Constitution Quote by Abraham Lincoln

But you answer, that the Constitution recognizes property in slaves. It would be sufficient, then, to reply, that this constitutional recognition must be void,…

— William H. Seward

The Constitution...expressly recognizes the right to hold slaves as property in states where slavery exists. This, then, is not a question of general morality,…

— James Buchanan

It was one of the compromises of the Constitution that the slave property in the Southern States should be recognized as property throughout the…

— Jefferson Davis

The right to have a slave implies the right in some one to make the slave; that right must be equal and mutual, and…

— William H. Seward

A slave has not the freedom even to do the right thing.

— Mahatma Gandhi

From the standpoint of modern political science the slave holders were right in declaring that liberty can be given only to those who have…

— Charles Edward Merriam

“To say to the slave who has not been emancipated 'Do not behave as a slave' is to mock his enslavement. But to say…

— John Murray

Slavery, properly so called, is the establishment of a right which gives to one man such a power over another as renders him absolute…

— Anonymous

But assuming the same premises, to wit, that all men are equal by the law of nature and of nations, the right of property…

— William H. Seward

The right of holding slaves is clearly established in the Holy Scriptures, both by precept and example.

— Richard Furman

I never mean, unless some particular circumstances should compel it, to possess another slave by purchase, it being among my first wishes to see…

— George Washington

Neither can men, by the same principles, be considered as lands, goods, or houses, among possessions. It is necessary that all property should be…

— Thomas Clarkson