Chapter 2

23. In the course of a journey through Virginia, from the city of Washington towards James' river, of about 150 miles, going and returning by different routes, I had frequent opportunities of conversing with the possessors and overseers of slaves, and others, and of observing the general effects of the present system of slavery, upon the morals and prospects of the white population. On combining the facts which presented themselves, I was involuntarily led to this deduction: that the present mode, with occasional exceptions, of managing slaves, and of educating the successors to those who now hold dominion over them, must, eventually and _inevitably_, result, by a progressive ratio, unless reformed, in the poverty, bankruptcy and chagrin of a large portion of the posterity of the existing proprietors of even the most extensive slave estates in the country! This state of things has, to a certain extent, already commenced. I was informed of some ancient and immensely rich slave possessions, and shewn some of the subdivided portions of them, the present numerous heirs of which, are obliged to contract increasing debts annually, in order to maintain the magnificent style of living, and the habits of _amusement_ and _sport_, which had been imposed on them by their ancestors. In conversation with a gentleman at Charlotteville, I advanced this problem:--Suppose an individual, (who prefers sport and extravagance to prudence and happiness) becomes possessor of 1000 slaves, and 10,000 acres of ground; if he bequeaths his estate to ten heirs, they will receive each 1000 acres of ground and perhaps 125 slaves. Pursuing this ratio, each descendant of the third generation will inherit 100 acres of land and about 25 slaves, and the fourth 10 acres, with 2 slaves. If the slaves should multiply proportionally with their masters, the plantations would not; for it is judged from corresponding information and facts, that many of the proprietors, annually expend the whole amount of their revenue, more or less. The inevitable poverty and physical debility, thus entailed upon the inheritors of slaves, are not half so much to be deplored, as the habits of indolence, dissipation and vice, which, if not the uniform fruits of slavery, are much promoted and encouraged by it.

24. About eighteen months ago, I saw, in the western part of the state of New-York, a venerable old farmer, whose name is Vaughan. He was in good health (being nearly ninety years of age) and in possession of a delightful farm, which had been rescued from the wilderness and cultivated by himself and his sons. Two years ago, the number of his descendants was about 378! the most of whom have been, or will be, bred to some useful employment, adequate to their subsistence. If he were in possession of 1000 slaves, and 10,000 acres of soil, he could bequeath them only 26-1/3 acres of land each, and not 3 slaves.

25. On my return to the city of Washington, I met with a most distressing exemplification of the dangerous policy of educating youth, (let their fortunes be ever so abundant,) in luxury and indolence. I saw a stranger, from one of the slave states, of tolerably genteel appearance, in the prime of life, destitute of property, and unqualified for any occupation whatever. He had inherited and dissipated a considerable estate of land and slaves. His former acquaintance and connexions were of the most reputable class. He appeared to be literally a prey to despair. He said he should think himself happy if he were capable of labouring in any mechanical employment whatever. He related an anecdote of himself, which exhibits very distinctly, the delirium which affluence and luxurious habits stamp upon the human intellect when not fortified by virtue. He stated, that at a period when he was totally at a loss for resources, he met with an opportunity of engaging in a pursuit, on the commencement of which he received two hundred dollars. Liberality and hospitality to strangers (if their faces are white) are prominent and proverbial characteristics of well bred possessors of slaves, generally.[7] So perfectly had his thoughts been attuned and associated to opulence and profusion, that he forgot his inverse position upon the wheel of fortune, and immediately commenced free table and free bottle; and his two hundred dollars disappeared entirely in one month;--soon after which he suffered severe privations for want of cash!

26. Having sketched an outline of some of the evils, which the present state of slavery necessarily produces to the possessors of slaves, we will next examine its effects upon the slaves themselves, and endeavour to prove that the pecuniary as well as the moral interests and rights of both parties, enjoin the expediency of adopting a different system of management.

27. It has been urged, in justification of domestic slavery, that the slave receives an equivalent for his incessant toil, in the certainty of being provided with food, clothing, and shelter:--and that a rigorous discipline is indispensable to the preservation of industry, and for security against rebellion and assassination. It is well known, in almost every description of human labour, that constant diligence produces more than a sufficiency of the necessaries of life, for the daily consumption of the labourer. Industry, duly rewarded, and accompanied by temperance and economy, is, with but casual exceptions, to every individual blessed with health, an infallible source of competence and wealth. As our all-wise Creator has fitted our organization, individually, to the acquirement of the means of subsistence, without depending on the labour and generosity of each other, there can be no doubt but he designed that each should retain and enjoy the products of his own hands, without molestation. It is certain that the labour of a slave is of more value than the expense of his daily personal necessities, or he could not be sold, (notwithstanding the risk of premature death,) for 400 or 900 dollars.

