--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What most upset her, was the widespread…" description: "\"“What most upset her, was the widespread use of slave labor. ...It is true Republicanism that drives the slaves half fed, and destitute of clothing...t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8b/lynne-withey-23081_quote_what-most-upset-her-was-the-widespread-u_1985855.jpg" --- # What most upset her, was the widespread use of slave… ![“What most upset her, was the widespread use of slave labor. ...It is true Republicanism that drives the slaves half fed, and destitute of clothing...to labor...while the owner walks about idle...white men considered idleness a virtue even if they owned only one slave or none. No white man would do…” quote by Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8b/lynne-withey-23081_quote_what-most-upset-her-was-the-widespread-u_1985855.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8b/lynne-withey-23081_quote_what-most-upset-her-was-the-widespread-u_1985855.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8b/lynne-withey-23081_quote_what-most-upset-her-was-the-widespread-u_1985855.jpg) > ““What most upset her, was the widespread use of slave labor. ...It is true Republicanism that drives the slaves half fed, and destitute of clothing...to labor...while the owner walks about idle...white men considered idleness a virtue even if they owned only one slave or none. No white man would do work considered too menial for his race.”” [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) ## 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 condemns the hypocrisy of a society that praises idleness for white men while exploiting enslaved laborers, highlighting moral contradictions in racism and capitalism. **In simple terms:** It criticizes white men who are idle while enslaved people work hard. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge systemic exploitation. Themes racism exploitation hypocrisy labor rights Mood indignant critical Type political historical When to use this quote - historical analysis - activist writing - educational curricula - public policy debates - human rights advocacy Key Concepts moral philosophy social critique economic inequality Questions to Reflect On - How does society justify idle privilege? - What actions can dismantle labor exploitation? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex historical economic structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Slave labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave-labor/) ## Related quotes > [There is a terrible war coming, and these young men who have never seen war cannot wait for it to happen, but I tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/there-is-a-terrible-war-coming-and-these-young-men-who-have-never/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“At the age of eleven, I owned a slave I couldn’t free.O”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/at-the-age-of-eleven-i-owned-a-slave-i-couldn-t-free-o/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [At this very moment I'm behind on a compilation that Slave Labor is doing for Free Comic Book Day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhonen-vasquez/at-this-very-moment-i-m-behind-on-a-compilation-that-slave-labor-is/) [Jhonen Vasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhonen-vasquez/) > [Let us remember that the automatic machine is the precise economic equivalent of slave labor. Any labor which competes with slave labor must accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-remember-that-the-automatic-machine-is-the-precise-economic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The slave labors, but with no cheer-it is not the road to respectability, it will honor him with no citizens' trust, it brings no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/the-slave-labors-but-with-no-cheer-it-is-not-the-road-to/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [After four hundred years of slave labor, we have some back pay coming, a bill owed to us that must be collected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/after-four-hundred-years-of-slave-labor-we-have-some-back-pay-coming/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“There were eruptions against the convict labor system in the South, in which prisoners were leased in slave labor to corporations, used thus to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-were-eruptions-against-the-convict-labor-system-in-the-south-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Workers, black and white, need some kind of international affirmative action to protect them from unfair competition with unorganized or slave labor abroad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/workers-black-and-white-need-some-kind-of-international-affirmative/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [“Slavery is not a horror safely confined to the past; it continues to exist throughout the world, even in developed countries like France and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-bales/slavery-is-not-a-horror-safely-confined-to-the-past-it-continues-to/) [Kevin Bales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-bales/) > [There would be a paragraph about some veteran digging tunnels for the Germans in a slave labor camp, or something like that. Finally I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-guggenheim/there-would-be-a-paragraph-about-some-veteran-digging-tunnels-for-the/) [Charles Guggenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-guggenheim/) > [The South was at the point where the scale was tipping against slavery. It was slowly dawning on the plantation owners that slave labor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-coleman/the-south-was-at-the-point-where-the-scale-was-tipping-against/) [John Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-coleman/) > [Free labor has the inspiration of hope; pure slavery has no hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/free-labor-has-the-inspiration-of-hope-pure-slavery-has-no-hope/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We must face the ultimate contradiction that our free and democratic society was made possible by massive slave labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brion-davis/we-must-face-the-ultimate-contradiction-that-our-free-and-democratic/) David Brion Davis > [“Development is the strategy of evasion. When you can’t give people land reform, give them hybrid cows. When you can’t send children to school,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/development-is-the-strategy-of-evasion-when-you-can-t-give-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the most effective tools in Brazil's efforts to eradicate slavery is a register compiled by the government that lists individuals and businesses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wagner-moura/one-of-the-most-effective-tools-in-brazil-s-efforts-to-eradicate/) [Wagner Moura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wagner-moura/) ## More by Lynne Withey > [“she learned slowly and painfully that it was easier to overthrow a government than to create a one...