Lysander Spooner Quotes

We [Republicans] have to fight this battle [against slavery] upon principle alone, so I hope those with whom I am surrounded have principle enough to nerve themselves for the task, and leave nothing undone that can fairly be done to bring about the right result.

At the time the Constitution was adopted, the plain unmistakable spirit of that age, towards slavery, was hostility to the principle, and toleration, only by necessity.

A merchant that loads his vessel in the West Indies with the proceeds of slavery does nearly as much at helping forward the slave trade as he that loads his vessel in Africa with slaves. They are both twisting the rope at different ends. It is paradoxical that a man will refuse to buy a stolen sheep, or eat a piece of one that is stolen and should not have the same scruples respecting a stolen man

We shall strive for perfection. We shall not achieve it immediately--but we still shall strive. We may make mistakes--but they must never be mistakes which result from faintness of heart or abandonment of moral principle.

Of all the leaders of the old parties, of all aspiring spirits of the new ones, including General Taylor and the whole of his cabinet, from head to tail, not a single soul, not a single mind, has dared to exhibit the moral courage of coming out with any plan for settling the whole question, except it is Henry Clay, who, solitary and alone, faces the crises with as much calmness and composure as General Taylor did the Mexicans at Buena Vista. Whatever may be the objections to Mr. Clay’s plan on the one side, or its recommendations on the other, we think the moral courage he has exhibited is a spectacle of sublimity that ought to shame all the politicians at Washington, and the miserable drivellers of both parties, and all parties, there and elsewhere.

… the damnable doctrine of Wilberforce

You dislike the Emancipation Proclamation; and, perhaps, would have it retracted. You say it is unconstitutional -- I think differently. But the proclamation, as law, either is valid, or is not valid. If it is not valid, it needs no retraction. If it is valid, it cannot be retracted, any more than the dead can be brought to life.

We may make mistakes-but they must never be mistakes which result from faintness of heart or abandonment of moral principle.

Now what is Judge Douglas Popular Sovereignty? It is, as a principle, no other than that, if one man chooses to make a slave of another man, neither that other man nor anybody else has a right to object.

There must be no compromise with slavery - none whatever. Nothing is gained, everything is lost, by subordinating principle to expedience.

When the hour comes for dealing with slavery, I trust I will be willing to do my duty though it cost my life.

A brave man hazards life, but not his conscience.

Courage means going against majority opinion in the name of the truth.

We need to be willing to stand up and speak up for what we believe.

I've always considered myself a man of integrity as a leader of the American Indian Movement and of Indian people. I will stand that test against anyone at anytime, anywhere.

I have watched how steadily the general feeling, as shown at elections, has been rising against Slavery. What a proud thing for England if she is the first European nation which utterly abolishes it! I was told before leaving England that after living in slave countries all my opinions would be altered; the only alteration I am aware of is forming a much higher estimate of the negro character.

Courage is a decision you make to act in a way that works through your own fear for the greater good as opposed to pure self-interest. Courage means putting at risk your immediate self-interest for what you believe is right.

The rightness of a thing isn't determined by the amount of courage it takes.

Bravery is good when the cause is good.

I like to avoid concessions to faint-heartedness. One can never tell where that road may lead one; one gives way first in words, and then little by little in substance too.

When you have decided what you believe, what you feel must be done, have the courage to stand alone and be counted

If slavery, as a national evil, is to be abolished, and it be just that it be done at the national expense, the amount of the expense is not a paramount consideration.

My great and exceeding joy over these stupendous achievements, especially over the abolition of slavery (which had been the deepest desire and the great labor of my life), was slightly tinged with a feeling of sadness.

But we also know that the very founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States. I think it is high time that we recognize the contribution of our forbearers who worked tirelessly, men like John Quincy Adams, who would not rest until slavery was extinguished in the country.

When is the Democratic Party going to apologize for being the biggest slave-holding-supporting institution on the planet and sticking with racism for the century after the abolition of slavery?