Part 2

I humbly conceive that it is on this ground alone, that the Scriptures, in certain cases, allude to despotism, slavery and many other evils without a distinct expression of disapprobation. Had the evangelists and apostles explicitly denounced the tyranny of Rome, and declared that slavery was contrary to the law of nature, and the law of God, they would have been instantly slain, or driven, at the point of the sword, from every province of the Roman empire.

On this account every argument founded on such texts of Scripture in support of slavery, is of no more weight than the dust of the balance.

That slavery is an evil is generally acknowledged in those parts of our country where the least of it exists; and of course, where the most of its horrors are unknown. And there are undoubtedly many in the slave-holding states who deplore the evil, and would gladly remove it, if there was no obstacle in the way. But it is a matter of deep regret that there are thousands of our countrymen, claiming the style of republicans, who are the unblushing advocates of slavery. And what is worse than all, and what renders the extirpation of this evil the more hopeless, is, that when our northern citizens remove to the south, many of them become not only the owners of slaves, but in many instances, the warmest advocates of the principle of slavery. This amazing change in sentiment and feeling, I am unwilling to ascribe so much to what is often alleged, that they find the evils of slavery far less than they expected, and the subjects of it contented and happy; as to the fact, that familiarity with any vice blinds the human mind to its enormity. I doubt not that the most enthusiastick republican of our country, if he found it for his interest to reside under the most despotick government of Europe, would, after a number of years, return with the report, that the subjects of that country were much better contented, and vastly more happy than he had anticipated; and it would not be strange if his zeal for democracy, and hatred of monarchy were equally diminished. But this would never prove to me, that the subjects of a despotism are as happy as they would be, if they were placed in a situation, and prepared, to enjoy the blessings of a free government.

That this is the true reason of this change, I think is evident from the fact, that our northern men, after they become familiar with slavery, can calmly indulge themselves in that kind of treatment of slaves, which would previously have made them shudder. In this connexion I will mention a _fact_, which for the credit of New-England, and the honour of religion, I would gladly conceal to the judgment day, if the circumstances of the case had not been publicly displayed through this region of country. Two years ago a native of Vermont, and a minister of the gospel too, who has resided some years at the South, passed with his family, through this town and put up for the night within the sound of my voice where I now stand. They were attended by a servant-girl, who was not permitted to eat at a table or sleep on a bed, though in the true spirit of northern feeling, both were kindly proffered by the landlady. She spent her night on the naked floor, with no other pillow than her bundle of clothes; and set out in the morning in an open waggon, to endure the heat of a summer’s sun, with no other covering for her head than the woolly fleece which nature gave. Such kind of treatment, for aught I know, may be deemed necessary at the south, as I understood, it was then alleged, to keep the blacks from being “_exalted above measure_;” yet surely it cannot be witnessed, without sentiments of indignation, in a northern clime. And for the honour of humanity, to say nothing of the gospel ministry, I pray God, that my own eyes may never again witness a similar scene.

But let the plea be reiterated as often as it may, that the slavery which exists in our country is not so appalling as northern men suppose; it is still an evil, that exists contrary to the law of nature and nature’s God, and in the face too, of American rights and privileges. And beyond this, it stands necessarily connected with other evils, which are more shocking to the feelings of humanity, than slavery itself. Take for example, these simple facts. By the laws of some of the slave-holding states, no man can emancipate his own slaves; and any person is liable to the barbarous and disgraceful punishment of being _whipped_ on the naked back, if convicted of _teaching a slave to read_. Thus the poor Africans are not only deprived of their liberty, but are completely cut off from almost the only means of information, with respect to their duty to God and their fellow men, and of preparation for the eternal world; of the only means that can alleviate their sorrows and enliven their solitude. By these laws, a pious and benevolent master, who has inherited a hundred slaves, and who would gladly deliver them from bondage, or, at least, alleviate, by every means in his power, the miseries of their condition, is compelled, against every feeling of his heart, not only to hold them in servitude, but to keep them in absolute ignorance.

Although these laws are founded neither in humanity, nor Christianity, yet evidently in _good policy_; and they are necessarily connected with slavery, in the extent to which it exists. The physical power of the black population, in many districts of our country, bears such an alarming proportion to that of the whites, that nothing is wanting on their part but information, to enable them to assert and maintain their rights. Only let them know what they are, and of what they are capable, and in one month’s time the Tragedy of St. Domingo would be re-acted on this side of the Gulf-Stream.

