William Lloyd Garrison: Slaveholder Man-Stealer

Posted by admin on Monday, December 10, 2018

William Lloyd Garrison Money Quote saying in an essay titled “No Compromise with the Evil of Slavery” that nothing justifies anyone to accept slavery’s existence. William Lloyd Garrison said:
 

 

“Every slave is a stolen man; every slaveholder is a man-stealer. By no precedent, no example, no law, no compact, no purchase, no bequest, no inheritance, no combination of circumstances, is slaveholding right or justifiable. While a slave remains in his fetters, the land must have no rest” — William Lloyd Garrison

 

 

In this quote, William Lloyd Garrison is passionately condemning the institution of slavery in America. Specifically:

• He states that every slave is a “stolen man”, as they have been unjustly taken from their freedom against their will by slaveholders.
• Garrison then declares that every slaveholder is therefore a “man-stealer”, having illegally kidnapped and detained people for profit through the practice of slavery.
• He firmly asserts that there is no acceptable legal, moral or historical precedent that can justify or make right the practice of owning other human beings as property.

Overall, Garrison is forcefully arguing that slavery is an inherently and irredeemably wrong violation of basic human rights and dignity. He suggests through this quote that as long as the evil of slavery continues to persist, allowing unfreedom and suffering, then the nation can have no true peace or justice.

Birthday December 10, 1805 – Died May 23, 1879