Part 16

Its effect is amply attested. Edmund Pendleton writes to Richard Henry Lee: “Letters mention that slaves flock to him in abundance; but I hope it is magnified.”[120] Lord Dunmore reports to his Government at home: “I have been endeavoring to raise two regiments here,--one of white people, the other of black. The former goes on very slowly, but the latter very well.”[121] Nothing shows the consternation more than a letter of Washington, who, after saying that “Lord Dunmore should be instantly crushed, if it takes the force of the whole colony to do it,” proceeds:--

“Otherwise, like a snow-ball in rolling, his army will get size,--some through fear, some through promises, and some through inclination joining his standard: but that which renders the measure indispensably necessary is the negroes; for, if he gets formidable, numbers of them will be tempted to join who will be afraid to do it without.”[122]

To these authorities add the exclamation of Zubly, in the Continental Congress from Georgia:--

“I look on the plan we heard of yesterday to be vile, abominable, and infernal; but I am afraid it is practicable.”[123]

Naturally the representative of slave-masters did not approve it. It is enough that he thought it “practicable.”

Several years later, Lord Dunmore reiterated his sentiments and vindicated his appeal. This was at Charleston, where he addressed a communication to Sir Henry Clinton at New York, under date of February 2, 1782, in which he says:--

“Every one that I have conversed with think--and, I must own, my own sentiments perfectly coincide with theirs--that the most efficacious, expeditious, cheapest, and certain means of reducing this country to a proper sense of their duty is in employing the blacks, who are, in my opinion, not only better fitted for service in this warm climate than white men, but they are also better guides, may be got on much easier terms, and are perfectly attached to our sovereign. And by employing them, you cannot devise a means more effectual to distress your foes, not only by depriving them of their property, but by depriving them of their labor. You in reality deprive them of their existence; for without their labor they cannot subsist.”[124]

These examples, with all this testimony, vindicate our Proclamation.

There are other instances nearer our own day. During the last war with England, Admiral Cochrane, commander-in-chief of the British squadron on the American station, was openly charged with inviting slaves of our planters to join the British standard, although the phraseology of his proclamation was covert, offering “all those who might be disposed to emigrate from the United States” service under his Majesty, or encouragement as “free settlers” in the British possessions.[125] Something similar has been anticipated by our own Government on the coast of Florida, as appears from an official report.

“In the event of war with either of the great European powers possessing colonies in the West Indies, there would be danger of the Peninsula of Florida being occupied by blacks from the islands. A proper regard to the security of our Southern States requires that prompt and efficient measures be adopted to prevent such a state of things.”[126]

Here is distinct recognition of danger from black soldiers, if employed against us.

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Admitting that an appeal to slaves is constitutional, and also according to examples of history, it is said that it will be unavailing, for the slaves will not hearken to it. Then why not try? It can do no harm, and will at least give us a good name. But, if not beyond learning from the enemy, we shall see that the generals most hated on our side, and, like Adams and Hancock in the Revolution, specially excepted from pardon, are Phelps and Hunter, plainly because the ideas of these generals are more dreaded than any battery or strategy. Of this be assured: the opponents of this appeal are not anxious because it will fail; only because it may be successful do they oppose it. They fear it will reach the slaves, rather than not reach them.

Look at it candidly, and you cannot deny that it must produce an effect. It is idle to say that its influence will be bounded by our jurisdiction. When the mill-gates are lifted, all the water above, in its most distant sources, starts on its way; and so will the slaves. Remote kingdoms trembled at the Pope’s excommunication and interdict, and an elegant historian has described the thunders of the Vatican intermingling with the thunders of war. Christendom shook when Luther nailed his theses on the church-door of Wittenberg. An appeal to our slaves will be hardly less prevailing. Do you ask how it would be known? The fall of Troy, long before our telegraph, was flashed by beacon-fires from Mount Ida to Argos. The slave telegraph is not as active as ours, but it is hardly less sure. It takes eight days for a despatch from Fortress Monroe to the Gulf of Mexico. The glad tidings of Freedom will travel with the wind, with the air, with the light, quickening and inspiring the whole mass. Secret societies of slaves, already formed, will be among the operators. That I do not speak without authority, please listen to the words of John Adams, taken from his Diary, under date of 24th September, 1775.

“These gentlemen [Georgia delegates] give a melancholy account of the state of Georgia and South Carolina. They say, that, if one thousand regular troops should land in Georgia, and their commander be provided with arms and clothes enough, and proclaim freedom to all the negroes who would join his camp, twenty thousand negroes would join it from the two provinces in a fortnight. The negroes have a wonderful art of communicating intelligence among themselves: it will run several hundreds of miles in a week or fortnight.”[127]

This is testimony. The destructive avalanche of the Alps is sometimes started by the winding of a horn, and a structure so irrational as Slavery will tremble at a sound.

