Project Gutenberg's The Journal of Negro History, Volume 5, 1920, by Various
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Title: The Journal of Negro History, Volume 5, 1920
Author: Various
Release Date: October 26, 2007 [EBook #23200]
Language: English
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THE JOURNAL
OF
NEGRO HISTORY
Volume V
1920
Table of Contents
Vol V--January, 1920--No. 1
The Negro in Education LORETTA FUNKE
Negro Migration to Canada FRED LANDON
Richard Hill FRANK CUNDALL
Negroes and Indians in Massachusetts C. G. WOODSON
Documents
Book Reviews
Notes
Vol V--April, 1920--No. 2
Negro Public School System in Missouri HENRY SULLIVAN WILLIAMS
Religious Education DAVID HENRY SIMS
Aftermath of Nat Turner's Insurrection JOHN W. CROMWELL
Documents
Correspondence
Book Reviews
Notes
Vol V--July, 1920--No. 3
The Slave in Canada WILLIAM RENWICK RIDDELL
Book Reviews
Notes
Vol V--October, 1920--No. 4
The Return of Negro Slaves ARNETT G. LINDSAY
The Negro in Politics NORMAN P. ANDREWS
Henry Bibb, a Colonizer FRED LANDON
Myrtilla Miner G. SMITH WORMLEY
Communications
Documents
Some Undistinguished Negroes
Book Reviews
Notes
THE JOURNAL
OF
NEGRO HISTORY
VOL. V., NO. 1 JANUARY, 1920.
THE NEGRO IN EDUCATION[1]
In the early history of America there were three types of
settlements--the French, Spanish, and English. In the French Provinces
the teachings of the "Code Noir" made it incumbent upon the masters to
teach the slaves, at least to read, in order, of course, that they
might read the Bible; and in the Spanish districts the Latin custom of
miscegenation prevented the rise of objections to the teaching of
slaves, in case there should be any who cared to instruct the Negroes.
In the English Provinces, on the other hand, since teaching the slaves
would probably result in their becoming Christians, the colonists
naturally were strenuous in their efforts to prevent any enlightenment
of the blacks, due to the existence of an unwritten law to the effect
that no Christian might be held a slave. Many planters forbade the
teaching of their slaves, until finally the Bishop of London settled
the difficulty by issuing a formal declaration in which he stated that
conversion did not work manumission.[2]
The rudimentary education of Negroes was one of the first claims on
pioneer Christian teachers. Although the _Negro Year Book_ for 1914-15
makes note of a public school for Indians and Negroes established in
1620, according to Brawley and Du Bois, the first schools to be
established were private institutions.[3] In New York City in 1704 a
school was opened for Negroes and Indians by Elias Neau and in 1750
Anthony Benezet established an evening school for the blacks in
Philadelphia. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
established in Charleston in 1744 a mission school, in which two
Negroes were employed to instruct their fellowmen. The free Negroes in
Charleston established a school in 1774 and those in Boston started a
school in 1798. In 1764 the editor of a paper in Williamsburg,
Virginia, opened a school for Negroes and in 1800 a schoolhouse and
350 acres of ground were left by the will of Robert Pleasants to be
used for the benefit of Negro children.[4] About this same time in
Newark, New Jersey, the Kosciusko School was established by means of a
sum amounting to $13,000 left by Kosciusko for the education of the
Negroes.[5] In the Middle West private schools had been organized by
manumitted Negroes.
St. Frances Academy, established in Baltimore in 1829, by The Colored
Woman's Society, was the first school for colored girls. An institute
for Negro children was established in 1837 in Cheyney, Pennsylvania,
with the $10,000 left by Richard Humphries. By 1838 there were
thirteen private schools in Philadelphia for the education of the
Negro and in 1849 Avery College was established in Allegheny. Many of
the schools were organized by church societies. The African Methodist
Episcopal Church purchased in 1844 120 acres of land in Ohio upon
which was opened the Union Seminary in 1847. This church later in
co-operation with the Methodist Episcopal Church, North, established
Wilberforce University in Ohio in 1856. Oberlin College in Ohio was
opened in 1833 and Ashmun Institute, which later became Lincoln
University, was established in 1854 in Pennsylvania. Nevertheless,
there was in certain parts much opposition on the part of the
citizens, evidenced by the mobbing of a young Quaker woman, Prudence
Crandall, in Canterbury, Connecticut, in 1832, for having opened a
school for Negro children; and in 1835 by the removal from the town of
Noyes Academy in Canaan, New Hampshire, a school which had opened its
doors to Negroes.
The efforts toward education for the Negro were disconnected and
unorganized, while the laws opposing such education were fast
increasing, so that the results seem very astonishing, despite the
fact that so little was really accomplished. As early as 1740 South
Carolina enacted a law forbidding the education of Negroes or the
employment of slaves as scribes. Ohio in 1848 forbade Negroes and
mulatoes to attend schools. Indiana enacted no law against Negro
education but in 1850 omitted the Negroes from the school tax, which
in turn resulted in their expulsion from education in that State. In
1852 Delaware enacted a law declaring the schools free for all white
children over five years of age. In spite of all the regulations and
severe laws opposing the education of the Negro many "clandestine
schools" were held in Charleston, Savannah, and New Orleans before
1860.[6] The private schools increased in number rapidly during the
early nineteenth century among the free Negroes in the District of
Columbia and the border States. They were less numerous in the South
except in certain particular districts. In Washington, D.C., and New
Orleans it is reported that at the opening of the Civil War there were
about twenty schools for Negroes established.[7] It is also estimated
that in the slave States in 1860 there were 4,000 free Negro children
in school.[8] These figures, however, are relatively small in
comparison with the numbers and economic standards of the free
Negroes. In 1836 in New Orleans alone the freedmen numbered 855, owned
620 slaves, and held property whose assessed value equaled
$2,462,470.[9] By 1860 the total number of free Negroes was 487,970,
or about one ninth of the entire black population;[10] but the
majority of these freedmen were in the rural districts, whereas the
educational opportunities were in the cities, so that in 1863, with
only 5 per cent of the Negro population literate the problem was
indeed difficult, as far as the education of the black race was
concerned.
The next period in the education of the Negro was a decade of the
establishment of schools by the carpet-bag governments, mission
societies, and the Freedmen's Bureau. Some of the schools established
by the Negro carpet-baggers became very efficient. For example, in
Florida, Jonathan C. Gibbs, a Negro graduate of Dartmouth, succeeded
in founding in that State a splendid system of schools, which remained
even after the fall of the carpet-bag governments.[11] The American
Missionary Association was the first benevolent organization to take
up the work of education. The plan of this association was to
establish one school of higher learning in each of the larger States
in the South; normal and graded schools in the principal cities; and
common and parochial schools in the smaller country places. As a
result of this program, the principal institutions established were
Hampton Institute, Atlanta University, Fisk University, Straight
University, Talladega College, Tougaloo University, and Tillston
College.[12] The American Baptist Home Mission Society started work in
1862, which resulted in eight schools: Atlanta Baptist College and
Virginia Union University for men; Spelman Seminary and Hartshorn
Memorial College for women; and the coeducational institutions, Bishop
College, Benedict College, Shaw University, and Jackson College.[13]
In 1866, just before the beginning of the work of the Freedmen's
Bureau in education, the schools so far established had in attendance
nearly 100,000.[14] The Freedmen's Bureau had been established in 1865
by an act of Congress and by 1867 it reported 1,056 Negro teachers and
in 1870 the number was increased to 1,342. During the five years of
its work, this bureau established 4,239 schools in the South, with a
total number of teachers of 9,307 and of students, 247,333.[15]
Howard University, established in 1867, was one of these institutions.
The Freedman's Aid Society was organized by the northern Methodists in
1866 and to-day this society supports fifty institutions, ten of which
are collegiate.[16]
At the end of this period many religious agencies were establishing
schools. The Episcopalians established the St. Paul Normal and
Industrial School at Lawrence, Virginia, and St. Augustine's in
Raleigh, North Carolina. The Roman Catholics opened St. Joseph's
Industrial School at Clayton, Delaware; St. Augustine's Academy and
St. Frances' Academy. Besides these they have in the United States 87
schools for Negro children cared for by 24 sisterhoods.[17] The
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church has established twelve
institutions, four colleges, one theological school, and seven
secondary schools.[18] The Presbyterian Board of Missions has
established Biddle University in North Carolina, five seminaries for
girls, and 70 academies and parochial schools.[19] The work of this
period was not only constructive as far as Negro education was
concerned, but it also affected the life of the white population as
well by instituting public school systems in "regions where public
schools had been unknown,"[20] bringing about a new attitude in the
South toward public schools in general, since the whites up to this
time had, in the words of Colonel Richard P. Hallowell, "regarded the
public school system in the North with contempt."[20]
Toward the end of this period a new type of education was introduced
by the founding of Hampton Institute in 1875. This marked the
beginning of the period of industrialism, the purpose of such
education being to give the Negro children "combined mental, moral and
industrial training."[21] Following the founding of Hampton, Tuskegee
Institute was established; also being an industrial school. With
these two institutions as centers, the ideals of the industrial
propagandist radiated in all directions, finally permeating the whole
educational system, not only that of the Negro, but the educational
system of the schools for white children as well.
Although separation of the black and white children in the public
schools is forbidden in fourteen of the States, the law requires the
separation of the children in the following States: Alabama, Arkansas,
Delaware, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas,
Virginia, and West Virginia. In Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, and Wyoming,
the boards of education are given the power to decide the question.
Eleven of the States of the Union make no provision in their laws one
way or the other[22] Separation is demanded in the private schools in
Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. The law in Kentucky was
created at a time when it affected only one institution--that of Berea
College, which was established in 1856 for the education of
anti-slavery whites and was opened to Negro students after the Civil
War. In 1904, the date of the passage of the law, this college had 927
students, 174 of whom were Negroes.[23] All of the Northern States
have compulsory education, but only two of the Southern States,
Kentucky and Missouri, have enacted such laws. This does not mean, of
course, that these laws are enforced, nor is this a key to the amount
of education obtained in proportion to the population, but it does
indicate the difference in opportunities for education between the
Northern and Southern States.
In regard to the elementary education of the Negro children the whole
situation is rather discouraging, but great progress has been made and
one may hope for still greater progress in the future. The increase in
facilities for education between 1866 and 1870 was quite marked, with
a corresponding increase in the number of pupils, as shown by the
following table:
INCREASE IN EDUCATION FROM 1866 TO 1870[24]
+==========+===========+===============+==========+
| Date | Schools |No. Teachers | Pupils |
+----------+-----------+---------------+----------+
| 1866 | 975 | 1,405 | 90,778 |
| 1867 | 1,839 | 2,087 | 111,442 |
| 1868 | 1,831 | 2,295 | 104,327 |
| 1869 | 2,118 | 2,455 | 114,522 |
| 1870 | 2,677 | 3,300 | 149,581 |
+----------+-----------+---------------+----------+
The total expenditure for education during this period was $5,879,924.
There was in 1870, however, only about one tenth of the Negro children
of school age in school. Later, from 1889 to 1909, the number of
children enrolled greatly increased:
PERCENTAGE OF PERSONS 5 TO 18 YEARS ENROLLED[25]
Date White Colored
1889-1890 66.28 51.65
1899-1900 72.32 57.67
1908-1909 74.76 58.34
In the first year more than half the children were in school, a decade
later the increase was practically the same in the case of the Negro
children as it was in the case of the white children, but nine years
later the percentage had risen over 2 per cent in the case of the
white children and had decreased in the case of the blacks. The census
report of 1910 shows the percentage of Negro children enrolled in
school to be but 47.3 per cent, a decrease of 9 per cent. The average
attendance of the Negro children amounted to about one-third of the
number enrolled.[26] For these children there were 28,000 teachers, or
in other words, one teacher to every group of 57 children; whereas the
teachers for the white children averaged one to 45. The report of the
Commissioner of Education in 1909 gives a total number of school
children in the slave States of 3,054,888, instructed by 9,000 school
teachers--3,114 males and 5,886 female.[27] According to this report,
there would only be one teacher to every group of 184.35 children.
This seems an impossible number, so that one feels that surely
something must be wrong with the report. The training of these school
teachers is not of the highest, nor do they have a great deal of
training. The State School Commissioner of Georgia gives the following
report of conditions there:[28]
326 teachers with normal certificates,
129 teachers with first grade certificates,
476 teachers with second grade certificates,
2,037 teachers held third grade certificates.
The expenditures for all the children equaled $46,000,000, but the
Negro children who were one third of the total number received but one
seventh of this sum. For 231,801 Negro children South Carolina spent
$366,734.28, or $1.58 per capita, whereas Massachusetts spends $27 per
capita each year, and the District of Columbia spends $35.21. The
South Carolina school tax is heavier than the tax in Massachusetts,
but this State spends only $3.82 per capita for white children.[29]
Louisiana spends 93 per cent of the school funds for the white
children, and 7 per cent for the colored, making a per capita
expenditure of $16.60 for the white children and for the Negro an
expenditure of $1.59. The District of Columbia spends more for the
colored children than for the white, per capita expenditure: white,
$20.82; Negro, $21.87.[30]
The rural schools, as may be expected, are in a worse condition than
those of the city, in regard to equipment, teachers, and especially in
subject matter relating to the adjustments to a rural community.
Nevertheless, it seems that there is much more progress being made in
these schools than in those in the city. Baily in his _Race Orthodoxy
in the South_ describes a visit to what he terms a typical rural
school.[31] "There were no desks and only a small fragment of a
blackboard in one corner. The teacher showed signs of having very
little education himself and used no methods whatsoever in teaching.
There was only one whole book for the entire reading class. The pupils
came at all hours of the day and left whenever convenient for them.
When the teacher was asked how many pupils were enrolled in the
school, he answered that there were sixty." Mr. Bailey remarks that,
after glancing over the room, he fancied there were sixty "acomin' and
agoin'."
The Negroes in the rural communities have practically no literature
with the possible exception of a few patent inside newspapers carried
on by the heads of one or the other Negro orders.[32] The amount of
elevating reading matter may be judged by the type of advertisements
which run along the line of "hair-dressing that makes kinky hair soft,
pliant and glossy," and also of experiments of surgeons with the X-ray
in making black skin white. Among the books furnished in the schools,
nothing contained in them relates in any way to rural life.
In 1908 in North Carolina the average length of term for the rural
Negro school was 82.1 days,--the average length for all Negro schools,
including high schools, being 93 days. In this State there are 195 log
schoolhouses and 2,216 of the Negro schoolhouses are furnished with
home-made desks and benches. The rural Negro teacher receives an
average salary of $22.48 per month and the city Negro teacher receives
but $30.20.[33] The conditions in the agricultural communities in the
North seem to be better than those in the South. 20,700,000 ruralites
in the South average 7,000,000 children of school age, 4,400,000 of
whom are enrolled in school with an average attendance of 2,700,000.
In the North, on the other hand, 20,700,000 ruralites average
6,000,000 children, 4,500,000 of whom are enrolled, with an average
attendance of 3,200,000. For the South there are 92,000 school
teachers, whereas there are 158,000 in the North. School property in
the South is valued at $42,000,000 and in the North at $217,000,000.
The school revenue is $26,000,000 and $92,000,000 respectively. Per
capita expenditure in the South is under $10 and in the North it is
almost $30. The South spends only 16 cents on each $100 valuation, and
the North 20 cents.[34]
Many signs of progress are visible in the South, due mainly to the
influence of industrial institute graduates who attempt to reorganize
the rural districts with more or less success. One graduate of
Tuskegee seems to have met with unusual success in Hinds County,
Mississippi.[35] The Negroes in this community outnumber the white
population seven to one, but out of 40,000 of the inhabitants 13,000
can neither read nor write. In five years this graduate has built up
an industrial school with a farm of 1,500 acres, three large and
eleven small buildings, one large plantation house and thirty farm
houses. The school property is valued at $75,000, and he has started
an endowment fund in order to make the work permanent. In Macon
County, Alabama, improvements have been rapid. In five years' time
through the influence of a changed school system the value of the land
has risen from $2 an acre to $15 and $20. It is reported that crime
has been reduced to a negligible quantity. At the last sitting of the
grand jury there were only 17 cases of all kinds.[36] The "Rising
Star" School in West Virginia through a change in teacher and
curriculum has affected the community in as equally astonishing
manner. Not only are the homes of the farmers improved, but the number
of land-owning citizens has also increased. Even the religion preached
has been greatly changed with the introduction of industrial
training.[37] There is one school fund which is for the purpose of
improving rural conditions, that is the Jeanes Fund amounting to
$1,000,000, the interest on which is to be used for the rural schools
in supplying competent teachers as supervisors to introduce industrial
training. The influence of this fund together with the influence of
Hampton and Tuskegee Institutes seems to be the hope of the future for
the rural districts.
In the matter of secondary education, high schools for the Negroes are
practically lacking. In Atlanta with a Negro population of 51,902
Negroes; in Savannah with 33,246; and in Augusta with 18,344, there
are no Negro high schools whatsoever.[38] The following table shows
the distribution of the 156 high schools for Negroes[39] (1913):
Alabama 6 Maryland 1
Arkansas 4 Mississippi 10
Delaware 1 Missouri 14
District of Columbia 2 North Carolina 3
Florida 6 Ohio 1
Georgia 14 Oklahoma 5
Illinois 5 Pennsylvania 1
Indiana 6 South Carolina 13
Kansas 1 Tennessee 9
Kentucky 8 Texas 37
Louisiana 1 Virginia 4
West Virginia 5
The increase in the number of high schools in the Southern States from
year to year is shown by the following:[40]
============+==============+============+==============
Year | High Schools | Year | High Schools
------------+--------------+------------+--------------
1899-1900 | 92 | 1905-1906 | 129
1900-1901 | 100 | 1906-1907 | 121
1901-1902 | 99 | 1907-1908 | 106
1902-1903 | 123 | 1908-1909 | 112
1903-1904 | 131 | 1909-1910 | 141
1904-1905 | 146 | |
------------+--------------+------------+--------------
Apparently there is no effort in the South to supply high schools for
the Negro. The General Assembly of Georgia passed a bill to establish
high schools in all of the congressional districts of the State.
Eleven were established and supported by a fertilizer tax, most of
which was paid by the Negroes who numbered 45.1 per cent of the
population of the State, and 80 per cent of whom lived in the rural
districts. None of these schools, however, were for members of the
Negro race.[41]
The founding of the two most important industrial schools has been
mentioned before. Hampton Institute which was founded by the American
Missionary Society in 1868 now consists of 113 buildings, including
the instructors' cottages.[42] 76 of these buildings were erected by
student labor. There are 120 acres to the Home Farm and 600 acres to
Shellbanks, six miles from the Institute. The enrollment in 1910 was
875, or 1,399 including the Normal Practice School. Tuskegee Institute
which began with one hoe and a blind mule now possesses 2,000 acres of
land, 800 of which are cultivated each year by the young men of the
school. During 1903, 33 trades were taught to over 1,400 men and
women. By means of this work, the students pay more than one half of
their expenses. Of the sixty buildings, all but four were almost
wholly erected by students, even to the making of the bricks.[43]
Although the average Negro was greatly antagonistic regarding this
training at the beginning of the work at these institutes and many
protests were heard from all sides, Mr. Washington stated in _The
Negro Problem_ that it has been several years since they have received
a protest from parents against teaching industrial training.[44] The
graduates of Tuskegee have established more than fifteen similar
schools in the South.[45] Among those established are Voorhees
Industrial School, Robert Hungerford School, Snow Hill Normal and
Industrial Institute, Topeka Normal and Industrial Institute, Port
Royal Agricultural School, and Mt. Meigs Institute.
No one of the Negro institutions for higher learning has as yet become
a fully equipped university. No one of the institutions maintains a
graduate school. Howard University is the only one that has even
started graduate work.[46] The real influence of the college has been
to prepare men to be leaders in education, as may be witnessed by the
fact that out of the 5,000 Negro college graduates in the United
States 54 per cent are teaching, while 20 per cent are preaching.[47]
The following table shows the number of college graduates by
decades:[48]
==========+===============+==========+===============
Year | No. of Grads. | Year | No. of Grads.
----------+---------------+----------+---------------
1820-29 | 3 | 1870-79 | 313
1830-39 | -- | 1880-89 | 738
1840-49 | 7 | 1892-99 | 1,126
1850-59 | 12 | 1900-09 | 1,610
1860-69 | 44 | |
| +----------+---------------
| | Total | 3,856
----------+---------------+----------+---------------
The distribution of the college Negro is indicated in the
following:[49]
Districts No. of Graduates
New England States 16
So-Northern Atlantic States 42
No-Southern Atlantic States 92
So-Southern Atlantic States 276
E-Northern Central States 61
W-Northern Central States 47
E-Southern Central States 141
W-Southern Central States 99
Rocky Mountain States 2
Basin and Plateau States 3
Pacific States 3
Outside U. S. 2
Unknown 18
Total 802
103 of these graduates were born in the North, 65 or 63 per cent of
whom remained in the North and 35 or 34 per cent migrated to the
South; 682 of these were born in the South, 102 or 15 per cent of whom
went to the North, and 563 or 82.5 per cent remained in the South.
This shows that the tendency of the college graduate is to remain in
the South where he is most needed.
Of the graduates of 107 colleges which are not Negro institutions 79.2
per cent or 549 have been men, and 20.8 per cent or 144 have been
women. Of 2,964 graduates of 34 Negro colleges, 82.7 per cent have
been men and 17.3 have been women.[50] This difference may be due to a
greater economic standard of the Negro in the North, since the
colleges admitting Negroes which are not Negro institutions would be
in the North, and to the fact that more Negroes would be located near
educational institutions in the North than they would be in the South.
From another report the average age for the women graduates was 21-1/3
years, and the average for the men was 22-3/16 years. There seems to
be a tendency of the age to increase, as shown by the following:[51]
1880-1890 the average age was 21 years for men and women.
1890-1900 the average age was 22 years for men and women.
1900-1910 the average age was 22-4/10 years for men and women.
Of the 24 graduates reported 16 were under 35, and one was over 50.
Of 799 graduates 67.3 per cent of the males were married, and 31.1 per
cent of the females were married. Among these graduates there are only
two cases of divorce, one man and one woman. The ages at which they
married were for the men between 25 and 34 and for the women between
20 and 29. The families averaged four children. The death rate among
the children has not equalled one child per family.[52]
Statistics taken in 1913 of 258 schools show the college students to
be only 4.1 per cent of the entire number of Negroes in schools. If
the college graduate were in proportion to the population their number
would be about five times as great as it is at present.[53]
The Negroes have contributed in all lines to a large extent toward
their own education. Since 1865 religious and philanthropic
associations have contributed $57,000,000 and the Negroes by direct
contributions have supplied $24,000,000.[54] In 1869 in one year the
Negroes raised $200,000 for the construction of school houses. A
report from a State Superintendent of Schools of Florida stated that
in the Black Belt Counties the Negro schools cost $19,457 and the
direct and indirect contributions on the part of the Negroes amounted
to $23,984. There were $4,527 remaining which was used for the benefit
of the white schools.[55] It is thought on the part of some that the
Negro, although he may not pay in direct taxes a sum sufficient to
provide for his schools, may in reality be paying his full share
indirectly. I believe, however, that it is quite safe to say that he
probably pays as much for his education as any other poor class of the
population, especially so in comparison with some of the immigrant
classes. There have also been quite a number of Negro philanthropists,
the most prominent of whom have been Bishop Payne who gave several
thousand dollars to Wilberforce, Wheeling Grant who gave $5,000 to
Wilberforce, Mary E. Shaw who left $38,000 to Tuskegee, Nancy Addison
who left $15,000 for education in Baltimore, Louis Bode who left
$30,000 and George Washington of Jerseyville, Illinois, who left
$15,000 for education. Thomy Lafon, of New Orleans, left $413,000 to
be used for educational purposes with no distinction regarding race or
color. Colonel John McKee, of Philadelphia, left about $1,000,000 in
real estate to be used for education.[56] The Negro Baptist Churches
alone raised in 1907 $149,332.75.[57] In nine years the Negro students
paid in cash to 74 Negro institutions $3,358,667 and in work
$1,828,602, making a total of $5,187,269. This amounted to 44.6 per
cent of the entire running expenses of the institutions.[58]
The attitude of the Negro immediately after the war was that of
opposition to all kinds of labor. He had not as then learned the
distinction between working as a slave and working as a freedman. What
he wanted most was an education, a literary education, such as the
white man had. He did not want his education for any definite purpose,
except as an end in itself. The chief reason probably may have been
that of a desire to put himself on a par with the white man, and to
prove his intellectual equality. The attitude to-day is radically
different, being represented by men like Washington and DuBois.
Washington preached the gospel of industrial education, believing
strongly that that method would lead to an increase of the economic
wealth of the race, whereby they could acquire the so-called higher
education. DuBois, however, although he believed in the efficiency of
industrial training, also felt that the race should not neglect to
educate leaders even at the present time, so that his attitude differs
from that of Washington in a slight degree. Two short quotations from
Washington's writings may illustrate to a certain extent the attitude
of the leaders of Negro education: "What Negro education needed most,"
said he, "was not so much more schools or different kinds of schools,
as an educational policy and a school system,[59] and "I want to see
education as common as grass, and as free for all as sunshine and
rain.[60]
Prejudice is an important factor in the attitude of the white race
toward Negro education. This prejudice seems to be in all sections of
the country, but it is the southerner who is heard from the most,
possibly because he is more in contact with the real problem and then
because it seems to be a policy of southern politicians to attempt to
outdo each other in their speeches along the line of race prejudice.
According to Weatherford prejudice has arisen out of the fear that
education will lead to the dominance of the Negro in politics and to
promiscuous mingling in social life. "The southern white man will
never be enthusiastic for Negro education, until he is convinced that
such education will not lead to either of these."[61] This feeling of
a group is expressed in the following statement in a report to the
Baltimore Council by a committee in 1913: "No fault is found with the
Negroes' ambitions," said the report, "but the Committee feels that
Baltimoreans will be criminally negligent as to their future
happiness, if they suffer the Negroes' ambitions to go unchecked."[62]
Mr. Thomas Dixon, Junior, deplores the fact that Washington was
training the Negroes to be "masters of men," stating that "if there is
one thing the southern white man cannot endure it is an educated
Negro."[63]
School officials and educators on the other hand show an entirely
different attitude. Mr. Glenn, recently Superintendent of Education of
Georgia, made the declaration that "The Negro is ... teachable and
susceptible to the same kind of mental improvement characteristic to
any other race."[64] Thomas Nelson Page states that "the Negro may
individually attain a fair and in uncommon instances a considerable
degree of mental development."[65] Another states that "We must
educate him because ignorant men are dangerous, especially to a
democracy pledged to educate all men."[66] Some believe that we must
also educate him for self-protection from vice and disease. The
Southern Educational Association in 1907 passed the following
resolution: "We endorse the accepted policy of the States of the South
in providing educational facilities for the youth of the Negro race,
believing that whatever the ultimate solution of this grievous problem
may be, education must be an important factor in that solution."[67]
Illiteracy which in 1863 equaled about 95 per cent of the Negro
population has been decreasing rapidly since the Civil War. The
illiteracy of the Negro during the last three decades has been as
follows: in 1890, 57.1 per cent; in 1900, 44.5 per cent; and in 1910,
30.4 per cent. In the North in 1910 the illiteracy was 18.2 per cent
in the South 48.0 per cent, and in the West 13.1 per cent.[68] The
urban Negro in 1910 showed 17.6 per cent illiteracy and the rural 36.5
per cent. Louisiana showed 48 per cent, whereas Minnesota and Oregon
showed only 3.4 per cent.[69] In 1900 when the Negro illiteracy was
44.5 per cent, the children between ten and twenty-five years of age
showed only 30 per cent and those between 10 and 14 years in
Mississippi showed only 22 per cent.[70] The illiteracy for all Negro
children was 25 per cent, whereas the illiteracy for all white
children was only 10.5 per cent.[71] The illiteracy of our Negroes
does not seem so great when a comparison is made with some foreign
countries:[72]
Race Illiteracy
Negroes 30.4
Bulgaria 65.5
Greece 57.2
Hungary 40.9
Italy 48.2
Poland 59.3
Portugal 73.4
Russia 70.0
Servia 78.9
Spain 58.7
Chile 49.9
Cuba 56.8
Mexico 75.3
Porto Rico 79.6
India 92.5
Philippines 55.5
Cape of Good Hope 65.8
Egypt 92.7
The percentage of Negro illiteracy in America is less than any one of
these foreign races.
The criminality of the Negro seemingly has decreased as the illiteracy
has decreased. Out of every 100 criminals only 39 could read and 61
could not, whereas in the general population 43 could read and 57
could not.[73] In the Mississippi penitentiary where they had 450
convicts of Negro blood one half of them could neither read nor write,
and less than 10 per cent had anything like a fair education.[74]
Atlanta University has graduated 800 Negro men and women, not one of
whom has ever been convicted of crime. Fisk University has only one
graduate who has ever been convicted. Greensboro Agricultural and
Technical College has had 2,000 students since its establishment, and
only five have ever been convicted of crime. Two of these had been
expelled students, and none were among the three hundred graduates of
the college. Negro students who have gone to high school show a
remarkably low percentage of crime. Of the 200 graduates from the
Winston-Salem High School (North Carolina) only one has a criminal
record. Waters Normal Institute at Winton, North Carolina, has
graduated more than 130 students and not one of these has ever been
arrested or convicted of any crime.[75] The records of the southern
prisons show that at least 90 per cent of those in prison are without
trades of any sort.[76] According to Booker T. Washington, "Manual
training is as good a prevention of criminality as vaccination is of
smallpox."[77] In 1903, in Gloucester County, Virginia, twenty-five
years after education had been introduced, there were 30 arrests for
misdemeanors, 16 white and 14 black; and in the next year there were
15 arrests for misdemeanors, 14 white and one black.[78] The general
opinion of the southerner may be judged by the answers to a
questionnaire sent out to prominent southern men in each of the
Southern States. To the question "Does crime grow less as education
increases?" there were 102, answered "yes" and 19 answered "no."[79]
One of the charges against the Negro has been his shiftlessness, both
as far as his personal industriousness is concerned, and as far as the
care of his home and things about him. Now, however, education has
increased his standards and his wants, so that since he desires to
have land, homes, churches, books, papers, and education for his
children, he will labor regularly and efficiently to supply these. The
graduates of Tuskegee Institute are kept in touch with by one of the
school officials, who reported that not 10 per cent could be found in
idleness and that only one was in a penitentiary.[80]
LORETTA FUNKE
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In the preparation of this manuscript the following books have
been useful: Thomas P. Bailey, _Race Orthodoxy in the South_ (New
York: the Neale Publishing Company, 1914); Benjamin Griffith Brawley,
_A Short History of the American Negro_ (New York: The Macmillan
Company, 1913); Daniel Wallace Culp, _Twentieth Century Negro
Literature_ (Naperville, Illinois, J. L. Nichols and Company, 1902);
Albert Bushnell Hart, _The Southern South_ (New York, D. Appleton and
Company, 1912); Mary White Ovington, _Half a Man_ (New York and
London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1911); William Passmore Pickett, _The
Negro Problem_ (New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1909);
Charles Victor Roman, _American Civilization and the Negro_
(Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company, 1916); Gilbert Thomas Stephenson,
_Race Distinctions in American Law_ (New York and London: D. Appleton
and Company, 1910); Booker T. Washington, _My Larger Education_
(Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page and Company, 1911); Booker T.
Washington, _Working with the Hands_ (New York: Doubleday, Page and
Company, 1904); Booker T. Washington and W. E. Burghardt Du Bois, _The
Negro in the South_ (Philadelphia: G. W. Jacobs and Company, 1907);
Booker T. Washington and others, _The Negro Problem_ (New York: J.
Pott and Company, 1903); Willis Duke Weatherford, _Negro Life in the
South_ (New York: Young Men's Christian Association Press, 1910);
Carter Godwin Woodson, _The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861_ (New
York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1915).
The following articles have also been used: Henry E. Baker, _The Negro
in the Field of Invention_ (_Journal of Negro History_, January, 1917,
p. 21); W. H. Baldwin, Jr., _The Present Problem of Negro Education_
(_American Journal of Social Science_, 37, 1899, p. 52); W. E.
Burghardt DuBois, _The College Bred Negro_ (Atlanta University
Publications, No. 15, Atlanta, 1910); _The Common School and the Negro
American_ (Atlanta University Publications, No. 16, 1911); _The
School_ (Atlanta University Publications, No. 14, 1909); _Education
and Crime Among Negroes_ (_Review of Reviews_, 55, 1917, p. 318);
Hampton Negro Conference, _Annual Report_, July, 1899 (Hampton
Institute Press, 1889); _Higher Education of the Negro_ (_The Nation_,
100, 1915, p. 187); George Johnson, _Education of the Negro_ (_The
Nation_, 100, 1915, p. 443); Jesse Lawson, _How to Solve the Race
Problem_ (Report of the Washington Conference on the Race Problem in
the United States, Washington, D. C., 1904); William Mathews, _The
Negro Intellect_ (_North American Review_, 149, 1889, p. 91); _More
Testimony on Negro Migration_ (_Survey_, July 14, 1917, p. 340);
National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, _Bulletin_, Vol. V,
No. 1, November, 1915; Michael E. Sadler, _Education of the Colored
Race_ (Great Britain Educational Department, Special Reports of, 1902,
Volume II); Charles Dudley Warner, _The Education of the Negro_
(_American Journal of Social Science_, 38, 1900, p. 1); Booker T.
Washington, _Fifty Years of Progress_ (_Forum_ 55, 1916, pp. 269-79);
Monroe N. Work, _The Negro Year Book_ (Nashville, Sunday School Union
Print, 1915).
[2] Woodson, _The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861_, p. 24.
[3] Brawley, _History of the Negro_, p. 104; Du Bois, Atlanta U. Pub.
No. 16, p. 16.
[4] Brawley, _History of the Negro_, p. 104.
[5] Washington, _My Larger Education_, p. 241.
[6] Sadler, _Gr. Britain Edu. Reports_, p. 537.
[7] Du Bois, _Atlanta U. Pub._ No. 16, p. 16.
[8] Weatherford, _Negro Life in the South_, p. 94.
[9] Brawley, _History of the Negro_, p. 103.
[10] _Ibid._, p. 102.
[11] Du Bois, _Atlanta U. Pub._ No. 16, p. 21.
[12] Brawley, _History of the Negro_, p. 135.
[13] _Ibid._, 137.
[14] Weatherford, _Negro Life in the South_, p. 94.
[15] Work, _Negro Yearbook_, 1915, p. 201.
[16] Brawley, _History of the Negro_, p. 139.
[17] _Ibid._, p. 141.
[18] _Ibid._, p. 168.
[19] _Ibid._, p. 140.
[20] Du Bois, _Atlanta U. Pub._ No. 16, p. 22.
[21] Washington, _The Negro Problem_, p. 19.
[22] Stephenson, _Race Distinction in American Law_, p. 189.
[23] _Ibid._, p. 154.
[24] Du Bois, _Atlanta U. Pub._ No. 16, p. 20.
[25] _Ibid._, p. 27.
[26] Hart, _The Southern South_, p. 310.
[27] Weatherford, _Negro Life in the South_, p. 96.
[28] Weatherford, _Negro Life in the South_, p. 108.
[29] _Ibid._, p. 96.
[30] Work, _Negro Yearbook_, 1915, p. 223.
[31] Baily, _Race Orthodoxy_, pp. 273-280.
[32] Hart, _Southern South_, p. 324.
[33] Weatherford, _Negro Life in the South_, p. 98.
[34] Hart, _Southern South_, p. 294.
[35] Washington, _My Larger Education_, p. 191.
[36] _Ibid._, p. 152.
[37] _Ibid._, p. 146.
[38] Du Bois, _Atlanta U. Pub._ No. 16, p. 127.
[39] Work, _The Negro Yearbook_, 1915, p. 216.
[40] Du Bois, _Atlanta U. Pub._ No. 16, p. 129.
[41] DuBois, _Atlanta U. Pub._ _No._ 16, p. 128.
[42] Brawley, _The Negro Yearbook_, 1915, p. 147
[43] Washington, _The Negro Problem_, p. 20.
[44] _Ibid._, p. 22.
[45] Brawley, _History of the Negro_, p. 153.
[46] _Ibid._, p. 142.
[47] Brawley, _History of the Negro_, p. 145.
[48] Du Bois, _Atlanta U. Pub._ No. 15, p. 45.
[49] _Ibid._, p. 54.
[50] Du Bois, _Atlanta U. Pub._ No. 15, p. 46.
[51] _Ibid._, p. 28.
[52] _Ibid._, p. 57.
[53] Work, _The Negro Yearbook_, 1915, p. 229.
[54] Work, _The Negro Yearbook_, p. 235
[55] Washington, _Working with the Hands_, p. 72.
[56] Brawley, _History of the Negro_, p. 174.
[57] _Ibid._, p. 169.
[58] Du Bois, _Atlanta U. Pub._ No. 14, p. 18.
[59] Washington, _My Larger Education_, p. 310.
[60] _Ibid._, p. 139.
[61] Weatherford, _Negro Life in the South_, p. 87.
[62] Bailey, _Race Orthodoxy in the South_, p. 265.
[63] Hart, _The Southern South_, p. 319.
[64] _Ibid._, p. 326.
[65] _Ibid._, p. 327.
[66] Bailey, _Race Orthodoxy in the South_, p. 269.
[67] Hart, _The Southern South_, p. 327.
[68] Work, _Negro Yearbook_, 1915, p. 226.
[69] _Ibid._, p. 226.
[70] Hart, _The Southern South_, p. 294.
[71] _Ibid._, p. 292.
[72] Washington in the _Forum_, p. 270.
[73] _Review of Reviews_, p. 318.
[74] _Review of Reviews_, p. 319.
[75] _Ibid._, p. 319.
[76] Weatherford, _Negro Life in the South_, p. 110.
[77] Washington and Du Bois, _The Negro in the South_, p. 64.
[78] _Ibid._, p. 71.
[79] Washington, _Working with the Hands_, p. 239.
[80] Washington and Du Bois, _The Negro in the South_, p. 61.
THE NEGRO MIGRATION TO CANADA AFTER THE PASSING OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE
ACT
When President Fillmore signed the Fugitive Slave Bill[1] on September
18, 1850, he started a Negro migration that continued up to the
opening of the Civil War, resulting in thousands of people of color
crossing over into Canada and causing many thousands more to move from
one State into another seeking safety from their pursuers. While the
free Negro population of the North increased by nearly 30,000 in the
decade after 1850, the gain was chiefly in three States, Ohio,
Michigan and Illinois. Connecticut had fewer free people of color in
1860 than in 1850 and there were half a dozen other States that barely
held their own during the period. The three States showing gains were
those bordering on Canada where the runaway slave or the free man of
color in danger could flee when threatened. It is estimated that from
fifteen to twenty thousand Negroes entered Canada between 1850 and
1860, increasing the Negro population of the British provinces from
about 40,000 to nearly 60,000. The greater part of the refugee
population settled in the southwestern part of the present province of
Ontario, chiefly in what now comprises the counties of Essex and Kent,
bordering on the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair. This large
migration of an alien race into a country more sparsely settled than
any of the Northern States might have been expected to cause trouble,
but records show that the Canadians received the refugees with
kindness and gave them what help they could.[2] At the close of the
Civil War many of the Negroes in exile returned, thus relieving the
situation in Canada.
The Fugitive Slave Bill had been signed but a month when Garrison
pointed out in _The Liberator_ that a northward trek of free people of
color was already under way. "Alarmed at the operation of the new
Fugitive Slave Law, the fugitives from slavery are pressing northward.
Many have been obliged to flee precipitately leaving behind them all
the little they have acquired since they escaped from slavery."[3] The
American Anti-Slavery Society's report also notes the consternation
into which the Negro population was thrown by the new legislation[4]
and from many other contemporary sources there may be obtained
information showing the distressing results that followed immediately
upon the signing of the bill. Reports of the large number of new
arrivals were soon coming from Canada. Hiram Wilson, a missionary at
St. Catharines, writing in _The Liberator_ of December 13, 1850, says:
"Probably not less than 3,000 have taken refuge in this country since
the first of September. Only for the attitude of the north there would
have been thousands more." He says that his church is thronged with
fugitives and that what is true of his own district is true also of
other parts of southern Ontario. Henry Bibb, in his paper _The Voice
of the Fugitive_[5] published frequent reports of the number of
fugitives arriving at Sandwich on the Detroit River. In the issue of
December 3,1851, he reports 17 arrivals in a week. On April 22, 1852,
he records 15 arrivals within the last few days and notes that "the
Underground Railroad is doing good business this spring." On May 20,
1852, he reports "quite an accession of refugees to our numbers during
the last two weeks" and on June 17 notes the visit of agents from
Chester, Pennsylvania, preparatory to the movement of a large number
of people of color from that place to Canada. On the same date he
says: "Numbers of free persons of color are arriving in Canada from
Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia, Ohio and Indiana. Sixteen
passed by Windsor on the seventh and 20 on the eighth and the cry is
'Still they come.'" The immigration was increasing week by week, for
on July 1 it was reported in _The Voice of the Fugitive_ that "in a
single day last week there were not less than 65 colored emigrants
landed at this place from the south.... As far as we can learn not
less than 200 have arrived within our vicinity since last issue."
Almost every number of the paper during 1852 gives figures as to the
arrivals of the refugees. On September 23 Bibb reported the arrival of
three of his own brothers while on November 4, 1852, there is recorded
the arrival of 23 men, women and children in 48 hours. Writing to _The
Liberator_ of November 12, 1852, Mary E. Bibb said that during the
last ten days they had sheltered 23 arrivals in their own home. The
American Missionary Association, which had workers among the fugitives
in Canada noted in its annual report for 1852 that there had been a
large increase of the Negro population during the year[6] while
further testimony to the great activity along the border is given by
the statement that the Vigilance Committee at Detroit assisted 1,200
refugees in one year and that the Cleveland Vigilance Committee had a
record of assisting more than a hundred a month to freedom.[7]
The northern newspapers of the period supply abundant information
regarding the consternation into which the Negroes were thrown and
their movements to find places of safety. Two weeks after President
Fillmore had signed the Fugitive Slave Bill a Pittsburgh despatch to
_The Liberator_ stated that "nearly all the waiters in the hotels have
fled to Canada. Sunday 30 fled; on Monday 40; on Tuesday 50; on
Wednesday 30 and up to this time the number that has left will not
fall short of 300. They went in large bodies, armed with pistols and
bowie knives, determined to die rather than be captured."[8] A
Hartford despatch of October 18, 1850, told of five Negroes leaving
that place for Canada;[9] Utica reported under date of October 2 that
16 fugitive slaves passed through on a boat the day before, bound for
Canada, all well armed and determined to fight to the last;[10] _The
Eastport Sentinel_ of March 12 noted that a dozen fugitives had
touched there on the steamer _Admiral_, en route to St. John's; _The
New Bedford Mercury_ said: "We are pleased to announce that a very
large number of fugitive slaves, aided by many of our most wealthy and
respected citizens have left for Canada and parts unknown and that
many more are on the point of departure."[11] The Concord, New
Hampshire, _Statesman_ reported: "Last Tuesday seven fugitives from
slavery passed through this place ... and they probably reached Canada
in safety on Wednesday last. Scarcely a day passes but more or less
fugitives escape from the land of slavery to the freedom of Canada ...
via this place over the track of the Northern Railroad."[12]
Many other examples of the effect of the Fugitive Slave Act might be
noted. The Negro population of Columbia, Pennsylvania, dropped from
943 to 487 after the passing of the bill.[13] The members of the Negro
community near Sandy Lake in northwestern Pennsylvania, many of whom
had farms partly paid for, sold out or gave away their property and
went in a body to Canada.[14] In Boston a fugitive slave congregation
under Leonard A. Grimes had a church built when the blow fell. More
than forty members fled to Canada.[15] Out of one Baptist church in
Buffalo more than 130 members fled across the border, a similar
migration taking place among the Negro Methodists of the same city
though they were more disposed to make a stand. At Rochester all but
two of the 114 members of the Negro Baptist church fled, headed by
their pastor, while at Detroit the Negro Baptist church lost 84
members, some of whom abandoned their property in haste to get
away.[16] A letter from William Still, agent of the Philadelphia
Vigilance Committee, to Henry Bibb at Sandwich says there is much talk
of emigration to Canada as the best course for the fugitives.[17] _The
Corning Journal_ illustrates the aid that was given to the fugitives
by northern friends. Fifteen fugitives, men, women and children, came
in by train and stopped over night. In the morning a number of Corning
people assisted them to Dunkirk and sent a committee to arrange for
passage to Canada. The captain of the lake steamer upon which they
embarked, very obligingly stopped at Fort Maiden, on the Canadian
side, for wood and water and the runaways walked ashore to freedom.
"The underground railroad is in fine working order," is the comment of
_The Journal_. "Rarely does a collision occur, and once on the track
passengers are sent through between sunrise and sunset." That time did
not dull the terrors of the Fugitive Slave Act is shown by the fact
that every fresh arrest would cause a panic in its neighborhood. At
Chicago in 1861, almost on the eve of the Civil War, more than 100
Negroes left on a single train following the arrest of a fugitive,
taking nothing with them but the clothes on their backs and most of
them leaving good situations behind."[18]
The Underground Railroad system was never so successful in all its
history as after 1850. Despite the law, and the infamous activities of
many of the slave-catchers, at least 3,000 fugitives got through to
Canada within three months after the bill was signed. This was the
estimate of both Henry Bibb and Hiram Wilson and there were probably
no men in Canada who were better acquainted with the situation than
these two. In _The Voice of the Fugitive_ of November 5, 1851, Bibb
reported that "the road is doing better business this fall than usual.
The Fugitive Slave Law has given it more vitality, more activity, more
passengers and more opposition which invariably accelerates
business.... We can run a lot of slaves through from almost any of the
bordering slave states into Canada within 48 hours and we defy the
slaveholders and their abettors to beat that if they can.... We have
just received a fresh lot today and still there is room." _The Troy
Argus_ learned from "official sources" in 1859 that the Underground
Railroad had been doing an unusually large business that year.[19]
Bibb's newspaper reports, December 2, 1852, that the underground is
working well. "Slaveholders are frequently seen and heard, howling on
their track up to the Detroit River's edge but dare not venture over
lest the British lion should lay his paw upon their guilty heads."
Bibb kept a watchful eye on slave-catchers coming to the Canadian
border and occasionally reported their presence in his paper.
Underground activity was also noted in _The Liberator_. "The
underground railroad and especially the express train, is doing a good
business just now. We have good and competent conductors," was a
statement in the issue of October 29, 1852.[20]
Not all those who fled to Canada left their property behind. _The
Voice of the Fugitive_ makes frequent reference to Negroes arriving
with plenty of means to take care of themselves. "Men of capital with
good property, some of whom are worth thousands, are settling among us
from the northern states." says the issue of October 22, 1851, while
in the issue of July 1, 1852, it is noted that "22 from Indiana
passed through to Amherstburg, with four fine covered waggons and
eight horses. A few weeks ago six or eight such teams came from the
same state into Canada. The Fugitive Slave Law is driving out brains
and money." In a later issue it was stated "we know of several
families of free people of color who have moved here from the northern
states this summer who have brought with them property to the amount
of £30,000."[21] Some of these people with property joined the Elgin
Association settlement at Buxton, purchasing farms and taking
advantage of the opportunities that were provided there for education.
A letter to _The Voice of the Fugitive_ from Ezekiel C. Cooper,
recently arrived at Buxton, says: "Canada is the place where we have
our rights."[22] He speaks of having purchased 50 acres of land and
praises the school and its teacher at Buxton. Cooper came from
Northampton, Massachusetts, driven out by the Fugitive Slave Law. A
rather unusual case was that of 12 manumitted slaves who were brought
to Canada from the South. They had been bequeathed $1,000 each by
their former owner. They all bought homes in the Niagara district.[23]
While fugitives and free Negroes were being harried in the Northern
States slaves continued to run away from their masters and seek
liberty. "Slaves are making this a great season for running off to
Pennsylvania," said the Cumberland, Virginia, _Unionist_ in 1851.[24]
"A large number have gone in the last week, most of whom were not
recaptured." At the beginning of 1851 _The Liberator_ had a Buffalo
despatch to the effect that 87 runaways from the South had passed
through to Canada since the passing of the bill the previous
September.[25] Bibb mentions two runaways from North Carolina who were
101 days reaching Canada.[26] The Detroit _Free Press_ reported that
29 runaways crossed to Canada about the end of March, 1859, "the first
installment of northern emigration from North Carolina."[27] About the
same time _The Detroit Advertiser_ announced that "seventy fugitive
slaves arrived in Canada by one train from the interior of Tennessee.
A week before a company of 12 arrived. At nearly the same time a party
of seven and another of five were safely landed on the free soil of
Canada, making 94 in all. The underground railroad was never before
doing so flourishing a business."[28] The New Orleans _Commercial
Bulletin_ of December 19, 1860, asserted that 1,500 slaves had escaped
annually for the last fifty years, a loss to the South of at least
$40,000,000. The American Anti-Slavery Society's twenty-seventh report
said "Northward migration from slave land during the last year has
fully equalled the average of former years."[29]
It is interesting to note that several of the most famous cases that
arose under the Fugitive Slave Act had their ending in Canada.
Shadrack, Anthony Burns, Jerry McHenry, the Parkers, the Lemmon slaves
and others found refuge across the border after experiencing the
terrors of the Fugitive Slave legislation. The Shadrack incident was
one of the earliest to arise under the new law. Shadrack, a Negro
employe in a Boston coffee house, was arrested on February 15, 1851,
on the charge of having escaped from slavery in the previous May. As
the commissioner before whom he was brought was not ready to proceed,
the case was adjourned for three days. As Massachusetts had forbidden
the use of her jails in fugitive cases Shadrack was detained in the
United States court room at the court house. A mob of people of color
broke into the building, rescued the prisoner and he escaped to
Canada. The rescue caused great excitement at Washington and five of
the rescuers were indicted and tried but the jury disagreed. The
incident showed that the new law would be enforced with difficulty in
Massachusetts in view of the fact that the mob had been supported by a
Vigilance Committee of most respectable citizens.[30]
A few months later, at Syracuse, a respectable man of color named
Jerry McHenry was arrested as a fugitive on the complaint of a slaver
from Missouri. He made an attempt to escape and failed. The town,
however, was crowded with people who had come to a meeting of the
County Agricultural Society and to attend the annual convention of the
Liberty Party. On the evening of October 1, 1851, a descent was made
upon the jail by a party led by Gerrit Smith and Rev. Samuel J. May,
both well-known abolitionists. The Negro was rescued, concealed for a
few days and then sent on to Canada where he died, at Kingston, in
1853.[31]
A more tragic incident was that known as the Gorsuch case. A slaver
named Gorsuch, with his son and some others, all armed, came to
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in search of two fugitives. In a house two
miles from Lancaster was a Negro family named Parker and they were
besieged by the Gorsuchs. The Negroes blew a horn and brought others
to their help. Two Quakers who were present were called upon to render
help in arresting the Negroes, as they were required to do under the
Act, but they refused to aid. In the fighting that took place the
elder Gorsuch was killed and his son wounded. The Negroes escaped to
Canada where they spent the winter in Toronto and in the spring joined
the Elgin Association settlement at Buxton in Kent county.[32]
The Anthony Burns case attracted more attention than any other arising
in the execution of the Fugitive Slave Law. Burns, who was a fugitive
from Virginia living in Boston, betrayed his hiding place in a letter
which fell into the hands of a southern slaver and was communicated to
a slave hunter. The slaver tried to coax Burns to go back to bondage
peaceably but failing in this he had him arrested and brought before a
commissioner who, on June 2, 1854, decided that Burns was a fugitive
and must be sent back to slavery. Boston showed its feelings on the
day that the Negro was removed from jail to be sent South. Stores were
closed and draped in black, bells tolled, and across State Street a
coffin was suspended bearing the legend THE DEATH OF LIBERTY. The
streets were crowded and a large military force, with a field piece in
front, furnished escort for the lone black. Hisses and cries of "
shame" came from the crowd as the procession passed. Burns was soon
released from bondage, Boston people and others subscribing to
purchase his liberty. He was brought North, educated and later entered
the ministry. For several years he was a missionary at St. Catharines,
Canada, and died there in the sixties.[33]
Along the international boundary there were exciting incidents at
times, fugitives being chased to the border and often having narrow
escapes from recapture. The Monroe family, mother and several
daughters, escaped from slavery in Kentucky in 1856 and were carried
by the Underground Railroad to Ann Arbor and on to Detroit, the master
in hot pursuit. So close was the chase that as the runaways pulled out
from the wharf on the ferry for Windsor, Canada, the master came
running down the street crying out "Stop them! stop them!" He was
jeered at by the crowd which sympathized with the Negro woman.[34]
In June, 1852, three fugitives arrived in Detroit and in response to
frantic messages from Toledo were held for their pursuers. In
desperation the Negroes made a savage attack on their jailer, gained
their freedom and got across the border with the assistance of friends
in Detroit. Rewards that were offered for their recapture were
useless as the fugitives took care to remain on the Canadian side.[35]
Hiram Wilson tells of an incident that came under his notice at St.
Catharines. A beautiful young girl, 14 years of age and almost white,
was brought to Buffalo as maid for a slaveholder's daughter travelling
in the North. She was spirited off by some Buffalo abolitionists,
transferred to a steamer flying the British flag, and landed in
Canada. She was taken to St. Catharines and sheltered in the home of
Hiram Wilson. The master came over from Buffalo bringing a couple of
lawyers with him and tried to secure his property but his demands were
refused. The owner claimed that he valued the girl at $1,000. It was
later discovered that she had been sold no less than four times before
coming to Canada.[36]
The brutality of the Fugitive Slave Law was shown on more than one
occasion along the border. A case that attracted much attention at the
time was that of Daniel Davis. He was cook on the steamer _Buckeye_.
One day while the vessel was in port at Buffalo he was called up from
below. As his head appeared above the deck he was struck a heavy blow
by a slave catcher named Benjamin Rust who had a warrant from a United
States commissioner for his arrest. The Negro fell back senseless into
the hold and on top of a stove, being badly burned. He was brought
into court at once and the newspaper accounts relate in detail how he
sat during the proceedings "dozing, with blood oozing out of his mouth
and nostrils." After a trial that was rushed in a most unseemly way
the Negro was ordered delivered over to Rust, who was really agent for
one George H. Moore, of Louisville. The brutality of the whole
proceeding stirred up deep interest in Buffalo and on a writ of habeas
corpus the fugitive was brought before Judge Conkling of the United
States Court at Auburn and released. Before there could be further
steps taken to hold the Negro he was hurried into Canada, where he
remained. He was in attendance at the large Negro Convention held in
Toronto in September, 1851, and with his head still in bandages
afforded striking evidence of the effects of the Slave Law. Rust,
Davis's assailant, was afterwards indicted at Buffalo but allowed to
go after paying a paltry $50 fine.[37]
Another memorable border incident occurred at Sandusky, Ohio, in
October, 1852. A party of fugitives, two men, two women and several
children had been brought from Kentucky and were aboard the steamer
_Arrow_ about to sail for Detroit when they were all arrested by the
alleged owner and taken before the mayor of the town. Rush R. Sloane,
a local lawyer, offered to act in their defence. The proceedings were
so hurried that no warrant or writ was ready to be produced in court
and Sloane signified by a gesture that the Negroes were free. There
was an immediate rush for the door on the part of the fugitives and
their friends, but even as they fled from the court room the claimant
entered calling out: "Here are the papers. I own the slaves. I'll hold
you personally responsible for their escape." The fugitives meanwhile
had gone to the harbor, entered a sailboat owned by friendly fishermen
and were on their way to Canada. The slaver, frantic at seeing his
property vanishing, tried in vain to get other fishermen to pursue
them. He then hurried to a neighboring town, trying to secure help,
but with no more success. Within a few hours the runaways were landed
at Port Stanley, safe from all pursuers. The slaver made good his
threat to hold Sloane responsible for the loss of his property,
entering action and securing a judgment for $3,000. It is related as
one of the pathetic incidents of this case that when the fugitives
were first taken off the steamer _Arrow_ one of the women dropped her
infant child on the ground and disowned it, hoping that it at least
would be free if she were condemned to return to slavery.[38]
With so great an influx of refugees into a country that was sparsely
settled, some suffering was inevitable, but contemporary evidence
indicates that after all it was but slight. There was probably more
distress during the winter of 1850-1 than later on because of the
large number who came in during the few months immediately after the
passing of the Fugitive Slave Bill. In their haste to find safety many
left everything behind, entering Canada with little more than the
clothes on their backs. A. L. Power, of Farmington, who visited
Windsor at the beginning of 1851, found about a score of families
living in an old military barracks, most of them in need of both fuel
and clothing. At Sandwich, near by, he also found distress and
mentions seeing a family of eight children who were almost nude and
who were suffering from the cold.[39] Sickness was, in many cases, a
result of the exposure to which the Negroes had been subjected in
their effort to reach Canada. Later on, the situation improved and by
1855 the workers of the American Missionary Association reported that
"in general, those who have gone there from the United States, even
the fugitives, may provide for the wants of their families, after a
short residence there; especially if they meet a friendly hand and,
more than all, good counsel on their arrival."[40]
Various agencies in both the United States and Canada were active in
the work of relieving the distress among the newcomers. The American
Anti-Slavery Society early addressed itself to this task. "Several
agents," said Bibb, "have during the past year proceeded to Canada to
exert the best influence in their power over the fugitives that have
flocked to the province in years past and especially those who have
gone the past year. They are supplied with the means of instructing
the colored population, clothing some of the most destitute fugitives
and aiding them in various ways to obtain employment, procure and
cultivate land and train up their children. Our friends in Canada are
exerting a good influence in the same direction."[41]
The fugitives themselves were banded together to aid the newcomers.
The Windsor Anti-Slavery Society and the Fugitives' Union were both
organized to relieve distress and assist their fellows in making a
living.[42] Supplies were sent in from points at considerable
distances in some cases, clothing, food, money, and in one case a
donation of 2,000 fruit trees from Henry Willis, of Battle Creek, for
refugees who were going on the land.[43] Michigan people were
exceedingly generous in extending aid and there is record also of
supplies sent from Fall River, Whitestown, New Jersey, Boston and
other places in New England. There was plenty of work for the Negroes,
the fifties being a period of railroad building in western Ontario, so
that writing in 1861, William Troy maintained, that nine tenths of the
fugitives had got along without outside aid of any kind. "The
fugitives show a marked disposition to help each other and relieve
want," he says. "I could show hundreds of instances of kindheartedness
to all persons, irrespective of race."[44]
The organization of the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada came largely as
a result of the sudden influx of Negroes after 1850 which, perhaps
more than anything else, impressed upon Canadians the great issue that
was rapidly dividing the neighboring republic. Beginning at Toronto
the anti-slavery forces in Canada were organized in the various cities
and towns of the province and continued active until the Civil War.
There was developed in Canada a marked anti-slavery sentiment which
manifested itself in part in the very large number of Canadians who
enlisted in the northern armies.[45] The Anti-Slavery Society was also
active in extending the helping hand to the fugitives, considerable
sums being raised for relief purposes and support being given to
educational and other movements designed to elevate the race.
In Canada the refugees were absolutely safe from the operations of the
Fugitive Slave Law. No loophole could be found in the Canadian law
that would permit the rendition of a slave. A famous case arose in the
Canadian courts on the eve of the Civil War when a Negro, John
Anderson, was arrested charged with the murder of a slaver named Diggs
some years before, the crime having been committed while Anderson was
trying to make his escape from slavery. Canadian opinion was much
aroused and though the first decision of the courts was that the Negro
must be extradited this finding was overruled from England and in the
end the prisoner was released on a technicality. It was made quite
clear that the British Government would view with marked disapproval
any decision in Canada that would return a refugee to slavery.
There were doubtless numerous attempts to kidnap Negroes who had
escaped to Canada, especially in the border towns, but such attempts
must have been rarely successful. An open attempt to induce a Canadian
official to act as slave catcher was exposed in the _Montreal Gazette_
of January 13, 1855, when there was published a letter written by one,
John H. Pape, of Frederick, Maryland, to Sheriff Hays, of Montreal,
proposing that the latter should use his power to arrest Negroes who
would then be turned over to Pape. The proceeds from the sale of the
captured chattels would be divided evenly, according to the plan
suggested.
Canadians took a measure of pride in the sense of security with which
their Negro immigrants could look back at their pursuers. That the
slavery issue in the United States was rapidly coming to a head was
also recognized in Canada during the fifties and this, too, may have
been an influence with the Canadians in doing what they could to
assist the great number of more or less helpless people who came among
them. Viewed in the light of more than half a century it can be seen
that the influence of Canada in determining the course of the slavery
issue was by no means slight.
FRED LANDON
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "One of the most assailable laws ever passed by the Congress of
the United States ... Under this act ... the Negro had no chance; the
meshes of the law were artfully contrived to aid the master and entrap
the slave." Rhodes, _History of the United States_, I, 185.
[2] "A large proportion of the colored persons who have fled from the
free states have sought refuge in Canada where they have been received
with remarkable kindness and have testified the grateful sense of
their reception by their exemplary conduct." American Anti-slavery
Society, annual report for 1851, p. 31.
[3] _Liberator_, October 18, 1850.
[4] Annual report for 1851, p. 30.
[5] A file of this paper for 1851 and 1852 is in the library of the
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
[6] American Missionary Association, _Sixth Annual Report_, 1852, p.
34.
[7] Mitchell, _Underground Railroad_, p. 113.
[8] _Liberator_, October 4, 1850.
[9] _Ibid._, October 18, 1850.
[10] _Ibid._, October 4, 1850.
[11] _Ibid._, April 25, 1851.
[12] _Ibid._, May 2, 1851.
[13] Siebert, _Underground Railroad_, p. 249.
[14] _Ibid._, p. 249.
[15] Stevens, Anthony Burns, a _History_, p. 208.
[16] American Anti-slavery Society, _Eleventh Annual Report_, 1851, p.
31.
[17] _The Voice of the Fugitive_, April 9, 1851.
[18] _Cong. Herald_, May 13, 1861, quoted in American Missionary
Association, 15th annual report, 1861, p. 28. There is evidence that
the Fugitive Slave Law was used in some cases to strike fear into the
hearts of Negroes in order to cause them to abandon their property.
_The Liberator_ of October 25, 1850, quotes the _Detroit Free Press_
to the effect that land speculators have been scaring the Negroes in
some places in the north in order to get possession of their
properties.
[19] American Anti-slavery Society, _Twenty-seventh Annual Report_,
1861, p. 49.
[20] In _The Liberator_ of July 30, 1852, a letter from Hiram Wilson,
at St. Catharines, says: "Arrivals from slavery are frequent."
[21] _The Voice of the Fugitive_, July 29, 1852.
[22] _Ibid._, July 1, 1852.
[23] _St. Catharine's Journal_, quoted in _The Voice of the Fugitive_,
September 23, 1852.
[24] Quoted in _The Liberator_, September 12, 1851.
[25] _Liberator_, February 14, 1851.
[26] _The Voice of the Fugitive_, August 27, 1851.
[27] Quoted in American Anti-slavery Society, Twenty-seventh Report,
1861.
[28] American Anti-slavery Society, Twenty-seventh Annual Report,
1861, pp. 48-49.
[29] P. 157.
[30] Rhodes, _History of the United States_, I, 210.
[31] _Ibid._, I, 224-25. See also Ward, _Autobiography of a Fugitive
Negro_, p. 127.
[32] _Ibid._, I, 222-23. See also _The Voice of the Fugitive_, June 3
and July 1, 1852.
[33] Schauler, _History of the United States_, V, 290-291.
[34] Troy, _Hairbreadth Escapes_, pp. 39-43.
[35] _Liberator_, June 11, 1852. See also _The Voice of the Fugitive_,
June 17, 1852.
[36] _Ibid._, July 30, 1852.
[37] _Liberator_, Sept. 12, 1851; _The Voice of the Fugitive_, Sept.
24, 1851; Anti-slavery Tracts, New Series, No. 15, p. 19.
[38] Sandusky _Commercial Register_, Oct. 21, 1852; _Liberator_, Oct.
29, 1852; Anti-slavery Tracts, New Series, No. 15, p. 24.
[39] _The Voice of the Fugitive_, February 12, 1851.
[40] Ninth Annual Report, N. Y., 1855, p. 47
[41] American Anti-slavery Society, Eleventh Annual Report, 1851, p.
100.
[42] _The Voice of the Fugitive_ of January 15, 1851, and November 18,
1852.
[43] _Ibid._, January 1 and May 20, 1852.
[44] Troy, _Hair-breadth Escapes_, pp. 108 and 122.
[45] "The Canadian government reckoned that there had been not less
than 40,000 Canadian enlistments in the American Army during the Civil
War."--Goldwin Smith's _Correspondence_ (letter to Moberly Bell), p.
377.
RICHARD HILL[1]
Richard Hill, one of Jamaica's most famous sons, was born at Montego
Bay on the first of May, 1795. In 1779 his father, also named Richard,
came to Jamaica from Lincolnshire, where the family had lived for
several centuries, and along with a brother settled at Montego Bay.
There he became a substantial merchant, and on his death in 1818 left
his property in Jamaica to his son and two daughters, Ann and Jane.
Hill's mother, who had East Indian as well as Negro blood in her
veins, survived her husband many years, her son being constant in his
attention to her up to the last.
At the early age of five Hill was sent to England to reside with his
father's relations then living at Cheshunt, there to remain till his
fourteenth year when he was sent to the Elizabethan Grammar School at
Horncastle to finish his education. Upon the death of his father in
1818 Hill returned to Jamaica. Although his property came into the
possession of his son and two daughters the father's death in some way
involved Richard Hill in irksome money obligations which harassed him
for many years, and even after he had discharged them left a gloom
over his life.
His father was a man in advance of his times, hating and deploring the
intolerance and the tyranny that grew out of slavery as it then
existed in Jamaica. On his death-bed he made his son solemnly pledge
himself to devote his energies to the cause of freedom, and never to
rest until those civil disabilities, under which the Negroes were
laboring, had been entirely removed; and, further, until slavery
itself had received its death-blow.
The time and opportunity for fulfilling this pledge soon came, for in
the year 1823 the Negroes in Jamaica commenced their agitation for
obtaining equal privileges with their white brethren. It does not
appear that Hill attached himself openly to any of the societies that
were formed for the purpose of carrying on this agitation. But he
freely gave them the benefit of his abilities, helping the whole
movement with his advice and with his pen.[2]
In the year 1826 Hill visited Cuba, the United States and Canada, and
then went on to England, landing there in September. In 1827 he was
deputed by the organization in Jamaica to use his efforts in England
to secure the assistance of the leading members of the Anti-Slavery
party. During his stay there he was on terms of close intimacy with
Wilberforce, Buxton, Clarkson, Babington, Lushington and Zachary
Macaulay,[3] all members of the Anti-Slavery Society, as well as
Pringle and other men eminent for their philanthropy and talents and
noted for the deep interest they took in all that related to the
elevation and welfare of the Negroes of the British West Indian
colonies. The petition from the people of color of this island to the
House of Commons for the removal of their civil disabilities, was
entrusted to Hill, who upon the occasion of presenting it was
permitted "within the bar" of the House. On that occasion Canning
delivered his last speech a splendid effort in favor of the
petitioners. Hill remained several years in England and contributed
largely by his pen and his speeches to enlighten the public mind of
England as to the real character of West Indian slavery. But the
remittances from the "people of color" in Jamaica, never very large,
soon became few and far between. So Hill, always independent in every
way, even in his friendships and political alliances, maintained
himself and his sister, Jane, almost entirely by his contributions,
literary and scientific, to several popular newspapers and
periodicals.[4]
After a residence of several years in England, Hill was sent by the
Anti-Slavery Society on a visit to San Domingo, chiefly for the
purpose of ascertaining by personal observation and inquiry what was
the actual social and political condition of the people of that
island.[5] But his commission had a more extensive object than that
attached to it, which, however, directed him to obtain besides all the
information he possibly could concerning the natural resources of
every part of the country through which he was to travel. San Domingo
was then under the wise and able rule of President Boyer, the whole
island forming one undivided republic, enjoying internal tranquillity,
and being in a comparatively flourishing condition. On his way from
England to Port-au-Prince, where he arrived on the sixteenth of June,
1830, Hill visited France staying there a few months. He spent nearly
two years in San Domingo travelling incessantly and making notes about
everything. He has left more than one sketch-book full of sketches
showing a knowledge of perspective, a keen eye for the picturesque and
a true artist's feeling. He sailed from San Domingo for England on the
third of May, 1832, and then for Jamaica a few months after, never
again to quit his native country. In that year he was made justice of
the peace for Trelawny.
He was never greedy for money and seems to have been ill-paid for his
labors in San Domingo. Upon his return to Jamaica either on that
account or from motives of policy he ceased all communication with the
Anti-Slavery Society, and only now and then did he write to one or two
of its members, and even then more as personal friends than as old
political allies.
On the third of February, 1834, Hill was appointed one of a number of
forty stipendiary magistrates whose duty it was to adjudicate between
the former slaveholders and their "apprentices."[6] This appointment
he held until the first of January, 1872. In this connection it may be
interesting to quote the opinion of Hill expressed by the Rev. James
Thome and J. H. Kimball, who in 1838 published for the American
Anti-Slavery Society an account of _Emancipation in the West Indies: a
six months' tour in Antigua, Barbadoes and Jamaica in the year 1837_.
They say: "We spent nearly a day with Richard Hill, Esq., the
secretary of the special magistrates' departments, of whom we have
already spoken. He is a colored gentleman, and in every respect the
noblest man, white or black, whom we met in the West Indies. He is
highly intelligent and of fine moral feelings. His manners are free
and unassuming, and his language in conversation fluent and well
chosen.... He is at the head of the special magistrates (of whom there
are sixty (_sic_) in this island) and all the correspondence between
them and the governor is carried on through him. The station he holds
is a very important one, and the business connected with it is of a
character and extent that, were he not a man of superior abilities, he
could not sustain. He is highly respected by the government in the
island and at home, and possesses the esteem of his fellow citizens of
all colors. He associates with persons of the highest rank, dining and
attending parties at the government house with all the aristocracy of
Jamaica. We had the pleasure of spending an evening with him at the
solicitor general's. Though an African sun has burnt a deep tinge on
him he is truly one of nature's nobleman. His demeanor is such, so
dignified, yet so bland and amiable, that no one can help respecting
him."[7]
Hill represented St. James and afterwards Trelawny in the House of
Assembly which sat from October 24, 1837, to November 3, 1838, and
during that time he served on several important committees, notably
one appointed to inquire into the state of the several courts of
justice in the island. But the fact that he unsuccessfully contested
the representation of Port Royal in November, 1838, may have had
something to do with his withdrawal from political strife. About 1840
he was offered the governorship of St. Lucia, but his love for his
native island caused him to decline the offer. He was in 1855
nominated a member of the Privy Council which post he held only about
ten years.
His political career was ended early in life, and the remainder of his
days were passed in retirement at Spanish-Town where he had taken up
his abode upon being appointed stipendiary magistrate. He occupied his
time with his daily official duties and literary work and seldom left
home except for change of air at the sea side, to visit some intimate
friend in Kingston, or perhaps to take the chair at some missionary
gathering, or to join in the deliberations of a committee meeting. In
1847 Hill acted as Agent General of Immigration, and in December of
that year he submitted an interesting report to the Assembly.
When the cholera swept over the island in 1851 Hill turned his
botanical studies to good account. The saline treatment was then in
high esteem; but by means of the bitter-bush, _Eupatorium nervosum_, a
shrub not unlike the wild sage in appearance, which grows freely on
waste lands, he is said to have alleviated much suffering and saved
many lives.
He was Vice-President from 1844 to 1849 of the Jamaica Society for the
encouragement of Agriculture and other Arts and Sciences, instituted
in 1825. In 1849 this Society ceased to exist and in its stead sprang
up the Colonial Literary and Heading Society, of which Hill was one of
the managing committee. He was one of the nominated members of the
then Board of Education. He was a member of the original council of
the Royal Agricultural Society of Jamaica, founded in 1843,
Vice-President as late as 1857 of the Royal Society of Arts of
Jamaica, established in 1854 as the Jamaica Society of Arts, and
Vice-President of the Royal Society of Arts and Agriculture, which was
the result of the amalgamation of these two societies in 1864. In 1861
he had undertaken to edit jointly with the Rev. James Watson, the
Secretary, the _Transactions of the Royal Society of Arts_, to which
he contributed various notes. But in the first number of the
_Transactions of the Incorporated Royal Society of Arts and
Agriculture_ (1867) is the record of a vote of sympathy and regret at
his inability to attend through ill-health; and although he
contributed articles to the journal he was not able to be present at
the meetings. His leisure was devoted to scientific study, especially
the ornithology, ichthyology, and anthropology of the West Indies. He
never let a single opportunity pass by, if he could possibly help it,
without trying to benefit his country with his ready pen, and he
always gave all the encouragement he could to those who seemed at all
anxious to study any subject with which he was in the least
acquainted. He read some twenty-five lectures in all at various times
on various subjects.
On the title page of his _Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica_, as well as
in his preface, Gosse bears testimony to the assistance which Hill
rendered to him. The appearance of Hill's name on the title page
("Assisted by Richard Hill, Esq., Cor. M. Z. S. Lond., Mem. Counc.
Boy. Soc. Agriculture of Jamaica") was, Mr. Edmund Gosse tells us in
his memoir of his father, greatly against that modest gentleman's
wish. He tells us also that the friendship for Hill was one of the
warmest and most intimate friendships of his father's life. The
publication of this book was delayed by the fact that every sheet was
sent to Spanish Town to be read by Hill.
Hill contributed to several scientific publications both in England
and America and by this means became connected with some of the
leading learned societies of the world. He was corresponding member of
the Zoological Society of London, of the Leeds Institute and of the
Smithsonian Institution, and he numbered amongst his correspondents
Darwin and Poey. Darwin had written in September, 1856, to Gosse for
further information with respect to the habits of pigeons and rabbits
referred to in his _Sojourn_, and it was at Gosse's suggestion that
Darwin wrote to Hill. In a later letter, of April, 1857, he says: "I
owe to using your name a most kind and valuable correspondent in Mr.
Hill, of Spanish Town."
The cony of Jamaica, _Capromys brachyurus_, found commonly in his day,
but now becoming extinct, was named by Hill in Gosse's _Naturalist's
Sojourn_; as well as four birds--three in the _Birds of Jamaica_ and
one in the _Annals and Magazine of Natural History_, and two fishes.
One bird (_Mimus hillii_), two fishes and four mollusca, three being
Jamaican, were named after Hill.
In addition to his collaboration with Gosse of the _Birds of Jamaica_
and the _Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica_, Hill's best-known literary
productions are _A Week at Port Royal_, published at Montego Bay in
1858; _Lights and Shadows of Jamaica History_, published in Kingston
in 1859; _Eight Chapters in the History of Jamaica, 1508-1680_,
illustrating the settlement of the Jews in the island which appeared
in 1868; and _The Picaroons of One Hundred and Fifty Years Ago_, which
was published in Dublin in 1869.
He contributed, moreover, a large number of articles on natural
history subjects to various Jamaica publications too numerous to
mention. Some of these were: _The Jamaica Almanacs_; _Transactions of
the Jamaica Society of Arts_; _Transactions of the Royal Society of
Arts of Jamaica_; _The Jamaica Physical Journal_; _Jamaica Monthly
Magazine_; _Jamaica Quarterly Magazine_. In England he contributed to
the _Proceedings of the Zoological Society_; and in America to the
_Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Science_, Philadelphia, and the
_Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History_, New York.
In stature he was tall and commanding, though perhaps the comparison
of him to Antinous made by the writer of an obituary notice was a
little exaggerated. All who knew bore testimony to his generosity,
philanthropy, modesty, even temper, and unfailing self-forgetfulness,
his kindness of heart, his piety, and his catholicism in matters of
religion. A portrait of him executed in oils, it is said, by James
Wyeth, an American artist who spent a short season in the island, is
in the Jamaica History Gallery at the Institute of Jamaica, which also
possesses a pencil sketch of him done by himself.
For two or three years before his death Hill suffered from failing
eyesight. He died, unmarried, at Spanish Town, on September 28, 1872,
at the advanced age of seventy-eight. His remains were followed to the
grave by an immense concourse of all classes.
FRANK CUNDALL,
_Secretary, The Institute of Jamaica_
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Taken in great measure from the biographical notice by the writer
in the _Journal of the Institute of Jamaica_, July, 1896.
[2] For a general sketch of this period see W. J. Gardner's _a History
of Jamaica_, pp. 211-317.
[3] This movement had for years been promoted by the heroic few. It
was then getting a hearing in Parliament. They first advocated the
abolition of the slave trade and then directed attention to slavery.
[4] These contributions closely connected Hill with the men whose new
thought revolutionized science a few decades later.
[5] San Domingo was then independent and the success of the free
Negroes there would have a direct bearing on the anti-slavery
movement, as indifferent white men sometimes contended that the free
Negro was a failure.
[6] Slavery in the British West Indies was not actually abolished
instantly. Gradual emancipation was the method tried in most parts and
even in cases of immediate emancipation the system of apprenticeship
which followed was not much better than slavery.
[7] The office of Secretary to the Stipendiary Magistrates was
established in order to assist Governor Sligo to get through the
enormous amount of correspondence entailed by the complaints sent to
him in connection with the administration of the laws with regard to
the apprenticeship system.
THE RELATIONS OF NEGROES AND INDIANS IN MASSACHUSETTS
One of the longest unwritten chapters of the history of the United
States is that treating of the relations of the Negroes and Indians.
The Indians were already here when the white men came and the Negroes
brought in soon after to serve as a subject race found among the
Indians one of their means of escape. That a larger number of the
Negroes did not take refuge among the Indians was due to the ignorance
of the blacks as to the geographic situation. Not knowing anything
about the country and unacquainted with the language of the white man
or that of the Indians, most Negroes dared not venture very far from
the plantations on which they lived. Statistics show, however, that in
spite of this impediment to the escape of Negroes to Indian
communities, a considerable number of blacks availed themselves of
this opportunity. From the most northern colonies as far south as
Florida there was much contact resulting in the interbreeding of
Indians and Negroes.
In no case was this better exemplified than in Massachusetts. Because
of the cosmopolitan influences in that State where the fur trade,
fisheries, and commerce brought the people into contact with a large
number of foreigners, the Indian settlements by an infusion of blood
from without served as a sort of melting pot in which the Negroes
became an important factor. There was extensive miscegenation of the
two races after the middle of the seventeenth century. In the course
of ten or twelve generations there was an opportunity for "foreign
blood early introduced to permeate the whole mass and when it is
considered that the intermixture was constantly kept up from the
outside, it is a wonder that Indians of pure native race
remained."[1]
According to the first authentic census of Massachusetts, published in
1765, all of the counties of the State except Hampshire, Hampden, and
Franklin had both a Negro and Indian population. Barnstable had 231
Negroes and 515 Indians; Berkshire had 88 Negroes and 221 Indians;
Bristol, 287 Negroes and 106 Indians; Dukes, 46 Negroes and 313
Indians; Essex, 1070 Negroes and 8 Indians; Middlesex, 860 Negroes and
45 Indians; Nantucket, 44 Negroes and 227 Indians; Suffolk, 844
Negroes and 37 Indians; Worcester, 267 Negroes and 34 Indians, making
a total of 4900 Negroes and 1697 Indians.[2] After a careful survey of
the Indian situation in 1861, however, it was discovered that only a
part of these Indians had retained their peculiar characteristics and
these had been finally reduced to a few reservations known as the
following: Chappequiddick, Christiantown, Gay Head, Marshpee, Herring
Pond, Natick, Punkapog, Fall River, Hassanamisco, and Dudley. There
were other Indians at Yarmouth, Dartmouth, Tumpum, Deep Bottom,
Middleborough, and a few scattered.[3]
The Indians were generally neglected for the reason that they were
considered beyond the pale of Christianity, despite professions to the
contrary. As a matter of fact, being wards of the State they were
scantily provided for and their fundamental needs were generally
neglected. They were offered few opportunities for mental, moral, or
religious improvement for the reason that the missionary spirit which
characterized Cotton Mather and John Eliot no longer existed. Only a
small sum was raised or appropriated for their rudimentary education
and with the exception of what could be done with the "Williams Fund"
of Harvard College there was little effort made for their
evangelization. Left thus to themselves, the Indians developed into a
state within a state.
When, therefore, the Negroes became conscious of the wrongs they
suffered in slavery, a few early learned to take refuge among the
Indians and even after they were freed in Massachusetts their social
proscription was such among the whites that some free people of color
preferred the hard life among the Indians to the whiffs and scorns of
race prejudice in the seats of Christian civilization. Coming into
contact there with foreigners, who found it convenient to move among
these morally weak people, the Negroes served as important factors in
the melting pot in which the Indians were remade and introduced to
American life as whites and blacks. Referring to the moral condition
of the Fall River Indians, as a case in evidence, an investigator
reported in 1861 that in two families there were twelve cases of
bastardy and in one of them it was said that, of eight children, the
paternity was apparently about equally divided among the Indian,
Negro, and white races.[4]
The reports on the state of the Indians always disclosed the presence
and the influence of Negroes among them. "Of the publishments of
colored persons interested and the early records of Dartmouth," said
J. M. Earle in 1861, "by far the larger proportion of those of them
were Negro men to Indian women. In Yarmouth a large portion of those
of Indian descent have intermarried with whites until their progeny
has become white, their social relations are with those of that color
and they are mingled with the general community having lost their
identity as a distinct portion of the Hassanamiscoes and it would have
been a fortunate thing for all if it had been so with them all. But
the mixture in most of the tribes has been more with the Negro race
than with the white until that blood probably predominates though
there are still a considerable number who have the prominent
characteristics of the Indians--the lank, glossy, black hair, the
high cheek bones--the bright dark eye and other features peculiar to
the race."[5]
Investigating the Indians of Gay Head in 1861, John M. Earle observed
that the people of Gay Head, like those of other plantations, were a
mixture of the red, white and black races. They had also "an infusion
of the blood of the chivalry of the South as well as of the Portuguese
and Dutch, as might be inferred from the names of Randolph, Madison,
Corsa, Sylvia and Vanderhoop being found among them."[6] The admixture
was much like that on the other plantations with perhaps a less
infusion of the African than in some of them. A few were so strongly
marked with Indian characteristics as to lead one to conclude that
they are very nearly of pure blood, but there were none so nearly
white as in some of the other tribes.
It appeared that these people had lived without the law, so to speak,
in Massachusetts because of their refusal to accept certain
regulations which the State desired to impose upon them. By the act of
June 25, 1811, the governor was authorized to appoint three persons to
be guardians of the Indian, Mulatto and Negro proprietors of Gay Head,
which guardians, in addition to the usual powers given to
functionaries in such cases, were empowered to take into their
possession the lands of Indians, and allot to the several Indians such
part of the lands as should be sufficient for their improvement from
time to time. The act further provided for the discontinuance or
removal of the guardians at the discretion of the governor and
council.[7] Under this act three guardians were appointed and in 1814
the Indians became dissatisfied with their guardians, who resigned,
and the guardianship disappeared.
In 1828 there was enacted another measure providing that whenever the
Indians and people of color at Gay Head should by a vote in town
meeting accept that act and should transmit to the governor an
attested copy of the vote, the governor might then authorize the
guardian to take up his duties at Gay Head, and might upon their
request, appoint suitable persons to divide their lands. As the
Indians had unpleasant recollections of the guardian-system, they
never accepted that proposal. For about thirty years they were without
any guardians, and their affairs, except that of the public schools,
were left to themselves.
It appears, however, that the mere provision for the appointment of a
guardian was not the only objectionable feature of the Act of 1828.
The guardian was given power to "punish, by fine not exceeding twenty
dollars, or by solitary imprisonment not exceeding twenty days, any
trespasses, batteries, larcenies under five dollars, gross lewdness
and lascivious behavior, disorderly and riotous conduct, and for the
sale of spirituous liquors within the territory, or on the lands of
these Indians and people of color.[8] The guardian or other justice of
the peace might issue his warrant directed to the constable of the
Indians and people of color, or other proper officer, to arrest and
bring before him, any offender against the provisions of this act; and
after judgment, he might order execution to be done by said constable
or other proper officer; and if the guardian or other justice of the
peace should adjudge any offender to solitary imprisonment, such
offender should not, during the term of said imprisonment be visited
by, or allowed to speak with any person other than the jailer, or the
guardian or justice of the peace or such other person as the guardian
or justice of the peace should specially authorize thereto; nor should
such offender be allowed any food or drink other than coarse bread and
water, unless sickness should, in the opinion of a physician, render
other sustenance necessary,"[9] "With such a provision in the Act,"
said J. M. Earle, "making a discrimination so odious and unjust,
between themselves and other prisoners, the Indians would have been
greatly wanting in self-respect had they accepted it. It is a
provision disgraceful to the statute book of the State, and
discreditable to the civilization of the age. Yet two tribes, the
Chappequiddick and the Christiantown, were made subject to the
provisions of this law, without the power to accept or reject it, and
are governed by it to this day"[10] (1861).
The Marshpee tribe doubtless had a larger infusion of Negro blood than
any. When the population of this tribe was 327 in 1771, 14 of them
were Negroes, married to Indians. In 1832 there were 315 inhabitants,
of whom 16 were Negroes. According to the report of the Indian
commissioner in 1849 the population was 305 in 1848, of whom 26 were
foreigners, all Negroes or mulattoes. The tribe numbered 403 in 1859,
"including 32 foreigners, married to natives of the tribe, all Negroes
or mulattoes, or various mixtures of Negro, Indian, or white
blood--none of them being pure whites."[11]
The Punkapog Tribe of Indians formerly dwelt on a tract of land in
Canton, Norfolk County, containing five thousand acres, granted them
by the General Court of Massachusetts. Before 1861, however, they had
lost all of this property, the last of it being sold by the guardian,
about 1841, in pursuance of a resolve of the legislature. "The
full-blood Indians of the tribe," says the report of 1861, "are all
extinct. Their descendants, who, like those of all the other tribes in
the States, are of various grades of mixtures, of Indian, white, and
Negro blood, number, so far as is ascertained one hundred and
seventeen persons."[12]
According to the survey made in 1861 the moral condition of the
Indians was rather low and it was a regret that the people of color
exhibiting generally more moral stamina should be degraded by living
among them. Accounting for this condition of Affairs a contemporary
said of the low moral condition of the Fall River Indians in 1861:
"The prejudice of color and caste, and the social proscription to
which the colored people are subjected, has a twofold unfavorable
effect upon them; first to detract from their self-respect and so to
weaken the moral instincts, and then to throw them into the
association of the more dissolute and degraded of other races, where
they fall an easy prey to immoral habits. There are, however, in this
tribe as well as the others, instances of those who rise above all the
evil influences with which they are encompassed and maintain a good
standing, as worthy and respectable members of the community. It would
be a cause for gratification, if it could be said truly that these are
increasing, or that there was any decided progress in the general
character of the tribe. But, from all the evidence that can be
gathered, it does not appear that, for the last twelve or fourteen
years, there has been much, if any improvement in their moral and
social condition,"[13]
The situation in the Hassanamisco Tribe shows how the Indians in some
of these reservations became extinct. Interbreeding with both races
they passed either to the blacks or to the whites. "But little trace
of Indian descent is apparent in the members of this tribe," said J.
M. Earle in 1861. "It is most marked in the few who have mixed chiefly
with the whites, yet some of these have no perceptible indications of
it, and have become identified with the white race. The remainder of
the tribe have the distinguishing marks of African descent and mixed
African and white, of various grades, from the light quadroon and
mulatto, to the apparently nearly pure negro, and, in every successive
generation the slight remaining characteristics of the race become
less apparent."[14]
Referring to the Yarmouth Indians the investigator informs us that
these had tended to go almost altogether over to the white race. "With
this exception," said he, "nearly all of his descendants have
intermarried with whites, down to the present day, so that they are
substantially merged in the general community, having their social
relations with white people, with the exception of one or two
families."[15] It was observed that in all the families, in which both
heads are living, there were only two in which one of them was not
pure white, and those having the Indian blood were usually so little
colored, that it would hardly be noticed by one not acquainted with
the fact. Some of them had but one sixteenth part of Indian blood. Of
the two widows found there in 1861 one was the wife of a white man.
The other was a Marshpee Indian whose husband belonged to the Yarmouth
tribe and she associated with the people of color.
Discussing the Middleborough Indians, the same report said: "They have
been, for some time, commingled with them in the same community,
generally under as favorable circumstances, in most respects, as the
other colored population of the State, to which they assimilate and
have not been subjected to the peculiar present disadvantages under
which those labor who are residents of the plantations,"[16]
Because of numerous complaints to the effect that the unnecessary
restrictions placed on Indians no longer dependents worked a hardship,
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts enacted in 1861 a measure providing
that all Indians and descendants of Indians in that State should be
placed on the same legal footing as other inhabitants of that
Commonwealth, excepting those who were supported or had been, in whole
or in part, by the State and excepting also those residing on the
Indian plantations of Chappequiddick, Christiantown, Gay Head,
Marshpee, Herring Pond, Fall River and Dudley tribes or those whose
homes were thereon and were only temporarily absent. It further
provided that any Indian or person of color, thus denied the right of
citizenship but desirous of exercising that privilege might certify
the same in writing to the clerk of his town or city, who should make
a record of the same and upon the payment of a poll tax should become
to all intents and purposes a citizen of the State, but such persons
should not return to the legal condition of an Indian. Indians unable
to avail themselves of this opportunity remained under a guardian in
their former state but by complying with this provision they finally
emerged from their tribal state into the large body of citizens.
Giving further consideration to the situation among the Indians, the
legislature of Massachusetts passed in 1869 what is known as _An Act
to Enfranchise the Indians of the Commonwealth_. By this measure
practically all Indians in that State were made citizens entitled to
all the rights, privileges, and immunities and subject to all the
duties and liabilities to which other citizens were entitled or
subject. The same provision was made in the acts of 1884, 1890, 1892
and 1893.[17] With a proviso exempting from attachment or seizure on
execution for a debt or liability existing before the passage of the
law this measure further declared all Indian lands "rightfully held by
any Indian in severalty and all such lands which had been or may be
set off to any Indian should be and become the property of such person
and his heirs in fee simple."[18]
The Indians thereby became vested not only with the rights of any
other citizen to sell or control his interest in property whether
legal or equitable but were given similar rights in the common lands
which were transferable. Prior to this legislation the common lands
had been exploited by the State for the benefit of those Indians
having the status of wards. Recognizing only equitable rights of
ownership in the Indians, the commonwealth kept their property under
public guardianship to protect them from the consequences of their
own improvidence. Indians had the right immediately to have their
share of the common lands of the tribe transferred to them or sold for
their special benefit. They were granted also the right to have their
share in any funds or other property held in trust for the tribe
turned over to them.
The Indians of the Marshpee and Gay Head settlements, however, were
made exceptions in this case for the reason that the improvement in
their condition was not adequate to justify the extension to them of
the same treatment given others; but they were given these same rights
in 1870.[19] By the Act of 1870 the district of Marshpee was abolished
as such and incorporated as a town by that name. To establish the
claim to the rights and privileges guaranteed other Indians in the Act
of 1869, the Superior Court of the State was given jurisdiction and a
board of Selectmen was constituted as the authority for making such
applications instead of any member of a tribe.
It would seem that this legislation of 1869 and 1870 solved the
problem of the wardship of Indians and free persons of color on the
reservations. It developed thereafter, however, that all members of
these communities were not in a position to maintain themselves. In
1902, therefore, it was enacted that the State Board of Charity upon
the application of the overseers of the poor of any town should make
provision in the State hospital or elsewhere for the support of
Indians who may be unable to support themselves and have not acquired
a settlement in any town. Upon the application of an Indian who
received aid from the commonwealth prior to the twenty-third day of
July in the year 1869, the State Board was obligated to furnish him
in the State hospital or elsewhere such aid as it might consider
expedient.
The provisions in the law of 1870 for the sale of certain lands in the
proceeds of which these persons would share led to further action. In
1870 the probate court appointed commissioners to make partition of
the common lands of the Marshpee Indians referred to in the Act of
1869. These commissioners did not make their report until 1878. In
1870 there was presented to the Superior Court by the Selectmen of
Marshpee a petition for the division of common lands among the persons
entitled thereto. In spite of argument to the contrary the Supreme
Court of Massachusetts held that the members of the Indian tribes
mentioned in the Act of 1869 acquired both legal and equitable rights
in tenants in common of the undivided lands of the tribe which were
transferable. It was provided in 1878 that the proceeds from the sale
of such lands should be divided among the persons entitled to the land
in proportion to their interests.
In 1870 the Gay Head district also was abolished and incorporated as a
town. The Indians were guaranteed the same rights to lands in
severalty and the division of common lands as in the case of other
Indian communities thus disestablished. The partition of these lands
was to be made in the Probate Court on application of the Selectmen or
ten resident owners of such land. An Indian feeling aggrieved because
of an invasion of his rights could appeal his case, according to the
provision set forth in chapter 117 of the General Statutes of
Massachusetts.[20]
Some of these Negroes from the very beginning of their association
with the Indians took high rank.[21] The most prominent Negro of all,
however, to come out of the Indian plantations was the celebrated Paul
Cuffé, well known in this country and Europe by his efforts in behalf
of African colonization. He was a native of the tribe of Dartmouth
Indians, of mixed African and white descent. His important achievement
was that of exploring the western coast of Africa with ships which he
owned and fitted out and commanded and which he used in the
transportation of Negroes to Africa where he was the first to
undertake the deportation of freedmen from the United States,
preparing the way for the organization of the American Colonization
Society. On one of his voyages he visited England where he was
received with marked attention by the nobility and the royalty itself.
Men who knew Cuffé considered him a man of great character and
respected him because of his being able by dint of energy to
accumulate sufficient property to place himself in circumstances of
pecuniary independence. Some of his descendants remained in the
vicinity of the original Dartmouth Indians but others moved to
California.[22]
Several families of Negroes in Massachusetts trace their ancestry back
to these Indians. According to the Attorney General of Massachusetts,
there are no special records kept at present of Negroes or persons of
color who had interbreeded with Indians as regards the receipts by
them of pensions from the commonwealth given as the result of having
been dispossessed of their lands. Some persons of color assert,
however, that they are the direct descendants of King Philip and
Massasoit. Because of this close connection with the Indians it was
necessary for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on dispossessing the
Indians of their lands to give these persons of color the benefits of
the acts securing remuneration to the Indians. As these lands were
disposed of regardless of the rights of the Indians, the State has
assumed the obligation of satisfying these claims by pensioning the
complainants.
Mr. William George Butler, of West Medford, Massachusetts, a man now
sixty years of age, receives such a pension. Mr. Butler's father came
to Boston from Baltimore about 1815 and married a woman of color with
an infusion of Indian blood. In looking up her estate this connection
was discovered and a petition was sent to the Massachusetts
Legislature in her favor. Upon the investigation of her claim, which
proved to be just, she was granted a pension of $250 a year, which
Butler inherited.[23] In the following list of persons and tribes from
which are descended all Indians who are at present receiving pensions
from the Commonwealth, of Massachusetts, however, appear several
Negroes or persons of color.[24] These are:
Lemuel D. and Anna Burr Ponkapoag
Fannie S. Butler Wampanoag
William G. Butler Wampanoag
James L. Cisco Hassanamisco
Delia L. Daley Oneida
Alice Gigger Hassanamisco
Elbridge G. Gigger Hassanamisco
Angela M. Leach Pegon and Dudley
Rebecca C. Hammond Algonquin
Teeweleema Mitchell Wampanoag {Descendants of King
Wontonekamuske Mitchell Wampanoag {Phillip and Massasoit
Sarah B. Pocknett Algonquin
Zeriah Robinson Wampanoag
Samantha Talbot Oneida
C. G. Woodson
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Documents printed by order of the Senate of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts during the Session of the Grand Court_, 1861, No. 96, p.
10.
[2] The figures given by _The Centinel_ differed a little from these.
According to its census in 1765, Barnstable had 516 Indians instead of
515; Bristol had 401 Negroes and 167 Indians; Essex 977 Negroes
instead of 1,070; Middlesex 871 Negroes and 37 Indians; Nantucket 93
Indians instead of 149; Norfolk 420 Negroes instead of 414; Plymouth
223 Indians instead of 227; Suffolk 891 Negroes instead of 844;
Worcester 304 Negroes instead of 267. See J. H. Benton's _Early Census
making in Massachusetts_.
[3] _Documents printed by order of the Senate, 1861_, No. 96, passim.
[4] _Documents printed by order of the Senate of Massachusetts, 1861_,
No. 96, p. 84.
[5] _Documents printed by order of the Senate, 1861_, No. 96, p. 10.
[6] _Ibid._, p. 34.
[7] The Laws of Massachusetts, 1811.
[8] _Documents printed by order of the Senate, 1861_, No. 96, pp.
38-39.
[9] Laws of Massachusetts, 1828.
[10] "Sixty-six out of the whole number of the tribe, at the time of
the enumeration, were not residents of the District; but 52 of them
were considered as retaining their rights in the tribe, and more than
half of the 66 were understood to be only temporary residents abroad,
expecting, at some time, to return to Marshpee, and make it their
permanent place of residence. A few others, as a matter of personal
convenience, are now residing just over the line, and are so returned,
but they consider themselves as identified with the tribe in all
respects, and are so considered by the tribe. Fourteen individuals,
included in the above 66, whose names are in the 'Supplementary List,'
own no land in the District, but have been gone so long from it, that
they are not now recognized by residents as members of the tribe."
_Documents printed by order of the Senate, 1861_, No. 96, p. 40.
[11] _Documents printed by order of the Senate, 1861_, No. 96, p. 47.
[12] _Ibid._, pp. 73-74.
[13] _Documents printed by order of the Senate, 1861_, No. 96, p. 84.
[14] _Documents printed by order of the Senate, 1861_, No. 96, p. 101.
[15] _Ibid._, p. 109.
[16] _Ibid._, pp. 131-132.
[17] _Massachusetts Acts of 1884, 1890, 1892, and 1893._
[18] _Massachusetts Acts of 1869_, Chapter 463.
[19] "A method was also provided through which his title might be
established. This was through Commissioners which were to be appointed
by the Probate Court who were to act under the direction of the Court
and determine all necessary questions and make their report from which
the Court could make its order or decrees. Any person who deemed
himself aggrieved had the right to appeal to the Supreme Judicial
Court. The right of the Indians became vested and forcible the moment
the statute took effect." See a statement from the present Attorney
General of Massachusetts, dated December 1, 1919.
[20] "Section 5, chapter 463 of the Acts of 1869 provided that the
general agent of the board of state charities shall take charge of the
house, and all property connected therewith, in the town of Webster,
belonging to the Commonwealth and permission was given him to lease
the same to persona heretofore known as members of the Dudley tribe of
Indians, upon terms substantially like those upon which they have
heretofore occupied it; or to sell the same at public auction under
the direction of the state board of charities and pay the proceeds of
such lease or sale into the Treasury of the Commonwealth." Statement
of present Attorney General of Massachusetts, submitted December 1,
1919.
[21] Samuel A. Drake, _History of Middlesex County. Massachusetts_,
pp. 194, 280.
[22] John W. Cromwell, _The Negro in American History_, 98-103.
[23] These facts were obtained from Mr. Butler himself.
[24] This list was obtained from the office of the Attorney General of
Massachusetts.
DOCUMENTS
To meet the demand for an enlargement of the liberty granted the
Indians and the mixed breeds living on the reservations, the
Massachusetts Legislature enacted in 1861 the following measure
intended to offer every ambitious one of these groups a way of escape
from the wardship of the State and at the same time safeguarding the
interests of those who objected to having turned loose upon society a
large number of dependents who could not function as persons having a
permanent attachment to the community and primarily concerned with the
welfare of the body politic.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
IN THE YEAR ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND SIXTY-ONE.
AN ACT
CONCERNING THE INDIANS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
follows:_--
Sect. 1. All Indians and descendants of Indians in this State are
hereby placed on the same legal footing as the other inhabitants
of the Commonwealth, excepting those who are supported, or have
been, in whole or in part, by the State, and excepting also,
those residing on the Indian plantations of the Chappequiddick,
Christiantown, Gay Head, Marshpee, Herring Pond, Fall River, and
Dudley tribes, or those whose homes are thereon and are only
temporarily absent.
Sect. 2. Any Indian or person of color, belonging to either of
the tribes before mentioned, and residing within the limits of
any town or city of this Commonwealth, to whom the right of
citizenship is not extended by the first section of this act but
who wishes to exercise that privilege, may certify the same in
writing to the clerk of the town or city where he resides, who
shall make record of the same: and upon paying a poll tax, he
shall become, to all intents and purposes, a citizen of the
State, and shall not, thenceforward, return to the legal
condition of an Indian. And settlement shall be required, by
those who become citizens, under the provisions of this act, in
the same manner they are acquired by other persons, under the
General Statutes of the Commonwealth.
Sect. 3. It shall be the duty of the governor, by and with the
advice and consent of the council, to appoint an able, discreet,
and suitable person, to be Indian commissioner, who shall hold
his office for the term of three years, unless sooner removed by
the governor and council. And the governor and council shall fill
all vacancies which shall happen in said office, by death,
resignation, expiration of said term, or otherwise. It shall be
the duty of said commissioner to exercise a careful supervision
over the affairs of all the Indians of the Commonwealth, not
endowed by the provisions of this act, with the rights of
citizenship, and to aid them, by advice, counsel, and whatever
other suitable means may be within his control, to promote their
welfare, to improve their general condition, and to qualify
themselves, judiciously, and with safety to themselves and
others, to be placed, at as early a time as may be, on the same
legal footing as the other inhabitants of the Commonwealth. He
shall exercise all the powers, perform all the duties, and be
subject to all the restrictions, responsibilities and
liabilities, which now by law appertain to the treasurer of
Marshpee, and to the guardians of other tribes except so far as
they may be charged or varied by the provisions of this act; and
he shall give bonds, to the satisfaction of the governor and
council, for the faithful performance of such trust.
Sect. 4. The said commissioner shall, as soon as is convenient,
after his appointment, cause a registration to be made, on the
basis of the general registration of the State, of all the
members of the several tribes, specifying the parentage and date
of the birth of each, as near as can be ascertained, and the date
of all marriages of parties now living, with all the particulars,
that are now required of town clerks, by the laws of the State,
and having completed the same, up to the time required by law for
the last preceding return to be made, he shall, thenceforward
make and keep a true registration of all the births, marriages,
and deaths, in each of the said tribes, and shall annually make
due return thereof, the whole to be done in the same manner as is
required of town clerks, and under the same liabilities and
conditions that are, by law, imposed upon them.
Sect. 5. The said commissioner shall, in concurrence with the
proper officers of the Gay Head tribe, cause a survey of all the
land held in severalty, by the members of said tribe, setting out
the same to each, by betes and bounds, and, when the survey is
complete, shall cause a record of the portion of each proprietor
to be made in the registry of deeds, of the county of Dukes
County, and thereupon, the legal title shall vest in the several
proprietors thereof, their heirs, and assigns, forever:
_provided, however_, that no land on the plantation shall ever be
alienated from the tribe or be held or possessed by any person
who is not a member thereof; and when ever the family of any
proprietor becomes extinct, the real estate of said proprietor
shall revert to said tribe and become the property thereof, in
common. And whenever, hereafter, any common land shall be taken
up to be occupied and possessed in severalty, by any member of
the tribe, having the concurrence of the tribe therein, the same
shall be surveyed, set forth, and recorded, under the supervision
of said commissioner, as is above provided; and no title to any
common land, to be held in severalty, on said plantation shall be
acquired in any other manner.
Sect. 6. The said commission shall cause a survey to be made of
the Indian plantation at Fall River and the bounds thereof to be
renewed, agreeably to the surveys made by order of the State in
one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three. He shall ascertain to
whom the several lots belong by hereditary descent from the
proprietors to whom they belonged in one thousand seven hundred
and sixty-four, so far as descendants of said proprietors still
remain, and shall designate the same by the numbers of the lots
respectively; and in the same manner, he shall designate the
several lots, if such there be, of which the families of the
former proprietors have become extinct, and shall make return of
the same to the governor and council, for the use of the
legislature, and shall report such other facts connected
therewith as may be useful to them, and shall recommend such
disposition of the land remaining in common, as in his judgment,
shall be most conducive to the welfare of the Indians, and of the
State.
Sect. 7. The said commissioner shall, as soon as the performance
of the duties of his office shall have made him sufficiently
acquainted with the necessities and wants of the Indians, and
with the other facts necessary to qualify him for the service,
prepare a bill embodying a system for governing, managing, and
regulating the affairs of the several tribes, as nearly uniform
in its provision respecting them severally, as the circumstances
of the different tribes will permit, as a substitute for the
present laws on that subject, and report the same to the governor
and council for the consideration of the legislature, accompanied
by the reasons on which the several provisions therein
recommended are sustained.
Sect. 8. The Indians and people of color on Gay Head, and the
officers by them appointed for the purpose, shall have the same
powers in the management of their municipal affairs, and in
relation to the employment of teachers, and the making and
enforcing of all rules for the regulation and government of their
schools, that by law are exercised by the inhabitants and
corresponding officers of the several towns of the Commonwealth:
_provided, however_, that this shall not be construed to
authorize the alienation of any of the territory of the
plantation: and _provided, further_, that no person shall be
authorized to vote in municipal affairs, except natives of the
Gay Head tribe, natives of other Indian tribes of this State
married or having been married to a Gay Head woman and resident
on the plantation, or such other person resident on the
plantation and married or having been married to a Gay Head
woman, as shall have the right conferred on him by a vote of
two-thirds of the voters of the plantation.
Sect. 9. All acts and parts of acts heretofore passed, so far as
they conflict with the provisions of this act, are hereby
repealed.
Sect. 10. This act shall take effect from and after its passage.
If the legislature should decide not to authorize the appointment
of a single commissioner for the State, I would propose the
passage of the same Bill with the following amendments:--
Strike out the whole of section 3.
Strike out in section 4 the words "said commissioner shall, as
soon as is convenient after his appointment," and insert the
words--clerks of Marshpee, the guardians of the several
plantation tribes, and the clerk of Gay Head shall.
In section 5, strike out the words "said commissioner," and
insert the words--guardians of the Chappequiddick and
Christiantown tribes. Also, in the latter portion of the same
section, strike out the word "commissioner" and insert the
word--guardian.
In section 6, strike out the words "said commissioner," and
insert the words--guardian of the Troy or Fall River tribe.
Strike out section 7, entire.
Alter the numbering of the sections after 2, to correspond to the
changes.
Insert the following section after section 8:--
Sect. --. No person shall be entitled to support by any tribe in
the State, of whose parents, one only was an Indian, and whose
residence was not on the plantation of the tribe at the time of
his birth, unless the rights of himself or parents as members of
the tribe, shall have been subsequently recognized by the tribe.
SOME NEGRO MEMBERS OF RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTIONS AND LEGISLATURES AND
OF CONGRESS[1]
No systematic effort has hitherto been made to save the records of the
Negro during the Reconstruction period. American public opinion has
been so prejudiced against the Negroes because of their elevation to
prominence in southern politics that it has been considered sufficient
to destroy their régime and forget it. As future historians will seek
for facts beyond those compiled by biased investigators now writing
monographs in this field, a few persons realizing the importance of
preserving the records in which the actual facts are set forth, are
now directing the attention of the country to this neglected aspect of
our history. These lists of suggestive names of the men who figured
conspicuously in this recent drama will be decidedly useful in the
collection of facts adequate to the presentation of both sides of the
question. These lists are far from being complete. This is but a step
in the right direction and persons in possession of such facts are
earnestly urged to coöperate in collecting them.
It has been extremely difficult to determine the race of the members
of the various Reconstruction bodies. The lists of members as
published in the Journals of the legislatures do not indicate the
race. This has to be determined by contemporary information. The
methods used by other persons and agencies in identifying the race
have been various. The Negro members of the North Carolina General
Assembly, for example, were indicated by the figure 37 in the State
Manual listing all persons who had been in the Assembly. Where no such
information could be obtained from printed matter, it has been
necessary to rely upon information obtained from individuals who
participated in the Reconstruction.
NEGRO MEMBERS OF THE ALABAMA CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1867[2]
District Name County
1st John Carraway Mobile
Ovide Gregory Mobile
6th Thomas Diggs Barbour
7th B. F. Royal Bullock
13th Washington Johnson Russell
15th Peyton Finley Montgomery
16th H. Stokes Dallas
J. Hatcher Dallas
17th J. Wright McLeod Marengo
18th Benjamin Inge Sumter
19th Samuel Blanden Lee
21st Thomas Lee Perry
22nd J. K. Greene Hale
B. F. Alexander Greene
42nd Lafayette Robinson Madison
C. Jones Madison
43rd J. T. Rapier Lauderdale
NEGRO MEMBERS OF THE ALABAMA CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1875[2]
District Name County
H. A. Carson Lowndes
25th A. H. Curtis Perry
21st G. S. W. Lewis Perry
_Senate_[3]
Session 1872-1874
Name County
Jeremiah Haralson Dallas
J. W. Jones Lowndes
Lloyd Leftwich Greene
B F. Royal Bullock
Session 1874-1875 and 1875-1876
Name County
A. A. Curtis Perry
J. K. Greene Hale
Jeremiah Haralson[4] Dallas
J. W. Jones Lowndes
Lloyd Leftwich Greene
B. F. Royal Bullock
_House_
Session 1868 and 1869-1870
Name County
Benjamin Alexander Greene
J. H. Alston Macon
Matt Avery Perry
Samuel Blandon Lee
N. A. Brewington Lowndes
John Carraway (Speaker of House) Mobile
George Cox Montgomery
Thomas Diggs Barbour
Joseph Draun Dallas
J. K. Greene Hale
Ovide Gregory Mobile
George Houston Sumter
Benjamin Inge Sumter
C. Jones Madison
G. S. W. Lewis Perry
David Law Barbour
Jeff McCally Madison
H. W. W. Rice Talladega
James Shaw Mobile
Lawrence S. Speed Bullock
Holland Thompson Montgomery
William V. Turner Elmore
Latty J. Williams Montgomery
Henry Young Lowndes
Session 1870-1871 and 1871-1872
Name County
H. Craig Montgomery
A. H. Curtis Perry
Thomas Diggs Barbour
John Dozier Perry
William D. Gaskins Lowndes
Ned Gee Dallas
J. K. Greene Hale
Jeremiah Haralson Dallas
R. L. Johnson Dallas
Lawrence S. Speed Bullock
Henry St. Clair Macon
Holland Thompson Montgomery
Mansfield Tyler Lowndes
Latty J. Williams Montgomery
_House_
Session 1872-1873 and 1873-1874
Name County
W. E. Carson Lowndes
T. J. Clark Barbour
Mentor Dotson Sumter
John Dozier Perry
Hale Ellsworth Montgomery
Samuel Fantroy Barbour
J. H. Goldsby Dallas
J. K. Green Hale
R. L. Johnson Dallas
Reuben Jones Madison
G. S. W. Lewis Perry
Perry Matthews Bullock
January Maul Lowndes
G. R. Miller Russell
Willis Merriweather Wilcox
S. J. Patterson Autauga
George Patterson Macon
Robert Reid Sumter
Bristo W. Reese Hale
Lawrence S. Speed Bullock
Henry St. Clair Macon
Lawson Stelle Montgomery
F. H. Threat Marengo
J. R. Treadwell Russell
Thomas Walker Dallas
E. A. Williams Barbour
Latty J. Williams Montgomery
William V. Turner, _Assistant Clerk_ Elmore
Phillip Joseph, _Engrossing Clerk_ Mobile
W. H. Council, _Assistant Engrossing Clerk_ Madison
C. O. Harris, _Assistant Enrolling Clerk_ Montgomery
Stephen Russell, _Page_ Montgomery
_House_
Session 1874-1875 and 1875-1876
Name County
Elijah Baldwin Wilcox
W. H. Blevins Dallas
Matt Boyd Perry
H. V. Cashin Montgomery
Elijah Cook Montgomery
Charles Fagan Montgomery
W. D. Gaskin[5] Lowndes
Captain Gilmer Montgomery
C. E. Harris Dallas
A. W. Johnson Macon
Samuel Lee Lowndes
G. S. W. Lewis Perry
Jacob Martin Dallas
P. Matthews Bullock
G. W. Allen Bullock
Willis Merriweather Wilcox
George Patterson Macon
Bristo W. Reese Hale
Robert Reid Sumter
C. S. Smith Bullock
Manly Wynne Hale
H. A. Carson[6] Lowndes
E. W. Locke[6] Wilcox
NEGRO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS FROM ALABAMA
Year Name County Congress
1871-1873 Benjamin F. Turner Dallas 43rd
1873-1875 James T. Rapier Lauderdale 43rd
1875-1877 Jeremiah Haralson Dallas 44th
James H. Alston was a member of the Alabama Legislature for Macon
County, 1868 and 1869-79. He was a shoemaker by trade and had formerly
been a slave. It was reported that before the war there was a Military
Company in the town of Tuskegee. The members of this company desired
to have a drummer, and for this purpose they sent to South Carolina
and bought James H. Alston. It was thought that he came from
Charleston.
Henry Young was a member of the Alabama Legislature about 1868 and
1869-70. He was a slave who could read and write, having been taught
by his master's children. He would, somewhat like Frederick Douglass,
spell out the words on letters that he was called upon to deliver or
to get from the post office, and in this way he also increased his
ability to read.
CONWAY, ARK.,--October 14, 1916.
NEGROES IN POLITICS IN ARKANSAS DURING RECONSTRUCTION
In the constitutional convention of 1868, there were 8 Negro
delegates, that is, J. W. Mason, Richard Samuels, William Murphy,
Monroe Hawkins, William Grey, James T. White, Henry Rector and Thomas
P. Johnson. (_Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of 1868_,
pages 2 to 5.)
Negroes in the Arkansas Legislature: Session April 2 to July 23, 1869,
and session November 17, 1868, to April 10, 1869, were seven Negro
members of whom J. W. Mason, the leading Negro in the Senate; W. H.
Grey, leading Negro in the House. (_Daily Republican_, Oct. 1, 1868).
In the Legislature of January 2 to March 25, 1871, there were eleven
Negro members: J. W. Mason and J. T. White in the Senate: J. M.
Alexander, Austin Barrow, Conway Barbour, John Webb, Adam Johnson,
Jeff Haskins, A. Mays, William Young, Carl Pope, A. J. Robinson, E. A.
Fulton in the House. (_Daily Republican_, March 25, 1871.)
In the 19th session, January 6 to April 25, 1873, the last session
before Baxter called his special session, something less than one
fifth of all the members were Negroes. I have been unable to ascertain
the exact number in this session, but from the standpoint of numbers,
I would judge that there is no great difference between this session
and the previous one. _The Arkansas Gazette_ of January 12, 1873, says
of the Negro members: "There are a few men among these colored members
who are bright and intelligent, and much superior to some white
members, but as a rule, this is not the case."
(Signed) THOMAS S. STAPLES,
Hendrix College
Conway, Arkansas
NEGRO MEMBERS OF THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE DURING RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD
AND AFTER
_Senate_
Year Name County
1880-1888 H. W. Chandler Marion
1881 T. V. Gibbs Duval
80's Joseph E. Lee Duval
.... Thomas W. Long Marion
1881 Robert Meacham Jefferson
1881-1865 Daniel C. Martin Alachua
.... G. W. Proctor Jefferson
1863 John E. Proctor Leon
80's Egbert C. Sammis Duval
.... John Wallace Leon
_Representatives_
Year Name County
1885 Edward I. Alexander[7] Madison
.... Josiah Armstrong Columbia
.... Henry Black Jefferson
1879 Kellis B. Bonner Marion
.... James Dean Bryant Monroe
.... William Bradwell Duval
1881-83 Joseph N. Clinton Alachua
1881 Wallace B. Carr Leon
.... Lucian Fisher Leon
.... John Ford Leon
.... Samuel Frazier Leon
.... Robert Gabriel Monroe
.... Alfred Grant Duval
1881 David E. Jacobs Marion
Before 1881 Isaac Jenkins Leon
.... A. J. Junius Jefferson
.... Thorns W. Long Marion
1889-91 George A. Lewis[8]
80's Joseph E. Lee Duval
.... Samuel Petty Nassau
1881-83 (about) A. B. Osgood
.... Charles H. Pierce Leon
80's Riley E. Robinson Nassau
.... Henry St. Clair Hernando
.... John R. Scott, Sr. Duval
.... I. E. Purcell Putnam
_Representatives_
Year Name County
1889-91 John R. Scott, Jr. Duval
.... Charles Shavers Monroe
.... Rev. Catherine B. Simmons Duval
80's Peter Okes Jefferson
.... W. G. Stewart Leon
Before 1881 John N. Stokes Leon
.... N. Trenton Alachua
.... Josiah T. Walls Alachua
Probably before 1881 R. W. Washington Jefferson
80's George W. Wetmore Duval
1881-83 W. A. Wilkinson Marion
.... George W. Witherspoon Escambia
Joseph N. Clinton was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 4,
1854, and was reared in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the
Institute For Colored Youth and then entered Lincoln University, where
he was graduated in 1873. He then taught school in South Carolina,
Maryland and Florida. In addition to being a member of the Florida
Legislature, 1881-83, he was clerk in the United States Land Office of
Florida. He was Inspector of Customs at Pensacola, and for fourteen
years held the position of Internal Revenue Collector at Tampa.
H. W. Chandler was Senator, Marion County, 1880-1888. For sketch of
early life, see Simmons' _Men of Mark_. He was delegate to the
National Republican Convention 1884-1908. He was Inspector of Customs
at Tampa from May 1908 to December 1913.
George H. Mays was marshal of Jacksonville. This was an elective
office. The position made him head of police force with appointive
powers.
James Dean was County Judge, Monroe County in 1889, but served less
than one year. He was impeached for issuing license to a colored Cuban
man to marry a white Cuban woman. This a custom in Cuba. Dean was
impeached on ground that he had issued license to Negro to marry a
white woman. He was summarily removed without a hearing. This was said
to have been a put-up job, as the man was secured to get a license.
Dean did not have a trial. The only way to get case reviewed was to
institute quo warranto proceedings. To do this, it was necessary to
get the permission of the State's Attorney General to use the State's
name. He was not able to do this.
Mitchell Chappelle was Negro Mayor of LaVilla. Formerly these were two
adjoining towns, Jacksonville and LaVilla. The two are now
Jacksonville.
Charles Dupont was reported as being sheriff of Monroe County about 27
years ago.
In 1887 Republicans went out of power in Florida. The Constitutional
Convention put Negroes and Republicans out.
NEGRO MEMBERS OF THE GEORGIA LEGISLATURE, 1868-69
_Senate_
Year District Name
1868-68 ...... A. Alpeoria Bradley (expelled).
1868-69 2nd Tunis G. Campbell (unseated, 1868-69)[10]
reseated in 1870.
1868-69 20th George Wallace (unseated, 1868-69)[10]
reseated in 1870.
_House_
Year Name County
1868-69 T .M. Allen Jasper Unseated 1862-69, Reseated in 1870[10]
E. Barnes Hancock " " " "
T. G. Campbell McIntosh " " " "
G. H. Clower Monroe " " " "
A. Colby Greene " " " "
J. T. Costin Talbot " " " "
Monday Floyd Warren " " " "
S. Gardner Warren " " " "
W. A. Golden Liberty " " " "
W. H. Harrison Hancock " " " "
U. L. Houston Bryan " " " "
Philip Joiner Dougherty " " " "
George Linder Laurens " " " "
R. Lumpkin Macon Unseated 1862-69, Reseated in 1870[10]
Romulus Moore Columbia " " " "
Peter O 'Neal Baldwin " " " "
James Porter Chatham " " " "
A. Richardson Clarke " " " "
J. M. Sims Chatham " " " "
Abram Smith Muscogee " " " "
Alexander Stone Jefferson " " " "
H. M. Turner Bibb " " " "
J. Warren Glynn " " " "
Samuel Williams Burke " " " "
M. Claiborne Harris " " " "
R. B. Hall Burke " " " "
---- Beard[11] Richmond
Madison Davis[11] Clarke
---- Fyall[11] Macon
_House_
Year Name County
1871 James Blue[12] Glynn
1872 " " "
1873 " " "
1874 " " "
1874 " " "
1875 " " "
1876 " " "
1877 " " "
1878 Thomas M. Butler[12] Camden
1879 " " "
1884 A. Wilson[12] Camden
1885 " " "
1886 Lectured Crawford[12] McIntosh
1887 " " "
1890 " " "
John M. Holzendorf Camden
1891 Lectured Crawford McIntosh
John M. Holzendorf Camden
1900 Lectured Crawford McIntosh
H. A. McKay[12] Liberty
1901 Lectured Crawford McIntosh
H. A. McKay Liberty
1902 W. H. Rogers12] McIntosh
1903 " " " "
1904 " " " "
1905 " " " "
1906 " " " "
1907 " " " "
1908 " " " "
LIST OF NEGRO MEMBERS IN MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE--1870
_Senate_
Name County
Rev. H. R. Revels Adams
Rev. William Gray Washington
Rev. T. W. Stringer Warren
Charles Caldwell Hinds
Rubert Gleed Lowndes
_House_
Name County
Charles P. Head Warren
Peter Barrow Warren
Albert Johnson Warren
Henry Mayson Hinds
C. F. Norris Hinds
J. F. Bolden Lowndes
John R. Lynch Adams
H. P. Jacobs Adams
Edmund Scarborough Holmes
Cicero Mitchell Holmes
Dr. J. J. Spellman Madison
William Holmes Monroe
Isham Stewart Noxubee
Nathan McNeese Noxubee
A. R. Davis Noxubee
John Morgan Washington
Dr. Stiles Washington
W. H. Fonte Yazoo
Ambrose Henderson Chickasaw
M. T. Newsom Claiborne
Emanuel Handy Copiah
Merrimon Howard Jefferson
J. Aaron Moore Lauderdale
David Higgins Oktibbeha
C. A. Yancy Panola
J. H. Piles Panola
H. M. Faley Wilkinson
George W. White Wilkinson
C. M. Bowles Bolivar
Richard Griggs Issaquena
George Charles Lawrence
John R. Lynch elected speaker of the House.
H. R. Revels elected to United State Senate for the unexpired term.
--From J. M. Garner, _Reconstruction in Mississippi_, New York, 1901.
NEGROES ELECTED IN 1871[13]
Name County
Henry P. Jacobs Adams
Reuben Kendrick Amite
Joseph Smothers Claiborne
Thomas McCain DeSota
Monroe Bell Hinds
William Johnson Hinds
F. Stewart Holmes
Richard Griggs Issaquena
William Landers Jefferson
Alfred Handy Madison
Arthur Brooks Monroe
A. K. Davis Noxubee
Randle Nettles Oktibbeha
John Cocke Panola
H. C. Carter Warren
F. D. Shadd Warren
J. H. Morgan Washington
H. M. Foley Wilkinson
James M. Dixon Yazoo
R. W. Houston Issaquena
John R. Lynch Adams
G. W. Gayles Bolivar
Emanuel Handy Copiah
J. H. Johnson DeSota
Charles Reese Hinds
H. H. Truehart Holmes
Perry Howard Holmes
James D. Cessar Jefferson
James J. Spelman Madison
James Hill Marshall
William Holmes Monroe
Isham Stewart Noxubee
James H. Piles Panola
Gilbert Smith Tunica
W. H. Mallory Warren
Charles W. Bush Warren
John D. Webster Washington
George W. White Wilkinson
F. D. Wade Yazoo
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS FOR MISSISSIPPI
Josiah T. Settle was a member of the House from Panola in 1883-84.
G. W. Gayles was a member of the House 1873-77 and a member of the
Senate 1877 to some time after 1886. He was the last Negro to be a
member of the Mississippi Senate. For sketch of his career see
Simmons' _Men of Mark_, 379-381.
Garner, _Reconstruction in Mississippi_, page 294, gives Negro members
of the Mississippi Legislature for 1873 as Senate, 9; House, 55. On
page 402, for 1876, Senate, 5; House, 16. Total membership, Senate,
37. Total membership, House, 116.
NEGRO MEMBERS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA RECONSTRUCTION CONSTITUTIONAL
CONVENTIONS, 1868 AND 1875
Dates of the Conventions January 14-March 17, 1868, and September
6-October 11, 1875. Total members of each Convention 120. Negro
members, 13 in Convention of 1868, and 5 in Convention of 1875.
County Year Name
Bertie 1868 P. D. Robbins
Bryant Lee
Caswell 1868 Wilson Cary
Caswell 1875 Wilson Cary
Craven 1868 C. D. Pierson
Duplin 1868 J. W. Petterson
Samuel Highsmith
Edgcombe 1868 Henry C. Cherry
Edgcombe 1875 W. P. Mabson
Franklin 1868 John H. Williamson
Halifax 1868 Henry Epps
W. J. T. Hayes
Halifax 1875 J E. O'Hara
New Hanover 1868 A. H. Galloway
New Hanover 1875 J. H. Smythe
Wake 1868 James H. Harris
Warren 1868 John Hyman
Warren 1875 J. O. Crosby
NEGRO MEMBERS OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA DURING
RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD AND AFTER[15]
County Year Senatorial Senators Representatives
District
Bertie 1868 ... ... Parker D. Robbins
Bertie 1870 ... Parker D. Robbins
Bertie 1876 3rd George A. Mebane ...
Bertie 1881 ... Augustus Robbins
Bertie 1883 3rd George A. Mebane ...
Bladen 1874 ... John Newell
Bladen 1879 ... John Newell
Bladen 1881 ... John Newell
Bladen 1883 ... John Newell
Caswell 1868 ... Wilson Cary
Caswell 1870 24th Wilson Cary ...
Caswell 1874 ... Wilson Cary
Caswell 1876 ... Wilson Cary
Caswell 1879 ... Wilson Cary
Caswell 1883 ... James W. Poe
Caswell 1889 ... Wilson Cary
Chowan 1870 ... John R. Page
Chowan 1874 ... Richard Elliott
Craven 1868 ... A. W. Stevens
B. W. Morris
Craven 1870 ... R. Tucker
E. R. Dudley
G. B. Willis
Craven 1872 ... I. B. Abbott
E. R. Dudley
Craven 1874 8th Richard Tucker John R. Good
Edward H. Hill
Craven 1879 ... Willis D. Pettipher
Craven 1881 ... J. (Geo.) H. White
Craven 1885 8th George H. White John E. Hussey
Craven 1887 8th Charles C. Clark John E. Hussey
Craven 1889 ... John E. Hussey
Craven 1899 ... Isaac H. Smith
Cumberland 1868 ... John S. Leary
Isham Sweat
Edgecombe 1868 ... Henry C. Cherry
Edgecombe 1870 ... Willis Bunn
R. M. Johnson
Edgecombe 1872 7th Henry Eppes Willis Bunn
Edgecombe 1874 5th W. P. Mabson Willis Bunn
Edgecombe 1876 5th W. P. Mabson Willis Bunn
Edgecombe 1883 5th Robert R. Gray A. R. Bridgers
Edgecombe 1885 5th R. S. Taylor B. W. Thorpe
Edgecombe 1887 5th R. S. Taylor
Franklin 1868 ... John H. Williamson
Franklin 1870 ... John H. Williamson
Franklin 1872 ... John H. Williamson
Franklin 1876 ... John H. Williamson
Franklin 1887 ... John H. Williamson
Granville 1868 ... Cuffie Mayo
A. A. Crawford
Granville 1870 ... W. H. Reavis
Granville 1872 ... H. T. Hughes
Granville 1874 ... W. H. Crews
H. T. Hughes
Granville 1876 21st Hanson T. Hughes W. H. Crews
Granville 1893 ... W. H. Crews
Halifax 1868 6th Henry Epps H. T. J. Hayes
Ivey Hutchings
Halifax 1870 6th Henry Epps John R. Bryant
Halifax 1872 4th Henry Epps John R. Bryant
Halifax 1874 4th John R. Bryant J. A. Jones
John A. White
Halifax 1876 4th John R. Bryant John A. White
Halifax 1879 4th Henry Eppes John A. White
Halifax 1887 4th Henry Eppes John A. White
Hertford 1870 ... W. D. Newsom
New Hanover 1868 13th A. H. Galloway George W. Price
John S. W. Eagle
New Hanover 1870 13th G. W. Price, Jr. G. L. Mabson
New Hanover 1872 12th George L. Mabson Wm. H. McLaurin
Alfred Lloyd
New Hanover 1874 ... H. Brewington
W. H. Moore
Alfred Lloyd
New Hanover 1876 12th W. H. Moore J. C. Hill
New Hanover 1879 ... H. E. Scott
New Hanover 1881 12th H. E. Scott ...
New Hanover 1883 12th H. E. Scott ...
Northampton 1883 ... Wiley Baker
Wake 1868 ... James H. Harris
Wake 1870 ... Willis Morgan
Stewart Ellison
Wake 1872 18th James H. Harris Stewart Ellison
Wake 1879 ... Stewart Ellison
Wake 1883 ... James H. Harris
Wake 1895 ... James H. Young
Wake 1897 ... James H. Young
Warren 1868 20th John A. Hyman William Cawthorn
Richard Falkner
Warren 1870 20th John A. Hyman William Cawthorn
Richard Falkner
Warren 1872 19th John A. Hyman J. W.H. Paschall
Warren 1874 19th John M. Paschall
Warren 1879 19th Isaac Alston
Warren 1891 19th Isaac Alston
Washington 1881 ... Alexander Hicks
NUMBER WHITE AND NEGRO MEMBERS EACH SESSION OF THE ASSEMBLY IN WHICH
THERE WERE NEGRO MEMBERS
(Number Senators in Assembly, 50; Representatives, 120)
Year White Negro
1868 Senators 47 3
Representatives 102 18
1870 Senators 46 4
Representatives 101 19
1872 Senators 45 5
Representatives 108 12
1874 Senators 45 4
Representatives 107 13
1876 Senators 45 5
Representatives 113 7
1879 Senators 48 2
Representatives 114 6
1881 Senators 49 1
Representatives 116 4
1883 Senators 47 3
Representatives 115 5
1885 Senators 48 2
Representatives 118 2
1887 Senators 47 3
Representatives 117 3
1889 Senators 50 -
Representatives 118 2
1891 Senators 49 1
Representatives 120 -
1893 Senators 50 -
Representatives 119 1
1895 Senators 50 -
Representatives 119 1
1897 Senators 50 -
Representatives 119 1
1899 Senators 49 1
Representatives 119 1
DELEGATES TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION[16] HELD AT
CHARLESTON, JANUARY 14 TO MARCH 18, 1868[17]
Abbeville--John A. Hunter, B. Milford, white; H. J. Lomax, W. N.
Joiner, Thomas Williamson, colored.
Anderson--William Perry, N. J. Newall, white; Samuel Johnson, colored.
Berkeley--M. F. Becker, D. H. Chamberlain, Timothy Hurley, Joseph H.
Jenks, A. C. Richmond, white; William Jervey, Benjamin Byas, W. H. W.
Gray, George Lee, colored.
Beaufort--J. D. Bell, R. G. Holmes, white; F. E. Wilder, L. S.
Langley, W. J. Whipper, Robert Smalls, J. J. Wright, colored.
Barnwell--C. P. Leslie, Niles G. Parker, white; James N. Hayne, A.
Middleton, C. D. Hayne, Julius Mayer, colored.
Charleston--A. G. Mackey, C. C. Bowen, Gilbert Pillsbury, white; F. L.
Cardozo, William McKinlay, R. H. Cain, R. C. DeLarge, A. J. Ransier,
colored.
Chester--Purvis Alexander, Barney Burton, Sancho Sanders, colored.
Chesterfield--R. J. Donaldson, white; H. L. Shrewsbury, colored.
Clarendon--Elias E. Dickson, white; William Nelson, colored.
Colleton--J. S. Craig, white; William M. Thomas, William Driffle, W.
M. Vinery, colored.
Darlington--B. F. Whittemore, white; Isaac Brockenton, Jordan Lang,
Richard Humbird, colored.
Edgefield--Frank Arnim, white; R. B. Elliott, Prince R. Rivers, John
Bonum, David Harris, John Wooley, colored.
Fairfield--James M. Rutland, white; H. D. Edwards, Henry Jacob,
colored.
Georgetown--Henry W. Webb, white; F. F. Miller, Joseph H. Rainey,
colored.
Greenville--James M. Allen, J. M. Runion, white; Wilson Cook, W. B.
Johnson, colored.
Horry--Henry Jones, A. R. Thompson, colored.
Kershaw--J. K. Jillson, S. G. W. Dill, white; John A. Chestnut,
colored.
Lancaster--Albert Clinton, Charles Jones, colored.
Lexington--Lemanuel Boozer, Simeon Corley, white.
Laurens--Joseph Crews, Y. J. P. Owens, white; Harry McDaniels, Nelson
Davis, colored.
Marion--W. S. Collins, white; J. W. Johnson, H. E. Hayne, B. A.
Thompson, colored.
Marlboro--Calvin Stubbs, George Jackson, colored.
Newberry--B. O. Duncan, white; James Henderson, Lee Nance, colored.
Orangeburg--E. W. M. Mackey, white; E. J. Cain, W. J. McKinlay, T. K.
Sasportas, B. F. Randolph, colored.
Pickens--M. Mauldin, Alexander Bryce, L. B. Johnson, white.
Richland--Thomas J. Robertson, white; W. B. Nash, S. B. Thompson, C.
M. Wilder, colored.
Spartanburg--J. P. F. Camp, J. S. Gentry, white; Rice Foster, Coy
Wingo, colored.
Sumter--T. J. Coghlan, F. J. Moses, Jr., white; W. E. Johnson, Samuel
Lee, colored.
Union--J. H. Goss, white; Abram Dogan, Samuel Nuckles, colored.
Williamsburg--William Darrington, white; C. M. Olsen, S. A. Swails,
colored.
York--J. L. Neagle, William E. Rose, white; J. W. Mead, J. H. White,
colored.
Three of the delegates elected failed to attend,--F. A. Sawyer, white,
Charleston; John K. Terry, white, Colleton; George D. Medis, colored,
Edgefield.
Of the 124 delegates elected, forty-eight were white and seventy-six
colored. The white men classed as Republicans were about equally
divided as natives or newcomers--in the vernacular of the times,
"scalawags" or "carpetbaggers."
The following table gives the previous residence of the delegates:
Whites Negroes
South Carolina 23 South Carolina 59
North Carolina 3 Pennsylvania 2
Georgia 1 Michigan 1
Massachusetts 7 Georgia 1
Connecticut 1 Tennessee 1
Rhode Island 1 Ohio 1
New York 1 North Carolina 1
Other Northern States 5 Virginia 1
England 2 Massachusetts 2
Ireland 1 Dutch Guiana 1
Prussia 1 Unknown 6
Denmark 1 ---
Unknown 1 76
---
48
SENATORS OF SOUTH CAROLINA--RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD[18]
*[19]---- Barber Fairfield Co.
---- Bird Fairfield Co.
R. H. Cain Charleston Co.
*Lawrence Cain Edgefield Co.
*Rev. H. Cardozo Kershaw Co.
F. A. Clinton Lancaster Co.
*S. E. Gaillard Charleston Co.
Samuel Green Beaufort Co. formerly of H. of Rep.
*C. D. Hayne Aiken Co.
H. E. Hayne Marion Co.
*W. R. Jervey Charleston Co.
*Rev. W. E. Johnson Sumter Co.
*W. H. Jones Georgetown Co.
*---- Jamison Orangeburg Co.
*John Lee Chester Co.
H. J. Maxwell Marlboro Co.
*W. F. Myers Colleton Co.
W. Beverley Nash Richland Co.
J. H. Rainey Georgetown Co.
Rev. B. F. Randolph Orangeburg Co.
*Robert Smalls Beaufort Co.
S. A. Swails Williamsburg Co.
*J. H. White York Co.
Rev. B. H. Williams Georgetown Co.
Lucius Wimbush Chester Co.
*Thomas E. Miller Beaufort Co.
R. E. Wall Kershaw Co.
MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF SOUTH CAROLINA DURING
RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD[20]
*---- Bascomb Beaufort Co.
S. J. Bampfield Beaufort Co.
B. A. Bosemon Charleston Co.
Joseph D. Boston Newberry Co.
*J. A. Bowley Georgetown Co.
Benjamin Byas Berkley Co.
E. J. Cain Berkley Co.
*J. E. Clyde Charleston Co.
Wilson Cook Greenville Co.
*---- Davis Charleston Co.
*James Davis Richland Co.
R. C. DeLarge Charleston Co.
W. A. Driffle Colleton Co.
*Major M. R. Delaney Charleston Co.
*William Elliott Charleston Co.
R. B. Elliott Edgefield Co.
*---- Ellison Abbeville Co.
*---- Fraser Colleton Co.
*John Freeman Charleston Co.
*F. H. Frost Williamsburg Co.
*John Gilmore Richland Co.
*W. A. Grant Charleston Co.
*Adam Green Aiken Co.
Charles Green Georgetown Co.
*Samuel Green Beaufort Co.
Thomas Hamilton Beaufort Co.
David Harris Edgefield Co.
*H. E. Hayne Marion Co.
*Zachariah Hines Darlington Co.
*---- Howard Marion Co.
Richard Humbert Darlington Co.
Rev. H. H. Hunter Charleston Co.
*S. J. Keith Darlington Co.
S. J. Lee Edgefield Co.
Harry McDaniels Laurens Co.
*Thomas McDowell Georgetown Co.
John W. Mead York Co.
Thos. E. Miller Beaufort Co.
*A. Middleton Barnwell Co.
Chas. S. Minort Richland Co.
June Mobley Union Co.
*Wm. Moultrie Georgetown Co.
Nathaniel B. Myers Beaufort Co.
*---- Nehemiah Beaufort Co.
*Fred Nix, Jr. Barnwell Co.
Saml. Nuckles Union Co.
*Lee Nance Newberry Co.
R. J. Palmer Richland Co.
M. H. Priolean Charleston Co.
*J. H. Rainey Georgetown Co.
G. A. Reed Beaufort Co.
Prince Rivers Edgefield Co.
*John Rue Beaufort Co.
Sancho Saunders Chester Co.
H. L. Shrewsbury Chesterfield Co.
*---- Singleton Darlington Co.
*Paris Simpkins Edgefield Co.
Wm, Simmons Richland Co.
J. A. Smith Darlington Co.
*Butler Spears Sumter Co.
*Jas. A. Spencer Abbeville Co.
*Nath. T. Spencer Charleston Co.
D. A. Straker Orangeburg
W. H. Thomas Newberry Co.
Rev. W. M. Thomas Colleton Co.
S. B. Thompson Richland Co.
*Robert Turner Charleston Co.
James Wells Richland Co.
*Ellison Weston Richland Co.
W. J. Whipper Richland Co.
B. A. Thompson Marion Co.
*Isaac Brockenboro Darlington Co.
*T. Andrews Sumter Co.
Additional names by Bishop George W. Clinton.
Aaron Logan
Nelson Davis, York
Allen Hudson, Lancaster
Alfred M. Moore, Fairfield
Samuel P. Coker.
See Reynold's _Reconstruction_, p. 505.
MEMBERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1868[22]
_Senators_
*Anderson--John H. Reid, white.
Barnwell--C. P. Leslie, white.
Beaufort--J. J. Wright, colored.
Charleston--D. T. Corbin, white; R. H. Cain, colored.
Chester--Lewis Wimbush, colored.
Chesterfield--R. J. Donaldson, white.
Clarendon--E. E. Dickson, white.
Colleton--William R. Hoyt, colored.
Darlington--B. F. Whittemore, white.
Edgefield--Frank Arnim, white.
Fairfield--James M. Rutland, white.
Georgetown--Joseph H. Rainey, colored.
Greenville--James M. Allen, white.
*Horry--H. Buck, white.
Kershaw--J. K. Jillson, white.
*Lancaster--R. M. Sims, white.
Laurens--Y. J. P. Owens, white.
Lexington--E. S. J. Hayes, white.
Marlboro--H. J. Maxwell, colored.
Marion--Henry E. Hayne, colored.
Newberry--C. W. Montgomery, white.
*Oconee--D. Biemann, white.
Orangeburg--B. F. Randolph, colored,
succeeded by Joseph A. Greene, colored.
*Pickens--T. A. Rodgers, white.
Richland--W. B. Nash, colored.
*Spartanburg--Joel Foster, white.
Sumter--T. J. Coghlan, white.
Union--H. W. Duncan, colored.
Williamsburg--S. A. Swails, colored.
York--William E. Rose, white.
The number of white senators elected was twenty-one, and of colored,
ten.
Representatives
Abbeville--George Dusenberry, T. B. Milford, James Martin, white; R.
M. Valentine, W. J. Lomax, colored.
*Anderson--John B. Moore, B. Frank Sloan, John Wilson, all white.
Barnwell--B. F. Berry, W. J. Mixson, white; C. D. Hayne, James N.
Hayne, Julius Mayer, R. B. Elliott, colored.
Beaufort--C. J. Stolbrand, Charles S. Kuh, white; W. J. Whipper, P. E.
Ezekiel, Robert Smalls, G. A. Bennett, W. C. Morrison, colored.
Charleston--Reuben Tomlinson, Joseph H. Jenks, John B. Dennis, F. J.
Moses, Jr., B. F. Jackson, white; R. C. DeLarge, A. J. Ransier,
colored.
W. H. W. Gray, B. A. Bosemon, George Lee, William McKinlay, W. J.
Brodie, John B. Wright, William R. Jervay, Abraham Smith, Samuel
Johnson, Stephen Brown, Edward Mickey, colored.
The counties marked * were Democratic.
Chester--Barney Humphries, Sancho Sanders, Barney Burton, colored.
Chesterfield--H. L. Shrewsberry, D. I. J. Johnson, colored.
Clarendon--William Nelson, Powell Smyth, colored.
Colleton--George F. McIlntyre, white; W. B. Hoyt, W. M. Thomas, Wm.
Driffle, colored.
Darlington--G. Holliman, white; Jordan Lang, John Boston, Alfred Rush,
colored.
Edgefield--T. Root, white; David Harris, Samuel J. Lee, John Wooley,
Prince R. Rivers, John Gardner, Lawrence Cain, colored.
Fairfield--L. W. Duvall, white; Henry Jacob, Henry Johnson, colored.
Georgetown--Henry W. Webb, white; F. F. Miller, W. H. Jones, colored.
Greenville--Samuel Tinsley, John B. Hyde, white; Wilson Cook, W. A.
Bishop, colored.
*Horry--Zadock Bullock, W. W. Waller, white.
Kershaw, S. G. W. Dill, white; John A. Chestnut, J. W. Nash, colored.
*Lancaster--T. Frank Clyburn, W. G. Stewart, white.
Laurens--Joseph Crews, white; Griffin Johnson, Wade Perrin, Harry
McDaniels, colored.
Lexington--G. A. Lewie, white; H. W. Purvis, colored.
Marlboro--T. B. Stubbs, white; John G. Grant, colored.
Marion--W. S. Collins, white; Evan Hayes, B. A. Thompson, colored.
Newberry--Joseph Boston, James Hutson, James Henderson, colored.
*Oconee--O. M. Doyle, W. C. Keith, white.
Orangeburg--W. J. McKinlay, T. K. Sasportas, F. DeMars, E. J. Cain,
James P. Mays, colored.
*Pickens--W. T. Field, white.
Richland--S. B. Thompson, William Simmons, C. M. Wilder, Aesop
Goodson, colored.
*Spartansburg--Samuel Littlejohn, Robert M. Smith, Javan Bryant, C. C.
Turner, white.
Sumter--John H. Ferriter, white; W. E. Johnson, James Smiley, Burrell
James, colored.
Union--Samuel Nuckles, Junius Mobley, Simon Farr, colored.
Williamsburg--C. H. Pettingill, white; R. F. Scott, Jefferson
Pendergrass, colored.
York--P. J. O'Connell, John L. Neagle, white; J. H. White, John W.
Mead, colored.
The number of white representatives was forty-six, and of colored
seventy-eight. On joint ballot there were sixty-seven whites and
eighty-eight colored--135 Republicans and twenty Democrats.
The counties marked * were Democratic.
SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES ELECTED TO SOUTH CAROLINA GENERAL
ASSEMBLY IN 1876[23]
*Aiken--Senator, A. P. Butler; Representatives, C. E. Sawyer, J.
Woodward, L. M. Asbill, J. G. Guignard, all white.
*Abbeville--Senator, J. C. Maxwell; Representatives, W. K. Bradley, R.
R. Hemphill, F. A. Connor, Wm. Hood, J. L. Moore, all white.
*Anderson--Representatives, H. R. Vandiver, R. W. Simpson, W. C.
Brown, James L. Orr, all white.
*Barnwell--Senator, J. M. Williams; Representatives, I. S. Bamberg,
John W. Holmes, L. W. Youmans, W. A. Rountree, Robert Aldrich, all
white.
Beaufort--Senator, Samuel Green; Representatives, Thomas Hamilton,
Hastings Gantt, Joseph Robinson, George Reed, N. B. Myers, Thomas E.
Miller, all colored.
Charleston--Senator--W. M. Taft (white); Representatives, E. W. M.
Mackey (white), J. J. Lesesne, B. F. Smalls, Robert Simmons, W. C.
Glover, F. S. Edwards, Isaac Prioleau, John Vanderpool, William J.
Brodie, J. S. Lazarus, S. C. Brown, Benjamin F. Capers, A. P. Ford,
Richard Bryan, Julius C. Tingman, Abram Smith, W. G. Pinckney,
colored.
Chester--Representatives, John Lee, Samuel Coleman, Purvis Alexander,
all colored.
*Chesterfield--Representatives, J. C. Coit, D. T. Redfearn, all white.
Clarendon--Representatives, S. Melton, H. Boston, all colored.
*Colleton--Representatives, H. E. Bissell, J. M. Cummins, S. E.
Parler, white; William Maree (colored), R. Jones (white).
Darlington--Representatives, R. H. Humbert, S. J. Keith, Z. Wines, J.
A. Smith, all colored.
*Edgefield--Senator, M. W. Gary; Representatives, W. S. Allen, J. C.
Sheppard, James Callison, T. E. Jennings, H. A. Shaw, all white.
Fairfield--Senator, Israel Byrd, Representatives, John Gibson, Daniel
Bird, Prince Martin, all colored.
Georgetown--Senator, B. H. Williams; Representatives, C. S. Green, P.
R. Kinloch, all colored.
*Greenville--Senator, S. S. Crittenden; Representatives, J. W. Gray,
J. F. Donald, J. T. Austin, J. S. Westmoreland, all white.
*Horry--Senator, William L. Buck; Representatives, L. D. Bryan, J. K.
Cooper, all white.
Kershaw--Representatives, R. D. Gaither, A. W. Kough, E. H. Dibble,
all colored.
*Laurens--Senator, R. P. Todd; Representatives, J. B. Humbert, J. W.
Watts, W. D. Anderson, all white.
*Lancaster--Representatives, J. B. Erwin, J. C. Blakeney, all white.
*Lexington--Senator, H. A. Meetze; Representatives, G. Leaphart, G.
Muller, all white.
*Marion--Senator, R. G. Howard; Representatives, J. G. Blue, J. McRae,
R. H. Rogers, J. P. Davis, all white.
Newberry--Senator, H. C. Corwin (white); Representatives, William
Keitt, J. S. Bridges, W. H. Thomas (colored).
*Oconee--Senator, J. W. Livingston; Representatives, B. F. Sloan, J.
S. Verner, all white.
The counties marked * were Democratic.
Orangeburg--Senator, J. L. Duncan; Representatives, D. A. Straker, S.
Morgans, W. H. Reedish, C. M. Caldwell, E. Forrest, all colored.
*Pickens--Representatives, D. F. Bradley, E. S. Bates, all white.
Richland--Representatives, A. W. Curtis, Charles Minort, R. J. Palmer,
J. W. Lowman, James Wells, all colored.
*Spartanburg--Senator, Gabriel Cannon; Representatives, W. P. Compton,
J. W. Wofford, E. S. Allen, Charles Petty, all white.
Sumter--Representatives, J. Westberry (colored), Thomas B. Johnston
(white), J. H. Ferriter (white), T. Andrews, colored.
*Union--Representatives, W. H. Wallace, G. D. Peake, William
Jefferies, all white.
Williamsburg--Representatives, W. Scott, J. F. Peterson, John Evans,
all colored.
*York -- Senator, I. D. Witherspoon; Representatives, A. E.
Hutchinson, J. A. Deal, W. E. Byers, B. H. Massey, all white.
The counties marked * were Democratic.
STATE OFFICERS IN SOUTH CAROLINA DURING THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD[24]
Alonzo J. Ransier Lieut. Governor 1870-1872
Richard H. Gleaves Lieut. Governor 1872-1876
Francis L. Cardozo Secretary of State 1868-1872
Francis L. Cardozo State Treasurer 1872-1876
Henry E. Hayne Secretary of State 1872-1876
Henry W. Purvis Adjutant General 1872-1876
J. J. Wright Associate Justice Supreme Court 1870-1877
R. C. DeLarge State Land Commissioner 1870
R. C. DeLarge State Commissioner Sinking Fund.
FEDERAL OFFICE HOLDERS IN SOUTH CAROLINA DURING RECONSTRUCTION
PERIOD[25]
Dr. B. A. Bosemon Postmaster--Charleston, S.C.
Charles M. Wilder Postmaster--Columbia, S.C.
John Lee Postmaster--Chester, S.C.
Rev. J. E. Wilson Postmaster--Florence, S.C.
S. J. Bampfield Postmaster--Beaufort, S.C.
Fred. Nix, Jr. Postmaster--Barnwell, S.C.
There were many others but I cannot recall their names.
NAMES OF CONGRESSMEN WHO REPRESENTED SOUTH CAROLINA DURING THE
RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD[26]
Joseph H. Rainey 41st, 42d, 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th,
48th Congress.
Robert Brown Elliott 42d Congress.
Alonzo J. Ransier 42d Congress.
Robert C. DeLarge 42d Congress.
Rev. R. H. Cain 43d, 45th Congress
Robert Smalls 44th, 45th, 48th 49th Congress.
NAMES OF CONGRESSMEN WHO REPRESENTED SOUTH CAROLINA AFTER THE
RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD
Robert Smalls Part before and part after Reconstruction.
Thomas E. Miller 51st Congress.
George W. Murray 53d Congress.
103 WEST 131ST STREET,
NEW YORK CITY,
October, 1917.
MR. MONROE N. WORK,
Editor--_The Negro Year Book_,
Tuskegee Institute, Ala.
_Dear Sir_:
In reply to your letter requesting my assistance in getting data
relative to the Reconstruction Period in South Carolina, I have the
honor to submit the following:
It will be utterly impossible to give dates after a lapse of nearly
fifty years, especially with reference to the terms the legislators
served, unless I had access to the records. I was a boy when our
family returned to South Carolina in 1870, two years after the
adjournment of the Constitutional Convention. At that period I was not
especially interested in the trend of affairs. I was thinking more of
the splendid opportunities I had left behind in Canada.
I think it very important that all of the data possible should be
collected pertaining to the Constitutional Convening as I regard it
the most important Convention ever held in which colored men
participated. I was very fortunate in finding a copy of the
Proceedings of the Convention in the Public Library in this city. I
have given only such names as I could positively identify as colored.
No doubt some names have been omitted but not of any who took an
active or important part in political affairs.
F. B. Perry, of Greenville, S.C., was appointed Provisional Governor
of South Carolina by President Johnson in 1865.
Pursuant to a call for a convention of the people issued by Governor
Perry in obedience to the proclamation of President Johnson for the
purpose of organizing a State Government, the Convention assembled at
Columbia, S.C., September 13, 1865.
To show the intense bitter feeling of Governor Perry the following is
from his proclamation:
"It is a source of congratulation to know that the colored troops,
whose atrocious conduct has disgraced the service and filled the
public mind with the most horrible apprehensions, have been withdrawn
from the interior of the State, and are to be placed in garrisons on
the coast where they can do no further mischief. In all of my personal
interviews with the President and in all of my dispatches to him I
urged this course most earnestly."
A Constitution was adopted by the Convention without being submitted
to the people for ratification.
The Constitution provided that only free white men were eligible for
membership in the Senate and House of Representatives; only free white
men were entitled to vote and that the appointment of members of the
House of Representatives among the several election districts of the
State should be in accordance with the number of white inhabitants in
each.
The Convention adjourned September 27, 1865.
Congress decided that it was no part of the prerogative of the
Executive to call conventions or to direct the adoption of
Constitutions.
J. L. Orr, of Anderson, S. C., was elected Provisional Governor,
October, 1865, to succeed Governor Perry.
Persuant to an Act of Congress of the United States entitled "An Act
to provide for the More Efficient Government of the Rebel States" an
election was held in South Carolina on November 19th and 20th, 1867,
and the electors of that State voted in favor of a Constitutional
Convention, and at the same time voted for delegates thereto.
Brevet Major-General E. R. S. Canby, Commanding 2d Military District
of South Carolina issued orders for the delegates to assemble in
convention at Charleston, S.C., January 14, 1868.
The Convention composed of 124 delegates, a large majority being
colored, met at Charleston, on the date named.
T. J. Robertson, white, was elected temporary President and Dr. A. G.
Mackey, white, was elected permanent President.
W. J. McKinlay and H. E. Hayne were elected temporary Secretary and
Assistant Secretary, respectively.
General Carlos J. Stalbrand, white, was elected permanent Secretary.
Josephus Woodruff, white, compiled the proceedings.
John R. Pinckney and Peter Miller were elected Sergeants-at-Arms.
F. L. Cardozo was Chairman of the Committee on Education.
S. A. Swails, Chairman of the Committee on Rules and Regulations.
Robert C. DeLarge, Chairman of the Committee on Franchise and
Elections.
Colored members were on all of the Committees, in most cases being in
the majority.
In looking over the proceedings I find that the following named
delegates took a very active part in all of the deliberations:
R. B. Elliott, R. C. DeLarge, F. L. Cardozo, J. J. Wright, W. J.
Whipper, W. J. McKinlay, S. A. Swails, A. J. Ransier, R. H. Cain, B.
F. Randolph, and W. B. Nash.
The Constitution provided for the election of Senators and
Representatives on April 14, 15 and 16, 1868, to assemble at Columbia,
May 12, 1868.
The Convention adjourned sine die March 14, 1868.
The Constitution adopted in 1868 stood unchanged until 1895 when a
Convention was called to meet at Columbia, on September 10, 1895, to
revise it.
The fact that the old Constitution stood for nineteen years after the
Democratic party came into power (1876) shows that there could not
have been anything objectionable in it to the Democrats or they would
have changed it immediately after regaining control. It speaks volumes
for the wisdom and foresight of the men of the Reconstruction Period.
In the Convention which met at Columbia in 1895, there were only five
colored delegates and they were all from Beaufort County, a county
which has very few white persons in it. The delegates were W. J.
Whipper, Robert Smalls, Thomas E. Miller, James Wigg, and L. R. Reed.
Of these, W. J. Whipper and Robert Smalls were delegates to the
Constitutional Convention which met at Charleston in 1868.
As General Smalls died only about two or three years ago what a wealth
of information he could have furnished pertaining to the
Reconstruction Period had your request been sent out before his death.
Inclosure 2 contains the names of State Senators and the counties they
represented. In several cases of Senators and also of Members of the
House of Representatives I cannot recall their initials.
There were 32 senators, the majority being colored, of whom the
following were conspicuous for their activity on all important
legislation:
S. A. Swails, J. H. Rainey, R. H. Cain, W. H. Jones, W. B. Nash and H.
J. Maxwell.
Inclosure 3 contains names of members of the House of Representatives
at various times. Some served more than one term. The more prominent
were: R. B. Elliott, S.J. Lee, Dr. B.A. Bosemon, J. H. Rainey, R. C.
DeLarge, J. A. Bowley, W. J. Whipper, D. A. Straker, C. M. Wilder,
Prince Rivers, F. H. Frost, T. E. Miller, and W. H. Thomas.
The House of Representatives was composed of 124 members and colored
members were always in the majority.
Inclosure 4--Names of State Officers.
Inclosure 5--Names of Federal Office holders.
Inclosure 6--Names of Congressmen who represented South Carolina.
I shall never forget the scene in 1876 when Col. A. C. Haskell,
Chairman of the Democratic State Committee at the head of the
Democratic members of the legislature forced his way into the Hall of
the Representatives then occupied by the Republican members.
Pandemonium reigned for a time. There were two Houses, each having its
own officers trying to transact business at the same time. Finally the
U. S. soldiers were called upon and those Democrats who had no
certificate of election were ejected.
All of the Democratic members then withdrew and formed an organization
in another hall.
Three colored Republicans whose names I do not care to mention went
over to the Democrats, but the latter could do nothing without the
Senate which was admittedly Republican.
The struggle was kept up until Mr. Hayes was inaugurated President,
when he withdrew the U. S. troops, leaving the Republicans without any
protection.
Governor Chamberlain and the State Officers elected with him seeing
that they were deserted by the National Administration withdrew from
the contest, leaving Gen. Hampton who was the Democratic nominee for
Governor in possession.
The Democrats then organized the Senate and House of Representatives,
and in joint session elected Gen. M. C. Butler, U. S. Senator. D. T.
Corbin, who received the Republican votes, contested, but the Senate
which was Republican by a small majority seated Butler. Senators Don
Cameron from Pennsylvania and John J. Patterson from South Carolina,
both Republicans, voted for Butler.
That there was no one killed or injured while the contest was going on
is remarkable when the great excitement during and after the "Red
Shirt" campaign is considered. It shows what absolute control the
gubernational candidates had over their followers. No doubt the
Democrats, who were assured that the U. S. soldiers would be
withdrawn, did not care to make a slip as Chamberlin was still
governor and the troops were practically under his orders.
Thus ended the Reconstruction Period in South Carolina.
At every step the Republican Party in South Carolina was betrayed by
Republicans.
Col. T. W. Parmele, white. Superintendent of the Penitentiary,
appointed as a Republican by Gov. Chamberlin, recognized an order from
Gen. Hampton for the pardon of a convict. Legal complications ensued
and the case was carried before Associate Justice Willard, white, of
the Supreme Court, a Republican elected by the legislature, and he
decided in favor of Hampton.
Three colored members of the legislature deserted to the Democrats,
which practically made the House Democratic.
Col. Parmele and Justice Willard were Northern white men.
This paper would not be complete without some reference to the
prominent colored men who helped to make history during that eventful
period.
Robert Brown Elliott--
Born at Boston, Mass., August 11, 1842.
Entered High Holborn Academy, London, England, 1853.
Entered Eton College, 1855 and graduated in 1859. Studied law.
Member of the State Constitutional Convention.
Member of the House of Representatives of South Carolina,
1868-1870.
Assistant Adjutant General.
Elected to the 42nd Congress.
Resigned his seat in Congress and was elected to the House of
Representatives of S.C. for the second time, and was elected
Speaker of the House.
He came within a few votes of being elected U. S. Senator in
1874, but the powerful influence of the Pennsylvania R. R. Co.,
was exerted in behalf of John J. Patterson, white, the successful
candidate. There was a colored majority in both branches of the
legislature at the time and had the colored members so desired
they could have elected Gen. Elliott.
In 1876 Gen. Elliott was the nominee on the Republican ticket for
Attorney General and was elected but was forced to withdraw with
the rest of the ticket.
He was Chairman of the State Republican Committee during the
campaign of 1876.
For scholarly attainments, legal acumen, political sagacity and
oratorical power, Robert Brown Elliott stands out as the most
brilliant figure of the Reconstruction Period.
Joseph H. Rainey--
Born at Georgetown, S.C., June 21, 1832.
Although debarred by law from attending school he acquired a good
education and further improved his mind by observation and
travel.
He was a barber by trade and followed that occupation at
Charleston, S.C., until 1862, when having been forced to work
upon the fortifications of the Confederates he escaped to the
West Indies, where he remained until the close of the war, when
he returned to his native town.
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
State Senator from Georgetown County.
Elected to the 41st Congress, being the first colored man having
that distinction, and was re-elected to the 42nd, 43rd, 44th and
45th Congresses, five successive terms, the only colored man with
such a record.
He received a caucus nomination as Clerk of the House, from the
Republican members of Congress, the only colored man who has ever
been honored by a Republican caucus.
The House was Democratic.
He was a delegate to several National Republican Conventions.
Served as Special Agent for the Treasury Department.
Polished in his manners--a fluent and convincing speaker, he was
prominent in the Councils of the Republican Party.
Gen. Robert Smalls--
Born in South Carolina, at Beaufort, April 5, 1839.
Although debarred by Statute from attending school, he educated
himself with such limited advantages as he could secure.
Removed to Charleston, S.C., in 1851, worked as a rigger, leading
a sea-faring life.
Employed on the _Planter_, a steamer plying in Charleston harbor
as a transport, which he took over Charleston Bar in May, 1862,
and delivered her and his services to the U. S. Blockading
Squadron.
In recognition of his services was appointed Pilot in the U. S.
Navy, and served in that capacity on the monitor "Koekuk."
Promoted as Captain for gallant and meritorious conduct, December
1, 1863, and placed in command of the _Planter_, serving until
she was put out of commission in 1866.
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
State Senator from Beaufort Co.
Elected to the 44th Congress, and re-elected to the 45th, 48th
and 49th Congresses.
Was a delegate to every National Republican Convention up to
within a short time of his death.
Collector of the Port of Beaufort, S. C.
Died two or three years ago, the last of the "Old Guard" in S. C.
Alonzo J. Ransier--
Born at Charleston, S.C., 1834.
Self educated. Employed as a shipping clerk in 1850 by leading
merchant, who was tried for violation of law "in having a colored
clerk" and fined one cent with costs.
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
Member of the House of Representatives of S.C.
Elected Lieutenant Governor on ticket with Gov. R. K. Scott, in
1870.
President of Southern States Convention held at Columbia, S.C.,
in 1871.
Presidential Elector on Grant and Colfax ticket in 1868.
Delegate to National Republican Convention in 1872.
Elected to the 42 Congress.
A man singularly gifted with political farsightedness.
Robert C. DeLarge.
Born at Aiken, S.C., March 15, 1842.
Farmer--Self-educated.
Agent of the Freedmen's Bureau from May, 1867 to April, 1868.
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
Member of the House of Representatives, 1860-1870.
One of the State Commissioners of the Sinking Fund.
Elected State Commissioner in 1870.
Elected to the 42d Congress.
Very prominent in the Party Councils.
Rev. R. H. Cain--
Born in Greenbrier Co., Va., April 12, 1825.
His father moved to Ohio in 1831 and settled in Gallipolis.
Entered the ministry at an early age and became a student at
Wilberforce University in 1860 and remained there one year.
Removed to Brooklyn, N. Y., at the breaking out of the war where
he discharged ministerial duties as pastor for four years.
Was sent by his church as a missionary to the Freedmen in South
Carolina.
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
State Senator from Charleston Co.
Elected to the 43d Congress, and re-elected to the 45th Congress.
Bishop in the African Methodist Church and a power in that
denomination.
William Beverly Nash--
Born in South Carolina.
Of limited education but endowed with wonderful common sense and
political foresight.
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
State Senator from Richland Co., in which Columbia is located.
For one term (four years) was Chairman of the Powerful Ways and
Means Committee.
An elector on the Hayes and Wheeler ticket in 1876.
It was reported that he was offered $100,000 to vote for Tilden
and Hendricks. Had he accepted the offer the Democratic ticket
would have been elected, as the vote stood 186 for Hayes and 185
for Tilden. Be it said to his eternal honor he was beyond price.
Stephen A. Swails--
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
Represented Williamsburg Co., in the Senate.
Elected President pro term of the Senate for the whole period.
A very strong character and exerted considerable influence in
legislation.
Was in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry.
Had musical talent of a high order.
Judge Lee--
Judge of the Municipal Court of Charleston, S. C.
A man of ripe scholarship and of high legal attainments.
Until President Roosevelt appointed Judge R. H. Terrell of
Washington to a similar position, I think he was the only colored
man who ever occupied such a position.
Francis L. Cardozo--
Born in South Carolina, at Charleston.
Educated in Scotland, at Glasgow University.
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
Secretary of State for four years.
State Treasurer for two years.
Scholarly, courtly and dignified.
Took great interest in the education of the colored youth, and
was popular among the boys on account of the fatherly interest he
manifested in them.
Moved to Washington, D. C., after 1876 and accepted a position in
the office of the Auditor for the Post Office Department.
After serving for several years in the Department he was elected
to the Principalship of the Colored High School in Washington, a
position he filled with honor and credit to the race and himself.
After his death the Board of Education named one of the School
Buildings the "Cardozo Building" as a tribute to his great
interest in the educational welfare of the colored race.
Henry E. Hayne--
Born in South Carolina.
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
State Senator from Marion, Co.
Secretary of State.
Was very much interested in the education of the colored youth.
Richard H. Gleaves--
Served two terms as Lieutenant Governor.
Elected with Gov. F. J. Moses in 1872 and with Gov. D. H.
Chamberlin in 1874.
Was nominated a third time with Gov. Chamberlin and elected but
forced by the Democrats to withdraw.
Henry W. Purvis--
Born in Philadelphia, Pa.
Son of Hon. Robert Purvis, the great Abolitionist. Member, house
of Representatives, 1868-1870, and then was Adjutant General.
Was Adjutant General of the State most of the Reconstruction
Period.
He was a man without fear.
In the campaign of 1876 he went to Edgefield, the homes of
Generals Butler and Gary, the Democratic leaders, and regarded as
fire eaters and spoke on the campaign issues. He also went to
other parts of the State equally as dangerous and filled his
engagements.
J. J. Wright--
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
On account of his great legal ability he was elected by the
legislature as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the
State. (There were two Associate Justices.) He had the respect of
the entire Bar of the State.
He was pre-eminently fitted for the position.
He is the only colored man who has ever occupied such an exalted
judicial position in this country.
Thomas E. Miller--
Born at Ferrybeeville, Beaufort Co., June 17, 1849.
Attended the free public school for Negro youths up to the
breaking out of the war.
Graduated from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, in 1872.
Read law under Judge P. L. Wiggin and Chief Justice Moses of
South Carolina and was admitted to the Supreme Court of S. C. in
1875.
Elected to the House of Representatives of S. C., 1874-1876-1878.
Elected Senator from Beaufort Co., 1880.
Elected to the 51st Congress.
Elected to the House of Representatives of S. C., in 1866, and
while serving was instrumental in having the "State College for
Colored Youth" established at Orangeburg, S. C., and on that
account was elected its first President.
Dr. B. A. Bosemon--
Born at Troy, N. Y.
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention. Member of the
House of Representatives of S. C. Appointed Postmaster at
Charleston, S. C., by President Grant and served four years with
entire satisfaction to the people of that city with honor and
credit to himself and the race.
Suave and polished he had a pleasing personality.
He had quite a large and lucrative practice in his profession.
Charles McDuffie Wilder--
Born in South Carolina. Delegate to the State Constitutional
Convention.
Member of the House of Representatives of S. C. Member of the
City Council of Columbia, S. C.
Postmaster at Columbia, S. C. for sixteen years. Appointed by
President Grant two terms and one term each by Presidents
Garfield and Hayes.
There were two white applicants for the position after President
Garfield was inaugurated and Postmaster General James, who was
supposed to be friendly with one of them, sent a Post Office
Inspector to Columbia to find out the sentiment of the business
men. They were almost unanimously for Mr. Wilder. They stated
that he had served them efficiently for eight years and did not
approve of a change.
Generals Hampton and Butler represented the State in the U. S.
Senate at the time, Columbia being Senator Hampton's home and had
he objected Senatorial courtesy would have sustained him.
It shows in what estimation Mr. Wilder was held by his home
people.
Mr. Wilder's appointment of four successive terms to a
first-class post office is a record.
Mr. Wilder was a delegate to all of the National Republican
Conventions up to and including that of 1888.
Mr. Wilder was a man of good sound judgment, of great political
force and one of the few who had anything to show after the
political upheaval of 1876.
Samuel J. Lee--of Aiken, S. C.
Born in South Carolina.
Member of the House of Representatives of S. C.
Speaker of the House of Representatives for one term.
A lawyer of recognized ability.
An expert in parliamentary procedure.
A man of engaging address, of a genial disposition, a pleasing
speaker, he was the most popular presiding officer of that
period.
D. Augustus Straker--
A prominent member of the House of Representatives during the
latter part of the Reconstruction Period.
A man of brilliant parts and one of the leading lawyers of the
State.
Moved to Detroit, Mich., after the collapse in 1876, and played
quite an active and conspicuous part in politics there.
William J. Whipper--
Born in South Carolina.
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
Member of the House of Representatives of S. C.
A man of splendid legal talent.
Elected by the legislature a Circuit Court Judge but Gov.
Chamberlain refused to commission him, (Ex. Gov. Moses, white,
was elected a Circuit Court Judge at the same time and he was
also refused a commission by Gov. Chamberlin.)
Judge of Probate of Beaufort Co., for more than ten years.
Prince Rivers--
Born in South Carolina.
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
Member of the House of Representatives of S. C.
Brigadier General in the South Carolina Militia.
Called the "black Prince" and he looked it with his fine physique
and military bearing as he rode at the head of the colored troops
as they passed in review before the Governor at their annual
inspection.
John Lee--
Born at Columbia, S. C.
State Senator from Chester Co.
Postmaster at Chester.
Self educated.
Very prominent in his county.
W. J. McKinlay--
Born at Charleston, S. C.
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
One of the most prominent colored men in Charleston Co., and one
of the most influential in the Party Councils.
Member of the House of Representatives 1868 and part of 1869.
Resigned to accept position of Register of Mesne Conveyances, a
very important office which he held for several years.
W. H. Thomas--
Born in Ohio.
A man of brilliant intellect.
One of the most prominent members of the House of Representatives
at the close of the Reconstruction Period.
I remember well the conspicuous part he took in the proceedings
in the House of Representatives in 1876. Those were times that
tried men's souls but Mr. Thomas held his own with the best men
in the Democratic party.
Samuel Lee of Sumter, S. C.--
Born in South Carolina.
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention.
A very strong character and one of the bright young men of the
state.
He was elected to Congress but the Democrats counted him out.
He contested the seat and though the House was Republican and his
case a good one, the Chairman of the Committee on Elections, a
Republican from Indiana, who was personally antagonistic to him
failed to report on the case and Congress adjourned without
taking any action.
Jas. A. Bowley--
Member of the House of Representatives.
For one term he was chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means.
He wielded considerable power in legislation.
Was considered the "Beau Brummel" of the House.
F. H. Frost--
Born in South Carolina.
Member of the House of Representatives.
Active in all legislation.
Polished and highly cultured.
Henry J. Maxwell--
Born in South Carolina, at Charleston.
Senator from Marlboro County.
Active in all legislation.
Considered the best dressed member in the Senate.
Known to his associates at the "Duke of Marlboro."
W. H. Jones--
State Senator from Georgetown Co.
Quite a fluent speaker and well versed on all public questions.
On account of his bellicose nature he was given the sobriquet of
"Red Hot Jones."
A. C. Jones--
Born in Washington, D. C.
Clerk of the House of Representatives during the whole
Reconstruction Period.
A very capable officer and very popular.
Walter R. Jones--
Born in South Carolina at Charleston.
Graduate of Oberlin College.
Secretary of the State Financial Board, consisting of the
Governor, Attorney General, State Treasurer and Comptroller, all
white at that time.
Elected Clerk of the City Council of Columbia, S. C., by the
unanimous vote of the members.
Resigned that position to accept the position of Private
Secretary to Governor Chamberlain.
The best equipped and most brilliant young colored man I ever
met.
J. E. Green--
Sergeant at Arms of the Senate during the whole Reconstruction
Period.
A very efficient officer and a man of fine parts.
John Williams--
Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives during the whole
period.
A very capable man and popular with the members.
There were many colored men who occupied positions of importance in
the different countries--positions such as Sheriff, Treasurer,
Auditor, Clerk of Court, Commissioner, Coroner and School
Commissioner.
I never heard of any of them being removed for incompetency,
dereliction of duty or malfeasance.
I regret very much that I cannot give you any information as to
whether the men mentioned were free or slaves, as the persons from
whom I could have gotten that information have all passed away. Had I
received such inquiry eight or ten years ago I could have furnished it
as there were several persons then living who, I know, were well
posted on that subject.
Of the names noted in this paper the following were from the North.
Some of them may have been from the South originally and returned
after the war: R. B. Elliott, D. A. Straker, Maj. M. R. Delaney, W. H.
Jones, Dr. B. A. Bosemon, W. H. Thomas, H. W. Purvis, R. H. Gleaves,
A. C. Jones, S. A. Swails, J. A. Bowley, J. E. Green.
The colored men of South Carolina played a more conspicuous part and
held more offices of a high grade during the Reconstruction Period
than the colored men of any other State.
South Carolina has the distinction of electing the first colored
Congressman, (Joseph H. Rainey) and the last (George W. Murray.)[27]
South Carolina was represented in Congress by eight colored
men--Rainey, Elliott, Ransier, Cain, Delarge, Smalls, Miller and
Murray.
Mr. Miller and Mr. Murray served after the Reconstruction Period and
most of Gen. Smalls' service was after that period.
When I compare the present political leaders in South Carolina with
those of the Reconstruction Period I must confess that we have
retrograted politically. They may be due to conditions. Not only in
South Carolina, but where would you find in any State at the present
time, political leaders who can measure up to the caliber of Elliott,
Rainey, Straker, Cardozo, Swails, DeLarge, Bosemon, Wright, Ransier,
Lee, McKinlay, Cain, Whipper and Wilder?
When the Negro race can again produce political leaders of the type
named then we may look forward with some degree of hope for a solution
of the Negro problem.
Your idea in collecting data relative to the Reconstruction Period is
a laudable one, and the wonder is, and the pity of it is, that it had
not been thought of long ere this. There are very few now left to tell
the tale, and that in a very unsatisfactory way.
Some of the data relative to the Congressmen I got from Congressional
Directories. To recall all names, dates and incidents pertaining to
the Reconstruction Period after a period of fifty years would require
the prodigious memory of a Macauley, even had I been an active
participant in political affairs at that time. There may be a few
errors but they are of a minor character. I am glad that I am able to
be of some assistance to you in this matter, however, little, and I
can only say in the words of Macbeth,
"The service and the loyalty I owe,
In doing it, pays itself."
Very respectfully,
(Signed) H. A. WALLACE.[28]
All names referred to in this paper are of colored men unless
otherwise stated.
CORRECTIONS OF DATA SUBMITTED BY MR. H. A. WALLACE, OF NEW YORK CITY
103 WEST 131 ST.,
NEW YORK, N. Y.,
February 18, 1918.
MR. MONROE N. WORK,
Editor--Negro Year Book,
Tuskegee Institute, Ala,
_Dear Sir:_
In reply to your letter of the 11th inst., I beg leave to state that
Hunter and Dickson were white. As to Brokenton I probably was thinking
of a Brockenboro in Washington and got the names mixed.
Before leaving Washington in 1913 I let Whitfield McKinlay have my
book, "Reconstruction in South Carolina" by John S. Reynolds, to read.
When I received your letters asking for assistance in getting the data
relative to reconstruction in South Carolina I wrote to Mr. McKinley
for the book. I wrote for it several times but not until about a month
ago did he send it. I did not care to delay sending you the data,
consequently I mailed it before the book came to hand. Had I received
the book in time I could have made my paper a little more readable and
avoided the errors referred to.
As you have, no doubt, taken data from the book by Reynolds I would
like to correct a few errors I found therein.
_Reconstruction Convention_
Colleton--W. M. Vinery, should be Viney
Darlington--Richard Humbird, should be Humbert
Edgefield--John Wooley, colored, should be white
Greenville--Wilson Cook, should be Cooke
Kershaw--John A. Chestnut, should be Chesnut
_Chapter III--Scott's First Term_
Senate--
Chester--Lewis Wimbush, should be Lucius Wimbush
Union--H. W. Duncan, colored, should be white
This would make ten colored Senators
House of Representatives--
Abbeville--James Martin, white, should be colored
Charleston--B. A. Bosemon, should be Dr. B. A. Bosemon, Jr.
William R. Jervay, should be Jar_vey_
Chesterfield--H. L. Shrewsberry, should be Shrews_bury_
Colleton--W. R. Hoyt is in the Senate column Wm. Driffle,
should be Wm. _A._ Driffle H. James and T. Richardson, as
members in addition to Thomas and Driffle.
Edgefield--John Wooley, colored should be white
Georgetown--W. H. Jones, should be W. H. Jones _Jr._
Greenville--Wilson Cook, should be Cooke
Kershaw--John A. Chestnut, should be _Chesnut_
Williamsburg--Jeff. Pendergrass, should be _Jeffery Prendergrass_.
Jas. Martin, Lee Nance and Wade Perrin, representatives and B. F.
Randolph, senator, were assassinated by the Ku-Klux Klan.
Page 111--"Among Mr Robertson's earliest official acts was the
recommendation of an incompetent colored man to be postmaster at
Columbia."
If you will look at the sketch I gave of Mr Wilder, the postmaster
referred to, you will note that in 1880 when the Democrats had
absolute control of South Carolina and Gens. Hampton and Butler
represented the State in the U. S. Senate, Mr Wilder was confirmed for
the fourth time, and as Columbia was the home post office of Senator
Hampton it is not likely that he or Butler would have voted to confirm
an imcompetent colored man when senatorial courtesy would have
sustained them had they objected.
Page 229--W. R. Jervay, should be Jar_vey_.
Page 233--Relative to Henry E. Hayne going to the communion table I
have to say that is all rot in so far as there were any objections.
The communicants with the exception of Mr Babbitt and family were
nearly all colored. I know that the wardens and vestrymen were
colored.
Page 234--I do not know about all of the colored men mentioned as
having matriculated in the School of Law, but I am certain that Mr
Wilder did not.
Page 236--William R. Jervay, should be Jer_vey_.
Page 333--With reference to Dr. Bosemon being under the influence of
liquor I desire to state that he did not touch, taste nor handle the
stuff. Dr Bosemon was a cultured gentleman, polished in his manners
and was a surgeon in one of the colored regiments during the war.
Page 366--Instead of N. B. Myers being the elector for the fifth
district I think it was his brother, Senator William F. Myers.
As N. B. Myers went over to the Hampton House it is not probable that
he would stultify himself by voting for Hayes and acknowledging
Hampton as Governor.
Page 462--Gen. Elliott did not become a department clerk in
Washington. He moved to New Orleans where he practised law several
years before his death.
All the Republican politicians who remained in South Carolina _did
not_ sink into actual obscurity or harmless inactivity after 1876.
Mr. Wilder was postmaster at Columbia until June 30, 1885.
Gen. Smalls represented the State in Congress for several terms after
1876, and was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1895. Was
also Collector of Port of Beaufort.
Thomas E. Miller was also a delegate to the same convention and served
a term in Congress, and was a member of the S. C. House of
Representatives.
W. J. Whipper was a member of the legislature. Probate judge of the
county for ten years and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention
of 1895.
John Lee was postmaster at Chester for several years.
Mr Rainey was a special agent of the Treasury Department with
headquarters in South Carolina.
H. L. Shrewsbury and W. F. Myers were in the Revenue Service and
active in politics as was A. W. Curtis.
There were others but I cannot recall their names.
Referring to the data mailed to you I desire to make the following
corrections:
Page 2--J. H. Rainey was not a member of the House of Representatives
but Senator from Georgetown.
Page 6--Relative to Judge Lee I desire to state that I am in error as
to his case being the first where a colored man was elected to a
municipal judgeship. Macon B. Allen was elected by the legislature as
judge of the Inferior Court of Charlestown prior to Lee's election or
appointment. Therefore Judge Allen should be given the honor.
Of course J. J. Wright who was elected an associate Justice of the
Supreme Court of the State by the legislature was the first Negro in
this country who ever occupied a judicial position.
Page 7--Henry W. Purvis was elected Adjutant General for the four year
term 1872-1876. Member of Legislature 1868-1870.
Page 10--W. J. McKinlay was also a member of the House of
Representatives for part of 1868-69 period but resigned his seat to
accept the position of Register of Mesne Conveyanes for Charlestown,
to which the legislature elected him.
Page 11--W. H. Jones, should be W H. Jones, Jr.
John Williams was Sergeant-at-Arms from 1870 to close of period.
As there were no free public schools for colored youth in South
Carolina it is an error to state that Thomas E. Miller was educated in
that way. It was against the law for anyone to teach a Negro even to
read or write.
I am also told that I am in error as to giving him credit for the
establishment of the " State College" at Orangeburg. I will try to
find out something about that matter.
Very respectfully,
H. A. WALLACE
SOME CORRECTIONS FOR DATA SUBMITTED BY MR. H. A. WALLACE OF NEW YORK
CITY
103 WEST 131 ST.,
NEW YORK CITY.
March 11, 1918.
MR. MONROE N. WORK,
Editor Negro Year Book,
Tuskegee Institute, Ala.
_Dear Sir_:
I presume you received my letter of February 18, also the one of
January 19, relative to corrections in the data on Reconstruction.
I herewith send you a few more before you go to press on your book
pertaining to the part the Negro played in the political history of
the Southern States during the Reconstruction period:
I am in error as to James Martin, of Abbeville, who was assassinated,
as being colored. I was informed that he was colored, but in reading
the eulogies delivered by the different members of the House and
Senate, I find that he was not even an American. He was a native of
Ireland.
W. A. Bishop, who represented the Greenville district in the first
legislature, was white, not colored. In the list of delegates to the
Republican meeting at Charlestown, May 9, 1867, he is given as white
in Reynolds' book. I met a friend from Greenville about ten days ago
and in speaking to him about Bishop he said that he was white and that
he knew of no colored Bishops in that district.
On page 9 of my data I state that Mr. Whipper was born in South
Carolina. I met his son, who is living here, sometime ago and he
informed me that his father was born in Pennsylvania.
With reference to Judge Whipper I would add that one of the first acts
of the first legislature was to elect a commission of three members to
revise and consolidate the Statute laws of the State and that he was
the first member elected. Quite a tribute to his legal ability.
On page 12 add the following names as from the North.
Rev. B. F. Randolph--Senator--Orangeburg district.
W. J. Whipper--Member--Beaufort district.
Judge J. J. Wright--Beaufort district--afterwards Associate Judge
Supreme Court, and on page 8, under his name please state--born in
Pennsylvania.
On page 107 Reynolds' book--Abbeville Co.--W. J. Lomax, should be
Hutson J. Lomax, this is official. On page 59 and 77 he has it H. J.
which is correct.
Same page--Fairfield--Henry Jacob, should be Jacobs--He was also a
delegate to the Constitutional Convention--See page 77.
Very Respectfully,
(Signed) H. A. WALLACE
Copy.
SUMNER AND STEVENS ADVISE WITH REFERENCE TO RECONSTRUCTION POLICY IN
SOUTH CAROLINA
The late Honorable Francis L. Cardoza at one time Secretary of State
for South Carolina, several years before his death stated to the
undersigned the following in substance:
That a number of colored men met and appointed a committee which was
sent to Washington to get the advice of Charles Sumner and Thaddeus
Stevens concerning the formation of the political organization for the
newly enfranchised Negro citizen shortly after the adoption of the
14th Amendment.
Pains were taken to keep the plans from both the native whites and the
so-called carpet baggers from the North. That both Mr. Sumner and Mr.
Stevens advised the committee to tender the leadership to native
whites of the former master class of conservative views: but this plan
was frustrated because they were not able to secure the consent of
desired representatives of the former master class to assume the
proffered leadership.
(Signed) KELLY MILLER
(Signed) WHITEFIELD MCKINLAY
WASHINGTON, D. C., December 14, 1917.
Subscribed to and sworn before me, SAMUEL E. LACY a Notary Public in
and for the District of Columbia, this Fourteenth (14th) Day of
December 1917.
(Signed) SAMUEL E. LACY,
_Notary Public, D. C._
SOME NEGRO MEMBERS OF RECONSTRUCTION LEGISLATURES
_Texas_
J. H. Stewart who now lives in Austin.
Edward Patton, San Jacinto County, now living in Washington is in
Government service.
Nathan H. Haller, Brazoria County. House, 1892-94. Reelected and
counted out. Contested his seat and won.
R. L. Smith, Colorado County, 1895-99, now living in Waco. Is
president of the Farmers Bank and head of the Farmers Improvement
Association. For sketch of, see _Negro Year Book_, p. 322. For his
work in the Legislature, see attached letter.
Elias May, Brazos County, in the early days of Reconstruction.
R. J. Moore, Washington County, representative.
---- Gaines, senator, Lee County.
Copy.
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION WORK IN AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS
WACO, TEXAS, March 26, 1918.
PROF. MONROE N. WORK, Tuskegee Inst. Ala.
_Dear Mr. Work_:
I was elected in Nov. 1894 as representative for Colorado county and
was re-elected in 1896.
My majority in 1894 was 168 and in 1896 at the next election it was
450 as I recollect it.
I was appointed on the committee on education and on privilege and
election and on agriculture.
I introduced a bill restoring colored trustees which finally passed.
I fought a bill establishing separate waiting rooms for the races at
R. R. Station and killed it for four years.
I introduced a resolution inviting manufacturing cotton plants to come
to Texas. I introduced a resolution granting the use of the Hall of
the House of Representatives to the colored citizens of Austin to hold
their memorial services for Fred Douglas. When one understands the
race feeling in the South this was indeed a triumph. I introduced a
bill establishing a college course as a part of our curriculum at
Prairie View Normal which passed carrying with it a grant of fifty
thousand acres of land.
I worked hard to help carry a bill through making any peace officer
automatically lose his office whenever a lynching took place in his
county. This bill passed but was declared unconstitutional by the
supreme court. I was appointed by the speaker as a member of the
visiting board for Prairie View State Normal. As a member of the
committee on privileges and Election I single handed fought for a
colored man elected from Brazoria county, N. H. Haller by name who had
the nerve to contest the seat of a white man to whom the certificate
of election had been awarded. After a long and bitter fight in which
three times I carried in and presented a minority report we won and
Haller was seated. This isn't the only case of its kind that I know of
in this state.
Haller of course had able legal talent to take care of his case.
I voted for the purchase of the battle field of San Jacinto which is
in Harris country about twenty miles below Houston. It was on this
battlefield that Texas won her independence from Mexico in 1836. It
is now a beautiful state park. For this action I was publicly thanked
by the Daughters of the Republic.
Respectfully
(Signed) R. L. SMITH.
The legislatures which I served in were the 23d and 24th.
Charles A. Culberson, now U. S. senator was governor and our relations
were very cordial.
In 1902 I was tendered and accepted a position in the U. S. Marshal's
office for the Eastern Dist. of Texas by Pres. Roosevelt. Held same
until 1909. This was the most honorable and best paid federal position
ever held by a Negro in Texas except that held by Hon. N. W. Cuney who
was collector of the Post of Galveston. In 1915 I took charge of the
Extension Service work for Negroes in Texas which I now hold.
SOME NEGRO MEMBERS OF THE TENNESSEE LEGISLATURE DURING RECONSTRUCTION
PERIOD AND AFTER[29]
By Honorable J. C. Napier, of Nashville, Tenn., register of United
States Treasury, May, 1917
Year Name County
1871-73 Sampson W. Keeble Davidson
1877-79 Thos. A. Sykes? Davidson
1879-81 S.A. McElwee? Haywood
1881-83 T. Frank Cassells Shelby
J.F. Norris Shelby
Thos. A. Sykes? Davidson
S.A. McElwee? Haywood
1883-85 J.W. Boyd Weakley
S.A. McElwee Haywood
D.F. Rivers Fayette
1885-87 G.E. Evans Shelby
W.A. Fields Shelby
W.C. Hodge Shelby
S.A. McElwee Haywood
D.F. Rivers[30] Fayette
1887-89
1889-91 ---- Goodman Fayette
1891-93
1893-95
1895-97 J. M. H. Graham Montgomery
Davidson county, Tennessee, sent two colored men to the Legislature.
The first colored member of the Legislature was Sampson W. Keeble from
71-73. From 77-79 the colored member was Thomas A. Sykes. Both of
these were representatives. Tennessee never had any colored senators.
Sampson W. Keeble was a native of Tennessee. Thomas A. Sykes was a
native of North Carolina and had been a member of the North Carolina
legislature.[31]
Captain James H. Sumner, of Davidson County, was elected a door-keeper
of the House of Representatives for 1867-69. He was afterwards
appointed captain of a Militia Company which rendered the State
valuable service in putting down the Ku-Klux. Later by act of the
Legislature a committee was authorized for Nashville consisting of
three persons to audit claims against the State for destruction of
property by soldiers of the Confederates and Federal armies during the
war. Governor Brownlow appointed on this commission James H. Sumner, a
white man named Lassiter, and J.C. Napier. They examined claims
amounting to millions of dollars, some of which were afterwards paid
and others rejected. There were other colored men on such commissions
in other parts of the state whose names I do not now recall.
Haywood county first sent Samuel A. McElwee. He served from 79-83. The
same county afterwards sent Rev. D.F. Rivers who is now pastor of the
Berean Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. Rev. Rivers defeated the
father of a very popular white girl and she met him in the street and
spat in his face. McElwee made a very active member and was highly
respected by all. He was a graduate of Fisk University and the law
department of Walden University.
Weakley County sent John W. Boyd who served two or three terms in the
legislature. He ran for the senate but was defeated.
Perhaps there was one from Hamilton county or Knox county.
Shelby county sent quite a delegation of colored men from time to
time. Among them were T.F. Cassells and I.F. Norris, who is still
living in North Dakota. Cassells was a lawyer, educated at Oberlin.
Mr. Norris was a successful business man of Memphis, Mr. Keeble was a
barber in Nashville.
Mr. Sykes was Internal Revenue Collector in Nashville and came there
with high revenue officials from North Carolina. He entered politics
and was quite influential and finally died at Nashville.
Keeble was of a family highly respected and of very high standing in
Nashville. The men from Memphis and Haywood counties were more highly
educated than the others. They were free men of high class and up to
the standard of the whites who were sent to the legislature in those
days.
COLORED MEN IN OTHER POSITIONS
At one time the county government of Davidson County was run by three
Commissioners; one of these commissioners was a colored man, named
Randall Brown of limited education, but large experience and a large
amount of good common sense. He was very influential and highly
thought of by white and colored people.
Nashville city government during the days of reconstruction had among
its membership, perhaps, one-third colored members. These men were not
of the same calibre as the colored members of the legislature. They
were picked up in the different wards by their friends. They were
chosen for their popularity rather than for fitness for the work
before them.
Immediately following the reconstruction days, Josiah T. Settle was
elected Assistant Attorney General for Shelby county under General
Patterson who afterwards served as Governor of the State of Tennessee.
Mr. Settle had previously been a member of the Mississippi
Legislature.
In Knoxville men have served in the legislature of the city
government.
When they changed the form of government in Nashville, there was a
colored man a member of the Board of Aldermen. Two colored men were
elected to the council. As a result, two fire companies were given to
colored men. Mr. Charles Gowdey and Mr. J.C. Napier were the colored
members of the council. The first two brick school houses were erected
for colored children during their term. They were the Pearl High
School and the Meigs School. At that time the people of Nashville, the
Democrats especially, showed a very liberal spirit to the colored
people and divided the positions with them. Shorty after this with a
more liberal spirit, they erected the third brick school house in the
city of Nashville, The Napier School.
After things went out of the hands of the Republicans in Tennessee,
Capt. Sumner went down into Mississippi, entered politics and was
elected Sheriff of Holmes county. He became quite wealthy. His family
was of high standing. Owned property in Nashville and the descendants
still own it.
Settle and Cassells were free men. Keeble was owned by a very
distinguished Tennessee family named Keeble.
SCHOOLS FOR FREE NEGROS AND SLAVES
In Tennessee before the war there were schools for Negroes. There were
no laws against schools for free colored people until the agitation
that brought on the war.
At Nashville, Franklin college graduated three colored men; that is
the school gave them graduation papers. They were prepared for the
ministry in the Christian church (Disciples). These men were Samuel
Lowery, Daniel Watkins and James T. Rapier. Lowery, Rapier and Watkins
were all free men. Rapier served a term or two from Florence, Ala., in
Congress during the Reconstruction Period. He was a man of some
wealth, was very active and traveled a good deal. Lowery's father was
also a minister, before him, in the Christian Church. He had a farm as
well as city property. Franklin College was a Campbellite Institution
or what is now known as the Christian Church Institution.
When the agitation came about preceding the Civil War they closed all
of the colored schools.
Mr. Napier's father and mother with some other colored people had a
man named Rufus Conrad come down from Cincinnati, Ohio, to teach their
children. This was in 1859. Both free and slave children went to this
school. The school had been open two or three months when one day,
while the class was spelling the word baker, an abrupt knock on the
door interrupted the class and then a man entered without waiting to
be admitted. He said to the teacher, "What is your name?" The teacher
answered, "Rufus Conrad." "Where did you come from?" was the next
question. The teacher answered, "From Cincinnati, Ohio." The man said,
"I have been authorized by the powers that be in Nashville to send
these children home, to close the doors of this school and give you
just 24 hours to leave this town." This ended this school.
There were three or four schools in Nashville, before the war. One was
taught by Samuel Watkins. He taught school in an old church right over
a branch. It was built up on stilts, and was a place of worship built
for the slaves by their owners. Another one was taught by a Mrs. Tate,
who was of a very excellent family. Mrs. Sallie Player, a most
delightful teacher taught another one of these schools. Mrs. Player
was a free woman but her husband was a slave. He belonged to a very
excellent family of white people, whose slaves enjoyed every privilege
that free people enjoyed. They were protected by their owner. She was
a woman of some education. Her husband also had some education,
although a slave. There was another school taught by a white man and
his wife whose name was Westbrooks. They came to Nashville from St.
Louis, Missouri and organized a school. These two gathered
considerable money from the free and slave people who wanted to send
their children to school. They taught school about three weeks when
they suddenly disappeared.
SLAVES IN BUSINESS AND NEGROES WHO OWNED SLAVES
Slaves had more money than is generally thought. Henry Harding, a
slave with some education, was a thorough business man from beginning
to end. Everything he touched turned to money. His home in Nashville
now is as pretty a home as you want to see. He was allowed every
liberty by his owners that a free person enjoyed. He was a carpenter
and contractor. He did all the construction work on three plantations,
that of General Harding, his son's, John Harding and of David
Gavock's. One of the Hardings was his father. He was held as a slave
until Emancipation in '63. He immediately came to Nashville and went
into business building houses. When he died he had considerable
property.
Hardy Perry, a slave in Nashville, had a line of hacks and transfer
teams during slavery time. He hired his own time. Steven Boyd and Mr.
Napier kept a livery stable.
My father's father was a pioneer iron man in middle Tennessee. His
parents came from England and went to Dixon county and established
what is still known as the Napier Iron Works. He was a man of
considerable force of character and influence. He had four colored
sons and daughters. He had these sons go to school along with the
white children. When he died his will provided that they should leave
Tennessee and go to a free state or to Liberia. They went to Ohio and
lived on Walnut Hill where they bought a farm. They concluded to sell
the farm on Walnut Hill, trading it for a farm at New Richmond, Ohio.
Two of the sons went to Richmond with my grandmother, another went to
St. Louis, Mo., and my father went back to Nashville. Two of the
brothers who went to Richmond with their mother became school teachers
in Richmond. The one who went to Nashville went into the livery
business.
My father's father was a physician, having graduated from the medical
school of the University of Pennsylvania. He had great political
influence and it was through his influence that one of the governors
of Tennessee was elected.
Alice Bosley, whose husband was white, and her family owned two large
plantations south of Nashville and the other north-east of Nashville.
They owned about twenty-five or thirty slaves. She was a thoroughly
religious woman and every Sunday would have her slaves and children
attend church.
Manse Bryant was another large land owner and slave owner.
VIRGINIA STATE LIBRARY
RICHMOND, VA.
September 28, 1916.
MR. MONROE N. WORK, Editor,
Tuskegee, Alabama.
_My Dear Sir_:--
The Journals of the Senate and House of Delegates for the years in
which there have been Negro members do not indicate which of the
members were white and which negro. The almanacs, however, do as a
general thing though the almanacs are not extremely reliable. I have
gotten the following information from the almanacs. The first year in
which negroes were allowed to hold office in Virginia was 1869.
The almanac for the year 1870 (which was printed the latter part of
1869 and which gives, therefore, the members of the General Assembly
for the session of 1869-70) gives no negro members of the Senate of
Virginia, but 18 negro members of the House. The total membership of
the House was 137. The membership of the Senate was 40. For the
session of 1870-71 there were, according to the almanac, no negro
members of the Senate. For the session of 1870-71, I regret to say
that the almanac does not differentiate between white and negro
members. For the session of 1871-72, I regret to say that the almanac
does not give the members of the House of Delegates; nor in the list
of the members of the Senate does it differentiate between the two
races. For the session of 1872-3 the almanac does not differentiate.
For the session of 1873-4 the almanac gives 3 negro members out of 40
in the Senate, and 17 out of 132 members in the House. For the session
of 1874-5 there were three negro members out of 40 in the Senate, and
there were 17 negro members in the House. In the session of 1875-6
there were 3 negro Senators, and 13 negro members of the House. In the
session of 1876-77 there were three negro members in the Senate, and
12 negro members of the House. In 1877-78 there were 3 negro members
of the Senate, and four negro members of the House. In 1878-9 there
were three negro members of the Senate and four negro members of the
House. For the session of 1879-80 the almanac gives no marks of
differentiation. For the session of 1880-81 the almanac makes no
distinction. For the 1881-2 session the almanac has no list of the
members. For the session of 1882-3 the almanac does not differentiate.
For the session of 1883-4 there were 3 negro senators and 8 members of
the House. For the session of 1884-5 there was one negro senator, and
7 members of the House, out of a total membership of one hundred. In
the session of 1885-6 there was only one senator out of a membership
of 39, and only one member of the House of Delegates, out of one
hundred. In the session of 1886-7 there was one senator and one member
of the House. In the session of 1887-8 there was one negro senator,
and there were seven members of the House. In the session of 1889-9
there was one senator, and seven members of the House. In the session
of 1889-90 there was one negro senator, and three members of the
House. In the session of 1890-91 there was one negro senator, and
three members of the House. In the session of 1891-2 there were no
negroes in either the Senate or the House, that is, none marked. For
the session of 1892-3 no negroes were marked. For the session of
1893-4 there seem to have been none. I have not looked further, but I
do not believe there has been a negro member in either House since
that time.
Very truly yours,
(Signed) H. R. MCILWAINE
_State Librarian._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Compiled by Monroe N. Work.
[2] Beverly, _History of Alabama_, 202, 208.
[3] Not returned for the 1875-1876 session.
[4] Beverly, _History of Alabama_, pp. 202-208.
[5] Served only in the session of 1874-1875.
[6] Served only in the session of 1875-1876.
[7] Alexander is said to have been counted out. He is said to have
held the position of postmaster at Madison and also to have had a
deputy reserve collector.
[8] Lewis and Scott were the last Negro members of the Florida
Legislature.
[9] Lewis and Scott were the last Negro members of the Florida
Legislature.
[10] Letter on October 11, 1916, from L. L. Knight, official compiler
of Georgia Records; Thompson, _Reconstruction in Georgia_, pp.
211-214, 262, 264.
[11] The names of these four were later stricken out. They were so
nearly white that their race was indeterminate. They remained in the
house after the others were expelled.--Thompson, _Reconstruction in
Georgia_, p. 213; House Journal Georgia Legislature, p. 229.
[12] Letter on October 11, 1916, from L.L. Knight, official compiler
of Georgia Records.
[13] Furnished by Major John R. Lynch, May 19, 1915.
[14] North Carolina Manual, by North Carolina Historical Commission,
1913, pp. 863-906.
[15] _Ibid._, pp. 481-862.
[16] Reynolds, _Reconstruction in South Carolina_, pp. 76-79.
[17] In 1895 South Carolina again revised her constitution. In the
convention held for this purpose there were found Negro delegates,
viz.: Thomas E. Miller, L. R. Reed, Robert Smalls, W. J. Whipper and
James Wigg, all from Beaufort County. Smalls and Whipper had been
delegates in the 1868 convention. (Reported by H. H. Wallace.)
[18] Furnished by Mr. H. A. Wallace, a former page in the South
Carolina House of Representatives in the Reconstruction Period.
[19] Names marked with asterisk not in lists given in Reynold's
_Reconstruction in South Carolina_, pp. 106-107, 394-396.
[20] Furnished by H. A. Wallace, a former page in the South Carolina
House of Representatives in the Reconstruction Period.
[21] Names marked with asterisk not in lists given in Reynold's
_Reconstruction in South Carolina_, pp. 107-108, 394-396.
[22] Reynolds, _Reconstruction in South Carolina_, pp. 106-108.
[23] Reynolds, _Reconstruction in South Carolina_, pp. 394-396.
[24] Furnished by H. A. Wallace, a former page in the South Carolina
House of Representatives in the Reconstruction Period.
[25] _Ibid._
[26] _Ibid._
[27] George H. White, North Carolina, member of 55th and 56th
Congresses, as the last Negro member. (Editor.)
[28] He was a page in the South Carolina House of Representatives in
the Reconstruction Period.
[29] There were no colored members of the Tennessee Senate.
[30] Contested, not seated.
[31] 1868, 1870, see North Carolina list, Pasquotank County.
JAMES G. THOMPSON, THE ORIGINAL CARPETBAGGER[1]
"I suppose I might call myself the first Carpet Bagger." This
expression casually let fall by Mr. J.G. Thompson, of this city, in a
conversation with the writer, was so striking and so suggestive that I
asked him to explain. He complied, and in so doing, gave the following
extraordinary narrative, which he subsequently consented to have
published:
From the 7th of November, 1861, when Hilton Head was captured by the
United States naval forces, the sea islands of South Carolina never
passed out of the hands of the United States. Those islands and a
considerable portion of the mainland were thereupon brought under the
operation of the United States direct tax act, and were in time sold
for United States taxes to whoever would buy them. They were mainly
bought in by the United States and were subsequently re-sold to
soldiers, army followers and Negroes. Towards the close of the war,
having concluded my service under the government, I resolved to settle
in the South, and purchased in 1864, a plantation on St. Helena, one
of these islands, with the intention of becoming a Southern planter. I
was thus engaged when Andrew Johnson began his reconstruction efforts
and appointed Benjamin F. Perry provisional governor. This was the
first attempt at the reconstruction of the South, and South Carolina
was the first state called upon to resume its relations with the
Union, as she had been the first to go out. In October, 1865, the
provisional governor issued a proclamation setting a day for an
election of delegates to a
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
His Proclamation called upon the people to repeal the ordinances of
secession form a constitution and make such preparations as were
necessary to obtain admission into the Union. St. Helena parish was
entitled to one delegate to that constitutional convention.
All the original inhabitants of the parish, upon the approach of the
Federal forces, had fled. There was but one man left in the whole
parish when the United States took possession of the town of Beaufort,
and he was found in a garret dead drunk. Consequently when the
convention was called the question arose who were citizens of the
parish. There were few white natives of South Carolina in the parish.
The managers of election were not present. Governor Perry had named
the managers of the previous elections held under the confederate
government as the ones to conduct the election now to be held, but
none of these people were there. So a town meeting in the New England
style was called to consider the situation, at which the colored
people were in a large majority. Probably one hundred white
ex-soldiers, army officers, settlers, clerks, quartermasters,
employes, etc., came to the meeting. An examination of the law of
South Carolina as to
WHAT CONSTITUTED CITIZENSHIP
showed that it required a three years' residence to be a citizen, and
that no person then a soldier of the United States could vote in the
state at any election. A long discussion followed, whether to nominate
a candidate or not, which ended in a decision to nominate. Then came
the query whether every one at the town meeting could take part in
naming a candidate to be voted for. The advocates of Negro suffrage
claimed that the colored native citizens of South Carolina had a
better right to select the candidate to be voted for than any of the
white men present. It should be remembered that at this time the
Fifteenth amendment had not been adopted. The point was made on the
other side that only those who would have the right to vote for such a
candidate had the right to participate in the nomination. This
proposition was voted down, however, by a large majority, and H.G.
Judd, a philanthropist engaged in the work of educating the Negroes,
was nominated. Subsequently, however, another meeting was held by the
white settlers who had acquired a residence, and who were entitled
under the laws of South Carolina to vote, having resided there three
years, at which meeting I was nominated.
THIS ELECTION
occurred the next day, and I received 36 votes and H.G. Judd 8 votes.
There being no authorized managers of the election, the voters
assembled at the polls on the morning of the election and elected
three persons to act in that capacity. These persons made a
certificate that I had received the largest number of votes at the
election.
When the convention assembled in Columbia, I presented by credentials
and could have been sworn in without question if I had preferred to
make a statement to the convention that it might not act unadvisedly
of the circumstances of my election. I asked that the credentials be
referred to the committee on credentials. It was so ordered and I then
appeared before the committee and related the facts. After the hearing
a report was presented which stated that perhaps this was the only
case known to legislative history in which a man contested his own
seat, and that all the evidence for and against my right to the seat
was presented by myself. The committee reported unanimously in favor
of
SEATING ME
A long debate, however, ensued in the convention upon the question,
and it was finally decided only by the close vote of 53 to 50 that I
be seated. George D. Tillman, now a member of Congress from South
Carolina, made a very bitter speech against seating me. He thought the
insolence of this Yankee was beyond precedent in claiming to represent
the grand old parish of St. Helena, which had been represented in the
past by Middleton, Rhett, Bull and other distinguished citizens of the
State. In a speech that was really prophetic, he predicted that to
admit me would be to show dragons' teeth, and that ultimately I would
be followed by a horde which should devour the state.
James L. Orr made a speech in favor of my admission, and said that he
hoped to see the state overrun with just such newcomers. I was,
perhaps, the youngest man in the convention, and was surrounded by men
of the first rank of the State. Scarcely a man in that convention but
had a title. There were ex-senators, ex-governors, ex-chancellors,
ex-judges and ex-members of Congress. It was the intellectual power of
the state to say nothing of ex-generals, colonels and ex-captains of
the confederate army. Probably two-thirds of those men had been
members of the convention which carried the state out of the Union,
and had looked upon that act at the time it was performed as
THE CROWNING END
of a lifetime of agitation and anxiety. Now they were called upon to
undo it all, but they seemed incapable of understanding the true
position of affairs, and were totally ignorant of what had been
accomplished by the war and blind to the logic of events.
For instance, one of the questions early raised and referred to the
judiciary committee was whether Negroes should be allowed to testify
in the courts. Judge Frost of Charleston introduced a resolution that
the ordinance fixing the status of the Negro upon this question should
be passed by the convention. Chancelor Ingalls, who recently died in
Baltimore, opposed the proposition, claiming that a sovereign
convention called as this was for a special purpose, ought not to
legislate. Upon the question of discharging the committee from further
consideration of the subject, there were but two votes in the
negative, Judge Frost, the mover, a man of 80 years, and myself.
Isolated as I was from the start, I was treated by the convention with
the utmost courtesy, and when I occasionally rose to speak, I received
the
UNDIVIDED ATTENTION
of the members, and the rather obtrusive attention of the ladies who
filled the galleries. Such remarks could be heard as: "There, that
Yankee is going to speak."
Another point that agitated the convention was, what laws should be
passed to fix the status of the Negro, and, after a long discussion, a
committee was appointed to frame a code of laws to be submitted to the
legislature, which should assemble under the constitution adopted by
this convention. The product of that commission was "The Black Code."
Its intentions and provisions were foreshadowed in the debates of the
convention. At the close of the debate I spoke for five minutes,
closing with the prediction that if the convention thought that its
work would be of any value to the state, they were mistaken. If the
convention thought it possible to provide a different code of laws for
the government of the loyal black citizens of the United States, from
that which governed the disloyal white citizens of South Carolina,
they did not understand what the war had accomplished. I said that I
knew more of the
OPINION OF THE WAR
than it was possible for any man in that convention or all of them to
know. While I spoke with modesty before men who had occupied high
political positions in the past, I spoke with confidence as to the
opinion of the people of the North who had waged a successful war
against secession and slavery. Speaking for them I predicted that
their laws would be made by major-generals and executed by
provost-marshals until the last man present would fall into his grave
before the North would admit the state into the Union under a
constitution which did not recognize that all men were equal before
the law. When I sat down there was a dead silence and solemn faces.
To show the opposition I excited, let me give another anecdote.
James L. Orr came to my room one evening and asked me not to be
offended if he requested that upon a certain question he proposed to
bring before the convention the next day I would not speak in its
favor. He said: "There are fools enough in this convention that do not
want anything that you do want, and every time you speak on a measure
you hinder its adoption." The proposition he had at hand was to
REDUCE THE TIME
requisite to obtain citizenship in the state from three years to one,
and after much difficulty he persuaded the convention to make the
change. He also wished to abolish the property qualification for state
senators. Tillman appealed to him in an eloquent speech to spare this
last relic of South Carolina conservatism. Orr, in reply, asked what
in God's name had South Carolina conservatism done for South Carolina.
He pointed to what its condition was once and what it now was, and
charged South Carolina conservatism with the result. His speech was a
powerful one, and brought the convention to his views, and no property
qualification was thereafter imposed upon any officer.
Near the close of the convention I asked leave to present a petition
from 250 colored property owners of the city of Charleston, who asked
that the right of suffrage be extended to them. This, I suppose, was
the first petition of the kind ever offered in the slave states. A
member of the convention immediately moved that the petition be
returned to me and not received by the convention. Mr. Orr said that
the petition was respectful in form and ought to be received. He
moved that it be laid on the table. Another delegate moved that
NO MENTION
of the reception of the petition be made in the journal. I then rose
to speak upon the last of these motions, but the president of the
convention entertained a motion to adjourn, and the convention did so.
The convention made a constitution which was not, however, submitted
to the people for their approval. Under it a governor and legislature
were elected.
THE BLACK CODE
was ratified by the legislature, and many preposterous laws relating
to the Negroes were passed. It was evident that the freedman was to be
reduced to a condition worse than slavery--he was to be made a serf,
attached to the land, and to be under all the disabilities of slavery
without having the protection of the property interest of the owner.
CONGRESS took charge of the reconstruction, and the new government of
South Carolina fell to pieces, after a brief and inglorious existence.
Although I was the first "carpet bagger," I did not pursue the
occupation. I never held office again in the state, although I
continued to live there for sixteen years, and taking part in politics
as the editor of the Beaufort _Republican_ and the Columbia
_Union-Herald_.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This account was taken from James G. Thompson's Papers by his
daughter, Caroline B. Stephen, of Washington, D.C. Special
Correspondence of the _New York Tribune_.
BOOK REVIEWS
_The Negro in Virginia Politics, 1865-1902._ By RICHARD L.
MORTON, Ph.D., Phelps Stokes Fellow in the University of
Virginia, 1917-1918. Charlottesville, Virginia, 1919. Pp. 199.
Price, $1.50.
This is the fourth number of a series of studies in the race problem
promoted by the Phelps Stokes Fund with a view to interesting a larger
number of southern white scholars in this field. The seriousness of
the problem during recent years has driven home the thought that
without scientific investigation it will be extremely difficult to
find a rational basis upon which the two races may cooperate for the
greatest good of the greatest number. These monographs are very much
like the addresses and studies of the University Commission making an
effort to meet this need. Judged from the value of the monographs
hitherto produced, however, one must express the regret that these
works do not measure up to the desired standard. The chief difficulty
lies in the misconception that the whole matter of readjustment may be
effected by using the white man only. He is to do the thinking,
outline the method of attack, and direct the movement. The Negro, the
other half of the equation, has not been invited to share this work
and the writers making these investigations are unfortunately biased
rather than scientific.
The purpose of this monograph is to show the bad effects of Negro
suffrage which had no place in Lincoln's plan of Reconstruction or in
the early Congressional plan, but was forced upon the South by a group
of aggressive radicals led by Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner as a
means of their personal aggrandizement and of executing punishment and
revenge upon the Southern States. It is not true that these two
statesmen desired to force Negro rule upon the South. They tried to
give that section a democratic government. At first they advised the
Negroes to choose for their leaders the intelligent southern whites
and the Negroes entreated their former masters to serve them in this
capacity. When the whites refused to coöperate, therefore, Congress
could do nothing else but make the Negroes the basis of the
reconstructed governments. From this partisan point of view only then
the monograph is very much of a success. The writer suffered from a
preoccupation of mind and in his researches was governed accordingly.
He knew what he wanted to write and found facts to assist him toward
this end.
The book covers in detail form the beginnings of Negro suffrage in
Virginia, the campaign of 1867 in which radicals and Negroes drew the
color line, the constitutional convention of 1867-68, the committee of
nine, the campaign of 1869, the restoration of Virginia, the
elimination of the Carpetbaggers from 1869 to 1879, the Readjuster
movement in Virginia from 1879 to 1883, politics and race friction
from 1885 to 1900, the constitutional convention of 1901-1902, and the
new constitution. He, therefore, discusses certain topics already
treated in J.A.C. Chandler's _Representation in Virginia_, and _The
History of Suffrage in Virginia_; J.P. McConnell's _Negroes and their
Treatment in Virginia from 1865-1867_; H.J. Eckenrode's _The Political
History of Virginia during Reconstruction_; and C.C. Pearson's _The
Readjuster Movement in Virginia_.
The author makes a survey of the situation prior to the Civil War,
explaining why the aristocratic Virginians long since accustomed to
rule even by excluding the poor whites from the electorate could not
tolerate the enfranchisement of the Negroes. An effort is made also to
show that inasmuch as most of the Northern States prior to the Civil
War had not accepted Negro suffrage, it was natural for the southern
people to be opposed to such a policy. To strengthen this point he
refers to such authorities as Oliver P. Morton, Governor Andrew and
Abraham Lincoln.
The author considers the Negro a failure in politics and supports his
contention by a quotation from George W. Murray, who felt that it was
the mistake of the nineteenth century to attempt to make the ex-slave
a governor before he had learned to be governed and of Booker T.
Washington who said, "There is no doubt but that we made a mistake at
the beginning of our freedom of putting the emphasis on the wrong end.
Politics and the holding of office were too largely emphasized almost
to the exclusion of every interest."
Since the Negro has been eliminated, the author seems to rejoice that
the races in Virginia now work together in harmony and are friends. He
believes that this relationship will continue only so long as no
exterior factor disturbs the equilibrium and concludes with a
quotation from John Sharp Williams who feels that "It will be well
that wise men think more, that good men pray more and that all men
talk less and curse less." If the author really intends to set forth
the views of such radicals as John Sharp Williams as those upon which
the races may expect to coöperate in the South, he might have added
his recent pronunciamento that "when it comes to maintaining the honor
of a white woman the South respects no law human or divine."
These observations are sufficient to establish the idea of the book.
The Negro during the Reconstruction period was a failure. The white
man who has been restored to absolute power so as to establish social
ostracism, segregation and lynching is a success. In other words, the
whole study is from the white man's point of view. The Negro has no
political rights which the white man should respect and unless things
are in conformity with the white man's prejudice they are wrong.
No one would gainsay that the enfranchisement of all ex-slaves was a
mistake. Oliver P. Morton, and Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, were
to some extent right in their criticism of such a policy. It would
have been much better to have followed Abraham Lincoln's plan of
enfranchising those Negroes who were owners of property or able to
read and write and those white men who had not taken any part in the
Rebellion. While it should not have been expected that ex-slaves could
administer the affairs of the country it could not, on the other hand,
have been imagined that their masters who had begrudgingly abandoned
their title to men as property would in a few years deal with them as
one should with human beings. As a matter of fact the black codes
which the Southern States enacted immediately after the war show the
inability of the aristocratic southerners to deal humanely with a
subject people. If, therefore, Abraham Lincoln's policy, of gradually
recruiting voters from such blacks as gave evidence of wealth and
education and from such whites as manifested a disposition to do the
right thing by the country and by the freedmen had been followed, the
mistakes of the Reconstruction would have been avoided.
* * * * *
_The Negro Trail Blazers of California._ By DELILAH L. BEASLEY,
Los Angeles, California, 1919. Pp. 317.
This is, according to the author, a compilation of records from the
California Archives in the Bancroft Library at the University of
California and from the diaries, papers and conversations of pioneers
in the State of California. It includes also a record of present-day
Negroes in that State. The book is illustrated with portraits
exhibiting the life of the people past and present. The work is
divided into three parts, the first being historical, the second
biographical, and the third an account of the present-day Negro.
Taking up the historical task, the author accounts for the discovery
of California and mentions the important roles played by Estevanecito
and the Negro priest accompanying the explorers. She then discusses
the rule of Spain in California, the Bear Flag Party, the landing of
Commodore John D. Sloate, the admission of California to the Union,
the Pony Express, the right of testimony, the homestead law, the
elective franchise, slavery in California, and freedom papers.
Although intended as a continuous sketch, however, this portion of the
work, like most of it, is a mixture of narratives and documents.
In the second part of the book giving biographical sketches there is a
chapter on the first Negro settlers on the Pacific coast, a pioneer
list and the Forty-Niners of color engaged in mining. Into this are
worked all sorts of personal narratives without any organizing or
unifying scheme as to place or achievement. Not much attention is paid
to proportion. The author seemingly wrote all she had heard or
collected in each case regardless of the worth of these personal
achievements.
The same style holds in the treatment of the present-day Negro of
California. There is something about almost everything. The Negro
churches and the Negro in education, law and music have considerable
space. The author next takes up distinguished women of color, doctors,
dentists, literary persons, Negroes at the Panama Pacific
International Exposition, and Negroes in the army. Then follow the
notes on the text which, instead of being given throughout the work as
footnotes are placed at the end of the work.
Judged from the point of view of the scientific investigator, the work
is neither a popular nor a documented account. When one considers the
numerous valuable facts in the book, however, he must regret that the
author did not write the work under the direction of some one well
grounded in English composition. As it is, it is so much of a
hodge-podge that one is inclined to weep like the minister who felt
that his congregation consisted of too many to be lost but not enough
to be saved.
* * * * *
_A History of South Africa._ By DOROTHEA FAIRBRIDGE, Oxford
University Press, London, 1918. Pp. 319.
One hears much nowadays about the history of South Africa and the
development of that recently enlarged domain under the direction of
Great Britain adds further interest to the story. The present volume
differs, however, from the type of most recent accounts of South
Africa in that it is a small illustrated work within the reach of
those too busy or not sufficiently well grounded in the social
sciences to read an intensively scientific treatise. As such, it has a
place in the current historical volumes growing out of the
reconstruction of the countries revolutionized by the world war.
The work begins with a picture of the country as nature made it. There
is an account of early plant life, prehistoric animals, paleoliths,
and prehistoric man. The early inhabitants are then given more
detailed treatment. Attention is directed to the Bushman, the
Hottentot, and the Bantu as each figured in South Africa. An effort to
contrast the country as the natives kept it with the country as the
white man developed it, is a large part of this chapter.
Beginning then with Prince Henry of Portugal the author presents an
array of "Great Adventurers." Following this sketch comes the account
of the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope by Bartholomew Diaz and next
Vasco da Gama's voyage around the Cape to India. The climbing of the
Table Mountain by Antonio de Saldanha, the landing of Don Francisco of
Almeida, the voyage of Sir Francis Drake, and the adventures of other
travellers appear in chronological order.
The rise of settlements in South Africa or on the neighboring islands
as half-way stations, show the early importance of the country which,
after being conquered, soon experienced considerable expansion. Then
followed in the seventeenth century an era of prosperity which paved
the way for better beginnings the next century under Governors
Hendrik, Swellengrebel and Tulbagh. The troubles of the eighteenth
century when the settlements had to reckon with natives and foreigners
constitute a critical period of the colony ending with the capture of
the Cape by the English in 1795. Then follow the first British
occupation, the restoration of the Cape to the Dutch by the Treaty of
Amiens in 1802, the second rule of the Dutch and the second coming of
the British.
With the nineteenth century the British were to be free to start upon
an all but uninterrupted rule of prosperity. The establishment of
courts, the rise of missions, the improvement in agriculture, and the
extension of the frontier characterized the first efforts of the
pioneering British. Their relations with the natives and difficulties
with the Boers are treated in the chapters on the Story of Natal, the
Vootrekkers, the founding of the Boer Republic and the retrocession of
the Transvaal. The chapters covering the subsequent period consist of
a discussion of new influences, the Uitlanders, the Jameson Raid, the
War of 1899-1902, and the problems of peace and reconstruction.
* * * * *
RECONSTRUCTION IN LOUISIANA. By ELLA LONN, Assistant Professor in
Grinnell College. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London, 1919.
Pp. 538. Price $3.00 net.
Miss Lonn's book is an exhibition of the true scholarly spirit. Her
analysis of the situation in Louisiana politics during the period of
Reconstruction is most ably executed. She has neglected no source
which would throw light upon this very anachronistic epoch. Public
documents of all kinds, and especially those which embody the debates
in the Senate and assembly of Louisiana have been made to yield
interesting testimonies of the passing shows of the years 1867-1876.
Not content, however, with these testimonies, she has called to her
aid many other sources including the newspapers of the day wherein is
displayed popular reaction towards the orgies being indulged in the
State House. And thus the reader's mind, by means of most carefully
chosen quotations from these records, as if by a lightning flash, is
frequently illumined; so that the whole comedy unfolds before the eyes
in a most interesting fashion.
The book is not only filled with a wealth of detailed information
concerning the period, it not only tells the story of political
debauchery, ignorance and fraud; but notes also the few shreds of
constructive work done by the legislators under the coercion of public
opinion. All of these facts are put together in a logical manner and
show that the author is not only gifted with keen analytic powers, but
is also endowed with a peculiar faculty for organizing and marshalling
facts in such a manner as to weave a beautiful mosaic of otherwise
widely divergent elements.
Miss Lonn has succeeded in writing a very interesting narrative and
her book will hold the attention of a widely differing clientele. The
student of American politics will find an illuminative study of this
very remarkable period, and therefore much food for thought. But this
book offers to the lover of fiction a new field. There is the hero,
Warmoth, the villain, whose protraiture has been limned by a masterly
hand. Little by little, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly;
sometimes by the words of his own mouth, oftener by the mouths of
those whom he attacked, and almost constantly by the unfriendly
newspapers, she deftly portrays the elements of his character. Warmoth
had almost unlimited power and he used it like Cataline to corrupt the
corruptible elements of the State. He was essentially a Nero, callous
to the last degree and indifferent to the progressive anemia which was
destroying the State's finances. Like Julius Caesar he attained his
gubernatorial power by making multiple false promises and kept it by a
species of corrupt practices which were incredibly vile. There is the
tragic setting, the broken, maimed, devastated State of Louisiana,
just out of the War of Rebellion and struggling hard to regain her
"former glory." There are the carpetbaggers, irresponsible, predatory
and indigent, of whom an army estimated to have been five hundred
thousand strong invaded the State attracted as vultures by the rich
pickings of political conquest. There are scalawags, remnants of the
Confederate army, also indigent, nevertheless troublesome and among
whom many brigands, murderers and cut-throats sprang up. There were
respectable Republicans and Democrats, whites and blacks who formed
the background for the tragedy of Reconstruction in Louisiana. There
were also the Manichean gods of sharply defined good and evil, sanity
and insanity, righteousness and corruption, civic pride and utmost
indifference; murder, theft, malfeasance, ignorance and crass
stupidity. All these thrown in the pot of political regeneration made
a situation that was tragically immoral and horrific.
During Warmoth's administration the legislature was a minstrel show.
It was worse than a minstrel show; it was profoundly corrupt.
Lobbyists openly paid legislators, black and white, for their votes.
And what is more, the money was parceled out to each one on the very
floor of the Senate and House. This corruption was so rife that it was
sickening; it is even nauseating now to read about it. He was finally
impeached by the Senate. When it became certain to him that the Senate
would vote for his impeachment he cowardly sought to nullify the vote
by resigning and fleeing the State. But he regained his power and
influence and held office two years longer. And during this time his
power was so absolute that the fear of him is manifest in the Senate
and House debates. Speakers in making charges of corruption, and even
when speaking against bills aimed at increasing the power of the
governor, always added, so great was their fear of him, "no reflection
is meant upon the present incumbent," or words to that effect. This
although they knew well that it was his very abuse of power which
called forth many of the bills under consideration.
It was scarcely possible, however, that such abuses, such corruption
and infamy, such vile and degraded practices as those which
characterized Warmoth's administration as Governor of Louisiana could
long continue. So in 1871 came the crash. An open rupture in the ranks
of the Republican party developed. The gatling gun convention,
so-called, because federal troops with two gatling guns, guarded the
convention building, was held. Warmoth, scenting a conspiracy, bolted
and held an independent convention in Turner Hall. With him as the
leading spirit of the gathering was Pinchback, then majority leader in
the Senate.
The career of Pinchback sheds additional light upon this period. He
held a high place in the political life of that day, rising from
majority leader, by successive stages, to the lieutenant-governorship,
and to the presidency of the Senate. He also became immensely wealthy
on account of his association with Warmoth, who is said to have
acquired a fortune of more than a million dollars during three years
of his administration. While Pinchback was Park Commissioner he was
accused by Antoine of cheating him out of $40,000 at one clip. For a
time Pinchback was one of Warmoth's staunchest supporters, and when
the party in Louisiana was split by the two factions, the Custom House
ring and the Warmoth faction, Pinchback was elected permanent chairman
of the Warmoth convention and made the keynote speech for the
campaign. Subsequently, Warmoth's utter degeneracy alienated him and
so they parted company. Warmoth's star descended, and he went down to
ignominious defeat. Upon his name and memory were heaped derogations,
curses and anathemas. And unfortunately these will always be
associated with his memory. On the other hand, Pinchback's star rose
to the ascendant and he was elected to the United States Senate.
Pinchback was a man of good breeding, education and culture; and if he
yielded to the corrupt influences of his time, it was because he was
unable to withstand the flood; it was because the corrupt hand of
everyone in politics at that time, Ishmael-like, was turned against
the forces of righteousness in political affairs. For, at that time,
as the author clearly shows, crime, corruption and fraud were so
rife, so common, that they were taken for granted. And the moral sense
was so low, so negligible, that men did not think of their crimes as
crimes. They committed them simply because "everybody was doing so,"
and unrighteousness filled the State as "the waters the great deeps."
Finally, by a species of corrupt and criminal practices which made
those of the Warmoth régime pale into the utmost insignificance, the
tide was turned. Another party came into power and the lily-white
government was established. Out of such conditions as Miss Lonn has
depicted the government of all the Southern States sprang. This book
helps us to understand, in some slight degree, the curious political
bias of these States. It is in part a heritage of unreasoning
fear--not so much of Negro domination as of again being overwhelmed by
a flood of corruption let loose by their own kind. How this fear has
expressed itself in more recent times we all know too well.
Miss Lonn closes her book with this fitting paragraph: "And therewith
the curtain fell upon the last act in this long and weary drama. One
can hardly help feeling that surely if Louisiana had sinned, she had
paid the penalty of her sins in full measure of atonement."
R. T. BROWNE
NOTES
Recently there passed from this life Sir T. F. Victor Buxton, Bart., a
man attracted to Africa, no doubt, by the record of his distinguished
great grandfather T. F. Buxton, Bart., who belonged to that group of
English reformers instrumental in giving the death blow to the African
slave trade. Early interested in the natives of Africa, the grandson
soon became associated with the Church missionary movement. He was
largely concerned in the establishment of two corporations, the Uganda
Company and the East African Industries, both intended to benefit the
natives.
Closely connected with Africa, he often visited various parts with a
view to studying the many problems arising in the commercial, social
and political world. On these occasions many Africans were entertained
by him and he maintained friendly relations with them so as to bring
together the representatives of various interests to work for the good
of all. His interest in the African natives is further shown by his
service as president of the Anti-Slavery and Aborigines Protection
Society and as a firm supporter of the Native Races and Liquor Traffic
Committee.
* * * * *
Owing to the printers' strike the publication of Dr. C.G. Woodson's
illustrated textbook, _The Negro in our History_, has been delayed. It
is highly probable that the volume will appear before spring.
THE JOURNAL
OF
NEGRO HISTORY
VOL. V--APRIL, 1920--NO. 2
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEGRO PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM IN MISSOURI[1]
THE PERIOD FROM 1865 TO 1875
On Tuesday, the eleventh day of January, 1865, the Negro of Missouri
awoke a slave; that night he retired a free man.[2] His darkest hour
had passed but before him loomed a great task, that of living up to
the requirements of a man. His emancipators were confronted with the
responsibility of preparing him for his new duties and for the proper
use of suffrage which was to be granted him a few years later.
Prior to 1865 the State had seen fit to prohibit the education[3] of
the slave because, although the educated slave was the more efficient,
yet he was the more dangerous; as his training might aid him to make a
better revolt against his position. But the qualities which were
objectionable in the slave were necessary to the freed man, if he was
to prove other than a menace to the State. His emancipators faced the
education of the Negro fairly, and the same convention which had
passed the Emancipation Act of 1865, drew up a new State constitution
which was ratified the same year. This constitution[4] provided for
the establishment and the maintenance of free public schools for the
instruction of all persons in the State who were between the ages of
five and twenty-one. It further provided that all funds for the
support of the public schools should be appropriated in proportion to
the number of children without regard to color.
The legislature, which met the same year, passed a law[5] which
required that the township boards of education, and those in charge of
the educational affairs in the cities and the incorporated villages of
the State should establish and maintain one or more separate schools
for the colored children of school age within their respective
jurisdictions, provided the number of such children should exceed
twenty. Persons over twenty-one were to be admitted to these schools.
The same officers who were in charge of the educational interests of
the white schools were to control the Negro schools. The length of the
term and the other advantages to be enjoyed by these schools were to
be the same as those enjoyed by the white schools of the same grade.
This law further provided that if the average attendance for any month
should drop below twelve the school might be closed for a period not
to exceed six months. In districts where there were less than twenty
Negro children, the money raised for their education was to be
reserved by the boards of education in those districts and to be
appropriated as the boards saw fit for the education of the Negro
children upon whom the money had been raised. The same legislature[6]
passed an act authorizing towns, cities, and villages to organize for
school purposes with special privileges. This act, however, provided
that any town, city or village so incorporated should be required to
establish one or more Negro schools according to the law. At this
session of the legislature[7] there was enacted a law to compel the
school authorities in each sub-district to prepare a school census of
their respective jurisdictions which should enumerate separately and
according to sex the white and the Negro children who were permanently
resident within the sub-district. In case the directors failed to
perform this duty the township clerk was to have the census taken and
to recover from the directors by judicial proceedings the cost of the
work.
If we were to judge from the constitutional and the statutory laws of
this period, we might conclude that the education of the Negro was
very popular and that his needs were well taken care of. But before we
can draw any conclusion we must study certain conditions. We must know
something of the character of the men who were to enforce the law, of
the desire of the Negroes for an education, of popular opinion
concerning public education, and of the distribution of the Negro
population.
The State Superintendents of this period were well trained men,[8] and
their reports show that they were faithful in the discharge of their
duty. One of these superintendents, John Monteith,[9] showed great
zeal in the establishment and development of the Negro school system.
He was born in the Western Reserve district of Ohio, a section noted
for its strong anti-slavery sentiment. He belonged to a family of
educators. His father was one of the first presidents of the
University of Michigan. Monteith completed his education at Yale and
served for a number of years as a minister in St. Louis. Upon becoming
State Superintendent, he wrote in favor of Negro education a pamphlet
which he sent to each of the county superintendents. His annual
reports,[10] to which we shall refer later, show the interest and the
effort which this man put forth to develop the Negro schools of the
State.
The Negroes were not indifferent to the efforts which were put forth
in their behalf. There is much evidence to show that they took an
active part in the establishment[11] and the maintenance of schools
for their children. In those districts in which Negro schools were
maintained and an honest effort was made to better the conditions of
the Negroes, they responded heartily to their opportunities. The
following quotations are typical of the reports which the
superintendents in those counties were able to make in 1874: "In most
of the townships a commendable interest is manifested in the support
of Negro schools, which I am happy to report, is appreciated by the
Negroes[12] themselves. The schools have been well attended with
considerable diligence manifested by the pupils." A.A. Neal,
Superintendent of Pettis County, reported:[13] "The Negro schools are
doing better than could be expected under existing circumstances." The
Superintendent of Bay County said:[14] "The Negro schools have been
well attended. The pupils have manifested great enthusiasm, and have
made surprising advancement in the rudiments." _The Journal of
Education_[15] which was printed in St. Louis, by J.B. Merwin in 1869,
states: "It is a well known fact that our Negro population manifests
the greatest zeal in taking advantage of every opportunity for
acquiring education."
At the beginning of this period, popular opinion concerning free
public schools in general and Negro schools in particular was not
favorable. The school laws of the State were in advance of the people.
These laws[16] were the product of a few statesmen who appeared at
intervals, and who, in spite of well known social protests, pushed
forward with great energy school laws modeled after those of the more
progressive eastern States.[17] The State Superintendent complained in
his report for 1867 that in those counties in which the southern
sympathizers predominated, the people were either wholly negligent or
bitterly opposed to their public school right. Three classes of
opposers were enumerated;[18] those who believed that the public
schools tended to foster infidelity, those who believed that the
State, the county or a municipal body had no right to tax for
educational purposes, and those who regarded as unnecessary any
education beyond reading, writing, and simple arithmetic. In March of
the year 1866, four months after the constitution of 1865 had gone
into effect, of the thirty-four Negro schools[19] in the State only
two were situated in counties in which the southern element
predominated. Thus we see that the attitude toward public schools in
general was reflected upon the Negro schools.
The school laws themselves, which seem to have been adequate to
provide equal school rights for all the children in the State, were
easily evaded when the officials of a community were hostile to them.
In his first annual report,[20] State Superintendent Parker called
attention to the following facts: No remedy was provided in case the
township board refused to comply with the statutes. There was no
remedy in case the local board of directors refused to hire teachers
for the school when the requisite number of pupils were in the
district. In this manner, he reported, the Negro children in many
districts were deprived of an opportunity to attend school. Even where
there was no apparent hostility to the statutes and to the education
of the Negroes there was a failure to make the requisite enumeration
of the Negro children in many townships and consequently many children
were by the very law itself deprived of the benefits of the State
school fund. He pointed out that in the year 1867 many would thus be
deprived, since the law regulating the apportionment of the State
school fund, compelled the apportionment to be made on the basis of
the enumeration which had already been made, and which in many cases
did not include the Negro children. The law concerning the
establishment of Negro schools was abused here and there throughout
the entire period. As late as 1876 the State Superintendent
complained[21] that in many cases through ignorance of the law and in
other cases through willful disobedience of the law, schools for the
Negroes had not been established. In the first case, he reported that
merely explaining the law had the desired effect and in the other case
it was necessary to call the assistance of county clerks and of grand
juries.
During this period there was a growing sentiment in favor of public
schools. This is shown by the reports which came from the various
counties to the State Superintendent's office, and also by the
increase in the number of children enumerated and by the increasing
number of schools. In 1870,[22] the county superintendents reported a
great deal of opposition and indifference to the schools especially on
the part of the tax-payers. In 1872 a majority of the county
superintendents were able to report[23] a growing sentiment in favor
of public education. They could then say that the enemies of this
institution were becoming its friends. The State Superintendent[24]
reported in 1874 that in the four years of his administration there
had been a steady growth in the popularity of the public school
system. We can better appreciate the progress made in this period when
we remember that prior to the Civil War, the public school in Missouri
had been considered a pauper's school. The Constitution[25] of 1820
had provided: "One or more schools shall be established in each county
township as soon as practicable and necessary where the poor shall be
taught gratis." The attendance also showed a healthy growth. In
1870[26] there were 280,473 pupils attending 7,547 public schools in
the State. There were 389,956 pupils attending these schools in 1872.
In 1874 the enumeration showed that there were 708,354 children of
school age in the State.
As sentiment in favor of the public school grew, the willingness to
enumerate and to provide schools for the Negro children also
increased. In 1867 the number of Negro children enumerated was 33,619.
This was an increase of 13,709 over the previous year. Fifty-six
public schools were provided for these children. In 1869 forty
counties reported 12,871 Negro children and 80 schoolhouses which were
devoted to their use. The average school term was four and one-third
months. In 1871 the enumeration had increased to 37,173, and the
number of public schools to 212. These schools had an enrollment of
4,358 pupils. In 1873[27] the enumeration had increased to 38,234 and
the number of schools to 252.
The work of the public school for the education of the Negro was
supplemented by two other classes of schools. In 1867[28] the State
Superintendent called attention to three classes of schools which were
educating the Negroes in the State. In the first place there were
those supported by benevolent societies in other States. These schools
were generally supplied with white teachers and were doing good work.
There were then the private or subscription schools, which were
supported by the tuition of the pupils and in many cases these were
taught by colored teachers of inferior qualifications. Finally there
were the public schools as contemplated by the law. A few such schools
had been established in the large towns and cities.
In 1869[29] it was estimated that there were in the State 34,000 Negro
children of educable age. For their accommodation there were 59 Negro
public schools with an average attendance of 2,000. This report also
states that the majority of these schools were taught in churches and
cabins with walls admirably adapted for ventilation and for admission
of copious shower baths of rain. The same year Colonel Seely, Agent
for the Freedman's Bureau in Missouri, reported 114 schools for the
freedmen. Most of these were public schools and the attendance was
6,240. The ninth census for 1870, reported that 9,080 Negro children
were attending school in Missouri. Thus we see that the public schools
of this period were greatly aided by mission and private schools.
In 1868 the legislature enacted a law[30] which gave the State
Superintendent the authority to assume the powers of the school board
for establishing and maintaining a school for Negro children when the
township, city, or village, neglected to establish and to maintain
such a school in accordance with the law. The same year the school
law was amended[31] so as to require the township, the city or the
incorporated village to establish one or more schools for Negro
children when there was more than fifteen children in the
jurisdiction. A Negro school could be closed for six months when the
attendance for any month dropped below ten.
There is evidence to show that the State Superintendent used his power
to establish Negro schools when the local authorities neglected this
task. In 1873, he reported:[32] "I have established between 50 and 60
Negro schools in the State without resorting to the expedient of a tax
as indicated and authorized by law." In 1875 he reported: "I have
levied taxes for Negro schools in three instances. The medicine is
good and effective and I trust it will be administered in every
similar case in the State until the Negroes enjoy schools equally good
in every way as the white schools." Thus we see that by the Law of
1868 the State Superintendent had the power to remedy conditions as
far as the Negroes were concerned but there was no evidence to show
that he used this power prior to 1872, although there are reports of
violations of the law. In 1874 there was passed a law[33] which made a
school official subject to a fine of not less than fifty or more than
five hundred dollars, for the persistent neglect or refusal to perform
any duty or duties pertaining to his office. In view of this and the
offensiveness of the results threatened in the civil rights bill,[34]
the State Superintendent[35] was astonished at the number of
delinquencies and persistent evasions of the law.
The Commissioner of Education was able to report in 1870: "This State
has a larger proportion of schools[36] for Negro children than any
former slave State. Opposition to the education of the Negroes is
rapidly disappearing. Their rapid improvement and good conduct help to
disarm prejudice." Among the methods of evading the law the following
were reported; the failure to enumerate the Negro children, the
complaints of a lack of funds, and the plea of an inability to secure
teachers. In 1875 the State Superintendent reported[37] that the
citizens of Calloway County, the most strongly southern county in the
State during the Civil War, were evincing the greatest readiness to
provide good schools for their large Negro population. This, he
believed, augured well for the future of the Negro schools of the
State, since it indicated a growing kindly disposition of the southern
element of the State towards them. How great was the change in
sentiment can be readily seen by contrasting this report with those of
the county superintendent for 1866 and 1867. In 1866 the
Superintendent of Calloway reported[38] much objection to public
schools in that county on account of the impartial application to
children of all races and colors. The only Negro school in the county
had been established under very discouraging circumstances at Fulton.
In many rural districts there were not enough children to permit the
establishment of a school and in other districts the existing
opposition to Negro schools made their establishment impossible. The
next year it was reported[39] that the white schools were better
fitted for pigs than for children and that there was no interest at
all in the education of Negro children.
Another factor which effected the development of the Negro school
system was the sparseness of the Negro population. In many districts
and even in some counties there were not enough Negro children to form
a school. In 1871, reports[40] were received from 109 of the 115
counties of the State. Thirty-nine of the 109 counties did not report
a single school district with the required number of Negro children
to establish a school. The other seventy counties reported 395 school
districts having twenty or more Negro children of school age. The same
counties also reported 158 schools for these children. In their annual
letters for 1872 twenty-one county superintendents called attention to
the fact that the Negro population was so distributed over the
counties that it was impossible to provide schools for them according
to the law. Three of these superintendents asked that the law might be
so amended as to provide for Negro children in the sparsely settled
districts, and one superintendent advocated[41] that in districts in
which there were too few Negro children to form separate schools, they
should be admitted to the white schools.
That same year the State Superintendent reported[42] that in several
cases in which no schools were provided because of the small number of
pupils, that their parents had asked why their children could not
enter the white schools since there was no direct law prohibiting it.
The next year[43] the Negro children in several districts did enter
the white schools with the tacit consent of the white population. When
the State Superintendent was asked whether or not they could be
ejected[44] he replied that there was no law to that effect. At this
time the enactment of a civil rights bill was being agitated in the
State. This bill[45] provided that the public schools of the State
should be open to all children regardless of color. When the civil
rights bill was defeated in 1874, there was passed another bill which
aimed to relieve the situation in the sparsely settled districts.
In 1869 the legislature had passed a law[46] permitting two or more
districts, each of which had less than fifteen Negro population but
which when taken together had more than that number, to establish a
union school for those children. This law on account of its lack of
force did not accomplish much good. In 1874 the law[47] was amended in
such a way as to make it obligatory for two or more districts, each of
which had too few Negro children, to form a school to unite to form a
union school. It was also ordered that all taxable property in a
township in which a Negro school was situated should be taxed for its
support.
In 1875 each district supported its own school[48] for white children,
while the whole township in which a Negro school was situated was
taxed for its support. No district in the State could be compelled by
the law to maintain a school for its white children, but if there were
more than fifteen Negro children in the district, the law compelled
the local authorities to establish a school for them. If they failed
to do so, the law directed the State Superintendent to establish and
to levy taxes for the support of Negro schools in such communities. In
those districts in which there were too few Negro children to form a
separate school, union schools were to be established. The last
mentioned law, however, was passed too late to have much effect upon
the period under discussion. School officials who refused to perform
the duties of their office could be fined[49] not less than fifty nor
more than five hundred dollars.
In the larger centers of the State where there was a large Negro
population the necessity of establishing schools[50] for the Negroes
seems to have been better realized. Thirty-nine out of seventy-three
towns and villages incorporated under the special Act for Towns and
Villages, reported[51] a sufficient population for a Negro school.
There were 19,879 white and 3,609 Negro pupils enrolled in the public
schools of these thirty-nine towns and villages. The length of the
school term was the same in the white and the Negro schools in a
number of cases; but the average length was lower in the Negro schools
than in the white schools. The average length of the white school was
thirty-four weeks and the average length of the Negro school term was
twenty-eight weeks. The average expense a pupil in these schools was
8.1 cents a day for each white pupil and 7.8 cents a day for each
Negro pupil. The average attendance in the Negro schools was below
that in the white schools. The average attendance of the white schools
was 61.89 per cent and that of the Negro schools was 51.86 per cent of
the enrollment.
The lower attendance of the Negro children may be accounted for as Asa
Martin accounts for a similar condition in Kansas City.[52] In this
city from 1885 to 1913 a larger per cent of the Negro than of the
white children of school age attended the public schools, but the
average attendance of the white children enrolled was above that of
the Negro children. This he accounted for by the poverty of the Negro
population. Since the Negroes were poorer as a whole than the whites,
they were more poorly housed and clothed. Consequently the Negro
children were more susceptible to sickness and to the disagreeable
effects of inclement weather. On this account they were oftener absent
from school than the white children.
The report of the State Superintendent of Schools for the year 1874
contains reports[53] from thirty-five of the urban communities which
were organized under the act for cities, towns and villages. Five of
these towns reported that they did not have any Negro children of
school age. The thirty towns reported 4,701 Negro children, 2,379 of
whom were enrolled in the public schools. Salisbury was the only town
having more than sixteen Negro children for whom no school was
maintained, while Bolivar and Augusta, which had in the first case
eleven and in the second four Negro children of school age, reported
respectively five and three Negro children in the public schools.
The largest cities in the State were St. Joseph, Kansas City and St.
Louis. These cities provided public schools for the freedmen soon
after the war. St. Joseph opened a school[54] with seventy seats for
Negro children in 1866. In 1871 the city had for Negro children, two
schools,[55] each of which was provided with one teacher. One of these
schools had an enrollment of 96 pupils and the other 94. In 1874 this
city enumerated[56] 651 Negro children of school age, 386 of whom were
enrolled in the two public schools. The number of teachers had
increased from two to four.
The first Negro public school[57] in Kansas City was reported in 1867.
The enumeration[58] for 1873 was 408 Negro children of school age. The
average attendance was 165. The length of the school term was forty
weeks. The amount spent on each pupil was 7.5 cents a day in the Negro
school and 8.6 in the white school. The average salary paid to male
teachers was $68.33 in the Negro school and $112.50 in the white
schools. The average salary paid to female teachers was $45 in the
Negro school and $65 in the white schools. In 1874 the number of Negro
children enumerated was 885.[59] There was one Negro school in the
city for their use which had 356 pupils and five teachers.
In St. Louis, the largest city in the State, there was a steady growth
of the Negro school system. The State Legislature granted this city
the power to establish separate schools[60] for Negro children in
1865. The next year Ira Divoll, the City Superintendent, established
three schools for Negro children.[61] One was in the northern, one in
the central and another in the southern part of the city. In 1868
there were five Negro schools[62] in the city with a total enrollment
of 924 pupils. Three of these schools held night sessions which ran
from the first Monday in October of the year 1867 to the fifth of
February, 1868. Twelve teachers were employed in these schools. In
1871 a sixth Negro school[63] was added and school No. 3 was improved
to accommodate five hundred pupils. There were sixteen teachers and
seventeen school rooms. The expenses for the year amounted to
$11,787.80.[64]
The next year it was reported[65] that good buildings had been built
for the Negro schools. A gain of eight pupils over the number enrolled
the previous year was reported. This small gain was not charged to
indifference, but to a decrease in the Negro population. In 1875 there
were twelve Negro schools in the city. The legislature of that year
passed a bill[66] which permitted the city to establish a Negro high
school with a normal department in the old Washington School building
and was known from this time on as the Sumner High School.
The first teachers of these schools were white, but they were
gradually replaced by Negro teachers. The first teacher[67] of color
was appointed largely through the influence of Samuel Crupples, who
was a member of the Board of Education of St. Louis and also a regent
of Lincoln Institute. He was so impressed with the work done by
Lincoln Institute in preparing Negro children that he favored the
giving of its graduates a trial in the public schools of that city.
The chance to try teachers of color came when the friends of a white
teacher, who had been assigned to a Negro school, protested against
the assignment. From this time on the white teachers in the Negro
schools were gradually replaced by those of color.
Very early in the history of the Negro schools the question of
training teachers came up. The white teachers did not care to teach in
the Negro schools and it was hard to find trained teachers of color at
this date. Ten county superintendents in their annual[68] letters for
1872 mentioned the difficulties which they experienced in obtaining
good teachers for their Negro schools. There was a prejudice on the
part[69] of both the white and the black people of the State against
white teachers for Negro schools; and it is reported[70] that in many
cases the white teachers in these schools did not take the interest in
the advancement of the people which was taken by the Negro teachers.
The positions in the Negro school, moreover, were less desirable than
those in the white schools because the financial returns were less in
teaching in the Negro schools. In 1873 the cities, towns and villages
which reported[71] Negro schools also reported an average salary of
$46.70 per month for male teachers and $40.00 per month for female
teachers. The white schools in the same towns paid an average monthly
salary of $87.72 to male teachers and $46.64 to female teachers.
The first school[72] in the State which was devoted to the work of
training Negro teachers was Lincoln Institute. This school[73] had its
origin in a fund of $6,379 which was contributed by the soldiers of
the sixty-second and sixty-fifth United States Negro infantry. These
men upon being mustered out of service at the close of the war gave
part of their pay to found in Missouri a school where their children
might enjoy the blessings of a good education. The school was opened
at Jefferson City,[74] the State Capital, September 17, 1866. Richard
Baxter Foster, a New England white man who was educated at Dartmouth
College and who had served as first lieutenant in the sixty-second
United States Negro Infantry, became the first principal of this
school.
In his report[75] to the adjourned session of the Twenty-fifth General
Assembly, T.A. Parker, the State Superintendent of Schools, offered as
his most important suggestion for the improvement of Negro schools in
the State, the establishment of a Normal School for the training of
Negro teachers. He gave five reasons why such a school should be
supported by the State: first, the number of teachers were
insufficient to supply the rapidly increasing demand; second, the
character of the teaching in a large proportion of the Negro schools
needed elevating as white teachers of high qualifications could
usually do better in white schools and Negro teachers of high
qualifications could not be found in any great number; third, as
Negroes had not, in many vocations, an equal opportunity with white
people, and as teaching is one of the most respectful and useful
vocations open to them, they should be encouraged to engage in it;
fourth, justice demanded it, for as a large part of the wealth of
Missouri had been produced by the unrequited labor of slaves, it was
but a small return that the State should give to their children, now
free, the largest privileges of education; and fifth, the State gave
no funds to institutions of learning above the grade of common
schools, which were practically, if not by force of law, limited to
white pupils. Equality of treatment demanded that something be
appropriated for a school of higher learning to which the people of
color could have access. If such a school could not be established at
the time, he advised that a sum of $5,000 per year should be given to
the normal department of Lincoln Institute to aid in the training of
Negro teachers.
Acting on this advice, the legislature passed in 1870 a bill[76]
granting the normal department of Lincoln Institute an annual sum of
$5,000 for the training of teachers. In his reports for 1872 and 1873
the State Superintendent commented on the excellent work which this
school was doing. But as this school was hampered by debt and could
not train the number of teachers needed, he advocated that the State
should take a greater interest in the school or better still, the
State should take the school over entirely and make it into a normal
school for Negro teachers. The annual reports of the State
Superintendents from this time up to 1879, when the school was finally
given over to the State, contained accounts of the excellent work
which this school was doing in the training of teachers and he
recommended from year to year that the State should give it more
financial aid.
By the year 1875 the Negro public school system of Missouri was well
established. Elementary schools had been started in all parts of the
State. A high school for Negroes had been established in St. Louis and
the first steps had been taken towards the establishment of a Negro
State normal school. Popular opinion had crystallized in favor of
separate schools for Negro children taught by teachers of color. The
progress of the Negro schools had been somewhat retarded by a
prejudice against public schools in general and to a greater extent by
a prejudice against the education of Negroes. Towards the end of the
period there was evidence to show that this prejudice was dying out.
Much good legislation had been passed with the idea of giving the
Negro children the same educational advantages as were held by the
white children of the State. The Negro school system of this period
was in advance of the corresponding systems in the other States which
had recently held slaves.[77] The report of the Commissioner of
Education for 1872, shows that there were no public schools for the
education of the Negro in Georgia, Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, and
Maryland. Ninety per cent of the Negro school population of Tennessee
was without the benefit of public schools. Although the Negro public
schools of Louisiana and West Virginia were established before those
of Missouri, the greater illiteracy of their population in 1870 and
1880 show that these schools were not as efficient as those in
Missouri.
THE CRITICAL PERIOD, 1875 TO 1885
The year 1875 marked an epoch in Negro education in Missouri. That
year a new State constitution was adopted. This meant the beginning of
a critical period in the school history of the State. In order to
understand the educational trend of this period it is necessary to
consider the political history of this and the preceding period.
During the Civil War the State had been almost equally divided between
the Union and the Confederate sympathizers; but the Union forces held
control of the government. At the close of the war and while the
feeling between the two factions was still very bitter, there were
enacted very harsh laws[78] by which those who had sided with the
South were not only disfranchised, but were also deprived of the right
to practice law, to preach, or to teach. As the intense bitterness of
the war died out there was strong agitation to restore the right of
suffrage to the disfranchised citizens. In 1870[79] the Liberal
Republicans gained control of the State with the result that there was
passed the next year a law removing the restriction placed upon the
southern element. In 1872 the Liberal Republicans and the Democrats
united to defeat the Radical Republicans, and at the next election
which took place in 1874 the Democratic Party came into full power.
One of the first acts of the new administration was to call a
constitutional convention which drew up a new State constitution which
was ratified by the people in 1875. With the return to power of a
party[80] which strongly favored local self-government, and which was
supported to a great extent by those who but a few years before had
been reported to have been opposed to the extension of their public
school rights, it is not surprising that the progress of the public
school system was for a time checked. In many districts the people had
accepted the public schools but they had not become thoroughly
reconciled to the system.
In 1870 the local district school boards[81] were subordinate to the
township boards of education. The clerk of the township board was both
treasurer and recording secretary of all the school districts within
his township. He was responsible to the county school superintendent
and he made statistical reports to him as well as to the county
clerks. The county school superintendents and the county clerks were
in turn responsible to the State Superintendent of Schools. In 1874
the legislature[82] so changed the old statutes as to do away with
county and township supervision. The office of county superintendent
was abolished and each district became independent. Even the district
board was deprived of some of its power and the right which it had to
extend the school term and to levy money for new buildings was vested
in the voters of the district. The new State constitution sanctioned
tendency toward decentralization by providing[83] that the right of
the people to local self-government should not be impaired.
Although the old constitution was very objectionable to a large number
of the citizens of the State, nevertheless, it contained some good
school legislation and fortunately much of this was embodied in the
new constitution. The Constitution of 1865 had provided[84] that
"separate schools may be established for children of African descent."
The new constitution provided that "separate free public schools shall
be established for the education of children of African descent." The
legal school age provided by the old constitution was from five to
twenty-one but the legal school age provided by the new constitution
was from six to twenty.
The decentralization of the public school system caused many abuses to
spring up. Statistics became harder and harder to collect, and school
practice less and less uniform in the different parts of the State.
The school law was disregarded to such an extent as to cause a
decrease in the school enumeration and enrollment in spite of the fact
that the population was steadily increasing. In 1875 the
enumeration[85] showed 720,186 children of school age, 394,780 of whom
were enrolled in the public schools. In 1877 the enumeration had
shrunk to 553,278 and the enrollment to 364,189. From this time on
there was a steady growth until 1880 when the enumeration surpassed
that of 1875.
The Negro public schools of the State also suffered a decline[86] in
this period. In 1875 there was a Negro school population of 41,916 and
an enrollment of 14,832. In 1877 the reported enumeration was 32,411
and the enrollment was 14,505. The enumeration did not equal that of
1875 until 1885, but the enrollment of 1878 surpassed that of 1875 by
6,376. The enrollment of 1877 was only 328 smaller than the enrollment
of 1875. Thus, it would appear that while there was a failure in some
districts to enumerate their children of color, that in those
districts in which they were enumerated an increasing percentage of
the children of color attended the public schools.
As has been pointed out before, the emancipators[87] of the Negro, in
attempting to provide equal school rights for the Negro child, made
more stringent laws for the enforcement of his school rights than were
made for the enforcement of the school rights of the white child. The
State Superintendent was empowered to enter districts which did not
provide schools for Negro children according to the law, and to
establish schools for these children, and to levy taxes for the
maintenance of the schools. It is not surprising, therefore, to find
that the State Superintendent was called upon a number of times in
this period to exercise his power.
This official reported[88] in 1878 that the law in relation to the
public schools for Negro children had been repeatedly evaded and
violated during the two preceding years, and that a wicked and
malicious advantage was being taken of the ignorance and the weakness
of the Negro to shield the law-breaker who was using the money
appropriated by the law for the education of the Negro youth. The
method of evasion was fully described. In the first place, there was a
failure to enumerate a sufficient number of Negroes of school age
before the convening of the annual school meeting. After the meeting,
when the directors were appealed to, they required the production of
evidence that there was a sufficient number and then required time to
look into the evidence which took a month or more. They would then
inform the Negroes that it was too late to do anything that year, that
they should have attended to the matter before the annual school
meeting and that they must attend to it in time the following year. In
many cases while the money due the Negroes was being used for other
purposes, they were promised schools for the next year which the
directors did not intend to give them. Sometimes the directors
promised well and were then unable to find teachers or they disagreed
with the Negroes concerning the site of the school. The year would
thus elapse and a new board knowing nothing of the promises of the old
board would be elected. The same course would then be followed
sometimes with a little variation to suit the emergency. Finally the
case would be brought to the State Superintendent and after an
annoying and repeated correspondence to collect the facts in the case
and to explain the law, the officers were induced to comply with the
law by threats of its execution. In counties at a distance from the
capital this threat was frequently of no avail because the Negroes
were either induced to drop the matter by promises of future
fulfillment, were unwilling to proceed to law, or lacked intelligent
leadership.
The next year the State Superintendent complained that the demand upon
this functionary to establish Negro schools in districts which
neglected to fulfill the law required an undue amount of his time. The
legislature which met that year, therefore, removed from the State
Superintendent the responsibility of enforcing this law. But it
provided[89] that any school district which neglected to establish a
Negro school or schools according to the law should be deprived of any
portion of the State school funds for that year. This was a severe
punishment in a State having as large a school fund as Missouri
has.[90]
By the year 1885 the public school system of Missouri was on a firm
basis. The right of every child in the State to the benefits of a free
public school education had been established. The Negro public schools
were prosperous. The Negro school population[91] had increased to
44,215 and the percentage of the enumerated actually enrolled in the
public schools had increased from forty-two per cent in 1877 to
sixty-three per cent in 1885.
THE PERIOD OF GROWTH, 1885 TO 1915
A few minor changes have been made in the State statutory law since
1885. Prior to 1889 not only the district but the whole township in
which a Negro school was located, was taxed for the support of this
school. In 1889 the law[92] was so revised as to throw the entire
burden of support upon the district in which the school is located. In
the same year, the statute which gave Negro adults the right to attend
the public schools was abrogated.
The last revision of the law relating to Negro public schools was made
in 1909. By the present law[93] the boards of directors in districts
having fifteen or more Negro children of school age are required to
establish and maintain schools for these children which shall have
the same length of term and shall enjoy the same privileges as are
enjoyed by the white schools of the same grade in the district. The
indebtedness incurred by the board of directors in providing suitable
buildings, hiring teachers, and maintaining the school shall be paid
out of the appropriate funds of the district. If the average daily
attendance for any month falls below eight, the school can be closed
for a period not to exceed six months. If there are adjoining
districts in either or both of which there are less than twenty-five
Negro children of school age, a joint Negro school may be established
in either of the districts. The expense of maintaining the school is
borne by the districts which established it in proportion to the
number of Negro children enumerated in each. The control of the school
is vested in the board of directors of the district in which the
school is located.
When the number of Negro children residing in a district is less than
fifteen as shown by the last enumeration, these children have the
right of attending any school for Negro children in the county for the
same length of time as school is maintained in their own district.
Their tuition is paid by the district in which they reside. When the
directors of a district neglect to establish a Negro school according
to the law, the district is deprived of any part of the State school
funds for that year.
From 1885 to 1890 the Negro schools of Missouri steadily grew. In
1890, 70.8 per cent of the school population[94] was enrolled in the
schools. This marked the high water mark in the per cent of
enrollment. From this date to 1900 the per cent of the school
population enrolled in the public school decreased. In 1899 only 55.05
per cent of the school population was enrolled in the public schools.
The school population, however, increased from 44,214 in 1885 to
54,600 in 1899. In 1900 there were 472 Negro schools with 769 school
rooms with 804 Negro teachers employed. The Negroes[95] of the State
received about $475,000 as their share of the State school fund,
between a third and a half of the money appropriated for the support
of their schools coming from the white tax payers. As the result of
this good school system, Missouri stood last among the sixteen
ex-slave States in illiteracy in 1890.
Since 1900 the rural Negro population has been decreasing and city
population has been steadily increasing. Lured by the prospect of
better wages, shorter hours, and better educational advantages for his
family, the rural Negro has migrated just as his white brother[96] has
to the large cities. The Negro population of the small towns is also
decreasing. The populations of Kansas City and of St. Louis are being
swelled by the Negro from the farm and from the small town. The
problem of Negro education, therefore, is largely a city problem. In
1910 the Negro school population was 42,764. Of this population
33,465[97] dwelt in cities and only 9,299 dwelt in the rural
districts. The enrollment showed that of the 29,562 pupils who were
attending school, 21,694 were enrolled in the city schools and only
7,868 in the rural schools.
In 1915 St. Louis had a Negro school population of 7,233 and an
enrollment of 5,811. Nine grade schools and a high school were
maintained by the city to accommodate these children.[98] In 1916 a
Negro industrial[99] school was opened for delinquent youth, and
$40,000 was appropriated to build two cottages on the city farms at
Bellefountaine for delinquent Negro children. The Negro schools are
modern and well equipped. Kindergarten classes are provided, manual
training courses are open to the boys and domestic science classes are
provided for the girls. In the year of 1915-16 three elementary night
schools were in session with an enrollment of 759.
The Negro school population of Kansas City is also well provided for.
In 1880 this city had a Negro school population of 2,035[100] and
there was an enrollment of 623 or of 30.5 per cent of the school
population. In 1911 the Negro school population was 6,500 and the
number of pupils enrolled reached 3,251. 54.1 per cent of the Negro
school population and 47 per cent of the white school population were
enrolled in the public schools. The school property[101] devoted to
the use of the Negroes was valued at $465,565 and the value of the
property devoted to the white people was $5,792,468. The Negro
population which comprised 9.7 per cent of the total population had
public school property valued at 7.4 of the total. The average cost
for each white pupil enrolled was $42.20 a year and the average cost
for each Negro child was $35.02. In 1910-11, there were 86 Negro
teachers in the system. There was one teacher for every 37 children
enrolled in the white schools and one teacher for every 41 Negro
pupils. In the same year the Negro night schools had an enrollment of
472. In 1915 there were ten elementary and one high school[102]
devoted to the use of the Negroes. The Negro school population had
increased to 7,637 and the enrollment was 3,654.
In 1915 there were fifteen colored schools in the State doing work of
a high school grade. Two of these, Sumner High School of St. Louis and
Lincoln High School of Kansas City are first class high schools.[103]
The Negro high schools of Hannibal and of Springfield are ranked
second class and the high schools of Chillicothe and St. Joseph are
rated third class. The other nine high schools are unclassified.
Until the opening of the new Dunbar High School in Washington,
District of Columbia, in 1916 the Sumner High School was considered
the finest Negro high school in the country. This school was
established in 1875 and had only twenty pupils[104] in 1885. By the
year 1900 the enrollment had increased to 250. In 1907 the city
appropriated $297,827[105] for the building of the new Sumner High
School, a magnificent building. It is three stories high and is well
equipped. It contains a large auditorium, and gymnasiums on the top
floor. On the second floor are laboratories, for the teaching of
chemistry, physics, physiology, and biology. Courses for girls are
given in domestic science and in domestic art. The school also
maintains a commercial department. In the basement there are shops in
which the boys are taught carpentry, cabinet making, machinery, and
blacksmithing. A swimming pool for the boys is also located in the
basement. There is provided a cafeteria at which the children can
purchase at a small cost their noonday meal. It is possible for the
pupil to take any one of the several courses. He may prepare himself
to enter a first-class college, to enter the business world, or to
become an artisan.
Sumner High School also maintains[106] a normal training course for
its girl graduates. The Cottage Avenue graded school is under the
supervision of the High School principal and it serves as an
observation school for those taking normal work. This high school also
maintains an evening school. In 1915-16 the enrollment was 457. The
Negroes of St. Louis are very proud of their high school, and it is
well patronized. In 1915-16 the enrollment[107] was 811 and in 1916-17
it passed the 1,000 mark. There were employed in this high school in
1915 thirty-five teachers who received an average salary of $127 a
month. The school has a library containing about 2,000 volumes and
equipment[108] valued at $30,000.
The Lincoln High School of Kansas City, although it is not as large or
as well equipped as Sumner High School, is nevertheless a good high
school. The first Negro high school[109] was opened in the Lincoln
Grade School Building. A high school building was erected on Eleventh
Street in 1890. This building was used as such until the erection of
the present high school, the site of which was purchased in 1899 and
the new building was opened September 6, 1906. In 1915 this school had
an enrollment[110] of 462 pupils. Seventeen instructors were employed
at the average salary of $115 a month. Besides the regular high school
courses, this school has departments of domestic science and domestic
arts for the girls. Vocational courses are open to the boys and a
course in military training has recently been opened for the boys. In
1915 the equipment[111] of the school was valued at $10,000. The
library contained a number of valuable works.
In the development of Negro education in keeping with the policy of
establishing high schools the State in 1879 assumed complete
control[112] of Lincoln Institute. Prior to this date, the legislature
had merely given the normal department of this institution $5,000
annually for the purpose of training teachers. The Thirty-fourth
General Assembly established an academic and a college department in
the school, and the Thirty-sixth General Assembly established
an industrial department. The State has since then dealt very
liberally with its Negro normal school. In 1915 the legislature
appropriated[113] $116,600 for the bi-annual period of 1915-1916. This
school then had a campus of twenty acres, upon which was situated six
modern buildings and a model training school for the use of students
preparing to teach. The school also had a farm of sixty acres. The
property[114] of the school was valued at $222,202. There were
thirty-one teachers employed and the school enrollment was 343. The
academic work is divided between a high school course and a two year
normal course. Graduates from the normal department obtain life
certificates to teach in Missouri. The following trades are taught:
domestic science and domestic art, carpentry, wood-turning, machinery
and blacksmithing. The work which this school has done in preparing
teachers for the Negro rural schools of the State cannot be over
estimated.
Because of these many efforts in behalf of Negro education, therefore,
Missouri stood in 1915 in the lead of the ex-slave States in the
provisions which it had made for the education of Negro children. Only
the District of Columbia stood ahead of it in the amount of money[115]
which was invested in public school property for Negroes. The District
of Columbia had $135.30 invested for every Negro child of school age
and Missouri had $50 for each Negro child. Oklahoma and West Virginia
ranked next to Missouri, each having $26.00 invested for every Negro
child of school age. Missouri ranked first among the States in the
proportion of the total school investment devoted to the education of
the Negro child. Missouri had 96 per cent as much invested for each
Negro child as was invested for each white child while the District of
Columbia had only 74 per cent as much invested in Negro school
property[116] as it had invested in white school property for every
child of school age. If we leave out the District of Columbia, which
is not comparable with a State, Missouri stood at the head of the
States, in which separate schools were maintained for Negro children,
in the annual expenditure for every child of school age. Missouri
spent $12.13 for every Negro child[117] of school age enumerated. This
was more than was spent by 12 of the southern States for every white
child enrolled. Missouri's nearest rivals, Oklahoma and West Virginia,
spent $11.16 and $10.38 for every Negro child respectively. As the
result of her excellent school system, Missouri had, according to the
census of 1910, a smaller proportion of her population illiterate[118]
than did any of the other ex-slave States.
HENRY SULLIVAN WILLIAMS
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This dissertation was in 1917 submitted to the Faculty of the
Graduate School of Arts and Literature of the University of Chicago,
in candidacy for the degree of Master of Arts by Henry S. Williams.
The following original sources were used in the preparation of this
manuscript: _Reports of Superintendent of the Public Schools of the
State of Missouri_, 1866-1917; Session Laws of the State of Missouri,
1866-1913; _Reports_ of the U.S. Commissioner of Education, 1870-1916;
U.S. _Census Reports_, 1860-1910; _The Missouri Republican_,
1866-1870; _Journal of Education_, Vols. I and II (St. Louis,
Missouri, 1879); _Revised Statutes of Missouri_, 1879-1909;
_Proceedings and Occasional Papers of the Slater Fund_ (Baltimore,
Maryland); _Missouri Historical Society Collections_, Vols. II and
III; Asa E. Martin, _Our Negro Population_ (Kansas City, Missouri,
1913); N.H. Parker, _Missouri as it is in 1867_ (Philadelphia, 1867);
_Am. Annual Cyclopedia_, 1870-1877; _Annual Reports of the Board of
Education of St. Louis_, 1867-1916; _Annual Reports of the Board of
Education_, of Kansas City, 1870-1915.
The secondary sources consulted follow: Lucian Carr, _American
Commonwealths, Missouri a Bone of Contention_ (Boston, 1894); C.R.
Barnes, _Switzler's Illustrated History of Missouri_ (St. Louis,
1889); W.B. Davis, and D.S. Durrie, _An Illustrated History of
Missouri_ (Cincinnati, Ohio); S.B. Harding, _Life of George R. Smith_
(Sedalia, Missouri, 1904); W.E.B. DuBois, _The Negro Common School_
(Atlanta, Georgia); C.L. Butt, _History of Buchanan County_ (Chicago,
1915); H.A. Trexler, _Slavery in Missouri_, 1804-1865 (Baltimore,
Maryland, 1914); C.G. Woodson, _The Education of the Negro Prior to
1861_, (New York, 1915); _History of Calloway County_ (St. Louis,
1884); _History of Cole, Moniteau, Morgan, Benton, Miller, Maries, and
Orange Counties_, _Missouri_ (Chicago, 1889); J.T. Shaff, _History of
St. Louis City and County_ (Philadelphia, 1885); R.A. Campbell,
_Campbell's Gazetteer of Missouri_ (St. Louis, 1875); _Encyclopedia of
the History of St. Louis_ (New York, 1889); _Missouri Historical
Review_, Vols. I, II, IV, VI, VII, and IX (Columbia, Missouri); _The
Negro Year Book_ (Tuskegee, Alabama, 1917).
[2] Parker, N.H., _Missouri as it is in 1867_, p. 424.
[3] Woodson, C.G., _Education of the Negro Prior to 1861_, p. 159-168.
[4] _Missouri State Convention of 1865_, Art. IX.
[5] _Laws of State of Missouri_, Adjourned Session 23d General
Assembly, p. 177.
[6] _Laws of the State of Missouri_, _op. cit._, p. 191.
[7] _Ibid._, p. 173.
[8] Ira Divoll, see Schaff, _Hist. of City and County of St. Louis_,
Vol. I, p. 843; R.D. Shannon, see Davis, W.B., _Ill. Hist. of Mo._, p.
587.
[9] _Ibid._, p. 550.
[10] _Ann. Reports_ of Supt. of Pub. Schools, 1871-'72-'73-'74.
[11] _8th Ann. Report of Supt. of Pub. Schools_, 1874, p. 37.
[12] _7th Ann. Report of Supt. of Pub. Schools_, 1873, p. 250.
[13] _7th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1873, p. 281.
[14] _Ibid._, p. 256.
[15] _Journal of Education_, Vol. II, No. 1, p. 5, St. Louis, 1869.
[16] _Report of Commissioner of Education_, 1870, p. 202.
[17] N. H. Parker, _Missouri as it is in 1865_, p. 53. _Op. cit._
[18] _Report of Commissioner of Ed._, 1871, p. 260.
[19] _Parker_, _op. cit._, p. 54.
[20] _1st Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools of Missouri_, 1867, p. 9.
[21] _27th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools of Mo._, 1877, p. 17.
[22] _5th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools of Mo._, 1871, p. 125-245.
[23] _7th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools of Mo._, 1873, pp. 233-300.
[24] _9th Annual Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1875, p. 23.
[25] _Missouri State Constitution of 1840_, Art. 6.
[26] _5th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1871, p. 6.
[27] _8th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1874, p. 5.
[28] _2nd Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1868, p. 10.
[29] _Journal of Education_, 1869, Vol. I, p. 181.
[30] _Laws of State of Mo._, Adj. Sess., 24th Assembly, p. 170.
[31] See page 140 of this work.
[32] _Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1874, p. 44.
[33] _Laws of State of Mo._, Adj. Sess., 27th Assemb., p. 168.
[34] _A Bill to establish mixed schools._
[35] _9th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1875.
[36] _Report of Com. of Ed._, 1870, p. 202.
[37] _26th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1876, p. 12.
[38] _Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1867, p. 28.
[39] _Ibid._, 1868, p. 59.
[40] _6th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1872, p. 257.
[41] E.H. Davis, _Clark County_. See _7th Ann. Report of Supt. of
Schools_, 1872, p. 246.
[42] _Ibid._, p. 45.
[43] _8th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1873, p. 38.
[44] _Ibid._
[45] _9th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1875, p. 18.
[46] _Laws of State of Missouri_, 25th Gen. Ass., 1869, p. 86.
[47] _Laws of State of Missouri_, Reg. Session, 25th Gen. Assemb., p.
164.
[48] _26th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1876, p. 12.
[49] _27th Gen. Assemb._, Adj. Sess., p. 168.
[50] _7th Ann. Report of Gen. Ass._ Adj. Sess., p. 233. By reading the
annual letters of the county superintendents the fact is brought out
that most of the colored schools of that period were in the towns and
cities. It was in the rural districts that the Negro suffered most.
[51] _8th Ann. Report of Supt. Of Schools_, 1874, p. 165-219.
[52] Asa E. Martin, _Our Negro Population_, p. 165.
[53] _9th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, p. 90 to 136.
[54] _Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1867, p. 10.
[55] _Ibid._, 1872, p. 51.
[56] _Ibid._, 1875, p. 84.
[57] _2nd Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1868, p. 94.
[58] _Ibid._, 1874, p. 185.
[59] _Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1875, p. 77.
[60] _Reg. Session, 28th Gen. Assembly_, p. 349.
[61] _Ency. of History of St. Louis_, Vol. IV, p. 2076.
[62] _14th Ann. Report of Bd. of Dir. of St. Louis Pub. Schools_,
1868, pp. 63 and 67.
[63] _Report of Commissioner of Education_, 1871, p. 264.
[64] _Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1876.
[65] _Ibid._, 1873, pp. 263 and 268.
[66] _Report of Commissioner of Education_, 1871.
[67] _Ibid._, 1871.
[68] _Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1873, p. 253-303.
[69] _Ibid._, 1876.
[70] _Ibid._, 1873, p. 263-268.
[71] _Ibid._, 1873, pp. 263-268.
[72] _8th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1874, p. 165.
[73] _Report of Commissioner of Education_, 1870, p. 204.
[74] _44th Ann. Catalog of Lincoln Institute_, p. 6.
[75] _4th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1870, p. 36.
[76] _Adj. Session 25th Gen. Assembly_, 1870, p. 136.
[77] This fact can be verified by studying abstracts from the State
Superintendents' reports for this period. These abstracts are found in
the Reports of the Commissioner of Education for this period.
[78] _Ann. Cyclopedias_ for 1870-75. Art. Missouri.
[79] _Ibid._, 1871, p. 516.
[80] _9th Ann. Report Supt. of Schools_, 1874, p. 7.
[81] _9th Ann. Report of Supt. of Schools_, p. 6.
[82] _Ibid._
[83] Art. II, Sec. 3.
[84] Art. XI, Sec. 3.
[85] _Report of Commissioners of Education_, 1880, p. 184.
[86] _Ibid._
[87] See page 26.
[88] _Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1877, p. 18.
[89] _Rev. Statutes of Mo. 1879_, Vol. II, p. 1861.
[90] In this period a very noteworthy step was taken by the Negro
teachers. In 1878 they organized a State teachers' association. In
that year its meeting was held in Columbia, Missouri, and a number of
professors in the State University took an active part. The next year
the Association met in Jefferson City. Since that time, the meeting of
the Association has become an annual affair.
[91] DuBois, _Negro Common School_, p. 61.
[92] _Rev. Statutes of Mo._, 1889, p. 2271.
[93] _Ibid._, 1909, p. 790.
[94] DuBois, _Negro Common School_, p. 61.
[95] _Ibid._
[96] _Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1910, p. 69.
[97] _Report St. Louis Board of Education_, 1916, p. 302.
[98] _Ibid._, p. 350.
[99] _Ibid._, p. 308.
[100] Martin, _op. cit._
[101] _Ibid., op. cit._
[102] _Ann. Report Board of Ed. of Kansas City_, 1915, p. 123.
[103] _Report of Supt. Public Schools, 1916_, p. 69.
[104] _Report of The Board of Education of St. Louis_, 1908, p. 234.
[105] _Report of Board of Education of St. Louis_, 1908, p. 235.
[106] _Ibid._, 1913, p. 108.
[107] _Report of Public Schools of Mo._, 1916, p. 290.
[108] _Ibid._
[109] _Report of Board of Dir. of Schools_, Kansas City, 1911, p. 243.
[110] _Report of Supt. of Schools_, 1916, p. 286.
[111] _Ibid._, p. 292.
[112] _Ann. Cat. Lincoln Inst._, 1916, p. 6.
[113] _Laws of Mo._, 1915, p. 69.
[114] _Report of Commissioner of Education_, 1916, p. 586.
[115] _Negro Year Book_, 1917, pp. 234-241.
[116] _Ibid._, pp. 234-240.
[117] _Ibid._
[118] Missouri had 174 illiterate out of every one thousand, and
Oklahoma and West Virginia had 177 and 203 respectively.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN NEGRO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES[1]
Within the last few decades a deepening sense of responsibility for
the religious direction of the American College and University
students has arisen. The problem of religious education has become a
part of our national consciousness. The term "religious education" has
come into general circulation respecting every grade of education. And
in every instance it seems to be more or less a characterization of an
ideal type of education and a method of realizing that type. Evidence
of this is presented in the numerous religious, semi-religious and
educational periodicals, as well as in the reports and published
statements of educational institutions and organizations since 1903.
There is a new conscience for character and social usefulness in the
college and university. It manifests itself in topics under discussion
in conferences of educators, in their personal inquiries, and in the
hearty cooperation given agencies for the higher life. In the whole
range of education there is a growing recognition of the religious and
moral elements inherent in all education. The former emphasis on the
difference between religious education and secular education is
passing. The foundation of teaching is being lifted into the religious
realm. Education is aiming to develop men and women to their highest
possibilities for their own sakes and for the sake of their
contribution to the welfare and progress of society. The National
Educational Association is a potent factor in establishing a strong
belief in the worth of religion in education.
The Religious Education Association, organized in 1903, is one of the
chief, if not the chiefest, agencies in hastening this new era. The
secretary has said: "The leadership of this new crusade seemed
successful in directing a passion for religious education born of the
fusion of the scientific spirit with the spirit of humanistic
idealism." Between 1903 and 1913 over $120,000 was spent in religious
educational endeavor. The period subsequent to 1913 shows a larger
proportionate expenditure. The larger part of this sum stands for
gifts.
How has the movement demanding efficiency in religious education
affected Negro institutions? The status of religious education in
Negro colleges and universities, considered quantitatively and
qualitatively is the task of this investigation. What do the
supervisors of Negro institutions conceive religious education to be?
How does religion function in student life? These are questions
arising during the investigation of the problem before us.
There are 38 private and denominational institutions for Negroes,
which do college grade of work with varying degrees of efficiency. Of
this number, thirty-four are co-educational colleges, two are colleges
for men and two are colleges for women. There are six State colleges
which do some college work. These are all land-grant colleges with
donations from the respective States in which they are located. There
are several so-called colleges having curricula for college grade of
work prescribed but no students matriculated to take the courses. They
are not included in this study for obvious reasons.
The terms "colleges and universities" are by no means safe criteria
for measuring the efficiency of, or even for classification of Negro
colleges and universities. This condition is not peculiar to Negro
colleges. Those for whites, in the South especially, present the same
condition of variety. It seems that there has been a special mania, in
our South Land especially, for setting up a laudable ideal in the
classification of educational institutions, and then working up to it
during subsequent ages. They believe there is much in a name or title.
This keen sense of potentiality being in the classification, college
or university, is too often misleading if taken on faith.
Another phase of this classification may throw some light on the
numerous Negro "colleges" with such wide divergences in standards of
curricula. In the South, $9,000,000 are spent for the elementary
education of the Negro, when $25,000,000 should be used for that
purpose by the States. There are 1,000,000 without any school
facilities at all, and 2,000,000 who cannot read or write. Then the
money spent does not begin to meet the needs of those who are
receiving the education given. For example, the South spends $10.23
for each white student of elementary age and $2.82 for each Negro
student of the same age now given the opportunity to attend school.
Thus many institutions of a private nature are stimulated by this
State of affairs and seek to meet it. But in so doing, they are
actuated by various motives and perhaps they all could not justly be
labelled sinister. It is evident then that our study deals with 38
private colleges, all denominational except four, and six State
colleges on land-grant bases.
The method of the thesis, therefore, has assumed a four-fold form. The
writer took nine months in making personal investigation of twelve
typical Negro colleges. One in the Northwest, one in the Northeast,
and ten in the South. Of these ten, five are in Georgia, two in South
Carolina, two in Tennessee and one in Alabama. The second method was
the questionnaire. Questionnaire No. 1 was sent to 60 educational
institutions. 38 responded in full. Eight returned the questionnaires
with some answers. These were excluded from the study because they
lacked desired data. A second questionnaire was used. It contained
data from students in the respective institutions considered typical.
The Y.M.C.A. leaders also contributed to this sort of data.
Questionnaire No. I follows:
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN NEGRO COLLEGES
1. Name of the institution, president and dean.
2. Enrollment in the college department.
3. What religious services are held by the school? Is attendance
required and what number attend?
4. What curriculum courses in religious education have you, viz:
Bible courses, Sunday School Teacher Training, Psychology of
Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Religious Pedagogy, Social
Service, Social Ethics, Methods of Social Reform, etc.
5. Which of the courses are elective and which are required? How
much credit is given for each?
6. Have you any courses in the Seminary or Divinity School for
which you give college credit? What are they?
7. Are the teachers of curriculum courses of religious education
professionally trained for their task, for example; were they
trained in a school of religious education or in a divinity
school? What institution attended and what degrees received?
8. How many students are in your curriculum courses of religious
education?
9. What voluntary religious organizations have you, for example:
the Y.M.C.A., Students Volunteer Movement, B.Y.P.U., C.E. League,
College Church, Sunday School, etc.?
10. Are the teachers or conductors of your voluntary
organizations professionally trained (viz, as in question 7)?
11. How many students are enrolled in your voluntary
organizations?
12. What opportunity have the students for the expression of
ideals received through these organizations? What Christian work
is done, such as handling boys' or girls' clubs, ministering to
the poor and infirm, orphans, foreign missions, visiting prisons,
asylums, or orphanages, teaching vacation Bible schools, etc.?
13. What is your own estimate of the religious value of your
courses and organizations? Have you any definite data upon which
to base your estimate?
14. Does your school have a special appropriation for religious
work, viz: for the Y.M.C.A., for a chaplain, college pastor,
etc.?
15. In your opinion, are the Negro colleges meeting the needs of
definite religious training?
16. Any other information or suggestion concerning religious
education in Negro colleges will be gladly received.
QUESTIONNAIRE NO. II
1. What is your estimate of the religious services at your
college, viz: Church preaching service, Sunday School, Young
People 's meetings, Week-day Prayer meetings, Week of Prayer for
colleges, Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A. or any other religious service?
(Mark each according to your estimate as Church 1, Prayer meeting
2, Y.W.C.A. 3, etc.)
2. What are the items of importance in these respective services,
the sermon, prayer, ritual, congregational singing, special
music, etc.?
3. Why did you make the preceding ranking as you did?
4. What suggestion have you to offer for the improvement of these
services? What other criticism have you to offer on these
services?
5. What is your church affiliation? For example, Baptist,
Methodist, Presbyterian, etc.?
The majority of Negro institutions--all included in this study--have
published statements concerning religious education in their
respective curricula and voluntary organizations. These statements
appear in announcements, catalogues, and reports. These have been
secured and critically reviewed. From these the spirit of religious
education, the attitude towards the work, their aim, their own ideas
as to value of results obtained from such instruction may in a large
measure be determined.
The last means resorted to were the reports of denominations on
education. These reports appear in various forms, sometimes in year
books, and at other times in the quadrennial reports, viz: the General
Conference reports of the Methodist Episcopal, the African Methodist
Episcopal, the A. M. E. Zion and Colored Methodist Episcopal Churches.
I. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN PRIVATE AND DENOMINATIONAL COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES
Let us first direct our attention to the work as it is being conducted
in private and sectarian schools. The most important factor in this
study is the teacher. What is the type of teachers in Negro
institutions, for the progressive socialization of the individuals
whom they instruct? The student's religious life will be conditioned
very likely, by the teachers in the colleges. The preparation of the
teacher then requires careful consideration.
There are 86 teachers of religious education in some form in these
institutions. Of these 86 instructors, 64 have had some degree of
professional training for their tasks. Thirty-one of those who have
received professional training are graduates of first rank
institutions. The institutions in which they were trained are among
the best in the country and of long standing. The distribution shows:
Yale College 1; Yale Divinity School 3; Drew Theological Seminary 3;
Oberlin College and Divinity School 2; Ohio Wesleyan University 1;
Columbia University 1; Union Seminary 1; Boston University 2; Colgate
University 1; Rochester Theological Seminary 2; the University of
Chicago and Divinity School 3; Princeton University 2; Newton
Theological Seminary 2; the Chicago Bible Training School 2; Grinnell
College 1; Hillsdale College 1; New York School of Philanthropy 1;
Andover Theological Seminary 1; Union Theological Seminary 1; and the
Chicago Theological Seminary 1. The remaining 33 teachers were trained
in Negro seminaries and colleges, the most of them coming from the
older institutions for Negroes, such as Wilberforce, Howard, Lincoln,
Talladega, and Fisk.
Though these latter have had some type of professional training, it
still remains for us to see the types. The classical theological
course claims most of this number as its representatives. We should be
surprised if it were otherwise, because it has been comparatively
recent that the seminaries of America have begun what they term a
reconstruction of the seminary curriculum. The most of these men and
women were middle-aged persons and had taken their courses before the
evolution took place. Of the sixty-four who have had professional
training, forty-five have had the traditional seminary courses which
contained no work in "scientific religious education." I am not at
this point arguing whether they were the losers or gainers. I am
simply stating a fact in terms which all students of religious
education understand. The remaining nineteen had received courses in
scientific religious education, either theoretical and laboratory
exercises, or laboratory courses in practical social service and
philanthropy. 57 of these teachers are ministers.
In this study it was discovered that very few of the teachers of
religious education have chairs of Religious Education. Most of them
give only part of their time to that work and their programs are
divided up to meet the urgent needs of other departments in the
colleges and universities. Three are teachers of education and give
courses in the Psychology of Religion, the Psychology of the Bible,
and the Educational Method applied to the Bible. Those three give the
rest of their time to the college and normal school courses in
Education. Four have chairs established for teaching the Bible and
give almost all of their time to this work. All others are only
occasional religious education teachers, so far as curriculum courses
are concerned.
What then is the attitude of these teachers toward their task? In the
first place we note a large amount of optimism over results achieved
or thought or hoped to be achieved. Sixty-four of them said directly,
in answer to a question concerning their attitude and estimate, that
they were optimistic. Seven were uncertain, and withheld their
opinions and three were very pessimistic indeed. The presidents and
deans answering the major questionnaire were quite certain that the
teachers had the attitude of sustained interest in the work of
religious education.
Teachers and conductors of voluntary religious courses and
organizations were found helpful. Much of the work in religious
training in Negro colleges is done by voluntary organization, some of
the most prominent of which are the Young Men's Christian Association,
the Young Women's Christian Association, the Student Volunteer
Movement associations, the Young People's Societies of the various
denominations and Temperance Societies. Sometimes they are centralized
and sometimes otherwise. But our task here is to see what preparation
the leaders and instructors of these organizations have received, the
time given and the attitude.
These volunteers are, for the most part, not professionally trained.
Only seven are so reported, and six of the seven are professors who
give Bible or social service courses upon the invitation of these
voluntary organizations. There is in all America, so far as has been
ascertained, only one Negro college that has a paid professionally
trained director of one of these organizations. Perhaps it would not
be unjust to name that institution, on account of its uniqueness, at
least. It is Howard University. The leader is the Y. M. C. A.
secretary who has been trained at the Y. M. C. A. Training School and
is a salaried officer of the University.
The most accurate account given of the amount of time spent by these
instructors and conductors is found in the reports of the Young Men's
Christian Association. There are 36 Young Men's Christian Associations
and 36 Young Women's Christian Associations in the institutions
represented in this study. The average time spent per week for the
leaders of these two organizations is one hour and forty-seven
minutes. Of this time one hour is spent in the weekly meetings and the
other forty-six minutes in meeting committees, planning for activities
of the associations, or in conducting Bible study, Mission study or
social service classes. Extra time not counted in the estimate is
given on extraordinary occasions.
The average time given to the young people's meetings is an hour and
twelve minutes. About the same would no doubt represent the other
voluntary organizations, the social service work excepted perhaps. The
present study has data only on the time spent in certain cases. The
attitude of the volunteer is, as would be expected, usually that of
optimism and sustained interest. He or she is selected by the
students, and on the basis of some manifested interest in the
particular line of endeavor.
The courses of religious education will give further light in this
study. The courses are not the only agencies, besides the teachers,
for assisting college men and women in acquiring a religious
personality which will function efficiently in society. Nevertheless,
they are one of the factors and are connected with the educative
process in such a way that any endeavor similar to the present one
must consider them. What then are the courses included in the
curricula of these institutions? How much credit is given for them,
and how many students are affected by them? These queries are
necessary to find the part which intellectual knowledge plays in the
educative process, in behalf of religious education. Does intellectual
knowledge of this particular type function religiously in the lives of
the students?
Let us first investigate the required courses of the curriculum. The
Bible is the leader in the list of requirements. Thirty-six colleges
and universities require it as a text book. Three give it as an
elective and one does not offer it at all. These exceptions are Howard
University, Talladega College, Tillotson College and Straight College
respectively. Social Ethics is prescribed by ten colleges as follows:
Allen University, Lane College, Clark University, Paine College, Roger
Williams College, Rust College, Samuel Houston College, Shorter
College, Spellman Seminary, and Virginia Theological Seminary and
College. Bishop College, Claflin University, Clark University,
Knoxville College and Samuel Houston College have required their
students at some stages in their college courses to study Christian
Evidences. Morris Brown University, Paine College, and Swift Memorial
College prescribe courses in social service or Practical Sociology.
Comparative Religion, a course in Sunday School Teacher Training, New
Testament History, Philosophy of Religion and Church History are
designated as requirements by State University, Knoxville College,
Lane College, Paine College and Knoxville College respectively.
Spellman Seminary, Tougaloo, State University, Fisk University, and
Claflin University require courses in Hebrew History. The requirements
in Negro colleges are as follows: thirty-five require the Bible as a
text book; ten prescribe Social Ethics; six prescribe Christian
Evidences; three make courses in Social Service or Practical Sociology
requirements; five prescribe Hebrew History; one college requires
Comparative Religion; one, Sunday School Teacher Training; one, New
Testament History; one, Philosophy of Religion; and two, Church
History.
We shall omit the consideration of the amount of credit given and the
number of students enrolled in these courses until we have given
attention to elective courses. Here the Sunday School Teacher Training
courses lead. They are composite courses in most instances. In other
words, they are elective courses, composed chiefly of sketches of
child psychology, the principles of teaching, school management, Old
Testament History, New Testament History, geography of Bible lands and
story telling. These courses have become very popular in Negro
colleges during the last seven or eight years.
Dr. H.C. Lyman, Superintendent of the Negro work under the auspices of
the International Sunday School Association, has done incalculable
good in the way of encouraging this particular kind of work. The great
majority of these courses have been installed as a result of his
endeavors. Only three of the 21 courses in these colleges have been
established independently of his encouragement but in most instances
by his formal installation. The following institutions offer as
electives courses in Sunday School management, organization and
teaching: Atlanta University, Benedict College, Lane College, Claflin
University, Clark University, Fisk University, Howard University,
Lincoln University, Livingstone College, Morehouse College, Morgan
College, New Orleans University, Roger Williams University, State
University, Swift Memorial College, Talladega College, Tillotson
College, Wilberforce University, Spellman Seminary, and Morris Brown
College.
Social Ethics is elective in Virginia Union University, Morris Brown
College, Fisk University, and Knoxville College. Social Service
courses are offered under the elective provision in several
institutions. Seven of them offer these courses under their
departments of sociology. They are: Atlanta University, Benedict
College, Fisk University, Howard University, Morgan College, Talladega
College, Virginia Union University and Wilberforce University.
Comparative Religion is offered at Talladega and Wilberforce. The
Principles of Religious Education and the Organization of Religious
Education have been offered recently by Talladega and Fisk. Howard
University, Knoxville College and Morris Brown College offer in their
elective systems New Testament Greek. The Bible is elective at Fisk,
Tillotson and Howard Universities. Mission Study is elective at
Talladega College.
Howard University has a wide range of electives covering a large scope
of religious subjects which are offered in the School of Religion.
They are New Testament and Old Testament introduction courses,
Comparative Religion, Church History, Hebrew, Missions, the Teachings
of Jesus, the Teachings of Paul, and New Testament biographical
courses. Wilberforce has a similar condition. They allow New Testament
Greek, Hebrew, Social Service courses, the Life of Christ and the Life
of Paul to count toward the Bachelor of Arts Degree. These courses,
however, are all given in Payne Theological Seminary which is a part
of the Wilberforce system.
Morehouse College has a combination of the elective and prescribed
system relative to the Bible. The English Bible is required in the
Freshman year but elective in all of the other years. The following
will show the courses in religion which are offered in Negro colleges
and will designate the number of institutions offering the several
courses as well as whether they are elective or prescribed.
Courses Elective Required
1. English Bible 3 36
2. Philosophy of Religion 1 1
3. New Testament Greek 3
4. Hebrew 2
5. The Principles of Religious Education 2
6. The Methods and Organization of R. E. 2
7. Social Ethics 4 10
8. Social Service 7 3
9. Comparative Religion 2 1
10. Hebrew History 5
11. New Testament History 1
12. Church History 2 2
13. Christian Evidences 6
14. Missions 2
15. New Testament Introduction 1
16. Old Testament Introduction 1
17. Sunday School Teacher Training 20 1
18. Teachings of Jesus 1
19. Teachings of Paul 1
20. Life of Jesus 1
21. Life of Paul 1
___ ___
18 10
Thus it is seen that the colleges under investigation offer 18 courses
for the religious education of those who come under their supervision
and prescribe 10 courses for the same purpose.
What is the number enrolled in these curriculum courses? In the 38
private institutions for Negroes of college rank, which come under our
observation, there were enrolled for the scholastic year 1916-1917
college students numbering 1,952. The numbers in the several colleges
run from 558 to 6. It is interesting to observe that over one-half of
that number was registered in four universities as follows: Howard
University, 558; Wilberforce University, 202; Fisk University, 208;
and Lincoln University, 163. The total is 1,131. Of the remaining 821
Negro college students over fifty per cent of them were distributed as
follows among these eight institutions: Talladega College, 66;
Virginia Union University, 66; Morehouse College, 65; Benedict
College, 60; Bishop College, 60; Atlanta University, 59; Shaw
University, 49; and Biddle University, 40. The total is 465. In these
twelve colleges and universities we have 1,596 students or over 75 per
cent of the total for all of the 38 institutions.
The investigation shows that 1,104 of the 1,952 students are enrolled
in these religious education courses. This is more than fifty per
cent. In fact, it is 56 per cent of the total number enrolled. Making
a comparison of the same institutions which have the majority of
students we note a difference in their proportion of students in
religious education to the total number enrolled. Howard University
has 98; Fisk 110; Lincoln 163; and Wilberforce 60. The total is 331,
which is less than a third of the total number enrolled. Talladega has
25; Virginia Union University 51; Shaw University 12; Benedict
College 40; Bishop College 40. And the total is 262, which is
considerably less than 50 per cent of the remaining 773. But when the
twelve schools are taken together they afford 53 per cent of the
entire number enrolled in the courses of religious education in the 38
colleges and universities.
The investigation of the amount of credit given for these religious
courses reveals facts as interesting as those relative to the number
influenced by these courses. We have selected the unit to describe the
credit given. By unit we mean a course given 4 or 5 times a week for
36 weeks. This is not intended to be technical. Most of these
institutions have 45-minute periods. There are only four exceptions of
which three have 60- and one 50-minute periods and a few 55-minute
periods. Their periods have been translated in terms of the 45-minute
periods for the sake of convenience. The units designate the amount of
credit given for both prescribed and elected courses. In the colleges
where the elective system is extensive, the units represent the
maximum amount of credit which one may receive for courses in
religion. For an itemized description of the amount of credit given
see chart on last page.
Only one college of the 38 which we had under investigation offered no
credit for courses in Bible or correlated subjects. The other 37
offered credit varying from one unit up to six units. Howard
University leads in the amount of units offered, and Knoxville
College, Virginia Union and Lincoln contend for second place each
having four and one-half units. Wilberforce takes third rank with four
and one-fourth units. Texas College, one of the smallest in numbers,
ties Fisk University for the fourth place. The whole number of
institutions investigated offer 85-1/2 units of credit for courses in
religious education.
The volunteer courses in colleges have been considered by many
exceedingly efficacious for social and religious development. These
volunteer courses have various sources. In some few colleges they are
offered by the faculty. But in the great majority of cases they come
through the channels of the voluntary religious organizations of the
respective institutions. The Young Men's Christian Association and the
Young Women's Christian Association are the most active sources. The
Young People's Societies such as the Christian Endeavor and The
Epworth League foster this project in a few of our Negro colleges but
very little data can be obtained therefrom, because they keep no
accurate records from year to year.
There are thirty-six Young Men's Christian Associations in the
colleges comprising this study. All of the co-educational institutions
and those for women especially have the Young Women's Christian
Association. Therefore, we have thirty-six Young Men's Christian
Associations and thirty-six Young Women's Christian Associations in
these private colleges and universities. Fourteen institutions report
Bible study classes for men under the direction of students, more or
less prepared. The membership in these classes is one hundred and
seventy. Only five report Bible classes for women.
Mission study classes are also offered under the supervision of the
Association in some of the colleges. The men in eleven colleges attend
the mission study classes and number three hundred nine. The women
have such provisions in two colleges with a membership of eighteen.
The numbers in these classes fluctuate from year to year depending
largely on two factors, the leaders of the respective association and
the leaders of the classes. The personnel of the student body is also
a factor. It is among the things natural that from time to time
changes in the personnel of the student body bring changes of interest
and there is no guarantee of fixity so far as numbers are concerned.
It is the ideal of the Central Associations to have the classes
sustained each year with an increased efficiency, but all of the
institutions testify to the fluctuation caused by the human element in
the problem. These courses are mostly mapped out, even to the
assigning of specific texts by accepted authors, by the International
Association.
To what extent do religious services figure in this work? Worship has
always played an important part in the life of human beings. Whether
man is in Babylonia worshipping the stars, or in Egypt at the
Isis-Osiris shrine, or whether he ascends Mount Olympus with Homer, he
is a worshipper. He may ascend to the indescribable, unthinkable
realms with Plotinus or he may with twentieth century enlightenment
claim allegiance to the God designated Father of all. Yet he worships.
It will prove interesting to note the stimulation of this instinct
under the supervision of the Negro colleges and universities.
The chapel services claim our attention first because it was
unanimously denoted in the questionnaires as one of the services which
these institutions emphasize in the life of the students; many of them
point out its significance even for the teachers. Every one of these
institutions require daily chapel attendance at a service, which lasts
on the average one-half hour among the thirty-eight institutions
investigated. In nine-tenths of the announcements or bulletins sent
from these institutions to prospective students, the chapel attendance
is emphasized as one of the rigid requirements of the institutions. In
four-fifths of these same institutions, chapel attendance is recorded
by some member of the faculty or some one deputized by the authority
vested with that right.
What value is the chapel service to the religious development? This
cannot be answered indiscriminately. The answer depends upon the
chapel activities. One should ask what happens at the chapel service.
One student answered that question thus: "The chapel is the place
where the president gets us all together to give us all a general
'cussing out' instead of taking us one by one." This expresses the
sentiment of several hundred students in those colleges included in
our study. During this investigation I visited and had reports from 21
chapel services. Out of the 21 investigated, 19 were exhibits of the
opportune reprimand, with the president or his vice-president or the
dean performing the task effectively. But it would be a gross
injustice even to the twenty-one institutions referred to, if we
should leave the impression that the sum total of chapel services is
described in the remarks relative to reprimands. A professor of one of
the leading Negro colleges, in defending the chapel service, said the
"calling down" is merely the introduction and conclusion of the chapel
exercises to give opportunity for ex-officio display.
There is obtaining in Negro institutions another condition which
perhaps does not suffice as a legitimate excuse for the daily
reprimand but at least explains it or is provocative of it. I have in
mind the indiscriminate assembling of students from the high school or
preparatory department and too often from the grammar school along
with the college students. Very often the official censor of morals
aims his remarks at some grammar school or high school character of
notoriety, but is democratic enough to include "some of you students."
There are only two of these colleges of the entire 38 where the high
school students are separated from the college students for chapel
services. In all cases, except these two, they all assemble in the
same auditorium at the same time with the same privileges and under
the same circumstances. The most prominent index of distinction
between a Junior college student and a Junior High School student in
chapel is the locus of the seats.
The chapel exercises are led by the president, chaplain university
pastor, or some member of the faculty. Occasionally local and visiting
ministers are asked to serve in this capacity. Where the members of
the faculty lead they either come in their turn serving every morning,
or whenever chapel services take place, until relieved by members of
the faculty who likewise serve for a designated period.
The nature of the service varies very slightly in these colleges and
universities. One might readily get the impression that they all have
the same model. They all begin with religious music selected in most
cases by the one who has the music of the institution under
supervision. Scripture reading or a brief moral, æsthetic, or ethical
address follows. Then prayer usually closing with the Lord's Prayer.
In seven of the institutions the scripture reading follows the prayer.
A song usually closes the devotional period, but not the chapel
exercises. It is subsequent to this song that the moral admonition
undisguised usually follows. This is the time when visitors of
distinction and otherwise, entertain or detain the students.
The attitude of the students has much to do with the religious value
received from the chapel service. All of the authorities have
estimated that their particular chapel services have excellent effects
upon the students, judging from their attitude at chapel, which they
describe as fair. They are confronted, however, with the problem not
so easily solved in answering the question. It is extremely difficult
for them to distinguish just what part of that attitude comes from the
influence of rules and regulations regarding chapel attendance and
what part comes from choice.
One of the common religious agencies among Negro colleges is the
college church. Twenty-nine of these colleges have church services
every Sunday, either morning, afternoon or evening. In twelve
institutions they have preaching twice a day. All of them require
attendance at church. The nine which have no preaching service at
their places every Sunday have it occasionally and make up the deficit
by requiring the students to attend a neighboring church, in most
cases a church of the denomination under whose auspices the
institution is operated. The students attending so far as the
requirements of the colleges are concerned are those who live in
college dormitories. In no case has this requirement affected students
living in the community, beyond campus control. This means that the
attendance at the college church aside from that given by those under
dormitory supervision is voluntary. A large proportion of the
students, therefore, attend other churches, the where and why of which
is not known by the investigator. The proportion attending the college
churches, however, is ascertained.
The "boarding" students are the church goers so far as the college
churches are concerned. The number of college students living in the
dormitories of these various institutions is 651 or just a fraction
over one-third of the entire number enrolled in the thirty-eight
private institutions. The other students, numbering 1,301, go whither
they please so far as the institutions are concerned, and no data as
to the number attending the college church are available. In these
churches the pastors are usually the presidents or some other member
of the faculty. In two instances the pastors are called chaplains and
have other religious functions during week days. In four cases, the
pastors and presidents are identical. This assures the college church
which operates on the basis just stated, a good pastor. There are
eighteen which have these pastors. Eleven have no pastors or chaplains
but invite ministers of the city or neighboring cities to conduct
their religious services on Sunday. This service is had at the time
which is most convenient for pastors of local churches. The most
frequently used hour is from three or three-thirty to four-thirty or
five in the afternoon.
The established churches have prayer meeting during the week on one of
the following nights: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday. Just
why Friday night is boycotted one is unable to say. The "luck"
psychology may not have had any part in establishing the tradition
along that line. Here again we find the law of the "Medes and
Persians" working effectively in securing corporeal attendance. The
students are required to be there and are there in a body at least.
The times for convening these prayer meetings are chiefly two. Just
after supper in nine of the institutions and at the close of the
"study" period in twenty-five. Four have the hours between seven and
eight o'clock in the evening or thereabouts.
The Sunday School is a prevalent religious agency among the Negro
colleges and universities. We find a Sunday School reported in
thirty-seven of these. In these Sunday Schools the teachers who reside
at the college dormitories constitute a part of the Sunday School
faculty. Some of the advanced students are used as teachers and
officers.
Another phase of religious service prescribed by several colleges is
the Young People's Society. They are all of the same general nature.
They take different names such as the Epworth League, The Baptist
Young People's Union, the Allen Christian Endeavor and so forth,
depending in the main upon their denominational affiliation. Thirty
colleges expect their boarding students to be present at these
meetings. These thirty institutions have 388 students of college rank
living in the dormitories of these respective institutions. Thus three
hundred eighty-eight students attend these Sunday afternoon or Sunday
evening meetings.
Five colleges which are co-educational have the "quiet" hour for girls
on Sunday afternoon. It was designed to be religious or semi-religious
at least. Each girl goes to her room and remains there quiet for a
designated period of time. During this time she is expected to read
her Bible or some religious book, or engage in some meditation which
is in keeping with the holy day. Where this idea originated, the
writer is unable to say. He, with those who have observed this
mystical quiet hour, is puzzled concerning its religious efficacy. One
naturally asked those in authority why not a "quiet" hour for the boys
as well. There seems to be either a very high compliment paid to the
boys or quite an unpardonable insinuation on the inherited tendencies
of the girls.
The nature of the Sunday services and the Sunday School is evident
without further elaboration. Perhaps a more detailed description of
the prayer meeting and the Young People's meeting is in order. A
common element is seen in the prayer meetings, "sentence prayers" and
singing. Several students think I should add a third, namely,
sleeping. Another very frequent activity is the testimony of religious
achievements, disappointments and hopes. Eleven colleges have topics
which are posted each week prior to the meeting. These topics are
religious in the orthodox sense but three of the eleven have pushed
far away from the shore of orthodoxy and discuss current topics of
vital interest. In these three institutions the meeting re-resembles a
forum where every one expresses his opinion, and exhausts his energy
on favorite themes. The Young People's meetings without exception,
according to reports, have two common phases. The first is the study
and discussion of the specified topics, accompanied of course with
music and prayers. This might be called the devotional phase of the
meeting. Then there is a change in program, in which the literary side
is given precedent. Music of a classical nature constitutes the
feature of the program.
One of the all important interrogations in this connection is the
feeling of the students concerning these religious organizations
mentioned. Do they function in the lives of the students? Do they feel
that these organizations are vital to them or do they feel as one
student in an eastern university? When interviewed he said: "Oh, well,
I guess they are pretty good. I suppose they are among the necessary
evils of college life."
An extensive interview of the students at seven institutions revealed
some interesting facts. The presidents or deans from the thirty-eight
colleges gave some data and much opinion on the benefits which the
students derived from these organizations, according to the students
testimonies and the observation of these presidents or deans. I am not
inclined to place too much emphasis upon the students' testimony to
the presidents, because, the psychological situation of a student who
is asked by a college president what he thinks of the church service,
Sunday School and Epworth League is not conducive to frankness. This
is especially true of students who know what the president wants him
to say. It is a sort of begging the question. The average college
student is apt to have too much respect for the president's feelings
to be frank in such a case. He likewise has a keen sense of
self-preservation. He does not want to incur the displeasure of the
president.
In the case of five other institutions, therefore, I had students, Y.
M. C. A. workers, interview the leaders of various activities in these
colleges with a view to getting their candid opinion and the
reflection of the opinion of the other students. In these various ways
we secured data which represented a high degree of probability to say
the least. Ninety-five per cent of the students in Negro colleges
reckon the church service on Sunday a beneficial agency for religious
functioning. They vary greatly as to the degree of good derived. In
eleven institutions the singing and liturgy are placed first in the
rank of importance and the prayer last. These same colleges think the
sermon takes second place. By many of this same number congregational
singing is given a very high place. The general complaint against the
sermon is that it is too dry. I think what is meant by this is that
the sermon lacks enthusiasm.
There may be two reasons for the impression of the dryness of the
sermon, if the complaint is justified. In the first place, a large
number of the college pastors begin their sermons on the assumption
that a student's religious life is essentially different from that of
the average person in a congregation eight blocks away in another
church, a matter which cannot always be taken for granted. That
assumption conditions his sermons in character of composition and
especially in delivery. The minister works on the assumption that the
college man will be interested and benefited by science, philosophy
and so forth, regardless of how it is presented. In the reaction
against excessive emotion he too often swings to the other extreme.
Again the college students in these universities have come from such a
variety of environments. It would be a safe estimate to say that in
all Negro colleges 90 per cent of the students are Baptist and
Methodists. The registrar's records from these 38 organizations show
the following: 983 Baptists; 790 Methodists; and 179 divided among the
other denominations. This gives the Baptist and Methodists 90.8 per
cent of the total enrollment in these 38 institutions. This means then
that 90.8 per cent of these students have had a Baptist-Methodist
environment for eighteen or twenty years. Well, what does that matter
so far as the estimate of the value of sermons delivered to them? It
means that, at least, it is not likely that the impression through
childhood, youth, and young manhood or womanhood will be easily offset
by the college religious environment in one, two, three or four years.
Ideals theoretical, of course, change remarkably, but inevitably some
elements of satisfaction afforded by the earlier environment will be
demanded in the college environment by the students. Then the
Baptist-Methodist environment among the Negroes is, if anything at
all, an enthusiastic environment. The sermon is one of the conspicuous
features. A student affected by such an environment does not
necessarily demand all of the crudities but he does not like the swing
to the other extreme.
It is the opinion of students and teachers that the Sunday School is
beneficial. From answers received it is calculated that 98 per cent of
all the college students believe in the Sunday School's beneficent
influence in student life. Several included in their remarks criticism
of the literature used. The same beneficent functioning was attested
to in behalf of the Young People's meetings, but the hammer falls
heavily on the mid-week prayer meeting, out of which very few see any
good come. One dubs "the prayer meeting, the driest, deadest event,
which takes place just at the time when it is most difficult to be
interested in such." Many other similar expressions concerning the
prayer meetings were made. It was noted, however, that the schools
which had been diverged the fartherest from the traditional prayer
meeting had the most good to say in behalf of the prayer meeting. In
the great majority of instances the opinion is that the prayer meeting
is a bore and should be abandoned. A student in one of the southern
colleges, expressing what he had reasons for believing was the
student's attitude towards prayer meetings, said: "It isn't
interesting and isn't even a good sleeping place because one cannot
stretch out as he desires."
The general attitude towards the services on Sunday, however, is
favorable. These services are considered beneficial. The students
feel that they are moral and religious supports, and in all cases they
believe with slight modifications that these services could be more
effective. A great premium is placed upon congregational singing and
the liturgy in the services.
The week of prayer for colleges has become in these institutions as
universal as the national holidays. This occasion affects the regular
routine of school work in 22 colleges and universities. It is
conducted variously. In some colleges the effort consists of a series
of prayer and song services offering opportunity to those who have not
made a decision for the better life to do so openly. Their names are
recorded, and they become members of the college church, where there
is one. Otherwise they are provided for through other means. Those who
fail to make decisions are made special objects of moral and religious
endeavor during the following months. In the other cases of 18
colleges, a religious survey is made of the student body, usually
through the Young Men's Christian Association and the Young Women's
Christian Association. This survey is made sometimes prior to the week
of prayer and personal workers are selected to do campaign work which
is to culminate in decisions during the week of prayer. The week of
prayer service is conducted by the president, college pastor, or
chaplain usually assisted by the members of the divinity school where
there is one connected with the institution. Nine colleges have this
convocation led by some strong minister from the community. Four
surrender the entire task to a professional evangelist.
The students and officials of these colleges report some very
significant results and all of them are agreed in this: the week of
prayer is a very valuable harvester for gathering the fruits of
previous endeavor, as well as a decision promoter itself. There is no
unanimity of opinion relative to the best way of conducting the week
of prayer, except that the method will vary with conditions. Eight
college pastors and chaplains declare it injurious in the long run to
have professional evangelists. The others except four did not know,
as they had never given the evangelist a test. They were at least
dubious about making the experiment.
Some of the results reported from the week of prayer are as follows:
For the scholastic year 1916-1917 there resulted 322 confessions for
the better life. The most of these were followed by what the
presidents of these colleges denominated religious growth. In these
colleges there were, prior to the week of prayer, 390 confessors. This
means then that subsequent to the week of prayer 68 non-confessors
remained among the college men and women. This shows also that prior
to the week of prayer one-fifth of a student body of 1,952 were
non-confessors. The week of prayer was the occasion of transforming
82.5 per cent of that one-fifth into confessors. The Negro colleges
subsequent to the week of prayer 1916-1917, therefore, were 96.5 per
cent Christian as a result of the week of prayer, in part at least.
Just how much the personal work, the Christian environment and other
factors during other times prior to the week of prayer played is
conjecture.
Perhaps it will suffice to state that each of these colleges has
morning devotions every day at the breakfast hour. They are very
terse, consisting chiefly of the Lord's Prayer or a blessing sung or
recited. Seventeen have night devotions closing the study hour except
on the night appointed for the weekly prayer meeting. The benefit of
the dining-room is not easily detected. The enthusiasm often
manifested may be due to anxiety to dine. The interest due to that
desire, and that due to the religious stimuli, then and thereafter are
not easily distinguished one from the other.
Voluntary religious services are conducted under the auspices of the
religious organizations in the colleges and universities. These
organizations present quite a variety in name. But most of them are
very similar in function. Some of the organizations which are included
in the study of required religious services will be given space under
this topic because while they are required in some colleges, they are
voluntary in others. The organizations are the Young Men's Christian
Association, the Young Women's Christian Association, Missionary
Societies, Temperance Societies, The Student Volunteer Movement, the
Circle of King's Daughters, the White Cross League, and Young People's
Societies of Endeavor.
The Young Men's Christian Association is the most popular among the
men of the institutions, and the Young Women's Christian Association
is the choice of the women. The reasons for this situation is fairly
obvious. In the first place, the Young Men's and Young Women's
Christian Associations have been stimulated more by the international
Associations than any other similar parent organization has stimulated
its offspring. There is a continuous program, and alert men whose
business it is to see that these associations go. They are paid good
salaries for that purpose. Then the very fact that the Y. M. C. A. is
international in scope and system has its bearing upon the local
branches in the various colleges. What has been asserted concerning
the Y. M. C. A. might likewise be said about the Y. W. C. A.
There is, no doubt, another reason explanatory of the popularity of
these associations. Those who are in authority in the international
Association have studied student life with an eye single to meeting
the needs of men and women so environed. Perhaps then, these
organizations appeal more to men and women than the others. In
1916-1917 these colleges had enrolled in the Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W.
C. A. 1,252 students. They estimated an average attendance at their
Sunday meetings of 940, including men and women. These meetings are
about an hour long. One feature which the men respond to very readily,
according to the reports, is the participation in the discussion of
the topic after a leader has opened it. There is, however, an evident
lack of accurate records of the effect of these services upon the
student life in these institutions. Howard University, Fisk and
Talladega Colleges have made the most progress along this line.
Eleven colleges reported temperance societies which have occasional
services. These are Lane College, Fisk University, Howard University,
Conroe College, Edward Waters College, Livingstone College, New
Orleans University, Texas College, Roger Williams University, Samuel
Houston College, and Shaw University. Wilberforce and Benedict have
student Volunteer services.
The following twelve institutions have missionary societies holding
services fortnightly: Howard University, Morgan College, Morris Brown
College, New Orleans University, Rust College, Samuel Houston College,
Shaw University, Swift Memorial College, Virginia Union University,
Wilberforce University, Spellman Seminary and Virgina Theological
Seminary and College.
Eight of the thirty-eight colleges under consideration encourage the
Young People's Sunday evening meetings but they have not made
attendance compulsory believing, they say, that there should be some
opportunity for choice in respect to attending some of these meetings.
They report a large attendance and think that compulsion would add
very little to the attendance and detract perhaps from the
effectiveness of such meetings. Why this point of view does not hold
true in respect to the Sunday school which is required by these same
institutions one is at a loss to say.
EXPRESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE NEGRO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
We have investigated the knowledge of religious education derived from
religious education courses in the curricula of thirty-eight colleges
as well as those offered by voluntary associations. We have likewise
reviewed the preparation of the teachers of these courses, the time
given to the teaching of them, the attitude of the teachers towards
the work, and the character and amount of worship given by these
students. It now remains for us to examine the expressional activities
of these students. What opportunity have they for the expression of
their religious thought and devotional attitude in actual service? The
means to that end are not to be viewed lightly, if the education
principle, no impression without expression, is worth anything in the
process of religious growth. The religious laboratories must be as
vital for the students, as the chemical or biological laboratory.
35 of these schools report Sunday School work of some kind for 360
students. This work is of the general kinds. There are many who teach
in the College Sunday Schools. 187 teach in Mission Sunday Schools in
the vicinity of the college. 400 teach vacation Sunday Schools in the
various localities to which they go during the summer vacation. These
360 students doing Sunday School work during the scholastic year are
distributed among 23 institutions. There is a likelihood of more
colleges furnishing teachers for this work but they have not reported
it because they keep no record of that work. The schools reporting
are: Allen University, Atlanta University, Clark University, Spellman
Seminary, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College, Howard University,
Fisk University, Lincoln University, Edward Water's College, Lane
College, Claflin University, Conroe College, Benedict College,
Livingstone College, Morgan College, Roger William University, Shaw
University, Virginia Union University, Tougaloo University, Talladega
College, Wilberforce University, and Rust College. Fisk University and
Virginia Union conduct mission Sunday Schools. They seem to have
unique places relative to the Sunday School service.
Boys Clubs are not numerous among the activities participated in by
the Negro college students. Only four report such an organization.
Wilberforce has a local Boy's Scout Club conducted under the auspices
of the Young Men's Christian Association. Howard University, Fisk
University and Morehouse College conduct boys clubs and some of the
men find excellent opportunity for service. The following make visits
to prisons and render the inmates service: Knoxville College, Benedict
College, Virginia Union University, Atlanta University, and Morris
Brown College.
There are several institutions that minister to the poor and
dependents through the various voluntary organizations. Wilberforce
distributes a limited number of Bibles, and other necessities to the
community in which it is situated. It does this through the Young
Women's Christian Association. Morgan College, Fisk University, Morris
Brown College, Benedict College, Morehouse College, Edward Waters
College, Virginia Union, Talladega College, and Biddle University do
similar work for the poor.
The colleges and universities rendering other social service such as
work among the boys at the reform schools, visiting and ministering to
orphans, assisting at Old Folk's homes and asylums, are Fisk
University, Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morgan College,
Howard University, Talladega College, Virginia Union University, Shaw
University, Biddle University, Allen University, and Bishop
College.[2] Fisk University has a university settlement house, the
Bethlehem House, which operates under the social science department.
This affords the Fisk students a splendid opportunity to serve society
at first hand.
All of the thirty-eight colleges and universities give opportunity for
service in the college churches or in the churches where the college
worship. All have some students serving in the choirs. In the
churches, which are college churches in the real sense of the work,
that is, regularly organized with pastor and officers the students are
largely the officers. Thirty college presidents think this is splendid
expressional activity.
Five institutions use their missionary societies to help support some
one whom they know on the foreign mission field. The other seven
reporting organized missionary societies all have what might be called
foreign mission rallies and give the proceeds to that work. In the
most of these cases, the money goes to the foreign field through
denominational channels.
Service in the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. as chairman and members of
committees gives a small number opportunity for expressional activity
of a kind. The same may be said for the other voluntary organizations.
The financing of religious education in these colleges is significant.
Question number fourteen in the general questionnaire is: _Does your
college have a special appropriation for religious work, viz, for the
Y. M. C. A., for Chaplain, College Pastor and so forth?_ All of these
institutions except four answered this question in the negative.
Morgan College has an appropriation for the chaplain and special
appropriation for a teacher of Bible. Fisk University and Lincoln have
Bible chairs endowed. Howard University has special appropriations for
the Y. M. C. A. Tougaloo has a part of the college pastor's salary
appropriated by the American Missionary Association. The others have
no appropriation which pertains to the special religious work. This
means that the religious work in these colleges has a decided
financial handicap of which they are all very conscious. The special
work is financed by subscriptions, funds raised by entertainments, and
the donations of the students and teachers. This means a fluctuation
from time to time depending upon the generosity of the donors. An
endeavor to secure funds to carry out the programs of these voluntary
organizations usurps much of the time and energy of those who lead
them.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
This study embraces the following State institutions offering complete
college curricula or doing college grade of work: Florida Agricultural
and Mechanical College, Georgia State College for Colored Youths,
Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College, Alabama Agricultural and
Mechanical College, Agricultural and Technical College of North
Carolina, and the West Virginia Collegiate Institute.
The teachers of religion in none of these institutions are
professionally trained. They are usually laymen who are teaching in
the other departments of the institution. The time given varies but
averages fifty-five minutes per week each. Their attitude toward the
subject of religious education is optimistic. The very fact that all
of them are volunteers save three shows that there is an interest in
the process.
Four State colleges offer Teacher Training courses but they are all
elective as might be expected since they are State colleges. In all
cases these colleges would have to make the most of these courses
elective in order to avoid a conflict with State constitutions. Note,
however, that Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College offer
courses in social service, which are required. Of the 325 college
students enrolled in these six State institutions 165 of these are
enrolled in the religious education courses. This is more than
one-third of the entire number, a larger proportion than in the
private institutions.
The State colleges have voluntary religious organizations, but none of
the conductors are professionally trained. These courses are of the
same type as those found in the private institutions, except for the
denominational features. The Young Men's Christian Association, the
Young Women's Christian Association and the Temperance Clubs are those
found in these institutions and there are enrolled for this work 213
men and women.
Alcorn A. and M. College has five men in the mission study class and
five in the Bible study class. Florida A. and M. College has eight in
the Bible study class and three in the mission study. The Georgia
State College has twenty in the Bible and the Alabama Agricultural and
Mechanical College sixteen. The Agricultural and Technical College of
Greensboro, North Carolina, reports none in the Bible and mission
study classes.
Religious services are not foreign to the State institutions for
Negroes. They are the daily chapel exercises, Sunday morning
preaching, Sunday School, Sunday afternoon or evening services, and
the weekly prayer meeting. The chapel exercises are made compulsory
for the students. The nature of the service is very much like that in
the denominational and private institutions described above.
The Sunday services are as conspicuous in these State colleges for
Negroes as they are in the private and denominational institutions.
Attendance is required by every one of the State institutions being
considered. Two of these have chaplains: the Agricultural and
Mechanical College of Alabama and Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Mississippi. In two instances the students attend
neighboring churches and have preachers from the outside to minister
unto them. Sunday School is conducted at each of the State colleges
and attendance is required. Each has on Sunday evening some kind of
meeting which the students are required to attend.
The prayer meeting in Negro colleges, State as well as private and
denominational, is a permanent organization. Each of these State
colleges report that the students are required to attend the prayer
meeting. As there are 187 boarding students in the State colleges of
college rank, this means a fair attendance at Sunday services and
prayer in these institutions. The other 188 attend service
promiscuously.
The week of prayer for colleges is observed by all, and all regard it
a valuable asset to the religious life of their student bodies. In
1916-1917 prior to the week of prayer 119 of the 325 students of
college rank enrolled in these State colleges were not professed
Christians. Subsequent to the week of prayer 24 of the one hundred
nineteen were left. Thus before the week of prayer there was 63.3 per
cent professed Christians. The week of prayer was instrumental in
reducing the percentage of non-confessors. After the week of prayer
92.6 per cent of all of the students were professors of Christianity.
Here as in the other institutions the morning and evening devotions
are daily for terse periods. They precede breakfast, in the dining
halls and at the close of the study periods. The services of the Y. M.
C. A., the Y. W. C. A., and the temperance societies are very much
like the services of these organizations in the denominational and
private colleges and universities. The students in State colleges have
feelings similar to those in private colleges about religious
services. Very few are defenders of the weekly prayer meetings.
Expressional activities at State colleges are not wanting. The six
colleges report service rendered in the college church and voluntary
religious organizations. Seventy-seven teach Sunday School. Five of
these colleges are situated in the rural districts and there are
students who serve the rural communities in church work. All of them
do some extension work of a religious nature. Periodically the
students are sent out to investigate conditions among the poor and to
offer services to relieve these conditions. Under this social service
are lectures and demonstrations portraying ideals which are genuinely
religious. The great majority of the students of college grade are
assistants to the professors in this work. Five do special social
service work during three holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New
Year's Day. They take food, fuel, clothes and money to the needy of
their communities.
THE CONCEPTION OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN NEGRO COLLEGES
An exhaustive psychological analysis of the conception of religious
education is not the aim of this part of the study. But from certain
data which has come out of the study one is able to obtain ideas
concerning the view of the educators on the aim of religious education
and the degree in which this aim is being attained. We note in the
first place that all of those who answered the questionnaires were
cognizant of the religious motives in education. Perhaps a few typical
quotations will emphasize that. "I think much personal good is done.
The student gets a clearer idea of the Bible and its value in the
world today." "I regard the course in religion as vital and essential
to any thorough education." "The religious value of the course given
is inestimable." "The religious training through these courses gives
education the impetus which pushes it on to its goal." "The religious
courses are regarded as valuable adjuncts to the educational
institutions." "I have abundant data from graduates of this
institution and other individuals of our constituency confirming our
opinion of the abiding gains for character and efficiency through the
influence of these courses and their expression in service."
"Experience is the basis of the conclusion that the religious work in
the colleges gives sympathetic training for efficient service. More
attention must be given to our curricula in this respect." "The
students who are most exemplary in worthwhile endeavor are prominent
in these courses and organizations." "I have a high estimate of the
actual work done by these students and of the development of their own
character."
An examination of the statements concerning the religious aims and
privileges published in the catalogues of these schools show that,
theoretically at least, they have begun their task in directing the
educative process with a consciousness of the choice place of moral
and spiritual culture in the task. To illustrate, let us note the
following: "The aim of all the religious work in our institution is to
build up a strong Christian character, to develop the spirit of
service, and to train in the methods and the habit of religious work."
"This work aims at teaching colored young people how to want the best
things in life, and at training them in ability to get those things by
skill of hand and power of mind. Character and efficiency are thus the
twin essentials of the ideal. It would enable its pupils to make a
sufficient living, teach them to live efficient lives, and inspire
them to render society sufficient service. To hold such an aim
thoroughgoingly is to be positively Christian." "To all who are
inclined to respect the Christian religion and its institutions, the
welcome hand will be heartily extended; but to those whose influence
will be prejudicial to religion and good morals, no protracted stay
can be allowed; since the success of an educational institution is
strictly proportional to its moral tone." "Self-mastery, symmetrical
character, high ideals and purposes are regarded as the chief ends of
education. Special attention is given to the spiritual needs of the
students. In the life and discipline of the school, constant effort is
made to inculcate Christian principles." These are some of the typical
statements published in catalogues, announcements and in other college
advertising media.
One will note that although the great majority of these colleges and
universities are sectarian they have refrained, theoretically at
least, from obtruding sectarianism in the religious education. They
have made sectarianism take at least a secondary place. This is
further strengthened by the fact that there are in these
denominational schools 36 Catholics who apparently have met no
offensive media of instruction.
The results justify the following statement concerning the conception
of religious education in Negro colleges and universities: They
conceive religious education to be no quantum of doctrine but a life
lived efficiently, being animated by the social service motive. Thus
religious education is social evolution, and ninety-nine per cent of
those in charge of these institutions have conceptions of religious
education becoming more efficient than it now is. As proof of this, I
may cite the results of their answers to question; fifteen in the
general questionnaire. This question is: "_In your opinion are the
Negro colleges meeting the needs of definite religious training?_"
Every one's answer except one might be summarized thus: Some good has
been accomplished but we are far from the real goal. We need
reconstruction and a new impetus.
The emphasis which they are putting on expressional activity as an
essential in the process of religious education does seem to indicate
that they regard self activity. Wherever the social service was very
scant the one reporting felt it his duty to give an apology for the
actual conditions and express a hope of better results in the future.
This showed that they felt it the vital factor in the progressive
socialization of the individuals. The place of prominence given to
worship, to religious services on Sunday and in the week is either an
index to their conception concerning the value of worship or else an
index of their habit toward orthodoxy. Circumstances surrounding these
schools would suggest the former for the larger number of these
institutions.
SOME CURRENT CONCEPTIONS OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN RELATION TO GENERAL
EDUCATION
Religious education is considered a part of general education and is
included under that genus. What is general education? For a long time
education was defined in terms of intellect, but that ground is no
longer tenable. Spencer said: "Education is the preparation for
complete living." Modern educators reject this as an inadequate
statement of education. Education does not merely prepare for
something in the future. It endeavors to fill one full of life, and
human experience during the educative process. Education must be
expressed in social terms. James describes education as the
organization of acquired habits of conduct and tendencies to behavior.
This emphasizes the psychological side.
It was thought that the aim of education could be expressed in purely
individual terms. It was said to be the harmonious development of all
the powers of the individual. Dewey attacks this definition showing
that there is no criterion for telling what is meant by the terms
used. We do not know what a power is; we do not know what is meant by
development or harmony. A power is a power with reference to the use
to which it is put, the function it has to serve. There is nothing in
the make-up of human beings, taken in any isolated way which furnishes
controlling ends and serves to mark out powers. Unless we have the aim
supplied by social life we have only the old faculty psychology to
furnish us with ideas of powers in general or the specific powers.[3]
Dewey defines education as the regulation of the process of coining
to share in the social consciousness. And the majority of educators
use social terms to define education. Soares has this conception in
mind when he gives the following definition of education. "Education
is a scientifically directed process of developing progressive
socialized personality." But to achieve personality one must achieve
sympathy and sympathy is one of the concerns of religion. Hence all
true education involves religion.
What is religion? Wright in the _American Journal of Theology_, Volume
XVI, page 385, quotes Leuba as defining religion as a belief in a
psychic superhuman power. Wright has objections to this definition on
the ground of its narrowness. He attempts to add breadth to the
definition in: "Religion is the endeavor to secure the conservation of
socially recognized values, through specific actions that are believed
to evoke some agency different from the ordinary ego of the individual
or from other merely human beings, and that imply a feeling of
dependence upon this agency. Religion is the social attitude toward
the non-human environment." This is not synonymous with sectarianism,
creeds, dogmas or ceremonies. Creeds and ceremonies have to do with
ecclesiasticism not with religion per se. Creeds are developments of
theology and dogma is an outgrowth of religion and not religion. Modes
of worship developed into rites and ceremonies are ecclesiastical
means of fostering the religious spirit but not religion. Religion is
not a feeling to be imposed from without. Religion is a life and a
life-long process. "The religious life is the response the heart of
man makes to God, as the heart of the universe. The religious person
is one who is conscious of his divinity because of his kinship with
the universe through God, and who because of this consciousness seeks
fellowship with God and the Godly."
Having arrived at the conclusion concerning education and religion
which are given by some of the most representative students of the
subjects, let us ascertain some conceptions of religious education. As
indicated in the beginning of this topic, religious education is not
regarded as a separate entity. It is a part of the process of
efficient education. The human organism is a unit. Life is a whole and
connects physical, mental and religious phases. The whole personality
is the object for consideration for the educator. The emphasis in
education varies from physical to mental and from mental to religious,
or social. When the emphasis is placed on the social or religious
phase the procedure may be properly called religious education.
Professor Hartshorn carries the social idea to an adequate conclusion.
He says: "Religious education is the process by which the individual
in response to a controlled environment, achieves a progressive,
conscious social[4] order based on regard for the worth and destiny of
every individual." Professor Peabody states the matter in the
following words:[5] "Religious education is the drawing out of the
religious nature, the clarifying and strengthening of religious
ideals, the enriching and rationalizing of the sense of God.... The
end of religious education is service...." Dewey's idea of education
is much akin to the current conceptions of religious education. "The
moral trinity of the school is social intelligence, social power and
social interests. Our resources are, (1) the life of the school as a
social institution in itself, (2) methods of learning and doing work,
and (3) the curriculum."[6]
The goal of general and religious education is the same; namely, the
getting of the individual into the highest and most desirable
relationship with both the human and non-human elements, in his
environment. The standard of each is found in the functional
relationship of each to society. Modes of expression and emphasis may
vary but the ideals for both are the same. Dr. Haslett[7] has given an
unique representation of this conception. "Religious education," says
he, "is closely related to secular education and is largely dependent
upon it. The fundamental laws and principles of psychology and of
education require to be recognized as central." Professor Coe[8]
reminds us, however, that "religious education is not and cannot be a
mere application of any generalities in which the university
departments of education deal. It is not a mere particular that gets
its meaning or finds its test in the general." Religious education
deals with original data and with specific problems that rarely appear
in the instruction that is called 'general' and that grow out of the
specific nature of our educational purpose. In the analysis of these
data and in the determination of the method, we can and must use
matter contained in general courses of education. But the field of
study of religious education is not exhausted there, but is so
specific and yet so broad as properly to constitute a recognized
branch of educational practice. The religious purpose in religious
education yields the point of view and the principles of
classification that are important for religious educators.
The conceptions of religious education just passed in review warrant
certain deductions. Any institution which meets adequately the
requirements of religious education must have genuinely religious men
and women in the entire teaching and official force. Such persons will
determine the atmosphere and spirit of the institution. These teachers
should have clear conceptions of the ideals of religious education.
The blind cannot lead the blind. The students must be trained along
three fundamental lines, of the religious life. First, he must have
some of the intellectual value of religion. He must have social
knowledge. He must have the opportunity of expressing the devotional
attitude in worship. He must have the outlet of religious energy in
social service. The duty of the college will be far from discharged
unless it makes provision for laboratory religion where there is a
working place for each member. Religion is a life and the college
should be a society where this life may be lived in its fullest
extent, encouraging practical altruism and giving the protection which
an ideal society affords against demoralization.
EVOLUTION OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN NEGRO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
The problem of religious education in Negro institutions is real. On
the basis of the investigation we are able to point out some prominent
phases of the problem. The first element of this problem is the
teacher. There are in Negro colleges, 22 teachers of religious
education who have had no professional training for the work. This
means that one-fourth of the entire corp of teachers of religion in
these institutions are without the prestige, at least, of even the
semblance of professional training. Two main causes account for this.
These institutions have not those who are professionally trained on
their faculties and they lack funds to procure the service of such
persons. In the next place they think it is not necessary.
One observation here is important. These services seem to be
significant in proportion to the participation in them by the students
themselves. The Sunday School and the Young People's meetings are the
most popular services for the students. They do the things in which
they have a volitional interest. We cannot thrust our religious
experiences upon the students from without. They must achieve their
own religious experience in contact with the environment in which they
live. The prayer meetings in all except four institutions follow a
program which was effective for those who lived in another
civilization. The traditional Negro prayer meeting does not function
religiously in the life of the Negro college student.
One of the big problems of religious education is compulsion in regard
to religious services. Where should that stop? Many are beginning to
think that the religious value of the services is often nullified by
the compulsory attendance. There are many conscientious objectors
among the students who think the removal of compulsion would be
conducive to better religious development. But the likelihood of some
swinging from one extreme to the other is very great. It is still a
problem left for the religious educators in the colleges to solve. The
solution must result in the conservation of the good found in the
compulsory system and the good to be found in freedom of choice.
Expressional activities are increasing in Negro colleges but with few
exceptions these are inadequate in scope and number. It is true that
not enough students are able to share in the social service projects.
This is really one of, if not the most important factors in religious
education. Men gain religious power by acting out their beliefs,
allowing their convictions to flow out into service.
There is an unfortunate lack of coordination of religious agencies in
Negro colleges. Frequently we find several organizations attempting to
do the same thing and each makes a miserable failure in the attempt.
More than that, this lack of coordination and correlation results in
duplications which surely mean wasted energy and non-effectiveness. If
all of the religious agencies were supervised in such a way that each
would know his specific task and would not overlap that of other
agencies, much more effective work would be the result.
There are signs of hope in the religious education of these Negro
colleges. The almost unanimous recognition of the religious motive in
efficient education by the educators and the manifest consciousness of
needs of better religious education have been mentioned. There are
others. An increasing number of trained teachers from Northern,
Eastern and Western colleges and universities is evident. These men
and women are coming from the institutions where the points of view
and training represented in the previous chapter are found. The summer
schools of the various colleges and universities in the North, East
and West are offering many of these modern religious education courses
and larger numbers of the teachers of religious education are availing
themselves of the opportunities. Much literature of religious
education published recently is finding its way to these schools, the
most notable of which is the _Religious Education Magazine_.
TABLE SHOWING STATISTICS ON RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN NEGRO COLLEGES
Units of Credit Given |
Students in Voluntary Courses of Religious Education | |
Students in Curriculum Courses of Education | | |
College Students | | | |
---------------------------------------+---------+----------+---------+
Agricultural and M. College 20 15 11
Agricultural and T. Col. of N. C 35 11 30
Alcorn A. and M. College 152 40 115
Allen University 38 38 30 3
Atlanta University 59 12 50 1/4
Arkansas Baptist College 16 16 15 2-1/4
Biddle University 40 40 20 1
Benedict College 60 40 22 2
Bishop College 60 40 20 1
Claflin University 20 20 14 3-1/2
Clark University 21 7 14 2
Conroe College 14 10 12 1
Edward Waters College 32 15 2
Fisk University 208 110 90 4
Florida Agricultural and M. College 36 15 20
Georgia State College 29 15 17
Howard University 558 98 60 6
Hartshorn College 10 4 5 2
Knoxville College 33 33 30 4-1/2
Lane College 17 10 12 1
Lincoln University 163 163 100 4-1/2
Livingstone College 37 27 30 3
Morehouse College 65 34 40 1-3/4
Morgan College 46 46 46 1-1/2
Morris Brown College 21 21 19 3
New Orleans University 30 30 26 2
Paine College 11 6 11 2
Texas College 9 9 8 4
Roger Williams University 14 14 14 2-1/2
Rust College 12 10 12 2-1/4
Samuel Houston College 35 13 29 2
Shaw University 49 20 40 1-1/2
Shorter College 25 25 20 2-1/2
Spelman Seminary 6 6 6 2-1/2
State University 13 7 10 2
Straight College 36 0 29 2
Swift Memorial College 9 5 9 1-1/4
Talladega College 66 25 60 4
Tillotson College 34 19 11 3
Tougaloo University 16 9 11 2-1/4
Virginia Theological Seminary and Col.27 21 20 3
Virginia Union University 66 51 30 4-1/2
West Virginia Collegiate Institute 33 25 20
Wilberforce University 202 60 150 4-1/4
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DAVID HENRY SIMS
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This dissertation was in 1917 submitted to the Faculty of the
Graduate School of Arts and Literature of the University of Chicago,
in candidacy for the degree of Master of Arts, by David Henry Sims.
The following sources were used in the preparation of this
dissertation: _American Missionary Association Report_, 1916; _Baptist
Missionary Society (Woman's) Reports_, 1910-1916; _Catalogues--Negro
Colleges_, 1916-1917; W. E.B. DuBois, _Morals and Manners Among Negro
Americans_, Atlanta University Publications, No. 18; _Journal of the
Proceedings of the A. M. E. Church_ (General Conference), 1916;
_Journal of the Proceedings of the Methodist Episcopal Church_
(General Conference), 1916; Thomas J. Jones, _Negro Education_, United
States Bureau of Education, Bulletins 38 and 39, 1916; Thomas J.
Jones, _Recent Movements in Negro Education_, United States Bureau of
Education, 1912, Vol. I; _Questionnaires_, from Negro Colleges, 1917;
United States Bureau of Education Investigations, _Education in the
South_, Bulletin 30, 1933; Monroe N. Work, _Negro Year Book_, 1914,
1915, 1916; Young Men's Christian Association, _Report of the
International Committee_, May 12, 1916; _Year Book_, 1915-1916.
The author used also the following works for general reference: W. S.
Athearn, _Religion in the Curriculum-Religious Education_; R. E.
Bolton, _Principles of Education_; H. F. Cope, _The Efficient Layman_;
H. F. Cope, _Fifteen Years of the Religious Education Association, The
American Journal of Theology_, July 1917, p. 385 ff; Committee Report,
_Standardization of Biblical Courses_, Rel. Educ. August, 1916, p. 314
ff; Crawford, _The Media of Religious Impression in College_, N. E. A.
1914, p. 494 ff; John Dewey, _Ethical Principles Underlying Education,
Moral Principles in Education_; T. S. O. Evans, _The University Young
Men's Christian Association as a Training School for Religious
Leaders_, Rel. Educ. 1908; H. F. Fowler, _The Contents of an Ideal
Curriculum of Religious Education for Colleges_, Rel. Educ. 1915, p.
355 ff; E. N. Hardy, _The Churches and The Educated Man_; S. B.
Haslett, _Pedagogical Bible School_, Parts I and II; International
Sunday School Association, _Organized Work in America_, Vol. XIII; C.
F. Kent, _Training the College Teacher_, Rel. Educ. 1915, Vol. X, p.
327; P. Monroe, _Cyclopedia of Education_, Vol. I, p. 370; E. C.
Moore, _What is Education_; A. Morgan, _Education and Social
Progress_; F. G. Peabody, _The Religious Education of an American
Child_, Rel. Educ. 1915, p. 107; I. J. Peritz, _The Contents of an
Ideal Curriculum of Religious Instruction_, Rel. Educ. Vol. X, 1915,
p. 362; C. Reed, _The Essential Place of Religion in Education_, N. E.
A. Monograph Publication, 1913, p. 66; R. Rhees, _Evangelisation of
Education, Biblical World_, August 1916, p. 66; C. E. Pugh, _The
Essential Place of Religion in Education_, N. E. A. Monograph
Publication, 1913, p. 3; I. T. Wood, _The Contents of an Ideal
Curriculum of Religious Instruction for Colleges_, Rel. Educ. 1915,
Vol. X, p. 332; _The Survey of Progress in Religious and Moral
Education_, Rel. Educ. 1915, Vol. X, p. 114.
[2] None of these does all of the things described, but all of them do
at least some one of them.
[3] Dewey, _Ethical Principles Underlying Education_.
[4] _Ideals in Religious Education_, R.E.A., June, 1917, p. 185.
[5] _Ibid._, p. 94.
[6] Dewey, _Ethical Principles Underlying Education_.
[7] _Pedagogical Bible School_, page 207.
[8] R. E. A., April 19, 1917, page 123.
THE AFTERMATH OF NAT TURNER'S INSURRECTION[1]
Nat Turner was a man below the ordinary stature, though strong and
active. He was of unmixed African lineage, with the true Negro face,
every feature of which was strongly marked. He was not a preacher, as
was generally believed, though a man of deep religious and spiritual
nature, and seemed inspired for the performance of some extraordinary
work. He was austere in life and manner, not given to society, but
devoted his spare moments to introspection and consecration. He
thought often of what he had heard said of him as to the great work he
was to perform. He eventually became seized with this idea as a
frenzy. To use his own language he saw many visions. "I saw white
spirits and black spirits engaged in battle," said he, "and the sun
darkened--the thunder rolled in the heavens, and blood flowed in
streams and I heard a voice saying, 'Such is your luck, such you are
called to see and let it come rough or smooth you must surely bear
it,'"[2] This happened in 1825. He said he discovered drops of blood
on the corn as though it were dew from heaven, that he found on the
leaves in the woods hieroglyphic characters and numbers, with the
forms of men in different attitudes, portrayed in the blood and
representing the figures he had previously seen in the heavens.[3]
These were without doubt creatures of Nat Turner's own imagination
made by him with coloring matter to make the Negroes believe that he
was a prophet from God.
Receiving, as he says, further directions from the Holy Spirit, he
communicated his designs to four of his most confidential friends.
July 4, 1831, the anniversary of American Independence, was the day on
which the work of death was to have been begun. Nat Turner hesitated
and allowed the time to pass by, when, the mysterious signs
reappearing, he determined to begin at once the bloody work. Sunday,
August 21, he met those who had pledged their cooperation and support.
They were Hark Travis, Henry Porter, Samuel Francis, Nelson Williams,
Will Francis and Jack Reese, with Nat Turner making the seventh. They
worked out their plans while they ate in the lonely woods of
Southampton their feast of consecration, remaining at the feast until
long after midnight. The massacre was begun at the house of Joseph
Travis, the man to whom Nat Turner then belonged. Armed with a hatchet
Turner entered his master's chamber, the door having been broken open
with the axe, and aimed the first blow of death. The hatchet glanced
harmless from the head of the would-be victim and the first fatal blow
was given by Will Francis, the one of the party who had got into the
plot without Nat Turner's suggestion. All of his master's household,
five in number, soon perished.[4]
The insurgents procured here four guns, several old muskets with a few
rounds of ammunition. At the barn, under the command of Nat Turner the
party was drilled and maneuvered. Nat Turner himself assumed the title
of General Cargill with a stipend of ten dollars a day. Henry Porter,
the paymaster, was to receive five dollars a day, and each private one
dollar. Thence they marched from plantation to plantation until by
Monday morning the party numbered fifteen with nine mounted. Before
nine o'clock the force had increased to forty and the insurgents had
covered an extent of territory two or three miles distant from the
first point of attack, sweeping everything before them. Nat Turner
generally took his station in the rear, with fifteen or twenty of the
best armed and reliable men at the front, who generally approached the
houses as fast as their horses could run for the double purpose of
preventing escapes and striking terror. His force continued to
increase until they numbered sixty, all armed with guns, axes, swords,
and clubs, and mounted. This line of attack was kept up until late
Monday afternoon, when they reached a point, about three miles distant
from Jerusalem, the county seat, where Nat Turner reluctantly yielded
to a halt while some of his forces went in search of reenforcements.
He was eager to push on to the county seat as speedily as possible and
capture it. This delay proved the turning point in the enterprise.
Impatient at the delay of his men who had turned aside, Turner started
to the mansion house whither they had gone and on their return to the
wood found a party of white men who had pursued the bloody path of the
insurrectionists and disposed of the guard of eight men whom Turner
had left at the roadside. The white men numbered eighteen and were
under the command of Captain Alexander P. Peete. They had been
directed to reserve their fire until within thirty paces, but one of
their number fired on the insurgents when within about one hundred
yards. Half of the whites beat a precipitate retreat when Nat Turner
ordered his men to fire and rush on them. The few remaining white men
stood their ground until Turner approached within fifty yards, when
they too followed the example of their comrades, fired and retreated
with several wounded. Turner pursued and overtook some of them and
their complete slaughter was only prevented by the timely arrival of a
party of whites approaching in another direction from Jerusalem.
Being baffled, Nat Turner with a party of twenty men determined to
cross the Nottaway river at the Cypress Bridge and attack Jerusalem
where he expected to procure additional arms and ammunition from the
rear. After trying in vain to collect a sufficient force to proceed to
Jerusalem, the insurgents turned back toward his rendezvous and
reached Major Thomas Ridley's, where forty assembled. He placed out
sentinels and lay down to sleep, but there was to be no sleep that
night. An attack on his forces was at hand, and the embarrassment
which ensued left him with one half, but Turner, determined to recruit
his forces, was proceeding in his effort to rally new adherents when
the firing of a gun by Hark was the signal for a fire in ambush and a
retreat followed. After this Turner never saw many of his men any
more. They had killed fifty-five whites but the tide had turned.
Turner concealed himself in the woods but was not dismayed, for by
messenger he directed his forces to rally at the point from which on
the previous Sunday they had started out on their bloody work; but
the discovery of white men riding around the place as though they were
looking for some one in hiding convinced him that he had been
betrayed. The leader then gave up hope of an immediate renewal of the
attack and on Thursday, after supplying himself with provisions from
the old plantation, he scratched a hole under a pile of fence rails in
a field and concealed himself for nearly six weeks, never leaving his
hiding place except for a few minutes in the quiet of night to obtain
water.
A reign of terror followed in Virginia.[5] Labor was paralyzed,
plantations abandoned, women and children were driven from home and
crowded into nooks and corners. The sufferings of many of these
refugees who spent night after night in the woods were intense.
Retaliation began. In a little more than one day 120 Negroes were
killed. The newspapers of the times contained from day to day
indignant protests against the cruelties perpetrated. One individual
boasted that he himself had killed between ten and fifteen Negroes.
Volunteer whites rode in all directions visiting plantations. Negroes
were tortured to death, burned, maimed and subjected to nameless
atrocities. Slaves who were distrusted were pointed out and if they
endeavored to escape, they were ruthlessly shot down.[6]
A few individual instances will show the nature and extent of this
vengeance. "A party of horsemen started from Richmond with the
intention of killing every colored person they saw in Southampton
County. They stopped opposite the cabin of a free colored man who was
hoeing in his little field. They called out, 'Is this Southampton
County?' He replied, 'Yes Sir, you have just crossed the line, by
yonder tree.' They shot him dead and rode on."[7] A slaveholder went
to the woods accompanied by a faithful slave, who had been the means
of saving his master's life during the insurrection. When they reached
a retired place in the forest, the man handed his gun to his master,
informing him that he could not live a slave any longer, and requested
either to free him or shoot him on the spot. The master took the gun,
in some trepidation, levelled it at the faithful Negro and shot him
through the heart.[8]
But these outrages were not limited to the Negro population. There
occurred other instances which strikingly remind one of scenes before
the Civil War and during reconstruction. An Englishman, named
Robinson, was engaged in selling books at Petersburg. An alarm being
given one night that five hundred blacks were marching against the
town, he stood guard with others at the bridge. After the panic had a
little subsided he happened to make the remark that the blacks as men
were entitled to their freedom and ought to be emancipated. This led
to great excitement and the man was warned to leave the town. He took
passage in the stage coach, but the vehicle was intercepted. He then
fled to a friend's home but the house was broken open and he was
dragged forth. The civil authorities informed of the affair refused to
interfere. The mob stripped him, gave him a considerable number of
lashes and sent him on foot naked under a hot sun to Richmond, whence
he with difficulty found passage to New York.[9]
Believing that Nat Turner's insurrection was a general conspiracy, the
people throughout the State were highly excited. The Governor of the
commonwealth quickly called into service whatever forces were at his
command. The lack of adequate munitions of war being apparent,
Commodore Warrington, in command of the Navy Yard in Gosport, was
induced to distribute a portion of the public arms under his control.
For this purpose the government ordered detachments of the Light
Infantry from the seventh and fifty-fourth Regiments and from the
fourth Regiment of cavalry and also from the fourth Light Artillery to
take the field under Brigadier General Eppes. Two regiments in
Brunswick and Greenville were also called into service under General
William H. Brodnax and continued in the field until the danger had
passed. Further aid was afforded by Commodore Eliott of the United
States Navy by order of whom a detachment of sailors from the
_Natchez_ was secured and assistance also from Colonel House, the
commanding officer at Fortress Monroe, who promptly detached a part of
his force to take the field under Lieutenant Colonel Worth.[10] The
revolt was subdued, however, before these troops could be placed in
action and about all they accomplished thereafter was the terrifying
of Negroes who had taken no part in the insurrection and the
immolation of others who were suspected.
Sixty-one white persons were killed. Not a Negro was slain in any of
the encounters led by Turner. Fifty-three Negroes were apprehended and
arraigned. Seventeen of the insurrectionists were convicted, and
executed, twelve convicted and transported, ten acquitted, seven
discharged and four sent on to the Superior Court. Four of those
convicted and transported were boys. There were brought to trial only
four free Negroes, one of whom was discharged and three held for
subsequent trial were finally executed. It is said that they were
given decent burial.[11]
The news of the Southampton insurrection thrilled the whole country,
North as well as South. The newspapers teemed with the accounts of
it.[12] Rumors of similar outbreaks prevailed all over the State of
Virginia and throughout the South. There were rumors to the effect
that Nat Turner was everywhere at the same time. People returned home
before twilight, barricaded themselves in their homes, kept watch
during the night, or abandoned their homes for centers where armed
force was adequate to their protection. There were many such false
reports as the one that two maid servants in Dinwiddie County had
murdered an old lady and two children. Negroes throughout the State
were suspected, arrested and prosecuted on the least pretext and in
some cases murdered without any cause. Almost any Negro having some of
the much advertised characteristics of Nat Turner was in danger of
being run down and torn to pieces for Nat Turner himself.
There came an unusual rumor from North Carolina. It was said that
Negro insurgents there had burnt Wilmington, massacred its
inhabitants, and that 2,000 were then marching on Raleigh. This was
not true but there was a plot worked out by twenty-four Negroes who
had extended their operations into Duplin, Sampson, Wayne, New
Hanover, and Lenoir Counties. The plot having been revealed by a free
Negro, the militia was called out in time to prevent the carrying out
of these well-laid plans. Raleigh and Fayetteville were put under
military defence. Many arrests were made, several whipped and released
and three of the leaders executed. One of these, a very intelligent
Negro preacher named David, was convicted on the testimony of another
Negro.[13]
The excitement in other States was not much less than in Virginia and
North Carolina. In South Carolina Governor Hayne issued a proclamation
to quiet rumors of similar uprisings. In Macon, Georgia, the entire
population rose at midnight, roused from their beds by rumors of an
impending onslaught. Slaves were arrested and tied to trees in
different parts of the State, while captains of the militia delighted
in hacking at them with swords. In Alabama, rumors of a joint
conspiracy of Indians and Negroes found ready credence. At New Orleans
the excitement was at such a height that a report that 1,200 stands of
arms were found in a black man's house, was readily believed.[14]
But the people were not satisfied with this flow of blood and passions
were not subdued with these public wreakings. Nat Turner was still at
large. He had eluded their constant vigilance ever since the day of
the raid in August. That he was finally captured was more the result
of accident than of design. A dog belonging to some of Nat Turner's
acquaintances scented some meat in the cave and stole it one night
while Turner was out. Shortly after, two Negroes, one the owner of the
dog, were hunting with the same animal. The dog barked at Turner who
had just gone out to walk. Thinking himself discovered, Turner begged
these men to conceal his whereabouts, but they, on finding out who it
was, precipitately fled. Concluding from this that they would betray
him, Turner left his hiding place, but he was pursued almost
incessantly. At one time he was shot at by one Francis near a fodder
stack in a field, but happening to fall at the moment of the
discharge, the contents of the pistol passed through the crown of his
hat. The lines, however, were closing upon Turner. His escape from
Francis added new enthusiasm to the pursuit and Turner's resources as
fertile as ever contrived a new hiding place in a sort of den in the
lap of a fallen tree over which he placed fine brush. He protruded his
head as if to reconnoiter about noon, Sunday, October 30, when a
Benjamin Phipps, who had that morning for the first time turned out in
pursuit, came suddenly upon him. Phipps not knowing him, demanded:
"Who are you?" He was answered, "I am Nat Turner." Phipps then ordered
him to extend his arms and Turner obeyed, delivering up a sword which
was the only weapon he then had.[15]
This was ten weeks after that Sunday in August when they had feasted
in the woods and arranged their plan of attack. At the time of the
capture there were at least fifty men out in search of him, none of
whom could have been two miles from the hiding place. The _Richmond
Enquirer_ in giving the first public announcement, said: "Nat
displayed no sort of enterprise in his attempt to escape nor any
degree of courage in resisting his captor;" but this journal does not
give him credit for having eluded his pursuers for more than two
months or for knowing that discretion is the better part of valor.
Several companies of the State militia and a battalion of United
States marines had joined in the search and failed, yet Nat displayed
no enterprise.[16]
His arrest caused much relief. He was taken the next day to Jerusalem,
the county seat, and tried on the fifth of November before a board of
magistrates. The indictment against him was for making insurrection
and plotting to take away the lives of divers free white persons on
the twenty-second of August, 1831. On his arraignment Turner pleaded
"Not Guilty." The Commonwealth submitted its case, not on the
testimony of any eye witnesses but on the depositions of one Levi
Waller who read Turner's _Confession_[17] and Colonel Trezevant the
committing magistrate corroborated it by referring to the same
confession. Turner introduced no testimony in defense and his counsel
made no argument in his behalf. He was promptly found guilty and
sentenced to be hanged Friday, November 11, 1831, twelve days after
his capture. During the examination Nat evinced great intelligence and
much shrewdness of intellect, answering every question clearly and
distinctly and without confusion or prevarication.
An immense throng gathered on the day of execution though few were
permitted to see the ceremony. He exhibited the utmost composure and
calm resignation. Although assured if he felt it proper he might
address the immense crowd, he declined to avail himself of the
privilege, but told the sheriff in a firm voice that he was ready. Not
a limb nor a muscle was observed to move. His body was given over to
the surgeons for dissection. He was skinned to supply such souvenirs
as purses, his flesh made into grease, and his bones divided as
trophies to be handed down as heirlooms. It is said that there still
lives a Virginian who has a piece of his skin which was tanned, that
another Virginian possesses one of his ears and that the skull graces
the collection of a physician in the city of Norfolk.
Considering the situation unusually serious, Governor John Floyd made
this the dominant thought of his message to the legislature that year.
More space was devoted to a discussion of this uprising than to any
other single fact mentioned in the message. He was of the opinion that
the spirit of insurrection was not confined to Southampton. The
Governor believed that there were well-drawn plans of treason,
insurrection and murder, "designed and matured by unrestrained
fanatics in some of the neighboring States, who found facilities in
distributing their views and plans amongst our population either
through the post office or by agents sent for that purpose throughout
our territory." He, therefore, corresponded with the governors of
commonwealths to preserve as far as possible "the good understanding
which existed and which ought to be cherished between the different
members of this Union."
The Governor believed that the persons most active in stirring up the
revolt were Negro preachers. "They had acquired," said he, "great
ascendency over the minds of their fellows, and infused all their
opinions which had prepared them for the development of the final
design. There was also some reason to believe," thought he, "those
preachers have a perfect understanding in relation to these plans
throughout the eastern counties; and have been the channels through
which the inflammatory papers and pamphlets, brought here by the
agents and emissaries from other States, have been circulated amongst
our slaves." He considered it a weakness in the laws of the State that
facilities for assembly, to plot, treason, and conspiracy, to revolt
and make insurrection, had been afforded by the lack of legislation to
the contrary to prevent such freedom of movement among the Negroes. He
believed, therefore, the public good required that the Negro preachers
be silenced, "because, full of ignorance, they were incapable of
inculcating anything but notions of the wildest superstition, thus
preparing fit instruments in the hands of crafty agitators, to destroy
the public tranquility."[18]
He, therefore, recommended as a means against the possible repetition
of such sanguinary scenes the revision of the laws to preserve in due
subordination the Negroes of the State. He believed, moreover, that
although this insurrection had been due to the work of slaves, that
the free people of color furnished a much more promising field for the
operations of the abolition element of the North, inasmuch as they had
opened to them more enlarged views and urged the achievement of a
higher destiny by means, "for the present less violent, but not
differing in the end from those presented to the slaves." He referred
to the free Negroes as "that class of the community, which our laws
have hitherto treated with indulgent kindness," and for whom many
instances of solicitude for their welfare have marked the progress of
legislation. If, however, thought he, the slave who is confined by law
to the estate of his master can work such destruction, how much more
easy it would be for the free Negro to afflict the community with a
still greater calamity. The Governor, moreover, referred to the fact
that the free people of color had placed themselves in hostile array
against every measure designed to remove them from the State and
raised the question as to whether the last benefit which the State
might confer upon them might not be to appropriate annually a sum of
money to aid their removal to other soil.[19]
To show how general the excitement was throughout the State one needs
but read in the journal of the legislature the number of petitions
praying that some action be taken to provide for the safety of the
people in the commonwealth.[20] In the Valley and in the extreme
western portion of the State where few slaves were found and where
there were still persons who did not welcome the institution, there
were held a number of meetings in which the abolition of slavery was
openly discussed and urged. Such memorials, however, did not
constitute the majority of the petitions requiring action with
reference to slavery. More meetings were held in the eastern counties
but opinion there differed so widely that they availed little in
working out a constructive plan. The larger number of these took the
form of such an improvement and change in the black code as to
preserve the institution and at the same time secure the safety of the
citizens.[21]
Believing that the free people of color had been or would be the most
effective means in the attack on the institution of slavery, there
were more memorials for the removal of this class of the population
than any other petitions bearing on slavery. Among the counties
praying for the removal of the free Negroes, were Amelia, Isle of
Wight, York, Nansemond, Frederick, Powhatan, Fairfax, and
Northumberland. Others asked for the removal of the free Negroes[22]
and furthermore the purchase of slaves to be deported. Among the
counties praying for such a measure were Fauquier, Hanover,
Washington, Nelson, Loudoun, Prince William, and King William. From
Charles City, Rockbridge, and Caroline Counties came the additional
request for a legislation providing for gradual emancipation. Page,
Augusta, Fauquier, and Botetourt, sent memorials praying that steps be
taken to procure an amendment to the Constitution of the United
States, investing Congress with the power to appropriate money for
sending beyond the limits of the United States the free people of
color and such of the slaves as might be purchased for the same
purpose. This was almost in keeping with the request from the Henrico
and Frederick Colonization Societies asking the Government to deport
the Negroes to Africa. Buckingham County requested that the colored
population be removed from the county and colonized according to the
plans set forth by Thomas Jefferson. The request of the Society of
Friends in the county of Charles City for gradual emancipation,
however, caused resentment.[23]
Thinking that it might not be possible to transport all the Negroes of
the country very easily, requests for dealing with the situation as it
was, were also in order. As a number of the farmers had suffered from
a loss of sheep by the numerous dogs maintained by slaves and free
persons of color, there came requests praying that the keeping of dogs
and hogs by Negroes be made illegal. Some of these petitions, too, had
an economic phase. There came from Culpepper a petition praying for a
passage of the law for the encouragement of white mechanics by
prohibiting any slave, free Negro or mulatto from being bound as an
apprentice to learn any trade or art. Charles City and New Kent
complained against the practice of employing slaves and Negroes as
millers and asked that a law penalizing such action be enacted.[24]
The question as to what should be done with the blacks turned out to
be the most important matter brought before the legislature.
Three-fourths of the session was devoted to the discussion of such
questions as the removal of the free Negroes and the colonization of
such slaves as masters could be induced to give up. The legislature
met on the 5th of December and after going through the preliminaries
of organization listened to the message of the Governor which had the
insurrection as its most prominent feature. When the petitions from
the various counties began to come in, there soon prevailed a motion
that so much of the Governor's message as related to the insurrection
of slaves and the removal of the free Negroes be referred to a select
committee, which after prolonged deliberation found it difficult to
agree upon a report.
Desiring to protect the interests of slavery, William O. Goode, of
Mecklenburg County, moved on the eleventh of January that the select
committee appointed to consider the memorials bearing on slaves free
Negroes and the Southampton massacre be discharged from the
consideration of all petitions, memorials and resolutions, which had
for their object the manumission of slaves. The resolution further
declared that it was not expedient to legislate on slavery.[25]
Whereupon Thomas Jefferson Randolph, of Albemarle County, moved to
amend this resolution so as to instruct the committee to inquire into
the expediency and to report a bill to submit to the voters of the
State the propriety of providing by law that the children of all
female slaves who might be born in that State on or after the fourth
day of July, 1840, should become the property of the commonwealth, the
males at the age of twenty-one years and females at the age of
eighteen, if detained by their owners within the limits of the
commonwealth, until they should respectively arrive at the ages
aforesaid. They would then be hired out until the net sum arising
therefrom should be sufficient to defray the expenses of their removal
beyond the limits of the United States.[26]
After several days of heated but fruitless discussion marked by
adjournment to calm the troubled waters, the question assumed a new
phase when William H. Brodnax, the chairman of the select committee,
reported the resolution: _That it is inexpedient for the present to
make any legislative enactments for the abolition of slavery._
Whereupon Mr. William A. Patterson of Chesterfield County moved to
amend this resolution so as to read: _That it was expedient to adopt
some legislative enactments for the abolition of slavery._[27] Around
Goode's motion, Randolph's substitute and Preston's amendments
centered an exciting debate showing such a wide difference of opinion
that the publicity caused about as much excitement as Nat Turner's
insurrection itself. Many citizens protested against such an open
discussion, knowing that slaves able to read might thereby be induced
to rise again.[28] This fear, however, did not serve very well as a
restraining factor.
The warning sounded by some of these people is significant. _The
Richmond Enquirer_ the chief organ of thought in the State expressed
in a strong editorial that the evils of slavery were alarming and
urged that some definite action be taken immediately since the policy
of deferring the solution of the problem for future generations had
brought the commonwealth to grief.[29] Certain ladies from Fluvanna
County said in their memorial: "We cannot conceal from ourselves that
an evil is among us, which threatens to outgrow the growth and eclipse
the brightness of our national blessings."[30] Brodnax deplored the
fact that the time had come in Virginia "When men were found to lock
their doors and open them in the morning to receive their servants to
light their fires, with pistols in their hands."[31]
A summary of this debate shows that a few members of the legislature
desired instant abolition, a much larger number, probably a majority
of the body, wanted to work out some scheme for gradual emancipation,
and others feeling that the slaves could be controlled by severe laws,
endeavored to restrict the effort to the removal of the free people of
color. Certain citizens of Hanover desired to lay a tax on slaves and
free Negroes to raise funds to deport them all.[32] The unfortunate
development, however, was that no one knew exactly what he wanted, no
one came to the legislature with a well-matured plan to remedy the
evils, and every man seemed to be governed in his action by his local
interests rather than those of the commonwealth.
The Preston amendment was, after an exciting discussion, finally
defeated on the 25th of January by a vote of 58 to 73. Thereupon on
motion of Mr. Archibald Bryce, of Goochland County, the legislature
amended the report of the select committee by inserting the following:
"Profoundly sensible of the great evils arising from the condition of
the colored population of this commonwealth induced by humanity, as
well as by policy to an immediate effort for the removal in the first
place, as well of those who are now free, as of such as may hereafter
become free: believing that this effort, while it is in just
accordance with the sentiment of the community on the subject, will
absorb all our present means, and that a further action for the
removal of the slaves should await a more definite development of
public opinion.[33]
This resolution aptly describes the situation resulting after the
prolonged discussion. A majority of the members believed that slavery
was an evil, but no one was willing to pay the cost of exterminating
it. It was easily shown that because of unprofitable slave labor the
commonwealth was lagging behind the free States and that the free
labor essential to the rebuilding of the waste places in the State
would never come to the commonwealth as long as there would be
competition with slave labor. It was soon apparent, however, that a
State with such a diversity of interests, one-half slave and one-half
free could not legislate on slavery. This compromising resolution of
procrastination, therefore, was adopted as the best Virginia could
under the circumstances be induced to do for the extermination[34] of
its worst evil.
The debate proved to be valuable to the abolitionists. In the course
of his remarks Mr. Brodnax declared that the confidence of the people
seemed to be gone. "Under such circumstances life becomes a burthen
and it is better to seek a home in some distant realm and leave the
graves of our fathers than endure so precarious a condition." It was
evident, he thought, that something must be done; and although
measures for the removal of this evil might not, perhaps be arrived
at immediately yet some plan for its gradual eradication would
probably be hit upon. A system might be concocted by degrees to
embrace the whole subject and it was therefore necessary to consider
it in all its bearings.[35]
Mr. Chandler said that he in common with his constituents looked
forward to the passage of a law for the removal of the free blacks. He
was also in favor of the consideration of any plan which might remove
entirely at some future time, the greatest curse that had ever been
inflicted upon this State. He would look upon the day on which the
deliverance of the commonwealth from the burden of slavery should be
accomplished as the most glorious in the annals of Virginia since the
fourth of July, 1776.[36] Mr. Moore did not wish to entangle the
committee on the subject of getting rid of the free black population
of this State. That population, he knew, was a nuisance which the
interests of the people required to remove, but there was another and
a greater nuisance, slavery itself. He wished that it should be
considered and if it were possible to devise any plan for the ultimate
extinction of slavery, he would rejoice.[37]
Mr. Bolling rose in his remarks to a height of moral sublimity. "We
talk of freedom," said he, "while slavery exists in this land; and
speak with horror of the tyranny of the Turk. We foster an evil which
the highest interests of the community require should be removed,
which was denounced as the bans of our happiness by the Father of the
Commonwealth and to which we trace the cause of the lamentable
depression of Eastern Virginia. Every intelligent individual admits
that slavery is the most pernicious evil with which a body politic can
be afflicted."[38]
Mr. Randolph, the grandson of Thomas Jefferson, said that it was the
dark, the appalling, the despairing future that had awakened the
public mind rather than the Southampton Insurrection. He asked whether
silence would restore the death-like apathy of the Negro's mind. It
might be wise to let it sleep in its torpor; "but has not," he asked,
"its dark chaos been illumined? Does it not move, and feel and think?
The hour of the eradication of the evil is advancing, it must come.
Whether it is affected by the energy of our minds or by the bloody
scenes of Southampton and San Domingo is a tale for future
history."[39] Mr. Faulkner addressed the House in favor of the gradual
extinction of slavery, concluding with these words: "Tax our lands,
vilify our country, carry the sword of extermination through our
defenceless villages but spare us the curse of slavery, that bitterest
drop from the chalice of the destroying angel."[40]
Mr. MacDowell, referring to the insurrection, thus described its
terror and its awful lesson: "It drove families from their homes,
assembled women and children in crowds in every condition of weakness
and infirmity, and every suffering that want and terror could inflict,
to escape the terrible dread of domestic assassination. It erected a
peaceful and confiding State into a military camp which outlawed from
pity the unfortunate beings whose brothers had offended; which barred
every door, penetrated every bosom with fear or suspicion, which so
banished every sense of security from every man's dwelling; that, let
but a hoof or horn break upon the silence of the night, and an aching
throb would be driven to the heart. The husband would look to his
weapon and the mother would shudder and weep upon her cradle. Was it
the fear of Nat Turner and his deluded drunken handful of followers,
which produced such effects? Was it this that induced distant counties
where the very name of Southampton was strange to arm and equip for a
struggle? No sir, it was the suspicion eternally attached to the slave
himself, a suspicion that a Nat Turner might be in every family, that
the same bloody deed might be acted over at any time and in any
place, that the materials for it were spread through the land and were
always ready for a like explosion."[41]
Although no agreement on the extinction of slavery could be reached,
the question of removing the free people of color was decidedly
another matter. Many who were unwilling to legislate with reference to
slavery did not object to the proposal to remove the free Negroes from
the State. Yet there were others who looked upon this as a political
by-play. The Southampton Insurrection was not the work of free Negroes
but that of slaves. Only two of the many free Negroes in Southampton
county took a part in the insurrection and these two had slave wives.
The North Carolina plot, moreover, was revealed by a free Negro. Many
citizens agreed too with a _Richmond Enquirer_ correspondent of
Hanover, who in speaking for the free people of color pointed out the
good they had been to the community,[42] and the Governor who in his
annual message raised the question as to propriety of removing them,
said that the laws of the State had theretofore treated the free
people of color with "indulgent kindness" and that "many instances of
solicitude for their welfare" had "marked the progress of
legislation."[43]
A bill for removal, however, was promptly offered on the
twenty-seventh of January.[44] On the first of February there was
presented an additional report deeming it expedient to set apart for
the removal of the free colored population so much of the claims of
Virginia on the General Government as may come into and belong to the
treasury of the State.[45] A few days later Mr. Moore submitted a
resolution covering the same ground and calling upon the Senators and
Representatives of Virginia in Congress to use their best efforts to
promote this project.[46] The Matter was tabled but on the 6th of
February the House resolved itself into a committee of the whole to
take this bill into consideration. After prolonged discussion the
matter was again tabled with a view to future consideration. The
feeling of the majority seemed to be that, if the Negroes were
removed, no coercion should be employed except in the case of those
who remained in the State contrary to the law of 1806.[47] $35,000 for
1832 and $90,000 for 1833 was to be appropriated for transportation. A
central board consisting of the governor, treasurer, and members of
the Council of State was to decide the place to which these Negroes
were to be expatriated and the agents to carry out the law would also
be named by the same board.[48] The bill for the removal of free
Negroes was indefinitely postponed in the Senate by a vote of 18 to 14
and therefore was never taken up.
The next effort of the legislature in dealing with the Negroes was to
strengthen the black code as it then existed so as to provide for a
more adequate supervision and rigid control of the slaves and free
people of color. There was offered thereafter a bill to amend an act
entitled "an act to revise under one the several acts concerning
slaves, free Negroes and mulattoes." The important provisions of the
bill were that slaves and free Negroes should not conduct religious
exercises nor attend meetings held at night by white preachers unless
granted written permission by their masters or overseers. Thereafter
no free Negro should be capable of purchase or otherwise acquiring
permanent ownership, except by descent, of any slave, other than his
or her husband, wife or children. Further penalties, moreover, were
provided for persons writing or printing anything intended to incite
the Negroes to insurrection. The State had already enacted a law
prohibiting the teaching of slaves, free Negroes and mulattoes.[49]
The other petitions requiring that Negroes be restricted in the higher
pursuits of labor and in the ownership of hogs and dogs were, because
of the spirit which existed after the excitement had subsided,
rejected as unnecessary. The law providing for burning in the hand was
repealed. The immigration of free Negroes into the State, however, was
prohibited in 1834.[50]
The effect of this insurrection and this debate extended far beyond
the borders of Virginia and the South. Governor McArthur of Ohio in a
message to his legislature called special attention to the outbreak
and the necessity for prohibitive legislation against the influx
within that commonwealth of the free people of color who naturally
sought an asylum in the free States. The effect in Southern States was
far more significant. Many of them already had sufficient regulations
to meet such emergencies as that of an insurrection but others found
it necessary to revise their black codes.
Maryland passed, at the session of its legislature in 1831-1832, a law
providing a board of managers to use a fund appropriated for the
purpose of removing the free people of color to Liberia in connection
with the State colonization society.[51] Another act forbade the
introduction of slaves either for sale or resident and the immigration
of free Negroes. It imposed many disabilities on the resident free
people of color so as to force them to emigrate.[52] Delaware, which
had by its constitution of 1831, restricted the right of franchise to
whites[53] enacted in 1832 an act preventing the use of firearms by
free Negroes and provided also for the enforcement of the law of 1811
against the immigration of free Negroes and mulattoes, prohibited
meetings of blacks after ten o'clock and forbade non-resident blacks
to preach.[54]
In 1831 Tennessee forbade free persons of color to immigrate into that
State under the penalty of fine for remaining and imprisonment in
default of payment. Persons emancipating slaves had to give bond for
their removal to some point outside of the State[55] and additional
penalties were provided for slaves found assembling or engaged in
conspiracy. Georgia enacted a measure to the effect that none might
give credit to free persons of color without order from their guardian
required by law and, if insolvent, they might be bound out. It further
provided that neither free Negroes nor slaves might preach or exhort
an assembly of more than seven unless licensed by justices on
certificate of three ordained ministers. They were also forbidden to
carry firearms.[56] North Carolina, in which Negroes voted until 1834,
enacted in 1831 a special law prohibiting free Negroes from preaching
and slaves from keeping house or going at large as free men. To
collect fines of free Negroes the law authorized that they might be
sold.[57] The new constitution of the State in 1835 restricted the
right of suffrage to white men. South Carolina passed in 1836 a law
prohibiting the teaching of slaves to read and write under penalties,
forbidding too the employment of a person of color as salesman in any
house, store or shop used for trading. Mississippi had already met
most of these requirements in the slave code in the year 1830.[58]
In Louisiana it was deemed necessary to strengthen the slave code. An
act relative to the introduction of slaves provided that slaves should
not be introduced except by persons immigrating to reside and citizens
who might become owners.[59] Previous legislation had already provided
severe penalties for persons teaching Negroes to read and write and
also had made provision for compelling free colored persons to leave
the State.[60] In 1832 the State of Alabama enacted a law making it
unlawful for any free person of color to settle within that
commonwealth. Slaves or free persons of color should not be taught to
spell, read or write. It provided penalties for Negroes writing passes
and for free blacks associating or trading with slaves. More than five
male slaves were declared an unlawful assembly but slaves could attend
worship conducted by whites yet neither slaves nor free Negroes were
permitted to preach unless before five respectable slaveholders and
the Negroes so preaching were to be licensed by some neighboring
religious society. It was provided, however, that these sections of
the article did not apply to or affect any free person of color who,
by the treaty between the United States and Spain, became citizens of
the United States.[61]
So many ills of the Negro followed, therefore, that one is inclined to
question the wisdom of the insurgent leader. Whether Nat Turner
hastened or postponed the day of the abolition of slavery, however, is
a question that admits of little or much discussion in accordance with
opinions concerning the law of necessity and free will in national
life. Considered in the light of its immediate effect upon its
participants, it was a failure, an egregious failure, a wanton crime.
Considered in its necessary relation to slavery and as contributory to
making it a national issue by the deepening and stirring of the then
weak local forces, that finally led to the Emancipation Proclamation
and the Thirteenth Amendment, the insurrection was a moral success and
Nat Turner deserves to be ranked with the greatest reformers of his
day.
This insurrection may be considered an effort of the Negro to help
himself rather than depend on other human agencies for the protection
which could come through his own strong arm; for the spirit of Nat
Turner never was completely quelled. He struck ruthlessly,
mercilessly, it may be said, in cold blood, innocent women and
children; but the system of which he was the victim had less mercy in
subjecting his race to the horrors of the "middle passages" and the
endless crimes against justice, humanity and virtue, then perpetrated
throughout America. The brutality of his onslaught was a reflex of
slavery, the object lesson which he gave brought the question home to
every fireside until public conscience, once callous, became quickened
and slavery was doomed.
JOHN W. CROMWELL
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Nat Turner was a familiar name in the household in which the
author was reared, as his home was within fifty miles of the place of
Turner's exploits. In 1871, the last term of the author's service as a
teacher in the public schools of Virginia, was spent in this same
county, with a people, many of whom personally knew Nat Turner and his
comrades.
Nat Turner was born October 2, 1800, the slave of Benjamin Turner. His
father, a native of Africa, escaped from slavery and finally emigrated
to Liberia, where, it is said, his grave is quite as well known as
that of Franklin's, Jefferson's or Adams's is to the patriotic
American. There is now living in the city of Baltimore a man who on
good authority claims to be the grandson of Nat Turner and a son of
his was said to be still living in Southampton County, Virginia, in
1896.
In his early years Turner had a presentiment which largely influenced
his subsequent life and confirmed him in the belief that he was
destined to play an unusual rôle in history. That prenatal influence
gave him a marked individuality is readily believed when the date of
his birth is recalled, the period when the excitement over the
discovery of Gabriel Prosser's plot was at its height. Nat's mind was
very restless and active, inquisitive and observant. He learned to
read and write with no apparent difficulty. This ability gave him
opportunity to confirm impressions as to knowledge of subjects in
which he had received no instruction. When not working for his master,
he was engaged in prayer or in making sundry experiments. By intuition
he, in a rude way, manufactured paper, gunpowder, pottery and other
articles in common use. This knowledge which he claimed to possess was
tested by actual demonstration during the trial for his life. His
superior skill in planning was universally admitted by his fellow
workmen. He did not, however, attribute this superior influence to
sorcery, conjuration or such like agencies, for he had the utmost
contempt for these delusions.
"To this day," says T. W. Higginson, "There are the Virginia slave
traditions of the keen devices of Prophet Nat. If he were caught with
lime and lampblack in hand conning over a half-finished county map on
the barn door, he was always planning what he would do if he were
blind. When he had called a meeting of slaves and some poor whites
came eavesdropping, the poor whites at once became the topic of
discussion; he incidentally mentioned that the master had been heard
threatening to drive them away; one slave had been ordered to shoot
Mr. Jones' pigs, another to tear down Mr. Johnson's fences. The poor
whites, Johnson and Jones, ran home at once to see to their homesteads
and were better friends than ever to poor Nat."--T. W. Higginson's
_Travellers and Outlaws_, pp. 282-283.
[2] T. W. Higginson's _Travellers and Outlaws_, p. 284.
[3] Nat Turner's _Confessions_.
[4] Drewry, _The Southampton Insurrection_, pp. 35-74.
[5] _The Richmond Enquirer_, Aug. 30, Sept. 4, 6 and 20, 1831.
[6] Based on statements made to the author by contemporaries of Nat
Turner.
[7] Higginson, _Travellers and Outlaws_, p. 300.
[8] The statement of Rev. M.B. Cox, a Liberian Missionary, then in
Virginia.
[9] Higginson, _Travellers and Outlaws_, 302-303.
[10] _Journal of the House of Delegates_, 1831, p. 9.
[11] Drewry, _The Southampton Insurrection_, 102.
[12] _The Richmond Enquirer_, August 30 and September and October,
1831.
[13] _The Richmond Enquirer_, Sept. 4, 1831.
[14] Higginson, _Travellers and Outlaws_, 303.
[15] _The Richmond Enquirer_, Nov. 4 and 8, 1831.
[16] _The Richmond Enquirer_, Nov. 4, 1831.
[17] The trial and execution over, the _Confessions_ of Nat were
published in pamphlet form and had a wide sale. An accurate likeness
by John Crawley, a former artist of Norfolk at that time, lithographed
by Endicott and Sweet of Baltimore, accompanied the edition which was
printed for T. R. Gray, Turner's attorney. Fully 50,000 copies of this
pamphlet are said to have been sold within a few weeks of its
publication, yet today they are exceedingly rare, not a copy being
found either in the State Library at Richmond, the Public Library at
Boston nor the Congressional Library at Washington. These
_Confessions_ purport to give from Turner's own lips circumstances of
his life. "Portions of it," says _The Richmond Enquirer_, "are
eloquent and even classically expressed; but," continues the critic,
more than sixty miles away, "the language is far superior to what Nat
Turner could have employed, thereby giving him a character for
intelligence which he does not deserve and should not receive." On the
contrary, however, Mr. Gray, his attorney and confessor who did not
write from long range, said: "As to his ignorance, he certainly had
not the advantages of education, but he can read and write and for
natural intelligence and quickness of apprehension is surpassed by few
men I have ever seen. Further the calm, deliberate composure with
which he spoke of his late deeds and intentions, the expression of his
fiend-like face when excited by enthusiasm; still bearing the stains
of the blood of helpless innocence about him; clothed with rags and
covered with chains, yet daring to raise his manacled hands to heaven;
with a spirit soaring above the attributes of man, I looked on him and
my blood curdled in my veins."--_The Confessions of Nat Turner._
[18] _The Journal of the House of Delegates_, 1831, pp. 9 and 10.
[19] _The Journal of the House of Delegates_, 1831, p. 10.
[20] In Fluvanna this memorial of certain ladies was agreed upon and
sent to the legislature: "We cannot conceal from ourselves that an
evil is among us, which threatens to outgrow the growth and eclipse
the brightness of our national blessings. Our daughters and their
daughters are destined to become, in their turn, the tender fosterers
of helpless infancy, the directors of developing childhood, and the
companions of those citizens, who will occupy the legislative and
executive offices of their country. Can we calmly anticipate the
condition of the Southern States at that period, should no remedy be
devised to arrest the progressive miseries attendant on slavery? Will
the absent father's heart be at peace, when, amid the hurry of public
affairs, his truant thoughts return to the home of his affection,
surrounded by doubtful, if not dangerous, subjects to precarious
authority? Perhaps when deeply engaged in his legislative duties his
heart may quail and his tongue falter with irresistible apprehension
for the peace and safety of objects dearer than life.
"We can only aid the mighty task by ardent outpourings of the spirit
of supplication at the Throne of Grace. We will call upon the God, in
whom we trust, to direct your counsels by His unerring wisdom, guide
you with His effectual spirit. We now conjure you by the sacred
charities of kindred, by the solemn obligations of justice, by every
consideration of domestic affection and patriotic duty, to nerve every
faculty of your minds to the investigation of this important subject,
and let not the united voices of your mothers, wives, daughters and
kindred have sounded in vain in your ears."--Drewry, _The Southampton
Insurrection_, p. 165.
[21] Drewry, _The Southampton Insurrection_, pp. 1-100.
[22] October 18. This memorial circulated in Petersburg and in
adjoining towns and counties is typical:
"The undersigned good citizens of the County of ........ invite the
attention of your honorable body to a subject deemed by them of
primary importance to their present welfare and future security.
"The mistaken humanity of the people of Virginia, and of our
predecessors, has permitted to remain in this Commonwealth a class of
people who are neither freemen nor slaves. The mark set on them by
nature precludes their enjoyment in this country, of the privileges of
the former; and the laws of the land do not allow them to be reduced
to the condition of the latter. Hence they are of necessity degraded,
profligate, vicious, turbulent and discontented.
"More frequent than whites (probably in tenfold proportion) sustained
by the charitable provisions of our laws, they are altogether a burden
on the community. Pursuing no course of regular business, and
negligent of everything like economy and husbandry, they are as a part
of the community, supported by the productive industry of others.
"But their residence among us is yet more objectionable on other
accounts. It is incompatible with the tranquility of society; their
apparent exemption from want and care and servitude to business,
excites impracticable hopes in the minds of those who are even more
ignorant and unreflecting--and their locomotive habits fit them for a
dangerous agency in schemes, wild and visionary, but disgusting and
annoying.
"We would not be cruel and unchristian--but we must take care of the
interests and morals of society, and of the peace of mind of the
helpless in our families. It is indispensable to the happiness of the
latter, that this cause of apprehension be removed. And efforts to
this end are, we firmly believe, sanctioned by enlightened humanity
toward the ill-fated class to whom we allude. They can never have the
respect and intercourse here which are essential to rational
happiness, and social enjoyment and improvement. But in other lands
they may become an orderly, sober, industrious, moral, enlightened and
christian community; and be the happy instruments of planting and
diffusing those blessings over a barbarous and benighted continent.
"Your petitioners will not designate a plan of legislative
operation--they leave to the wisdom and provident forecast of the
General Assembly, the conception and the prosecution of the best
practicable scheme--but they would respectfully and earnestly ask that
the action of the laws passed to this effect be decisive, and the
means energetic--such as shall, with as much speed as may be, free our
country from this bane of its prosperity, morality and peace."--_The
Richmond Enquirer_, Oct. 21, 1831.
[23] _The Journal of the House of Delegates_, 1831, pp. 1-123.
[24] _The Journal of the House of Delegates_, 1831, pp. 41, 56, 119.
[25] _Ibid._, 1831, p. 93.
[26] _The Journal of the House of Delegates_, 1831, p. 93.
[27] _Ibid._, p. 93.
[28] _Ibid._, p. 125.
[29] _The Richmond Enquirer_, Jan. 7, 1832.
[30] Drewry, _The Southampton Insurrection_, p. 165.
[31] _The Richmond Enquirer_, Dec. 17, 1831.
[32] _Ibid._, Nov. 18, 1831.
[33] _The Journal of the House of Delegates_, 1831, p. 110.
[34] Before the insurrection free men of color voted in North Carolina
and at least one well-authenticated case exists of a colored voter in
Virginia prior to 1830. A native of Virginia long a resident of
Massachusetts is an authority for the statement that the facilities
for higher education of the Negro were quite as good in Richmond as in
Boston at that time. There was published in a paper of the time an
account of the celebration of the anniversary of the Declaration of
Independence, July 4, 1827, by the free people of color of the city of
Fredericksburg, Virginia. The orator of the day was Isaac N. Carey.
In North Carolina John Chavis, a Negro, rose to such excellence as a
teacher of white youth that he is pronounced in a biographical sketch,
contained in a history of education in that State, published by the
United States Bureau of Education, as one of the most eminent men
produced by that State. Though an unmistakable Negro, as a preacher he
acceptably filled many a white pulpit and was welcomed as a social
guest at many a fireside. Such was the bitterness against the race
growing out of Nat Turner's Insurrection, however, that even such a
man fell under the ban of proscription.
One of the preachers to whom Governor Floyd had reference quietly
ignored the suggestion in the message of his Excellency and kept up
his work. He was a Baptist preacher, William Carney, the grandfather
of the famous Sergeant William H. Carney, of the 54th Massachusetts
Regiment. At the same time a daughter of his and a Methodist in a
neighboring town "bearded the lion in his den" by actually collaring
and driving out the leader of a party of white men who broke into a
Negro religious meeting.
[35] _The Richmond Enquirer_, Jan. 11, 1839.
[36] _Ibid._, Jan. 11, 1839.
[37] _Ibid._, Jan. 19, 1832.
[38] _Ibid._, Jan. 24, 1832.
[39] _The Richmond Enquirer_, Jan. 25, 1832.
[40] _Ibid._, Jan. 26, 1832.
[41] _The Richmond Enquirer_, Jan. 27, 1832.
[42] _Ibid._, Nov. 18, 1831.
[43] _The Journal of the House of Delegates_, 1831, p. 10.
[44] _Ibid._, p. 112.
[45] _Ibid._, 1831, p. 125.
[46] _Ibid._, 1831, p. 131.
[47] _The Richmond Enquirer_, Jan. and Feb., 1832.
[48] _The Journal of the House of Delegates_, 1831, Appendix, Bill No.
7.
[49] _Ibid._, Bill No. 13.
[50] Hurd, _Law of Freedom and Bondage_, II, 9.
[51] _The Laws of Maryland_, 1831-32, c. 281.
[52] _Ibid._, c. 328.
[53] See Article IV, Sec. 1.
[54] Revised Code of Maryland, Chap. 52 and 237.7
[55] _The Laws of Tenn._, 1831, Chaps. 102 and 103.
[56] Cobb's _Digest of the Laws of Georgia_, 1005.
[57] _Revised Statutes of North Carolina_, c. 109 and 111.
[58] Hurd, _Law of Freedom and Bondage_, II, 146.
[59] _Ibid._, II, 162.
[60] _Laws of Louisiana_, 1830, p. 90, Sec. 1.
[61] _Annual Laws of Alabama_, 1832, p. 12.
DOCUMENTS
The publication of the list of names of Negroes who served in some of
the Reconstruction conventions and legislatures elicited a number of
comments which furnish desirable information. It is earnestly hoped
that any one in a position to supply other missing information will
follow the example of our friends whose correspondence we give below.
February 24th, 1920.
MR. CARTER G. WOODSON,
1216 You St., N.W.,
Washington, D.C.
_Sir_:
In the _Journal of Negro History_ for Jan., 1920, in giving the
names of Negroes who were members of the reconstruction
convention to frame a constitution for North Carolina in 1867-68,
you omit Cumberland county. Permit me to say that the late Bishop
James W. Hood represented that county and played a most prominent
part and afterward became Ass't Superintendent of Public
Instruction of the State. I was a boy at the time but I remember
it. That you may know that I am not an adventurer, I enclose you
a sketch of myself which was prepared by request for other
purposes and show that I speak somewhat from authority. You will
kindly return the same. At the same time you are at liberty to
use any part of it that may suit your purpose should you so
desire.
With very great respect, I am
Respectfully,
(Signed) GEO. C. SCURLOCK
The sketch of this participant in the Reconstruction follows:
Mr. George C. Scurlock, from the year 1874 was a prominent figure
in the Republican party in North Carolina. In the year above
stated, when he had barely reached his majority, he was nominated
for member of the Board of Education, at a time when all the
schools, white and colored, were under the same board. His
opponent was one of the most prominent Democrats in the city and
a majority of the electorate was white. So popular was Mr.
Scurlock that he defeated his Democratic opponent at the polls by
a handsome majority and served out his term to the satisfaction
of his constituents.
In 1876 he was a delegate to the State Convention that nominated
the late Judge Settle for Governor and canvassed the State for
him. He was again a delegate to the State Convention in each
succeeding four years up to and including the year 1896. In the
latter year he headed the delegation. In the campaign of that
year, at the request of the State Executive Committee, he
canvassed 21 counties in the State for McKinley and Hobart, all
of which were carried for the Republican ticket. So pleased was
the Committee with the canvass he was making, he was highly
commended in letters from the Chairman while still canvassing.
In 1890 he was urged by leading Republicans of his district,
including such men as ex-Governor Brogden, to become the
Republican candidate for Congress. Long before the convention
convened it was evident that he was the strongest man in the
field. When the convention met and was organized, ex-Governor
Brogden took the platform and in a ringing speech paying a high
tribute to the subject of this sketch, placed him in nomination.
Before the end of the roll call of counties his nomination was
made unanimous. In his canvass for election he had the hearty
support of the State organization and many of the leading colored
and white Republicans in and without his district and State. In
1892 he was unanimously chosen as a delegate to the Republican
National Convention, which met in Minneapolis.
As far back as 1883 he was appointed a clerk in one of the
Departments at Washington by Secretary Teller. He held this
position until under a Democratic administration he was for
partisan reasons asked to resign. President Harrison, recognizing
his ability, appointed him Postmaster of his city, Fayetteville.
For more than 20 years he was a leader in the party and so
recognized by the late Judge Buxton and such men as the late
ex-Congressman O. H. Dockery, and Judges Boyd and Pritchard, now
on the bench. Outside his State his ability as an organizer and
canvasser was recognized by Hon. J.S. Clarkson and the late
William E. Chandler and M.S. Quay.
In a letter of April 8, 1919, Bishop N.H. Heard says:
I was born and raised in Elbert County, Georgia (born a slave),
June 25th, 1850. I taught school in '69, 70, '71, and '72. Was a
candidate for the Legislature of Georgia in 1872. Attorney
General Amos J. Ackerman, of Grant's Cabinet, was in the
convention that nominated me, and he canvassed and voted for me.
In 1873 I went to Abbeville County, S.C., and taught '73, '74,
and '75. Was Deputy U.S. Marshall in 1876 and elected to the
South Carolina Legislature.
Mr. M.N. Work has discovered the following:
In the ten years 1876-1886, Negroes were elected to the South
Carolina Legislature as Democrats. The Columbia (South Carolina)
State in its issue of December 24, 1918, advised that an effort
be made to have Negroes enroll in Democratic precinct clubs and
participate in the primaries of the State along with white men.
As a precedent for this, it was pointed out that: "In 1876 when
the Democrats redeemed the State from misrule, they appealed to
the Negroes to join their party, and a minority of Negroes, more
numerous, perhaps than is generally supposed, wore the 'red
shirt.' Many of them did valuable service in behalf of
respectable government. During the ten years following that time,
until the primary election took the place of the convention
system in all but two or three of the counties, the Democratic
Negroes were given political recognition. From Barnwell,
Colleton, Orangeburg, and Charleston Negro Democrats were elected
to the legislature and in a number of counties other Negroes were
elected to such offices as coroner and county commissioner.
"With the extension of the primary system a racial line came to
be drawn in the Democratic organization and it was made very
nearly impossible for a Negro to participate in it. An exception
in the party law provided that Negroes who voted for General
Hampton in 1876 and who continued to vote the Democratic ticket
in succeeding years be allowed to vote in the primaries, but the
rules applying to these cases were in a form so rigid that they
reduced the Negro Democratic vote."[1]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Columbia State, December 24, 1918.
A SUMMARY OF NEGRO MEMBERS OF SOME RECONSTRUCTION LEGISLATURES
[Transcriber's Note: The following two tables were published as
one large, wide table. They have been split into two tables, with
the first column repeated, for clearer presentation in this
e-book.]
=============+==============+==============+==============+
| 1868-69 | 1870-71 | 1871-72 |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
|Whites|Negroes|Whites|Negroes|Whites|Negroes|
-------------+------+-------+------+-------+------+-------+
Alabama | | | | | | |
Senate | 32 | 1 | 29 | 4 | 29 | 4 |
House | 74 | 26 | 73 | 27 | 86 | 14 |
Arkansas | | | | | | |
Senate | 23 | 1 | 22 | 2 | .. | .. |
House | 73 | 7 | 71 | 9 | .. | .. |
Georgia | | | | | | |
Senate | 41 | 3 | 42 | 2 | .. | .. |
House | 145 | 30 | 149 | 26 | .. | .. |
Mississippi | | | | | | |
Senate | .. | .. | 29 | 4 | .. | .. |
House | .. | .. | 77 | 30 | 76 | 39 |
N. Carolina | | | | | | |
Senate | 47 | 3 | 47 | 9 | 45 | 5 |
House | 102 | 18 | 101 | 1 | 108 | 12 |
S. Carolina | | | | | | |
Senate | 24 | 9 | 22 | 11 | .. | .. |
House | 48 | 76 | 49 | 75 | .. | .. |
Texas | | | | | | |
Senate | .. | .. | 28 | 2 | .. | .. |
House | .. | .. | 82 | 8 | .. | .. |
Virginia | | | | | | |
Senate | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. |
House | 119 | 18 | 116 | 21 | .. | .. |
-------------+------+-------+------+-------+------+-------+
=============+==============+==============+==============+
| 1873-74 | 1874-75 | 1876 |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
|Whites|Negroes|Whites|Negroes|Whites|Negroes|
-------------+------+-------+------+-------+------+-------+
Alabama | | | | | | |
Senate | 29 | 4 | 27 | 6 | 27 | 6 |
House | 73 | 27 | 71 | 29 | 77 | 23 |
Arkansas | | | | | | |
Senate | 22 | 2 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
House | 71 | 9 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
Georgia | | | | | | |
Senate | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. |
House | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. |
Mississippi | | | | | | |
Senate | 28 | 9 | .. | .. | 32 | 5 |
House | 60 | 55 | .. | .. | 100 | 16 |
N. Carolina | | | | | | |
Senate | 46 | 4 | 46 | 4 | .. | |
House | 107 | 13 | 107 | 13 | 113 | 7 |
S. Carolina | | | | | | |
Senate | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. |
House | .. | .. | .. | .. | 70 | 54 |
Texas | | | | | | |
Senate | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. |
House | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. |
Virginia | | | | | | |
Senate | 37 | 3 | 37 | 3 | 37 | 3 |
House | 115 | 17 | 112 | 17 | 112 | 13 |
-------------+------+-------+------+-------+------+-------+
There were Negro members of the North Carolina legislature to 1899 and
of the Virginia legislature to 1891 as follows:
_North Carolina_ _Virginia_
Senators Representatives Senator Representatives
1879 2 6 1876-77 3 12
1881 1 4 1877-78 3 4
1883 3 5 1878-79 3 4
1885 2 2 1883-84 3 8
1887 3 3 1884-85 1 7
1889 2 1885-86 1 1
1891 1 1886-87 1 1
1893 1 1887-88 1 7
1895 1 1888-89 1 7
1897 1 1889-90 1 4
1899 1 1 1890-91 1 3
SPEECH OF WILLIAM H. GRAY BEFORE THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTIONAL
CONVENTION, 1868[1]
William H. Gray, a Negro, and delegate to the convention from Phillips
County, rose and spoke as follows:
"It appears to me, the gentleman has read the history of his
country to little purpose. When the Constitution was framed, in
every State but South Carolina free Negroes were allowed to vote.
Under British rule this class was free, and he interpreted that
'we the people' in the preamble of the Constitution, meant all
the people of every color. The mistake of that period was that
these free Negroes were not represented _in propria persona_ in
that constitutional convention, but by the Anglo-Saxon. Congress
is now correcting that mistake. The right of franchise is due the
Negroes bought by the blood of forty thousand of their race shed
in three wars. The troubles now on the country are the result of
the bad exercise of the elective franchise by unintelligent
whites, the 'poor whites' of the South. I could duplicate every
Negro who cannot read and write, whose name is on the list of
registered voters, with a white man equally ignorant. The
gentleman can claim to be a friend of the Negro, but I do not
desire to be looked upon in the light of a client. The Government
has made a solemn covenant with the Negro to vest him with the
right of franchise if he would throw his weight in the balance in
favor of the Union and bare his breast to the storm of bullets;
and I am convinced that it would not go back on itself. There are
thirty-two million whites to four million blacks in the country,
and there need be no fear of Negro domination. The State laws do
not protect the Negro in his rights, as they forbade their
entrance into the State. (Action of loyal convention of '64). I
am not willing to trust the rights of my people with the white
men, as they have not preserved those of their own race, in
neglecting to provide them with the means of education. The
Declaration of Independence declared all men born free and equal,
and I demand the enforcement of that guarantee made to my
forefathers, to every one of each race, who had fought for it.
The constitution which this ordinance would reenact it not
satisfactory, as it is blurred all over with the word 'white.'
Under it one hundred and eleven thousand beings who live in the
State have no rights which white men are bound to respect. My
people might be ignorant, but I believe, with Jefferson, that
ignorance is no measure of a man's rights. Slavery has been
abolished, but it left my people in a condition of peonage or
caste worse than slavery, which had its humane masters. White
people should look to their own ancestry; they should recollect
that women were disposed of on the James River, in the early
settlement of the country, as wives, at the price of two hundred
pounds of tobacco. When we have had eight hundred years as the
whites to enlighten ourselves, it will be time enough to
pronounce them incapable of civilization and enlightenment. The
last election showed that they were intelligent enough to vote in
a solid mass with the party that would give them their rights,
and that too in face of the influence of the intelligence and
wealth of the State, and in face of threats to take the bread
from their very mouths. I have no antipathy toward the whites; I
would drop the curtain of oblivion on the sod which contains the
bones of my oppressed and wronged ancestors for two hundred and
fifty years. Give us the franchise, and if we do not exercise it
properly, you have the numbers to take it away from us. It would
be impossible for the Negro to get justice in a State whereof he
was not a full citizen. The prejudice of the entire court would
be against him. I do not expect the Negro to take possession of
the government; I want the franchise given him as an incentive to
work to educate his children. I do not desire to discuss the
question of the inferiority of races. Unpleasant truths must then
be told; history tells us of your white ancestors who lived on
the acorns which dropped from the oaks of Didona, and then
worshipped the tree as a God. I call upon all men who would see
justice done, to meet this question fairly, and fear not to
record their votes."
In the session of January 29th, he said:
"Negroes vote in Ohio and Massachusetts, and in the latter State
are elected to high office by rich men. He had found more
prejudice against his race among the Yankees; and if they did him
a kind act, they did not seem to do it with the generous spirit
of Southern men. He could get nearer the latter; he had been
raised with them. He was the sorrier on this account that they
had refused him the rights which would make him a man, as the
former were willing to do. He wanted this a white man's
government, and wanted them to do the legislating as they had the
intelligence and wealth; but he wanted the power to protect
himself against unfriendly legislation. Justice should be like
the Egyptian statue, blind and recognizing no color."
Concerning intermarriage between whites and Negroes, Mr. Bradley, a
delegate to the convention, having offered to insert in the
constitution, a clause "forbidding matrimony between a white person
and a person of African descent," on which point nearly all of the
members spoke pro and con in that and the following days, Mr. Gray
said:
"It was seldom such outrages were committed at the North, where
there are no constitutional provisions of the kind proposed. He
saw no necessity of inserting any in the present constitution. As
for his people, their condition now would not permit any such
marriages. If it was proposed to insert a provision of the kind,
he would move to amend by making it an offence punishable with
death for a white man to cohabit with a Negro woman." At another
time he observed on the same subject, that "there was no danger
of intermarriage, as the greatest minds had pronounced it
abhorrent to nature. The provision would not cover the case, as
the laws must subsequently define who is a Negro; and he referred
to the law of North Carolina, declaring persons Negroes who have
only one-sixteenth of Negro blood. White men had created the
difficulty, and it would not be impossible to draw the line which
the gentleman desired established."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Annual Cyclopedia, 1868, pp. 34-35.
Mr. Monroe N. Work, who compiled the records of the Negro in politics
during the Reconstruction period, has received the following
interesting letters containing some valuable facts:
1425 MCCULLOH ST., BALTIMORE, MD., Feb. 9, 1920.
_My dear Mr. Work_:
Referring to the "Journal of Negro History" for Jan., 1920, in
the letter of the State Librarian of Virginia, page 119, occur
these words: "_For the 1881-2 session the almanac has no list of
members._"
It so happens that the writer was present, and was an employee of
that particular session of the Virginia Legislature, and
therefore takes pleasure in supplying the necessary information.
The speaker of the House of Representatives was the Hon. I.C.
Fowler, and the President protem (the Lieutenant Governor, John
F. Lewis, being President) of the Senate was the Hon. H.C. Wood.
The Governor of the State at that time was the Hon. William E.
Cameron, from my home town, Petersburg. It was quite a memorable
session, and I could almost write a book, with respect to matters
as they pertained to the Negro. The Hon. William Mahone was
United States Senator, and although a boy, I was much trusted by
Senator Mahone; and in many important conferences held in the old
"Whig" building, I was quite active in helping to prevent none
but "the faithful" from entering.
Upon the assembling of the Legislature, I was appointed one of
the six pages in the House. The other five were white boys. Very
soon afterwards, I was promoted to the postmastership of the
House. On the Senate side, there were two colored boys as pages,
a son of ex-Senator Moseley of Goochland Co., and a son of the
late R.G.L. Paige, representative from Norfolk county.
There were three colored men in the Senate Chamber, and two of
them were really able and scholarly men, and were among the
leading debaters in that chamber. One was Dr. Dan Norton, from
the Yorktown District, another was Senator William N. Stevens,
representing the senatorial district of Sussex and Greensville
counties. Senator Stevens was a speaker of much elegance and
grace, and was always listened to with respect and admiration.
Then there was Senator J. Richard Jones, representing Charlotte
and Mecklenburg counties.
In the Lower House, there were thirteen colored representatives;
the names of two I can not just recall, but the others I will
mention.
Norfolk county, R.G.L. Paige.
Princess Anne county, Littleton Owens.
York county, Robert Norton.
City of Petersburg, Armstead Green.
Dinwiddie county, Alfred W. Harris.
Powhatan county, Neverson Lewis.
Brunswick county, Guy Powell.
Cumberland county, Shed Dungee.
Prince Edward county, Batt Greggs.
Amelia and Nottoway, Archie Scott.
Mecklenburg county, Ross Hamilton.
Paige and Harris were thoroughly educated men, while Ross
Hamilton possessing only limited literary qualifications, was a
most remarkable man, and one of the parliamentary authorities of
that body. In the preceding session, of which Hamilton was a
member, he got to himself great fame by the introduction of the
measure known and referred to as the "Ross Hamilton bill." It
had to do with the settlement of the Virginia debt, the great
issue on which Mahone rode into power.
Paige and Harris were among the principal leaders of the House,
and certainly, few were the men in that house whether democrats
or republicans, who could outrank them in oratory or public
debate.
Mr. Harris introduced the measure which provided for the present
state Normal school, at Petersburg, carrying with it an
appropriation of one hundred thousand dollars. I had the great
pleasure of bearing the bill to the Speaker's desk.
During the session of this Legislature two colored men were given
clerkships at the capitol: young Bob Norton, whose father
represented York, in that body, was given a place in the General
Land Office, while Richard De Baptist, of Mecklenburg county, was
given a desk in the 2nd Auditor's office. A white physician, Dr.
David F. May, of Petersburg, was made Superintendent of the
Central Lunatic Asylum, for colored people, his two assistants
being colored physicians, Dr. J.C. Ferguson, of Richmond, and Dr.
R.F. Tancil, of Alexandria. A number of colored men were put on
as guards at the State Penitentiary. Capt. R.A. Paul, of
Richmond, was made private messenger to the Governor. So numerous
were the places filled by colored men, that that particular
period, and the one that followed, have been indicated in the
phrase, having a political bearing: "When they lived, they lived
in clover: but, when they died, they died all over."
Those were thrilling times. I remember, a year or two later, when
I had just become of age, I was elected a delegate to the State
Convention, which was held in the old Richmond Theater on Broad
St. There were over thirteen hundred delegates, only about a
fifth being colored. The writer was elected the first assistant
secretary of that gathering. That convention marked the passing
of the "re-adjuster" party into the Republican, and, under the
dominance of Senator Mahone, the slogan of the Convention was,
"We are for Arthur, because Arthur is for us." I hope that what I
have thus very hurriedly written may prove of some value to you
in the preservation of the annals of Virginia as respects the
black man.
Respectfully yours,
(Signed) GEORGE FREEMAN BRAGG, JR.
P.S. I want to correct a statement. There were two of us in the
Lower House. Clinton Paige, and myself, were in the lower
chamber, and Moseley on the Senate side. I began my first work of
the ministry in Norfolk in 1887, and about that time the Hon.
R.G.L. Paige was appointed Postmaster of Norfolk City. He really
ran the office. I have spent many a pleasant moment with him in
his office there. It will be interesting to state just here, that
"Dick" Paige made his escape from Norfolk by way of the Under
Ground Railroad, only a little fellow of nine or ten years of
age, secreting himself in a vessel leaving that port. He was
educated in Boston. After the civil war he returned to Norfolk.
Round about the same time that I took charge in Norfolk, John C.
Asbury, now of Philadelphia, was practising law in Norfolk Co.
and city. Norfolk county is one of the largest and richest
counties in the State. Asbury was elected by the voters of that
county Prosecuting Attorney, and to my own knowledge, he most
acceptably filled the office during the term of four years, I
think, for which he was elected. He was recognized as one of the
able political leaders of that section. Captain Fields was
elected and served as Commonwealth's Attorney of Newport News and
Warwick county. Rev. J. M. Dawson was the county treasurer where
the ancient capital Williamsburg is situated, while a Mr.
Mitchell, for a number of years was the Collector of Customs for
the historic port of Yorktown.
(Signed) G. F. B., Jr.
Phone 4512
E.W. SHERMAN, _Vice President_
Guaranty Mutual Life & Health Insurance Co.
774 E. Waldburg St., Savannah, Ga.
Feb. 8th, 1920.
PROF. MONROE N. WORK,
Tuskegee, Ala.
_My dear Mr. Work_:
I have perused with considerable interest your review of the
political history of the Reconstruction period. I have gotten
from the review quite a bit of useful information. In my opinion,
this particular part of your research work should be in the hands
of every Negro in America that every Negro child might know
something of the early exploits of colored men.
As a pointer for further work I want to state that succeeding
Phil. Joiner of Dougherty County, Georgia, Ishmael London
represented that county. J.H. Watson of Albany could furnish
detail information. Jack Horne of Pulaski County was Clerk of the
Court of Pulaski County and Richard White was Clerk of Chatham
County Court during the period under discussion. Mrs. Hannah
Benefield or Mr. Edward Cary of Hawkinsville will give authentic
information regarding the former and P.A. Denegall will furnish
information regarding "Dick" White.
We are pleased to follow you in your statistical ramblings
because we love to connect you with us here and to recall your
presence among us. We cherish very deeply your memory and applaud
your efforts for racial uplift.
The madam joins me in wishing for you a long and useful career--a
happy and prosperous one.
Respectfully,
(Signed) E. W. SHERMAN.
February 14, 1920.
MR. J. H. WATSON,
Albany, Georgia.
_Dear Sir_:
As you may already know, I have been for a considerable time
collecting information about the colored persons who were members
of State Legislatures during the reconstruction period. A list of
these members as far as I have been able to collect them was
published in the January number of the "Journal of Negro
History."
Mr. E.W. Sherman of Savannah, Georgia, after reading my article,
wrote to me that Phil Joiner, Dougherty County, was succeeded by
Ishmael London. He stated that you could give me further
information concerning this. Will you not, as Mr. Sherman
suggests, send to me the names of all of the colored men whom you
know to have represented Dougherty County in the Georgia
Legislature and as near as you can, the date that they were
members of the Legislature.
Thanking you in advance for your courtesy and appreciating an
early reply, I am
Yours very truly,
M. N. WORK,
_Editor Negro Year Book._
ALBANY, GEORGIA.
February 21, 1920.
PROF. MONROE WORK,
Tuskegee Inst.,
Tuskegee, Ala.
_Dear Sir:_--
Replying to your letter of the 14th inst., I beg to state that I
cannot give you the dates as I was quite a boy and do not
remember, but Phil Joiner served one term, was followed by Israel
London, who served two terms, and who was followed by Howard
Bunts, who served one term. In Thomas County, Rev. Jack Carter
was a member, but I do not remember the dates.
Yours very truly,
Signed--
J.H. WATSON.
CARNEGIE PUBLIC LIBRARY
P. A. Denegall, Librarian
Savannah, Georgia.
February 24, 1920.
PROF. MONROE WORK,
Tuskegee, Alabama.
_Dear Sir:_
I am in receipt of yours of 14th inst., seeking information
relative to the occupancy of the clerkship of Chatham Superior
Court, by the late Richard W. White, during reconstruction
period.
In reply I beg to say, that at the period, about which you desire
information, I was too young a boy to have any adequate or
understanding knowledge of the political affairs or status of
that period, so that I have no first hand knowledge of the matter
upon which you desire information. All I know about the late Mr.
White's clerkship is only what I gleaned in conversation with my
father, and as he paid no special attention to dates, simply
telling me of things taking place during reconstruction, I have
only by that means, knowledge of some things without the dates of
their occurance.
I am very sorry I cannot give you the information you desire, I
should be glad to do so if I could.
May I add that I have read your article in the January "_Journal
of Negro History_" on "Some Negro members of reconstruction
conventions and legislatures." I note that the name of the late
Prof. John McIntosh, late principal of Mape St. School of this
city is omitted from the list of colored members of Georgia
legislature. He was a member of the Georgia House of
Representatives, representing Liberty County in the "80's" a few
years after his graduation from Atlanta University. As far as I
know he was the most thoroughly educated colored man to have had
the privilege of being a member of the Georgia Legislature. I
knew him intimately. We were pupils at Beach Institute, this city
at the same time, later fellow students at Atlanta University.
Again regretting that I am not able to give the desired
information, I am
Very truly yours,
Signed--
P. A. DENEGALL.
SAYBROOK, CONN.
February 14, 1920.
MR. MONROE N. WORK,
Tuskegee Institute
Alabama.
_My dear Sir_:
I have read with keen interest the facts presented by you in the
Journal of Negro History for January 1920 on "Some Negro Members
of Reconstruction Conventions etc."
I have known intimately Gen. Samuel Smalls and his family in
Beaufort, S.C. and Miss Olive Rainey and her mother, daughter and
wife of Joseph H. Rainey; Miss Mamie Hayne of S.C. daughter of
Henry E. Hayne.
One daughter of Gen. Smalls still lives in the paternal home in
Beaufort, where are the books and personal possessions of her
distinguished father. She was companion and house-keeper for him
in his late years; she is doubtless able to furnish much valuable
information.
Brothers of Henry E. Hayne still live, though they do not
identify themselves with the Negro race. The daughter does,
however, and has friends of her father's generation who could
help in building up a Hayne's history.
Among the relatives is the mother of my husband and a large
family of relatives, the older ones of whom lived thro'
Reconstruction Days in South Carolina.
Miss Rainey and her mother live in Springfield, Massachusetts.
My own family on the maternal side is descended from George
Houston, member of the Alabama Legislature 1868-70.
I have long felt that the last opportunity to collect data
concerning this interesting period in our history, is while this
present generation lives; the next generation will have no
interest in it.
If I can assist you in collecting facts from these people who
knew intimately the men of whom you write, I should be glad to do
so.
I feel that the best way to do this would be for you to send me a
set of questionnaires which I might send to these friends with
letters.
I am trying thro' the Department of Archives and History of
Alabama and the Congressional Library to locate material which
will illuminate the life of George Houston.
If what I have written is of interest to you, then I am glad that
I have written. And can I be of assistance, I shall be glad to
make further contribution if possible.
Sincerely,
(Signed) HELEN JAMES CHISHOLM,
MRS. FRANK P. CHISHOLM.
CORRESPONDENCE
The following letter written primarily to correct certain errors has
been productive of much good in bringing to light a number of facts
which the public should know:
140 COTTAGE STREET, NEW HAVEN, CONN., February 23, 1920.
DR. CARTER G. WOODSON,
1216 You Street, Washington.
_My dear Dr. Woodson:_
I find the latest number of your _Journal_ most interesting and
permanently valuable, like those that have preceded. I think that
the publication is gaining a position in its particular field
which promises to make it an accepted authority on historical
questions. This makes it the more essential for manifest errors
to be carefully guarded against and eliminated from contributed
articles.
I observe on page 5 the designation "Tillston College" of The
American Missionary Association; the correct name is Tillotson
College, for the institution at Austin, Texas. The footnote gives
_Brawley_ as authority. I do not have this book at hand but have
a suspicion that the erroneous spelling is found there also.
Another statement in the same article which seems to me erroneous
in a more serious matter is found at the bottom of page 4, where
it is assumed that in 1863 "only 5 per cent of the Negro
population was literate." In your book on _The Education of the
Negro Prior to 1861_ you have stated very solid reasons for
believing 10 per cent to be about the right estimate. This
accords also with the U.S. Census figures of 1870, set forth in a
table of which I sent you a copy. Is it not a matter of vital
significance to our American history which of these statements is
to be accepted? Yesterday I saw posted on the wall of a New Haven
church the statement of _5 per cent_. It used to be considered
allowable to make wild statements on this subject when presenting
the claims of Southern education. Indeed I have known the
statement to be made in such a connection, that _none_ of the
Negroes could read or write before the war. I yield to no one in
my estimate of the importance of the work of Northern teachers
and Northern schools in the education of the colored people. But
their value is not magnified by such exaggerated and reckless
over-statement. Rather is it brought under serious question and
damaging suspicion.
You have done and are still doing most valuable work in the
interest of historical accuracy, and to clear away the fogs of
misconstruction and misapprehension concerning the Negro people
which have prevailed for at least a hundred years. I could wish
that you might see your way as an editor to insist on alteration
in a manuscript containing such a misstatement, or at least add
an editorial comment on the point.
Wishing for your _Journal_ continued and increasing circulation
and popular support, I remain,
Faithfully, yours,
G. S. DICKERMAN.
The editor made the following reply:
February 28 1920.
DR. G. S. DICKERMAN,
140 Cottage Street,
New Haven, Conn.
_My dear Dr. Dickerman:_
I have your interesting letter in which you make a strong plea
for accuracy in the writing of history that the Negro may receive
justice at the hands of those represented as treating the records
of the race scientifically. You insist that, prior to the
emancipation of the race, more than five per cent of the Negro
population was literate, and refer to my _Education of the Negro
Prior to 1861_ to support you in that statement. You must
observe, however, that I maintain that ten per cent of the adult
Negroes had the rudiments of education. It might, therefore, be
possible for some one to prove that less than ten per cent of the
whole Negro population was at that time able to read and write.
Thanking you for your interest in this work, I am
Yours very truly,
C. G. WOODSON,
_Director_.
The tables to which Dr. Dickerman refers were sent to the editor with
a letter, both of which follow:
140 COTTAGE STREET, NEW HAVEN, CONN., July 14, 1917.
DR. CARTER G. WOODSON,
1216 You Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
_Dear Dr. Woodson:_
In preparing a chapter on The History of Negro Education for Dr.
Jones, of the Phelps Stokes Foundation, I made a study of the
Ninth Census and prepared a table of figures which I suggested
for publication in a foot note. But my manuscript was so long
that it was thought best to eliminate about a third of it and
this table with much besides.
I have therefore thrown this Census study into form for
publication in an article by itself. If you like you may have it
for _Journal of Negro History_. Of course the Census is not
infallible and the Ninth Census has been especially charged with
inaccuracy. But it certainly has some meaning, and I think the
confirmation of your conclusions is worth noticing.
If you do not wish to use the article please return it to the
above address.
Very truly yours,
G. S. DICKERMAN.
THE NINTH CENSUS ON NEGRO ILLITERACY
The treatise of Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson on _The Education of the
Negro Prior to 1861_ offers an impressive array of evidence to
show that there were many more Negroes than have usually been
supposed who had some literary knowledge while still under
slavery. Other evidence bearing on a subject of so great
importance cannot but have interest for historians of that period.
Some of the statistics in the United States Census of 1870 are in
point: Figures are there given for the colored men of voting age,
that is for those over 21, who were unable to read and write.
There are also given the total numbers of colored men of voting
age in the several States. Subtracting the former from the latter
will then give the number of those able to read and write. The
results appear in the table presented below:
COLORED MALES 21 YEARS OF AGE AND UPWARD IN 1870; WITH REFERENCE
TO THEIR ABILITY TO WRITE
=====================+===========+===========+=========+==========
| | Unable to | Able to | Per Cent
| Total | Write | Write | Able
---------------------+-----------+-----------+---------+----------
United States | 1,032,475 | 862,243 | 170,232 | 16.5
Southern States | 932,612 | 820,670 | 111,942 | 12.0
All other states | 99,863 | 41,573 | 58,290 | 58.4
---------------------+-----------+-----------+---------+----------
Alabama | 97,823 | 91,017 | 6,806 | 6.9
Arkansas | 26,789 | 23,681 | 3,108 | 11.6
District of Columbia | 10,143 | 7,599 | 2,544 | 25.1
Florida | 18,842 | 16,806 | 2,036 | 10.8
Georgia | 107,962 | 100,551 | 7,411 | 6.9
Kentucky | 44,322 | 37,889 | 6,432 | 14.5
Louisiana | 86,911 | 76,612 | 10,301 | 11.7
Maryland | 39,123 | 27,123 | 11,997 | 30.6
Mississippi | 89,920 | 80,810 | 9,116 | 10.1
Missouri | 23,886 | 18,002 | 5,880 | 24.6
North Carolina | 78,012 | 68,669 | 9,350 | 12.0
South Carolina | 85,475 | 70,830 | 14,645 | 17.1
Tennessee | 64,131 | 55,938 | 8,193 | 12.8
Texas | 51,575 | 47,235 | 4,340 | 8.4
Virginia | 107,691 | 97,908 | 9,783 | 9.1
---------------------+-----------+-----------+---------+----------
This Census gives the figures for women of color over 21 years of
age who were unable to write; but not the whole number of women of
color over 21. If however we assume the proportion of all Negro
males to all Negro females to hold the same for those over 21 we
arrive at the conclusion that the whole number of women of color
over 21 was 1,072,847 for the United States; of whom 946,332 were
unable to write and 126,515 were able. That is, in 1870, there
were approximately 126,515 women of color of 21 years of age and
upward who were able to read and write. This number added to the
170,232, found for the number of literate men, gives a total of
296,747 Negroes of 21 years of age and upward who were able to
read and write; which is 14 per cent of the whole number. There
must have been a considerable increase between 1863 and 1870, but
one can hardly suppose it to have been over 4 per cent, or 84,212,
which substantiates the estimate of about 10 per cent of the
Negroes as able to read and write at the date of emancipation. We
may suppose that the number of those who were able to read, but
did not add to this the accomplishment of writing, must have been
much larger.
The existence of so large a body of Negroes who already had the
rudiments of an education goes far to account for the rapid growth
of schools as soon as the Negroes were made free, and especially
for that eagerness that was shown for advanced learning which
made an almost immediate demand for secondary schools and colleges
at the more important centers of population throughout the South.
The people had received, in some way or other, a love of education
and a start in obtaining it under the old slave system, so that
when the new chance came they were ready to make a good use of it.
G. S. DICKERMAN.
BOOK REVIEWS
_The Centennial History of Illinois, Volume III. The Era of the
Civil War 1848-1870._ By ARTHUR CHARLES COLE. The Illinois
Centennial Commission, Springfield, Illinois, 1919.
This volume of this work deals with the period of the most dramatic
history of the State. After discussing the frontier and the rise of
railroads, the author directs his attention to the agitation and
compromise of 1850, the origin of the Republican party, the
Lincoln-Douglass Debates, the election of 1860, the appeal to arms,
the war in Illinois, new abolitionists and copperheads, and the war in
its relation to agriculture and the industrial revolution. The book is
illustrated with such portraits as those of Abraham Lincoln, Stephen
A. Douglass, Lyman Trumbull and Richard Yates. There are maps showing
the foreign-born population in 1860, the presidential election in
1848, the vote for treasurer in 1854, the vote for congressmen in
1858, the vote on the constitution in 1862, the vote for
congressmen-at-large in 1860, and the presidential election in 1868.
The volume closes with an adequate bibliography and a useful index.
As a book on the Civil War is not uncommon, one does not ordinarily
expect many things new from such a volume inasmuch as most of them
cover familiar ground. In connecting the history of Illinois with the
national drama of Civil War, however, the author has brought forward
facts which, although belonging to local history, have a national
significance and historians will make use of them, although they will
not agree with him in all of his views. The scientific use which he
has made of the newspaper material of that day is especially
commendable. He has, moreover, shown that this history was as economic
as political. Good farms and roads figured as conspicuously as
efficient generals and wise statesmen.
There is some mention of the Negro as a human element. Sympathy for
the race, "whether the southern slave or the northern victim of the
black laws, was aroused by _Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852_." Thereafter
came the effort to secure for the blacks equal rights before the law
but because of opposition to them in southern Illinois the black code
could not be easily repealed, for race hatred often broke out in
southern towns as in the case of Mound City, which in 1857 undertook
to drive out all Negroes. The author mentions also such strivings of
the Negroes as the efforts of the members of the race in Chicago to
defend their rights by protesting against the oppression through local
indignation meetings and the Colored National Convention in Cleveland
in 1848. Their Chicago Literary Society condemned the Fugitive Slave
Law, they organized to resist colonizationists and kidnappers, and at
the outbreak of the war organized a military force to fight for their
own freedom.
* * * * *
_The National Encyclopedia of the Colored Race._ Volume I. By
CLEMENT RICHARDSON, Editor-in-Chief. The National Publishing
Company, Montgomery, Alabama, 1919.
This is a fair effort at local and national biography with no pretense
to scientific treatment. Some attention is given also to religious and
educational institutions. Apparently almost any one financially able
to aid the enterprise or sufficiently influential to have his sketch
incorporated into the work appears in this volume. One man's
achievements seemed to count for about as much as those of another and
the law of proportion was disregarded. There are farmers, business
men, ministers, physicians, dentists, lawyers and the like, many of
whom are well known and others who have made no impression upon the
world except to complete a course in an institution of learning and to
use the knowledge thus acquired in making a living. The world has
never heard of some of them and they will, of course, thank the editor
for this publicity.
The aim of this work, according to the editor, is to inform and
inspire. He complains that the ordinary work of this kind has merely
had information for its purpose. As the only sure hope the black
American can entertain for immediate notice comes through committing
crime, the editor here endeavors to treat the records of a large
number of Negroes who, because of their color, would never have a
hearing. The aim of the book too is not only to inform the white race
but it is to introduce Negroes to one another. To be properly inspired
they need to be better informed as to what the ambitious members of
the race are doing in their various fields of endeavor. An effort is
made to get away from former biographical works largely given to
eulogy of individuals unduly advertised. The aim seems rather to
idealize the life of obscure men, who have achieved merit in applying
themselves to the ordinary duties of life. Referring to the failure
to treat more extensively the biographical material of the whole race
the editor states that such accounts cannot be secured in many
instances for the reason that, some are indifferent to fame,
experience a shrinking from publicity, or are too busy to give
attention to matters of this kind. The defects of this book, however,
cannot be excused on this ground.
On the whole, the book has a value. It is fairly well printed, is
adequately illustrated, and is readable. Although much of the
information given is not now uninteresting it will in the course of
time serve as a valuable source book.
* * * * *
_The Man Next Door._ By A. B. JACKSON, M.D. Neaula Publishing
Company, Philadelphia, Pa., 1919. Pp. 253.
This is another work on the much mooted question, the Negro problem.
There was in the mind of the author some doubt as to whether or not he
should make an apology for adding another such work to the many
volumes written in this field. Observing, however, that the
discussions of the race problem have in the past done some good as
well as harm, he here endeavors to present an up-to-date discussion
from a new point of view in order to conform with the exigencies of
the day. The aim is to direct special attention to the failure to
recognize the Negro as a human asset with untold economic
possibilities. He believes that the matter of race values and
interdependency of all races must find "a definite and assuredly
positive place in the various policies of any nation which is made up
of several race groups." In one sense the author believes that "racial
conflict, strife and differences inspiring as they do, struggle,
jealousy, and ambition, are essential to the progress of the whole
group of mankind." He insists, however, that struggle should be a
friendly rivalry out of which shall be woven a strong and everlasting
national fabric consistent with impressing and assuring the
perpetuation of the various policies which guarantee national honor
and uplift.
The author believes that the one great hope for the Negro is to make
himself an economic asset to his country. When this is accomplished,
there will be little doubt as to the possibility of his securing full
recognition as a citizen. He does not deplore the presence of
obstacles but rather thinks that the salvation of the race will be in
developing in the midst of this struggle the power to overcome these
obstacles. It is suggested that the discussion of these matters
should be dispassionate and efforts for adjustment should be based
upon reason rather than upon sentiment. To show exactly how this can
be done the author has directed his attention to such questions as
citizenship, and patriotism, the producer and the consumer, the Negro
and his church, and educational assets. The question is further
treated under such captions as race consciousness, health and
economics, tuberculosis a great waste, rent and ownership, and
business development. The book closes with observations on racial
grouping, political status, and the follies of prejudice.
* * * * *
_Darkwater._ By W. E. B. DUBOIS. Harcourt, Brace and Howe, New
York, 1920. Pp. 276.
This work is a collection of essays by the well-known author of _Souls
of Black Folk_, _The Philadelphia Negro_, _The Suppression of the
African Slave Trade_, and _The Negro_. The aim of the work is to show
that the Negro problem is essentially connected with the problem of
work or wages or education and government which, when solved, will
mean also the solution of the race problem. To give his point of view,
the author, therefore, describes his childhood, training, and outlook
on the world as a Negro. To show the "vast emotional content of the
social problem, he has inserted between the chapters, bits of poetry
and fancy which interpret the bewilderment, the disappointment, the
longing and the faith of millions of men. The work ends with a brief
philosophy of duty and death and a story and a hymn looking toward
human unity.
This book, therefore, follows the trend of thought characteristic of
Dr. DuBois. As in the beautifully written essays entitled _Souls of
Black Folk_ he has here put himself forward as a person representative
of millions of black men seriously suffering from social proscription.
Although his contention that the race problem is interwoven with the
economic problems of the country is presented as the reason for
directing more attention to this problem, the author does not treat
the race question from an economic point of view. This has been the
defect of the historical works which Dr. DuBois has written. He is at
best a popular essayist with a bit of poetic genius. In all of his
discussions of the race problem his mind has not as yet been adequate
to the task of scientific treatment of the question. _The Suppression
of the African Slave Trade_ is a literary compilation or digest of
State and national legislation to curb an evil, but it does not
exhibit any relief or a unifying influence. _The Philadelphia Negro_
is an ordinary report on social conditions which a local secretary of
the Urban League could now compile in almost any large city in about
three or six months and his _The Negro_ is merely a summary of a
number of popular works setting forth such history of Africa as a few
travellers have been able to learn from the outside. It is hoped,
therefore, that Dr. DuBois will take his task more seriously that he
may finally write a scholarly economic treatise in this long neglected
field.
NOTES
The next annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Negro Life
and History will convene in Washington, D. C., next November. All
institutions interested in the teaching of Negro life and history will
be invited to send representatives to this meeting to confer as to the
best methods of prosecuting studies in this neglected field. The
session will cover two days to be devoted to addresses by the best
thinkers of the country. The official program will appear within a few
weeks.
* * * * *
The illustrated textbook in Negro history by Dr. C. G. Woodson has
been further delayed by disturbances among the printers. It is hoped
that it will appear before the end of the year.
A. B. Caldwell, of Atlanta, has published Volume III (South Carolina
edition) of what he calls the _History of the American Negro_.
THE JOURNAL
OF
NEGRO HISTORY
VOL. V--JULY, 1920--NO. 3
THE SLAVE IN CANADA
PREFACE
When engaged in a certain historical inquiry, I found occasion to
examine the magnificent collection of the Canadian Archives at Ottawa,
a collection which ought not to be left unexamined by anyone writing
on Canada. In that inquiry I discovered the proceedings in the case of
Chloe Cooley set out in Chapter V of the text. This induced me to make
further researches on the subject of slavery in Upper Canada. The
result was incorporated in a paper, _The Slave in Upper Canada_, read
before the Royal Society of Canada in May 1919, and subsequently
published in the JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY for October, 1919. Some of
the Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada and the editor of the
JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY have asked me to expand the paper. The
present work is the result.
I have spent many happy hours in the Canadian Archives and have read
all and copied most of the documents referred to in this book; but I
cannot omit to thank the officers at Ottawa for their courtesy in
forwarding my labor of love, in furnishing me with copies,
photographic and otherwise, and in unearthing interesting facts. It
will not be considered invidious if I mention William Smith, Esq.,
I.S.O. and Miss Smillie, M.A., as specially helpful. My thanks are
also due to Messrs. Herrington, K.C., of Napanee, F. Landon, M.A., of
London, Mrs. Hallam and Mrs. Seymour Corley of Toronto, General
Cruikshank of Ottawa, the Very Reverend Dean Raymond of Victoria, as
well as to many others of whose labors I have taken advantage. This
general acknowledgment will, I trust, be accepted in lieu of special
and particular acknowledgment from time to time.
The chapter on the Maritime Provinces is almost wholly taken from the
Reverend Dr. T. Watson Smith's paper on _Slavery in Canada_ in the
_Nova Scotia Historical Society's Collections_, Vol. X, Halifax,
1899.
CHAPTER I
BEFORE THE CONQUEST
That slavery existed in Canada before its conquest by Britain in
1759-60, there can be no doubt, although curiously enough it has been
denied by some historians and essayists.[1] The first Negro slave of
which any account is given was brought to Quebec by the English in
1628. He was a young man from Madagascar and was sold in Quebec for 50
half crowns.[2] Sixty years thereafter in 1688, Denonville, the
Governor and DeChampigny, the Intendant of New France, wrote to the
French Secretary of State, complaining of the dearness and scarcity of
labor, agricultural and domestic, and suggesting that the best remedy
would be to have Negro slaves. If His Majesty would agree to that
course, some of the principal inhabitants would have some bought in
the West Indies on the arrival of the Guinea ships. The minister
replied in 1689 in a note giving the King's consent but drawing
attention to the danger of the slaves coming from so different a
climate dying in Canada and thereby rendering the experiment of no
avail.[3]
The Indians were accustomed to make use of slaves, generally if not
universally of those belonging to other tribes: and the French
Canadians frequently bought Indian slaves from the aborigines. These
were called "Panis."[4] It would seem that a very few Indians were
directly enslaved by the inhabitants: but the chief means of acquiring
Panis was purchase from _les sauvages_.
The property in slaves was well recognized in International Law. We
find that in the Treaty of Peace and Neutrality in America signed at
London, November 16, 1686,[5] between the Kings of France and England,
which James II had arranged shortly after attaining the throne,
Article 10 provides that the subjects of neither nation should take
away the savage inhabitants, or their slaves or the goods which the
savages had taken belonging to the subjects of either nation, and that
they should give no assistance or protection to such raids and
pillage. In 1705 it was decided that Negroes in America were
"moveables," meubles, corresponding in substance to what is called
"personal property" in the English law.[6] This decision was on the
_Coutume de Paris_, the law of New France.
The Panis and Negro slaves were not always obedient. Jacques Raudot,
the Intendant, April 13, 1709, made an ordinance on "the Subject of
Negroes and Savages called Panis." In this he recited the advantage
the colony would acquire by certainty of ownership of the savages
called Panis "whose nation is far removed from this country" and that
certainty could only be brought about through the Indians who capture
them in their homes and deal for the most part with the English of
Carolina, but who sometimes in fact sell them to the Canadians who are
often defrauded of considerable sums through an idea of liberty
inspired in the Panis by those who do not buy,[7] so that almost daily
they leave their masters under the pretext that there are no slaves in
France--that is not wholly true since in the islands of this Continent
all the Negroes bought as such are regarded as slaves."
The further recital says that all the colonies should be on the same
footing, and that the Panis were as necessary for the Canadians for
the cultivation of the land and other work as the Negroes were for the
islands, that it was necessary to assure the property in their
purchases those who have bought and those who should buy in the
future. Then comes the enactment "Nous sous le bon plaisir de Sa
Majesté ordonnons, que tous les Panis et Nègres qui ont été achetés et
qui le seront dans la suite, appartiendront en pleine proprieté à ceux
qui les ont achetés comme étant leurs esclaves." "We with the consent
of His Majesty enact that all the Panis and Negroes who heretofore
have been or who hereafter shall be bought shall be the absolute
property as their slaves of those who bought them."[8]
This ordinance was not a dead letter. On February 8, 1734, Gilles
Hocquart, the Intendant at Quebec issued an ordinance in which he
recited that in 1732 Captain Joanne of the Navy brought a Carib slave
of his to Canada and employed him as a sailor; that he had deserted
when Captain Joanne was ready to embark for the West Indies; and that
the master had seen and recognized him a short time theretofore in the
Parish of St. Augustine but on reclaiming him certain evil-disposed
persons had facilitated his escape. The ordinance directed all
captains and officers of the militia to give their assistance to the
master in recovering the Carib slave and forbade all persons to
conceal him or facilitate his escape on pain of fine or worse.[9]
Slavery thereafter tended to expand. The Edict of October 1727
concerning the American islands and colonies and therefore including
Canada in the preamble spoke of the islands and colonies being in a
condition to support a considerable navigation and commerce by the
consumption and trade of Negroes, goods and merchandise, and the
measures taken to furnish the necessary Negroes, goods and
merchandise. It was decreed that only such Negroes, goods, and
merchandise should be received by the islands and colonies as should
be brought in French bottoms. Very explicit and rigid regulations were
made to that end.
Some of these slaves were too vindictive to be good servants. There is
given by Abbé Gosselin in a paper in the _Transactions, Royal Society
of Canada for 1900_, an account of a mutiny of part of the garrison at
Niagara incited by a Panis probably in the service of an officer at
the post. Some of the mutineers were sentenced to death but made their
escape while the Panis, Charles, was sent to Martinique with a request
to the authorities to make him a slave and to take every precaution
that he should not escape to Canada or even to the English colonies. A
female slave of color belonging to Mme. de Francheville who had been
bought in the English Colonies set fire to her mistress' home the
night of the 10-11 April 1734, thus causing a conflagration which
destroyed a part of the city of Montreal. The unfortunate slave was
apprehended and tried for the crime then and for long after a capital
felony. Being found guilty, she was hanged June, 1734.
The increase in the number of slaves made necessary some regulation
concerning their liberation. September 1, 1736, Gilles Hocquart, the
Intendant already mentioned, made an ordinance concerning the
formalities requisite in the enfranchisement of slaves. Reciting that
he had been informed that certain persons in Canada had freed their
slaves without any other formality than verbally giving them their
liberty, and the necessity of fixing in an invariable manner the
status of slaves who should be enfranchised, he ordered that for the
future all enfranchisements should be by notarial act and that all
other attempted enfranchisements should be null and void.
Slaves unable to secure their freedom by legal means, however,
undertook sometimes to effect the same by flight. A royal decree of
July 23, 1745, recited the escape of three male and one female Negro
slaves from the English West India Island of Antigua to the French
Island of Guadeloupe and there sold. There followed a decision of the
Superior Council of Guadeloupe that the proceeds of the sale belonged
to the King of France and Negro slaves belonging to the enemy when
they came into a French colony became at once the property of His
Majesty. To make clear the course to pursue for the future, the decree
declared that Negro slaves who escape from enemy colonies into French
colonies and all they bring with them belong to His Majesty alone in
the same way as enemy ships and goods wrecked on his coasts.
With all of this security the ownership of slaves became common. In
the Registers of the Parish of La Longue Pointe is found the
certificate of the burial, March 13, 1755, of the body of Louise, a
female Negro slave, aged 27 days, the property of M. Deschambault. In
the same Parish is found the certificate of baptism of Marie Judith, a
Panis, about 12 years of age belonging to Sieur Preville of the same
Parish, November 4, 1756. On January 22, 1757, one Constant a Panis
slave of Sieur de Saint Blain, officer of Infantry, is sentenced by de
Monrepos, Lieutenant-Governor civil and criminal in the Jurisdiction
of Montreal,[10] to the pillory in a public place on a market day and
then to perpetual banishment from the jurisdiction.
The conquest of Canada begun at Quebec in 1759 and completed by the
surrender to Amherst of Montreal by de Vaudreuil in 1760 had some
bearing on slavery. One of the Articles of Capitulation, the 47th,
provided that "the Negroes and Panis of both Sexes shall remain in the
possession of the French and Canadians to whom they belong; they shall
be at liberty to keep them in their service in the Colony or to sell
them: and they may also continue to bring them up in the Roman
religion."[11]
Having now reached the end of the French period, it will be well to
say a word as to the rights of the slaves. There is nowhere any
intimation that there was any difference in that regard between the
Negro and the Panis. The treatment of the latter by their fellow
Indians depended upon the individual master. The Panis had no rights
which his Indian master was bound to respect. Remembering the
persistence of customs among uncivilized peoples, one may conclude
that the description given of slavery among the Chinook Indians about
a century later will probably not be far from the mark concerning the
Indians of the earlier time and their slaves.
Paul Kane, the celebrated explorer and artist,[12] in a paper read
before the Canadian Institute[13] in 1857 said: "Slavery is carried on
to a great extent along the North-West Coast and in Vancouver Island
and the Chinooks.... The inhabitants still retain a large number of
slaves. These are usually procured from the Chastay Tribe who live
near the Umqua, a river south of the Columbia emptying into the
Pacific. They are sometimes seized by war-parties but are often bought
from their own people.... Their slavery is of the most abject
description: the Chinook men and women treat them with great severity
and exercise the power of life and death at pleasure."
Kane gives shocking instances of this. He tells of a chief who
sacrificed five slaves to a colossal wooden idol he had set up and
says that the unfortunate slaves were not considered entitled even to
burial but their bodies were cast out to the crows and vultures.
Amongst the French such an extreme of barbarity did not obtain. Their
law was based upon the civil law, that is, the law of Rome, which in
its developed form recognized the slave as a human being. The Roman
world was full of slaves. Not only were there slaves born but debtors
sometimes sold themselves[14] or their children. The criminal might be
enslaved. In early pagan times the slave had no rights. He was a
chattel disposable according to the will of his master who had _jus
vitæ necisque_, who could slay, mutilate, scourge at pleasure.[15] In
the course of time this extreme power was restrained. Hadrian forbade
the killing of slaves, Marius allowed the slave to lay an information
against his master. The prefect at Rome and the presidents of the
provinces took cognizance of crimes against the slave; and Constantine
allowed a master to go free on killing his slave in chastisement only
if he used rods or whips, but not if he used sticks, stones or
javelins or tortured him to death.[16] Hard as was his lot, the
unhappy slave had at least some rights in the later civil law, few
and slight as they were, and these he had under the Coutume de Paris,
the law of French Canada.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] For example in Garneau's _Histoire du Canada_ (1st Edit) Vol. 2,
p. 447 after speaking of correspondence of 1688-9 referred to in the
text he says of the answer of the authorities in Paris:
"C'était assez pour faire échouer une enterprise, qui aurait greffé
sur notre société la grande et terrible plaie qui paralyse la force
d'une portion si considérable de l'Union Américaine, l'_esclavage_,
cette plaie inconnue sous notre ciel du Nord"--"That was effective to
strand a scheme which would have engrafted upon our society that great
and terrible plague which paralyses the energies of so considerable a
part of the American Union, Slavery, that plague unknown under our
northern sky."
[2] He was sold by David Kertk or Kirke the first English Conqueror of
Quebec. England held her conquest only from 1629 to 1632, if it be
permissible to call Kirke's possession that of England when he was
repudiated by his country.
_Relations des Jesuites_, 1632, p. 12: do. do. 1633, p. 25. Much of
the information which follows concerning slavery in Quebec is taken
from a paper in the _Memoirs of the Historical Society of Montreal_,
1859, _De L'esclavage en Canada_, written by M. Jacques Viger and Sir
L.H. Lafontaine. I have made an independent investigation and am
satisfied that the facts are truly stated. This general acknowledgment
will prevent the necessity of particular reference.
In a local history of Montreal _Memoirs de la Société Historique de
Montreal_ 1869, p. 200, there is a reference to Panis slaves in
Montreal in 1670.
[3] "Mais il est bon de leur faire remarquer qu'il est à craindre que
ces nègres, venant d'un climat si différent, no périssent en Canada et
le projet serait alors inutile." "Il est à craindre" that the prospect
of "le projet" being "inutile" was more alarming than that of "ces
nègres" perishing in frozen Canada.
[4] The name Pani or Panis, Anglicized into Pawnee, was used generally
in Canada as synonymous with "Indian Slave" because these slaves were
usually taken from the Pawnee tribe. It is held by some that the Panis
were a tribe wholly distinct from the tribe known among the English as
Pawnees--_e.g._, Drake's _History of the Indians of North America_.
Those who would further pursue this matter will find material in the
_Wisconsin Historical Collections_, Vol. XVIII, p. 103 (note); Vigor
and Lafontaine, _L'Esclavage en Canada_ cited above n. 2; _Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Collections_, Vol. XXVII, p. 613 (n); Vol. XXX,
pp. 402, 596; Vol. XXXV, p. 548; Vol. XXXVII, p. 541. From Vol XXX, p.
546, we learn that Dr. Anthon, father of Prof. Anthon of Classical
Text-book fame, had a "Panie Wench" who, when the family had the
smallpox "had them very severe" along with Dr. Anthon's little girl
and his "æltest boy"--"however they got all safe over it and are not
disfigured." Thwaites, an exceedingly careful writer, in his edition
of _Long's Travels_, Cleveland, 1904, says in a note on page 117;
"Indian Slavery among the French was first practised in the Illinois
Country." He gives no authority and I know of none.
[5] Referred to in Chalmers' _Collection of Treaties between Great
Britain and Other Powers_, London, 1790, p. 328: Pap. Off. B. 25.
[6] We shall see later in this work that by the English law, the
"villein" was real property and in the same case as land: also that
when Parliament came to legislate so as to make lands in the American
Colonies liable for debts, "Negroes" were included in "hereditaments"
and therefore "real estate."
[7] Thus early do we find the Abolitionist getting in his fiendish
work--the enemy of society, of God and man!
[8] This ordinance is quoted (_Mich. Hist. Coll._, XII, p. 511, 517)
and its language ascribed to a (non-existent) "wise and humane statute
of Upper Canada of May 31, 1798"--a curious mistake, perhaps in
copying or printing.
In Kingsford's _History of Canada_, Vol. 2, p. 507, we are told: "In
1718, several young men were prosecuted on account of their relations
with Albany carried on through Lake Champlain. One of them, M. de la
Découverte, had made himself remarkable by bringing back a Negro slave
and some silver ware. One of the New York Livingstones resided in
Montreal and was generally the intermediary in these transactions. The
author adds in a note: "This negro must have been among the first
brought to Canada."
[9] "A peine d'amende arbitraire et de plus grande peine si le cas y
escheoit."
[10] Canada was at this time divided into three Jurisdictions or
Districts--those of Quebec, Trois Rivières and Montreal.
[11] There are trifling variations in the English text in the several
versions in the _Capitulations and Extracts of Treaties relating to
Canada_, 1797; _Knox's Journal_, Vol. 2, p. 423: _Documents relative
to the Colonial History of the State of New York_, Vol. 10, p. 1107.
That in the text is from Shortt & Doughty's _Constitutional Documents
1759-1791, Canadian Archives Publication_, Ottawa, 1907. There is no
substantial difference in terminology and none at all in meaning. I
give the French version, as to which there is no dispute: "Les Nègres
et panis des deux Sexes resteront En leur qualité d'Esclaves, en la
possession des françois et Canadiens à qui Ils apartiement; Il leur
Sera libre de les garder à leur Service dans la Colonie od de les
vendre, Et Ils pourront aussi Continuer à les faire Elever dans la
Religion Romaine."
[12] The Province of Ontario is the proud possessor of many of Paul
Kane's sketches.
[13] Now the Royal Canadian Institute. The paper appears in Series II
of the _Transactions_, Vol. 2, p. 20 (1857).
The use by the Indians of Slaves is noted very early: for example in
Galinée's _Narrative_ of the extraordinary voyage of LaSalle and
others in 1669-70 the travellers are shown to have obtained from the
Indians, slaves as guides. See pp. 21, 27, 43 of Coyne's edition, 4
_Ont. Hist. Soc. Papers_ (1903). These Indians were accustomed to take
their slaves to the Dutch. _Ibid._, p. 27.
Still there is not very much in the old authors about slavery among
the Indians: the references are incidental and fragmentary and the
institution is taken for granted. Thus in Lescarbot's _History of New
France_, published in 1609, the only reference which I recall is on
pp. 270, 449 of The Champlain Society's edition, Toronto, 1914;
speaking of the Micmacs the author says: " ... the conquerors keep the
women and children prisoners ... herein they retain more humanity than
is sometimes shown by Christians. For in any case, one should be
satisfied to make them slaves as do our savages or to make them
purchase their liberty."
[14] It will be remembered that the ancient law of Rome, the Twelve
Tables, authorized creditors to take an insolvent debtor, kill him and
divide his body amongst them, a real execution against the person more
trenchant if not more effective than the _capias ad satisfaciendum_
dear to the English lawyer.
[15] Everyone has shuddered at the awful picture drawn by Juvenal in
his Sixth Satire of the fashionable Roman dame who had eight husbands
in five years and who ordered her slave to immediate crucifixion. When
her husband mildly ventured to suggest that there should at least be
some evidence of guilt and that no time should be considered long
where the life of a man is in question he was snubbed, just as the
Roman lady who was expostulated with for taking her bath in the
presence of man slaves asked "_An servus homo?_" The horrible but
pithy dialogue reads:
"Pone crucem servo." "Meruit quo crimine servus
Supplicium? Quis testis adest? Quis detulit? Audi
Nulla umquam de morte hominis cunctatio longa est"
"O demens, ita servus homo est? Nil fecerit, esto
Hoc volo, sic jubeo, sit pro ratione voluntas."
--_Juvenal, Sat._, VI, ll. 219-223.
"The cross for the slave!" "What is the charge? What is the evidence?
Who laid the information? Hear what he has to say--No delay is ever
great where the death of a man is in question." "You driveller! So a
slave is a man! Have it your own way--he did nothing. I wish it, that
is my order, my wish is a good enough reason."
The natural death for a Roman slave was on the cross or under the
scourge.
[16] Constantine also by his Constitution No. 319 provided for slaves
becoming free: the Constitution referred to in the text is No. 326.
The best short account of slave legislation in Rome which I have seen
is in a paper read by the late Vice Chancellor Proudfoot of the
Ontario Court of Chancery, February 7, 1891, before the Canadian
Institute. _Trans. Can. Ins._, Series IV, Vol. 2, p. 173. Many of the
judgments of Vice Chancellor Proudfoot (venerabile nomen) show a
profound knowledge and appreciation of the Civil Law.
The following is taken from Prof. Sherman's great work _Roman Law in
the Modern World_, Boston, 1917. The learned author has laid
philosophical lawyers of all countries under heavy obligations by this
splendid book, as noted for its lucidity as for its learning.
Vol. I, 69. "To inflict unnatural cruelty upon--and finally to kill--a
slave was prohibited by Augustus Claudius and Antoninus Pius.
Moreover, because by natural law all men were born free and equal (see
Digest, 50, 17, 32) the Emperor often restored to slaves the status of
a freeborn person."
I, 146. "Constantine ... abolished crucifixion as a punishment;
encouraged the emancipation of slaves...."
I, 150. " ... It is regrettable that Christianity did not change other
parts of the Roman law of persons which ought to have been reformed.
The chief example of this failure is slavery, which the law of
Justinian fully recognized. The inertia of past centuries as to
slavery was too great to be overcome. St. Paul's attitude towards
slavery was to recognize the _status quo_, and he did not counsel
wholesale emancipation. But Christianity continued the progress of the
pagan law along the lines of mercy and kindness, _e.g._, to poison a
slave or brand him was treated in later Imperial Roman law as
homicide, and manumission was made easier; but the Church did not
recognize the marriage of slaves until over 300 years after
Justinian's death."
II, 434, "In Roman law ... the slave was a thing or chattel--nothing
more legally. Slaves could no hold property--slaves could not marry,
their actual unions were never legally recognized."
II, 436, "With the advent of Greek culture and Christianity the harsh
manners of ancient Rome became greatly altered."
II, 828, "One feature of the Lex Aquilia is ... that it granted an
action in damages for the unlawful killing of ... the slave of another
man." _Inst._, 413, pr; Gaius 3, 210.
II. 829, " ... the owner had his option either of suing the culprit
for damages under the lex Aquilia or of causing him to be criminally
prosecuted." _Inst._, 4, 3, 11 Gaius 3, 213.
II, 935, "A free person called as a witness could not be subjected to
torture, but a slave could be tortured."
CHAPTER II
THE EARLY BRITISH PERIOD
When Canada passed under the British flag by conquest there was for a
time confusion as to the law in force. During the military regime from
1760 to 1764 the authorities did the best they could and applied such
law as they thought the best for the particular case. There was no
dislocation in the common affairs of the country. When Canada was
formally ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris, 1763,[1] it was not
long before there was issued a royal proclamation creating among other
things a "Government of Quebec" with its western boundary a line drawn
from the "South end of Lake Nipissim"[2] to the point at which the
parallel of 45° north latitude crosses the River St. Lawrence. In all
that vast territory the English law, civil and criminal, was
introduced.[3] It is important now to see what was the law of England
at the time respecting slavery.
The dictum of Lord Chief Justice Holt: "As soon as a slave enters
England he becomes free,"[4] was succeeded by the decision of the
Court of King's Bench to the same effect in the celebrated case of
Somerset _v._ Stewart,[5] when Lord Mansfield is reported to have
said: "The air of England has long been too pure for a slave and every
man is free who breathes it."[6]
James Somerset,[7] a Negro slave of Charles Stewart in Jamaica,
"purchased from the African coast in the course of the slave trade as
tolerated in the plantations," had been brought by his master to
England "to attend and abide with him and to carry him back as soon as
his business should be transacted." The Negro refused to go back,
whereupon he was put in irons and taken on board the ship _Ann and
Mary_ lying in the Thames and bound for Jamaica. Lord Mansfield
granted a writ of habeas corpus requiring Captain Knowles to produce
Somerset before him with the cause of the detainer. On the motion, the
cause being stated as above indicated, Lord Mansfield referred the
matter to the full court of King's Bench; whereupon, on June 22, 1772,
judgment was given for the Negro.[8] The basis of the decision and the
theme of the argument were that the only kind of slavery known to
English law was villeinage, that the Statute of Tenures enacted in
1660, expressly abolished villeins regardant to a manor and by
implication villeins in gross. The reasons for the decision would
hardly stand fire at the present day. The investigation of Paul
Vinogradoff and others have conclusively established that there was
not a real difference in status between the so-called villein
regardant and villein in gross, and that in any case the villein was
not properly a slave but rather a serf.[9] Moreover, the Statute of
Tenures deals solely with tenure and not with status.
But what seems to have been taken for granted, namely that slavery,
personal slavery, had never existed in England and that the only
unfree person was the villein, who, by the way, was real property, is
certainly not correct. Slaves were known in England as mere personal
goods and chattels, bought and sold, at least as late as the middle of
the twelfth century.[10] However weak the reasons given for the
decision, its authority has never been questioned and it is good law.
But it is good law for England, for even in the Somerset case it was
admitted that a concurrence of unhappy circumstances had rendered
slavery necessary[11] in the American colonies; and Parliament had
recognized the right of property in slaves there.[12] Consequently so
long as the slaves, Panis or Negro, remained in the colony they were
not enfranchised by the law of the conqueror but retained their
servile status.
The early records show the use of slaves. General James Murray, who
became Governor of the Quebec Fortifications and adjoining territory
immediately after the fall of Quebec and in 1763 the first Captain
General and Governor in Chief of the new Province of Quebec,[13]
writing from Quebec, November 2, 1763, to John Watts in New York
speaks thus of the promoting of agriculture in the Province:
"I must most earnestly entreat your assistance, without servants
nothing can be done, had I the inclination to employ soldiers which is
not the case, they would disappoint me, and Canadians will work for
nobody but themselves. Black Slaves are certainly the only people to
be depended upon, but it is necessary, I imagine they should be born
in one or other of our Northern Colonies, the Winters here will not
agree with a Native of the torrid zone, pray therefore if possible
procure for me two Stout Young Fellows, who have been accustomed to
Country Business, and as I shall wish to see them happy, I am of
opinion there is little felicity without a Communication with the
Ladys, you may buy for each a clean young wife, who can wash and do
the female offices about a farm. I shall begrudge no price, so hope we
may, by your goodness succeed."[14]
From time to time slavery makes its appearance in official
correspondence. Moreover, there are still subsisting records which
show the prevalence of slavery in the province.[15] In January, 1763,
there took place at Longueuil the marriage of Marie, slave of baroness
de Longueuil, with Jacques César, slave of M. Ignace Gamelin. From
1763 to 1769 there are found records of the baptism of the children
of slaves in the registers of the Parish of Lachine. In the first
issue of the _Gazette_ of Montreal, June 3, 1778, there is an
advertisement by the widow Dufy Desaulniers, offering a reward of six
dollars for the return to her of a female slave who had run away on
the 14th. She was thirty-five years old and she was dressed in striped
calico of the ordinary cut and was of "tolerable stoutness."
Alexander Henry writing from Montreal, October 5, 1778, to the
Governor Sir Frederick Haldimand, says that he had obtained a Judgment
in the Court of Common Pleas against one Gillelande in the colonies
who owed him a considerable sum of money. "Hearing that a Negro of his
had deserted from him," said Henry, "and was lurking in this Province
I obtained an execution upon that judgment and got the negro
apprehended--who is still in gaol." General Powell who was the
Commander there sent to Mr. Gray the Sheriff desiring him to postpone
the sale until such time as the Governor should be made acquainted
with the matter. Mr. Gray thereafter informed Mr. Henry that he
mentioned the affair to Sir Frederic Haldimand, who likewise ordered
the sheriff to postpone the sale until the Governor could confer with
the Attorney-General. The Attorney-General thereafter informed Mr.
Henry that he had spoken to the Governor, who was of the opinion that
the civil law should take its course.... Mr. Gray thought he should
have some definite authority to sell.... He said: "There are some
gentlemen from the Upper Countries[16] whom I presume will give more
for him than any person resident here and ... they are now on their
return." He asked that an order for sale should be sent before the
departure of these gentlemen.[16] The higher price which the
gentlemen from the "Upper Countries" would pay indicates the objection
of those in the old settled parts of the province to Slavery.
An official report made in 1778 by James Monk, Attorney General at
Quebec, to the Governor, Sir Guy Carleton, (afterwards Lord
Dorchester) gives a sufficiently full account of an occurrence the
subject of much controversy and correspondence showing the
significance of slavery at that time. The Attorney General examined
the several papers, making a case of complaint, by Joseph Despin of
St. Francois Merchant a trader against Major de Barner Commanding a
Regiment of Light Infantry Chasseurs of Brunswick Troops. Despin
complained to Brigadier General Ehrenkrook, Commander of the Brunswick
Troops at Trois Rivieres, that Major de Barner by his orders or
otherwise at Midnight of the first of the previous June, occasioned
forcibly to be taken from said Despin a Negro-woman slave, Despin's
property and suffered her to be carried out of the province. He
therefore prayed Brigadier General Ehrenkrook, that Major de Barner
might either return to him the said slave with damages or pay to
Despin the value thereof.
Upon this complaint an inquiry was made. In the course of this inquiry
Joseph Despin did not support his complaint and charge with those
legal proofs which could entitle him to recover from Major de Earner
thereupon; "or induce a Court of Justice to consider Major de Barner
as having either given any others for the taking of, or even had any
knowledge touching the intended escape of the Slave." The complaint of
Despin was then deemed very justly dismissed.
Upon the dismission of this complaint Major de Barner requested of the
Governor satisfaction and punishment upon the accuser, and a notary,
one Robin, who prepared notarial acts, in an unbecoming affrontive
manner. This request was made under three heads: first, that Despin
might be exemplarily punished, not merely for a false dishonoring
accusation of Major de Barner, a commanding officer and injurious to
his whole battalion, but punishment for the personal insults to Major
de Barner and his character; second, that Despin might pay the
expenses of preparing and making out writings; and third, that the
said Robin, the notary, may be equally punished for using expressions
in his acts hurtful and indecent to persons of honor and character.
The Attorney General asserted that there is reason to conclude from
the several testimonies appearing in the case, that Despin had lost
his slave by means of some soldiers belonging to the Battalion of
Chasseurs which Major de Barner Commanded, _though not in the least by
the orders or with the knowledge or consent of Major de Barner as
charged_.
One of the most extraordinary stories of the time is told by William
Dummer Powell afterwards Chief Justice of Upper Canada, but in
1780[17] and later practising as a barrister in Montreal. "Meeting in
the Street of Montreal an armed Party escorting to the Provost Guard
several female prisoners and Children," says Mr. Powell, "curiosity
was excited and upon engaging the Non-Commissioned Officer commanding
the Escort, Mr. Powell was informed that they were Prisoners of war,
taken in the Kentucky Country and brought into Detroit by a Detachment
of the Garrison and now arrived from thence. Further Enquiry after
procuring necessary relief to the first wants of the party, drew from
Mrs. Agnes La Force the following Narrative:
"That her husband was a loyal Subject in the Province of North
Carolina,[18] having a good Plantation well stocked and a numerous
family. That his political Sentiments exposed him to so much
Annoyance from the governing Party, that he determined to retire into
the wilderness, that he accordingly mustered his whole family,
consisting of several Sons and their Wives and Children, and
Sons-in-law with their Wives and Children, a numerous band of select
and valuable Slaves Male and female, and a large Stock of Cattle, with
which they proceeded westward, intending to retire into Kentucky.
"That after" the accidental death of the father they pursued their
route to the westward and settled with their Slaves in the wilderness
about five hundred miles from any civil establishment. After a
residence of three years, a party of regular Troops and Indians from
the British Garrison at Detroit appeared in the plain and summoned
them to surrender.[18] "Relying upon British faith," says Mr. Powell,
"they open'd their Gate on condition of Protection to their Persons
and property from the Indians; but they had no sooner surrendered and
received that promise than her sons and sons-in-law had to resort to
arms to resist the Insults of the Indians to their wives and
Slaves.[19] Several lives were lost and the whole surviving Party was
marched into Detroit, about six hundred Miles, where the Slaves were
distributed among the Captors and the rest marched or boated eight
hundred miles further to Montreal and driven into the Provot Prison as
Cattle into a Pound."[19]
This story will be credited with difficulty but accident some time
after put into the hands of Mr. Powell a document of undeniable
credit, which, however, was unnecessary: for on Mr. Powell's
representation of the case to Sir F. Haldimand the most peremptory
orders to the Commandant at Detroit to find out the slaves of Mrs. La
Force in whose ever possession they might be and transmit them to
their mistress at Montreal. But Detroit was too far distant from
headquarters and interests prompting to disobedience of such an order
too prevalent for it to produce any effect; and the commandant
acknowledged in answer to a reiterated order that the slaves could not
be produced, although their names and those of their new masters were
correctly ascertained and the following list transmitted with the
order.
List of slaves formerly the property of Mrs. Agnes La Force and in
possession of others:
Negro Scipio in possession of Simon Girty[20]
do Tim " " " Mr. Le Duc.
do Ishener " " " do do
do Stephen " " " Captn. Graham.
do Joseph " " " Captn. Elliot.
do Peggy " " " do do
do Job " " " Mr. Baby
do Hannah " " " Mr. Fisher.
do Candis " " " Capt. McKee.
do Bess --Grace Rachel--and Patrick-Indians"
----
13
The case of Mrs. La Force and some similar cases led Haldimand to
require Sir John Johnson, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, to
report. He wrote from Quebec, July 16, 1781, "Several complaints
having been made upon the subject of selling negroes brought into this
Province (Quebec) by scouting parties--who allege a Right to Freedom
and others belonging to Loyalists who are obliged to relinquish their
properties or reclaim them by paying the money for which they were
sold, I must desire that you upon the most minute enquiry give in to
Brigadier General Maclean a Return of all Negroes who have been
brought into the Province by Parties in any Respect under your
Directions whether Troops or Indians, specifying their names, their
former masters, whether Loyalists or Rebels, by whom brought in and to
whom sold, at what price and where they are at present. I shall direct
Cols. Campbell and Clans to do the same by which it will be in my
Power to reduce the Grievances now complained of and to make such
arrangements as will prevent them in future."
Johnson sent a return of Negroes to Maclean and Maclean July 26, 1781,
and they sent it on to Haldimand: Clans and Campbell made returns
direct to Haldimand in August of the same year. Fortunately the
covering letters are extant as are the reports. There is also one
Negro, Abraham, reported in a Return of Rebel Prisoners in and about
Montreal as having been taken June 18, 1781; and, therefore, about a
year after Mrs. La Force's capture.[21]
"Of the fifty or more slaves named in this list," says Dr. T. W.
Smith, "nearly half were sold at Montreal, a few being carried by the
Indians and Whites to Niagara. The others were handed to their former
owners. 'Charles' 'taken at Balls Town making his escape out of a
window in Col. Gordon's house' was sold to the Rev. David C. DeLisle,
the Episcopal rector at Montreal, for £20 Halifax currency; Samuel
Judah, Montreal, paid £24 for 'Jacob' also a slave of Col. Gordon, a
rebel master, but for a Negro girl of the same owner he gave £60;
Nero, another of Col. Gordon's slaves, captured by a Mohawk Indian,
Patrick Langan sold to John Mittleberger of Montreal for £60; 'Tom'
was sold by Captain Thompson of Col. Butler's Rangers for £25 to Sir
John Johnson who gave him to Mr. Langan; and William Bowen, a Loyalist
owner, sold his recovered slave 'Jack' for £70 to Captain John
McDonell of the Rangers. 'William,' who was also sold for £30 to Mr.
McDonell and afterwards carried to Quebec, had been taken from his
master's house by Mohawk Indians under Captain John the Mohawk with a
wagon and horses which he had got ready to convey his mistress Mrs.
Fonda wife of Major Fonda to Schenectady ... another Negro man, name
unknown, was sold 'by a soldier of the 8th Regiment to Lieutenant
Herkimer of the Corps of Rangers, who disposed of him to Ensign
Sutherland of the Royal Regiment of New York.'"
Negroes were not the only victims of Indian raids. In 1782 Powell had
another experience, which is indicative of the practices of the
Indians during the Revolutionary War.[22] In his letter to the
Commissary of Prisoners at Quebec he wrote:
Montreal, 22 August, 1782.,
"Sir
I should make an Apology for the Liberty I take but that I
consider it a public Duty.
When you were here some time since, I am informed that mention
was made to you of a young female slave bought of the Indians by
a Mr. Campbell, a Publican of this Town, and that when you
learned that she was the Daughter of decent family in
Pensilvania[23] captured by the Indians at 10 years of age, your
Humanity opposed itself to the barbarous Claim of her Master and
you Promised that she should be returned to her Parents by the
first Flag with Prisoners.
"In consequence of such a Promise," continued he, "the Child had
been taught to expect a speedy release from her Bondage, and,
finding that her Name was in the List permitted by his Excellency
to cross the Lines with a flag from St. Johns,[24] she imagined
that there could be no Obstacle to her Return; but, being
informed that Mr. Campbell had threatened to give her back to the
Indians, she eloped last Evening, and took refuge in my House
from whence a female Prisoner, (sometime a nurse to my children)
was to sett off this Morning for the Neighborhood of the Child's
Parents. Upon Application from Mr. Campbell to Brigadr. Genl. De
Speht setting forth that He had furnished her with money, an
order was obtained for the delivery of the Child to her Master
and there was no time for any other Accommodation than an
undertaking on my part to reimburse Mr. Campbell the Price he
paid for her to the Indians. This I am to do on his producing a
Certificate from some Military Gentleman, whom he says was
present at the Sale. I have no objection to an Act of Charity of
this Nature, but _all Political Considerations aside_, I am of
opinion that the national Honor is interested, that this
Redemption should not be the Act of an Individual. As Commissary
of Prisoners I have stated the Case to you, Sir, that you may
determine upon the propriety of reimbursing me, or not, the sum I
may be obliged to pay on this occasion.
"That all may be fairly stated I should observe that the Child
was never returned a Prisoner,[25] nor has drawn Provisions as
such--although there can be no doubt of her political character,
having been captured by our Savages."
The reply to this communication was:
"I am favored with your's by Saturday's post and have since layed
it before His Excellency the Commander in Chief, and I have the
Pleasure to inform you that he approves much of your Conduct and
feels himself obliged for your very humane Interposition to
rescue the poor unfortunate Sarah Cole from the Clutches of the
miscreant Campbell; and I am further to inform you that your
letter has been transmitted by his Secretary to the Judges at
Montreal, not only to make Campbell forfeit the money he says he
paid for the Girl, but if possible to punish and make him an
example to prevent such inhuman conduct for the Future; but in
any Event you shall be indemnified for the very generous
Engagement you entered into."
It has been established that Mr. Powell had redeemed his word the day
it was given and paid Mr. Campbell Twelve Guineas[26] on production of
a string of Wampum delivered by the Indians with the girl and the
money paid by Campbell. A cartel went forward August 22, 1782, and in
the list of prisoners sent south appears the name "Sarah Coal."[27]
Haldimand gave Mr. Justice Mabane, the man of all work of his
administration, instructions to see to it that Campbell did not profit
by his inhumanity and also to take such steps that the practice should
not prevail for the future.[27]
A petition presented to Haldimand in 1783, however, discloses another
transaction with the Indians.[28] Jacob Adams presented the petition
December 13 of that year from Carleton Island. He said:
"I have taken a Yankee Boy (by name Francis Cole)[29] with a
party of Messesagee Indians--afterwards when I arrived at
Carleton Island with the said party of Indians and said Yankee
Boy, the Commanding Officer (Captain Aubrey) demanded the
Prisoners Vizt. this Boy and an old man[30] the Indians refus'd
giving them up on which Capt. Aubrey gave me Liberty to purchase
them and so I did by paying sixteen Gallons Rum for the Boy which
cost me at this place twenty shillings, York Currency, pr.
Gallon,[31] and he the said Yankee Boy was to serve me the term
of four years (with his own lawfull consent) for my redeeming
him. As for the old man I likewise bought him for two Gallons Rum
but Capt. Aubrey requested I should send him Prisoner to Your
Excellency. I acted accordingly. I likewise gave a shirt apiece
to each of the two Chiefs who belonged to said party in like
manner I lost twenty-four shillings York Currency by four Keggs
which the above Rum was put into.[32]
"Now, may it please Yr Excellency this said Yankee Boy remained
very peaceably and quietly with me for the space of two months
during which Time I took him several Journeys to Fort Stanwix and
Oswego and whilst I was absent he got acquainted with some of the
soldiers on this Island who persuaded him to get off from me and
accordingly he got off in the manner following: when Lieut.
Peppin of the 5th Regiment and his Party were embarking on board
the Haldimand to go to Niagara, he privately got on board and
remained there Incog. for one Day and a Night on which I made an
application to Mr. Peppin to make a search for him and
accordingly he did and found him and likewise brought him before
the Commanding Officer who asked the Boy his Reasons for Running
away from me: he replied He did not chuse to live with me on
which Capt. Aubreay has sent him down as Prisoner to Yr.
Excellency.
"May it please Your Excellency I expect your Excellency will
please to take my Case into consideration by granting me the
Request of being paid for what I have lost by said Prisoner or
the Yankee Boy, to be returned to me...."[33]
There were not wanting at this time or later instances of those
convicted of crime buying their lives by enlistment for life. One case
of a mulatto, a slave, may be here mentioned. A mulatto called
Middleton was convicted at Montreal in 1781 of a felony (probably
larceny) which carried the sentence of death. He was an expert
mechanic of a class of men much in demand in the army and he was given
a pardon conditioned upon his enlisting for life. He chose the Second
Batallion of Sir John Johnson's Royal American Regiment then in Quebec
and was handed over by Sheriff Gray to the officers of that corps
after having taken the oath of allegiance administered to all
recruits.[34]
Many slaves were employed as boatmen, laborers, and the like, in the
army. We find a letter from headquarters at Quebec to Captain Maurer
who was at Montreal, dated October 6, 1783, which reads:
"Having had the Honor to communicate to His Excellency, the
Commander-in-Chief, your intimation that applications have been
made by the Proprietors of some Negro's Serving Capt. Harkimer's
(Herkimer) Company of Batteau Men to have them restored to them
and desiring to receive His Excellency's Pleasure therein, I am
directed to signify to you His Excellency's Commands that all
such Negro's to be given up on the Requisition of their owners,
provided they produce sufficient Proofs of their Property and
give full acknowledgments or Receipts for them which must be
taken in the most ample manner to prevent future claims and to
have the necessary recourse to those Persons who receive them
should different applications be made for the above Negro's."[35]
Peace had come[36] and there was no more need for a large army. But it
was some years before the Indians of the western country ceased from
their practice of making prisoners.[37]
[Transcriber's Note: The following two tables were published as
one large, wide table. They have been split into two tables, with
the first column repeated, for clearer presentation in this
e-book.]
RETURN OF NEGROES AND NEGRO WOMEN BROUGHT INTO THE PROVINCE BY PARTIES
UNDER THE COMMAND AND DIRECTION OF LIEUT. COL. SIR JOHN JOHNSON, BART
1783
================+==============+=========+========+================+
| Former |Property | Rebel | By Whom |
Names | Masters | of |Property| Brought In |
| |Loyalists| | |
----------------+--------------+---------+--------+----------------+
Tom |Conyne |Loyalist | |Canada Indians |
Charles[1] |Smyth | | Rebel | |
Nero[2] |Col. Gordon | | ditto |Mohawk Indians |
Jacob[3] | ditto | | ditto |Mohawk Indians |
A Negro Wench[4]| ditto | | ditto |Mohawk Indians |
Betty |Capt. Collins | | ditto |Mohawk Indians |
Tom[5] |Col. Fisher | | ditto | ditto |
Jack |Barney Wimple | | ditto |Royal Rt., N. Y.|
Diana |Adam Fonda | | ditto | ditto |
William[6] |Major Fonda | | ditto |Mohawk Indians |
Combwood |J. Wimple | | ditto | ditto |
Catharine |Dora Fonda | | ditto |Canada Indians |
Simon[7] | | | | |
Boatswain |Lewis Clemont | ditto | |Canada Indians |
Jane | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Dick |Col. Butler | ditto | |Mohawk Rangers |
Jack[8] |Wm. Bowen | ditto | |Royal Rt., N.Y. |
Peggy |Mr. Young | ditto | | ditto |
Mink[9] |Capt. Harkemaw| ditto | | |
----------------+--------------+---------+--------+----------------+
=============+==================+=======+=============================+
| | Price | |
Names | To Whom Sold | Sold | Where They Are |
| | For | at Present |
-------------+------------------+-------+-----------------------------+
| |Halifax| |
| | Curry.| |
Tom |Jacob Jordon |£12-10 |Montreal with Mr. Jordon. |
Charles |Rev. Mr. DeLisle | 20--- |Montreal with Mr. DeLisle. |
Nero |John Mittleberger | 60--- |Montreal in Provost Gaol. |
Jacob |Saml. Judah | 24--- |Quebec. |
A Negro Wench| ditto | 60--- |Montreal with Mr. Judah. |
Betty |John Gregory | 45--- |Montreal with Mr. Gregory. |
Tom | Captn. Thomson | 25--- |Montreal with Mr. Tangen. |
Jack | | |Montreal with Capt. Anderson.|
Diana | | | ditto ditto |
William |Mr. McDonell | 30--- |Quebec. |
Combwood |Capt. Sherwood | 12-10 |St. James with Capt. |
| | | Sherwood. |
Catharine |John Grant | 12-10 |St. Genevieve with |
| | | Capt. A. McDonell. |
Simon | | |Niagara with A. Wimple. |
Boatswain | | |Niagara with |
| | | his former master. |
Jane | | | ditto ditto |
Dick | | | ditto with |
| | | his former master. |
Jack |Captn. J. McDonell| 70--- | ditto with Captn. McDonell. |
Peggy | | | ditto with |
| | | her former master. |
Mink | | |Coteau du Lac with |
| | | his former master. |
-------------+------------------+-------+-----------------------------+
[1] Taken at Bells Town, making his escape out of a window in Col.
Gordon's House.
[2] Runed away some time ago from his late Master.
[3] Taken at the same place endeavoring to make his escape, also runed
away from his late Master.
[4] Sold by Sir John Johnson in lieu of a Negro wench and child of his
Property which Col. Gordon exchanged for this Wench.
[5] Sold by Capt. Thomson of Col. Butlers Rangers, to Sir Johnson who
gave him to W Langen Since Dead.
[6] Taken at his masters house by Capt John the Mohawk, with Waggon &
Horses which he got ready to convey his mistress to Schenectady.
[7] Sold by John Grant to Captn Alexander McDonell.
[8] Sold by Wm. Bowen his Former Master, to Captn John McDonell of
Col. Butlers Rangers.
[9] Came in with Sir John Johnson, and are now employed in Captn
Harkimers company of Batteau Men.
[Transcriber's Note: The following two tables were published as
one large, wide table. They have been split into two tables, with
the first column repeated, for clearer presentation in this
e-book.]
============+============== +=========+========+======================+
| Former |Property | Rebel | By Whom |
Names | Masters | of |Property| Brought In |
| |Loyalists| | |
------------+-------------- +---------+--------+----------------------+
Tance |Adam Fonda | | Rebel | |
Cato |Pruyne | | ditto | |
Jack |Major Fonda | | ditto | |
Jack | ditto | | ditto | |
William |Sir J. Johnson |Loyalist | |Rl. Rt., N. Y. |
Frank | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Farry | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Jack | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Abraham | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Tom[10] | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Sam | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Jacob a boy | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Tanoe a boy | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Phillis | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Betty | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Jade | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Jane | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Hager | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Nicholas |Col. Claus | ditto | |Mohawk Rangers |
Tom | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Peter | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
Maria | ditto | ditto | | ditto |
A Negro man name unknown[11] |
N. B. several others carried to Niagara by Indians and White Men[12] |
Chas. Grandison Col. Warner |
------------+--------------+---------+--------+-----------------------+
============+==================+========+=============================+
| | Price | |
Names | To Whom Sold | Sold | Where They Are |
| | For | at Present |
------------+------------------+--------+-----------------------------+
Tance | | |Coteau du Lac. |
Cato | | | ditto |
Jack | | | ditto |
Jack | | | ditto |
William | | |With his Master. |
Frank | | | ditto |
Farry | | | ditto |
Jack | | | ditto |
Abraham | | | ditto |
Tom[10] | | | ditto |
Sam | | | ditto |
Jacob a boy | | | ditto |
Tanoe a boy | | | ditto |
Phillis | | |With her master. |
Betty | | | ditto |
Jade | | | ditto |
Jane | | | ditto |
Hager | | | ditto |
Nicholas | | |With his master. |
Tom | | | ditto |
Peter | | | ditto |
Maria | | | ditto |
------------+------------------+--------+-----------------------------+
[10] Since dead--All these marks for Sir John Johnson Joyned him on
the Mohawk.
[11] Sold by a Soldier of the 8th Regt to Lieut Harkemer of the Corps
of Rangers, who sold him to Ensign Sutherland of the Rl Rt N. Y.
[12] Sent a Prisoner to Fort Chambly--The Indians still claim the
allowance promised them by ye Commandr in Chief.
JOHN JOHNSON,
Lieut Col Comm.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See this Treaty which was concluded at Paris, February 10, 1763
"au Nom de la Très Sainte & indivisible Trinité, Pere, Fils & Saint
Esprit"--Shortt & Doughty, _Constitutional Documents_, 1759-1791, pp.
73 sqq.
[2] What we now call Lake Nipissing.
[3] See the Proclamation, Shortt & Doughty, _Const. Docs._, pp. 119,
sqq.
[4] Per Hargrave, _arguendo_, Somerset _v._ Stewart (1772), Lofft 1,
at p. 4; the speech in the State Trials Report was never actually
delivered.
[5] (1772) Lofft, 12 Geo. III, 1; (1772) 20 St. Trials 1.
[6] These words are not in Lofft or in the State Trials, but will be
found in Campbell's _Lives of the Chief Justices_, Vol. II, p. 419,
where the words are added: "Every man who comes into England is
entitled to the protection of the English law, whatever oppression he
may heretofore have suffered and whatever may be the color of his
skin. _Quamvis ille niger, quamvis tu candidus esses_ and certainly
Vergil's verse was never used to a nobler purpose. Verg. E. 2, 19.
William Cowper in _The Task_, written 1783-1785, imitated this in his
well-known lines:
"Slaves cannot breathe in England; if their lungs
Receive our air, that moment they are free.
They touch our country and their shackles fall."
[7] I use the spelling in Lofft. The State Trials and Lord Campbell
have "Somersett" and "Steuart."
[8] This was in direct opposition to the opinion of Sir Philip Yorke,
Attorney General (afterwards Lord Chancellor Lord Hardwicke) and Sir
Charles Talbot, Solicitor General (afterwards Lord Chancellor Lord
Talbot) who had pledged themselves to the British planters for all the
legal consequences of Slaves coming over to England. The law of
Scotland agreed with that of England.
[9] See _e.g._, Vinogradoff, _Villeinage in England_, passim. Hallam's
_Middle Ages_ (ed. 1827), Vol. 3, p. 256; Pollock and Maitland,
_History of English Law_, Vol. 1, pp. 395, sqq. Holdsworth's _History
of English Law_, Vol. 2, pp. 33, 63, 131; Vol. 3, pp. 167, 377-393.
[10] See Pollock and Maitland's _History Eng. Law_, Vol. 1, pp. 1-13,
395, 415; Holdsworth's _Hist. Eng. Law_, Vol. 2, pp. 17, 27, 30-33,
131, 160, 216.
[11] "So spake the fiend and with necessity,
The tyrant's plea, excused his devilish deeds."
Paradise Lost, Bk. 4, ll. 393, 394.
Milton a true lover of freedom well knew the peril of an argument
based upon supposed necessity. Necessity is generally but another name
for greed or worse.
[12] For example, the Statute of (1732) 5 Geo. II, c. 7, enacted, sec.
4, "that from and after the said 29th September, 1732, the Houses,
Lands, Negroes and other Hereditaments and real Estates situate or
being within any of the said (British) Plantations (in America) shall
be liable" to be sold under execution. Note that the Negroes are
"Hereditaments and Real estate," as were the villeins--a rule wholly
different from that of the French law.
[13] His Commission is dated November 28, 1763, Shortt & Doughty,
_Constitutional Documents_, 1759-1761, pp. 126, sqq.
[14] _Canadian Archives, Murray Papers_, Vol. II, p. 15: the Quebec
Act mentioned immediately below is (1774) 14 George III, c. 83.
In 1774 the well known Quebec Act reintroduced the former French
Canadian law in civil matters while it retained the English law in
criminal matters; but the change made no difference in the condition
of the slave.
[15] The three which follow I owe to the interesting paper of Mr. E.
Z. Massicotte, Archivist of Montreal published in _Le Bulletin des
Recherches Historiques_ for November, 1918, pp. 348 sqq.--the
advertisement in the Gazette is to be found in Terrill's _Chronicles
of Montreal_. The paper was 2-1/2 Spanish dollars per annum, 10 sous
per copy, published every Wednesday.
[16] The "Upper Countries" were Detroit and Michilimackinae, sometimes
including the Niagara region--at this time there were practically no
residents in what became the Province of Upper Canada and is now the
Province of Ontario. The letter is to be found in the _Canadian
Archives_, B. 217, p. 21: as no further record appears, it is to be
presumed that an order was made for sale by the Sheriff.
The Report of James Monk Attorney-General at Quebec about to be
mentioned is to be found in the _Canadian Archives_, B. 207, p. 105.
[17] In the same year a much wronged Negro petitioned Haldimand. His
petition dated at Quebec, October 17, 1778, reads: "To His Excellency
Frederick
Haldimand, Governor & Commander in Chief of all Kanady and the
territories thereunto belonging,
The Petition of Joseph King humbly sheweth that Your Petitioner has
been twice taken by the Yankys and sold by them each time at Public
Vendue: he has made his escape and brought two white men through the
woods: he was a servant to Captain McCoy last winter in Montreal and
came here (Quebec) last spring. Your Petitioner has gone through many
Perils and Dangers of his life for making his escape from the Yankeys.
He hoaps that Your Excellency through the abundance of Your
Benevolence will grant him his liberty for which your poor Petitioner
as in Duty bound will ever pray." _Canadian Archives_, B. 217, p. 324.
[18] In the Petition referred to _post_, Mrs. La Force states that her
husband was "late of Virginia."
[19] I have followed the Powell MSS. in spelling, capitalization, etc.
[20] They were taken in an expedition nominally under Captain Bird but
he had little control over the Indians and had only a few men of his
own British Regulars. He had had bitter experience of the cruelty and
unreliability of the Indians in 1779 but had to go with them in 1780.
This was not one of the two large Forts which Bird took in his 1780
expedition, Fort Liberty and Martin's Station, but a smaller
fortification. It was taken June 26, 1780 (_Can. Arch._, B. 172, 480);
that there were several small forts is certain; that some of the
prisoners brought to Detroit were from the small forts and that they
(or some of them) were not rebels appears from the letter from De
Peyster of August 4, 1780 (_Canadian Archives_, B. 100, p. 441): "In a
former letter to the Commander in Chief," said he, "I observed that it
would be dangerous having so many Prisoners here but I then thought
those small Forts were occupied by a different set of people."
[21] The well-known so-called Renegade, is in reality a loyal subject
whose reputation pays the penalty of a losing cause. The others are
all well-known loyalists of Detroit.
Mrs. La Force's Petition to Haldimand is still extant. _Canadian
Archives_, B. 217, p. 116. Her name is included in the list of women
and children remaining at Montreal, the list being dated Quebec,
September 11, 1782, and she being given as of Virginia and taken June
26, 1780.
[22] The correspondence, &c., is in the _Canadian Archives_, B. 129,
p. 221, 225; B. 159, p. 152; B. 183, p. 284. A Negro taken "horse
hunting" by a party of Puttewatamies in the West is mentioned August
16, 1782, in B. 123, p. 290. He belonged to Epharaim Hart from whom he
deserted and was taken about 20 miles up Cross Creek. I copy from a
Manuscript of Powell's in my possession which I have compared with a
photostate copy of a manuscript in the _Canadian Archives_.
[23] The western part of Pennsylvania is meant. This region was
seething with conflicts on a small scale between the Loyalists and the
Republicans. The Indians for the most part took the side of the
former.
[24] In what is now the Province of Quebec.
[25] In 1780 Germain instructed Haldimand that "all prisoners from
revolted Provinces are committed as guilty of high treason not as
prisoners of war" (_Canadian Archives_, B. 59, p. 54) but a change
soon took place and after some intermediate stages, Shelburne, the
Home Secretary, in April, 1782, instructed Haldimand that all American
prisoners were to be held for exchange. _Canadian Archives_, B. 50, p.
164.
[26] By the Ordinance of March 29, 1777, 17 George III, c. 9, the
guinea was declared equivalent to £1.3.4, Quebec Currency: this would
make the price of the girl, $42.60. See note 30 post. It is to be
presumed that Powell was repaid. He nowhere complains that he was not
as he certainly would have done if he had cause to do so.
Negroes were frequently arriving in the colony and seeking aid and
subsistence. For example, we find Thomas Scott, J. P., reporting
Thursday, May 17, 1781: "The Bearer John Jacob a Negro man just
arrived from Montreal has applied to me for relief in his case as set
forth in the Annexed Paper. But as I apprehend that can only be given
him by His Excellency the Governor I respectfully recommend him to His
Excellency's notice." _Canadian Archives_, B. 100, p. 72.
[27] See _Canadian Archives_, B. 130, pp. 33, 34.
[28] It is more than doubtful that the prohibition of the sale of
white captives by the Indians would be productive of good. The natural
result would rather be that the Indians would kill their white
captives at once or torture them to death. At the best the prisoners
would in most cases, if adults become slaves and if young be adopted
into the tribe. There are numerous instances of white captives being
slain because unsaleable while the Negroes escaped death because they
found a ready market. See the story of Thomas Ridout, post, note 37.
The order of Haldimand will be found in the Canadian Archives.
[29] Remembering that Sarah Cole was bought by Campbell from the
Indians at Carleton Island (near Kingston) it seems likely that
Francis Cole was her brother or some other relation. That Adams says
nothing of Sarah is not at all strange.
The Mississagua Indians occupied a great part of the territory now the
Province of Ontario and were always loyal to the British Crown.
[30] In the "Return of Prisoners whoa have requested leave to remain
in the Province made at Quebec, November 3, 1782," appear the names of
"Mich. & Phoebe Roach to remain at Montreal to receive a child with
the Savages and a man at Carleton Island." These were white. The
Report of the Negroes follows. _Canadian Archives_, B. 163, p. 258.
[31] The York Shilling (or shilling in New York currency) was 12-1/2
cents, one eighth of a dollar.
[32] $5.00 for the rum; $3.00 for the Keggs.
[33] _Canadian Archives_, B. 216, pp. 14, sqq.
No proceedings seem to have been taken on this Petition and it is
probable that Mr. Adams had to stand the loss on Francis Cole the said
Yankee Boy as Campbell did on Sarah Cole of Pennsylvania.
Indians were not the only slavers. As soon as the Declaration of
Independence was promulgated, if not before, Boston began to fit out
privateers to prey on British trade. We read of four privateers
reported by Governor Montague as seen in the Straits of Belle Island
in 1776, two off Placentia in 1777 and in 1778 committing daily
depredations on the coast of Newfoundland. They harried the
unprotected fishermen and the farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador but
some at least of them went further. Those who had demanded political
freedom themselves denied even personal freedom to others. They seized
and carried away into slavery some of the unoffending natives, the
Eskimos, who were freemen and whose only crime was their helplessness.
One instance will suffice. The _Minerva_ privateer of Boston, Captain
John Grimes, Master, mounting 20 nine pounders and manned with 160 men
landed on Sandwich Bay, Labrador, at Captain George Cartwright's
station, took his brig, _The Countess of Effingham_, loaded her with
his fish and provisions and sent her off to Boston. Cartwright not
unnaturally said: "May the Devil go with them." "The _Minerva_ also
took away four Eskimo to be made slaves of." W. G. Gosling,
_Labrador_, Toronto, n. d., pp. 192, 244, 245, 333.
[34] See _Canadian Archives_, B. 61, p. 83, where he is called a
Negro. _Ibid._, B. 158, p. 261, where he is called a mulatto.
[35] _Canadian Archives_, B. 215, p. 236.
[36] The Definitive Treaty of Peace between the mother country and her
revolted colonies, now become the United States of America, was signed
at Paris, September 3, 1783, but it had been incubating for months
before that date.
[37] It may not be out of place to give some account of the capture by
Indians of Thomas Ridout, afterwards Surveyor General and Legislative
Councillor of Upper Canada. His story is given in his own words by his
granddaughter Lady Edgar in her interesting _Ten Years of Upper
Canada_.
Thomas Ridout, born in Dorsetshire, when twenty years of age came to
Georgia in 1774. After trading for a few years he left Annapolis,
Maryland, in 1787 for Kentucky with letters of introduction from
George Washington, Colonel Lee of Virginia and other gentlemen of
standing. Sailing with Mr. Purviance, his man James Black and two
other men towards the Falls of the Ohio, the party was taken by a band
of about twenty Indians. Ridout was claimed by an elderly man,
apparently a chief, who protected him from injury, but could not save
his hat, coat and waistcoat. Soon he saw tied two other young men who
had been taken that morning and set aside for death. Ridout was able
to secure their release. The Indians were Shawanese, Pottawatamies,
Ottawas and Cherokees. One prisoner, William Richardson Watson, said
to be an Englishman but who had lived for some years in the United
States, they robbed of 700 guineas and then burnt to death. Purviance,
they beat to death but Ridout was saved by the Indian who claimed him
as his own. A white man, Nash, about twenty-two who had been taken by
the Indians when a child and had become a chief, encouraged him and
told him that he would be taken to Detroit where he could ransom
himself. He was more than once within a hairsbreadth of death but at
length he was brought by his master, Kakinathucca, to his home. He was
a great hunter and went every year to Detroit with his furs for sale,
taking with him his wife Metsigemawa and a Negro slave. The chief had
a daughter Altewesa, about eighteen years of age "of a very agreeable
form and manners." She saved Ridout from death from the uplifted hand
of an Indian who had his hand over him ready to strike the fatal blow
with his tomahawk.
At the end of three weeks the whole village set off for the Wabash.
Arriving at the Wabash his papers were read by the interpreter, a
white man who had been taken prisoner several years before and held in
captivity. The Indians were assured that Ridout was an Englishman and
not an American and they consented that he might go with his master to
Detroit for ransom. The Indians were excessively enraged at the
Americans who they claimed were the cause of their misfortunes. The
preceding autumn the Americans had come to their village on the Scito
River from Kentucky and in times of profound peace and by surprise
destroyed their village and many of their people, their cattle, grain
and everything they could lay their hands on.
Ridout witnessed the torture and heard the dying shrieks of an
American prisoner Mitchell who had been captured with his father
Captain Mitchell on the Ohio. The father had been liberated but the
son given to a warrior who was determined to burn him.
After three or four days, Ridout's master collected his horses and
peltry and with his wife the Negro and Ridout set out for Detroit. On
the way there were met other Indians among whom was the noted Simon
Girty. A council was held at which the murderer of Mitchell claimed
Ridout as his but at length Kakinathucca prevailed and Ridout's life
was again spared. The murderer asserted that he was a spy but his
papers proved his innocence. The little party went on to Fort Miami
where several English and French gentlemen received Ridout with open
arms. Mr. Sharpe clothed him and a French gentlemen lent a canoe to
carry the party and furs 250 miles by water to Detroit. Reaching
Detroit, which, it should be remembered, remained in British hands
until August 1796, he was received with every attention and a bed was
provided for him at Government House. The officers furnished him with
money and gave him a passage to Montreal where he arrived about the
middle of July, 1788. Ridout settled in Upper Canada. In 1799,
Kakinathucca and three other Shawanese chiefs came to pay him a visit
at York, (Toronto), and were hospitably treated, the great and good
Kakinathucca receiving substantial testimony of the gratitude of the
man he had saved from a death of torture.
Ridout's memorandum of the fate of the other prisoners is terribly
significant: "Samuel Purviance, Killed; Barland, Killed; Wm. R.
Watson, burnt; James Black, beat to death; Symonds, burnt; Ferguson,
sold for corn; a negro woman unharmed."
CHAPTER III
AFTER THE PEACE
Early in the summer of 1782, Haldimand received orders from Sir Guy
Carleton then in New York to act only on the defensive. This was due
to the negotiations for peace being on the way, and from that time it
may fairly be said that Canada was at peace.
One slave felt the movement in the air. This was Plato, an old Negro
slave who had been taken in Carleton's operations against Fort George
in 1780 and brought to Montreal where he entered the service of St.
Luc, a personage in those days. Plato had belonged to a Mr. Stringer
who, the slave always asserted, never joined the rebels. But when, on
November 3, 1782, there was made by the Commissary of Prisoners at
Quebec a return of the prisoners who had requested to remain in the
province, Plato's name appeared in the list. The next year he changed
his mind and on July, 17, 1783, he presented a petition to Haldimand
asking him to "excuse these few lines from a slave who would wish to
go again to his own Master and Mistress." He added: "The Gentleman I
am now living with Mr. St. Luc says he is very willing to let me go
with the first party that sets out from here" (Montreal).[1] Another
Negro slave Roger Vaneis (Van Ness) who had also been taken at Fort
George declined to go. He was living with Lieutenant Johnson and was
to have his freedom on serving for a time already about completed.[2]
The declaration of peace, however, brought many more slaves into
Canada. Even before the treaty was signed some of those who had kept
their faith to England's crown and desired to live and die under the
old flag made their way to the north. After the peace when the cause
was lost, many thousands came. Many of these had been slaveholders and
they brought their slaves with them. Some settled in what was
afterwards Lower Canada in Sorel and elsewhere, some in the upper
country, around Cornwall, Kingston, and Niagara, and a very few
crossed the river at Detroit.[3]
Returns made about the time show a large number of
slaves--euphemistically disguised as _servants_ in some cases. A
Report of 1784 shows 14 near Cataraqui (Kingston). Another of the same
year for the new townships on the River St. Lawrence beginning at
Township No. 1, on Lake St. Francis and running upwards, gives
1st Battn. late King's R. Rifles 25
Tps. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Part Major Jessup's Corps 12
Tps. 6, 7 & pt. 8.
2nd Battn.
Tps. 3, 4, Cataraqui 10
Capt. Grass, Party
Tp. 1 Cataraqui (apparently none)
Part Major Jessup's Corps
Tp. 2 Cataraqui 12
Major Rogers' Corps 14
Tp. 3 Cataraqui
Major VanAlstine's Party of Loyalists[4] 17
---
90
In the return of the disbanded troops and Loyalists at Sorel the same
year, the number of servants is given at 5; none near Chambly, 3 about
St. John's, 40 about Montreal, and 8 about Lachine.[5] In the Niagara
district in 1782 the blunt word "slave"[6] is used and the number
given at only one. In 1784 the first census in which slaves were
counted was made. In the District of Quebec there were 88, in the
District of Trois Rivières 4, and in the District of Montreal 212. In
what was afterwards the Province of Lower Canada there were in all
304.
The sale and marriage of Negro slaves continued to be[7] recorded. For
example, there are extant two notarial acts of sale of a female Negro
slave called Peg, June 9, 1783 from Elias Smith to James Finlay and
May 14, 1788 from Finlay to Patrick Langan. In each case the price was
£50[8]. On January 20, 1785 there took place at Christ Church the
marriage of Francis and Jane both slaves to Colonel Campbell. On March
9, 1785, there was a sale of a female Negro slave named Sarah, by
James Morison, merchant, as agent for Hugh McAdam, of Saratoga, New
York, to Charles Lepallieur, Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas. The
price was 36 louis. On April 1, 1785 Elizah Cady of New York, sold to
William Ward of Vermont, four Negroes: Tobi 24 years, Joseph 20 years,
Sarah 19 years and a child six months, the price being 250 louis. On
April 26, William Ward sold three of these slaves at Montreal to
William Campbell--that is Tobi, Sarah and the child for $425. On May
6, William Campbell sold these three slaves to Dr. Charles Blake for
$300.
On September 5, there followed the sale of a Pani slave called
Charlotte, aged eighteen years, by Dame Marie-Josephe Deguire, widow
of Jean-Etienne Waden, to Jacob Schieffelin, auctioneer, for 21 louis.
The said slave had been brought from Upper Canada by Mr. Waden in
1776. To increase her value it was said that the slave had had the
measles and the small-pox and was not scrofulous nor had any other
defect.
On January 22, 1786, there took place at Christ Church the marriage of
the slaves, Thomas York and Margaret McCloud. On March 17, 1787,
Samuel Mix, Merchant of Saint-Jean on the Richelieu, sold to Louis
Gauthier, merchant tanner of the Faubourg Saint Laurent, a female
Negro slave named Rose aged 14 years for the sum of 40 louis. On June
6, 1789, Charles Lepallieur resold to James Morison the female Negro
slave Sarah whom he had sold to him in 1785. The price was 36 louis.
On the sixth of June James Morison sold the same Sarah for 50 louis to
Joseph Andrews, at a profit of 14 louis. On April 3, 1790 there was a
sale by Oliver Hasting to M. le chevalier Chs. Boucher de la Bruère,
de Boucherville, of a Negro of the name of Antoine, aged eight years
and a half. The price was 90 minots de blé. On September 9, 1791
followed the sale at auction of the female Negro slave Rose, aged 19
years, by William Matthews, merchant of Sorel, to Lambert Saint-Omer,
Merchant of Montreal, for 38 louis and 5 shillings. This slave had
already belonged to S. Mix as set forth above.
Alexander Campbell writing from Montreal August 16, 1784, to Major
Mathews says that having sent to Albany to recover some of his debts,
Adam Fondea of Cauchnawago of Tryon's County gave as an excuse for not
paying his debt that a certain Negro woman named Dine born in his own
family and his actual property was taken away from his house by
Captain Samuel Anderson of Sir John Johnson's First Batallion, and was
still detained by him as his property. Fondea being willing to pay the
debt had sent a power of attorney to take his slave, sell her and pay
the debt with the proceeds. Campbell asked that the governor should
order Dine to be seized and sold as no Magistrate had the power or the
inclination to give such an order. No attention seems to have been
paid to this request.
On September 15, 1784, James Doty writing also from Montreal says that
"with some difficulty to myself I have ... purchased a Negro boy from
Lieut. Clench of the Indian Department which boy has been allowed his
provisions drawn at Cataraqui (Kingston) from the time of his first
coming into the Province with other Loyalists from N. York last year."
He asked to have this allowance continued. There was no answer. The
report of settlers near Cataraqui for this year gave 3 "servants" and
near Oswegatchie 11. But the importation of Slaves was not encouraged
indiscriminately.[10]
The accustomed abuses were not wanting. In an action Poirée v. Lagord
in the Court of Common Pleas at Montreal July 1788, it was proved that
Lagord had sold to Poirée in September, 1787, a free Negro for £37.6.
He was ordered to repay the price with interest. Another and more
celebrated case was that of the Negro Nero. In 1780 Haldimand sent a
detachment of troops accompanied by Mohawk Indians to attack Ballstown
and the Saratoga region. They captured a number of Negroes some of
them the slaves of Colonel Gordon of the American service. These were
claimed by the white men and Indians, and as was the custom, they were
brought to Montreal and sold. One Negro called Dublin was known to be
free. He was liberated and enlisted in the army. Lieutenant Patrick
Langan acted as agent for the Indians and sold Nero to John Mittberger
for £60 December 5, 1780. Claiming the Negro as a prisoner of war
General Allan Maclean imprisoned him "in the public Provot." He made
his escape and went to his master Colonel Gordon and Mittleberger sued
Langan in 1788 for the price and for damages. In January 1789 he was
awarded judgment for the £60 and interest.[11] About the same time
Rossiter Hoyle, attorney for the trustees of Mary Jacobs, obtained a
judgment in the Court of Common Pleas at Montreal that Donald Fisher
and Elizabeth his wife should forthwith deliver "two negro women, the
one named Silvia Jane, the other Ruth Jane," which said Negro women,
they had sold to Mary Jacobs by a notarial deed for £50 or pay £50
with costs.[12]
There are also in existence advertisements for the sale of Negroes. In
the _Quebec Gazette_ of March 18, 1784, is the advertisement of the
sale of a female Negro slave, price to be obtained on inquiry of
Madame Perrault. In the issue of March 25, 1785, there is advertised
for sale a Negro of about twenty-five years of age who has had the
smallpox. There appear also a few advertisements for runaway slaves.
There arose also some complaints like the following: In 1784 there was
presented at Quebec to Sir Frederick Haldimand, Governor in Chief, a
petition from John Black showing that the petitioner hath served as a
seaman in His Majesty's service on board the sloop, _Happy Couple_ of
New York for which he had a certificate to shew, and was then living
servant to Mrs. Martin, the wife of Captain Martin of this place, who
wanted to deprive him of his liberty and humbly begged His Excellency
to grant him a passport.[13]
The immigration into Canada of those who had been British subjects was
ardently desired by the home authorities. To encourage this
immigration, the Imperial Parliament in 1790 passed an Act[14] which
had some effect in increasing the slave population. Intended to
encourage "new settlers in His Majesty's Colonies and Plantations in
America," it applied to all "subjects of the United States." It
allowed an importation into any of the Bahama, Bermuda or Somers
Islands, the province of Quebec (then including all Canada), Nova
Scotia and every other British territory in North America. It allowed
the importation by such American subjects of "Negroes, household
furniture, utensils of husbandry or cloathing free of duty," the
"household furniture, utensils of husbandry and cloathing" not to
exceed in value £50 for every white person in the family and £2 for
each Negro, any sale of Negro or goods within a year of the
importation to be void. After the division of the Old Province of
Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada in 1791 the course of slavery was
different.[15]
It seems appropriate to close this chapter by adding a number of
available advertisements including some of runaway apprentices.[16]
Il s'est enfui de chez les Soussignés, la nuit du 12 du courant,
Un Nègre Esclave nommé POMPÉ d'environ cinq pieds cinq pouces
d'hauteur, robuste, il a été acheté derniérement de M. Perras,
négociant de cette ville; il avoit sur lui quand il a décampé un
gilet et des culottes brunes: Celui qui le ramenera aura HUIT
PIASTRES de Récompense, et les frais raisonnables qu'il aura
faits. Quiconque le retirera chez lui sera poursuivi suivant la
dernière rigueur de la Loi, par
JOHNSTON & PURSS.
RUN-AWAY from the subscribers, in the Night of the 12th inst. a
Sailor Negro Slave named POMPEY, about 5 Feet, 5 Inches high,
and is Robust; he was lately bought of Mr. Perras, Merchant in
this Town; had on when he went away a brown Jacket and Breeches.
Whoever brings him to the Subscribers shall have EIGHT DOLLARS
Reward and reasonable Charges paid. Any Person Harbouring him
will be prosecuted according to the utmost Rigor of the Law, by
JOHNSTON & PURSS.
Run-away from the Subscriber, living in Quebec, on the Evening of
the 9th Instant, an indented Servant Woman, named Catharine
Osburn, about 20 or 21 years of Age, red fac'd, very fat and
rough skin'd, about 5 Feet 5 Inches high, a little mark'd with
the Small-Pox; She had on a purple colour'd Stuff Jacket flower'd
with green and white, a blue thick Kersey Petticoat, blue
Stockings with White clocks, an old red Cloak; and took with her
two new Shifts of good Dowlas Linen, seven plain and two lac'd
caps. She was inticed away by two discharg'd soldiers, John
Linsey and John McDonald, said to be going for New England.
McDonald was formerly Turnkey at the Gaol; they were both of the
60th Regiment. Whoever takes them up, and secures them, so that
they may be brought to Justice, shall receive Five Dollars Reward
for each of them; and whoever secures the Woman, or brings her to
her Master, shall receive Five Dollars Reward, and all reasonable
Charges, paid by
WILLIAM LAING.
N. B. All Persons are forbid to harbour or carry any of them off.
It is thought that they are still harbour'd in and about this
City Quebec, 14th March, 1767.--_Quebec Gazette_, 1767.
Whereas William Russey, an article'd Servant to Mr. Suckling, of
this City, hath lately run-away, and absented himself from the
Service of his said Master: If any Person will give Information
to the said Mr. Suckling of the said Servant, so that he may be
apprehended and brought before John Collins, Esq; one of His
Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the District of Quebec,
shall, upon such Apprehension and Bringing, receive Eight Dollars
Reward, to be paid by me the Subscriber: And any Person or
Persons who shall, after this Notice, employ, harbour or conceal
the said Servant, will be prosecuted with the utmost Severity of
the Law, by me,
GEO. SUCKLING.
QUEBEC, 14th April, 1767.
--_Quebec Gazette_, 1767.
Run-away, from James Crofton, Vintner in Montreal, the Third of
May, 1767, a Mulatto Negro Slave, named Andrew, born in Maryland
Twenty-three Years of Age, middle sized, very active and
sprightly, has a remarkable large Mouth, thick lips, his Fingers
crooked, speaks good English and French, a little Dutch and
Earse; is supposed to have with him forged Certificates of his
Freedom, and Passes. Whoever takes up and secures the said Negro,
so that his Master may have him again, shall have Eight Dollars
Reward, besides all reasonable charges, paid by Mr. Henry Boone,
Merchant, at Quebec, or James Crofton, at Montreal.
N.B. He is remarkable for being clean dres'd and wearing a
Handkerchief tied round his Head: is very well known to all the
Gentlemen at Quebec, that has been in Montreal, and who have used
my House, and was Three Months with Mr. Joseph Howard, of
Montreal Merchant, last Summer in Quebec.--_Quebec Gazette_,
1767.
TO BE SOLD,
For no Fault, the Owner having no employ for him,
A likely Negro fellow, about 23 or 24 Years of Age; understands
Cooking, waiting at Table, and Houshold Work, &c, &c. He speaks
both English and French. For further Particulars enquire of the
Printers.--_Quebec Gazette_, 1770.
From the Subscriber, on Sunday morning the 24th ult, about four
o'Clock, a Negro Lad named NEMO, born in Albany, near eighteen
years of age, about five feet high full round fac'd, a little
marked with the Smallpox, speaks English and French tolerably; he
had on when he went away a double-breasted Jacket of strip'd
flannel, old worsted Stockings, and a pair of English Shoes. Also
a Negro Wench named CASH, twenty-six years old, about 5 feet 8
inches high, speaks English and French very fluently; she carried
with her a considerable quantity of Linen and other valuable
Effects not her own; and as she has also taken with her a large
bundle of wearing apparel belonging to herself, consisting of a
black satin Cloak, Caps, Bonnets, Ruffles, Ribbons, six or seven
Petticoats, a pair of old Stays, and many other articles of value
which cannot be ascertained, it is likely she may change her
dress. All persons are hereby forewarned from harbouring or
aiding them to escape, and Masters of vessels from carrying them
off, as they may depend on being prosecuted to the utmost rigour
of the Law; and whoever will give information where they are
harboured; or bring them back to the Subscriber at Quebec, or to
Mr. George Ross, Merchant at Sorel, shall have TEN DOLLARS Reward
for each, and all reasonable charges.
HUGH RITCHIE.
N. B. The Lad was seen at Sorel on Friday morning the 29th ult.
and there is reason to believe they are both lurking thereabout.
QUEBEC, November 2, 1779.
--_Quebec Gazette_, 1779.
Ran-Away on Sunday the 24th of October, JOHN BARCLAY, an
Apprentice, aged 15 years, small of his age, has short black and
lank Hair, dark hazle Eyes, good complexion a little freckled,
speaks good English and a little French: had on when he went away
a light grey Coat and Waistcoat, and stript cotton Trowsers with
leather Breeches under them. Whoever will apprehend him or give
information so that he may be apprehended, shall receive Five
Guineas Reward from
SHOOLBRED & BARCLAY.
QUEBEC, November 2, 1779.
--_Quebec Gazette_, 1779.
Run Away from his bail, an indented servant man named Christian
Miller, born in Germany, by trade a Tailor, he is about 5 feet 9
or 10 inches in stature, well made, middling long black hair,
speaks English tolerably well, he was formerly a servant to a
German Hessian officer, one Mr. Seiffort, Lieutenant in Capt.
Schoels regiment, has very much the art and behaviour of a sham
beau and has a variety of cloaths, viz. a Maroon Coat, a brown
ditto, lined with light blue silk, the one had Gold the other
Silver Buttons, a brown Great Coat and a variety of Waistcoats
and Breeches: Whoever will apprehend the said Run-away, so as the
subscriber may have him in custody shall receive FIVE GUINEAS
reward, over and above any reasonable expences; and all masters
of vessels, officers of the army and others, are forwarn'd not to
harbour or entertain him nor to be aiding in his escape, on pain
of being prosecuted as the law directs.
Note. If apprehended at Quebec, apply to Mr. Wm. Laing, Merchant,
or to the subscriber at Montreal.
(Signed) JOHN MITTLEBERGER.
MONTREAL, 4th July, 1782.
_Quebec Gazette_ 1782.
Ran Away from the subscriber, on Thursday evening the 21st
instant, an Apprentice Boy named JOSEPH POWERS, a Shoemaker,
about fifteen years of age, of a fair complexion short hair,
speaks English and French, had on when he went away a Blanket
Coat, light blue Waistcoat and Breeches very dirty, a Check Shirt
much wore, a round Hat, and a pair of Slippers: this is to give
notice to the public that they are not to harbour the said
Apprentice in their houses or families, otherwise they will be
prosecuted as the law directs.
ALEXR. WALLACE.
QUEBEC, November 27, 1782.
--_Quebec Gazette_, 1782.
Ran-Away from the Printing-Office, On Monday night last, an
Apprentice Lad named Duncan M'Donell, about 19 years of age,
about five feet five inches high, of a fresh complexion; speaks
English, French and Erse: all persons are hereby forwarn'd from
harbouring him, as they may depend on being prosecuted to the
utmost rigour of the Law, and whoever will bring him back shall
have One Guinea Reward from the
PRINTER.
QUEBEC, April 17, 1783.
--_Quebec Gazette_, 1783.
TO BE SOLD.
A NEGRO WENCH about 18 years of age, who came lately from New
York with the Loyalists. She has had the Small Pox--The Wench has
a good character and is exposed to sale only from the owner
having no use for her at present.
Likewise will be disposed of a handsome Bay Mare.
For particulars enquire of the Printer.
--_Quebec Gazette_, 1783.
A Gentleman going to England has for sale, a Negro-wench, with
her child, about 26 years of age, who understands thoroughly
every kind of house-work, particularly washing and cookery: And a
stout Negro--boy, 13 years old: Also a good horse, cariole and
harness. For particulars enquire at Mr. William Roxburgh's
Upper-town, Quebec, 10th May, 1785.
--_Quebec Gazette_, 1785.
To be SOLD together.
A Handsome Negro Man and a beautiful Negro Woman married to one
another: the man from twenty-three to twenty-four years of age,
between five and a half and six English feet high: the woman from
twenty-two to twenty-three years of age; both of a good
constitution. For further information, such as may be desirous of
purchasing them must apply to Mr. Pinguet, in the Lower-town of
Quebec, Merchant.
--_Quebec Gazette_, 1788.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Canadian Archives_, B. 163, p. 258: _ibid._, B. 163, p. 324.
[2] _Ibid._, B. 163, p. 258.
[3] As Britain kept possession of Detroit until 1796, many United
Empire Loyalists settled on the west side of the river at that point.
A few remained on the east side of the Niagara River as Fort Niagara
was held in the same way.
[4] _Canadian Archives_, B. 168, p. 42.
Different detachments of disbanded regulars on Tp. 5 Cataraqui,
detachment of Germans under Baron Kritzenstein on Tp. 5 Cataraqui and
Rangers of 6 Nations Department settled with the Mohawks on Bay of
Quinte return no servants. _Canadian Archives_, B. 168, p. 42. Report
dated Montreal, July 1, 1784.
[5] _Canadian Archives_, B. 168, pp. 44, 47, 48, 51, 55, 61, 63, 67,
68, 71, 77, September, 1784. See also B. 168, pp. 81, 88, 92, 95, 99,
100, 101, 102. These may be found in the Report for 1891 of the
_Canadian Archives_ Department, pp. 5-20.
[6] _Ibid._, B. 169, p. 1. There is a column for "Male Slaves" and one
for "Female Slaves." Thomas McMicken has the proud monopoly, he had
one male slave. The other fifteen householders had none. But then he
had 20 hogs to look after and no one else had more than 14; most many
fewer.
[7] _Canadian Archives_, B. 225, 2. p. 406. Massicotte B. R. H. _ut
supra_.
[8] Lafontaine _ut supra_, pp. 21, 22.
[9] Those in the text are taken from Mr. Massicotte's Article B. R. H.
_ut supra_. The letter of Campbell is _Can. Arch._, B. 162, p. 351.
That of Doty, _ibid._, p. 365: the Report is _ibid._, p. 385.
[10] In a letter from Henry Hope, Lieutenant-Governor dated Quebec,
November 6, 1786, to Captain Enys, 29th Reg't., we read:
"I am by desire of His Excellency the Commander in Chief (Lord
Dorchester) to require that no negro slaves shall be permitted on any
account to pass into this Province by the Post under your command."
[11] Lafontaine _ut supra_, pp. 22, 23, 24, 44, 45, 46. _Le Monde
Illustré_ December 9, 1893. Massicotte, _Bulletin des Recherches
Historiques_ for November, 1918, pp. 348 sqq.
[12] Lafontaine _ut supra_, p. 43. The advertisements spoken of are on
p. 21.
[13] _Can. Arch._, B. 217, p. 397. What if anything was done on the
petition does not appear.
[14] (1790) 30 George III, c. 27.
[15] The division of the Province of Quebec into two provinces, that
is, Upper Canada and Lower Canada, was effected by the royal
prerogative, Sec. 31, George III, c. 31, the celebrated Constitutional
Act of Canada. Technically and in law, the new province was formed by
Order in Council, August 24, 1791, but there was no change in
administration until December 26, 1791.
[16] These I owe to the kindness of the officers of the Canadian
Archives Department of Ottawa.
CHAPTER IV
LOWER CANADA
The Province of Lower Canada continued the former law--in criminal
matters, the English law, in civil matters the French law. It was not
long before the status of the slave became a burning issue. At the
first session of the first Parliament[1] of the new Province Lower
Canada, Mr. P. L. Panet, a member of the House of Assembly, moved
(January 28, 1793) for leave to introduce a bill for the abolition of
slavery in the province and leave was unanimously given. On the
twenty-sixth of February, Panet introduced a bill pursuant to leave
given, and it was read in French and in English. On the eighth of
March, Mr. B. Panet proposed the first reading of the bill and it was
so read. On the nineteenth of April Mr. P. L. Panet moved that the
bill be taken into consideration by the Committee of the Whole on the
following Tuesday. The motion was debated and Mr. Debonne moved an
amendment to table the bill, which was carried 31 to 3.[2] There was
no further effort toward legislative dealing with slavery until
1799.[3]
The sale of Negroes continued as indicated by the records.[4] On the
twelfth of May, 1794, Francois Boucher de la Périère and Marie Pecaudy
de Contrecoeur, his wife, gave liberty to James, their Negro slave,
aged 21 years, on condition that he should live in the most remote
parts of the upper country. If, however, he left those parts, he
should return to slavery. On the fifteenth of December, 1795, Frs.
Dumóulin, merchant of Bout de l'ile sold to Myer Michaels, merchant, a
mulatto named Prince, aged 18 years, for the price of 50 louis.
On the sixteenth of January, 1796 there was found a bill of sale of a
female Negro slave named Rose, dated January 15, 1794, the vendor
being P. Byrne, the purchaser Simon Meloche, for the price of 360
shillings, deposited with the Notary J. P. Delisle. On the third of
September John Shuter by notarial act promised his Negro, Jack, to
give him his liberty in six years, if, in the meantime, he served him
faithfully. Later, on November 2, 1803, Shuter declared that Jack had
fulfilled his obligation, and he accordingly emancipated him. On the
thirteenth of September, J. B. Routier, merchant of the Faubourg
Saint-Antoine, sold to Louis Charles Foucher, Solicitor-General of His
Majesty, Jean Louis, a mulatto, aged 27 years, height 5' 10", the
price being 1300 shillings. Routier declared that he had bought Jean
Louis as well as his mother at the Island of Saint-Domingue in 1778.
On the twenty-third of November César, a free Negro of New London,
Connecticut, engaged for ten years as a domestic to Dr. John Aussem,
living in the Faubourg Saint Antoine, with a salary of 30 louis in
advance. Dr. Aussem reserved to himself the right to sell the services
of his domestic to whomsoever he pleased during the ten years.
On the twenty-fifth of May, 1797 Dame Marie-Catherine Tessier, Widow
of Antoine Janisse, in his lifetime a voyager, liberated her slave
Marie Antoine de Pade, an Indian, aged 23 years, in recognition of her
services which she had rendered her, and in addition gave her a
trousseau. On the twenty-fifth of August Thomas Blaney, gold painter,
sold to Thomas John Sullivan, hotel-keeper of Montreal, the Negro
Manuel about 33 years old for 36 louis, payable in monthly instalments
of three louis each. On the same date and before the same notary,
Sullivan promised the slave to liberate him in 5 years, if he served
him faithfully. On the twenty-second of November George Westphall,
formerly Lieutenant of the 6th Regiment, who owed 20 louis to Richard
Dillon, proprietor of the Montreal Hotel in security for payment,
delivered to his creditor a mulatress, a slave called Ledy, aged 26
years. She was to work with Mr. Dillon until he was repaid what was
owed him by Westphall for principal and interest.
In the year 1793, there came up in the Court of Appeal at Quebec a
case involving slavery but nothing was really decided. The plaintiff
Jacob Smith sued Peter McFarlane in the Court of Common Pleas for
taking away his wife and her clothes and detaining them. McFarlane
claimed that Smith's wife was his slave. The Court of Common Pleas
gave the plaintiff judgment for £100 and McFarlane appealed to the
Court of Appeal. The Court pointed out that it was for McFarlane to
prove that Smith's wife was his slave and that he had not done so: but
as there had been error in the proceedings the case was sent back to
be retried. It is important to notice that the court considered that
if McFarlane could prove that Smith's wife was his slave, he had the
right to take her away.[5]
A lawsuit also arose over the Negro Manuel (Allen) sold August 25,
1797, to Thomas John Sullivan. When Blaney sold him for £36 Sullivan
paid down only half and the balance with interest £30.15.2 was sued
for in the Court of King's Bench at Montreal in 1798. Sullivan pleaded
that Manuel was not the plaintiff's slave but a free Negro and that
he had run away March, 1798, at Montreal where he continued to be: and
Sullivan claimed to be reimbursed the £18 which he had paid. On the
sixth of October Manuel himself came into the suit and claimed that
"by the laws of this land he is not a slave but a freeman." Evidence
was given that he had absconded from Sullivan's service alleging as a
reason that he was a freeman, "that other blacks were free and that he
wanted to be free also." In February, 1799, the court held that no
title or right to sell Manuel has been shown and dismissed the action
directing the return of the £18.[6]
In 1797 the Imperial Act of 1732 for the sale of Negroes and other
hereditaments for debt in the American Plantations was repealed so far
as it related to Negroes[7] but this made no difference in their
status. The courts, however, were becoming astute in favor of
assisting those claiming freedom. In February, 1798, a certain female
Negro slave called Charlotte belonging to Miss Jane Cook left her
mistress and refused to return. On information laid she was committed
by the magistrates to prison. She sued out a writ of habeas corpus
from the Court of King's Bench at Montreal and Chief Justice, James
Monk, ordered her release. On this becoming known, the Negroes of the
city and district of Montreal became very threatening in their
demeanor. Many renounced all service and one woman called Jude who had
been bought at Albany in 1795 for £80 by Elias Smith, a merchant of
Montreal, left her master and was committed to prison in the same way
by the magistrates. Being brought up in the Court of King's Bench at
Montreal on habeas corpus, Chief Justice Monk discharged her March 8,
1798 without deciding the question of slavery. The Chief Justice
declared that he would set free every Negro, articled apprentice, or
domestic servant who should be committed to prison in this way by the
magistrates. But this was because the statute in force at that
time[8] gave power to the magistrates to cause such due correction and
punishment to be ministered to an apprentice as they thought fit and
this empowered them to commit apprentices to the house of correction
as a punishment, but it gave no authority to commit to a common gaol
or other prison.
These decisions alarmed the owners of slaves: and a petition from many
inhabitants of Montreal was presented to the House of Assembly April
19, 1799, by Joseph Papineau. This petition set forth the ordinance of
the Intendant Raudot in 1709[9] the Act of 1732,[10] that of 1790,[11]
the facts concerning Charlotte, Jude and the other Negroes, the
judgments of Chief Justice Monk, and the absence of any house of
correction. It prayed that an Act should be passed that until a house
of correction should be established every slave, Panis or Negro who
should desert the service of his master, might be proceeded against in
the same way as apprentices in England, and be committed to the common
gaol of the District; and further that no one should aid or receive a
deserting slave or that there should be passed a law declaring that
there was no slavery in the Province or such other provision
concerning slaves should be made as the House should deem
convenient.[12] The petition was laid on the table.
In 1799 there was passed an Act providing houses of correction for
several districts, but no provision was made concerning slavery.
Perhaps the wisdom of this house proved insufficient to devise any
"provision convenable."
The next year another petition was brought in by Papineau from certain
inhabitants of the District of Montreal saying that doubts had been
entertained how far property in Negroes and Panis was sustainable
under the laws of the province. They cited Raudot's ordinance, the
recognition of slavery for years, and stated that in a recent case the
Court of King's Bench at Montreal in discharging a slave of Mr.
Fraser's who had been committed to the house of correction by three
justices of the peace, had expressed the opinion that the Act of
1797[13] had repealed all the laws concerning slavery. They asked that
the House should pass an act declaring that with certain restrictions
slavery did exist in the province and investing the owners with full
property in the slave; and that this chamber should also pass such
laws and regulations in the matter as should be thought advisable.[14]
The petition on motion of Messrs. Papineau and Black was referred to a
committee of five, Papineau, Grant, Craigie, Cuthbert and Dumas. The
committee reported and Cuthbert introduced on April 30, 1800, a bill
to regulate the condition of slaves, to limit the term of their
slavery and to prevent further introduction of slavery in the
province. The bill passed the second reading and was referred to the
Committee of the Whole, but got no further. The next year Cuthbert
introduced a similar bill with the same result, and again in 1803. The
reason for the failure of these attempts was that any legislation on
slavery would in view of the decisions of the courts be reactionary
and change for the worse the condition of the slave.
The most celebrated of these decisions was in the case of Robin,
_alias_ Robert, a black. James Fraser, a Loyalist of the colony of New
York, became the owner of Robin a Negro man in 1773, before the
American Revolution. The colonies were successful and provisional
articles of peace were signed November 30, 1782. Congress proclaimed
them April 11, 1783 and it was almost inevitable that they would
become a permanent and definitive treaty. Article VII provided for the
speedy evacuation by the British forces of territory to be allotted to
the United States of America "without carrying away any negroes or
other property of the American inhabitants." There was allowed full
time for everyone who desired to live under the British flag to leave
New York. James Fraser made up his mind to go to Nova Scotia and
obtained a pass from William Walton, the Magistrate of Police of the
city, for his slave Robin and another, Lydia, September 23, 1783.[15]
Fraser went to Shelborne, Nova Scotia, and the following year in
September he went to "the Island of St. John,"[16] accompanied by
Robin who was and acknowledged himself to be Fraser's property.
Afterwards Fraser brought him to the Current of Saint Mary near the
city of Montreal where Fraser became a farmer. Robin, infected with
the pernicious doctrines of freedom then rather prevalent left Fraser,
March 19, 1799, and went to live with Richard, a tavern keeper in
Montreal. Fraser laid an Information before Charles Blake, a justice
of the peace, and January 31, 1800, Charles Blake, Robert Jones and
James Dunlop, justices of the peace of the District of Montreal
committed Robin to the "Common Gaol and House of Correction at
Montreal" with a warrant to Jacob Kuhn "Keeper of His Majesty's Jail
and House of Correction" to receive "a negroman named Robert who
refuses to go home to his owner and him safely to keep till he may be
discharged or otherwise dealt with according to law."
In the February Term 1800 of the Court of King's Bench for the
District of Montreal[17] Mr. A. Perry, his advocate, obtained a writ
of habeas corpus and on the tenth of February the black was produced
in court. Mr. Perry for the black and Mr. Kerr for James Fraser
presented their arguments upon this day and on the thirteenth of
February, and after consideration and consultation the court five days
later ordered the discharge of Robin alias Robert from his confinement
under the warrant.[18]
The decision proceeded on the ground that the Act of 1797 which
repealed the provision for the sale of Negroes to answer a judgment
had revoked all the laws concerning slavery. Remembering that the Act
of 1732 was intended to change the common law of England which did not
allow the sale of land under a writ of execution, fieri facias, it
should probably be considered that the sole effect of the repeal of
the act as regards Negroes was to exempt them from sale under fieri
facias, without affecting their status. And it is well known that
slavery continued in the West India Islands and in Upper Canada long
after the Act of 1797.
The effect of the decisions while not technically abolishing slavery
rendered it innocuous. The slave could not be compelled to serve
longer than he would, and the burden of slavery was rather on the
master who must support his slave than on the slave who might leave
his master at will. The legislature refusing to interfere, the law of
slavery continued in this state until the year 1833 when the Imperial
Parliament passed the celebrated act which forever abolished slavery
in British Colonies from and after August 1, 1834.[19]
As Lower Canada passed no legislation on slavery, the extradition of
fugitives was made impossible and Canada became therefore an asylum
for the oppressed in the United States. Before the Act of 1833 there
was one instance of a request from the Secretary of State of the
United States for the delivery up of a slave. The matter was referred
to the Executive Council by Sir James Kempt, the Administrator of the
Government.[20] The report of the Executive Council shows the view
held that "the Law of Canada does not admit a slave to be a subject of
property."
At a meeting of the Executive Council of the Province of Lower Canada
held at the Council Chamber in the Castle of St. Lewis, on Thursday,
June 18, 1829, under Sir James Kempt, the Administrator of the
Government, the following proceedings were had:
"Report of a Committee of the whole Council Present The Honble.
the Chief Justice in the Chair, Mr. Smith, Mr. DeLery, Mr.
Stewart, and Mr. Cochran on Your Excellency's reference of a
letter from the American Secretary of State requesting that Paul
Vallard accused of having stolen a Mulatto Slave from the State
of Illinois may be delivered up to the Government of the United
States of America together with the Slave.
"May it please Your Excellency,
"The Committee have proceeded to the consideration of the subject
matter of this reference with every wish and disposition to aid
the Officers of the Government of the United States of America in
the execution of the laws of that dominion and they regret
therefore the more that the present application cannot in their
opinion be acceded to.
"In the former cases the Committee have acted upon the principle
which now seems to be generally understood that whenever a crime
has been committed and the perpetrator is punishable according to
the _Lex Loci_ of the country in which it is committed, the
country in which he is found may rightfully aid the police of the
country against which the crime was committed in bringing the
criminal to justice--and upon this ground have recommended that
fugitives from the United States should be delivered up.
"But the Committee conceive that the crimes for which they are
authorized to recommend the arrest of individuals who have fled
from other Countries must be such as are _mala in se_, and are
universally admitted to be crimes in every nation, and that the
offence of the individual whose person is demanded must be such
as to render him liable to arrest by the law of Canada as well as
by the law of the United States.
"The state of slavery is not recognized by the law of Canada nor
does the law admit that any man can be the proprietor of
another.
"Every slave therefore who comes into the province is immediately
free whether he has been brought in by violence or has entered it
of his own accord; and his liberty cannot from thenceforth be
lawfully infringed without some cause for which the law of Canada
has directed an arrest.
"On the other hand, the Individual from whom he has been taken
cannot pretend that the slave has been stolen from him in as much
as the law of Canada does not admit a slave to be a subject of
property.
"All of which is respectfully submitted to Your Excellency's
Wisdom."[21]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Under the Canada Act of 1791, the provinces had each a parliament
or legislature, an upper house, the Legislative Council, of nominated
members, not fewer than seven in Upper and not fewer than fifteen in
Lower Canada, and a lower house, the House of Assembly, sometimes
called the House of Commons elected by the people, not fewer than
sixteen in Upper and not fewer than fifty in Lower Canada.
[2] In the sister province a bill to the same effect was more
fortunate in the same year a little later. This will be considered in
the next chapter.
[3] In a work of some authority, Bibaud's _Pantheon Canadien_, page
211, it is said that "Joseph Papineau, Notary Public, Member of the
Legislature Assembly for Upper Quebec presented about 1797 a petition
of the citizens of Montreal for the abolition of slavery." If that be
the case there was nothing done on the petition, but it seems probable
that the author refers to the petition of 1799 spoken of later in the
Text.
[4] From Massicotte _ut supra_ in _Le Bulletin des Recherches
Historiques_, Vol. II, p. 136, it is said: "Une annonce publiée dans
la Gazette de Quèbec vers: cette époque (_i.e._, 1797) represente un
nègre courant à toutes jambes. 'Il est offert une recompense honnête a
qui remenera a son maître marchand de Trois Rivières son esclave
fugitif' Ce pauvre diable pensait sans doute que la loi qu'on
proposait pourrait pas d'effet retroactif."
[5] Lafontaine _ut supra_, pp. 49-51.
[6] Lafontaine _ut supra_, pp. 52 & 56.
[7] For the Act of 1732 (5 George II, c. 7). The repealing Act was
(1797) 37 George III, c. 119 (Imp.).
[8] The Statute of 1562, 5 Elizabeth, c. 4, not repealed until 1814,
54 George III, c. 96 (Imp.).
[9] See ante, p. 304.
[10] _Ibid._, p. 305.
[11] _Ibid._, p. 310.
[12] "Ou qu'une loi puisse être passée déclarant qu'il n'y a point
d'esclavage dans la Province; ou telle autre provision concernant les
esclaves que cette Chambre, dans sa sagesse, jugera convenable." The
Act of 1799 providing for houses of correction (really the common
gaol) was 39 George II, c. 6 (L. C.), and was to be in force for two
years. It was amended and continued for four years by the Act (1802)
42 George III, c. 6 (L. C.) and again by (1806) 46 George III, c. 6
(L. C.), until January 1, 1810 when it expired.
[13] See ante, note 7. The effect of this Act was probably not as
stated. The slave of Mr. Fraser's was Robin alias Robert to be spoken
of _infra_, page.
[14] The two reasons given for the request are the familiar ones. The
petitioners had paid large sums for the slaves who had left them and
"they are all wholly convinced that that class of men really lazy
leading an idle and abandoned life would attempt to commit crime."
[15] The definitive treaty was in fact signed September 3, 1783, but
not ratified by Congress until January 14, 1784. The armistice had
been concluded January 20, 1783. In the definitive treaty, Article VII
contains the same provisions as to Negroes as the corresponding
article in the preliminary articles.
[16] Isle St. Jean so called from about the end of the sixteenth
century until 1798, when it was given the name Prince Edward Island
out of compliment to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (father of Queen
Victoria), then commanding the British Forces in North America. The
name it still retains.
[17] The Judges were James Monk, Chief Justice and Pierre Louis Panet
and Isaac Ogden, Puisne Justices.
[18] Lafontaine ut supra, pp. 56-63. It has often been said that it
was Chief Justice Osgoode who gave the death blow to slavery in Lower
Canada. For example, in James P. Taylor's _Cardinal facts of Canadian
History_, Toronto, 1899, on p. 88 we find a statement that in 1803,
Chief Justice Osgoode in Montreal declared slavery inconsistent with
the laws of Canada. But Osgoode became Chief Justice of the Province
in July, 1794. Continuing as such Chief Justice, he became Chief of
the Court of King's Bench for the District of Quebec later on in the
same year on the coming into force of the Act of 1794, 34 George III,
c. 6, which erected two Courts of King's Bench one for each District.
James Monk became Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench for the
District of Montreal, which position he retained until 1825. Osgoode
resigned his position and went to England in 1801 and lived in England
until his death in 1824: he was never Chief Justice at Montreal.
[19] One result of these decisions was to induce the escape of Negro
slaves from Upper Canada where slavery was lawful to Lower Canada. For
example one hears of two of the three slaves whom Captain Allan
brought with him into Upper Canada from New Jersey running away to
Montreal. The owner pursued them to Montreal and searched for them in
vain for ten days. The third slave, a woman, he sold with her child.
The Statute is (1833) 3, 4, William IV, c. 73 (Imp.). One result of
this Act is exceedingly curious and to the philosophical lawyer
exceedingly interesting. Slaves which had been real estate, as soon as
the act was passed ceased to be such, and the benefit to be obtained
from their labor until fully enfranchised and the money to be paid by
the legislature as compensation for their freedom became personal
estate. See the luminous judgment of the Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council in Richard _v._ Attorney General of Jamaica, Moore's
_Report of Cases in the Judicial Committee_ (1848), Vol. 6, p. 381.
In a note on p. 35 of a paper in the _Transactions of the Royal
Society of Canada_, 1900, on _La Declaration de 1732_ M. L'Abbé
Auguste Gosselin, Litt.D., F.R.S., Can., we read:
"On trouve dans le livre de Mgr. Tanguay _A travers les Registres_, p.
157, une notice sur l'Esclavage au Canada, avec un 'Tableau des
familles possédant des esclaves de la nation des Panis' L'esclavage ne
fut definitivement aboli par une loi, en Canada, qu'en 1833."
The learned author does not mean that there was legislation on slavery
in Canada in 1833, or that it was Canadian legislation which abolished
slavery; for such was not the case.
[20] From September 8, 1828, to October 19, 1830.
[21] _Canadian Archives_, State K, p. 406.
CHAPTER V
UPPER CANADA--EARLY PERIOD
The first Parliament of the Province of Upper Canada sat at Newark
formerly and now Niagara-on-the-Lake, September 17, 1792. The very
first act of this first Parliament of Upper Canada reintroduced the
English civil law.[1] This did not destroy slavery, nor did it
ameliorate the condition of the slave. It was rather the reverse, for
as the English law did not, like the civil law of Rome and the systems
founded on it, recognize the status of the slave at all, when it was
forced by grim fact to acknowledge slavery, it had no room for the
slave except as a mere piece of property. Instead of giving him rights
like those of the "servus," he was deprived of all rights, marital,
parental, proprietary, even the right to live. In the English law and
systems founded on it, the slave had no rights which the master was
bound to respect.[2] At one time, indeed, it was understood in the
English colonies that the master had the _jus vitæ necisque_ over his
slaves; but at the beginning of the eighteenth century the Crown much
to the anger and disgust of the colonists made the murder of a Negro a
capital offence, and at least some of the governors vigorously upheld
this decision.[3]
Upper Canada was settled almost wholly by United Empire Loyalists who
had left their homes in the revolted colonies and kept their faith to
the Crown. Many of them brought their slaves as well as their other
property to the new land. The statute of 1790 encouraged this
practice.[4]
The first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada was Col. John Graves
Simcoe. He hated slavery and had spoken against it in the House of
Commons in England. Arriving in Upper Canada in the summer of 1792, he
was soon made fully aware by the Chloe Cooley case that the horrors of
slavery were not unknown in his new province. There came up to the
Executive Council the complaint that a Negro girl thus named had been
cruelly forced across the border and sold in the United States by one
Vroomen. Much indignation was expressed by both citizens and
officials.
The Attorney-General was John White[6] an English lawyer of no great
eminence indeed but of sufficient skill to know that the brutal master
was well within his rights in acting as he did. He had the same right
to bind, export, and sell his slave as to bind, export, and sell his
cow. Chloe Cooley had no rights which Vrooman was bound to respect;
and it was no more a breach of the peace than if he had been dealing
with his heifer. Nothing came of the direction to prosecute and
nothing could be done unless there should be an actual breach of the
peace.
It is probable that it was this circumstance which brought about
legislation. At the second session of the First Parliament which met
at Newark, May 31, 1793, a bill was introduced and unanimously passed
the House of Assembly. The trifling amendments introduced by the
Legislative Council were speedily concurred in, the royal assent was
given July 9, 1793, and the bill became law.[7]
Simcoe, as was his duty, reported to Henry Dundas afterwards Lord
Melville, Secretary of State for the Home Department concerning this
Act September 28, 1793. Simcoe had discovered that there was much
resistance to the slave law. There were many plausible arguments of
the demand for labor and the difficulty of obtaining "Servants to
cultivate Lands." "Some possessed of Negroes," said he, "knowing that
it was very questionable whether any subsisting Law did authorize
Slavery and having purchased several taken in war by the Indians at
small prices wished to reject the Bill entirely; others were desirous
to supply themselves by allowing the importation for two years. The
matter was finally settled by undertaking to secure the property
already obtained upon condition that an immediate stop should be put
to the importation and that Slavery should be gradually abolished."[8]
The Act recited that it was unjust that a people who enjoy freedom by
law should encourage the introduction of slaves, and that it was
highly expedient to abolish slavery in the province so far as it could
be done gradually without violating private property. It repealed the
Imperial Statute of 1790 so far as it related to Upper Canada, and to
enact that from and after the passing of the act "No Negro or other
person who shall come or be brought into this Province ... shall be
subject to the condition of a slave or to bounden involuntary service
for life." With that regard for property characteristic of the
English-speaking peoples, the act contained an important proviso
which continued the slavery of every "negro or other person subjected
to such service" who had been lawfully brought into the province. It
then enacted that every child born after the passing of the act, of a
Negro mother or other woman subjected to such service, should become
absolutely free on attaining the age of twenty-five, the master in the
meantime to provide "proper nourishment and cloathing" for the child,
but to be entitled to put him to work, all issue of such children to
be free whenever born. It further declared that any voluntary contract
of service or indenture should not be binding longer than nine years.
Upper Canada was the first British possession to provide by
legislation for the abolition of slavery.[9]
It will be seen that the statute did not put an end to slavery at
once. Those who were lawfully slaves remained slaves for life unless
manumitted and the statute rather discouraged manumission, as it
provided that the master on liberating a slave must give good and
sufficient security that the freed man would not become a public
charge. But, defective as it was, it was not long without attack. In
1798, Simcoe had left the province never to return, and while the
government was being administered by the timeserving Peter
Russell,[10] a bill was introduced into the Lower House to enable
persons "migrating into the province to bring their negro slaves with
them." The bill was contested at every stage but finally passed on a
vote of eight to four. In the Legislative Council it received the
three months' hoist and was never heard of again.[11] The argument in
favor of the bill was based on the scarcity of labor which all
contemporary writers speak of, the inducement to intending settlers to
come to Upper Canada where they would have the same privileges in
respect of slavery as in New York and elsewhere; in other words the
inevitable appeal to greed.
After this bill became law, slavery gradually disappeared. Public
opinion favored manumission and while there were not many manumissions
_inter vivos_[12] in some measure owing to the provisions of the act
requiring security to be given in such case against the free man
becoming a public charge, there were not a few emancipated by
will.[13]
The number of slaves in Upper Canada was also diminished by what seems
at first sight paradoxical, that is, their flight across the Detroit
River into American territory. So long as Detroit and its vicinity
were British in fact and even for some years later, Section 6 of the
Ordinance of 1787 "that there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude in the said territory otherwise than as punishment of crime"
was a dead letter: but when Michigan was incorporated as a territory
in 1805, the Ordinance of 1787 became legally and at least in form
effective. Many slaves made their way from Canada to Detroit, then a
real land of the free; so many, indeed, that we find that a company of
Negro militia composed entirely of escaped slaves from Canada was
formed in Detroit in 1806 to assist in the general defence of the
territory.[14]
The number of slaves in Upper Canada cannot be ascertained with
anything approaching accuracy. The returns of the census of 1784 show
that very many of the 212 slaves in the District of Montreal, which
then extended from the Rivers St. Maurice and Godfrey to the Detroit
River _de jure_ and to the Mississippi _de facto_, were the property
of the United Empire Loyalists on the St. Lawrence in territory which
in 1791 became part of the new Province of Upper Canada.
The settlement crept up the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario so as to be
as far as the River Trent by the end of the eighteenth century: and
Prince Edward County had also its quota of settlers. Until the
nineteenth century had set in there were practically no settlers from
the Trent to near York (Toronto) but that splendid territory of level
clay and loam land covered by magnificent forests of beech and maple
gradually filled in and by the 30's was fairly well settled. In the
latter territory there were very few, if any, slaves.[15]
Farther east, however, in what became the Eastern and Midland
Districts there were many slaves. It is probable that by far the
greatest number had their habitat in that region. When York became the
provincial capital (1796-7) slaves were brought to that place by their
masters. In the Niagara region there were also some slaves, in great
part bought from the Six Nation Indians as some of these in the
eastern part of the province were bought from the Mississaguas who
had a rendezvous on Carleton Island near Kingston. In the Detroit
region there were many slaves, some of them Panis;[16] and many of
both kinds, Panis and Negro bought from the Shawanese, Pottawattaimies
and other Western Indians, taken for the most part from the Ohio and
Kentucky country. Most of these slaves were west of the river, few
being in the Province of Upper Canada _de jure_. Omitting Detroit, the
number of slaves in the province at the time of the Act of 1793 was
probably not far from 500.[17]
In the Eastern District, part of which became the District of Johntown
in 1798, there were certainly some slaves. Justus Sherwood one of the
first settlers brought a Negro slave Caesar Congo to his location near
Prescott. Caesar was afterwards sold to a half pay officer Captain
Bottom settled about six miles above Prescott and after about twenty
years service was emancipated by his master. Caesar afterwards married
a woman of color and lived in Brockville for many years and until his
death. Daniel Jones another old settler had a female Negro slave and
there were a few more slaves in the district.[18]
It is possible that this part of the province was the home of a Negro
who at the age of 101 appeared at the Assize Court at Ottawa in 1867
to give evidence. He was born in the Colony of New York in 1766, had
been brought to Upper Canada by his master, a United Empire Loyalist,
had fought through the war of 1812 on the British side, was present at
the Battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane and was wounded at Sackett's
Harbor.[19]
In the Midland District at Kingston such leading families as the
Cartwrights, Herkimers and Everetts were slave owners. Further west
the Ruttans, Bogarts, Van Alstynes,[20] Petersons, Allens, Clarks,
Bowers, Thompsons, Meyers, Spencers, Perrys, Pruyns, speaking
generally all the people of substance had their slaves.[21]
It may be noted that there are many records of births, deaths and
marriages of slaves. In the Register for the Township of
Fredericksburg (Third Township) of the Reverend John Langhorn,
Anglican clergyman, we find in 1791, November 13, that he baptized
"Richard son of Pomps and Nelly a negro living with Mr. Timothy
Thompson.[22] On October 6, 1793, "Richard surnamed Pruyn a negro,
living with Harmen Pruyn," on March 2, 1796, "Betty, surnamed Levi, a
negro girl living with Johannes Walden Meyers" of the Township of
Thurlow. On April 22, 1805, "Francis, son of Violet, a negro woman
living with Hazelton Spencer[23] Esq. by Francis Green." We find that
"Francis, son of Violet ... by Francis Green as was supposed" was
buried January 17, 1806.[24]
In a paper by the late J. C. Hamilton, a barrister of Toronto, he says
that Lieutenant Governor Sir Alexander Campbell had favored him with a
note concerning slaves at Kingston, which concluded "I had personally
known two slaves in Canada: one belonging to the Cartwright and the
other to the Forsyth family.[25] When I remember them in their old
age, each had a cottage, surrounded by many comforts on the family
property of his master and was the envy of all the old people in the
neighborhood."[26]
York (Toronto) and its neighborhood were settled later but they
received their quota of Negro slaves, at least the town did. In 1880,
the _Gazette_ at York announces to be sold "a healthy strong negro
woman, about thirty years of age; understands cooking, laundry and the
taking care of poultry. N.B. She can dress ladies' hair. Enquire of
the Printers, York, Dec. 20, 1800."[27]
The best people in the capital owned Negroes. Peter Russell who had
been administrator of the government of the province and therefore the
head of the State advertised in the _Gazette and Oracle_ of February
19, 1806:
"To be sold: a Black Woman named Peggy, aged forty years and a Black
Boy her son named Jupiter, aged about fifteen years, both of them the
property of the Subscriber. The woman is a tolerable cook and
washerwoman and perfectly understands making soap and candles. The boy
is tall and strong for his age, and has been employed in the country
business but brought up principally as a house servant. The price of
the woman is one hundred and fifty dollars. For the boy two hundred
dollars payable in three years with interest from the day of sale and
to be secured by bond, &c. But one-fourth less will be taken for ready
money."
Peggy was not a satisfactory slave, she had awkward visions of
freedom. On September 2, 1803, Russell advertised: "The subscriber's
black servant Peggy not having his permission to absent herself from
his service, the public are hereby cautioned from employing or
harbouring her without the owner's leave. Whoever will do so after
this notice may expect to be treated as the law directs."
Peggy was not the only slave who was dissatisfied with her lot. On
March 1, 1811, William Jarvis, the Secretary of the Province "informed
the Court that a negro boy and girl, his slaves, had the evening
before been committed to prison for having stolen gold and silver out
of his desk in his dwelling house and escaped from their said master;
and prayed that the Court would order that the said prisoners with one
Coachly a free negro, also committed to prison on suspicion of having
advised and aided the said boy and girl in eloping with their master's
property...." It was "ordered that the said negro boy named Henry
commonly called Prince be recommitted to prison and there safely kept
till discharged according to law and that the said girl do return to
her said master and Coachly be discharged."[29]
Jarvis had slaves when he resided at Niagara. We find in the Register
of St. Mark's Parish there an entry of February 5, 1797, of Moses and
Phoebe, Negro slaves of Mr. "Sec'y Jarvis." Nor is this a unique entry
for we find this: "1819 April 4, Cupitson Walker and Margt. Lee (of
Colour)," but these may have been free.
There were baptized: "1793, January 3, Jane a daughter of Martin, Col.
Butler's Negro," "1794, September 3, Cloe, a mulatto," "1800, March
29, Peggy a mulatto (_filia populi_)," "1807, May 10, John of a negro
girl (_filius populi_)" and in the same list was a soldier shot for
desertion, a soldier who shot himself, "an unfortunate stranger," "R.
B. Tickel, alas he was starved," an Indian child, "Cutnose Johnson, a
Mohawk chief" and there is recorded the burial of "Mrs. Waters a negro
woman," September 29, 1802.[30]
Slaves continued to run away. Colonel Butler in the _Upper Canada
Gazette_ of July 4, 1793, advertised a reward of $5 for his "negro-man
servant named John."[31] On August 28, 1802, Mr. Charles Field of
Niagara advertised in the _Herald_: "All persons are forbidden
harbouring, employing or concealing my Indian Slave Sal, as I am
determined to prosecute any offender to the extremity of the law and
persons who may suffer her to remain in or upon their premises for the
space of half an hour, without my written consent will be taken as
offending and dealt with accordingly."[32]
There was always a demand for good slaves. For example, in the
_Gazette and Oracle_ of Niagara October 11, 1797, W. & J. Crooks of
West Niagara "Wanted to purchase a negro girl of good disposition": a
little later, January 2, 1802 the _Niagara Herald_ advertised for sale
"a negro man slave, 18 years old, stout and healthy; has had the
Smallpox and is capable of service either in the house or out-doors.
The terms will be made easy to the purchaser, and cash or new lands
received in payment." On January 18, 1802, the _Niagara Herald_
proclaimed for sale: "the negro man and woman, the property of Mrs.
Widow Clement. They have been bred to the business of a farm; will be
sold on highly advantageous terms for cash or lands."[33]
Slavery in Upper Canada continued until the Imperial Act of 1833[34]
but there does not seem to be any record of sales after 1806. Probably
the last slaves to become free were two who are mentioned by the late
Sir Adam Wilson, Chief Justice successively of the Courts of Common
Pleas and Queen's Bench at Toronto. These were "two young slaves, Hank
and Sukey whom he met at the residence of Mrs. O'Reilly, mother of the
venerable Miles O'Reilly, Q. C., in Halton County about 1830. They
took freedom under the Act of 1833 and were perhaps the last slaves in
the province."[35]
In the Detroit neighborhood there were undoubtedly many slaves, Panis
and Negro: most of these were lost to the province on the delivery up
of the retained territory in 1796 under the provisions of Jay's
Treaty. But some were on the Canadian side and some were brought over
by their masters on the surrender. Colonel Matthew Elliott who settled
in 1784 just below Amherstburg brought many slaves, some sixty it is
said. The remains of slave quarters are still in existence on the
place. Jacques Duperon Baby the well-known fur-trader had at least
thirty.
Antoine Louis Descompte dit Labadie, who raised a family of
thirty-three children was the owner of slaves also. He was a wealthy
farmer of the Township of Sandwich (now Walkerville) and died in 1806,
aged 62. On May 26, 1806, he made at Sandwich his will by which he
made the following bequest: "I also give and bequeath to my wife the
use or service of two slaves that she may select, as long as she
continues to be my widow." After a number of bequests there follows:
"I will that all my personal property not here above bequeathed as
well as my slaves with the exception of the two left to my wife, be
portioned out or sold, and that the proceeds arising therefrom be
equally divided between my said wife and the nine children[36] born
out of my marriage with her."
Some of these slaves were probably Panis. There is extant a parchment
receipt dated at Detroit, October 10, 1775, which reads:
"Je certifie avoir vendu et livré au Sieur Labadie, une esclave
Paniese[37] nommée Mannon pour et en considération de la quantité
de quatre-vingt minots[38] de Blé de froment qu'il doit me payer
à mesure qu'il aura au printemps prochain, donné sous ma main au
Detroit ce dixième jour d'Octobre, 1775.
Temoin (Signé) James Sterling[39]
(Signé) John Porteous.
Some of the reports of judges who presided over criminal assizes,
moreover, contain references to slavery. Mr. Justice Powell tried a
Negro, Jack York, with a jury at Sandwich for burglary in 1800. He was
found guilty and in accordance with the law at that time, was
sentenced to death. Powell respited the prisoner that the pleasure of
the Lieutenant Governor might be known. The Lieutenant-Governor at
that time was General Peter Hunter a rigid disciplinarian. Hunter
wrote Powell that as York had been convicted of "the most atrocious
offence without any circumstances of doubt or alleviation" he was to
be hanged. When York was made aware of his fate, he promptly escaped
from the ramshackle gaol at Sandwich.
In the proceedings Captain McKee informed the judge that the main
witness had "been an Indian prisoner redeemed by his father and had
lived in his kitchen and he did not think her credit good." She was
one of Mr. James Girty's three Negroes and "known to be saucy."[40]
Another report nearly a score of years later may be of interest. It
can be best understood in its historical setting. During the war of
1812, as soon as the American invasion of Canada began, prices of all
commodities began to soar.[41] There was a great demand for beef for
the troops regular and militia and the commissariat was not too
scrupulously particular to inquire the source whence it might come.
The result was that a crime which had been almost unknown suddenly
increased to alarmingly large proportions. Cattle roaming in the woods
were killed and the meat sold to the army. Prosecutions were
instituted in many cases. It was found that the perpetrators were
generally, but by no means always, landless men, not infrequently
refugee slaves, who had come to the province from the United States.
The offence was punishable with death:[42] and convictions were not
hard to obtain. But the punishment of death was not in practice
actually inflicted.
Whatever the cause, the crime continued until normal conditions were
reestablished when it became as rare as it had been before the war. At
the Fall Assizes, 1819, at York before Mr. Justice Campbell and a
jury, a man of color, Philip Turner, was convicted of stealing and
killing a heifer and sentenced to death: Mr. Justice Powell who had
been in the Commission of Oyer and Terminer with Campbell reported to
the Lieutenant-Governor[43] that there had as yet been no execution
for this offence in the province and recommended that the sentence
should be committed to banishment for life from His Majesty's
dominions.[44] Tradition has it that Turner was a refugee from the
United States and begged to be hanged rather than sent back where he
would be again enslaved.[45]
When the fugitive slave reached the soil of Upper Canada he became and
was free with all the rights and privileges of any other freeman: but
sometimes the former condition of servitude had unhappy results. One
case will suffice. John Harris was a slave in Virginia. He rented a
house in Richmond and lived in it with his wife Sarah Holloway. Harris
was a painter and gave the greater part of his earnings to his master.
The wife earned money by washing and gave to her mistress part of her
scanty earnings. The wife's second name was that of her master Major
Halloway in whose house she had been married in 1825 to Harris by the
Reverend Richard Vaughan, a Baptist minister, a free man. The couple
had three children.
In 1833 Harris effected his escape to Upper Canada and came to Toronto
(then York) in the spring of 1834 under the name of George Johnstone.
In 1847 he obtained from John Beverley Robinson, Chief Justice of
Upper Canada a deed of three acres of land part of Lot 12 in the First
Concession from the bay east of the river Don in the Township of York.
He died without a will in February, 1851. The deserted wife after his
escape married a man by the name of Brown. She continued a slave
until the fall of Richmond and died in 1869 or 1870.[46]
About that time the eldest son came to Canada, and he brought an
action as the heir-at-law against one Cooper, the person in
possession. All the facts were clear and the only difficulty in the
way was as to the validity of the marriage of the Negro. Chief Justice
William Buell Richards, of the Court of Queen's Bench tried the case
at the Fall Assizes, 1870, at Toronto. Evidence was given by a
Virginia lawyer and judge[47] that there was no law in Virginia either
authorizing or forbidding the marriage of slaves because "slaves were
property and not persons for marital purposes.... In short, by the law
of Virginia, slaves were but property, treated as property
exclusively, except where by special Statute they were made persons."
On this evidence, therefore, the Chief Justice dismissed the action.
The plaintiff appealed to the full Court of Queen's Bench urging that
the slaves had done all they could to make their marriage legal. In
vain, they were not British subjects and the rules of international
law were too rigid to allow of the court holding the marriage legal.
Mr. Justice Wilson in giving the judgment of the Court said:[48]
"This is, no doubt, an unfortunate conclusion, for the plaintiff is
undoubtedly the child of John Harris and Sarah who were made man and
wife in form and by all the usual solemnities of real matrimony. The
parents were of mature age, of sound sense, reason and understanding.
The father had a trade which he followed by permission of his master
for a yearly sum which he paid to him for the privilege, or as it is
said 'he hired his own time.' He rented a house for himself; he was
married with the consent of those who could give it by a minister in
orders and in form at least under the sanction of religion: he lived
with the woman he had taken as his wife and had children by her and
left her only to gain his freedom; yet it is manifest by the force of
positive human law, there was no marriage and no legitimate
issue."[49]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The Statute is (1792) 32 George III, c. 1 (U.C.).
[2] Compare the opinion of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
the United States in the celebrated Dred Scott case. 19 Howard, 354,
pp. 404, 405.
[3] See as to this Reginald W. Jeffery, _The History of The Thirteen
Colonies of North America 1497-1763_ (London), p. 190. This
interesting work which I have found accurate gives Governor Spotswood
as enforcing the Royal decree rigidly.
[4] See ante, p.
[5] This is copied from the Canadian Archives, Q. 282, pt. 1, pp. 212
sqq.; taken from the official report sent to Westminster by Simcoe.
There is the usual amount of uncertainty in spelling names Grisley or
Crisley, Fromand, Frooman, Froomond or Fromond (in reality Vrooman).
The following is a report of a meeting of his Executive Council:
"At the Council Chamber, Navy Hall, in the County of Lincoln,
Wednesday, March 21st, 1793.
"Present
"His Excellency, J.G. Simcoe, Esq., Lieut.-Governor, &c., &c.,
The Honble. Wm. Osgoode, Chief Justice,
The Honble. Peter Russell.
"Peter Martin (a negro in the service of Col. Butler) attended the
Board for the purpose of informing them of a violent outrage committed
by one Fromand, an Inhabitant of this Province, residing near Queens
Town, or the West Landing, on the person of Chloe Cooley a Negro girl
in his service, by binding her, and violently and forcibly
transporting her across the River, and delivering her against her will
to certain persons unknown; to prove the truth of his Allegation he
produced Wm. Grisley (or Crisley).
"William Grisley an Inhabitant near Mississague Point in this Province
says: that on Wednesday evening last he was at work at Mr. Froemans
near Queens Town, who in conversation told him, he was going to sell
his Negro Wench to some persons in the States, that in the Evening he
saw the said Negro girl, tied with a rope, that afterwards a Boat was
brought, and the said Frooman with his Brother and one Vanevery,
forced the said Negro Girl into it, that he was desired to come into
the boat, which he did, but did not assist or was otherwise concerned
in carrying off the said Negro Girl, but that all the others were, and
carried the Boat across the River; that the said Negro Girl was then
taken and delivered to a man upon the Bank of the River by Froomand,
that she screamed violently and made resistance, but was tied in the
same manner as when the said William Grisley first saw her, and in
that condition delivered to the man ... Wm. Grisley farther says that
he saw a negro at a distance, he believes to be tied in the same
manner, and has heard that many other People mean to do the same by
their Negroes.
"RESOLVED--That it is necessary to take immediate steps to prevent the
continuance of such violent breaches of the Public Peace, and for that
purpose, that His Majesty's Attorney-General, be forthwith directed to
prosecute the said Fromond.
"ADJOURNED."
[6] John White was called to the bar in 1785 at the Inner Temple. He
practised for a time but unsuccessfully in Jamaica and through the
influence of his brother-in-law, Samuel Shepherd, and of Chief Justice
Osgoode was appointed the first Attorney General of Upper Canada. It
is probable, but the existing records do not make it certain, that it
was he who introduced and had charge in the House of Assembly of the
bill for the abolition of slavery passed in 1793, shortly to be
mentioned. His manuscript diary is still extant, a copy being in the
possession of the writer: One entry reads under date Newark Tuesday
March 6 1793 "John Young from Grand River came with Mr. MacMichael
respecting his runaway negro. Rec'd 5 Dols."
[7] The statute is (1793) 33 Geo. III, c. 7 (U.C.). The Parliament of
Upper Canada had two houses, the Legislative Council, an upper house,
appointed by the Crown; and the Legislative Assembly, a lower house or
House of Commons, as it was sometimes called, elected by the people.
The Lieutenant Governor gave the royal assent. The bill was introduced
in the Lower House, probably by Attorney General White, as stated in
last note, and read the first time, June 19. It went to the committee
of the whole June 25, and was the same day reported out. On June 26 it
was read the third time, passed and sent up for concurrence. The
Legislative Council read it the same day for the first time, went into
committee over it the next day, June 28, and July 1, when it was
reported out with amendments, passed and sent down to the Commons July
2. That house promptly concurred and sent the bill back the same day.
See the official reports: _Ont. Arch. Reports for 1910_ (Toronto,
1911), pp. 25, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33. _Ont. Arch. Rep. for 1909_
(Toronto, 1911), pp. 33, 35, 36, 38, 41, 42.
[8] _Canadian Archives_, Q. 279, 2, p. 335.
White in his diary says "To the 21 June, some opposition in the House
not much"--under date June 25 when the Bill was in Committee of the
whole he says "Debated the Slave Bill hardly: Met much opposition but
little argument."
[9] Simcoe was almost certainly the prime mover in the legislation of
1793. When giving the royal assent to the bill he said: "The Act for
the gradual abolition of Slavery in this Colony, which it has been
thought expedient to frame, in no respect meets from me a more
cheerful concurrence than in that provision which repeals the power
heretofore held by the Executive Branch of the Constitution and
precludes it from giving sanction to the importation of slaves, and I
cannot but anticipate with singular pleasure that such persons as may
be in that unhappy condition which sound policy and humanity unite to
condemn, added to their own protection from all undue severity by the
law of the land may henceforth look forward with certainty to the
emancipation of their offspring." See _Ont. Arch. Rep. for 1909_, pp.
42-43.
I do not understand the allusion to "protection from undue severity by
the Law of the land." There had been no change in the law, and undue
severity to slaves was prevented only by public opinion. It is
practically certain that no such bill as that of 1798 would have been
promoted with Simcoe at the head of the government as his sentiments
were too well known.
Vermont excluded slavery by her Bill of Rights (1777), Pennsylvania
and Massachusetts passed legislation somewhat similar to that of Upper
Canada in 1780; Connecticut and Rhode Island in 1784, New Hampshire by
her Constitution in 1792, Vermont in the same way in 1793; New York
began in 1799 and completed the work in 1827, New Jersey 1829.
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa were organized as a
Territory in 1787 and slavery forbidden by the Ordinance, July 13,
1787, but it was in fact known in part of the Territory for a score of
years. A few slaves were held in Michigan by tolerance until far into
the nineteenth century notwithstanding the prohibition of the
fundamental law (_Mich. Hist. Coll._, VII, p. 524). Maine as such
probably never had slavery, having separated from Massachusetts in
1820 after the Act of 1780; although it would seem that as late as
1833 the Supreme Court of Massachusetts left it open when slavery was
abolished in that State (Commonwealth _v._ Aves, 18 Pick. 193, 209).
(See Cobb's _Slavery_, pp. clxxi, clxxii, 209; Sir Harry H. Johnston's
_The Negro in the New World_, an exceedingly valuable and interesting
work, but not wholly reliable in minutiae, pp. 355 et seq.)
[10] Russell became administrator of the Government of Upper Canada,
July 21, 1796, and held that position until the arrival of the new
Lieutenant-Governor General Peter Hunter, August 16, 1799.
[11] _Ont. Arch. Rep. for 1909_, pp. 64, 69, 70, 71, 75; _ibid._ for
1910, pp. 67, 68, 69, 70.
The bill was introduced in the Lower House by Christopher Robinson,
member for Addington and Ontario. He was a Virginian Loyalist, who in
1784 emigrated to New Brunswick, and in 1788 to that part of Canada,
later Lower Canada; and in 1792 to Upper Canada. Accustomed from
infancy to slavery, he saw no great harm in it--no doubt he saw it in
its best form.
The chief opponent of the bill was Robert Isaac Dey Gray, the young
Solicitor General, the son of Major James Gray, a half-pay British
Officer. He studied law in Canada. He was elected member of the House
of Assembly for Stormont in the election of 1796, and again in 1804.
The motion for the three months' hoist in the Upper House was made by
the Honorable Richard Cartwright seconded by the Honorable Robert
Hamilton. These men, who had been partners, generally agreed on public
measures and both incurred the enmity of Simcoe. He called Hamilton a
Republican, then a term of reproach distinctly worse than Pro-German
would be now, and Cartwright was, if anything, worse. But both were
men of considerable public spirit and great personal integrity. For
Cartwright see _The Life and Letters of Hon. Richard Cartwright_,
Toronto, 1876. For Hamilton see Riddell's edition of _La
Rochefoucault's Travels in Canada in 1795_ (Toronto, 1817), in _Ont.
Arch. Rep. for 1916_; Miss Carnochan's _Queenston in Early Years,
Niagara Hist. Soc. Pub._ No. 25; _Buffalo Hist. Soc. Pub._ Vol. 6, pp.
73-95.
There was apparently no division in the Upper House although there
were five other Councillors in addition to Cartwright and Hamilton in
attendance that session, viz.: McGill, Shaw, Duncan, Baby and Grant;
and the bill passed the committee of the whole.
[12] Slaves were valuable even in those days. A sale is recorded in
Detroit of a "certain Negro man Pompey by name" for £45 New York
Currency ($112.50) in October, 1794; and the purchaser sold him again
January, 1795, for £50 New York Currency ($125.00). (_Mich. Hist.
Coll._, XIV, p. 417.) But it would seem that from 1770 to 1780 the
price ranged to $300 for a man and $250 for a woman (_Mich. Hist.
Coll._, XIV, p. 659). The number of slaves in Detroit is said to have
been 85 in 1773 and 179 in 1782 (_Mich. Hist. Coll._, VII, p. 524).
[13] A number of interesting wills are in the Court of Probate files
at Osgoode Hall, Toronto. One of them deserves special mention, viz.:
that of Robert I. D. Gray, the first Solicitor General of the
Province, whose death was decidedly tragic. In this will, dated August
27, 1803, a little more than a year before his death, he releases and
manumits "Dorinda my black woman servant ... and all her children from
the State of Slavery," in consequence of her long and faithful
services to his family. He directs a fund to be formed of £1,200 or
$4,800 the interest to be paid to "the said Dorinda her heirs and
Assigns for ever." To John Davis, Dorinda's son, he gave 200 acres of
land, Lot 17 in the Second Concession of the Township of Whitby and
also £50 or $200. John, after the death of his master whose body
servant and valet he was, entered the employ of Mr., afterwards Chief,
Justice Powell; but he had the evil habit of drinking too much and
when he was drunk he would enlist in the army. Powell got tired of
begging him off and after a final warning left him with the regiment
in which he had once more enlisted. Davis is said to have been in the
battle of Waterloo; he certainly crossed the ocean and returned later
on to Canada. He survived till 1871, living at Cornwall, Ontario, a
well-known character--with him, died the last of all those who had
been slaves in the old Province of Quebec or the Province of Upper
Canada.
In the _Canadian Archives, M. 393_, is the copy of a letter, the
property of the late Judge Pringle of Cornwall, by Robert I. D. Gray
to his sister Mrs. Valentine dated at Kempton February 16, 1804, and
addressed to her "at Captain Joseph Anderson's, Cornwall, Eastern
District": speaking of a trip to Albany, New York, he says:
"I saw some of our old friends while in the states, none was I more
happy to meet than Lavine, Dorin's mother. Just as I was leaving
Albany I heard from our cousin Mrs. Garret Stadts who is living in
Albany in obscurity and indigence owing to her husband being a drunken
idle fellow, that Lavine was living in a tavern with a man of the name
of Broomly. I immediately employed a friend of mine, Mr. Ramsay of
Albany, to negotiate with the man for the purchase of her. He did so
stating that I wished to buy her freedom, in consequence of which the
man readily complied with my wishes, and altho' he declared she was
worth to him £100 (_i.e._, $250) he gave her to me for 50 dollars.
When I saw her, she was overjoyed and appeared as happy as any person
could be, at the idea of seeing her child Dorin, and her children once
more, with whom if Dorin wishes it, she will willingly spend the
remainder of her days. I could not avoid doing this act, the
opportunity seemed to have been thrown in my way by providence and I
could not resist it. She is a good servant yet--healthy & strong and
among you, you may find her useful, I have promised her, that she may
work as much or as little as she pleases while she lives--but from the
character I have of her, idleness is not her pleasure, I could not
bring her with me, she wanted to see some of her children before she
sets out; I have paved the way for her, and some time this month,
Forsyth, upon her arrival here will forward her to you...."
Then follows a pathetic touch:
"I saw old Cato, Lavine's father at Newark, while I was at Col.
Ogden's; he is living with Mrs. Governeur--is well taken care of &
blind--poor fellow came to _feel_ me, for he could not _see_, he asked
affectionately after the family."
In the will of the well-known Colonel John Butler of Butler's Rangers
there are bequests to his son Andrew of "a negro woman named Pat": to
his grandson John of "a Negro Boy named George ... until the said
negro arrives at the years that the Law directs to receive his
freedom" and to John's sister Catharine "a negro girl named Jane" for
a similar time.
[14] _Michigan Hist. Coll._, XIV, p. 659. But the actual effect of the
Ordinance of 1787, even after 1805 was not absolute. "As late as 1807
Judge Woodward refused to free a negro man and woman on a writ of
habeas corpus, holding in effect that as they had been slaves at the
time of the surrender in 1796, there was something in Jay's Treaty
that forbade their release." _Michigan as a Province, Territory and
State_, 1906, p. 339. "There is a tradition that even as late as the
coming of Gen. John T. Mason, as Secretary of the Territory in 1831,
he brought some domestic slaves with him from Virginia. It is not
improbable that a few domestic servants continued with their old
Masters down to the time of the adoption of the State Constitution"
(in 1835) _ibid._, p. 338, note.
Before Detroit and its adjoining territory were given up by the
British to the Americans under Jay's Treaty, August, 1796, there were
many instances of slaves escaping from the United States territory to
British territory in that neighborhood and vice versa. One instance of
escape from British territory will suffice.
Colonel Alexander McKee, a well-known and very prominent Loyalist of
Detroit, lost a mulatto slave in 1795 and his friend and colleague
Captain Matthew Elliott sent a man David Tait to look for him in what
is now Indiana. Tait's success or want of success is shown by his
affidavit before George Sharp a justice of the peace for the Western
District of Upper Canada residing in Detroit. The whole deposition
will be given as it illustrates the terms on which the two peoples
were living at the time in that country, and shows that even then the
charges were made which were afterwards made one of the pretexts for
the War of 1812. It is given in the _Mich. Hist. Coll._, Vol. XII, pp.
164, 165.
"DEPOSITION
"I being sent by Captain Elliott in search of a Molato man name
Bill the property of Colonel McKee, which was thought to be at
Fort Wayne, But on my Arrival at the Glaize was inform'd by the
officer there that he was gone, they said he had gained his
liberty, by getting into their lines he being stole from their
Country.
"They abused the Gentlemen in this place very & Told me that
Governor Sancom (Simcoe) Colonel England and Captain Elliott
caused bills in print to be dropped near their fort, Encouraging
their Soldiers to desert.
"They called Coll McKee & Capt Elliott dam'd rasculs and said
that they gave the Indians Rum to make them Drunk to prevent them
from going to Counsil & That Capt Brent they said was a Dam'd
rascul and had done everything in his power against them. But
they said in Course of Nine Months that they Expected to be in
full possession of Detroit and all the Country between their & it
& I begged liberty to withdraw when Major Hunt told me to make
the best of my way from Whence I came, while I was getting ready
to return the Serjeant of their Guard came & Told me it was the
Majors orders that I should leave the place immediately & not to
stay about any of the Indian Camps. Which Orders I obeyed.
(signed) DAVID TAIT.
Sworn before me at Detroit 4th August 1795.
GEO SHARP, J. P. W. D."
Indian Affairs, M. G. VII.
[15] I have found no reliable accounts of slaves in this region--some
traditions which I have investigated proved unreliable and illusory.
[16] I cannot trace many Panis slaves in Upper Canada proper; that
there were some at Detroit is certain and equally certain that some
were at one time on both shores of the Niagara River. I do not know of
an account of the numbers of slaves at the time; in Detroit, March 31,
1779, there were 60 male and 78 female slaves in a population of about
2,550 (_Mich. Hist. Coll._, X, p. 326); Nov. 1, 1780, 79 male and 96
female slaves in a somewhat smaller population (_Mich. Hist. Coll._,
XIII, p. 53); in 1778, 127 in a population of 2,144 (_Mich. Hist.
Coll._, IX, p. 469); 85 in 1773, 179 in 1782 (_Mich. Hist. Coll._,
VII, p. 524); 78 male and 101 female (_Mich. Hist. Coll._, XIII, p.
54). The Ordinance of Congress July 13, 1787, forbidding slavery
"northwest of the Ohio River" passed with but one dissenting voice,
that of a delegate from New York was quite disregarded in Detroit
(_Mich. Hist. Coll._, I, 415); and indeed as has been said, Detroit
and the neighboring country remained British (_de facto_) until
August, 1796, and part of Upper Canada from 1791 till that date.
[17] This is indicated by a number of facts none of much significance
and all together far from conclusive--but it is a mere estimate
perhaps not much more than a guess and I should not be astonished if
it were proved that the estimate was astray by 100 either way. Indeed
contemporary estimates gave for the Nassau District alone in 1791, 300
Negro slaves and a few Panis. Col. Mathew Elliott in 1784 brought more
than 50 slaves to his estate at Amherstburg.
[18] See letter of Sheriff Sherwood, _Papers &c, Ontario Historical
Society_ 1901, Vol. 3, p. 107. Justus Sherwood came from Vermont,
originally from Connecticut, joined Burgoyne's army in 1777 and came
to Canada in 1778, joined Rogers' Rangers and served during the war.
He came to Prescott in 1784. He had had a not unusual experience with
the Continentals. His "Negro wench and two negroe children" had been
seized and "sold to Wm. Drake." (Second _Ont. Arch. Rep._, 1904, p.
820.) Daniel Jones, father of Sir Daniel Jones of Brockville, came
from Charlotte County, New York (_ibid._, p. 398). He was also a
native of Connecticut.
[19] He was in full possession of all his faculties and had been
brought to Ottawa to prove the death of one person in 1803 and of
another in 1814. The action was Morris _v._ Henderson "Ottawa Citizen"
May 3, 1867. Robert I. D. Gray mentioned in note 13 above, came from
this district.
[20] A Van Alstyne--Major Peter Van Alstyne--was elected to represent
Prince Edward County in the first Legislative Assembly when Philip
Dorland was unseated because he would not take the prescribed oath
being a Quaker.
[21] See the interesting paper read before the Women's Historical
Society of Toronto by Mrs. W. T. Hallam, B.A., and published in _The
Canadian Churchman_, May 8, 1919, republished in pamphlet form. I am
authorized by Mrs. Hallam to make full use of her researches and I
take advantage of this permission. Mrs. Hallam has also the following:
"There is an old orchard between Collins Bay and Bath, Ontario, now
used as a garden, which belongs to the Fairfield family. The children
of this Loyalist family brought the seeds in their pockets from the
old home in Vermont, and here lie buried the slaves belonging to the
Fairfield and Pruyn families. On the way over they milked the cows,
which were brought with them, and sometimes the milk was the only food
which they had. The old Fairfield Homestead, built in 1793, is still
standing, but the negro quarters are unused, for as those who live
there say, "On a hot day you would declare the slaves were still
there."
Miss Alice Fairfield of the White House, Collins Bay, a descendant of
these Fairfields gives the following account in a paper read before
the Woman's Historical Society, Toronto (of which Mrs. Seymour Corley
of Toronto has been good enough to furnish me a copy) "In March 1799,
Stephen Fairfield married Maria Pruyn (from Kinder Hook, N. Y.), whose
marriage portion included several slaves. They remained with the
family as a matter of course after the law had given them their
freedom. Of their devotion a story is told--"Mott" the old black nurse
of my great grandmother walked to York (Toronto) a distance of 160
miles in cold weather to warn her of a plot against her property--the
shoes were literally worn off her feet." The writer adds "The Tory
branch of the Fairfield family that came to Canada were from Paulet
County, Vermont ... they brought some 'niggers' as they called their
black slaves, into Canada." "The first apples grown in the country
were raised from the seeds of apples with which the Children had
filled their pockets at the old home."
A contributor to the _Napanee Banner_ writes: "There has been
considerable controversy of late whether slaves ever were owned in
this section of Canada. The Allens brought three slaves with them who
remained with the family for years. Thomas Dorland also had a number
of slaves who were members of the house-hold as late as 1820. The
Pruyns who lived on the front of Fredericksburg had, we are informed,
over a dozen slaves with them. The Ruttans of Adolphustown brought two
ablebodied slaves with them. Major Van Alstyne also had slaves; so had
John Huyck who lived north of Hay Bay, and the Bogarts near neighbors,
and the Trampours of the opposite side of Hay Bay. The Clarks of
Ernestown, now called Bath, owned slaves who were with them years
after their residence in Canada. The Everetts of Kingston Township and
the Cartwrights of Kingston had theirs."
[22] A man of considerable note: in 1800 appointed with Richard
Cartwright, Commissioner to settle the finances between the two
Provinces.
[23] Member for Lenox, Hastings and Northumberland Counties in the
first Legislative Assembly: and afterwards Sheriff.
[24] The Pruyns of Fredericksburg are credited with owning more slaves
than any other family in that region. Mrs. Hallam, _ut supra_, p. 4.
The above extracts are taken from the Registers published by the _Ont.
Hist. Soc._, Vol. 1.
[25] Both prominent families in Kingston.
[26] _Trans. Can. Inst._, Vol. 1 (1889-1890), p. 106.
[27] For this and the following incident see that most interesting
book "_Toronto of Old_" by Henry Scadding, D.D., Toronto, 1873, pp.
293, 294, 295.
[28] Henry Scadding's _Toronto of Old_, p. 296. Dr. Scadding, speaks
of his "in former times" gazing at Amy Pompadour with some curiosity.
Miss Elizabeth Russell, sister of the Administrator, had a slave, a
pure Negro Amy Pompadour, whom she gave to Mrs. Denison wife of
Captain John Denison, an old comrade in arms of her brother's.
[29] _Ibid._, p. 292. The boy if he had stolen his master's money
would be guilty of grand larceny, a capital offence at the time and
consequently not tried at the Quarter Sessions. He was, therefore,
recommitted to prison to await the Court of Oyer and Terminer and
General Gaol Delivery commonly called the Assizes.
The master probably withdrew the charge against the girl and Coachly,
or they may have been so fortunate as that there was no evidence
against them.
[30] See the lists in the _Ont. Hist. Soc. Papers_ (1901), Vol. 3, pp.
9 sqq.
In the list of marriages are found: "1797, Oct. 12, Cuff Williams and
Ann, Negroes from Mr. C. McNabb"; "1800, Dec. 1, Prince Robinson and
Phillis Gibson, Negroes" and six other marriages down to 1831 between
persons "of Colour". These last were probably not slaves.
That Joseph Brant "Thayendinaga," the celebrated Indian Chief, had
Negro slaves has been confidently asserted and as confidently denied.
That there were Negroes in his household seems certain and their
_status_ was inferior. Whether he called them slaves or not, it is
probable that he had full control of them.
See Stones' _Life of Brant_, New York, 1838. He rather boasted of his
slaves. He was attended on his journeys and at table by two of them,
Patton and Simon Gauseville. Hamilton in his _Osgoode Hall_, Toronto,
1904, says (p. 21): "Thayendinaga lived surrounded with slaves and
retainers in barbarous magnificence at Burlington." But that is
rhetoric.
[31] _Trans. Can. Inst._, Vol. 1 (1889-1890), p. 105.
[32] Dr. Scadding _ut supra_, p. 295. This is almost the only trace of
Panis slavery in Upper Canada, proper, which I have found. The attempt
to make a crime by the advertiser is not without precedent or
imitation: it was, however, merely a threat and a _brutum fulmen_.
[33] Dr. Scadding _ut supra_, pp. 294, 295.
Such advertisements as these of 1802 indicate an uneasiness as to the
security of the slave property. Dr. Scadding remarks "Cash and lands
were plainly beginning to be regarded as less precarious property than
human chattels," _ibid._, p. 295.
[34] See _supra_, p.
[35] _Trans. Can. Inst._, _ut supra_, p. 106.
These if actual slaves could not have been very young. If they were
brought into the province after the Act of 1793 they would become free
_ipso facto_. If born after that Act they would not properly speaking
be slaves at all but only subject to service until the age of 25.
If they were slaves they must have been at least 37 in 1830; but
probably they were born after 1793 and had not attained the age of 25
in 1833. They might then be young as described by Sir Adam.
[36] Labadie had been twice married.
[37] For "Panise."
[38] The French Minot is 39.36 litres; the Canadian 36.34 litres or
63.94 pints--the bushel is 64 pints--the Canadian minot is
consequently almost exactly one bushel.
[39] _Essex Historical Society--Papers and Addresses_, Vol. 1,
Windsor, Ont. (1913), pp. 13, 39, 48-52.
This is translated thus: I certify that I have sold and delivered to
Mr. Labodie a Panis slave called Manon for and in consideration of 80
minots (practically 80 bushels) of wheat which he is to pay me as he
has it the coming spring--given under my hand at Detroit this 10th day
of October, 1775.
WITNESS: (Signed)
(Signed) JOHN PORTEOUS. JAMES STERLING."
[40] The fact was that Jack York had broken into McKee's dwelling
house to commit rape and he had committed rape on the person of Mrs.
Ruth Sufflemine (or Stufflemine).
Powell's report is dated from Mount Dorchester, September 22, 1800.
_Canadian Archives, Sundries U.C. 1792-1800_; Hunter's decision in May
is in _Canadian Archives Letters Hunter to Heads of Departments_, p.
65; York's escape is _ibid._, p. 84; the Death Warrant is referred to
in _Canadian Archives Sundries U.C. 1792-1800_.
There were certainly slaves in the Western District. The will of
Antoine Louis Descomps Labadie made May 26, 1806, contains a bequest
"I also give and bequeath to my wife Charlotte, the use or service of
two slaves that she may select as long as she continues to be my
widow." "A black boy slave to Mrs. Benton, widow of the late Commodore
of the Lakes" seems to have been as bad as Jack York. Convicted at
Kingston of a house robbery, a capital crime he had the "benefit of
clergy" that is, set free as a first offence. But he did not mend his
ways. He committed burglary and was convicted at Kingston 1795 before
Mr. Justice Powell. The judge sentenced him to be hanged but
recommended a pardon. He said the boy was said to be 17 but looked no
more than 15 and in view of his education as a slave he hoped that his
"would not be the first capital example." _Can. Arch._, B. 210.
[41] In a memorial by the judges of the Court of King's Bench to the
Lieutenant Governor, January 10, 1814, they point out that prices have
doubled since the war. The prices before the war and at the time were
of bread 1/ and 2/; of beef 6 d and 1/; of wood 7/6 and 15/.
[42] Before 1772, this was not a crime at all but only a civil
trespass; the Waltham Black Act (1722) 9 George I, c. 22 made it a
felony punishable with death without benefit of clergy. This continued
to be the law in England until the Act (1827) 7, 8 George IV, c. 27
(Imp.), and in Upper Canada until 1841.
[43] Sir Peregrine Maitland.
[44] Banishment existed as a punishment in Upper Canada until 1841,
when it was finally abolished and succeeded by imprisonment.
Banishment was a very common alternative for hanging. I have counted
as many as four cases at one assize.
[45] The tradition is a floating and rather indefinite one. It has
some plausibility but there is nothing which to my mind can be
dignified by the name of proof. The facts of the Turner case will be
found in a Report by Mr. (afterwards Chief) Justice Powell to Sir
Peregrine Maitland's Secretary Edward McMahon, November 1, 1819,
_Canadian Archives, Sundries, U.C._, 1819.
[46] _Canadian Archives_, Q. 324, pp. 432, 436 Letter, June 8, 1818,
from "Thos. N. Stewart, Capt. H. P. late Royal Newfoundland Regiment"
to the Right Honourable Earl Bathurst, dated from Barnstable, North
Devon.
Turning to a more pleasant subject, while it may not be strictly
within the purview of this treatise, it may be permitted to bring to
light from the files of the Canadian Archives a story of a poor black
woman who showed true humanity. It may be considered by some at the
expense of her patriotism. That will not be admitted by everyone, for
what share did the Negro have in America in which he lived more than
in Britain which offered him freedom?
When in May, 1813, General Dearborn took Fort George in Upper Canada,
one of his prisoners was Captain Thomas N. Stewart of the Royal
Newfoundland Regiment who was wounded. Taken to the United States, he
was with several other British officers kept for months a close
prisoner at Philadelphia as a hostage under the retaliation system.
"At length," said he, "I with fourteen other officers made my escape
from the prison at Philadelphia by sawing off the iron bars with the
springs of watches, but from the active search which was made ten of
my companions were retaken in the course of three days. I ...
attribute my success (as well as that of two more British officers) in
being enabled to elude the vigilance of the enemy to the kindness and
humanity of a poor black woman to whose protection we committed
ourselves in our _real character_ and situation: and notwithstanding a
reward of one hundred dollars was offered for the apprehension of each
officer without our even being able to reward her in an equal degree,
she persevered in affording us comfort and accommodation, greatly to
her own risk and loss by the total resignation of her small hut and a
tender of her services to our use visiting us only at night with
provisions, &c. This she continued to do for eight days. When it was
thought that the active search was in a great degree abated I ventured
by night to leave the abode of this black woman with the intention of
going to the Headquarters of the British Army in Canada and this I
ultimately succeeded in accomplishing."
His companions leaving one by one at different times also succeeded in
returning to the service of their country. Having only $70 and having
to travel 600 miles, Capt. Stewart could give the woman only $20: and
all she received from all the officers was only $50. He wrote Earl
Bathurst, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies asking that she
should be remunerated and saying that he would "be most happy to give
the address and the source thro' which communication could be made."
Bathurst replied June 13, asking for particulars, and Captain Stewart
June 18 wrote again on the eighteenth of June saying that the matter
required the utmost circumspection and excusing himself from giving
information until he had communication with America, hoping to point
out the precise object whom "His Lordship has thought worthy of
remuneration." No doubt the matter then passed into the Secret
Service, as no further correspondence is preserved in documents open
to the public.
[46a] The motion was heard in Trinity Term, 34 Victoriae i.e. in
February, 1871, see the report in 31 Upper Canada Queens Bench
Reports, p. 182: Harris _v._ Cooper. The Court was composed of the
Chief Justice William Buell Richards, afterward Sir William Buell
Richards, Chief Justice of Canada, Mr. Justice Joseph Curran Morrison,
afterwards a Judge of the Court of Error and Appeal, and Mr. Justice
Adam Wilson, afterwards successively Chief Justice of the Court of
Common Pleas, and of the Court of Queen's Bench.
[47] Two years after her first husband's death, that is, in 1853, the
widow who had then married one Scott sold the lot to Mr. Boomer for
$300. Mr. Boomer sold two acres to Edward Osborne and he to Cooper for
$800. By 1871 the land had appreciated in value so as to make it worth
a lawsuit. Of course, the widow never had any right to sell the land,
but it was at least ungracious for her son to repudiate her deed.
[48] The law of Virginia as to marriages of slaves even with the
consent of the master was fully and clearly stated by the Court of
Appeals of Virginia in the case of Scott _v._ Raub (1872) 88 Virginia,
721. See also the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States
in the case of Hall _v._ United States, 92 U. S. 127; and in Alabama,
Matilda _v._ Gardner, 24 Alabama, 719.
[49] 31 Upper Canada Queens Bench Reports at p. 195, 1871.
CHAPTER VI
THE FUGITIVE SLAVE IN UPPER CANADA
Before the Act of 1793, there was some immigration of slaves fleeing
from their masters in the United States. After the Act of 1793,
however, a slave by entering Upper Canada became free, whether he was
brought in by his master or fled from him. Legislation of the United
States in the same year[1] increased the number of those fleeing to
the province under this law. Slaves who had effected their escape to
what were considered free States were liable to be reclaimed by their
masters. Shocking instances of the forcing into renewed slavery of the
escaped slave and even of enslaving the free persons of color are on
record and there are told worse which never saw the open light of
day.
Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin about the same time[2] made
slaves much more valuable and not only checked the movement toward
gradual emancipation but increased the ardor with which the fugitive
was pursued. From 1793 the influx of fugitive slaves into the province
never quite ceased. The War of 1812 saw former slaves in the Canadian
militia fighting against their former masters and Canada as an asylum
of freedom became known in the South by mysterious but effective
means. "As early as 1815 negroes were reported crossing the Western
Reserve to Canada in great numbers and one group of Underground
Railway workers in Southern Ohio is stated to have passed on more than
1000 fugitives before 1817."[3]
It is not proposed here to give an account of the celebrated
Underground Railway. It is sufficient to say that it was the cause of
hundreds of slaves reaching the province.[4] Some slaves escaped by
their own efforts in what can fairly be called a miraculous way. No
more dramatic or thrilling tales were ever told than could be told by
some of these refugees. Some having been brought by their masters near
to the Canadian boundary then clandestinely or by force effected a
passage. Some came from far to the South, guided by the North Star.
Many were assisted by friends more or less secretly. These refugees
joined settlements with other people of color freeborn or freed in
the western part of the Peninsula, in the counties of Essex and Kent
and elsewhere.[5] Some of them settled in other parts of the province,
either together or more usually sporadically. Toronto received many.
These were superior to most of their race, for none but those with
more than ordinary qualities could reach Canada.[6]
The masters of runaway slaves did not always remain quiet when their
slaves reached this province. Sometimes they followed them in an
attempt to take them back. There are said to have been a few instances
of actual kidnapping. There were some of attempted kidnapping.
Most of these are merely traditional but at least one is well
authenticated.[7]
In May, 1830, a young man with finely chiselled features, bright hazel
eyes, apparently a quadroon or octoroon applied for service at the
house of Charles Baby, "the old Baby mansion in the ... historical
town of Sandwich" in Upper Canada on the Detroit River. He said he had
escaped from slavery in Kentucky, had arrived on the previous evening
at Detroit and had crossed the river to Canada as quickly as possible.
He had been a mason but understood gardening and attending to horses
and had other accomplishments. He was engaged and proved a
satisfactory servant "respectful, cleanly, capable, lithe and active
as a panther." His former master came from Kentucky and reclaimed him
after the lapse of six months. The recognition was mutual and
immediate. The Kentuckian, offered $2000 to Baby for the return of
Andrew his former slave, but the offer was indignantly refused. It
turned out that Andrew had taken his master's favorite horse to assist
him in his flight but had turned it loose after riding it some
twenty-five miles. Whether for this reason or for some other, the
Kentuckian did not appeal for the extradition of Andrew[8] but
determined to use violence.
A short time afterwards five desperadoes from Detroit attempted to
kidnap Andrew while the family were at Church, but they were
successfully resisted by Andrew and Charles Baby until the service was
over and the people were seen hastening home. The would-be kidnappers
made their escape across the river. Finding it dangerous to keep
Andrew so near the border, the neighbors took up a subscription and he
was sent by stage to York (Toronto). This place he reached in safety.
"He made good" and lived a respectable and useful life undisturbed by
any fear of Kentucky vengeance.[9]
The law as to such attempts was authoritatively stated in 1819 by John
Beverley Robinson, Attorney General of Upper Canada, afterwards Sir
John Beverley Robinson, Bart, Chief Justice of Upper Canada. The
opinion will be given in his own words:[10]
"In obedience to Your Excellency's comments I have perused the
accompanying letter from G. C. Antrobus Esquire, His Majesty's
charge d'affaires at the Court of Washington and have attentively
considered the question referred to me by Your Excellency
thereupon--namely--"Whether the owners of several Negro Slaves
who have fled from the United States of America and are now
resident in this Province can be permitted to come hither and
obtain possession of their property, and whether restitution of
such Negroes can be made by the interposition of the government
of this Province" and I beg to express most respectfully my
opinion to your Excellency that the Legislature of this Province
having adopted the Law of England as the rule of decision in all
questions relative to property and civil rights, and freedom of
the person being the most important civil right protected by
those laws, it follows that whatever may have been the condition
of these Negroes in the Country to which they formerly belonged,
here they are free--For the enjoyment of all civil rights
consequent to a mere residence in the country and among them the
right to personal freedom as acknowledged and protected by the
Laws of England in cases similar to that under consideration,
must notwithstanding any legislative enactment that may be
thought to affect it, with which I am acquainted, be extended to
these Negroes as well as to all others under His Majesty's
Government in this Province. The consequence is that should any
attempt be made by any person to infringe upon this right in the
persons of these Negroes, they would most probably call for, and
could compel the interference of those to whom the administration
of our Laws is committed and I submit with the greatest deference
to Your Excellency that it would not be in the power of the
Executive Government in any manner to restrain or direct the
Courts or Judges in the exercise of their duty upon such an
application."[11]
Then came a number of applications for the return of runaway slaves
cloaked under criminal charges, the pretence being made that they had
committed some crime and that it was desired to bring them to trial
and punishment. There can be no doubt that in the absence of some
constitutional provision every country has the right to keep out
criminals and, if they have entered the country, to hand them over to
the authorities of the country whence they came; but the rules of
international law have never gone so far as to make it obligatory on
any country to send away immigrant criminals even if demanded by their
former country. It has always been the theory in Upper Canada that the
Governor had the power independently of statute or treaty to deliver
up alien refugees charged with crimes.[12] This was not wholly
satisfactory and the legislature took the matter up and passed an act
governing such cases, February 13th, 1833,[13] providing for the
apprehension of fugitive offenders from foreign countries, and
delivering them up to justice. This provides that on the requisition
of the executive of any foreign country the governor of the province
on the advice of his executive council may deliver up any person in
the province charged with "Murder, Forgery, Larceny or other crime
which if committed within the province would have been punishable with
death, corporal punishment, the pillory, whipping or confinement at
hard labour." The person charged might be arrested and detained for
inquiry, but the act was permissive only and the delivery up was at
the discretion of the Governor-in-Council.
It was under this act that the extradition of Thornton Blackburn was
sought but finally refused. The case was this: Two persons of color
named Blackburn, a man and his wife, were claimed as slaves on behalf
of some person in the State of Kentucky. They were arrested in Detroit
in 1833 and examined before a magistrate, who, in accordance with the
law of the United States, made his certificate and directed them to be
delivered over as the personal property of the claimant in Kentucky.
The sheriff took them into custody but when one of them was on the
point of being removed from the prison to be restored to his owner,
he was violently rescued and directed across the river into Canada. On
the day before the rescue of Thornton Blackburn his wife eluded the
jailer in disguise and escaped to Canada.
The Upper Canadian Government was, therefore, called upon to return
these prisoners to the United States. Upon examining the record in the
case, however, the Attorney General of Upper Canada in reply to the
Governor for information in the case, advised that the so-called
offences of Thornton Blackburn in trying to effect his own escape from
persons seeking to return him to slavery could not be construed as
rioting or rescuing a prisoner from an officer of the law as had been
set forth in the requisition papers from the Michigan authorities and
certainly could not be applied to Thornton Blackburn's wife who, as
the evidence showed, had taken no part at all in the rescue.
The council[14] was thereafter called upon to consider the question
whether, if a similar charge had been committed in Canada, the
offenders would be liable to undergo any of the punishments provided
for in the act passed at the session of the Canadian Legislature in
1833. The Attorney General[15] was of the opinion that had the
government been confined to the official requisition that had
accompanied it, he might have been warranted in delivering up these
persons inasmuch as there was evidence on which, according to the
terms of the Canadian law, a magistrate would have been warranted in
apprehending and committing for trial persons charged with riot,
forcible rescue and assault and battery. The Attorney General
believed, however, that the Governor and the Council were not confined
to such evidence since, though limited in their authority to enforcing
the provisions of the act against fugitives from foreign States, on
being satisfied that the evidence would warrant the commitment for
trial, yet in coming to that conclusion, they were bound to hear not
ex parte evidence alone but matter explanatory to guide their
judgment; for even with the authority so to do, they were not required
to deliver up any prisoner so charged, if for any reason they deemed
it inexpedient so to do.
The conclusion of the Attorney General, therefore, was that Blackburn
and his wife were not charged with any of the offences enumerated in
the statute of Canada and that the Governor and Council were not
authorized by its provisions to send them out of the province. He
said, moreover: "It has not escaped our attention as a peculiar
feature in this case that two of the persons whom the Government of
this Province is requested to deliver up are persons recognized by the
Government of Michigan as slaves and that it appears upon these
documents that if they should be delivered up they would by the laws
of the United States be exposed to be forced into a state of slavery
from which they had escaped two years ago when they fled from Kentucky
to Detroit; that if they should be sent to Michigan and upon trial be
convicted of the riot and punished they would after undergoing their
punishment be subject to be taken by their masters and continued in a
state of slavery for life, and that, on the other hand, if they should
never be prosecuted, or if they should be tried and acquitted, this
consequence would equally follow.
The next case was not so happy in its result. It caused much
excitement at the time and is not yet forgotten. Solomon Mosely or
Moseby, a Negro slave, came to the province across the Niagara River
from Buffalo which he had reached after many days travel from
Louisville, Kentucky. His master followed him and charged him with
the larceny of a horse which the slave took to assist him in his
flight. That he had taken the horse there was no doubt and as little
that after days of hard riding he had sold it. The Negro was arrested
and placed in the Niagara Gaol. A prima facie case was made out and an
order sent for his extradition.[16]
The people of color of the Niagara region made the Mosely case their
own and determined to prevent his delivery up to the American
authorities to be taken to the land of the free and the home of the
brave, knowing that there for him to be brave meant torture and death,
and that death alone could set him free. Under the leadership of
Herbert Holmes, a yellow man[17] a teacher and preacher, they lay
around the jail night and day to the number of from two to four
hundred to prevent the prisoner's delivery up. At length the deputy
sheriff with a military guard brought out the unfortunate man shackled
to a wagon from the jail yard, to go to the ferry across the Niagara
River. Holmes and a man of color named Green grabbed the lines. Deputy
Sheriff McLeod gave the order to fire and charge. One soldier shot
Holmes dead and another bayoneted Green, so that he died almost at
once. Mosely, who was very athletic leaped from the wagon and made his
escape. He went to Montreal and afterward to England, finally
returning to Niagara, where he was joined by his wife, who also
escaped from slavery.
An inquest was held on the bodies of Holmes and Green. The jury found
"justifiable homicide" in the case of Holmes. "Whether justifiable or
unjustifiable" there was not sufficient evidence before the jury to
decide in the case of Green. The verdict in the case of Holmes was the
only possible verdict on the admitted facts. Holmes was forcibly
resisting an officer of the law in executing a legal order of the
proper authority. In the case of Green the doubt arose from the
uncertainty whether he was bayoneted while resisting the officer or
after Mosely had made his escape. The evidence was conflicting and the
fact has never been made quite clear. No proceedings were taken
against the deputy sheriff; but a score or more of the people of color
were arrested and placed in prison for a time. The troublous times of
the Mackenzie Rebellion came on and the men of color were released,
many of them joining a Negro militia company which took part in
protecting the border.
The affair attracted much attention in the province and opinions
differed. While there were exceptions on both sides, it may fairly be
said that the conservative and government element reprobated the
conduct of the blacks in the strongest terms, being as little fond of
mob law as of slavery, and that the radicals including the followers
of Mackenzie, looked upon Holmes and Green as martyrs in the cause of
liberty. That Holmes and Green and their followers violated the law
there is no doubt; but so did Oliver Cromwell, George Washington and
John Brown. Every one must decide for himself whether the occasion
justified in the courts of Heaven an act which must needs be condemned
in the courts of earth.[18]
It was, however, only when the alleged crime was recent and followed
up promptly that the rigid rule of extraditing slaves accused of crime
was applied. A case which came before the Executive Council a few days
after Mosely's is a good illustration of the care taken in such cases.
Jesse Happy, a slave in Kentucky, had made his escape to Canada,
stealing a horse with which he outran his pursuers. Knowing the
indisposition of the Canadian authorities to return fugitives from
slavery, the Governor of Kentucky undertook to have this fugitive
extradited on the ground that he was charged with a felony in that
commonwealth. It appeared that the real object of the application from
Kentucky was not so much to bring Happy to trial for the alleged
felony as to reduce him again to a state of slavery. In the report of
the Attorney General reference was made to an application for
extradition in a case in which the offence had been recently
committed, and because of this fact the requisition was honored. In
the case of Jesse Happy, however, the alleged offence had been
committed four years prior to making an effort to have him extradited.
No process had been issued in the State of Kentucky nor had any steps
been taken to punish him for felony. It was suggested, therefore, that
the real object of this apprehension was to give him up to his former
owners and to deprive him of the personal liberty secured to him by
the laws of Canada.
As the delivery of the slave under these circumstances would subject
him to a double penalty, the one of being punished for the crime and
the other of being returned to a state of slavery even if he should be
acquitted, the Canadian authorities were in a dilemma; for punishment
of the felony was in strict accordance with the statutes of Canada
whereas the enslavement of the fugitive was in direct opposition to
the genius of its institutions and the spirit of its laws. Yet as the
council[19] could not take the position that because a man happened to
be a fugitive slave he should escape the consequences of crime
committed in a foreign country to which a free man would be amenable,
action was suspended so as to give the accused time to furnish
affidavits of the facts set forth in the petition on his behalf, and
not wishing to make of this a precedent without the support of the
highest authority, the matter was submitted to the Government in
England with a request for their views upon this case as a matter of
general policy.[20]
Lord Palmerston having had the matter brought to his attention by Lord
Glenelg, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, recognized its
very great importance. He accordingly had it submitted to the Law
Officers of the Crown. The opinion of these officers Sir John
Campbell and Sir Robert Mousey Rolfe appears from a letter from W.T.H.
Fox Strangeways, Parliamentary Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
addressed February 25, 1838, to Sir George Gray of the Colonial
Department. This officer said:
"I have received and laid before Viscount Palmerston your Letter to me
of the 6 December 1837 with its accompanying copy of a Dispatch from
Sir Francis Head, in which that officer requests Instructions for his
guidance, in the general case of Fugitive Slaves who, having escaped
to Canada may be demanded from the Canadian Authorities by the
Authorities of the United States on the plea of their having committed
crimes in the last mentioned Country and in the particular case of
Jesse Happy, who having escaped to Upper Canada more than four years
ago, had been demanded from the Lieut. Governor of that Province, upon
the ground of a charge of Horse Stealing.
"These two questions have by direction of Lord Palmerston been
submitted to the Law Officers of the Crown, and I am directed by his
Lordship to state to you the opinion of these officers for the
information of Lord Glenelg.
"The Law Officers report upon the general question, that they think
that no distinction should in the case contemplated, be made between
the demand for Slaves or for Freemen.
"It is the opinion of the Law Officers that in every case in which
there is such Evidence of criminality as, according to the terms of
the Canadian Statutes, would warrant the apprehension of the accused
Party, if the alleged offence had been committed in Canada, then on
the requisition of the Governor of the Foreign State, the accused
Party ought to be delivered up, without reference to the question as
to whether he is or is not a Slave.
"The Law Officers desire however that it should be distinctly
understood, that the Evidence for this Purpose must be evidence taken
in Canada, upon which (if false) the Parties making it may be indicted
for Perjury.
"The Law Officers remark further on this point that the 3rd Section of
the Provincial Statute enables the Governor to refuse to deliver up a
Party, whenever special circumstances may render it inexpedient to
accede to the demand made to the Governor on such a point.
"The Law Officers, reporting upon the subject of Jesse Happy state
that they do not think that there was in that case such evidence of
criminality, as, according to the Laws of the Province of Upper Canada
would warrant the apprehension of Jesse Happy if the offence charged
had been committed in U. Canada.
"The Law Officers indeed go farther, and say that so far as there is
any evidence of the Facts, what took place was not Horse Stealing
according to the Laws of Upper Canada, but merely an unauthorized use
of a horse, without any intention of appropriating it.
"The Law Officers conclude by, stating, that upon these grounds, they
are of opinion, that Jesse Happy ought to be set at liberty, and that
instructions to that effect should be sent to the Lieutenant Governor
of Upper Canada."[21]
On the ninth of May Glenelg wrote to Sir George Arthur who succeeded
Bond Head as Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, saying: "With
reference to my Dispatch to Sir Francis Bond Head of the 4th December
last No 255, I enclose for your information the copy of a letter from
the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs stating the substance
of the opinion given by the Law Officers of the Crown in respect to
the restitution of Fugitive Slaves who may be demanded from the
Government of Upper Canada on the plea of their having committed
crimes at the places from which they have fled. In conformity with the
opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown I have to desire that Jessie
Happy, the individual with respect to whom this question was raised
shall be forthwith set at liberty."
It is impossible not to see that the very stringent rules laid down by
the Law Officers of the Crown at Westminster were intended to be in
_favorem libertatis_. Happy was released November 14th, 1837, and so
far as appears from the official records no further application was
ever made for the extradition of a runaway slave until after 1842.
That year the well-known Ashburton Treaty was concluded[22] between
Britain and the United States. This by Article X provides that "the
United States and Her Britannic Majesty shall, upon mutual
requisitions ... deliver up to justice all persons ... charged with
murder, or assault with intent to commit murder, or piracy or arson or
robbery or forgery or the utterance of forged paper...." Power was
given to judges and other magistrates to issue warrants of arrest, to
hear evidence and if "the evidence be deemed sufficient ... it shall
be the duty of the ... judge or magistrate to certify the same to the
proper executive authority that a warrant may issue for the surrender
of such fugitive."
It will be seen that this treaty made two important changes so far as
the United States was concerned. It made it the duty of the executive
to order extradition in a proper case and took away the discretion. It
gave the courts jurisdiction to determine whether a case was made out
for extradition.[23] These changes made it more difficult in many
instances for a refugee to escape; but the courts were astute as ever
in finding reasons against the return of slaves.
The case of John Anderson is a well-known one in evidence. He was born
a slave in Missouri. As his master was Moses Burton, he was known as
Jack Burton. He married a slave woman in Howard County, the property
of one Brown. In 1853, Burton sold him to one McDonald living some
thirty miles away and his new master took him to his plantation. In
September 1853 he was seen near the farm of Brown, when apparently he
was visiting his wife. A neighbor, Seneca T.P. Diggs, became
suspicious of him and questioned him. As his answers were not
satisfactory he ordered his four Negro slaves to seize him, according
to the law in the State of Missouri. The Negro fled, pursued by Diggs
and his slaves. In his attempt to escape the fugitive stabbed Diggs in
the breast and Diggs died in a few hours. Effecting his escape to this
province, he was in 1860 apprehended in Brant County, where he had
been living under the name of John Anderson, and three local justices
of the peace committed him under the Ashburton Treaty. A writ of
habeas corpus was granted by the Court of Queen's Bench at Toronto,
under which the prisoner was brought before the Court of Michaelmas
Term of 1860.
The motion was heard by the full court.[24] Much of the argument was
on the facts and on the law apart from the form of the papers, but
that was hopeless from the beginning. The law and the facts were too
clear, although Mr. Justice McLean thought the evidence defective. The
case turned on the form of the information and warrant, a somewhat
technical and refined point. The Chief Justice Sir John Beverley
Robinson, and Mr. Justice Burns agreed that the warrant was not
strictly correct, but that it could be amended. Mr. Justice McLean
thought it could not and should not be amended.
The case attracted great attention throughout the province, especially
among the Negro population. On the day on which judgment was to be
delivered, a large number of people of color with some whites
assembled in front of Osgoode Hall.[25] While the adverse decision was
announced, there were some mutterings of violence but the counsel for
the prisoner[26] addressed them seriously and impressively, reminding
them "It is the law and we must obey it." The melancholy gathering
melted away one by one in sadness and despair.
Anderson was recommitted to the Brantford Jail.[27] The case came to
the knowledge of many in England. It was taken up by the British and
Foreign Anti-Slavery Society and many persons of more or less note. An
application was made to the Court of Queen's Bench of England for a
writ of habeas corpus, notwithstanding the Upper Canadian decision,
and while Anderson was in jail at Toronto, the court after anxious
deliberation granted the writ[28] but it became unnecessary owing to
further proceedings in Upper Canada.
In those days the decision of any Court or of any judge in habeas
corpus proceedings was not final. An applicant might go from judge to
judge, court to court[29] and the last applied to might grant the
relief refused by all those previously applied to. A writ of habeas
corpus was taken out from the other Common Law Court in Upper Canada,
the Court of Common Pleas. This was argued in Hilary Term, 1861, and
the court unanimously decided that the warrant of commitment was bad
and that the court could not remand the prisoner to have it
amended.[30] The prisoner was discharged. No other attempts were made
to extradite him or any other escaped slave; and Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation put an end to any chance of such an attempt
being ever repeated.[31]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The first Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States in
1793. Three years afterwards occurred an episode, little known and
less commented upon, showing very dearly the views of George
Washington on the subject of fugitive slaves, at least of those slaves
who were his own.
A slave girl of his escaped and made her way to Portsmouth, N. H.;
Washington on discovering her place of refuge, wrote concerning her to
Joseph Whipple the Collector at Portsmouth, November 28, 1796. The
letter is still extant. It is of three full pages and was sold in
London in 1877 for ten guineas. (_Magazine of American History_, Vol.
1, December, 1877, p. 759.) Charles Sumner had it in his hands when he
made the speech reported in Charles Sumner's _Works_, Vol. III, p.
177. Washington in the letter described the fugitive and particularly
expressed the desire of "her mistress" Mrs. Washington for her return
to Alexandria. He feared public opinion in New Hampshire for he added.
"I do not mean by this request that such violent measure should be
used as would excite a mob or riot which might be the case if she has
adherents; or even uneasy sensations in the minds of well disposed
citizens. Rather than either of these should happen, I would forego
her services altogether and the example also which is of infinite more
importance."
In other words if the slave girl has no friends or "adherents" send
her back to slavery--if she has and they would actively oppose her
return, let her go--and even if it only be that "well-disposed
citizens" disapprove of her capture and return let her remain free.
[2] Whitney's first patent was 1784. His rights were firmly
established in 1807.
[3] Landon, _Canada's Part in Freeing the Slave_, Ontario Historical
Society, Papers, etc. (1919), quoting Birney's _James G. Birney and
His Times_, p. 435.
Mr. Landon's paper is of great interest and value and I gladly avail
myself of the permission to use it.
[4] A fairly good account of the Underground Railroad will be found in
William Still's _Underground Railroad_, Philadelphia, 1872, in W.H.
Mitchell's _Underground Railway_, London, 1860; in W.H. Siebert's
_Underground Railway_, New York, 1899, and in a number of other works
on Slavery. Considerable space is given the subject in most works on
Slavery.
One branch of it ran from a point on the Ohio River, through Ohio and
Michigan to Detroit; but there were many divagations, many termini,
many stations; Oberlin was one of these. See Dr. A.M. Ross, _Memoirs
of a Reformer_, Toronto, 1893, and _Mich. Hist. Coll._, XVII, p. 248.
[5] The Buxton Mission in the County of Kent is well known. The
Wilberforce Colony in the County of Middlesex was founded by free
Negroes but they had in mind to furnish homes for future refugees. See
Mr. Fred Landon's account of this settlement in the recent (1918)
_Transactions of the London and Middlesex Hist. Soc._, pp. 30-44. For
an earlier account see A. Steward's _Twenty Years a Slave_ (Rochester,
N.Y., 1857).
[6] "The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it
by force." There can be no doubt that the Southern Negro looked upon
Canada as a paradise. I have heard a colored clergyman of high
standing say that of his own personal knowledge dying slaves in the
South not infrequently expressed a hope to meet their friends in
Canada.
[7] _Souvenirs of the Past_, by William Lewis Baby, Windsor, Ontario,
1896. Mr. Baby is a member of an old French-Canadian family of the
highest repute for honor and public service. Charles Baby was the
author's brother. The author lived with him and tells the story of his
own knowledge. The quotations are from Mr. Baby's book.
[8] As was done in the case of Solomon Mosely, spoken of infra, p.
[9] I have not been able to verify other tales of attempted abduction
to my satisfaction, there are, however, several stories which may be
true.
[10] _Canadian Archives Sundries, U. C._, 1819.
[11] John Beverley Robinson was the son of Christopher Robinson
mentioned above.
[12] The same rule obtained in Lower Canada; (1827) re Joseph Fisher,
1 Stuart's L. C. Rep. 245.
[13] This is the Act (1833), 3 Will IV, c. 7 (U. C.). This statute
came forward as cap. 96 in the _Consolidated Statutes of Upper
Canada_, 1859, but was repealed by an Act of (United) Canada (1860),
23 Vic. c. 91 (Can.).
The Act of 1833 was drawn by Chief Justice Robinson and introduced by
him into the Legislative Council of which he was Speaker--it was a
"Government measure." Notice of bringing in the bill was given
November 28, 1832; the bill brought in November 30; read the second
time December 3 passed the committee of the whole on the fourth of
December and was finally passed by the Council the following day. It
reached the Legislative Assembly the same day where it was passed
without opposition and received the Royal Assent February 13, 1833.
[14] At the meeting were present His Excellency Sir John Colborne, K.
C. B. Lieutenant Governor, the Hon. and Rev. John Strachan, D.D.,
Archdeacon of York, the Honorable Peter Robinson, the Honorable George
Herchmer Markland, the Honorable Joseph Fells, and the Honorable John
Elmsley. The Executive Council at that time was very much under the
influence of the Chief Justice and Dr. Strachan, then Archdeacon
afterwards the first Anglican Bishop of York or Toronto.
[15] Robert Sympson Jameson an English barrister of the Middle Temple,
a familiar friend of Coleridge and Southey and the husband of Anna
Jameson of some literary note.
The report is from the _Canadian Archives, State J._, p. 137.
[16] The Executive Council on September 7th 1837 recommended his
extradition. The following is a copy of the Proceedings:
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL CHAMBER AT TORONTO Thursday 7th September 1837
REQUISITION FOR SOLOMON MOSELY
Read the Requisition of the Governor of the State of Kentucky and
other documents relating to the surrender of Solomon Mosely a
fugitive from the State of Kentucky charged with Horse stealing.
Read also the Attorney General opinion thereon as follows:
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE
TORONTO 6th September 1837
_Sir_,
I have the honor to report that in my opinion there is sufficient
proof of the guilt of Solomon alias John Mosely a fugitive from
the State of Kentucky charged with horse stealing in that
Country--to Warrant His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor (with
the advice of the Executive Council) to deliver him up upon the
request made by the Governor of the State referred to.
I have the honor to be &c
(Signed) CS HAGERMAN, _Atty, Gen_
J JOSEPH ESQ,
_Civil Secretary._
The Council concur in the above opinion of the Attorney General
and consider that the case comes within 3rd Wm 4 Ch 7 and
therefore advise His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor to
deliver up the Fugitive alluded to in the requisition of His
Excellency the Governor of the State of Kentucky.
--_Can. Arch. State J. Upper Canada_, p. 595.
In a despatch from Head to Lord Glenelg, October 8, 1837, Can. Arch.
398, p. 149, Head says: "In a case brought before me only a few days
previous to that which is the subject of this communication (_i.e._,
the Jesse Happy case) I insisted on giving up to the Governor of the
Commonwealth of Kentucky (a slave) who in order to effect his escape
had been guilty of stealing his Master's horse." It was suggested that
the real object was to get him back to his Master--not to punish him
for the crime. But the crime was perfectly proved and the Council
followed the judicial opinion in the Thornton Blackburn case that as
the black had been shown to have committed an offence clearly coming
within the statute of 1833, they could not advise a course to be taken
"different from that which should be pursued with respect to free
white persons under the same circumstances." They, therefore, advised
an order for extradition.
[17] To his people he seems to have been known as "Hubbard Holmes" he
is always called a "yellow man," whether mulatto, quadroon, octoroon
or other does not appear.
[18] The contemporary accounts of this transaction, _e.g._, in the
_Christian Guardian_ of Toronto, and the _Niagara Chronicle_, are not
wholly consistent. The main facts are clear; although there is some
doubt as to the time, the military guard were ordered to fire.
[19] Present, Allen, Hon. Augustus Baldwin and Hon. William Henry
Draper (afterwards Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, 1856,
Chief Justice of the Province of Upper Canada, 1863, and President of
the Court of Error and Appeal 1868 till his death, 1877).
[20] _Canadian Archives State J._, p. 597.
[21] _Canadian Archives_, G. 84, p. 277. The letter to Sir George
Arthur is _ibid._, G. 84, p. 275. The despatch from Lord Glenelg to
Sir Francis Bond Head dated January 4, 1837, has endorsed on it a
pencil memorandum "Jesse Happy has been liberated by Lieutenant
Governor's command November 14, 1837," _ibid._, G. 83, p. 238.
[22] Concluded at Washington, August 9, 1842.
[23] It was held in the Province of Upper Canada that the Act of 1833
was superseded by the Ashburton Treaty in respect to the United
States, but that it remained in force with respect to other countries
(Reg. _v._ Tubber, 1854, 1, P.R. 98). Since the treaty our government
has refused to extradite where the offence charged is not included in
the treaty. In re Laverne Beebe (1863), 3 P.R. 273--a case of
burglary. The provisions of the treaty were brought into full effect
in Canada (Upper and Lower) by the Canadian Statute of 1849, 12, Vic.
c. 19; C.S.C. (1859), c. 89.
[24] The Chief Justice Sir John Beverley Robinson, Mr. Justice McLean
(afterwards Chief Justice of Upper Canada) and Mr. Justice Burns.
[25] The seat of the Superior Courts in Toronto, the Palais de Justice
of the Province.
[26] Mr. Samuel B. Freeman Q.C., of Hamilton, a man of much natural
eloquence, considerable knowledge of law and more of human nature; he
was always ready and willing to take up the cause of one unjustly
accused and was singularly successful in his defences. I have heard it
said that it was Mr. M.C. Cameron, Q.C., who so addressed the
gathering but he does not seem to have been concerned in the case in
the Queen's Bench.
[27] The case is reported in (1860) 20 U. Can. Q.B., pp. 124-123. The
warrant is given at pp. 192, 193.
[28] The case is reported in (1861) 3 Ellis & Ellis Reports, Queen's
Bench, p. 487; 30, Law Jour., Q.B., p. 129; 7 Jurist N.S., p. 122; 3
Law Times, N.S., p. 622; 9 Weekly Rep., p. 255.
It was owing to this decision that the statute was passed at
Westminster (1862) 25, 26, Vic. c. 20, which by sec. 1 forbids the
courts in England to issue a writ of habeas corpus into any British
possession which has a court with the power to issue such writ. The
Court was Lord Chief Justice Cockburn and Justices Crompton Hill and
Blackburn, a very strong court. The Counsel for Anderson was the
celebrated but ill-fated Edwin James. The writ was specially directed
to the sheriff at Toronto, the sheriff at Brantford and the jail
keeper at Brantford. Judgment was given January 15, 1861.
[29] Common Law of course, not Chancery.
[30] The court was composed of Chief Justice William Henry Draper,
C.B., Mr. Justice Richards, afterwards Chief Justice successively of
the Court of Common Pleas, of the Court of Queen's Bench and of the
Supreme Court of Canada and Mr. Justice Hagarty, afterwards Chief
Justice successively of the Court of Common Pleas, of the Court of
King's Bench, and of Ontario.
Mr. Freeman was assisted in this argument by Mr. M.C. Cameron, a
lawyer of the highest standing professionally and otherwise,
afterwards Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench and afterwards
Counsel for the Crown on both arguments were Mr. Eccles, Q.C., a man
of deservedly high reputation, and Robert Alexander Harrison,
afterwards Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench, an exceedingly
learned and accurate lawyer.
The case in the Court of Common Pleas is reported in Vol. 11. Upper
Can., C.P., pp. 1 sqq.
[31] Canadian Archives, Sundries U.C., 1807.
It would be unfair to the United States to say or suggest that all the
flights for freedom were in the one direction. Very early trouble was
experienced by Canadian owners of slaves from their running away to
the United States. The following letter tells its own story. D.M.
Erskine the British representative writing from New York, May 26,
1807, to Francis Gore, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, says:
"I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the
24th ult enclosing a Memorial presented to you by the Proprietors of
Slaves in the Western District of the Province of Upper Canada.
"I regret equally with yourself the Inconvenience which His Majesty's
subjects in Upper Canada experience from the Desertion of their slaves
into the Territory of the United States, and of Persons bound to them
for a term of years, as also of his Majesty's soldiers and sailors;
but I fear no Representation to the Government of the United States
will at present avail in checking the evils complained of, as I have
frequently of late had occasion to apply to them for the Surrender of
various Deserters under different circumstances and always without
success.
"The answer that has been usually given, has been, 'That the Treaty
between Great Britain & the United States which alone gave them the
Power to surrender Deserters having expired, it was impossible for
them to exercise such an authority without the Sanction of the Laws.'
"I will however forward to His Majesty's Minister for Foreign Affairs
the Memorial above mentioned in the Hope that some arrangements may be
entered into to obviate in future the great Losses which are therein
described."
In the _Life and Adventures of Wilson Benson, written by himself_
(Toronto, 1876), is found the following, pp. 34-36:
"In 1849 I shipped on the schooner Rose of Milton, Capt. Hamilton,
cruising on Lakes Ontario and Erie. In one trip to the town of Erie,
Pennsylvania, for a cargo of coal, while lying at the dock, a
diminutive negro man, with a white beard, came on board the vessel,
and inquiried of me if this was a British vessel. On being informed
that it was, he desired to be secreted, stating that he was a runaway
slave, and that his pursuers were on his track. I at once secreted him
in a closet which served as a store-room for vegetables, &c., and as
we were almost ready to set sail, I did not discover his presence to
either Captain or crew until we were some distance out on the lake.
When he appeared, Capt. Hamilton inquired of me where I had obtained
'that child,' and on being informed, expressed some anxiety, as we
were liable to be captured had we been followed by a steamer. As it
was, he merely looked up at the rigging, and exclaimed, 'Blow,
breezes, blow!' The negro, who knew no other name than 'Sambo' we
brought to Toronto. On one occasion, when I offered him some molasses,
he shook his head and made grimaces expressive of disgust. He informed
me that the slaves employed on the sugar plantations, when beaten by
their masters, in order to obtain an indirect revenge, spat in the
syrup, and committed other filthy things as an imaginary punishment
upon the whites. I frequently saw Sambo in Toronto, and many times he
expressed thankfulness to me for his deliverance. I may here mention
that shortly after the arrival of Sambo on board the Rose of Milton at
Erie, two suspicious-looking men, dressed in plain clothes, came
aboard and paced up and down the deck several times, and as all the
crew were absent at the time, I felt some apprehenson for the safety
of the poor fugitive; but seeing nothing of a suspicious appearance,
and the almost entire absence of the crew, they sauntered away. I made
several other trips up and down the lakes during that summer on the
same vessel."
CHAPTER VII
SLAVERY IN THE MARITIME PROVINCES
The French population of the territory by the sea, the Acadians, are
described by the poet as:
Men whose lives glided on like rivers that water the woodlands,
Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of heaven.
History does not bear out this idyll; but whatever their faults, at
least the Acadians had the negative virtue of possessing no slaves,[1]
Panis or Negro: nor was it until the coming of the people whose native
air was too pure for a slave that the curse came upon the land.
The permanent settlement by the English of Acadia may fairly be
considered as beginning when in 1749 Cornwallis founded Halifax.[2]
Negro slaves were among the population of Halifax from the beginning
or very shortly after. Where they came from is uncertain and it has
been suggested that they came with the original settlers across the
ocean. In the absence of any other explanation more plausible, this
might be accepted. Lord Mansfield's decision in the Somerset case was
a quarter of a century in the future. But it seems more probable that
they were brought from the English Colonies, and some almost certainly
were.
The official records of the country exhibit much evidence to this
effect. In September, 1751, the _Boston Evening Post_ advertised "Just
arrived from Halifax and to be sold, ten strong hearty, Negro men
mostly tradesman, such as caulkers, carpenters, sailmakers and
ropemakers.[3] Any person wishing to purchase may enquire of Benjamin
Halliwell of Boston." Such an advertisement indicates that
shipbuilding was slack at Halifax and more brisk at Boston. A
conjecture may be hazarded that these slaves had been taken by their
master to Halifax to build ships and then returned to the colony when
required no longer in Acadia.
Some such conjecture receives a little assistance from a will still on
record in Halifax. It was made February 28, 1752, by Thomas Thomas
"late of New York but now of Halifax" and disposed of his "goods,
chattels and negros" including one bequest to this effect: "all my
plate and my negro servant Orange that now lives with me at Halifax, I
leave and bequeath to my son."
In the same year, _The Halifax Gazette_ of May 15 contains the
advertisement "Just imported and to be sold by Joshua Mauger at Major
Lockman's store in Halifax, several Negro slaves as follows: A woman
aged 35, two boys aged 12 and 13 respectively, two of 18 and a man
aged 30." In the _Halifax Gazette_ of Saturday, May 30, 1752, sale is
advertised thus: "Just imported and to be sold by Joshua Mauger, at
Major Lockman's store in Halifax, several negro slaves, viz., a very
likely negro wench, of about thirty-five years of age, a Creole born,
has been brought up in a gentleman's family, and capable of doing all
sorts of work belonging thereto, as needle-work of all sorts and in
the best manner; also washing, ironing, cooking, and every other thing
that can be expected from such a slave: also two negro boys of about
12 or 13 years old, likely, healthy, and well-shaped, and understand
some English. Likewise two healthy negro slaves of about 18 years of
age, of agreeable tempers and fit for any kind of business: And also a
healthy negro man of about 30 years of age." In September 1759, a
Halifax merchant, Malachy Salter wrote to his wife then visiting
relatives in Boston informing her of the state of the family, saying
that "Jack is Jack still but rather worse. I am obliged to exercise
the cat or stick almost every day. I believe Halifax don't afford
another such idle, deceitful villain"--"Pray purchase a Negro boy if
possible."
In the year of the surrender of Montreal, the _Halifax Gazette_,
November 1, 1760, advertised "To be sold at public auction on Monday
the 3rd of November, at the house of Mr. John Rider, two slaves, viz.,
a boy and a girl, about 11 years old; likewise a puncheon of choice
cherry brandy with sundry other articles."
Some legal sanction, moreover, was given slavery. A General Assembly
the first Elective Legislature in what is now Canada, met at Halifax
in 1757. In 1762 the second session of the third General Assembly
passed an act[4] which seems not to have received very much attention
from legists[5] and writers. It contains a recognition of slavery. The
act provides by section 2 that "in case any soldier, sailor, servant,
apprentice, bound servant or negro slave or any other person
whatsoever shall leave any pawn or pledge with a vendor of liquor for
the payment of any sum exceeding five shillings for liquor such
soldier, sailor, servant, apprentice bound servant or negro slave ...
or the master or mistress of such servant, apprentice, bound servant
or negro slave" might by proceedings before a Justice of the Peace
obtain an order for the restoration of the pawn or pledge--and the
vendor might be fined 20 shillings "for the use of the poor."[6]
For this reason slavery could easily continue as subsequent records
prove. In July, 1767, Charles Proctor of Halifax sold Louisa, a
"Mulotta" girl, to Mary Wood of Annapolis for £15 currency[7] and next
year Mary Wood assigned the girl to her daughter Mrs. Mary Day. In
June, 1767, James Simonds of the St. John River wrote to Hazen and
Jarvis at Newburyport, Massachusetts, a letter in which he complains
of "that rascal negro, West" who cannot be got to do a quarter of a
man's work. In an advertisement in a Halifax paper in 1769 are offered
for sale to the highest bidder "two hogsheads of rum, three of sugar
and two well-grown negro girls aged 14 and 12." Those were clearly a
consignment from the West Indies. The executors of John Margerum of
Halifax deceased, in their accounts give credit for £29.9.4.1/2 "net
proceeds of a negro boy sold at Carolina." In 1770 the executors of
Joseph Gerrish of Halifax lost £30 on the sale of three Negroes for
£150 to Richard Williams and Abraham Constable, the Negroes having
been appraised at £180: and a Negro boy named John Fame was not then
sold. In April 1770, Mrs. Martha Prichard of Halifax, widow,
bequeathed to her daughter, wife of Moses Delesdernier a Negro slave
woman named Jessie. If Mrs. Delesdernier did not wish to retain the
slave, she was to be sold and the proceeds of the sale given to Mrs.
Delesdernier. If she kept her, the slave at the death of Mrs.
Delesdernier was to be the property of her son Ferdinand. By the same
instrument the testatrix bequeathed to her grand-daughter a mulatto
slave John Patten two and a half years old.
By the census of the year 1771 the Rev. James Lyon, the first
Presbyterian Minister in Nova Scotia, is shown to have owned a colored
boy, the only Negro in the township of Onslow and John Young in the
township of Amherst also a Negro boy, the only one in the township. In
Annapolis, Magdalen Winnett owned a man, woman and girl; Joseph
Winnett owned a woman and a boy; Ebenezer Messenger and Ann Williams
each a man, and John Stork of Granville owned a man the only Negro in
the township; and Henry Evans of Annapolis had the previous year owned
a colored girl.
Jacob Hurd of Halifax offered in 1773 a reward of £5 for the
apprehension of his runaway Negro, Cromwell, a "short thick set strong
fellow," strongly pock marked "especially on the nose" and wearing a
green cloth jacket and a cocked hat. In July 1773, in the _Nova Scotia
Gazette and Weekly Chronicle_ the executor and executrix of Joseph
Pierpont of Halifax advertised "a Negro named Prince to be sold at
private sale." This perhaps indicated a repugnance to offering human
beings for sale by auction. In the _Nova Scotia Gazette and Weekly
Chronicle_, March 27, 1775 is an advertisement for the sale of a
"likely well-made negro boy about 16 year old."
In the inventory of the estate of the late John Rock appeared in 1776
a Negro woman named Thursday. She was inventoried at £25 but sold for
£20. In this year also a Windsor farmer, Joseph Wilson left by will
two Negro women Byna and Sylla to his wife. In January 1779 the _Nova
Scotia Gazette and Weekly Chronicle_ advertised for sale an able Negro
woman, about 21 year old, "capable of performing both town and country
work and an exceedingly good cook." In the same year Daniel Stratford
of Halifax left to his wife a Negro man slave Adam for life, after her
death to become the property of his daughter Sarah Lawson. Matthew
Harris of Picton sold for £50 to Matthew Archibald of Truro, tanner, a
"Negro boy named Abram, about 12 years of age" born of Harris' Negro
slave in Harris' house in Maryland.
In 1780 rewards were offered, one of 3 guineas, for the apprehension
and delivery at the office of the Commanding Officer of Engineers at
Halifax of two runaway Negro men; another "a handsome reward to be
paid for securing in any gaol a Negro boy Mungo about 14 years old and
well built"--the owner Benjamin De Wolfe of Windsor to be notified.
That year the executors of Colonel Henry Denny Denson of West
Falmouth debit themselves with £75 received for "Spruce," £60 for
"John" and £30 for "Juba" and credit themselves with £2.11.6 paid for
taking two of these to Halifax probably for sale there.
Abel Michener of Falmouth advertised in 1781 a reward of £5 for the
capture of a Negro named James; and Samuel Mack of Port Medway wanted
a Negro named "Chance" returned.
Richard Wenman of Halifax in September of that year agreed to give his
Negro, Cato, his liberty "if he will faithfully serve my said
daughter, Elizabeth Susannah Pringle two years." Captain Wilson of the
transport _Friends_ requested in 1782 that masters of vessels will not
ship as a seaman his runaway Negro lad Ben, saying: "He is my own
property."
There is no need for further particularization; for we now come to the
year of the definitive peace between the mother country and the new
republic. As in the upper country so by the sea there was a great
influx of Loyalists, accompanied in many instances by their slaves.
Thereafter sales, advertisements for auctions, rewards for runaway
slaves, bequests of slaves, &c., are very common and there were some
manumissions. That, however, was not the cause of the great increase
in the Negro population of the Maritime Province. The Island of St.
John, afterwards Prince Edward Island had been set off as a separate
province in 1769 but the Province of Nova Scotia included what became
the Province of New Brunswick until 1786.
During the Revolutionary War, the British commanders, Sir Henry
Clinton in particular, had made it a point to invite the slaves to the
British line and many had accepted the invitation. No few of these
refugees were of material service to the British troops in various
ways both menial and otherwise. At the peace Washington demanded the
return of these quondam slaves.[8] Sir Guy Carleton refused but made
a careful inventory of them with full description, name, former
master, etc., so that Washington might claim compensation from the
British Government, if he saw fit.[9] In addition to these slaves
somewhere about 3,000 freed Negroes accompanied the British troops on
their withdrawal from New York, nearly all coming to Nova Scotia. Many
of these after suffering great hardships were sent to Sierra Leone on
the West Coast of Africa in 1792. Some remained in the province where
their descendants are found until this day; but not in any very great
numbers. The Loyalists, however, retained their property in their own
slaves; and immigration was encouraged by the Act of 1790.[10]
The trade in Negroes was very brisk for some years. For example, on
June 24, 1783, the _Nova Scotia Gazette and Weekly Chronicle_
advertised for sale a Negro woman, "25 years of age, a good house
servant." On December 11, 1783, Captain Alexander Campbell late of the
South Carolina Loyalists sold to Captain Thomas Green late of the
Royal Nova Scotia Foot a Negro woman named Nancy for £40. Nancy two
years later was sold by Green to Abraham Forst of Halifax and a year
later still with her child Tom to Gregory Townsend.
A shipment was made by John Wentworth from Halifax to Surinam, Dutch
Guiana, of nineteen Negro slaves, "all American born or well seasoned
... perfectly stout, healthy, sober, orderly, industrious and
obedient." These, said he, "I have had christened and would rather
have liberated them than send them to any estate that I am not sure of
their being treated with care and humanity which I shall consider as
the only favour that can be done to me on this occasion" by his
correspondent.[11]
On October 29, 1787, John Rapalje, a Royalist, sent from Brookligne
(Brookland or Brooklyn Ferry) to George Leonard by desire of his (R's)
father a Negro woman named Eve about 35 years and her child named Suke
about 15 to sell as he himself cannot go to Nova Scotia. Eve was one
of the best servants "perfectly sober, honest" and the only fault she
had was her near sight.
The records show occasional manumission also. In 1784 the inventory of
the estate of John Porter late of Cornwallis, a Negro man is valued at
£80. That same year Charles Montague of Halifax says: "I have only one
Negro, named Francis; he is to have his freedom." In May 1787,
Margaret Murray, widow of Halifax by her will manumitted her two
Negro women Marianne and Flora; and (when he was 21) her Negro boy
Brutus. From the records of a trial at Shelburne, in a magistrate's
court in 1788 it appears that one Jesse Gray of Argyle had sold a
Negro woman for 100 bushels of potatoes. At a trial the ownership by
Gray was proved and the sale confirmed.
We now come to the times of a Chief Justice whose heart was set on
destroying slavery in the province of Nova Scotia, therein wholly
differing from the Chief Justice of New Brunswick, George Duncan
Ludlow, who had received his appointment on the separation of that
province in 1784. The forward-looking jurist was Thomas Andrew Strange
who became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1791.[12] The same
impulse for liberty which about this time was noted in the upper
country manifested itself from time to time by the sea. Slaves ran
away from their masters; the masters pursued and imprisoned them. Some
blacks claimed freedom without fleeing. When a writ of habeas corpus
came up in the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Strange did his best to
avoid giving a decision. He knew that slavery was lawful but he knew
it was detestable and he pursued a course which did not require him to
stultify himself but which would nevertheless confer substantial
benefits upon the black claiming liberty.
He endeavored in every case to bring the parties to an agreement to
sign articles whereby the master would have the services of the Negro
for a stated time, after the expiration of which the Negro received
his freedom. When the master refused this, as sometimes there was a
refusal, the Chief Justice required the matter to be tried by a jury,
which usually found for the Negro.[13]
The practice adopted was like the practice in cases of alleged
villenage in England. It was recognized that slavery might exist in
Nova Scotia, but it was made as difficult as possible for the master
to succeed on the facts. Except the act already mentioned there was no
statute recognizing slavery and an attempt in 1787 to incorporate such
a recognition in the statute law failed of success by a large
majority. The existing act, too, was given what seems a very forced
and unnatural interpretation so as to emasculate it of any authority
in that regard.
Salter Sampson Blowers, the Attorney General, fully agreed with the
Chief Justice's plan. On one occasion he threatened to prosecute a
person for sending a Negro out of the province against his will.[14]
The Negro managed to get back and the master acknowledged his right,
so that no proceedings were necessary. After a number of verdicts for
the alleged slaves, masters were generally very willing to enter into
articles whereby the slave after serving faithfully for a fixed number
of years was given his freedom.
After Blowers became Chief Justice, 1797,[15] he continued Chief
Justice Strange's practice with marked results. In one case of which
he tells where he had discharged a black woman from the Annapolis gaol
on habeas corpus and an action had been brought, the plaintiff proved
that he had bought her in New York; but the Chief Justice held that he
had not proved the right of the seller so to dispose of her and
directed the jury to find for the defendant which they promptly did.
Slavery continued, however. Almost every year we find records of
sales, advertisements for runaway slaves, bequests of slaves, &c, till
almost the end of the first decade of the 19th century, the latest
known bill of sale is dated March 21, 1807 and transfers a "Negro
Woman named Nelly of the age of twenty five or thereabout." It was,
however, decadent and from about the beginning of the 19th century was
quite as much to the advantage of the Negro in many cases as that of
the master.
A final effort to legalize slavery in Nova Scotia was made in 1808.
Mr. Warwick, member for Digby Township, presented a petition from John
Taylor and other slave owners setting up that the doubts entertained
by the courts rendered their property useless and that the slaves were
deserting and defying their masters. They asked for an act securing
them their property or indemnifying them for their loss. Thomas
Ritchie member for Annapolis introduced a bill to regulate Negro
servants within the province. The bill passed its second reading
January 11, 1808, but failed to become law; and the attempt was never
renewed.
New Brunswick was separated from Nova Scotia in 1784. The Chief
Justice of that province was not as averse from slavery as his brother
of Nova Scotia. One of the most interesting and celebrated cases came
before the Supreme Court of New Brunswick in Hilary Term, February
1800. Captain Stair Agnew who had been an officer in the Queen's
Rangers settled opposite Fredericton. He was a man much thought of as
is shown by his being chosen for thirty years to represent York County
in the Legislature. He owned a slave Nancy Morton[16] who claimed her
freedom and whom apparently he had put in charge of one Caleb Jones. A
writ of habeas corpus was obtained directed to Jones and the matter
was arranged to be argued before the full court of four judges. For
the applicant appeared Ward Chipman[17] and Samuel Denny Street for
the master, Jonathan Bliss, Attorney General of the province, Thomas
Wetmore, John Murray Bliss, Charles J. Peters and Witham Botsford, all
men of ability and eminence. On the Bench were Chief Justice Ludlow
and Puisne Justices Allen, Upham and Saunders.
The addresses of the Attorney-General and Mr. Chipman are extant. The
former divided his speech into thirty-two heads; the latter took
eighty pages of foolscap for his. The arguments were extremely able
and exhaustive,[18] everything in history, morals and decided cases
being brought to bear. The case took two full days to argue and after
careful consideration the court divided equally, the Chief Justice and
Mr. Justice Upham affirming the right of the master and Mr. Justice
Allan and Mr. Justice Saunders held for the alleged slave.
The return of Jones to the writ was that Nancy "was at the time of her
birth and ever since hath been a female Negro slave or servant for
life born of an African Negro slave and before the removal of the said
Caleb Jones from Mary Land to New Brunswick was and became by purchase
the lawful and proper Negro slave or servant for life of him the said
Caleb Jones ..., that the said Caleb Jones in the year of our Lord
1785 brought and imported the said ... Nancy his Negro slave or
servant for life into the Province of New Brunswick ... and has always
hitherto held the said ... Nancy as his proper Negro slave or servant
for life ... or by laws he has good right and authority to
do...."[19]
The Chief Justice based his opinion on what he called the "Common Law
of the Colonies"--and although that expression was ridiculed at the
time and has been since, there is no difficulty in understanding it.
He meant custom recognized as law not contained in an express
legislative enactment. In that sense a modern lawyer will agree that
he was right. Practically all the English colonies had slavery
thoroughly recognized and often without or before legislation; and all
the well known legal maxims asserted the cogency of such custom.[20]
Mr. Justice Allen considered that no human power could justify
slavery--and his brother Saunders agreed with him. It would seem that
these judges were concerned with what the law should be, the others
with what it actually was.[21]
In the result the return was held sufficient and the master had his
slave. But the decision of the divided court had its effect. Agnew
reconveyed Nancy to William Bailey from whom he had bought her and she
bound herself to serve for fifteen years, then to receive her
freedom.[22] The result of this case was that while slavery was not
formally abolished, it before many years practically ceased to
exist.[23]
Prince Edward Island was called Isle St. Jean until 1798. In this
island slavery had the same history as in the other maritime
provinces. Shortly after the peace Negro slaves were brought into the
Island by their United Empire Loyalist masters. As late as 1802 we
find recorded the sale of "a Mulatto boy three years old called Simon"
for £20, Halifax currency, then £18 sterling, and a gift of "one
Mulatto girl about five years of age named Catherine." We also find
Governor Fanning (1786-1804), freeing his two slaves and giving one of
them, Shepherd, a farm.
In Cape Breton which was separate from 1784 to 1820, Negro slaves were
found as early as the former date: "Cesar Augustus, a slave and Darius
Snider, black folks, married 4th September 1788," "Diana Bestian a
Negro girl belonging to Abraham Cuyler Esq" was buried September 15,
1792 and a Negro slave was killed in 1791 by a blow from a spade when
trying to force his way into a public ball in Sydney.[24] In this
province, too, slavery met the same fate.
There is now to be mentioned an interesting series of
circumstances.[25] During the War of 1812-15 the British navy occupied
many bays and rivers in United States territory and in some cases
troops were landed where there was a slave population. These forces
came into possession of many slaves, mostly voluntary fugitives, some
seduced and some taken by violence from their masters. Admiral
Cochrane in April 1814 issued a proclamation inviting all those who
might be disposed to emigrate from the United States for the purpose
of becoming free settlers in some of "His Majesty's Colonies" to come
with their families on board of the British men of war and offering
them the choice of joining the British forces or being sent as free
settlers to a British possession. He did not say "slaves" but no one
could mistake the meaning.[26] Negroes came in droves. Some were taken
to the Bahamas and the Bermudas where their descendants are to be
found until this day; many were taken to Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick.[27]
When the Treaty of Peace was concluded at Ghent, December 24, 1814 the
United States did not forget the slaves who had got away from the home
of liberty. Article 1 provided for the delivery up of all places taken
by either party without carrying away any property captured "or any
slaves or other private property." The United States demanded the
restoration of "all slaves and other private property which may now be
in possession of the forces of His Britannic Majesty." The British
officers refused to surrender the slaves contending that the real
meaning of the treaty did not cover the case. At length in 1818 a
convention was entered into that it should be left to the Emperor of
Russia[28] to decide whether the United States by the true intent of
Article 1 was entitled to the restitution or full compensation for the
slaves.
In 1822 the Emperor decided in favor of the United States. Thereupon
the next year (1824) a mixed commission of two commissioners and two
arbitrators determined the average value to be allowed as
compensation;[29] for slaves taken from Louisiana $580: from Alabama
Georgia and South Carolina, $390; from Virginia, Maryland and all
other States $280.
The commissioners adjourned for the purpose of enabling evidence to be
obtained as to the numbers. Clay submitted to the British Government
that 3601 slaves had been taken away but was willing for a settlement
to accept the price of 1650. Britain declined, but the commissioners
failed to agree and finally by diplomacy in 1827 Britain agreed to pay
£250,000 or $1,204,960 in full for slaves and other property. Thus
Britain assured the freedom of more than 3,000 slaves and paid for
them, a fitting prelude to the great Act of 1833 whereby she freed
800,000 slaves and paid £20,000,000 for the privilege.[30]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] So far at all events as appears from any records that I have seen
it is just possible however that "La Liberté, le neigre" mentioned in
de Meulles' Census of Acadia in 1696 was a black slave,
notwithstanding his name.
[2] From 1720 on, Annapolis Royal had a fairly firm government and
settlement but it was not until Halifax was founded that it became
certain that the country would remain English.
[3] This and most of the facts, dates, etc., in this chapter are taken
from the Rev. Dr. T. Watson Smith's fascinating article _The Slave in
Canada_ in the _Nova Scotia Historical Society's Collections_, Vol. X,
Halifax, 1899.
