Thomas G. West: Race

Thomas G. West is American academic. Explore interesting quotes on race.

Thomas G. West: 12 quotes0 likes

“The growing openness to members of all the world's races was always possible under the terms of the Declaration of Independence, which, as Lincoln noted, made a transracial principle, the equal natural rights of all men, the basis of citizenship. For that reason, America from the beginning was always a multinational and multiracial society. As early as 1776, as we saw in the first chapter, some blacks were citizens, as were many non-British Europeans.”

Source: 2000s, Vindicating the Founders (2001), p. 167

“What defines a people is not race, not tradition, not geography, but the free choice of a group of human beings to live together as fellow citizens.”

Source: 2000s, Vindicating the Founders (2001), p. 28

“When the decision was finally made to accept blacks as full citizens, the founders' principles provided the theoretical foundation. Lincoln's revival of the declaration in the 1850s had prepared the way. In principle, people of all races can become citizens of a nation based on the idea that "all men are created equal."”

Source: 2000s, Vindicating the Founders (2001), p. 28