--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greatest curse that can befall a free…" description: "\"The greatest curse that can befall a free people, is civil war.\" — Alexander H. Stephens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a9/alexander-h-stephens-47641_civil-war_the-greatest-curse-that-can-befall-a-fre_527003.jpg" --- # The greatest curse that can befall a free people, is civil… ![“The greatest curse that can befall a free people, is civil war.” quote by Alexander H. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a9/alexander-h-stephens-47641_civil-war_the-greatest-curse-that-can-befall-a-fre_527003.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a9/alexander-h-stephens-47641_civil-war_the-greatest-curse-that-can-befall-a-fre_527003.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a9/alexander-h-stephens-47641_civil-war_the-greatest-curse-that-can-befall-a-fre_527003.jpg) > “The greatest curse that can befall a free people, is civil war.” [Alexander H. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-h-stephens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A free society is most threatened by internal conflict, which destroys liberty and unity. **In simple terms:** Civil war endangers freedom. Key Takeaway Guard against division. Themes freedom conflict politics Mood cautious serious Type political historical When to use this quote - national policy - community building - peace negotiations - education on civic duty Key Concepts civil war social cohesion political stability Questions to Reflect On - How can societies resolve disputes without violence? - What mechanisms preserve unity? A Different Perspective Even without war, deep polarization can erode freedoms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [Curse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse/) [Free people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-people/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Society than solitude is worse, And man to man is still the greatest curse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/society-than-solitude-is-worse-and-man-to-man-is-still-the-greatest/) [Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/) > [From that day to this that religion has been the greatest curse that ever afflicted the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-chilton-moore/from-that-day-to-this-that-religion-has-been-the-greatest-curse-that/) [Charles Chilton Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-chilton-moore/) > [The greatest gift God gave us is also our greatest curse, which is the free will. We are made in God's image, the Bible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/the-greatest-gift-god-gave-us-is-also-our-greatest-curse-which-is-the/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I have no patience for those who say that poverty is a blessing. Poverty is the greatest curse on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/i-have-no-patience-for-those-who-say-that-poverty-is-a-blessing/) [Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/) > [Every night death came, slowly, painfully, and every morning Maddox awoke in bed, knowing he'd have to die again later. That was his greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/every-night-death-came-slowly-painfully-and-every-morning-maddox/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [The fact that we are aware of ourselves is both our greatest curse and also our greatest blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-jacobson/the-fact-that-we-are-aware-of-ourselves-is-both-our-greatest-curse/) [Leonard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-jacobson/) > [The greatest curse that pervaded the university is apathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-g-hendricks/the-greatest-curse-that-pervaded-the-university-is-apathy/) [Howard G. Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-g-hendricks/) > [The printing press is either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse of modern times, sometimes one forgets which it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/the-printing-press-is-either-the-greatest-blessing-or-the-greatest/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/selfishness-is-the-greatest-curse-of-the-human-race/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [As God can send a nation or people no greater blessing than to give them faithful, sincere and upright ministers, so the greatest curse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-whitefield/as-god-can-send-a-nation-or-people-no-greater-blessing-than-to-give/) [George Whitefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-whitefield/) > [I think the greatest curse of American society has been the idea of an easy millennialism -- that some new drug, or the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/i-think-the-greatest-curse-of-american-society-has-been-the-idea-of/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [No one knows whether death is really the greatest blessing a man can have, but they fear it is the greatest curse, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/no-one-knows-whether-death-is-really-the-greatest-blessing-a-man-can/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [They are the greatest curse of all great men, daughters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-zebehazy/they-are-the-greatest-curse-of-all-great-men-daughters/) [Jason Zebehazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-zebehazy/) > [Sometimes laziness becomes a booon... but at times a greatest curse too..!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sweety/sometimes-laziness-becomes-a-booon-but-at-times-a-greatest-curse-too/) [Sweety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sweety/) > [Perhaps love's greatest gift--that it is indeed unconditional--is also its greatest curse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-armstrong/perhaps-love-s-greatest-gift-that-it-is-indeed-unconditional-is-also/) [Kristin Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-armstrong/) ## More by Alexander H. Stephens > [Its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-h-stephens/its-foundations-are-laid-its-cornerstone-rests-upon-the-great-truth/) [Alexander H. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-h-stephens/) > [Away with the idea of getting independence first, and looking for liberty afterwards... Our liberties, once lost, may be lost forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-h-stephens/away-with-the-idea-of-getting-independence-first-and-looking-for/) [Alexander H. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-h-stephens/) > [Davis was weak and vascillating, timid, petulant, peevish, obstinate, but not firm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-h-stephens/davis-was-weak-and-vascillating-timid-petulant-peevish-obstinate-but/) [Alexander H. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-h-stephens/) > [If centralism is ultimately to prevail; if our entire system of free Institutions as established by our common ancestors is to be subverted, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-h-stephens/if-centralism-is-ultimately-to-prevail-if-our-entire-system-of-free/) [Alexander H. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-h-stephens/) > [These ceremonies and the National Statuary Hall will teach the youth of the land in succeeding generations as they come and go that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-h-stephens/these-ceremonies-and-the-national-statuary-hall-will-teach-the-youth/) [Alexander H. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-h-stephens/) > [Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-h-stephens/our-new-government-is-founded-upon-exactly-the-opposite-idea-its/) [Alexander H. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-h-stephens/) > [As a race, the African is inferior to the white man. Subordination to the white man is his normal condition. He is not his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-h-stephens/as-a-race-the-african-is-inferior-to-the-white-man-subordination-to/) [Alexander H. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-h-stephens/) [Explore all 8 Alexander H. Stephens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-h-stephens/) ## More Civil war quotes > [“Time overlaps itself. A breath breathed from a passing breeze is not the whole wind, neither is it just the last of what has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/time-overlaps-itself-a-breath-breathed-from-a-passing-breeze-is-not/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [“Whatever happened in those more than one hundred years, from the time my great-great-great grandfather studied law to the time when my own father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwenn-wright/whatever-happened-in-those-more-than-one-hundred-years-from-the-time/) [Gwenn Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwenn-wright/) > [“AUSTRALIA, LIKE THE UNITED STATES, experienced a different path to inclusive institutions than the one taken by England. The same revolutions that shook England…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/australia-like-the-united-states-experienced-a-different-path-to/) [Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/) > [“These are all good things, I said. But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [“Thinking about the weather was one way of shutting out of his mind the appalling bloody human mess sprawled out over the bed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ellis/thinking-about-the-weather-was-one-way-of-shutting-out-of-his-mind/) [Mark Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ellis/) > [It cost about 75 cents to kill a man in Ceasar's time. The price rose to about $3,000 per man during the Napoleonic wars;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-bone/it-cost-about-75-cents-to-kill-a-man-in-ceasar-s-time-the-price-rose/) Homer Bone > [Alabama soldiers, all I ask of you is to keep up with the Texans!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/alabama-soldiers-all-i-ask-of-you-is-to-keep-up-with-the-texans/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“ “In the South, football is confused with religion, chivalry, the Civil War, and women.” -Diane Roberts, The Quotable South ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/in-the-south-football-is-confused-with-religion-chivalry-the-civil/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [“By the following morning, September 15, Jackson had positioned nearly fifty guns on Maryland Heights and at the base of Loudoun Heights.  Then he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/by-the-following-morning-september-15-jackson-had-positioned-nearly/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [You must study to be frank with the world: frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/you-must-study-to-be-frank-with-the-world-frankness-is-the-child-of/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“Civil wars...are the best wars for the writer...because they have a way of continuing long afterwl wars between nations are resolved; because, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/civil-wars-are-the-best-wars-for-the-writer-because-they-have-a-way/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [I am out of money,we are all out of money,but we dont need money down here- Dont need anything but Men , Muskets, Ammunition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-connolly/i-am-out-of-money-we-are-all-out-of-money-but-we-dont-need-money-down/) James A. Connolly > [Affirmative action was designed to recognize the uniquely difficult journey of African-Americans. This policy was justifiable and understandable, even to those who came from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-webb/affirmative-action-was-designed-to-recognize-the-uniquely-difficult/) [Jim Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-webb/) > [“Only twenty - nine years in the entire human history had been without warfare, and now here he was too, travelling between the episodes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadeem-aslam/only-twenty-nine-years-in-the-entire-human-history-had-been-without/) [Nadeem Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadeem-aslam/) [Browse all 1,714 Civil war quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The greatest curse that can befall a free people, is civil war.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander H. 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