Chapter 2

La Roy Sunderland, member of the Executive Committee, and editor of "Zion's Watchman," a Methodist, religious, and anti-slavery newspaper, with his slight figure, dark intellectual face, and earnest manner, is pointed out to the anti-slavery visitor from the Old World as the most prominent advocate of emancipation among the Wesleyans. His boldness and faithfulness have combined against him the leading influences of his denomination, but notwithstanding he has been several times tried by ecclesiastical councils, they have always failed to substantiate the charges against him, and his vindication has been complete.

Theodore S. Wright, member of the committee, is a colored presbyterian preacher in this city--an amiable man, much and deservedly respected.

All the above mentioned individuals, who have from an early period been among the most zealous and laborious members of the anti-slavery committee, found themselves placed by the events of last year in the position of seceders from the American Anti-Slavery Society, though their opinions had undergone no change. They now belong to the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, or as it is technically called the "new organization," a distinction which will be afterwards explained.

James M'Cune Smith, a young colored physician, I had known in England, where he studied for his profession, having been shut out of the colleges of his own country by the prejudice against his complexion. Notwithstanding this prejudice he is now practising, I understand, with success, and has fair prospects.

I had a pleasant interview with Isaac T. Hopper, whom also I had met in 1837. He belongs to the American Anti-Slavery Society, or "old organization," and has been a zealous and fearless abolitionist for half a century. He has been recently disowned by the "Hicksite Friends" for his connection with the newspaper called the "National Anti-Slavery Standard."

Early on the morning of the 10th, we left for Burlington by railroad, where we were most kindly received by our venerable friends Stephen Grellett and his wife. On the following day, we took tea with John Cox, residing about three miles from Burlington, at a place called Oxmead, where formerly that eminent minister of the Society of Friends, George Dillwin, resided. J.C. is now in his eighty-seventh year, enjoying a green and cheerful old age, and feeling all the interest of his youth in the anti-slavery cause. It was cheering and animating to witness the serene spirit of this venerable man, and deeply were we interested in the reminiscences of his youth. He well remembered John Woolman, whose former residence, Mount Holly, is within a few miles of Oxmead, and of whom he related various particulars characteristic of the simplicity, humanity, and great circumspection of his life and conversation. When John Woolman first brought the subject of slavery before the yearly meeting of the Society of Friends at Philadelphia, at a time when its members were deeply implicated both in slave-holding and in slave-dealing, he stood almost alone in his anti-slavery testimony, which he expressed in few and appropriate words. Some severe remarks were made by others in reply, on this and on successive similar occasions, when he introduced the subject, but such treatment provoked no rejoinder from John Woolman, who would quietly resume his seat and weep in silent submission.

He was not deterred by this discouraging reception from again and again bringing the subject before the next Yearly Meeting, and finally his unwearied efforts, always prosecuted in the "meekness of wisdom," resulted in the Society of Friends entirely wiping away the reproach of this abomination.

The great qualification of John Woolman for pleading the cause of the oppressed was the same which has been ascribed with equal truth and beauty to his contemporary and co-worker, Anthony Benezet: "a peculiar capacity for being profoundly sensible of their wrongs." The biographer of the latter has described another occurrence in the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting at a subsequent stage of this momentous controversy, which may prove an interesting counterpart to the foregoing relation.

"On one occasion during the annual convention of the Society at Philadelphia, when that body was engaged on the subject of slavery, as it related to its own members, some of whom had not wholly relinquished the practice of keeping negroes in bondage, a difference of sentiment arose as to the course which ought to be pursued. For a moment it appeared doubtful which opinion would preponderate. At this critical juncture Benezet left his seat, which was in an obscure part of the house, and presented himself weeping at an elevated door in the presence of the whole congregation, whom he thus addressed--'Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.' He said no more: under the solemn impression which succeeded this emphatic quotation, the proposed measure received the united sanction of the assembly."[A]

[Footnote A: Life of Anthony Benezet, by Roberts Vaux.]

Even the passing observer is aware how closely the Society of Friends is identified with the anti-slavery cause, and if such an one were to make this fact the subject of historical investigation, he would probably find it one of considerable interest.--He would learn that some years before the call of Thomas Clarkson in his early manhood, by a series of distinct and remarkable Providences, into this field of labor, this Society in America had been pervaded by a noiseless agitation on the subject of slavery, which resulted in the abandonment of the slave-trade, in the liberation of their slaves, and in the adoption of a rule of discipline excluding slaveholders from religious fellowship; so that for many years past, the sins in question have been not so much as to be named among them, or the possibility of their commission hinted at, by any one bearing the name and professing the principles of a "Friend." The change described, was effected, not by "pressure from without," but by the constraining influence of the love of Christ. The chief instruments in the hands of Divine Providence in bringing about so remarkable a reformation, were John Woolman and Anthony Benezet, of whom the former was the earlier in the field and broke up the fallow ground, under circumstances of the greatest discouragement, of which the instance above related is an example.