28. The excellence of the great fundamental precept of christianity, '_Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them_,' is acknowledged and admired, it is believed, by every member of the human family, of whatever name or nation, that makes any pretension to religion or moral rectitude. And it most assuredly involves this precept also, which is still easier to obey, and cannot be dispensed with in the positive axioms of natural justice;--Whatsoever ye would that men should _not_ do unto you, do ye _not_ even so unto them. Will any possessor of slaves or other individual, voluntarily consign himself to hard labour during life? will he submit to the will and temper of another man, and surrender at his feet the _whole_ of the products of his toil? Unconditional slavery is contrary to the precepts of religion, moral justice, and the abstract, natural and political rights of man. It is a _black_, accumulating, _threatening thunder cloud_ in our moral horizon, the sudden explosion of which might produce dangerous and fatal consequences. I am hence constrained to perform the melancholy task of recording my dissent from the sentiments of those who, from the purest motives and most laudable philanthropy, request the universal, simultaneous and _unconditional_ emancipation of a numerous body of meek people, now groaning under the grievous yoke and goading lash of brutal unrewarded servitude in these United States, "the world's best hope." Yet I do not mean to intimate that equal justice should not, or cannot be rendered to them. If guided by discretion, it may be administered to them with the highest advantage and most perfect safety to both parties. African servitude might, at the outset, be rendered so tolerable and reasonable that the present appellation of _slavery_, which sounds so discordant, in connexion with the cheering music of _liberty_, might be exchanged for some title, attended with a less chilling and _base_ note. Let _Masters_, without hesitation, become _Patrons_, _Guardians_, _Friends_, _Civil Governors_. Let _Slaves_ be converted into _tenants_ and indented _servants_, (or _labourers_,) bound, _for the present_, by the lamentable crisis of existing circumstances.--In compliance with the loud and imperative demands of justice and humanity, and the injunctions of policy and self interest, let their toil be carefully and justly proportioned to their bodily strength, and rewarded by a sufficiency of comfortable nourishment, clothing and shelter. And, particularly in cases of correct behaviour and diligence, let a reasonable sum be paid, monthly or annually, to those who have discretion to make a proper use of it, or allotted and reserved for the education and eventual benefit of their children. Let them be effectually protected from the destructive ravages of distilled spirits. Let them not be bought and sold as beasts of the harness, without their consent; unless guilty of criminal conduct;--and let this be decided by the laws of the country. Nor for all the _silver_ in the mines of Potosi, let an ounce of _iron_ be rivetted upon their _necks_, _wrists_, or _ancles_; for he who fashioned these sections of their bodies, never designed them for such barbarous purposes! Let the "resounding lash," and the savage arts of torture and cruelty; be laid aside. The adoption of a discipline, founded on justice and reciprocal equity, will render these unnecessary. It is a very important fact, in human nature, that men, in all conditions, perform their duty with far greater alacrity and pleasure, when prompted by the exhilarating anticipation of reward and advantage, than by coercion, and the paralyzing menace of penalties and pain.[8]

29. Philosophy cries, "Brethren, be just--be beneficent, and you will prosper.--Eternal slavery must be an eternal source of crimes;--divest it at least of the epithet eternal, for anguish that knows no bounds can only produce despair." "With a pure heart, one is never unhappy." Let the possessor of slaves consult the oracles of his own conscience--the spontaneous counsels of his own heart, and the sublime parable of the beneficent founder of the Christian religion, and act accordingly. Did not the slave, (or his ancestors in Africa,) "fall among thieves, which stripped him" of liberty and happiness;--and are purchasers or retainers of known stolen property, (or liberty) entirely absolved, either by the laws of God or man, from a degree of participation in the original transgression? Let every individual, then, who finds a slave in his hands, whether by traffic or inheritance, 'take compassion on him,' like the good Samaritan, _and bind up the old and painful wounds_, which have been inflicted on his "unalienable rights," given him by his Creator and _sole_ Proprietor;

Which no man, for gold, can buy or sell!

30. Intellectual and moral improvement is the safe and permanent basis, on which the arch of eventual freedom to the enslaved Africans may be gradually erected. Let the glorious work be commenced by instructing such of the holders and overseers of slaves and their sons and daughters, as have hitherto been deprived of the blessings of education. Let every slave, less than thirty years of age, of either sex, be taught the art of reading, sufficiently for receiving moral and religious instruction, from books in the English language. For this purpose, the Lancasterian mode of instruction would be admirably well adapted. A well selected economical library of such books as are calculated to inculcate the love of knowledge and virtue, ought to form an essential appurtenance to every plantation.

