--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was Frederick Douglass, John Brown…" description: "\"It was Frederick Douglass, John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Wendell Phillips - these were the people who made abolition real. Now, none of you guys is in fa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/bill-ayers-1848_abolition_it-was-frederick-douglass-john-brown-har_641394.jpg" --- # It was Frederick Douglass, John Brown, Harriet Tubman… ![“It was Frederick Douglass, John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Wendell Phillips - these were the people who made abolition real. Now, none of you guys is in favor of slavery, right?” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/bill-ayers-1848_abolition_it-was-frederick-douglass-john-brown-har_641394.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/bill-ayers-1848_abolition_it-was-frederick-douglass-john-brown-har_641394.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/bill-ayers-1848_abolition_it-was-frederick-douglass-john-brown-har_641394.jpg) > “It was Frederick Douglass, John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Wendell Phillips - these were the people who made abolition real. Now, none of you guys is in favor of slavery, right?” [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Abolition succeeded because committed individuals acted; today many oppose slavery in principle but lack active engagement. **In simple terms:** History shows action matters more than passive agreement. Key Takeaway Turn belief into concrete action against modern slavery. Themes activism history justice Mood determined reflective Type motivational educational When to use this quote - human rights campaigns - education programs - policy advocacy Key Concepts social responsibility moral courage Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to support anti‑slavery initiatives? - How can you inspire others to move beyond mere agreement? A Different Perspective People may feel powerless to act. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abolition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/) [Frederick douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frederick-douglas/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [The great example, the killer example in history, is of course Abraham Lincoln, the great emancipator. Read his speeches. Read the debates. Wendell Phillips…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-great-example-the-killer-example-in-history-is-of-course-abraham/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The first requisite for the happiness of the people is the abolition of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-first-requisite-for-the-happiness-of-the-people-is-the-abolition/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“On September 3, an especially hostile audience baited Johnson in Cleveland, where his behavior flirted with new lows. When a heckler yelled that Johnson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/on-september-3-an-especially-hostile-audience-baited-johnson-in/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“The poet, when he wrote "Thou wilt come no more, gentle ANNIE," was clearly laboring under a mistake. If he had written "Thou wilt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/the-poet-when-he-wrote-thou-wilt-come-no-more-gentle-annie-was/) Various > [My first recollection of hearing Wendell Phillips is from my college days, though of course he was always one of my heroes, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-edward-woodberry/my-first-recollection-of-hearing-wendell-phillips-is-from-my-college/) [George Edward Woodberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-edward-woodberry/) > [“I heard Mr. Ingersoll many years ago in Chicago. The hall seated 5,000 people; every inch of standing-room was also occupied; aisles and platform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/i-heard-mr-ingersoll-many-years-ago-in-chicago-the-hall-seated-5-000/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [“What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first steps to something better. —WENDELL PHILLIPS”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/what-is-defeat-nothing-but-education-nothing-but-the-first-steps-to/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [You can be out of slavery and have the right to vote, but unless you have access to capital, industry and technology, you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/you-can-be-out-of-slavery-and-have-the-right-to-vote-but-unless-you/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Slavery is wrong. If Slavery is right, all words, acts, laws, and Constitutions against it, are themselves wrong, and should be silenced, and swept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/slavery-is-wrong-if-slavery-is-right-all-words-acts-laws-and/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The anti-slavery party contends that slavery is wrong in itself, and the Government is a consolidated national democracy. We of the South contend that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-m-keitt/the-anti-slavery-party-contends-that-slavery-is-wrong-in-itself-and/) Laurence M. Keitt > [They who are continually shocked by slavery have some right to be shocked by the violent death of the slaveholder, but no others.Such will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/they-who-are-continually-shocked-by-slavery-have-some-right-to-be/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The mere toleration of the slave trade could not make slavery itself - the right of property in man - lawful any where; not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/the-mere-toleration-of-the-slave-trade-could-not-make-slavery-itself/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [You think slavery is right and ought to be extended; while we think it is wrong and ought to be restricted. That I suppose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/you-think-slavery-is-right-and-ought-to-be-extended-while-we-think-it/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Well," said Miss Ophelia, "do you think slavery right or wrong?" "I'm not going to have any of your horrid New England directness, cousin,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/well-said-miss-ophelia-do-you-think-slavery-right-or-wrong-i-m-not/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [One section of our country believes slavery is right, and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong, and ought not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/one-section-of-our-country-believes-slavery-is-right-and-ought-to-be/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More by Bill Ayers > [ It wasn't \[Barack\] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the-feeling-on-the-ground-it-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I didn't respond to people thrusting microphones at me and asking me questions that were unanswerable in a sound bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-didn-t-respond-to-people-thrusting-microphones-at-me-and-asking-me/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I haven't been silent. I teach, I lecture at universities, I write, I'm not silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-haven-t-been-silent-i-teach-i-lecture-at-universities-i-write-i-m/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ One of the great crimes of the Bloomberg/Klein administration \[in New York City\] is that they've removed