The life of this ever-memorable man was a pattern of apostolic Christianity--pure, patient, self-denying, meek. Love was the element he breathed. His heart not only yearned towards the oppressed of the human family, but his compassion extended to the brute creation, under whose sufferings in the service of man, to use his own expression, "creation at this day doth loudly groan." Though dependent on his own labor for a livelihood, he was careful in a most exemplary degree, "not to entangle himself with affairs of this life, that he might please Him who had called him to be a soldier;" and the reader of his life will find that this unworldly man took similar pains to avoid wealth, which others do to acquire it. Perhaps I may be excused for dwelling a moment on this theme, when I state that one of the latest public acts of my beloved and lamented father-in-law, James Cropper, was to cause John Woolman's auto-biography and writings to be re-edited, and a large and cheap edition to be struck off, which has appeared since his decease.[A] This work is well known to the Society of Friends, but should any other reader be induced by these desultory remarks to peruse it, he will find himself richly repaid. In the picturesque simplicity of its style, refined literary taste has found an inimitable charm,[B] but the spiritually minded reader will discover beauties of a far higher order.

[Footnote A: A Journal of the Life, Gospel Labors, and Christian Experience, &c. &c. of John Woolman. Warrington, Thomas Hurst.]

[Footnote B: See Charles Lamb's Works.]

Taking leave for the present of our venerable friends at Oxmead and Burlington, we proceeded on the 12th to Philadelphia, where we remained several days, at the Union Hotel. During this brief stay, we received visits from a large number of the friends of the anti-slavery cause, and made some calls in return. Among others, I had the pleasure of seeing James Forten, an aged and opulent man of color, whose long career has been marked by the display of capacity and energy of no common kind. The history of his life is interesting and instructive, affording a practical demonstration of the absurdity, as well as injustice, of that prejudice which would stamp the mark of intellectual inferiority on his complexion and race.

I returned to New York on the 15th, in company with several anti-slavery friends. One of these, Dr. Bartholomew Fussell, resided on the borders of the State of Maryland, and had afforded relief and aid to many negroes escaping from slavery. He had kept no account of the number thus assisted till last year, when there were thirty-four, being fewer he thought than the average of several years preceding. The same individual related some interesting particulars of the late Elisha Tyson, of Baltimore, an abolitionist of the old school, who had rescued many negroes from illegal bondage. Dr. Fussell was an eye witness of the following occurrence: A poor woman had been seized by the agents of Woolfolk, the notorious Maryland slave dealer, and was carried along the street in which Elisha Tyson lived. When they arrived opposite his house, she demanded to see "Father Tyson." A crowd collected about the party, and she so far moved their pity, that they insisted that her wish should be complied with. One of the men hereupon went to inform his employer, who galloped off, pistol in hand, and found Elisha Tyson standing at his own door. Woolfolk with an oath declared he would "send him to hell for interfering with his _property_." Elisha Tyson coolly exposed his breast, telling him that he dared not shoot, and that he (Woolfolk) "was in hell already, though he did not know it." An investigation followed; the poor woman was proved to be illegally detained, and was set at liberty.[A] It is generally allowed that so bold and uncompromising an advocate of the negroes' right as Elisha Tyson does not now remain in the slave States.

[Footnote A: See Appendix D for a brief account of this ancient philanthropist.]

As the old school of abolitionists has been mentioned, and will occasionally be referred to hereafter, the following historical statement of its rise and decline, and of the commencement of the present abolition movement, will probably be interesting to the anti-slavery reader on this side of the Atlantic. It is from the pen of my valued coadjutor John G. Whittier.