[4] (1762) 2 George III, c. 1 (N. S.), _Statutes at Large, Nova
Scotia_, Halifax, 1805, p. 77.
[5] It is referred to in a letter from Ward Chipman to Chief Justice
Blowers to be mentioned later. See post, p.
[6] This Act was continued in 1784 by (1784) 24 George III, c. 14 (N.
S.). _Statutes at Large, Nova Scotia_, p. 238.
[7] "Halifax currency" was at this time nine-tenths of Sterling £10
currency = £9 sterling and the 5/ dollar being 4/6 sterling.
[8] It will be remembered that in the Treaty of Peace it was agreed by
Article VII "His Britanic Majesty shall with all convenient speed and
without causing any destruction or carrying away any negroes or other
property of the American inhabitants withdraw his armies, garrisons
and fleets from the said United States...."
Sir Guy Carleton claimed that the Negroes who had taken refuge in the
British lines at once lost their status of slavery and became free.
They were "not Negroes or other property of the American," a rather
technical not to say finely drawn distinction but _in favorem
libertatis_; and in any event Britain would not betray the helpless
who had put their faith in her.
[9] Washington did make a claim; but the United States had not carried
out its part of the contract and Britain would not and never did pay.
Jones' _Loyalist History of New York_, Vol. 2. p. 256, says that the
number of Negroes who found shelter in the British lines was 2000 at
least; probably this is an underestimate. Hay's _Historical Reading_
at p. 249 gives the number of Negroes who came into Nova Scotia with
their Masters at least 3000--and of free Negroes 1522 at Shelburne,
182 at St. John River. 270 at Guysborough, 211 in Annapolis County,
and a smaller number at other places. 1200 were sent to Sierre Leone
in 1792.
[10] See ante, p. --. The Negro population in 1784 estimated at about
3000 was included in the 28,347 of _Disbanded Troops and Loyalists
called New Inhabitants, Can. Arch._, Report for 1885, p. 10. There
were some free Negroes in various companies of the British forces in
one capacity or another.
[11] The Negroes sent were Abraham, James, Lymas, Cyrus, John, Isaac,
Quako, January, Priscella, Rachel, Venus, Daphne, Ann, Dorothy and
four children Celia, William, Venus, Eleanora--reserving Matthew and
Susannah at home. All these had been christened, February 11, 1784.
"Isaac is a thorough good carpenter and master sawyer, perfectly
capable of overseeing and conducting the rest and strictly honest;
Lymas is a rough carpenter and sawyer; Quako is a field negro has met
with an accident in his arm which will require some indulgence. The
other men are sawyers and John also a good axeman. Abraham has been
used to cattle and to attend in the house, &c. All the men are expert
in boats. The women are stout and able and promise well to increase
their numbers. Venus is useful in the hospital, poultry yard, gardens,
etc. Upon the whole they are a most useful lot of Negroes."
John Wentworth, last Royalist Governor of New Hampshire and afterwards
Sir John Wentworth, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, doubtless
believed himself to be a good man and a good Christian.
The story of Eve and Suke _infra_ is told by Archdeacon Raymond, 3 N.
B. Mag., 1899, p. 221.
[12] He went to England in 1796 (it was said, for a visit) resigned
his position in Nova Scotia, was Knighted and appointed Recorder of
Fort St. George, Bombay, India.
[13] A collateral ancestor of my own, the Reverend Archibald Riddell,
had the advantage of a similar proceeding a century before. Being
apprehended for taking part in the uprising of the Covenanters in
Scotland he was given (or sold) with others to a Scottish Laird who
chartered a vessel and proceeded to take his human chattels to America
for sale. The plague broke out on the ship, the Laird and his wife
died of it as did some of the crew. When the ship reached New Jersey,
there being no master, the "slaves" escaped up country. The Laird's
son-in-law and personal representative came to America and claimed
Riddell and others. The governor called a jury to determine whether
they were slaves and the jury promptly found in their favor. Riddell
preached in New Jersey until the Revolution of 1688 made it safe for
him to return to Scotland. Juries in such cases are liable to what
Blackstone calls "pious perjury." All this practice was based upon the
common law proceedings when a claim was made of villenage. When a
person claimed to be the lord of a villein who had run away and
remained outside the manor unto which he was regardant, he sued out a
writ of neif, that is, de nativo habendo. The sheriff took the writ
and if the nativus admitted that he was villein to the lord who
claimed him, he was delivered by the sheriff to the lord of the manor;
but if he claimed to be free, the sheriff should not seize him but the
Lord was compelled to take out a _Pone_ to have the matter tried
before the Court of Common Pleas or the Justices in Eyre, that is, the
assizes. Or the alleged villein might himself sue out a writ of
libertate probanda: and until trial of the case the lord could not
seize the alleged villein. The curious will find the whole subject
dealt with in Fitzherbert's _Natura Brevium_, pp. 77 sqq.
[14] This is very much like the Chloe Cooley case in Upper Canada. I
do not know what form the prosecution could possibly take if the Negro
was in fact a slave. See Chapter V, note 5 ante.
[15] It is said that August 1797 was the date of the last public slave
sale at Montreal, that of Emmanuel Allen for £36.
The last advertisement for sale by auction of a slave in the Maritime
Provinces seems to be that in _The Royal Gazette and Nova Scotia
Advertiser_ of September 7, 1790, where William Millet of Halifax
offers for sale by auction September 9 "A stout likely negro man and
sundry other articles."
In 1802 the census showed that there were 451 Blacks in Halifax; in
1791 there were 422.
Dr. T. Watson Smith says in a paper "Slavery in Canada" republished in
"Canadian History," No. 12, December, 1900, at p. 321.
"About 1806, so Judge Marshall has stated, a master and his slave were
taken before Chief Justice Blowers on a writ of habeas corpus. When
the case and the question of slavery in general had been pretty well
argued on each side, the Chief Justice decided that slavery had no
legal place in Nova Scotia."
I have not been able to trace such a decision and cannot think that it
has been correctly reported. Dr. Smith is wholly justified in his
statement "there is good ground for the opinion that this baneful
system was never actually abolished in the present Canadian Provinces
until the vote of the British Parliament and the signature of King
William IV in 1833 rendered it illegal throughout the British Empire."
[16] J. Allen Jack, Q. C., D. C., L., of St. John, New Brunswick,
gives a full account of this case from which (and similar sources)
most of the facts are taken. In a paper read before the Royal Society
of Canada May 26, 1898, _Trans. R. S. Can._, 1898, pp. 137 sqq., Dr.
Jack conjectures that Nancy Morton is the Negro female slave conveyed
by bill of sale registered in the office of the Register of Deeds, St.
John's, N. B. Slaves were treated as realty as regards fieri facias
under the Act of 1732 (see ante, p. --) and at least "savoured of the
realty." The bill of sale registered January 31, 1791, was dated
November 13, 1778, and was executed by John Johnson of the Township of
Brooklyn in King's County, Long Island, Province of New York. It
conveyed with a covenant to warrant and defend title to Samuel Duffy,
Innkeeper for £40 currency (say $100) "a certain negro female about
fourteen years of age and goes by the name of Nancy," pp. 141, 142.
However that may be, Stair Agnew bought Nancy from William Bailey of
the County of York in the Province of New Brunswick for £40 with full
warranty of title as a slave.
[17] He was born in Boston in 1753, the son of John Chipman, a member
of the Bar. Graduating at Harvard, he joined the Boston Bar and
practised in that City until 1776. After the Peace he went to England
and in 1784 sailed for New Brunswick of which he was appointed
Solicitor General. After a quarter of a century of successful practice
he was appointed 1808 a puisne judge of the Supreme Court. He died in
February, 1826.
His services to Nancy Morton were given without fee or hope of reward.
[18] That of Mr. Chipman is given in _Trans. R. Soc. Can._, 1898, pp.
155-184.
[19] It will be seen that the return sets up that Jones bought and
owned the slave and the case was argued on that hypothesis, but the
historians say that Captain Stair Agnew was the owner. The point is
not of importance.
[20] _Mos regit legem, Mos pro lege, Leges moribus servient,
Consuetudo est optimus interpres legum_, custom is the life of the
law, custom becomes law, &c., &c. That slavery was necessary and
therefore legal in the American Colonies was admitted in the Somerset
case.
[21] The modern lawyer, in my opinion, would find no difficulty in
coming to the same conclusion as the Chief Justice.
Mr. Chipman in his interesting correspondence with Chief Justice
Blowers (_Trans. R. Soc. Can._, 1898, pp. 148 sqq.) admits that if his
opponents had hit upon the Nova Scotia Statute of 1762 as revised in
1783 "the conclusiveness of their reasoning on their principles would
have been considered as demonstrated." He adds: "In searching your
laws upon this occasion I found this clause but carefully avoided
mentioning it," which raises a curious question in legal ethics.
[22] The reconveyance to Bailey, a quit claim deed, is witnessed by
George Leonard and Thomas Wetmore and is dated February 22, 1800. The
indenture by which Nancy bound herself for fifteen years is dated
February 23, 1800.
If Dr. Jack is right in his conjecture the argument took place when
she was 36 and she would receive her freedom when she was 51. Agnew
challenged Judge Allen for some reflection upon him by the Judge; the
challenge was declined and Agnew then challenged Street who
accepted--and they fought a bloodless duel. Street later in 1821
fought a duel with George Ludlow Wetmore over words which passed on
leaving the Court. Wetmore was struck in the head and died in a few
hours. Street was tried and aquitted. One result of this case was that
Mr. Justice Upham freed his slaves. His wife had six inherited from
her father and he himself had some, one a girl born in the East Indies
whom he had bought from her master in New York, the master of a ship,
afterwards married a soldier in Colonel Allen's regiment.
[23] What is believed to be the last advertisement for the sale of a
slave in any maritime province is in the New Brunswick _Royal Gazette_
of October 16, 1809 when Daniel Brown offered for sale Nancy a Negro
woman, guaranteeing a good title. The latest offer of a reward for the
apprehension of a runaway slave is said to be in the same paper for
July 10, 1816.
[24] For this act the perpetrator was excluded by his masonic lodge;
being brought to trial before the Supreme Court in August 1792 he was
"honourably acquitted" and afterwards he was reinstated by his lodge.
[25] Seldom mentioned and never much boasted of in the United States.
[26] The word _Camouflage_ may be new. The practice antedated
humanity.
[27] There is a record of 371 arriving at St. John from Halifax on May
25, 1815, by the _Romulus_, who had taken refuge on board the British
Men of War in the Chesapeake. The Negro settlement at Loch Lomond was
founded by them.
At the Census of 1824, 1421 "persons of color" were found in New
Brunswick. The Very Rev. Archdeacon Raymond, an excellent authority,
thinks most of these "were at one time slaves or the children of
slaves," but many were not slaves in New Brunswick.
Those that were brought by Admiral Cochrane to Halifax became a great
burden to the community. It was proposed in 1815 by the British
Government to remove them to a warmer climate, but this scheme does
not seem to have been carried out. By a census taken in 1816 there was
found to be 684 in Halifax and elsewhere in Nova Scotia. In the winter
of 1814-15 they had suffered rather severely from small pox and were
vaccinated to prevent its spread. Some were placed on Melville Island.
[28] Presumably because he had the greatest number of serfs in the
world and was, therefore, the best judge of slaves.
[29] Of course, Britain refused to give up a single fugitive. She
could not betray a trust even of the humblest. She knew that in "the
land of the free and the home of the brave" for the Negro returned to
his master, to be brave was to incur torture and death and death alone
could make him free.
[30] The Act (1833) 3, 4 William III, c. 73 (Imp.), passed the House
of Commons August 7 and received the Royal Assent August 28, 1833; and
there were no slaves in all the British world after August, 1838.
CHAPTER VIII
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
The curse of Negro slavery affected the whole English speaking world;
and that part of the world where it was commercially profitable
resisted its abolition. The British part of this world does not need
to assert any higher sense of justice and right than had those who
lived in the Northern States; and it may well be that had Negro slave
service been as profitable in Canada as in the Cotton States, the
heinousness of the sin might not have been more manifest here than
there. Nevertheless we must not too much minimize the real merit of
those who sought the destruction of slavery. Slaves did not pay so
well in Canada as in Georgia, but they _paid_.
It is interesting to note the various ways in which slavery was met
and finally destroyed. In Upper Canada, the existing slaves, 1793,
remained slaves but all those born thereafter were free, subject to
certain conditions of service. There was a statutory recognition of
the existing status and provision for its destruction in the
afterborn. This continued slavery though it much mitigated its
severity and secured its downfall in time. But there were slaves in
Upper Canada when the Imperial Act of 1833 came in force. The Act of
1793 was admittedly but a compromise measure; and beneficial as it was
it was a paltering with sin.
In Lower Canada, there was no legislation, and slavery was never
formally abolished until the Imperial Act of 1833; but the courts
decided in effect if not in form that a master had no rights over his
slave, and that is tantamount to saying that where there is no master
there is no slave. The reasoning in these cases as in the Somerset
case may not recommend itself to the lawyer but the effect is
undoubtedly, "Slaves cannot live in Lower Canada."
In Nova Scotia, there was no decision that slavery did not exist.
Indeed the course of procedure presupposed that it did exist, but the
courts were astute to find means of making it all but impossible for
the alleged master to succeed; and slavery disappeared accordingly.
In New Brunswick the decision by a divided court was in favor of the
master; but juries were of the same calibre and sentiments in New
Brunswick as in Nova Scotia and the same results were to be
anticipated, if Nova Scotian means were used; and the slave owners
gave way.
In the old land, judicial decision destroyed slavery on the British
domain; but conscience and sense of justice and right impelled its
destruction elsewhere by statute; and the same sense of justice and
right impelled the Parliament of Great Britain to recompense the
owners for their property thus destroyed. If there be any more
altruistic act of any people in any age of the world's history I have
failed to hear or read of it.
In the United States, slavery was abolished as a war measure. Lincoln
hating slavery as he did would never have abolished it, had he not
considered it a useful war measure. No compensation was paid, of
course.[1] Everywhere slavery was doomed and in one way or another it
has met a deserved fate.
WILLIAM RENWICK RIDDELL
JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF ONTARIO,
OSGOOD HALL, TORONTO,
February 5, 1920
FOOTNOTES:
[1] I had with the late Hon. Warwick Hough of St. Louis, Missouri, who
had been an officer in the Southern Army, several conversations on the
subject of slavery. He gave it as his firm conviction that, had the
South succeeded in the Civil War, it would shortly have itself
abolished slavery and sought readmission to the Union. His proposition
was that the power and influence of the planter class was waning,
while the manufacturers, merchants and the like were increasing in
number and influence and they would have for their own protection
abolished slavery. I have not met a Northerner or a Canadian who
agreed with this view; but a few Southerners have expressed to me
their general concurrence with my friend's proposition.
BOOK REVIEWS
_Africa and the Discovery of America._ Volume I. By LEO WIENER,
Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Harvard
University. Innes & Sons, Philadelphia, Pa., 1920. Pp. i-xix,
1-290.
The present volume is the first of a series in which Professor Wiener
will show that Arabicised Negroes, chiefly Mandingoes, brought to
America as slaves, profoundly influenced the culture of the Indians,
and were an important, if not always direct factor in establishing the
_modus vivendi_ between the Indians and the Europeans, which made
practicable the colonization of the New World.
The book is packed with valuable data, newly discovered, and brought
together for the first time. It should be read slowly, and read
through at least twice before judgment is passed on it. With the first
reading comes a shock. One learns that the _Journal of the First
Voyage_, and the _First Letter of Columbus_ are literary frauds,
though containing material which came from Columbus's own pen, and
that tobacco, manioc, yams, sweet potatoes and peanuts are not gifts
of the Indian to the European. Yet with a more intimate study of the
subject matter, the conviction increases that the author has built
upon the bed-rock of fact, and that his position is unassailable.
It is impossible, within the limits of a review, to do more than to
emphasise the most important of his discoveries. In his studies of the
_First Letter_, and of the _Journals_ giving account of the first and
the second voyages of Columbus, Professor Wiener seeks to determine
how much testimony they give pertaining to Indian names and things,
after the elimination of all that is not Indian. The non-Indian
elements are of two sorts; the names of the Islands, and the words for
"gold," etc. Columbus, dominated by the fixed idea, that, sailing
westward, he would find a short cut to India, China and Japan, began
with the first sight of land, to be engrossed with the task of
identifying each newly discovered country with some island or district
of the Far East, named on his maps. He was an ignorant man, though he
knew Ptolemy and Marco Polo by heart, credulous, uncritical, not
consciously dishonest, but unready to correct false impressions caused
by his ignorance and gullibility. His notes, as may be seen from a
reproduction of a page of his manuscripts (facing p. 38), were in an
execrable hand. The forger of the _Journal of the First Voyage_ was no
puzzle expert, and made mistakes in deciphering scrawls. Thus, for
example, the note _Giaua min._, _i.e._, Java minor, was read
_Guanahin_, the same destined to masquerade as _Guanahani_, the Indian
name of the first island sighted on October 12, 1492.
Perhaps the best specimen of such ghost-words in the _Journal_ is the
name _Carib_. This is nothing but Marco Polo's _Cambalu_, the capital
of the Grand Khan, successively misread as Canibal, Caniba, Cariba. So
also, "canoe" is a ghost-word, traced to a misreading of _scaphas_ as
_canoas_ in the manuscript, or the Gothic text of the Latin version of
the First Letter. It is interesting to learn that _maize_, in the
forms _masa_, _maza_, ultimately from Portuguese _mararoca_, is the
African name for Guinea corn. The transference of the name from Guinea
corn to Indian corn, "rests on a misunderstanding of a passage in
Peter Martyr's _First Decade_" (p. 123).
The question arises whether or not there had been a colony of
Europeans, with African slaves in America, before the arrival of
Columbus.
Fray Ramon Pane, Oviedo, and Las Casas give _conico_ as the Indian
word for "farm, plantation." This is clearly the Mandingo _kunke_
"farm." The Indian word for "golo," according to the Journal entry for
January 13, 1493, is _caona_. It is found also in the name of _Cacique
Caonabo_, called in the _Journal of the Second Voyage_ "master of
mines,"--the name being explained in the Libretto as "lord of the
house of gold." Now the words for "gold" in the Negro languages are
mostly derived from Arabic _din[=a]r_, which, through Hausa _zinaria_,
and Pul _kanyera_, reaches Vei as _kani_. Evidently _canoa_, written
also _guani_, is nothing but this Vei word. In "Cacique Caonabo," we
have three Mande words in juxtaposition. _Cacique_ is not far removed
from _kuntigi_, Soso _kundzi_, "chief,"--_caona_, that is _kani_, is
"gold," and _boi_, from Arabic _beii_, _bai_, is "house." The chance
that three such words should be identical in the dissimilar languages
of Africa and America, is _nil_. The words are African, though
represented as belonging to the spoken language of the New World.
Moreover, Ramon Pane, in the account he wrote for Columbus of the
Indian religion, gives as Indian words, the Mande _toto_, "frog," and
the Malinke _kobo_, "bug." What is more important, he imputes to the
Indians, a knowledge of the terrible West African itch, or _craworaw_,
which he calls by the supposed Indian name _caracaracol_. The critic
faces a dilemma. Either Ramon Pane lied, or he told the truth. Either
he fabricated stories of Indians, which he drew from books or
manuscript relations by Spanish and Portuguese traders, who were
writing about Negroes in Africa, or there had been in Hispaniola, a
pre-Columbian colony of European adventurers, with their African
slaves, who taught the Indians the Negro words for "farm, gold, frog,
bug, itch," etc., and also African folk-lore. No other hypothesis is
possible.
{Transcriber's Note: The following paragraphs contain a number of
characters with diacritical marks which are represented as follows:
[=a] a-macron
[=o] o-macron
[=e] e-macron
[>e] e-caron
[>z] z-caron}
The documentary and philological history of tobacco smoking and the
cultivation of edible roots, shows additional convincing evidence of
the influence of Africa on the culture of America in the colonial
period. Columbus never saw the Indians smoking tobacco. According to
the _Journal of the First Voyage_, on October 15, 1492, an Indian
brought him a ball of earth and certain precious dried leaves. On
November 16, two Spaniards reported that the Indians, carrying
firebrands and leaves, used them to "take incense." In the _Journal of
the Second Voyage_, Columbus (this part of the Journal is definitely
ascribed to him by his son) writes of Indians spreading powder on a
table, and sniffing it through a forked reed, thereby becoming
intoxicated. Now the first account is suspiciously like a book-story
of Oriental hashish-taking.--the second has no implication of smoking
at all, while the third describes nothing but the process of taking a
sternutatory. Indeed this last account is clearly based on a book
account, in which there was a play on the Arabic words _tubb[=a]q_
"styptic" and _tabaq_ "table." Ramon Pane, when he tells of Indians
sniffing the powder, calls it _caboba_, a mere Italianisation of the
Arabic _qasabah_ "reed," transferring the name of the inhaler to the
drug. Smoking tobacco through a forked reed of the sort described, has
been proved by trial, to be impossible. As late as 1535, Oviedo is
unable to tell a straightforward story of Indians smoking tobacco, but
he adds the significant fact that the Negroes in the West _Indies_
smoked and cultivated tobacco. Negroes, by the way were first allowed
to come to America in 1501,--two years later, Ovando, the governor of
Hispaniola complained that they joined with the Indians to make
trouble. By 1545, "smoking had become fairly universal in America" (p.
127). It cannot be argued that half a century is too short a time for
a new vice to become so widespread. Consider the case of banana
culture. Oviedo says that the first bananas were introduced into
America in 1516. Within twenty years, the fruit was universally
cultivated, while the Spanish name _platano_ has survived in a large
number of derivatives in the Indian languages.
As far as the linguistic history of the tobacco-words in the Indian
languages is concerned, it leads back to an eastern origin. In Arabic,
_tubb[=a]q_ means "styptic." Tobacco leaves were used as a styptic by
the Indians of Brazil in the sixteenth century. The Low Latin
equivalent of the Arabic _tubb[=a]q_ "styptic," is _bitumen_, whence
Portuguese _betume_, and French _betun_, _petun_. "The French
traders," says Professor Wiener, "at the end of the sixteenth century,
carried the word and the Brazilian brand of tobacco to Canada, and
_petun_ became imbedded in several Indian languages. The older Huron
word for "tobacco" is derived from the Carib _yuli_, which itself is
from a Mandingo word. Thus, while the Carib and Arawak influence is
apparent in the direction from Florida, to the Huron country, the
Brazilian influence proceeds up the St. Lawrence. The whole Atlantic
triangle between these two converging lines was left uninfluenced by
these two streams, and here, neither Carib nor Brazilian words for
"tobacco," nor the moundbuilders' craft have been found. Here the
"tobacco" words proceeded northward from Virginia, where the oldest
form of the words is an abbreviated Span. _tabaco_, or Fr. _tabao_ (p.
191). The Carib _yuli_ "smoke," is found in Carib and Arawak, side by
side with derivatives of Mande _tama_, _tawa_, which are also in the
Algonkian languages. The fact that the Hurons, apparently the first
Indians to plant tobacco, have no native word for the plant is
significant. It shows that the Hurons learned to smoke from the
Arawaks or Caribs, then already under Negro influence, and at a time
prior to the introduction of the tobacco-plant into Canada by the
French. When we consider, then, that tobacco is native to Africa, that
_tubb[=a]q_ and _petun_ are the ancestors of the Indian names for the
weed, that by 1503, Negroes in large numbers were living in America,
deserting their masters to join the Indians, that the Negroes in
America smoked and raised tobacco, the conclusion is inescapable that
tobacco smoking was discovered and taught by them to the Indians and
the Europeans.
"The tobacco-pipe in America," says Professor Wiener, "began its
career as a Mandingo amulet" (p. 184). This statement will distress
the American archæologists, but the arguments in support of it cannot
be overcome. A counter-claim of pre-Columbian antiquity for pipes
found in the mounds cannot be made, since it is so clearly shown that
the mounds are not prehistoric, but were fortifications erected along
the lines of communication from Florida to the Huron country, to
protect the overland trade established in the beginning of the
sixteenth century.
In the _Journal of the First Voyage_, we find mention of _ajes_ and
_niames_, as name of edible roots, but the account hopelessly confuses
reports of yams, sweet potatoes and manioc. Neither yams nor sweet
potatoes are native to America, and both bear in America, only African
names. Oviedo indeed, says distinctly, that the _name_ is "a foreign
fruit, and not native to these Indies,"--also, that "it came with that
evil lot of Negroes, ... of whom there is a greater number than is
necessary, on account of their rebellions" (pp. 203-4). Now in Africa
the yam (Dioscorea), cultivated before the coming of the Europeans, is
known by names derived from Arabic _arum_ and _gambah_, _e.g._, Ewe
_ad[>e]_, _ad[>z]e_, Mandingo _nyambe_, Malinke _nyeme ku_,--whence
the supposed Indian names, _aje_, _age_, _niame_, _igname_, used
indiscriminately of any edible roots. The African names of the manioc
have come from Arabic _'uruq_ "roots," notably in the Congo languages,
_y[=o]ka_, _y[=e]ke_, _edioko_, plural _madioka_, whence, as the plant
was introduced into America, it was known there as _vuca_, _mandioca_.
As to sweet potatoes and peanuts, the former were cultivated in Asia
before the discovery of America, while the latter, mentioned by Ibn
Batutah as an article of food in Africa, took to the New World, their
African names _mandube_, _goober_ and _pinder_ (compare Mozambique
_manduwe_, Basunde _nguba_, Nyombo _pinda_). Professor Wiener's
conclusion is that manioc culture was taught to the Brazilian Indians
before 1492 by Portuguese castaways, who knew of the economic
importance of the plant in Africa, while the peanut, spreading north
and south from the Antilles, may also have reached America a few years
before Columbus.
The numerous full-page illustrations are extremely helpful in aiding
the reader to a clear understanding of difficult points in the
discussion.
The book is epoch-making. To all seekers of the truth, the coming of
the second volume, in which Professor Wiener will deal exhaustively
with the Negro element in Indian culture, will be an eagerly
anticipated event.
PHILLIPS BARRY, A.M., S.T.B.
CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS
* * * * *
_A Comparative Study of the Bantu and Semi-Bantu Languages._ By
SIR HARRY H. JOHNSTON, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., D.Sc. (Cambs). Oxford:
at the Clarendon Press, 1919, pp. 815, 2 sketch maps.
The author of this monumental work, in the opinion of the reviewer, is
in himself a composite of many of the capacities, which, combined or
singly in her subjects have made the greatness of Britain. He has been
a great colonial administrator, a distinguished African explorer; he
is a talented artist, and has recently astonished the literary world
by producing what H. G. Wells declares to be one of the best first
novels he has ever read. The contributions of Sir Harry Johnston to
the sciences of botany, zoology, and anthropology are truly
prodigious. It is in the last named field that his major interests
have lain, and a succession of important works have established him as
the foremost authority upon the ethnology of Africa and upon the
anthropology of the Negro race.
This ponderous volume on the Bantu and Semi-Bantu languages is the
first part of a work which represents the fruit of many years of study
of multitudinous African languages and dialects. The major portion of
the book consists of illustrative vocabularies of 366 Bantu and 87
Semi-Bantu languages and dialects with an extensive bibliography. A
competent criticism of this portion of the work can be made by no one
but a philologist with a special knowledge of African languages. The
present reviewer does not possess these qualifications. Nevertheless
it is obvious to any student of Africa that the publication of this
work places a mine of useful information at the disposal of the
linguist, the grammarian, and the missionary, and will also be
invaluable to the student of African ethnology and to the physical
anthropologist.
The first chapter sketches the history of research into the Bantu
laguages. The contributions of various philosophists are appraised.
The second chapter on the distribution and character of the Bantu
languages is of greatest interest to the layman and to the general
anthropologist. We are informed that the Bantu languages "constitute
a very distinct type of speech which, as contrasted with others
amongst the group of Negro tongues, is remarkable as a rule for
Italian melodiousness, simplicity and frequency of its vowel sounds,
and the comparative ease with which its exemplars can be acquired and
spoken by Europeans" (p. 15). "This one Negro language family now
covers the whole of the southern third of Africa, with the exception
of very small areas in the southwest (still inhabited sparsely by
Hottentot and Bushman tribes) and a few patches of the inner Congo
basin" (p. 15). Throughout Africa, north of the Bantu border line, the
traveller meets with numerous languages widely different and mutually
incomprehensible whereas with a knowledge of one Bantu language it is
not difficult to understand the structure and even the vocabulary of
others. The importance of this language family in Africa is therefore
obvious. The author defines clearly the special and peculiar
characteristics of Bantu languages. There follows an interesting
discussion of the origin and spread of these languages. Probably the
parent speech was spoken originally in the very heart of Africa,
somewhere between the basins of the Upper Nile, the Bahr-al-ghazal,
the Mubangi, and the Upper Benue. The archaic Bantu seem first to have
moved eastward, toward the Mountain Nile and the Great Lakes. Probably
they remained in the Nile Valley north of the Albert Nyanza "till at
least as late as three or four hundred years before Christ--late
enough to have been in full possession of goats and oxen and to have
received the domestic fowl from Egypt or Abyssinia. They then embarked
upon their great career of conquering and colonizing the southern
third of Africa" (p. 22).
The original Bantu invaders found before them in Central and South
Africa other peoples--Negroes of different types, pygmies, Bushmen,
and Hottentots. "The first great Bantu migrations undoubtedly emanated
from the vicinity of the Victoria Nyanza and the north Tanganyika, and
were directed round and not through the Congo forests" (p. 24). On the
basis of linguistic, ethnological and anthropological evidence Sir
Harry is led to deduce that at a critical period in their career the
Negro speakers of the early Bantu languages were brought under the
influence of a semi-Caucasian race from the north or northeast. This
contact gave rise to the many handsome-featured pale-skinned castes
and ruling clans in so many of the Bantu peoples.
The following statement is of great anthropological importance: "The
Bantu-speaking peoples of Africa, ... do _not_ constitute a race apart
from the other negroes or offer any homogeneity of physical type. But
on the whole they represent so much the average negro type that
'Bantu' is still in favor as a physical definition among
craniologists. In reality, they are just fifty millions of Negroes
whose speech belongs to one of the many language families of 'Negro
type'; only in this case the language family instead of being confined
in its range to a hundred villages or two hundred square miles, is
spread over the southern third of Africa--say over 3,500,000 square
miles--from the Cameroons, the Northern Congo, the Nyanzas, and the
Mombasa coast to Cape Colony and Natal" (p. 25), Bantu languages are
spoken by peoples of diverse physical types.
"Yet about the Bantu speech and the culture which accompanies it
(ordinarily) there is a suggestion, strengthened by the association of
these languages with metal working (iron more especially), with
agriculture, cultivated plants, and cattle-keeping, that adds to the
impression derived from their legends, their religious beliefs, games,
and weapons. It is thought that the Bantu language family was finally
moulded by some non-Negro incomers of possibly Hamitic affinities,
akin at any rate in physique and culture, if not in language, to the
dynastic Egyptians, the Galas, and perhaps most of all to those
'Ethiopians' of mixed Egyptian and Negro-Nubian stock that down to one
thousand years ago inhabited the Nile basin south of Wadi Halfa and
north of Kordofan." (Pp. 25-26.)
Sir Harry attributes most of the higher cultural elements associated
with the Bantu languages to the non-Negro invaders. He believes that
the Bantu invasions of southern and central Africa cannot be referred
back much earlier than the second century B. C., and that the
differentiation of the more than two hundred forms of Bantu speech
occurred subsequently and rapidly.
To the student of African ethnography this volume is a great
disappointment in one respect. The sketch map showing the distribution
of Bantu and Semi-Bantu languages is absurdly inadequate. The writer
of this review had confidently expected an authoritative large-scale
map showing the distribution of linguistic families, dialects, and
tribes. It is to be hoped that such a map will form a part of the
completed work.
E. A. HOOTON.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
* * * * *
_History of the United States from Hayes to McKinley, 1877-1896._
By JAMES FORD RHODES, LL.D., D.Litt. Volume VIII, 1877-1896. The
Macmillan Company, New York, 1919. Pp. 484.
This is supposed to be a continuation of Mr. Rhodes _History of the
United States from the Compromise of 1850 to the Final Restoration of
Home Rule at the South in 1877_. As one, however, considers the
treatment of the former work in comparison with this recent treatise,
he must conclude that the author has not maintained the standard set
in his earlier volumes which show deeper insight and a more scientific
point of view. Persons who have looked forward to the continuation of
Mr. Rhodes's comprehensive history from the transition period of
Hayes' administration will certainly be disappointed in observing how
he has failed in tracing the threads of history, which in our time,
have become momentous. After reading the volume one is still at a loss
as to what forces in our national life the author considers as being
actually in the making during the period which the volume covers.
The work begins with a treatment of Hayes' administration setting
forth facts which have appeared elsewhere in the author's studies in
this particular period. As in other works, the author defends almost
everything Hayes did and arraigns the Reconstruction Republicans who
were opposed to him. He then presents in an unscientific way the brief
discussion of economic questions bearing on railroad rates, wages,
strikes, mobs and riots. Financial depression, the silver question and
the valuable service of John Sherman are given considerable attention.
Valuable facts are set forth in his discussion of civil service
reform, the tariff commission and the Chinese question. Too much of
the book, however, is devoted to merely political matter involving a
detailed discussion of campaigns and elections at the expense of the
economic, constitutional and diplomatic movements decidedly
influencing the history of this country.
In this work the author pays very little attention to the Negro except
as he leaves the impression that the race was justly deprived of the
suffrage and of holding office. He makes reference to the complaint of
the Republicans to show that in disfranchising the Negro in the South
to make that section solidly Democratic that every white voter in the
South thereafter possessed the political power of two white voters in
the North. He mentions also the federal election laws and the Force
Bill but finally concludes that the experiment of making the Negro a
citizen was a failure. Here again Mr. Rhodes shows his lack of
knowledge of human affairs in that he studies history only in the
present tense. No man at present is wise enough to say whether we
shall finally obtain more good than bad results from the
Reconstruction, for we are too close to that part of our history to
make a proper estimate of these events.
* * * * *
_The Negro Year Book._ Edited by MONROE N. WORK, Director of
Department of Records and Research, Tuskegee Normal and
Industrial Institute. The Negro Year Book Publishing Company,
Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, 1919. Pp. 523.
There has appeared for 1918-1919 a new edition of the _Negro Year
Book_ to which students of Negro Life and History have learned to look
for information concerning the Negro. This volume appears with a table
of contents and a useful index to the numerous facts compiled. The
volume not only covers the field of former editions but includes also
much up to date material throwing light on Negro current history. The
very first portion of the work is entitled _Fifty-three Years of
Progress, 1866-1919_. This is a statistical study of Negro schools,
Negro ownership of property, and Negro enterprise. The reader will be
interested in such information as illiteracy, music, painters, actors,
occupations, agriculture, business, and the study of crime.
The Negro Year Book is a desirable step in the right direction. Mr.
Work and his coworkers deserve unusual praise for this undertaking in
a field where for a number of years yet to come the returns must
necessarily be meagre. The work meets a long felt want of statistical
information as to exactly what the Negro people are doing. These facts
will serve not only as an inspiration to the race itself but to refute
so much misinformation often circulated to do Negroes injury. It is
earnestly hoped that the managers of this work will find it possible
in the near future to publish an annual volume and to this end the
public should give the movement unstinted support to make such an
undertaking financially profitable.
NOTES
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has published a
monograph entitled _Negro Migration during the War_ by Mr. Emmett J.
Scott, Secretary-Treasurer of Howard University. This is the first
effort at a detailed treatment of the movement of the Negroes from the
South to the North. It has such interesting chapters as the causes of
the migration, stimulation of the movement, the call of the
self-sufficient North, the draining of the black belt, efforts to
check the movement, the effect of the migration on the South, the
situation in the congested districts in the North and West, and
remedies for relief. Persons who have an interest in this conspicuous
event of our internal history will find it profitable to read this
volume.
The Illinois Centennial Commission has published Volume V of the
_Modern Commonwealth_, a history of that State. On page 21 appears
this paragraph:
"Half way between the native stock and the foreign born stands the
Negro population, practically all of whom have drifted into the state
since the Civil War. In 1870 there were only 28,762 Negroes in
Illinois, but since that time they have been increasing steadily and,
with the exception of the decade 1880-1890, at a more rapid rate than
the white population. Especially rapid was the growth in the decade
ending with 1870, when it was 277 per cent or almost four times the
rate of increase of the white population. As a result of this influx
of Negroes the proportion which they constitute of the total
population has increased very steadily from 1.1 per cent in 1870 to
1.9 per cent in 1910. But the absolute number is still small,
amounting only to 109,049 at the last census."
The American Negro Academy has published Number 20 of its _Occasional
Papers_ containing a study of _Alexander Crummell, an Apostle of Negro
Culture_ by William H. Ferris. This dissertation sets forth not only
the main facts of the life of the subject of the sketch but gives also
some interesting history in connection with the founding of the
American Negro Academy.
Major John R. Lynch, one of the most conspicuous figures of the
Reconstruction period now living, has discovered certain errors in
the Reconstruction records published in the January number of the
Journal of Negro History, and has written the editor the following
letter to make the necessary corrections:
4352 FORESTVILLE AVENUE,
CHICAGO, May 17th, 1920.
_Editor, Journal of Negro History._
In compliance with your request I write this to point out a few
errors which appeared in the January 1920 issue of the Journal
covering the Reconstruction period.
Page 67 the name of Benjamin F. Turner appears as a member of the
43d Congress, and Jeremiah Haralson as a member of the 44th
Congress. Turner was a member of the 42d but not of the 43d
Congress.
Haralson and Rapier were members of the 43d Congress, both having
been elected in 1872.
On page 73, Rubert Gleed should be Robert Gleed. A.R. Davis
should be A. K. Davis, Dr. Stiles should be Dr. Stites, W.H.
Fonte should be W. H. Foote.
On page 74, H. M. Faley should be H. M. Foley. To the list of
Colored men elected to that Legislature should be added the name
of J. M. Wilson, of Marion County.
On the same page is the statement: "John R. Lynch elected speaker
of the House." This is incorrect. Lynch was elected speaker in
January 1872, by the Legislature that was elected in November
1871. The man who was elected speaker in January 1870, by the
Legislature that was elected in November 1869, was Judge Freeman
E. Franklin, a white Republican from Yazoo County. Shortly after
the adjournment of the first session of that Legislature speaker
Franklin died. When the second session convened in January 1871
Hon. H. W. Warren, a white Republican from Leake County was
elected speaker for the unexpired term.
Respectfully yours,
(Signed) JOHN R. LYNCH.
THE JOURNAL
OF
NEGRO HISTORY
VOL. V--OCTOBER, 1920--NO. 4
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN
BEARING ON THE RETURN OF NEGRO SLAVES, 1783-1828[1]
Diplomatic relations bearing on the Negro of the Revolutionary period
constitute one of the mooted questions of American foreign policy. Yet
although this question was then one of the disturbing factors in our
relations with Great Britain, it has hitherto passed unnoticed.[2] As
a large number of Negroes were taken from the United States by Great
Britain during the Revolutionary War there followed so much effort to
secure the return of these Negroes that the subject had to be dealt
with in the Treaty of Paris which ended the war in 1783. So numerous
were the infractions of the stipulation prohibiting the carrying off
of the Negroes and so fruitless were the discussions resulting from
the non-fulfillment of the articles in the treaty that several
diplomatic representatives were sent on missions to Great Britain, the
last of which ended with the Jay Treaty of 1794. Obviously, no
satisfactory settlement as to the Negro could then be reached. An
array of evidence from the sources[3] shows that the question was
frequently discussed and that its significance lies in its absence
from the stipulations of the Jay Treaty. It is evident, moreover, that
the United States was not satisfied with this treaty and that between
Great Britain and this country there was widening a breach which
culminated in the War of 1812, during which Great Britain committed
the same offence that she did during the war for independence.[4]
How can one account then for the unfavorable attitude of Great Britain
toward the return of the Negro fugitives? The humanitarian spirit of
Great Britain which, by the celebrated decision of Lord Mansfield in
the Somerset case in 1772 guaranteed to every man his freedom as soon
as he set foot on British soil, extended beyond the limits of the
empire. Although this decision of the judge evoked some unfavorable
comment, for slavery was the "normal condition of the Negro," his
ideas were disseminated by the military authorities defending the
Crown in America. During the Revolutionary War many of the British
commanders issued proclamations of freedom to the Negro slaves. Lord
Dunmore, the dethroned Governor of Virginia, was among the first to
issue a proclamation of freedom[5] to all Negroes who would fight for
the King. Soon thereafter, Clinton,[6] the Commander-in-chief of the
British forces in America, issued a proclamation to the same effect.
Still later, Cornwallis issued a proclamation specifying the grant of
"freedom and protection" to all Negroes who would seek his command.
Whatever motive prompted the issuance of these orders, it is evident
that the status of the Negro during this "emergency" as regarded by
Great Britain was that of a freeman.
To these proclamations many Negroes responded. For instance, General
Greene learned on Long Island that a group of Negroes aggregating two
hundred (200) had in July, 1776, sought freedom within the British
lines and had been accepted as a regiment in that vicinity.[7] He
reported, moreover, to General Washington in 1781 that enough Negroes
in North Carolina to form two regiments had sought British freedom and
protection and that they were being organized by the British.[8]
Whether they came within the British lines as a result of these
proclamations or in recognition of the laws of war "it has been
computed by good judges" says Ramsay,[9] "that at the evacuation of
one part, two hundred and forty-one Negroes and their families were
taken off to St. Lucia in one transport, the _Scimitar_; and that
between the years 1775 and 1783, 25,000 Negroes, that is, one-fifth of
all the slaves, were taken from the State of South Carolina." In
Georgia,[10] there was made a report that the loss was much greater,
probably three-fourths or seven-eighths of all the Negroes in the
State. Again, from an estimate made at the time, Jefferson observed
that about thirty thousand Negroes were taken from Virginia.[11] From
the other slave-holding States which were invaded by the British, many
other Negroes were carried away from their masters. So effectively was
the scheme carried out that fear was expressed throughout the South
less the economic position of that section would be threatened. In
consequence of such actions on the part of Great Britain, General
Washington receded from the position of excluding Negroes from the
American Army and took drastic steps in preventing the carrying away
of other Negroes by Great Britain.[12]
Considered, therefore, as an American slave in time of peace and an
American soldier in time of danger, it is no anomaly that the status
of the Negro complicated the negotiations between military
representatives of Great Britain and the United States. Extended but
fruitless negotiations ensued. A satisfactory settlement of the return
of the Negroes seemed impossible. With independence assured through
the representatives assembled, the Treaty of Paris was negotiated in
1783. Franklin urged in his communication with Oswald, 1779, that the
question as to the return of Negroes taken away by Great Britain be
adjusted immediately.[13] This suggestion was strengthened by the
support given it by the American representative, Henry Laurens, who
had been in confinement in London during the war and whose chance
arrival on the closing day gave the subject increased importance. Thus
credit for the incorporation of the article on the Negro into the
Treaty of Paris is given to Henry Laurens.[14]
By the Seventh Article of the Treaty of Paris,[15] it was stipulated
that the British troops should withdraw from the United States without
carrying away or destroying any property belonging to the citizens of
the United States. In spite of this agreement at the peace conference,
this stipulation was not fulfilled by Great Britain. Convincing
evidence of an infraction of this stipulation is seen in a letter
written by General Washington to Sir Guy Carleton, May 6, 1783, in
which the former expressed himself as being surprised to hear that
embarkations of Negroes had taken place during the whole of that
year.[16] He, moreover, expressed his private opinion to the effect
that such an action "is totally different from the letter and spirit
of the treaty." A few days thereafter the Virginia delegates in
Congress wrote to the Governor of Virginia that they would make this
the subject of a "pointed remonstrance from our minister in Europe to
the British Court with a demand for reparation and in the meantime
urge General Washington to insist on a more faithful observance of
that stipulation at New York."[17]
Notwithstanding further orders which were issued by Sir Guy Carleton,
May 12, 1783, to prevent the carrying away of any Negroes or other
property of the American inhabitants many other infractions of the
provision were reported.[18] Even General Washington remarked[19]
that "some of his own slaves and those of friends living with him were
probably carried away to New York." "If by chance," continued he, "you
should come at the knowledge of any of them, I will be much obliged by
your securing them so that I can obtain them again." So numerous were
the violations of this part of the treaty that Thomas Jefferson,
Secretary of State, in a letter written to Vergennes, the Foreign
Minister of France, asked for suggestions from France in regard to the
infractions of this article of the Treaty of Paris. In it, he
expressed the objection of the Crown, which was to the effect that
Negroes had come within the British lines under the promise of freedom
and protection and that this promise was fulfilled by Great Britain in
preference to the stipulation in the treaty.[20]
The situation became more aggravated. The breach between the two
countries was gradually widening. Sensing this acute situation,
Washington suggested that Carleton meet him in a conference at
Orangetown, New Jersey, May, 1783. At one of their meetings Washington
called the attention of Carleton to several resolutions passed by
Congress relating to the return of all Negroes and other property of
American inhabitants taken away by the British forces. Concerning
these, Carleton replied that he wished to be considered as giving no
construction of the treaty, but that he "conceived it could not have
been the intention of the British Government by the treaty of peace to
reduce themselves to the necessity of violating their faith to the
Negroes who came within the British lines under the proclamation of
the predecessors in command."[21] In point of fact, however, he said
"delivering up the Negroes to their former masters would be delivering
them up--some to execution and others to punishments which would in
his own opinion be a dishonorable violation of the public faith." He
concluded, nevertheless, that if the sending off of the Negroes should
hereafter be declared an infraction of the treaty, "compensation ought
to be made by Great Britain to the owners."[22]
In regard to the last suggestion of Carleton, Washington observed that
many difficulties would arise in compensating the proprietors for
their Negroes. He also thought it impossible to ascertain the value of
the Negroes, for the value of a slave, contended he, "consists chiefly
in his industry and sobriety." Another difficulty Washington observed
was that of identifying the slave. He was of the opinion that the
slave would give the wrong name of his master. Washington considered
this conduct on the part of General Carleton, moreover, a departure
from both the letter and spirit of the Seventh Article of the Treaty
of Paris.
In answer to these contentions Carleton said that as the Negroes were
free and secured against their masters they could have no inducement
to conceal their true name or that of their masters. In commending
compensation Carleton was of the opinion that he was pursuing a course
which would operate most for the security of the proprietors. "If the
Negroes were left to themselves," he remarked, "numbers of them would
very probably go off and not return to the parts of the country from
whence they came or clandestinely would get on board the transports in
such a manner as would not be in his power to prevent." "In either
case," continued Carleton, "an inevitable loss would ensue to the
proprietors."[23] But as the business was then conducted they had at
least a chance for compensation.
In conformity with these views, Carleton suggested that commissioners
be appointed by the two countries "to agree upon the mode of
compensating as well as the amount and other points with respect to
which there was no provision made in the treaty." This suggestion was
approved by Congress, and in compliance with it Egbert Benson,
William Smith, and Daniel Parker were appointed[24] with specific
instructions from Washington to "assist representatives of Great
Britain in inspecting and superintending the embarkation of persons
and property in fulfillment of the Seventh Article of the Treaty of
Paris."[25]
These commissioners began their work immediately by examining the
claim of one Phillip Lott to a Negro named Thomas Francis[26] on board
a vessel called the _Fair American_ in New York harbor and about to be
carried to the island of Jamaica. Concerning this inquiry a pointed
remonstrance was made to Sir Guy Carleton. After the details of the
examination were presented to him, the commissioners requested Great
Britain to prohibit its representatives from carrying away the Negro
and to deliver Francis to Lott. Notifying Washington, June 14, 1783,
of their progress, the commissioners reminded him that Sir Guy
Carleton intimated an impropriety in the claim, as the property was
not suggested to be in danger of being sent away. "This left room,"
said the commissioners, "for an idea that possibly property about to
be sent away would be restored ... and we conceive it is now reduced
to a certainty that all applications for the delivery of property will
be fruitless and we therefore desist from them."[27]
A few days later the commissioners reported to Washington that in
superintending an embarkation of fourteen transports bound for Nova
Scotia "about 3000 souls, among whom were at least 130 Negroes who
appeared to be property of the citizens of the United States," were
carried away. They also indicated that these embarkations were made in
spite of their presence and remonstrance and for this reason asked
General Washington for "further directions on this subject."[28] Other
reports of the commissioners to General Washington, June 17, 1783,
show that on many other occasions Negroes not residing within the
British lines were taken away. To the remonstrances of the
commissioners, Sir Guy Carleton gave a deaf ear. They, in the
meantime, wrote General Washington that they had interpreted
Carleton's silence as a "determination that all future applications
should remain equally unnoticed." That they realized that their
efforts were fruitless goes without saying, for they confessed that
their work was ineffective and that the British vessels were never
subjected to any rigid inspections and it was, therefore, impossible
to determine, from the register provided by Sir Guy Carleton, the
exact number of Negroes carried away in those vessels.[29]
The work of the commissioners, nevertheless, was noteworthy. They
called Washington's attention to the fact that Sir Guy Carleton
affected to distinguish between the cases of such Negroes as came
within the British lines in consequence of the promise of freedom and
protection promulgated by Carleton's predecessors and such as came in
either previous to the proclamations or subsequent to the cessation of
hostilities. "Negroes of the first description," insisted Carleton,
"were not included in the treaty." The commissioners soon realized
that even this limited construction given to the article was not
intended to be fulfilled by Carleton's subordinate officers. They
based their contention upon the fact that printed certificates
granting Negroes the privilege of embarking[30] were distributed by
the commandant of New York City, "as their convenience might
require."[31] These certificates fell into the hands of many persons
for whom they were not intended. So loosely were they distributed that
one was picked up by the commissioners who transmitted the same to
General Washington.
On the other hand, the commissioners insisted that the treaty
stipulated specifically that his Brittanic Majesty should withdraw all
his armies, garrisons and fleets from the United States and from every
port, place and harbor within the same without causing any destruction
or carrying away any Negroes or other property of the American
inhabitants.[32] With these two interpretations of the Seventh Article
invariably insisted upon by Carleton on the one hand and the
commissioners on the other an agreement was less likely to be reached
and, in spite of the efforts to the contrary, the deportation of
Negroes took place steadily until all the British departed.[33]
In the meantime, Congress was discussing the ratification of the
Treaty of Paris. The non-observance of the Seventh Article on the part
of Great Britain and the destruction worked by Carleton evoked many
resolutions opposing the ratification of the treaty for the expressed
reason that it did not provide for the loss of Negroes. One of these
resolutions was to the effect that it was "inexpedient to concur in
passing laws necessary for carrying into effect the treaty."[34] These
efforts of Congress, however, like those of the commissioners were of
no avail. Complaints of American citizens of the loss of their
property were expressed by the representatives in Congress. They, to
be sure, had their effect, for soon thereafter, Congress transferred
the question of the return of Negroes to the realm of actual
diplomacy.[35]
John Adams, 1788, who, by the way, was one of the representatives of
the United States who signed the Treaty of Paris, received an
appointment as representative of this country to England to settle the
alleged violations of the Treaty of Paris. He was instructed in 1785
to press for a fulfillment of the terms of the treaty of peace on the
part of Great Britain.[36] He had little time, however, to press his
claim before representatives of Great Britain were inquiring why the
United States did not perform her part in this reciprocal contract. To
these inquiries, Adams replied that "America could not; that it was
hardly a government at all." He, moreover, informed Congress that the
reason assigned by Laurens for incorporating the Seventh Article was
that the people of the United States would be unable to comply with
the part of the treaty which respects debts unless the provision which
respects Negroes was made. "This construction," he continued, "was
never denied and that it seemed to be understood by the ministry that
on a settlement with the United States compensation must be made."
Obviously, then, both Great Britain and America understood that the
Seventh Article would be fulfilled by Great Britain only when the
Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Articles were fulfilled by the United
States.[37] This point, however, was discussed pro and con for many
months and was seldom admitted by the American diplomatic
representatives, Adams himself said that he could "get no comfort from
his mission." The construction given the Seventh Article making its
fulfillment by Great Britain contingent upon the execution of other
provisions only complicated matters.
Another mission was planned in 1789,[38] but before another
representative was appointed Washington urged upon Gouverneur Morris,
who contemplated visiting London, "to find out the reasons why Great
Britain had not complied with the Seventh Article." In a letter
written to Morris, October 13, 1789, Washington desired Morris to
converse with his Brittanic Majesty's Ministers as to whether there
was any objection to performing those articles remaining to be
performed on his part. "Learn with precision," he concluded, "what
they mean to do on this head." In compliance with this request, on
April 7, 1790, Morris interviewed the British representative, the Duke
of Leeds, who gave to him only "general assurances" for a faithful
observance of the articles and, becoming a "little embarrassed," could
not say how the matter in regard to the Negroes stood. After many days
of silence, the Duke of Leeds, April 23, 1790, "lamented every
circumstance" which delayed the fulfillment of engagements on the part
of the United States.[39] He also indicated that, if circumstances
rendered their final completion impracticable, he had no scruples in
declaring the object of Great Britain would be to "retard the
fulfillment of such subsequent parts of the treaty as depend entirely
upon Great Britain until redress is granted to their subjects upon the
specific points of the treaty itself or a fair and just compensation
for the non-performance of those engagements on the part of the United
States."[40]
Informing Washington of his progress, May 29, 1790, Morris disclosed
the fact that he was no longer contending for the return of the
Negroes, for that would involve either "breaking faith" with those
whom they had seduced by the offer of freedom or the violation of the
stipulation which they had made with the United States in the Treaty
of Paris. In presenting America's side, however, he insisted upon
compensation in order that it would not be difficult for the planters
to show that they had sustained a heavy loss from the want of men to
cultivate their lands and thereby produce the means of paying their
debts. To this the Duke of Leeds replied that he wished to "consider
the treaty subject generally" and thought that some compensation could
be mutually made. He declared, nevertheless, that he would rather
"make a new treaty than perform the Seventh Article of the Treaty of
Paris."[41]
Subsequent diplomatic negotiations between Jefferson and Hammond, the
Minister of Great Britain, indicate that Washington was not satisfied
with the status of the case after Jefferson cited specific infractions
of the Seventh Article of the treaty, enclosing documents supporting
these claims. Hammond informed the United States, November 30, 1791,
that the King had suspended the execution of the Seventh Article in
consequence of the non-compliance on the part of the United States of
the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Articles. In short, he insisted that the
stipulations should be performed in the order in which they stood. He
stated, moreover, that the "two objects were so mutually connected
with each other as not to admit of separation either in the mode of
discussing them or in any subsequent engagements which might result
from that discussion."[42]
It was soon evident then that such extended discussions were
fruitless. This state of affairs, to be sure, could not exist very
much longer. Citizens of the United States were pressing "more
zealously" for the return of the Negroes. For almost a decade the
subject had been discussed without an amicable adjustment. In a
communication to the Congress, April 16, 1794, Washington showed that
he had grasped the situation by informing that body of the fact that
"despatches received from our minister in London contain a serious
aspect of our affairs with Great Britain." He suggested, therefore, to
the Senate that an envoy extraordinary be sent to England. To this end
Washington appointed John Jay to settle the infractions of the Treaty
of Paris.[43]
In Jay's instructions nothing was specifically said concerning the
carrying away of the Negroes by the British, but, as it appeared from
subsequent transactions, it is quite certain that the infractions of
the Seventh Article as well as those of other articles were to be
adjusted. In this wise, the "irrepressible question"--relating to the
return of Negroes carried away by Great Britain during the
Revolutionary War became one of the purposes of Jay's mission.[44]
During the negotiation with Grenville there took place many heated
debates, in which each party accused the other of the first
aggression. Meanwhile Jay ascertained, September 13, 1794, that
Grenville supported the contention held by his predecessors, that the
article of the treaty was intended to prevent depredations at the
departure of the army; that no alteration in the actual state of
property was intended by the Seventh Article; that every Negro who
strayed or escaped from the American lines and came into the lines of
the British Army became by the laws of war British property; and that
to extend the Seventh Article of the treaty to include Negroes who
came within the British lines under the proclamation of freedom was to
give it a "wider latitude than the terms of it would warrant."[45] In
short, Grenville contended that in regard to those within the British
lines before the signing of the treaty they were "left entirely
without restrictions."[46]
In reply to Grenville's argument Jay divided the subject of the
Negroes into three groups: first, the Negroes captured or disposed of
during the course of the war; second, the Negroes who remained with
and belonged to American citizens within the British lines; and third,
the Negroes who, confiding in the promise of freedom, fled from their
masters and took refuge with the British. Concerning the first two
groups, no extended discussion followed. Grenville stated, however, in
regard to the second group, that he was "not so sure." The last-named
group on the other hand, produced much pourparler, for Jay maintained
that these Negroes were "clearly comprehended by the terms of the
treaty." According to his argument, Negroes could not by "mere
flight" alter their slave character. He soon appreciated the difficult
position of England in trying to keep the pledges of freedom offered
to the Negroes and at the same time fulfill, according to the American
interpretation, the article of the treaty in regard to the return of
Negroes.
During the negotiation Jay admitted, moreover, that the carrying away
of Negroes was justifiable in view of the promises of freedom and
protection promulgated by British military representatives.[47] He
concluded, however, with the thought that "Great Britain ought not to
expect to escape the consequence of the folly of her Generals in
America." For this reason he restated the idea expressed by other
American representatives to Great Britain, that compensation should be
obtained for the Negroes carried away. In spite of Jay's change of
position Grenville persisted with unyielding opposition in the view
that such slaves were no longer American property. "On this point"
wrote Jay to Randolph, "we could not agree."
Concerning this question, Jay said, moreover,[48] that "various
articles have been under consideration but did not meet with mutual
approbation and consent." Sensing the situation Randolph declared to
Jay, December 3, that he was extremely afraid that the reasoning of
Grenville about the Negroes would not be satisfactory. "Indeed I own,"
said Randolph, "that I can not myself yield to its force." Randolph
knew of the anti-British sentiment in the South and realized that the
treaty would be opposed by the South because that section would feel
that it had been neglected,[49] should it receive no compensation for
the Negroes carried away by the British.
In a communication to Jay two weeks later it is obvious that there was
no concerted opinion even in America in regard to the much mooted
question. Jay and Randolph, for instance, differed as to whether the
slaves concerned ever became the property of Great Britain. Jay held
that the Negroes in question never became the property of Great
Britain whereas, Randolph held that while property is acquired in
movables as soon as they come within the power of the enemy, yet
"property rights thus acquired in war may by the treaty of peace be
removed."[50]
To the contention of Great Britain that the Seventh Article meant
merely an engagement against further depredations, Randolph declared
the stipulation "superfluous"; for he maintained that the mere
cessation of war meant that much. To this point, Grenville declared
the treaty "odious," if the stipulation were interpreted to include
Negroes who sought British lines under the promise of freedom and
protection "on the basis of common morality." Great Britain was not to
be expected to execute a stipulation with such an interpretation.
Obviously, then, Great Britain would not recede from her position.
Citizens of America, especially those deprived of their property, were
beginning to think that our diplomatic relations were not properly
taken care of by Jay. Expressions of disapproval of the treaty by
resolutions in the Senate evinced the temper of the people. Jay, in
the meantime was called "traitor"; his mission was declared a failure
and the treaty was attacked from many sides.
At this juncture special mention must be made of the objections of the
southerners on the ground that the treaty did not provide for the
return of their property, while the objection of the North was not so
pressing. In fact, northerners acquiesced in the opinion of Hamilton
who had substantially the same view that Grenville had.[51] Thus we
see the first glimpse of the North becoming estranged from the South
because of the difference of opinion in regard to the Negro.
The leading source of dissatisfaction of the treaty of Jay seemed to
be a failure to get compensation for the Negroes carried away by Great
Britain. The stipulation, moreover, was not definite, for many
constructions could be placed upon it. The words of the treaty,
moreover, were too vague and uncertain to express accurately the
intention of the signers. Whether Negroes whom the British carried
away could any longer be considered American property, seemed to be
the crux of the situation. Although no definite settlement could be
reached by the two nations, authorities of international law[52] give
the case to Great Britain. One rule which was recognized by the
foremost nations of the world was to the effect that a slave escaping
in war becomes free. Concerning this Halleck says that such slaves
cannot be regained by their former masters.[53] Woolsey says that "a
slave sojourning to a free land cannot be treated as his master's
property--as destitute of jural capacity." To the same purport,
Heffter says "in no case is a state bound to allow the slavery which
subsists in others." Dana, in his edition of Wheaton's _International
Law_ supports this contention.[54]
Dissatisfied with results but not discouraged, however, Washington
appointed commissioners, December 7th, 1798, to work with
commissioners from Great Britain and proceed with the infractions of
the treaty. A short time thereafter President Adams in an address to
Congress, November 23, 1797, reported that several decisions on the
claims of citizens of the United States for losses and damages
sustained by reason of irregular and illegal captures or condemnations
of their vessels or other property had been made by the commissioners
in London, conformably to the Seventh Article of the Treaty. "The sums
awarded by the Commissioners," said he, "have been paid by the British
Government; a considerable number of other claims where costs and
damages and not captured property were the only objects in question
have been decided by arbitration, and the sums awarded to the citizens
of the United States have also been paid."[55] These decisions served
to allay the discontent in America. Still later, Adams informed
Congress that "such progress had been made in the examination and
decision of cases ... which were the subject of the Seventh Article
that it is supposed the Commissioners will be able to bring their
business to a conclusion in August of the ensuing year."[56]
No account of the final settlement of these claims, however, is found
in the sources. Dissatisfaction became more intense. Claimants were
pressing on all sides for a fair compensation for the loss of their
property. So serious was the situation that the House of
Representatives went beyond its accustomed limitation and discussed in
1798 the treaty-making power of the United States. Pressure had been
brought to bear upon the representatives of the people because the Jay
Treaty had been ratified by the President and Senate and it did not
contain a provision covering the return of the Negroes.
Further efforts, nevertheless, were made to adjust the differences
between the two countries. They, however, were of little avail. The
Republican policy of Jefferson which this country strictly followed
from 1801 to 1809 had as its basic principle that governments ought to
do as little as possible. Hence our army and navy were cut down to the
extent that the American Government could not assert itself against
foreign encroachment. Particularly in 1804 our relations with Great
Britain became worse when the Jay Treaty of 1794 by agreement was
allowed to expire. To compel Great Britain to come to terms Congress
enacted a non-important act which never had the desired effect.
Soon thereafter the continental system and the paper blockade engaged
the attention of the American Government. Negotiations had failed.
Great Britain would not make a treaty. The accumulation of injuries
called for action of some kind. To yield and say nothing meant to give
up the rights of an independent nation. For this reason Jefferson
introduced in 1807 the Embargo with which he hoped to force France as
well as Great Britain to come to terms--to recognize the United States
as a "free sovereign and independent nation." Meanwhile a spirit of
nationality was developing in the country. Soon thereafter war was
declared and waged against Great Britain to win the respect and honor
which every nation deserves.
In this state of war the provisions of the Treaty of Paris and the Jay
Treaty were nullified. In response to an inquiry as to whether these
treaties, so far as they were not fully executed, terminated by the
War of 1812, the British Department of State in a communication
replied that "with respect to the treaties you are informed that they
were claimed by Great Britain at the conclusion of the Treaty of Ghent
to have terminated by the War of 1812."
Against this view the United States protested. In the decision of the
Supreme Court of the United States in the case of the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel v. the Town of New Haven, the view was
expressed that provisions of a treaty remain in full force in spite of
war.[57] The general rule of inter-national law, however, is that war
terminates all subsisting treaties between the belligerent powers.[58]
The United States, moreover, soon acquiesced in this view, for
President Polk in his message to Congress, December 7, 1847, said, "a
state of war abrogates treaties previously existing between the
belligerents."[59] Great Britain then was legally excused by the best
authorities of the world from executing fully the provisions of the
Treaty of 1783 and the Jay Treaty of 1794.
As a result, the same policy in regard to the carrying away of Negroes
was followed during the War of 1812.[60] While the British forces were
occupying the forts and harbors of the United States, Negroes came
within their possession. Many were induced to run away while others
were captured in battles. From the Dauphin Islands-possessions
claimed to be without the limits of the newly acquired Louisiana
territory the British carried away slaves. In fact, from whatever
places the British occupied they carried away Negroes. Many Negroes
came also into the possession of the British by the proclamation of
Admiral Cochrane of Great Britain, April 2, 1814, setting such loyal
adherents free. In effect, this proclamation extended an invitation to
all persons desiring to change their slave status. Although the
proclamation[61] did not specify the Negroes, the meaning and object
of Admiral Cochrane was evidently to bring Negroes within the British
lines. Many, to be sure, responded to the proclamation. As many more,
no doubt, were carried away from the United States by the British
under the veil that they were captives in the war and, therefore, no
longer the property of American inhabitants.
With victory assured and the representatives of Great Britain and
America assembled in Ghent, July 11, 1814, one of the first questions
for the commissioners to consider was evidently the return of the
Negroes. This question had primary consideration in the final draft of
the Treaty of Ghent. By the first article of the treaty it was
provided that "all possessions whatsoever taken by either party during
the war or which might have been taken after the signing of this
treaty shall be restored without delay and that these possessions
should not be destroyed." It specified, moreover, that artillery,
public and private property, originally captured in the forts of the
United States should not be carried away.[62]
Negroes were carried away by the British forces after the treaty was
signed as well as before. In Georgia many Negroes came into possession
of the British at Cumberland Island fortified by Admiral Cockburn.[63]
In a letter dated November 22, 1914, Joseph Cabell gave evidence to
support the above-mentioned facts when he declared that he was on
board a British squadron in Lynnhaven Bay at the time Major Thomas of
York attempted to recover his Negroes, who had gone off to the British
and that the destination of the Negroes on board the ships was a
subject of curiosity and concern. Soon, however, he learned that they
were to be sold in the Bahamas.[64] From another reliable source comes
the information that a shameful traffic had been carried on in the
West Indies.[65] Secretary Monroe presented to the Senate, moreover,
an affidavit of a Captain Williams who had been a prisoner in the
Bahamas for some time. In this he declared that he had been present at
the sale of Negroes taken from the vicinity of Norfolk and Hampton.
"This affidavit," said Monroe, "was voluntarily given and the facts
have been corroborated by a variety of circumstances."
Such information was given in the Senate. In discussing the
ratification of the treaty the Senate suggested that commissioners be
appointed to carry into effect the first article. In line with this
view John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and Albert Gallatin were
authorized to supervise the execution of this article. In a
communication to Secretary Monroe, Feb. 23, 1815, the commissioners
reported that "all slaves and other private property are claimed to be
delivered up."[66]
So much progress in so short a time was remarkable. To adjust all the
claims in an amicable way would hardly occur. It was soon learned by
the commissioners that "all slaves and other private property" were
delivered up by the British using as their guide a different
construction of Article I. "The construction," Monroe said, "ignored
the distinction which existed between public and private property."
Had it been intended he continued, "to put slaves and other private
property on the same ground with artillery and other public property
the terms "originally captured in the said forts or places which shall
remain therein on the exchange of the ratification of the Treaty"
would have followed at the end of the sentence after "slaves and other
private property."[67] With their construction, he contended that both
interests, the public and private would have been subject to the same
limitation. Besides, Monroe held that the restrictive words
immediately following "artillery and other public property" was not
intended to include the words "slaves and other private property." If
"the slaves and other private property" are placed on the same footing
with artillery and other public property, "the consequences must be
that all will be carried away."
Monroe learned, furthermore, that Mr. Baker, Charge D'affaires of
Great Britain, had placed another construction on Article I of the
treaty. In this new construction he had made a distinction between
slaves who were in British ships of war in American waters and those
in the ports held by British forces at the time of the exchange of
ratifications.[68] Monroe and the commissioners, on the other hand,
were of the opinion that the United States was entitled to all slaves
in possession of the British forces within the limits of the United
States forts or British ships of war. Concerning this opinion Baker
wrote April 3, 1815, that it could not be shown that Monroe's
construction was sanctioned by the words of the Article. "If this
construction had been known then," he remarked, "we would have
decidedly objected to it and proposed others."[69]
Accessible reports indicate that the governments of Great Britain and
the United States persisted in the constructions given by their
respective representatives. Clavelle, the Commander-in-Chief of the
British forces in the Chesapeake, claimed that the treaty meant only
such slaves or other private property should be delivered up as were
"originally captured in the forts or places to be restored." In
conformity with their construction of the Article, Clavelle refused
furthermore to restore the slaves taken from Tangier Islands, because
they were not originally captured there. The United States, on the
other hand, was of the opinion that the country was entitled to all
slaves within its limits on the exchange of the ratifications of the
treaty. The United States believed, finally, that the carrying away of
Negroes applied to both kinds of property because the word was common
to both descriptions.
By the usage of civilized nations in cases of invasion private
property with the exception of maritime captures was respected. This
meant, in effect, that none could be lawfully taken away. Influenced
by this usage Great Britain receded from her position and declared
that the claim of the United States to indemnification for her
slaves--had never been resisted. In the meantime Great Britain
declared April 10, 1816, that she could not consider any property
which had been previous to ratification of the treaty removed on
shipboard as "property forming a subject for a claim of restoration or
indemnification." In spirit, these two declarations were
contradictory. Besides they made the subject more difficult and
puzzling.
In the meanwhile the work of the commissioners continued. In their
efforts to take an inventory of the slaves so that the claims might be
adjusted, they encountered the opposition of Clavelle and Cockburn. It
was clearly evident that the efforts of the commissioners would be of
no avail. More coercive means were necessary to settle such an
extended and controversial question. In a convention of commerce
between Great Britain and the United States October 20, 1818,
representatives realized that an agreement in regard to the Negroes
was hardly possible. The representatives from the United States,
therefore, offered to refer the differences to some friendly sovereign
or State to be named for that purpose. They agreed further to consider
the decision of such a friendly sovereign or State to be "final and
conclusive."[70]
Very soon thereafter the Emperor of Russia offered to use his good
offices as mediator and after a short discussion, his proposal was
accepted. To this end there was concluded on June 30, 1822, a
convention in which the adjustment of the claims for indemnity was
left to a mixed commission. This action was followed by desultory and
extended discussions which terminated, nevertheless, in the final
disposition of the controversy. The point of difference was decided in
favor of the United States. In handing down his decision the Emperor
held that the limitations as to the restitution of public property
bore no relation to private property. In effect, he said that the
treaty prohibited the carrying away of any private property whatever
from the places and territories stipulated in Article I of the Treaty
of Ghent. He contended that "the United States was entitled to
consider as having been carried away all slaves who had been
transported from those territories on board of English vessels within
the waters of American territories and who for that reason had not
been restored."[71]
In compliance with the decision of the Emperor of Russia a mixed
commission, one commissioner and one arbitrator from Great Britain as
well as the United States met July 30, 1822, at Washington, D.C.,
under the Emperor's mediation.[72] For the United States Langdon
Cheves was the commissioner and Henry Sewell the arbitrator; for Great
Britain George Jackson was the commissioner and John McTavish the
arbitrator. George Hay was appointed, also, by the President of the
United States to give such information and support that might be
needed since individual claimants could not be present. The purpose of
the commission was to prove the average value of the Negroes at the
time of the ratification of the treaty and to determine the validity
of individual claims. In the event no agreement could be reached
recourse was had to the Emperor of Russia whose decision would be
"final and conclusive." This action was insisted upon by America,
whereas Great Britain persisted in refusing to submit such matters to
the Emperor. Their progress, as a result, was not very marked. In
considering the "definitive lists"[73] of claims these commissioners
encountered many more doubtful and intricate problems. Claims not
contained in this list were not to be taken cognizance of; nor was the
British government required to make compensation for them. With
respect to compensation, Great Britain promised to produce all
evidence which was in the possession of her naval and military
officers concerning the number of slaves carried away. It was provided
by the commission that no payment was to be made within twelve months.
September 11, 1822, the board unanimously agreed on the average value
of slaves as follows:
Each slave from Louisiana $580
Each slave from Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama 390
Each slave from Maryland, Virginia and other States 280
The next difficulty of the board occurred in regard to the allowance
of interest on claims. Concerning this point, Cheves held that a
reasonable compensation for the injury sustained should have been
granted. "A just compensation," said Cheves, "is the reestablishment
of the thing taken away with an equivalent for the use of it during
the period of detention." In reply to this Jackson held that the
convention of 1822 did not grant the commissioners the power to fix
interests and, besides, that interests not being a part of the debt
could not be allowed. Realizing the futility of his claims Cheves
offered to submit the difference to arbitration, but Jackson declined.
Equally difficult questions arose in regard to the slaves taken away
from Dauphin Island in Mobile Bay.[74] This island, controlled by the
British during the war, was later surrendered to the United States.
Concerning this Jackson held that it was not legally at the time of
the ratifications of the treaty a part of the United States, that is,
it was not a part of Louisiana but belonged to West Florida, which was
not ceded to the United States until 1819.[75] In regard to this
Cheves offered to refer these claims to arbitration, but in this view
Jackson refused to acquiesce. The situation did not become any better
even when Rufus King was sent as our minister to England to succeed
Henry Clay who became John Quincy Adams's Secretary of State.
Continued disagreement of the representatives of Great Britain and the
United States resulted. Their failure to agree upon the provisions of
the Convention of 1822--that matters under dispute be referred to
arbitration made the work of this convention of little avail. Clay's
offer of settlement was not favorably received in Great Britain. As to
a basis of compromise, Clay said that the "total number of slaves on
the definitive list was 3,601; that the entire value of all the
property for which the indemnity was claimed including interest might
be stated at $2,693,120." Realizing that this large sum would never be
secured, Clay suggested that $1,151,800 might be used as the minimum
in the negotiation. He used as a guide the fact that Parliament had
appropriated 250,000 pounds to cover the awards of the commission.
This sum, Mr. King observed also, was nearly the sum mentioned as a
minimum by Clay in his instructions to him. Even with this
information, the commissioners made little progress.
On the other hand, Mr. Vaughan, the British Envoy at Washington, said
April 12, 1826, "that His Majesty's Government regretted to find
themselves under the absolute impossibility of accepting the terms of
compromise offered by the envoy from the United States in London." He
did not admit, moreover, that the question of interest should be
referred to arbitration, but maintained that the demand was
unwarranted by the convention and unfounded by the Law Officers of the
Crown.[76] In reply to his observation, Clay informed Vaughan of the
fact that Great Britain's representatives had refused to refer many
questions to arbitration and that if this refusal to cooperate in this
regard should be upheld it would virtually be making him the final
judge of every question of difference that arose in the joint
commission.[77] This disagreement continued until 1825, when the
commissioners met to collect and weigh evidence.
Soon thereafter, Albert Gallatin, who had been appointed Envoy of the
United States to London, was authorized to treat with Canning on the
oft-discussed question. During the first interview he discovered that,
while there was a great reluctance to recede from the ground already
taken by Jackson, there was also a disposition to settle that
controversy.[78] Following the instructions given to King, Gallatin
used the 250,000 pounds as the basis of settlement. This sum he was
authorized to accept. He, however, did not make this offer known
immediately but waited for the formal offer of $1,200,000 from the
British Government; and in conformity with his instruction of a later
date, Gallatin offered as an ultimatum an acceptance of $1,204,960,
which the British Government reluctantly agreed to pay.[79]
On November 13, 1826, a convention to carry out this agreement was
concluded. The amount specified above was to cover all claims under
the award of the Emperor of Russia. It provided, moreover, that the
money was to be paid in Washington, in the current money of the United
States, in two installments; the first twenty days after the British
Minister in the United States should have been officially notified of
the ratifications of the convention, and the second August 1, 1827. In
this way the convention of 1822 was annulled, save as to the two
articles relating to the average value of slaves which had been
carried into effect, and as to the third article as related to the
definitive list which had also been carried out.[80] This ended the
work of the board. After ratification had been exchanged the board
adjourned, March 26, 1827.
This left one more matter to be disposed of, that of executing the
provisions of the commission of 1826. In compliance with this Congress
passed an act, March 2, 1827, to carry out this agreement.[81] A
convention was thereby called to meet in Washington July 10th and
proceed with the consideration of claims, "allowing such further time
for the production of evidence as they should think just." As soon as
the claims were validated and the principal amounts ascertained
seventy-five per cent of the principal was paid with the explanation
that when all claims were settled, the other twenty-five per cent
would be paid, if the fund permitted it. If it did not, then the
remainder would be distributed in proportion to the sums awarded. In
these negotiations, Langdon Cheves and Henry Sewell, who had only
recently represented the United States in London, together with James
Pleasants of Virginia, were appointed commissioners. They considered
not only the claims on the definitive list but also those deposited in
the Department of State and which had not been previously adjusted.
The conflicting interests of payments and the inconclusive evidence
which were presented made the work of this convention more difficult.
The records were very poor and contained little of the information
desired. For this reason many claims were denied; especially was this
true in Maryland and Virginia.[82] Many of the claimants of other
States nevertheless were compensated. Seventy-five per cent was
granted them, the sum totalling $600,000 being paid. This condition of
affairs caused a clash among the 1,100 claimants, 700 of whose
petitions on the definitive list were examined. Many other claimants
were seeking evidence to secure compensation. They were not
successful, however, for Cheves opposed the admission of hearsay
testimony as well as the testimony of slaves. Well informed as to the
progress of the commission, Congress passed an act May 15, 1828,[83]
specifying August 31st as the last day on which the commission would
meet. Of that entire amount awarded $1,197,422.18 had been paid to the
claimants. The remaining sum was "distributed and paid ratably," to
all the claimants to whom compensation had been made. The work of the
Convention of 1827 thus ended.
ARNETT G. LINDSAY
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This dissertation is the result of the researches of Mr. A. G.
Lindsay under Dr. C. G. Woodson at Howard University during the
academic year 1919-1920 and was submitted to the Committee on Graduate
Studies in candidacy for the degree of Master of Arts. Dr. C. G.
Woodson was the chairman of this committee.
The following sources were used in the preparation of this manuscript:
_American State Papers, Foreign Relations_; _American State Papers,
Confidential Documents_; _American State Papers_, Wait's Edition;
_Annals of Congress_; _Diary of John Quincy Adams_, in his _Memoirs_;
_Diplomatic Correspondence_; Force, _American Archives_; _Journals of
Congress_; _Journals of Continental Congress_; McDonald's _Source Book
of American History_; _Niles Register_; _Treaties and Conventions_,
Edition 1889; _United States Statutes at Large_.
The following works were also consulted: John Adams, _Works_; Van
Tyne, _The American Revolution_; _American Historical Association
Reports_; Babcock, _Rise of American Nationality_; Benton, _Naval
History of England_; Channing, _History of the United States_; Ford,
_Washington's Writings_; Ford, _Jefferson's Writings_; Fiske,
_Critical Period_; Gibb, _Administrations of Washington and Adams_;
_The Journal of Negro History_; Morse, _John Adams_; _Naval Chronicle
of England_; Ramsay, _History of South Carolina_, Edition, 1809;
Sparks, _Washington_; Moore, _International Arbitration_; Moore,
_Digest of International Law_; Wharton, _Digest of International Law_,
Edition, 1887; Halleck, _Elements of Law_; Wheaton, _Elements of Law_,
Edition, by Dana.
[2] Ramsay, _History of South Carolina_, Edition, 1809, Vol. I, pp.
474-475.
[3] _American Historical Association_, Vol. I, p. 273. F. A. Ogg,
_American State Papers_, Vol. IV, p. 304.
[4] Moore, _International Arbitrations_, p. 350.
[5] Van Tyne, _American Revolution_, p. 61; Force, _American
Archives_, 4th Series, III, 1385.
[6] Proclamation--"Whereas the enemy have adopted a practice of
enrolling Negroes among their troops, I do hereby give Notice that all
Negroes taken in Arms or upon any military Duty shall be purchased for
the public service at a stated price; the money to be paid to the
captors. But I do most strictly forbid any Person to sell or claim
right over any Negroes the property of a Rebel who may take refuge
with any part of this Army. And I do promise to every Negro who shall
desert the Rebel Standard full Security to follow within the Lines any
occupation which he may think proper." Given under my Hand at
Headquarters, Phillipsburg, the 30th day of June, 1799.
H. CLINTON.
By his Excellency's Commander
JOHN SMITH, Sec.
Journal of Continental Congress, II, 26; Van Tyne, _American
Revolution_.
[7] Force, _American Archives_, I, 486, Fifth Series.
[8] _Journal of Continental Congress_, II, 26.
[9] Ramsay, _History of South Carolina_, Edition, 1809, I, 474.
[10] Moore's _Historical Notes_, 14; _Journal of Negro History_, Vol.
I, p. 117.
[11] _Jefferson's Works_, Vol. II, p. 426.
[12] Sparks, _Washington's Works_, III, 218.
[13] Channing's _History of the United States_, Vol. III, pp. 348-369.
[14] _American Historical Association Report_, Vol. I, p. 273.
[15] Article 7, Treaty of Paris.--"There shall be a firm and perpetual
peace between his Brittanic Majesty and the said States, and between
the subjects of the one and the citizens of the other, wherefore all
hostilities both by sea and land shall from henceforth cease: All
prisoners on both sides shall be set at liberty, and his Brittanic
Majesty shall with all convenient speed, and without causing any
destruction or carrying away any Negroes or other property of the
American inhabitants, withdraw all his armies, garrisons and fleets
from the said United States, and from every port, place and harbour
within the same; leaving in all fortifications the American artillery
that may be therein; and shall also order and cause all archives,
records, deeds and papers belonging to any of the said states or their
citizens which in the course of the war may have fallen into the hands
of his officers to be forthwith restored and delivered to the proper
states and persons to whom they belong."
McDonald, _Documentary Source Book of American History_, p. 208.
[16] _American Historical Association Report, 1874_, p. 421. Waits,
_American State Papers_, Vol. I, p. 279.
[17] _Journal of Negro History_, Vol. II, pp. 411-422.
[18] Sparks, _Washington_, Vol. VIII, Appendix, p. 544.
[19] Washington to Daniel Parker in Ford's _Washington's Writing_, X,
246-247.
[20] Ford's Edition of _Jefferson's Writings_, p. 127.
[21] _Journal of Negro History_, Vol. II, p. 417.
[22] Ford, _Washington's Writings_, X, 241-243.
[23] _Journal of Negro History_, II, 418.
[24] _Diplomatic Correspondence_, Vol. XI, p. 335.
[25] Ford, _Washington's Writings_, X, 241-243.
[26] _American State Papers--Foreign Relations_, I, p. 190.
[27] _Ibid._, I, p. 191.
[28] _Ibid._, I, pp. 188-192.
[29] _American State Papers, Foreign Relations_, Vol. I, pp. 188-192.
[30] _Blank certificate_--New York, April 23, 1783.
This is to certify to whomsoever it may concern that the bearer hereof
........... a Negro restored to the British Lines in consequence of
the proclamation of Sir William Howe and Sir Henry Clinton, late
Commanders-in-chief in America; and that the said Negro has hereby his
excellency's Sir Guy Carleton's permission to go to Nova Scotia or
wherever else .......... may think proper.
By order of
BRIGADIER GEN. BUCK.
E. WILLIAMS,
Major of Brigade.
[31] _American State Papers_, Vol. I, pp. 190-192.
[32] McDonald's _Source Book of American History_, p. 208.
[33] _American Historical Association Report_, Vol. I, p. 276.
[34] _Annals of Congress_, 4th Congress, p. 970.
[35] _Report of the American Historical Association_, pp. 413-444;
_Diplomatic Correspondence 1783-1789_ (3 Vol. ed.), II, 340.
[36] Morse, _John Adams_, p. 235.
[37] _Adams' Works_, Vol. VIII, p. 303.
[38] _American Historical Association Report, 1894_, p. 422.
McLaughlin. _American State Papers, Foreign Relations_, Vol. I, p.
122.
[39] _American Historical Association Report_, 1894, p. 422.
[40] _American State Papers, Confidential Documents_, Vol. X, p. 80.
[41] _American State Papers, Confidential Documents_, Vol. X, p. 85.
[42] McLaughlin, _Western Posts and British Debts_, p. 423 in
_American Historical Association Report_, 1894.
[43] _American State Papers, Foreign Relations_, Vol. I, pp. 470-472.
[44] Jay to Randolph, _American State Papers_, Vol. I, p. 485.
[45] _American State Papers_, Vol. I, p. 485.
[46] _Ibid._, p. 486.
[47] _American Historical Association Report_, Vol. I, pp. 273-298.
[48] _American State Papers_, Vol. I, p. 501.
[49] _Ibid._, p. 509.
[50] _American Historical Association Report_, Vol. I, pp. 273-298.
[51] _Annals of Congress_--4th Session, 1795-96, p. 1006.
[52] Halleck, _Elements of Law_, p. 358.
[53] _Ibid._, p. 359.
[54] Wheaton's _Edition by Dana_, page 441.
[55] _American State Papers--Foreign Relations_, Vol. II, p. 46.
[56] _American State Papers--Foreign Relations_, Vol. II, p. 48.
[57] Moore, _Digest of International Law_, Vol. V, page 372.
[58] _Ibid._, page 375.
[59] _Ibid._, pp. 375-376.
[60] _American State Papers--Foreign Relations_, Vol. IV., p. 106.
[61] This proclamation was:
"Whereas it has been represented to me that many persons now
resident in the United States have expressed a desire to withdraw
therefrom, with a view of entering his Majesty's service, or of
being received as Free Settlers in some of his Majesty's colonies
"This is therefore to give notice
"That all those who may be disposed to emigrate from the United
States will with their families be received on board his Majesty's
ships or vessels of war or at the military ports that may be
established upon or near the coast of the U.S. where they will
have their choice of either entering his Majesty's sea or land
forces, or of being sent as Free Settlers to the British
possessions in North America or the West Indies where they will
meet all due encouragement.
"Given under my hand at Bermuda this 2nd day of April, 1814.
"By Command of VICE ADMIRAL WILLIAM BALHETCHET
"ALEX. COCHRANE."
_Niles Register_, Vol. VI, p. 242.
[62] Article I, Treaty of Ghent:
"There shall be a firm and universal peace between His Britannic
Majesty and the United States, and between their respective
countries, territories, cities, towns, and people, of every
degree, without exception of places or persons. All hostilities,
both by sea and land, shall cease as soon as this treaty shall
have been ratified by both parties as hereinafter mentioned. All
territory, places, and possessions whatsoever taken by either
party from the other during the war or which may be taken after
the signing of this treaty excepting only the islands hereinafter
mentioned, shall be restored without delay, and without causing
any destruction or carrying away any of the artillery or other
public property originally captured in the said forts or places
and which shall remain therein upon the exchange of the
ratifications of this treaty, or any slaves or other private
property. And all archives, records, deeds, and papers, either of
a public nature, or belonging to private persons which in the
course of the war may have fallen into the hands of the officers
of either party, shall be as far as may be practicable forthwith
restored and delivered to the proper authorities and persons to
whom they respectively belong. Such of the islands on the Bay of
Passama-Quoddy as are claimed by both parties shall remain in the
possession of the party in whose occupation they may be at the
time of the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, until
the decision respecting the title to the said islands shall have
been made in conformity with the fourth article of this treaty. No
disposition made by this treaty as to such possession of the
islands and territories claimed by both parties, shall in any
manner whatever be construed to effect the right of either...."
[63] _American State Papers, Foreign Relations_, Vol. III, p. 750.
[64] _Ibid._, Vol. III, page 751.
[65] Moore's _International Arbitration_, page 350.
[66] _Naval Chronicle_, Vol. XXIV, page 213.
[67] Moore's _International Arbitration_, p. 352.
[68] _American State Papers_, Vol. IV, p. 105.
[69] _Ibid._, p. 108.
[70] _American State Papers_, Vol. IV, p. 126.
[71] Moore's _International Arbitration_, p. 363.
[72] _American State Papers, Foreign Relations_, Vol. V, p. 214.
[73] Maryland, 714; Va., 1721; S.C., 10; Ga., 833; La., 259; Miss.,
22; Del., 2; Ala., 18; D. C., 3--page 801, Vol. V, _American State
Papers_.
[74] Moore, _International Arbitration_, p. 377.
[75] _Ibid._, p. 377.
[76] _American State Papers, Foreign Relations_, Volume VI, page 344;
746.
[77] _Ibid._, Vol. VI, p. 746.
[78] _American State Papers, Foreign Relations_, Vol. VI, p. 348.
[79] _Ibid._, Vol. VI, p. 352.
[80] _Ibid._, Vol. VI, p. 372.
[81] _Ibid._, Vol. VI, p. 339
[82] _American State Papers, Foreign Relations_, Vol. VI, page 855.
[83] _Four Statutes at Large_, page 269.
THE NEGRO IN POLITICS[1]
A treatise on the Negro in politics since the emancipation of the race
may be divided into three periods; that of the Reconstruction, when
the Negroes in connection with the interlopers and sympathetic whites
controlled the Southern States, the one of repression following the
restoration of the radical whites to power, and the new day when the
Negro counts as a figure in politics as a result of his worth in the
community and his ability to render the parties and the government
valuable service.
While the echoes of the Civil War were dying away, the South attempted
to reduce the Negro to a position of peonage by the passage of the
black codes. Many northern men led by Sumner and Stevens, who at first
tried to secure the cooperation of the best whites, became indignant
because of this attitude of the South and were reduced to the
necessity of forcing Negro suffrage upon the South at the point of the
bayonet, believing that the only way to insure the future welfare of
the Negro was to safeguard it by giving him the ballot. Under the
protection of these military governments, the Negroes and certain more
or less fortunate whites gained political control. The southern white
men, weary and disgusted because of the outcome of their attempts at
secession, maintained an attitude of sullenness and indifference
toward the new regime and accordingly offered at first very little
opposition to the Negro control of politics. The Negroes, upon their
securing the right of suffrage, however, turned at once to their
former masters for political leadership,[2] but the majority of these
southern gentlemen refused to "lower their dignity" by political
association with the Negroes. The few southern gentlemen who did
affiliate with the Negroes were dubbed "scalawags" by their former
friends and cast out of southern society.
The Negroes were then forced, because of the lack of cooperation on
the part of the southern whites, to accept the leadership of certain
northern men who came South for the sole purpose of personal gain and
exploitation. These men were in some cases of an extremely low order
and were in a large measure responsible for the corruption of
Reconstruction days. They were contemptuously called "carpetbaggers"
by the southern whites because they were so poor that they could carry
all of their possessions in a carpet bag. Some of these white men were
conscientious, however, and served these States honorably. Most
Negroes, therefore, were under the leadership of these three elements:
southern men who were regarded by their neighbors as men of the lowest
possible order, unscrupulous adventurers from the North, and some
intelligent members of their own race like B. K. Bruce, John R. Lynch,
R. B. Elliot, and John M. Langston. This ill-assorted group of
politicians reconstructed the Southern States.
The wisdom of this policy has been widely questioned. From the point
of view of most white men studying Reconstruction history this effort
to make the Negro a factor in politics was a failure, the elimination
of the Negro from politics was just, and the rise of the Negro to
political power even today is viewed with alarm. The opinions of the
biased historians in this field will be interesting. Several writers
refer to the Negro carpet bag movement as an effort to found
commonwealths upon the votes of an ignorant Negro electorate, as
working an injustice both to the whites and the blacks in that it made
the South solidly democratic.[3] J. G. de R. Hamilton, exaggerating
the actual basis of Reconstruction in the southern commonwealths,
which were never fully controlled by the Negroes, speaks of the work
as having left as a legacy "a protest against anything that might
threaten a repetition of the past, when selfish politicians, backed up
by the Federal Government, for party purposes, attempted to Africanize
the State and deprive the people through misrule and oppression of
most that life held dear."[4] John W. Burgess calls the effort an
"extravagant humanitarianism which had developed in the minds of the
Reconstruction leaders to the point of justifying, not only the
political equality of the races but the political superiority at least
in loyalty to the Union, the constitution and republican government,
of the uncivilized Negroes of the South."[5] Burgess sees justice in
subjecting the inferior to the superior class but none in subjecting
the superior to the inferior.
Of these radical utterances historians need take but little notice.
They are of value here for the reason that they show the lack of
scientific Reconstruction history. No intelligent man who lived
through this stormy period or who has read documents bearing on its
history will contend that these commonwealths were Africanized merely
because the Negroes along with the formerly disfranchised and ignorant
poor whites were given the right of suffrage. It will be difficult to
prove that the majority of poor whites in the South were at this time
sufficiently intelligent and experienced in statecraft to give those
commonwealths a much better government than that administered by the
Negroes and "Carpet baggers"; for the South had been ruled by few
aristocratic families, most of whom because of participation in the
Civil War, could not on the cessation of hostilities be given the
reins of government. A few who had not had any such connection with
the Confederacy haughtily refused to cooperate with the Negroes in the
reconstruction of these governments, although they were persistently
invited by the Negroes who were thus advised by Thaddeus Stevens and
Charles Sumner, who showed foresight in trying to secure the
cooperation of the best white element in the South.[6] These
statesmen, however, are generally slandered by uninformed writers who
contend that Sumner and Stevens did not thus proceed. The Negroes not
only sought the leadership of the whites but showed unusual humaneness
toward their poverty-stricken former masters by passing, as they did
in South Carolina, stay laws to postpone the payment of their many war
debts secured by mortgages on their property.
Statistics show, moreover, that with the exception of South Carolina
and Mississippi, no State and not even any department of a State
government was ever dominated altogether by Negroes. The Negroes never
wanted and never had complete control in the Southern States.[7] The
most important offices were generally held by white men. Only two
Negroes ever served in the United States Senate, Hiram R. Revells and
B. K. Bruce; and only twenty ever became Representatives in the House:
and all of these did not serve at the same time, although some of them
were elected for more than one term.
The charge that the men who were elected to office by the Negroes were
always of the most debased and degenerate type is untrue. Because of
the refusal of the southern aristocracy to cooperate with them,
however, the Negroes were forced to elect such men as they were able
to secure. Numerous promising and respectable whites who were elected
to office by the Negroes, became corrupt and unprincipled on account
of the treatment tendered them by the aristocratic whites. From among
the Negroes themselves, the very best men available were chosen to
hold offices. Among these were former slaves who had been made
trustworthy servants of their masters and free Negroes who had
received some education. Some of these Negroes served in their
official capacity with honor and credit. A number of them were also
respected by certain fairminded southern whites.[8]
Numerous examples of the high regard which the whites of certain
communities had for the Negro leaders can be cited. Samuel J. Lee, of
Charleston, South Carolina, was considered by his white contemporaries
as one of the best criminal lawyers which the State had produced. At
his death all local courts were declared adjourned and the entire city
paid him homage. The late Bishop Isaac Clinton served, as Treasurer of
Orangeburg, South Carolina, for eight years. Like Mr. Lee, he was held
in high esteem by his white neighbors and upon the occasion of his
funeral, the business of the community was suspended as a mark of
respect to his memory. In certain communities, as in South Carolina,
some Negroes were retained as office holders for a number of years
after the supremacy of the Democratic party was assured. In
Georgetown, South Carolina, Mr. George Harriot was Superintendent of
Education for the county for years under the Democratic party.
Beaufort, South Carolina, retained Negroes as sheriffs and school
officials until a few years ago.[9]
J. T. White, Commissioner of Public Works and Internal Improvements in
the State of Arkansas; M. W. Gibbs, Municipal judge in Little Rock,
and J. C. Corbin, State Superintendent of Schools in the same State,
had records equally as creditable. The same may be said of F. L.
Cardoza, State Treasurer of South Carolina, Richard T. Greener, a
professor in the University of that commonwealth, Oscar Dunn,
Lieutenant-Governor of Louisiana and P.B.S. Pinchback, Acting Governor
of that State.[10] The record of Dubuclet, according to Dr. Woodson,
should receive special mention. In contradistinction to the rule of
stealing from the public treasury, this man who served as Treasurer of
the State of Louisiana even after the other departments of the
government had been taken from the Negroes, in as much as the term of
service of the Treasurer was six years rather than four, was
investigated with a view to finding out some act of misuse of the
public funds that he might be impeached and thrown out of office. The
committee, of which E.D. White, now Chief Justice of the United States
Supreme Court, was chairman, reported after much deliberation that
Dubuclet's funds had been honestly handled and that there were no
grounds on which proceedings against him could be instituted.[11]
Despite the above mentioned instances of commendable Negro officials,
however, the majority of the Negro functionaries were incompetent and
as a result these governments could but collapse. The charge of
corruption laid at the door of the Negro carpetbagger governments is
to a large extent true. The corruption resulted largely from the work
of the interlopers from the North and the "scalawags," using the
Negroes to reach their own personal ends. In some of this corruption,
however, the Negro was an apt scholar and freely participated. The
Negroes were not as a whole prepared for the political privileges
which were vouchsafed to them and they were to a large extent under
the wrong sort of leadership. It is equally true, however, that
governments were corrupt throughout the United States at this period.
The Reconstruction period was one of corruption and if the Negro
governments were of a lower order than a few others, they were not far
out of accord with the times. The white people, who assumed control of
the government on overthrowing the Reconstruction regime, instituted
in several States a rule of corruption surpassing even that of their
predecessors. Coming back into office like hungry persons who had been
exposed to the cold atmosphere of an exile, the radical whites filled
their purses from the coffers of the public treasury and defaulted to
the amount of thousands of dollars which the tax payers have had to
replace in the years thereafter.[12] The disgraces of Reconstruction,
therefore, have been exaggeratingly flaunted by the South for the same
purpose that it proclaims the widespread false charge of rape of the
present day to justify the persecution of the Negro for being
"unusually criminal."
The Negro was finally driven from southern politics through violence
and fraud. The chief agent of the southern whites in accomplishing
this was a secret organization known as the Ku Klux Klan. This
organized mob killed off or drove the leading "Carpetbaggers" out of
the South and intimidated the Negroes into submission by perpetrating
numerous outrages upon them. After the whites regained control of the
government, through their agents of terror the political ascendancy of
the Negro was at end. The unscrupulous northern friends of the Negro
having discovered that they could no longer successfully exploit them,
therefore, abandoned them in the midst of their calamity. The whites
proceeded to solidify the Democratic party and to eliminate the Negro
entirely from politics in the South.
Politically, however, Reconstruction was in several respects a
success. In the first place, the reconstructed governments were
democratic, lifting a standard that the backward commonwealths of the
South must still struggle for years to reach. In this social upheaval
the poor white man was politically emancipated by receiving the boon
of suffrage theretofore restricted to persons owning property and
given a free and open door to office holding, which, under the old
regime had been restricted to the few aristocrats dominating the
country and State governments. These Negroes gave the South its
improved judicial system and did their work so well in framing some of
the constitutions that many of them with the exception of the clauses
antagonistic to the Negro remained about as they were for many years.
Although the Democrats got control of the State in 1877, the
constitution of South Carolina of 1868 was not changed materially
until 1893.
The Negro as a factor in reconstruction, moreover, instituted
education at the expense of the public. Through the establishment of
public schools with well equipped buildings and prepared teachers they
removed from that system the stigma formerly attached to persons[13]
educating their children at public expense. They, therefore, made of
education a foundation upon which real democracy must build. It is
only short sightedness on the part of writers to infer that because
the Negro was in a few years thereafter deprived of the ballot that
the good work which was done during the years that they were permitted
to participate in the affairs of these States could be so easily
overthrown, especially so when this progressive part of the program of
the reconstructed governments which the restored whites at first
abandoned has later been taken up and carried out.
Although weakened by the reaction of the North against the methods
employed by politicians in maintaining the reconstructed governments
at the South, which moved President Hayes to withdraw the troops from
that area, the Negroes were still of some concern to the Republicans.
To retain their support the Republicans often spoke of foisting upon
the South the Force Bill to guarantee fair elections but rather
abandoned the Negro to the fate of working out his own salvation with
his oppressors. In all of the campaigns up to 1888 there was the usual
waving of the "bloody shirt" to array the Negro against the South and
of urging the Negro to vote the Republican ticket to pay the debt he
owed the party for his freedom, hypocritically threatening also to
undo many of the things which had been done to the Negro since
Reconstruction. There was no sincerity in these vote-getting
declarations, however, and the Negro in the South remained politically
doomed.
Nothing will better bring out this treatment of the Negro by the
Republican party than a study of the consideration given the race in
the various platforms of that party following the Civil war. The
Republicans in the convention of 1868 declared themselves in sympathy
with all oppressed peoples struggling for their rights and recognized
the principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence as a true
foundation of democratic government. That same year, however, the
Democratic party recognized the question of slavery and secession as
having been settled but denounced Negro supremacy.[14]
In 1872 the platform of the Republican party was somewhat more
outspoken. It carried a reference to the suppression of the rebellion,
the emancipation of four million slaves, the grant of equal
citizenship and the establishment of universal suffrage. It said,
moreover, that "neither law nor its administration should attempt any
discrimination in respect to citizens by reason of race, creed, color,
or previous condition of servitude.[15] The Liberal Republicans,
rallying in a different quarter that year, declared in their platform
their belief in the equality of all men before the law and the duty of
the government in all its dealings with the people to mete out equal
and exact justice to all of whatever nativity, race, color or
persuasion, religious or political. The Liberal Republicans pledged
themselves to maintain the union of States, emancipation, and
enfranchisement and to oppose any reopening of the questions settled
by the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the
Constitution. They advocated the removal of the disabilities of
Confederates, the establishment of civil government at the South,
universal amnesty, and impartial suffrage.[16]
In 1876 the Negro was given further mention by the various parties.
The Prohibitionists took the lead in the declaration for equal
suffrage and eligibility to office without distinction of race,
religious creed, property or sex.[17] The Republicans referred in
their platform to the permanent restoration of the southern section to
the Union and the complete protection of all citizens in the free
enjoyment of all their rights as an issue to which the Republican
party stood sacredly pledged. "The power to provide for the
enforcement of the principles embodied by the recent constitutional
amendments," continues the platform, "is vested by those amendments in
the Congress of the United States, and we declare it to be a solemn
obligation of the legislative and executive departments of government
to put into immediate and vigorous exercise all their constitutional
powers for removing any just cause of discontent on the part of any
class, and for securing to every American citizen complete liberty and
exact equality in the exercise of all civil, political, and public
rights. To this end we imperatively demand a congress and a chief
executive whose courage and fidelity to these duties are placed beyond
dispute or recall."[18]
The National Democratic platform of that year, however, spoke for the
democracy of the whole country and declared its faith in the
permanence of the Federal Union, and devotion to the Constitution of
the United States with its amendments universally accepted as a final
settlement of the controversies that engendered the Civil War; but
took a bold stand for reform as necessary to rebuild and establish in
the hearts of the whole people of the Union eleven years ago happily
rescued from the danger of a secession of States but now to be severed
from a corrupt centralism which after inflicting upon ten States the
rapacity of carpet bag tyrannies, had "honey-combed the offices of the
Federal government itself with the contagion of misrule and locked
fast the prosperity of an industrious people in the paralysis of hard
times."[19]
In 1880 The Republican party made no particular mention of the
grievances of the Negroes but recited its record in suppressing the
rebellion, reconstructing the Union with freedom instead of slavery as
its corner stone, the transformation of four million human beings from
the likeness of things to the rank of citizens and removing Congress
from the infamous work of hunting fugitive slaves and charging it to
see that slavery shall not exist. It declared, moreover, that the
South must be divided by the peaceful agencies of the ballot that all
opinions might there find free expression and to this end the honest
voter must be protected against terrorism, violence or fraud.[20]
In 1884 there was no specific reference to the Negro unless it be
found in the statement that the Republican party had gained its
strength by "quick and faithful response to the demands of the people
for the freedom and equality of all men; for a united nation, assuring
the rights of all citizens."[21] The platform of the Democratic party
carried a declaration equally as emphatic in that it said, "the
preservation of personal rights; the equality of all citizens before
the law; the reserved rights of the States and the supremacy of the
Federal government within the limits of the constitution will ever
form the true basis of our liberties." It further said; "Asserting the
equality of all men before the law, we hold that it is the duty of the
government, in its dealings with the people, to mete out equal and
exact justice to all citizens, of whatever nativity, race, color, or
persuasion, religious or political."[22]
Giving some impetus to the movement for woman suffrage which the
Republicans had by various platforms theretofore encouraged, the
Prohibitionists carried in their platform in 1888 the declaration that
the right of suffrage rests on no mere circumstance of race, color,
sex or nationality and that "where, from any cause, it has been held
from citizens who are of suitable age and mentally and morally
qualified for the exercise of an intelligent ballot, it should be
restored by the people through the legislature of the several States,
on such basis as they may deem wise.[23]
To protect the Negroes in their political rights, however, the Federal
Government as administered by the Republican party during these years
furnished little encouragement, through its much talked of enforcement
of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. Bills providing for
adequate military protection of the Negroes at the polls were enacted
but the Supreme Court of the United States declared that the Federal
Government did not possess the authority to restrain mobs from
interfering with elections. The Supreme Court conceded that the
Fifteenth Amendment forbade the denial of the right to vote by any
State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,
but easily conceded that no violation of this amendment could occur
when a hostile mob excluded Negroes from the polls. Yet although the
mob thus quickly triumphed in undoing the democratic reforms of
Reconstruction, the South hoped thereafter to reach the same end by
imposing on the Negroes a legal disability; for the Fifteenth
Amendment did not assert the right of the Negro to vote. It merely
said that suffrage could not be denied on account of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude. As the Negro was generally poor and
in the midst of the economic depression of the South too often had to
wander from place to place to seek a livelihood, he could be easily
eliminated by the poll tax, the resident requirement, and educational
tests.
Thus it happened. Mississippi under its new constitution in 1890
eliminated the Negro and in the next twenty years all of the cotton
States except Florida and Texas followed its example. Arkansas based
the franchise on a one year poll tax in 1893; South Carolina required
residence, enrollment, and poll tax in 1895; Delaware adopted an
educational test in 1897, Louisiana resorted to the same test and poll
tax in 1898 and North Carolina fell in line in 1900. Alabama
established the residence, registry and poll tax requirement in 1901;
and Virginia, Georgia and Oklahoma based suffrage on property,
literacy or poll tax in 1902, 1908, and 1910 respectively. As these
measures bore heavily also upon certain ignorant whites they were
relieved of this disability by the "Grandfather Clause" specifying
that the persons deprived by these regulations of the right to vote
might be placed upon the roll of voters if they had exercised this
privilege before the year 1867 or were descended from such voters.
This was essentially the clause adopted in North Carolina, Alabama,
Virginia, and Georgia.[24] The Supreme Court, however, has declared
the "Grandfather Clause" a violation of the Fifteenth Amendment.
During the campaigns after 1888 the Republican party made no special
mention of the Negro as it had formerly and did not show any
inclination to shoulder the grievances of the race. At this time the
Republicans were face to face with a large element of political
reformers led by the Democrats who, prior to the campaign of 1884 had
carried Pennsylvania and New York and made such other inroads in
northern strongholds as to convince the leaders of the Republican
party that the Negro issue and the "bloody shirt" would no longer
suffice to hold those voters who had been won by the intelligent
appeal for deliverance from the corrupt practices in the local and
national governments. This movement culminated in the election of
Grover Cleveland in 1884 and in his election the second time in 1892.
To attach Negroes to their cause, to be sure, the Republicans were
very deferential to them in the national conventions, where they were
of much service in naming candidates for the national ticket although
they could not vote in the South and were not sufficiently numerous in
the North to be a large factor at the polls. At the convention in
1884, the national committee had named ex-Senator Powell Clayton of
Arkansas as temporary chairman of the convention, an arrangement which
was supposed to be in the interest of Mr. Blaine. The young men of
the party led by Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt effected the
nomination from the floor of John R. Lynch, a distinguished man of
color of Mississippi, and the vote by delegates elected him to the
position by 431 to 387 given to Mr. Clayton.[25] Frederick Douglass
received one vote for the nomination for President in 1888.[26]
After the complete undoing of the Reconstruction the Negroes were at a
loss politically. A number of the foremost Negro politicians, among
whom were Frederick Douglass, John R. Lynch, B. K. Bruce, John M.
Langston, John C. Dancy, and a few others, were given positions in the
service of the Federal Government of high sounding titles and little
importance, such as Registrar of the Treasury, Recorder of Deeds,
Auditor of the Navy and diplomatic posts in Negro countries. A greater
number of Negroes found an outlet in the civil service. Even up until
the present day it is an ardent desire of the Negro to obtain a civil
service appointment. In these positions the Negroes were able to earn
a comparatively easy living but were not able to do anything
constructive for the uplift of their people.
The Negroes, however, had continued to support the Republican party to
the full extent of their strength. But it soon became clear that the
support of Negro leaders was little more than an effort directed
toward obtaining a few unimportant offices. The Republicans, having
long since discovered that the Negro vote of most communities can be
changed neither to harm nor to help them, have consequently ceased to
consider the danger of losing their support of great import. The
Democratic party, moreover, has continued almost unswervingly its
attitude of aloofness from the Negro. The onesidedness of the Negro
vote has been declared by some Negroes to be the cause of its
non-importance. With this political view some few of them have allied
themselves with the Democratic party, feeling that the division of the
Negro's vote may work an improvement in his political status. Because
of ex-President Taft's attitude of indifference toward the Negroes a
number of the Negro politicians supported Roosevelt's party in 1912
and many voted for Wilson in 1916.
With the Negro in this weak position, however, there developed in the
South a movement to remove from the Republican party the stigma of its
connection with the Negro by eliminating the members of that race from
the circles of control in the South. This movement has been generally
known as a "Lily-Whiteism." For the last twenty-five years, therefore,
there have come to the National Republican Conventions from the
various Southern States contesting delegations, one white and the
other black, each one claiming to be the properly accredited
representative of the Republican party in the State concerned. In some
States the "Lily-Whites" have actually held conventions from which the
Negroes were excluded or which they were not permitted to attend.
Because of the difficulty of making good their claim as properly
accredited delegates they have abandoned this method for the
subterfuge of holding their conventions in hotels or other exclusive
places which Negroes, because of the social proscription of the race,
are prohibited from entering by an already well established unwritten
law.
As a matter of fact the Republican party in such commonwealths no
longer exists and these delegates whether white or black represent
merely rotten boroughs. As they are of use, however, in selecting the
candidate to be nominated for president, the administration has been
very reluctant to interfere with the proposed reform in these quarters
for the reason that such delegates are usually made up of persons
appointed by the President of the United States to Federal positions
in the South. As the President usually desires to be reelected and can
control such a coterie, it has been very difficult to find one with
the courage to give his influence in the direction of reform.
Early in the winter of the year when the president is to be nominated,
persons supporting the administration usually visit the South laying
plans for lining up these prospective delegates. Politicians
interested in other candidates make similar tours through the South
sometimes lavishly handling funds to the extent of buying up
delegates. As the whites are in a much better position to secure the
few Federal appointments allotted in the South, after the election,
since the abandonment of the policy of appointing Negroes to these
positions, the Negroes have usually exacted a much larger compensation
for their services in the pre-convention struggle than whites have
required, thus shamelessly disgracing themselves in the eyes of those
who would expect the leaders of the race to play a more honorable
rôle.
There are in certain sections of the South a number of men who devote
all of their time to electing these delegates for service in these
conventions and secure therefore adequate remuneration for a
livelihood from administration to administration. The pliant Negro
delegates at the convention in Chicago in 1908 and 1912 were unequal
to the task of nominating a progressive candidate because of their
machine like attachment to the candidacy of William Howard Taft, whom
the American people would not accept. The Negro delegates, however,
did much better in the convention of 1916 and still further improved
by the time of the conventions of 1920, when it was impossible for any
pre-convention arrangement or plan to be so carried out that any
candidate could come to the convention saying that he had the Negroes
to vote in any particular way. It is encouraging, moreover, to add
that numbers of these delegates had received no funds from any quarter
whatever, but along with white men promoting their party had
contributed to the campaign funds and had paid their own expenses to
the convention. They were, therefore, given a more dignified position
in the management of the party affairs and were in many respects shown
the same consideration as that given the white delegates, serving on
various important committees and placed in strategic positions in the
management of the campaign without regard to color.
In drawing to a close this discussion of the Negro in politics I wish
to accentuate the fact that while the Negro is at present practically
a political nonentity, he is yet potent, as is illustrated in various
parts of the country. For example, at present there are two Negro
councilmen in Chicago, two aldermen in New York, one assemblyman in
New York, two councilmen in Baltimore, three Negro members in the West
Virginia legislature, one in the California legislature, and one in
the Indiana legislature. In several of the cities of the North there
is such a large Negro population and so much appreciation among the
Negroes of their political power that they are now launching a
movement to nominate and elect members of their race to represent them
in Congress. It is likely that this may soon be effected in Chicago,
New York, and Philadelphia.
NORMAN P. ANDREWS
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This article was written under the direction of Dr. C. G. Woodson,
under whom the writer prosecuted various courses in history during the
year 1919-1920 at Howard University. The writer is indebted to him for
valuable suggestions and many important facts which Dr. Woodson
incorporated into the dissertation before publishing it. The writer
was aided too by suggestions and facts obtained from Mr. W.T. Andrews,
the editor of the _Baltimore Herald_, Professor Kelly Miller, and Mr.
A. Phillips Randolph, of New York City.
[2] _The Journal of Negro History_, Vol. V, pp. 110-111.
[3] Eckenrode, _Political History of Virginia during Reconstruction_,
pp. 127, 128, and Thompson, _Reconstruction in Georgia_, p. 400.
[4] Hamilton, _Reconstruction in North Carolina_, p. 607.
[5] Burgess, _Reconstruction and the Constitution_, p. 218.
[6] _The Journal of Negro History_, Vol. V, pp. 110-111.
[7] This statement is based on information obtained from numerous
participants in the Reconstruction of the Southern States. Among these
are John R. Lynch, Thomas E. Miller, T. T. Allain, and P. B. S.
Pinchback.
[8] This is the testimony of white persons obtained by the writer.
[9] These facts were obtained through Mr. W. T. Andrews who lived in
South Carolina.
[10] Simmons, _Men of Mark_, pp. 113, 829, 948, 1023; Woodson, _A
Century of Negro Migration_, pp. 124-125.
[11] _Report of Joint Committee to Investigate the Treasurer's Office,
State of Louisiana, to the General Assembly, 1877_, pp. 7-12.
_Majority Report; Journal of Negro History_, Vol. II, pp. 77-78.
[12] Lynch, _Facts of Reconstruction_, ch. III. _Journal of Negro
History_, Vol. II, p. 30.
[13] Garner, _Reconstruction in Mississippi_; Woodson, _The Education
of the Negro Prior to 1861_, p. 17.
[14] Stanwood, _A History of Presidential Elections_, 260.
[15] _Ibid._, 291.
[16] _Ibid._, 287.
[17] Stanwood, _A History of Presidential Elections_, 310.
[18] _Ibid._, 316, 317, 318.
[19] _Ibid._, 322.
[20] Stanwood, _A History of Presidential Elections_, 356, 359.
[21] _Ibid._, 387.
[22] _Ibid._, 393, 396.
[23] Stanwood, _A History of Presidential Elections_, 432.
[24] Thorpe, _Federal and State Constitutions_; Paxson, _The New
Nation_, p. 199.
[25] Stanwood, _A History of Presidential Elections_, pp. 385-386;
Paxson, _The New Nation_, p. 128.
[26] Stanwood, _A History of Presidential Elections_, p. 447.
HENRY BIBB, A COLONIZER
The underground railroad has been characterized by one historian of
the Negro race as a "safety valve to the institution of slavery" since
it tended to remove from the slave States those Negroes whose special
abilities and leadership might have involved them in insurrections.[1]
Their abilities frequently found an outlet in another land, under
different conditions and in an entirely orderly way. Negroes who fled
to Canada were given considerable material aid by the government of
Canada and treated with sympathy by its people. Their own leaders,
however, played no small part in the progress that they made in the
British provinces and the names of Josiah Henson, Martin R. Delany and
Henry Bibb stand for intelligence, energy and high qualities of
service on behalf of the race in Canada.
Henry Bibb, born in slavery and without more than the barest rudiments
of education, became prominent in the anti-slavery crusade, was
actively associated with the Liberty Party in the State of Michigan
during the forties and when the Fugitive Slave Bill of 1850 drove
thousands of his people out of the North and into Canada he set
himself vigorously to the task of settling them on the land, providing
schools and churches, and through his paper, _The Voice of the
Fugitive_, exercised a good influence upon them at a time when their
minds might be expected to be unsettled. Garrison and others who were
active in the anti-slavery movement paid tribute to his services in
that cause.
Bibb's career in slavery is told in his narrative published in New
York in 1849.[2] He was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, in May,
1815, the son of a slave mother and a white father, and his childhood
he sums up by saying that he was "educated in the school of adversity,
whips and chains." Of his early life he writes:
"I was a wretched slave, compelled to work under the lash without
wages and often without clothes enough to hide my nakedness. I
have often worked without half enough to eat, both late and
early, by day and by night. I have often laid my wearied limbs
down at night to rest upon a dirt floor, or a bench without any
covering at all, because I had nowhere else to rest my wearied
body, after having worked hard all the day. I have been compelled
in early life to go at the bidding of a tyrant through all kinds
of weather, hot and cold, wet or dry, and without shoes
frequently until the month of December, with my bare feet on the
cold frosty ground, cracked open and bleeding as I walked."
From the slaveholder's standpoint he was a most unsatisfactory
servant, being an incorrigible runaway, a blemish on his moral
character which probably accounted for the frequency with which he
changed owners, six separate sales being recorded at prices ranging
from $850 to $1200. The plantation punishments had no effect upon him
save to increase his desire for freedom.
As with many another slave the very evils of the system served a
purpose in Bibb's life. Denied education of a normal kind he became
observant and his mind was enlightened by what he saw and heard.
"Among other good trades," he says, "I learned the art of running away
to perfection. I made a regular business of it and never gave it up
until I had broken the bonds of slavery and landed myself in Canada
where I was regarded as a man and not a thing."
Ill treatment was the incentive to the first attempt of Bibb to secure
his freedom. This was in 1835 and the next few years were occupied
with repeated unsuccessful efforts to get away and to take his wife
and child with him. He had heard of Canada and his thoughts ever
turned in that direction. On several occasions his flights led him as
far as the Ohio River, the boundary of freedom, but some force seemed
always at hand to drag him back. At the end of 1837 he managed to
reach Cincinnati and spent that winter at Perrysburg with a community
of Negroes settled there. The next summer he risked his freedom in
attempting to bring his wife North, was captured, lodged in jail at
Louisville, and managed to escape within a few hours after being
locked up. A year later he renewed the attempt, was again captured,
and this time was sold, together with his wife, to a trader who dealt
in the New Orleans market. It was in the fall of 1839 that the man and
wife were exposed for sale in a slave yard on St. Joseph Street and in
the narrative there is an interesting account of the trade in this
southern city. Newly arrived blacks were taken before a city official
who inspected their backs to see if they were scarred and also
examined their limbs to see if they were sound. To determine their age
the teeth were examined and the skin pinched on the back of the hand.
In the case of old slaves the pucker would remain for some seconds.
There was also rigorous examination as to mental capacity. Slaves who
displayed unusual intelligence, who could read or write or who had
been to Canada were not wanted. Bibb notes that practically every
buyer asked him if he could read or write and if he had ever run away.
Of the slave yard itself he writes:
"All classes of slaves were kept there for sale, to be sold in
private or public--young or old, males or females, children or
parents, husbands or wives. Every day, at ten o'clock, they were
exposed for sale. They had to be in trim for showing themselves
to the public for sale. Everyone's head had to be combed and
their faces washed, and those who were inclined to look dark and
rough were compelled to wash in greasy dish water in order to
make them look slick and lively. When spectators would come in
the yard the slaves were ordered out to form a line. They were
made to stand up straight and look as sprightly as they could;
and when they were asked a question they had to answer it as
promptly as they could, and try to induce the spectator to buy
them. If they failed to do this they were severely paddled after
the spectators were gone. The object for using the paddle in the
place of a lash was to conceal the marks which would be made by a
flogging. And the object for flogging under such circumstances is
to make the slave anxious to be sold."[3]
The Bibbs were eventually sold to a Red River planter with whom they
had a most miserable existence. For attending without leave a
religious meeting on a neighboring plantation Bibb was ordered to
receive five hundred lashes. To avoid this he took his wife and child
and they hid in a swamp. Dogs tracked them down and every slave on the
plantation witnessed the punishment that was given. Shortly afterwards
the planter sold Bibb to a party of southern sportsmen but refused to
sell the wife whom Bibb never saw again. The new owners quickly resold
him to an Indian from whom he managed to escape and successfully made
his way through the Indian Territory, Missouri and Ohio to Michigan
and Detroit.[4] He was never in the South again.
Bibb's arrival in Detroit came at what proved for him a most opportune
time, since it gave scope for his abilities to be utilized in the
anti-slavery cause, particularly in the State of Michigan. The Detroit
Anti-Slavery Society had been formed in 1837 and by the end of 1840
there were similar societies all over the State. Michigan, at this
time, was probably better organized and more united in sentiment than
any other of the Northwestern States. It was the era of the Liberty
Party whose platform "asserted the overmastering importance of the one
question of the existence of slavery, and the necessity of bringing
about a separation of the national government from all connection with
the institution." This third party was facing in 1844 a crisis over
the question of the annexation of Texas for which the South was a unit
and on which the political organizations of the North were divided.
Bibb had attended a convention of free colored people held in Detroit
in 1843 and the next year he began to give addresses throughout the
State in the interests of Liberty Party candidates, a full ticket for
both Congress and the State legislature having been nominated. It was
a bitter contest in which he engaged. The Whigs pointed out that they
were standing out against the annexation of Texas, a slave empire in
itself, and that votes for a third party would but pave the way for a
Democratic victory. This is exactly what happened. In Michigan the
Liberty Party polled six and a half per cent of the votes, but even
this added to the Whig vote would not have brought victory.[5] Bibb
continued to work for the Liberty Party during 1844 and 1845, going
also into Ohio with Samuel Brooks and Amos Dresser. They were more
than once mobbed and their meetings broken up by rowdies. Of their
work Bibb writes:
"Our meetings were generally appointed in small log cabins,
schoolhouses, among the farmers, which were sometimes crowded
full; and where they had no horse teams it was often the case
that there would be four or five ox teams come, loaded down with
men, women and children to attend our meetings. The people were
generally poor and in many places not able to give us a decent
night's lodgings. We generally carried with us a few pounds of
candles to light up the houses wherein we held our meetings after
night; for in many places they had neither candles nor
candlesticks. After meeting was out we have frequently gone
three to eight miles to get lodgings, through the dark forest
where there was scarcely any road for a wagon to run on. I have
travelled for miles over swamps where the roads were covered with
logs without any dirt over them, which has sometimes shook and
jostled the wagon to pieces where we could find no shop or place
to mend it. We would have to tie it up with bark, or take the
lines to tie it with and lead the horse by the bridle. At other
times we were in mud up to the hubs of the wheels."
Bibb found his real work when, with the passing of the Fugitive Slave
Law in 1850, there began a trek of colored people out of the Northern
States into Canada.[6] Before the end of 1850 several thousand of
these people had crossed the border and the situation was one that
called not only for the aid of generous Canadians but for all that
leaders among their own people could do for them. It was Henry Bibb's
belief that the future of the people of color in Canada depended upon
getting them settled on the land and his mind turned to the
possibilities of establishing a distinctly Negro colony on land that
might be secured as a grant from the Canadian government or, if
necessary, purchased from the government as had been done in the case
of the Buxton settlement established by Rev. William King in what is
now Southwestern Ontario. Bibb succeeded in organizing his
colonization society, its object being "to assist the refugees from
American slavery to obtain permanent homes and to promote their
social, moral, physical and intellectual development." It was proposed
that 50,000 acres of land should be purchased from the government at
an estimated cost of about two dollars an acre, the purchase money to
be derived partly from contributions and partly from the sale of the
land. Each family settling was to receive 25 acres, five acres to be
free of cost provided they cleared and cultivated it within three
years from the time of occupation. The remaining twenty acres was to
be paid for in nine annual installments. Only landless refugees were
to receive grants, transfer except after fifteen years occupation was
forbidden and all lands vacated by removal or extinction of families
were to revert to the parent society. Money returned to the society
was to be spent on schools, for payment of teachers and for the
purchase of new land. The whole business of the organization was to be
in the hands of a board of trustees.[7]
At the beginning of 1851 Bibb had established a little newspaper,
published bi-monthly and known as _The Voice of the Fugitive_. In the
issue of March 12, 1851, he raises the question as to what the
fugitives stand most in need of and holds that charity is but a
handicap to their progress and that they must work for their own
support, preferably on the land. The recommendation of a recent
convention at Sandwich is quoted to the effect that the refugees
should go into agriculture, and that to this end an effort should be
made to secure a grant of land from the Canadian government, this land
to be disposed of in 25-acre plots. Bibb suggested that there should
be at least 20,000 acres secured at once.
To aid in forwarding the plans Bibb enlisted the support of a number
of Michigan people and at a meeting held in Detroit on May 21, 1851,
the Refugee's Home Society was organized with the following officers:
president, Deacon E. Fish, Birmingham; vice-president, Robert Garner;
secretary, Rev. E. E. Kirkland, Colchester; assistant secretary,
William Newman. It was decided that an effort should be made to secure
50,000 acres of land. New officers appear to have been elected almost
immediately after the society had started operations, the new
executives being as follows: president: J. Stone, Detroit;
vice-president, A. L. Power, Farmington; secretary, E. P. Benham,
Farmington; treasurer, Horace Hallock, Detroit.[8] The whole movement
was heartily approved at a convention of colored people held at
Sandwich on May 26, 1851. The Canada Land Company offered to sell
large blocks of land to the Society at from two to four dollars an
acre but no large purchases were immediately made. Instead, the
society began a canvass for funds, sending out Charles C. Foote of
Commerce and E. P. Benham of Farmington for this purpose. A letter
from Foote in _The Voice of the Fugitive_ of July 30, 1851, says "The
plan seems popular and he looks forward to the day when the colored
people will nestle in the mane of the British lion." In the latter
part of 1851 a purchase of land was made from the Canada Company and a
contract was entered into for further purchases as soon as the funds
should be available.
At the meeting of the Society held in Farmington on January 29, 1852,
the following officers were elected: president, Nathan Stone, Detroit;
vice-president, A. L. Power, Farmington; treasurer, Horace Hallock,
Detroit; recording secretary, E. P. Benham, Livonia; corresponding
secretary, Mrs. Mary Bibb, Windsor; Executive William Lolason,
Detroit; Colman Freeman, Windsor; Elisha Vanzant, Detroit; David
Hotchkiss, Amherstburg; and Henry Bibb, Windsor, Vanzant and Bibb were
appointed trustees, the latter reporting the purchase of 200 acres of
land at three dollars an acre. It was decided to reserve ten acres for
school purposes, to send out J. F. Dolbeare as agent to collect funds
and to make Bibb's newspaper the official organ of the society.[10]
The second annual report of the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada (1853)
reported that at that time the Refugee's Home Society had purchased
1328 acres of land of which 600 acres had been taken up by settlers.
The scheme was considered a good one but it was emphasized that good
management would be needed. The progress of the Elgin or Buxton
settlement showed that success was possible.
When Benjamin Drew visited Canada in 1854 he found that the Society
had purchased nearly 2,000 acres of land, that forty of the 25-acre
plots had been taken up and that there were 20 families located. A
school was being maintained during three-fourths of the year,
intoxicating liquors had been completely banned and a society known as
the True Band had been organized to look after the best moral and
educational interests of the colony.[11] The colony was fortunate in
the first teacher that was engaged for the school. This was Mrs. Laura
S. Haviland, who came in the fall of 1852 and began her work in the
frame building which had been erected for general meeting purposes. So
great was the interest in her Bible classes that even aged people
would come many miles to attend. Similar success attended her
experiment of an unsectarian church. In her autobiography she tells
something of the conditions in the colony while she was there. In
their clearings the settlers raised corn, potatoes and other
vegetables while a few had put in two or three acres of wheat. Mrs.
Haviland's account of the colony is much more favorable than some of
the adverse stories that were sent abroad regarding it.[12]
Rev. W. M. Mitchell, who was a Negro missionary among his own people
in Toronto, makes the following reference to the colony in his
"Underground Railroad":
"About ten miles from Windsor there is a settlement of 5000 acres
which extends over a large part of Essex county. It is called the
Fugitives' Home. Several years ago a very enterprising and
intelligent fugitive slave ... bought land from the government,
divided it into 20-acre plots and sold it to other fugitives,
giving them five to ten years for payments. Emigrants settled
here in such large numbers that it is called the Fugitives' Home.
The larger portion of the land is still uncultivated, a great
deal is highly cultivated and many are doing well."
The writer goes on to point out the evidences of the material
advancement of the colony. There were two schools, the government
paying half the salary of the teacher and the other half being
collected from the parents. The school he found was also used for the
church services, though the spirituality of the people seemed low.[13]
The record of Henry Bibb's activities in Canada show that he took a
broad view of the refugee question. He associated himself actively
with the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada at its formation in 1851 and
at the first annual meeting held in Toronto in 1852 was elected one of
the vice-presidents. In the reports of this organization will be found
several references to his work. He was also the first president of the
Windsor branch of the Anti-Slavery Society and made several tours
through the western end of Upper Canada visiting the Negro communities
and speaking on the slavery issue. In his newspaper, _The Voice of the
Fugitive_, he chronicled every movement that would aid in the uplift
of his people and set forth their needs in an admirable way. Its
columns give a large amount of information concerning the fugitives in
Canada after 1850.
Bibb's colonization plan was a well-meant effort to improve the status
of the Negro in Canada. While it lacked the permanence of the Elgin
settlement, which even today preserves its character, it opened the
way for a certain number of the refugees to provide for their own
needs and it lessened to some extent the congestion of refugees in
border towns like Windsor and Sandwich. It is a debatable question
whether segregation of these people was wise or not. At that time it
seemed almost the only solution of the very pressing problem. After
the Civil war many of the Negroes in Canada returned to the United
States and those who remained found conditions easier. There was
usually work for any man who was willing to labor and it is a
well-recorded fact that many of the fugitives, entering the country
under the most adverse of circumstances, succeeded in getting ahead
and gathering together property. Benjamin Drew's picture of the
Canadian Negroes as he found them in the middle of the fifties is
favorable and when Dr. Samuel G. Howe investigated the Canadian
situation on behalf of the Freedmen's Inquiry Commission in 1863[14]
he was able to report:
"The refugees in Canada earn a living, and gather property; they
marry and respect women; they build churches and send their
children to schools; they improve in manners and morals--not
because they are picked men but simply because they are free men.
Each of them may say, as millions will soon say, 'When I was a
slave, I spake as a slave, I understood as a slave, I thought as
a slave; but when I became a free man I put away slavish
things.'"
FRED LANDON
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Williams, G. W., _History of the Negro Race in America_, N. Y.,
1883, Vol. II, p. 58.
[2] See _The Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an
American Slave, written by himself, with an introduction by Lucius
Matlack_, New York, 1849. I am indebted to the Brooklyn Public Library
for the loan of this book.
[3] Compare with this description of a New Orleans slave pen the
descriptions of Richmond auctions by W. H. Russell, _My Diary North
and South_, N. Y., 1863, page 68, and William Chambers, _Things as
they are in America_, London, 1854, pages 273-286.
[4] He says that his object in going to Detroit was to get some
schooling. He was unable to meet the expense, however, and as he puts
it: "I graduated in three weeks and this was all the schooling I ever
had in my life." His teacher for this brief period was W. C. Monroe
who afterwards presided at John Brown's Chatham Convention in May,
1858.
[5] See Smith, _Liberty and Free Soil Parties in the Northwest_, New
York, 1897.
[6] See _The Journal of Negro History_, Vol. V, No. 1, January, 1920,
pp. 22-36.
[7] This plan was recommended by a convention of colored people held
at Sandwich, C. W., early in 1851. See _The Voice of the Fugitive_,
March 12, 1851. A file of this paper for 1851-2 is in the library of
the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
[8] _The Voice of the Fugitive_, June 4, 1851.
[9] _The Voice of the Fugitive_, Nov. 19, 1851.
[10] _Ibid._, Jan. 29, 1852. See also _The Liberator_, June 11, 1852.
[11] _Ibid._, _The Refugee, or the Narratives of Fugitive Slaves in
Canada related by themselves_, Boston. 1856, pp. 323-326.
[12] Hairland, _A Woman's Life Work_, Grand Rapids, 1881, p. 192.
[13] Mitchell, _Underground Railroad_, London, 1860, pp. 142-149.
[14] Howe, _The Refugees from Slavery in Canada West, Report to the
Freedmen's Inquiry Commission_, Boston, 1864. The Freedmen's Inquiry
Commission was instituted by Stanton in 1863 to consider what should
be done for slaves already freed. The members of the Commission were
Dr. Samuel G. Howe, Robert Dale Owen and James Mackay.
MYRTILLA MINER
A century ago it was generally conceded that a person unfitted for any
other occupation either public or private could at least be a teacher,
for many teachers of the colonies were felons and convicts brought to
America to serve as indentured servants. This egregious error,
however, was discovered by the pioneers of the new era in education,
who saw clearly enough that the strength of the nation depended upon
the _professional_ as well as the academic equipment of its teachers
and thus the training school for teachers had its birth. Its influence
has been most significant in raising the standards of efficiency in
the elementary schools and equally significant is its need in the high
schools and colleges of this country.
No one in the District of Columbia can think of the benefits derived
from the professional teacher training without immediate recollection
and sacred memory of its pioneer and benefactress, Myrtilla Miner. For
her noble character, her high ideals, her progressive methods in
education, her struggles against opposition in the pursuit of her
Godgiven task, her lasting contribution of an organized institution
for the training of teachers in the spirit of the Master to serve all
humanity, the citizens of the District of Columbia and especially the
people of color must ever revere her memory.[1]
On the 4th of March, 1815, in Brookfield, Madison County, New York,
Myrtilla Miner, of poor and humble, yet of industrious parentage, was
born. As a child, though frail of physique and deprived of
opportunity, her indomitable will enabled her to overcome the
obstacles of poverty and superstition as well as poor health. Wading
through them all she earned enough by arduous labor in the hopfields
near her home to purchase books for her further enlightenment. These
struggles against fate, however, were the rocks upon which her noble
character was built. Here were sown the seed of sympathy for the weak,
appreciation for the struggling, and respect for the ambitious.
After a year's training at Clinton, Oneida County, New York, where she
obtained the elements of education under the most adverse
circumstances of ill health and lack of funds, Miss Miner accepted a
call to teach in Mississippi in order to pay the debts incurred for
the training she had already received. Her experience in Mississippi
was indeed invaluable, for there she learned through horrible
experiences the evils of the institution of slavery. She boldly
protested against the cruelties of the slaveholders and the
institution in general. She innocently requested permission to teach
the slaves of the planter whose daughters she was then instructing.
When told that such was a criminal offense against the laws of
Mississippi and that she should "go North and teach the 'Niggers,'"
Miss Miner with an intrepid spirit resolved then and there that she
_would_ go North and teach them. Out of this unpleasant experience
developed the determination to found a Normal School for girls of
color in the city of Washington.
Returning North, Miss Miner found other difficulties than poor health
confronting her in her efforts to establish a school for the Negro
youth in the District of Columbia. Funds had to be raised, pro-slavery
opposition had to be overcome, and public sentiment had to be changed
at least to indifference. Each of these in itself was sufficiently
colossal to try the strength, physical and moral, of the ablest
anti-slavery agitators of that day. It was at the time of the passage
of that infamous Fugitive Slave Law, when freedmen and runaways like
William Parker, Jerry McHenry and Joshua Glover were knocked down,
beaten, bound and cast into prison; when abolitionists were
incarcerated for their anti-slavery propaganda and giving aid to the
fugitives; when even our valiant Frederick Douglass admitted himself
too timid to support any such project as that undertaken by Miss Miner
in the city of Washington.[2] It was in times such as these that this
fearless and resolute little woman, with an enthusiasm that seemingly
glistened in her penetrating eyes, determined to give her life to the
cause of alleviating suffering, dispelling ignorance, and liberating
the oppressed Americans in body and mind.
With the small sum of one hundred dollars that she had secured from
Mrs. Ednah Thomas,[3] of Philadelphia, a member of the Society of
Friends, Miss Miner started out upon her great work in behalf of the
Negro children of the District of Columbia. Her thrift prompted her to
solicit funds of various and peculiar sorts. Donations of old papers,
books, weights, measures and other castaway material were transformed
by this real teacher into valuable material for the instruction of her
undeveloped pupils.
Funds of the material sort were not the only difficulties that beset
her road of progress, for pro-slavery opposition assailed Miss Miner
from every side.[4] Such propaganda as the following appeared in the
_National Intelligencer_, a Washington newspaper of pro-slavery
sentiments and was spread far and wide. (1) The school would attract
free colored people from the adjoining States, (2) it was proposed to
give them an education far beyond what their political and social
condition would justify, (3) the school would be a center of
influence directed against the existence of slavery in the District of
Columbia, and (4) it might endanger the institution of slavery and
even rend asunder the Union itself.[5]
The truth of some parts of this declaration was quite evident and
irrefutable, for education, as Miss Miner understood it, was destined
to make every slave a man and every man free. This, of course,
increased the difficulty of Miss Miner's task but her faith was
abiding and her courage unabated. Miss Miner realized fully that the
lot of the eight thousand free people of color of the District of
Columbia was but little better than that of the 3,000 slaves, for the
former, though free according to the letter of the law, in actual life
had no rights that a white man was compelled to respect. They were not
admitted to public institutions, could not attend the city schools,
could not testify against a white man in court, and could not travel
without a pass without running the risk of being cast into prison.
Amidst it all, on the 6th day of December 1851, in a rented room about
fourteen feet square, in the frame house on Eleventh Street near New
York Avenue then owned and occupied as a dwelling by Edward C.
Younger,[6] a Negro, Myrtilla Miner with six pupils established as a
private institution for the education of girls of color the first
Normal School in the District of Columbia and the fourth one in the
United States. Increase of enrollment soon forced her to secure
accommodations and within two months she had moved into a house on the
north side of F Street between Eighteenth and Nineteenth, near the
house then occupied by William T. Carroll and Charles H. Winder. This
house furnished her a very comfortable room for her growing school of
well-behaved girls, from the best Negro families of the District of
Columbia. Threats on the part of white neighbors to set fire to the
house forced her to leave the home of the Negro family with whom she
had stayed but one month and to seek quarters elsewhere. Miss Miner
then succeeded in getting accommodations in the dwelling-house of a
German family on K Street, near the K Street market. After tarrying a
few months there, she moved to L Street into a room in the building
known as the "The Two Sisters," then occupied by a white family. But
the inconvenience of holding school in rented quarters of private
dwellings proved a very unpleasant one indeed; for not only did she
suffer the lack of comfort which such quarters naturally could not
offer, but found herself constantly harassed by the necessity of
moving to escape the enmity and persecution of her white neighbors.
A new day, however, was to dawn. With the aid of Harriet Beecher
Stowe, Dr. Gamaliel Bailey and a few such faithful Philadelphia
friends as Thomas Williamson, Samuel Rhoads, Benjamin Tatham, Jasper
Cope and Catherine Morris, enough funds were raised to purchase a site
of three acres or more for a permanent home on a lot near N Street and
New Hampshire Avenue, between Nineteenth and Twentieth Streets,
Northwest. Though the environment of this new home was most pleasing
and beautiful, being surrounded with flowers and fruit trees, the
enmity of the white hoodlums still followed her. She and her pupils
were frequently assailed with torrents of stones and other missiles.
Once threatened by mob violence, Miss Miner bravely and defiantly
exclaimed, "Mob my school! You dare not! If you tear it down over my
head I shall get another house. There is no law to prevent my teaching
these people and I shall teach them even unto death!" Testimony of
some of Miss Miner's former pupils upholds such a defiance as truly
descriptive of her fearless nature.
In its earlier days the Miner Normal School was supported by private
funds and directed by a board of trustees consisting of Benjamin
Tatham and H. W. Bellows of New York; Samuel M. Janney of Virginia;
Johns Hopkins of Baltimore; Samuel Rhoads and Thomas Williamson of
Philadelphia; G. Bailey and L. D. Gale of Washington; C. E. Stowe of
Andover; H. W. Beecher of Brooklyn, together with an executive
committee consisting of S. J. Bowen, J. M. Wilson and L. D. Gale of
Washington; Miss Miner, principal and William H. Beecher, secretary.
The curriculum of the school then embraced boarding, domestic economy,
teachers' training course and the primary departments. It is
interesting to note that some of the advanced ideas in education
today, such as student self-government, vitalized teaching, socialized
recitation, and civic as well as personal hygiene, were taught and
practiced by Miss Miner during the fifties of the last century.
As an illustration of pupil self-government, I quote the following
from the _Memoir of M. Miner_ by Mrs. Ellen M. O'Connor, concerning a
visit made by Miss Margaret Robinson of Philadelphia to Miss Miner's
school: "In the winter of 1853 accompanied by a friend, I visited the
school of Myrtilla Miner, under circumstances of peculiar interest.
Arriving about ten A. M., we learned from a pupil at the door that the
teacher was absent on business of importance to the school. We were
not a little disappointed, supposing all recitations would await her
coming. What was our surprise on entering to find every girl in her
place, closely occupied with her studies. We seated ourselves by
polite invitation; soon a class read; then one in mental arithmetic
exercised itself, the more advanced pupils acting as monitors; all was
done without confusion. When the teacher entered she expressed no
surprise, but took up the business where she found it and went on." On
one occasion, being obliged to leave for several days, Miss Miner
propounded to the pupils the question, whether the school should be
closed, or they should continue their exercises without her? They
chose the latter. On her return she found all doing well, not the
least disorder having occurred.
As to vitalized teaching, Matilda Jones Madden, one of Miss Miner's
pupils, wrote the following: "She gave special attention to the proper
writing of letters and induced a varied correspondence between many
prominent persons and her pupils, thus in a practical way bringing her
school into larger notice with many of its patrons and friends and
vastly increasing the experience of her pupils."
Mrs. John F. N. Wilkinson, a former pupil of Miss Miner, of
Washington, D. C., states that Miss Miner held classes in astronomy
with the larger girls who were required to meet at the school in the
evenings to study their lessons from nature. Mrs. Amelia E. Wormley,
the mother of the writer, residing in Washington, also a pupil of Miss
Miner, recalls vividly the emphasis which Miss Miner placed upon the
teaching of physical culture and the tenderness with which she handled
the younger children of her school.[7]
The school increased in usefulness and importance. As a result of
this, on March 3, 1863, the Senate and House of Representatives passed
an act to incorporate this institution for the education of girls of
color in the District of Columbia. By the act William H. Channing,
George J. Abbot, Miss Miner, and others, their associate and
successors were constituted and declared a body politic and corporate
by the name and title of "The Institution for the Education of Colored
Youth," to be located in the District of Columbia. Though this act of
Congress legalized the institution, the school appears to have lapsed
into inactivity from 1863 to 1871 because of the absence of its
guiding spirit, Miss Miner. On account of ill health she was
compelled to give up the work, and the strain and stress of civil
affairs reduced national interest and support to a minimum. After a
sojourn of three years in California in search of renewed energy and
more funds for the fulfillment of her plans and the consummation of
her ideals, Miss Miner departed from this life at the home of Mrs.
Nancy M. Johnson of Washington, D. C., on the 17th of December 1864.
In 1871 the work of the school was resumed in connection with Howard
University. A preparatory and Normal Department was opened and
controlled by this institution but supported by the Miner Funds. The
school existed in this connection until September 13, 1876, when it
began a separate and independent existence which lasted until 1879
when it was taken over by the school system of the District of
Columbia. From 1879 to 1887 the Miner Normal School was jointly
controlled by the Board[8] of Trustees of the Public Schools of the
District and the Miner Board of Trustees, the principal's salary being
paid by the Miner Board to which she made her reports while the
obligation of keeping up the enrollment of the school was assumed by
the Trustees representing the District Government.
In 1887 the Trustees of the District assumed full charge of the school
thus centralizing authority and management. The unification of the
dual management under District authority added keener interest on the
part of the citizenship of the community and a deeper feeling of
responsibility on the part of the faculty. Fortunately for the
institution, moreover, the women who succeeded Miss Miner as the heads
of this institution caught the great spirit of their predecessor and
in their efforts to continue the useful work which she had done,
followed so closely in the path which she had trodden as to assure
success and preclude any necessity for general reorganization.
The first of these women to take up the work of Miss Miner, was Miss
Mary B. Smith, of Beverly, Massachusetts, who was assisted by her
sister Miss Sarah R. Smith. These two worthy ladies were succeeded by
Miss Martha Briggs who is characterized by Dr. W. S. Montgomery in his
_Historical Sketch on Education for the Colored Race in the District
of Columbia, 1807-1905_, "as a born teacher whose work showed those
qualities of head and heart that have made her name famous in the
annals of education in the character of the graduates. The student
teachers caught her missionary spirit and went forth from her presence
stronger souls, full of sympathy to magnify the teacher's vocation and
to inspire the learner. Many of the women who sat at her feet are
laboring in the schools here now, filling the highest positions and in
beauty and richness of character running like a thread of gold through
the teaching corps."
Miss Briggs was succeeded in 1883 by Dr. Lucy E. Moten, who after
faithful and successful service for thirty-seven years, retired June
20, 1920. As principal of the Miner Normal School, Dr. Moten graduated
the majority of the teachers now employed in the public schools of the
District. She saw the Normal course lengthened from a one year course
to that of a two year course, offering greater opportunity for broader
professional equipment of the student teachers, the results of which
are manifest in the Washington Public Schools today. This school,
however, is destined in the near future to undergo other changes in
the line of progress. It may be the extension of the course to three
years or the development of a Teacher's college of four years which
will offer courses leading to a degree. With an enthusiastic
whole-hearted response of the teaching corps of Washington, D. C., to
the slogan of the new Superintendent, Dr. Frank Washington
Ballou--"Hats off to the past and coats off to the future," The Miner
Normal School will reach higher in its aim to serve and realize the
ideals of its noble founder and benefactress, whose struggles and
sacrifices are sacred in the memory of every teacher of color in the
District of Columbia.
G. SMITH WORMLEY.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The facts set forth in this sketch were obtained largely from
Ellen M. O'Connor's _Myrtilla Miner, A Memoir_; W. S. Montgomery's
_Historical Sketch of the Education for the Colored Race in the
District of Columbia, 1807-1905_; and _The Special Report of the
Commissioner of Education_ on the condition and improvement of the
Public Schools in the District of Columbia, submitted to the Senate
June 1868 and the House, with additions, June 17, 1870-1871. Some
valuable facts were also obtained from former pupils of Miss Myrtilla
Miner now residing in the District of Columbia and from public
spirited citizens who cooperated with her.
[2] O'Connor, _Memoir of Myrtilla Miner, Letter of Frederick
Douglass_, p. 23.
[3] _Special Report of Commissioner of Education_, Washington, D.C.,
Henry Barnard, 1868, p. 207.
[4] She had some friends, however, as the following shows:
"There are in the United States 500,000 free people of color.
They are generally, although subject to taxation, excluded by law
or prejudice from schools of every grade. Their case becomes at
once an object of charity which rises infinitely above all party
or sectional lines. This charity we are gratified in being able
to state has already been inaugurated, through the devoted labors
of an excellent young lady from Western New York by the name of
Miss Myrtilla Miner who has established and maintained for the
past four years in the city of Washington a school for the
education of free colored youth. This school is placed there
because it is national ground, and the nation is responsible for
the well-being of its population; because there are there 11,000
of this suffering people excluded by law from schools and
destitute of instruction; because there are in the adjoining
States of Maryland and Virginia 130,000 equally destitute, who
can be reached in no other way; and because it is hoped through
this means to reach a class of girls of peculiar interest, often
the most beautiful and intelligent, and yet the most hopelessly
wretched, and who are often objects of strong paternal affection.
The slaveholder would gladly educate and save these children, but
domestic peace drives them from his hearth; he cannot emancipate
them to be victims of violence or lust; he cannot send them to
Northern schools, where prejudice would brand them, and it is
proposed to open an asylum near them, where they may be brought,
emancipated, educated and taught housewifery as well as science,
and thus be prepared to become teachers among their own mixed
race.
"In its present condition this school embraces boarding, domestic
economy, normal teachers and primary departments, and is placed
under the care of an association consisting of the following
trustees: Benjamin Tatham, New York; Samuel M. Janney, Loudoun
County, Virginia; Johns Hopkins, Baltimore; Samuel Rhoads and
Thomas Williamson, Philadelphia; G. Bailey and L. D. Gale,
Washington; H. W. Bellows, New York; C. E. Stowe, Andover; H. W.
Beecher, Brooklyn, together with an executive committee
consisting of S. J. Bowen, J. M. Wilson and L. D. Gale, of
Washington; and M. Miner, Principal, and William H. Beecher, of
Reading, Secretary.
"The trustees state that a very eligible site of three acres,
within the city limits of Washington, of the northwest, has
already been purchased, paid for and secured to the trustees, and
that all which is now wanted is $20,000 wherewith to erect a
larger and more suitable edifice for the reception of the
applicants pressing upon it from the numerous free colored blacks
in the District and adjacent States. The proposed edifice is
designed to accommodate 150 scholars and to furnish homes for the
teachers and pupils from a distance. The enlarged school will
include the higher branches in its system of instruction.
"There was a meeting yesterday afternoon, in an ante-room of
Tremont Temple, of gentlemen called together to listen to the
statements of the Secretary of the Association regarding this
school. The meeting was small, but embraced such gentlemen as
Hon. George S. Hillard, Rev. Dr. Lathrop, Rev. C. E. Hale, and
Deacon Greele, all of whom are deeply interested in the project.
"The meeting decided to draw up and circulate a subscription
paper, and counted upon receiving $10,000 for the purpose in this
city. The pastors of several churches in New York had pledged
their churches in the sum of a thousand dollars each. Mr. Beecher
will solicit subscriptions in most of the principal towns of
Massachusetts. The designs and benefits of the project will be
fully set forth at a public meeting in this city in the course of
a fortnight."--_The Boston Journal_, April 18, 1857.
[5] An extract from Walter Lenox's article opposing Miss Miner's
School, follows:
"With justice we can say to the advocate of this measure, you are
not competent to decide this question: your habits of thought,
your ignorance of our true relations to the colored population,
prevent you from making a full and candid examination of its
merits, and, above all, the temper of the public mind is
inauspicious, even for its consideration. If your humanity
demands this particular sphere for its action, and if, to use
your own language, prejudice would brand them at your northern
schools, establish institutions in the free States, dispense your
money there abundantly as your charity will supply, draw to them
the unfortunate at your own door, or from abroad, and in all
respects gratify the largest impulses of your philanthropy; but
do not seek to impose upon us a system contrary to our wishes and
interests, and for the further reason that by so doing you injure
the cause of those whom you express a wish to serve."--_National
Intelligencer_, May 6, 1857.
[6] _Special Report_, Commissioner of Education, Washington, D. C.,
1868, p. 207.
[7] This statement is based on information obtained from Mrs. John F.
N. Wilkinson and Mrs. Amelia E. Wormley, who were pupils of Myrtilla
Miner.
[8] _Report of Board of Education_, Dr. John Smith, Statistician.
COMMUNICATIONS
During the last five years a number of valuable facts have come to the
office of the editor in various communications from persons interested
in the work which the Association has been promoting. While these
communications do not as a whole bear upon any particular phase of
Negro history, they will certainly be valuable to one making
researches in the general field. Some of these follow.
A SUGGESTION
WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 23, 1916.
CARTER G. WOODSON,
_My Dear Sir:_ I notice by the press your Connection with the
"Douglass" celebration. It might interest you to receive the
enclosed from a rank abolitionist of the John Brown School. After
service in Kansas with the Brown element, then in open rebellion
against the United States, as typified in men like Judge Taney,
who decided that the black man had no rights the white man was
bound to respect, I entered the Union army and served in it as a
private in the 5th Wis. Infy and as Adjt. of the 7th Eastern
Shore Md. Infy--3 years and 6 mos.... I wish some of your
influential men would start a movement to erect a monument here
for old John Brown, who gave his life to free the country from
the great curse of slavery.
Cordially,
(Signed) JOHN E. RASTALL.
SOME INTERESTING FACTS
MARION, ALABAMA
July 7th 1916
DR. C. G. WOODSON
_Dear Sir:_
Absence from home has prevented my replying to your request
sooner.
The majority of masters in this section of the country were kind
to their slaves. They gave them plenty of good wholesome food,
good clothes, (warm ones in winter) comfortable homes and
attention from Doctors when sick. There were churches on nearly
every plantation and ministers provided to preach to them. The
_only very cruel_ masters were _Northern men_ who treated their
slaves like _beasts_. For many years it was against the law to
teach negroes to read or write because some of them would read
things from the North that made them dissatisfied but our family
owned such good negroes, who had principle like white people we
did not think it could hurt them, and we taught them to read and
write. There has always been a kind feeling between the whites
and slaves in this country. The young ones were our playmates in
childhood. The older ones our nurses and cooks who petted us and
loved us as their own color. They were faithful during the War
when our protectors were in the Army, and now altho' it is fifty
years since they were freed, many of them are our best
friends.--I do not know of anything else you wanted to know or I
would gladly write you. In some sections of the South there may
have been cruel treatment but it was generally from the overseers
who were ignorant men and took advantage of their position to
give license to their cruel natures.
James Childs and all of his family and many of his relatives
belonged to my mother, and there still exists a kind feeling
between us that will only be severed by Death. I would like to
hear from him. I am nearly 75 years old and cannot be here much
longer but want to do all the good I can before I am called.
Respectfully
(Signed) MRS. JAS. A. SMITH,
Marion
Alabama
23 DRYADS GREEN,
Nov. 7, 1916.
_My dear Mr. Woodson:_
Your letter in the interest of THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY is
welcome. I will try to send you a subscriber or two.
Allow me to suggest a point. It may have been well covered
already without my knowing of it. In Louisiana and, I think, in
some other states, in Reconstruction days, the
lieutenant-governorship was conceded by the Republican party,
regularly, to a man of color. These men were sometimes, to say no
more, of high character and ability. Such a one in Louisiana was
Oscar J. Dunn, the first of them. He was of unmixt African
origin. His signal ability and high integrity were acknowledged
by his political enemies in the most rancorous days of his
career, and his funeral was attended by Confederate generals.
I wish your enterprise the fullest measure of success.
Yours truly,
(Signed) GEO. W. CABLE.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
1443 R ST., N. W.,
NOV. 1 --17.
MR. CARTER G. WOODSON,
1216 You St., N.W.,
Washington, D. C.
_Dear Sir:_
I recently received from you a letter followed soon by a volume
of THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY edited by yourself which I have
scanned and am much impressed with its merits and consider a
valuable contribution to our historical literature.
It is somewhat unusual to find colored men in America of American
birth who are individually conversant with all of the West Indies
a part of South America and the western part of Europe.
My advent in life began at an epoch in the early history of
Baltimore when incidents occurred that seem to have escaped the
notice of the numerous writers of the history of our race which I
shall briefly relate.
Owing to the rapid decadence of the sugar industries of the
British West Indies on the Abolition of Slavery and the gravity
anent the threatened ruin of the peasantry, some philanthropists
and business men from England were sent to Baltimore to try to
get free colored people to go to Trinidad. They spoke in many
colored churches and succeeded in interesting them so that
several shiploads were sent. My father and mother and three
children were of the number. I was an infant in arms.
I received an education there and after I grew up was variously
employed as bookkeeper, clerking in dry goods stores, in the City
Hall, overseer on sugar estate, coach and sign painter, was
afterwards sent for by my father who was at the gold mines of
Caratal in Venezuela and on my return to Trinidad visited several
other islands of the West Indies.
I next returned to America my natal home the second year of
Andrew Johnson's term.
I have not since led an idle life. For nearly 25 years I have
been engaged as an itinerant private tutor teaching adult folks
and I flatter myself that I was very successful among the
hundreds of my pupils.
I found on my arrival in America that education was at a very low
ebb amongst the members of my race perhaps not more than 15% of
adult folks one would encounter in the streets could read and
write.
When the Amendments were passed by Congress conferring
citizenship upon colored people I threw myself into the political
current and was the first vice president of the 11th ward of
Baltimore city which a few years subsequently chose a colored
councilman, Harry Cummins.
I became a merchant meanwhile experimenting in groceries, but
after a year relinquished this for dry goods for which my early
acquaintance therewith amply fitted me. I kept a dry goods store
in Baltimore for seven years then went to Jacksonville, Fla.
where I successfully continued the business for eighteen years.
While I was in Baltimore I twice passed the Civil Service
examination with a handsome percentage this I did simply from
curiosity. I kept strictly to merchandise and have never earned a
dollar of Uncle Sam's money.
In 1909 and again in 1912 myself and wife, both of us having a
knowledge of French and Spanish and I a little Italian made a
tour of Western Europe viz, Gibralter Italy Switzerland France
Germany Holland Belgium and England plodding on foot amongst the
common people studying sociological conditions and comparing with
our own people. I find the contrast of the humbler class of
Europe also the colored races of the West Indies and South
America with less opportunities possessed of more enterprise and
ambition than the colored people of America.
It is a lamentable fact that the principal attraction of those
who should be our strong men and leaders in enterprise those of
high school and college training consists of Uncle Sam's bounty
and in the absence of this to cling to some white man in private
life.
I have for many years been an ardent advocate of business amongst
our people and to this end I have written contributions to the
_Commonwealth_ of Baltimore a paper once edited by John E. Bruce
(Bruce Grit) the Colored American of Washington, and to other
papers edited by our race.
My attitude towards other enterprises is that we are sufficiently
and disproportionately represented in other branches, especially
teaching preaching politics governmental patronage &c which
require no financial responsibility; consequently the results
place us in the attitude of a Castillian gentleman who is
facetiously described thus--_Caballero sin caballo, Mucho piojo,
poco dinero_, that is, a knight without a horse, Plenty of lice,
little money.
As a race we are the poorest numerically of any race in America.
We have so little ambition and so envious and void of race pride.
We don't mind a white man climbing over our heads but a colored
man never and if you doubt me keep a store.
I have grown weary of the struggle and am leaving the fight to
the younger men who I hope may prove vigorous champions.
I have done my part, I am
Yours very truly
(Signed) STANSBURY BOYCE.
LONDON, ONT. October 25/1918
DR. CARTER G. WOODSON,
_Journal of Negro History_,
Washington, D. C.
_Dear Dr. Woodson_,
I have been reading your "Century of Negro Migration" with
interest. On page 36 you speak of a change of attitude on the
part of Canadians towards the refugees. I do not know to what
this refers. The attitude of the Canadian government never
changed--it granted asylum and protection right up to the Civil
War and afterwards. From the very earliest days there was an
occasional show of prejudice but I doubt if this was greater in
1855 than in 1845 or 1835. The laws were administered fairly, the
Negro exercised his vote, could get land cheaply if he desired to
farm. The chief prejudice was shown in the schools though this
only in some places, this city for instance. But this was only
occasional, not general, and you are quite correct in saying that
"these British Americans never made the life of the Negro there
so intolerable as was the case in some of the free States."
On the same page there is a slight error in the use of the word
"towns" in connection with the settlements of refugees in
Southern Ontario.
"Dawn" was not a town but a farming community, "The Dawn
Settlement" "Colchester" was the same, it is the name now given
to a township in Essex county.
"Elgin" was not the name of a Settlement but of the association
which managed the settlement. Buxton was the settlement founded
by the Elgin association.
"Bush", _i.e._ "The Bush" is the term applied to a great tract of
country north of Toronto, bushland, in which there were some
Negro farmers.
"Wilberforce" was also a tract of land divided into farms and
termed the Wilberforce settlement. It is in Middlesex county,
near London.
"Riley" should be "Raleigh," it is the township in which the
Elgin association's settlement was located. It is in Kent County.
"Anderton" is also the name of a township in Essex county.
"Gonfield" should be "Gosfield." It is also a township in Essex
county.
These are only minor matters but you might desire to make the
change in another edition.
I think I shall write something dealing with the Canadian end of
your subject, from the economic standpoint. The _Journal_ is a
publication of which as Editor you can be proud. It maintains a
high standard. I intend to have it added to the Western
University's list of periodicals this year.
Sincerely yours,
(Signed) FRED LANDON.
BIRD-IN-HAND, PA., Aug. 21, 1918.
CARTER G. WOODSON, ESQ.,
_Dear Mr. Woodson_:
I have read most of the articles in the JOURNAL with deep
interest and think it a valuable periodical. One or two mistakes
I noticed; one writer says that President Lincoln thought that
"the war should be over in ninety days." It was Seward, _not_
Lincoln that cherished this almost insane idea.--Please do not
set me down as a carping critic when I say that I am very sorry
that the long article on "Slavery in Kentucky" was printed
without comment or correction. To speak of Henry Clay as an
anti-slavery man seems absurd to people like myself, born into
_real_ anti-slavery families and familiar almost from infancy
with the anti-slavery struggle. The interview with Mr.
Mendenhall, a Friend (Quaker) is told somewhat differently from
what I heard it in my childhood. I always understood that a
delegation of Friends called upon him and he told them to go
home, that his "Negroes were sleek and fat." The comparison
between Friends and his negroes, as given in Mr. McDougle's
article is even more insulting than is anything in the story as I
heard it. One of my earliest recollections is seeing in my
grandmother's kitchen in Phila., "Clary" a little octoroon woman,
who was, I was told, either once the mistress or else the
daughter of Henry Clay. From this you may judge what his moral
reputation must have been.
Very truly yours,
(Signed) (MRS.) MARIANNA G. BRUBAKER.
SOME CORRECTIONS
BIRD-IN-HAND, PA., April 21, 1920.
MR. CARTER G. WOODSON,
_My dear Mr. Woodson:_
On the next page will be found a correction of the article "The
Negro Migration to Canada after 1850," which you may print or
not, as you choose. In a historical periodical, accuracy is
important, is it not?
Very truly yours,
Signed (MRS.) MARIANNA G. BRUBAKER.
On page 30 of the _Journal of Negro History_ for January
reference is made to the famous Christiana Riot of Sept. 11,
1851. Christiana is about nineteen--not two--miles from
Lancaster. Parker, the hero of this event, was a wonderful man.
He returned to Christiana in the summer of 1872, spoke at a
political meeting there and spent some time visiting friends, by
whom he was greatly admired and respected. The exact distance
from Lancaster is important because of the very different
character of the two communities.
(Signed) MARIANNA G. BRUBAKER.
BIRD-IN-HAND, PA., April 21.
DOCUMENTS
The following letter was addressed to the City Council of Washington,
D.C., July 15, 1833, by Joseph Jefferson, Sr., and Mr. Mackenzie,
managers of the Washington Theatre.[1]
_Dear Sir:_
"Permit us to take the liberty of representing to you a burden
that oppresses us most heavily, and of requesting your kind
endeavors so to represent the case before the mayor and council
that we may obtain all the relief that it is in their power to
grant.
"You must be aware that we pay nightly to the city a tax of $6
for permission to perform in the theater; in the year 1832 this
amounted to nearly $1,400 in the aggregate; we pay this tax
cheerfully, and all we ask in return is a liberal protection and
support from the city authorities.
"There is at present a law in force which authorizes the
constables of the city to arrest the colored people if on the
street after 9 o'clock without a pass. A great proportion of our
audience consists of persons of this caste, and they are
consequently deterred from giving us that support that they would
otherwise do.
"Can there be any modification of that law suggested, or will the
mayor and council authorize us to give passes to those colored
persons who leave the theatre for the purpose of proceeding
directly to their homes?
"In the city of Baltimore, where we have a theatre, and pay a
smaller license than we do here, the law, as regards the colored
people, is not acted upon when they are coming or going to the
theatre.
"In a pecuniary point of view, we look upon this law as a
detriment to us of $10 nightly, and we have great reason to hope
that a law that rests so heavily upon us alone may meet with the
kind consideration of the mayor and council, and be so modified
as to relieve us from the heavy loss that it causes us at present
to incur.
"We have the honor to be, dear sir, your obedient servants,
"JEFFERSON & MACKENZIE,
"Managers of the Washington Theater."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Submitted by Professor Walter Dyson.
Lee, Mass. April 23, 1917.
CARTER G. WOODSON,
Editor, _Journal of Negro History_,
Washington, D. C.
_Dear Sir:_
The enclosed tracing of a manuscript in my possession may, or may
not be of interest enough to publish in your magazine. The Ms.
came into my hands in the autumn of 1863 while I was serving in
the ranks of the 10th Mass. Inf. At that time the regiment was
stationed at Bristoe Station, on the R. R. between Alexandria and
Fredericksburg. A detail which had been sent to Prince William
Court House at Brentsville for some purpose brought to our camp
some manuscripts, among them that from which the tracing has been
made, and which I thought of interest enough to preserve.
Yours very truly,
(Signed) D. M. WILCOX.
A Marriage Contract made this 12th day of January in the Year of
our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Fifty six Between John
Brunskill of the Parish of Hamilton and County of Prince Willm
Clerk, and Edward Humston of the above said Parish and County
Witnesseth that the sd John--Brunskill doth Contract & agree with
the said Humston, that he the said John Brunskill will have to
his wife Ann Humston, daughter to the said Edward Humston and in
Consideration of which the said Humston doth agree to & with the
said Brunskill that he the said Humston will at the day of
Marriage Lend unto the sd Ann Humston as a Maintenance during her
life The Following Negroes, To wit, Jude, Lucy & three children
John, Mary and Betty, and also one Negroe man named Tom, Jun. on
proviso yt the said Brunskill doth pay unto ye said Humston ten
pounds P Ann for four years in Consideration of the hire of the
said Negroes, And at her ye said Ann Humstons death ye sd Negroes
to fall to her Eldest son by the ye sd Brunskill but if she
shou'd not have a son by the said Brunskill they are to fall Heir
by the sd Brunskill they are to fall to her Eldest Daughter by
the said Brunskill, but if she should die without Heir by the sd
Brunskill they are at the Death of her and the said Brunskill to
fall to the Heir at Law. And for the Performance of the above
Contract. We do bind ourselves our heirs &c Either to other in
the Penal sum Of five hundred Pounds Sterlg. In witness whereof
We have set our hands & seals the day and Year above Written--
[Transcriber's Note: In the signature below, {X} signifies
where a larger X appears in the text.]
Signed sealed and Deliver'd }
in the Presence of-- }
EDWARD HUMSTON (L.S.)
JOHN BRUNSKILL JUNr (L.S.)
THO. MARSHALL
his
JOHN {X} WARRING
Mark
At a Court held for prince William County the 22. of March 1756
This Marriage Contract was proved by the oaths of the witnesses
hereto & ordered to be recorded.
Test JOHN GRAHAM _Clerk_.
LETTERS ON RECONSTRUCTION RECORDS
TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE, ALABAMA.
July 3, 1920.
DR. C. G. WOODSON,
1216 U Street, N. W.,
Washington, D. C.
_My Dear Dr. Woodson:_
Attached are names of additional Negro members of the North and
South Carolina legislatures and a letter from Mrs. M.E.
Richardson about an additional member of the Alabama legislature.
Attached also is a letter by Mr. John W. Cromwell. These should
be published in the _Journal_. Kindly publish the same in the
_Journal_, under documents and oblige,
Yours very truly,
(Signed) MONROE N. WORK.
Monroe N. Work,
Editor, Negro Year Book.
MNW/FEH
Three enclosures.
To the Editor of _The Planet_:
Will you for the sake of history allow this communication in your
columns? It has been repeatedly charged that we have no racial
history. If we are challenged with respect to certain events we
admit the imputation by our silence. A different course would
correct much error. _The Journal of Negro History_ for January
has rendered a very great service by publishing the names and
number of Negroes who have been members of their respective State
Legislatures since the Civil War reconstruction. It was
interesting and informative to note the names and numbers of
members of our race from these different States.
When it came to Virginia the contrast was most painful. To behold
the absence of detailed information similar to that supplied the
other States, from North Carolina to Florida, from the Atlantic
to the Rio Grande. For a time I felt like disowning that Virginia
was my native State. Finally the obligation incumbent on all
those who have lived in Virginia during the last fifty years or
familiar with its history asserted itself, hence I begin but I
must acknowledge my sense of gratitude to Rev. G. F. Bragg, Jr.,
who in the current number of _The Journal of Negro History_ has
contributed from his recollection and given names of members whom
he knew.
Peter J. Carter, Northampton
George Teamoh, Norfolk County
John Brown, Southhampton
Peter G. Morgan, Petersburg
John Watson, Mecklenburg
Resa Hamilton,
Jas. W. D. Bland, Prince Edward
Frank Moss, Buckingham
Caesar Perkins, Buckingham
Willis A. Hodges, Princess Anne
John Q. Hodges, Princess Anne
Littleton Owens, Princess Anne
John M. Dawson, James City
John B. Syphax, Alexandria, Co.
Robert D. Ruffin, Alexandria, Co.
Miles Connor, Norfolk, Co.
William H. Andrews, Surry
Henry Cox, Powhatan
Peter K. Jones, Greenville
William P. Mosely, Goochland
Rufus S. Jones, Hampton
Daniel M. Norton, Yorktown
Most of these are recollected by Professor Cromwell and those
with the asterisk are furnished by others.
Robert Norton, Yorktown
David Canady, Halifax
John Freeman, Halifax
Henry Clay Harris, Halifax
John Robinson Cumberland
John W. Poindexter, Louisa
Alfred W. Harris,
Robert G. L. Paige, Norfolk, Co.
*Alexander Lee, Elizabeth City.
*Robert M. Smith, Elizabeth City.
*John H. Robinson, Elizabeth City.
*James Fields, Warwick
---- Lipscomb, Cumberland
---- Matthews, Petersburg
B. F. Jones, Charles City
---- Lyons, Elizabeth City
Rev. Mr. Bragg mentions those whom I do not recall:
Armstead Green, Petersburg
Neverson Lewis, Powhatan
Guy Powell, Brunswick
Shed Dungee, Cumberland
Batt Greggs, Prince Edward
Archie Scott, Amelia and Nottoway
J. R. Jones, Mecklenburg
A. A. Dodson was another from Mecklenburg, a senator as I
remember. I have a vague recollection that Tazewell Branch was at
one time a member, also that Nansemond county sent a
representative.
I make no claim to accuracy in every case, but unless there is
specific contradiction I will claim these named as men who played
an honorable though an humble part in framing the laws of the
commonwealth which has given eight Presidents to our Republic. I
will be glad to hear from any one who can give further
information on this subject.
Respectfully yours
(Signed) J. W. Cromwell
1429 Swann St., N. W.
May 13, 1920.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
July 6, 1920.
DR. C. G. WOODSON
_Journal of Negro History_.
Sir:
In addition to the Negro members in the Virginia legislature
mentioned in my letter published in the Richmond (Va.) Planet of
June. There should be included,--
Rev. Ceasar Perkins, Buckingham
" Fountaine M. Perkins, Louisa
William P. Lucas, "
Samuel P. Bolling, Cumberland.
This makes the number forty-nine (49)
Respectfully yours,
(Signed) J. W. CROMWELL.
Tuskegee Institute Alabama
May 13, 1920.
MR. M. N. WORK,
Department Records and Research,
Tuskegee Institute, Alabama.
_Dear Mr. Work:_
In looking through the last number of _The Journal of Negro
History_, I note that you are asking for information concerning
those Negroes who were members of the State Legislatures during
reconstruction days, just following the Civil War.
I do not know if it has already been called to your attention or
not, but my grandfather, Shandy Jones, was at that time a member
of the Alabama Legislature. I do not know the year, but think I
can get the dates for you if it is of interest to you.
His early life was spent in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He was a very
successful business man, barber by trade. His later life was
actively spent in church work. He was presiding elder in the A.
M. E. Z. church and was nominated for bishop, but his age was an
obstacle.
He lived in Mobile, Alabama at the time of his death at 70 years.
He was still in the ministry at this time.
Very truly,
(Signed) MRS. M. E. RICHARDSON.
245 WEST 139TH ST.,
NEW YORK CITY,
July 22, 1920.
CARTER G. WOODSON, Ph.D.,
Editor _The Journal of Negro History_,
1216 You St., N. W.,
Washington, D. C.
_Dear Sir:_
You have presented the matter of the Reconstruction Period in
splendid shape and no doubt it will be read with much interest
especially by the few "old timers" who can recall those halcyon
days.
There are some errors I would like to correct and a few additions
I would like to make as it was not my intention to slight any
person engaged in that laudable work of making Negro history, and
I would like to know at your earliest convenience if there will
be time before the July number goes to press. There is just one
error I want to correct now and that is relative to myself. In
the foot notes it is stated that I was a page in the House of
Representatives in the Reconstruction Period. I do not know how
Mr. Work made the error as there is nothing in my retained carbon
copies to show that I gave him that information. It was my
brother, Dr. J. E. Wallace, now with the Standard Insurance
Company of Atlanta who occupied that position. I certainly would
have preferred that job as it was more remunerative than the one
I held. I was employed in the post office at Columbia, S. C.,
from March 1, 1871 to August 15, 1886, when I resigned under the
democratic postmaster, Major W. H. Gibbes, notwithstanding the
fact that he requested me to continue in the position. It was
owing to my position that I came in contact with the prominent
people from all over the State and was thus enabled to get much
information that has helped me greatly in compiling the data.
Handling the mail for several years of these Reconstructionists
made me quite familiar with their names and as the impressions of
youth are lasting they remained with me.
As I understand it the Reconstruction Period is from the close of
the civil war to April 20, 1877, when the United States troops
were withdrawn from the New Orleans, La., state house, the troops
having been withdrawn from the state house in Columbia, S.C.,
April 10, 1877. Therefore data since then would not be considered
as belonging to the Reconstruction Period.
Very Respectfully,
(Signed) HENRY A. WALLACE.
245 WEST 139TH ST.,
NEW YORK CITY,
August 6, 1920.
DR. CARTER G. WOODSON
1216 You St., N. W.,
Washington, D. C.
_Dear Sir:_
In looking over the data published in the January number of _The
Journal of Negro History_ relative to the Reconstruction period
in South Carolina I find several errors which I would be glad to
have you correct in the next number:
Page 81--The christian name of Senator Bird is Israel.
Page 83--The initials of Fraser, representative from Colleton
County are W. H.
Page 84--Aaron Logan was from Charleston county and Samuel P.
Coker from Barnwell county.
Page 89--Opposite name of Joseph H. Rainey, strike out 46th, 47th
and 48th and insert 43rd. See sketch on page 95.
Page 90--F. B. Perry should be B. F. Perry.
Page 97--under Robert C. DeLarge, should be 1868-1870 as a member
of the House of Representatives.
Page 98--Under Francis L. Cardozo--four years as State Treasurer
instead of two. See page 89.
Pages 103 and 104--A. Q. Jones should be A. O. Jones.
Page 104--countries should be counties.
Page 85--Jervay, Page 107--Jervay and Jarvey--should be Jervey.
Page 100--Under Thomas E. Miller--1866 should be 1886 as member
of the S. C. House of Representatives.
Additional members of the Senate:
Jared Warley--Clarendon County Dublin I. Walker--Chester County
J. L. Duncan--Orangeburg County Additional Members of the House
of Representatives: Abbeville Co.--Everett Cain, H. A. Wideman,
Aiken Co.--Gloster H. Holland, W. B. Jones Barnwell Co.--B. W.
Middleton, E. M. Sumpter Charleston Co.--R. B. Artson, P. P.
Hedges, J. J. Hardy, J. J. Grant, J. W. Lloyd, C. F. North, Lewis
Simmons Chester Co.--Ceasar Simmons Colleton Co.--Sherman Smalls,
R. S. Tarlton Edgefield Co.--David Graham, Augustus Simpkins
Georgetown Co.--Charles H. Sperry Kershaw Co.--Frank Adamson
Laurens Co.--James Young Marion Co.--William A. Hayne Marlboro
Co.--Jacob Allman Newberry Co.--Isham Greenwood Orangeburg
Co.--John Dix, Abram Dannerly, H. Reilly Sumter Co.--W. W.
Ramsey, J. C. Wilson Williamsburg Co.--Fortune Giles, E. H.
Gourdin, Thomas Pressley
Relative to Hon. J. H. Rainey I would state that he was the only
Negro Congressman who presided over the U. S. House of
Representatives. That courtesy was extended to him by Speaker
James G. Blaine.
The following may be interesting in connection with Senator W. B.
Nash:
"It is not too much to say that the leading man of the
Republican party in the Senate is Beverly Nash, a man wholly
black. He is apparently consulted more and appealed to more,
in the business of the body, than any man in it. It is
admitted by his white opposition colleagues that he has more
native ability than half the white men in the State" _The
Prostrate State_--J. S. Pike.
"Beverley Nash of Columbia is probably the foremost Negro in
the State. He has made many speeches, which, homely in
manner, have, nevertheless, a subsoil of strong common
sense. He has been employed by the Military authorities from
time to time in aiding, by "moral suasion" to preserve
peace; is about 45 years of age; was formerly a hotel
servant in Columbia where he still resides. Some months ago,
on the same platform with Gen. Wade Hampton and other
distinguished citizens he made a speech to the colored
people recommending qualified suffrage; but subsequently was
obliged by high-pressure to recant, and to set himself right
has since become intensely radical. His idea now is that the
Negro is entitled to everything the white man enjoys--an
opinion which has been encouraged by his appointment as
magistrate, General Sickles having conferred the office upon
him to punish the citizens of Columbia for an assault made
by two intoxicated young men on a itinerant radical speaker
and his traveling companion while in that town"
"Q" in _New York Times_--March 23, 1868.
The above would indicate that Senator W. Beverly Nash was the
first Negro to exercise judicial power in the United States.
Concerning Associate Justice J. J. Wright I would add that he
graduated from the Lancaster, Pa., High School--studied law at
Montrose, Pa.,--admitted to the Bar in Susquehanna county, being
the first Negro to practice law in Pennsylvania--four years
before going to South Carolina.
Very respectfully,
HENRY A. WALLACE.
WASHINGTON, D. C., May 9, 1920.
_Dear Mr. Woodson:_
_The Journal of Negro History_ is among the most valuable
periodicals that it is my privilege to receive. I make it a rule
to read all the articles of a _purely historical_ nature.
Your recent effort to gather and print a list of the Negro
officeholders of the reconstructive period is highly commendable,
and should be aided by all persons possessing accurate or
approximate facts on the subjects. There were numerous such
holders of small offices, national, state, county and municipal,
in the Southern states in that period. As a boy, I knew two such
in the town and county in which I lived. Doubtless many other
persons of 50 years or less know of several.
Mr. John W. Cromwell's articles in the April number, "The
Aftermath of Nat Turner's Insurrection," is not only scholarly
and interesting but a very valuable contribution to history.
There is a vast amount of _fact_ reposing only in the memories of
elderly people now living that should be rescued and recorded
while they live, lest it is lost forever. Perhaps the record of
it will not be _history_ proper but only _annals_, or a record of
events. It is none the less important to secure it. It is of
minor importance whether it be written in polished literary form.
It will constitute source matter for the future historian. For
some time to come we shall be in less need of dissertations that
are philosophy of Negro history than of accurate records of
events--facts, facts, facts!
I have conversed with a number of elderly colored men and women
in this city who have a wonderful fund of recollection of
interesting and valuable historical data never in print. There
are such people everywhere. Some cannot write, others will not
write. If discriminating chroniclers are encouraged to write down
the stories of such people for publication in your Journal, the
result should be fruitful.
I congratulate you on the average excellence of the subjects
covered by the Journal and the scholarly editing thereof.
Yours very sincerely,
(Signed) R. C. EDMONSON.
DR. CARTER G. WOODSON,
Editor, _Journal of Negro History_.
SOME UNDISTINGUISHED NEGROES
FRED FOWLER
Fred Fowler was born about 1832 in Frederick County, Maryland. His
first master, Michael Reel, had a farm and a flour mill about four
miles from Frederick City. Reel owned sixteen slaves, among whom were
Fred's mother and her eight children. Fred's father belonged to a man
named Doyle, who had an adjoining farm. Doyle sold the father to a man
named Fisher, who subsequently put up the first gas factory in
Frederick.
On the death of Michael Reel, in 1847, his estate had to be divided.
Some of the slaves were disposed of according to appraisement, others
at auction. Fred, then about fifteen years old, was taken at the
appraised value of $400 by a son of the deceased Reel. If auctioned
off, he thought he might have brought somewhat more.
At this sale his mother and one child were bought for $500 by a man
named Todd, who subsequently sold her to Dr. Shipley. Four children
were purchased by men supposed to be traders, who presumably took them
to Georgia, which, according to the sentiment of "Nellie Gray," was
the slave's notion of some far-away place where the speculators found
a market. No one of these four was ever seen or heard from after they
were put on the train for Baltimore. The other children, two sisters,
were taken away by a man named Roach, but that was all that was then
known. The almost invariable rule in the inter-state slave-trade was
that separation ended all communication with those left behind. In
1887--forty years after the sale--these sisters wrote a letter to a
colored church in Frederick asking for information about the slaves
that belonged to the Reel family. Someone in the church knew that Fred
Fowler was living in Washington, D.C. The letter was forwarded to him
and from it he learned that these sisters had been taken to Columbia,
Tennessee and were still living. A meeting soon followed.
When Fred was twenty years old, young Reel, who was about to move to
Springfield, Illinois, sold him privately for $1,000 to Dr. Willis who
lived in New Market, Frederick County, Maryland. That was a high
price for the time and place. Fowler was with Dr. Willis for three or
four years as a farmhand. The Doctor was the physician for the
notorious inter-state slave traders B. M. and W. L. Campbell. They had
a large jail in Baltimore for their purchases in Maryland. In New
Orleans they had another, where most of their sales were made. The
Doctor went to Baltimore once or twice a week to examine and prescribe
for the Campbell slaves. In the farming season, when there was need of
extra labor, he would bring some of them out to work for him.
Mrs. Salmon, a Quaker, told Fowler that Dr. Willis contemplated
selling him the following winter, probably because some less valuable
slave could do the work. All slaves dreaded being sold, for, if young
and strong, it usually meant being "sold South." So in the spring of
1858 Fowler made up his mind to run away. He and another slave started
one Saturday night and safely walked to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania by
the early morning.
Promptly on Monday Dr. Willis issued a handbill offering $200 reward
for the recovery of his runaway. Fowler knew no details of this until
perhaps thirty or forty years later, when a son of Dr. Willis gave him
one of the handbills. It was shown about 1905 to the present writer
who had it carefully typewritten as to the lines and capitalization,
but the size of the letters could not be reproduced. The original was
duly returned to Fowler, but unfortunately he subsequently lost or
mislaid it. It was tiny for a handbill--only about six inches long and
four inches wide and was worded and lined thus:--
"$200 REWARD!
Ranaway from the subscriber, living at New Market, Frederick Co.,
Md., ON SATURDAY NIGHT, THE 8TH. OF MAY inst., a Negro Man, named
FRED FOWLER, aged about 26 years, five feet ten or eleven inches
high, stout made, dark copper color, round full eye, upper teeth
full and even, has a down look when spoken to, lisps slightly in
his speech, and has small hands; no other marks recollected. Had
on when he left, dark pants and coat and light-made shoes.
The above reward will be given for the arrest of said Negro, if
taken out of the State of Maryland, and his delivery to the
subscriber; or one hundred dollars, if taken in the State, and
secured in jail.
Dr. W. L. Willis.
New Market, Md., May 10, 1858."
The same wording long appeared as an advertisement in the Baltimore
_Sun_. Both were all in vain.
A free Negro, associated with the underground railroad in Pennsylvania
and working as a mason for a company of men who built large barns in
Maryland, had told Fowler to report in Gettysburg to a man by the name
of Mathers. The runaways did so and were concealed until the next
night. They then walked to Carlisle, Pennsylvania. There they remained
that day. During the night they went on to Harrisburg. Some
Abolitionists took charge of them and put them on a farm about eight
miles from town. In August, they proceeded to Bradford, Canada West.
There Fowler found an aunt who had run away with a party of twelve,
many years before. He worked on a farm until May, 1862, when he went
to the American Hotel in Lockport, New York to become a waiter. In
August, 1863 he left for Hartford, Connecticut, to enlist in the 29th
Regiment of Connecticut Colored Volunteers. The regiment was turned
over to the Government in March, 1864, and was then taken by boat from
Hartford to Annapolis Maryland, and there transhipped to Beaufort,
South Carolina.
At Beaufort they had a few little skirmishes. Once they were about
surrounded by the Confederates for five days, and were without food a
part of the time. The Confederates were between Beaufort and Hilton
Head, but did not know to what disadvantage they had the colored
regiment.
In the summer of 1864 the regiment was moved to Bermuda Hundred,
Virginia. On the day of landing they took part in an engagement at
Malvern Hill. They were in several skirmishes and were finally
attacked at Strawberry Plains. From there they were taken to the
Weldon railway, for the purpose of cutting off the southern connection
with Richmond. They fought there three days and tore up the track. To
make the rails useless they were heated red-hot and twisted around
trees. Later, the regiment was taken back to the neighborhood of Fort
Harrison, on which they made an attack. After a few weeks they took
the Fort and remained there all winter and until a few days before the
fall of Richmond.
Early in April, 1865, on a Sunday afternoon the troops in Fort
Harrison saw a large mass of Confederates marching in plain view in
front of them. "We thought there must be a million of them marching
there!" It was supposed that the Confederates intended soon to attack
Fort Harrison. The occupants of the Fort sent out videttes so as to
give the earliest possible notice of it. Those in the Fort made every
preparation for resistence. But there was no attack. That night three
unarmed Confederates came to the videttes and reported that there were
no troops in front; that the Confederate lines had long been very thin
and that the Federals could march right into Richmond.
This was found to be true, for on the following day the Union troops
started for the Confederate capitol. Fowler's regiment reached there
on the morning of the fall and went to State House Hill, but camped
close to Libby prison, down near the river. A few days later--a day or
two before Lincoln was shot--they left Richmond for City Point, where
they first heard of his death. From there they were taken to Point
Lookout, Maryland, to aid in the search for Booth. After Booth was
captured, the regiment returned to City Point, and a week later was
ordered to Brownsville, Texas, for the special purpose of getting the
supplies,--a great collection of cotton, wagons and all sorts of
munitions--that General Kirby Smith had tried to take to Mexico. The
regiment remained there until the 15th day of October, when Fowler and
the others were mustered out of the United States service.
In the spring of 1876 he was appointed a messenger in the Library of
Congress, which was then and until about 1900 in the Capitol just west
of the great dome. He was a strong willing worker. Doctor Spofford
relied on him to find and bring forth from dark and dusty storerooms
the files of old newspapers when needed for historical purposes. By
the time that the magnificent Library of Congress building was
completed and things were in shipshape, Fowler had reached an age when
he was entitled to and given less heavy work.
For nearly twenty years he was daily at the door of the Reading Room
to admit readers and to refer sightseers to the gallery for the best
view of the grand and beautiful rotunda. He was always so cheerful and
polite that it gave one pleasure to see and exchange greetings with
him. His remarkable and most honorable career caused him to be
regarded with much wonder by persons of the young generation,
especially if from the North. By the whole staff of the Library and by
the many research workers that daily came there, he was regarded with
a fondness such as was felt toward no one else.
He died October 9, 1919, at the advanced age of about 87 and was
buried in the great National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. There
his grave and name can be seen among those of men who fought to
preserve the Union, and in doing so destroyed slavery--the "sacred
institution" of the old South and "the corner-stone" of the
short-lived Confederacy. Fred Fowler served his race and his country
well and he was well rewarded.
F. B.
SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE DEATH OF RACHEL PARKER.
On the 21st of February 1918 the _Oxford Press_ carried the following:
The death on Monday in Oxford of Rachel Parker Wesley, an aged colored
woman, recalls an incident of the slavery times previous to the War of
the Rebellion, in which Rachel was a principal figure. The question of
slavery was paramount then, and later became one of the burning issues
of the war. Maryland was a slave State, and an ablebodied negro man
was worth in the slave market as much as $1400, while a girl often
brought $1000. Frequently negroes were taken from the free State of
Pennsylvania across into Maryland, where they might be sold.
Rachel Parker lived at the time with the family of Joseph Miller, on
the farm in West Nottingham now owned by S. S. Boyd.
It was on the last day of December, 1850, that she was kidnapped from
this home by three men, Thomas McCrery, John Merritt and George
Alexander, the latter figuring as the driver of the wagon. It was
about 11 o'clock in the morning.
The team took a road, now vacated, that led to old Pine Grove school
house. They found the road blocked by the wagon of James Pollock, and
his son Samuel, who were loading wood. On demand that the wagon be
removed so that they could pass at once, James Pollock refused, and
when McCrery drew a sword he brandished his axe.
The kidnappers then turned and made their way to Nottingham, and by
way of Stubbs' Mill, Chrome and Calvert, proceeded to Perryville, from
which point they entrained for Baltimore.
When the capture of Rachel Parker became known there was considerable
excitement in the community. Rachel was born of free parents and that
she had been carried away into possible slavery was too much for the
sturdy abolitionists of that day.
A party of eight was organized to go in pursuit. They were Joseph
Miller, William Morris, Samuel Pollock, Lewis Melrath, Jesse B. Kirk,
Abner B. Richardson, Benjamin Furniss, H. G. Coates.
These men went to Perryville and that night took a train for
Baltimore. They went to a house of detention or slave pen in that city
where runaway slaves were kept. While they were there McCrery appeared
with Rachel Parker in a wagon.
The Pennsylvanians protested that the girl was not a slave, but was
free, and the authorities ordered that she be held and given a trial.
The Pennsylvanians met an acquaintance named Francis Cochran, who
resided in Baltimore. When he learned their errand he told them they
were in mortal danger, and advised them to get at once on a train and
not leave it until they arrived at Perryville.
Joseph Miller left the car, or the train, and was not seen again by
his friends, although search was made for him. His body was found some
hours afterwards, hanging in a woods near Stemmer's Run. Just how he
met his death is a mystery that never was made clear. It was claimed
at the time that investigation proved that Miller was dead before his
body was hanged to the tree, and that he had been poisoned.
Rachel Parker was gone more than 14 months, most of that time locked
up in Baltimore. Her trial was postponed from time to time.
It was claimed in Baltimore that Rachel Parker was a member of a
family named Crocus, and that they were runaway slaves. In an effort
to prove this, people were sent to this neighborhood to try to
identify other members of the Parker family as in reality belonging to
the Crocus family. The attorney who ably defended Rachel Parker was
Lloyd Norris. She was acquitted, and she is said to have been the only
person so freed in a slave State.
For more than 40 years Rachel lived with the Coates family, near
Glenroy. To Granville Coates, Sr., _The Press_ is indebted for the
details of the affair, which are from records which he has faithfully
preserved.
On the 28th of February, 1918 the _Oxford Press_ carried the
following:
The account of the death in Oxford of Rachel Parker Wesley, an aged
colored woman, in last week's _Oxford Press_, has been closely read.
Some older citizens, in town and country, recall the circumstances and
the high excitement that prevailed at the time Rachel Parker, then a
girl, was kidnapped.
Of all the men who desired that justice be done Rachel Parker, who was
kidnapped by Thomas McCrery and others on the last day of 1851, from
the home of Joseph C. Miller, West Nottingham, township, not one took
deeper and more determined interest in the matter than the late Dr.
John Miller Dickey of Oxford. He became a leader in the affair and
repeatedly went to Baltimore, where Rachel was in jail, and got a
number of the most influential citizens of Baltimore interested to
have justice brought about. The late Levi K. Brown of Lancaster county
was also active in the matter and rendered much valuable assistance.
The matter had now become so generally known that effectual help was
received from the late Senator Henry S. Evans, West Chester, who
brought the circumstances to the attention of our Legislature, by
which means the case became a State affair.
Dr. Dickey and others attended the trial in January, 1853. The
proceedings lasted eight days, during which, as one of the claimant's
attorneys expressed it, "an entire neighborhood" appeared and "an
avalanche of testimony" was borne to the girl's free birth. Evidence
was produced from Baltimore that she was not the girl who had been
lost. Forty-nine witnesses were heard and many more were ready when a
compromise was proposed and agreed to. Notwithstanding this
overwhelming evidence, there was still some fear that a Baltimore jury
would decide against the girl, and it was thought wise to give way.
The chief end was gained: Rachel Parker was declared free born; the
same jury gave a verdict also for her sister Elizabeth who had been
found in New Orleans and brought North, and the two were restored to
their mother.
The costs of the trial were divided, these amounting to $1000, besides
$3000 expended by the State of Pennsylvania and heavy outlays by
friendly citizens of Baltimore and Chester County.
Judge Bell of West Chester, one of the Pennsylvania counsel, wrote
thus after all was over to the West Chester _Republican and Democrat_:
"Too much praise cannot be accorded to the host of witnesses from
Chester County and the neighboring districts, who promptly on the call
of justice and humanity, exchanged the comforts of home for the
inconvenience and supposed dangers of sojourn in a strange city, under
circumstances well calculated to deter a merely selfish person from
obeying the summons. This praise is peculiarly due to the numerous
ladies of our county whose sense of right overcame every merely
personal consideration."
The "supposed dangers" referred to, of which the murder of Joseph C.
Miller was a sign, were realized by Dr. Dickey, who his son, the late
J. M. C. Dickey, Esq., told, "would go to trial in Baltimore, not
knowing how he would come back. Once he was very near death at their
hands."
The concluding local action of this case of wide agitation was as
follows:
West Nottingham, Jan. 17, 1853.
At a meeting of the witnesses and others who attended the Court of
Baltimore county, in the case of the girls, Rachel and Elizabeth
Parker, the following was passed:
"Whereas, By the blessings of Divine Providence, the two girls
Rachel and Elizabeth Parker, have been restored to the State of
Pennsylvania, where they were threatened, by a lawless and unjust
removal; and whereas, similar cases are likely to occur, and in
the excited state of public opinion on the subject of Slavery,
both in the Northern and Southern States, difficulties exist in
the way of the administration of law and justice where colored
persons are petitioning for their freedom, we regard it as a duty
we owe to those who may be engaged in similar prosecutions, as
well as to those who have mainly aided in obtaining success in
this case to put upon record the following resolutions:
"That we regard with great satisfaction the conduct of the
Executive of our State, who, at the suggestion of the Senator and
Representatives of our county, assumed the control and
responsibilities of the trial; and that we tender our sincere
thanks to the distinguished counsel, Attorney-General Campbell
and Judge Bell, who visited at different times this place to
become familiar with and to give encouragement to the witnesses
to about to testify in another State, thus accomplishing the
object as well by their urbanity as well as by their professional
skill.
"That we express our sincere acknowledgement of the courtesy
shown us by the Court of Baltimore county, both by the bench and
bar and especially to Wm. H. Norris, Esq., for his invaluable
services, associated as counsel with those from our own State.
"That we deplore the death of Joseph C. Miller, a witness in the
first trial before the magistrate's court, and believing, as we
most positively do, that he came to his death violently by other
hands than his own, we implore the Executive to offer a suitable
reward, in addition to that offered by his friends, for the
discovery and apprehension of his murderers.
JOHN M. DICKEY,
_Chairman_."
HUGH ROWLAND, _Secretary_.
It may be added that the Grand Jury of Chester county brought in a
true bill against Thomas McCrery and Merritt, his associate, for
kidnapping. But Governor Lowe of Maryland refused the requisition for
apprehension and delivery, going behind the record, contrary to the
law, as Governor Bigler of Pennsylvania demonstrated clearly in the
published correspondence.
SOME OHIO NEGRO PIONEERS
In 1835 some of the earnest free colored people of Virginia were
interested in reports of the great opportunities for colored folk in
the State of Ohio, so often called the Buckeye State. At that time
there were no railroads from the slave State Virginia to Ohio, a free
State. But the determined freemen and their families undeterred by
this drawback went forth in covered wagon trains.
One of the earlier groups of pioneers consisted of several families
from and near Richmond Virginia; namely, Abraham Depp and his wife
Mary Goode-Depp, Elias Litchford, James Poindexter, and Archer Goode,
with their families, and Samuel Willis Whyte accompanied by his son
bearing the same name, all of whom settled in central Ohio, not far
from Columbus. Abraham Depp purchased five or six hundred acres, south
of Delaware; Litchford about the same number of acres nearer Columbus;
the elder Whyte, being a mechanic, purchased only about two hundred
acres. Samuel W. Whyte Jr. later left his trade for the profession of
medicine and became noted as a specialist of chronic diseases. Dr.
Samuel Whyte married Miss Louisa Goode, daughter of Archer Goode. She
was of a peculiar sweet disposition, a model companion, and a loving
earnest mother. She as often called Saint Louisa by those who knew her
best. She died in 1905.
The Doctor always kept in touch with the leading thoughts and
achievements of his day. He was a brilliant scholar, a great logician,
with a keen wit, having a dash of eccentricity throughout; in fact, he
was a born philosopher, and a man of many parts. He was educated for
missionary work to Liberia, but he remained at home and became one of
the landmarks of Central Ohio in politics and medicine. He was born in
1815 and died in 1902, when, as it happened in the case of his wife
whom he survived seven years, he was borne to his final resting place
from the home where he had lived since 1835. Dr. Whyte and his wife
had a large family of whom the writer, H. Georgiana Whyte, alone bears
the family name. The old homestead is retained by the descendents.
All through Ohio settled many such high minded, thoroughgoing
Christian Negro families that helped to build up Ohio and left large
families, of worthy descendants. Of this pioneer group one of the most
prominent characters was James Poindexter, who sold his farm of forty
acres and went to Columbus, Ohio to live. He was a playmate and always
an ardent friend of Dr. Samuel Willis Whyte, Jr. There James
Poindexter became a Baptist minister and during later years became one
of the foremost citizens of Columbus, having become a member of the
city council and for over forty years served as pastor of the most
prominent Baptist church in the city. He was in great demand as an
orator before and after the Civil War. He lived to a ripe old age.
H. GEORGIANA WHYTE.
THE ALEXANDERS
Henry Alexander a mulatto who lived at Mayslick, Kentucky, and who
purchased his freedom when twenty-one years of age, sent his two
oldest daughters to school in Philadelphia as early as 1846. He was a
store-keeper and grain merchant. In the fifties he sent three younger
ones to Oberlin, Ohio where Louisa Alexander was graduated in 1862.
She and her older sister Rachel taught in the South during the
Reconstruction period and had many thrilling experiences. In several
instances their schools were closed and they were given so many hours
to leave town. Maria Ann, who went to school in Philadelphia, taught a
while in Covington, Kentucky, strange as it may seem, before the war.
She was later married to the late Judge Mifflin W. Gibbs, an
unflinching advocate of human rights.
Q. G. H.
BOOK REVIEWS
_The Correspondence of Robert M. T. Hunter_, 1826-1876, Volume
II. Edited by CHARLES HENRY AMBLER. Washington, 1918. Pp. 381.
This comprises the twelfth report of the Historical Manuscript
Commission and is published as the Annual Report of the American
Historical Association for the year 1916. The contents are a callendar
of papers and addresses by Robert M. T. Hunter heretofore printed, a
callendar of letters to and from him printed in this volume, and the
correspondence of the statesman. The work of the author appears to be
more of that of a collector than that of an editor, for the volume has
very little annotation. In the short preface the author undertakes to
give the place of Robert M. T. Hunter in the history of his State and
of the nation and to evaluate his correspondence. The excuse for such
a short sketch is that Robert M. T. Hunter did not stand out as a
great statesman himself but owes his importance to following the
leadership of John C. Calhoun, and the period in which he lived was
one of declining influence for his State and later one of civil strife
between the great sections of the nation. Although he served the
public almost continuously during the period of thirty years he held
only a few positions of trust, most of his service being in the United
States Senate.
These letters, as a whole, are unusually valuable in that they throw
light on various problems perplexing the country during this critical
period of American history between the year 1826 and 1876. Students of
Negro history will be primarily interested in the letters in which we
find mention of the African trade with Brazil, his speeches on
slavery, on the fight for Missouri and Kansas, and on the abolition
movement. His correspondence shows, moreover, what he thought about
the extension of slavery, the stealing of slaves, legislation
regarding the institution, and the power of Congress in the
territories. There are references to the Compromise of 1850, the
execution of the Fugitive Slave Law, the struggle in Kansas, and the
demands of the South in the great crisis. The space which he gives to
the opinions and the doctrines advanced by Stephen A. Douglas, the
rights of the slave States in the territories, the attitude of
Seward, and the election of 1860 is considerable.
As Robert M. T. Hunter lived to see the Reconstruction worked out, it
is interesting to note his attitude on the part he felt that the Negro
should play in it. He did not believe that the elevation of the Negro
to the status of citizenship with the right to vote or hold office
would be good for this country. He referred frequently to the
experience of Negro governments in Haiti and Jamaica to support his
theory. He felt that it would result in the formation of the black
man's party which would persecute the white man and the Negro control
of affairs would result in the destruction of all the elements of
material prosperity and moral progress. He believed that, as it
happened in these islands, the black man's party would so persecute
the whites that they would be driven from the country, just as the
Haitians had persecuted the whites and made it illegal for them to
hold real estate in the island. Even if the Negroes did get control of
the Southern States and persecute the whites in the way that he
suspected that they would, it would only be a matter of time before
the North would rise up against the blacks thus exalted and overthrow
them. Hunter disclaimed any hostility toward the Negroes but insisted
that their welfare was to be promoted in a way that was contrary to
their own future plans.
* * * * *
_Finding a Way Out._ By ROBERT RUSSA MOTON, An Autobiography.
Doubleday, Page and Company, New York, 1920. Pp. 295.
This story, according to the author, was written because of the
repeated and urgent solicitation of those of his friends believing
that such a story would serve an essential purpose in helping to a
clearer understanding of the hopes and aspirations of the Negro and
the difficulties which they have had to overcome. The author has
endeavored to record these events which have given character and color
to his life and at the same time to reflect the impressions made upon
his mind by experiences that he could not always reconcile with what
he had learned of American ideals and standards.
The story begins with an interesting account of the coming of the
ancestors of Dr. Moton out of Africa to serve in the new world. There
is a short sketch of early life on the Virginia plantation where his
parents first connected themselves with America, covering the
boy-hood, early training and first impressions of the author of this
work. The chapter treating of the Reconstruction period, when as a
youth the author was seeking an education and had to withstand the
temptation of being drawn into the inviting political world of these
days of a seeming golden age, adds increasing interest. Following this
there appears an account of his career at Hampton in the connection
with General Armstrong as an outstanding figure of inspiration and
love. How the author at the close of his student days solved the
problem of the choice of a life work and became a leader among the
black, the white, and the red, brings the reader to the consideration
of actual achievement. Serving Hampton as a representative travelling
through the North and the South, Dr. Moton found his way into larger
fields of usefulness by touching the life of the Negro in all of its
ramifications.
The close connection between Dr. Moton and Dr. Booker T. Washington
whom he succeeded, is made the important feature of the book. The
comradeship of these two men and their cooperation in a common cause
stand out as eloquent facts leading the way to the choice of Dr. Moton
as the successor of his great friend at Tuskegee. In this he states
how he has taken up this unusually hard task and solved the problems
which have come his way. The calls upon him for service in other
fields requiring his time in all matters touching the uplift of the
Negro race show an enlarging usefulness of the man. Among these
efforts may be mentioned the work in connection with the National
Urban League, the Young Men's Christian Association, the war work
movements, and his mission to the colored soldiers in France after the
war. On the whole, this story of the direct descendant of an African
brought to a tobacco plantation and finally rising to a position of
usefulness and honor, is of much value. It not only throws light on
the history of that group of which he formed a part in a State
considered one of the most important in the Union, but served also as
a striking example of the ability of the Negro in spite of all of the
handicaps against which he must struggle.
* * * * *
_Unwritten History._ By BISHOP L. J. COPPIN. The A. M. E. Book
Concern, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1920. Pp. 375.
Here we have under this peculiar caption the auto-biography of a man
who for a number of years has figured very largely in the African
Methodist Episcopal Church. In his preface he says that, intermingled
with this unwritten history, is the story of his life. He frankly
states that it is all from memory with the exception of a number of
verifications. The effort toward a thorough biography has not been the
objective of the author, for as he states he has merely written down
those things that impressed him most and facts that seem to him the
most significant among the things to be noted.
The work begins with an account of his birth and boyhood in Frederick
Town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where Frederick Douglas was
born. There is much information about the life of Frederick Town
referring to particular places along the rivers and bays and various
persons who figured in the life of these people. Bishop Coppin directs
attention to the social, moral and intellectual condition of the State
at the time of his birth, giving full account of the religious
atmosphere in which he lived and the particular strivings of his
oppressed people.
Leaving this phase of the story one finds the book more interesting in
that part discussing the events leading up to the Civil War and the
rôle which the Negroes played in that drama. The sketch of the
situation after the Civil War is equally well set forth because of the
increasing power of the author during this period to appreciate and
participate in the larger things which concerned the Negro people. His
call to the ministry, service in various fields and the election to
the bishopric add further interest to the story. How in his travels in
this country and abroad men and things impressed him, constitute
another value of the autobiography. The book closes with a chapter
giving a view of the domestic life of Bishop Coppin, making honorable
mention of his family.
For the popular reader this book may appear to be distinctly rough in
style and certain details may prove to be tiresome in that the author
omitted a good many things that some persons might want to learn and
drifted into those things which, by the average reader, may not be
considered worth while. On the whole, however, the scientific student
will find this autobiography just what it is entitled, _Unwritten
History_. Here is an opportunity to learn of the struggles of a Negro
during the period of great handicap and to understand his reaction to
what was going on in the world about him. It will be from such
biographies that some one in the future will have to write an actual
history of the Negro race to set forth exactly what this group has
thought and felt and done. A book of this sort, therefore, must have a
value. It is to be hoped that other distinguished churchmen and
Negroes who have thus touched the life of the race will emulate the
example of Bishop Coppin in leaving a written record.
* * * * *
_Negro Migration during the War._ By EMMETT J. SCOTT,
Secretary-Treasurer of Howard University. Oxford University
Press, New York, 1920. Pp. 189.
Under the imprint of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,
and the Editorship of Professor Kinley, Mr. Emmett J. Scott has
brought out a monograph study of Negro Migration during the War, based
upon the careful and wisely distributed observation and records of
several collaborative agents and agencies. The subject is of too great
and too immediate economic and social importance to have waited for
the final interpretation as to results or the finer analysis as to
causes which must ultimately be given it. The entire series, in fact,
modestly styles itself a series of preliminary economic studies; and
as such, Volume XVI presents a sanely proportioned, clearly expounded,
and systematic survey of the vital and outstanding facts of one of the
most significant movements in the recent economic life of America.
Profounder consequences may ensue from this movement of the Negro
population, which, though started by war conditions, has by no means
halted with the war, than can be realized on superficial observation.
In this light, Mr. Scott's diagnosis is as important as his chronicle
of the facts. The reaction of the Negro masses away from untoward and
repressing social conditions and their awakening to the simple but
effective expedient of carrying their labor to better markets, are the
significantly new features of the after-war aspects of the Negro
problem. Economic adjustment, in most respects automatic--and
fortunately so--would be the controlling factor were there not
considerable evidence to show that the efficient causes of the
movement are social. In which case, as the concluding chapter
suggests, better living conditions, a more liberal social attitude,
improved interracial feeling will prove to be the only stabilizing
remedy. That the South has awakened to the realization of this, and is
about to apply to the situation more constructive and well-intentioned
effort than hitherto, is the confident belief and optimistic message
of the writer.
Reactions and effects of the Exodus upon northern community conditions
have not been gone into as thoroughly as the reactions upon conditions
in the South; though there is evidence pointing on the whole to
salutary effects in both sections. Certainly the study serves to call
timely attention without undue alarmist effect to very momentous
changes, and should be read by every alert, public-minded citizen.
In such delicate issues, however, facts outweigh opinions. Mr. Scott
has wisely struck the balance in favor of a dispassionate recital of
facts. It is a positive gain and welcome change of tone in the recent
discussion of racial issues to note in this study, as in Carl
Sandburg's _Chicago Riots_, the growing tendency to be objective and
to leave conclusions to the intelligence of one's readers. Indeed,
since it is facts that are of paramount interest, it is regrettable
that, with the great resources of the foundation, more explicit
statistics concerning the movement could not have been compiled. It is
this aspect of the subject which in consequence calls for further
treatment. Without the scientific pretensions, therefore, of Mr.
Epstein's intensive study of the Negro migrant or Dr. Woodson's
historical survey, the book, as a capable popular treatment of the
public questions and social issues involved in the recent migration of
the Negro population, serves its own distinctive purpose, and achieves
a measure of real public service.
ALAIN LOCKE.
NOTES
On the 18th and 19th of November the Association for the Study of
Negro Life and History will hold its annual meeting in Washington.
This will be a convocation of teachers and scholars throughout the
United States, now giving attention to research and instruction in
this field. The management of the Association is endeavoring to make
this meeting one of the most representative ever assembled.
The purpose of the meeting is to promote the collection of
sociological and historical documents, to stimulate studies in this
field through clubs and schools, and finally to bring about more
harmony between the races by interpreting the one to the other.
The reports of the work accomplished by the Association during the
past year will be made, further plans for the more successful
prosecution of the work will be devised and a number of instructive
addresses will be delivered by some of the most distinguished men of
the country.
Among the speakers will be A. B. Hart, Professor of History at Harvard
University, Franz Boas, Professor of Ethnology at Columbia University,
L. Hollingsworth Wood, President of the Urban League, and Oswald
Garrison Villard, the Editor of the _Nation_. These addresses will
cover almost every phase of Negro life and history.
* * * * *
Three important works bearing on the Negro have recently come from the
press. Among these are _The Voice of the Negro_, by Robert T. Kerlin,
Professor of English, Virginia Military Institute, published by E. P.
Dutton and Company, New York; _The Negro Faces America_, by Herbert J.
Seligman, formerly a member of the editorial staff of the _New York
Evening Times_ and the _New Republic_, published by Harper and
Brothers, New York; and the _Republic of Liberia_, being a general
description of the Negro republic with its history, commerce,
agriculture, flora and fauna, and present methods of administration,
by R. C. F. Maugham, Consul General at Monrovia, published by Charles
Scribner's Sons, New York. Reviews of these books will appear in the
next number of the _Journal of Negro History_.
_The United States in Our Times, 1865-1920_, by Paul L. Haworth, is
the title of a work recently brought out by Charles Scribner's Sons.
Covering the period during which the Negroes have had a chance to play
a part in freedom, it contains some information and comment which will
be mentioned in this publication.
During the academic year 1920-1921 Dr. C. G. Woodson will, in the
capacity of Dean, reorganize the College Department of the West
Virginia Collegiate Institute. He will endeavor to finish this work
during one or two years, at the expiration of which he plans to devote
all of his time to research and publication. This new task of the
Director will not necessitate any change in the management of the
Journal of Negro History. The editorial office will remain in
Washington as formerly.
* * * * *
[Transcriber's Notes:
Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as
possible, including obsolete and variant spellings and other
inconsistencies.
The transcriber noted the following issues and made changes as
indicated to the text to correct obvious errors:
1. p. 6, Duplicate footnote markers for footnote #20
2. p. 30, beseiged --> besieged
3. p. 60, heriditary --> hereditary
4. p. 67, Duplicate footnote markers for footnote #6
5. p. 68, not the case. --> not the case."
6. p. 70, No footnote marker for footnote #9.
7. p. 71, Multiple footnote markers for footnote #10
8. p. 71,72, Multiple footnote markers for footnote #11
9. p. 72,73, Multiple footnote markers for footnote #12
10. p. 76, No footnote marker for footnote #14.
11. p. 82, No footnote marker for footnote #21.
12. p. 89, Convenion --> Convention
13. p. 104, Gleaves --> Gleaves,
14. p. 104, Thomas --> Thomas,
15. p. 115, Misisssippi --> Mississippi
16. p. 121, goverenment --> government
17. p. 124, He said: There --> He said: "There
18. p. 184, chieflly --> chiefly
19. p. 187, esitmate --> estimate
20. p. 194, serivce --> service
21. p. 223, Footnote #30, Drewery -->Drewry
22. p. 243, Leglistature --> Legislature
23. p. 263, Signé) --> (Signé)
24. p. 273, Footnote #5, Loftt --> Lofft
25. p. 273, Footnote #10, Holdworth's --> Holdsworth's
26. p. 276, Longueil --> Longueuil
27. p. 277, Two footnote markers #15 are found on page 277. As
footnote #15 appears on the previous page, the ones on
page 277 have been numbered #16 to match footnote text.
28. p. 280, Duplicate footnote markers for footnote #18
29. p. 280, Duplicate footnote markers for footnote #19
30. p. 285, Duplicate footnote markers for footnote #27
31. p. 286, Footnote #30, wha --> who
32. p. 289, attenton --> attention
33. p. 289,290 Page contains footnote #37 text only.
34. p. 295, Januaray --> January
35. p. 295, No footnote marker for footnote #9.
36. p. 302, behvaiour --> behaviour
37. p. 303, Gabette --> Gazette
38. p. 309, goal --> gaol
39. p. 318, No footnote marker for footnote #5.
40. p. 326, Footnote #16, Mich. Hist. Coll. 1 --> Mich. Hist. Coll. I
41. p. 330, No footnote marker for footnote #28.
42. p. 332, Footnote #34 has missing page number.
43. p. 332, Removed reference to itself in footnote #39.
44. p. 332, Signé) --> (Signé)
45. p. 337, Footnote #40, Roght --> Right
46. p. 337, Removed reference to itself in footnote #46.
47. p. 338, Footnote text has no number or marker. Used #46a.
48. p. 343, Footnote #8 has missing page number.
49. p. 346, Executive Council --> Executive Council)
50. p. 352, crimes is --> crimes in
51. p. 358, Page contains footnote #31 text only.
52. p. 361, Footnote #4, George 111 --> George III
53. p. 361, Footnote #5 has missing page number.
54. p. 367, mainfested --> manifested
55. p. 368, Footnote #13, babendo --> habendo
56. p. 370, Footnote #16 has missing page number.
57. p. 382, Jouranl --> Journal
58. p. 409, acquiesed --> acquiesced
59. p. 410, Cockrane --> Cochrane
60. p. 411, Original says November 22, 1914.
61. p. 435, therefor --> therefore
62. p. 444, No footnote marker for footnote #9.
63. p. 456, de-departed --> departed
64. p. 459, lieutenant-governnorship --> lieutenant-governorship
65. p. 464, it it not? --> is it not?
66. p. 469, (Signed --> (Signed)
67. p. 484, arces --> acres
68. p. 484, Secreary --> Secretary
69. p. 485, Philadlphia --> Philadelphia
70. p. 487, pupose --> purpose
71. p. 491, regretable --> regrettable
Also, many occurrences of mismatched single and double quotes remain
as published.
End of Transcriber's Notes]
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Journal of Negro History, Volume
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