31. Governor Miller, in his message of 1815, to the legislature of North Carolina, affirms, that "With knowledge and virtue, the united efforts of ignorance and tyranny may be defied." Governor Nicholas, in his message of the same year, to the legislature of Virginia, says, "Without intelligence, self-government, our dearest privilege, cannot be exercised." President Madison, in his message to the Congress, also of the same year, says, "Without knowledge, the blessings of liberty cannot be fully enjoyed or long preserved." And in his recent valedictory message, that he shall read in the character of the American people, in their true devotion to liberty, and to the constitution, which is its palladium, sure presages that the destined career of his country will exhibit a government pursuing the public good as its sole object, &c. "which maintains inviolably the maxims of public faith, security of persons and property, and encourages in every authorized mode, that general diffusion of knowledge, which guarantees to public liberty its permanency, and to those who possess the blessing, the true enjoyment of it," &c. Thomas Jefferson, in his inaugural speech, says, "If man is not fit to govern himself, how can it be expected that he should be fit to be entrusted with the government of others? Can we expect to find angels in the form of kings?" Whether it be safe to risk the untutored slave with his liberty or not, his situation must be inconceivably horrible, under the cruel lash and uncontrolled power of a master, who is destitute of education or virtue; whose prompter is avarice, and whose religion is intemperance, and the gratification of the most ferocious passions.--It is apprehended that many thousands, _if not hundreds of thousands_, are thus situated! And it is of but little avail, if the master himself be enlightened and humane, as long as he consigns his people to the hands of a cruel stony-hearted overseer. Let legislators then, both national and sectional, perform their duty to their country and its posterity;--and to mankind, by listening to the wise counsels of many conspicuous living sages, and pursue without hesitation the inestimable "parting advice" of George Washington, Benjamin Rush, Samuel Adams, and other departed friends and patrons of man, "to promote, as objects of PRIMARY importance, institutions for the GENERAL diffusion of knowledge:"--and _establish_ PUBLIC SCHOOLS _in every part_ of the republic. And, as all men are vitally interested in the universal dissemination of knowledge and virtue, let all classes combine their influence and means, in aiding the cause of human happiness.

32. I can well predict the alarm that many will sound, at the project of introducing letters among slaves. Some will _imagine_ that knowledge would be a dangerous instrument in their hands. It is true knowledge disarms oppression. But those who have experienced and appreciated its almost uniform tendency, will perceive that it is a pacific weapon,--an olive branch,--accompanied by moderation, justice, and moral duty. Education has been calumniated with the charge of instigating the rebellion and shocking outrages of the slaves in St. Domingo. But the fact is precisely the reverse. The catastrophe was produced chiefly by the haughtiness and imprudence of the white planters, in opposing decrees of the French government, which concerned only the rights of freemen. In this civil war, in which the _white planters_ were arrayed against the laws of the national assembly, and the _planters of colour_ in defence of them, it is not surprising that the _slaves_ should take sides with their _nearest_ relations. The consequent atrocities, most unquestionably resulted from the remembrance of the former barbarity[9] of masters.

33. As mental improvement advances, vengeance and crimes recede. That desirable happy era, when the spirit of peace and benevolence shall pervade all the nations which inhabit the earth,--when both national and personal _slavery_ shall be annihilated;--when nations and individuals shall cease to hunt and destroy each other's lives and property;--when the science and implements of human preservation and felicity, shall be substituted for those of slaughter and woe; will commence, precisely at the moment when the rays of _useful knowledge and wisdom_ shall have been extended to the _whole_ human family. By useful knowledge, I mean, not only an acquaintance with valuable arts and sciences, but also an understanding of our various moral and religious duties, in relation to our Creator, to our neighbour, and to ourselves. By wisdom, I mean that kind of sagacity which influences us to regulate our passions and conduct, in conformity to the precepts of knowledge, reason and religion. Until an approach towards such a state of things is effected, the names of _liberty_ and _security_ on this earth, will differ but little from _a will with a wisp_, either to monarchs or their vassals. At present, violence bears universal and imperial sway;--and ignorance is the magic spell which sustains its sceptre. This dark veil, which enshrouds nearly the whole human race, can be penetrated and removed with much greater certainty and facility, by the mild but invincible rays of intellectual light, than by opposing violence with violence, and evil to evil. The countryman in Æsop's Fables, was induced to throw off his cloak, by the gentle but melting rays of the _physical_ sun, after the wind had exerted its fury in vain. What a boundless empire of glory and _unalloyed_ bliss might the monarchs and rulers of the age, and all possessors of power or wealth, attain, by causing their numerous subjects or brethren, perpetually encompassed by the snares of ignorance, vice and oppression, to be instructed; and elevating poor degraded, afflicted human nature, to that scale of dignity in the creation, which was evidently assigned to it, by the Supreme Parent of the universe!

