Project Gutenberg 2010-03-31 Public domain in the USA. 159 Spooner, Lysander 1808 1887 The Unconstitutionality of Slavery Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unconstitutionality_of_Slavery Produced by Curtis Weyant, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.) "The Unconstitutionality of Slavery" by Lysander Spooner is a philosophical treatise written in the mid-19th century. The work argues against the legal foundation of slavery in the United States, asserting that it contradicts the principles of natural rights as enshrined in the Constitution. Spooner systematically examines historical documents, state constitutions, and legal definitions to elaborate his case, positioning slavery as an inherent injustice that lacks any lawful backing. At the start of the work, Spooner lays the groundwork by defining the concept of law, emphasizing that true law arises from natural justice and the rights of individuals. He sets out to prove that laws permitting slavery are inherently invalid, stating that any government contract or constitution that endorses injustice is legally void. He critiques judicial systems for failing to align with natural law, positing that the legal justification for slavery is a mere construct of power rather than a reflection of justice. Through this introduction, Spooner establishes a framework to challenge the legitimacy of slavery within the broader context of American law. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 48.5 (College-level). Difficult to read. en Slavery -- United States E300 Text Category: History - American Category: Law & Criminology Category: Philosophy & Ethics 376560 2025-07-13T06:29:19.980074 text/html 375806 2021-01-06T09:41:57 text/html 202613 2025-07-13T06:29:27.072072 application/epub+zip 208700 2025-07-13T06:29:23.033047 application/epub+zip 188363 2025-07-13T06:29:21.871053 application/epub+zip 408100 2025-07-13T06:29:30.104043 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 392465 2025-07-13T06:29:26.346059 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 354767 2022-09-14T15:07:56.546133 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 356314 2025-07-13T06:29:19.429055 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 356194 2021-01-06T09:41:57 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 356185 2021-01-06T09:41:57 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 21155 2025-07-13T06:29:30.228974 application/rdf+xml 15946 2025-07-13T06:29:22.365024 image/jpeg 3737 2025-07-13T06:29:22.117034 image/jpeg 114769 2021-01-06T09:41:57 application/octet-stream application/zip 118166 2021-01-06T09:41:57 application/octet-stream application/zip 114748 2021-01-06T09:41:57 application/octet-stream application/zip 198459 2025-07-13T06:29:20.007032 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia