Project Gutenberg's The Journal of Negro History, Volume 7, 1922, by Various
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Title: The Journal of Negro History, Volume 7, 1922
Author: Various
Release Date: February 1, 2008 [EBook #24484]
Language: English
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THE JOURNAL
OF
NEGRO HISTORY
Volume VII
1922
Table of Contents
Vol VII--January, 1922--No. 1
Slave Society on the Southern Plantation FRANCES L. HUNTER
Evolution of the Negro Baptist Church WALTER H. BROOKS
Early Negro Education in West Virginia C. G. WOODSON
First Negro Churches in Washington JOHN W. CROMWELL
Documents
Communications
Book Reviews
Notes
Proceedings of Annual Meeting
Vol VII--April, 1922--No. 2
Negro Congressmen a Generation After ALRUTHEUS A. TAYLOR
Priority of the Silver Bluff Church WALTER H. BROOKS
The Negroes in Mauritius A. F. FOKEER
Documents
Book Reviews
Notes
Vol VII--July, 1922--No. 3
The Anderson Fugitive Case FRED LANDON
A Negro Senator G. DAVID HOUSTON
Lincoln's Emancipation Plan HARRY S. BLACKISTON
The Journal of Isaaco LOUIS N. FEIPEL
Communications
Documents
Book Reviews
Notes
Vol VII--October, 1922--No. 4
Brazilian and United Status Slavery Compared HERBERT B. ALEXANDER
Origins of Abolition in Santo Domingo GEORGE W. BROWN
Canadian Negroes and the Rebellion of 1837 FRED LANDON
Lott Cary, the Colonizing Missionary MILES MARK FISHER
Communications
Documents
Book Reviews
Notes
THE JOURNAL
OF
NEGRO HISTORY
VOL. VII--JANUARY, 1922--NO. 1
SLAVE SOCIETY ON THE SOUTHERN PLANTATION
In the year 1619, memorable in the history of the United States, a
Dutch trading vessel carried to the colonists of Virginia twenty
Negroes from the West Indies and sold them as slaves, thus laying the
foundation of slave society in the American colonies. In the
seventeenth century slavery made but little progress in these parts of
America, and during that whole period not more than twenty-five
thousand slaves were brought to the colonies to work in the tobacco
and rice fields of the South or to serve as maids, butlers, and
coachmen in the North. The eighteenth century, however, saw a rapid
increase in slavery, until the census of 1790, much to the surprise of
most observers, showed a slave population of 679,679 living in every
State and territory of the country except Massachusetts and Maine.
With the extensive development of various industries in the colonies,
slavery soon left the North and was used exclusively in the South.
There are several reasons for this shift. In the first place, the
colonies of the North were settled by people from the lower and middle
classes, who had been accustomed to working for themselves and who
thus had no use for slaves, while the South was settled largely by
adventurers, who had never worked and who looked upon labor as
dishonorable. In the second place, the North had a temperate climate
in which any man could safely work, while the heat of the South was so
intense that a white man endangered his life by working in it, whereas
the Negro was protected by facility of acclimation. Another cause was
the difference in soil. The soil of the South was favorable to the
growth of cotton, tobacco, rice, and sugar, the cultivation of which
crops required large forces of organized and concentrated labor, which
the slaves supplied. On the other hand, the soil of the North favored
the raising of cereals, which required neither organized nor
concentrated labor; for one man working alone was able to produce more
than one man working in a group: and thus slave labor was of little or
no advantage to the North. Then, too, its soil, lacking the fertility
of that of the South, required considerable fertilizing, which slave
labor did not have the intelligence to learn. Thus in 1750 the slaves
included three per cent of the population of the New England colonies,
nine per cent of the middle colonies, and twenty-five per cent of
those south of the Potomac River.[1] By the end of the eighteenth
century every State north of Maryland, with the exception of New
Jersey, had provided for the immediate or gradual abolition of
slavery, while the rise of the cotton industry, quickened by the
invention of the cotton gin in 1793, had bound the institution on the
South.
In order to understand the institutions of the South, it is first
necessary to know something about the dominating class of people. The
planters, numbering in 1860 about 384,750 and owning 2,308,518
slaves,[2] were first in the social scale and controlled affairs.
"They included an aristocracy or gentry reflecting distinctions of
colonial government, and expanding under influences that prevented an
amalgamation of widely separated elements."[3]
The home of the planter was usually a large country house of ten or
twelve rooms, situated on an elevation, or river bluff. The house was
surrounded by a large porch, almost as tall as the house itself, the
roofs of which were supported by rows of large white columns. Inside
the house there was a large hall, with a wide stairway leading to
another hall on the second floor. Opening from the hall on the first
floor were the parlors, library and dining room, and, on the second
floor, the living rooms of the family. The ceilings were high, and the
windows tall and wide. The carpets were very plain, but very heavy,
while on the walls were portraits of ancestors, of Washington, or of
Calhoun. The house was surrounded by beautiful lawns with tall
spreading trees and sometimes marble statues.[4] The home of the
planter was indeed picturesque.
The typical planter's family was composed of about twelve sons and
daughters, a "tall, lank, and rather weatherworn gentleman, and a
slender, soft-voiced, weary-looking mother, unless one counts the
inevitable guest or the old-maiden cousin, who, like the furniture or
the servants, always formed part of a planter's household."[5] The
planter, the master of the plantation, was usually well educated,
honorable, and generous. His chief work was managing the plantation.
He planned, ordered, and saw to the performance of the work. He also
spent much time engaging in politics, caring more for the honor of the
public station than for the remuneration, and often went on sporting
trips, being used to out-of-door life from boyhood. "The high sense of
personal worth, the habit of command, the tyranny engendered by the
submission of the prostrate race, made the Southern gentleman jealous
in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,"[6] and, as a result, the duel
was very common. Men went about fully armed and used their pistols
with slight provocation. They were used to exercising absolute power
over their dependents and became furious at opposition; thus a quarrel
between one lord and another was, during the earlier period, usually
settled by the pistol.
The mistress, usually mother of a large family of her own and
over-mother of the pickaninnies, was the "chatelaine of the whole
establishment." She supervised the domestic duties, superintended the
household industries, was head nurse for the sick, and instructor in
religion and morals for the family and for the slaves. She was highly
honored and respected by the men, who showed her much consideration.
"No patience was had with plans to bring women into competition with
the men in the public life; but a generalization of the Pauline advice
to the Corinthian church did not hinder the mother from exercising a
gentle but firm sway over her husband and sons, while she set the
example of virtue and modesty for her daughters."[7]
One of the chief characteristics of the Southern people was their
hospitality, which was increased by the fact that they had few
opportunities to extend it. Any traveler was welcome to eat at their
tables, which were always loaded with meats, breads, seasonal
vegetables, relishes, pickles, preserves, jellies, and cakes. He was
willingly entertained until he again took up his journey. The general
effect of the hospitality upon the status of the Southern society was
similar to that of "some rosy afterglow upon a landscape, enhancing
the charm of many features, and making attractive others that under a
cold white light might mar the whole."[8]
Another prominent feature of the planters was their remarkable
progress. Between 1859 and 1860 they had eleven thousand sons and
daughters in Southern colleges, while the enrollment of New England
colleges was only four thousand. The income of the higher institutions
in the South was $700,000, while that of New England was $268,000.
They also boasted of many prominent scholars, such as Francis Lieber,
who was a professor at the University of South Carolina; Mr. Le Conte
and Joseph Senat, who were great geologists and who were also
professors at the University of South Carolina; Messrs. Ruffner,
Wiley, Yansey, and Manly, prominent Southern educators; and many
notable statesmen who went forth from the Southern universities. Does
it not seem natural, then, that the Southern planters, who were so
charming and so progressive, should dominate the political and social
life of the South?
No picture of the planter, however, is "able to be free from the warm,
underlying color, the object upon which his progress rested
advantageously"--slavery. The attractive life of the planter was made
possible by the fact that he had hundreds of slaves to perform the
manual labor. The power of the master over the slave was very similar
to that of a master over an indentured apprentice in Europe. Both the
apprentice and the slave were bound for a term of years, the slave
being bound for life. In both cases the master regulated and
controlled the person and had absolute enjoyment of his labor. The
prominent difference in their power was that the master of a slave
could sell him to another, and had the right to sell his child born
during slavery, while the master of an indentured apprentice could not
so treat him. In both cases the master was an absolute despot.[9]
Since the master, although making the rules of the plantation, was
frequently absent, and since the enforcement of the rules and the
severity of the labor depended upon the overseer, it is helpful to
know the general character of this important power in order to
understand the labor of the slaves. He was usually ignorant,
high-tempered, and brutal. Patrick Henry has described him as a most
"abject, degraded, and unprincipled man." Such men usually worked the
Negroes to the limit, having a Negro driver go with each gang of
slaves in order to secure the utmost labor. In the light of these
facts, it is easy to understand how the slaves might be mistreated, in
spite of the benevolent intentions of the master. Yet the overseers
were not wholly blamable for their cruelty, inasmuch as they were
assured of work only as long as they pleased the master, who judged
them by the good behavior of the slaves, the general condition of the
plantation, and the size and quality of the crop. Calhoun has
truthfully said that by displaying too great an interest in the size
of the crop, the master unconsciously encouraged cruelty by the
overseer.
As to the general severity of the work, writers differ. Rhodes, in his
history of the United States, says that the slaves presented a picture
of sadness and fear, and that they toiled from morning until night,
working on an average of fifteen hours a day, while during the picking
season on the cotton plantations they worked sixteen hours and during
the grinding season on the sugar plantations they labored eighteen
hours daily. On the other hand, Murat, in his history of the United
States, says that the work of the slaves was less strenuous than that
of the free workers of the North, that they worked from sunrise till
three o'clock in the afternoon, resting two hours at noon and
receiving Sunday as a holiday and a half holiday on Saturday, and that
they received many privileges, such as farming a small piece of land
for themselves and selling its products. According to him, the slaves
were supremely happy and contented. Which of these views is correct,
it is difficult to say, for it is doubtless true that some slaves were
driven to the extreme, while others enjoyed a comparatively easy life.
When it is remembered, however, that, since the Constitution forbade
the importation of slaves after 1808, the price of slaves had steadily
risen, it is safe to conclude that the work was no more severe to the
slaves than was agricultural life to the whites in the North, for it
was advantageous to the owner to keep the slave in good health as long
as possible, and this was not to be accomplished by overworking him.
The family life of the Negro was regulated by the planter, who, in
return for the service of the slave, provided him with food,
clothing, shelter, and all the necessities of life. This part of slave
life is very sad. "A slave, his wife, and their children, around that
charmed centre, a family table, with its influence of love,
instruction, discipline, humble as they necessarily would be, yet such
as God has given them, are too seldom seen."[10] Negroes were married
only that slaves might be bred for the master to sell. The Negro
families ranged from fifteen to twenty-five children. A certain man in
Virginia said that he was fortunate "because his women were uncommonly
good breeders; he did not suppose there was a lot of women anywhere
that bred faster than his; he never heard of babies coming faster than
they did on his plantation; and every one of them, in his estimation,
was worth two hundred dollars, as Negroes were selling then, the
moment they drew breath."[11] Many people purchased Negro women
because they were good breeders, making large fortunes by selling
their children. This compulsory breeding naturally crushed the
maternal instincts in Negro women. One month after the birth of a
child, it was taken to a nursery and cared for by a servant until it
was sold, while the mother worked in the field. Thus she neither fed,
clothed, nor controlled her child, and consequently the usual love
between mother and child was absent. This is well illustrated in the
case of a certain slave mother, who, when dying, was asked how she
felt about leaving her children and who replied: "O missis, you will
take care of them; I don't mind them." It has been truthfully said
that the most appalling feature of slavery was the lack of family life
suffered by the Negro.
The Negroes lived in huts near the large house, which were usually log
cabins with board floors and good chimneys and which were generally
comfortable, but which, because of filth and indolence, presented a
foul and wretched appearance. Indeed, the appearance of the slave
himself was unfavorable. Olmsted describes him as "clumsy, awkward,
gross, elephantine in all his expressions and demeanor." The clothing
of the slave was of every variety, from the "smart mulatto lady's
maid, who wore the still fresh dress that had been her mistress's,
down to the pickaninny of three, five, or eight years of age, who went
as nature made him."[12] The little Negroes usually wore only a shirt
that reached to their knees, while the grown ones received two pairs
of shoes, a new suit of clothes, and a hat each year.[13] Their food,
as well as their clothes, varied according to the master, generally
consisting of cornmeal, bacon, and molasses, while on some plantations
they were allowed wheat flour, seasonal vegetables, and even
chicken.[14] It is reasonable to judge that the living of the slaves
was not very high, for it was to the interest of the master to bring
the food and clothing of the slaves down to the lowest cost.
The education of the slaves was very displeasing to the planter. North
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana passed laws
forbidding slaves being taught to read or write, although North
Carolina slaves could be taught arithmetic. It was said that if they
were educated they would read abolition papers and would be
discontented. On the other hand, some of the planters contended that
they should be taught to read in order that they might understand the
Bible. The majority of Negroes, however, were illiterate. As to their
religious education, there was much consideration. Southern people
were very pious and orthodox in their faith and usually baptized their
slaves, taught them the catechism, and then had them confirmed. Their
favorite text, however, was "Servants obey in all things your
masters." One can not blame the planter for his attitude towards the
education of the slave; for, after all, his chief aim was to obtain
the utmost work from him, and what educated man free to read and think
for himself would really be willing to work as a slave for another?
The question which next presents itself is: "How could anyone justify
such a system by which one man is enslaved to the other, sacrificing
his right to life, liberty, and happiness that another might prosper?"
In the first place, the planter argued that the Negroes were naturally
inferior to the white race and could not enjoy the intellectual
pursuits; for they had always been savages, having lived in savagery
in Africa before taken into captivity and, even in the nineteenth
century when freed in Hayti, returning to that state of civilization.
From this fact it was argued that, inasmuch as the Negroes belonged to
an inferior race, it was only natural that men should enslave them and
that they should be controlled by their superiors. Chancellor Harper
said: "It is the order of nature and of Heaven that the being of
superior faculties and knowledge, and therefore of superior power,
should control and dispose of those who are inferior."
The planter argued, secondly, that the Negro was happy and contented
in slavery; for he was secure, working for the master, and in return
receiving good care all of his life. He was relieved of all worry of
sickness or old age, for he knew his master would have to care for
him. In time of business depression it was not he who suffered, but
the master. On the other hand, the free worker of the North labored
for his employer during the best part of his life and then, when no
longer able to work, or during business depression, was turned away
and obliged to suffer from lack of care. It was maintained that the
assertion that the Negro was not happy when he might be whipped was
"pathos misapplied." If a man hired a white laborer who robbed him, he
dismissed the worker, who was then sentenced to prison, thus
disgracing his family, which then suffered from lack of support. On
the other hand, a master could not discharge his slave, but whipped
and corrected him. After the whipping the Negro felt no bad
consequence and his family did not suffer from his wrong doings. It
was asserted that the slave was happy and loved his master as a
father, "looking up to him as his supporter, director, and defender."
Dew inquired: "Why, then, since the slave is happy and happiness is
the great object of all animated creation, should we endeavor to
disturb his contentment by infusing into his mind a vain and
indefinite desire for liberty, a something which he can not comprehend
and which must inevitably dry up every source of his happiness?"
But the chief argument advanced was that slavery was the price of
prosperity and progress of the South. The North had a moderate climate
because of the sea breeze and elevation, and thus white men were able
to till the soil, while the intense heat of the South rendered it
impossible for the white man to work in the fields and made a large
supply of black men necessary. As Harper said, "The products of slave
labor furnished more than two-thirds of the materials of our commerce,
employed in transporting and exchanging; and among the slaveholding
States is to be found the greater market for all the productions of
their industry, of whatever kind. The prosperity of those States,
therefore, and the civilization of their cities have been for the most
part created by the existence of slavery." In addition, slavery
released the planter from manual labor and gave him more time to
cultivate his mind, and thus the Southern planter was highly educated,
cultured, and refined. In the mind of the planter, slavery was "the
defence of human civilization." Students of economics, however, saw
that it was an evil which had to pass away.
FRANCES L. HUNTER
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Muzzey, _History of the United States_, p. 304.
[2] Ingle, _Southern Sidelights_, p. 18.
[3] _Ibid._, p. 18.
[4] Dodd, _Cotton Kingdom_, p. 71.
[5] _Ibid._, p. 72.
[6] Rhodes, _History of the United States_, Vol. I, p. 361.
[7] Ingle, _Southern Sidelights_, p. 45.
[8] _Ibid._, p. 40.
[9] DeBow, _Industrial History of the United States_, Vol. II, p. 303.
[10] Adams, _Three Months in the South_, p. 82.
[11] Rhodes, _History of the United States_, Vol. I, 317.
[12] Hart, _Slavery and Abolition_, p. 100.
[13] Dodd, _Cotton Kingdom_, p. 75.
[14] Hart, _Slavery and Abolition_, p. 100.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE NEGRO BAPTIST CHURCH
The freedom and local democracy of the Baptist Church enabled the
Negroes to participate in the affairs thereof much earlier than they
were so indulged in the other denominations. Pioneer Negro preachers
and churches, therefore, first appeared in the Baptist Church. The
development of the attitude of the Baptist Church toward the Negro,
however, has been by cycles. The relations of the two races in church
matters differ widely from what they were years ago. Members of both
races formerly belonged to the same congregation, which in the
beginning in this country ignored social distinctions. They have since
then undergone radical changes to reach the present situation in which
they have all but severed connection with each other.
In the beginning, the attitude of the so-called Christian whites
toward the early Negro preachers was that of hostility. This
opposition, however, did not come from the Baptists themselves, but
from the master class. George Liele in the West Indies, Andrew Bryan
in Georgia, and David George in Canada had much difficulty in their
pioneer work, suffering many indignities and hardships. Andrew Bryan
was whipped in a cruel and bloody manner but triumphed over
persecution by his bold declaration that he was willing to die for
Jesus. Rev. Mr. Moses, working in Virginia about this time, was often
arrested and whipped for holding meetings. Others were excommunicated,
but such opposition could not stay the progress of the work, for these
pioneer preachers finally succeeded. This is attested by the
resolution of the white Baptist Association expressing deep regret on
the occasion of the death of Andrew Bryan.[1]
When the Baptists had won a standing after the grant of toleration in
the United States and Negroes began to connect themselves with them,
the status of the blacks in the Baptist Church had to be determined.
Was the Negro to be a mere member in the back seat or a participant in
the work of the Church? Under the labors of inspired white men
thousands of Negroes were converted, baptized, set apart as churches,
and instructed in all things which pertain to a life becoming the
gospel of Christ. White persons, on the other hand, have been
converted through the preaching of Negroes, and a few Negroes, even in
the Southland, have been pastors of white Baptist churches. Speaking
of the resignation of Mr. Thomas Armistead, who was pastor of the
Portsmouth Church, in Virginia, until 1792, Robert B. Semple, in his
_History of the Baptists of Virginia_, remarks: "After his resignation
the church declined greatly. They employed Josiah Bishop, a black man
of considerable talents, to preach to them. This, as might have been
expected, could not answer in Virginia."[2]
Another instance of the same character is related by Mr. Semple, in
connection with the Pettsworth or Gloucester Church. In his statement
in regard to the death of Rev. Robert Hudgin, their first pastor, he
observes that "This church continued to prosper moderately until Mr.
Hudgin's death. They were then left without any person to go in and
out before them. They at length did what it would hardly have been
supposed would have been done by Virginians; they chose for their
pastor William Lemon, a man of color." "He also died after several
years. Since then," remarks Mr. Semple, "they have been destitute of
stated ministerial aid." Here, then, is a man of color, who was
pastor of a white Baptist Church in Virginia to the day of his death,
covering a period of "several years."[3]
There is still another case, in which the order of things is reversed,
and this the most remarkable in the history of the South. In 1798
there appeared in southwest Mississippi a colored Baptist preacher,
Joseph Willis, a mulatto, who being duly licensed was very zealous to
exercise his gift as a minister. In 1804 he crossed the Mississippi
River and began a work into which he put a half century of earnest
endeavor. After preaching at Vermillion and Plaquemine Brulé for eight
years, amidst hardships and bitter persecutions, unaided and alone,
and sacrificing a small fortune in the struggle, he was able, with the
aid of visiting ministers, to constitute the first Baptist Church at
Bayou Chicot. Other churches, the fruits of his labors, soon sprang
into being, and in 1818 the Louisiana Baptist Association was
constituted, with these churches as a nucleus. Joseph Willis was
pastor of the church at Bayou Chicot for a number of years. As
moderator of the Louisiana Baptist Association he was honored and
respected--indeed, beloved and spoken of as "Father Willis." That a
Negro should have the honor of giving to Louisiana its first mixed
Baptist church and of being the pastor of that church--that a Negro
was the first moderator of Louisiana's first white Baptist
association,[4] and rendered the denomination fifty years of service,
causes us greatly to marvel in these days of race division and race
antipathy.
The Negro members of white Baptist churches of this country were, as a
rule, permitted to worship with their white brethren within certain
fixed limits. The gap between them, however, tended to widen. Later
they were allowed another hour for worship, with large bounds and
privileges. Still later they were provided with all the privileges of
the Baptist meeting house under the restrictions of the white
churches to which they belonged. The master class gradually reached
the position of separating the races in worship, but for the security
of slavery they deemed it wise to hold the Negroes as members of the
white churches.
It was argued that, in all nature, living creatures move instinctively
in groups after their kind, and that the Negro and the white man, left
to themselves, do the same thing, as is evidenced by the fact that the
black slave was ever offending against the institution of slavery by
holding religious services after his own liking where only his own
people were present and shared in the devotion. In this manner the
master justified himself in segregating his slave in the house of God
and pointed to the Court of the Gentiles, in the Temple of Jehovah, in
confirmation of the righteousness of his act. But for some reason the
untutored black slave was never entirely at home in the white man's
church, with its special place for Negroes. He knew that the master
could be at ease in any part of his church edifice. It was all his and
he moved about through its aisles as a free man, but the slave was
limited in his privileges, and was counted a good man only as he kept
within the limits assigned him.
When the Negroes in the white Baptist churches of the South became
very numerous, services for their special benefit were held in the
church edifices, usually in the afternoon, by the pastor and other
persons who felt a deep interest in them. In these meetings the
colored members of the church not only enjoyed the freedom of the
place for the time being, but often listened with great satisfaction
to the exhortations of one or more of their own brethren who spoke by
permission from the floor and not from the pulpit platform. These
Negro exhorters were encouraged to exercise a measure of spiritual
oversight in the midst of their brethren and so help the church and
pastor in caring for the flock. The segregated group, in a separate
church edifice, meeting for worship at the same hours as the parent
body, gave rise to the separate church altogether, with a white
ministry. In this way many of the largest and most progressive Negro
Baptist churches of the South had their beginnings amid the
vicissitudes of life peculiar to a land of human bondage. The African
Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia, under the direction of Dr.
Robert Ryland, the white president of Richmond College, is a case in
evidence.
Still another type of Negro Baptist church arose where there was no
parent church of white persons in control of the offspring. There were
churches of this character in Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, the
British West Indies, Canada, and in far-off Africa, before the close
of the eighteenth century. In these churches the members were of the
black race. In Virginia and in Georgia churches of this class as well
as others were admitted to membership in the oldest and best white
Baptist associations, in which they at one time were given
considerable attention.[5] It is worthy of note that Negro Baptist
churches of this type were the first Negro Baptist churches in all the
land and preceded by many years the first Negro churches of other
denominations in America.
These churches, moreover, soon established themselves in spite of
opposition, for they were accepted by the Baptist associations. The
Negro Baptist Church organized at Silver Bluff, South Carolina, in
1773 or 1775, probably had no such connection, nor did that of George
Liele in Savannah, established not long thereafter; but the Negro
Baptist Church of Williamsburg, Virginia, sought membership in the
Dover Association in 1791 and was accepted. This church, according to
John W. Cromwell, who is himself a Methodist, was founded in the year
1776. In 1815 the Gillfield Baptist Church, of Petersburg, Virginia, a
Negro congregation, united with the Portsmouth Association, an
organization of white Baptists. Shortly after doing so this church
invited the association to hold its approaching annual meeting with
the Gillfield Baptist Church. The "invitation was accepted and the
church appointed a committee to rent stables and to buy feed for the
delegates' horses." Richard Kennard, from whose church record we
quote, adds: "A committee was also appointed to furnish blacking and
brushes with which to clean the delegates' boots and shoes, and to see
to the general comfort of the delegates." We agree with Mr. Kennard in
the reflection: "At that age there did not seem to be as much
prejudice among Christians or as much separation as since."[6]
The second step in the development was that of expansion abroad. There
had been planted Negro Baptist churches, like the First African
Baptist Church of Augusta, Georgia, in 1793, and Amos's Church at New
Providence, Bahama Islands, British West Indies, in 1788. George Liele
carried the work of the Baptists into Jamaica in 1784; and David
George extended it to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and finally into
Sierra Leone about the same time. In this connection it may be
remarked that because a Baptist church can arise and continue to exist
as a self-originating, self-governing body without any consent or
approval from without, the work of the denomination rapidly expanded.
White ministers fully ordained to the ministry Negro Baptists, Negro
Episcopalians and Negro Presbyterians and inducted them into
pastorates, at a time when the Methodist Episcopal Church in America
was not at first inclined to do so. This denomination, therefore,
brought about that condition which resulted in the setting up of an
independent African Methodist denomination under Peter Spencer in
1812, of another under Richard Allen in 1816, and still another under
James Varick in 1820.
It should be remarked, moreover, that all Negro Baptist churches,
except those in the South, which came out of white churches during
slavery, had Negro pastors. Yet whatever their differences, Negro
Baptists and white Baptists in America constituted one family until
after the Civil War. Indeed there has never been any formal separation
of the two groups. Each has simply followed the race instinct, in an
age of freedom, while the one group cooperates with the other, North
and South.
There were Negro Baptist churches in the South for more than a quarter
of a century before they began to be constituted in the North, and
about a half century before the first church of the kind was planted
in the West. When in 1805, moreover, the first African Baptist church
was organized at Boston, Massachusetts, it was not only the first
Negro Baptist church in the North, but was also the only independent
Negro church north except the St. Thomas Episcopal Church of
Philadelphia, which had a Negro rector. The Boston African Baptist
church had for its pastor a Negro, the Rev. Thomas Paul, a man of such
intelligence and piety, such commanding presence and pleasing address,
that pulpits everywhere in Massachusetts and in his native State of
New Hampshire, were open to him, both before and after he became a
minister in that city.
In the course of time Negro Baptist churches tended to associate among
themselves, as they developed power independently of the white
churches. There were in the South during the Negro's enslavement,
however, no Negro Baptist associations which embraced their churches
in any State or in any considerable part of a State; for all Negro
Baptist churches were associated with white Baptist churches in the
South. The "Richmond African Baptist Missionary Society," which was
constituted at Richmond, Virginia, in 1815, was no exception to the
rule. Lott Cary,[6] the chief spirit in that organization, and Mr.
William Crane, a white merchant, its corresponding secretary, were
members of the same church--not a Negro Baptist church, for there was
no organization of the kind in Richmond at the time. Lott Cary was
converted under the preaching of a white pastor. At the hands of that
white pastor he was baptized, into the fellowship of the white church
of which that pastor was the spiritual leader Lott Cary was received,
and from that white church, the First Baptist Church of Richmond,
Virginia, Lott Cary went to plant the standard of Christ on the shores
of Africa.
Negro Baptist associations in this country were the achievements of
free men on free soil. The Providence Association of Ohio, organized
in 1833, and the Wood River Association of Illinois, organized in
1838, led the way. The colored Baptist churches of the North and East
organized in 1840, and the abolition of slavery as an American
institution resulted in the nation-wide formation of Negro churches,
local associations, State conventions, and larger groups. In 1866 a
national convention which merged the forces of the North and South,
the East and West, under the significant name, "The Consolidated
American Baptist Missionary Convention," was organized. Its chief work
was in the South and confined to the period of Reconstruction. In 1873
the West revived its organization under the name, "The Baptist General
Association of the Western States and Territories," and the Northern
churches did likewise in 1875 in the formation of "The New England
Baptist Missionary Society." Each enlarged its borders until the two
embraced the greater part of the whole country. In 1880 the Negro
Baptists of the country formed their first national society to do work
in foreign lands exclusively. The organization constituted at this
time took the name, "The Baptist Foreign Mission Convention of the
United States."
In 1886, at St. Louis, Missouri, the National Baptist Convention was
formed, and the work of this organization was subsequently so modified
that in it is unified all the national and international church work
in which Negro Baptists of America were engaged. These efforts toward
organization, however, were not altogether satisfactory, for the
Baptists soon developed a factional struggle in regard to the question
as to independent action or cooperation with the American Baptist
Foreign Mission Society and the American Baptist Home Mission Society.
In 1897, in the Shiloh Baptist Church, Washington, D. C., the Lott
Cary Baptist Foreign Missionary Convention was formed by certain
churches in the Atlantic States which looked with disfavor on the
independent mission work as conducted by the Foreign Mission Board of
the National Baptist Convention. Composed chiefly of men and women who
were educated in the schools of the American Baptist Home Mission
Society, this organization has from the first cooperated with Northern
Baptists in the prosecution of its work.
At Chicago in 1915 there arose a more serious division in the forces
of the National Baptist Convention as the result of differences of
opinion in regard to the ownership of the Convention in the lands and
chattels of its Publishing Board. As a result of these differences
there have developed two groups of colored Baptists in this country,
engaged in similar work, and each claims to be the National Baptist
Convention--the original and only National Baptist Convention of Negro
Baptists in America.
One of the results of the association of Negro churches has been
education. Negro Baptists in a land of slavery were not supposed to be
versed in the knowledge of books. But inasmuch as master and slave
were instructed out of the same inspired writings Sabbath after
Sabbath, the slave quite frequently was as familiar with the Bible as
his master. Ignorance and illiteracy are not one and the same thing.
An unlettered people may be learned in the word of God, and being made
wise unto salvation, may present to the world no mean type of
Christian life. Apart from the knowledge received through the regular
preaching of the gospel by the best preachers of the Southland, it
was not unlawful to impart verbal instruction to slaves, in
Sunday-school exercises and, under other circumstances, in regard to
any number of things which have to do with conduct and character and
human comfort, so long as nothing was said to endanger the institution
of slavery. But some Baptists appear to have given some measure of
literary training to Negroes attached to their churches. Andrew Bryan,
in one of his letters to Dr. John Rippon of London, England, in 1800,
speaks of the fact that certain white friends in Savannah, Georgia,
had purchased a man of color of many excellent qualities, the Rev.
Henry Francis, and had given him his freedom that he might be a
teacher to his people. Bryan himself then opened a school for the
slaves on his plantation outside of Savannah. George Liele established
a school in connection with his church in Jamaica, hoping to develop
the minds of his communicants that he might properly edify their
souls.
The First Baptist Church (white), Richmond, Virginia, moreover,
conducted a school for the literary training and instruction of its
Negro members. For several years Lott Cary was a student in this
institution. The church at Williamsburg, Virginia, which was a Negro
Baptist church from its beginning, that is, from 1776, must have done
something for education, for it kept correct church records, in the
handwriting of its own members. Many of the Negro Baptist preachers of
the South, moreover, obtained some degree of scholarship by private
instruction and so won the respect of the people among whom they
lived. The close of the Civil War brought together a group of
scholarly men, from the North and West, men of purpose and
consecration, preachers of great power who were an inspiration to
their less cultured and less scholarly brethren in the South, and
these invaded our Southland to help forward the new order of things in
the churches as well as in civil life.
To-day the Negro Baptists of America have more than 20,000 churches,
with about two and a half million members and church property valued
at more than forty million dollars. They are conducting orphan
schools, homes for the aged poor, and institutions of learning, and
are as zealous as ever in sending the gospel to people in foreign
lands. Great has been the progress of Negro Baptists in America, but
that progress was due in very great measure to Northern philanthropy
during a quarter of a century after the Civil War and is promoted also
to-day by the good will of Southern Baptists who have put at the
disposal of Negro Baptists in the South thousands of dollars. But the
greatest glory of Negro Baptists is the spirit of self-help and heroic
sacrifice in the endeavor to help others, and that spirit is now
everywhere prevalent.
WALTER H. BROOKS
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The resolution was: "The association is sensibly affected by the
death of the Rev. Andrew Bryan, a man of color, and pastor of the
first colored Church in Savannah. This son of Africa, after suffering
inexpressible persecutions in the cause of his Divine Master, was at
length permitted to discharge the duties of the ministry among his
colored friends in peace and quiet, hundreds of whom, through his
instrumentality, were brought to the knowledge of the truth as it is
in Jesus. He closed his extensively useful, and amazingly luminous
course, in the lively exercise of faith, and in the joyful hope of a
happy immortality." See Benedict's _History of the Baptists_.
[2] Semple, _History of the Baptists in Virginia_, p. 355.
[3] Semple, _History of the Baptists in Virginia_, p. 356.
[4] _The Negro Year Book_, 1918-1919, p. 236; Benedict, _History of
the Baptists_, 376.
[5] By way of comparison, be it further remembered, that the founder
of the African Methodist Episcopal Church was originally a member of
the St. George Society, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and he and
others withdrew from that body of white persons in 1787; but it was
not until 1794, that Bishop Francis Asbury constituted the Bethel A.
M. E. Church at Philadelphia, which claims to be the oldest Negro
Methodist church in the country. The Zion Church, of the African
Methodist Episcopal Zion connection, New York City, was founded in
1796, while the first church of Negro Episcopalians, the St. Thomas
Church, Philadelphia, was planted by Bishop William White in 1794. The
Lombard Street Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, the oldest
organization of Negro Presbyterians in America, was constituted
in 1807, and not until 1829 was the first church of Negro
Congregationalists, the Dixwell Avenue of New Haven, Conn.,
constituted.
[6] Richard Kennard's _History of the Gillfield Baptist Church_, p.
16.
[6] Let me quote here a paragraph from Sprague's _Annals of the
American Pulpit_, Vol. VI, p. 583, (Ed. 1860, published by Robert
Carter and Brother, New York.) The paragraph appears in an article
which the publisher takes from _Taylor's Memoirs.--Missionary Heroes
and Martyrs_.
"In 1850, the late Rev. Eli Ball of Virginia, visited all the Liberian
Baptist Missionary Stations, as agent of the Southern Baptist
Missionary Convention, and, with considerable difficulty, ascertained
the spot where Lott Cary was buried. The next year, a small marble
monument was sent out, and placed over the grave, with the following
inscription:--
"On the front of the monument was--
LOTT CARY
Born a slave in Virginia,
1780,
Removed from Richmond to Africa, as a
Missionary and Colonist,
1821,
Was Pastor of the First Baptist Church,
and an original settler and defender
of the Colony at Monrovia.
Died Acting Governor of Liberia
Nov. 10th, 1828.
His life was the progressive development of an
able intellect and firm benevolent heart,
under the influence of
Freedom and an enlightened Christianity;
and affords the amplest evidence of the capacity
of his race to fill with dignity and usefulness
the highest ecclesiastical and political stations.
Of a truth God is no respecter of persons,
But hath made of one blood all nations of men.
On the reverse--
Lott Gary's self-denying, self-sacrificing labors,
as a self-taught Physician, as a Missionary and
Pastor of a Church, and finally as
Governor of the Colony,
have inscribed his name indelibly on the page of history,
not only as one of Nature's Noblemen, but as an eminent
Philanthropist and Missionary of Jesus Christ.
'Aye, call it holy ground,
The place where first they trod;
They sought what here they found,
Freedom to worship God.'"
That is, indeed, a remarkable utterance, coming from the Southern
Baptist Missionary Convention, in the year 1851.
EARLY NEGRO EDUCATION IN WEST VIRGINIA
The early education of the Negro in West Virginia falls in three
periods.[1] During the first period, it was largely restricted to
such efforts as benevolent whites were disposed to make in behalf of
those Negroes who had served them acceptably as slaves. This period,
therefore, antedates the emancipation of the Negroes. Because of the
scarcity of the slave population of Western Virginia, the 14,000
slaves scattered among the mountainous counties came into helpful
contact with their masters, among whom the institution never lost its
patriarchal aspect. Although it was both unlawful and in some parts of
West Virginia unpopular to instruct Negroes, these masters, a law unto
themselves, undertook to impart to these bondmen some modicum of
knowledge. Upon the actual emancipation in 1865, when all restraint in
this respect was abrogated, benevolent white persons, moved with
compassion because of the benighted condition of Negroes, volunteered
to offer them instruction. The first teachers of the Negroes in West
Virginia, then, were white persons. The Negroes of Jefferson,
Greenbrier, Monroe, Summers, Kanawha, Mason, and Wood counties still
point with pride to these white friends, who by their indefatigable
work as teachers blazed the way in a field which to Negroes had been
forbidden.
During the next period there came into these same parts the Union
soldier, followed and sometimes accompanied by the missionary teachers
sent out by the Freedmen's Relief Commissions of the North and by the
Freedmen's Bureau. The efforts of the Union soldier could not be
crowned with signal success for the reason that they were sporadic and
this volunteer was not in every case well prepared for such service.
The greatest impetus was given the cause when missionary teachers
appeared in the State. Having the spirit of sacrifice which
characterized the apostles of old, they endured the hardships
resulting from social proscription and crude environment. With the
funds which they secured from the agencies which they represented and
which they could raise among the poor freedmen and their few
sympathetic white friends, these teachers of the new day built or
rented shanty-like school-houses in which they proclaimed the power of
education as the great leverage by which the recently emancipated race
could toil up to a position of recognition in this republic. The
educational achievements of this class of teachers were significant,
not so much because of the actual instruction given, but rather on
account of the inspiration which set the whole body of Negroes
throughout the State thinking and working to secure to themselves
every facility for education vouchsafed to the most highly favored
element of our population.
The third period in the early education of Negroes in West Virginia
was reached when these pioneer teachers had wrought well enough to
enable the Negroes to help themselves. Because of the rapid
development of this industrial State and the consequent influx of
Negroes from other commonwealths, however, the number of Negro
teachers produced on the ground proved inadequate to the demand for
instructors among the increasing and expanding Negro population of
West Virginia. There went out to the other States the call for help,
which was answered largely by workers from Virginia, Maryland, and
Ohio. Virginia did not have many workers to spare, but from Baltimore,
where, because of the liberal attitude of the whites toward the
education of Negroes prior to the Civil War, a considerable group of
Negroes had been trained, came a much larger number of volunteers.
From Ohio, however, came as many as were obtained from both Virginia
and Maryland, for the reason that, although the Negroes were early
permitted to attend school in Ohio, race prejudice had not
sufficiently diminished to permit them to instruct white persons in
public schools. Looking out for a new field, their eyes quickly fell
on the waiting harvest across the Ohio in West Virginia. Some of these
workers from adjacent States, moreover, served the people not only as
teachers but also as ministers of the gospel. They were largely
instrumental in establishing practically all of the Methodist and
Baptist churches in the State, and while they taught school during the
week, they inspired and edified their congregations on Sunday.
The beginning of the education of the Negroes in West Virginia at
public expense was delayed inasmuch as its first constitution,
although it made provisions for free schools, did not extend the
facilities of the same to the freedmen. In the report of the State
Superintendent of Public Schools in 1864, therefore, he complained
that the Negroes had been too long and too mercilessly deprived of
this privilege. "I regret to report," said he, "that there are not
schools for the children of this portion of our citizens; as the law
stands I fear they will be compelled to remain in ignorance. I commend
them to the favorable notice of the legislature."[2]
In 1866, therefore, the legislature enacted a law providing for the
establishing of public schools for Negroes between the ages of six and
twenty-one years. These schools had to maintain an average attendance
of sixteen pupils or be closed. As Negro communities were not very
large and the number of such children small, some of them scattered
throughout the State were denied the opportunity to acquire an
education. This law, therefore, was amended in 1867 so as to authorize
local boards of education to establish a school whenever there were
more than fifteen Negro children between the ages of six and
twenty-one.[3]
The attitude of the State approved separation of the two races in the
schools, but the first two laws bearing on Negro schools did not make
this point clear. Upon revising the constitution in 1872, therefore,
it was specifically provided that whites and blacks should not be
taught in the same school.[4] Thereafter, however, the whites and
blacks sometimes used the same school-houses. As the term consisted of
only four months of twenty-two school days each, the whites would open
school in September and vacate by Christmas, when the Negroes would
take charge.
No further changes were made in the school law until 1899, when it was
amended to the effect that the trustees in certain districts should
establish one or more primary schools for Negro children between the
ages of six and twenty-one years, and that said members of boards of
education should establish such Negro schools whenever there were at
least ten Negro pupils who resided in their district, and for a
smaller number, if it were possible to do so.[5] This gave impetus to
the movement for more intensive education among Negroes throughout
their communities. Often Negro children in groups of only four or five
were thus trained in the backward districts, where they received
sufficient inspiration to come to larger schools for more systematic
training.
THE FIRST EFFORTS IN NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA
Parkersburg enjoys the distinction of having established in this State
the first school for Negroes supported by private funds. Having a
desire to provide for their children the facilities of education long
since denied to members of their race, a group of progressive Negroes
met in Parkersburg in January, 1862, to translate their idea into
action. Among these persons were Robert Thomas, Lafayette Wilson,
William Sargent, R. W. Simmons, Charles Hicks, William Smith, and
Matthew Thomas. They organized a board, which adopted a constitution
and by-laws by which they were to be governed in carrying out this
plan. They then proceeded to establish a subscription school requiring
a tuition fee of one dollar a month of those who were able to pay; but
poorer children were admitted free of charge. At this time there was a
certain stigma attached to the idea of educating one's children at the
expense of others or at the expense of the commonwealth. Persons able
to pay for the instruction of their children were, therefore, willing
to do so that they might not have a reputation for dependency or
delinquency.[6]
The teachers first employed in Parkersburg were Sarah Trotter and
Pocahontas Simmons, persons of color and Rev. S. E. Colburn, a white
man. The number of pupils enrolled in the first year approached forty.
To encourage Negroes in that city to avail themselves of their
opportunity for their enlightenment, these teachers moved among the
people from time to time, pointing out the necessity for more
extensive preparation to discharge the functions of citizenship then
devolving upon Negroes in their new State of freedom after the Civil
War.[7]
Parkersburg enjoys also the distinction of having established the
first free school for Negroes in the South. The work of the school
organization of 1862 had been so well done that it was easily possible
to interest school officials in the extension of school privileges to
Negroes. The Parkersburg _Weekly Times_ of June 7, 1866, carried a
notice to the effect that the first public free school for the Negro
children of the city of Parkersburg, West Virginia, had been opened in
the school ward lately removed. "All colored children over six years
of age and under twenty-one, as the law directs," continued the
editor, "are at liberty to attend and are requested to do so." Rev. S.
E. Colburn was the teacher. The private school then came to an end.[8]
It does not appear that the Reverend Mr. Colburn remained for a long
time in this school, for at the close of the session in 1866 we have a
record of an exhibition in Bank Hall under the charge of T. J.
Ferguson. Ferguson was a versatile character among the Negroes at that
time, participating extensively in politics during the reconstruction
period, and contending for the enlargement of freedom and opportunity
for their race. The next man of consequence after Ferguson was J. L.
Camp, who served the system for eleven years. He passed among his
people as a man of high character, and is remembered today as one of
the most successful and inspiring workers to toil among the lowly in
West Virginia. The Negro schools could then be turned over to teachers
of the race who, having availed themselves of the opportunities for
education, had become equipped for service among their own people.
With the further organization of the public school system of
Parkersburg, the Negro school was brought under the direction of the
local superintendent of schools and given the same sort of instruction
and inspection as that provided for the white schools. In the course
of time the work developed from a primary into an intermediate and
then into a grammar school.
Parkersburg is unique again, moreover, in having the first high school
for Negroes in the State. This advanced phase of public school work
was added in 1885, and the first class was graduated in 1887. For a
number of years the Negro schools were housed in a frame building of
two rooms, which was somewhat enlarged in 1883. This, moreover, has
been followed by the erection of a brick structure with the modern
conveniences for public schools, facilitating especially high school
instruction, which under former conditions was handicapped. A new
building known as the Sumner High School was constructed there in
1886, and A. W. Pegues, a graduate of the Richmond Institute, was made
its first principal. He showed himself a studious man of intellectual
bearing, but after serving in Parkersburg one year he resigned to
accept a chair in Shaw University in North Carolina. He has since been
made the head of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum of that State.[9]
Following Professor Pegues came T. D. Scott, who served in this high
school five years, reorganizing the work and enlarging the curriculum.
When he resigned in 1892 he became an instructor in natural science at
Wilberforce University, of which he was an alumnus. Carter Harrison
Barnett, a graduate of Dennison University, became principal in 1892
and served one year. Then came John Rupert Jefferson, who took charge
of the institution in 1893, a position which he has successfully
filled until the present time with the exception of one year when he
was supplanted by Mr. B. S. Jackson, an alumnus of Howard University,
who at the close of his first year's service gave way to Mr.
Jefferson.[10]
Clarksburg followed in the wake of Parkersburg and soon bestirred
itself in the direction of the education of Negro youth. The first
school was established there in 1867, with an enrolment of thirty
pupils under the direction of Miss Joe Gee. For her time she was
well-prepared woman, using up-to-date methods, and was very successful
in the work there for two and one-half years, at the expiration of
which she married. Her successful work was due in no small measure to
the cooperation of Mrs. Mary Rector, Mrs. Phyllis Henderson, Mr. Fred
Siren, Jr., and Mrs. Harriet Beckwith. They did not own the school
property, but conducted the work in a one-room ramshackled structure.
Another group of ambitious Negroes established a school at Glen Falls,
in the same county, in 1872, with Noe Johnson as the teacher.
Steps were soon taken to provide better educational facilities for
Negroes in Clarksburg. On July 15, 1868, the Board of Education of
that city accepted a bid of $1,147 to erect a one-story brick building
to be used as a Negro school-house. This structure was completed and
occupied by the end of the school year 1870. After the school had been
better housed, the work was professionally organized and thereafter
intelligently supervised to standardize instruction.
In the beginning of this new day the schools were successful in having
a number of popular principals to serve them efficiently. Among these
may be mentioned Charles Ankrum, a pioneer teacher, who was principal
of the school from 1870 to 1873, J. A. Riley, a man of the same type
serving from 1873-1874, G. F. Jones, a man of little more preparation
than that of his predecessors, from 1874 to 1876, W. B. Jones, an
honest worker, from 1876-1878, and M. W. Grayson, who served the
system well from 1878 to 1889, doing much to lay the foundation upon
which others built thereafter.[11]
The first Negro principal at Clarksburg, with extensive preparation as
judged by the standards of today, was J. S. Williams, a graduate of
Morgan College, who was the head of this school from 1889 to 1891. Mr.
C. W. Boyd, a normal school graduate of Wilberforce University, served
the system one year, that is, from 1891 to 1892, after which he became
a teacher in the Charleston Negro Public Schools of which he is now
the head. Then came Mr. Sherman H. Guss, the first Negro to receive a
degree from Ohio State University. He made a special study of the
needs of the school, forcefully presented them to the educational
authorities, enlarged the school's facilities, and developed there a
high school which ranks today as one of the best in the State. In 1901
Mr. Guss resigned to become instructor in Latin at the West Virginia
Colored Institute, where he is still employed. He was followed by J.
W. Robinson, a man of liberal and specialized education, who
endeavored to maintain a high standard and to extend the influence of
the Negro schools, adding much to develop an intellectual atmosphere
through the enlargement of the school library and other accessories.
After toiling in this city for a number of years he taught at St.
Albans. He then accepted the principalship of the high school at
Northfork, during his incumbency of which he has served as a member of
the Advisory Council to the State Board of Education of West Virginia.
Weston did not lag far behind the other towns in making some provision
for the education of Negroes. During the early years immediately
following the Civil War, a white man of philanthropic tendency named
Benjamin Owens taught a Negro school in an old church located not far
from the head of Main Street extended in Weston. A local historian
believes also that one Doctor Gordon's daughter taught in the same
school. It does not appear that Owens was a man of exceptional
intellectual attainment, but he had well mastered the fundamentals of
education when working in the printing office of Horace Greeley in New
York, where he learned to manifest interest in the man far down, and
to make sacrifices for his cause. His work was so successful that the
school was later established as a public institution supported by the
State.
The next pioneer to lend a helping hand was George Jones who, after
serving the Negroes in Weston as a teacher for a number of years,
abandoned this field for a much larger work as a minister. Then came
Misses Hattie Hood, Grace Rigsby, and Anna Wells, who taught in this
school one or two years each. There appeared next W. P. Crump, who is
referred to as the first Negro teacher of exceptional ability to toil
in Weston. He did much to develop the school and exerted a beneficent
influence upon the people. After serving them as instructor for a few
years, he abandoned the work for a more lucrative employment
elsewhere. The next teacher of importance was Mr. Frank Jefferson who
also toiled successfully in these parts. Inasmuch as the salary at
that time was unusually low compared with the compensation offered in
other parts, he eventually gave up that work for other service.[12]
About 1898 there came Mr. L. O. Wilson, a man of scholarship, who
later became a leader of power and influence throughout the State of
West Virginia. He reorganized the school, improved the methods of
instruction, and supplied it with a library. He endeared himself to
the people here, as he did wherever he was known; and, although he was
several times offered higher salaries elsewhere, he preferred to toil
among the people of Weston for less compensation. The results which he
obtained, while laboring among these people, stand as a monument
justifying the sacrifice which he made to serve them.[13]
The next school of importance in this part of the State was that of
Piedmont, since then designated as the Howard School. Educational
efforts began in this section about six years after the Civil War.
Prior to that time the few Negroes coming into Piedmont were too
migratory to necessitate any outlay for their education. Some efforts
were made to secure their education through private instruction in the
fundamentals, and a little progress therein was noted. Years later
there came such substantial friends of education as the Barneses, the
Masons, the Thomases, the Biases, and the Redmons. There was no
organized effort to establish a real public school, however, until the
year 1877, when one John Brown, being influential with one Mr. Hyde,
then President of the Board of Education, induced him to provide a
school-room and hire a teacher for the instruction of the Negroes. The
following persons, since known as Mrs. Emma Stewart (Mason), Miss
Mary Thomas, Mr. John Brown, Jr., Miss Alice Brown, and Mr. Harry
Bias, presented themselves as the first students of this school. One
Mr. Ross, a white man, was the first instructor. The next teacher of
this school was a white man, and he was followed by a member of his
own race.
The early history of this school published in 1919 states that the
attendance was regular and that after three years of conducting a
private school the board of education formally established this as a
public school in the year 1880, with Mrs. Steiglar, a white woman, as
instructor. The school was still held in the private building which
has since been occupied by the Williams, Redmon, and Taylor families
of that vicinity. After this school was conducted thus for about ten
years, there came a change which marked the epoch of progress in
education in Piedmont. This was the time when the white teachers were
exchanged for those of Negro blood, who having more interest in their
race, and treating the pupils with more sympathy, achieved much
greater success than their predecessors. This school has since been
much developed under the direction of Mr. H. W. Hopewell and Miss M.