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From such appeal two things must ensue. First, the slaves will be encouraged in loyalty; and, secondly, the masters will be discouraged in disloyalty. Slave labor, which is the mainspring and nursery of Rebel supplies, without which the Rebellion must starve, will be disorganized, while a panic spreads among slave-masters absent from their homes. The most audacious Rebels will lose their audacity, and, instead of hurrying forward to deal parricidal blows at their country, will hurry backward to defend their own firesides. The Rebellion will lose its power. It will be hamstrung.

That such a panic would ensue is attested by the confession of the South Carolina delegation in the old Continental Congress, as appears by its Secret Journal, under date of 29th March, 1779, that this State was “_unable_ to make any effectual efforts with militia, by reason of the great proportion of citizens necessary to remain at home to prevent insurrections among the negroes, and to prevent the desertion of them to the enemy.”[128] It is attested, also, by the concurring testimony of Southern men in other days, especially in those remarkable words of John Randolph: “The night-bell never tolls for fire in Richmond that the frightened mother does not hug her infant the more closely to her bosom, not knowing what may have happened.”[129] It is attested also by the actual condition of things when John Brown entered Virginia, as pictured in familiar words:--

“He captured Harper’s Ferry With his nineteen men so few, And he frightened Old Virginny Till she trembled through and through.”

Asserting the efficacy of this appeal, I ground myself on no visionary theories or vain hopes, but on the nature of man and authentic history. To doubt its efficacy is to doubt that man is man, with a constant desire for liberty as for life, and it is also to doubt the unquestionable instances in our own history where this desire has been displayed by African slaves. That a government exposed to the assaults of a merciless barbarian foe should so long reject this irresistible alliance is among questions to excite the astonishment of future ages.

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What, then, are the reasons alleged against this appeal? They all resolve themselves into objections of fact. The President, by his Proclamation, has already answered them practically; but I will take them up in detail.

(1.) The first objection, and most often repeated, is one which it is difficult to treat with patience. We are told that the appeal will offend the Border States, and that, in this moment of trial, we must do as they tell us. It is, of course, slave-masters who speak for the Border States; and permit me to say, such persons, continuing to swear by Slavery, are not competent witnesses. Believing in Slavery, wedded to Slavery, they are as incompetent to testify as husband and wife are incompetent to testify for each other. Just in proportion as we follow them we are misled, and we shall continue to be misled so long as we follow them. Their influence is perpetual paralysis. Nobody can counsel safely at this moment who adheres to Slavery, or fails to see Slavery as the origin and mainspring of the Rebellion. It is well known that for a long time in England all efforts against Slavery, led by Wilberforce and Clarkson, were discountenanced and opposed by the slave-masters in the distant islands. Whatever the proposition, whether to abridge, to mitigate, or ameliorate, there was always one steady dissent. Put not your trust in slave-masters,--do not hearken to their promises,--do not follow their counsels. Such is the plain lesson of English history, of French history, of Dutch history, of every country which has dealt with this question,--ay, of Russian history at this very moment,--and such, also, is the positive caution of English statesmen. On this point we have the concurring testimony of three names, each of which is an authority. It is all embodied in a brief passage of a speech by Lord Brougham.

“I entirely concur in the observation of Mr. Burke, repeated and more happily expressed by Mr. Canning, that the masters of slaves are not to be trusted with making laws upon Slavery,--that nothing they do is ever found effectual,--and that, if by some miracle they ever chance to enact a wholesome regulation, it is always found to want what Mr. Burke calls _the executory principle_,--it fails to execute itself.”[130]

These are emphatic words, and as often as I am reminded of the opinions of Slave-Masters on our present duties, when Slavery is in question, I think of them as a solemn warning, confirmed by all the teachings of experience in our own country, early and late.

(2.) Another objection is, that officers in our army will fling down their arms. Very well,--let the traitors fling down their arms: the sooner, the better. They are unworthy to bear arms, and should be delivered up to the hissing and execration of mankind. But I will not dishonor officers with the commission of the United States by such imputation on their loyalty and common sense. As officers they must know their duty too well, and as intelligent men they must know that the slaves are calculated to be their best and surest allies.

(3.) Another objection is, that Slavery is a “side issue,” not to be touched until the war is ended. But these wise objectors forget that it is precisely in order to end the war that Slavery is to be touched, and that, when they oppose the effort, they make a “side issue” in its behalf, calculated to weaken the national arm.

