All We Say Quotes

“For when you assemble a number of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men, all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected?”

Benjamin Franklin's speech at the Constitutional Convention, September 17, 1787.

This line captures Franklin's pragmatic realism about human nature and politics, acknowledging that any collective decision-making body will be flawed, yet still capable of producing something worthwhile.

“I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that the older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt my own judgment, and to pay more respect to the judgment of others.”

Benjamin Franklin's speech at the Constitutional Convention, September 17, 1787.

This passage resonates for its humility and wisdom, encouraging openness to changing one's mind and respect for differing viewpoints—a timeless lesson for public debate.

“Much of the strength and efficiency of any Government in procuring and securing happiness to the people, depends, on opinion, on the general opinion of the goodness of the Government, as well as of the wisdom and integrity of its Governors.”

Benjamin Franklin's speech at the Constitutional Convention, September 17, 1787.

This insight underscores the importance of public trust and perception in the legitimacy and effectiveness of government, a principle still relevant today.

“How shall we know when to believe, being so often deceived by white people?”

Red Jacket asks this during his response to Reverend Cram's attempt to convert the Seneca to Christianity.

This line crystallizes the deep distrust born from centuries of broken promises and exploitation, making it a universal challenge to anyone claiming moral authority.

“Brother, we do not wish to destroy your religion, or take it from you; we only want to enjoy our own.”

Red Jacket addresses Reverend Cram, asserting the Seneca's right to their own spiritual traditions.

It powerfully reframes the encounter as one of mutual respect rather than submission, highlighting the irony of the missionary's aggression.

“We are now a small people, and you are cutting off our lands piece after piece—you are a hard-hearted people, seeking your own advantages.”

Red Jacket speaks during a land negotiation, describing the relentless loss of Seneca territory.

The blunt accusation strips away diplomatic niceties, laying bare the systematic greed driving colonial expansion.

“What kind of human, what kind of species of creature, must Europeans be, that they have to be forced to do good and only refrain from evil because of fear and punishment?”

Huron statesman Kandiaronk challenges Frenchman Lahontan in a published dialogue.

This question cuts to the heart of how European societies relied on coercion, contrasting sharply with indigenous models of communal governance and moral behavior.

“We have pursued the shadow, they have obtained the substance; we have performed the labor, they have received the profits; we have planted the vines, they have eaten the fruits.”

Opening epigraph from Maria Stewart's 1833 speech, printed at the start of Chapter 3.

This line powerfully condenses the economic exploitation of Black Americans into a series of stark contrasts, making injustice visceral and memorable.

“Come let us plead our cause before the whites: if they save us alive, we shall live—and if they kill us, we shall but die.”

Maria Stewart addressing a mixed-race, mixed-gender audience at Boston's Franklin Hall in 1832.

It captures her fearless willingness to speak truth to power, accepting whatever consequences may come while refusing to remain silent.

“It is not the color of the skin that makes the man, but it is the principles formed within the soul.”

From Stewart's manuscript published in The Liberator, addressing the Black community directly.

This timeless assertion of intrinsic human worth transcends its era and resonates as a foundational idea for civil-rights rhetoric.

“These things have fired my soul with a holy indignation, and compelled me thus to come forward and endeavor to turn their attention to knowledge and improvement, for knowledge is power.”

From Stewart's 1833 speech to the African Masonic Hall in Boston.

It intertwines righteous anger with a call to action, declaring education and self-empowerment as the path to liberation.

“You think slavery is right, and ought to be extended, while we think it is wrong and ought to be restricted.”

Abraham Lincoln writing to Alexander Stephens after the 1860 election, summarizing the irreconcilable difference between them.

It captures the clear moral and political divide that led to war, stated with stark simplicity by Lincoln himself.

“The new constitution has put at rest, forever, all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution [of] African slavery as it exists amongst us [and] the proper status of the negro in our form of civilization.”

Stephens in his Cornerstone Speech, presenting the Confederate Constitution's treatment of slavery as its defining improvement over the U.S. Constitution.

This line reveals the Confederacy's explicit goal of eternalizing slavery and racial hierarchy, framing it as a settled matter rather than a moral wrong.

“Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea. Its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.”

Alexander Stephens in his "Cornerstone Speech" defining the foundational principle of the Confederacy.

This line explicitly states that white supremacy and slavery are the core of the new nation, rejecting the founding fathers' compromises.

“Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God and each invokes His aid against the other.”

Lincoln in his second inaugural address, noting the paradox of both Union and Confederacy praying to the same God for victory.

It captures the tragic irony of a civil war where both sides claim divine support, highlighting Lincoln's humility and the moral complexity of the conflict.

“There is a profound lesson that you learn as a speechwriter if you work for someone who understands how to properly deliver a speech: The ability to quiet an audience is far more powerful than the capacity to excite them.”

The author’s reflection on Lincoln’s speech delivery

It offers a timeless insight into leadership—that commanding silence is more powerful than generating cheers.

“There are such things in the world as human rights. They rest upon no conventional foundation, but are external, universal, and indestructible.”

Opening epigraph of the chapter, attributed to Frederick Douglass in 1869.

It asserts the existence of universal, indestructible human rights, a foundational belief that underpins Douglass's entire activism.

“God speed the hour, the glorious hour, when none on earth shall exercise a lordly power, nor in a tyrant’s presence cower; but all to manhood’s stature tower, by equal birth! That hour will come, to each, to all.”

Closing of Douglass's 1852 speech 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?'

The poetic language and prophetic tone inspire hope for a future where all people stand equal, a vision that remains relevant.

“I know of no rights of race superior to the rights of humanity, and when there is a supposed conflict between human and national rights, it is safe to go to the side of humanity.”

Douglass directly confronting the idea that racial or national interests can override fundamental human rights.

It cuts through all debate by placing humanity itself above any constructed hierarchy, a principle that remains central to modern human rights discourse.

“In whatever else other nations may have been great and grand, our greatness and grandeur will be found in the faithful application of the principle of perfect civil equality to the people of all races and of all creeds, and to men of no creeds.”

Douglass defining America's unique mission as a multiracial democracy based on civil equality.

This passage reimagines national greatness not through power or wealth but through the radical commitment to equality, offering a powerful vision that still challenges America today.

“Why should a government, professing freedom to all, deny it to about one-half of its citizens?”

Anna Dickinson's 1868 lecture "Idiots and Women."

This rhetorical question cuts to the core of democratic hypocrisy, framing women's suffrage as a fundamental contradiction in a nation claiming freedom for all.

“Hem up. A brilliant thinker, by the age of forty-seven she was forcibly detained by a group of family and neighbors who claimed that she was insane.”

The author describes the tragic arc of Anna Dickinson's life.

This stark contrast between her early brilliance and later unjust confinement underscores the theme of women being discarded by society.

“Her story, like her satire, cuts to the quick.”

The author's concluding reflection on Anna Dickinson's life.

This line powerfully encapsulates how Dickinson's personal tragedy reinforces her satirical critique of society's treatment of women.