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/she-learned-slowly-and-painfully-that-it-was-easier-to-overthrow-a/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“I always thought a laughing philosopher a much wiser man than the sniveling one (cmizdrenje)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/i-always-thought-a-laughing-philosopher-a-much-wiser-man-than-the/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“She blamed moral vices that weakened the whole society and worried that Americans were heading in the same direction… Thought that so much land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/she-blamed-moral-vices-that-weakened-the-whole-society-and-worried/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“If he has none to give him pain, he has none to give him pleasure. She never expressed doubts about the way she raised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/if-he-has-none-to-give-him-pain-he-has-none-to-give-him-pleasure-she/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“Women were responsible for raising next generation of citizens, they themselves needed to be well educated in order to teach their children. She never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/women-were-responsible-for-raising-next-generation-of-citizens-they/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“Heart agitated with remains of former passion is most susceptible to a new one...How unpardonable would it have been in you to have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/heart-agitated-with-remains-of-former-passion-is-most-susceptible-to/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“The custom of confession seemed designed to encourage sin by granting ready forgiveness. Neither Abigail nor any member of her family ever wavered in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/the-custom-of-confession-seemed-designed-to-encourage-sin-by-granting/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“America will not wear chains while her daughters are virtuous, but corrupt their morals by a general depravity, believe me sir a state or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/america-will-not-wear-chains-while-her-daughters-are-virtuous-but/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“To deny James an education was attacking principles of liberty and equality upon the only ground which it ought to be supported and equality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/to-deny-james-an-education-was-attacking-principles-of-liberty-and/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“For a woman, there is no such thing as retirement. She always enjoyed her role as wife, mother, and household manager.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/for-a-woman-there-is-no-such-thing-as-retirement-she-always-enjoyed/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“Liberty yes - but equality for all men? The end of all distinctions of social class? Such thinking smacked of anarchy, and of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/liberty-yes-but-equality-for-all-men-the-end-of-all-distinctions-of/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“Services rendered to a country in a diplomatic line can be known only to a few – if they are important and they become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/services-rendered-to-a-country-in-a-diplomatic-line-can-be-known-only/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“A state of inactivity was never mean for man…There are hours when I feel unequal to the trial...Let no person say what they would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/a-state-of-inactivity-was-never-mean-for-man-there-are-hours-when-i/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“What a sad misfortune is to have body in one place and soul in another...I love to feel free...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/what-a-sad-misfortune-is-to-have-body-in-one-place-and-soul-in/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [“Prudence is a sorry matchmaker...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/prudence-is-a-sorry-matchmaker/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) [Explore all 26 Lynne Withey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) ## More Slave labor quotes > [One of the most effective tools in Brazil's efforts to eradicate slavery is a register compiled by the government that lists individuals and businesses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wagner-moura/one-of-the-most-effective-tools-in-brazil-s-efforts-to-eradicate/) [Wagner Moura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wagner-moura/) > [“Development is the strategy of evasion. When you can’t give people land reform, give them hybrid cows. When you can’t send children to school,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/development-is-the-strategy-of-evasion-when-you-can-t-give-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We must face the ultimate contradiction that our free and democratic society was made possible by massive slave labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brion-davis/we-must-face-the-ultimate-contradiction-that-our-free-and-democratic/) David Brion Davis > [Free labor has the inspiration of hope; pure slavery has no hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/free-labor-has-the-inspiration-of-hope-pure-slavery-has-no-hope/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The South was at the point where the scale was tipping against slavery. It was slowly dawning on the plantation owners that slave labor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-coleman/the-south-was-at-the-point-where-the-scale-was-tipping-against/) [John Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-coleman/) > [There would be a paragraph about some veteran digging tunnels for the Germans in a slave labor camp, or something like that. Finally I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-guggenheim/there-would-be-a-paragraph-about-some-veteran-digging-tunnels-for-the/) [Charles Guggenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-guggenheim/) > [“Slavery is not a horror safely confined to the past; it continues to exist throughout the world, even in developed countries like France and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-bales/slavery-is-not-a-horror-safely-confined-to-the-past-it-continues-to/) [Kevin Bales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-bales/) > [Workers, black and white, need some kind of international affirmative action to protect them from unfair competition with unorganized or slave labor abroad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/workers-black-and-white-need-some-kind-of-international-affirmative/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [“There were eruptions against the convict labor system in the South, in which prisoners were leased in slave labor to corporations, used thus to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-were-eruptions-against-the-convict-labor-system-in-the-south-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [After four hundred years of slave labor, we have some back pay coming, a bill owed to us that must be collected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/after-four-hundred-years-of-slave-labor-we-have-some-back-pay-coming/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [The slave labors, but with no cheer-it is not the road to respectability, it will honor him with no citizens' trust, it brings no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/the-slave-labors-but-with-no-cheer-it-is-not-the-road-to/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Let us remember that the automatic machine is the precise economic equivalent of slave labor. Any labor which competes with slave labor must accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-remember-that-the-automatic-machine-is-the-precise-economic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At this very moment I'm behind on a compilation that Slave Labor is doing for Free Comic Book Day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhonen-vasquez/at-this-very-moment-i-m-behind-on-a-compilation-that-slave-labor-is/) [Jhonen Vasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhonen-vasquez/) > [“Ah, my dear friend, cheer up... After all, we have peace! And because there is peace, the occupiers can't behave so abominably anymore. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-szczypiorski/ah-my-dear-friend-cheer-up-after-all-we-have-peace-and-because-there/) Andrzej Szczypiorski > [One finds fortunes built on slave labor, indentured labor, prison labor, immigrant labor, female labor, child labor, and scab labor - backed by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/one-finds-fortunes-built-on-slave-labor-indentured-labor-prison-labor/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) [Browse all 38 Slave labor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave-labor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What most upset her, was the widespread use of slave labor. ...It is true Republicanism that drives the slaves half fed, and destitute of clothing...to labor...while the owner walks about idle...white men considered idleness a virtue even if they owned only one slave or none. 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