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Title: The year of jubilee;
but not to Africans: a discourse, delivered July 4th, 1825,
being the 49th anniversary of American independence
Author: Nathaniel S. Prime
Release Date: October 7, 2021 [eBook #66487]
Language: English
Produced by: Charlene Taylor, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The Internet
Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YEAR OF JUBILEE; ***
The year of jubilee; but not to Africans: a discourse, delivered July
4th, 1825, being the 49th anniversary of American independence
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE
YEAR OF JUBILEE;
BUT NOT TO AFRICANS:
A Discourse,
DELIVERED JULY 4TH, 1825,
BEING THE 49TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
──❧──
BY NATHANIEL S. PRIME,
Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, in Cambridge, N. Y.
──❧──
SALEM, N. Y.
PRINTED BY DODD AND STEVENSON.
1825.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO THE READER.
Though no apology for the present publication, or for the form in which
it appears, will be attempted, yet it may not be improper or
uninteresting to state a few facts relating to its origin.
The author has been in the habit, for a number of years past, of
celebrating the anniversary of our Independence with public worship in
his own congregation. Previous to the last 4th of July, notice to that
effect was given, and at the same time it was stated that the subject of
discourse would be—not American _Liberty_, but—American _Slavery_: in
connexion with which, the object and operations of “_The American
Colonization Society_” would be brought into view, and its claims upon
publick patronage defended and urged. A similar notice was sent to the
other congregations in this place with an invitation to attend.
To a very respectable audience, thus convened, the following discourse
was delivered, and a contribution taken up in aid of the Colonization
Society.
At the close of the service, a meeting was organized, of which the
following are the minutes:
“_The Hon._ John M’Lean _was chosen Chairman, and_ Gerrit Wendell,
_Secretary_.
“_The following resolutions were then unanimously adopted._
“Resolved, _That it is expedient and proper, in the view of this
meeting, hereafter to celebrate the anniversary of our National
Independence with religious exercises._
“Resolved, _That Messrs._ John Ashton, Sidney Wells _and Dr._ Matthew
Stevenson _be a committee to make arrangements for the next anniversary,
by designating the place of meeting, and procuring a speaker for the
occasion_.”
“_On motion of Mr._ Ashton, _seconded by_ Sidney Wells,—Resolved _that
the Rev. Mr._ Prime _be requested to furnish for the press, a copy of
the Address delivered by him this day, and that the above mentioned
committee be authorized to adopt the necessary measures to procure its
publication_.”
Although the proposal of the last resolution was totally unexpected to
the author, yet he is willing frankly to acknowledge that its adoption
was extremely grateful to his feelings; not only as an explicit approval
of the sentiments which had been delivered, expressed by many of his own
congregation and others, whose judgment he highly reveres; but also as
affording the sanction of their authority in proclaiming them to the
world. And, that it might have the full influence of that authority, the
address is printed, with the exception of a few verbal corrections, and
the addition of two notes, precisely as it was delivered.
The author cannot say that the views exhibited are the result of any new
convictions in his own mind. Though he was familiar with slavery from
his birth, yet from his earliest recollection, it was revolting to his
feelings; and the first emotion of humanity that left an indelible
impression on his memory, was that of commisseration for the degraded
condition of a negro child about two years younger than himself; and
from that moment, he never felt at rest on the subject, till the last
vestige of the evil was removed from his parental dwelling. The same
sentiments with respect to the universal guilt, and consequent danger of
the American people, he has entertained ever since he became acquainted
with the institutions of his country, and has occasionally exhibited
them; but he acknowledges himself highly censurable in not having more
frequently and pointedly urged them. He therefore presents this address
to the publick, not only in compliance with the wishes of those whom he
cannot refuse, but as a small atonement for having so often neglected to
employ his pen, and raise his voice against an evil so extensive in its
operation, and so alarming in its consequences.
_Cambridge_, July 5th, 1825.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A DISCOURSE, &c.
THE words from which I propose to address you, on this occasion, you
will find recorded in “The DECLARATION of the INDEPENDENCE of the UNITED
STATES of AMERICA;”—the first clause after the preamble.
The words are these:
“_We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty,
and the pursuit of Happiness._”
Man, considered as a rational and social being, occupies a variety of
important relations in the universe of God. In the first place he stands
related to that great and glorious Being who gave him existence, and he
is under the most solemn and indissoluble obligations, to the exercise
of eternal reverence, love and gratitude. However indifferent he may
feel, in his present fallen state, to the demands of heaven, and however
negligent he may be of the duties which result from those demands, it is
an incontrovertible truth, that the service of God has the first and
highest claim. Hence, the first and greatest commandment of the law is
declared, by the divine Saviour to be this; “_Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind, and with all thy strength._” Mark xii. 30. An immediate and
constant compliance with this precept should be the first object of
every human being.
But although this is the first, it is not the only duty of man. He
occupies other relations, and, of course, is subjected to the authority
of other duties. Passing over all the other subordinate connexions of
man, as foreign from our present purpose, I shall here notice only his
relation to his own species, and the obligations which result from that
relation. All men are formed by the same hand, born into the same world,
under the same circumstances, and are bound by considerations both of
duty and interest to respect each other’s rights, and to promote each
other’s happiness. These duties are next in importance to those which
relate to God. Therefore, our blessed Lord, after declaring the precept
already quoted to be the first commandment of the law, adds, “And the
second is like” to it, “_Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself_.” He
then declares, with respect to both, “There is no commandment greater
than these.” Here then we have a concise, but complete exposition of
man’s duty in relation to his own species. It is applicable to all the
possible circumstances of life; and at the same time, so plain, that the
smallest share of intellect is sufficient to understand and apply it. It
accords precisely with that golden rule which the Saviour delivered, in
his sermon on the mount; “_All things whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the
prophets._” Matthew vii. 12. That is, all the duties which God has ever
required of man in relation to his own species, either in the law or the
prophets, are comprehended in this single precept, _Do to others just as
you would wish them to do to you_. Did this principle regulate the
conduct of all men, the earth would instantly resume the first bloom of
Eden. Not only would war, and murder and rapine cease to desolate the
earth, but animosities and contention and oppression of every kind and
degree would instantly disappear. Adventitious circumstances might still
produce distinctions in the relative situations of men; but pride, that
fiend of hell and enemy of happiness, would be banished from the human
breast; and one more prospered of heaven than his fellows, would look
down upon them, not to despise their poverty, nor to rejoice in their
misery, nor to deprive them of their _liberty_; (the last earthly
blessing that man can lose;) but to compassionate their necessities, to
console them under adversity, and to administer to their relief. The
whole human family would be bound together by the sense of a common
nature, and the bonds of sincere affection: in a word, they would feel
that they were _bone of each other’s bone; and flesh of each other’s
flesh_; and in all cases, and under all circumstances, they would act
like _brethren_.
From these remarks, you will perceive that the words of my text,
although they are not a part of the inspired volume, contain sentiments
in perfect accordance with the divine declarations. This consideration
therefore is sufficient to entitle them to the highest respect. But, in
this favoured land, they do not need this argument to give them
authority. They are the words of our _fathers_; not spoken by the
fireside, or in the closet, while they rested quietly in the midst of
their domestick circles, without a witness of their declarations; but
proclaimed and published to the whole world, while they stood in
jeopardy of their lives and all that they held dear on earth; and with a
solemn appeal _to the_ SUPREME JUDGE _of the world for the rectitude of
[their] intentions_. Nay, more; some of them sealed this declaration
with their own blood, and voluntarily laid down their lives, to deliver
their posterity from tyranny and oppression, and to procure for them the
blessings of _liberty_ and self-government. Confining ourselves to this
view of the subject, we should pronounce that native American unworthy
of his parentage and the name which he bears, who would not revere the
words of his father, uttered under such circumstances. Nay, that man,
let him be who he will, and let his circumstances be what they may, is
unworthy to tread American soil and breathe American air, who does not
cheerfully and sincerely adopt the words of my text, as containing the
sentiments of his heart, “_All men are created equal, and are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness._”
When this declaration, particularly this clause of it, was reported in
heaven, (and I presume to believe that the sun had not set on the fourth
of July, 1776, before the transactions of the American Congress were
published to the celestial hosts,) what think you were the expectations
of angels and the spirits of just men made perfect, with respect to the
state of things which would succeed in this nation? Doubtless, the
former, in whose respective ranks _liberty_ and _equality_ are not only
_professed_ but _practised_, expected, upon their first mission to this
lower world, to see the American people, without distinction of
complexion or circumstances, enjoying the blessings of freedom. And with
equal probability may we imagine, that those happy souls who had been
redeemed from the earth, and who had here witnessed, with their own
eyes, the oppressions of man exercised upon his own species; some of
whom had, perhaps, themselves been personally guilty in this matter, and
had found, from their own experience, that the last pollution, from
which a Saviour’s blood can wash the human soul, is the sweat or blood
of a black man’s body; I say, we may safely imagine, that, among these,
there was one universal shout of joy. They rejoiced to hear, that, in
one nation at least of this fallen world, after the lapse of almost 6000
years, THE RIGHTS OF MAN were at last understood, and a solemn
resolution to respect them had been unanimously adopted: that universal
emancipation had been proclaimed to three millions of the human family.
In view of these considerations, could angels and redeemed souls have
reasonably expected or believed, _if there is any sincerity in man_,
that from the benefits of this solemn declaration, adopted under all the
solemn circumstances just mentioned, and with the most solemn appeal to
heaven, _every sixth man_ was excluded, and _doomed to perpetual
slavery_; and _that_, for no other reason, than because the God of
nature had caused them to be born in a torrid clime, where the sun had
burnt their skin and crisped their hair, and they had been transported
against their will, to a land inhabited by white men?
And if the celestial hosts were then restrained from an universal
clamour of disapprobation, by the consideration that such an exception
was rendered necessary by the existing circumstances of the country, and
the impossibility of emancipating 500,000 slaves while our shores were
invaded by a foreign foe; could they have been persuaded to believe,
that, after heaven had espoused the cause of America, and God himself
had fought her battles, and victory had crowned her arms, the American
people would permit almost half a century to roll away in the enjoyment
of unexampled liberty, prosperity and happiness, while slavery would be
permitted to increase with the increase of their wealth and population?
Could they expect that this solemn declaration of Independence would be
annually read the 50th time, accompanied with the roar of cannon, the
display of banners, and shouts of joy, and that thousands and hundreds
of thousands of dollars would be expended on every return of this
anniversary in feasting and dissipation and tumult, and yet _no year of
Jubilee_ be proclaimed to the oppressed sons of Africa?
But such is the fact. This day commences the 50th year of freedom to
American white men, and yet a million and a half of our fellow men,
within our own dwellings, are this moment groaning under the chains of
bondage. Tell me not, as it is often told by the advocates of slavery,
that they are incapable of providing for themselves; and are therefore
happier in their present dependent condition, than if they were
immediately emancipated. I cheerfully admit that the little feathered
songster that was hatched in a cage or incarcerated before his wings
were fledged, may be ignorant of most of the sweets of liberty; and
after being long accustomed to have his food provided by his owner’s
hand, might be incapable of finding it, in equal profusion, in the
fields and forests; but does this prove that he has not a nature adapted
to the enjoyment of liberty, and equally entitled to the privilege with
other birds?
But on this point reasoning is needless. I appeal to my text. “ALL _men
are created equal_,” said our forefathers, “_and are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable rights; among these are life_, LIBERTY
_and the pursuit of happiness_.” For the space of fifty years we have
been reiterating the same maxim and at the same time declaring that it
is “a self-evident truth.” Now, I say, let us aim at consistency of
character. Let us reduce the principle to practice, and prove to the
world that we believe what we say, or blot it out from the declaration
of our rights and privileges. We may abhor the tyranny of kings and
emperors, and commiserate the degraded state of their oppressed
subjects, but a greater incongruity cannot be found in any nation than
that which exists in our own. In one hand we hold the protestation that
all men are equal, and entitled to the enjoyment of life and liberty;
and in the other, we firmly grasp the chains of slavery and wield the
goads of correction. We proclaim to the world that we are the only
nation of freemen on earth, and yet daily practise the most absolute
despotism. It is frequently the case that the same publick newspaper
which unblushingly asserts the equality of our rights, and the justice
of our institutions, advertises a whole village of _human beings for
sale_. Again I say, let us aim at CONSISTENCY: either acknowledge to the
world that we are tyrants and despots, or act according to our
professions.
That my text contains a correct assertion, I am not disposed for a
moment to question: and I should surely be employed to no purpose in
attempting to prove to others, what they have asserted for half a
century, to be “a self-evident truth.” If then, all men are, by their
birth, entitled to the same natural rights and privileges, they can be
divested of them only by the authority of Him who has the power of life
and death in his hands. The God of nature has a perfect right to
authorize one nation to subjugate another, as he delivered the
Canaanites into the hands of Israel. But surely this is no argument in
favour of American slavery. When we have found a “_Thus saith the Lord_”
for the subjugation of Africans, then, and not till then, shall we have
a right to make them our slaves.
A man may also forfeit his liberty, and even his life, by the commission
of crimes against the interests of society. And in all such cases, every
nation on the globe has a charter from the King of heaven to inflict
merited punishment. But surely no man of common sense will pretend that
this authorizes any individual or commonwealth to reduce to perpetual
bondage, and entail the same on their posterity, those who have never
violated a single law of the land.
The time has been when the event of war has been supposed to confer on
the victorious party the right of enslaving the vanquished. But this is
now universally acknowledged to be a principle of barbarism, and is
abandoned by the civilized world. Where then is our charter for the
oppression of our fellow men?
Perhaps the most plausible argument in support of American slavery, (and
it is one that has been newly discovered, for it was first introduced
into Congress on the Missouri question,) is, that the New Testament
distinctly recognises without any mark of disapprobation, the relation
of masters and servants, and St. Paul in his Epistles explicitly enjoins
on the latter the duty of respect, obedience and fidelity. This argument
has been triumphantly urged as presenting Divine authority for slavery.
But pray tell me, are there no servants but slaves? Is there no such
thing as the relation of master and servant unless where slavery exists?
If so, tell Great Britain to blot the word from her vocabulary, that it
has no meaning in the English language, and is exclusively of American
origin and use.
“But,” says the advocate of slavery, “this argument is not to be got rid
of in this way. This is mere quibbling. St. Paul speaks not only of
servants, but of _bond-men_; and he actually enjoins it on every man to
abide in the same calling, or condition, wherein he is called. And he
specifies particularly that if any one is called being a _servant_, he
is to rest contented with the assurance that he is the Lord’s _free
man_. 1 Cor. vii. 20-22. Nay, in his Epistle to Philemon, he had a fair
opportunity to put this question at rest for ever; but instead of
rebuking the master for holding slaves, he returned the _runaway_ to his
service.”[1] On this ground, it has been asserted, that those who hold
slaves are more obedient to the Scriptures than those who do not.
Footnote 1:
This whole argument, in all its parts, was once urged with amazing
zeal, on the floor of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church.
If I am not greatly mistaken in regard to the nature of this argument, I
could prove, in the same way, that tyranny and despotism are approved of
God; and that those who submit to such a kind of government, live in
greater conformity to the Scriptures than the citizens of a republick.
The manner in which I would argue is this. St. Paul, in his Epistle to
the Romans, says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers; for
there is no power but of God, the powers that be, are ordained of God.
Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of
God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.”—Rom.
xiii. 1, 2. Now this solemn injunction, under this awful sanction, was
imposed by inspiration upon the Christians of Rome, at the time that the
crown of that empire was worn by Nero, one of the most cruel and
blood-thirsty tyrants that ever disgraced a throne. By his own direction
the city was set on fire, which raged for nine successive days,
spreading desolation and ruin; and then to furnish himself a pretext for
persecuting the Christians, he laid the crime to their charge, and
fiercely commenced the bloody work. “Some were wrapped in the skins of
wild beasts, and torn in pieces by dogs; some were crucified, and
others, clothed in garments covered with pitch, were set on fire; while
the cruel monster calmly sat in the window of his palace and enjoyed the
scene of his own barbarities.” And yet this is the man, whom the apostle
commands the Christians to revere as “the minister of God;” the
resistance of whom is threatened with damnation. Was not Paul then the
advocate of tyranny and oppression? Just as clearly as he was the
advocate of slavery.
In the same manner I think it can be shown that polygamy is approved by
St. Paul, at least among the Gentiles. He expressly ordained that “a
bishop or deacon must be the husband of one wife.” 1 Tim. iii. 2, 12.
Now the inference is fair, that all other men might have more than one.
Private members of the church are not restricted in their inclinations
in this respect, only the officers of the church are not indulged. I see
no way to avoid this conclusion. How then shall we reconcile these
apparent inconsistencies?
In my view, the solution is plain and easy. Upon the first introduction
of the gospel into any pagan land, there always will be many evils
existing, which are so completely wrought into the customs, interests
and institutions of society, that it is impossible to correct them at
once. Nay, if it were possible, the sudden revolution would instantly
produce unspeakable misery. Take, for instance, the last mentioned case:
Suppose, in a nation where polygamy is extensively practised, every man
could be induced to repudiate all his wives but one; how many thousands
of helpless women and children would be turned on the wide world,
without the means of support, exposed to inevitable wretchedness and
want! The sudden adoption of the true Christian principle, under these
circumstances, would be productive of vastly greater misery than is now
experienced from this horrid pagan practice; and the Christian religion
would be execrated as a system of cruelty.
