“The man who could go to Africa and rob her of her children, and then sell them into interminable bondage, with no other motive than that which is furnished by dollars and cents, is so much worse than the most depraved murderer that he can never receive pardon at my hand.”
- February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865
- American
- Politician, lawyer
- As the 16th President of the United States, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation and led the Civil War to maintain the unity of the nation.
Quote
“The man who could go to Africa and rob her of her children, and then sell them into interminable bondage, with no other motive than that which is furnished by dollars and cents, is so much worse than the most depraved murderer that he can never receive pardon at my hand.”
Explanation
In this powerful statement, Abraham Lincoln expresses his moral outrage at the atrocity of the slave trade and its perpetrators. By describing those involved in kidnapping Africans and forcing them into slavery for profit, Lincoln compares them to the worst of murderers, emphasizing the inhumanity and immorality of the practice. His condemnation of the slave traders as worse than murderers is meant to highlight the depths of depravity they exhibited, as they exploited human lives solely for financial gain. The emphasis on the profit motive—”dollars and cents”—reveals how slavery was not only an economic institution but a moral blight on society that dehumanized both the victims and the perpetrators.
This quote reflects Lincoln’s deep conviction that slavery, particularly the practice of importing human beings for the purposes of forced labor, was an unforgivable sin against humanity. At the time, slavery was a legally sanctioned institution in many parts of the United States, especially in the South. Lincoln’s view contrasts sharply with the prevailing justifications for slavery, which were often rooted in economic necessity and racial prejudice. Lincoln’s statement is a moral rather than a political condemnation, laying the groundwork for his later actions, such as the Emancipation Proclamation, which was grounded in the desire to end the moral injustice of slavery, not just its economic or political consequences.
In modern times, the quote serves as a reminder of the dehumanizing effects of systems built on the exploitation of others for profit. It can be applied to a wide range of immoral practices, including human trafficking, forced labor, and modern-day slavery. Lincoln’s uncompromising stance challenges us to evaluate contemporary injustices with the same moral clarity he brought to his time, emphasizing that some actions are so egregiously wrong that they cannot be justified, no matter the economic or political arguments made in their defense. The quote calls for humanity and compassion in our approach to others, especially those who are vulnerable to exploitation.