themselves from communities, as if communities have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/one-of-the-great-crimes-of-the-bloomberg-klein-administration-in-new/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was involved in the anti-war movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-involved-in-the-anti-war-movement/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[Lyndon \] Johnson was responding to a black freedom movement that was tearing the country open and he did what he had to do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/lyndon-johnson-was-responding-to-a-black-freedom-movement-that-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'm wary of government. Part of \[the Tea Party\] impulse is to dislike and be worried about the rich. I'm that way too. So… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-m-wary-of-government-part-of-the-tea-party-impulse-is-to-dislike/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'd been arrested many times by then. I'd been an organizer, so many things had changed over those three years \[from 1965 till 1968\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-d-been-arrested-many-times-by-then-i-d-been-an-organizer-so-many/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [You cannot live a political life, you cannot live a moral life if you're not willing to open your eyes and see the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/you-cannot-live-a-political-life-you-cannot-live-a-moral-life-if-you/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was a good liberal in some sense at that point. I wanted to end a war. I wanted to support the civil rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-that-point-i-wanted-to-end-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The fact is that in my prep school, I went to a boarding school, 39 young men graduated from that prep school. Five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-fact-is-that-in-my-prep-school-i-went-to-a-boarding-school-39/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[The whole first year at university\] was a great time for me and great time of awakening. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-whole-first-year-at-university-was-a-great-time-for-me-and-great/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The truth is that the antiwar movement was powered by the working class. The students were the ones that got the media and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-truth-is-that-the-antiwar-movement-was-powered-by-the-working/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [There was one moment when J. Edgar Hoover and us had the same distorted lens about who we were - "a real threat," you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/there-was-one-moment-when-j-edgar-hoover-and-us-had-the-same/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Every politician - FDR, Lyndon Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama - they're all conservative by nature. They are part of the big thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/every-politician-fdr-lyndon-johnson-abraham-lincoln-barack-obama-they/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) [Explore all 204 Bill Ayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## More Abolition quotes > [Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother's Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn't it bad public policy? . . . No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/unpleasant-questions-are-being-raised-about-mother-s-day-is-this-day/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [Anarchism as a political philosophy seeks to dissolve all forms of authority and power, and if possible, wishes their complete abolition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/anarchism-as-a-political-philosophy-seeks-to-dissolve-all-forms-of/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/i-am-aware-that-many-object-to-the-severity-of-my-language-but-is/) [William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/) > [It seems like cloud cuckoo land. If anyone is suggesting that I would go to Parliament and suggest the abolition of the Pound Sterling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/it-seems-like-cloud-cuckoo-land-if-anyone-is-suggesting-that-i-would/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [We invite people working for peace to span generations and national boundaries, and gather together to communicate. Let us firmly join hands and foster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iccho-itoh/we-invite-people-working-for-peace-to-span-generations-and-national/) [Iccho Itoh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iccho-itoh/) > [Insofar as we may at all claim that slavery has been abolished today, we owe its abolition to the practical consequences of science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/insofar-as-we-may-at-all-claim-that-slavery-has-been-abolished-today/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [ You have not been mistaken in supposing my views and feeling to be in favor of the abolition of war. Of my dispos\[i\]tion to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/you-have-not-been-mistaken-in-supposing-my-views-and-feeling-to-be-in/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [On this International Day for the Abolition of Slavery let us reaffirm the inherent dignity of all men, women and children. And let us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/on-this-international-day-for-the-abolition-of-slavery-let-us/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [Capitalism as a social order and as a creed is the expression of the belief in economic progress as leading toward the freedom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/capitalism-as-a-social-order-and-as-a-creed-is-the-expression-of-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [“What is, so to speak, the object of abolition? Not so much the abolition of prisons but the abolition of a society that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-moten-and-stefano-harney/what-is-so-to-speak-the-object-of-abolition-not-so-much-the-abolition/) Fred Moten and Stefano Harney > [I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/i-can-only-say-that-there-is-not-a-man-living-who-wishes-more/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [As a long-termist, I acknowledge there are more pressing causes than the abolition of private property.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sarkar/as-a-long-termist-i-acknowledge-there-are-more-pressing-causes-than/) [Ash Sarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sarkar/) > [Colonization was the idea that once slavery ended African-Americans should be encouraged - or required, in some people's view - required to leave the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/colonization-was-the-idea-that-once-slavery-ended-african-americans/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [I am for socialism, disarmament, and, ultimately, for abolishing the state itself... I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/i-am-for-socialism-disarmament-and-ultimately-for-abolishing-the/) [Roger Nash Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/) [Browse all 229 Abolition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was Frederick Douglass, John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Wendell Phillips - these were the people who made abolition real. 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