By this time, my hearers, I presume you have begun to inquire for the remedy of this “legion of evils:” and some of you may have drawn the conclusion, that nothing short of the immediate and absolute emancipation of all the slaves of our country would satisfy my mind. But this is not the fact. However highly my feelings may be wrought on this subject, they have not got the better of my understanding. I am perfectly satisfied that it is one of those evils which cannot be removed by a single stroke. The immediate emancipation of all the slaves, would doubtless be attended with consequences, both upon themselves and the whites, vastly more terrible and distressing, than all the horrours of slavery. And if St. Paul himself were now on earth, and consulted on the subject, I doubt not he would disapprove of such a measure. It has been already shown that there are evils existing in the pagan world, which are directly opposed to Christianity; and yet the genius of the gospel, upon its first introduction, does not demand their immediate and entire abolition. And although this country is not strictly speaking a pagan country, yet the practice in question is a pagan practice; and so effectually wrought into the habits and feelings and institutions of our land, that its complete extirpation must necessarily be the work of time.—But here let it be particularly observed, that, in all such cases, we have no licence for the toleration of any sinful custom, a single moment, without the adoption of wise and prudent measures calculated ultimately to abolish it.

This, it appears to me, is the only course that can be adopted in this country for the annihilation of slavery; and in this point of view, I introduce to your notice, the object and operations of the “_American Colonization Society_.”

This association was formed, at the city of Washington, in the beginning of the year 1817; and is patronized by many of the most distinguished officers of the general government. The Chief Justice of the United States has been, from its first formation, the president of the Society. Its object is the transportation to Africa of the free people of colour, who are willing to go, and the establishment of them in a colony, or colonies, under all the advantages of civil and religious privileges. Though its incipient measures were attended with some adverse providences, yet it has progressed with as much success, and with as flattering prospects as could possibly have been anticipated. A district of fertile territory on the Western Coast of Africa has been purchased of the natives, and a flourishing colony planted there, under the direction and control of resident agents. Schools are organized, and the means of grace established among them. The plan has been countenanced, though not explicitly approved, by the government of our country; and it has been distinctly recommended by the supreme judicatories of several of the most numerous and respectable denominations of Christians to the patronage of their members, especially on this interesting occasion.

As this Society, since its organization, has met with considerable opposition, I feel it to be my duty to present a few considerations in support of its claims.

If the slaves of our country are ever to enjoy all the blessings of freedom, it must evidently be, in a state of total separation from the white population. Such are the present feelings of our citizens, and so firmly are they fixed in their breasts, that we need never expect to see the blacks amalgamated with the whites in all the social connexions of life. In what district of our country will the latter become willing to connect themselves with the former in the relations of the domestick circle? What legislature will be willing to admit the negro to equal privileges and powers with the white man, on the floor of the senate chamber? What University will hold forth the same advantages and honours to our own children and the descendants of Africans? But until all these things are realized, if they must live together in the same territory, the negro’s mind will forever be depressed to the dust with a sense of conscious inferiority, and can never aspire to those elevated distinctions of which it is capable. And this is the grand reason of all that present dulness and stupidity, which are frequently adduced, as evidence that negroes are a race of beings but little elevated above the brutal creation. If therefore universal liberty should be proclaimed through our land, and the African race still be permitted to live in the midst of us, disfranchised by our feelings and customs, if not by our laws,[2] of the rights of freemen, we have no reason to suppose that they would be essentially improved or benefited by their freedom. It is therefore most palpably manifest, that if our slaves are ever to enjoy all the blessings of liberty, they must not only be liberated from the chains of bondage, but at the same time, be placed in a situation in which they may aspire to all the advantages and distinctions of civilized life.

Footnote 2:

In some of the states, even where slavery is abolished, the blacks are disfranchised of the rights of citizens. To the eternal disgrace of our own state, the despotick principles of our Constitution have been multiplied instead of being diminished by the late Convention. By the old Constitution, only one class of citizens were divested of certain natural rights without having committed any crime to forfeit them. But by the present Constitution there are two. And the reasons in both cases are very similar; in the one, _wearing a black coat_, and in the other, _a black skin_. But the operation of these regulations is much more oppressive in the latter, than in the former case. The colour of a man’s dress depends on his own will; but, “_the Ethiopian_ CANNOT _change his skin_,” if he would.

