--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It may have been true that from a…" description: "\"“It may have been true that from a strictly legal standpoint there was nothing wrong with how Winslow and the other Plymouth officials acquired large a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/nathaniel-philbrick-9218_quote_it-may-have-been-true-that-from-a-strict_1184416.jpg" --- # It may have been true that from a strictly legal… ![“It may have been true that from a strictly legal standpoint there was nothing wrong with how Winslow and the other Plymouth officials acquired large amounts of Pokanoket land. And yet, from a practical and moral standpoint, the process removed the Indians from their territory as effectively—and as…” quote by Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/nathaniel-philbrick-9218_quote_it-may-have-been-true-that-from-a-strict_1184416.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/nathaniel-philbrick-9218_quote_it-may-have-been-true-that-from-a-strict_1184416.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/nathaniel-philbrick-9218_quote_it-may-have-been-true-that-from-a-strict_1184416.jpg) > ““It may have been true that from a strictly legal standpoint there was nothing wrong with how Winslow and the other Plymouth officials acquired large amounts of Pokanoket land. And yet, from a practical and moral standpoint, the process removed the Indians from their territory as effectively—and as cheaply—as driving them off at gunpoint”” [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Legally permissible actions can still be morally wrong when they displace peoples and strip them of rights. **In simple terms:** Legal actions may be immoral if they harm others. Key Takeaway Consider both law and ethics. Themes colonialism justice ethics Mood reflective critical Type historical ethical When to use this quote - Historical analysis - policy making - education - activism Key Concepts Land rights Moral relativism Questions to Reflect On - How do we reconcile legal history with moral accountability? - What modern parallels exist? A Different Perspective Legal justification does not erase moral responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Indians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indians/) [Indians Territory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indians-territory-3486519/) [Pokanoket Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pokanoket-land-3486522/) [Removed Indians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/removed-indians-3486518/) [Winslow Plymouth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winslow-plymouth-3486520/) [Wrong Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-winslow-3486521/) ## Related quotes > [“In 1634, smallpox and influenza ravaged both the Indians and the English in the region. William Brewster, whose family had managed to survive the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/in-1634-smallpox-and-influenza-ravaged-both-the-indians-and-the/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [The Indian is but a sketch in red crayon of a rudimental manhood. To the problem of his relation to the white race, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-indian-is-but-a-sketch-in-red-crayon-of-a-rudimental-manhood-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The Indians must conform to 'the white man’s ways', peaceably if they will, forcibly if they must. They must adjust themselves to their environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-morgan-u-s-commissioner-of-indian-affairs/the-indians-must-conform-to-the-white-man-s-ways-peaceably-if-they/) [Thomas Morgan U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-morgan-u-s-commissioner-of-indian-affairs/) > [It is the simplest fact of Indian life: there are too many Indians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/it-is-the-simplest-fact-of-indian-life-there-are-too-many-indians/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [“Just as the Five Tribes and others were formalizing their tribal governments and running their own programs, legal aid groups were helping nonrecognized tribes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-edwin-miller/just-as-the-five-tribes-and-others-were-formalizing-their-tribal/) [Mark Edwin Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-edwin-miller/) > [Where did all these damn Indians come from?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-armstrong-custer/where-did-all-these-damn-indians-come-from/) [George Armstrong Custer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-armstrong-custer/) > [The Indians are a civilization wrought with culture and a beautiful, deep spirituality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cree-summer/the-indians-are-a-civilization-wrought-with-culture-and-a-beautiful/) [Cree Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cree-summer/) > [Land. If you understand nothing else about the history of Indians in North America, you need to understand that the question that really matters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-king/land-if-you-understand-nothing-else-about-the-history-of-indians-in/) [Thomas King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-king/) > [“Because the Indians are planning to start war now, the common people want all of them destroyed so that they can live in peace;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-martin-boltzius/because-the-indians-are-planning-to-start-war-now-the-common-people/) [Johann Martin Boltzius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-martin-boltzius/) > [“Wherever the white man goes he attempts to impose the bases of his ordered civilization. He puts down tribal war, he wages truceless combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-lothrop-stoddard/wherever-the-white-man-goes-he-attempts-to-impose-the-bases-of-his/) [T. Lothrop Stoddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-lothrop-stoddard/) > [“Should Indian adults attempt to use the California courts to bring such killers to justice, they invariably were frustrated because the law of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-stannard/should-indian-adults-attempt-to-use-the-california-courts-to-bring/) [David E. Stannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-stannard/) > [Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pcanet, and other powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tecumseh/where-today-are-the-pequot-where-are-the-narragansett-the-mohican-the/) [Tecumseh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tecumseh/) > [We did not know there were other people besides the Indian until about one hundred winters ago, when some men with white faces came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/we-did-not-know-there-were-other-people-besides-the-indian-until/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/our-nation-was-born-in-genocide-when-it-embraced-the-doctrine-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## More by Nathaniel Philbrick > [In the years to come, the combination of climate change and population growth could have a devastating effect on the planet and, needless to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/in-the-years-to-come-the-combination-of-climate-change-and-population/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [“A Puritan believed it was necessary to venture back to the absolute beginning of Christianity, before the church had been corrupted by centuries of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/a-puritan-believed-it-was-necessary-to-venture-back-to-the-absolute/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [People think I live here on Nantucket and just gaze at the ocean, getting my inspiration. Not so. I work in my basement and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/people-think-i-live-here-on-nantucket-and-just-gaze-at-the-ocean/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [“No matter how much the inhabitants might try to hide it, there was a savagery about this island, a bloodlust and pride