Henry David Thoreau

It was his peculiar doctrine that a man has a perfect right to interfere by force with the slaveholder, in order to rescue the slave. I agree with him. They who are continually shocked by slavery have some right to be shocked by the violent death of the slaveholder, but no others.

Henry David Thoreau, “A Plea for Captain John Brown” (spoken at a meeting in Concord, Massachusetts, October 30, 1859, while John Brown was still in jail).