Brooks.[14]
The early schools of Shepherdstown, Martinsburg, Harper's Ferry, and
other places nearby in West Virginia were in the beginning largely
private, and even when established as public schools accomplished
little more than their predecessors until they received an impetus
from without. The first stimulus came from Miss Mann, a niece of the
great educator, Horace Mann. She was sent by the Christian Commission
to Bolivar, near Harper's Ferry, to open a Negro school, which in
spite of militant race prejudice she maintained a year.[15] Then came
the establishment of Storer College by that philanthropic worker for
the uplift of the Negro race, Rev. Nathan C. Brackett, a graduate of
Dartmouth College, who had during the last year of the Civil War been
attached to the Christian Mission of Sheridan's army in Virginia.
Fortunately the agents of the Freedmen's Bureau in charge of the
educational work among Negroes designated him as the superintendent of
such schools to be established in the Shenandoah Valley. While he was
thus organizing and directing the education of the Negroes in this
section, Mr. John Storer, of Sanford, Maine, expressed a desire to set
aside a fund of ten thousand dollars for the establishment of an
institution of education for the freedmen on the condition that an
equal amount should be raised by other persons within a specified
period. As there was an increasing interest in the uplift of the
freedmen throughout the country at this time, it was an easy matter to
meet this condition with a similar contribution from another quarter.
The additional funds came largely from the Free Baptists, in the
principles of which this institution had its setting when established.
The work was begun, by special arrangement with the Federal agents, in
dilapidated houses recently abandoned by the Union troops at Harper's
Ferry. With the cooperation of friends the buildings were secured
through the influence of James A. Garfield, then a member of Congress,
and William Fessenden, then United States Senator from Maine. Mr. and
Mrs. Brackett opened this school in October, 1867, with nineteen
earnest students. Since then it has become a power for good, a factor
in the development of actual Christian manhood and womanhood. For a
number of years it was the only graded school for Negroes in the State
of West Virginia, and had to supply many of the first teachers and
ministers in West Virginia and even in the adjacent portions of
Maryland and Virginia. The towns nearby caught the spirit of the
uplift of the Negro from what was being done for the race in Storer
College. This institution, of course, had its opposition; but wherever
there was a helpful attitude toward the Negro, the work which it was
doing in spite of its difficulties stood out as a shining light.[16]
Many of the early teachers of Storer College spent a part of their
time working among Negroes in nearby communities. Mrs. Annie Dudley, a
white woman connected with that institution, taught the first school
at Shepherdstown. She had about twenty-five students and conducted a
night and a day school. She was a well-educated, sympathetic woman who
did much to lay the foundation for the Negro public school which was
established there in 1872. The next popular teacher in the Eastern
Panhandle was William B. Evans, who successfully taught in
Shepherdstown, Keyser, Martinsburg, and Bolivar for forty-two years.
His wife, Mrs. M. E. L. Evans, after beginning in Virginia, taught ten
years at Storer, Summit Point, Smithfield, and Bolivar. William Arter
taught thirty-two years at Kabletown, doing excellent work. The most
prominent teacher that Shepherdstown had was John H. Hill. He graded
the work of the school and endeavored to standardize instruction. He
is still remembered in that community for the efficient work which he
did. He was finally succeeded by Alexander Freeman when Mr. Hill
became an instructor in the West Virginia Colored Institute, of which
he later became principal.
About the same time the influence of Storer College was felt in
Charles Town, the county seat of Jefferson County, where there was
another settlement of Negroes. The first teacher of whom we have a
record was one Enos Wilson, a Negro. He was a man of fair preparation
through self-instruction. He had much enthusiasm in his work, exerted
an influence for good, and won the respect of his people. In achieving
his success he had the cooperation of Mr. William Hill, the
grandfather of J. H. Hill. Although not well informed himself, William
Hill believed in education and religion, and supported all uplift
movements then taking shape among the Negroes.
Following Enos Wilson, who later became an instructor in another
field, came L. L. Page, who building upon the foundation made by his
predecessors rendered unusually valuable service. Like his predecessor
he was a very good man and an enthusiastic worker. The people waited
upon his words, answered his summons to social service, and supported
him in his efforts to promote their general welfare. This is evidenced
by the fact that he served his community acceptably about twenty-five
years. He was succeeded by Phillip Jackson, who found the school
sufficiently well developed to necessitate the employment of three
teachers.
Not far away from this point Mrs. Emma Hart Brady opened a large
school at Kearneysville, in Jefferson County, in 1869. She was a
popular teacher for that day, used modern methods, and successfully
instructed 80 or 90 students there for two terms. This school today,
as it was then, is overcrowded and in need of better facilities.[16a]
Speaking generally, however, one must say that the education of the
Negro in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia today is, after all,
much more backward than in other parts. A good example of noble effort
in behalf of the Negro was given, and the spirit with which workers
should address themselves to the task was furnished by the founders
and graduates of Storer College, but they were not supported by public
sentiment among the whites of that section. Glancing at the map of
West Virginia, one can readily see that the Eastern Panhandle is
geographically a part of Maryland and Virginia, states which have not
as yet been converted to the wisdom of making appropriations to Negro
education equally as large as those providing for the education of the
whites. The ardor of the successors of these early enthusiastic
workers in that section, therefore, was dampened, and the results
which they obtained fell far short of the aspiration of these pioneers
to remake these freedmen that they might live as the citizens of a
free republic.
A mere glance at the Negro schools in the northern section will show
that these beginnings were confined to the Baltimore and Ohio railroad
and its branches. There were not many Negroes living in the other
northern counties of the State. In 1878, Moundsville in Marshall
County welcomed a Negro woman, of Smithfield, Ohio, who taught its
Negro public school. She had a fair preparation and rendered valuable
service with the cooperation of such patrons as Mrs. Rollen, William
Love, and Thomas McCoy. Because of the small Negro population in this
town, however, this school has not rapidly developed, although the
work of the teachers employed there has been efficient, as has been
evidenced by their well-prepared eighth-grade students who have done
excellently in more advanced schools.[17]
A little farther north, in Wheeling in Ohio County, Negro education
had a better opportunity. Wheeling is geographically a part of
Pennsylvania, and its attitude toward education has been determined to
a large extent by the impetus given the cause in that progressive
commonwealth. The spirit of fairness in dealing with the man far down
in urban communities nearby, moreover, has been reflected to a certain
extent in the policies of the educational authorities of Wheeling in
dealing with the Negro. At an early date the Negroes of Wheeling were
provided with elementary schools. Referring to the increasing interest
in Negro education in 1866, State Superintendent White said: "An
excellent school has been started in Wheeling and a few are reported
in other places. The school-house in Wheeling cost about $2500. The
school is conducted by a teacher of their own color and the behavior
and scholarship of the pupils are worthy of imitation."
Here, as in the case of most Negro schools near the Ohio River and
even in the central portion of the State, their first teachers came
from Ohio, where they had the opportunity to attend the high schools
and even colleges of high order, although they were not able to
over-ride the race prejudice which barred them from the teaching corps
in that free State. In Wheeling, moreover, the salaries paid were much
more inviting than in many towns of West Virginia, and that city could
easily employ the best equipped Negro teachers, who in the beginning
came largely from Ohio.
The Wheeling school, then, fortunate in having the service of such
teachers, developed about as rapidly as possible under the
circumstances of a limited Negro population; for Wheeling is not in a
Negro section, and the industrial aspect of the city not being
inviting to Negro workers, the population of color did not rapidly
increase. Because of the small enumeration thereby resulting, more
extensive facilities could not be provided even when the board of
education was favorably inclined. In 1897, however, when the pupils of
all of the grades reached about three hundred, the city established
the Lincoln High School, which had its development under the late J.
McHenry Jones. He called to his assistance well-equipped teachers and
succeeded in offering to the Negroes of that city practically the same
course of study taught in the white high school, though at times some
classes were too small to justify instruction in certain phases of
specialized work.[18]
BLAZING THE WAY IN THE CENTRAL COUNTIES
A more extensive movement for the education of the Negroes was taking
place during these years in the central part of West Virginia,
following the line of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and the New and
Kanawha Rivers. This work did not arouse equal interest in all of the
counties along these routes, but in Greenbrier, Monroe, Summers,
Fayette, Kanawha, Cabell and Mason Counties, reached a point of
development deserving mention. It can be readily observed that this
progress in education resulted largely from the early settlements of
Negroes in the east-central counties of the State and from the influx
of Negro laborers into the New and the Kanawha valleys to work on the
salt works, and later from the migration of Negroes to the coal mines
opened along the Chesapeake and Ohio and the Kanawha and Michigan
Railroads. Negro schools, with such few exceptions as those at
Marshes, in Raleigh County, at Madison and Uneeda in Boone County, at
Red Sulphur Springs in Monroe County, and at Fayetteville in Fayette
County, were unsuccessful when removed from those important
thoroughfares.
The earliest teaching of the Negroes in the east-central counties of
the State came as a result of the sympathetic interests of benevolent
slaveholders who, living in a part of a State with a natural endowment
unfavorable to the institution of slavery, failed as a whole to follow
the fortunes of the slaveholders near the Atlantic Coast, and, hoping
to see the ultimate extinction of the institution by gradual
emancipation, gave the Negroes an opportunity for such preparation as
they would need to discharge the functions of citizenship. Immediately
after the War, when there was no public opinion proscribing such
benevolence, sympathetic white persons privately instructed Negroes
here and there. Such was the case at White Sulphur, long since known
as a summer resort, attracting from afar persons of aristocratic
bearing who, coming into contact with the Negro servants whom the
resort required, not only proved helpful to them by way of contact,
but gave them assistance in realizing limited educational aspirations.
The private school in White Sulphur finally gave place to one
established by the district. It had the support of the best white
citizens of the community and was maintained largely by the enterprise
of progressive Negroes seeking to provide for their children all
facilities for education offered elsewhere. About the same time, that
is, in 1866, the Freedmen's Bureau had a school in Lewisburg, under
the direction of one Miss Woodford. After serving the people well for
a year or two, this institution gave place to a public school.[19]
In Ronceverte, where the Negro population increased more rapidly and
where these persons of color made more economic progress than in the
case of White Sulphur, Negro education had a better chance. After
passing through the stage of such private instruction as white
persons interested in the man far down felt disposed to give, an
actual school was opened in the early seventies with an enrolment of
thirty pupils. The first teacher was Mr. Robert Keys of Charleston,
West Virginia. Mr. Keys was well prepared for that time and served
there creditably for two years. Mr. Keys had the support of such
well-known families as the Crumps, the Capertons, the Gees, the
Petersons, the Eldridges, the Browns, the Eubanks, the Williamses and
the Hayneses. There served also Miss Carr of Harrisonburg, Virginia,
and Benjamin Perkins of Lewisburg, West Virginia. Mr. Robert D. Riddle
was also one of the early instructors. Mr. Riddle retired from
teaching several years ago, but is still living in the city of
Ronceverte, where he has distinguished himself as a successful truck
farmer. Some years later Rev. R. D. W. Meadows, who has for a number
of years served as a missionary in West Virginia, labored as a teacher
in these parts, leaving a favorable impression on the system. The
school was first taught in the small one-room house privately owned.
When it increased in later years, it was found necessary to divide it
so as to teach a part of the school in the Negro Baptist Church until
the larger building could be provided. It is now a well-graded and
junior high school with many modern facilities.[20]
Union, in Monroe County, was not unlike the other large settlements of
this section having considerable Negro population. There was at times
even as early as 1855 a healthy sentiment in favor of the improvement
of the few slaves there, and this was not lost after the Civil War had
ended. So general was the interest in behalf of the Negroes that this
proved to be a most favorable community. Union was one of the first
towns in that section to establish a public school for Negroes. At
first there was some difficulty in having well prepared Negro teachers
in the county itself; for one John Didell, a white man, was the first
teacher of the public school. He had the support of such respectable
Negroes as Julius Smalls, Andrew Bailey, Malinda Campbell, Henry
Campbell, James Clair, Christopher Whitlock, and Charles Campbell. Two
of the products of this school are Miss Charlotte Campbell and Bishop
M. W. Clair of the Methodist Episcopal Church.[21] Among those who
came in later to stimulate the first efforts of the teachers were Mrs.
Leota Moss Claire, now a resident of Charleston, West Virginia, and J.
M. Riddle who, after having taught at Sinks Grove in Monroe county and
preached for several years in various parts of West Virginia, engaged
in the ministry in Ohio and later went to California, where he is now
serving as a State Missionary of the Baptist church.
In Summers County, the large settlement of Negroes was at Hinton. This
place had a Negro school of fifteen pupils as early as 1878, with one
T. J. Trinkle as instructor. He was a man of limited education, but
prepared to help those who had not made advancement in the
fundamentals. What he lacked in education he made up in moral
influence, and his career is still remembered as a success. The cause
of education among Negroes of Hinton was fearlessly supported by E. J.
Pack and C. H. Payne, once a teacher in a rural district in this
county himself and later a minister and a public servant in this
country and abroad. The school in Hinton began in a one-room structure
rented for four months, the length of the school term. Teachers were
paid at the rate of $15, $25 and $30 a month for third, second, and
first grade certificates respectively. It has recently developed into
a well-graded school having a junior high school running nine months,
with teachers paid at the rate of a combined monthly salary of $600.
The Negro public school experienced a later development in Fayette
County than in the case of the counties nearer to the eastern border
of the State or nearer the Ohio River; for, unlike those parts which
had a larger number of slaves than the central and northern counties,
Fayette County never before the eighties had Negro groups in
sufficiently large numbers to warrant an outlay in education at
public expense. The beginning of Negro education in this county was
consequent upon the migration of Negroes to the coal fields. Many of
them were interested in education and became its best patrons. Among
those were Samuel Morgan, A. W. Slaughter, J. H. Shelton, J. D.
Shelton, Aaron Chiles, Thomas Chiles, Randal Booker, Thomas Bradley,
Oliver Jones, Ballard Rotan, Anderson Rotan, R. J. Perkins, Aaron
Calloway, Mat Jordan, Henry Robinson, S. H. Hughes, Wellington
Henderson, John Carrington, James Caul, George Moss, and Pleasant
Thomas.
The first school established in Fayette County was that at Montgomery,
in 1879. It was opened by H. B. Rice, a pioneer teacher in Kanawha
Valley who had completed his education at Hampton Institute. For three
years Mr. Rice taught in one room of the home of Thomas H. Norman, an
intelligent and progressive Negro who, realizing the importance of
education as a leverage in the uplift of his people, early made
sacrifices for the establishment of this school. The school was then
taught in a shanty. Inasmuch as at the end of one year, that is, by
1883, the Negro population had rapidly increased, this uncomfortable
building was very much over-crowded and the school had to be divided
so that part of it could be taught in the Baptist church nearby, until
it secured better quarters. Among the teachers who toiled in this
district were Mrs. A. G. Payne, Mrs. Anna Banks, Misses Sadie Howell,
Julia Norman, Annie Parker, M. E. Eubank, Mrs. F. D. Railey, Mr.
George Cuzzins, Mrs. M. A. W. Thompson, Miss L. O. Hopkins, Miss
Lizzie Meadows, Mr. J. W. Scott, Miss Rebecca I. Bullard, Miss Mattie
Payne Trent, Mrs. Lola M. Lavender Mack, Miss Nellie M. Lewis, Miss
Ida M. King and Mr. H. H. Railey. The last mentioned not only attained
distinction as the principal of this school, but so impressed his
constituents as to be elected to the West Virginia Legislature.[22]
The impetus given to education at Montgomery was productive of
desirable results in other towns in Fayette County. The second Negro
school to be established in Fayette County was that Quinnimont in
1880. A storm of protest made the life of the teacher almost
intolerable, although he was a white man. The school-house had to be
guarded, but Rev. M. S. G. Abbot taught it two years. Then came Mr. R.
D. Riddle, mentioned above in connection with the school at
Ronceverte.[23]
At Eagle, not far from Montgomery, there settled groups of Negroes
sufficiently large to necessitate educational facilities for their
children. A large one-room school followed and this had not been
established very long before it was necessary to employ two teachers.
Among the prominent laborers in this field were Mrs. Mary
Wilson-Johnson and Mrs. A. G. Payne. This work experienced most
extensive growth under the direction of Miss A. L. Norman, Miss M. E.
Shelton and Mr. A. C. Page.
There soon followed schools at Fire Creek, Hawk's Nest, Stone Cliff,
Nuttallburg, Sewell, Fayetteville, and elsewhere in Fayette County.
Prominent among the teachers serving in these towns were D. W.
Calloway, A. T. Calloway, Miss L. E. Perry, Mrs. Lizzie Davis, Miss
Bertha Morton, Mr. James Washington, Mrs. F. Donnelly Railey, Mrs. H.
C. A. Washington, Mrs. J. B. Jordan-Campbell, C. G. Woodson, and Mrs.
E. M. Dandridge. These teachers did not generally serve a long period
in any one place, as there was a difference in salary in various
districts and the best teachers usually sought the most lucrative
positions; and sometimes, in the battle for bread and butter, the
rather keen competition in certain districts led to the periodical
dismissal of teachers without justifiable cause.
To those mentioned above, however, is due the credit for the
development of the Negro schools in Fayette County. This is especially
true of Mrs. E. M. Dandridge, who doubtless had a more beneficent
influence in Fayette County than any teacher of color who toiled
there. She taught for twenty-five years at Quinnimont, where she was
not only a teacher but a moving spirit in all things promoting the
social, moral, and religious welfare of the Negroes of her own and
adjacent communities. She was fortunate in having a natural endowment
superior to that of most persons and enjoyed, moreover, educational
advantages considered exceptional for most Negroes of that day. She
still lives to continue a noble work well begun and to complete a
useful career in the same county where she cast her lot years ago.
For almost a generation earlier than this, Negro education had been
launched with much better beginnings in the county of Kanawha. There
were no free schools in West Virginia until 1866, but as in the case
of several other settlements in the State, private schools were
conducted for Negroes immediately after their emancipation. There had
come into the county of Kanawha Rev. F. C. James, an Ohio Negro, the
father of C. H. James, the wealthy wholesale produce merchant of
Charleston. This pioneer was a man of fundamental education and
unusual native ability. He opened at Chapel Hollow, or Salines, two
and one-half miles from Malden, in 1865, probably the first Negro
school in the Kanawha Valley. He thereafter taught elsewhere and later
became the founder of the First Baptist Church of Charleston. The
following year Miss Lucy James from Gallia County, Ohio, opened the
first Negro school in Charleston. Among the first patrons were Matthew
Dillon, Lewis Rogers, Alexander Payne, Lewis Jones, Perry Harden,
Julius Whiting, and Harvey Morris. Mrs. Landonia Sims had charge of
the school one year also. At this time Rev. Charles O. Fisher, a
Methodist Episcopal minister of Maryland, had a private and select
school which was later merged with the free public school. Between
1866 and 1869 Rev. J. W. Dansberry, another Methodist Episcopal
minister from Baltimore, Maryland, belonging as did Mr. Fisher to the
Washington Conference, served also as a teacher while preaching in
this State. The Simpson M. E. Church, their main charge, was being
developed during these years and was in 1867 housed in a comfortable
building on Dickinson and Quarrier Streets. Mr. C. O. Fisher was a
well-educated man, but Mr. Dansberry depended largely on natural
attainments.
Rev. I. V. Bryant, who has toiled for many years in the Ohio Valley as
a Baptist minister, started his public career as a teacher at Baker's
Fort school, about two and one-half miles from Charleston. Rev. Harvey
Morris, another minister, opened a public school at Sissonsville in
1873, Rev. J. C. Taylor another at Crown Hill in 1882, and not long
thereafter this school was attended by such distinguished persons as
Mrs. M. A. W. Thompson and Dr. A. Clayton Powell of New York City.
This work in Kanawha County was accelerated too by the assistance from
the Freedmen's Bureau which sent to this section C. H. Howard, brother
of Gen. O. O. Howard, the head of the Freedmen's Bureau, to inspect
the field, and later sent one Mr. Sharp to teach in Charleston.[24]
One of the first schools in Kanawha County was organized at Malden.
Immediately after the Civil War this town had a much larger and more
promising Negro population than the city of Charleston. Many Negroes
had been brought to Kanawha County, and after their freedom many
others came to labor in the salt works. This private school at Malden
was conducted by Mr. William Davis, the first teacher of Booker T.
Washington, who a few years before had come from Halesford, Virginia,
to Malden.
Mr. Davis's career is more than interesting. He was born in Columbus,
Ohio, November 27, 1848, remained there until his thirteenth year,
spending parts of the years 1861, 1862, 1863 in Chillicothe. During
these years he mastered the fundamentals of an English education. He
moved back to Columbus in the fall of 1863. On December 18th of that
year Mr. Davis enlisted in the Union "Light Guard," called "Lincoln's
Body Guard," at Columbus. He served in the army eighteen months and
was discharged at Camp Todd Barracks, Washington, D. C., June 24,
1865. He then returned to Columbus and after remaining there about a
month went to Cincinnati, from which he proceeded to run on a boat
from Gallipolis to Charleston for about a month.
About this time the people of Malden, under the wise guidance of Lewis
Rice, a beloved pioneer minister, better known among the early Negroes
of the State as Father Rice because of his persistent efforts in
behalf of religion and education, had decided to establish a school
for the education of their children. Mr. William Davis thereupon
abandoned his work on the boat and became the teacher of this private
school, established at Malden in the home of Father Rice, in 1865. As
the school had to be conducted in the very bed-room of this
philanthropist, it was necessary for him to take down his bed in the
morning and bring in the benches, which would be replaced in the
evening by the bed in its turn. The school was next held in the same
church thereafter constructed, and finally in the schoolroom provided
at public expense, as one of the schools of the county.
About the only white person who seemed to give any encouragement to
the education of Negroes at Malden was General Lewis Ruffner. It
seems, however, that his interest was not sufficient to provide those
facilities necessary to ease the burden of this pioneer teacher. When
we think, however, that out of this school came such useful teachers
as William T. McKinney, H. B. Rice, and one of the world's greatest
educators, Booker T. Washington, we must conclude that it was a
success.
Mr. Davis's worth as a teacher rapidly extended through the Kanawha
Valley. He was chosen by the authorities of Charleston to take charge
of their Negro schools in 1871, when it was just a two-room affair. In
this field, however, Mr. Davis had been preceded as mentioned above by
noble workers in behalf of the Negroes. Building upon the foundation
which other Negroes had laid, he soon had a school of four instead of
two rooms, and before he ceased to be principal it had increased to
five, with a well-graded system, standardized instruction, and
up-to-date methods. His early assistants in this work were Charles P.
Keys, P. B. Burbridge, Harry Payne, James Bullard, and William T.
McKinney.
Mr. Davis received some cooperation from a few white persons, the
chief one of whom was Mr. Edward Moore of Pennsylvania, the father of
Spencer Moore, now a bookseller in the city of Charleston. Mr. Edward
Moore taught a select school for Negroes and helped the cause
considerably. Mr. Davis served about twenty-four years as principal,
although he was a member of the teaching staff for a much longer
period, serving altogether forty-seven years.[25]
Because of the unsettled policy of the Charleston public schools they
changed principals every year or two, to the detriment of the system
and progress of the student body. Rev. J. W. Dansbury served for a
while as principal, and H. B. Rice, who entered the service as an
assistant in 1888, became principal some time later and served about
four years. Mr. Davis, who had been demoted to a subordinate position,
was then reinstated, but not long thereafter came Mr. C. W. Boyd, who
had rendered valuable service in Clarksburg and had later found
employment in the public schools of Charleston. He succeeded Mr. Davis
as principal. At the close of one year, however, Mr. Rice was
reinstated and served for a number of years, at the expiration of
which Mr. Boyd again became principal and remained in the position
long enough to give some stability to the procedure and plans of the
system and to secure the confidence of the patrons of the schools.
Some of the valuable assistants serving during this period were Mr.
William B. Boss, Miss Blanche Jeffries, Mrs. Fannie Cobb Carter and
Byrd Prillerman, whose career as a teacher includes a period of short
and valuable service in the Charleston public schools.[26]
At what is now Institute, in Union district, there was established in
the fall of 1872 another Negro school, opened on the subscription
basis in the home of Mrs. Mollie Berry, née Cabell. Mrs. Berry was the
first teacher of this school. The building is occupied at present by a
Mr. James and owned now by Mrs. Berry's daughter, Mrs. Cornie
Robinson. In the spring of 1873, Mr. William Scott Brown, who had by
marriage connected himself with the Cabell family, was elected trustee
in the Union district, and by his efforts a Jenny Lind one-room
building, small and creditably furnished, was erected on a lot
purchased by the board of education from Mrs. Cabell for twenty-five
dollars, on the site now occupied by the family of Mr. Solomon Brown
of Institute. The trustees chose Mr. Samuel Cabell as the first Negro
public school teacher of the district. The method of qualifying as a
teacher was purely perfunctory, as a license to teach was easily
obtained by nominal examination. The term was four months.[27] The
line of teachers from 1886 may be traced from records of the board of
education of the district. Short tenure of office for a few years
seems to have been the rule until the recent years dating from 1918.
It is the opinion of Mr. W. A. Brown and others of the old system that
the quality of the local school has grown better. The establishment of
the West Virginia Collegiate Institute at this point is considered the
greatest factor contributing to such development.[28]
The next school of consequence established on Kanawha River was the
Langston School of Point Pleasant, in Mason County. This institution
was organized in 1867 by Eli Coleman, its first teacher. He toiled for
seven years in the one-room frame structure at the end of Sixth
Street. At the very beginning the enrolment was sixty-four, some of
the students being adults. The school continued as an ungraded
establishment for a number of years, working against many handicaps,
until the independent district was established and provided better
facilities. This school then had a board of five trustees, three
whites and two Negroes, and was incorporated into the city system by
the Board of Education and placed under the supervision of the
Superintendent of the Point Pleasant Public Schools.
Some of the early teachers following Mr. Coleman were J. H. Rickman,
later principal of the colored school in Middleport, Ohio, P. H.
Williams, Mrs. Lillie Chambers, Florence Ghee, Fannie Smith and Lida
Fitch. In 1885 the school had grown sufficiently to justify the
employment of two teachers. These were then L. W. Johnson as principal
and Miss Hattie C. Jordan as his assistant. Mr. Johnson served until
1890 when he was succeeded by Miss Lola Freeman as principal with
Samuel Jordan as assistant for one year. The Board of Education then
secured the services of J. E. Campbell as principal. Under him the
school moved into a five-story brick structure vacated by a white
school when better quarters for the latter had been provided. The
Negro school was then named the Langston Academy in honor of John
Mercer Langston, a Negro congressman and public official of wide
reputation. Miss Iva Wilson of Gallipolis succeeded Mr. Campbell as
principal, with Miss Jordan as assistant. Later there came as
principal Mr. F. C. Smith, A. W. Puller, and Ralph W. White, and
finally the efficient and scholarly Isaiah L. Scott, a promising youth
cut off before he had a chance to manifest his worth to the
world.[29]
Somewhat later than this, another group of Negro schools developed in
Cabell County, the first and most important being in Guyandotte and
Barboursville. These schools followed as a result of employment of
Negroes on the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, terminating in the
seventies at the Ohio River, where it gave rise to the city of
Huntington, West Virginia, laid out in 1870. Most of these Negroes,
prominent among whom were James Woodson, Nelson Barnett, and W. O.
James, came from Virginia. The first school established near
Huntington was opened in the log house on Cemetery Hill, one and a
half miles east of the town and a little west of Guyandotte. The Negro
school enumeration was so small that the two towns had to cooperate in
maintaining one school.
The teacher first employed was Mrs. Julia Jones, a lady who had most
of the rudiments of education. Some old citizens refer to James
Liggins as the first teacher in this community. In this precarious
status of stinted support the school did not undergo any striking
development during the first years. Not until 1882, some years after
the school had been removed to Huntington itself, was there any
notable change. The first impetus which marked an epoch in the
development of this school came with the employment of Mr. and Mrs. W.
F. James, products of the Ohio school system. They were for their time
well-prepared teachers of foresight, who had the ability to arouse
interest and inspire the people. Mr. James at once entered upon the
task of the thorough reorganization of the school and by 1886 brought
the institution to the rank of that of the grammar school, beginning
at the same time some advanced classes commonly taught in the high
schools. He was an earnest worker, willing to sacrifice everything for
the good of the cause. While thus spending his energy as a sacrifice
for many he passed away respected by his pupils and honored by the
patrons of the school. His wife continued for a number of years
thereafter to render the system the same efficient service as the
popular primary teacher upon which the success of the work of the
higher grades largely depended, until she passed away in 1899.
The school then had the services of Mr. Ramsey and Mr. J. B. Cabell
who seemingly gave some impetus to the forward movement. Another epoch
in the history of the school was reached when W. T. McKinney became
principal in 1891. With the cooperation of the leading Negroes of the
city he succeeded in inducing the board of education to build on the
corner of Sixteenth Street and Eighth Avenue the Douglass High School,
which in its first form, prior to the making of certain additions,
consisted of a well-built six-room school costing several thousand
dollars. Mr. McKinney added the high school course and in the year
1893 graduated the first class of three. Following Mr. McKinney there
served the system efficiently as principals C. H. Barnett from 1890 to
1900, C. G. Woodson from 1900 to 1903, and R. P. Sims from 1903 to
1906. J. W. Scott, who succeeded Mr. Sims, is today principal of this
school, ranking throughout the State as one of its foremost educators.
Following along the line of Wayne County there soon appeared a school
at Ceredo and another at Fort Gay, just across the river from Louisa,
Kentucky. Under Mrs. Pogue, a woman of ambition and efficiency, this
school accomplished much good and exerted an influence throughout that
county. A number of students trained through the sixth, seventh, and
eighth grades later attended schools in other parts and made good
records because of the thorough training they first received. At Fort
Gay in this same county, however, no such desirable results were
achieved because of the small Negro population, the inability to
secure teachers for the small amount paid, and the tendency on the
part of local trustees there to change their teachers. Mrs. Cora
Brooks Smith, a graduate of the Ironton High School, who toiled there
a number of years, and Miss Susie Woodson, an alumnus of the Douglass
High School of Huntington, West Virginia, who also labored in the same
field, should be given at least passing mention in any sketch setting
forth the achievements in education among the Negroes in Wayne County.
THE STRIVINGS IN SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA
In southern West Virginia there were at first few schools for Negroes,
inasmuch as the small Negro groups here and there did not warrant the
outlay. What instruction such Negroes received prior to 1888 was
largely private. That year an epoch was marked in the development of
the southern portion of the State by the completion of the main line
of the Norfolk and Western Railroad, opening up one of the largest
coal fields in the United States. As the discontented Negroes of
Virginia and North Carolina were eager for industrial opportunities in
the mining regions of the Appalachian Mountains, these coal fields
attracted them in large numbers. Bluefield, which developed in a few
years from a barren field in 1888 to a town of almost ten thousand by
1900, indicates how rapidly the population there increased. Other
large centers of industry, like Elkhorn, Northfork, Welch, and
Keystone, soon became more than ordinary mining towns.
When these places had worn off the rough edges of frontier settlement
and directed their attention to economic and social welfare, they
naturally clamored for education. The first school for whites was
established in Bluefield in 1889 and one for the Negroes, with Gordon
Madson as teacher, followed in 1890. Prominent among the pioneering
teachers in Bluefield were Mr. A. J. Smith and Mrs. L. O. McGhee, who
began their work in a one-room log building in the suburbs of the
town. About the end of the nineties there were Negro schools in most
of the important mining towns along the Norfolk and Western Railroad
between Bluefield and Williamson.
The Negro school in Bluefield had an interesting history. The school,
of course, was poorly equipped and the teachers were not then
adequately paid, but they continued their work two sessions of five
months each. In the third year the school was moved to another town
called Cooperstown where it was housed in a two-room building more
comfortable than the first structure, but not a modern establishment.
As it was situated in crowded quarters, the children had no
playground. Several years thereafter, the work was continued by Mr.
Patterson and Mrs. E. O. Smith. When, however, a large Negro
population settled in North Bluefield it was necessary to provide
there a two-room building between them. In this school-house taught
Mr. P. J. Carter with an enrolment of about thirty pupils. Not long
thereafter the building in the suburb of Cooperstown was burned. Two
additional rooms were then annexed to that of North Bluefield, but
before that could be occupied it was also destroyed in the same way.
The Board of Education then opened a school, in a building used first
as a bar-room, then as a pool-room, and finally as a courthouse.
Thereafter an old store-room was used for four years.
There were then four teachers in Bluefield, Mr. H. Smith, Mr. T. P.
Wright, Mesdames Lane, and E. C. Smith. In time Mr. Wright and Mr.
Smith were replaced by Miss H. W. Booze, Mr. W. A. Saunders and Mr. R.
A. McDonald. Mr. Saunders remained for one year and then was followed
by Mr. G. W. Hatter who was in his turn succeeded by Mr. R. F.
Douglass, who served as principal four years. Mr. Douglass had the
board of education appropriate funds for a six-room building and
increase the corps of teachers to five. By raising funds in the
community through entertainments and the like, the teachers purchased
a library of 100 volumes. In later years Mr. Douglass was followed by
Mr. E. L. Rand, a graduate of Lincoln University.
At Keystone in 1890 Mr. J. A. Brown opened its first Negro school with
an enrolment of about twenty-five. He was a man of fair education, but
could not accomplish very much because the term was only three months
in length. The school was held in one of the private houses belonging
to the coal company and later in the church. In subsequent years
there was very much development in the right direction, which proved
the quality of the teachers employed in the school. Among these were
Rev. J. Whittico, Mrs. Josephine D. Cannady, Mary A. McSwain, and
Maggie Anderson. This school was later combined to form the
Keystone-Eckman graded school, and now has an eight months' term and
well-qualified teachers.[30] A school had been established at Eckman
in 1893 by James Knox Smith.
In November, 1892, one Moses Sanders at Northfork opened a school with
an enrolment of twenty. He had only a rudimentary education. He served
at Northfork for three terms using methods considered fair for that
time, and his work, as a whole, was regarded as successful. He had
there the support of such a useful person as Henry Glenn, now a member
of the board of education.[31] This school has later developed into a
standard elementary graded school and a junior and senior high school
of more than one hundred students. It has done well under the
reorganization and direction of the efficient J. W. Robinson.
HIGHER EDUCATION OF NEGROES
It did not require much argument to show that the schools could not
make much progress without some provision for developing its own
teaching force. The State Superintendent was early authorized,
therefore, to arrange with some school in the State for the
professional training of Negro teachers. For a number of years the
State depended largely upon such normal training as could be given at
Storer College at Harper's Ferry. The reports of the State
Superintendent of Schools carried honorable mention from period to
period of the successful work being accomplished there under the
direction of Dr. N. C. Brackett, which work was the only effort for
secondary education for Negroes in the State at that time. This was
given an impetus by a measure introduced in the legislature by Judge
James H. Ferguson of Charleston, providing for an arrangement with
Storer College by which eighteen persons as candidates for teachers in
this State should be given free tuition at that institution. As this
school was in the extreme northeastern section of the State and was
geographically a part of Maryland and Virginia, however, the Negroes
of the central and southern portions of Virginia soon began the
movement for the establishment of a Negro school providing for normal
instruction nearer home. Mr. William Davis and his corps of teachers
in Charleston, West Virginia, were among the first in West Virginia to
direct attention to this crying need. Impetus was also given the
movement by the rapid development of higher grades in Point Pleasant,
Saint Albans, Montgomery, Lewisburg and Eckman, necessitating better
trained teachers. In the summers of 1890, 1891, and 1892, Byrd
Prillerman and H. B. Rice undertook to supply this need by conducting
a summer school in the city of Charleston. Still further stimulus came
later from the establishment of promising high schools in Parkersburg,
Wheeling, Clarksburg, Huntington, and Charleston.
During this same period, however, a systematic effort was being made
to interest a larger group in the more efficient training of Negro
leaders. The Baptists of the State, led by C. H. Payne, undertook to
establish a college in West Virginia. Payne toured the State in behalf
of the enterprise, setting forth the urgent need for such an
institution and showing how this objective could be attained. Rallying
to this call, the people of the State raised a sum adequate to
purchase a site, which was soon sought by authority of the Baptists of
the State. They selected the abandoned building and grounds of Shelton
College, overlooking Saint Albans. Because of race prejudice, however,
the people of that town started such a protest that the owners of the
property were induced not to sell the site for such an unpopular
purpose.
A more successful effort, however, was soon made. Talking with
Superintendent Morgan about the necessity for higher education for the
Negroes of West Virginia, Byrd Prillerman obtained from this official
the promise to support a movement to supply this need. Superintendent
Morgan furthermore directed Prillerman to Governor Fleming to take up
with him the same proposal. The Governor was in a receptive mood and
informed Prillerman, moreover, that this problem could be more easily
solved than he had at first thought, for the reason that such an
institution could be so established as to benefit by the Morrill Land
Grant Act intended to subsidize, with funds from the proceeds of
public lands, institutions largely devoted to instruction in
Agriculture. Like the Negro Baptists of the State, Governor Fleming
thought of purchasing Shelton College in St. Albans; but inasmuch as
that place was not available the State government had to take more
serious action. As Governor Fleming said he would give his approval to
a bill for the establishment of such an institution, the only problem
to be then solved was to find persons to pilot such a measure through
the legislature. Superintendent Morgan outlined the plans for this
legislation. He showed how necessary it was to secure the support of
Mr. C. C. Watts and Judge James H. Ferguson. Byrd Prillerman used his
influence in securing the support of Mr. Watts and C. H. Payne induced
Judge Ferguson to lend the cause a helping hand. These gentlemen
framed the measure which, after some unnecessary debate and
unsuccessful opposition from friends of Storer College, they piloted
through the legislature in 1891 as a measure establishing the West
Virginia Colored Institute.
The first head of this institution was James E. Campbell, a graduate
of the Pomeroy High School. After laying the foundation and
popularizing the work to some extent in the central portion of the
State, Campbell resigned and was succeeded by J. H. Hill, who rendered
very efficient service until 1899, when he was succeeded by J. McHenry
Jones, under whom the school considerably expanded. Following him
came Byrd Prillerman, a man beloved by the people of West Virginia. He
had already been a successful teacher of English in this school. He
then served the institution as president for ten years, emphasizing
the high ideals of Christian character as the essentials in the
preparation of youth. In 1915 a collegiate course was established at
this institution and its name was changed to that of the West Virginia
Collegiate Institute. In 1919 Byrd Prillerman was succeeded by John W.
Davis, under whom the institution is progressing with renewed vigor in
its new field as a reorganized college furnishing facilities for
education not offered elsewhere for the youth of West Virginia.
The influx of Negroes into the southern counties of the State, which
necessitated the establishment of many elementary schools, caused at
the same time a demand for the extension of the facilities of
pedagogic training of the advanced order provided in the West Virginia
Colored Institute, which was not at first easily accessible to the
people of southern West Virginia. Acting upon the memorials, praying
that this need be supplied, the legislature established the Bluefield
Colored Institute in 1895. Mr. Hamilton Hatter was made the first
principal and upon him devolved the task of organizing this
institution. After serving the institution efficiently until 1906 he
retired, and was succeeded by Mr. R. P. Sims, who had formerly been an
efficient and popular assistant under Mr. Hatter at this institution.
Mr. Sims has acceptably filled this position until the present time.
THE WEST VIRGINIA TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION
To promote education and to encourage interest in their particular
work the Negro teachers of the State soon deemed it wise to take steps
for more thorough cooperation of the whole teaching corps of West
Virginia. White and Negro teachers were then admitted to the same
teachers' institutes and in certain parts were encouraged to
participate in the general discussions; but believing that they could
more successfully cooperate through organizations of their own, the
teachers in Charleston, in 1891, appointed from their own reading
circle a committee to organize a State Teachers' Association. This
committee was composed of H. B. Rice, P. B. Burbridge and Byrd
Prillerman. The meeting was invited by Byrd Prillerman, as secretary,
to meet at the Simpson M. E. Church in Charleston. More than fifty
teachers and race leaders attended. Inasmuch as H. B. Rice, the
chairman of the committee, was absent on account of illness, P. B.
Burbridge, whose name was second on the list of the committee, called
the meeting to order, and delivered the address of welcome. William T.
McKinney of Huntington was elected temporary chairman. The Association
was then permanently organized by naming Byrd Prillerman its first
president and Mrs. Rhoda Weaver its first secretary. Among the most
important addresses was that of C. H. Payne, an influential and
educated minister then engaged in religious and editorial work at
Montgomery, and that of B. S. Morgan, State Superintendent of Public
Schools. Others attending the meeting were Dr. W. T. Merchant, Mrs. E.
M. Dandridge, Mrs. M. A. Washington-Thompson, F. C. Smith, and J. R.
Jefferson.[32]
The second meeting of this Association assembled according to
arrangement in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The work of the Association
had by this time been taken more seriously by the teachers throughout
the State. They adopted a constitution with a preamble which stated
that the aim of the Association was "to elevate the character and
advance the interest of the profession of teaching, and to promote the
cause of popular education in the State of West Virginia." An address
was delivered by State Superintendent of Schools B. S. Morgan, and
papers were read by Mrs. E. M. Dandridge of Quinnimont, Miss Blanche
Jeffries of Charleston, Miss Coralie Franklin of Storer College, and
Principal J. E. Campbell of the West Virginia Colored Institute. Among
the persons attending but not appearing on the program were C. H.
Barnett, who had been recently graduated by Dennison University in
Ohio; C. H. Payne, then well known in the State of West Virginia; Dr.
W. S. Kearney, a graduate of the medical college of Shaw University,
then beginning his practice in Huntington; J. R. Jefferson, F. C.
Smith and O. A. Wells. Booker T. Washington was at this time made an
honorary member. Byrd Prillerman was unanimously elected president.
The third annual meeting of the Association was held at Parkersburg,
West Virginia, in 1893. For some reason there were not many teachers
present. It was held at the Baptist Church of that city, with
President Byrd Prillerman presiding. The address of welcome was
delivered by Mr. J. R. Jefferson, to the words of whom Mr. C. W. Boyd
of Charleston responded. At this meeting Principal J. E. Campbell of
the West Virginia Colored Institute was made president of the
Association, with C. W. Boyd, J. R. Jefferson, Miss Mary F. Norman as
vice-presidents, Miss Clara Thomas as secretary, Miss E. D. Webster as
treasurer, and Mrs. Susie James as historian. Two of the most
prominent persons participating in this meeting were J. McHenry Jones,
then principal of the high school in Wheeling, and J. H. Hill, an
instructor in the West Virginia Colored Institute.
The fourth annual meeting assembled at Montgomery. J. E. Campbell
being absent, Professor C. W. Boyd presided. The meeting to a certain
extent was a successful one. A Thanksgiving sermon was preached by Dr.
C. H. Payne. Dr. H. F. Gamble read a paper on "Science in Common
School Education." The Association took high ground by adopting a
resolution urging a compulsory school law. A committee consisting of
C. W. Boyd, Rev. G. B. Howard, J. W. Scott, John H. Hill, and Byrd
Prillerman, was appointed to urge the State to make an appropriation
for the teaching fund of the West Virginia Colored Institute. Byrd
Prillerman was again elected President and Miss Fannie Cobb was chosen
secretary.
The fifth annual meeting of the Association was held at Hinton. An
important feature of the meeting was the method of entertainment, in
that the citizens of Hinton gave the teachers a free banquet. Still
more significant was the address delivered by Dr. J. E. Jones of the
Richmond Theological Seminary. Byrd Prillerman, the President, himself
delivered an important address giving valuable facts as to the
conditions of the schools of the State, evoking widely extended
comment. The most prominent persons attending were J. H. Hill,
Principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute, G. B. Howard, Miss
Mary Booze, W. T. McKinney, and Miss G. E. Fulks.[33]
The sixth annual meeting was held in Charleston in the House of
Delegates, November 26-27, 1896. This was the largest and most
interesting meeting hitherto held. Welcome addresses were delivered by
C. W. Boyd of the Garnet High School, Mr. George L. Laidley,
Superintendent of the Charleston Public Schools, and Governor W. A.
McCorkle. Responses to the words of welcome were delivered by J. H.
Hill, principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute, Hamilton
Hatter, principal of the Bluefield Colored Institute, and C. H. Payne.
Other prominent persons who attended the meeting were Honorable V. A.
Lewis, P. F. Jones, Colonel B. W. Byrne, Professor A. L. Wade, J. R.
Jefferson, Rev. D. W. Shaw, Dr. G. W. Holley, P. B. Burbridge, Dr. H.
F. Gamble, Dr. L. B. Washington, Mrs. E. M. Dandridge, Mrs. M. A. W.
Thompson and Mrs. Byrd Prillerman. Officers elected were: President,
Byrd Prillerman; Vice Presidents, J. R. Jefferson, Mrs. E. M.
Dandridge, C. W. Boyd; Secretary, Miss Mary J. Jones; Treasurer, Mrs.
M. A. W. Thompson; Historian, Mr. George L. Cuzzins.
After this meeting of such unusual interest and unexpected success,
the West Virginia Teachers' Association reached its purely pedagogic
setting. It ceased to be the organization concerned with the general
social uplift, of all, and thereafter restricted its program largely
to educational matters. This was due not so much to any desire on the
part of the teachers to discontinue cooperation with the clergy, but
rather to direct attention primarily to the problems of education.
Ministers, thereafter, figured less conspicuously in the conventions,
except so far as their interests were coincident with those of the
teaching body.
There have been twenty-eight sessions of the Association held at
Charleston, Huntington,[34] Parkersburg, Hinton, St. Albans,
Bluefield, Institute, Kimball, and Harper's Ferry. The session which
was scheduled for Clarksburg in 1900 was called off because of the
outbreak of small-pox just before the time for the session to be
convened.
Eleven well-known persons have served as president of the Association.
Byrd Prillerman served nine terms, C. W. Boyd one, J. R. Jefferson
one, J. W. Scott three, H. H. Railey one, Hamilton Hatter one, R. P.
Sims two, E. L. Rann two, J. W. Moss two, A. W. Curtis two, John F.
J. Clark two, and H. L. Dickason, the present incumbent, two. Those
who have served as secretary are Miss Rhoda E. Weaver, Miss M. Blanche
Jeffries, Miss Clara Thomas, Miss Fannie C. Cobb, Miss Mary J. Jones,
and Miss C. Ruth Campbell, and Miss H. Pryor.
Among the prominent persons who have addressed the Association are
Hon. C. H. Payne, Ex-Governor George W. Atkinson, Ex-Governor William
A. McCorkle, and State Superintendents B. S. Morgan, Virgil A. Lewis,
James Russell Trotter, and M. P. Shawkey. Among other distinguished
persons have been Dr. J. E. Jones, Prof. George William Cook, J.
McHenry Jones, Prof. Kelly Miller, Dr. W. E. B. Dubois, Prof. William
Pickens, Mr. William A. Joiner, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, Miss Nannie H.
Burroughs, John W. Davis, and Dr. J. E. Gregg.[35]
C. G. WOODSON
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This study was undertaken at the suggestion of President John W.
Davis, of The West Virginia Collegiate Institute. He appointed a
committee to collect the facts bearing on the early efforts of workers
among the Negroes in West Virginia. The members of this committee were
C. G. Woodson, D. A. Lane, A. A. Taylor, S. H. Guss, C. E. Jones, Mary
E. Eubank, J. S. Price, F. A. Parker, and W. F. Savoy.
At the first meeting of the committee, C. G. Woodson was chosen
Chairman and at his suggestion the following questionnaire was drawn
up and sent out:
A QUESTIONNAIRE ON NEGRO EDUCATION IN WEST VIRGINIA
Place........................
1. When was a Negro school first opened in your district?
2. What was the enrollment?
3. Who was the first teacher?
4. Was he well prepared?
5. How long did he serve?
6. Were his methods up-to-date or antiquated?
7. Did he succeed or fail?
8. Who were the useful patrons supporting the school?
9. What was the method of securing certificates?
10. What was the method of hiring teachers?
11. What was the method of paying teachers, that is, did the
school district pay promptly or was it necessary to discount
their drafts or wait a long period to be paid? 12. Did the
community own the school property or was the school taught in a
private home or in a church?
13. What has been the progress or development of the school?
14. What is its present condition?
15. What persons in your community can give additional facts on
Negro education?
Name........................
From the distribution of these questionnaires there were obtained the
salient facts of the early history of the pioneer education among
Negroes in the State. A number of names of other persons in a position
to give additional information were returned with the questionnaires.
These were promptly used wherever the information needed could not be
supplied from any other source. Members of the committee, moreover,
visited persons in various parts and interviewed them to obtain facts
not otherwise available. Wherever it was possible, the investigators
consulted the available records of the State and county. In this way,
however, only meager information could be obtained.
The most reliable sources were such books as the annual _Reports of
the State Superintendent of Public Schools_, the _History of Education
in West Virginia_ (Edition of 1904), and the _History of Education in
West Virginia_ (Edition of 1907). Such local histories as the _Howard
School of Piedmont, West Virginia_, and K. J. Anthony's _Storer
College_ were also helpful.
At the conclusion of this study, President John W. Davis made the
celebration of Founder's Day, May 3, 1921, a convocation for
rehearsing the early educational history of the State. Most of the
living pioneers in this cause were invited to address this meeting, as
they would doubtless under the inspiration of the occasion, set forth
facts which an ordinary interview would not evoke, and thus it
happened.
Of those invited Mrs. E. M. Dandridge, one of the oldest educators in
the State, Mr. S. H. Guss, head of the Secondary Department of The
West Virginia Collegiate Institute, and President Emeritus Byrd
Prillerman responded with forceful addresses. Mrs. Dandridge gave in a
very impressive way a brief account of education in Fayette County.
Mr. Guss delivered an informing address on the contribution of the
early teachers from Ohio, and President Emeritus Prillerman expressed
with emphasis a new thought in taking up the rise of schools in the
State and the organization and growth of the West Virginia Teachers'
Association. Prof. J. S. Price, of the West Virginia Collegiate
Institute, showed by interesting and informing charts the development
of the Negro teacher and the Negro school in West Virginia.
At the conclusion of all of these efforts the facts collected were
turned over to C. G. Woodson to be embodied in literary form. Prof. D.
A. Lane, of the Department of English of The West Virginia Collegiate
Institute, also a member of the committee, read the manuscript and
suggested a few changes.
[2] Report of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1864, p.
31.
[3] _History of Education in West Virginia_ (Edition of 1907), p. 274.
[4] See West Virginia Constitution.
[5] _History of Education in West Virginia_ (Edition of 1907), p. 274.
[6] _History of Education in West Virginia_ (Edition of 1907), p. 268.
[7] _Ibid._, 269.
[8] _The Parkersburg Weekly Times_, June 7, 1866.
[9] These facts were obtained from local records.
[10] _History of Education in West Virginia_ (Edition of 1907), pp.
269-270.
[11] These facts were obtained from the local records, from Mr. S. H.
Guss and from Mr. D. H. Kyle, both of whom served as teachers in
Clarksburg.
[12] _History of Education in West Virginia_ (Edition of 1907), pp.
273-274.
[13] These facts were obtained from local records.
[14] _History of the Howard School, Piedmont, West Virginia_, 1919,
passim.
[15] This fact is stated in a letter of J. E. Robinson.
[16] _History of Education in West Virginia_ (Edition of 1907), pp.
264-266; and _Storer College, Brief Historical Sketch_, by K. J.
Anthony.
[16a] These facts were obtained from Mrs. Brady's daughter.
[17] Facts obtained from a former teacher at this place, Freida
Campbell.
[18] _History of Education in West Virginia_ (Edition of 1907), p.
243.
[19] Facts obtained from local records.
[20] These facts were obtained from the teachers and oldest citizens
of the town, who actually participated in these early efforts.
[21] These facts were supplied by Mary Campbell, an old citizen of
Union.
[22] _History of Education in West Virginia_ (Edition of 1904), _Negro
Education in Fayette County_.
[23] Facts obtained from old citizens and former teachers.
[24] These facts were obtained from old citizens and from local
records. See also J. P. Hale's _Trans-Allegheny Pioneers_, 385.
[25] This is largely Mr. Davis's own statement verified by several
other authorities and by local records.
[26] These statements are supported by the records of the Board of
Education of Charleston.
[27] In the summer of 1874 there was circulated among the teachers of
this school a petition in behalf of Miss Bertha Chapelle, who was
chosen to teach the second term of the high school. In this way the
last month of the session was taught with but one scholar attending.
In the year 1875 Miss Mollie Berry was chosen to teach this school,
and she was followed in 1876 by Mr. Frank C. James, who had taught
previously the first public school in the county at Kanawha City, in
1866. He was succeeded in 1877 by Mr. Pitt Campbell, who was followed
by Mrs. Bettie Cabell in 1878. She was in turn succeeded by Mr. Brack
Cabell the following year. In 1880 the school was moved to the site
now occupied by the two-room village school, and was called the Piney
Road School. Mr. J. B. Cabell was chosen teacher for the first year.
In 1881 Miss Emma Ferguson was selected teacher. Miss Ferguson, now
Mrs. Emma Jones, is still an active teacher. In 1882 Miss Addie Wells
taught this school. She was followed by Miss Annie Cozzins. In 1884 W.
C. Cabell was in charge. He was succeeded in 1885 by Otho Wells and he
by Mrs. Julia Brown in 1886.
[28] These facts were obtained from old citizens and from local
records.
[29] For a more detailed account, see the History of Education in West
Virginia, pp. 272-273.
[30] These facts were obtained from local records.
[31] These facts were obtained from J. W. Robinson, the principal of
the school.
[32] The following resolutions adopted at the meeting of the Teachers'
Association in 1891 were suggestive:
1. That all persons of high literary standing, who are not teachers,
be admitted as honorary members.
2. That we highly commend the committee of arrangements for their
success in bringing together so many teachers and professional
persons, and for making the meeting of so much importance and
interest.
3. That we recognize in the death of Prof. W. B. Ross, A.M., who died
at his post at Greenville, Texas, August 20, 1891, the loss of one of
our ripest scholars and most efficient educators.
4. That we tender our thanks to Hon. B. S. Morgan, State
Superintendent, for the interest he manifested in the Association and
the able address he delivered before us.
5. That the Summer School for Teachers, as has been taught by
Professors H. B. Rice and Byrd Prillerman, has been a means of
elevating the standard of our teachers, and should be continued.
6. That we indorse the action of the State Legislature in establishing
the West Virginia Colored Institute, and that we will do all in our
power to make this school a success.
7. That we make _The Pioneer_ the official organ of the Association.
8. That we tender our thanks to the Pastor and Congregation for the
use of this Church, and also to Mr. I. C. Cabell for his valuable
services as organist.
The Committee was composed of J. R. Jefferson, Mary M. Brown, Dr. W.
T. Merchant, C. H. Payne, Miss Luella Ferguson and Atty. M. H. Jones.
[33] This account of the early meetings of the West Virginia Teachers'
Association is found in the Twelfth Biennial Report of the State
Superintendent of Schools of West Virginia, 1895-1896, pp. 111-113.
[34] At the Huntington meeting in 1892 an original poem on
Thanksgiving Day was read by Miss Leota Moss. The poem was written by
Paul Lawrence Dunbar for this special occasion at the request of Byrd
Prillerman, the president. The price paid Dunbar for this service was
$2.00.
[35] The more recent record of the West Virginia Teachers' Association
was given by Byrd Prillerman, who served that body nine terms as
president.
THE FIRST NEGRO CHURCHES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The early Negro churches in the District of Columbia were Methodist
and Baptist. The rise of numerous churches of these sects in
contradistinction to those of other denominations may be easily
accounted for by the fact that in the beginning the Negroes were
earnestly sought by the Methodists and Baptists because white persons
of high social position at first looked with contempt upon these
evangelical denominations; but when in the course of time the poor
whites who had joined the Methodist church accumulated wealth and some
of them became aristocratic slaveholders themselves, they assumed such
a haughty attitude toward the Negroes that the increasing race hate
made their presence so intolerable that the independent church
movement among the Negro Methodists and Baptists was the only remedy
for their humiliation. The separation of the Negro Methodists was made
possible at a much earlier date in the District of Columbia, when
Richard Allen had set the example by his protest against
discrimination in the Methodist church, of Philadelphia, which
culminated in the establishment of the distinct Negro denomination,
and also when the Zionites in New York City, led by James Varick, had
separated from the Methodists there for similar reasons. It was not
until the time of the critical period of the slavery agitation,
however, that practically all of the Protestant churches provided
separate pews and separate galleries for Negroes and so rigidly
enforced the rules of segregation that there was a general exodus of
the Negroes, in cities of the border States, from the Protestant
churches.[1] The District of Columbia had the same upheaval.
The records show that among the Methodists the alienation developed
sooner than in any of the other churches. "As early as 1820,"
according to an investigator, "the colored members of the Ebenezer
Church on Fourth Street, East, near Virginia Avenue, erected a log
building in that vicinity, not far from the present Odd Fellow's
lodge, for their social, religious meetings and Sabbath school. About
the same time some of the leading members among them, George Bell and
George Hicks, became dissatisfied with their treatment, withdrew, and
organized a church in connection with the African Methodist Episcopal
church. At first they worshipped in Basil Sim's Rope-walk, First
Street east, near Pennsylvania Avenue, but subsequently in Rev. Mr.
Wheat's school-house on Capitol Hill, near Virginia Avenue. They
finally purchased the old First Presbyterian Church at the foot of
Capitol Hill, later known as the Israel Bethel Colored Methodist
Episcopal Church. Some years thereafter other members of the old
Ebenezer Church, not liking their confined quarters in the gallery,
and otherwise discontented, purchased a lot on the corner of C Street
south and Fifth Street east, built a house of worship, and organized
the "Little Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Church."[2]
About the year 1825 a third colonization from the original Ebenezer
Church took place. One grievance among others was that the Negro
members were dissatisfied with their white pastors because they
declined to take the Negro children into their arms when administering
the rites of baptism. In 1839 this alienation developed into an open
rupture, when thirteen class leaders and one exhorter left the mother
church, and, after purchasing a lot on the Island, erected a house and
formed a Negro church, independent of the Methodist Episcopal body,
under the name of the Wesley Zion Church, and employed a Negro
preacher. Among the prominent men in this separation were Enoch
Ambush, the well-known schoolmaster, and Anthony Bowen, who for many
years was an estimable employee in the Department of the Interior.[3]
Mr. Bowen served as a local preacher for forty years, and under his
guidance St. Paul's Negro Church on the Island was organized, at first
worshipping in E Street Chapel."[3a]
The white Methodists of Georgetown elbowed their Negro membership out
of their meeting house, but for fourteen years, that is, until 1830,
they kept no written church records except a list of this one sold to
Georgia, another to Carolina, a third to Louisiana, and others to
different parts--annals befitting the time and place, and a
searchlight on conditions then prevailing at the National Capitol and
elsewhere south of the Mason and Dixon line. In 1830 the membership
was large and much spirituality was manifested. White ministers of
more than local note were anxious to serve these people. At the
instance of one of them, Mr. Roszel, the church was first called Mount
Zion Methodist Episcopal Church, because it was located on a hill. The
feasibility of having Negro ministers to preside over Negro churches
was proposed in 1849 and was a fruitful theme for several years.[4] In
fact, it was due to this effort that the organization of Union Wesley
A. M. E., the John Wesley, and Ebenezer Churches followed. John Brent,
a member of Mt. Zion, led in the first named movement, and Clement
Beckett, another reformer, espoused the organization of Ebenezer in
1856, as a church "for Negroes and by Negroes."[5]
The beginnings of the Israel Colored Methodist Episcopal Church
centered around the evangelical activity of David Smith, a native of
Baltimore, the most energetic of individual forces in the organization
of the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in the city of
Washington. The presence of a Negro preacher was objectionable to many
Negroes themselves. As early as 1821 Mr. Smith was assigned to
Washington but his coming was the signal for personal attack, and he
was mobbed by members of his own race, communicants of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, who were opposed to the African Methodists. He
persisted, however, and having secured an old school house for $300,
entered upon his work with such zeal and energy that he commanded
success. Among the men and women active in the first efforts were
Scipio Beans, George Simms, Peter Schureman, George Hicks, Dora Bowen,
William Costin, William Datcher, William Warren and George Bell, one
of the three colored men who fifteen years before had erected a
building for a Negro school.
Israel promptly became a member of the Baltimore Conference, one of
the oldest conferences of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The
first Negro conference to meet in Washington was held in Israel during
the administration of Andrew Jackson. Its assembly caused a sensation
and gave the church and the denomination a standing surpassing that of
all other Negro churches in the community. It was also largely through
the personalities of the ministers in charge of Israel that its
influence on its congregation and through them on the community must
be judged. Among those in the period of its African Methodist
affiliation were David Smith, Clayton Durham, John and William
Cornish, James A. Shorter, Daniel A. Payne, Samuel Watts, Jeremiah R.
V. Thomas, Henry M. Turner, William H. Hunter, George T. Watkins,
James H. A. Johnson, and finally Jacob M. Mitchell, the last of the
African Methodist Episcopal pastors at Israel. Smith and Durham were
colleagues of Richard Allen; William Cornish was in the antislavery
struggle; Hunter and Turner served as chaplains in the Union Army; and
Payne, Wayman, Shorter and Turner became bishops of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church.
The career of Bishop Payne is widely known, but some incidents in his
pastorate deserve emphasis. Under a prevailing law he had to secure a
bond of one thousand dollars before he could remain in the District of
Columbia and officiate as a minister. The building being without pews
and the people too poor to buy them, Payne, who had learned the trade
of a carpenter, bought tools, threw off his coat, and, with the aid of
the society furnishing the lumber, in a few weeks seated the basement
of the church. The first Negro ministers' union in Washington was
organized by Bishop Payne, the other two members being John F. Cook of
the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church and Levi Collins of Wesley
Zion.
It was during the Civil War, however, that the influence of Israel was
at its maximum. Then it was that the intellectual genius, the fiery
pulpit orator, the daring and unique Henry McNeal Turner, was not only
a conspicuous preacher but preeminent as a national character. These
were stirring times. All eyes were on Washington. Israel Church played
a leading part in the drama. Here the members of Congress, prominent
among whom at the time were Benjamin F. Wade, Thaddeus Stevens and
Henry Wilson, addressed the Negro citizens on the dominant issues of
the day, buoying them up in the midst of their darkness and gloom. At
this time the Israel Lyceum was an institution not unlike the Bethel
Literary Association of thirty years later, that drew the most
intellectual men to listen to lectures, participate in discussions,
and read dissertations on timely topics.[6]
In reckoning the influence[7] of this church the individuals whose
place was in the pew must not be forgotten. The minister passes from
church to church; the layman remains. In hurried review there comes to
mind Alethea Tanner, who rescued the church when it was about to be
sold at auction. There were George Bell and Enoch Ambush, who operated
in this church basement a large school which was maintained for
thirty-two years. Honorable mention belongs here also to Rev. William
Nichols whom, because of his high ideals, Bishop Payne, in his
_History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church from 1816 to 1856_,
classed as "a man of more than ordinary intelligence firmly opposed to
the extravagent zeal and rude manners which characterized so many of
the leading men of his denomination." He was the "veritable hero who
had aided the martyred Torrey in covering the escape of many slaves
from the District of Columbia to Canada and who when by accident he
learned that suspicion rested on him the fear of arrest was so great
on his mind as to induce the paralysis which led to his (Nicoll's)
sudden death."[8]
Some years later a sermon preached at Israel by Bishop John M. Brown,
to whom the writer was a listener, deeply stirred the congregation. At
the time I did not understand what caused the tumult until I learned
from Rev. James Reid, a local preacher, that the church was
negotiating for another lot on which to erect a new building, and the
contention was whether the title to the new site should be held in
trust for the congregation or for the denomination. The people
contended that the property should be held in trust for them; the
bishop, on the other hand, maintained that it should be in the name of
the trustees of the denomination. The people were insistent and won
their contention. A step further was the repudiation of the
appointment made for them by the bishop, and the severance of their
relations with the A. M. E. church made them independent. After a
short interval Israel joined the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church,
which had been set apart in 1870 by the M. E. Church, South.[9]
During these years the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church was also in
the making. Certain records show January 15, 1836, as the date of the
organization of the Asbury Aid Society. These workers were originally
a part of the Old Foundry Church. When this congregation augmented so
that the gallery occupied by the Negro membership became too congested
for their accommodation, it became necessary to find more suitable
quarters. The old Smothers School House on H Street near Fourteenth
was rented for their use, but it, too, became inadequate, making the
purchase of ground on which to build an immediate necessity. Thomas
Johnson, Lewis Delaney, and Benjamin M. McCoy were constituted the
building committee that secured from William Billings the lot on which
the church was ultimately built. The Foundry Quarterly Conference,
under whose authority they were functioning, elected trustees and a
building committee to secure funds and pay for the building, but no
regular church organization was immediately effected. These
communicants remained under the sole management and control of the
Foundry Church until the organization of the Washington Conference in
the Civil War. Originally there were two Negro preachers, one a
deacon, the other a licentiate, and two exhorters in these early days.
There were three stewards, two black and one white. These constituted
the officiary and were members of the Foundry Quarterly Conference.
After the Annual Conference of 1841, when there were, according to the
stewards' records, 423 Negro members, an appeal was made to the
Quarterly Conference of the Foundry for a preacher to take more direct
supervision of the church. By order of the bishop, Rev. James M.
Hanson, a supernumerary of the Foundry Church was appointed to take
the charge of Asbury as its regular minister. Though a separate
charge, Asbury was not a separate station, and it continued in
subordination to the Foundry Church. After Hanson's appointment,
regular weekly meetings were established, but the white leaders did
not seem to succeed, for four of them had by this time resigned. In
1845 there was but one white leader remaining, and he did not meet
regularly with the Negro leaders.[10] Again in 1851, therefore, there
was an appeal to the presiding bishop and elders of the Baltimore
Annual Conference (white) praying for a separate establishment,[11]
and the request was finally granted in the Civil War.
Union Bethel (Metropolitan) A. M. E. Church was organized July 6,
1838, as a branch of Israel A. M. E., with Clayton Durham as pastor,
assisted by John Cornish. They met in a little house which stood in
the rear of one Mr. Bolden's residence on L Street near Fifteenth
Street. William H. Moore took charge in 1840, after which regular
appointments annually followed. In 1841 there served one Mr. Moore,
who was reappointed, and in 1842 Edward Waters began an incumbency of
two years. In 1844 Adam S. Driver became pastor and remained two
years. He was succeeded in 1847 by Thomas W. Henry. In 1848 Alexander
Washington Wayman, whose name frequently figures in the history of the
church and denomination, appeared on the scene, followed in 1850 by W.
H. Moore. In 1851 Wayman returned to Union Bethel and remained two
years. In 1853 John R. V. Morgan, destined to occupy a unique figure
because of his oratorical ability, was pastor. Savage L. Hammond, who
was appointed in 1854, served also the next year.[12]
The first work towards the erection of the present Metropolitan
African Methodist Episcopal Church, first known as Union Bethel, was
begun by John W. Stevenson, who was transferred from the New Jersey
Conference and appointed by Bishop D. A. Payne for the specific
purpose of erecting the new building. He entered upon his work with
great zeal and alacrity, but pursued methods which, though adapted to
or suitable in the localities in which he had hitherto labored with
such phenomenal success, occasioned much friction and disgust in
Washington. He catered to elements that would relegate the more
cultured and progressive classes to the background, yet he secured
among the conservatives loyal support. At the end of his first year,
however, the spirit of rebellion was rife. A delegation of the
discontented element called on the presiding bishop to state their
grievance and effect the removal of the irrepressible minister, but
Bishop Payne was inexorable. He did not even give an actual hearing to
the petitioners, although they were personally known to him to be some
of the most faithful adherents of African Methodism. The next step was
open rebellion. Meetings were held by the dissatisfied group and in
the month of June more than a hundred and fifty persons, after the
question of forming a new religious organization had been carefully
canvassed, agreed to sever their connection with their spiritual
mother and raise their "Ebenezer" elsewhere. Notwithstanding this
opposition within and without, however, the old edifice was pulled
down and work on the new building was immediately begun.
The corner stone was laid in September, 1881, with appropriate
ceremonies under the auspices of the Masons. During the work on the
building, which was continued up to the fall of 1885, services were
held in the Hall on M Street diagonally opposite the square to the
west. By the end of Stevenson's second year, he had, by his
characteristic methods, alienated so many of those on whom he had
relied mainly for support that Bishop Payne, now disillusioned, was as
bitter against Stevenson as he was blindly his champion the year
before.[13] Stevenson was removed, but there were those who still
believed in his leadership. He refused to accept the appointment given
him and organized the Central Methodist Church with dissentients
formerly members of Union Bethel. James A. Handy was appointed
Stevenson's successor at this juncture, yet there was considerable
opposition even among those regarded as his firm personal and
political friends.[14] The building was finally completed. By a vote
of the African Methodist Episcopal Conference in 1872 the name was
changed from Union Bethel to Metropolitan.
The same forces tending toward separation were at this time at work
also among the Negro Baptist members in the white churches. This was
the case of the First Baptist Church (white) organized in 1802. Its
Negro members worshipped at first on the basis of equality with the
whites, but this came to an end when the Negro members were assigned
to the gallery, just as other churches of this time were gradually
segregating them. When the new white Baptist Church, which was
afterward sold and converted into a theater later known as Ford's
Theater, was built on Tenth Street, the Negro communicants were given
the gallery, but this was not satisfactory to the majority, who chafed
under the new arrangement. O. B. Brown, the pastor, however, tried
under the circumstances to treat the Negro members with as much
charity as his prejudiced members would permit, as he was a
kind-hearted man and did not believe in distinction on account of
color. When the Tenth Street Church was occupied in 1833, therefore,
these discontented members bought the old church on the corner of 19th
and I Streets, Northwest, which is still held by that congregation and
known throughout the country as the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church.
This was the first church of the denomination among the Negroes of the
District of Columbia. It was organized August 29, 1839, by Sampson
White, a Negro, assisted by John Healy and S. P. Hill, white pastors
of Baltimore, and Moses Clayton, a Negro minister, who was the founder
and pastor of the first Negro Baptist church of Baltimore. The
original members were William Bush, Eliza Bush, Lavinia Perry and
Emily Coke. The accession of Sampson White and wife increased the
membership to six. None of these had been members of any church in the
District of Columbia. They held letters from churches elsewhere, and
so were free to form a church of their own in this city. But the white
Baptist church, which had worshipped at 19th and I Streets, Northwest,
from the year of their organization, from 1802 to 1833, had many Negro
members who worshipped at 19th and I Streets for six years before
Sampson White organized his small congregation.
These Negro members of the white church, being separated in worship
from their white brethren, and having become sole owners of the house
of worship which formerly they and the whites owned as members of the
white church, wished to be organized as a separate body. This was
refused. Sampson White, therefore, organized the First Negro Baptist
Church of Washington, with persons not of the Washington white church,
and thereby secured the recognition of his church by the leading white
and Negro Baptists of Baltimore. In less than sixty days he had it in
the oldest and best known white Baptist connection in America, the
Philadelphia Baptist Association. This accomplished, Sampson White's
little group received into their body all of the Negro members of the
white church, except about twenty-three. These additional members made
this a congregation ten times the size of the original body. This
larger group, too, was in possession of the property at 19th and I
Streets, at the time that the founders received them as members, and
having been in possession of the property from the time it was sold to
the Negro members of the First Baptist Church, white, these Negro
Baptists, thereafter worshipping as the First Negro Baptist Church,
insisted that the property was theirs, while the few colored members
of the white church, who did not leave the parent body, claimed the
property as belonging to them. This led to a law suit which lasted for
years, but finally all the Negro members of the First Baptist Church,
white, cast in their lot with the members at 19th and I Streets, and
the trustees of the white church kindly released all claim in behalf
of Negro members of that body, and rendered the deed clear.[15]
The first pastorate of Sampson White was short. He was followed by
William Williams. Under his labors the membership increased almost to
two hundred. But the latter part of his incumbency was not peaceful
and William Bush, and others of the church withdrew. After casting
their lot with the white Second Baptist Church near the Navy Yard,
these seceders, along with others, were constituted the Second Negro
Baptist Church of this city, with H. Butler, a former member of the
church at 19th and I Streets, as pastor.
Following William Williams came Martin Jenkins as a supply. In 1849
Gustavus Brown became pastor, remaining for a short while. He was
succeeded by Sampson White, who, serving the congregation a second
time, remained with the church until 1853. Chauncey A. Leonard was the
next pastor, and after him Samuel M. Madden. At the close of the Civil
War, D. W. Anderson became pastor and for seven years labored for the
good of his church. During his ministry in Washington the church added
to its membership a thousand or more, chiefly as the result of the
additions to this city from the Negro population of the ex-slaves of
the South. But D. W. Anderson, as a man of great heart, labored for
all Washington. Under his leadership the Metropolitan and Vermont
Avenue Baptist churches were organized. The Nineteenth Street Baptist
Church building which had been altered and improved from time to time,
before his pastorate, was demolished and a new edifice erected in
1871. In 1872, D. W. Anderson passed to his reward and the church
erected a marble shaft in the Harmony Cemetery to mark the place
where his remains lie.
Anthony Binga, Sr., of Canada, followed D. W. Anderson, but his
pastorate was short. His successor was Jesse Boulden, of Mississippi,
who occupied the pulpit for about four years. During his pastorate
thirty members withdrew, and formed the Berean Baptist Church.
Sometime before this, the Salem Baptist Church had been constituted
with members from the churches of which Anderson, Binga and Boulden
had been pastors.[16]
The pastorate of Dr. Walter H. Brooks is the outstanding one in the
history of the church, extending from November 12, 1882, until the
present writing, the third decade of the twentieth century. During his
ministrations more than 3,500 have joined the church, 1,500 of whom
were personally baptized by him. The financial condition of the church
places it among the best managed churches in the country, although it
has at times assumed heavy obligations in making improvements and in
rebuilding. During the pastorate of Dr. Brooks a number of ministers
and preachers have gone forth from the Nineteenth Street Baptist
Church. Dr. J. L. Dart, the founder of an important education and
missionary work in South Carolina, was ordained at this church. Dr.
James R. L. Diggs, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, and head of
important educational work in Baltimore, is of this congregation,
having been baptized and ordained by Dr. Brooks. E. E. Rick, of
Newark, N. J., was ordained from the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church.
James L. Pinn is a product of this body, and Dr. Brooks was
influential in securing for him his first charge. John H. Burke,
pastor of Israel Baptist Church, came up under Dr. Brooks, as did also
Joseph Lee, of Arlington, Virginia, and James L. Jasper, of Brentwood,
Maryland. But none of these products of the Nineteenth Street Baptist
Church have done a better work than Miss Jennie Deane, the founder of
the Manassas Industrial School, in Virginia, and Miss Nannie H.
Burroughs, the founder and promoter of the National Training School
for Women and Girls, Lincoln Heights, Washington, D. C. Nor should
Mrs. Laura Queen be forgotten, for by her labors the doors of Stoddard
Baptist Home were first opened.[17]
The Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church, the next to be established,
was formally organized November 21, 1841, in a little frame school
house located on H Street near 14th Northwest. The moving spirit in
this undertaking was John F. Cook.[18] He had been received as a
licentiate by the Presbytery of the District of Columbia on the
twenty-first of October of that same year. Eighteen persons took part
in this organization. Of these John F. Cook and Alfred A. Cook had
been official members of the Union Bethel, now the Metropolitan
African Methodist Episcopal Church. The pioneer members came from the
First, the Second, and the Fourth Presbyterian Churches of the city
and one from the Shiloh Church of New York, of which the Rev. Theodore
S. Wright was pastor. The reasons why they desired the establishment
of an independent church were clearly set forth in a series of
resolutions which were not unlike those which occasioned the
organization of other Negro churches. The new society was received
into the Presbytery May 3, 1842, when in session at Alexandria,
Virginia, then a part of the District of Columbia. John F. Cook was
installed as the first pastor July 14, 1855. Under his pastorate the
church prospered, increasing its membership to 125.
The successor of Mr. Cook was William T. Catto of Philadelphia, the
former pastor of the First African Presbyterian Church of the country.
Others to occupy the pulpit as supplies and pastors were Benjamin T.
Tanner, subsequently a bishop of the A. M. E. Church, William B.
Evans, Henry Highland Garnet, J. H. Muse, J. Sella Martin, John B.
Reeves, during his connection with Howard University, Dr. Septimus
Tustin, George Van Deurs, a Swede, and John Brown, a Scotchman. The
last mentioned incumbent was succeeded by the Rev. Francis J. Grimké,
who has served longer than all other pastors combined, and with marked
success. During the first years of the ministry of Mr. Grimké, which
began in the spring of 1878, there was great spiritual awakening as
the result of his forceful preaching.
The church has had a high record for its Christian ideals and its
public spirit. It has always stood for the best things, morally and
spiritually, in the life of the community. It has always been ready to
aid in every worthy cause. During the period immediately preceding the
Civil War, and in the days of the reconstruction, it divided honors
with the Israel Church as a place of popular assembly and referendum.
In 1918 it sold its old edifice on 15th Street between I and K
Streets, where it had worshipped for seventy-five years, and is now
located in a beautiful and commodious structure on the corner of R and
Fifteenth Streets.
The next significant effort was made by the Baptists. Persons
dismissed from the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church for the purpose of
organizing another body began in the year 1848 the existence of the
Second Baptist Church, under the leadership of H. H. Butler, a
licentiate. The next year Jeremiah Asher, a native of Connecticut,
became the first pastor and remained for two years. Mr. Asher was a
typical New Englander of superior education and high ideals. In 1850
Gustavus Brown assumed charge of the new body when it worshipped on B
Street, Southwest, between Sixth and Seventh, in a broom factory, and
subsequently at 9th and D Streets, Northwest, over Ryan's Grocery
Store. In 1853 H. H. Butler was recalled and formally ordained as
pastor. He remained with the church until his death in 1856, when
Sandy Alexander was asked to accept this charge. A permanent home was
then bought on the present site where the congregation has worshipped
ever since. Mr. Alexander continued for five years until his health
compelled him to retire. In 1861, Caleb Woodyard became pastor and
remained for two years. During this period conditions were such that
progress was not steady and this led to the recall of Mr. Alexander,
under whose direction a strong organization was effected. Following
him, came Chauncey A. Leonard and next John Gaines. Then followed
Madison Gaskins, whose service was characterized by alternating
conditions, a lawsuit, a fire and new organizations branching
therefrom as Mount Carmel, Mt. Olive in the Northeast, and Rehoboth in
the Southwest.[20]
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Churches of Washington, D. C.,
grew out of the efforts of their denomination, founded by James
Varick, Peter Williams, William Miller, Abraham Thompson, Christopher
Rush and others, in New York City, in 1796. These fathers early
extended their work through New England, western New York, central and
western Pennsylvania. In 1833, their first church was founded in South
Washington, then known as the Island. It was established as the
Metropolitan Wesley African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, on D
Street, Southwest, Washington, D. C. The first pastor was Abraham
Cole, who took charge in 1833. The persons organizing this church were
originally members of the Ebenezer M. E. Church, located on D Street,
Southeast. They drew out of this organization because their pastor, a
white man, held slaves. The Wesley Metropolitan African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church, its officers contend, was the first independent
church in the District of Columbia organized by colored people. The
first public school for the training of Negro youth was held in this
church. Hanson Brooks was the secretary of the first organization.[21]
The establishment of the Union Wesley, the second church of the
Zionites, in Washington, the progressive body, of which Dr. E. D. W.
Jones was pastor, was very interesting. This church was organized in
1848 by Bishop J. J. Clinton, who afterwards became a bright star in
the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. The organization took
place in the residence of Gasoway Waters in Georgetown.[22] He had
been sent to Georgetown as a missionary and started his labors in this
organization of a few persons determined to become independent of the
white Methodists.
They began the construction of a church with the help of such men and
women as Charles Lemon, Charly Wilson, Eliza Wilson, William Crusoe,
George Brown, Mary Brown, William Sewall, Margaret Waters, and Eliza
Johnson. After having been organized for a little while, they bought a
lot on the corner of what is now known as 28th and O Streets,
Georgetown.[23] Things seemed favorable in the beginning, but the
enemies of the church were busy those days putting temptation in the
path of the Negro and betraying him unto his enemies. Bondmen,
according to the slave code, were not allowed to meet or hold any kind
of meeting unless a white man was present. Nor were they allowed to be
out after ten o'clock at night without a pass, or to have two or more
congregate on the street at one time. If they did any of these things,
they thereby violated the sacred laws of bondage and suffered
imprisonment and persecution. Thus handicapped in their worship, they,
like Paul and Silas, prayed for a deliverer, and he came in the person
of a young lawyer from Philadelphia, who had taken up the cause. By
his earnest endeavors in their behalf, they were released without
being sentenced to jail or whipped. But, nevertheless, they were
driven out of Georgetown, across Rock Creek, and into Washington,
where they worshipped for a while in the house of William Beckett on
the corner of 23d and L Streets.
A short time afterwards they bought the lot where this church now
stands and built thereon a frame chapel which was contemptuously
called the Horseshoe Church. After they had been there but a short
time, there was a funeral at the chapel one day. Across from the
chapel the Hibernian fire company was stationed. While the funeral
services were being held in the chapel, two of these firemen came
across the street and while one of them got inside of the hearse the
other one got up on the driver's seat and drove all around the
streets, while the people were out looking for the hearse. When they
came back, the one who was inside got out and said that he was Lazarus
risen from the dead. This act so inflamed some of the white gentlemen
that they had the firemen arrested and prosecuted. These two impious
gentlemen became so indignant because of their arrest that they set
fire to the chapel and burned it to the ground. These communicants,
being homeless again, went back to the house of William Beckett on L
Street and commenced to rebuild. This time they succeeded in erecting
a brick building, a portion of which stands today.
The John Wesley African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was organized
in 1849 at the home of John Brent on Eighteenth and L Streets. Among
the founders were John Brent, W. H. Johnson, John Brent, Jr., William
V. Ingram, Arnold Bowie, Charles Wilson, Joseph Conner, Edward Curtis,
and Gilbert Joy. These communicants then purchased property on
Connecticut Avenue and built thereon a simple frame building into
which they moved in 1851.[24] This church finally bought the old
Berean Baptist Church property on Eighteenth Street, under the
pastorate of Dr. B. J. Bolding, in 1902.
The ministers who pastored the congregation while it worshipped in
Connecticut Avenue were Abraham Cole, J. B. Trusty, N. F. Turpin, J.
H. Hamer, H. F. Butler, Nathaniel Stubbs, Sampson Talbert, S. T.
Jones, John V. Givens, S. T. Henry, G. W. Bosley, S. S. Wales, J. W.
Smith, J. P. Thompson, Jesse Cowles, W. A. Cypress, J. A. Williams, J.
B. Small, B. J. Bolding, R. H. G. Dyson, D. H. Anderson, R. A. Fisher,
J. J. Clinton, and J. H. McMullen. Those who served the body in
Eighteenth Street were Rev. L. W. Kyles, W. A. Blackwell, P. H.
Williams, C. C. Alleyne, and Dr. William C. Brown. John Wesley Church
has had at different times six pastors, who later were elected to the
bishopric. These were Bishops Sampson Talbert, J. J. Clinton, J. P.
Thompson, S. T. Jones, J. B. Small and John Wesley Smith, all of whom
are deceased. Among the officers of the church may be mentioned
Gilbert L. Joy, who was made secretary of the Trustee Board in 1864,
and served thirty-two years in that capacity. He had the enviable
record of being a trustee of this church for forty-three years, a
longer period than that of any other person connected with it, and he
is still an active member.
The awakening of John Wesley A. M. E. Zion Church, characterized by
the selling of its property on Eighteenth Street to purchase at the
same time the edifice on Fourteenth and Corcoran Streets for $61,000,
is significant. It is the most important event in the history of Zion
Church in Washington. The Zion Church long needed a larger
representative edifice in this city. This advanced step was taken, and
under the leadership of Dr. W. C. Brown and Dr. W. O. Carrington the
progress of the congregation has been epochal.
The Galbraith African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was founded in
1859. That year five members of Zion Wesley, under the leadership of
Samuel Payne, withdrew and organized a church in a small house on L
Street between Third and Fourth Streets. They subsequently built a
house of worship near New York Avenue. Robert H. G. Dyson who had been
active as a class leader and chorister in Zion Wesley, became the
first pastor. It developed from its little frame church on L Street,
Northwest, into a larger congregation in the modern structure on its
present location, under N. J. Green, the pastor in charge. This church
has figured conspicuously in the religious, moral and civic uplift of
the city. It has been served by an array of prominent ministers, chief
among whom are J. Harvey Anderson, J. S. Coles, Wm. Chambers, J. B.
Colbert, H. P. Kyler, William Dixon, S. L. Corrothers, George C.
Clement, and William D. Battle. During Mr. Battle's administration the
church was relieved of its long-standing debt and the well begun work
was steadily developed.[25]
The next efforts in the District of Columbia were of the Baptists.
Albert Bouldin, who began public prayer services near Fourth and L
Streets in 1857, was a prominent influence in the organization of the
Third Baptist Church.[26] On June 20, 1858 there was held a council of
ministers at which were present G. W. Sampson, Chauncey A. Leonard, A.
Rothwell, Lindsey Muse, Evans Stott, Henry H. Butler, Sandy Alexander,
and L. Patten. There were also the following laymen: Joseph Pryor,
Joseph Alexander, N. Nookes, Henry Scott, John Minor, Charles
Alexander, and Austin Robinson. The trustees were William B.
Jefferson, Joseph Alexander, Henry Scott, Charles Alexander, Vernon
Duff, and Henry Nookes, who assisted in effecting the organization and
served it as the first deacons.
In 1863 there was secured on Fourth and L Streets a lot on which the
people began to erect their meeting house. On account of disputes,
four years afterward it became necessary to look elsewhere, and
William B. Jefferson became the controlling spirit. Then a lot was
purchased on Franklin Street between Fourth and Fifth at a cost of
$1,198.50. In September, 1871, the church was dedicated. Rev. D. W.
Anderson, at that time pastor of the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church,
delivered the sermon. After a lapse of thirteen years, August 2, 1884,
another lot situated on the corner of Fifth and Que Streets was
purchased.[27] The next forward movement was toward the erection of a
new building which was completed July 1893 at a cost of $26,000 and
dedicated the fifth Sunday of July 1893.[28]
There soon followed another significant undertaking. After preaching
regularly to four persons for four years, Sandy Alexander organized on
October 5, 1862, the First Baptist Church of West Washington. Two of
the four pioneer members were from churches in Fredericksburg,
Virginia. Dr. G. W. Sampson, president of Columbian College,
subsequently Columbian University, now the George Washington
University, was of great service to Mr. Alexander in this work of the
organization of this church. The church was first located on the
corner of Greene and Beale Street, Georgetown, where it remained one
year, after which a lot was purchased at the corner of Dumbarton and
27th Streets and a large frame building was first constructed at a
cost of $15,000.[29] From this church there have been regularly
organized the Macedonia, the First Baptist Church of Rosslyn,
Virginia, and the Memorial Baptist Church in Maryland.
The Baptists were at the same time receiving recruits from another
source. In June, 1862, while a destructive war was being waged by the
Southern States against the Union, warning was given that a terrible
siege was to be started against the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
This news caused between three and four hundred members of the Shiloh
Baptist Church of that town to leave for Washington as a place of
refuge. After arriving there many tearful eyes were turned toward the
dear old church of their childhood and riper years, where "many a
pleasant hour had been enjoyed, and it was only natural for these
fellow church members to plan for a place where they might once more
gather in prayer and praise God for their deliverance from the
ravages of war."[30] Home gatherings were frequent among these
refugees and in this way the organization of the present church was
effected.
Shiloh Baptist Church, like many other churches, had its beginning in
a Sunday School.[31] The constant meeting of these seekers after the
truth served to keep a number of them in close touch with each other
and intensified the desire for a church of their own. They then began
to meet in each other's houses for prayer and for conference upon the
subject and soon resolved to have a Shiloh Baptist Church in
Washington, since they could not return to Shiloh Church in
Fredericksburg. It was at one of these prayer meetings in the bedroom
of Henry D. Peyton in an old brick house on K Street, between 26th and
27th Streets, in Georgetown (now West Washington) that Shiloh Baptist
Church of Washington had its beginnings in September, 1863.[32]
Having formed the church, the founders sent a communication to the
various Baptist churches of Washington, both white and black, asking
that a council be called to consider the propriety of recognizing them
as a regularly constituted Baptist church. The Negro Baptist churches
gave these petitioners no encouragement and sent no delegates to the
council, but the white Baptist churches sent a number of their
members, deacons, and pastors, as delegates, who met in the First
white Baptist church, located at that time on 13th Street between G
and H Streets, Northwest, at eight o'clock Wednesday evening,
September 23, 1863, and formed a recognition council. Dr. G. W.
Sampson, pastor of the First Baptist Church and President of Columbian
College, was chosen Moderator, and John S. Poler, clerk. After
approving the credentials of the delegates the Moderator stated the
purpose of the meeting. He further stated that the council had also
been asked to examine William J. Walker as to his fitness and
qualification for the gospel ministry, and if found worthy to ordain
him, as the church had called him as its pastor and recommended his
ordination.[33] It was so ordered and done by the council.
The church continued to meet in the homes of the members, but it grew
so rapidly that it soon became necessary to secure larger quarters.
The little frame building on the north side of L Street, between 16th
and 17th Northwest, was then bought, and the church moved into it and
remained there until 1868. The church prospered greatly and soon
outgrew its first meeting house. Steps were then taken to purchase a
site and erect a building sufficiently large to accommodate the
growing membership. The present lot was secured, and in 1868 a
commodious frame structure was erected thereon and used until 1883,
when the church tore down the frame building and erected upon the same
spot the present brick edifice.
William J. Walker, the first pastor, played a large part in building
up the Baptist denomination in the District of Columbia and adjoining
States. He organized four churches in Washington, namely, Zion
Baptist, Enon Baptist, Mt. Zion Baptist and Mt. Jezreel Baptist
churches, and two churches in Virginia, all of which are strong and
prosperous organizations. He also founded the Baptist Sunday School
Union and the Woman's Baptist Home Mission Society.
For a year or more after the death of William J. Walker the church
remained without a pastor. During the greater part of this time
William H. Scott served as supply, and it was while he was serving the
church that the Walker Memorial Baptist Church was formed out of the
members who drew out of Shiloh. Dr. J. Anderson Taylor became pastor
in 1890 and remained with the church until near the close of 1906.
During his ministry the church greatly increased in membership, and
enlarged its building at a cost of $10,000. When Dr. Taylor gave up
the pastorate of the church about 200 members withdrew from Shiloh and
formed the Trinity Baptist Church and called him to take charge
thereof. Shiloh Baptist Church, then, has been divided twice within
twenty-three years. In spite of these handicaps, however, the church
has prospered financially, numerically and spiritually. Dr. J. Milton
Waldron took formal charge of Shiloh Baptist Church on the 6th of June
1907 and has labored with success in edifying his congregation and
extending the influence of the church.[34]
While the organization of Shiloh Church was being effected in the
northern section of Washington, there was in the southwest also
another group from Fredericksburg. This effort resulted in the
establishment of the Zion Baptist Church. They first organized a
Sunday and day school in Jackson's School House on Delaware Avenue and
L Street, Southwest. Their next movement was the organization of a
church, September 12, 1864, with nine members. They bought what was
then known as Simpson's Feed Store on the present site of the church,
and remodeled this building in 1867; William J. Walker was its
founder and first pastor. In January, 1869, William Gibbons of
Charlottesville, Virginia, became the pastor and under his temporal
and spiritual oversight the church flourished. The first church
edifice was dedicated in 1871 and for twenty-one years was used by the
congregation. In 1891 the present structure was built at an
expenditure of $35,000. The membership at the forty-eighth anniversary
was 2,310, the largest at the time in the District of Columbia. Up to
the close of the nineteenth century they raised annually on an average
of $8,000 for current expenses. Their present pastor, William J.
Howard, has a unique record as being one of the best known ministers
and men in the city, regardless of denomination, and with a character
beyond reproach.[35]
The Metropolitan, formerly known as the Fourth Baptist Church, was
organized May 1863 by a few holding letters from the Nineteenth Street
Baptist Church during the pastorate of Duke W. Anderson, and by a few
members from other churches. Henry Bailey was the first pastor of the
new group. In 1865 there took place a division of this body which
resulted in the establishment of the Fifth, now the Vermont Avenue
Baptist Church. The organization was effected in a mission building
which stood in the intersection of what is now E Street and Vermont
Avenue. Two contending parties, both claiming to be the Fourth Baptist
Church, were then engaged in presenting their rival claims. Four
church councils were held before it was established which one had the
right to bear the title Fourth. Robert Johnson took charge in 1870,
seven years after the original movement. Under him the establishment
prospered.
Four buildings have been used as church edifices in the history of
this congregation, the mission building referred to above, the
barracks, a relic of the Civil War, and a frame structure on the site
of the present edifice, which at that time of its dedication in 1884
was valued at $60,000; but today the valuation, conservatively
speaking, may be placed at $175,000. From 1865 to 1890 the membership
was about 2,000, 1,100 of whom were baptized by Robert Johnson. The
first Washington Baptist Convention composed of churches principally
of the District of Columbia requested in September, 1890, that the
church be called the Metropolitan. The congregation formally agreed to
bear the title and since then Metropolitan has been its legal as well
as its popular name.
After securing the services of Dr. M. W. D. Norman, who came from
Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1905, the progress of the church has been
such as to merit fully the title Metropolitan. On his assumption of
the pastorate, a large floating and bonded indebtedness rested on the
church. This has been discharged and modern improvements of
electricity and steam heating at the cost of $15,000 have been
provided. Yet there is not a dollar of indebtedness and the membership
has increased to 5,748.
The following ministers have been ordained by the Metropolitan Baptist
Church: Charles H. Parker, W. Bishop Johnson, John A. Pryer, Edward
B. Gordon, Anderson Hogan, Luke D. Best, William Richardson, William
Johnson, E. R. Jackson, John Braxton, John Mercer, Noah Grimes, Levi
Washington, and W. L. Hill.[36]
The Baptist church on Vermont Avenue between Q and R Streets was
originally established as the Fifth Baptist Church, June 5, 1866, by
the pious J. H. Brooks, with seven members. He built a frame structure
which was afterward replaced by a more comfortable brick building.
Under him the congregation grew and in 1884, when he died the church
had a membership of 1,800. He had served his people well, impressed
the community with his worth, and passed to his reward loved not only
by his own members but by the Christian people throughout the city.
He was succeeded by Dr. George W. Lee, who came to this church from
North Carolina where he had served successfully as a pastor. Dr. Lee
was installed in 1885 and served a quarter of a century, passing away
on February 6, 1910. There were several important achievements during
his pastorate. In 1890, at a cost of about $25,000, he remodeled the
building left by J. H. Brooks and changed the name to Vermont Avenue
Baptist Church. Being a great preacher and pastor noted for his
originality and his ability to master the situation, he soon attracted
a large following and increased the membership of his church almost to
4,000. He easily became a man of national reputation and in his
travels abroad so impressed the people wherever he went that he
developed into an international character.
Dr. Lee was noted especially for three significant elements in his
character. Near to his heart was the promotion of African missions in
keeping with his deep sense of charity. He was always a friend of the
poor and, being such, emphasized more than any other duty of the
church that of supporting missionary work in Africa. As a result the
Vermont Avenue Baptist Church did more for this purpose than many
other churches of the District of Columbia combined. He was always
disposed, moreover, to help the under man in the struggle with his
uncharitable accusers and traducers. When a minister was under fire,
he usually stood by the unfortunate, if there was any possible chance
to save him for the good of the service. He made himself, too, a
patron of young men aspiring to the ministry, raising money for their
support by impressing upon the people the importance of educating
them. In this connection he trained and helped to support Dr. James E.
Willis, who was baptized, licensed and ordained to preach under Dr.
Lee. Through contact the one became attached to the other so that the
younger imbibed the spirit of the other.
Dr. Willis became his successor in 1911. At first many of the members
questioned his ability to fill such a position so that there developed
much trouble in the congregation and much anxiety among the people at
large. There followed a schism which resulted in litigation in the
courts and the secession of a group of members who established the
Florida Avenue Baptist Church, now in the charge of Dr. Taylor. Dr.
Willis, however, was established as pastor with the support of a large
majority of the members of the church. He filled the position with
such distinction and attracted to him such a following of willing
workers that the church prospered under him as it did under his
predecessor. In recognition of his valuable services the congregation
gave him a trip to the Holy Land at a cost of $3,000. It then
purchased adjoining property upon which it erected a monument to Dr.
George W. Lee.
According to a recent report rendered by the clerk and treasurer, the
congregation has during the pastorate of Dr. Willis raised more than
$68,000 for general expenses and $1,850 for their Old Folk's Home.
This does not by any means account for the amount raised for
charitable purposes, which include home and foreign missions. The
support given needy members and institutions of learning, traveling
ministers, and the like, has amounted approximately to $35,000 or
$40,000. The church, moreover, has been very generous in the support
of home missions, a duty decidedly emphasized by Dr. Willis in
contradistinction to the inclination of Dr. Lee, who emphasized
foreign missions.[36a]
Baptists in another part of the city were planning an additional
organization. The First Baptist Church of South Washington was
organized on Sixth Street between G and H Streets, Southwest, in 1866.
Alfred Bolden was the first pastor. Two buildings have been erected on
the present site. One Mr. Lee afterward served as the pastor until the
coming of Henry C. Robinson, who exhibited energy that promised a
bright future. Early in the history of the church, as an outcome of an
internal agitation, however, 54 excluded members organized the
Virginia Avenue Baptist Church and were afterward joined by others,
thus weakening the parent organization; but in 1891 the property was
valued at $25,000 and the church had a membership of 500.[37]
Another Baptist church soon resulted from a secession. In 1873 William
Shanklin, Peter Gray, Abraham Blackmore, Edward Montague, and
Catherine Wilson left the Fifth Baptist Church, now the Vermont Avenue
Baptist Church, and formed, with their friends, Mt. Jezreel. Since
then it has grown to be the largest Negro Baptist church in Southeast
Washington, though it is also the youngest. The church, when first
formed, was located on Van Street. It grew rapidly, and soon was able
to buy desirable property on the southeast corner of Fifth and E
Streets and begin the erection of its present handsome church edifice.
In 1888 the building was finished and it was dedicated the first
Sunday in November of that year, when Dr. Robert Johnson, of the
Metropolitan Baptist Church, preached the dedicatory sermon. Its
membership numbers about 300 people, and the church is in a very
prosperous condition.[38]
The organization of another Baptist church soon followed. In
September, 1876, there was organized on Nichol's Avenue, Hillsdale,
the Bethlehem Baptist Church by Henry Scott, its first pastor. It was
an outgrowth from the Macedonia Baptist Church organized nine years
before by Sandy Alexander, of the First West Washington Church. The
first officers were William Singleton, Carle Matthews, James Flood,
Richard Harrison, Mack McKenzie, Cornelius W. Davis, David Simpson,
Armstead Taylor, and Leonard Peyton.[39] The second minister, William
H. Phillips, served with considerable success for six years when he
was called to the Shiloh Baptist Church in Philadelphia, where he
died.[40]
A new church was soon to evolve as a result of another stir among the
Baptists. The succession of the pastorates of Dr. Anthony Binga, Sr.,
and Jesse Bolden to that of Dr. D. W. Anderson did not satisfy an
important element of the 19th Street Baptist Church, which for fifteen
years had given that church moral and financial support. Steps to
organize a new church were therefore taken. In the preliminary stages
of the separation there was much opposition. Nevertheless, they
organized May 7, 1877, at the residence of William H. A. Wormley, 1126
16th Street, Northwest, and were recognized by a council of Baptist
churches which met at the residence of L. C. Bailey, 1022 Nineteenth
Street, June 5, 1877.[41] With twenty-two members this determined body
went pluckily to work. In the first place, they were fortunate in
securing for their pastor a man who for thirteen years voluntarily
served the flock without salary. For twenty-five years, 1877 to 1902,
they worshipped in their church on 18th Street, which was erected
within six months of organization for the sum of $19,000. The church
grew from 22 to 200. It is a fair estimate that $50,000 was received
from all sources during this period. In 1902 they sold this church to
the John Wesley A. M. E. Zion for $19,500 cash. After vacating their
building and meeting in Odd Fellows Hall they erected their present
building at 11th and V Streets, which they have paid for in full. The
successor to Mr. Wm. Waring was Dr. W. A. Creditt.[42] Then came Dr.
J. M. Waldron, who in 1892 was succeeded by Rev. Mr. D. F. Rivers, who
still abides as a potent factor in the life of the Washington people.
After the Civil War Negroes became attracted to denominations in which
they had never sought membership because of their close attachment to
the Methodists and Baptists. From just such a divergence from the old
order resulted the organization of the Lincoln Memorial Temple
Congregational Church, on the northeast corner of 11th and R Streets,
Northwest. This church was organized in the parlor of F. S. Presbrey,
publisher of _Public Opinion_, January 10, 1887, with Rev. S. P. Smith
as its first pastor. Lincoln Temple is the outgrowth of the Colfax
Industrial Mission founded by members of the First Congregational
Church, prominent among whom was John W. Alvord. It later became the
Lincoln Mission. In addition to the Sunday School feature should be
mentioned the industrial work, as classes in domestic science and
domestic art were conducted there. For a time this mission constituted
the first church home for Negro girls in the country. Among its
founders were R. S. Smith, William H. Jackson, Theodore Clark and
wife, Otwina Smith, Miss Booker, Hiram Ball, a Mrs. Jackson of Chicago
and a Mr. Shorter. The Lincoln Mission Sunday School, with an
attendance running at times to 700 and more, was a part of the work of
the charitable organizations of the North engaged in missions and
education in the South among the freedmen. As such it was one of the
institutions of the city in Sabbath School work, with music especially
popular. This school enjoyed the fostering care of the American
Missionary Association, which appointed a minister to conduct
religious services and a woman to work in the homes of the people. The
teachers of the Sunday School were of both races. The whites were
drawn from the First Congregational Church and Negroes were mainly
students from Howard University.
During the operation of these two instrumentalities, the thought that
the work of the school could be made more effectual and permanent by
the organization of a church first took tangible form in the years of
Mr. Smith's ministrations, and the church grew steadily and surely.
Rev. George W. Moore became pastor on June 1, 1883. His work was a
thorough success, due in no small measure to the personality of his
wife, Ella Sheppard Moore, who had been pianist of the Fisk Jubilee
Singers and with them had circled the globe. Dr. Moore resigned in
1893. Subsequent pastors have been Rev. Eugene Johnson, A. P. Miller
and Sterling N. Brown. Dr. Brown was followed by Rev. Emory B. Smith,
an enterprising young man who has brought the church to the very
foremost in all the activities of religious work.[43]
The Plymouth Congregational Church was the direct outcome of
dissatisfaction of many members of Union Bethel, now the Metropolitan
Church, at the arbitrary action of Bishop Daniel A. Payne in the
matter of the appointment of the Rev. John W. Stevenson as pastor of
Union Bethel Church and the refusal to remove him. For these reasons
63 members decided to withdraw from the African Methodist Episcopal
denomination and organized themselves in the Shiloh Hall on L Street,
near 16th, Northwest, as the First Congregational Church of Washington
in the District of Columbia. William T. Peele, who for several years
had been a local preacher and class leader at Union Bethel Church was
one of the number--in fact, the leader of the recalcitrant
communicants. Church services for the new congregation were held in
the meeting place of the Salem Baptist Church on N Street near 17th.
Here they could meet only in the afternoon on Sunday. Other quarters
were then secured on 18th Street near L and M Streets. On October 5,
1881, the name of the new organization was changed to that of the
Plymouth Congregational Church of Washington. Their leader, William T.
Peele, was then regularly ordained and installed as their pastor by
Dr. Holmes of Baltimore, assisted by Dr. J. E. Rankin, then pastor of
First Congregational Church, Dr. William Patton, President of Howard
University, W. W. Hicks, and S. P. Smith. The church attached itself
to the New Jersey Association of Congregational Churches at the
fourteenth annual meeting held in the First Congregational Church in
April, 1882. The church then purchased at a cost of $4,500 a site at
the southeast corner of 17th and P Streets, on which it built by 1887.
William T. Peele, to whom this body rallied as its first pastor
tendered his resignation July 26, 1888, and for several months the
church was without a pastor. Dr. Sterling N. Brown of Cleveland, Ohio,
entered upon the pastorate April 1, 1887, and rendered a most
successful service. Under his guidance they evolved steadily from
Methodism to Congregationalism.
Dr. Alexander C. Garner became the next pastor in 1896 and for
twenty-five years led the church both temporally and spiritually. The
church has been honored by his being chosen to represent the
Congregationalists at national gatherings. The entire church mortgage
debt was cancelled during Dr. Garner's incumbency, when all the
churches were making strenuous and successful efforts to the same end.
In fact, his successful career had much to do with his call to the
direction of the growing spiritual interests of the Congregationalists
in Harlem in New York.[44]
Some Negroes, too, had begun to look with more favor upon the
Protestant Episcopal church. As early as 1866 cottage meetings were
held by C. H. Hall, rector of the Epiphany, with the assistance of J.
Vaughn Lewis, rector of St. John's Church. This movement went to the
extent that steps were taken looking to the establishment of a church
and the purchase of a lot on which an edifice was to be built. At this
juncture Mrs. Parsons, a communicant of St. John's parish, donated a
lot for the purpose on 23d Street, and Secretary of War E. M. Stanton
contributed a frame building in 1867. From 1867 to 1873 several white
clergymen officiated, but the selection of a colored minister to take
charge of the work was indispensable. Efforts to this end soon
followed. Among the clergymen considered were William H. Josephus, a
talented West Indian, and William J. Alston, who had been rector of
St. Phillip's in New York and of St. Thomas in Philadelphia. John
Thomas Johnson, a progressive Negro citizen who in the reconstruction
times was Treasurer of the District Government, began on behalf of a
number of interested people a correspondence with Dr. Alexander
Crummell with a view to securing him as the spiritual leader of these
Episcopalians. This effort resulted in bringing Dr. Crummell to
Washington in June, 1873.
The people almost instantaneously rallied to Dr. Crummell's support
and the outcome was the determination to build a church. A sinking
fund association, composed of young people from different sections of
the city, and in which other denominations were represented, was a
most active factor. The enthusiasm was intense. The corner stone was
laid in 1876 at Fifteenth and Sampson Streets, near Church Street, and
work on the new building went rapidly on. Dr. Crummell meanwhile
traveled extensively throughout the North and East for funds in aid of
the new movement. Such was his success that the first services in the
new building were held there on Thanksgiving Day, November 27,
1879.[45]
With the opening of St. Luke's a new opportunity presented itself at
St. Mary's, where the congregation under the administration of Mr. O.
L. Mitchell developed into an institutional church. It was consecrated
December 11, 1894, by Bishop William Paret, then of Maryland, assisted
by Bishop Penick and Dr. W. V. Tunnell, of Howard University, who
preached the sermon. St. Mary's is one of the most beautiful of
churches.
The rise of Negro Catholic churches in the District of Columbia as
well as throughout the United States has been less extensive for the
reason that not very many Negroes have been attracted to this
denomination because of its ritualistic appeal, and those who have
become adherents to the Catholic faith have been treated with so much
more of the spirit of Christ than they have been by other sects, that
the tendency toward independent church establishments has not been so
pronounced. Early in the history of the District of Columbia Rev.
Leonard Neale, the Archbishop of Georgetown, his brother, the Rev.
Francis Neale of the Holy Trinity Church, and Father Van Lomell,
pastor of the same church in 1807, were all friends of the Negroes,
showing no distinction on account of color in the establishment of
parish schools and the uplift of the people. The same policy was
followed by Father De Theux, who in 1817 succeeded Father Macelroy,
who established a Sunday School and labored with a great deal of
devotion to bring them into the church. The Catholic Church was free
in all of its privileges to all persons regardless of color. This was
especially true of St. Patrick's Church under its founder, Father
Matthew, who permitted the poorest Negro to kneel at the altar side by
side with the highest personages in the land. The same was observed in
St. Aloysius Church and in St. Mary's Church at Alexandria. The
Catholics were the last to change their attitude toward the Negro
during the critical antislavery period of the thirties, forties, and
fifties, when the Protestant churches practically excluded the Negroes
from their Sunday Schools and congregations. This explains why the
Negro Catholics organized in the District of Columbia during the early
period only one Catholic church of their own, St. Martin's, although
the Negro Catholics constituted a considerable part of the Negro
population.
The actual separation of the Negroes in the Catholic Church did not
take place until the Civil War itself necessitated certain changes to
meet the special needs of the Negroes in their new status. The
establishment of St. Augustine's Church, however, somewhat antedated
this. Before the organization of this church there was established a
school meeting the special needs of the Negroes on L Street, and out
of that developed the organization of this church in 1863. The moving
spirit in this undertaking was Father Charles J. White, who was then
pastor of St. Matthew's church in which the Negroes had always felt
free to worship. Early in 1863 he purchased a lot on 15th Street
between L and M and built there a two-story structure with the
assistance of colored members from the various churches of the city
and especially from those of St. Matthew's. Among those participating
in the launching of this new church were the following: Miss Mary
Harrison, Mr. Isaac Landic and wife, Mrs. Jane Smallwood, Mrs. Henry
Warren and family, Mr. and Mrs. William Henry Smith, the Misses Mary
and Sara Ann Smith, Mr. William T. Benjamin, Mr. Bazil Mullen, Mr.
John West, Miss Agnes Gray, Messrs. William H. Wheeler, Henry Jackson,
Henry Neal and family, James F. Jackson and family, Mrs. Frances
Madison, and the Misses Eliza Ann Cook, Mary T. Smith, Eliza Hall, and
Jane Teagle.
In the course of time there were so many accessions to the church that
more space was needed. In 1865, therefore, a frame building was added
at the time that the church was under the patronage of Martin de
Porrers, a colored lay brother of the order of St. Dominic, who had
labored in South America. Dr. White was still the pastor, with Martin
de Porrers officiating at most of the services. In the course of time
it was necessary to seek other assistants, who were supplied by the
Society of Jesus at Georgetown College in the person of Fathers Kelly
and Cleary.
After the Civil War Archbishop Spaulding, then in charge of the
diocese, saw the opportunity and the challenge of the church to meet
the many needs of the freedmen who without spiritual guidance might
morally retrograde. He therefore called for other workers to offer
their lives as a sacrifice to a noble cause. In Italy at this time
there was Father Barroti, who after having equipped himself for
missionary work prepared to carry the Gospel message to the Chinese.
In 1869, however, he was persuaded to go to the more inviting field of
the freedmen in the United States. After some further instruction in
English and other matters essential to the equipment for service among
these people, he took charge of this Negro congregation in 1867. He
immediately succeeded in securing the cooperation of the Negroes and
the respect of the community. He passed among them as a man of
Christian virtue and an apostle to the lowly. His following so rapidly
increased that it was soon necessary to add wooden buildings to the
original structure and to purchase additional property for a new
building in 1869. To finance these undertakings he had the cooperation
of Father Walters in St. Patrick's.
The new structure, planned to cost about $100,000, was begun in 1874
and completed and dedicated in the midst of impressive ceremonies in
1876. At first it was thought best to place this church under the
patronage of the Blessed Martin de Porrers. According to the
regulation of the church law, however, whereas a chapel could be
designated in honor of an ecclesiastic, a parish church could not be
thus dedicated, but must be named for one of the Saints. It was then
decided to name it for St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in Africa. Upon
the completion of this structure the Negro Catholic congregation was
given a new standing in the community and in the United States.
In 1881 the death of Father Barroti marked an epoch in the history of
this church. For some time there was serious doubt as to how the
congregation could secure the services of some one so well equipped as
this sacrificing churchman. Fortunately, however, the zealous Fathers
of St. Joseph, an order established in England for the special benefit
of the Negroes, came to take up the task. Thoroughly devoted to their
work and believing in the uplift of the Negroes to a plane of equality
with the whites, these Fathers caused the white Catholics much trouble
by imposing upon those visiting St. Augustine's the same restrictions
that some of the Catholic churches after the Civil War began to impose
upon Negroes worshipping elsewhere. Chief among these may be mentioned
Fathers Michael J. Walsh as rector, with Father Girard Wiersma and
Father Francis P. Kerrick as associate pastors. Later he had such
assistants as Father Burke and Father Hohlman. The successor of Father
Walsh was the Rev. Paul Griffith, with Father G. A. Dougherty as
assistant and later an additional assistant in the person of the Rev.
Father H. Bischoff. Father Olds succeeded Father Griffith, having as
his assistant Father O'Connor and Father Mihm. As the church had the
cooperation of Archbishop Spaulding in his day, it was similarly
assisted by Archbishop Baily and especially so by Archbishop Gibbons,
later Cardinal. Among the teachers who made possible the increasing
membership by their valuable work in the parochial school of the
church should be mentioned Miss Mary Smith, later Mrs. W. F. Benjamin,
Mr. Ambrose Queen, and Miss Eliza Ann Cook.[46]
Negro Catholics living in East Washington and worshippers at St.
Peter's and St. Joseph's churches, desirous of having a church of
their own, were responsive to the labors of Father James R. Matthews,
assistant pastor of St. Peter's. He was a native of Johnstown,
Pennsylvania, had studied at St. Charles College and St. Mary's
Seminary in the diocese of Maryland, and was ordained a priest in
1886. He worked so assiduously and energetically for the new
congregation here at Washington, which was then known as St.
Benedict's, that a site for their building was purchased on the corner
of 13th and C Streets, Southeast, about the middle of April, 1893. The
work of excavation was begun on the last day of July and the corner
stone was laid on the 24th of September of that year. Less than eight
months afterward the church was complete and ready for public worship.
An imposing parade, participated in by uniformed white and Negro
Catholic societies of Baltimore and Washington, was a feature of the
occasion. Cardinal Gibbons dedicated the Church as St. Cyprian.[47]
JOHN W. CROMWELL
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This dissertation was written from facts obtained from these
churches and their pastors and verified by reference to books and
newspapers. The most important source was the _Special Report of the
U. S. Commissioner of Education on the Schools of the District of
Columbia_, pp. 197 _et seq._
[2] _Special Report of the United States Commissioner of Education on
the Schools of the District of Columbia_, pp. 195-197.
[3] _Special Report of the United States Commissioner of Education on
the Schools of the District of Columbia._
[3a] After the Civil War "Little Ebenezer" entered upon a new career.
The white pastors who up to this time had been serving this
congregation were replaced by ministers of color, the first one being
Noah Jones. About 1874 the property of the church was transferred from
the white church to the local organization. Placed upon this
advantageous basis, the success of this congregation soon entitled
that church to rank among the leading Negro churches of the city. C.
G. Keyes built the first church edifice. Under C. G. Walker, who came
later, there were added so many more new members that a new building
was necessary to accommodate the congregation. Then came W. H. Draper,
Alexander Dennis, and finally Dr. M. W. Clair. Using the plans devised
by Dr. M. W. Clair, now Bishop of the M. E. Church, John H. Griffin
built the edifice which is today used by the Ebenezer Church. This
church was later served by W. T. Harris, E. W. S. Peck, and more
recently by the efficient S. H. Brown and W. H. Dean, who did much to
promote the religious life and expand the work of the present
flourishing congregation now under the direction of J. W. Waters.
[4] From records preserved by Miss H. H. Beason.
[5] The time for radical changes was approaching when the political
discussions of the time were affecting Washington and all elements of
its population. It was not until the Civil War was in its third year
that Mt. Zion felt the change, and this was by the organization of the
Washington Annual M. E. Conference in 1864. Had it not been effected
at this time, it is doubtful if the M. E. Church would have been able
to make much headway in Virginia with the Negro members who up to that
time were counted a part of the M. E. South, worshipping in the same
edifice as the whites and under such conditions as to give rise to
little or no friction. The Civil War was in its last year, and there
had been no opportunity before this time for the M. E. Church to
secure Negro members to any extent. The A. M. E. Church, moreover, had
already got a foothold in Norfolk and Portsmouth where the Union
armies had triumphed, as early as 1862, and in 1865 the A. M. E. Zion
Church secured a large following with valuable property in Petersburg.
Bishop Levi Scott, who organized the Washington Conference, was not
concerned primarily for such churches in Baltimore as Sharp Street,
Asbury, and Mt. Zion in Washington, but he was looking beyond the
Potomac. At any rate he organized with four members and in 1864 sent
to Mt. Zion Rev. John H. Brice, who thus became their first Negro
pastor. Mt. Zion then had a membership of 317. Rev. Mr. Brice was
reappointed in 1865. He was succeeded in 1866 by Rev. N. W. Carroll,
whose career as an aggressive minister is that of one of the very
first in his denomination. Rev. Mr. Carroll served three years and was
an elder when his successor, Rev. Henry R. Elbert, was appointed in
1869.
Following Mr. Elbert came Rev. G. T. Pinkney, under whose
administration the planning of a new structure first took form, and
$1,500 for the purpose was deposited in the Freedmen's Bank. Rev. Mr.
Pinkney was succeeded by Rev. George Lewis, who raised $1,600 for the
building fund. Then came the Rev. Benjamin Brown, one of the useful
pastors of the Negro church, a man whose reputation was coextensive
with the confines of the Washington Conference, which at that time
included Virginia and West Virginia as well as Maryland and the
District of Columbia.
The desire for a new edifice increased, and the people contributed
liberally. At the time of the suspension of the Freedmen's Bank in
1874 the church had on deposit $2,500. The effect of the failure of
the bank was most disastrous. There was a cessation of effort for a
time, but under the magnetic and masterly leadership of Rev. Mr. Brown
the people rallied, and $624 was collected in one day toward the new
building. The time had come for a forward movement. The members were
called together March 24, 1875. The question of rebuilding was
discussed thoroughly and with but ten dissenting votes the proposition
was endorsed and the trustees, thus empowered, undertook the purchase
of a lot on Twenty-ninth Street, between Dunbarton and O Streets, from
Mr. Alfred Pope, one of their number, for $25.
The work on the new edifice was begun. Meanwhile Rev. Mr. Brown was
reappointed and the cornerstone was laid, the ceremony being performed
by the Good Samaritans. Then came Rev. R. A. Read, who subsequently
became pastor at Asbury. Rev. James Dansbury followed Mr. Brown and
gave a good account of himself. In 1880 Rev. James D. S. Hall, an
eloquent preacher, who had done very creditable work in different
parts of the country and who had served successfully in the A. M. E.
Church as well as in the M. E. Conferences, was appointed. His
appointment was the signal for new life. The cornerstone was relaid,
this time under the authority of the Masons. The next morning the
building when only five feet high was discovered on fire.
Dissatisfaction crept in the flock, lawsuits followed, and there was
formed a separate A. M. E. body, with Rev. James T. Morris as its
first pastor. Mt. Zion kept on nevertheless, and the first services
were held in the new structure October 30, 1880, although the building
was without roof or plaster. The subsequent history of Mt. Zion until
the close of the nineteenth century was notable for its steady
progress.
[6] In 1869 a bill passed both houses of Congress to transfer the
authority of the separate management of the Negro schools to the white
board. The colored people became alarmed. Israel Church opened its
doors for a mass meeting and under the leadership of John F. Cook a
strong protest against the legislation was voiced. The other churches
were asked to follow and endorse the stand taken at Israel. They did
so; the President, Andrew Johnson, refused to sign the bill and the
schools remained intact under Negro management until 1900.
[7] Israel was the church above all which made itself an example for
other independent churches in Washington. Mt. Zion in Georgetown had
been acting as an organized church since 1816. Until 1830, however, it
had no records. It had no Negro pastor for forty-eight years and no
trustees until 1866.
[8] Payne, _History of the A. M. E. Church_, p. 38.
[9] Some of the strongest men in that denomination were sent to
Israel. Charles Wesley Fitzhugh, Charles H. Phillips, R. S. Williams,
N. S. Cleaves, and S. B. Wallace were among the number. Phillips,
Williams, and Cleaves became bishops, while Dr. Wallace, who died
while pastor in 1895, was certainly one of the foremost pulpit orators
in any of the Negro churches, without exception, during the nineteenth
century.
[10] From the records of this church.
[11] At this time there were eighteen classes at the Asbury and a
membership of about 640. A financial report for the year ending March
30, 1850, shows receipts of $829.17-1/2. Ten years later the stewards'
financial report gives $798.01. At the dedication of Asbury in 1869 a
review of its history was given by Benjamin McCoy, who was the most
influential personage in the history of this church. He was a
colleague of John F. Cook, Sr. An extract from a report submitted by
him is very interesting, showing for the building the amount of the
debt of the old Asbury, $15,354.97, on which $11,610.97 was paid
Downing and Brothers, $3,744 to Rogers and Cissil, $1,257.48 paid to
Morsell and Dearing, leaving a balance of $2,486.52.
[12] The order then follows: W. H. Waters, 1856; John J. Herbert,
1857; Michael F. Sluy, 1858; Alexander W. Wayman, 1859; Daniel W.
Moore, 1860-1861; James A. Handy, 1864 (6 weeks); James D. S. Hall,
1864, 1865; James A. Handy, 1866, 1867; Richard A. Hall, 1868, 1869;
Daniel P. Seaton, M.D., 1870, 1871; Daniel Draper, 1872, 1873; Richard
A. Hall, 1874; Joseph S. Thompson, 1875, 1876; George W. Brodie, 1877,
1878, 1879; Rev. John W. Stevenson, 1880, 1881.
Union Bethel finally became the Metropolitan Church in 1881. James A.
Handy served in 1882, 1883, 1884; after which came Rev. George T.
Watkins, 1885; Theophilus G. Steward in 1886 and 1887, and John T.
Mitchell in 1888 and 1889.
[13] The organization of the Bethel Literary and Historical
Association by Bishop Payne in the early autumn of 1881 was an event
worth chronicling because of its immediate influence on the individual
church, the community, the denomination and the entire country. For
twenty-five years the Bethel Literary in the fall and winter seasons
was recognized as an intellectual clearing house. In distant
communities the reflex influence was just as unmistakable because of
the newspapers, whose Washington correspondents did not fail to
register the utterances and the discussions which the Literary
occasioned.
[14] Union Bethel became the Metropolitan A. M. E. Church by order of
the General Conference of 1872, affirmed by that of 1876 and
reaffirmed by its successor in 1880.
The church building is 80 x 120 with a sub-basement for domestic
purposes and a basement above grade containing lecture, Sunday School,
library, and class rooms. The cost was $70,000 on ground, the assessed
valuation of which at the time of the erection of the edifice was
$25,000. The cornerstone was laid in 1881. The basement was opened for
divine worship November 8, 1885, and dedicated by Bishop A. W. Nayman,
Dr. J. A. Handy, Dr. B. W. Arnett, and Dr. G. T. Watkins, pastor. On
the completion of the main auditorium services were first held Sunday,
May 30, 1886. When dedication features extending one week took place,
John A. Simms, Andrew Twine, William Beckett, John Shorter, George C.
Brown, James Washington, Walter F. Hyson, George R. Dalley, and J. T.
Harris were the trustees.
In 1886 the new edifice was dedicated with elaborate exercises. T. G.
Steward was the first pastor to serve in the new building. After an
administration of two years he was succeeded by Dr. John G. Mitchell.
John W. Beckett followed Dr. Mitchell in 1889 and remained three
years. In 1873 John T. Jenifer, who bears the distinction of being a
member of the first graduating class of Wilberforce University, was
appointed and served three years. He was succeeded in 1896 by John
Albert Johnson, who served a term of five years with unusual success.
Daniel J. Hill followed J. Albert Johnson and remained two years.
Oscar J. W. Scott, who followed in 1903, filled out three terms and
was serving his fourth when he received an appointment as Chaplain in
the 24th United States Infantry to succeed Chaplain T. G. Steward.
John H. Welch, named to succeed J. W. Scott, served two years and was
appointed for the third when he suddenly passed away to the intense
sorrow of his congregation. Dr. Isaac N. Ross began in 1909 an
incumbency of five years.
In 1914 Dr. C. Harold Stepteau succeeded Dr. Ross and remained for
three years. Dr. Stepteau was succeeded in 1917 by Rev. Carlton M.
Tanner. He at once bent his efforts toward the reduction of the debt
which had handicapped the progress of the church for a generation.
Such was his success that within two years he accomplished what had
been regarded as an impossible task. The event was made an occasion
for great rejoicing, culminating in a thanksgiving service Monday
evening, January 27, 1919, which included among other features an
address by the pastor, Dr. Tanner, one by the presiding Bishop, John
Albert Johnson, and an original poem by Dr. Robert E. Ford. The most
spectacular number was the burning of the fourteen thousand dollar
mortgage deed in the presence of the vast audience, the taper being
applied by a committee of elderly members who had been connected with
the church for a score or more of years.
[15] One has said that not long thereafter they employed as temporary
pastor the Rev. Mr. Nickens, whose coming being unacceptable to some
members of the congregation, caused about thirty to secede, organizing
a church by themselves. These seceding members were expelled and, as
the church property was deeded to the members of the church, there
ensued a controversy as to the title of the church, which for a number
of years was in litigation between the mother church and her
offspring. See the _Special Report of the United States Commissioner
of Education on the Schools of D. C._, 311.
[16] During his school days Rev. Harvey Johnson of Baltimore was a
follower of the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church.
[17] This account was given by the present pastor of this church, Dr.
W. H. Brooks.
The deacons during Dr. Brooks's pastorate have included some of the
foremost men in the community. Such men are William Coke, who was a
deacon in 1840, John H. Beale, Nathaniel Gilmer, Henry Jarvis, Linsey
Muse, Albert Parker, William P. Pierre and William Syphax, while among
the trustees will be recalled Carter A. Stewart, Charles Lemos, David
Clark, William B. Brooks, W. A. Johnson, Edgar Ball and John H.
Hunter. Among the local churches either directly or indirectly
originated in the Nineteenth Street Church are the Vermont Avenue, the
Metropolitan, Berean, Pilgrim of Brentwood, Salem and Israel Baptist
Churches.
[18] The following persons constituted the church: John F. Cook, David
Carroll, Jane Noland, Mary Ann Tilghman, Clement Talbert, Lydia
Williams, Elizabeth Carroll, Ann Brown, Charles Bruce, Basil Gutridge,
Clarissa Forest, John Madison, Catherine Madison, Ann Chew, Ruth
Smith, Emily Norris, Maria Newton, Alfred Cook and Eliza Stewart.
[19] See F. J. Grimké's _Anniversary Address on the Occasion of the
Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian
Church_.
[20] A statement verified by the present pastor, Dr. J. L. S.
Holloman.
In 1883 Dr. William Bishop Johnson accepted the call to the pastorate
which, notwithstanding its nearly forty years of struggle, had been
reduced to a membership of less than one hundred. During Dr. Johnson's
pastorate a church edifice was erected in 1895 at a cost of $75,000,
one of the largest and most imposing in the city. An outstanding
feature of Dr. Johnson's administration was the organization of a
Sunday School Lyceum in 1885 which was one of the most popular
literary organizations in the Capitol, meeting Sunday afternoons, when
there were discussions of some foremost topic by representative
thinkers of both sexes and races. Notable among the presidents of the
Sunday School Lyceum were Mr. Jesse Lawson, Mr. R. D. Ruffin, and Mr.
R. W. Thompson, the newspaper correspondent. Johnson died in 1917
mourned by the congregation and community as one of its leading
preachers. Through his administration of the affairs the church became
one of the best known throughout the country because of the organizing
abilities of the pastor and his unusual ability. In 1917 the church
called as pastor Dr. J. L. S. Holloman of Winton, North Carolina.
During his four years of service the church has been practically freed
of debt and has entered on a new era of progress.
[21] The present building was erected about 1886, by Dr. R. H. G.
Dyson. The present pastor is Rev. H. J. Callis, who easily takes rank
in the city as one of its leading public-spirited influences.
[22] This story is taken largely from records preserved by Mr. B. J.
Grant, one of the oldest members of this church.
[23] At the present time this plot of ground is covered by the
Ebenezer A. M. E. Church.
[24] Two years later they erected another story, which remained intact
until the church was sold. The remodeling and addition cost $1,100.
This property proved to be very valuable, as they decided after many
years to make it one of its most fashionable thoroughfares. Bought for
almost a pittance, this property had advanced in value to such an
extent that the business interests offered a high price for it and it
was sold.
[25] A new edifice is being favorably considered to accommodate the
growing congregation. A building fund has been started for this
purpose.
[26] This account was taken from the records of the Third Baptist
Church.
[27] There were elected the following officers in 1885: W. C. Laws,
Joseph Jones, Henry Hughes, James H. West, Daniel Lewis, Moten Waites,
and Joseph Montgomery. P. H. Umbles officiated during the vacancy of
the pulpit occasioned by the death of Mr. Jefferson, which occurred in
October, 1885.
On March 19 James H. Lee of New Bedford, who had formerly been
connected with the Third Baptist Church, was called to the pastorate.
He accepted and preached his inaugural sermon May 9 and was installed
on May 30. During the first seven years of his administration 242
members were received by baptism, 49 by letter, 62 by experience, 59
by restoration. In the same period 24 were dismissed by letter, 65
excluded and 117 lost by deaths. A debt of $3,475.55 was paid during
this period including balance due on site. The collections aggregated
$28,729.
[28] The following officers were then in charge: Deacons W. L. Laws,
Daniel Lewis, Joseph Jones, Joseph Montgomery, James H. West, Henry
Hughes, and Moten Waites; and Trustees Alexander Peyton, Henry C.
Bolden, William Reynolds, Ottowa Nichols, Richard Basey, George Duff
and Dennis Johnson. After the death of Rev. James H. Lee, Rev. Mr.
Bullock became the pastor.
[29] James L. Pinn is the present pastor, having served since
September, 1916.
[30] Records of the Shiloh Baptist Church.
[31] About a year before the church was organized a number of
Baptists, who with their children afterward formed the church, met in
a little shanty situated at that time on the south side of L Street,
just across from the present church house, and under the direction of
J. McCleary Perkins, a white Union soldier, formed a Sunday School.
The members of this Sunday School were largely adults of African
descent, while the teachers were from both races. The Bible was the
book from which morals and religion were taught, and Webster's
blueback speller was the constant companion of children and parents
while they were learning to read the Word of God. James H. Payne
succeeded Mr. Perkins as Superintendent of this school, and six months
thereafter John M. Washington succeeded Payne. These two men
alternated as superintendents of this Sunday School for ten or twelve
years, and worked together faithfully until they succeeded in building
up a flourishing institution.
[32] Those who were in the original company that founded the church
were Washington Whitlow, John J. Taylor, J. Mason Wilson, George
Armstead, Edward Brook, Clement Morgan, Henry Frazier, Henry D.
Payton, Griffin Saunders, Alfred Pendleton, James H. Payne, James G.
Semple, Jane Brown, Elizabeth Morgan, Annie Armstead, Lucy Davis and
Rev. William J. Walker.
[33] The Moderator then informed the members of Shiloh that the
Council was ready to hear their statement, whereupon Henry Frazier,
the senior deacon of the newly formed church, gave a history of the
organization and prosperity of Shiloh Baptist Church in
Fredericksburg, from which the members forming the new church had
come. William J. Walker, who had been associated with the
Fredericksburg church for about twelve years, presented some
interesting facts, and added: "These brethren, who have been driven
from their homes and scattered among strangers, long to be gathered
into a church, that they may worship God unitedly as they formerly
did." Thereupon A. Rothwell offered the following resolutions which
were unanimously passed:
"Resolved, That we recognize with devout gratitude the good hand of
our Heavenly Father, in delivering these, His children, from the
fetters of bondage, so that they may freely serve Him, and more
perfectly learn His Way, and we tender to them our cordial Christian
sympathies, as well as our prayers and our aid, in maintaining their
church organization.
"Resolved, also, That we heartily approve the proposition of the
brethren to be recognized as a church, based upon the Christian
doctrines and principles which are the foundation of our denomination,
and that we will cheerfully cooperate in the services appropriate to
the recognition of the Shiloh Baptist Church of Washington, D. C."
The following were the officers of the newly formed church: Deacons
Henry Frazier, Clement Morgan, James G. Semple, Edward Brook, James H.
Payne, Henry D. Payton and Alfred Pendleton; Trustees William J.
Walker, Edward Brook, John J. Taylor, James H. Payne, Griffin
Saunders, Washington Whitlow and Henry D. Payton; John J. Taylor,
church clerk, and J. McCleary Perkins, Superintendent of the Sunday
School.
William J. Walker, the first pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church, was a
native of Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was born of free parents and
was about 72 years of age at the time of his death, in 1889. He was a
printer by trade, and enjoyed considerable educational advantages for
the times in which he lived. He was a wise leader, an untiring worker,
and a faithful and able minister of the gospel.
[34] This is a condensed account furnished Dr. J. M. Waldron.
[35] These facts were obtained from the church records.
[36] A statement verified by the present pastor.
[36a] A statement made by the clerk of the church.
[37] A statement made by a number of old members of the church.
[38] The records of the church.
[39] Their first meeting house was erected with a seating capacity of
300 at a cost of $800; the second, which would seat 500, cost $2,000.
With their more than 150 membership they raised $1,000 annually and
expended $850 on current expenses.
[40] These are facts given by the officers of this church.
[41] J. W. Parker, pastor of the E Street Baptist Church, was
moderator, and Lalmon Richards, of the North Baptist Church, was clerk
of this council. The organization consisted of twenty-two members, 10
men and 12 women: James Storum, Wormley, White, Harrod, Denney,
Bailey, John Pierre Randolph, Rowe, Page, Mrs. Wormley, Mrs. Anderson,
widow of D. W. Anderson, Eliza Jackson, Mary Jackson, Thompson,
Pierre, Denney, White, Farley, Bailey and Watson.
[42] This is an abridged statement verified by the church itself.
[43] This is based on a statement made by this church.
[44] This account is based on the records of this church.
[45] These facts were obtained from the records of the church.
[46] These facts as to Negro Catholics were taken from records in the
form of a church monthly newspaper in the possession of Dr. John F.
Smith.
[47] The sermon was delivered by Dr. O'Gorman. The edifice is an
imposing structure of Potomac blue stone, granite basement with
trimmings of Baltimore County marble. A slate roof crowns the
building, the elevation to the apex of the roof being 56 feet. The
facade is broken at the corner with a square tower standing with its
top about 113 feet from the ground. Three wide doors open from the
street approached by ten stone steps so constructed as to make them
easy to ascend or descend. The church will seat 600 persons and cost
about $40,000. In connection with its religious activities St.
Cyprian's has a parochial school and academy located on 8th and D
Streets, five blocks west. This is the gift of one Miss Atkins, one of
the most thrifty of Negro women of the community, who had been a
student at St. Francis Academy in Baltimore.
DOCUMENTS
THE EXPERIENCE OF A GEORGIA PEON--MY ESCAPE FROM BONDAGE[1]
It was on a faraway plantation, where the big bell rang out the
call to work, and the overseer shouted at the top of his voice,
"All in line." For twenty-seven years I was one among the groups
that must hearken to the call of the big bell.
Some years ago the owners of these plantations agreed among
themselves to let the colored people have schools, with the
understanding that no one should be admitted as a pupil who was
old enough to work. So I found myself among those who had to
work. I hardly know how the thought came into my mind that I
wanted to go to school, for there was no talk of schools around
the fireside, but for some cause that I cannot explain I became
possessed with the longing for an education. I did not know what
for, but, with all my heart, I wanted to go to school.
There were ten of us in our family, including our father. Our
mother departed into the beyond when we were very small. Our
father was an easy-going man. Any way would do for him. Whatever
_was_ was right. Whenever I told him that I wanted to go to
school he would answer, "You know what the boss says." But I
would reply, "Father, he can't _make_ me stay here." That was to
him a piece of foolishness and he would turn away and say nothing
more. At last I saw that I must do my own thinking and plan my
own way of leaving. For ten years school was my chief thought.
Every day I saw myself turning from the old plantation to what
was for me the land of freedom and opportunity.
It was years before the opportunity came. One night I said to my
father, "I am going to leave on the first day of May if it costs
me my life." For the first time he seemed to realize that I was
in earnest. Then he said, "If you leave me you will travel in my
tears." That was a horrible thought to me so I did not leave then
nor until several more years had gone by, ten in all from the
time I first began to think about school.
Finally, one night I said to him: "This is the third and last
time I shall tell you I want to go to school. You hindered me for
years by telling me that I would be travelling in your tears.
That will not answer any longer." When he saw that the blaze had
never died out he said: "My son, these may be right thoughts that
have come to your mind and their power may lead you to a good
end, yet they may be the ruin of you. I would rather follow you
to your grave than see you captured and brought back to be
punished by these hateful laws they have on these plantations.
God will change things after a time and then it may be you can go
to school in safety." I saw then that my poor father wanted me to
go to school but was afraid I would be punished if I did, as he
had known others to do. I said I was going to risk it anyway. As
the appointed time drew near he was very sorrowful. Never shall I
forget the night of parting. After he had pronounced a
benedirection upon me he said: "May you ever be happy."
I had really started upon my journey. I had a sack of gingerbread
which I did not want to bother with but that my dear sisters
persuaded me to carry with me. When daylight appeared I knew it
would not be safe to keep the road so I planned out a road of my
own. When I came to the spring into which Ponce de Leon had
plunged to regain his lost youth I sat down and ate all the bread
I could and left the rest. How often afterwards I wished for it!
Not long after I left Ponce de Leon spring I heard the plantation
dogs coming after me. "What shall I do now?" was the question.
When they had nearly reached me I hid behind a tree and then
dashed off as if I saw game ahead. They soon recognized me and
became my fast friends.
We slept in the same bed under the same guardian stars. Every
night I would thank God for their voiceless sympathy. I shared my
meals with them. When I bought crackers I would eat but a few of
them and give the rest to my dumb companions. But I saw at last
that I must get rid of the poor creatures somehow, although the
thought almost broke my heart. When I reached the Mississippi I
lashed two logs together and sent my companions out hunting. Then
I sailed away on the raft I had made across the Father of Waters.
When they returned I looked back and saw them running alongside
of the river where they could see me, willing to die with me. I
broke down in tears and could not look back any more, because I
would have gone back and died with them.
For hundreds of miles I made a path where no human foot had ever
trod. I swam rivers and made harbors where no boat had ever
landed. At last I reached Texas. For many days I travelled
without seeing any house. At night I was afraid of being
destroyed by some wild beast, so I would climb a tree and stay
awake until morning. But none of these things moved me for I had
ten years' study of my journey and whatever it might bring, even
death. Coming to a little town I found work with one of my race.
I thought all colored people were like those on the plantation so
I told my employer everything and from what plantation I came. He
said I had taken the right step. Imagine my surprise therefore
when I discovered that I was captured! It almost broke my heart.
Rather than go back to the old plantation I would suffer death. I
pulled away from my captors and ran with all my might. My
pretended friend was ahead trying to overtake me but I soon freed
myself in a large swamp. This taught me a lesson I did not have
to go to school to learn, I found out that some among my own race
would put me to death for a dollar and I learned to keep my mouth
shut.
When I reached Chattanooga, the nights were so cold I saw I could
no longer lie out. For many months I had not slept in a bed, nor
eaten a cooked meal. My clothes were those I wore away from home
and they were what you can imagine they would be. I did not know
how to go about getting a job. Finally I found a good place and
before long was earning enough to make me comfortable. But one
day when I was out in town I saw a drummer who had sold goods to
the store on our plantation, for many years. He recognized me and
called out, "The boss is going to break your head, nigger, if he
gets you!" This ended my happy home. I had not yet learned to get
on a train but with my same dependence I soon ran away to
Knoxville. Writing to a certain place from there I learned of my
father's death. These were dark days for me. I was strolling
about in the cold world without home or friends. I would often
ask myself, "What am I living for when there is no heart beating
for me?" I began to drift with the current and even thought I
would take to drinking. Then the thought came to me that I would
be a coward to come so far and then give up. I arose with this
thought and determined to act like a man. I entered school in
Morristown Tenn., thinking that all my troubles were over. I made
low grade with small children. It seemed funny to them to see a
man who knew so little. I was there about four months and was
beginning to lose my fear when one day I saw the same drummer
again. When he caught sight of me he called out, "Hello, nigger,
I thought you were in New York!" Never will sinner tremble in the
presence of the Almighty as I did in the presence of that
drummer. But he seemed only delighted in spending some time
talking with me. He said one of my sisters and several other
hands from the plantation had run away and the boss thought I was
the cause of it all, and, he added, "If that old man gets his
hand on you, they'll take you some night and skin you alive. I
told him I saw you in Chattanooga and he said he would make me a
present of $200 if I would let him know where you were if I
should see you again. But I would not do you that way for
anything. I'll tell you what I will do for you, however. I'll get
you a good job up North where you can go to school. I would not
stop here." I replied "All RIGHT!" As he was going away he threw
me a quarter saying, "Get you a drink, old boy!" I lifted my hat
and scraped back my foot as I thanked him for the money. But I
was not so easily fooled at that time. I knew just what such
sweet talk meant. I saw that it was my move. I had learned then
to get on the train. I left Morristown that night and next
morning was in Lexington. Being afraid to stay I went to
Wilberforce, Ohio, then to Frankfort but finally came back to
Lexington again. By that time I had found out that my boss could
not carry me back to the plantation, as its laws were not so
large in the world as I had thought. I found out that if I
violated the laws of the State I could not be carried back
without the consent of the Governor of Kentucky. I entered
Chandler School without money but happy. For the first time I
wrote to my old Miss telling her I was in Lexington in Chandler
School. She answered with sweet words about my going to school,
and said the boss had spoken kind things about me before he
passed away.
The kind teachers of Chandler did their best to unfold those
twenty-seven years of ignorance. I had almost to bite the dust to
stay in school but I stayed there. I have studied many days
hungry--walking the streets afternoons trying to find work for a
little to eat.
Since I have been in Lexington I have often been asked, "What do
you want with so much education?" Out of those same lips I have
heard other students praised for going to school. I did not let
this discourage me. Dr. J. E. Hunter, Rev. E. A. Clarke, and
Kelly Robinson will ever have my heart-felt gratitude for the
kind words of encouragement they gave me. We little realize what
a word of encouragement means to one who has lived the life I
have.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This narrative was obtained by the editor. It relates an incident
which took place between Wrightsville and Dublin, Georgia, in 1903.
There is abundant evidence that many other cases of this have been and
may be found in the United States.
COMMUNICATIONS
This letter contains at least one important fact showing the
development of racial relations in the United States since the
establishment of the independence of this country.
February 8, 1916.
MR. C. G. WOODSON,
EDITOR, THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF NEGRO
LIFE AND HISTORY,
2223 12th St., NW.,
Washington, D. C.
_Sir_:
Referring to your letter of the 4th instant, in which you express
a desire to be furnished with information showing the number of
negro soldiers who served in the Revolutionary War, their names,
if possible, and some information concerning the regiments in
which they served, and in which letter you also make inquiry as
to whether such records are accessible to some member of your
staff for making the necessary research, I am directed by the
Secretary of War to inform you as follows:
A cursory examination of the Revolutionary War records on file in
this Department has resulted in the discovery of information here
and there concerning the services of colored men in that war, but
there is no index indicating where records of such services may
be found and in order to ascertain data showing the names,
organizations and numbers of such colored men it would be
necessary to make an extended search of the entire collection of
Revolutionary War records in the custody of this Department. Even
after making such an extended search the results would be
doubtful because the War Department records afford but little
information showing whether Revolutionary War soldiers were white
or colored.
No attempt has ever been made by the War Department to compile
information regarding the numbers or names of colored men in the
Revolutionary War or the designations of the organizations to
which they belonged, and owing to the limited clerical force
allowed by law, the Department cannot undertake any compilation,
which, as already explained, would in any event necessarily be
incomplete and unsatisfactory.
Historical investigators of recognized standing are permitted to
have access to the War Department records under certain
conditions, but the Revolutionary War records have become so worn
and dilapidated by reason of lapse of time and long use thereof
that access thereto is permitted only under exceptional
circumstances. Inasmuch as those records are very incomplete and
afford scarcely any information bearing upon the subject in
question it is not seen that any useful purpose can be served by
granting permission to search those records for the data desired.
Many of the States that had troops in the Revolutionary War have
published rosters of such troops. These rosters can probably be
readily consulted in the Congressional Library, and it is
believed that they afford the most promising source for obtaining
the information sought
Very respectfully,
H. T. MCCAIN,
_The Adjutant General_
The following sent out some time ago under the frank of Congressman
Goldfogle may have some historic value:
When the Jamestown Exposition Bill was under consideration by the
Committee on Industrial Arts and Expositions of the House of
Representatives, at Washington, Congressman Henry M. Goldfogle,
of New York, a member of the committee, took a very keen and
lively interest in securing an appropriation of a hundred
thousand dollars for a Negro exhibit.
On the day the Committee finally revised the bill and voted on
it, Congressman Goldfogle was suffering intensely from
carbuncles, and was about to undergo a surgical operation.
Despite this, he went to the committee meeting, and there moved
the insertion of the provision for the appropriation for a Negro
exhibit.
Some members of the committee who were not favorable to the
project and others who were quite indifferent to it urged the
Congressman to allow the matter to remain in abeyance, saying
that it might be taken up at some future time. Judge Goldfogle,
however, insisted there was no time like the present and that the
colored men and women of the country ought to have an opportunity
to show through means of the proposed exhibit the remarkable
progress that they had made since the days when they emerged from
slavery. In the course of his remarks to the Committee, he said
that he came of a race that had been oppressed and which
centuries ago had been in slavery, and that had he lived forty
years after the children of Israel had passed out of the house of
bondage, he would have been thankful and grateful had anyone
given his people an opportunity to show the progress they had
made as free men.
Congressman Goldfogle called attention to the testimony that had
been given during the hearings before the Committee of the great
advancement made by the colored people in every avenue of life
from the time of their emancipation, and the credit that was due
to many of the men and women of the Negro race who had shown
themselves worthy of the freedom that happily this country
accorded them.
After quite a spirited debate, in which Judge Goldfogle warmly
espoused the cause of the colored man, the Committee, by a
majority of one vote, inserted the appropriation provision; and
thus, mainly through the efforts of this New York Congressman,
who has not a single colored vote in his district, the Negro
exhibit was established at the Jamestown Exposition.
BOOK REVIEWS
_A Social History of the American Negro._ By BENJAMIN BRAWLEY.
Macmillan Company, New York, 1921. Pp. 420.
As Negro history has been so long neglected, it will require some time
to develop in this field the necessary standard to secure a
distinction between the significant and insignificant and between
truth and fiction. On account of the emphasis which has been recently
given to this study, many novices lacking especially the historical
point of view have entered this field because it is so productive that
it is an easy task to write a work therein. Benjamin Brawley whose
chief preparation and efforts have been restricted to English is one
of these novices. Among his first efforts were _A Short History of the
American Negro_ and _The Negro in Literature and Art_. In neither of
these works does he exhibit the knowledge required by the standards of
present day historiography. This more recent work although more
extensive than the others has no better claim to its being called
history.
There can be no question as to many valuable facts contained in this
work, but it lacks proportion, style, and accuracy. The book begins
with a study of African origins based largely on Wiener's _Africa and
the Discovery of America_ and upon Lady Lugard's _Tropical
Dependency_. He next takes up the Negro in the Spanish exploration but
has little or nothing to say about the Negroes in connection with
other explorers. His treatment of the development of the slave trade
and of the introduction of slavery shows a slightly improved
conception of his task. In his discussion of the Negroes in the
colonies, into which he works servitude and slavery, the Indian, the
mulatto, the free Negro, and efforts for social betterment, he
presents a veritable hodgepodge. Passing then to the study of the
estrangement from Great Britain, the participation of the Negro in the
Revolutionary War, and the effect of that movement upon the Negro's
social and political situation, he exhibits no scientific grasp of the
status of the Negroes during the eighteenth century or of what they
were thinking and doing. The treatment of the new West, the South, and
the West Indies, which follows this portion of the book is merely
certain generalizations which may be obtained from an average
knowledge of American history and from such topical discussions of the
Negro history as may be found in B.A. Johnson's _History of the Negro
Race_ or in John W. Cromwell's _The Negro in American History_. In his
discussion of the Indian and the Negro there is an effort which serves
to direct attention to a neglected aspect of our history, that is, to
figure out the extent to which the races were associated and the race
admixture which resulted from such contact.
Coming nearer to our day to take up the discussion of the Missouri
Compromise, the abolition agitation, and the constitutional debate on
slavery, Mr. Brawley shows his inability to develop his subject for he
merely draws a few facts first from one field and then from another to
fill out certain topics in the book without correlating them in such a
way that the reader may be able to interpret their meaning. He has
endeavored not to write a history but to summarize what other persons
are now publishing as selected topics in this field. In other words,
he has added to the unscientific history of the Negro, which has
hitherto appeared in the so-called text books on Negro history, facts
culled from various sources but so improperly used as not to develop
the subject.
The chapter on Liberia should have been incorporated into the
treatment of colonization or made a supplementary chapter in the
appendix of the book. Placed in the middle of the work, it has been
necessary to repeat certain facts which could have been stated
elsewhere once for all. The same is true of his treatment of the Negro
as a national issue, and of social progress, which he takes up the
second time as topics inadequately developed in the earlier stages of
the treatise. In his discussion of the Civil War, the Emancipation,
the Reconstruction, and the Negro in the new South, he says very
little which is new. Under the caption _The Vale of Tears_, he drifts
almost altogether into opinion as he does also in the case of the
_Negro in the New Age_ and the _Negro Problem_. Judging, then, from
the point of view of an historian, one must conclude that this work
does not meet any particular want and that so far as the history of
the Negro is concerned the publication of it will hardly result in any
definite good. Mr. Brawley does not know history.
_William Lloyd Garrison._ By JOHN JAY CHAPMAN. Moffat, Yard and
Company, New York, 1913. Pp. 278.
This is a revised edition of a work of a similar name by this author,
published in 1913 by Moffat, Yard and Company, New York. After having
written the first edition the author made further investigation and
had other reflections which led him to think and to see things from a
different angle. He was impressed, moreover, with the fact that, being
now further removed from the Civil War, persons have learned to think
more seriously with regard thereto and to consider the value of the
deeds of the participants therein in a more sympathetic manner. This
work, however, has not been so very much enlarged; for it has only
eighteen pages more, but unlike the first edition it has an index.
Hoping, however, to give the subject of this sketch a larger place in
American history and to popularize the story of his career this
revised edition has been given to the public.
The work is not set forth as a scientific study. It is rather an
abridged account which may be read without much difficulty by the
average student in quest of concise opinion concerning one of the most
important American characters figuring in that great crisis between
1830 and 1860. On reading this work, one receives the impression that
the author has done his task very well. It borders somewhat on hero
worship, however, as is evident from the use of the following
language: "If one could see a mystical presentation of the epoch, one
would see Garrison as a Titan, turning a giant grindstone or
electrical power-wheel, from which radiated vibrations in larger and
in ever larger, more communicative circles and spheres of agitation,
till there was not a man, woman, or child in America who was not a
tremble." He says further: "We know, of course, that the source of
these radiations was not in Garrison. They came from the infinite and
passed out into the infinite. Had there been no Garrison they would
somehow have arrived and at some time would have prevailed. But
historically speaking they did actually pass through Garrison: he
vitalized and permanently changed this nation as much as one man ever
did the same for any nation in the history of the world."
The book gives a good background and then dramatically stages Garrison
as a striking figure. Next follows a dramatic presentation of the
antislavery struggle with pen pictures of the participants. The story
finally reaches the crisis when Garrison stood as a central figure.
The work contains a retrospect and a prospect, an excellent account of
the man in action, the Rynders Mob, Garrison and Emerson, and foreign
influence. The story closes with a summary and an impressive epilogue.
Although not a scientific treatise it certainly furnishes stimulus to
further study, and when a student thus interested has read it, he
will desire to study one of the larger biographies of this
distinguished man.
_The Education of the South African Native._ By CHARLES T. LORAM.
Longmans, Green and Company, London, 1917. Pp. 340.
This is a treatise written by a South African brought up among the
natives. He was once a Fellow in Teachers College of Columbia
University. At the time of writing this book he was serving as an
inspector of schools in Natal. The study, however, was undertaken as a
doctoral dissertation at Columbia.
Observing the shortcomings of writers on Africa, this author endeavors
to make a step ahead of them. He feels that they have dealt too much
with ethnology, and with the descriptions of customs and habits. He
does not think very much of the books primarily devoted to a
discussion of the conflicting opinions on craniology and psychology of
the natives. Taking up his own chosen task, however, he found it
rather difficult because the government has had no definite policy of
native education, and when there has been a policy among the four
important South African governments there does not appear to be any
uniformity of effort. No one, moreover, has undertaken to give the
problem of the uplift of the natives adequate treatment.
The author desired to make his work scientific but it appears that he
had not prosecuted this study very far before he found that important
facts were lacking and that in making his conclusions and suggestions
he would have to rely upon faith that what he may surmise may in the
future prove to be true, although some modification may be necessary.
Taking up this problem of education, however, he made use of the
reports of the government departments, reports of school officials,
books, pamphlets, articles in periodicals, statistical and
experimental investigations, personal experience, and the experiences
of his colleagues. While the work for the lack of some scientific
treatise blazing the way suffered from so many handicaps that it could
not be thoroughly scientific, it is the nearest approach to it and
must be considered the best authority in this field until superseded.
The work begins with a consideration of such scientific topics as race
contact in its larger aspects, the native problem and its proposed
solution, serving as a sort of introduction to the essential portion
of the work. The chief value of the book lies in its consideration of
why the natives should be educated, the early missionary enterprises,
the present status, elementary, industrial and higher education of the
natives, a comparison of the achievements of native education with
that of European, the basis for reconstruction of the native system,
the educational budget, and proposed changes.