This is the immediate object of the Colonization Society. Nor is it a mere matter of doubtful experiment. A similar attempt has long since been made by the British nation, at Sierra Leone, and the result has fully proven to the world, that the minds of black men are as capable as the whites, when placed under equal circumstances of improvement. The same results are beginning to be realized in the infant colony planted by our own countrymen at Cape Mesurado. And nothing is wanting, but the patronage of our own citizens, to extend the same advantages to hundreds and thousands of the degraded and oppressed sons of Africa, who are still in our land.

In further confirmation of the same views, it may be observed, that in the slave-holding states there are many owners of slaves who would gladly emancipate them, but are expressly prohibited. It is impossible, therefore, for them to proclaim “liberty to the captives,” unless they can transport them without the limits of the state. What then can such benevolent masters do with their slaves? To turn them out into our western wilds, would be to expose them to certain starvation; or if any survived, they would be hunted down as wild beasts, by a herd of brutal kidnappers, and carried back and sold to less merciful masters than they served before. To transport them to a foreign shore, if any individual were able to incur the expense, without any concert of action, would be to expose them to immediate death by barbarous hands. It is therefore impossible to afford those who are disposed, an opportunity to emancipate their slaves, without such a concert of action as shall protect the colony in its infantile state, till it shall acquire strength and ability to defend itself. Such is the object of the Colonization Society.

Let not this effort of beneficence be paralized by the plea, that it is an insignificant undertaking compared with the magnitude of the evil intended to be removed. Did you never see a cloud, no bigger than a man’s hand, at its first appearance, finally overspread the whole horizon and pour a copious blessing on the thirsty earth? What plan of benevolence, in this fallen world, was not small at its commencement? Even the kingdom of God was once like _a grain of mustard seed_; but it has gradually increased and will continue to grow till it fills the world. The Herculean labour of abolishing the slave-trade, with all its bloody horrours, was commenced, within our recollection, by a single individual, in the legislature of a single nation, amidst the clamours of a host of opposition; and yet that individual has lived, and we have lived, to see the horrid traffick proscribed, not only by that nation, but by the civilized world, and the practice declared _piracy_ by several nations. What influence then can a consideration of the smallness of the means, compared with the end, have upon the benevolent mind in relation to this subject? It may indeed stimulate to increased exertion, but it surely can produce no discouraging effect.

But even admitting that the efforts of this Society should never ultimately accomplish the object of its aim, _the entire abolition of American slavery_, there is one important result which it cannot fail to produce. Besides securing the blessings of freedom and self-government to some of those who had previously groaned under the chains of bitter servitude, it will afford a ready introduction of the blessings of civilization and the gospel to the benighted tribes of Africa. It is recorded in God’s sure word of prophecy, that “Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands to God,” while “the isles of the sea shall wait for his law.” In view of the numerous and simultaneous efforts of the Christian world to extend the blessings of the gospel to the ends of the earth, we may justly consider the exertions of the American Colonization Society as ultimately, though not directly, aiming at the same object; and we may with propriety regard the Institution as one important wheel in that vast system of moral machinery which, under the blessing of heaven, is destined to regenerate a fallen world.