"The old Anti-Slavery Societies, established about the period of the American Revolution, and of which the late Judge Jay, Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Rush, and other distinguished statesmen were members, were composed mainly of the Religious Society of Friends. These societies were for many years active and energetic in their labors for the slave, and the free people of color; and little, if any, serious opposition was made to their exertions, which indeed seem to have been confined to the particular states in which they were located. They rendered essential service in promoting the gradual abolition of slavery in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

"In 1819 commenced the discussion of what is now known as the 'Missouri Question.' The Anti-Slavery Societies took ground against the admission into the Union of the territory of Missouri as a slave state. They succeeded in arousing the public attention; and for two sessions the subject was warmly debated in Congress; the slave-holders finally carrying their point by working upon the fears of a few Northern members, by means of that old threat of dissolving the Union, which in the very outset of the Government had extorted from the Convention which framed the Constitution, a clause legalizing the Foreign Slave Trade for twenty years. The admission of Missouri as a slave State was a fatal concession to the South: the abolitionists became disheartened: their societies lingered on a few years longer, and nearly all were extinct previous to 1830. The colonization scheme had in the mean time, in despite of the earnest and almost unanimous rejection of it by the colored people, obtained a strong hold on the public mind, and had especially enlisted the favorable regard of some of the leading influences of the Society of Friends. Here and there over the country, might be found still a faithful laborer, like Elisha Tyson, of Baltimore, Thomas Shipley, of Philadelphia, and Moses Brown, of Rhode Island, holding up the good old testimony against prejudice and oppression in the midst of a wide spread apostacy. I should mention in this connection, Benjamin Lundy, a member of the Society of Friends, who devoted his whole life to the cause of freedom, travelling on foot thousands of miles, visiting every part of the slave States, Mexico and the Haytian Republic. About the year 1828, he visited Boston, and enlisted the sympathies of William Lloyd Garrison, then a very young man. Not long after, he was joined by the latter as an associate editor of _The Genius of Universal Emancipation_, an anti-slavery paper which he had established at Baltimore. After a residence in Baltimore of about six months, Garrison was thrown into prison for an alledged libel upon a northern slave-trader, whence he was liberated on the payment of his fine by the benevolent Arthur Tappan. Lundy continued his paper some time longer in Baltimore, where he was subjected to brutal personal violence from the notorious Woolfolk, the great slave-dealer of that city. He afterwards removed it to Philadelphia; and in 1834 made a tour through the South Western States and Texas, in which he encountered great dangers, and suffered extreme hardships from sickness and destitution. This journey was deemed by many an unprofitable and hazardous experiment, but it proved of great importance. He collected an immense amount of facts, developing beforehand the grand slave-holding conspiracy for revolutionizing Texas, and annexing it to the American Union, as a slave territory. These he published to the world on his return; and it has justly been said of him, by John Quincy Adams, that his exertions alone, under Providence, prevented the annexation of Texas to the United States. This bold and single-hearted pioneer died not long since in the State of Illinois, whither he repaired to take the place of the lamented Lovejoy, who was murdered by a mob in that State, in 1837.

"In 1831, Wm. Lloyd Garrison commenced, under great difficulties and discouragements, the publication of the _Liberator_, in Boston; and by the energy and earnestness of his appeals, roused the attention of many minds to the subject of slavery. Shortly after, a society was formed in Boston in favor of immediate emancipation. It consisted at first, if I remember right, of only twelve members. Previous to this, however, a society, embracing very similar principles, had been formed in Pennsylvania. In 1833, upwards of sixty delegates from several of the free States, met at Philadelphia; among them were Elizur Wright and Beriah Green, (who had been compelled to give up their Professorships in Western Reserve [Ohio] College, for their attachment to freedom,) Lewis Tappan, William Lloyd Garrison, Charles W. Denison, Arnold Buffum, Amos A. Phelps, and John G. Whittier. This Convention organized the American Anti-Slavery Society, proposing to make use of the common instrumentalities afforded by the Government and laws, for the abolition of slavery; at the same time, disavowing a design to use any other than peaceful and lawful measures."

In some of the Southern States there are professing Christian churches who permit slave-holding, but disallow the selling of slaves, except with their own consent. Dr. Fussell informed me how this fair-seeming rule of discipline was frequently evaded. First, a church member wishing to turn his negroes into cash, begins by making their yoke heavier, and their life a burden. Next they are thrown in the way of decoy slaves, belonging to Woolfolk, or some other dealer, who introduce themselves to the intended victims, for the purpose of expatiating on the privileges enjoyed by the slaves of so indulgent a master as theirs; and thus the poor unhappy dupes would be persuaded to go and petition to be sold, and so the rule of discipline, above cited, would be _literally_ complied with. So great, generally, is the dread of being sold to the South, that my informant said the larger number of runaways escape when the price is high, as the danger of being sold is then most imminent. The greater proportion of those who thus emancipate themselves are domestics, owing to their superior intelligence, and their opportunities of ascertaining the best mode of escape.

On the 16th, I met the Executive Committee of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, at their office, No. 128 Fulton street, New York. The chair was taken by the President of the Society. The subject under discussion was the best time and place of holding another Convention of the friends of the anti-slavery cause from all parts of the world. After deliberate consideration, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted.

