"Mere emancipation without any compensation to the victim was pitiful atonement for ages of wrong." --Wendell Phillips in the 1880's

Thomas Paine was an influence on the founders of the United States.

"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right." --Thomas Paine

"Too many white Americans view black enslavement simplistically and remotely, failing to appreciate the extent of its depraved grip on our culture -- probably because it was a monster created in the very laboratory of American freedom and sustained by many of our nation's ancestors and leaders." --Louis Decaro, Jr.

"I pity the poor in bondage that have none to help them: that is why I am here; not to gratify any personal animosity, revenge, or vindictive spirit. It is my sympathy with the oppressed and the wronged, that are as good as you and as precious in the sight of God." --John Brown

"I act from a principle. My aim and object is to restore human rights." --John Brown

"Not one cent for purchasing a slave, but millions for abetting escapes." --John Brown

"I was able to discover the secret of happiness somewhat early. It has been making the prosperity and happiness of others my own." --John Brown

"I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood." --John Brown (in a note he gave to the hangman moments before his death)

"White Americans have long glorified violence and fanaticism when it pertained to their nationalistic interests. In contrast to John Brown's efforts to liberate slaves at Harper's Ferry (which is considered immoral and crazy), the violent efforts of pro-slavery settlers in Texas, culminating in the bloody Alamo incident of 1836 is commonly perceived as heroic and noble." --Louis Decaro, Jr.