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Jack
William is Louisa’s husband, Andrew’s great-grandfather, Edward’s grandfather, and Clarence’s father. He is responsible for the Bevel family’s vast wealth, as he bought nonperishable goods like cotton during Thomas Jefferson’s 1807 embargo, later selling those goods for a sizeable profit. Ida points out that when Andrew recounts the origins of the family, he never mentions slavery and how William’s scheme, and the Bevel family’s wealth, were founded upon the exploitation of Black enslaved people. Andrew’s elision of that fact becomes a major theme of the novel, as Andrew attempts to distort his family’s history of immorality and accounts of his own wrongdoing to argue that his and his family’s actions have always supported the common good.
William Quotes in Trust
The Trust quotes below are all either spoken by William or refer to William. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 2
Quotes
Rather than tobacco, which he would have been unable to store properly, he purchased non-perishable goods, especially cotton from farther south and sugar from the newly acquired Louisiana. This venture was based on the assumption that he would be able to sell the merchandise in Europe once the embargo was lifted and clear his debt while making a profit.
Producers everywhere were struggling just to keep their estates in the family. William, a mere twenty-six-year-old, was welcomed as a savior. Prices dropped sharply as plantation owners fought one another to secure a deal with him. And for as long as possible he did his best to assist as many of them as he could, bringing much-needed relief to countless families.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Self-interest, if properly directed, need not be divorced from the common good, as all the transactions [William] conducted throughout his life eloquently show. These two principles (we make our own weather; personal gain ought to be a public asset) I have always striven to follow.
If neither my ancestors nor I had understood that a healthy economy, prosperous for all, had to be safeguarded, our careers would have been very brief indeed. A selfish hand has a short reach.
This is why I find the baseless, libelous accusations directed at my business practice incensing. Should not our very success be convincing enough evidence of everything we have done for this country? Our prosperity is proof of our good deeds.
Book 3, Part 3
Quotes
I think of my father. He would always say that every dollar bill had been printed on paper ripped off a slave’s bill of sale. I can still hear him today. “Where does all this wealth here come from? Primitive accumulation. The original theft of land, means of production and human lives. All throughout history, the origin of capital has been slavery. Look at this country and the modern world. Without slaves, no cotton; without cotton, no industry; without industry, no finance capital. The original, unnamable sin.” I keep reading through the draft. Of course, not a single mention of slavery.
Get the entire Trust LitChart as a printable PDF.
William Quotes in Trust
The Trust quotes below are all either spoken by William or refer to William. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 2
Quotes
Rather than tobacco, which he would have been unable to store properly, he purchased non-perishable goods, especially cotton from farther south and sugar from the newly acquired Louisiana. This venture was based on the assumption that he would be able to sell the merchandise in Europe once the embargo was lifted and clear his debt while making a profit.
Producers everywhere were struggling just to keep their estates in the family. William, a mere twenty-six-year-old, was welcomed as a savior. Prices dropped sharply as plantation owners fought one another to secure a deal with him. And for as long as possible he did his best to assist as many of them as he could, bringing much-needed relief to countless families.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Self-interest, if properly directed, need not be divorced from the common good, as all the transactions [William] conducted throughout his life eloquently show. These two principles (we make our own weather; personal gain ought to be a public asset) I have always striven to follow.
If neither my ancestors nor I had understood that a healthy economy, prosperous for all, had to be safeguarded, our careers would have been very brief indeed. A selfish hand has a short reach.
This is why I find the baseless, libelous accusations directed at my business practice incensing. Should not our very success be convincing enough evidence of everything we have done for this country? Our prosperity is proof of our good deeds.
Book 3, Part 3
Quotes
I think of my father. He would always say that every dollar bill had been printed on paper ripped off a slave’s bill of sale. I can still hear him today. “Where does all this wealth here come from? Primitive accumulation. The original theft of land, means of production and human lives. All throughout history, the origin of capital has been slavery. Look at this country and the modern world. Without slaves, no cotton; without cotton, no industry; without industry, no finance capital. The original, unnamable sin.” I keep reading through the draft. Of course, not a single mention of slavery.
