--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Politically speaking, the murder of John…" description: "\"“Politically speaking, the murder of John Brown would be an uncorrectable sin. It would create in the Union a latent fissure that would in the long run..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea8/victor-hugo-32_american-democracy_politically-speaking-the-murder-of-john_898202.jpg" --- # Politically speaking, the murder of John Brown would be an… ![“Politically speaking, the murder of John Brown would be an uncorrectable sin. It would create in the Union a latent fissure that would in the long run dislocate it. Brown's agony might perhaps consolidate slavery in Virginia, but it would certainly shake the whole American democracy. You save your…” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea8/victor-hugo-32_american-democracy_politically-speaking-the-murder-of-john_898202.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea8/victor-hugo-32_american-democracy_politically-speaking-the-murder-of-john_898202.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea8/victor-hugo-32_american-democracy_politically-speaking-the-murder-of-john_898202.jpg) > ““Politically speaking, the murder of John Brown would be an uncorrectable sin. It would create in the Union a latent fissure that would in the long run dislocate it. Brown's agony might perhaps consolidate slavery in Virginia, but it would certainly shake the whole American democracy. You save your shame, but you kill your glory. Morally speaking, it seems a part of the human light would put itself out, that the very notion of justice and injustice would hide itself in darkness, on that day where one would see the assassination of Emancipation by Liberty itself. Let America know and ponder on this: there is something more frightening than Cain killing Abel, and that is Washington killing Spartacus. (Open letter in defense of the abolitionist John Brown)”” [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The murder of a radical reformer can deepen societal fractures, threatening democratic ideals and moral clarity. **In simple terms:** Killing a reformer harms democracy. Key Takeaway Consider the long‑term impact of political violence. Themes justice democracy reform violence history Mood somber thoughtful Type historical ethical When to use this quote - civil rights movements - political protests - historical analysis Key Concepts political theory ethics social change Questions to Reflect On - What are the moral costs of political assassination? - Can martyrdom strengthen a cause? A Different Perspective Violence may backfire and cause more harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abolitionist John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolitionist-john-1214856/) [American democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-democracy/) [Cain Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cain-killing-1176956/) [Justice and injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-and-injustice/) [Killing Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing-abel-1176955/) [Killing Spartacus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing-spartacus-1214857/) [Long run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-run/) [Washington Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/washington-killing-1214858/) ## Related quotes > [This is a very violent place to live, the Earth, and we're a very violent species. Cain is still killing Abel. We see that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/this-is-a-very-violent-place-to-live-the-earth-and-we-re-a-very/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [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/) > [I was motivated to go into public life because of the great chasm that exists between justice and injustice in our country. Nowhere is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-o-malley/i-was-motivated-to-go-into-public-life-because-of-the-great-chasm/) [Martin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-o-malley/) > [The values by which we are to survive are not rules for just and unjust conduct, but are those deeper illuminations in whose light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-values-by-which-we-are-to-survive-are-not-rules-for-just-and/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [“In the first place, it would efface from everybody’s conscience the distinction between justice and injustice. No society can exist unless the laws are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/in-the-first-place-it-would-efface-from-everybody-s-conscience-the/) [Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [My heart trembles when I reflect that God is just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/my-heart-trembles-when-i-reflect-that-god-is-just/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/injustice-anywhere-is-a-threat-to-justice-everywhere-we-are-caught-in/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [To this war of every man against every man, this also in consequent; that nothing can be unjust. The notions of right and wrong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/to-this-war-of-every-man-against-every-man-this-also-in-consequent/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [When one has been threatened with a great injustice, one accepts a smaller as a favour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-welsh-carlyle/when-one-has-been-threatened-with-a-great-injustice-one-accepts-a/) [Jane Welsh Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-welsh-carlyle/) > [“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/war-is-an-ugly-thing-but-not-the-ugliest-of-things-the-decayed-and/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [As long as justice and injustice have not terminated their ever renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs of mankind, human beings must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/as-long-as-justice-and-injustice-have-not-terminated-their-ever/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [As I like to say to the people in Montgomery: "The tension in this city is not between white people and Negro people. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/as-i-like-to-say-to-the-people-in-montgomery-the-tension-in-this-city/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/whatever-affects-one-directly-affects-all-indirectly/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I see that the path of progress has never taken a straight line, but has always been a zigzag course amid the conflicting forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-miller/i-see-that-the-path-of-progress-has-never-taken-a-straight-line-but/) [Kelly Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-miller/) > [“The way of life is towards fulfillment, however, wherever it may lead. To restore a human being to the current of life means not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-way-of-life-is-towards-fulfillment-however-wherever-it-may-lead/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## More by Victor Hugo > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“There is still a certain grace in a dead festival. It has been happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-still-a-certain-grace-in-a-dead-festival-it-has-been-happy/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“First I loved women, then animals, and now I love stones. They're just as amusing as women and animals and they're much less trecherous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/first-i-loved-women-then-animals-and-now-i-love-stones-they-re-just/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/have-courage-for-the-great-sorrows-of-life-and-patience-for-the-small/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The peasants of the Asturias believe that in every litter of wolves there is one pup that is killed by the mother for fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-peasants-of-the-asturias-believe-that-in-every-litter-of-wolves/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Great blunders are often made, like large ropes, of a multitude of fibres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/great-blunders-are-often-made-like-large-ropes-of-a-multitude-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“For love is like a tree; it grows of itself; it send its roots deep into our being, and often continues to grow green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/for-love-is-like-a-tree-it-grows-of-itself-it-send-its-roots-deep/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Blacheville smiles with the self-satisfied smugness of a man whose vanity is tickled”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/blacheville-smiles-with-the-self-satisfied-smugness-of-a-man-whose/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Loving in ignorance, she loved with all the more passion. She did not know whether it was good or evil, beneficent or dangerous, necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/loving-in-ignorance-she-loved-with-all-the-more-passion-she-did-not/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/laughter-is-the-sun-that-drives-winter-from-the-human-face/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Our joys have shadows. The perfect smile belongs to God alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/our-joys-have-shadows-the-perfect-smile-belongs-to-god-alone/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“When those we love are in question, our prudence invents every sort of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/when-those-we-love-are-in-question-our-prudence-invents-every-sort-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Love is a fault; so be it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/love-is-a-fault-so-be-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Explore all 2,181 Victor Hugo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More American democracy quotes > [ Elvis \[Presley\] had a stepstool, if you will, to success because he came from the dominant culture. They identified with him. Michael Jackson had… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/elvis-presley-had-a-stepstool-if-you-will-to-success-because-he-came/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [That's what separates out American democracy from dictators and horrible governments across the world and the reason why that works is that we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-chamberlain/that-s-what-separates-out-american-democracy-from-dictators-and/) [Charles R. Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-chamberlain/) > [This will be the day when we shall bring into full realization the dream of American democracy -- a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/this-will-be-the-day-when-we-shall-bring-into-full-realization-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [This has all the appearance of a foreign power trying to undermine structures of legitimacy of an American election. That is a serious matter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/this-has-all-the-appearance-of-a-foreign-power-trying-to-undermine/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [Men like Abraham Lincoln recognized that if the slaveholders were not stopped, it would only be a question of time until they spread their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/men-like-abraham-lincoln-recognized-that-if-the-slaveholders-were-not/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [These communities that are losing local news coverage are losing something deeper. They're losing a connection to American democracy. And those connections must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-stelter/these-communities-that-are-losing-local-news-coverage-are-losing/) [Brian Stelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-stelter/) > [“Today you go into make a modern recording with all this technology. The bass plays first, then the drums come in later, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/today-you-go-into-make-a-modern-recording-with-all-this-technology/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [As a result of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, American democracy is being undermined by the ability of the Koch brothers and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/as-a-result-of-the-citizens-united-supreme-court-decision-american/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [If everyone on the Court always voted for the prosecution against the defendant, for the corporation against the plaintiffs, and for the government against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/if-everyone-on-the-court-always-voted-for-the-prosecution-against-the/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [Political violence has no place in Pennsylvania - the birthplace of American democracy - nor anywhere else across this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-shapiro/political-violence-has-no-place-in-pennsylvania-the-birthplace-of/) [Josh Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-shapiro/) > [The atomic weapons race and the secrecy surrounding it crushed American democracy. It induced us to conduct government according to lies. It distorted justice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/the-atomic-weapons-race-and-the-secrecy-surrounding-it-crushed/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [I have no doubt that there are Russian efforts to disturb the fabric of American democracy, but they're disruption efforts. They're troublemaking efforts. 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