The work is generally readable but grows a little dull in certain
statistical portions. The table of contents is detailed, but the book
could have been considerably improved had an index been added. On the
whole, the volume is a justification of some change in the political
status of the Negro for the good of all. South Africa cannot in its
own interest neglect the uplift of the natives, if it would promote
the social and economic progress of the whole group. The one element
cannot be elevated or kept up while the other is being held down.
Persons interested in education of belated peoples and in the
missionary enterprises should avail themselves of this volume.
_From Slave to Citizen._ By CHARLES M. MELDEN. The Methodist Book
Concern, New York and Cincinnati, 1921. Pp. 271.
This is a work written by one who has spent sixteen years as an
educator of Negroes in the South. His experience there was sufficient
for him to learn the Negro and his needs and he writes in the vein of
one speaking as having authority. Because of his long service among
the Negroes, the author has doubtless caught the viewpoint of the
aspiring members of the race. He aims, therefore, to present the
Negro's claim for recognition as a man, as a member of the human
family with the implied rights and privileges belonging to him.
The book presents a definite program. It proceeds on the basis that,
in a democracy, citizenship with its duties and its privileges must in
the long run be recognized. He does not feel that democracy means the
wiping out of racial preferences but the recognition of racial gifts
and endowments. The author considers it an injustice to hold the Negro
to the standards of democracy without training him to meet the
responsibility. He considers it unfair to require every individual of
the race to reach a prescribed standard before any of that group shall
be recognized. It is, therefore, a plea for treating the Negroes as
individuals and not as a single group, for fair treatment will not
lead to amalgamation in as much as Christianity has not been known to
promote that.
The chief remedy for the evils of racial conflict, according to the
author, is cooperation. This must be brought about through growth and
development from the contact of the two races on the higher plane of
Christian service. Men must learn to work together without
surrendering their fundamental connections. They must confer on all
matters pertaining to economic welfare. This means that the white man
must give the Negro a chance for initiative and leadership in the
program of cooperation rather than the eternal superimposed leadership
from without. In the language of Bishop W. P. Thirkield, who wrote the
introduction to this work: "The Negro must be offered not crutches but
a spirit of cooperation to make him strong that he may stand on his
feet and walk."
It is evident then that this book is primarily concerned with the
solution of the race problem. Yet written by a man who for years lived
in the South, it presents a point of view which will be of value to
the historian. From such topics as citizenship, social and legal
discrimination, disfranchisement, and mob law, the historian will
learn much by observing how these things impressed this worker in the
South and his reaction on them. Valuable information may be obtained
also from the discussion of the work of the Christian teacher in the
South, the mission school, and the silent protest in the form of the
exodus. There are valuable statistics in the chapters presenting the
progress in education, advancement in wealth, achievement in social
uplift, attainments in literature and art, and the record of the
Negroes in the World War. The last part of the book concerned with the
currents and counter-currents, the grinding of the mills of the gods
and a possible modus vivendi will decidedly interest the social worker
but will not concern very much the student of history. On the whole,
however, this volume is a valuable historical document which the
student of Negro life must read to be well informed as to what the
Negro has been doing in the South during the last generation and what
others have been doing for him.
NOTES
The annual meeting of the Association, held at Lynchburg on the 14th
and 15th of November, was the most successful conference hitherto held
by this organization. The proceedings appear elsewhere in this number.
At this meeting Prof. John R. Hawkins, for years a member of the
Executive Council, was elected President. A new Secretary-Treasurer,
Mr. S. W. Rutherford, was also elected. Mr. Rutherford is a well-known
business man in Washington. The Executive Council was reconstructed to
make it national. The following persons were added thereto: Bishop R.
A. Carter, R. R. Church, John W. Davis, Clement Richardson, and R. C.
Woods. Most of the former members of the Executive Council were
retained.
The Associated Publishers, Incorporated, Washington, D. C., have
brought out C. G. Woodson's _History of the Negro Church_. A review of
this work will appear in the next number. Another work, the _Negro in
Our History_, will be published some time in March.
_The Journal of Negro History_ has received for review Mason and
Furr's _With the Red Hand of France_, an account of a regiment of
Negro soldiers in France with the American Expeditionary Force.
A group of intelligent Negroes in North Carolina have formed a state
historical society to preserve the records of the race in that
commonwealth.
Dr. C. G. Woodson, the Director of the Association is now making a
study of slavery from the point of view of the slave himself. He has
sent out a searching questionnaire from which some results are being
obtained. He is also consulting local records and documents left by
slaves themselves and by those in a position to know their attitude
toward the institution. The cooperation of all interested in
unearthing the truth is earnestly solicited.
Professor A. A. Taylor, of the West Virginia Collegiate Institute, is
now making a scientific study of the influence of the Negro
congressmen on the legislation of Congress and on the general policy
of the country. He will appreciate any facts which may not be covered
by the public documents and books available.
Duffield and Company of Boston have published a new edition of
Benjamin Brawley's _The Negro in Literature and Art_.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF
NEGRO LIFE AND HISTORY, HELD AT LYNCHBURG, NOVEMBER 14 AND 15, 1921
The morning session of the annual meeting of the Association on the
14th at the Virginia Theological Seminary and College was called to
order by the Director, C. G. Woodson, who briefly traced the history
of the organization showing how it had gradually gained influence and
power and reached the position which it now occupies as a national
organization of concern to the people of both races throughout the
country. The Director then introduced Professor Charles H. Wesley of
Howard University, who delivered a most instructive and inspiring
address on the value of Negro History. After a few remarks by Dr. R.
C. Woods, a number of persons expressed their interest in the
Association by becoming members.
At two o'clock in the evening, the business session of the Association
was held. From the Executive Council, there was presented a
recommendation for the following amendments to the constitution,
which, after some discussion, were adopted by the Association:
That Article IV be amended so as to change "twelve" to
"fourteen," and to incorporate after the words "business
committee" therein the words "to fix salaries of employees." This
article would then read as follows:
The Officers of this Association shall be a President, a
Secretary-Treasurer, a Director and Editor, and an Executive
Council, consisting of the three foregoing officers and fourteen
other members elected by the Association. The Association shall
have three trustees, who ex-officio shall be the President,
Secretary-Treasurer, and the Director and Editor. It shall also
appoint a Business Committee to fix salaries of employees, to
certify bills, and to advise the Director and Editor in matters
of administrative nature. These officers shall be elected by
ballot through the mail or at each annual meeting of the
Association.
That Article V be amended so as to read as follows:
The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association
and of the Executive Council. He shall be ex-officio a trustee of
the Association, a member of the Business Committee and a member
of all standing committees. He shall perform such other duties as
may be required of him from time to time by the Executive Council
or by the Association.
In case of the absence of the President or his inability to act,
his duty shall be performed by the Secretary-Treasurer, who in
that event shall exercise any of the above mentioned powers of
the President. In case of the absence of both the President and
the Secretary-Treasurer, the duty of the President shall be
performed by the Director and Editor, who in that event shall
exercise any of the above mentioned powers of the President.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall attend all meetings and keep a full
account of their proceedings in a book to be kept for that
purpose. He shall through his Assistant keep a full and accurate
account of receipts and disbursements of the Association in books
belonging to the Association and shall deposit all monies and
other valuable objects in the name of this Association in such
depositories or safety vaults as may be designated by the
Business Committee. He and his Assistant shall be required by the
Executive Council to give bond as the Executive Council may
designate. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be ex-officio a trustee
of the Association, and a member of the Business Committee.
The Director and Editor shall be the executive of the Association
when it or the Executive Council is not in session. He shall
devise plans for the collection of documents, direct the studies
of members of the Association, and determine what matter shall be
published in the Journal of Negro History. He shall employ a
business manager and clerk, the last mentioned to serve also as
the Assistant to the Secretary-Treasurer. He may employ other
assistants for administrative work and upon the approval of the
Executive Council may employ specialists to prosecute the
research to be undertaken by the Association. The Director and
Editor shall be ex-officio a trustee of the Association, and a
member of all standing committees except the Business Committee.
The Executive Council shall have charge of the general interests
of the Association, including the election of members of the
Association on recommendation of the Director, the calling of
meetings, the collection and the disposition of funds.
The report of the Director was read and adopted as was also the report
of the Secretary-Treasurer, which was referred to an auditor.
Important extracts from these reports follow.
The work of the Association has been successfully promoted. In
some respects the Association has merely maintained its former
status. Considered from another point of view, however, a decided
advance in several ways has been noted. In the fields in which
the work has advanced the progress has been so significant that
the year through which the Association has just passed has been
the most prosperous in its history.
The subscription list of the Journal of Negro History does not
show a large increase for the reason that it became necessary
more than a year ago to raise the fee from one to two dollars a
year and the current stringency in the money market has borne so
heavily upon teachers, and students to whom this publication must
appeal, that they have been unable to give it more liberal
support. Among the subscribers and members, however, there has
been manifested a deep interest in the matter published and a
keen appreciation of its value in the uplift of the Negro.
The membership of the Association for the same reason has about
remained the same as that of last year. The interest of the
members in the work and the value of the direction of the
Association to them, however, have both unusually increased. This
interest has culminated in the organization of clubs under the
supervision of the Director, who through them has been able to
give considerable stimulus to the work in remote parts of the
country. Among the clubs thus organized should be mentioned those
of San Antonio, Louisville, Chicago, Baltimore, Washington,
Philadelphia, Brooklyn and New York. Classes doing the same work
under the instruction of teachers have been formed in most of the
accredited Negro secondary schools and colleges. The work of such
classes at the West Virginia Collegiate Institute, the Virginia
Theological Seminary and College, Hampton Institute, Morehouse
College, Atlanta University, Paine College, Lincoln Institute in
Missouri, and the Kentucky State Normal School has been helpful
to the Association in its prosecution of the study of Negro life
and history.
With the cooperation of these friends and through travel the
Director has been making a study of _Slavery from the Point of
View of the Slave_. This has been done through questionnaires
filled out by ex-slaves and former masters, through the
collection of documents, and the study of local records. This
study, however, is just beginning and will require much more time
for completion. The Director expects to finish at an earlier date
his studies of the _Free Negro_ and the _Development of the Negro
in the Occupations_.
The most significant achievement of the Association has been the
success of the Director in increasing the income of the
Association to about $12,000 a year. This substantial uplift has
come in part from a large number of Negroes, who now more than
ever appreciate the value of their records and the importance of
popularizing the study thereof. A large number of Negroes have
made small contributions and as many as forty have given the
Association $25 each this year. Through the strong endorsement of
Dr. J. F. Jameson and other noted historical scholars the
Director secured from the Carnegie Corporation the much needed
appropriation of $5,000 a year for each of the next five years.
With this income the Association has paid all of its debts except
that of the bonus of $1,200 a year promised the Director for
1919-1920 and 1920-1921. Besides, the Association has been
enabled to employ a Business Manager and to pay the Director a
regular salary that as soon as practicable he may sever his
connection with all work and devote all of his time to the
prosecution of the study of Negro Life and History.
The details as to how the funds thus raised have been expended appear
in the following report of the Secretary-Treasurer:
November 12, 1921.
_The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History,
Washington, D. C._
_Gentlemen:_ I hereby submit to you a statement of the amount of
money received and expended by the Association for the Study of
Negro Life and History, Incorporated, from September 30, 1920, to
November 12, 1921.
RECEIPTS EXPENDITURES
Subscriptions $913.96 Printing and Stationery $5,731.53
Memberships 126.00 Petty Cash 709.90
Contributions 8,239.50 Stenographic Service 1,134.60
Advertisements 255.15 Rent and Light 438.61
Rent and Light 198.61 Miscellaneous 86.10
Books 75.40 Salaries 1,225.00
Traveling Expenses 77.21
-------- --------
Total $9,808.62 Total $9402.95
Balance on hand Balance on hand November
Sept. 30, 1920. 48.86 12, 1921 454.53
--------- -------
$9,857.48 $9,857.48
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary-Treasurer.
Upon the recommendation of the committee on nominations the officers
of the Association were, in keeping with the custom of this body,
elected by a motion to the effect that the Acting Secretary be
instructed to cast the unanimous ballot of the Association, for those
recommended by the committee on nominations, that is, for John R.
Hawkins as President, for S. W. Rutherford as Secretary-Treasurer, for
C. G. Woodson as Director and Editor, and as members of the Executive
Council the three foregoing officers together with Julius Rosenwald,
George Foster Peabody, James H. Dillard, Bishop R. A. Carter, R. R.
Church, Albert Bushnell Hart, John W. Davis, Bishop John R. Hurst, A.
L. Jackson, Moorfield Storey, Bishop R. E. Jones, Channing H. Tobias,
Clement Richardson, and R. C. Woods.
The evening session of the 14th was held at the Eighth Street Baptist
Church where were assembled a considerable representation of the
members of the Association and a large number of persons seeking to
learn of the work and to profit by the discussion of the Association.
Dr. R. C. Woods, President of the Virginia Theological Seminary and
College, presided. The first speaker of the evening, Dr. W. H. Stokes
of Richmond, Virginia, delivered a well-prepared and instructive
address on the value of tradition. His aim was to encourage the Negro
race and other persons interested in its uplift to do more for the
preservation and study of its records. The next speaker of the evening
was Professor J. R. Hawkins, Financial Secretary of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church. He delivered a very forceful and informing
discourse on the history of the Negro Church. How the church has
figured in the life of the Negro; how it has been effective in
promoting the progress of the race; and what it is doing to-day to
present the case of the Negro to the world and offer him opportunities
in other fields were all emphasized throughout this address. Dr. R. T.
Kerlin, former Professor at the Virginia Military Institute, was then
introduced. He briefly spoke about the importance of acquainting the
white race with the achievements of the Negro, and showed that his
task was not, therefore, to appeal to the Negroes, themselves, but to
the white people, who too often misunderstand them.
The morning session of the 15th at the Virginia Theological Seminary
and College was called to order by the newly elected President, Prof.
John R. Hawkins. The Director, Dr. C. G. Woodson, was then introduced.
He showed how the Negro is a menace to the position of the white man
in trying to maintain racial superiority. The significant achievements
of the Negro in Africa and this country were passed in rapid review to
show how untenable this position of the white man is and how unlikely
it can continue in view of the fact that the Negro is accomplishing
more now than ever before in the history of the race. Professor John
R. Hawkins then delivered a brief address showing how the development
of the schools and the maintenance of the proper school spirit through
teachers and students can be made effective in the social uplift of
the race. President Trigg of Bennet College then followed with
impressive remarks expressing his interest in the cause and his
confidence in those who are now doing so much to preserve the records
of the Negro and to popularize the study of them throughout this
country and abroad.
There was no afternoon session of the Association except a brief
meeting of the Executive Council, to which the public was not invited.
The conference closed with the evening session at the Eighth Street
Baptist Church, where a large audience was addressed by Dr. I. E.
McDougle, of Sweet Briar College, Dr. E. Crooks, of Randolph-Macon
College, and Professor Bernard Tyrrell of the Virginia Theological
Seminary and College. Dr. McDougle briefly discussed Negro history as
a neglected field, showing that it is generally unexplored, and
introducing an abundance of material which may be discovered with
little effort. He spoke, moreover, of Negro History as a neglected
subject, giving statistical information as to the places where the
subject is now being taught and the manner in which such instruction
is offered. Dr. Crooks spoke for a few minutes on self-respect as a
means by which the race may develop power. He unfortunately, however,
drifted into a discussion of certain phases of the race problem and
disgusted his audience by advancing ideas with which, as he was
informed, Negroes cannot agree. Professor Tyrrell then delivered a
scholarly address on Negro ancestry and brought forward from his study
of ancient history and especially that of Africa, facts showing that
the Negro race has made a record of which it may well feel proud. He
explained, moreover, how historians since the early days have become
prejudiced against the proper treatment of the achievements of
Africans and have endeavored to convince the world that the record of
the race is not significant.
This meeting on the whole was a success, above and beyond that of any
other hitherto held. The attendance was large, the enthusiasm ran
higher, and the financial support secured far exceeded that of other
meetings. There was expressed a general interest in the plans for the
future prosecution of the work and the intention to give it more
support that it may be extended in all of its ramifications throughout
this country and even abroad.
THE JOURNAL
OF
NEGRO HISTORY
VOL. VII--APRIL, 1922--NO. 2
NEGRO CONGRESSMEN A GENERATION AFTER
The period of reconstruction which followed the Civil War presented to
the statesmen of that time three problems of unusual significance.
These were: what should be the status of the eleven Confederate
States; what should be done with the leaders of the Confederacy; and
finally, what should be the rôle to be played by the several millions
of freedmen? In the effort to deal effectively with these problems the
Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses adopted a reconstruction policy
which provided for the readmission of the formerly rebellious States
to the Union, the imposition of political disabilities upon many
former Confederates, and the bestowal of citizenship and suffrage upon
the freedmen. Upon the enlarged electorate the reconstruction of the
States was undertaken.
That the freedmen, comprising in many communities a preponderance of
voting power, should elect to public office ambitious outstanding men
of their race was expected. At that time, therefore, Negroes attained
not only local and State offices of importance, but also sat in the
United States Congress. Indeed, during the period from 1871 to 1901,
the latter year marking the passing of this type of Congressman,
twenty-two Negroes, two of whom were senators, held membership in
Congress. It seems, moreover, that men like Menard of Florida,
Pinchback of Louisiana, Lee and others, though unable to prove their
contentions, were, nevertheless, contestants with good title.
This situation, no less unique than it was interesting, has become the
source of interminable debate. It has been contended that because of
the ignorance of the blacks, in letters, in manners, in business, and
in the affairs of State, it was a serious mistake to enfranchise them,
thus making possible for a period however brief their virtual
direction of the political affairs of some of the Southern States.
Consistent in principle, historians of this conviction have viewed
with abhorrence the seating of black men in the highest legislative
assembly of the land. Not all men, however, have concurred in this
opinion. There were those who had precisely the opposite view, basing
their argument on the necessity of the plan of reconstruction
effected, in order to preserve to the Union the fruits of its victory.
The merits of that reconstruction are not here, however, at issue. Of
far greater import for our consideration is the single fact that
Negroes were thereby sent to Congress. Did the Negroes elected to
Congress justify by their achievements their presence there? To what
extent did they give direction to the thought and policies which were
to govern and control in this nation? Manifestly an impartial judgment
in this matter may be most adequately arrived at by the setting up of
certain criteria of excellence expected to inhere in Congressmen and
measuring by these the achievements of these functionaries.
Considering the matter in this light, therefore, the following
questions are advanced as bearing a direct relationship to the
services of these Congressmen. First, what of their mental equipment
to perform the tasks of law makers? Second, as measured by their
experience in public positions of trust and by their grasp of the
public questions at that time current, to what extent did they show
capacity for public service? Third, in what directions were their
chief interests manifested?
EVIDENCES OF MENTAL EQUIPMENT
Regarding the Negro Congressmen in the light of the standards already
referred to, we shall first make inquiry as to their mental fitness to
function as law makers. Broadly considered, they may be divided into
two groups: first, those who possessed but limited education; second,
those who were college bred.
Among the men comprising the first group, certain common
characteristics are noticeable: first, they were mainly members of the
earliest Reconstruction Congresses, beginning with the Forty-first, in
which Negroes held membership, and were therefore but little removed
from slavery; second, some of them were born of slave parents or had
been, themselves, slaves; third, others were brought up in communities
which expressly prohibited the establishment of educational
institutions for Negroes; and fourth, all of them, by dint of severe
application in later years, secured, prior to their election to
Congress, a better education than rudimentary instruction. The members
of this group were twelve in number, including Long[1] of Georgia; De
Large,[2] Rainey,[3] Ransier,[4] and Smalls[5] of South Carolina;
Lynch[6] and Bruce[7] of Mississippi; Haralson[8] and Turner[9] of
Alabama; Hyman[10] of North Carolina; Nash[11] of Louisiana; and
Walls[12] of Florida.
As many as ten of the twenty-two Negro congressmen were men of college
education. This training, however, varied widely in scope and purpose.
Two men of this group became ministers of the gospel. One of them,
Richard H. Cain[13] of South Carolina, was trained at Wilberforce
University, Xenia, Ohio, whence he left in 1861, at the age of
thirty-six years, to begin a career in his chosen field; the other,
Hiram E. Revels[14] of Mississippi, was educated at the Quaker
Seminary in Union County, Indiana. Prior to their election to
Congress, both of these men attracted wide attention as churchmen.
Cain was for four years the pastor of a church in Brooklyn, N. Y.,
after which his congregation sent him as a missionary to the freedmen
of South Carolina. Senator Revels, on the other hand, was widely known
as a lecturer in the States of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri.
For some time he preached in Baltimore, taught school in St. Louis,
and among other things, organized churches and lectured in
Mississippi. The wide experiences of both gentlemen offered to them
unusual opportunities to develop the power, keenness of insight, and
knowledge of human nature so essential to the leadership of men.
To some of these future Congressmen, the profession of teaching seemed
more attractive than the ministry. Three of the number were destined
to become educators. One of them, Henry P. Cheatham[15] of North
Carolina, attended the public and private schools near the town of
Henderson, and was later graduated with honor from the college
department of Shaw University. Immediately thereafter, in 1882, he was
elected to the principalship of the Plymouth State Normal School,
where he served until 1895. The second member of this group, George W.
Murray[16] of South Carolina, won by competitive examination a
scholarship at the reconstructed University of South Carolina. There
he remained until 1876, his junior year, when by the accession to
power of an administration unfriendly to the coeducation of the races,
he was forced to withdraw. For many years thereafter, Murray was
engaged as a teacher in the schools of his native county.
John Mercer Langston[17] of Virginia, the third member of the group of
educators, was graduated, in 1849, at the age of twenty, from Oberlin
College. Four years later, in 1853, he completed the work of the
theological department of that school. Because of his ripe
scholarship, moreover, unusual honors were conferred upon him by
several American colleges and universities, and he was the recipient
of several honorary memberships in scientific and literary
institutions and associations of foreign countries. Indeed, there have
sat in Congress few men of greater mental power and energy than John
Mercer Langston.
Of the twenty-two Negroes who have sat in Congress, five were members
of the legal profession. One of these men represented Alabama, two
South Carolina, and two North Carolina. Robert Brown Elliott, the
first member of this group of legally trained leaders, was perhaps the
most outstanding and certainly the most brilliant of the Negroes who
have served in Congress. Elliott[18] entered the High Hollow Academy
of London, England, in 1853, at the age of eleven years. In 1859, he
was graduated from Eton College. Later, he studied law and was
admitted to the bar, where he practiced for some time before the
courts of South Carolina. This superior training of Elliott no doubt
contributed in large measure to his eminence in debate, which was so
often manifested during the memorable sessions of the 42nd and 43rd
Congresses.
James T. Rapier[19] of Alabama, one of the really brilliant men in
this group, acquired a liberal education, after which he studied law
and practiced in his native State. Another member of the legal group
was James E. O'Hara[20] of Enfield, North Carolina. Following his
academic training which was received in New York City, O'Hara studied
law, first, in North Carolina, and later at Howard University in
Washington. In June, 1871, he was admitted to the bar of his State.
Two others of this group were Miller and White. The first one, Thomas
E. Miller,[21] of Beaufort, South Carolina, attended the free public
school for Negroes in his native city. In 1872 he was graduated from
the Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Later, Miller read law, and in
1875 was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of his State.
The second of these two, George Henry White[22] of North Carolina,
studied first in his native State and later at Howard University.
While there he pursued concurrently courses in liberal arts and in
law. In January, 1879, he was admitted to practice before the Supreme
Court of his State.
THEIR PUBLIC SERVICE PRIOR TO MEMBERSHIP IN CONGRESS
Perhaps the most accurate method whereby one's capacity for the
performance of any service may be measured is that which seeks, first,
to establish the experience of the individual in the performance of
the identical or similar services, and second, to evaluate the degree
of skill with which the individual, at a given time, performs the
particular service. Regarded in this light, therefore, we subject the
Negro Congressmen to this test: As measured by their experience in
public positions of trust and confidence and by their grasp of the
great public questions at that time current, to what extent did they
show capacity for public service?
The first part of our query lends itself to solution without
difficulty. Indeed, one may with great ease establish the fact that,
with but few exceptions, these men, prior to their election to
Congress, had held public offices of honor and trust. A case in point
is that of John Mercer Langston[23] of Virginia. While never a member
of a State legislature, Langston was, nevertheless, brought often into
other public service. Indeed he early attracted attention in Ohio by
his service as a member of the Council of Oberlin and by his record in
other township offices. Langston served as dean of the Law Department
of Howard University, and in 1872 became Vice-President and Acting
President of that institution. In 1885 he became President of the
Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. He served, moreover, as
Inspector-General of the Bureau of Freedmen, a member of the Board of
Health of the District of Columbia, Minister resident and
Consul-General to Haiti, and Charge d'Affaires to Santo Domingo. His
election to Congress, therefore, was the crowning achievement of a
lifelong public career.
Hyman,[24] O'Hara,[25] Cheatham,[26] and White,[27] all of North
Carolina, had held public office prior to their election to Congress.
Hyman and White had each been members of the State Senate, the former
for six years, from 1868 to 1874, while O'Hara and White had each
served in the lower house of the legislature. Hyman had been a
delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1868, moreover, while
O'Hara, who had also served as chairman of the Board of Commissioners
of the County of Halifax, had been a delegate to the Constitutional
Convention of 1875. For the eight years from 1886 to 1894, White
served as prosecuting attorney for the second judicial district of the
State, while Cheatham, the fourth member of the North Carolina
delegation, had held but one office, that of Register of Deeds for
Vance County.
It is especially significant that each one of the Negro Reconstruction
Congressmen from South Carolina, namely Cain,[28] De Large,[29]
Elliott,[30] Rainey,[31] Ransier,[32] and Smalls[33] were members of
the State Constitutional Convention of 1868. Two of them, Cain and
Rainey, had been formerly State Senators; Smalls had served two terms
in the Senate and four in the House; while each of the others had been
members for one term or more in the lower branch of the legislature.
Ransier, moreover, had held, prior to his election to Congress, the
high office of lieutenant-governor of the State; Elliott had served as
adjutant-general, and Smalls had held successively the offices of
lieutenant-colonel, brigadier-general and major-general in the State
militia.
Of the two South Carolinians who served in Congress after the
Reconstruction, Thomas E. Miller[34] was for four terms a member of
the lower chamber of the State legislature and for one term a member
of the Senate. Furthermore, he was for one term a school commissioner
of his county, and received also his party's nomination for the office
of lieutenant-governor of the State. Indeed, of the entire South
Carolina group, Murray, alone, seems to have been elected to Congress
without previously having held public office.[35] Jefferson F.
Long,[36] of Georgia, was not unlike Mr. Murray in that the former had
never held public office. In this, his experience differed from that
of Walls, of Florida, who had been a member of the Florida State
Senate.
Alabama sent to Congress three Negroes, Turner,[37] Rapier,[38] and
Haralson.[39] Of these men Haralson alone had had experience in the
legislature prior to his election to Congress, having served in both
branches of that body. Turner was elected in 1868 to the city council
of Selma. Later he became tax collector of Dallas County, but because
of his inability to secure honest men as assistants, resigned the
office. The third member of this group, James T. Rapier, served as an
assessor and later as a collector of internal revenue in his State.
The two Negro United States Senators, Hiram R. Revels[40] and B. K.
Bruce,[41] both of Mississippi, and Representative John R. Lynch[42]
of the same State, had all served in public office before they were
sent to Congress. Senator Revels had held several local offices in
Vicksburg, while Senator Bruce, before he came to the Senate, had been
sheriff, a member of the Mississippi levee board, and for three years
the tax collector of Bolivar County. John R. Lynch, on the other hand,
had served not only as justice of the peace, but also two terms in the
lower house of the legislature, during the latter one of which he was
the Speaker of that body. Unlike the Congressmen from Mississippi,
Nash[43] of Louisiana held office for the first time when his state
elected him a representative to Congress.
Accessible records and impartial and unbiased historians support the
contention that with a few exceptions the record of these Negro
functionaries was honorable. Corrupt government was not always the
work of the Negro. In the chapter on reconstruction in his _The Negro
in Our History_, C. G. Woodson states that local, state, and federal
administrative offices, which offered the most frequent opportunity
for corruption, were seldom held by Negroes, but rather by the local
white men and by those from the North who had come South to seek their
fortunes. In many respects selfish and sometimes lacking in
principle, these men became corrupt in several States, administering
the government for their own personal ends. "Most Negroes who have
served in the South," says he, "came out of office with honorable
records. Such service these Negroes rendered in spite of the fact that
this was not the rule in that day." New York, according to the same
authority, was dominated by the Tweed ring, and the same white men who
complained of Negro domination robbed the governments of the Southern
States of thousands of dollars after the rule of the master class was
reestablished.
NEGRO CONGRESSMEN IN ACTION
With the facts concerning the earlier experiences of these Congressmen
in public life a matter of record, attention may now be centered upon
the second aspect of the question of their capacity for public
service--namely, that of their reactions to the great public questions
of their day. Perhaps this topic may be most properly treated first by
determining what were the problems of greatest public moment during
the period in which these men were in Congress. From the year
1871--the period of service of the first Negro in Congress--throughout
the first year of the administration of Rutherford B. Hayes, there
were brought prominently before the public mind the questions of
reconstruction, economic, social, and political, in the North and West
as well as in the South. The exploitation of the public domain in the
West, the development of transcontinental railroads and other means of
communication, the plea for sound money, the economic regeneration of
the South, the proper adjustment of the social relations between the
two races living in that section, and the readjustment of political
control in the former Confederate States were the great issues upon
which, during this period, the attention of the nation was focused.
In the solution of some of these problems the Negro was intimately
involved. What was to be his place in the scheme of social adjustment
in the South? What part was he to play in the economic regeneration of
that section? How and to what extent should he maintain the political
power delegated to him by the war amendments? Indeed, of utmost
importance to the Negro was the proper solution of three perplexing
problems: first, to secure to themselves the civil rights so freely
exercised by other groups in the nation; second, to obtain national
funds to aid education; third, to determine whether their former
masters should be relieved of their political disabilities. It was to
the solution of these problems, therefore, that the Negro Congressmen
of that period especially addressed themselves.
The problem of civil rights, however, did not immediately take
precedence. With the passage by Congress, in 1875, of a measure known
as the Civil Rights Bill, which was supplementary to measures of the
same sort previously enacted, the Negroes of the country were accorded
the rights granted by the Constitution to all other citizens of the
United States. The subsequent approval of this bill by the president,
and the well-known policy toward the Southern States then adopted,
served to remove from the fore of American politics the various issues
arising from the larger problems of the social and political
reconstruction of the South.
Economic questions then had more opportunity for consideration. A new
era in the nation's development was ushered in, and with it came new
issues and new policies. The question of the exploitation of the
public domain in the West and that of transcontinental railway
construction had long been before the nation and still remained, but
in lieu of the others of the earlier period, there arose also such
questions as the free coinage of silver, the bimetallic monetary
standard, tariff for protection or for revenue only, and the Chinese
immigration. Despite the new character of the great problems before
the public forum, and of the consequent relegation to a minor position
of national importance the problems of reconstruction in the South,
the issues of peculiar interest to the Negro were not so aptly
settled. Indeed, it is to the discredit of the Supreme Court of the
United States that in all cases coming before that body in which there
was at issue a right granted by the Constitution to the freedmen,
efforts were made to evade the real issue, or to interpret the laws so
as to contravene the intent of the framers of the Constitution.[44] To
urge the protection of the Negro in his exercise of the rights and
privileges granted by the Constitution, to secure the enactment of
laws with the purpose to secure to him a greater measure of
opportunity for social advancement, to oppose the enactment of laws
proposing to retard such progress, to stimulate a healthy public
opinion favorable to the Negro's cause, to protest against every
injustice, great or small, meted out to him, became, as never before,
the imperative duties of the Negro members of Congress. Whatever other
time and energy remained might be directed towards the solution of the
other important issues before the public, but for the most part, the
Negro Congressmen were of necessity compelled to defend those
interests peculiar to the freedmen. The petitions which these
Congressmen presented, the resolutions which they offered, the
amendments which they proposed, the bills which they introduced or
supported, and the issues which they discussed or debated, will enable
one to ascertain to what extent these men viewed aright the needs of
their constituents and of the nation. Because of the constitutional
right of all citizens to petition Congress for a redress of
grievances, however, Congressmen have, in general, considered it a
duty to present to Congress the petitions of their constituents,
whatever their nature may be. An examination of these, therefore, does
not always assist in the effort to determine the interests of a
statesman. The sole justification for their consideration in this case
is the fact that they have formed, in many instances, the basis of the
resolutions, motions and bills which were subsequently introduced.
While petitions of varying natures were presented by all of these
legislators, three classes, particularly, claimed the attention of
practically every one of them. These petitions sought the relief
either of an individual or of an institution suffering from some
misfortune of the war, made application for a pension, or requested
the adjustment of a claim. Of greater significance, however, were the
petitions which, while not so generally popular, led often to the
introduction of legislative measures. Conspicuous among these were
those seeking to remove the political disabilities of former
secessionists, those praying that undesirable laws or privileges be
abrogated, those advocating the passage of bills, those praying an
investigation of the political methods used in certain States, those
directing attention to conditions which merited legislative enactment,
those praying an appropriation by Congress for the construction of
public buildings, the promotion of public works, and the making of
local improvements, and those endorsing movements for the good of the
body politic.
One of the first problems of reconstruction that claimed the attention
of the Negro Congressmen arose from the measures proposing to grant
amnesty to the former Confederates who, by a provision of the
Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, had
been declared ineligible to vote and to hold office. In reference to
this matter, Jefferson F. Long, a representative from Georgia to the
Forty-first Congress, spoke in a manner reflecting the attitude of
many of the Negro Congressmen who were to follow him. His forceful
protest maintained that any modification of the test oath as then
administered, having the purpose to bring about a general removal of
political disabilities, would effect the subjugation of the loyal men
of the South to the disloyal. It would, moreover, appear to the Ku
Klux Klan to be an indorsement of their campaign of lawlessness,
depredation, and crime, fostered and abetted by the men whose
political disabilities it was then being sought to remove.[45]
Speaking on the enforcement act, on which he stated first his own
position and later that of the Republican Party in his State, Revels,
the Senator from Mississippi, said: "I am in favor of removing the
disabilities of those upon whom they are imposed in the South just as
fast as they give evidence of having become loyal and of being loyal.
If you can find one man in the South who gives evidence of the
fact that he has ceased to renounce the laws of Congress as
unconstitutional, has ceased to oppose them, and respects them and
favors the carrying of them out, I am in favor of removing his
disabilities; and if you can find one hundred men that the same is
true of, I am in favor of removing their disabilities. If you can find
a whole State that this is true of, I am in favor of removing the
disabilities of all its people."[46]
Revels at that time had reasonable grounds for supporting amnesty, but
conditions soon changed. Speaking in the 42nd Congress as it regarded
the enforcement of the 14th Amendment, Rainey felt that too much
amnesty had led to the murderous activities of the disloyal after they
had reached the point of acquiescing. He said:[47] "If the
Constitution which we uphold and support as the fundamental law of
the United States is inadequate to afford security to life, liberty,
and property--if, I say, this inadequacy is proven, then its work is
done, then it should no longer be recognized as the magna charta of a
great and free people; the sooner it is set aside the better for the
liberties of the nation." Another member of the 42nd Congress, Robert
C. De Large of South Carolina, while speaking on the bill for the
removal of political disabilities, made it quite clear that he would
not support the bill unless the gentlemen for it would support a
measure to protect the loyal people of the South.[48]
Notable among the speeches on the question of amnesty was that made by
Elliott protesting against a bill to this effect by Beck of Kentucky.
Contending that the men now seeking relief were responsible for the
crimes perpetrated against the loyal men of the South, Elliott
maintained that the passage of the bill would be nothing less than the
paying of a premium on disloyalty and treason at the expense of those
who had remained loyal. Pointing out the cause of their
disfranchisement, he demanded in the name of the "law-abiding people
of his constituency, whites as well as Negroes," the rejection of this
bill and the protection of those whose "only offense was their
adherence to the principles of freedom and justice."[49] That the
proposed bill was defeated[50] was perhaps in some measure due to his
masterful arraignment of its purposes.
Contemporaneous with the question of amnesty, and lasting throughout
the thirty years during which Negroes served in Congress, the problem
of securing civil rights for the freedmen or of protecting them in the
exercise of such rights demanded, to a greater extent than any other,
the energy and efforts of the Negro Congressmen. Indeed, but few of
the men of this group failed during their careers in Congress to
register their opinions on this all-absorbing matter.
Remarking at length on the Georgia bill,[51] Senator Revels spoke out
fearlessly in the defense of his race. He defended the Negroes against
charges of antagonism and servile strife, lauded the conduct of Negro
soldiers in the Civil War and the part they played in saving the
Union. He called attention to the loyalty of the Negroes in protecting
the white women and their homes, with the knowledge that the masters
were engaged in the prosecution of a war the success of which would
have meant permanent bondage to the blacks. He asserted that the
Negroes bore toward their former masters no revengeful thoughts, no
hatreds, no animosities. He recounted the iniquities of the bill then
before the body, prayed the protection of those whose rights were
thereby threatened, and appealed to Congress to give to the
reconstructed State such direction and support as would best meet its
most imperative needs.
The discussion of the civil rights bill gave rise to one of Robert
Brown Elliott's greatest speeches.[52] Arising to defend the bill, he
proceeded to refute the proposition advanced by Beck of Kentucky and
supported by Stephens of Georgia, that Congress had no power to
legislate against a plain discrimination made by State laws or customs
against any person or class of persons within its limits. In reference
to the decision of the Slaughter House Cases of Louisiana, which the
gentlemen had advanced in support of their thesis, Elliott pointed out
the difference in principle between the issues there involved and
those at hand. In the former case the court held the act in question
to be "a legitimate and warrantable exercise of the police power of
the State in regulating the business of stock landing and slaughtering
in the city of New Orleans and the territory immediately contiguous."
In this case, however, the evils complained of comprehended "the
exclusion of certain classes of persons from public inns, from the
saloons and tables of the steamboat, from the sleeping-cars on
railways, and from the right of sepulchre in public burial-grounds."
The Supreme Court, Elliott contended, has recognized two classes of
citizenships, state and national, but nowhere is there denied to
Congress the power to prevent a denial of equality of rights, whether
those rights exist by virtue of citizenship of the United States or of
a State. It followed, therefore, that it is within the authority of
Congress to see that no State deny to one class of citizens or
persons, rights which are common to other citizens, unless it can be
shown to be for the good of all, or pursuant to the legitimate
exercise of its police power. Rejecting such classification of the
case at hand and pointing out from the decision of the Slaughter House
Cases the express recognition of Congress to pass such a bill as the
one then under discussion, he concluded that the Constitution
warranted the passage of the bill, the Supreme Court sanctioned it,
and justice demanded it.[53] Elliott submitted also a resolution
directing the Judiciary Committee to report a civil rights bill.[54]
The civil rights of the Negroes constituted the general theme of the
remarks made by Alonzo J. Ransier, a representative from South
Carolina in the Forty-third Congress. In the first instance he spoke
in refutation of the allegements of certain members of the opposition
to the effect that the mass of Negroes did not want civil rights.
Ransier sought mainly to show, by the presentation[55] of data in form
of resolutions from Negro bodies and conventions, the intense desire
of the race for civil rights. During the course of these remarks,
Ransier served notice of his intention to offer to the civil rights
bill an amendment to prevent the disqualification of competent
citizens for service as jurors in any court in the nation because of
"race, color, or previous condition of servitude." The amendment would
provide also for the repeal of all laws, statutes, and ordinances,
national or State, which were devised to discriminate against any
citizen on account of color by the use of the word "white."[56]
The civil rights of the Negro found nowhere a more ardent champion
than James T. Rapier, a representative from Alabama in the Forty-third
Congress. In a speech on the measure supplementary to the civil rights
bill, Rapier made a lucid analysis of the anomalous position then
occupied by the Negro in the United States. Pointing out that Negroes
were accorded political rights without the civil, he deplored the
whole situation and challenged the truth of the statement that America
is the asylum for the oppressed. Averring that the problem was
national in scope, he asserted the constitutional authority of
Congress to solve it. Denying the contentions of Alexander H.
Stephens, of Georgia, Rapier deplored the apparent inability of that
gentleman to comprehend the new order ushered in since the formerly
sat in Congress. Stephens, he said, maintained the ideals of the old
South. Thus, despite the decision of the war that national rights are
paramount to those of the States, Stephens urged that it is the
prerogative of the States to confer civil rights upon the Negro, and
contended that such action should be left to the States. He thereby
offered no constitutional objection to the bestowal of civil rights
upon the Negro, but advanced a principle, the acceptance of which
would forever preclude his enjoying them. To this proposition Rapier
could not assent. That the Negro was considered to possess no rights
under the Constitution, he maintained, was fully demonstrated by
Kentucky and other Southern States, in which they were denied the
privilege of testifying in court against a white man, were refused the
right to education by the destruction of their schools and the
visitation of violence upon their teachers, and were prevented by the
Ku Klux Klan from exercising their right of suffrage. Such actions, he
insisted, were in conflict with the contention that the States would
eventually confer upon Negroes civil rights. In conclusion he declared
that the Negro had earned all the rights that he then exercised as
well as those enjoyed by other citizens, that the current conditions
constituted a stricture on the fair name of America, and that the
solution of the problem lay in the immediate passage by Congress of
the Civil Rights Bill then being considered.[57]
Not unlike his colleagues, Richard H. Cain, a representative from
South Carolina to the Forty-third and Forty-fifth Congresses, gave to
the matter of civil rights much of his time and energy. Replying in
part to Vance of North Carolina, Cain denied that the Civil Rights
Bill, if passed, would be without the limits of the Constitution or
that it would enforce "social equality," maintaining that the
regulation of that condition was without the province of legislation.
Cain asserted that the Negroes of South Carolina did not enjoy, in
public places, all the "rights, privileges and immunities" accorded to
other citizens and showed that the admission of Negro students to the
University of South Carolina had not effected its destruction. He did
not believe that the passage of the bill would alienate from the
Negroes the white men of the South who were then friendly to them.
Cain reviewed, furthermore, the history of the part played by the
Negro in the economic and industrial development of the nation,
pointed out the importance of giving to him, in every State, the best
possible school facilities, asserted the right of the Negro by
statutory enactment to his full civil liberties, and insisted that in
the name of justice he should demand for himself all the rights,
privileges and immunities accorded to other citizens.[58] Conforming
in principle to the doctrine that he had pronounced, Cain introduced
before Congress a bill supplementary to the Civil Rights Act.[59]
Much of the energy of James E. O'Hara, a representative from North
Carolina, in the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses, was directed
toward the protection of the Negro in the exercise of his civil
rights.[60] During the course of his remarks on the bill to regulate
interstate commerce, he offered an amendment to the effect that any
person or persons having purchased a ticket to be conveyed from one
State to another, or paid the required fare, should receive the same
treatment and be offered equal facilities and accommodation as are
furnished all other persons holding tickets of the same class, without
discrimination. In support of this amendment, he asserted the
constitutional right of Congress to regulate commerce between the
States, and that the action contemplated by his amendment came within
the scope of this constitutional power. Denying that it was class or
race legislation, he maintained that it was in line with the
enlightened point of view of the age. The amendment was passed.[61]
His opponents, however, were not sufficiently progressive to leave his
victory intact.
A defense of the civil rights of the Negro was brought prominently to
the fore in the Fifty-first Congress. In his remarks on the affairs of
South Carolina,[62] Thomas E. Miller, a representative from that
State, declared that the Negroes of South Carolina were suffering from
several distinct causes. Among these causes he named lynch law, the
petty system of theft which deprived them of the fruits of their daily
toil, and injustice in the courts in which they had no rights where
their interests and those of the whites conflicted. He demanded for
them trial by jury, pay for their work, and the assurance that their
lynchers would not become also their legislators. These
considerations, he maintained, were of invaluable importance to the
country. Miller, furthermore, deplored the action of the Governor of
his State, which refused State aid to Negro schools and caused to be
closed certain white colleges which had the courage to consider, in a
sane way, the so-called Negro problem.
In the Fifty-fifth and Fifty-sixth Congresses, the questions of the
protection of the Negroes in the exercise of their civil rights
demanded virtually the entire attention of George H. White, who was
at that time the sole Negro member of Congress. Among his many
protests of discrimination, appeals for just treatment, and discourses
on the upright character of his race, there were no speeches more
significant nor more prophetic than his arraignment of the apathetic
manner with which Congress had greeted his bill, designed "to give to
the federal government entire jurisdiction over all cases of lynching
and death by mob violence." If, he declared, the nation is to avoid
the state of anarchy and moral decay to which conditions were then
rapidly leading, there remained no alternative, save the enactment, by
some future Congress, of a law to constitute lynching a federal
offense.[63]
EDUCATION
Despite the great significance attached by many of the Congressmen to
the civil rights of the Negroes, that of the education of the freedman
was considered hardly less important. One of the first Negro
Congressmen to commit himself on this problem was Rainey of South
Carolina. That he had the proper grasp of the educational needs of his
country is shown by his forceful speech made for national aid to
education. He contended that the natural result of this mental
improvement will be to impart a better understanding of our
institutions, and thus cultivate a loyal disposition and lofty
appreciation for them. "The military prowess and demonstrated
superiority of the Prussians, when compared to the French, especially
in the late war [The Franco-Prussian War]," said he, "is attributable
to the fact that the masses of the former were better educated and
trained than those of the latter. The leavening spirit of the German
philosophers has apparently pervaded all classes of the population of
that empire."[64]
The same problem of the education of the Negroes evoked from Walls, of
Florida, an opinion replete with sound judgment on the matter.
Replying to the objection of McIntyre, of Georgia, that the
establishment of a national education fund would interfere with
States' rights, Walls conceded, first, that the Constitution confers
upon the States all those rights neither expressly delegated to the
Federal Government nor prohibited to the States, and second, that one
of those rights is the power of regulating common schools; but he
doubted the applicability of that principle in this instance. The
enemies of progress in the South, he maintained, opposed the education
of the masses both of Negroes and whites because of its tendency to
liberalize these people. He assigned this policy, therefore, as the
motive underlying the opposition of McIntyre to the establishment of a
national education fund. He rejected the proposition advanced by
McIntyre that the $300,000 appropriated by the legislature of Georgia,
of which the Negroes are entitled to a portion, would be shared by
them. Continuing, Walls pointed out the activities of the Ku Klux
Klan, and the burning of Negro homes and of their schools as
inconsistent with the contention that they would receive a fair
distribution of the school fund. He reviewed, moreover, the history of
the free school movement in Florida and Georgia, assigning the cause
of its failure. Concluding his speech with a summary arraignment of
the policy of that time, he urged not only the establishment of a
national education fund but also of a national education system as
constituting the sole assured method whereby the poor whites and
Negroes of the South might secure proper educational facilities.[65]
Walls, moreover, submitted a resolution calling for a statement
relative to the public lands granted for school purposes, and
thereafter introduced bills for the purpose of making large grants of
the public lands to schools.[66] Contemporary with Walls in the
Forty-third Congress, R. H. Cain shared with him great concern over
the question of educating the masses. In the Forty-fifth Congress, he
proposed a measure,[67] somewhat similar to one previously submitted
by Jere Haralson, to establish an educational fund and to apply the
proceeds of the public lands to the education of the people.[68]
PROTECTION OF LOYAL CITIZENS
The protection of the loyal people of the South claimed also the
attention of Negro Congressmen. When, therefore, the House had under
consideration the bill to enforce the 14th Amendment, Robert C. De
Large made eloquent remarks replying to Cox of New York, who had
denounced the "ignorant" rulers of South Carolina for their
"rapacity," which in his opinion justified the activities of the Ku
Klux Klan.[69] It was in the defense of the bill for the protection
of life and property in the South[70] that Robert B. Elliott had
occasion to speak. He showed that the argument upon the pending bill
had proceeded upon a question of constitutional law, the opponents
denying that its provisions were warranted by the Constitution of the
United States, and questioning the data upon which the proposed bill
was founded. The probable efficacy of the bill, as a measure of relief
and protection for the loyal men of the South from the extraordinary
system of oppression to which they were subjected, had not been
assailed. Elliott, therefore, undertook to prove that the proposed
bill was not obnoxious to the spirit of the Constitution, that it was
founded on reason, and that in view of the state of affairs then
existing in the South, it was, as a measure of protection, not only
warranted, but imperatively demanded.
For his first task, Elliott was compelled to sustain the position that
the government of the United States has the right, under the
Constitution, to protect a citizen of the United States in the
exercise of his vested rights as an American citizen, by the exercise
of direct force, or the assertion of immediate jurisdiction through
its courts, without the appeal of the State in which the citizen is
domiciled. Asserting the legal maxim that where power is given the
means of its execution are implied, he sought to establish that the
power had been given by Article IV of the Constitution, which imposes
upon the Federal Government the duty to protect the States against
domestic violence. He attempted, moreover, to establish by the
authority of the preamble to the Constitution the violence of the
"presumption that the majority of the people of a State may be
oppressively subordinated to the minority." To support his own
constructions of the Constitution, Elliott quoted Justice Story on
this same issue, pointed out the inconsistencies in the argument of
his chief opponent, defined within the meaning of the Constitution a
republican form of government and thereafter affirmed that the bill
in hand came within the limits of the Constitution.
Elliott had next to establish the validity of the facts upon which the
proposed bill was founded. Little difficulty, indeed, was experienced
in bringing forward convincing evidence. There were presented before
the House numerous editorials from Southern newspapers showing the
animus of the enemies of the Negro; the report of the partisan
committees of Charleston in 1868; communications appearing in the
Newberry, South Carolina, _Herald_ of July 17 in 1868; the Ku Klux
Klan order appearing in the Charleston _News_ of January 31, 1871; and
the printed allegements of leading unreconstructed Southerners, all of
which tended to indicate to what extent violence had superseded law,
and exactly how unsafe were the lives and property of the loyal people
of the South. Elliott quite properly affirmed, therefore, the urgent
need for the passage of the bill as a measure of relief and protection
to those in the South, whose liberties had been assailed.
On the political conditions in the South during the decline of the
Reconstruction régime many Congressmen spoke with seeming authority.
Two speeches of note on Southern conditions were made, during the
Forty-second Congress, by Robert Brown Elliott. On May 30, 1872, he
addressed the House on the subject of the Ku Klux Klan. In this
speech, he exposed the whole scheme of domination by violence as
effected by that element of the Southern whites who would either
"rule[71] or ruin the governments of the several States." The second
speech followed remarks by Voorhees, of Indiana, on the misconduct in
financial matters of the administration of South Carolina. Replying to
the specific charge that his party had been guilty of an over-issue of
bonds, Elliott reviewed briefly the financial history of his State for
the period in question and, in conclusion, pointed out, first, that
"in a legal sense an over-issue of bonds is an issue made in excess of
such issue authorized by law," and second, that no act of the General
Assembly of South Carolina had limited the extent of bonds to be
issued in that State.[72]
An unceasing interest in the political conditions of the South was
manifested by John R. Lynch of Mississippi throughout his three terms
in Congress. He was quite active in proposing legislation relating to
the Southern judicial districts of Mississippi, and he offered also an
amendment to the federal election laws.[73] Remarks made by him
comprehended discussions of such subjects as the political affairs of
the South, reconstruction and restoration of white rule in
Mississippi, and "the Southern Question."[74] In his analysis of the
"Southern Question," Lynch attributed the condition of the South to
certain underlying causes, namely: (1) "A continuous and unnecessary
opposition of the impracticable element within the ranks of the
Democratic Party to the system of reconstruction finally adopted by
Congress, and a stubborn refusal on their part to acquiesce in the
results of the War"; (2) "the persistent and uncharitable opposition
of this same element--the element that had obtained control of the
party organization and therefore shaped its policy--to the civil and
political rights of Negroes"; and (3) "the methods of the so-called
white-league whereby an armed military organization was maintained to
effect a condition of white supremacy." Lynch, in concluding, appealed
to the fairminded and justice-loving people of America to unite in a
common effort to eradicate these evils and secure to the Negroes the
rights that they so justly merited.
