--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Slavery as a moral issue never interested…" description: "\"“Slavery as a moral issue never interested Ethel. If God had not meant for Africans to be enslaved, they wouldn’t be in chains.”\" — Colson Whitehead" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/903/colson-whitehead-1042_slavery_slavery-as-a-moral-issue-never-intereste_2262514.png" --- # Slavery as a moral issue never interested Ethel. If God… ![“Slavery as a moral issue never interested Ethel. If God had not meant for Africans to be enslaved, they wouldn’t be in chains.” quote by Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/903/colson-whitehead-1042_slavery_slavery-as-a-moral-issue-never-intereste_2262514.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/903/colson-whitehead-1042_slavery_slavery-as-a-moral-issue-never-intereste_2262514.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/903/colson-whitehead-1042_slavery_slavery-as-a-moral-issue-never-intereste_2262514.png) > ““Slavery as a moral issue never interested Ethel. If God had not meant for Africans to be enslaved, they wouldn’t be in chains.”” [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects a denial of moral responsibility for slavery, suggesting it is divinely ordained. **In simple terms:** Slavery is seen as God‑approved, not a moral issue. Key Takeaway Question moral justifications for oppression. Themes ethics history race Mood critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - historical analysis - theological debate - human rights advocacy Key Concepts theodicy moral relativism Questions to Reflect On - Is it ever acceptable to claim divine sanction for injustice? - How does this view affect contemporary discussions of racism? A Different Perspective The argument ignores human agency and the capacity for moral choice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [“It takes no more research than a trip to almost any public library or college to show the incredibly lopsided coverage of slavery in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/it-takes-no-more-research-than-a-trip-to-almost-any-public-library-or/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Now I confess myself as belonging to that class in the country who contemplate slavery as a moral, social and political evil...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/now-i-confess-myself-as-belonging-to-that-class-in-the-country-who/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Slaveowners in America were torturing the Africans they enslaved for reading, but the British had discovered the hard way of truth of the maxim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-nunez/slaveowners-in-america-were-torturing-the-africans-they-enslaved-for/) Elizabeth Nunez > [Blacks were not enslaved because they were black but because they were available. 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There's no moral code,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-d/black-folks-are-judged-by-quantity-not-quality-it-s-a-decimal-point/) [Chuck D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-d/) > [What was distinctively Western was not slavery but the moral crusade to end slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/what-was-distinctively-western-was-not-slavery-but-the-moral-crusade/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [“That is the idea -- that we should all be wicked if we did not hold to the Christian religion. 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It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) ## More by Colson Whitehead > [I'd never been much of an athlete, due to a physical condition I'd had since birth (unathleticism). Perhaps if there were a sport centered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-d-never-been-much-of-an-athlete-due-to-a-physical-condition-i-d-had/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [I want to keep growing as a writer. 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Of the world, of the future, it didn't matter--expectation was such an innovative concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/all-he-felt-now-was-envy-these-people-had-expectations-of-the-world/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [Growing up as a product of the black civil-rights movement, I had a lot of different models for black weirdness, whether it's Richard Pryor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/growing-up-as-a-product-of-the-black-civil-rights-movement-i-had-a/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [Schools don't teach American history that well, especially a lot of black American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/schools-don-t-teach-american-history-that-well-especially-a-lot-of/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) [Explore all 302 Colson Whitehead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) ## More Slavery quotes > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. 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Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Can you look forward to the future of our country and imagine any state of things in which, with slavery still existing, we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dale-owen/can-you-look-forward-to-the-future-of-our-country-and-imagine-any/) [Robert Dale Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dale-owen/) > [My favorite Founding Fathers, Christians like John Adams, were absolutely appalled by slavery, and did not own slaves. I think we're going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/my-favorite-founding-fathers-christians-like-john-adams-were/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [Slavery, if it can be legalized at all, can be legalized only by positive legislation. Natural law gives it no aid. Custom imparts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/slavery-if-it-can-be-legalized-at-all-can-be-legalized-only-by/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [If he's - the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a - is a noble institution I would - I would strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-he-s-the-inference-is-that-somehow-he-thinks-slavery-is-a-is-a/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! 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