_Resolved_,--"That this Committee fully recognise and adopt the principles upon which the General Anti-Slavery Convention, held in London last year, was convened, and upon which it acted; that we feel greatly encouraged by the results of its meetings, and that we would strongly recommend our transatlantic friends to summon a second Convention in London, at about the same period in 1842; and that in the event of their doing so, we will use our best exertions to promote a good representation of American abolitionists on the occasion."

_Resolved_,--"That we deeply sympathize with the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, in their noble efforts for the abolition of slavery and the slave-trade; that we assure them of our hearty co-operation in their well devised plans and energetic labors; and that so long as the slave question--in connection with the promotion of the rights of the free people of color--and nothing else, is admitted to a place in anti-slavery meetings, they may expect the co-operation of all true-hearted abolitionists throughout the world, in carrying forward the great objects of our associations to a glorious consummation."

I returned to Philadelphia on the afternoon of the 17th, but before leaving my hotel in New York, informed one of the proprietors that I intended being in that city on the week of the anniversaries of the Religious and Benevolent Institutions; that as I took a lively interest in the anti-slavery question, it was probable some of my friends among the people of color would call upon me, and that if he, or any of his southern customers objected to this, I would go elsewhere; he answered that he had no objection, and even intimated his belief that public opinion was undergoing a favorable change in reference to this prejudice. Although I did not arrive in Philadelphia till near midnight, I found my kind friends, Samuel Webb and wife waiting to receive me, whose hospitable dwelling I made my home, whenever I afterwards lodged in this city. Samuel Webb is one of the few on whose shoulders the burden of the anti-slavery cause mainly rests in Philadelphia. He is a practical man, conversant with business, thoroughly acquainted with the anti-slavery subject in all its phases, and a strenuous advocate for bringing political influence to bear upon the question. He was one of the most active in promoting the erection of Pennsylvania Hall, a beautiful edifice designed to be open to the use of the anti-slavery societies; which was no sooner so appropriated than it was destroyed by a mob in the 5th Month, (May,) 1838. The fire-scathed ruin of this building yet stands a conspicuous token that the principles of true liberty, though loudly vaunted, are neither understood nor enjoyed in this Capital of a _free_ republic. If freedom of thought, of speech, of the press, and the right of petition had been _realities_ in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Hall would have been yet standing. Samuel Webb has since taken the chief labor of an appeal to the legal tribunals for compensation for this infamous destruction of property, and a jury have at length awarded damages, though to a very inadequate amount.

During the ensuing week I was chiefly occupied in attending the Philadelphia Friends' Yearly Meeting. In the intervals of the sittings, I had many opportunities of meeting "Friends" from whom I received much kindness, and many more invitations than it was possible for me to accept.

There are many "Friends" of this city who take a deep interest in the anti-slavery cause; among whom I may mention Thomas Wistar, an aged and influential individual, who, like his venerable contemporary, John Cox, has been an abolitionist from his youth up, and a member of the original society; and one who has been accustomed to bear his testimony on behalf of the oppressed, on suitable occasions, in the presence of his brethren in religious fellowship, and whose communications of this kind, are always weighty, solemn, and impressive. Dr. Caspar Wistar, son of Thomas Wistar, is a warm hearted, active abolitionist, a liberal contributor of his pecuniary means, and deeply solicitous that "Friends" in the United States should be induced to engage earnestly in the cause of emancipation. Edward Needles, a kind and open hearted man, a native of Maryland, and President of the "old Abolition Society," is a devoted friend to the anti-slavery cause.

The subject of slavery was introduced in the Yearly Meeting by the reading of certain minutes of the Meeting for Sufferings, from which it appeared that meeting, (the executive Committee of the Society,) had taken up the question of the foreign slave-trade, but had not yet entertained the consideration of the slavery and internal slave-trade of their own country. On the subject of the latter, a very faithful minute from the Meeting for Sufferings in London was received and read.

As this term will sometimes occur in the ensuing pages, it may be necessary to state for the information of the general reader, that the Society of Friends is distributed into various "Yearly Meetings," of which there are several on the Continent of North America. Within the compass of each an annual assembly is held to regulate all the affairs and discipline of that section of the body. There is also in each Yearly Meeting a permanent committee called the "Meeting for Sufferings" for administering the affairs of the Societies, in the intervals of its annual assemblies. The technical name of this committee is an expressive memorial of those times of trial, when its chief employment was to record "sufferings" and persecutions, and to afford such succor and alleviation as circumstances admitted.