Referring to the same situation, Charles E. Nash, a representative
from Louisiana to the Forty-fourth Congress, held to be unjustified
the attacks upon the character of the white men and the integrity and
ability of Negroes in the South, who had joined purposes to promote
the principles of justice and of sectional harmony. Furthermore, he
entered a general denial of the charge that liberty in Louisiana had
been destroyed, and pointed out the need of a policy of cooperation
between the whites and blacks, to the end that the education of both
races might be fostered, that the indiscriminate and illegal killing
of Negroes might be eliminated, and that the reign of terror effected
by a union of the ruffian whites and ignorant blacks might be
prevented. Nash then extolled the record of the party in power for its
fairness to the Negro, and arraigned the attitude of the opposition to
all measures designed to ameliorate the condition of the race.
Concluding his remarks, Nash preached the sound doctrine that
sectional animosities should be buried and that all units and sections
of the nation should cooperate to the end that a greater, more humane
and more powerful America might be evolved.[75]
The most comprehensive remarks of Smalls of South Carolina concerned
the electoral vote and the policy of parties in his State.[76] In this
he pointed out that ruffians had intimidated the black voters, had
driven out the white, and had perpetrated crimes and election frauds
to the end that the political control of the State might be
recommitted to the hands of reactionaries. Concerning the frauds
committed in the election held prior to the Forty-fourth Congress,
facts and figures were presented in great detail to verify his
contentions.
During his discussion of the proposal to investigate the frauds in the
late election in Mississippi, B. K. Bruce, a senator from that State,
came fearlessly to the defense of his State government. On this
occasion, also, he put into the record valuable statistics showing the
progress of the freedmen in Mississippi. The Negroes, he believed, had
suffered on account of leadership, but they had, at that time, better
leaders who, though not all educated, yet understood the duties of
citizenship. Senator Bruce[77] believed that the thing needed was
peace and good order at the South, but it could come only by the
fullest recognition of the rights of all classes. The opposition would
have to concede the necessity of change, not only in the temper, but
in the philosophy of their party organization and management. The
sober American judgment would have to obtain in the South, as
elsewhere in the Republic, since the only distinctions upon which
parties can be safely organized in harmony with our institutions, are
differences of opinion relative to principles and policy of
government; because differences of religion, nationality, race, can
neither with safety nor propriety be permitted to enter into the party
contests. The unanimity with which the Negro voters acted with a party
was not referable to any race prejudice. On the contrary, the Negroes
invited the political cooperation of their white brethren, and voted
as a unit because proscribed as such. They deprecated the
establishment of the color line by the opposition, not only because
the act was unwise and wrong in principle, but because it isolated
them from the white man of the South and forced them in sheer
self-protection and against their inclination to act seemingly upon
the basis of race prejudice which they neither respected nor
entertained. As a class he believed they were free from prejudices and
had no uncharitable suspicions against their white fellow citizens,
whether native born or settlers from the Northern States. "When
Negroes," continued he, "can entertain opinions and select party
affiliations without proscription, and cast their ballots as other
citizens and without jeopardy to person or privilege, they can safely
afford to be governed by the considerations that ordinarily determine
the political actions of American citizens." Senator Bruce asked,
therefore, not for new laws, but rather for the enforcement of the
old. Peace in the South could come, he believed, only by guaranteeing
the protection of the law.
Replying in part to the remarks of Senator Colquitt, from Georgia,
Miller, a representative from South Carolina in the Fifty-first
Congress, spoke impressively on the subject, "Southern Affairs."[78]
The colleague of Miller in this Congress, John M. Langston of
Virginia, spoke at great length on the federal election laws, pointing
out the need for an adequate legislation and its proper
enforcement.[79] He offered, moreover, a measure directing an inquiry
relative to the instructions of the Attorney-General concerning
elections.
To the bill to repeal all statutes relating to supervisors of
elections and special deputy marshals, George W. Murray, a member of
the Fifty-third and Fifty-fourth Congresses, took vigorous
exception.[80] Asserting that such action would have the effect of
promoting the election frauds of the reactionaries in the South, and
that already in the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, and South
Carolina, a decided minority of the voting population of each
Congressional district elected regularly the representative to
Congress, he maintained that the present law should not only remain
unchanged, but rather, be vigorously enforced. He introduced,
moreover, measures designed to assure minority representation in
federal elections[81] and to investigate the political conditions in
the State of South Carolina.
INTEREST IN ECONOMIC PROBLEMS
Although not equally interesting to the Negro Congressmen as matters
of political import, to not a few of them problems essentially
economic in character, or at any rate, of economic significance, made
a forceful appeal. Measures designed to provide superior facilities
for the trade and commerce of their communities constituted, in some
instances, the most valuable service rendered by these legislators.
With the interests of his constituency ever in mind, Benjamin S.
Turner of Alabama, a member of the Forty-second Congress, proposed
various measures to effect local improvements.[82] He urged a
distribution of the public lands, proposed a bill to erect a public
building in Selma, sought to increase the appropriation for rivers and
harbors from $50,000 to $75,000, and made efforts to secure
improvements in navigation in Alabama waters.
Of all the Congressmen, Josiah T. Walls of Florida was perhaps the
most persistent in the effort to secure improvements for his district
and State.[83] He introduced numerous bills to erect in his district
custom houses and other public buildings, and to improve the rivers
and harbors of his State. Walls introduced also bills to provide a
lifesaving station along the coast of Florida, to amend an act
granting right of way through public lands for the construction of
railroad and telegraph lines through Florida, and to create an
additional land district. He sought further to amend an appropriation
bill to the end that $50,000 be made available for the establishment
of a navy yard at Pensacola.
James T. Rapier, who succeeded Turner in Congress, continued, to some
extent, the policy of the latter to secure local improvements.[84] Of
two measures introduced by Rapier, one proposed to erect public
buildings in his district, the other to make improvements in the
rivers and harbors of the State. He succeeded in having enacted into
law his measure to constitute Montgomery, Alabama, a port of entry.
The policy of John R. Lynch of Mississippi in the matter of local
improvements[85] did not differ materially from that of Rapier. Lynch
proposed measures for the construction of the Memphis and New Orleans
Railroad, for the construction of public buildings and custom houses,
and for the improvement of rivers within the State of Mississippi.
Smalls, of South Carolina, likewise concerned himself with the matter
of local improvements.[86] He endeavored to secure an appropriation
for the restoration of the Beaufort Library which was destroyed during
the War. He proposed measures to establish in his district custom
houses, docks, warehouses, a weather observation station, and other
public buildings. He was interested also in the redemption of lands
held by direct taxes and sought to promote a measure for the
construction of telegraph lines in the State. Similarly concerned was
James E. O'Hara of North Carolina, whose chief measures for
improvements[87] embraced bills to erect public buildings in his
district, and to improve the rivers and harbors in his State. Murray,
of South Carolina, was some years later advocating the exemption of
the Young Men's Christian Association from taxation and the relief of
cyclone sufferers in Beaufort, South Carolina.
The Negro Congressman, too, had an interest in the more important
economic questions. On the question of the tariff several Congressmen
expressed opinions. In the Forty-second Congress, Josiah T. Walls
sought to amend the tax and tariff bill relative to certain
commodities produced in the State of Florida.[88] He favored a tariff
for protection as opposed to one for revenue only. During a similar
discussion, in the House, John R. Lynch, a member of the Forty-seventh
Congress, urged a protective tariff[89] for cotton, lumber, and
sugar. His argument was that the cotton producers of the South were in
favor of a protective tariff. When its producing class (meaning labor)
was slave, when all of its products were exported, when all of its
wants were supplied from without, and when cotton was its only
interest, the South favored cheap labor and free trade. At this time,
however, labor was free as distinguished from slave, and it therefore
added to the cost of production, while jute, sugar, rice, lumber, and
manufactures in the embryonic stage, shared with cotton the interests
of producers. These changed conditions, he maintained, demanded for
the South a policy of reasonable protection.
Regarding protection as a panacea for all the economic ills of the
South, Lynch asserted that it would foster the growth of industries,
permit the manufacturing interests to develop, and prevent the
recurrence of a situation in which the whole output of raw material is
shipped to a foreign market and sold at a price fixed by market,
whereas goods manufactured from this same raw material are shipped to
the South and sold at a price dictated by the sellers. He said,
moreover, that a protective tariff would effect a decrease of American
imports in cotton goods and at the same time an increase of employment
among the folks at home. With reference to tariff on sugar and lumber,
Lynch held that the South needed diversified industries, that the
investment of capital in the South was essential to a diversification
of industries, that a reasonable interest must be guaranteed to
attract the capital, and that inasmuch as protection afforded the only
way whereby the interest could be assured, protection for these
industries was nationally demanded.
Any consideration of the merits of the arguments advanced by Lynch
must not overlook the fact that protection has been the policy of the
nation during its periods of remarkable growth. Two arguments largely
supported this policy. In the first place, it was early conceived that
protection was essential to the development of infant industries; in
the second, the belief was accepted that to an agricultural country a
home market is the only guarantee of a regular market. Because,
however, of the unprecedented growth of the country and its final
achievement of economic independence, other reasons were sought to
support the protective policy. It was contended, therefore, that the
high wages paid in the United States would discourage producers from
introducing new industries which, without protection, must compete on
equal terms with the products of low waged Europe. Finally, it was
pointed out that the owners of great wealth must suffer tremendous
loss of capital if protection were withdrawn from certain industries,
compelling them to compete on equal basis with the industries of like
kind of foreign countries.
In addition to these economic arguments, moreover, a political
argument was not lacking. Ambitious statesmen have ever dreamed of a
policy with which to cement the bonds that unite the different
sections of the country, making them mutually dependent and, at the
same time, independent of Europe. Protection, it was said, would do
this. In full justice to Lynch, therefore, it must be said that his
doctrine, whether or not sound, was not without basis. His firm stand
for a protective tariff conformed to the policy that has recently
controlled in the nation.
Sometime thereafter, White, in the Fifty-fifth Congress, had occasion
to speak on the Wilson Tariff Law enacted in 1893. This measure[90] he
held to be responsible for the unemployment among mill workers in his
community and the loss of contracts by the Southern producers. He
advocated, therefore, protection for the industries and labor of
America against the pauperism and cheap labor of foreigners.
Several other subjects of economic character were discussed by the
Negro Congressmen. During his terms in the Forty-eighth and
Forty-ninth Congresses, James E. O'Hara discussed at length the
measure on labor arbitration.[91] Shortly thereafter, in the
Fifty-first Congress, John M. Langston made informing remarks on the
shipping bill.[92] Presenting in support of his position
communications from the chambers of commerce of the principal cities
of his State urging his support of the pending bill, facts and figures
exhibiting recent progressive development of trade in Newport News,
and information showing the growing dependence of world trade upon the
development of an American merchant marine, he urged the passage of
the shipping bill, with legislation to subsidize an American marine
that would assist this nation to recover her former position upon the
sea. While pointing out causes underlying the decadence of the
merchant marine, he enumerated also the conditions which at that time
favored its certain development.... He was, therefore, committed to a
vigorous prosecution of any constructive plan leading in that
direction.
In the Fifty-second Congress, H. P. Cheatham logically discussed the
anti-option bill,[93] a measure defining "options" and "futures,"
imposing special taxes on dealers therein, and requiring such dealers
and persons engaged in selling specified products to obtain a license
to do so. Speaking in the behalf of the agricultural class of people
whom he represented, Cheatham set forth the disastrous economic
effects that dealing in "futures" and "options" has always had on the
farming class in fixing the price of cotton and other commodities. As
a measure contemplating an adjustment of this most portentous evil in
the industrial life of the nation, he urged the passage of the bill
then under consideration.
RACIAL MEASURES
In the case of some of the Negro Congressmen measures designed either
to promote the welfare of their race or to give publicity to its
achievement commanded precedence over all others. Many offered
petitions and bills providing especially for the benefit of Negroes.
Benjamin Turner, of Alabama, secured from the Federal Government
several thousands of dollars in payment of a claim for damages to his
property during the Civil War. In the Fifty-first Congress, Thomas E.
Miller submitted two measures in the interest of his race.[94] The
first proposed the establishment of a home for indigent freedmen, and
the second sought to authorize the erection of a monument in
commemoration of the Negro soldiers who fought for the Union in the
Civil War.
The World's Columbian Exposition received much consideration during
the first session of the Fifty-second Congress. Henry P. Cheatham,[95]
a representative from North Carolina, during the course of his remarks
on the Negro race urged that Congress make provisions for exhibiting,
at that fair, the facts and statistics of the progress that the Negro
had made during his thirty years of freedom. He deplored the fact that
"politics" had crept into the amendment designed to effect his purpose
and urged its acceptance as a matter of encouragement and justice to a
numerically significant group of the American people. Cheatham
proposed, also, a measure which sought to have printed the historical
record of the Negro troops in the wars in which they had participated.
The welfare of the race was often reflected in the remarks of George
W. Murray, a Congressman from South Carolina. When, in the Fifty-third
Congress, there arose, in connection with the proposal that federal
aid be extended to the Atlanta Exposition,[96] the question of the
progress of the Negro race, Murray favored such an exposition because,
he declared, it would offer opportunity to have registered the facts
and statistics of the Negro's achievement since emancipation. As
evidence of the inventive genius of his race, he submitted to Congress
at this time a list of patents which had been granted by the
government for the inventions of Negroes. Murray spoke briefly of what
the Negroes were doing and thinking and, in conclusion, gave to the
effort for federal aid his unqualified endorsement.
Measures proposed by George H. White, a representative from North
Carolina to the Fifty-fifth and Fifty-sixth Congresses, tended mainly
to promote the social welfare of his race.[97] One of these was a
resolution for the consideration of a bill to provide a home for aged
and infirm Negroes. His other measures of this sort were bills to pay
the wages of the Negro Civil War-time employees withheld by the War
Department, to incorporate a "National Colored American Association,"
and to provide for the exhibit of the educational and industrial
progress of the Negro at the Paris Exposition of 1900. Few measures of
this type could become law.
VARIOUS INTERESTS
Many problems miscellaneous in character interested the Negro
Congressmen. Indeed, early in the Forty-second Congress, Josiah T.
Walls[98] supported a measure which proposed to appropriate $3,000,000
to aid the centennial celebration and international exhibition of
1876. Sometime later, moreover, he urged the recognition of the
belligerent rights of Cuba. In the Forty-fourth Congress, John A.
Hyman, of North Carolina, offered a measure to provide relief for the
Cherokee Indians, who had returned to the "Nation West"[99] while the
measures of his colleague, Jere Haralson[100] of Alabama, comprised
such objects as the amendment of the revised statutes of the United
States, the relief of the Medical College of Alabama, and the payment
of war claims. During his three terms in Congress, John R. Lynch
maintained interest in a wide range of subjects. He spoke at length
on a bill "to provide and regulate the counting of votes for President
and Vice President and the decision in the disputed election of R. B.
Hayes.[101] He opposed the bill to repeal the act providing for the
pay of Congressmen,[102] but supported a measure to appropriate funds
for the establishment of a national board of health.[103]
In the Forty-fifth Congress, R. H. Cain proposed a measure to
establish a line of mail and emigrant steam and sailing vessels
between certain ports of the United States and Liberia.[104] His
colleague, Robert Smalls, was a man of wider interests.[105] Among his
various remarks, there must be noted those on the District of Columbia
liquor traffic, interstate commerce, and the army reorganization bill.
In the latter instance, he attempted to have inserted into the bill an
amendment providing for the merging of enlisted men into military
units without distinction as to race or color.
In the Senate, B. K. Bruce was afforded opportunity to debate the
issues of the day. While most active in offering bills and
resolutions, he nevertheless spoke forcefully on several matters of
greater than ordinary import. He spoke out fearlessly against the bill
restricting Chinese immigration,[106] and while discussing the Indian
bill,[107] he took high ground, showing that we had failed in our
selfish policy toward the Indian--a policy by which the breeding of
hatred and discontent had kept him a fugitive and a vagabond--and
emphasized the necessity for the government to do something to
civilize the Indian. There must be a change in the Indian policy "if
they are to be civilized," said he, "in that the best elements of
their natures are to be developed to the exercise of their best
functions, so as to produce individual character and social groups
characteristic of enlightened people; if this is to be done under our
system, its ultimate realization requires an adoption of a political
philosophy that shall make the Indians, as individuals and as a tribe,
subjects of American law and beneficiaries of American institutions,
by making them first American citizens, and clothing them as rapidly
as their advancement and location will permit, with the protecting and
ennobling prerogatives of such friendship."
In support of his resolution, proposing to admit as a Senator from
Louisiana P. B. S. Pinchback, Mr. Bruce spoke out, cogently presenting
the facts as he saw them, contending that the gentleman had been
regularly elected and that the National Government would, by declaring
his election irregular and not expressive of the will of the people,
repudiate the very government that it had recognized.[108] Pinchback
was not seated, but the records show that his title was as sound as
that of scores of senators whose right has never been questioned.
B. K. Bruce had another good claim to statesmanship. During his
incumbency in Congress the question of the improvement of the
navigation of the Mississippi and the protection of life and property
from the periodical inundations of that stream was of much concern to
the whole country. As a spokesman for the State of Mississippi and a
statesman seeking to provide facilities for interstate and foreign
commerce, B. K. Bruce fearlessly advocated that the Federal Government
should appropriate funds to undertake this improvement. He repeatedly
offered bills and amendments to this end and endeavored to secure the
support of the leaders of Congress to pilot these measures through
that body. While the results which Senator Bruce obtained were not
proportionate to the effort which he made, he paved the way for other
promoters of this enterprise, who have been more successful.
Subsequent history shows the importance of this national task and
demonstrates the statesmanlike foresight of Senator Bruce in
championing its cause.[109]
General remarks by James E. O'Hara comprehended discussion of the
bills on oleomargarine and the payment of pensions.[110] Towards the
former he was opposed, while in the latter he urged that white persons
and Negroes be paid according to the same standard. George H. White
sought to amend the bill to provide a government for Hawaii.[111] He
gave some attention also to the debate on the civil service law.[112]
Concerning it he held that the administration of the law had been
subversive of the principles of appointment by merit. Indeed, in his
opinion, its failure warranted either a return to the spoils system or
the adoption of a new policy, by which there would be established in
each department of the government a bureau with the duty of
determining the fitness of each applicant for a position in that
department.
A CRITICAL SURVEY
It appears, then, these two general types of legislation, the one
proposing local improvements, the other seeking social justice for the
Negro race, were preeminent in the measures proposed by the Negro
Congressmen. On the other hand, however, most of these measures,
regardless of merit, met in general one of three fates: they were
either sidetracked in committee, reported adversely, or defeated after
debate in open session.
The character of measures proposed by these Congressmen has been the
subject of much adverse criticism. Not a few persons have considered
as weakness the tendency to propose measures relating to local
improvements, and those racial rather than national in character. The
records of Congress show, however, that the motives impelling the
Negro Congressmen to propose the type of legislation stated differed
in no wise from those underlying similar actions of other Congressmen.
Discussing the service of Congress, Mr. Munro, in his _Government of
the United States_, says: "First among the merits of congressional
government as it has existed in the United States for over one hundred
and thirty years, is the fidelity with which law-making has reflected
the public opinion of the country."[113] Mr. Munro further says that
while Congress has not always been immediately responsive to popular
sentiment, it has seldom failed to act when there has come to it an
"audible mandate" from the whole country.
If, therefore, the Congress as a whole must be somewhat immediately
responsive to the expressed public will, what, indeed, is the precise
course of action that a representative, as a matter of policy, must
pursue? He is regarded, in the first instance, as representing not his
State, but rather a particular Congressional district of his State.
His tenure of office runs for but two years, at the expiration of
which he must submit to his constituents not a record of constructive
statesmanship, based upon his fealty to measures of national or
international importance, but rather one alleging the skill with which
he has protected the peculiar interests of his district. That he has
sought to obtain a new customs house, has opposed a tariff for revenue
only, has defended the principle of bimetallism, not indeed in
relation to the wider demands of the nation, but because of the
particular demands of his constituency, are matters of great practical
import to him, for upon these depends the approval or the rejection of
his record. The Congressman who aspires to longevity of service is
apt, therefore, to determine his proposal and defense of measures of
legislation largely, if not wholly, by the expressed opinion of those
whom he represents. Regarding the Negro Congressmen, therefore, in the
light of the practices common to all Congressmen, there can be offered
no valid criticism of the character of their legislation. The records
of Congress show that these functionaries were, as a matter of
policy, interested in their constituents, and that they promoted
legislation for general advancement for the reason that the
circumstances of the people whom they represented warranted
legislation of that sort.
For the tendency of some of the Negro Congressmen to propose
legislative measures which were racial in character, two reasons are
conspicuously obvious. In the first place, these men regarded
themselves the official spokesmen of their race. The power conferred
upon them they believed to be evidence of the expectation and
confidence of the Negroes in them to secure for the race civil rights,
economic opportunity and political preferment. They found, moreover,
that legislation granting to Negroes their civil rights failed often
to protect them in the exercise of those rights. For such protection,
then, these Congressmen had often to contend. These personal, ever
present, inherent duties permitted these Congressmen neither time nor
energy for the preparation of legislative measures of other types.
Another reason for restricting their efforts to local measures or
those peculiar to their race was the rule of politics that all honor
for the formulation of national measures must attach to the seasoned
veterans in Congress. This custom has become so well established as to
be traditional. It could not have been expected that the Negro
members, then, should take the lead in Congressional legislation. They
faithfully cooperated with the leaders of Congress and generally voted
for measures considered productive of the greatest good of the
country.
Why did the Negro Congressmen fail to have their measures enacted into
law? The path of a bill is fraught with difficulties. The well-known
journey through the committee, through both houses of Congress, to the
conference and to the President, but few bills complete. Many bills of
the Negro Congressmen died of this natural cause. Others because of
lack of merit were reported adversely from committee; still others
reported favorably could not withstand the Congressional debate. A few
that survived the whole ordeal became laws.
There were two preeminent causes for the failure of some of these
bills. The Negro membership in any Congress, in the first place always
an exceedingly small minority, was never a determining factor in the
passage of a measure proposed by one of this particular group.
Secondly, the objects of the suspicion of their party colleagues,[114]
and regarded by them as an experiment in the legislative program of
the nation, these men were not generally able to secure for their
measures sufficient white Republican votes. Considered from this point
of view, the failure of these measures is in no wise an evidence of
the lack of ability and statesmanship.
Of them, James G. Blaine, a Republican leader of fifty years ago, has
spoken in a most praiseworthy manner. Conceding the right of the
Negroes to sit in Congress and attesting the success of their
activities there, he asserted that "they were as a rule studious,
earnest, ambitious men, whose public conduct--as illustrated by Mr.
Revels and Mr. Bruce in the Senate, and by Mr. Rapier, Mr. Lynch and
Mr. Rainey in the House--would be honorable to any race."[115]
ALRUTHEUS A. TAYLOR
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Jefferson F. Long was born in Crawford County, Georgia, March 3,
1836. Some time thereafter he moved to Macon, Bibb County, where,
under the direction of his owner, he learned the tailor's trade. Prior
to his election to the third session of the Forty-first Congress, Mr.
Long conducted, in Macon, a thriving business as a merchant tailor.
His patronage, which consisted largely of that of whites, was much
decreased after his term in Congress, due no doubt to their resentment
of his activities in politics. Mr. Long was a good speaker, a
Christian gentleman, and a man of many fine qualities. Upon his death
in Macon, February 4, 1900, his loss was mourned alike by whites and
Negroes.--Chaplain T. G. Stewart, _Fifty Years in the Gospel
Ministry_, p. 129.
Letter from Mrs. A. L. Rucker, Atlanta, Ga., daughter of Mr. Long.
October, 1921.
[2] Robert C. DeLarge was born at Aiken, South Carolina, March 15,
1842. He received only a limited education and chose to pursue the
occupation of farming. He entered politics in 1868, held several
local and State offices, was elected to the Forty-second
Congress, and on February 15, 1874, became a trial justice at
Charleston.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_, p. 497.
[3] Joseph H. Rainey was born of slave parents at Georgetown, S. C.,
June 21, 1832. He received a limited education. After following the
trade of a barber, he was compelled, in 1862, to work on Confederate
fortifications. From this work he escaped, going to the West Indies,
where he remained till the end of the war. Upon his return to the
United States, he entered politics. He served in the 42nd, 43rd, 44th,
and 45th Congresses, and died at Georgetown, S. C., August 1,
1887.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_, p. 757.
[4] Alonzo J. Ransier was born at Charleston, South Carolina, January
3, 1836. He received a limited education, entered politics, and held
various offices. In 1868, he was a presidential elector, casting a
vote for Grant and Colfax, while four years later he was a delegate to
the Republican National Convention. He served as a member of
the 42nd Congress and died at Charleston, S. C., August 17,
1882.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_, p. 759.
[5] Robert Smalls was born a slave at Beaufort, South Carolina, April
5, 1839. Debarred by statute from attending school, he availed himself
of such limited educational advantages as he could secure. In 1851, he
moved to Charleston, worked as a rigger, and thereafter led a
seafaring life. In 1861, he became connected with the _Planter_, a
steamer plying in the Charleston Harbor as a transport, which he took
over the Charleston bar in 1862 and delivered with his services to the
commander of the United States blockading squadron. He was appointed a
pilot in the Quartermaster's Department of the United States Navy, and
remained in the service till 1866, and meanwhile rose to the rank of
Captain. In 1868 he entered politics and was later elected to the
44th, 45th, 47th, 48th, and 49th Congresses. In the State militia
of South Carolina, he held successively the commands of
lieutenant-colonel, brigadier-general, and major-general, the latter
terminating with the reorganization of the militia in 1877. Mr. Smalls
was a delegate to several National Republican Conventions. His
last public office was that of collector of the port of
Beaufort.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_, p. 803.
[6] John R. Lynch of Natchez, Mississippi, was born in Concordia
Parish, Louisiana, September 10, 1847. He attended evening school at
Natchez for a few months, and by private study acquired a good English
education. He engaged in the business of photography at Natchez until
1869, when Governor Ames appointed him a justice of the peace. Mr.
Lynch served in the 43rd, 44th, and 47th Congresses, and was elected
to the 45th Congress, but was counted out. Later he served as Fourth
Auditor of Treasury Department under President Harrison, and as a
paymaster in the Volunteer Army during the Spanish-American
War.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_, p. 662.
[7] Blanche K. Bruce of Floreyville, Mississippi, was born in Prince
Edward County, Virginia, March 1, 1841. A man of limited education, he
became, in 1869, a planter in Mississippi. Later he became a member of
the Mississippi levee board, served in several local offices, and
finally was elected, in 1875, to the United States Senate where he
served till 1881. Mr. Bruce died at Washington, D. C., March 17,
1898.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_, p. 420.
[8] Jore Haralson was born a slave in Muscogee County, Georgia, April
1, 1846. He was emancipated in 1865, after which he acquired through
self-instruction a fair education. After moving to Alabama, he entered
into the politics of that State. Mr. Haralson was elected to the 44th
Congress, but failed of re-election to the 45th.--_Biographical
Congressional Directory_, p. 557.
[9] Benjamin Sterling Turner was born a slave at Halifax, North
Carolina, March 17, 1825. In 1830, he moved to Alabama, where by
clandestine study he obtained a fair education. He became a prosperous
merchant, was elected to several local offices, and to the 42nd
Congress. He was defeated for the 43rd.--_Biographical Congressional
Directory_, p. 849.
[10] John Adams Hyman was born a slave in Warren, North Carolina, July
23, 1840. He was sold and sent to Alabama, where he was emancipated in
1865. Returning to North Carolina, Mr. Hyman engaged in farming and
acquired a rudimentary education. Entering politics in 1868, he was
later elected to the 44th Congress. In June, 1877, he was appointed
collector of internal revenue for the 2nd district of North
Carolina.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_, p. 614.
[11] Charles E. Nash was a native of Opelousas, Louisiana. He was
educated at New Orleans, later following the trade of bricklayer. In
1863, Mr. Nash served as a private in the Eighty-third Regiment United
States Chasseurs d'Afrique. He was later promoted to sergeant-major
and lost a leg in the storming of Fort Blakeley. He was elected to the
44th Congress, but defeated for the 45th.--_Biographical Congressional
Directory_, p. 713.
[12] Josiah T. Walls was born at Winchester, Virginia, December 30,
1842. He received a limited education, became a farmer, and in 1868
entered politics. Mr. Walls received a certificate of election as a
representative from Florida to the 42nd Congress, but his seat was
successfully contested by Silas Niblack. He was admitted, however, to
the 43rd and 44th Congresses.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_,
p. 864.
[13] Richard H. Cain was born in Greenbrier County, Virginia, April
12, 1825. In 1831, he moved with his father to Gallipolis, Ohio. Of
limited education prior to his marriage, and having entered the
ministry at an early age, he found it to his advantage, at the age of
35 years, to undertake formal study at a recognized school of
learning. Following a career as clergyman, missionary, and politician,
he was elected to the 43rd Congress and re-elected to the 45th. After
his retirement from Congress, Mr. Cain, was elected the fourteenth
bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He died in
Washington, January 18, 1887. --_Biographical Congressional
Directory_, p. 434.
[14] Hiram B. Revels was born at Fayetteville, North Carolina,
September 1, 1822. Being unable to obtain an education in his own
State, he moved to Indiana and there began study for the ministry. At
the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Revels assisted in the organization
of the first two Negro regiments in Maryland. Having made a record for
service among his people in the central States, he went to Mississippi
and there became interested in managing the freedmen's affairs. He was
elected to several local offices and in 1870 was elected to fill an
unexpired term in the United States Senate. After his retirement from
Congress, Mr. Revels served as president of Alcorn University at
Rodney, Mississippi, and later as pastor of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church at Richmond, Indiana. He died January 16, 1901, at
Abeerden, Mississippi.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_, p.
763.
[15] Henry Plummer Cheatham of Henderson, North Carolina, was born at
Granville, North Carolina, December 27, 1857. After acquiring a good
education, he entered the teaching profession. Later he became
interested in politics and was elected to the 51st and 52nd
Congresses. His last public office was that of Recorder of Deeds of
the District of Columbia.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_, p.
450.
[16] George Washington Murray was born of slave parents, September 22,
1853, near Rembert, Sumter County, South Carolina. At the age of
eleven years, he found himself free, bereft of parents, completely
dependent upon his own resources. His early life, therefore, was one
of great trials and sacrifices. Possessed, however, of a determination
to live and learn, young Murray availed himself of every opportunity
to improve his meagre stock of knowledge. So well did he succeed that
his first day in school was spent as teacher rather than student. In
later life, he acquired a good education, entered into the service of
the public schools of his county and was finally elected to the 53rd
Congress. Mr. Murray was elected also to the 54th, but secured his
seat only after a successful contest with a leading Democrat of his
State.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_, pp. 711-712.
[17] John Mercer Langston was born in Louisa County, Virginia,
December 14, 1829. He distinguished himself as an educator and won
many honors in his field. Mr. Langston served also in many civic and
political offices prior to his election to the 51st Congress. Due to
the contest he was forced to make for his seat, Mr. Langston served
actually a very short time in Congress. He died in Washington, D. C.,
November 15, 1897.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_, p. 643.
[18] Robert Brown Elliott was born in Boston, Massachusetts, August
11, 1842. He was educated in England, and upon his return to the
United States entered into the politics of the State of South
Carolina. Mr. Elliott was elected to the 42nd Congress and resigned
before the term had expired; he was re-elected to the 43rd
Congress and again resigned, this time to accept the office of
sheriff.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_, p. 517.
[19] James T. Rapier was born at Florence, Alabama, in 1840. He was
sent to Canada to be educated, and while there was given the
opportunity to recite before the late King Edward VII, then Prince of
Wales, who was at that time visiting the United States and Canada.
Prior to his election to Congress, Mr. Rapier held several local
offices in Alabama and also aspired to become Secretary-of-State. In
this contest he was defeated by one Nicholas Davis, a white man. Mr.
Rapier was a partisan in the split in the Republican Party in his
State, aligning himself with one Spencer, a Republican leader of that
date. Losing in this contest, he lost also his ability to win votes
and so was defeated in his attempt to seek re-election to the 44th
Congress. Soon thereafter, Mr. Rapier gave his attention to farming
and was highly successful as a cotton planter.--_Biographical
Congressional Directory_, p. 760, and a statement of Thomas Walker, a
local officer in Alabama during the reconstruction period.
[20] James E. O'Hara of Enfield, North Carolina, was born in New York
City, February 26, 1844. He acquired a liberal education, read law,
and entered into the politics of the State of North Carolina. After
holding several local offices, he was elected to the 46th, 48th, and
49th Congresses, but was counted out in the former.--_Biographical
Congressional Directory_, p. 722.
[21] Thomas E. Miller was born in Beaufort County, South Carolina, at
Ferrybeeville, June 17, 1849. After acquiring a good education, he
entered politics. Mr. Miller held many local and State offices,
and was nominated by his party, in 1878, for the office of
Lieutenant-Governor of the State. Due, however, to riotous actions of
the Democratic party throughout the elections that year, the ticket
was withdrawn. Mr. Miller was seated in the 51st Congress after a
contested election with Col. William Elliott. In 1896, he was elected
president of the State Colored College at Orangeburg, South
Carolina.--_Biographical Congressional Directory_, p. 695.
[22] George Henry White of Tarboro, North Carolina, was born at
Rosindale, North Carolina, December 18, 1852. He acquired a good
education, practiced law, and entered politics. After serving in
several local and State offices, Mr. White was elected to the 55th and
re-elected to the 56th Congress.--_Biographical Congressional
Directory_, p. 877.
[23] _Biographical Congressional Directory_, p. 643.
[24] _Ibid._, p. 614.
[25] _Ibid._, p. 722.
[26] _Ibid._, p. 450.
[27] _Ibid._, p. 877.
[28] _Biographical Congressional Directory_, p. 434.
[29] _Ibid._, p. 497.
[30] _Ibid._, p. 517.
[31] _Ibid._, p. 757.
[32] _Ibid._, p. 759.
[33] _Ibid._, p. 803.
[34] _Ibid._, p. 695.
[35] _Ibid._, pp. 711-712.
[36] Letter from Mrs. A. L. Rucker, Atlanta, Ga., daughter of J. F.
Long, Oct., 1921.
[37] Statement of Thomas Walker, Washington, D. C., a local officer in
Alabama, during the Reconstruction Period.
[38] Statement made by Thomas Walker.
[39] _Biographical Congressional Directory_, p. 577.
[40] _Ibid._, p. 763.
[41] _Ibid._, p. 420.
[42] _Ibid._, p. 662.
[43] _Ibid._, p. 713.
[44] C. G. Woodson, _Fifty Years of Negro Citizenship_, JOURNAL OF
NEGRO HISTORY, Vol. VI, p. 11.
[45] _Congressional Globe_, 41st Congress, 3rd Session, p. 881.
[46] "In regard to the State of Mississippi," continued Senator
Revels, "I have this to say: The Republican Party now dominating there
pledged itself to universal amnesty. That was in their platform; these
speakers pledged themselves to it and the legislature redeemed that
pledge, unanimously adopting a resolution asking Congress to remove
the political disabilities of all the citizens of Mississippi, which
resolution they placed in my hands, and made it my duty to present
here, and which I have presented.
"Now I can say more, I believe, for the State of Mississippi, than I
can say for any other of the lately insurrectionary States. I do not
know of one State that is altogether as well reconstructed as
Mississippi is. We have reports of a great many other States of
lawlessness and violence, and from parts of States we have
well-authenticated reports of this effect; but while this is the case,
do you hear one report of any more lawlessness in evidence in the
State of Mississippi? No! The people now I believe are getting along
as quietly, pleasantly, harmoniously, prosperously as the people are
in any of the formerly free States. I think this is the case, I do not
think my statement exaggerates anything at all. Now, sir, I hope that
I am understood. I am in favor of amnesty in Mississippi. We pledged
ourselves to it. The State is for it."--_Congressional Globe_, 41st
Congress, 2nd Session, p. 3520.
[47] _Ibid._, 42nd Congress, 1st Session, p. 393.
[48] _Congressional Globe_, 42nd Congress, 2nd Session, p. 103.
[49] _Ibid._, 42nd Congress, 1st Session, pp. 102-103.
[50] _Ibid._, 102-103.
[51] _Congressional Globe_, 41st Congress, 2nd Session, p. 1287.
[52] _Congressional Record_, 43rd Congress, 1st Session, pp. 407-410.
[53] _Congressional Record_, 43rd Congress, 1st Session, pp. 407-410.
[54] _Congressional Globe_, 42nd Congress, 2nd Session, p. 3383.
[55] _Congressional Record_, 43rd Congress, 1st Session, pp.
1311-1314.
[56] _Ibid._, p. 407.
[57] _Congressional Record_, pp. 4782-4786.
[58] _Ibid._, pp. 565-567.
[59] _Ibid._, p. 64.
[60] _Ibid._, p. 64.
[61] _Congressional Record_, 48th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 297.
[62] _Ibid._, 51st Congress, 2nd Session, p. 1216.
[63] _Congressional Record_, 56th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 1634.
[64] _Congressional Globe_, 42nd Congress, 2nd Session, p. 813; App.,
p. 15.
[65] _Congressional Globe_, pp. 808-810.
[66] _Ibid._, 42nd Congress, 1st Session, p. 3655; 3rd Session, p.
220. _Congressional Record_, 43rd Congress, 1st Session, pp. 87, 88.
[67] _Congressional Record_, 45th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 1646; 44th
Congress, 1st Session, pp. 2714, 3602.
[68] At a later date, Langston, in the Fifty-first Congress,
introduced a measure for the establishment of normal and industrial
schools for Negroes. These numerous measures were referred invariably
to the Committee on Education and Labor, from which they were usually
reported adversely to the House.--_Congressional Record_, 51st
Congress, 2nd Session, p. 1650.
[69] In placing the responsibility with both parties, DeLarge said:
"Mr. Speaker, when the governor of my State the other day called in
council the leading men of the State, to consider the condition of
affairs there and to advise what measures would be best for the
protection of the people, whom did he call together? The major portion
of the men whom he convened were men resting under political
disabilities imposed by the Fourteenth Amendment. In good faith, I ask
the gentlemen on this side of the House, and gentlemen on the other
side of the House, whether it is reasonable to expect that those men
should be interested, in any shape or form, in using their influence
and best endeavor for the preservation of the public peace when they
have nothing to look for politically in the future? You say that they
should have the moral and material interest of their State at heart,
though even always denied a participation in its honors. You may
insist that the true patriot seeks no personal ends in acts of
patriotism. All this is true, but, Mr. Speaker, men are but men
everywhere, and you ought not to expect of those whom you daily call
by opprobrious epithets, whom you daily remind of their political
sins, whom you persistently exclude from places of the smallest trust
in the government you have created, to be very earnest to cooperate
with you in the work of establishing and fortifying the government set
up in hostility to the whole tone of their prejudices, their
connections, and their sympathies. What ought to be is one thing; what
in the weakness and fallibility of human nature will be is quite
another thing. The statesman regards the actual and acts upon it; the
desirable, the possible, and even the probable furnishes but poor
basis for political action."--_Congressional Globe_, 42nd Congress,
1st Session, App., pp. 230-231.
[70] _Ibid._, 42nd Congress, 1st Session, p. 376.
[71] _Congressional Globe_, 42nd Congress, 3rd Session, p. 4039.
[72] _Congressional Globe_, 42nd Congress, 3rd Session, App., p. 475.
[73] _Congressional Record_, 43rd Congress, 1st Session, p. 1121; 44th
Congress, 1st Session, p. 206; 47th Congress, 1st Session, p. 3946.
[74] _Ibid._, 44th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 3825-3826; 3781-3784;
5540-5543.
[75] _Congressional Record_, pp. 3667, 3668, 3669.
[76] _Ibid._, 44th Congress, 2nd Session, App., pp. 123-136.
[77] _Ibid._, 44th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 2100-2105.
[78] Miller pointed out the inherent weaknesses of the South, the
insecurity of investment, violation of the right of property and of
contract, the jeopardy of life, and over-assessment of taxes on
property held by Northern Whites--as constituting the causes
underlying the failure of investors to direct their monies to Southern
enterprises. He discussed the amenability of the Negro to civilizing
influences and the economic progress that the race had made since its
emancipation from slavery. Miller asserted, moreover, that though
these remarks might effect the loss of his seat in the next Congress,
he conceived it his duty to his party and to his race to defend his
people against the dastardly attack of one who pretended to be its
friend. _Congressional Record_, 51st Congress, 2nd Session, p. 2691.
[79] _Ibid._, pp. 1479-1482; 1524.
[80] _Ibid._, 53rd Congress, 1st Session, pp. 2158-2161.
[81] _Ibid._, 54th Congress, 1st Session, p. 1868; 2nd Session, p.
320.
[82] _Congressional Globe_, 42nd Congress, 2nd Session, pp. 393, 2439,
2447, 2452.
[83] _Ibid._, 42nd Congress, 1st Session, pp. 198, 178, 3793; 3rd
Session, p. 220; 43rd Congress, 1st Session, pp. 87, 88.
[84] _Ibid._, 43rd Congress, 1st Session, pp. 85, 320, 1333.
[85] _Congressional Globe_, 44th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 321, 1203;
47th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 4551, 6146.
[86] _Ibid._, 44th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 442, 3754, 4857; 45th
Congress, 2nd Session, p. 2706; 47th Congress, 1st Session, p. 6432;
49th Congress, 1st Session, p. 1218.
[87] _Ibid._, 49th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 437, 1404, 3748, 4980,
4982, 5069.
[88] _Congressional Globe_, 42nd Congress, 1st Session, p. 3570.
[89] _Congressional Record_, 47th Congress, 2nd Session, pp. 2312,
2660, 2870-2871.
[90] _Congressional Record_, 55th Congress, 1st Session, p. 550.
[91] _Ibid._, 49th Congress, 1st Session, p. 3049.
[92] _Congressional Record_, 51st Congress, 2nd Session, p. 3490.
[93] _Ibid._, 52nd Congress, 1st Session, App., p. 508.
[94] _Congressional Record_, 51st Congress, 1st Session, pp. 10,707,
10,708.
[95] _Ibid._, 52nd Congress, 2nd Session, pp. 4695, 5974.
[96] _Ibid._, 53rd Congress, 2nd Session, p. 8382.
[97] _Congressional Record_, 56th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 166, 372,
594, 791; 2nd Session, p. 188; 55th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 3153.
[98] _Ibid._, 43rd Congress, 1st Session, App., p. 250; pp. 27, 206.
_Congressional Globe_, 42nd Congress, 1st Session, pp. 198, 178.
[99] _Congressional Record_, 44th Congress, 1st Session, p. 3340.
[100] _Ibid._, 44th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 771, 2714, 2791.
[101] _Congressional Record_, 44th Congress, 2nd Session, pp.
1025-1026.
[102] _Congressional Record_, 44th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 118,
119.
[103] _Ibid._, 47th Congress, 1st Session, p. 6898.
[104] _Ibid._, 45th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 1646.
[105] _Ibid._, 44th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 3457, 3467, 3468; 48th
Congress, 2nd Session, pp. 316, 2057; 49th Congress, 1st Session, p.
1919.
[106] _Ibid._, 45th Congress, 3rd Session, p. 1914.
[107] _Ibid._, 46th Congress, 2nd Session, pp. 2195-2196.
[108] _Congressional Record_, 44th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 1444,
1445.
[109] _Congressional Record_, 45th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 245,
1750; 3rd Session, 1314, 1316, 2309.
[110] _Ibid._, 53rd Congress, 2nd Session, p. 2399; 1st Session, pp.
1392, 1396.
[111] _Ibid._, 56th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 3814.
[112] _Ibid._, 55th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 541.
[113] Munro, _The Government of the United States_, p. 297.
[114] A Letter from John E. Bruce, Brooklyn, N. N., a man active
during the Reconstruction. June 6, 1921.
[115] James G. Blaine, _Twenty Years of Congress_, 1861-1881, Vol. II,
p. 515.
THE PRIORITY OF THE SILVER BLUFF CHURCH AND ITS PROMOTERS
In speaking of the beginning of Negro churches in the United States,
those of the Baptist faith must not be forgotten. Nor must we err in
thinking that the first churches of this faith were planted in the
North. It is true that there were Negro Baptists in Providence, Rhode
Island, as early as 1774,[1] and doubtless much earlier, but they had
no church of their own. Indeed, there is absolutely no trace of Negro
Baptist churches in the North prior to the nineteenth century. The
oldest Negro Baptist churches, north of Mason and Dixon's Line, are
the Independent or First African Baptist Church, of Boston,
Massachusetts, planted in 1805; the Abysinnian, of New York City,
established in 1808; and the First African, of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, organized in 1809.[2]
Negro Baptist churches, unlike other Negro churches, had their
beginning in the South, and at a somewhat earlier date. The first
church of Negro Baptists, so far as authentic and trustworthy writings
of the eighteenth century establish, was constituted at Silver
Bluff,[3] on Mr. Galphin's[4] estate, a year or two before the
Revolutionary War. It continued to worship there, in comparative
peace, until the latter part of 1778, when the vicissitudes of war
drove the church into exile[5]--but only to multiply itself
elsewhere.[6] The work at Silver Bluff began anew with the cessation
of hostilities, moreover, and was more prosperous than ever in
1791.[7]
Silver Bluff was situated on the South Carolina side of the Savannah
River, in Aiken County, just twelve miles from Augusta, Georgia.[8]
All there was of it, in September, 1775, seems to have been embraced
in what William Tennett, of Revolutionary fame, styled "Mr. Galphin's
Settlement."[9] Nevertheless, as it lay in the tract of the
Revolutionary forces, and was for a time a center of supplies to the
Indians, who had their habitation in that quarter, living in treaty
relations with the colonists, Ramsey, Carroll, Drayton,[10] and
others, give it a place on the map of South Carolina. Indeed, so
identified was Silver Bluff with the Galphins, their interests and
their influence, that by 1785 it was known far and near as Galphinton.
Fort Galphin was there. Bartram, who visited it in 1776, says that
Silver Bluff was "a very celebrated place," and describes it as "a
beautiful villa," while the picture which Jones, in his history of
South Carolina, gives of Silver Bluff, is animating, to say the
least.[11]
David George, who was one of the constituent members, and the first
regular pastor of the Silver Bluff Church, is our authority in regard
to the early history of this flock. We make the following extracts
from letters of his, published in London, England, in connection with
other foreign correspondence, during the period from 1790 to 1793:
Brother Palmer,[12] who was pastor at some distance from Silver
Bluff, came and preached to a large congregation at a mill of Mr.
Galphin's; he was a very powerful preacher.... Brother Palmer
came again and wished us to beg Master to let him preach to us;
and he came frequently.... There were eight of us now, who had
found the great blessing and mercy from the Lord, and my wife was
one of them, and Brother Jesse Galphin.... Brother Palmer
appointed Saturday evening to hear what the Lord had done for us,
and next day, he baptized us in the mill stream.... Brother
Palmer formed us into a church, and gave us the Lord's Supper at
Silver Bluff.... Then I began to exhort in the Church, and
learned to sing hymns.... Afterwards the church advised with
Brother Palmer about my speaking to them, and keeping them
together.... So I was appointed to the office of an elder, and
received instruction from Brother Palmer how to conduct myself. I
proceeded in this way till the American War was coming on, when
the Ministers were not allowed to come amongst us, lest they
should furnish us with too much knowledge.... I continued
preaching at Silver Bluff, till the church, constituted with
eight, increased to thirty or more, and 'till the British came to
the city of Savannah and took it.[13]
The first clear conception of time, which we get from these extracts,
in regard to the origin of the Silver Bluff Church, is where David
George speaks of being left in sole charge, as Liele and Palmer might
no longer visit Silver Bluff, lest in so doing, they should impart to
the slaves of the settlement a knowledge, which, in the then
prevailing conditions, would result in their personal freedom, and,
consequently, in great financial loss to their masters. This
undoubtedly was not later than November, 1775, when the Earl of
Dunmore issued on American soil a proclamation of emancipation, in
which the black slaves and the white indentured bondmen were alike
promised freedom, provided they espoused the cause of England, in its
struggle with the colonists. How well these slaves understood and
appreciated the proffered boon, may be inferred from a letter which
was written by Stephen Bull to Col. Henry Laurens, President of the
Council of Safety, Charleston, South Carolina, March 14, 1776. In that
letter he says: "It is better for the public, and the owners, if the
deserted Negroes who are on Tybee Island be shot, if they cannot be
taken."[14] By this means, as he informs us, he hoped to "deter other
Negroes from deserting" their masters. According to Bull's
representation, the Negroes along the Savannah River were abandoning
their masters, and now going to the British in scores and hundreds, to
the detriment of their owners, and the menace of the cause of American
independence.
Now George Liele, although not a runaway slave, appears to have had
some liking for the Tybee River, as a place of abode, and it is
probable that when he could no longer visit Silver Bluff, and was not
in camp with Henry Sharp (who had not only given him his freedom, but
also taken up arms against the Revolutionists), he reported to Tybee
Island to preach to the refugees there assembled. At any rate, when
Liele appears in Savannah, Georgia, as a preacher of the Gospel, his
biographer declares that "He came up to the city of Savannah from
Tybee River."[15]
The next hint which we get from the statements of David George, in
regard to the time when the Silver Bluff Church was planted, is where
he says that George Liele preached at Silver Bluff both before and
after the organization of the church. Happily, Liele himself refers to
Silver Bluff as a place where he used to preach. Liele also informs
us that he became a Christian about two years before the American
Revolution, but did not immediately connect himself with a church;
that when he did join, he became a member of Matthew Moore's church,
in Burke County, Georgia; that he was a member of this church about
four years; that his membership terminated with the evacuation of
Savannah; that he preached at Yamacraw and Brumpton Land about three
years; and that he went to Jamaica, in the West Indies, in the year of
1782.
Let us consider carefully these facts, with reference to time. The
three years, which preceded 1782, were 1781, 1780, 1779. This brings
us to the evacuation of Savannah by the Americans, within two days, as
the British captured the city December 29, 1778. The four years which
preceded 1779 were 1778, 1777, 1776, 1775. We understand from George
Liele's statements concerning himself, therefore, that he became a
member of Matthew Moore's church at the close of the year 1774, or the
beginning of 1775, but was converted at the end of the year 1773, and
let a whole year, or nearly so, pass before becoming a church-member.
It is probable that George Liele did not wait to be received into the
fellowship of a church before going from plantation to plantation to
tell his fellow slaves of the blessing of salvation which he had
experienced. He may have thus declared the love of Christ, at Silver
Bluff, as early as 1773, as Burke County, Georgia, in which he lived,
is in part practically adjacent to Aiken County, South Carolina, in
which was Silver Bluff. Accordingly, we are warranted in concluding
that the Negro Baptist Church at Silver Bluff was constituted not
earlier than 1773, nor later than 1775.