(4.) Another objection has its origin in pity, that the Rebels may be saved from a slave insurrection. God forbid that I should fail in any duty of humanity, or tenderness even; but I know no principle of war or of reason by which our Rebels should be saved from the natural consequences of their own conduct. When they rose against a paternal Government, they set the example of insurrection which has carried death to innumerable firesides. They cannot complain, if their slaves, with better reason, follow it. According to an old law, bloody inventions return to plague the inventor. But this whole objection proceeds on a mistaken idea of the African slave. The story of San Domingo, so often quoted against him, testifies to his humanity. Only when Napoleon, in an evil hour, sought to reënslave him, did those scenes of blood occur, which exhibit less the cruelty of the slave than the atrocious purpose of the white man. The African is not cruel, vindictive, or harsh, but gentle, forgiving, and kind. Such is authentic history. Nor does it appear, when the slaves left their masters, on the appeal of the British commanders, during our Revolution, that they were guilty of any excess. It is true that labor was disorganized, and the whole community weakened; and this is what we seek to accomplish in the Rebel States.

(5.) And yet one more objection is sometimes advanced. It is said that an appeal to the slaves will make them overflow into the North, where they will compete with other labor. This ill-considered and trivial objection subordinates the suppression of the Rebellion to a question of labor, and, by a “side issue,” diverts attention from the great object at heart. But it becomes absurd, when you consider, as every candid observer must admit, that no such objection can arise. There is no danger of any such overflow. It is precisely the pressure of Slavery, and not the license of Freedom, that causes overflow. If Slavery were removed, the Africans would flow back, instead of overflowing here. The South is their natural home, and there they will go when justice at last prevails.

Such are the objections of fact, so far as any exist within my knowledge. If any other has been made, I do not know it. I ask you frankly, have I not answered them?

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But, fellow-citizens, I shall not leave the argument at this stage. It is not enough to show that slaves can render important assistance, by labor, by information, or by arms, and that there is no reasonable objection to calling upon them, with other loyalists, in support of the Union. The case is stronger still. _Without the aid of the slaves this war cannot be ended successfully._ Their alliance is, therefore, a necessity. In making this assertion I know well the responsibility I assume, nor do I assume it lightly. But the time has come when the truth must be told. Let me be understood. As war is proverbially uncertain, I cannot doubt that fortune will again light upon our arms. The force of the Rebellion may be broken even without appeal to the slaves. But I am sure that with the slaves our victory will be more prompt, while without them it can never be effectual completely to crush out the Rebellion. It is not enough to beat armies. Rebel communities, envenomed against the Union, must be restored, and a wide-spread region quieted. This can be done only by removal of the disturbing cause, and the consequent assimilation of the people, so that no man shall call another master. If Slavery be regarded as a disease, it must be extirpated by knife and cautery; for only in this way can the healthful operations of national life be regained. If regarded as a motive, it must be expelled from the system, that it may no longer exercise its malign influence. So long as Slavery continues, the States in which it exists will fly madly from the Union, but with its destruction they will lose all such tendency. The Slave States, by the influence of Slavery, are now _centrifugal_; but with Slavery out of the system, they will be _centripetal_. Such is the law of their being. And it should be our present policy to take advantage of this law for the benefit of the Union. Nay, from the necessity of the case, this must be done.

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A united people cannot be conquered. Defeated on the battle-field, they will remain sullen and revengeful, ready for another rebellion. This is the lesson of history. Even Hannibal, after crushing in the field all the armies of Rome, and ranging at will throughout Italy, was obliged to confess the inadequacy of his triumphs, while he appealed for help to the subjects of Rome, exciting them to insurrection, and arousing them against the Roman power. To this long-cherished plan were directed all the energies he could spare from battle, believing that in this way his enemy could be brought under a double fire. But it is known that the people of the Slave States are not wholly united, and that among them are large numbers ready at call to uphold the Union. From the beginning of the war, we have assumed, as an element of strength, the presence there of large numbers devoted to the Union, ready at the proper moment to coöperate with the national forces. Yet most of these faithful Unionists are not white. The Unionists of the South are black. Let these be rallied, and the Rebellion will be exposed not only to a fire in front, but also to a fire in the rear. The two together are necessary to the operations of war. The Union army thus far is like a single blade of a pair of scissors, which, though of choicest steel with sharpest edge, must be comparatively useless. Let the other blade be conjoined, and the instrument will be perfect. The scissors of Fate could not cut more surely.

