His face is livid, gaunt his whole body, his breath is green with gall; his tongue drips poison.
John Quincy AdamsRead
Is not the brand of 'double-dealer' stamped on the forehead of every democratic slaveholder? Are not fraud and hypocrisy the religion of the man who calls himself a democrat, and hold his fellow-man in bondage?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote criticizes the hypocrisy of individuals who advocate for democracy while simultaneously holding others in slavery.
In this powerful statement, John Quincy Adams highlights the moral contradiction faced by those who identify as democrats yet participate in the institution of slavery. He argues that such individuals are inherently dishonest, as they espouse values of freedom and equality while perpetuating the oppression of others, branding themselves as double-dealers in the process. This critique calls into question the integrity of political ideologies when their practitioners fail to live up to their fundamental principles.
Themes
HypocrisySlaveryDemocracyTruthFraudMorality
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about civil rights, one might quote Adams to emphasize the need for genuine equality.
More from John Quincy Adams
All quotes →Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.
John Quincy AdamsRead
It is among the evils of slavery that it taints the very sources of moral principle. It establishes false estimates of virtue and vice: for what can be more false and heartless than this doctrine which makes the first and holiest rights of humanity to depend upon the color of the skin?
John Quincy AdamsRead
The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.
John Quincy AdamsRead
I have no predilection for unpopularity as such, but I hold it much preferable to the popularity of a day, which perishes with the transient topic upon which it is grounded.
John Quincy AdamsRead
According to the Stoics, all vice was resolvable into folly: according to the Christian principle, it is all the effect of weakness.
John Quincy AdamsRead
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