--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we had learned anything over the last…" description: "\"“If we had learned anything over the last decade, it was that there was no other way to defeat slavery, except with a willingness to die for it. We had..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/russell-banks-7660_antislavery_if-we-had-learned-anything-over-the-last_861385.jpg" --- # If we had learned anything over the last decade, it was… ![“If we had learned anything over the last decade, it was that there was no other way to defeat slavery, except with a willingness to die for it. We had learned what the Negroes long knew. And thus we merely did what the Negroes themselves had done over and over in the past—in Haiti, in the…” quote by Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/russell-banks-7660_antislavery_if-we-had-learned-anything-over-the-last_861385.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/russell-banks-7660_antislavery_if-we-had-learned-anything-over-the-last_861385.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/russell-banks-7660_antislavery_if-we-had-learned-anything-over-the-last_861385.jpg) > ““If we had learned anything over the last decade, it was that there was no other way to defeat slavery, except with a willingness to die for it. We had learned what the Negroes long knew. And thus we merely did what the Negroes themselves had done over and over in the past—in Haiti, in the mountains of Jamaica, and in the swamps of Virginia—but could not do out there on the plains of Kansas. We did what we wanted the Negroes to do in Kansas. By slaying those five pro-slavers on the Pottawatomie that night, we placed hundreds, thousands, of other white men in the same position that we along amongst the whites had held for years: for now every white man in Kansas, anti-slaver and pro-slaver alike, had to be ready to die for his cause.”” [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) ## 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 argues that confronting slavery required the willingness to die, a resolve historically shown by Black people and necessary for all sides in Kansas. **In simple terms:** Defeating slavery needed sacrifice, as shown by past Black resistance. Key Takeaway Be prepared to risk everything for justice. Themes justice resistance civil war morality sacrifice Mood determined reflective somber Type historical political ethical When to use this quote - civil war era activism - modern human rights campaigns - community organizing - educational curricula - political advocacy Key Concepts ethical commitment historical precedent collective responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to be ready to die for a cause? - Can justice be achieved without violence? A Different Perspective It may overlook non‑violent strategies and the cost of endless sacrifice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defeat Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat-slavery-701229/) [John brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-brown/) [Kansas Slaying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kansas-slaying-856092/) [Learned Negroes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-negroes-856091/) [Massacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/massacre/) [Negroes Kansas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negroes-kansas-856089/) [Ready to die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready-to-die/) [Rebellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebellion/) [Slavers Pottawatomie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavers-pottawatomie-856090/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [Frederick Douglass had to teach himself how to read before standing up to defeat slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-williams/frederick-douglass-had-to-teach-himself-how-to-read-before-standing/) [Juan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-williams/) > [John Brown first swam into my vision in the 1960s when I was a political activist in the civil rights movement and the anti-war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/john-brown-first-swam-into-my-vision-in-the-1960s-when-i-was-a/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [The 60s passed and faded and I grew older, and in 1987 bought a house in upstate New York, and it turned out that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/the-60s-passed-and-faded-and-i-grew-older-and-in-1987-bought-a-house/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [ As Day and other observers had reported, the slaves were leading very comfortable lives. After this tactic \[slave rebellions in the South\] failed, it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eustace-mullins/as-day-and-other-observers-had-reported-the-slaves-were-leading-very/) [Eustace Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eustace-mullins/) > [“On Ho Chi Minh's desk in Hanoi on the day he died lay a biography of John Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-loewen/on-ho-chi-minh-s-desk-in-hanoi-on-the-day-he-died-lay-a-biography-of/) [James W. Loewen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-loewen/) > [“lived in the family of a Mr. Brown, the father of John Brown—"whose body lies mouldering in the grave, while his soul goes marching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/lived-in-the-family-of-a-mr-brown-the-father-of-john-brown-whose-body/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [ “He is a strange, resolute, repulsive, iron-willed, inexorable old man, \[possessing\] a firey nature and a cold temper, and a cooler head--a volcano beneath… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-phillips/he-is-a-strange-resolute-repulsive-iron-willed-inexorable-old-man/) [William A. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-phillips/) > [Of all the men who were said to be my contemporaries, it seemed to me that John Brown was the only one who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/of-all-the-men-who-were-said-to-be-my-contemporaries-it-seemed-to-me/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Beneath this slab John Brown is stowed. He watched the ads, And not the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/beneath-this-slab-john-brown-is-stowed-he-watched-the-ads-and-not-the/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [It was Frederick Douglass, John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Wendell Phillips - these were the people who made abolition real. Now, none of you guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-was-frederick-douglass-john-brown-harriet-tubman-wendell-phillips/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The attack of John Brown upon Harper's Ferry came upon Virginia like a clap of thunder out of a clear sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sergeant-wise/the-attack-of-john-brown-upon-harper-s-ferry-came-upon-virginia-like/) [John Sergeant Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sergeant-wise/) > [“People who never did a heroic deed themselves are very particular as to how heroes behave...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-brown/people-who-never-did-a-heroic-deed-themselves-are-very-particular-as/) [Annie Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-brown/) > [John Brown's effort was peculiar. It was not a slave insurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-haven-putnam/john-brown-s-effort-was-peculiar-it-was-not-a-slave-insurrection/) [George Haven Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-haven-putnam/) > [If I had to write down the most important people in the history of this planet, No.1 would be (abolitionist) John Brown. Why? Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gregory/if-i-had-to-write-down-the-most-important-people-in-the-history-of/) [Dick Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gregory/) > [One of the songs that stayed in my head that I really considered a lot was an old folk song called 'John Brown' -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/one-of-the-songs-that-stayed-in-my-head-that-i-really-considered-a/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) ## More by Russell Banks > [The best thing about writing programs is that it rationalized the apprenticeship of a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/the-best-thing-about-writing-programs-is-that-it-rationalized-the/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“The received truth of history is shot through and falsified by unknown secrets carried to the grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/the-received-truth-of-history-is-shot-through-and-falsified-by/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“Secrets and lies, they eat your insides until all you have left is a hard thin skin that covers you like the shell of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/secrets-and-lies-they-eat-your-insides-until-all-you-have-left-is-a/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [But really, it was reading that led me to writing. And in particular, reading the American classics like Twain who taught me at an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/but-really-it-was-reading-that-led-me-to-writing-and-in-particular/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“Let the truth take care of itself, I decided. It's done all right on its own so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/let-the-truth-take-care-of-itself-i-decided-it-s-done-all-right-on/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [What you believe matters, however. It’s all anyone has to act on. And since what you do is who you are, your actions define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/what-you-believe-matters-however-it-s-all-anyone-has-to-act-on-and/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [Although I still occasionally paint and draw, my life has now been shaped by my writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/although-i-still-occasionally-paint-and-draw-my-life-has-now-been/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“my blue eyes peering into their brown eyes and seeing there some essential part of myself, some irreducible aspect of my being, which in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/my-blue-eyes-peering-into-their-brown-eyes-and-seeing-there-some/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [If you dedicate your attention to discipline in your life you become smarter while you are writing than while you are hanging out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/if-you-dedicate-your-attention-to-discipline-in-your-life-you-become/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [So the same cultural and political issues that divided us in 1968 are still dividing us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/so-the-same-cultural-and-political-issues-that-divided-us-in-1968-are/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“They were the only three people I'd chosen on my own to love, and they were gone. But still, that morning in Mobay when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/they-were-the-only-three-people-i-d-chosen-on-my-own-to-love-and-they/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“Lists of books we re-read and books we can't finish tell more about us than about the relative worth of the books themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/lists-of-books-we-re-read-and-books-we-can-t-finish-tell-more-about/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [First of all it's usually women who run these higher primate sanctuaries, rarely men. They are white. They come from privileged backgrounds. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/first-of-all-it-s-usually-women-who-run-these-higher-primate/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [The United States particularly abandoned Liberia after the end of the Cold War.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/the-united-states-particularly-abandoned-liberia-after-the-end-of-the/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [Storytelling is an ancient and honorable act. An essential role to play in the community or tribe. It's one that I embrace wholeheartedly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/storytelling-is-an-ancient-and-honorable-act-an-essential-role-to/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) [Explore all 85 Russell Banks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) ## More John brown quotes > [One of the songs that stayed in my head that I really considered a lot was an old folk song called 'John Brown' -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/one-of-the-songs-that-stayed-in-my-head-that-i-really-considered-a/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [If I had to write down the most important people in the history of this planet, No.1 would be (abolitionist) John Brown. Why? Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gregory/if-i-had-to-write-down-the-most-important-people-in-the-history-of/) [Dick Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gregory/) > [John Brown's effort was peculiar. It was not a slave insurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-haven-putnam/john-brown-s-effort-was-peculiar-it-was-not-a-slave-insurrection/) [George Haven Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-haven-putnam/) > [“People who never did a heroic deed themselves are very particular as to how heroes behave...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-brown/people-who-never-did-a-heroic-deed-themselves-are-very-particular-as/) [Annie Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-brown/) > [The attack of John Brown upon Harper's Ferry came upon Virginia like a clap of thunder out of a clear sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sergeant-wise/the-attack-of-john-brown-upon-harper-s-ferry-came-upon-virginia-like/) [John Sergeant Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sergeant-wise/) > [It was Frederick Douglass, John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Wendell Phillips - these were the people who made abolition real. Now, none of you guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-was-frederick-douglass-john-brown-harriet-tubman-wendell-phillips/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Beneath this slab John Brown is stowed. He watched the ads, And not the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/beneath-this-slab-john-brown-is-stowed-he-watched-the-ads-and-not-the/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [Of all the men who were said to be my contemporaries, it seemed to me that John Brown was the only one who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/of-all-the-men-who-were-said-to-be-my-contemporaries-it-seemed-to-me/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [ “He is a strange, resolute, repulsive, iron-willed, inexorable old man, \[possessing\] a firey nature and a cold temper, and a cooler head--a volcano beneath… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-phillips/he-is-a-strange-resolute-repulsive-iron-willed-inexorable-old-man/) [William A. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-phillips/) > [“lived in the family of a Mr. Brown, the father of John Brown—"whose body lies mouldering in the grave, while his soul goes marching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/lived-in-the-family-of-a-mr-brown-the-father-of-john-brown-whose-body/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [“On Ho Chi Minh's desk in Hanoi on the day he died lay a biography of John Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-loewen/on-ho-chi-minh-s-desk-in-hanoi-on-the-day-he-died-lay-a-biography-of/) [James W. Loewen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-loewen/) > [ As Day and other observers had reported, the slaves were leading very comfortable lives. After this tactic \[slave rebellions in the South\] failed, it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eustace-mullins/as-day-and-other-observers-had-reported-the-slaves-were-leading-very/) [Eustace Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eustace-mullins/) > [Lives of great men all remind us, Greatness takes no easy way, All the heroes of tomorrow, Are the heretics of today. Socrates and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yip-harburg/lives-of-great-men-all-remind-us-greatness-takes-no-easy-way-all-the/) [Yip Harburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yip-harburg/) > [John Brown was one of my longtime heroes, and it was with no little amount of temerity that I accepted the role. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-hayden/john-brown-was-one-of-my-longtime-heroes-and-it-was-with-no-little/) [Sterling Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-hayden/) > [John Brown was tried for treason, murder, and inciting slaves to insurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sergeant-wise/john-brown-was-tried-for-treason-murder-and-inciting-slaves-to/) [John Sergeant Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sergeant-wise/) [Browse all 32 John brown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-brown/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If we had learned anything over the last decade, it was that there was no other way to defeat slavery, except with a willingness to die for it. We had learned what the Negroes long knew. And thus we merely did what the Negroes themselves had done over and over in the past—in Haiti, in the mountains of Jamaica, and in the swamps of Virginia—but could not do out there on the plains of Kansas. We did what we wanted the Negroes to do in Kansas. By slaying those five pro-slavers on the Pottawatomie that night, we placed hundreds, thousands, of other white men in the same position that we along amongst the whites had held for years: for now every white man in Kansas, anti-slaver and pro-slaver alike, had to be ready to die for his cause.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Russell Banks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/if-we-had-learned-anything-over-the-last-decade-it-was-that-there-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "John brown" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/if-we-had-learned-anything-over-the-last-decade-it-was-that-there-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/russell-banks-7660_antislavery_if-we-had-learned-anything-over-the-last_861385.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/russell-banks-7660_antislavery_if-we-had-learned-anything-over-the-last_861385.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/russell-banks-7660_antislavery_if-we-had-learned-anything-over-the-last_861385.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we had learned anything over the last decade, it was that there was no other way to defeat slavery…” — Russell Banks", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Russell Banks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If we had learned anything over...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/if-we-had-learned-anything-over-the-last-decade-it-was-that-there-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/if-we-had-learned-anything-over-the-last-decade-it-was-that-there-was/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```