--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Irish were poor, but not enslaved. He…" description: "\"“The Irish were poor, but not enslaved. He had come here to hack away at the ropes that held American slavery in place. Sometimes it withered him just ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/colum-mccann-902_american-slavery_the-irish-were-poor-but-not-enslaved-he_1537985.jpg" --- # The Irish were poor, but not enslaved. He had come here to… ![“The Irish were poor, but not enslaved. He had come here to hack away at the ropes that held American slavery in place. Sometimes it withered him just to keep his mind steady. He was aware that the essence of proper intelligence was the embrace of contradiction. And the recognition of complexity…” quote by Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/colum-mccann-902_american-slavery_the-irish-were-poor-but-not-enslaved-he_1537985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/colum-mccann-902_american-slavery_the-irish-were-poor-but-not-enslaved-he_1537985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/colum-mccann-902_american-slavery_the-irish-were-poor-but-not-enslaved-he_1537985.jpg) > ““The Irish were poor, but not enslaved. He had come here to hack away at the ropes that held American slavery in place. Sometimes it withered him just to keep his mind steady. He was aware that the essence of proper intelligence was the embrace of contradiction. And the recognition of complexity was to be balanced against the need for simplicity. He was still a slave. Fugitive. If he returned to Boston he could be kidnapped at any time, taken south, strapped to a tree, whipped. His owners. They would make a spectacle of his fame. They had tried to silence him for many years already. No longer. He had been given a chance to speak out against what had held him in chains. And he would continue to do so until the links lay in pieces at his feet.”” [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An Irish man's struggle against slavery highlights the power of contradiction, complexity, and the fight for freedom despite being a fugitive. **In simple terms:** He fights slavery, embracing complexity. Key Takeaway Embrace contradictions to pursue freedom. Themes freedom contradiction identity resilience Mood reflective inspirational Type historical personal When to use this quote - civil rights activism - personal empowerment - historical education Key Concepts complexity intelligence oppression survival Questions to Reflect On - What contradictions shape your identity? - How do you balance simplicity with complexity? A Different Perspective Complexity can be overwhelming without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-slavery/) [Frederick-douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frederick-douglass/) [Given a chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given-a-chance/) [Ireland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ireland/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [Poor and free rather than rich and enslaved. 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He had his own people to whom he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/his-body-his-mind-his-soul-had-for-years-served-only-for-the-profit/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes, - a justifier of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-assert-most-unhesitatingly-that-the-religion-of-the-south-is-a-mere/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“Haiti as an independent republic accepted the invitation extended to her along with other nations, and erected a building on the World's Fair grounds.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells-barnett/haiti-as-an-independent-republic-accepted-the-invitation-extended-to/) [Ida B. Wells-Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells-barnett/) > [“The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. 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His blackness predicts and explains his crime. He reinforces the racist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-precise-ancestry-of-a-black-drug-dealer-or-cop-killer-is/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [We all declare for liberty, but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-all-declare-for-liberty-but-in-using-the-same-word-we-do-not-all-2/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/if-i-could-save-the-union-without-freeing-any-slave-i-would-do-it/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-would-save-the-union-i-would-save-it-the-shortest-way-under-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/my-paramount-object-in-this-struggle-is-to-save-the-union-and-is-not/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I do think that some form of reparations for the descendants of American slavery would go a long way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chatterton-williams/i-do-think-that-some-form-of-reparations-for-the-descendants-of/) [Thomas Chatterton Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chatterton-williams/) ## More by Colum McCann > [Give life long enough and it will solve all your problems, including the one of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/give-life-long-enough-and-it-will-solve-all-your-problems-including/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“There is something that happens to the mind in moments of terror. 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To give him back that ancient dignity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-would-want-instead-to-recall-him-in-the-air-between-layers-of/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Novels are more difficult simply because they are longer and require more juggling, but short stories are closer to perfection, if you can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/novels-are-more-difficult-simply-because-they-are-longer-and-require/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [It was a silence that heard itself, awful and beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/it-was-a-silence-that-heard-itself-awful-and-beautiful/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I think one of the biggest political failures, and the biggest social failures, over the past few years has been the failure of empathy;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-think-one-of-the-biggest-political-failures-and-the-biggest-social/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Bits of it floating in the air, he said. "It's like dust. You walk about and don't see it, don't notice it, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/bits-of-it-floating-in-the-air-he-said-it-s-like-dust-you-walk-about/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“He has read whole volumes on the philosophy of nonviolence. How peace had to be understood in all its moral dimensions. The proper coexistence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/he-has-read-whole-volumes-on-the-philosophy-of-nonviolence-how-peace/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She’s always thought that one of the beauties of New York is that you can be from anywhere and within moments of landing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-s-always-thought-that-one-of-the-beauties-of-new-york-is-that-you/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm of the opinion that the real is imagined and the imagined is quite real. 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Jones-Rogers > [“American Slavery, American Freedom,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-levy/american-slavery-american-freedom/) Andrew Levy [Browse all 45 American slavery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-slavery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Irish were poor, but not enslaved. He had come here to hack away at the ropes that held American slavery in place. Sometimes it withered him just to keep his mind steady. He was aware that the essence of proper intelligence was the embrace of contradiction. And the recognition of complexity was to be balanced against the need for simplicity. He was still a slave. Fugitive. If he returned to Boston he could be kidnapped at any time, taken south, strapped to a tree, whipped. His owners. They would make a spectacle of his fame. They had tried to silence him for many years already. No longer. 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