In this view of the subject, I cannot but indulge in what some may call the flights of fancy, but what I fondly persuade myself is the reality of vision. O Africa, long oppressed and degraded Africa! Heaven has witnessed thy bitter sufferings, and the long black catalogue of thy wrongs is hid up in store against the day of retribution. But I see the Sun of righteousness arising upon thee, with healing in his wings. I see the shades of more than Egyptian darkness dispelled by his resplendent rays. I see thy wounds, which have been bleeding for ages, instantly staunched and healed. I see the ferocity of the tyger exchanged for the meekness of the lamb. I hear thy groves and plains resounding with the shouts of joy and gladness, and the still sweeter song of redeeming grace and love. I see “thy wildernesses and solitary places made glad, and thy desert rejoicing and blossoming as the rose. Thy parched ground has become a pool, and thy thirsty land springs of water. In the habitation of dragons, where each lay, there is grass with reeds and rushes. And a high way is there, and a way that is called the Way of Holiness: the unclean shall not pass over it: but it shall be for thee; the way-faring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness; _and sorrow and sighing_ shall flee away.” Isaiah xxxv. 1-10. These blessed results I see effected by the instrumentality of America, the author of all thy wrongs. And though thy sweat and tears and blood have, for ages, been crying to heaven from the ground, for vengeance on her devoted head; yet now I hear thy voice, in the true spirit of gospel forgiveness, intreating pardon for thy guilty murderers. “O remember not against them their _former_ iniquities.” I see a tide of pious joy and gratitude, flowing from thy streaming eyes, sufficient, if aught but a Saviour’s blood were sufficient, to wash away their crimson stains. O happy, happy land, once wretched and forlorn! Thy mother’s children shall no longer be angry with thee, because thou art black, because the sun hath looked upon thee—they shall no longer make thee keeper of their vineyards, while thine own vineyard lies waste. Thy complexion is indeed black, but comely; and thy soul has been washed in the fountain of redeeming grace, as white and as pure as the redeemed of any other clime; and thou canst now chaunt as high a note of praise to the God of thy salvation; and though here thou hast been excluded from the rights of freemen, and the society of white men, yet in heaven thou shalt mingle, without discrimination, among the blood-bought throng, and there occupy as high a throne, and wear as bright a crown.

In urging the claims of this subject, it is necessary that I should obviate an objection which is frequently made in this section of the country. It is said that “this is a matter in which we have no concern at all—that it belongs exclusively to the southern states.” If this plea were founded in fact, are we willing to admit, that the citizens of the northern states are so selfish, that they have no sympathy for the sufferings of humanity, if they are only out of sight? But I am bold to assert that this objection is utterly groundless; and that there is not a single native or naturalized citizen in the United States but is verily guilty in this matter. It is a well known fact, that in every original state in the union, excepting one, slavery has been sanctioned; and that it still exists, to a greater or less extent, in all the states and territories with the exception of five. Now it is useless for a man to plead _not guilty_ to the charge of murder, because he has taken the life of only one individual, while others may have slain their thousands. It is the _principle_ we are concerned with, and the principle of slavery has been as firmly sanctioned in most of the northern states, as in any part of the union; though our citizens have never found it for their interest to carry it as far. But for this single circumstance, I presume every farm in this region would now be cultivated by the labour, and watered by the sweat of negroes. With what an ill grace then can any, who have implicitly or explicitly sworn allegiance to the institutions of their respective states and the general government, especially those who have been, or still are the owners of human flesh and blood, hold up their heads and say, “We are pure from the blood of Africans?”

But, my hearers, I have not yet presented this subject in the light of its most appalling darkness; nor applied the sharpest point of its universal bearing. _The_ _union of these States was originally purchased at the price of the blood and groans of Africa_; and _all our citizens_ from the north and the south, from the east and the west, _gave their consent to the bargain_. One section of the constitution of the United States was written, like the laws of Draco, in lines of blood; the blood of Africans.[3] By it, all the horrours of the slave-trade, the whole root and stock and branch of which slavery is the bitter fruit, were firmly sanctioned for thirty tedious years. During this gloomy period, under the sanction of the charter of freemen, and of freemen too, who, in the days of their emancipation from the chains of despotism, appealed to heaven for the sincerity of their intentions, while they declared to the world “that all men are created equal, and endowed by their Creator with an unalienable right to life, _liberty_ and the pursuit of happiness;” under the sanction of such a charter, adopted by such men, and under such circumstances, thousands and tens of thousands of harmless Africans, who were born free as the air of heaven, or the streams of the fountain, were forcibly dragged from their native shores, bound with massy chains, crowded into the filthy hold of a floating dungeon, without power to rise or room to stand; and when multitudes had been swept off by wasting pestilence, and found a watery grave, the wretched remnant, emaciated with famine and worn down with disease, were sold under the hammer into perpetual bondage. Without the sanction of all these horrours, the union of these states would never have been effected. And in consenting to this measure, the northern states became voluntarily partakers with those of the south, in all the guilt of the barbarous slave-trade and all its horrid consequences.

Footnote 3:

Article I. Sec. 9.