What then is to be done? Must Christianity sacrifice its holy principles
at the shrine of pagan impurity? Must we be satisfied to have men
embrace _the faith of the gospel_, while they retain their own _ungodly
practices_? No! But wisdom is profitable to direct.—Some method must be
adopted by which these deeply-rooted evils may be branded with disgrace,
and thus gradually but effectually eradicated. For this purpose St.
Paul, or rather the Holy Spirit, ordained in those countries where
polygamy was common, that “a bishop or deacon must be the husband of one
wife.” A man that sincerely embraced the gospel, might be admitted to
the privileges of the church without first turning half a dozen women
out of doors; but he never could arise to any dignity, or be capable of
holding any office in the church. Now you plainly perceive that the
necessary operation of this simple regulation, was to abolish gradually,
but effectually, this vile practice; not however, by sovereign authority
or absolute force, but by the voluntary consent of the party concerned.
Thus it appears to be the genius of the gospel to tolerate an evil for a
while, where the immediate and total abolition would be productive of
greater miseries and crimes; while, at the same time, it requires the
use of all prudent and effectual measures for its ultimate extirpation.
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.
O my country! what atonement canst thou make for such bloody crimes?
What fountain, but that which flows from Calvary, can wash away thy
crimson stains? In vain wouldst thou offer “many thousands of rams, or
ten thousands of rivers of oil. The blood of thy firstborn would not
expiate thy transgression, nor the fruit of thy body, the sin of thy
soul.” Mic. vi. 7. “Though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much
soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.” Jer.
ii. 22. I beseech thee, do not aggravate thy guilt, and provoke anew the
wrath of heaven, by justifying thy deeds or pleading innocent of the
charge. “For thy sin is written with a pen of iron, and with the point
of a diamond; it is graven on the table of thy heart, and” if not “upon
the horns of thy altars,” it is inscribed in the archives of thy
cabinet, and whilst thy children shall read the legacies of their
fathers they shall remember and bear witness of thy crimes, to the
latest posterity. Fly, O fly, in the first place, to the fountain of a
Saviour’s bleeding veins, and there be washed from all thy pollution:
and then, as a testimony of thy gratitude, that much, very much is
forgiven thee, summon all thy energies to repair the injuries thou hast
done. “Proclaim liberty to thy captives; say to the prisoners, go forth;
and to them that are in darkness, show yourselves.” Isa. xlix. 9.
Restore them to “the land of their fathers’ sepulchres,” and let them
once more peacefully enjoy the inheritance of their ancestors. Wherever
they may have been born, Africa is their home. Though transported to the
most distant countries, and situated in the most temperate regions of
the globe, and transmitted through a series of generations, they still
retain in the constitution of their frames, and on the whole surface of
their bodies, the title of heaven to those torrid climes. The God of
nature has evidently determined, that they shall never be divested of
their original inheritance. Though “the descendants of Cush can never
change their skin,” yet the time will come when their souls shall be
made white in the blood of the Lamb; and then, in their own land, which
God allotted to their progenitor, they shall stretch forth their hands
to God, and under their own vine and fig-tree enjoy the fruit of their
labours, without any to molest or make them afraid.
There is one consideration more, by which I would urge the claims of
this subject. If the people of the United States cannot be extensively
aroused to undertake the redress of African wrongs, from motives of
humanity, and a sense of duty, the apprehension of personal danger may
with propriety be awakened in their minds. God deals with nations, in
this world, on a different principle from what he deals with
individuals.—The wicked man is often permitted to prosper in his sins,
and to die without pain; because the righteous retributions of justice
await him in the eternal world.—But wicked nations exist, in their
national capacity, only in this life. Therefore, if national sins are
ever visited with the indignation of heaven, it must be in the present
world. Hence, we may draw the conclusion, that if American slavery is
offensive to God, the judgments of heaven are now impending over this
guilty nation. And in what form they will descend, we need not the
spirit of prophecy to prognosticate. In several of the slave-holding
states, the black population is already nearly equal to the white; and
the ratio of increase is so much in their favour, that, in the course of
a few years, they will be far the most numerous. During the period of
ten years intervening between the last United States’ census and the
preceding, the following was the ratio of increase in several states:
In Kentucky, the blacks increased 57 per cent, whites only 37 per
cent.
Tennessee, the blacks increased 80 per cent, whites only 57 per
cent.
Georgia, the blacks increased 40 per cent, whites only 30 per
cent.
