United States, your banner wears
Two emblems—one of fame;
Alas! the other that it bears
Reminds us of your shame.
Your banner's constellation types
White freedom with its stars,
But what's the meaning of the stripes?
They mean your negroes' scars.

— Thomas Campbell To the United States of North America (1838)

More quotes by Thomas Campbell

The Pleasures of Hope (1799)

Gertrude of Wyoming (1809)

The Pleasures of Hope (1799)

Theodric: A Domestic Tale; and Other Poems (1825)

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