“Since we were renamed, and now it feels like 80 percent of the African-American population has the name Washington or Jefferson or some president or slave owner's name. And, I almost wonder is this, like, is this part of a way of taking back the principle of naming your - I might be going too far into this - but naming your kids something of your choice?”

WayFeelsMightKidsChoicesNamesPresidentWonderPrinciplesPercentSlavePopulationAfrican AmericanOwnersSlave Owners
Author:Jordan Peele
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“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day, even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into a oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by content of their character. I have a dream today!”

ChildrenLittlesStatesCharacterDreamTodayAbleTogetherNationsJusticeFourColorSonOne DayRedSkinsTablesSlaveInjusticeOppressionFormerHillsHeatOwnersBrotherhoodJudgedTransformedGeorgiaMississippiOasisSlave OwnersInjustice And Oppression
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“I can't say with certainty that slavery would have ended more quickly and more completely if the South had been allowed to leave and escaped former slaves had been allowed to remain free, and the North and the rest of the world had been a positive influence on the South. However, it's certainly a possibility that it would have ended sooner if the southern slave owners had agreed to a system of compensated emancipation and freed the slaves without a war and without secession, as most nations that ended slavery did. That absolutely would have been preferable to the Civil War as it happened.”

IfsWorldHas BeensI CanWarNationsHappenedInfluencePossibilitySlaverySlaveSouthCertaintyFormerCivil WarOwnersSouthernEmancipationSecessionPositive InfluenceSlave Owners
Author:David Swanson
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“My people couldn't have survived slavery without having hope that it would get better. And there's some songs from the 19th and 18th century that say [sings], "By and by, by and by, I will lay down, this heavy load." And I mean, so many songs that spoke of hope and understand it better by and by. Amazing songs. So that the slaves, just knowing that he, she, did not have the right legally to walk within one inch away from where the slave owner dictated, and yet the same person, wrote and sang with fervor, "If the lord wants somebody, here am I, send me." It's amazing.”

PeopleIfsWantMeanPersonsSongWalksLordKnowingCenturySlaveryLaysSlaveHeavyGet BetterOwnersSpokesInchesLoadSurvivedHaving Hope18th CenturyFervorSlave OwnersHeavy LoadsAmazing Song
Author:Maya Angelou
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“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

ChildrenLittlesCharacterDreamNationsJusticeFourTeachingIdentityColorKingsIntegrityOne DaySpeechDiversityRacismSkinsHuman RightsConservativeEqualitySillyDiscriminationAfrican AmericanHypocrisyBlack PeopleJudgedAmerican DreamDiverseAmerican HistorySentimentalGood CharacterI Had A DreamUnity In DiversityOregonSkin ColorEquality And JusticeBeing EqualHappy ChildrenIntegrity And CharacterIntegrity CharacterEquality Of PeopleEquality For AllI Have A Dream SpeechKings SpeechAnti RacistKings And LoveBeing JudgedGood KingsSocial EqualityPeaceful ProtestSlave OwnersInjustice And OppressionAnti DiscriminationBlack SkinRacism And PrejudiceDark SkinnedJustice EqualityJudge Of CharacterTolerance And DiversityBrown SkinMarch On WashingtonPolitical EqualityRace And ColorDefects Of CharacterTrue EqualityAfrican RacePreschool Children
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.”

DreamAbleTogetherSonKingsOne DayRacismRedTablesSlaveEqualityFormerHillsOwnersBrotherhoodAmerican DreamGeorgiaI Had A DreamBe A SlaveEquality And JusticeEquality Of PeopleI Have A Dream SpeechGood KingsSlave OwnersAbolition Of SlaveryJustice EqualityMarch On WashingtonMasters And SlavesSitting Together
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“Look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin.”

PeopleLooksCharacterDreamKidsRightsColorJudgingKingsSpeechRacismSkinsEqualityDiscriminationAfrican AmericanJudgedAmerican DreamDiverseAmerican HistoryCivil Rights MovementStrength Of CharacterI Had A DreamMulticulturalUnity In DiversityOregonSkin ColorBeing EqualHappy ChildrenIntegrity And CharacterIntegrity CharacterEquality Of PeopleEquality For AllI Have A Dream SpeechKings SpeechKings And LoveBeing JudgedGood KingsSocial EqualityPeaceful ProtestInspirational CharacterSlave OwnersAmerican CharacterInjustice And OppressionInspirational DiversityBlack SkinRacism And PrejudiceAfrican American Civil RightsJudge Of CharacterGreat ConservativeBrown SkinMarch On WashingtonRace And ColorDeep DisappointmentTrue EqualityAfrican RacePreschool Children
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“History has different yardsticks for the cruelty of the Northerners and the cruelty of the Southerners in the Civil War. A slave-owner who through cunning and violence shackles a slave in chains, and a slave who through cunning or violence breaks the chains – let not the contemptible eunuchs tell us that they are equals before a court of morality!”

DifferentWarBreakViolenceMoralityCourtSlaveCrueltyChainsCivil WarOwnersCunningShacklesSouthernerYardsticksEunuchsSlave OwnersNortherners
Book:Their morals and ours: and , The moralists and sycophants against Marxism
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“One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over. We must not remember that Daniel Webster got drunk but only that he was a splendid constitutional lawyer. We must forget that George Washington was a slave owner . . . and simply remember the things we regard as creditable and inspiring. The difficulty, of course, with this philosophy is that history loses its value as an incentive and example; it paints perfect man and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth.”

MenDoeIdeasPhilosophyRememberValuesCoursesEvilNationsLosesPerfectForgetHistoryStudyExampleDifficultyRegardSlavePaintForgottenNobleLawyerDrunkAfrican AmericanTelling The TruthOwnersAmerican HistoryIncentivesSplendidPerfect ManRecurrenceSlave Owners
Author:W. E. B. Du Bois
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“The human beings at the helm of the new nation [USA], whatever their limitations [slave owners, anti-democracy], were truly revolutionary. The theory of liberty born in that era, the seed of the idea, was perfect.More important, the idea itself carried within it the moral power to correct the contradictions in its execution that were obvious from the very birth of the new nation.”

HumansImportantIdeasNationsBornHuman BeingsPerfectLibertyMoralDemocracyTheoryBirthSlaveObviousSeedsErasLimitationRevolutionaryUsaContradictionOwnersExecutionHelmSlave Owners
Author:Naomi Wolf
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