North-Carolina, the blacks increased 22 per cent, whites only 11
per cent.
South-Carolina, the blacks increased 26 per cent, whites only 8
per cent.
And in Louisiana as early as 1810 there were 5 blacks to every four
white men.
It is obvious, that, at this rate, in the course of a few years, those
districts of our country will be covered with a black population; in
comparison with which, the whites will appear as grasshoppers before
them. Now I ask, in such a state of things, what can hinder the blacks
from arising, and after avenging all their wrongs, by slaying their
opposers, taking possession of those very lands as the reward of their
own and their fathers’ labours? Do you say, their minds are incapable of
such an enterprize? Look at St. Domingo; what has been effected there by
the African race, in as ignorant and degraded a state as is any where
witnessed in our own country! And what will our blacks need, but a few
resolute spirits to concentrate their efforts and direct their energies?
And if the genius of negroes is so far debased in our own country, that
nature cannot produce them here, they can easily be furnished from the
kingdom of Hayti. Though that little empire is now at peace with us and
the world, yet black men have always a peculiar sympathy for their own
colour. Besides this, many of our own free blacks have already gone, and
many more will still go to that island, to enjoy all the blessings of
liberty, civilization and science; leaving many of their brothers and
children and connexions in bondage among us.—And do you think that a
black man’s memory is so treacherous, or his heart so callous, that he
can forget, or not feel for the wrongs of his own flesh and blood?
Depend upon it, my hearers, on the shore of that sea-beaten isle, many a
champion will stand, and while he looks to the north and rejoices in the
privileges which he is permitted to enjoy, he will long to impart them
to those he has left behind; and if nothing is done, on your part, to
redress the wrongs of Africa, before you are aware, the alarm of war,
the din of arms, and the rage of conflagration will have laid in ruins
the fairest portions of our land.[4]
Footnote 4:
If any are disposed to style this mere conjecture, be it so: but it is
no more than what has already occurred, and may occur again. The
revolution in St. Domingo originated in France, and was planned by a
Society called _Amis de Noirs_, or Friends of the Blacks, organized in
Paris for the express purpose of aiding the negroes in recovering
their liberty; of which La Fayette and other distinguished citizens
were the patrons. And the first individual that drew his sword, was a
mulatto who had been educated in Paris, and sent to his native isle to
deliver his coloured brethren from bondage.
Do I hear the inhabitants of the north say, “If such events should be
realized, the desolation will not come nigh us; and we will not
interfere to avenge the slaughter of slave-holders!” And are you then
prepared to perjure yourselves? You have sworn to maintain the union of
these states, at the price of your treasures and your lives; and are you
now meditating treason and rebellion in your hearts? You have become a
party to the guilt of slavery, and will you desert your friends when the
contract on the part of heaven is to be fulfilled?
But if you are verily guilty in this matter, do not imagine that you can
evade the punishment of such a crime. It is the righteous God of heaven
that pleads the cause of the oppressed: and, though the scene of battle
may not be laid at your doors; though the fiercest wrath may be poured
out upon those portions of our country where slavery has existed in its
most extensive and cruel forms; yet the hand of justice will, in some
way or other, mete out to every district the full tale of its desert.
Let us hear no more then of local jealousies and feelings, but as the
sin has involved us in a _common guilt_, let us aim at a common and
timely expiation. The path of present duty lies open before us, and it
is only by diligent and faithful perseverance therein, that we can
expect to escape the indignation of heaven.
This is a concern in which every citizen of the country is interested;
whether he is now or ever has been a slave-holder or not: and there is
something for every one to do. The sympathies of every heart must be
aroused; the patronage of every purse must be secured in favour of these
incipient measures to remedy the evil; publick attention must not only
be aroused by an occasional effusion, but be kept awake by frequent
communications; the general government must be convinced that it is not
enough to countenance, they must approve and aid this humane
undertaking—that the fountain of guilt springs from the foundation of
our Capitol, and that the principal remedy must be applied there; our
state legislatures must be made to feel that they also have imbrued
their hands in African blood, and that not a moment is to be lost in
washing away the stain. Every motive that can interest the
philanthropist, the patriot, the Christian and the Christian Missionary
is presented in this subject, and he that can be insensible of its
influence is unworthy to occupy a place in human society, unless in the
capacity of “a servant of servants.”
May the voice of timely warning arouse us, before the sword of sleepless
justice smite our souls.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
● Transcriber’s Notes:
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○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
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