34. Slaves, enveloped in the fogs of brutal ignorance and debasement, and exasperated by constant severity and frequent cruelty, cannot fail of being much more dangerous neighbours, and much less useful servants, than they would be, if tamed by moral instruction and kind treatment. Docility is well known to be one of the peculiar characteristics of the African race; and whenever opportunities have occurred, they have indicated a capacity of receiving instruction, and of becoming qualified for a humane and moral government.

35. Should these remarks ever reach the understanding of the slave whose yoke is rivetted upon him, by the laws of the government under which he lives, if he will believe the writer to be his unfeigned compassionate friend, let him accept his sincere advice, to submit with fortitude to his fate, and wait with patience the arrival of the day of joy, which has already commenced its journey, and will assuredly overtake him or his posterity, not long hence. Let him remember, that it is only the gradual progress of reason, and the principles of humanity, that can relieve him; and that the more he resists the noose of slavery, the closer it girds itself about his neck, _even to suffocation or strangling_. Let him conciliate the good will and friendship of his master, by reasonable diligence and inflexible fidelity.

36. Governor Miller, in his message, which has been already mentioned, says, "But now, thank God, the human mind having progressed with gradual march in the path of science and political philosophy, &c. the principles, 'that all men are by nature equally free and independent,' &c. have gained and are daily gaining more extensive currency." This declaration, which probably alludes to Europe, is conspicuously true, with respect to our own country. In several or all of the slave states, there are many benevolent respectable individuals, who are dissatisfied with the practice of retaining their _innocent African brethren_ in bondage, and have signified their desire to release them.[10] And although these votaries to humanity are prevented by the existing laws of their respective districts, from accomplishing the full extent of their wishes, it is hoped they will not fail to recognize the high privilege, which still remains in their hands, of exercising reciprocal justice to their sable _prisoners_, (no longer slaves,) and of educating and qualifying them for their eventual freedom and reception into an asylum, which, it may be confidently anticipated, will, ere long, be prepared for them. In fact, I do not hesitate to predict, that whenever slaves shall become qualified by intelligence and moral cultivation, for the rational enjoyment of liberty, and the performance of the various relative social virtues and duties of life, the enlightened American legislators and depositories of the rights of man, will listen to the voice of reason and justice, and the spirit of our social organization, and _permit_ the release of

"------the poor fetter'd slave on bended knee, From [Columbia's] sons imploring to be free;"

without banishing him, as a traitor, from his native land, where his services as an industrious, though free laborer, may be indispensable to its cultivation. But under present circumstances, I am not disposed to question the policy or propriety of suitable laws, for regulating the manumission of slaves, with a view to their own welfare and subsistence as well as the preservation of the public peace. Many benevolent gentlemen have exercised a sort of morbid or mistaken humanity, in manumitting, or _turning out of doors_, slaves who had devoted the greater part of the common period of man's life to their service, and who, being morally and physically disqualified for securing an _honest_ maintenance, have finished their days in misery and woe. A very benevolent possessor of slaves, in the district of Columbia, informed the writer, that he was _principled_ against retaining them any longer than while the value of their service amounts to the cost of purchase; and that he had dismissed several, who immediately commenced a career of wretchedness and final destruction. The sentiments, on this subject, of "The American convention, for promoting the Abolition of slavery, and improving the condition of the African race," are highly deserving of consideration. In their circular, addressed to the general Abolition Societies in the United States, they make this declaration: "We are persuaded that the only means of accomplishing the final and complete emancipation of this unfortunate people throughout our country, is, the extension to them of the benefits of moral and intellectual cultivation. That their redemption from the thraldom in which they now are, should be preceded or accompanied by such aids, as will qualify them to discharge their relative, social, and religious duties."

37. It would, perhaps, be a problem worthy of the consideration of the legislators of those states in which slavery is tolerated, whether their laws for regulating manumissions, might not, with propriety, be so modified, as to authorise judges, justices, or other magistrates, to grant _permits_ for the emancipation of such slaves, as shall be satisfactorily proved to be morally and physically qualified for liberty. Such a regulation would be peculiarly important to those humane masters, who are merciful and just to their slaves, until their own guardianship is annulled by death; and are unwilling to risk them in the hands of their legitimate heirs, or to strangers who may purchase them at public auction.

38. I have said, in the beginning of this essay, that separate colonization, &c. is impracticable, except partially. I then gave one reason for this opinion, and will now offer another. Were the whole of _our numerous slave population_, already manumitted, and transferred totally to a distinct colonial establishment, in this country or in Africa: _our numerous white population_, in several of the more southerly states, would need to be provided with another colonial establishment, in some latitude more favourable to their _physical_ powers, or else perish amidst the desolate cotton and rice fields.