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  ...of the black woman,--where the arts, such as they have, are all imported, having no indigenous life,--where the laborer is not secured in the earnings of his own hands,--where suffrage is not free or equal,--that country is, in all these respects, not civil, but barbarous, and no advantages of soil, climate, or coast can resist these suicidal mischiefs.
Morality is essential, and all the incidents of morality,--as, justice to the subject, and personal liberty. Montesquieu says,-- Countries are well cultivated, not as they are fertile, but as they are free.   ; and the remark holds not less, but more, true of the culture of men than of the tillage of land. And the highest proof of civility is, that the whole public action of the State is directed on securing the greatest good of the greatest number.
Our Southern States have introduced confusion into the moral sentiments of their people, by reversing this rule in theory and practice, and denying a man's right to his labor. The distinction and end of a soundly constituted man is his labor....   Montesquieu, Charles De

Excerpt from The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 54, April, 1862 · This quote is about freedom · Search on Google Books to find all references and sources for this quotation.

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