John Sergeant Wise

America is good enough for us.

— John Sergeant Wise

The first American ancestor of our name was a younger son of these old Devonshire people, and came to the Virginia colony…

— John Sergeant Wise

I was a tried seaman when, for the first time, I set foot upon the soil of my country, and took up…

— John Sergeant Wise

It is true, there was no public-school system, and the reason for it was very plain. The wealth of the upper classes…

— John Sergeant Wise

Virginians were no more angels or philanthropists than people to the north or to the south of them. They were moved by…

— John Sergeant Wise

In such a condition of affairs, the practical difference between the abolitionist and the sympathizer, to the man who lost his slave…

— John Sergeant Wise

The attack of John Brown upon Harper's Ferry came upon Virginia like a clap of thunder out of a clear sky.

— John Sergeant Wise

And let me tell you, you boys of America, that there is no higher inspiration to any man to be a good…

— John Sergeant Wise

In all her history, from the formation of the federal government until the hour of secession, no year stands out more prominently…

— John Sergeant Wise

In the year 1857, passing through Washington on our return from the annual visit to Philadelphia, I had the distinguished honor of…

— John Sergeant Wise

Even if my mother had no qualms of conscience concerning ownership of negroes, her sense of duty carried her far beyond the…

— John Sergeant Wise

John Brown was tried for treason, murder, and inciting slaves to insurrection.

— John Sergeant Wise

Father had notions about manhood suffrage, public schools, the education and the elevation of the masses, and the gradual emancipation of the…

— John Sergeant Wise

However the Southern man may have been master of the negro, there were compensatory processes whereby certain negroes were masters of their…

— John Sergeant Wise

THE autumn of 1850 brought an event freighted with deep significance to me. My mother died.

— John Sergeant Wise

That settled Abraham Lincoln with me. I was thoroughly satisfied that no such man ought to be President; but I could not…

— John Sergeant Wise

This and many others only confirmed me in the opinion, planted when I saw the sale of Martha Ann, and growing steadily…

— John Sergeant Wise

As early as the autumn of 1862, I was made very happy by being sent to school.

— John Sergeant Wise

When I first concluded to print the book, I made an honest effort to construct it in the third person.

— John Sergeant Wise

In those days, slavery was not looked upon, even in Quaker Philadelphia, with the shudder and abhorrence one feels towards it now.

— John Sergeant Wise

Wealthy men, too, like several of those in our neighborhood, had so many slaves that they were compelled to buy other plantations…

— John Sergeant Wise

My mother was a Northern woman, daughter of Hon. John Sergeant, a distinguished lawyer, and for many years representative in Congress from…

— John Sergeant Wise

Of private differences personal to himself, my brother had none.

— John Sergeant Wise