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Is not our duty clear? And is not the President completely vindicated? By Emancipation we not only hasten the war to a close, but we give it an effective _finality_, preventing it from breaking forth anew, which can be obtained in no other way. The heads of the hydra will be extirpated and the monster destroyed, never more to show itself. Without Emancipation the whole contest is delivered over to present uncertainty, while the future is left to glare with all the horrors of civil strife unsuppressed. The last chapter of “Rasselas” is entitled “The Conclusion, in which Nothing is Concluded”; and this will be the proper title for the history of this war, if Slavery is allowed to endure. If you would trample down the Rebellion, you must trample down Slavery; and, believe me, it must be completely done. Among the terrible pictures in the immortal poem of Dante, where crime on earth is portrayed in so many fearful punishments, is that of Caiaphas, high-priest of the Jews, who, as penalty for his sacrifice of the Saviour, was stretched on the floor of Hell, where all who passed must tread on him.

“Naked athwart this pathway he must lie, Condemned, as thou perceiv’st, to undergo The weight of every one who passes by.”[131]

Such should be the final fate of Slavery, naked and dishonored, stretched where all may tread upon it. Never can the Rights of War be employed more justly than to create this doom.

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It was easy to see from the beginning that the Rebellion had its origin in Slavery,--that without Slavery it never could have broken forth,--that, when begun, it was continued only through Slavery,--that Slavery was at once the curse that pursued, the principle that governed, and the power that sustained,--and the Oligarchy of slave-masters, three hundred and fifty thousand all told, were the criminals through whom all this direful wickedness was organized and waged. Such is the unquestionable diagnosis of the case, which history will recognize, and a wise statesmanship must have seen promptly. Not to see Slavery in this guilty character was a mistake, and grievously have we answered for it. All are agreed now that Buchanan played into Rebel hands, when, declaring that there can be no coercion of a State, he refused to touch the Rebellion. Alas! alas! we, too, may play into Rebel hands, when, out of strange and incomprehensible forbearance, we refuse to touch Slavery, which is the very life of the Rebellion. Pardon these allusions, made in no spirit of criticism, but simply that I may accumulate new motives for that Proclamation which I rejoice to welcome as herald of peace.

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There are many generals already in the field,--upwards of thirty major-generals, and two hundred brigadiers; but, meritorious and brave as they may be, there is a general better than all, whom the President now commissions,--I mean General Emancipation.

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It is common to speak of God as on the side of the heavy battalions. Whatever the truth of this saying, it does not contain the whole truth. Heavy battalions are something, but they are not everything. Even if prevailing on the battle-field, which is not always the case, the victory they compel is not final. It is impotent to secure that tranquillity essential to national life. Mind is above matter, right is more than force, and it is vain to attempt conquest merely by matter or by force. If this can be done in small affairs, it cannot in large; for these yield only to moral influences. Napoleon was the great master of war, and yet, from his utterances at St. Helena, the legacy of his transcendent experience, comes this confession: “The more I study the world, the more am I convinced of the inability of _brute force_ to create anything durable.” And another Frenchman, of subtile thought and perfect integrity, whose name is linked forever with American institutions, De Tocqueville, has paid a similar tribute to truth. “Force,” says he, “is never more than a transient element of success. A government only able to crush its enemies on the field of battle would very soon be destroyed.” In these authoritative words of the warrior and the thinker there is warning not to put trust in batteries or bayonets, while an unconquerable instinct makes us confess that might cannot constitute right.

Let the war end on the battle-field alone, and it will be only in appearance that it will end, not in reality. Time will be gained for new efforts, and Slavery will coil itself to spring again. The Rebellion may seem to be vanquished, and yet it will triumph. The Union may seem to conquer, and yet it will succumb. The Republic may seem to be saved, and yet it will be lost,--handed over a prey to that injustice which, so long as it exists, must challenge the judgments of a righteous God.

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Thus, for the sake of peace, which we all desire, do I now plead for Freedom, through which alone peace can be secured. Are you earnest for peace? then must you be earnest for Freedom also. Would you uphold the Union against treason? then must you uphold Freedom, without which bloody treason will flourish over us. But Freedom is adopted by Congress and proclaimed by the President as one of the agencies in the prosecution of the war. Therefore it must be maintained with all our souls and all our hearts and all our might. The hour of debate has passed, the hour of action has sounded. In opposing solemn Acts of Congress, which, according to the Constitution, are now the supreme law of the land, passed for the national defence,--in opposing the Proclamation of the President,--nay, in discouraging Freedom,--you are as bad as if you discouraged enlistments. It is through Freedom, as well as arms, that the war will be waged; and the same loyalty that supports the one is now due to the other. The discouragement of enlistments is recognized as seditious and traitorous; but the discouragement of this new force, adopted by the Government for the suppression of the Rebellion, is only another form of sedition and treason, which an indignant patriotism will spurn. Emancipation is now a war measure, to be sustained as you sustain an army in the field.

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