"Civil rights, as we may remember, are reducible to three primary heads; the right of personal security; the right of personal liberty; and the right of private property. In a state of slavery, the two last are wholly abolished, the person of the slave being at the absolute disposal of his master; and property, what he is incapable, in that state, either of acquiring, or holding, in his own use. Hence, it will appear how perfectly irreconcilable a state of slavery is to the principles of a democracy, which form the basis and foundation of our government." | by: | St. George Tucker
(1752-1827) born in Bermuda, American lawyer, professor of law, judge |
Source: | Tucker, St. George (1803), View of the Constitution of the United States, 419-420 |
| |