that bound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/no-matter-how-much-the-inhabitants-might-try-to-hide-it-there-was-a/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [“Living in the here and now, we are awash with sensations of the present, memories of the past, and expectations and fears for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/living-in-the-here-and-now-we-are-awash-with-sensations-of-the/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [“In a letter hastily written to a friend in London, Cushman saw only doom and disaster ahead. “Friend, if ever we make a plantation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/in-a-letter-hastily-written-to-a-friend-in-london-cushman-saw-only/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [If you live on Nantucket, you can't avoid its history, and 'Moby Dick' is the way most of us get into Nantucket's history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/if-you-live-on-nantucket-you-can-t-avoid-its-history-and-moby-dick-is/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [As an author of narrative history, I read a lot of history books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/as-an-author-of-narrative-history-i-read-a-lot-of-history-books/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [“Odd things happen in a battle, and the human heart has strange and gruesome depths and the human brain still stranger shallows;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/odd-things-happen-in-a-battle-and-the-human-heart-has-strange-and/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [“The sperm whales' network of female-based family unit resembled, to a remarkable extent, the community the whalemen had left back home on Nantucket. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/the-sperm-whales-network-of-female-based-family-unit-resembled-to-a/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [Instead of being a page-turner, 'Moby-Dick' is a repository of American history and culture and the essentials of Western literature. The book is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/instead-of-being-a-page-turner-moby-dick-is-a-repository-of-american/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [“Melville's example demonstrates the wisdom of waiting to read the classics. Coming to a great book on your own after having accumulated essential life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/melville-s-example-demonstrates-the-wisdom-of-waiting-to-read-the/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [One of the questions I face when working on a book about a historical event is whether I should visit the actual place that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/one-of-the-questions-i-face-when-working-on-a-book-about-a-historical/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [I'm a big Stephen King fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/i-m-a-big-stephen-king-fan/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [“That Church according to Church is too brave, too cunning, and too good to be true is beside the point. America was destined to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/that-church-according-to-church-is-too-brave-too-cunning-and-too-good/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) [Explore all 74 Nathaniel Philbrick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) ## More Indians quotes > [Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/our-nation-was-born-in-genocide-when-it-embraced-the-doctrine-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We did not know there were other people besides the Indian until about one hundred winters ago, when some men with white faces came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/we-did-not-know-there-were-other-people-besides-the-indian-until/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pcanet, and other powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tecumseh/where-today-are-the-pequot-where-are-the-narragansett-the-mohican-the/) [Tecumseh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tecumseh/) > [“Should Indian adults attempt to use the California courts to bring such killers to justice, they invariably were frustrated because the law of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-stannard/should-indian-adults-attempt-to-use-the-california-courts-to-bring/) [David E. Stannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-stannard/) > [“Wherever the white man goes he attempts to impose the bases of his ordered civilization. He puts down tribal war, he wages truceless combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-lothrop-stoddard/wherever-the-white-man-goes-he-attempts-to-impose-the-bases-of-his/) [T. Lothrop Stoddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-lothrop-stoddard/) > [“Because the Indians are planning to start war now, the common people want all of them destroyed so that they can live in peace;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-martin-boltzius/because-the-indians-are-planning-to-start-war-now-the-common-people/) [Johann Martin Boltzius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-martin-boltzius/) > [Land. If you understand nothing else about the history of Indians in North America, you need to understand that the question that really matters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-king/land-if-you-understand-nothing-else-about-the-history-of-indians-in/) [Thomas King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-king/) > [The Indians are a civilization wrought with culture and a beautiful, deep spirituality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cree-summer/the-indians-are-a-civilization-wrought-with-culture-and-a-beautiful/) [Cree Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cree-summer/) > [Where did all these damn Indians come from?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-armstrong-custer/where-did-all-these-damn-indians-come-from/) [George Armstrong Custer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-armstrong-custer/) > [“Just as the Five Tribes and others were formalizing their tribal governments and running their own programs, legal aid groups were helping nonrecognized tribes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-edwin-miller/just-as-the-five-tribes-and-others-were-formalizing-their-tribal/) [Mark Edwin Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-edwin-miller/) > [It is the simplest fact of Indian life: there are too many Indians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/it-is-the-simplest-fact-of-indian-life-there-are-too-many-indians/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [“The Indians must conform to 'the white man’s ways', peaceably if they will, forcibly if they must. They must adjust themselves to their environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-morgan-u-s-commissioner-of-indian-affairs/the-indians-must-conform-to-the-white-man-s-ways-peaceably-if-they/) [Thomas Morgan U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-morgan-u-s-commissioner-of-indian-affairs/) > [The Indian is but a sketch in red crayon of a rudimental manhood. To the problem of his relation to the white race, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-indian-is-but-a-sketch-in-red-crayon-of-a-rudimental-manhood-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is why Indians are thought to be stupid. They can't think, they don't know anything, they say. But we have hidden our identity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rigoberta-menchu/this-is-why-indians-are-thought-to-be-stupid-they-can-t-think-they/) [Rigoberta Menchu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rigoberta-menchu/) [Browse all 549 Indians quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indians/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It may have been true that from a strictly legal standpoint there was nothing wrong with how Winslow and the other Plymouth officials acquired large amounts of Pokanoket land. 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