In making these deductions, we bear in mind that the year 1777 has
been designated as the time of Liele's conversion, 1778 as the time
when he united with Matthew Moore's church, and four years later, or
1782, as the time when his membership in that church ceased. In
explanation of this view its advocates insist that the three years in
which Liele preached at Brumpton Land and Yamacraw are included in
the four years during which he was a member of Matthew Moore's church.
According to this claim, the Silver Bluff Church could not have been
planted earlier than 1777 nor later than 1778.
We do not share this view for good and sufficient reasons. When Liele,
in 1779, went to Savannah to reside, during the British occupancy, he
became separated from Matthew Moore's church and the people of Burke
County, Georgia, for all time. With the British troops he entered
Savannah, as the Americans had evacuated it at the very close of the
year 1778. With the British he remained in Savannah during his three
years stay in that city, and with one of their officers he left the
country, in 1782, for Kingston, Jamaica, British West Indies, where he
spent the remainder of his life. His four years of connection with
Matthew Moore's church, therefore, must have preceded the year 1779,
covering the time from the latter part of 1774 to the latter part of
1778.
As George Liele informs us that he became a Christian about two years
before the American War, those who place his conversion in the year
1777 are compelled to reckon the beginning of the Revolutionary War
from the year 1779. Errors are hard things to substantiate, and force
men to choose between strange dilemmas. But, in explanation of this
absurdity, it is claimed that the Revolutionary War did not make
itself manifest in Georgia and South Carolina until about the year
1779, and the Negroes of Georgia and South Carolina, in speaking of
it, would refer to that year as the beginning of the war. But as a
matter of fact, the Revolutionary struggle in South Carolina and
Georgia was manifest from the very first. Thus the biographer of
Abraham Marshall, of Kiokee, Georgia, having informed his reader that
the subject of his sketch was ordained to the work of the Gospel
ministry on May 20, 1775, adds, "Just as he had chosen his life work,
the Revolutionary War broke out, and Georgia became a scene of
violence and bloodshed. During almost the entire struggle, the people
were subject to the combined outrages of Britons, Tories and
Indians."[16]
Thus, too, the biographer of Gov. John Houston's trusted slave, Andrew
C. Marshall, writes, "The embargo having taken effect in Savannah at
the opening of the Revolution, fifteen merchants of that city agreed
to give him a purse of $225.00 if he would carry word to several
American vessels that lay in a bay on the lower seaboard, in which
achievement he was successful."[17] The expression, "the opening of
the Revolution," in this passage, refers to the year 1775, and not to
1778-1779, for the British attacked the city of Savannah as early as
March 3, 1776, and would have captured it if they had not been
repulsed by the Americans.
The English agents, their American allies (the Tories), and the
Cherokee Indians, who resided in the neighborhood of Silver Bluff and
made it the commercial mart it was in colonial times, took up the
cause of the British against the revolutionists from the very
beginning of the war. Accordingly, William H. Drayton, of South
Carolina, on August 30, 1775, urged the sending of foot-soldiers and
mounted men to the vicinity of Augusta, Georgia, to protect the
interests of the patriots, and chasten their foes.[18]
Eight days later, September 7, 1775, William Tennett, of South
Carolina, wrote in his journal as follows: "Went ten miles to
New-Savannah, where I had appointed a meeting of inhabitants, in hopes
to draw an audience out of Augusta, from Mr. Galphin's Settlement, and
Beach Island, but most of the men having marched with Mr. Drayton,
and Mr. Galphin being from home, I had but few."[19] To this same
neighborhood Col. Andrew Williamson led a large force of South
Carolinians, in defense of the American cause, some time later, and
General Griffith Rutherford, with 2,400 men, reinforced him,
September, 1776.
In view of all these statements in regard to the time when the
Revolutionary War began to make itself manifest in Georgia and South
Carolina, we conclude that when George Liele says he was converted to
Christianity about two years before the Revolutionary War, he refers
to the year 1773, and his visits to Silver Bluff were at an end by the
summer of 1775. We are, therefore, driven back to our first
affirmation, namely, that the Negro Baptist Church at Silver Bluff,
South Carolina, was organized not earlier than 1773, nor later than
1775.
The writers who have insisted that Mr. Liele united with Matthew
Moore's church in 1778, and terminated that membership in 1782, have
followed what is undoubtedly an erroneous inference. Liele said, "I
continued in this church about four years till the 'vacuation.'" But
as the expression seemed to Dr. Rippon indefinite in some particulars,
he sought information from persons who were supposed to be capable of
guiding him, and added five words to the statement of Liele, which
made it read as follows: "I continued in this church about four years,
'till the 'vacuation'--_of Savannah by the British_."[20] Dr. Rippon
carefully states that "Brother George's words are distinguished by
inverted commas, and what is not so marked, is either matter
compressed, or information received from such persons to whom
application had been made for it."
It is easy enough to see how the inference was drawn, for in one of
his letters Liele says, "Our beloved Sister Hannah Williams, during
the time she was a member of the church at Savannah, until the
'vacuation, did walk as a faithful, well-beloved Christian."[21] Here
there is no room for doubt. Liele speaks in this case of the
evacuation of Savannah by the British, July, 1782, but in the former
instance the only evacuation of Savannah which harmonizes with the
story of his own life, the events and circumstances of his time, and
those of his associates, is the evacuation of Savannah by the
Americans, December 29, 1778.
GEORGE GALPHIN--PATRON OF THE SILVER BLUFF CHURCH
The planter and merchant on whose estate the Silver Bluff Church was
constituted is deserving of special mention in connection with the
story of that people. We learn from White's _History of Georgia_, that
George Galphin was "a native of Ireland, emigrated soon after manhood
to America, and died at Silver Bluff, his residence, on the Savannah
River, in South Carolina, on the second of December, 1782, in the
seventy-first year of his age." N. W. Jones, in his history, quotes
William Bartram as saying that George Galphin was "a gentleman of very
distinguished talents and great liberality."[22]
The spirit of justice and kindness, it appears, was manifest in all
his dealings with the peoples of the weaker races, who were daily
about him. The red man and the black man alike saw in him a man of
kindly soul. David George, who was ever a British subject, described
his former master as an "anti-loyalist." N. W. Jones, speaking as an
American, pronounced him a "patriot." Neither spoke of him except to
praise. A master less humane, less considerate of the happiness and
moral weal of his dependents, less tolerant in spirit, would never
have consented to the establishment of a Negro church on his estate.
He might have put an end to the enterprise in its very incipiency, but
he did not. He fostered the work from the beginning. It was by his
consent that the gospel was preached to slaves who resided at Silver
Bluff. It was by his permission that the Silver Bluff Church was
established. It was he who permitted David George to be ordained to
the work of the ministry. It was he who provided the Silver Bluff
Church with a house of worship, by permitting his mill to be used in
that capacity. And it was he who gave the little flock a baptistry, by
placing his mill-stream at their disposal on baptizing occasions. But
we are satisfied that he had no conception of the far-reaching
influence of these deeds of kindness.
The truth is, the Galphins appear to have been masters of the
patriarchal type. Thomas Galphin, under whose beneficence the work at
Silver Bluff was renewed in postbellum time, was, as we shall see, as
much the benefactor and protector of Jesse Peter, as George Galphin
had been of David George before, and during the earlier stages of the
Revolutionary War.[23] Accessible records reveal the fact that John
Galphin was an Indian interpreter and a friend of the Cussetahs. It is
indeed suggestive that, in 1787, these Indians wished a Negro, whom
John Galphin owned, to be a messenger with one of their men to the
whites.
THE SILVER BLUFF CHURCH IN EXILE
With the fall of Savannah, at the very close of the year 1778, the
Silver Bluff Church completed the first stage in its history. At that
time Rev. David George, the pastor, and about forty other slaves, whom
George Galphin had abandoned in his flight, went to Savannah, to find
safety and freedom under the British flag. Later David George returned
to South Carolina, and abode for a time in the city of Charleston.
Thence, in 1782, he sailed to Nova Scotia, in company with not less
than five hundred white persons, who were adherents of the British
cause. In Nova Scotia he abode ten years, preaching to the people of
his own race who had found their way into that portion of the
continent, in large numbers, after abandoning their homes in the
United States.
These labors were performed amid hardships and persecutions, but in
faithfulness to God and suffering humanity. In prosecuting his
mission, he preached in Shelburn, Birchtown, Ragged Island, and in St.
Johns, New Brunswick. So pronounced was the opposition to his labors
in New Brunswick, that he found it necessary to invoke the protection
of the civil authorities. How well he succeeded in doing so, may be
imagined from the subjoined statement:
"Secretary's Office, Fredericktown, 17th July, 1792, I do hereby
certify that David George, a free Negro man, has permission from
his Excellency, the Lieutenant Governor, to instruct the Black
people in knowledge, and exhort them to the practice of the
Christian religion. Jno. Odell, Secretary."[24]
It should excite in us no surprise that David George was opposed in
his labors in his new home, for, as Lorenzo Sabine declares, "the
original population of this Colony was composed almost entirely of the
Loyalists of the Revolution."[25] They had not changed their views in
regard to the rights of Negroes, by being removed from a land where
the two races had hitherto sustained the relation of master and slave.
The real surprise lies in the fact, that the secretary of the province
was himself a preacher, a minister of the Episcopal Church, and a
former resident of the State of New Jersey.
So effective were the arduous labors of David George that he is
enrolled among the pulpit pioneers, in Bill's history of Canadian
Baptists. He was certainly first to plant a Baptist church at
Shelburn, as well as a number of feeble beginnings elsewhere. But
Canada was only a temporary home to David George, and to others from
the States. Accordingly, he took a colony of Negroes to Sierra Leone,
British Central Africa, in 1782.
Of this distant colony, G. Winfred Hervey remarks: "The first settlers
of Sierra Leone were what they needed to be, men of bravery. They
consisted of about 12,000 colored men who had joined the British
forces in the American Revolution. At the close of the war they were
sent to Nova Scotia, but the climate proving too unfriendly to them,
they were, in 1792, transported to Sierra Leone."[26] One of the first
things that David George did, after reaching Africa, was to plant a
little Baptist church, which was composed of Negroes from America who
had arrived in their fatherland by way of Nova Scotia.
In order to stimulate in the English people an intelligent interest in
the colony of Sierra Leone, and secure for the Baptist cause in
Freetown the sympathy and aid of English Baptists, David George took a
trip to London, England, shortly after establishing himself on the
continent of Africa. It was this visit to the metropolis of the world
which doubtless, more than anything else, facilitated the collection
and publication of many facts then existing and ascertainable in
regard to Negro Baptist preachers and their churches in the eastern
and western hemispheres.
In visiting Europe, David George took with him letters of commendation
from persons of recognized standing in England. John Rippon, the
distinguished London divine, thus speaks of David George, after
investigating his standing: "Governor Clarkson, in the most unreserved
manner, assured me that he esteemed David George as his brother, and
that he believes him to be the best man, without exception, in the
colony of Sierra Leone."[27] Had the Silver Bluff Church done nothing
more than produce this one earnest Christian man, this faithful
preacher of Christ, this potent factor in the planting of a colony
under the English flag, it would not have existed in vain, but it did
more.
THE SILVER BLUFF CHURCH REVIVED
When peace had been restored, and the Revolutionary forces had been
disbanded or recalled, Silver Bluff resumed once more the aspect of
social distinctions between master and slave in colonial times. Once
more, too, the Galphin place became a center of religious activities,
and the Negro Baptists of Silver Bluff were more numerous than ever.
The man who was instrumental in resuscitating the work at Silver Bluff
was Jesse Peter, who, according to an old custom of applying to the
slave the surname of the master, was better known as Jesse Galphin, or
Gaulfin. Having been connected with the Silver Bluff Church from the
very first, and only separated from it during the Revolutionary War
and the period of readjustment immediately thereafter, Jesse Peter was
eminently fitted, at least in one particular, to take up the work at
Silver Bluff which David George had abandoned in the year 1778. He
knew the place and he loved the people. Silver Bluff was his home, and
there he was held in high esteem. Moreover, he possessed what is
essential to ministerial success everywhere, deep sincerity,
seriousness of purpose, knowledge of the Bible, an excellent spirit,
and the ability to deliver, with profit and pleasure, the message of
the truth. Jonathan Clarke, and Abraham Marshall, who knew him
personally, have left on record beautiful testimonials of his work and
his worth.[28]
Why this young man, who had obtained his freedom by going to the
British at the fall of Savannah,[29] in 1778, remained in America to
resume the condition of a slave, after the Revolutionary War, is not
known. It is known, however, that, unlike George Liele and David
George, men of adventurous spirit, Jesse Peter was not a pioneering
worker in strange fields. If, indeed, he ever traveled beyond Kiokee,
Georgia, in the one direction, and the city of Savannah in the other,
we have failed to note the fact. It is known, too, that he had an
indulgent master, and it is possible that he preferred a state of
nominal slavery, under his protection, to a probable state of want and
hardship in a foreign land. Or it may be he was willing to die for the
cause, and so deliberately entered again into the old condition of
bondage in order to enjoy the privilege of preaching, where Liele and
George had labored in other days.
It is to be presumed that Jesse Peter was regularly ordained to the
work of the Gospel ministry. We take this view because he exercised
the duties and privileges which ordination implies, without ever being
called in question for doing so. His three years of association with
Liele and George, in Savannah, during the British occupancy, moreover,
afforded him ample opportunity to be publicly and regularly
consecrated to his life-work. Certainly Abraham Marshall, of Kiokee,
Georgia, would not have associated himself with Jesse Peter in the
ordination of Andrew Bryan, of Savannah, in 1788, if Jesse Peter had
not himself been ordained to the work of the ministry.
Conditions in the earlier stages of Jesse Peter's pastorate at Silver
Bluff were such that he did not reside at his old home, but came and
went as a stated visitor. Accordingly, Jonathan Clarke, writing from
Savannah, Georgia, December 22, 1792, says, "Jesse Peter (whose
present master is Thomas Galphin), is now here, and has three or four
places in the country, where he attends preaching alternately."[30]
George Liele, writing from the West Indies, in 1791, had said to
Joseph Cook, of South Carolina, "Brother Jesse Galphin, another black
minister, preaches near Augusta, in South Carolina, where I used to
preach."[31] Referring to him, George White speaks as follows: "On the
20th of January, 1788, Andrew, surnamed Bryan, was ordained by Rev.
Abraham Marshall, and a colored minister named Jesse Peter, from the
vicinity of Augusta."[32] Benedict, referring to Andrew Marshall, in
the same connection, states that "he was accompanied by a young
preacher of color, by the name of Jesse Peter, of Augusta."[33] From
these testimonies, it is evident that Jesse Peter was a nonresident
pastor of the Silver Bluff Church from 1788 to 1792, if not for a
longer period.
During the first period of Jesse Peter's pastorate at Silver Bluff,
another slave, who lived in that locality, began to preach. Andrew
Bryan, writing from Savannah, Georgia, December 28, 1800, refers to
him in the following manner: "Another dispensation of Providence has
greatly strengthened our hands and increased our means of information:
Henry Francis, lately a slave of the widow of the late Col. Leroy
Hammond, of Augusta, has been purchased by a few humane gentlemen of
this place, and liberated to exercise the handsome ministerial gifts
he possesses amongst us, and teach our youth to read and write." He
adds, "Brother Francis has been in the ministry fifteen years, and
will soon receive ordination."[34] According to Andrew Bryan, Henry
Francis was a half-breed, his mother being white, his father an
Indian, but I find in a letter, written by another from the city of
Savannah, May 23, 1800, that he is characterized as "a man of color,
who has for many years served Col. Hammond, and has handsome
ministerial abilities."[35]
The question easily suggests itself, was Henry Francis a member of the
Silver Bluff Church when, in 1785, he began to preach? We infer that
he was, from certain known facts as to his place of abode, and his
opportunities for church membership. In the first place, he lived in
the immediate neighborhood of Silver Bluff. William Tennett informs us
that the Hammond place was in South Carolina, four miles from Augusta,
Georgia and Lossing, Abraham Marshall, and others, that Silver Bluff
was also in South Carolina, twelve miles from Augusta. It was easy,
therefore, for Henry Francis to attend divine service at the Silver
Bluff Church. In the second place, it was the custom of the slaves on
the neighboring plantations to attend preaching at Silver Bluff during
the pastorate of David George,[36] and the custom doubtless prevailed
during Jesse Peter's pastorate. If Henry Francis attended church at
Silver Bluff, he did only what other slaves of the neighborhood did.
Furthermore, there was no other Baptist church, white or colored, in
the neighborhood, for Francis to join. Marshall's church at Kiokee,
Georgia, was twenty miles above Augusta, while Botsford's Meeting
House, in the opposite direction, was "25 or 30 miles below
Augusta."[37] In Augusta itself, there was no Negro Baptist church
until 1793,[38] and no white Baptist church until 1817.[39] To our
mind the conclusion is inevitable that Henry Francis, in 1785, was a
member of the Negro Baptist church, at Silver Bluff, South Carolina.
In reaching this conclusion, moreover, we have been not a little
influenced by the fact that when Henry Francis was formerly ordained
to the ministry at Savannah, Georgia, seventeen years after he had
commenced to preach, and when he was an officer in the Negro church at
Savannah, the ordination sermon was not preached by Dr. Henry
Holcombe, of the white church of that city, nor by Andrew Bryan of the
First African, but by Jesse Peter,[40] pastor of the Silver Bluff
Church. We can account for the deference shown Jesse Peter, on this
occasion, only on the presumption that Henry Francis was converted,
baptized, and licensed to preach at Silver Bluff, and that Jesse Peter
was the instrument used in bringing these results to pass. It is
evident, then, that the Ogeeche African Baptist Church,[41] on the
Ogeeche River, fourteen miles south of Savannah, organized in the year
1803, is more indebted to the Silver Bluff Church for her first
preacher and instructor of youth than to any other church.
Of Jesse Peter's ministry at Silver Bluff, as a resident pastor, we
are not well informed. In a letter written from Kiokee, Georgia, May
1, 1793, Abraham Marshall speaks of him as follows: "I am intimately
acquainted with Jesse Golfin; he lives thirty miles below me in South
Carolina, and twelve miles below Augusta. He is a Negro servant of Mr.
Golfin, who, to his praise be it spoken, treats him with respect."[42]
Jesse Peter, then, was resident pastor of the Silver Bluff Church in
the early spring of 1793. From another source we learn that the
membership of the Silver Bluff Church, at this time, was sixty or
more.[43]
THE CHURCH AT AUGUSTA
Here we lose sight of the Silver Bluff Church, just as the First
African Baptist Church, of Augusta, Georgia, better known as the
Springfield Baptist Church, comes into being. Jesse Peter had secured
standing and recognition for the First African Church, at Savannah,
Georgia,[44] and Henry Francis had been ordained for the Ogeeche
Church by him and Andrew Bryan and Henry Holcombe. It was natural,
then, that he would wish for his work at Silver Bluff the standing and
recognition which had been secured for the work in and about Savannah,
Georgia. In order to obtain this boon, and have his work in touch with
that near the seacoast, it would be necessary to transfer its place of
meeting from the State of South Carolina to the State of Georgia,
where he had a friend, who was able to bring things to pass. It is in
this way alone that we account for the beginning of the First African
Baptist Church at Augusta at the very time when the Silver Bluff
Church disappears. The curtain falls on the Silver Bluff Church, with
Jesse Peter as pastor, when the church is reported as in a flourishing
condition. The curtain rises, and again we see a flock of devoted
Christians, with Jesse Peter as pastor, but they are twelve miles away
from Silver Bluff, South Carolina, receiving from Abraham Marshall and
another white Baptist minister the regulating touches which gave the
body standing and influence as the First African Baptist Church, of
Augusta, Georgia.
Here is what Benedict says of the body: "This church appears to have
been raised up by the labors of Jesse Peter, a black preacher of
respectable talents, and an amiable character. It was constituted in
1793, by elders Abraham Marshall and David Tinsley. Jesse Peter,
sometimes called Jesse Golfin, on account of his master's name,
continued the pastor of this church a number of years, and was very
successful in his ministry."[45] If, as we presume, the Silver Bluff
Church is still with us, in another meeting-place and under a new
name, the oldest Negro Baptist church in this country today is that at
Augusta, Georgia, having existed at Silver Bluff, South Carolina, from
the period 1774-1775 to the year 1793, before becoming a Georgia
institution.
THE FIRST AFRICAN BAPTIST CHURCH OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
The story of the Silver Bluff Baptist Church would not be complete
without reference to the Negro Baptist Church at Savannah, Georgia,
which existed before Andrew Bryan became a Christian. Neither E. K.
Love, a recent pastor of the First African Baptist Church, nor James
M. Simms, of the Bryan Church, have intimated, in their respective
histories, that Savannah had a Negro Baptist church before the 20th of
January, 1788. Nevertheless, the fact remains that during the British
occupancy--that is, from the year 1779 to the year 1782--there was at
Savannah, Georgia, an African Baptist church.
If the Negroes of Savannah had been without a Baptist church from 1779
to 1782, it would have been strange indeed. For David George led a
company of fifty or more fugitive slaves from Galphinton, South
Carolina, into that city at the close of the year 1778, and this
company, it is reasonable to infer, included a considerable part, if
not nearly all, of the members of the Silver Bluff Church. Devout
Christians who had enjoyed such privileges as slaves, and that for
years, in South Carolina, would scarcely be satisfied without them in
Georgia, as free men, when they had with them three preachers of the
Gospel, David George, George Liele, and Jesse Peter, men of their own
race and denomination, men from the vicinity of Augusta, who had
figured in the planting and growth of the Silver Bluff Church.
We are glad that we have historical data which establish the fact that
there was a Negro Baptist church in Savannah from 1779 to 1782, and
that the Negro Baptist ministry, which had made itself felt at Silver
Bluff for the centuries to come, was now embraced in the church at
Savannah. But in this church, it will be seen, George Liele, the
eldest of the trio, was the pastor, and not David George. George
Liele, as servant of the British officer, who had given him his
freedom, could secure for the church recognition and influence, at the
hands of the military government then in possession of Savannah, which
neither David George, nor Jesse Peter, could obtain. Liele was with a
man who had influence with the British government. David George and
Jesse Peter, as strangers and fugitives, were unknown to that
government, and without influence. It is in this way that we account
for the fact that George Liele, and not David George, was pastor of
the church. Under ordinary circumstances, the Silver Bluff element,
which probably included nearly the whole church at the beginning,
would have insisted upon having their old pastor.
In seeking facts, which make it manifest that Savannah, Georgia, had a
Negro Baptist church prior to 1788, we have consulted the testimony of
persons who were connected with the church at the time, and that of
persons of recognized standing who were contemporaneous with them and
competent to testify. Joseph Cook, of Euhaw, Upper Indian Land, South
Carolina, in a letter to Dr. John Rippon, London, England, dated
September 15, 1790, uses the following language: "A poor Negro,
commonly called Brother George, has been so highly favored of God, as
to plant the first Baptist church in Savannah, and another in
Jamaica."[46] As Hervey, Cox, Phillipo, and others who have noticed
the missionary efforts of Negro Baptists in the West Indies, inform us
that George Liele left the United States in 1782 and began preaching
at Kingston, Jamaica, British West Indies, in 1784, it is evident from
Cook's letter that the church which Liele planted at Savannah existed
prior to 1782.[47] Cook is corroborated by F. A. Cox, who, in speaking
of George Liele, in his history of the Baptist Missionary Society of
England, states that "He had been pastor of a colored congregation in
America." A paragraph which we take from the _History of the
Propagation of Christianity Among the Heathen_, is of the same nature.
It refers to the church of which Mr. Cook speaks, in this manner: "The
first Baptist preacher in Jamaica was a black man named George Liele,
who, though a slave, had been the pastor of a Baptist church in
Georgia. He was brought to Jamaica about 1782." Liele, on his own
behalf, testified that there was a Negro Baptist church in Savannah,
Georgia, during the British occupancy, and mentions by name at least
three of its members, who were not in this country, after the British
withdrew their forces from Savannah, in 1782. In a letter to Joseph
Cook, written from Jamaica, in 1790, Liele refers to one of these
members in the following manner: "Also I received accounts from Nova
Scotia of a black Baptist preacher, David George, who was a member of
the church at Savannah."[48]
In a communication written in 1791 and addressed to the pastor of a
London church, Liele refers to one of his Jamaica members in this
style: "Sister Hannah Williams, during the time she was a member of
the church at Savannah, until the 'vacuation, did _walk_ as a
faithful, well-behaved Christian."[49] In answer to questions in
regard to Jesse Peter, Liele replied to his London correspondent as
follows: "Brother Jesse Gaulphin, another black minister, preaches
near Augusta, in South Carolina, where I used to preach. He was a
member of the church at Savannah."[50]
In the face of this testimony, coming from different sources and from
parties widely separated from each other who had no motive to deceive,
there is absolutely no room for doubt as to the fact that a Negro
Baptist church existed in Savannah, Georgia, from 1779 to 1782.
As to what measure of prosperity attended the work of the Negro
Baptist church at Savannah, Georgia, during the years 1779-1782, we
are not informed. It was well that at a time when churches in some
parts were going to pieces because of the ravages of war, this little
flock remained intact. We infer, however, that it did a most blessed
work. George Liele speaks in one of his letters of one "Brother
Amos,"[51] who appears to have been a product of the Negro church at
Savannah, or the older church at Silver Bluff, South Carolina. Amid
the changes wrought in the closing days of the Revolutionary War, this
Negro preacher had his lot cast in New Providence, Bahama Islands,
British West Indies. According to George Liele, Amos had a membership
of three hundred in 1791. Benedict informs us that Amos was in
correspondence with his brethren in Savannah, Georgia, in 1812, and at
that time the church at New Providence numbered eight hundred and
fifty.
A REMNANT OF LIELE'S CHURCH IN SAVANNAH AFTER THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
What portion of the Savannah Church remained in America, after the
evacuation of the city of Savannah by the British, in 1782, we are not
able to state. But blessings and trials attended both that portion of
the flock which went abroad and that which remained. Andrew Bryan,
Hannah Bryan, Kate Hogg, and Hagar Simpson,[52] were among the last
converts received into the fellowship of the Negro Baptist church at
Savannah before the pastor, the Rev. George Liele, sailed for the West
Indies in 1782. These and probably others, like Jesse Peter, remained
in America after the restoration of peace between the United States
and the "mother-country," and labored under Andrew Bryan, their new
spiritual leader, for the continuation of the work which had been so
blessed of God under the labors of George Liele.
From Liele's departure, in 1782, to the time of Andrew Bryan's
ordination, in 1788, the little flock at Savannah, Georgia, was
bitterly persecuted, but its work for resuscitation, and progress, was
wonderful--wonderful because of the moral heroism which characterized
it. It is reasonable to suppose, however, that much of the opposition
to the church at Savannah from 1782 to 1787 was due to the
circumstances in which it had come into being, and not to any real
antipathy to the cause of Christ. For it must be borne in mind that it
was a creature of the Revolutionary War, and of British origin, having
been planted when the rightful people of Savannah were languishing in
exile, or heroically struggling with the enemy in other parts of the
country. Bryan and his associates were beaten unmercifully for their
persistency in holding on to the work, but they were prepared to yield
their lives in martyrdom[53] sooner than relinquish what George Liele
had instituted. So it lived--lived amid the fires of persecution.
Jesse Peter, a member of the church under Liele, and, after the
Revolutionary War, pastor of the church at Silver Bluff, saw what was
needed to end this persecution, and proceeded to change the aspect of
things. He was held in high esteem by the colonists, and Abraham
Marshall, of Kiokee, Georgia, was his chief admirer and friend.
Accordingly, he secured the services of Abraham Marshall in setting
things aright. The church was organized anew, the pastor was ordained
to the office of a Baptist minister, and the reestablished church,
with its preacher, was brought into membership with the Georgia
Baptist Association.[54] As Abraham Marshall was beloved by Georgia
Baptists as no other man of the State, it was enough that this church
should have his official approval and recognition. Referring to this
new order of things, instituted on the 20th day of January, 1788,
Marshall, the one associated with Jesse Peter in the undertaking,
recognizes Jesse Peter as taking the initiative, when he says, "I
assisted in the constitution of the church, and the ordination of the
minister."[55]
So ended the second period in the history of this church, as the dawn
of its new day began--a day in which the once-persecuted congregation
could say: "We enjoy the rights of conscience to a valuable extent,
worshipping in our families, preaching three times every Lord's Day,
baptizing frequently from ten to thirty at a time, in the Savannah,
and administering the sacred supper, not only without molestation,
but in the presence and with the approbation and encouragement of many
of the white people."[56]
Let us recapitulate. We began with the church at Silver Bluff, South
Carolina. We were next attracted to Canada, and then to far-off Africa
by the labors of David George, the first regular pastor at Silver
Bluff. Again we follow a portion of the Silver Bluff Church to
Savannah, Georgia. In Savannah we see a church growing under the
labors of George Liele, then we find Liele and Amos in the British
West Indies, leading large congregations of Negro Baptists. Once more
we turn our eyes homeward, and we are attracted to the church at
Silver Bluff, South Carolina, to the church at Augusta, Georgia, and
the church at Savannah, which, having endured the severest trials,
rejoices in recognition and peace--the church of today.
WALTER H. BROOKS
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Benedict's _History of the Baptists_ (edition, 1848), p. 454.
Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1801-1802, p. 836.
[2] _Ibid._, pp. 397, 577, 620. Compare with edition 1813, Vol. II,
pp. 504, 509, 515.
[3] See Ramsey's _History of South Carolina_, Vol. I, p. 158, note 19,
p. 159; Steven's _History of Georgia_, Vol. I, pp. 255-256; Gibbes'
_Documentary History of American Revolution_ (South Carolina), Vol. I,
pp. 235-236 and 158-159; Furman's _History Charleston Baptist
Association_, p. 77; Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1790-1793,
pp. 445, 474, 477, 541; _State Papers, Indian Affairs_, Vol. I, pp.
15, 32, 35, 36; Lossing's _Field Book of Revolution_, Vol. II, p. 484;
article on Henry Lee in Appleton's _Cyclopedia_, Vol. X, p. 487;
_Light Horse Harry_ in Larner's _History of Ready Reference_, Vol. V,
pp. 32-74-5; _American Cyclopedia_, Vol. II, p. 378; N. W. Jones'
_History of Georgia_, Vol. II, pp. 136-138; _Abraham Marshall_ in
Cathcart's _Baptist Encyclopedia_, Vol. II, p. 349.
[4] George and John Galphin, brothers, are mentioned in _State Papers,
Indian Affairs_, Vol. I, pp. 32, 35, 36, 158, 159. Thomas Galphin is
referred to in Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1790-1793, pp.
540-541. Milledge Galphin, according to Act of Congress, passed August
14, 1848, and statement of United States for 1850, set forth in
Lossing's _Field Book of the American Revolution_, Vol. II, p. 484,
received in settlement of his claim against the United States as heir
of George Galphin, $200,000.
[5] For date of fall of Savannah, Dec. 29, 1778, Sir Archibald
Campbell in Appleton's _Cyclopedia of American Biography_, Vol. I, p.
511, and for troubles at Silver Bluff, South Carolina, see Rippon's
_Annual Baptist Register_, 1790-1793, p. 477, and compare with pp.
473-480 and 332-337. For conditions necessitating the exile of Silver
Bluff Church, see letter of Wm. H. Drayton, written from Hammond's
place near Augusta, Georgia, August 30, 1775, to the Council of Safety
in Gibbes' _Documentary History of the American Revolution_ (South
Carolina), Vol. I, p. 162, and for distance from Silver Bluff see
letter of Rev. Wm. Tennett, p. 236, and compare with note in Lossing's
_Field Book of the American Revolution_, Vol. II, 484. See also Rev.
Tennett's letter of September 7, 1775, for movement of men at Silver
Bluff and surrounding country. Gibbes' _Documentary History of the
American Revolution_ (South Carolina), Vol. I, pp. 245-246.
[6] Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1791, p. 336, compare with
1790-1793, pp. 476-477.
[7] See Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_ for 1793, pp. 540-541.
Compare with 1790-1793, pp. 544-545.
[8] Lossing's _Field Book_, p. 484; Steven's _Georgia_, Vol. II, pp.
255-256, etc., as above in note 3.
[9] Gibbes' _Documentary History American Revolution_, Vol. I, pp.
235-236; Furman's _History Charleston Baptist Association_, p. 77, and
compare letters of George and John Galphin in _State Papers, Indian
Affairs_, Vol. I, pp. 15, 35, 36, and G. No. 2, p. 32.
[10] Ramsey's _History of South Carolina_, Vol. I, p. 158.
[11] Steven's _History of Georgia_, Vol. II, pp. 255-256; article on
Henry Lee, Appleton's _American Cyclopedia_, Vol. X, p. 487.
[12] But who was "Elder Palmer," the man who planted the first of this
series of churches? David George states that he was a powerful
preacher, and that he was pastor of a church some distance from Silver
Bluff. We are satisfied that the church alluded to was not in South
Carolina, nor in Georgia, nor were the members of the church in
question, nor its pastor, of African descent. It is our opinion that
"Elder Palmer" was no less a distinguished person than Wait Palmer,
the founder of the First Baptist Church of Stonington, Connecticut. It
was possible that he should be the cause of this remarkable beginning
of Negro Baptist churches in the United States, for he was living and
active during and prior to the Revolutionary period, and long before.
Wait Palmer, of Stonington, Connecticut, moreover, was, as his
biographer states, "an actor in the great New Light, or Separatist
movement," and in this capacity he "preached often in destitute
regions." Benedict testifies that "he became a famous pioneer in
Virginia and North Carolina." But what is more, Mrs. Marshall, the
mother of Abraham Marshall, of Kiokee, Georgia, was a sister of Shubal
Sterns, and Shubal Sterns was baptized and ordained to the work of the
ministry by Wait Palmer, at Tolland, Connecticut, in the spring of
1751. It was but natural that, in his zeal to preach Christ in
destitute regions, Palmer would visit this Connecticut family and
preach the gospel to any who might desire to hear it.
If it should be thought by some that no man would, in the
circumstances, have gone on a preaching tour from Connecticut to South
Carolina, it may be well to recall the fact that Rev. Abraham Marshall
covered the ground in question, in the year 1786, travelling both ways
on horseback, preaching nearly every day during the three months he
was away from home. But Palmer was now in the South and not in the
North, as Benedict states. No other Palmer, known to Baptists, fits
the case like this friend of Shubal Stearns. We shall continue to
assign to him the credit of the first Negro Baptist Church in America,
until we can find another "Elder Palmer," whose claim is absolutely
certain. See Rippon, _Annual Baptist Register_, 1790-1793, pp.
475-476; Catheart's _Baptist Encyclopedia_, II, 882.
[13] Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, edition 1790-1793, pp.
473-480, and compare article, Sir Archibald Campbell, in Appleton's
_Cyclopedia of American Biography_, Vol. I, p. 511.
[14] See Bill's letter of March 12, and one of March 14, 1776; also
March 26, 1776, printed in Gibbes' _Documentary History of the
American Revolution_ (South Carolina), Vol. I, pp. 266-273. Compare
with letter in Vol. II, p. 62. See also Dunmore's Emancipation
Proclamation issued in November, 1775, in Joseph T. Wilson's
_Emancipation_, pp. 36-37.
[15] _Cyclopedia American Biography_, Vol. I, p. 511. Compare with
Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, edition 1790-1793, pp. 332-333.
[16] Cathcart's _Encyclopedia_, Vol. II, p. 749, and compare article
of John Houston in Appleton's _Cyclopedia of American Biography_, Vol.
III, p. 273.
[17] Appleton's _Cyclopedia of American Biography_, Vol. IV, p. 219.
Compare Vol. III, p. 273. See article, Savannah in Appleton's
_American Cyclopedia_, Vol. III, p. 646.
[18] See Drayton's letter in Gibbes' _Documentary History of American
Revolution_ (South Carolina), Vol. I, p. 162, and for distance from
Silver Bluff compare letter of Tennett, p. 235, note in Lossing's
_Field Book of Revolution_, Vol. II, p. 484.
[19] Gibbes' _Documentary History of the American Revolution_ (South
Carolina), Vol. I, pp. 235-236, letter of Tennett, of September 7,
1775.
[20] Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1770-1773, pp. 332-337.
[21] _Ibid._, 1790-1793, p. 344.
[22] White's _History of Georgia_, pp. 246-247; Jones, Vol. II, p.
137.
[23] _State Papers, Indian Affairs_, Vol. I, G. No. 2, p. 32.
[24] See Jonathan Odell, Appleton's _Cyclopedia of American
Biography_, Vol. IV, p. 556; Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_,
1790-1793, p. 481; Bill's _History of the Canadian Baptists_, pp. 26,
176, 653, 657. Compare with Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_ for
1798-1800, p. 336.
[25] Sabine's _American Loyalists_, Vol. I, p. 127. Compare pp.
122-123.
[26] G. W. Hervey, _Story of Baptist Missions in Foreign Lands_, p.
596. Compare article on Sierra Leone in Appleton's _American
Cyclopedia_, Vol. XV, p. 32; also article on Nova Scotia, Vol. XII,
pp. 524-525; See Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1790-1793, pp.
481-483. See also article on Sierra Leone in _The Earth and its
Inhabitants_--Africa--Vol. III, p. 207.
[27] Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1790-1793, pp. 481-484.
[28] Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1790-1793, pp. 473, 544-545;
1791, p. 336; 1793, pp. 540-541.
[29] Joseph T. Wilson's _Emancipation_, pp. 36-38; Dunmore's
Emancipation Proclamation issued 1775.
[30] Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1793, pp. 540-541.
[31] _Ibid._, 1791, p. 336.
[32] White's _Historical Collections of Georgia_, p. 316.
[33] Benedict's _History of the Baptists_, p. 170.
[34] Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1798-1801, p. 367. Compare
263.
[35] _Ibid._, p. 263.
[36] Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1790-1793, p. 476.
[37] Benedict's _History_ (edition 1848), p. 723.
[38] Benedict's _History of the Baptists_ (edition 1813), Vol. II, p.
193.
[39] Article on Augusta, Georgia, First Baptist Church of, Cathcart's
_Baptist Encyclopedia_, Vol. I, p. 49.
[40] James M. Simm's _First Colored Baptist Church in North America_,
p. 57.
[41] _Ibid._, pp. 58-59.
[42] Benedict's _History of the Baptists_, edition 1813, Vol. II, p.
193, quoted from Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_.
[43] Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1791, p. 336.
[44] White's _Historical Collections of Georgia_, p. 316; Benedict's
_History of the Baptists_ (edition 1848), p. 740. Compare with
Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1793, p. 545. Benedict's _History
of the Baptists_, edition 1848, p. 727, note 5, shows no white
minister was present except Abraham Marshall, and he says here he
"assisted in the constitution of the church, and the ordination of the
minister."
[45] Benedict's _History of the Baptists_ (edition 1813), Vol. II, p.
193.
[46] Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1791, p. 332.
[47] Hervey's _Story of Baptist Missions in Foreign Lands_, pp.
611-612; Cox's _History of the British Baptist Missionary Society_,
1792-1842, p. 12. Phillipo, _Jamaica, Past and Present_; E. K. Love's
_History First African Baptist Church_, p. 35; Brown, _Propagation of
Christianity among Heathen_, Vol. II, p. 94.
[48] Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1791, p. 336, and compare
Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1790-1793, pp. 476, 481-483.
[49] _Ibid._, 1791, p. 344.
[50] _Ibid._, 1791, p. 336.
[51] Benedict's _History of the Baptists_ (edition 1813), Vol. II, p.
206.
[52] James M. Simm's _The First Colored Baptist Church in North
America_, p. 15.
[53] "Andrew Bryan, and his brother Sampson, who was converted about a
year after Andrew was, were twice imprisoned and they with about fifty
others, without much ceremony, were severely whipped. Andrew was
inhumanly cut and bled abundantly; but while under their lashes he
held up his hands and told his persecutors that he rejoiced not only
to be whipped but would _freely suffer death_ for the cause of
Christ." _Baptist Home Missions in America_, 1832-1882, Jubilee
Volume, p. 388.
[54] Benedict's _History of the Baptists_, edition 1848, p. 170.
Compare with p. 723.
[55] Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1793, p. 545.
[56] Rippon's _Annual Baptist Register_, 1793-1801, p. 367. Compare
with Clark's letter, 1790-1793, p. 540.
THE NEGROES IN MAURITIUS[1]
Mauritius was discovered by the Portuguese in 1505 and remained in
their possession until 1598, when it was ceded to the Dutch, who gave
it the name by which it is now known. Aside from erecting a fort at
Grand Port, however, the Dutch did no more for the development of the
colony than the Portuguese. The Dutch finally abandoned it in 1710
when the island was taken over by the French. Under the French the
island was considerably developed, especially during the second half
of the eighteenth century, and this new step, as the majority saw it,
necessitated the introduction of slavery. During the Napoleonic Wars
Mauritius was captured by England and was formally ceded by France in
1814.
The significant history of the Negroes in Mauritius, however, dates
from the year 1723 when the East India Company of France, in order to
promote agriculture in the Island, sanctioned the introduction of
slaves, whom they sold to the inhabitants at a certain fixed price.
This price was seldom paid at the moment of purchase, and, as many
evaded payment altogether. Mahé de Labourdounais, the then Governor
of the Colony, received instructions on this point, the execution of
which made him unpopular among the inhabitants.[2]
The slave trade, at this period, was principally in the hands of those
pirates who had formed a settlement at Nossibé (Nossé Ibrahim), on the
northeast coast of Madagascar, where they had been received with
kindness and hospitality by the natives. In return they excited a war
between the tribes in the interior and those inhabiting the seacoast,
and purchased the prisoners made by both for the purpose of conveying
them for sale to Bourbon or Mauritius. If the prisoners thus obtained
proved insufficient to the demands of the slave market, a descent was
made on some part of the Island, a village was surrounded, and its
younger and more vigorous inhabitants were borne off to a state of
perpetual slavery.[3]
Harrowing as the scenes witnessed in such forays must have been, the
slave trade from Madagascar to Mauritius was not accompanied with the
same horrors as from the neighboring continent to America, if history
be credited. Its victims were spared the toiling and harassing march
from the interior and the horrors of being cribbed and confined for
successive weeks beneath the hatches till they reached their final
destination; and yet, of every five Negroes embarked at Madagascar,
not more than two were found fit for service in Mauritius. The rest
either stifled beneath the hatches, starved themselves to death, died
of putrid fever, became the food of sharks, fled to the mountains, or
fell beneath the driver's lash.
Mahé de Labourdounais was not the founder of slavery. The institution
preceded his arrival. Slavery existed in Mauritius even under the
Dutch régime. Of every eighteen slaves in the colony one died
annually, so that if the traffic had ceased for eighteen years, at the
end of that time the whole black population would have died out. From
first to last Mauritius has been the tomb of more than a million of
Africans. Their lamentable history is like the roll of the prophet,
written within and without, and the writing thereof is mourning and
lamentation.
Many became fugitives, and sometimes by daring adventure returned to
Africa. In order to check the fugitive slaves, Labourdounais employed
their countrymen against them, and formed a mounted police who
protected the colonists from their incursions.[4] To preserve the
inhabitants from famine, he introduced the cassava from the Island of
St. Jago and the Brazils, and published an ordinance by which every
planter was compelled to put under cultivation five hundred feet of
cassava for every slave that he possessed. The planters, an ignorant
and indolent race, used every measure to degenerate and discredit this
innovation, and in some cases destroyed the plantations of the cassava
by pouring boiling water on the root. The benefit conferred by this
ordinance was later felt and appreciated when their crops were
destroyed by the hurricanes or devoured by locusts. The cassava was
immune from either of these casualties and was the usual article of
food for the Negroes. Labourdounais instructed the slaves in the art
of ship building, made them sailors and soldiers and found them highly
useful in the expedition which he undertook against the English in
India. He endeavored also to mitigate their sufferings from the
enforcement of the regulations of the _Code Noir_.
After the dispersion of the pirates, the slave trade fell into the
hands of European merchants or Creole colonists, who extended it to
the adjoining coasts of Africa. The Mozambique Negroes were found more
tractable than those of Madagascar, but Negroes were obtained from
both points, according to the difficulties and exigencies of the
traffic. The price paid by the French at Madagascar for a man or a
woman from the age of thirteen to forty was two muskets, two cartridge
boxes, ten flints, and ten balls, or fifteen hundred balls or
seventeen hundred flints. In spite of the price the trade developed.
In 1766 there were about 25,000 slaves and 1200 free Negroes in the
colony. In 1799 there were 55,000 of the former class and 35,000 of
the latter. In 1832 they were estimated at 16,000 free Negroes and
63,500 slaves. It seems difficult to account for the diminution among
the free Negro population. Baron Grant de Vaux[5] states that to
prevent the increase of this class it was enacted that no slaves
should be liberated save those who had saved the lives of their
masters. A kind-hearted master, however, could always give his slave
an opportunity to save his life.
Slavery as it developed in Maritius falls in three epochs. During the
earliest period the institution gradually took the form of a system
somewhat like that of the bondage of the Hebrews, modified in the case
of Mauritius, however, according to the requirements of the temper and
habits of the natives and the situation of the planters. There was no
regard for the comfort of the slaves and they tended to degrade to the
lowest depths. Yet the slaves were not considered altogether as
chattels, convertible at the will of their masters. In the second
stage, however, the bondage of the Negro reached the darkest age of
irresponsibility to law and cruelty absolutely intolerable. A few
officials and planters protested, and travelers who saw the horror
appealed for mercy in behalf of the unfortunate.[6] A change in the
attitude of the planters toward the slaves was finally forced and
characterized the third stage of slavery in Mauritius. These cruelties
were mitigated largely by the agitation of _Les Amis des Noirs_, among
whom were some of the most distinguished actors in the grand drama of
the French Revolution. The leading reformers were the brilliant
orators Mirabeau and Madam de Poivre, the wife of the deceased
Intendant of the Isle of France. At a much earlier date, even under
Labourdounais, under whose economic development of Mauritius slavery
flourished, much was said about improving the condition of the
slaves.[7] Yet it was not until the rule of De Caen that we observe
actual efforts to provide for the slaves, such as better nourishment,
religious instruction and legal marriage.[8]
The first attempt to emancipate the slaves was made by the leaders of
the French Revolution, who, while they professed to discard
Christianity as a revelation from God, deduced the equality of all men
before God from the principles of natural reason.[9] The prohibition
of slavery was rendered null and void by the planters of Mauritius and
the members of local government, all of whom were slaveholders and
opposed to any change. The only effect of the prohibition was to
alienate the affections of the colonists from the mother-country, and
to lead them to rejoice when Napoleon assumed the consular power and
annulled the ordinance prohibiting slavery after the capture of the
island by the British. The importation of slaves was prohibited under
severe penalties.
As the execution of this law was vested in the local authorities, who
had a direct personal interest in the continuance of this traffic,
slaves were still imported in sufficient numbers to satisfy the wants
of the planters.[10] It is true that trading in slaves was declared to
be felony, that the two harbors of Port Louis and Matubourg were
closed against their entrance, that a slave registry was opened in
1815, and that credulous Governors wrote to the home authorities that
the Mauritians, far from wishing to renew this nefarious traffic, were
filled with indignation at the remembrance of its horrors. All this
may be true, but the slave trade was as brisk as ever, and the island
swarmed with Negroes whose peculiar appearance and ignorance of the
Creole language proved them to be of recent introduction.
No law can be executed unless it be in accordance with public opinion,
and the feelings of the white Mauritians were altogether in favor of
slavery. The illicit introduction of slaves was a felony by law, and
yet, notwithstanding the notorious violations of this law, no one was
ever convicted. The prisoner might have turned on the judge and proved
his complicity in the crime. The only convictions that were obtained
were in the case of offenders that were sent to England for trial.
This statement will excite no astonishment on the part of those who
are acquainted with the manner in which justice is still administered
in Mauritius. The slave registry was opened in 1815, but the entries
were so falsified that instead of checking slavery it threw its mantle
of protection upon it.[11] Slaves were not introduced publicly at the
two chief ports of the island from Africa, but the Seychelles Islands
lay at a convenient distance, and slaves registered at the Seychelles
were admitted into Mauritius without any questions being asked. The
coral reef that surrounds the island could easily be passed and the
slaves loaded in those light coasters that are used by fishermen. The
governors were surrounded by functionaries who were slaveholders and
who were therefore interested in supporting the traffic and screening
the offenders from punishment, so that their reports, based on
information received from these parties, were not entitled to much
credit.
As to the feelings of indignation expressed by the colonists at the
remembrance of the horrors of the slave trade, it is sufficient to
remark that rogues are always louder in protestation of their
innocence than honest men--that this change of feeling was too rapid
to be sincere, and that truthfulness of character does not stand high
in the code of Mauritian morality, to judge from the attitude of the
white population.
In judging the treatment of the slaves in Mauritius, recourse must be
had to those writers who visited or lived in the colony during the
prevalence of slavery, and have given the world the benefit of their
experience. These are St. Pierre, Soumerat and Baron Grant. St. Pierre
spent several years in the island, and mingled freely with the
inhabitants of all classes. The last was born in the island where his
father had sought to retrieve his fortune after the failure of Law's
Mississippi scheme. The pictures presented in the writings of St.
Pierre might appear exaggerated, or prejudiced, if drawn by a
foreigner; but it must be borne in mind that he describes only what he
witnessed, and that his good faith has never been questioned.[12] He
thus speaks of the importation and treatment of slaves:
"They are landed with just a rag around their loins. The men are
ranged on one side and the women on the other with their infants,
who cling from fear to their mothers. The planter, having
examined them as he would a horse, buys what may then attract
him. Brothers, sisters, friends, lovers, are now torn asunder,
and bidding each other a long farewell, are driven weeping to the
plantations they are bought for. Sometimes they turned desperate,
fancying that the white people intended eating their flesh,
making red wine of their blood, and powder of their bones. They
were treated in the following manner:
"At break of day a signal of three smacks of a whip called them
to work, when each betook himself with his spade to the
plantation, where they worked almost naked in the heat of the
sun. Their food was bruised or boiled maize, or bread made of
cassava root, their clothing a single piece of linen. Upon the
commission of the most trivial offence, they were tied hands and
feet to a ladder, where the overseer approached with a whip like
a postilion's and gave them fifty, a hundred, and perhaps two
hundred lashes upon the back. Each stroke carried off its portion
of skin. The poor wretch was then untied, an iron collar with
three spikes put round his neck, and he was then sent back to his
task. Some of them were unable to sit down for a month after this
beating--a punishment inflicted with equal severity on women as
on men. In the evening, when they returned home, they were
obliged to pray for the prosperity of their masters, and wish
them a good night before they retired to rest. There was a law in
force in their favor called the _Code Noir_ or the Black Code,
which ordained that they should receive no more than thirty
lashes for any offence, that they should not work on Sundays,
that they should eat meat once a week, and have a new shirt every
year; but this was not observed."[13]
Soumerat, who visited the island during the period of slavery, speaks
of their treatment by their white masters in the following terms:
"I have known humane and compassionate masters who, instead of
maltreating them, tried to mitigate their servile condition, but
they are very few in number. The rest exercise over their Negroes
a cruel and revolting tyranny. The slave, after having labored
the whole day, sees himself obliged to search for his food in the
woods, and lives only on unwholesome roots. They die of misery
and bad treatment, without exciting the smallest feeling of pity,
and consequently they never let slip any opportunity of breaking
their chains in order to escape to the forests in search of
independence and misery."
So miserable indeed was their condition that they welcomed death as a
friend, and often committed crime in the hope of being executed.[14]
Conditions decidedly improved in Mauritius, however, after the British
took possession in 1814. The freedom of slaves was then agitated
throughout the civilized world. The British interfered with slavery
there in 1826, endeavoring to ease the burden of the bondmen. In 1829
the charter of the slave population was proclaimed. It provided for
the religious instruction of the slaves, the recognition of the
sanctity of the Sabbath, toleration in worship, the right of the slave
to contract marriage, and prohibition of the separation of husband
from wife or the mother from her children. Slaves were made competent
to acquire stock and movable or immovable property. They were given
power to dispose of property by will. Punishments were diminished and
the way to elevation to civil power was opened.[15]
The end of this ordeal finally came. The British Emancipation Act was
passed in 1833. From 1834 the traffic in human flesh ceased. In 1839
all slaves in Mauritius six years old and upwards became apprentice
laborers and remained so until 1841 as regarded field laborers, and
until 1839 for those unattached. There were then in the island 39,464
men and boys and 25,856 women and girls, in all 65,320. Knowing that
the change in the status of so many inhabitants might interfere with
the labor supply, the planters prepared for this contingency by
importing coolies from Ceylon and India. By 1838 they had brought in
24,566 such natives, but because they had managed the importation so
badly that many evils resulted therefrom, it was stopped by public
protest. When the apprentices were freed in 1839, however, there
followed such a scarcity of labor that the immigration of the
Cingalese and Hindoos was reopened. So many have since then made their
way to the island that they now constitute a substantial element of
the colony. So much race admixture has followed, on the other hand,
that observers sometimes refer to the Mauritians as creoles and
coolies.
A. F. FOKEER
FOOTNOTES:
[1] For the leading facts of the life and history of Mauritius see the
following: Charles Pridham's _England's Colonial Empire_ (London,
1846); _Le Premier Établissment des Neerlandais à Maurice_; _A
Transport Voyage to the Mauritius and Back_; Baron Grant, _History of
Mauritius or the Isle of France and the Neighboring Islands_; Jacques
Henri Bernardin de St. Pierre, _A Voyage to the Island of Mauritius,
the Isle of Bourbon, the Cape of Good Hope, etc._ (London, 1775); Le
Baron d'Unienville, _Statistique de l'île de France et ses
Dépendances_ (Paris, 1838); M. J. Milbert, _Voyage pittoresque de
l'île de France à Cap de Bonne Espérance et à l'île de Teneriffe_
(Paris, 1812); Adrien d'Epinay, _Renseignements pour servir à
l'histoire de l'île de France jusqu'à l'année 1810, inclusivement,
précédés de notes sur le découverte de l'île sur l'occupation
hollandaise_; Henri Prentout, _L'île de France sous Decaen_, 1803-1810
(Paris, 1901); Patrick Beaton, _Creoles and Coolies_ (London, 1858);
Nicholas Pike, _Subtropical Rambles in the Land of the Aphanapteryx_
(New York, 1873); and _An Account of the Island of Mauritius and its
Dependencies by a Late Official Resident_.
[2] _Adrian d'Espinay Renseignments_, etc., 112-113; _An Account of
the Island of Mauritius_, 19.
[3] Grant, _History of Mauritius_, 74.
[4] Grant, _History of Mauritius_, 74-75.
[5] Grant, _History of Mauritius_, p. 75, 1801.
[6] Pridham, _England's Colonial Empire_, I, 160.
[7] Beaton, _Creoles and Coolies_, 94-111; _An Account of the Island
of Mauritius and its Dependencies by a Late Official Resident_, p. 19;
Adrien d'Epinay, _Renseignments_, etc., pp. 112-113.
[8] Henri Prentout, _L'île de France sous DeCaen_, 126.
[9] Pridham, p. 154.
[10] _Ibid._, p. 156.
[11] Pridham, p. 157.
[12] Pridham, pp. 164, 165.
[13] Bernardin de St. Pierre, _A Voyage_, etc., pp. 100-105.
[14] Pridham, p. 161.
[15] _Ibid._, pp. 175-175.
DOCUMENTS
LETTERS COLLECTED BY R. E. PARK AND BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
This is an extract from the publications of the Southern History
Association, Spangenberg's Journal of Travels in North Carolina,
1752.[1]
Whoever comes to North Carolina must prepare to pay a poll tax.
Poll tax is required from all white men, master or servant, from
16 years of age and on; all Negroes and Negresses pay poll tax
from their twelfth year. Whoever marries a Negro, or Indian, a
mixed blood--his children are liable to the fourth degree from
the twelfth year on, and the female Indian or Negro is also
taxable. Should this tax not be paid to the sheriff--by whom it
is demanded, he is empowered to sell anything belonging to the
delinquent party, he can seize at public vendue, and after
keeping enough to pay his own fees and satisfy the tax he returns
the remainder to the party.
When anyone wishes to marry he must go to the clerk of his county
and deposit a Bond for fifty pounds, as assurance that there is
no obstacle or impediment to his marying.
He then receives a certificate which he presents to the Justice,
who gives him his license: he may then get married. The fees are
20 shillings for the clerk--five shillings for the Justice; 10
shillings for the Minister. Should the "Banns be published,"
however the license fee is not required. Should the marriage not
be performed by the Minister, his fee must, nevertheless, be
offered to him. Whoever marries a Negress, Indian, Mulatto or
anything of mixed blood, must pay a fine of fifty pounds. Whoever
marries such a couple must also pay a fine of fifty pounds.
If a slave or servant buys or sells anything without his master's
knowledge and consent, the parties dealing with him shall not
only lose three times the amount bargained for, but also pay a
penalty of six pounds.
Whoever assists a slave to escape from his master, be it much or
little, shall serve the master 5 years, as punishment.
The following is a letter from an investigator seeking in Ohio
information concerning the Randolph slaves:
November 18, '08.
_Dr. Park_:--
The following is what I found in answer to your questions
concerning the Randolph slaves in Ohio:
In Virginia, they lived in Charlotte and Prince Edward Counties
on the Roanoke River.
They traveled overland, in wagons and carts from there to
Cincinnati and from Cincinnati, to Mercer Co., in Ohio by flat
boats. The land which is said to have been bought for them was in
Mercer Co.
The settlers of the Community were mainly Germans who would not
allow the landing of the Negroes where they arrived there.
The Colony then moved down the Miami River, settled in camp in
Miami County not far from the towns of Piqua and Troy.
They never got possession of any of the land supposed to have
been purchased for them.
The citizens of Piqua held a mass meeting to discuss the
condition of the Negroes in Camp, to decide upon some course of
action in regard to them.
The decision was to find employment for them wherever they could
and distribute them accordingly. Some were sent to Shelby
County-Sidney, about 12 miles N. E. of Piqua--being the county
seat. Several descendants live in this community yet.
Many remained in & about Piqua & Troy where there are still few
of the old ones & many descendents. Some were sent into Indiana
and other parts of Ohio. There were 385 of them.
The most noted of them is Mr. Goodrich Giles. His father was a
member of the Colony. His mother belonged to another planter in
Virginia & did not get to go.
Mr. Giles is without any question a Negro. He farms & has
succeeded at it. He owns 425 acres of land just out from Piqua
not an acre of which is said to be worth less than one hundred
dollars. He lives in a good roomy brick house, has good farm
buildings, is supplied with farming implements and though old is
still active--leading in his work.
His crop this year consists of about,
4500 bus. Corn 500 bus. Oats
1400 bus. Wheat
100 tons Hay with potatoes & other crops in smaller quantity but
enough to do him.
He raises most of his meat. Has twelve horses & fifteen cows.
He is a good churchman, attends, counsels and pays. Believes in
lodges & helps them too. His city property is said to be worth
from $15,000 to $20,000. His obligations he says are very slight,
well within his ability to handle. The best citizens of the
community are loud in praise of him.
Mr. Fountain Randolph went up with the colony a boy. He is not
very active now & has not prospered as Giles has, but lives in
his own house of brick with four rooms I think, and is still
respected by the community. He & Giles lead in trying to keep the
descendents of the colony together & in the effort to get the
land which it is claimed was bought for them.
Randolph still lives in Piqua. A son of his, John S. Randolph was
born there, educated in the city schools, and was called to
Macon, Ga. several years ago to teach in the schools there, is
reported to have done well, established a school at Montezuma,
Ga. known as Bennett University. I have not had chance to look
him up or his work.
A Miss Anna Jones born at Troy, O. is a descendent who has been
prominent as teacher I was told. Mr. Fountain Randolph said she
now lives & teaches at Wilberforce as Mrs. Coleman. I wrote Prof.
Scarborough about her but have not heard from him.
Mr. Robert Gordon living at Troy is prospering in business and is
greatly helped--says Mr. Randolph, by his wife who is one of the
descendants.
Mr. Samuel White at Troy is a prosperous farmer owning his farm &
is a successful Tobacco grower. He is a descendent.
Mr. Cash Evans is a prosperous barber in Piqua. He is one of the
descendants & is said to own several houses there.
In the summer of 1901 Messrs Goodrich Giles & Fountain Randolph
started what became known as "The Randolph Slave Society."
It grew out of a custom in Ohio of holding what they call "Family
Reunions" one day in each year. This is a day of feasting and
special amusement of some kind when all the members and relatives
of a family from far and near are brought together and rejoice
among themselves.
The day chosen is usually the anniversary of the birth of some
member of the family when all others make special effort to cheer
that one, bringing presents & greetings of various sorts.
* * * * *
Giles & Randolph being impressed with this, arranged for a picnic
and invited all the members of the Randolph colony that could be
reached and their descendents. A number came and spent the day
pleasantly together. A permanent organization was effected. Mr.
Fountain Randolph was made President & still holds that position.
That meeting and later ones attracted attention. The Newspapers
got interested and began to write them up. The story of their
going into Ohio, of the land which was said to have been bought
for them in Mercer Co., and of the refusal of the settlers to
permit them to occupy the land and more was set forth in the
papers. Then lawyers began to talk with them about the lands. A
colored lawyer named Henderson from Indianapolis was among the
first to call upon them advising that the land could be secured.
He was employed to look it up, He advised & secured the
employment of a white lawyer, Mr. Johnson at Salina, O. in Mercer
Co. to assist him in working out the matter. Mr. Johnson is said
to have a certified copy of the Randolph will providing for the
liberation of the slaves--their transportation into Ohio, the
purchase of land for them, its distribution among them etc. How
much money has been raised for the lawyers I could not find but
some money has been raised & more probably will be.
Speaking of John Randolph the Master, old Mr. Fountain Randolph
said "my father said he had lots of peculiarities about him. He
never sold a slave & never allowed them to be abused. He never
sold any produce as corn, meat and stuffs used by the slaves
without first enquiring of the slaves if they could spare it. He
would say to the person wanting to buy "You must ask my slaves."
"and my mother said:" continued Mr. Randolph "He would often go
among his slaves, parents & children & pat them on the head
saying 'all these are my children.' His chief body guard was a
faithful slave called John White for whom some special mention &
provision was made in the will."
This man went with the colony to Ohio, was respected by the
others & treated by them just as if he had not been favored by
the Master, says Mr. Randolph.
The master gave as his reason for not marrying that should he
die--his heirs would want to hold the slaves or sell them and he
wanted neither of the things to happen.
He often called the slaves together and asked which they
preferred: "Freedom while he lived or after his death and they
always said after his death."
Mr. Fountain Randolph has in his possession an old copy of "Life
of Randolph of Roanoke" written by Hugh A. Garland, & Published
in New York in 1850 by D. Appleton & Co. and Published in Phila.
the same year by G. S. Appleton & Co. It is in two volumes. Mr.
Randolph had both Vols. but loaned Volume I to the Indianapolis
lawyer & has not been able to get it back.
The Randolph will is set forth in Vol. II from which I made the
following notes:
Will 1st written in 1819 & left with Dr. Brockenbrough saying:
"I give my slaves their freedom to which my conscience tells me
they are justly entitled. It has long been a matter of deepest
regret to me that the circumstances under which I inherited them
and the obstacles thrown in the way by the laws of the land have
prevented my emancipating them in my life time which it is my
full intention to do in case I can accomplish it. All the rest &
residue of my estate (with exceptions herein after made) whether
real or personal, I bequeath to Wm. Leigh, Esq., of Halifax, Atty
at Law, to the Rev. Wm. Meade of Frederic and Francis Scott Key
Esq., of Georgetown, D. C. in trust for the following uses and
purposes viz:
1st To provide one or more tracts of land in any of the States or
Territories not exceeding in the whole 4000 acres nor less than
2000 acres, to be partitioned & apportioned by them in such
manner as to them shall seem best, among the said slaves.
2nd To pay the expense of their removal & of furnishing them with
necessary cabins, clothes & utensils."
In 1821 another Will was written saying: 1st I give and bequeath
to all my slaves their freedom--heartily regretting that I have
ever been the owner of one.
2nd I give to my executor a sum not exceeding $8,000 or so much
thereof as may be necessary to transport & settle said slaves to
& in some other state or Territory of the United States, giving
to all above the age of 40 not less than ten acres of land each.
Then special annuities to his "old faithful servants Essex & his
wife, Hetty, same to woman servant Nancy to John (alias Jupiter)
to Queen and to Johnny his body servant." In 1826 a codicil was
written confirming previous wills. In 1828 a codicil to will in
possession of Wm. Leigh Esq., confirming it as his last will and
testament revoking any and all other wills or codicil at variance
that may be found.
In 1831 on starting home from London another codicil adding to
former provisions as follows:
Upwards of 2000 £ were left in the hands of Baring Bros, & Co of
London & upwards of 1000 £ in the hands of Gowan & Marx to be
used by Leigh as fund for executing the will regarding the
slaves.
Respectfully yours,
The following account and the clipping attached thereto give an
interesting story of the success and the philanthropy of a Negro:
I was born in Milledgeville, Ga. about the year 1867. My mother
belonged to a white man by the name of Dr. Garner Edwards. My
father belonged to a different family. About two weeks after I
was born my mother died. She was still working for the same
people who once owned her. She was much liked by them so they
decided to keep her child and try and raise it. They taught me at
home so when I went to school I knew how to read and write. They
sent me to a school four or five years. Dr. Edwards had a son by
the name of Miller or (Buck) Edwards. It was through him that I
received my schooling as Dr. was old and Miller was the support
of the house. After years Miller died and I had to stop school
and go to work. I worked in a number of stores in Milledgeville
and was always trusted.
My earnings I always carried them home and gave them to the white
people. They never asked me for anything. They gave me all I made
but I thought they needed it more than I, so that went on for a
number of years. At this time I was about twenty years old so I
told them I was going to Macon, Ga. to work. I secured work at
the Central R. R. Shop. I worked on the yard a number of months.
During that time I was called off the yard at different times to
work in the office when some one wanted to get off. Finally I was
given one office to clean up. My work was so satisfactory until I
was moved from the shop to the car shed and was given a job of
delivering R. R. Mail. I was promoted three times in two years.
It was then where I became acquainted with a route agent. He
boarded at the same house. We were often in conversation. He was
telling me of a daughter he had in school. I told him I wanted to
go but I was not able. He ask me did I know Booker Washington. I
said no. He said well he runs a school where you can work your
way through school. I told him I would like to go so he gave me
the address. I wrote and received a little pamphlet. I was
looking for a catalogue so I was much disappointed in getting
this little book and said it was not much. But I decided to go
and try. I did not have much money. I had been living high in
Macon and spending all I made. I did not stay to make more but
left in about four weeks after I received the first letter. I
asked for a pass to Montgomery. It was given me. I arrived in
Montgomery with 10 or 12 dollars. I said well I am going to
school so I will have a good time before going so I got broke did
not know any one, thought my trip was up. I walked up the street
one morning. In passing a drug store I saw a young man inside. I
step back a few steps to look again. I recognized it to be some
one I knew some years ago so the first thing came in mind was to
borrow enough money from him to take me to Tuskegee. After a long
talk he asked me where I was going and what I was doing there, so
now was my chance. I told him I was on my way to Tuskegee. He
said it was a fine that he had worked up there. I told him I had
spent all the money I had and wanted to borrow enough to get
there which he very liberally responded. But before I saw him I
begged a stamp and some paper and wrote to Mr. Washington that if
he would send me the money to come from there I would pay him in
work when I came. I received an answer from Mr. Logan stating
that if I would go to work there it would not be long before I
would get enough money to come on so I borrowed some money from
that man and landed there with $3.40. The food was very poor so I
soon ate that up. I was not satisfied at first and wanted to
leave but I did not have any money and did not want to write home
because I did not want my white people to know where I was until
I accomplished something so I made up my mind that if all these
boys and girls I see can stay here, I can too. So I was never
bothered any more. I went to work at the brick mason's trade
under Mr. Carter. They did not have any teacher at that time.
Soon after Mr. J. M. Green came and I learned fast and was soon
a corner man. I was a student two years and nine months. After
that time I secured an excuse and left for home. I was very proud
of my trade and all seemed to be surprised as no one knew where I
was but my white people. I wrote to them once a month and they
always answered and would send me money, clothes something to
eat. They were very glad I had gone there and tried to help me in
many ways when I got home. They had spoken to a contractor and I
had no trouble in getting work. I worked at home about two years.
Meantime I received a letter from Mr. Washington stating he would
like for me to return and work on the chapel, which I did. At
this time I was a hired man and not a student. I worked for the
school five or six years. Within that time I had helped build two
houses in Milledgeville Ga. and paid for them and bought me
thirty acres of land in Tuskegee, Ala. I feel very grateful to
the school for she has help me in a great many ways. I have
always had a great desire to farm but I said I never would farm
until I owned my land and stock.
So three years ago I bought some land and I am at the present
time farming. I like it and I expect I will continue at farming
instead of my trade. My white people are as good to me now as
they were when I was a boy. I made it a rule not to ask them for
anything unless I was compelled to but when I do they always send
more that I ask for. I will say that I did not know the real
value of a dollar until I had spent 2 years and 9 months at
Tuskegee. The teachings from the various teachers and the Sunday
evening talks of Mr. Washington made an indellible impression
upon my heart. I remember the first Sunday evening talk that I
ever heard him. He spoke of things that were in line with my
thoughts and I have tried to put them in practice ever since I
have been connected with the school. There is one word I heard
Mr. W. Speak 13 years ago that has followed me because I was
taught the same words by my white people and they were not to do
anything that will bring disgrace upon the school you attend. I
was taught not to do anything that will bring disgrace upon the
people that raised you. There are a number of other thoughts that
I will not take time to mention for I have thanked him a thousand
times for those Sunday evenings talks.
GARNER J. EDWARDS
_The Republican_--Springfield, Mass.--Dec. 6, 1902.
The Milledgeville (Ga.) _News_ of November tells the following
interesting story of one of the young colored men connected with
Booker T. Washington's school at Tuskegee, in regard to the work
of which Mr. Washington is to speak in the high school hall in
this city the 10th:--
A case has come to the News which deserves more than a mere
passing mention. The story deals with the prettiest case of loyal
Negro's devotion and gratitude to his white benefactors that we
ever knew of. When we refer to the incident as a story we mean
that there is in it a good subject for a real story with a
genuine hero. And every word of it is true; in fact, there is
more truth in it than we feel at liberty to tell.
About 30 years ago Buck Edwards of this city picked up a very
small and dark-colored boy and undertook, in his language, "to
raise him and make something of him." Mr. Edwards clothed and fed
the boy, and in a general way taught him many things. In return
the boy was bright and quick, and rendered such return as a boy
of his years could. His name was Garner, and in time he came to
be known as Garner Edwards, which name I think he yet clings to.
In the course of human events, Mr. Edwards passed from the stage
of life and went to reap the reward of those who rescue the
perishing and support the orphans. After his death, Mr. Edward's
sisters, Misses Fanny and Laura, continued to care for the boy,
and raised him to manhood. Garner was proud of his family, "and
was as faithful as a watchdog, honest at all times, and a great
protection to the good ladies who were befriending him, and who
were now also alone in the world without parents or brothers.
When Garner grew into manhood he did not forsake the home that
had sheltered him, but insisted that it was his home--the only
home he knew--and that it was his duty and pleasure to aid in
supporting it; and he did come to bear a considerable part of its
expenses.
Garner learned to be a brickmason, and finally moved to Alabama.
He became acquainted with Booker Washington, the great Negro
Educator, and the acquaintance ripened into friendship.
Washington aided Garner in getting work that would enable him to
take a course in the school at Tuskegee and at the same time be
self-sustaining. Here as in all other of his positions, Garner
made a good record and won many honors. In the meantime he did
not forget the folks at home, and his remittances to them were
always punctual. After finishing school he married, but continued
in the employ of the school and Booker Washington and is there
yet.
Sometime ago Miss Laura had a fall and sustained a painful injury
which confined her to her room. As soon as Garner heard of it he
telephoned to Warren Edwards here to provide the best medical
attendance possible, and to supply every want at his expense.
Following the telegraph came his wife, a trained nurse, "to take
care of his white folks," and she is here yet performing every
duty with a devotion seldom witnessed. Garner wanted to come too,
very much, but he sacrificed the pleasure to keep his salary
doing, "because they might need something."
Garner paid the taxes on the old home for years, but in the
meantime he has saved enough to buy him another home in Alabama.
No one of any color could have been more faithful and
appreciative, and such gratitude and devotion as this humble
Negro has shown for his white benefactors is a lovely thing to
behold in this selfish day. It is said that he never once
presumed anything or forgot his place and the respect due to
those around him.[2]
The following letter and list accompanying it explain themselves:
BELOIT, WIS. Dec. 28, 1906.
_Dear Mr. Washington_
In answer to your telegram for names of graduates and former
students engaged in farming in Ala I send the following. I know
there are others especially former students but I cannot now
recall names. I will try to add to the list if possible.
I would say in regard to the Bowen sisters they have about 600
acres of land and look after the cultivation of it and some parts
Cornelia and Katie care for directly actually raising a crop.
McRae farmed last year at Louisville, Ala. the year just closing.
Mr. W. A. Menafee has 200 acres of land at Alexander City. This
he superintendents by two visits each year. Those marked with a
cross farm on their own land. Edwards and Barnes own land at Snow
Hill which they farm by the labor of others. Whether they and Mr.
Chambliss come under the head of farmers according to your idea
you can decide.
I leave January 3 for Denmark, S. C. You can write me there till
further notice.
Yours
(Signed) R. C. BEDFORD
GRADUATES AND FORMER STUDENTS ENGAGED IN FARMING IN ALA. WHOLLY
OR IN PART
*Cornelia Bowen '85 also teaches Waugh, Ala.
J. T. Hollis '85 also teaches Armstrong, Ala.
*Berry Bowen Campbell '84 also nurses Waugh, Ala.
W. D. Floyd, teaches also Hawkinsville, Ala.
Watt Buchanan 1889 farming wholly Montgomery, Ala.
*Enoch Houser 1889 also teaches Antangville, Ala.
William Chambliss 1890 Tuskegee, Ala.
*Davis Henry 1890 Bells Landing, Ala.
*Abner Jackson 1890 Newville, Ala.
John W. Perry 1890 Myrtle, Ala.
Abner Edwards 1890 Salem, Ala.
*J. H. Michael 1890 Mt. Meigs, Ala.
Robert B. Sherman 1890 Sprague Jc., Ala.
*H. A. Barnes 1893 Snow Hill, Ala.
*W. J. Edwards 1893 Snow Hill, Ala.
*N. E. Henry 1893 China, Ala.
Sophia Momen 1894 Notasulga, Ala.
*C. A. Barrows 1894 Snow Hill, Ala.
*S. F. Bizzell, has a store 1894 Hammac, Ala.
E. W. McRae 1894 also teaches Louisville, Ala.
*Moses Purifoy 1894 also teaches Evergreen, Ala.
*J. C. Calloway 1896 also teaches Dawkins, Ala.
Geo. W. Henderson, preacher 1899 Hannon, Ala.
*Martin A. Menafee, Treasurer 1900 Alexander City, Ala.
George K. Gordon, Dairying 1902 Mobile, Ala.
FORMER STUDENTS
Katie Bowen also teaches Waugh, Ala.
Benjamin Jones Waugh, Ala.
Nelson Judkins Cecil, Ala.
Gomine Judkins Cecil, Ala.
Wm. Plato, also black smith Waugh, Ala.
James Pinckett, carpenter Waugh, Ala.
Ossie Williams Waugh, Ala.
James Garrison Waugh, Ala.
Nelson Garrison Waugh, Ala.
John Mitchell also painter Waugh, Ala.
*Wallace Campbell blacksmith Fitzpatrick, Ala.
*R. T. Phillips blacksmith
This is a letter from a Negro farmer in the south:
ISAAC P. MARTIN--
Merryweather Co--near Stenson
Father belonged to Peter Martin near about 3 miles from where he
was born--never did own any land. Went to work planting at
9--Worked 9 to 25--Had six or eight months schooling--Went one
month in a year. School lasted about three months. Used Blue Back
Speller got as high as Baker; Got as far as subtraction--Did not
know anything outside of reading--Did not know what a newspaper
was.
Father taught us to work corn, cotton sweet potatoes--He was a
---- farmer--Had eleven children all worked--about 1880 they
began to grow up and leave the farm--go on some other
plantation--all married.
My older brother and all the younger children got more schooling
Brother next younger--Payne's Institute Ga.--finished preaching
in Americus Georgia. I had a cousin to come here--He wanted to
buy ---- here--He was interested in machine shop--He was down in
Opelika. He met more boys on their way here, inquiring around to
get down this far and get in.
I had saved up $200 in the bank. I was going to buy land. Went
into day school a Preparatory about 800 or 900 students. The
first work was in harness & shoe shop--Lewis Adams was in
charge--I came there walking. I wanted to get away from the farm.
Going around town I saw that everyone looked better than on the
farm--I wanted to be something. Went in twice a year. We had
plenty country churches. Rabbits, squirrels, ducks,
possums--Geography, reading, Wentworth's Arithmetic. Miss Hunt
and Miss Logan were one of my teachers. I read lots about
Hiawatha. There was a number of little boys in the shop--they
used to call me "Pop." They were ahead of me. Went to Blacksmith
Shop. Worked about four months. Then went to work in
Wheelwright. I learn a good deal about blacksmith and wood work.
I find both these trade very handy.
I was here three weeks before I could eat in the dining room--had
to go to restaurant--I was ashamed.
I was here only one term. Came in 1895--left in 96--Never came
back until tonight. My mother sent for me--My mother was awful
sick. My class was so low that I was ashamed to come back. I
weighed 240 pounds. I went back home until 1898--on farm. I got
to read my newspapers. I subscribed for the semi-monthly Atlanta
Journal--I could read that.
I saw advertised and so much money paid out for wages--I thought
I would go into business. I started grocery store and meat
market--I had $2,500 made on farm. Father used to run us off the
farm at 20 so I rented some land.
I was born 1870. I had been working for myself for years. 1898 I
came to Birmingham. I failed in grocery business. "Credit." I
made a lot of friends all over town. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
They had lots of money but they owed a lot. It take lot to feed
them. Took three years and little over to get all of money.
Worked for Tenn. Coal and Iron Co. I leased some land from the
Republic Iron and Steel Co. Leased 64 acres outside of Pratt City
and went to trucking. I bought two mules for $40. It was a sale.
They were old run down mules. They were blind--I worked there
until I grew something. Farm about a mile from Pretts. Paid $1.50
per acre--now I pay $7. The company would not sell. I peddle
vegetables to people here--ran two wagons--now I run three. Got
new feed for horses. By fall had lots of stuff. Married in
1900--year after went to Birmingham. Second year I was able to
buy two good mules--Had two good wagons made. Fall of second year
had another which made three. Running three now. I employ six
people--3 men and 3 women all the time. I drive the wholesale
wagon.
I raise between $3,500 and $4,000 worth of stuff each year. Have
since the second year. I sell about $2,000 a year above expenses.
Production increases every year. I learned all I know about
trucking since then. I have fifteen head of cattle. Eight milking
cows. I raise three crops. That is the highest. Third crop is not
worth so much. 90,000 cabbages this year. Got the plants from
South Carolina. I bought a piece of land in Oklahoma for $3,000
outside of 22 miles from Muskogee. Land rents now for $300. I own
a lot in Red Bird. Have 2 children. 14 & and 17. They go to
school.
Won county prize year before last--196 bushels--this year
received State prize 200 bushels. Plant eight and ten acres of
cotton, 14 acres corn. Raise all my fodder. Three-fourths acres
of new sugar cane, 150 gals. of syrup. I make butter $30 per
hundred. $40 retail. I take two or three little farm journals and
take the bulletin.
These letters addressed to R. E. Park and to Booker T. Washington give
information about the estate of John McKee:
Estate of }
JOHN MCKEE, }
Deceased. }
HON. BOOKER T. WASHINGTON,
Tuskegee Institute,
Alabama,
_Dear sir:_
Your favor has been received and in reply thereto I would state
that the State Appraiser fixed the valuation in Estate of the
late Colonel John McKee as follows:
Gross valuation of Personal estate, $ 71,644.29
Gross valuation of real estate in Pennsylvania, 271,188.33
-----------
Making together, $342,832.62
===========
Net valuation of the above, $212,831.86
Of this $46,500. is in unimproved real estate from which, at this
time, no income is derived.
In addition to the above the Estate owns the following from which
no income (or but a nominal income) is derived:--a lot in
Gloucester County, New Jersey, valued at One hundred Dollars
($100),--a large area of land in Atlantic County, New Jersey,
known as McKee City, assessed for taxation at twenty-thousand six
hundred and fifty Dollars ($20,650) and a tract of coal and
mineral lands in Kentucky, which Colonel McKee always considered
would turn out to be valuable and would eventually realize a
considerable sum. It is assessed for taxation for 1909 at Seventy
thousand Dollars ($70,000)--
In brief the testamentary directions of Colonel McKee are to
accumulate the rents and income of his estate until the decease
of all his children and grand-children, meanwhile improving
(under certain conditions) his unimproved real estate. Upon the
death of all his children and grand-children, the estate is to be
made use of in the establishment and maintenance of a college for
the education of colored and white fatherless boys.
Very truly yours,
JOSEPH P. MCCULLEN
February 23, 1909.
MR. ROBERT E. PARK,
Tuskegee Institute, Ala.,
_Dear Sir:_
Yours of the 13th inst., post marked the 16th inst., has been
received. You state you would be glad to have any information I
can give you about Mr. McKee, particularly in regard to the
amount of the estate he left at the time of his death.
The value of Mr. McKee's estate has been variously estimated from
$1,000,000 to $4,000,000. I am not able to give a more exact
estimate, as I have not seen any inventory made by his executors.
He owned more than 300 houses in this city, all unencumbered. He
also owned oil and coal lands in Kentucky and West Virginia, and
lands in Bath and Steuben Counties, N. Y. As to his personal
characteristics, I would suggest that you see the Philadelphia
Press of April 20, 1902. If you desire a more exact estimate of
the value of his estate, I would suggest that you write Joseph P.
McCullen, Jr., No. 1008 Land Title Building, this city.
Yours truly,
T. J. MINTON.
The following letter from Colonel James Lewis to Booker T. Washington
gives valuable information about Thomy Lafon and incidentally about
other persons in New Orleans:
New Orleans, La., Jany. 25/09.
COLONEL JAMES LEWIS,
_Dear Sir:_
In answer to your letter of 14th instant, will say that the delay
in my answer was caused by my desire to obtain and furnish to
you all informations regarding the late Mr. Thomy Lafon.
The baptismal records in the archive of the Cathedral at that
time written in Spanish attest that the late Mr. Thomy Lafon was
born in this city on December 28th, 1810. He died at his home,
corner Ursulines & Robertson Streets, on December 23rd, 1893, at
the ripe age of 83 years. His body rests in the St. Louis
cemetery on Esplanade Avenue. He was a man of dignified
appearance and affable manners. In early life he taught school;
later he operated a small dry goods store in Orleans Street until
near into 1850. He was never married. Sometime before the war of
Secession he had started his vast fortune by loaning money at
advantageous rates of interest and by the accumulation of his
savings. Toward the close of his career he became attached to the
lamented Archbishop Janssens and began his philanthropies. By the
terms of his will, dated April 3rd, 1890, he provided amply for
his aged sister and some friends, and wisely distributed the bulk
of his estate among public charitable institutions of New
Orleans. His legacy was appraised at $413,000.00 divided in
securities and realty.
In recognition of his charity, the City of New Orleans, named
after him one of its public schools.
Before his death he had established an asylum for orphan boys
called the Lafon Asylum, situated in St. Peter Street between
Claiborne Avenue & N. Derbigny Street. To this Asylum he
bequeathed a sum of $2000, and the revenues, amounting to $275
per month of a large property situated corner Royal & Iberville
Streets.
Other legacies were to the
Charity Hospital of New Orleans $10,000
" " Ambulance Dept. 3,000
Lafon Old Folks' Home 5,000
Little Sisters of the Poor 5,000
Shakespeare Almshouse
Catholic Institution for indigent orphans 2,000
and the following property:
1st. St. Claude St. bet. St. Philip &
Ursulines Sts., valued at $1500
2nd. Robertson St. bet. St. Philip &
Ursulines Sts., valued at 2000
3rd. Burgundy St. bet. Hospital &
Barracks Sts., valued at 2000
4th. Union St. between Royal &
Dauphine Sts., valued at 2000
St. John Berchman Asylum for girls,
under the care of Holy family 2000
and the following property:
1st. Burgundy St., No. 528, worth about $1500
2nd. Dumaine St., Nos. 2129/31, worth about 2500
3rd. Galvez St., No. 828, worth about 1800
4th. Toulouse St., Nos. 726/28, worth about 2500
5th. Tulane Ave., No. 1402, worth about 4000
Asylum for old indigents, corner Tonti
& Hospital Streets 15000
and the following property:
1st. St. Andrew St., 1536/38 valued at $ 6000
2nd. Baronne St., No. 722 valued at 4000
3rd. Baronne St. Nos. 732/36 valued at 8000
4th. Canal & Villere Sts. valued at 6000
5th. Canal St., old No. 176 valued at 30000
An another cash $ 2000
Society of the Holy Family, Orleans St. 10000
Straight University of New Orleans 3000
Southern University of New Orleans 3000
New Orleans University of New Orleans 3000
Society of Jeunes Amis, New Orleans 3000
Eye, Ear Nose & Throat Hospital 3000
Mother St. Clair of the Convent of the Good Sheperd 20000
All of which cash legacies were doubled.
Yours respectfully,
(Signed) P. A. BACAS
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This extract and the documents which follow were collected by Dr.
R. E. Park.
[2] _The Springfield Republican_, Dec. 6, 1902.
BOOK REVIEWS
_The History of the Negro Church._ By CARTER G. WOODSON, Ph.D.
The Associated Publishers, Inc., Washington, D. C. 1921. Pp. 330.
With due regard for the modern scientific methods of historiography,
the author of this book has traced the rise and spread of
institutionalized Christianity among American Negroes. He discusses
such salient points as the early efforts of white missionaries to
evangelize the heathen bondmen, the difficulties which beset their
labors, the respective contributions of the white denominations,
showing the Baptists in the lead, followed closely by the Methodists,
with the Presbyterians, Catholics and Congregationalists in the rear.
There are set forth the psychological, geographical and other reasons
why the Negro was attracted more readily to the Baptist and Methodist
denominations, the causes for the reactions of slave holders for and
against the evangelization of the slaves, the rise of Negro preachers
of merit in the Baptist and Methodist denominations during the
eighteenth century, and the founding of the first churches by Negroes
of these sects. Among these he mentions the first African Baptist
Church by Andrew Bryan in 1788, the first African Methodist Episcopal
Church by Richard Allen in 1794, and the first African Presbyterian
Church by John Gloucester in 1807.
The factors which caused the cleavage of the white denominations into
North and South, the causes of the separation of the Negro
communicants from the whites and the threefold cleavage of the Negro
Methodists are adequately discussed. Attention is given also to the
increase in the number of churches and the State and national
centralization of the churches within the respective denominations.
The ante-bellum beginnings of the only Negro education which aimed to
develop Negro preachers through instructors of both races, the
importance of Negro churches in developing race leaders, educators,
and statesmen who figured in the economic, social and political life
of the Negro after the war, are ably treated. The book gives an
account of the rise of the conservative and progressive elements
within the church and closes with a chapter on the present-day Negro
church statistics which indicate the enormous spread of Christianity
through the ascendancy of the Methodists and Baptists.
One can hardly appreciate the sympathetic and scholarly character of
this work from the bald outline given above. Just therein may it be
characterized as a pioneer work, a genuine contribution. In a larger
sense it is more than the history of the Negro church; it is the very
life history of the Negro race in America, so intimately have the
spiritual strivings of the Negro been bound up with his sentiments and
interests, his habits and endeavors, his situation and circumstances,
his monuments and edifices, his poetry and song.
F. C. SUMNER
_Unsung Heroes._ By MRS. ELIZABETH ROSS HAYNES. N. Y. DuBois &
Dill. 1921. 279 pp. Illustrated.
One of the gravest problems now facing the Negroes in the United
States, and a problem none the less grave because unrecognized by the
unthinking majority, is that of reading for their children. Can
anything be more dangerous than the continual subjection of our
children to the influence of books, magazines, and newspapers in which
their race is being held up constantly to pity or contempt? The use of
opprobrious and insulting epithets with reference to the Negro is so
common in English and American publications as to need no more than a
mere reference here, and this practice is to be noted even in authors
who are conscious of no active race hostility. If the psychological
influence of such endlessly reiterated and therefore inescapable slurs
is bad for adults, how much worse must it be for children. In _The
Brownies' Book_, published by DuBois and Dill, a most praiseworthy
attempt has been made to meet this need in the form of a children's
magazine free from all objectionable matter, and it is nothing short
of a national calamity that this periodical has been forced to suspend
publication because of a lack of sufficient patronage. It is fitting,
then, that the same publishers should issue the book now under our
hand, a fine specimen of the printer's art in paper, presswork,
binding, and illustrations.
In it the author, the wife of Dr. George E. Haynes, the well-known
sociologist, has set forth in a language and style suited to young
readers the lives of seventeen of the most celebrated men and women
of Negro descent. Eight of them--Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Banneker,
Phillis Wheatley, Josiah Henson, Sojourner Truth, Attucks, and Paul
Cuffé--belong to the ante-bellum period in America; five--Dunbar,
Booker Washington, B. K. Bruce, Crummell, and Langston--to the
reconstruction and late nineteenth century periods; and four--Pushkin,
the Russian; L'Ouverture, the Haytian; Coleridge-Taylor, the
Englishman; and Alexandre Dumas, the Frenchman--belong across the
ocean. It will be seen that the selection is a representative one, and
that no living person is included. The material chosen from each life
is carefully selected, too, to suit the minds and tastes of children.
There are six illustrations by four of our well-known young artists.
Altogether the book is the most satisfactory addition yet made to our
children's literature in this country, and should be in every home
where there are colored children, and in every library in which they
are readers.
E. C. WILLIAMS
_Les Daïmons du Culte Voudo._ By DR. ARTHUR HOLLY, Port-au
Prince, Haiti, 1919. Pp. lx-523.
The author of this unique volume declares himself "boldly, but without
vanity, or false modesty" an esoterist, that is to say, one who is an
adept at the interpretation of the occult and secret doctrines. This
book, an exposition of the secret doctrine, is not, therefore, as its
title might suggest, a scientific treatise upon the Voudo cult as it
has existed and as it still exists in Haiti. It is rather an
interpretation and defense of the primitive religion of Africa,
particularly as it is represented in the religious customs and
practices of the common people in Haiti today.
The sentiments which have inspired this undertaking are altogether
admirable. "Haitiens," he says, "have reached a point in their efforts
to conform to an alien culture where they are in danger of losing
their personality as a people as well as their native culture." But
now if ever is the moment, after the great cataclysm in Europe, to
lift the ancestral cult from the dust and make it worthy of Haiti, of
the African race.
"We are," he continues, "African-Latins. But our Latin culture is all
on the surface. The old African heritage persists in us and controls
us to such an extent that under certain circumstances we feel
ourselves moved by mysterious forces when the silence of the night,
throbs with the irregular rhythm, melancholly, passionate and magical,
of the sacred dances of _Voudo_."
Dr. Arthur Holly is evidently learning, but he draws his knowledge
from sources that are esoteric and therefore inaccessible to all
except the adepts. What he has written is, therefore, neither science
nor history. It has the character rather of revelation. It is
impressive, but not intelligible to the uninitiated.
From his introduction, however, one gathers that he intends to show
that Christianity and Voudoism are from a common source, that "the
Bible," as he says, "belongs to us," _i.e._, the black people, but
that this earlier and more primitive form of religion which is
revealed in it has been corrupted by the white race.
It is an interesting idea, but more interesting is the evidence that
it offers of the rise, among the Negro people of Haiti, of a racial
consciousness which embraces in one conscious unity the Negro peoples
of Africa and America. It is another spontaneous manifestation of that
unrest of the black man which has found expression in pan-Africanism
and in the movement in this country headed by Marcus Garvey, whose
program is Africa for the Africans.
ROBERT E. PARK
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
_The Wings of Oppression._ By LESLIE PINCKNEY HILL. The Stratford
Company, Publishers, Boston, Massachusetts. Price by mail, $2.15.
Bearing the certificate of the Lyric Muse, Mr. Leslie Pinckney Hill,
schoolmaster of Cheney, Pennsylvania, and authentic singer, is the
newest arrival on the slopes of Parnassus. A first glance tells that
he is an agile climber, sinewy, easy of movement, light of step, with
both grace and strength. Every indication in form and motion is for
some point far up toward the summit. Youthful is he, ambitious
plainly, and, in spite of a burden, buoyant. "Climber," I said. I will
drop the figure. Poets were never pedestrians. Mr. Hill comes not
afoot. If not on the wings of Pegasus, yet on wings he comes--_the
wings of oppression_. Sad wings! Yet it must be remarked that it is
commonly on such wings that poets of whatever race and time rise. And
Mr. Hill's race knows no other wings. On the wings of oppression the
Negro poet and the Negro people are rising toward the summits of
Parnassus, Pisgah, and other peaks. This they know, too, and of it
they are justly proud.
In his _Foreword_ Mr. Hill thus states the case of his people, and, by
implication, of himself:
"Nothing in the life of the nation has seemed to me more
significant than that dark civilization which the colored man has
built up in the midst of a white society organized against it.
The Negro has been driven under all the burdens of oppression,
both material and spiritual, to the brink of desperation, but he
has always been saved by his philosophy of life. He has advanced
against all opposition by a certain elevation of his spirit. He
has been made strong in tribulation. He has constrained
oppression to give him wings."
The significant thing about these wings, in a critical view, is that
they fulfill the proper function of wings--bear aloft and sustain in
flight through the azure depths. Mr. Hill's wings do bear aloft and
sustain: if not always, nor even ever, into the very empyrean of
poetry, yet invariably, seventy times, into the ampler air. Like all
his race, he has suffered much; and, like all his race still, he has
gathered wisdom from sorrow. As a true poet should have, he has
philosophy, also vision and imagination--vision for himself and his
people, imagination that sees facts in terms of beauty and presents
truths with vital imagery. Add thereto craftsmanship acquired in the
best traditions of English poetry and you have Hill the poet.
The merits of this book cannot be shown by the quoting of lines and
stanzas. As ever with true art, the merit lies in the effect of
complete poems. Still, we can here detach from this and that poem a
stanza or two, despite the wrong to art. The first and fourth stanzas
of the title-poem will indicate Mr. Hill's technique and philosophy:
I have a song that few will sing
In honor of all suffering,
A song to which my heart can bring
The homage of believing--
A song the heavy-laden hears
Above the clamor of his fears,
While still he walks with blinding tears,
And drains the cap of grieving.
* * * * *
So long as life is steeped in wrong,
And nations cry: "How long, how long!"
I look not to the wise and strong
For peace and self-possession:
But right will rise, and mercy shine,
And justice lift her conquering sign
Where lowly people starve and pine
Beneath a world oppression.
Significant as interpreting the character and temper of the Negro with
whom today the white world has to deal, are the following lines from
the blank verse poem entitled _Armageddon_:
Because ye schooled them in the arts of life,
and gave to them your God, and poured your blood
Into their veins to make them what they are,
They shall not fail you in your hour of need,
They hold in them enough of you to feel
All that has made you masters in your time--
The power of art and wealth, unending toil,
Proud types of beauty, an unbounded will
To triumph, wondrous science, and old law--
These have they learned to value and to share.
If these poems, taken collectively, do not declare "what is on the
Negro's mind," they yet truly reveal, to the reflecting person, what
has sunk deep into his heart. They are therefore a message to America,
a protest, an appeal, and a warning. They will penetrate, I predict,
through breast armor of _aes triplex_ into the hearts of those whom
sermons and editorials fail to touch in the springs of action. Such is
the virtue of music wed to persuasive words.
A sonnet entitled _To a Caged Canary in a Negro Restaurant_ will
present the poet's people and his own manner of poetic musing:
Thou little golden bird of happy song!
A cage cannot restrain the rapturous joy
Which thou dost shed abroad. Thou dost employ
Thy bondage for high uses. Grievous wrong
Is thine; yet in thy heart glows full and strong
The tropic sun, though far beyond thy flight,
And though thou flutterest there by day and night
Above the clamor of a dusky throng.
So let my will, albeit hedged about
By creed and caste, feed on the light within;
So let my song sing through the bars of doubt
With light and healing where despair has been;
So let my people bide their time and place,
A hindered but a sunny-hearted race.
It would be an injustice to this poet did I convey the idea that his
seventy-odd poems are exclusively occupied with race wrongs and
oppression. Not a few of them bear no stamp of an oppressed or
afflicted spirit, though of sorrow they may have been nurtured.
A lyric of pure loveliness is the following, entitled:
TO A NOBLY-GIFTED SINGER
All the pleasance of her face
Telleth of an inward grace;
In her dark eyes I have seen
Sorrows of the Nazarene;
In the proud and perfect mould
Of her body I behold,
Rounded in a single view,
The good, the beautiful, the true;
And when her spirit goes up-winging
On sweet air of artless singing,
Surely the heavenly spheres rejoice
In union with a kindred voice.
_The Wings of Oppression_ strikes a high level of artistic expression
and makes a quite extraordinary appeal. It is intense poetry, lyrical
and meditative.
Here is that solid body of thought which, in addition to artistic
expression, is requisite to poetry that attains and holds a high place
of esteem. Great variety of form is also here; excellent blank verse
with a movement at once easy and restrained, an equable, strong flow,
bearing lofty meditations; sonnets after the manner of the masters;
octo-syllabics of sententious felicity; various apt lyrical stanzas.
Culture alone, of which there is abundant evidence, could not have
produced these poems. The poetic endowment, thoroughly disciplined,
was necessary. Mr. Leslie Pinckney Hill is a poet. His powers are
rich, varied, and developing. His second book will be better than this
excellent first.
But more than the merit that has been intimated there is in these
lyrics and measured musings a pathos, a restrained Laocoön cry, that
must be to thousands an arresting revelation of the unimagined
sufferings of the cultured colored people of our land. Mr. Hill's
_Wings of Oppression_ has a message in it for America.
ROBERT T. KERLIN
LEXINGTON, VA.
NOTES.
By aiding the education of Negroes in rural communities with the
assistance of State governments and of Negroes themselves Mr. Julius
Rosenwald has been making an important chapter in the history of this
race during the last generation. The significance of this achievement
is apparent when one merely glances at these statistics:
1223 buildings (2812 teachers).
Total Cost $4,012,923
Negroes $1,139,165
Whites 277,668
Public Funds 1,840,210
Rosenwald aid 755,880
These schoolbuildings have been built in the States as follows:
Alabama 234, North Carolina 175, Mississippi 145, Louisiana 136,
Tennessee 114, Virginia 105, South Carolina 73, Arkansas 54, Georgia
53, Kentucky 52, Texas 50, Maryland 16 and Oklahoma 15.
By types these buildings include:
357 one-teacher
464 two-teacher
191 three-teacher
106 four-teacher
39 five-teacher
32 six-teacher
5 seven-teacher
5 eight-teacher
1 nine-teacher
2 ten-teacher
1 eleven-teacher
1 twelve-teacher
1 sixteen-teacher
18 Teachers' Homes
----
1223
The fact that over $4,000,000 has been invested in these buildings is
worthy of comment as is the added fact that more than one-fourth of
this large total has been raised by the Negroes themselves. While the
figures are of buildings which have been actually completed, it is
well to note that there are in progress now, some of them nearly
finished and all of them to be finished before June 30, 1922, other
buildings which will increase the total to 1500, will show a total
outlay of $5,500,000, will bring the total of contributions by the
Negroes up to $1,500,000, and make Mr. Rosenwald's contribution over
$1,000,000. These school building projects and the financial outlays
for them have been definitely approved, and all that is lacking is the
actual completion of contracts let.
When the work was first undertaken, the thought was to build one-room
rural schoolhouses. Under the developing interest, however, larger and
better buildings have been erected. As the teacher capacity is an
important thing, the total number of teachers has been given to serve
as another index to the value of this achievement.
Still another significant thing should be noted. All of the
construction now going on is being done through the States themselves.
Every project is presented for approval by the State educational
authorities, and is certified as completed by the same officers. The
interest manifested is sincere and continuing, and in North Carolina,
for example, there are no fewer than eight people connected with the
office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction who are giving
their time toward Negro education.
There is another point too which may be interesting. The buildings are
constructed according to definite plans and specifications and no
building receives Rosenwald aid unless it conforms to the details of
such plans and specifications. As a result in the Rosenwald schools
the windows are so placed as to give the right kind of light; the
blackboards too are properly located; and the equipment in the way of
desks is the best available for the funds on hand. No school building
is paid for until inspection has shown it to be built according to the
approved ideas.
* * * * *
The following extract from _Current History_, Vol. XV, pages 771-772,
sets forth the participation of Alice Ball, a scholarly Negro chemist,
in the treatment of leprosy through the use of chaulmoogra oil
extracted by a difficult scientific process.
"Credit for initiating a revolutionary method of treatment is
generally ascribed to Dr. Victor Heiser of the United States
Public Health Service in the Philippines. Instead of giving raw
chaulmoogra oil in doses, as had been the custom for centuries,
he gave it by injection to the muscles. Mixed with olive oil and
drugs, it was efficacious and helped all patients treated. The
old method of taking the oil through the mouth, even in
capsules, produced such violent nausea that very few could retain
it. If retained, it was healing; the best remedy then known. The
success of the Heiser treatment led physicians generally to adopt
injections as the best method of giving the oil, but it was thick
and not easily absorbed. This led Dr. Harry T. Hollman, a member
of the Government Medical Corps at Honolulu, to call for a more
diluted form of the oil, one freed from extraneous matter, an
ethyl ester, or the vital principle, if there was one. The
decomposition of the oil, he said, should be accomplished outside
the body.
"After securing the approval of his superiors, Drs. McCoy and
Currie, he asked the Chemistry Department of the University of
Hawaii to liberate this essence from the vegetable compound.
President Dean, himself an expert chemist, became greatly
interested. He assigned to the task Miss Alice Ball, a young
negro woman and an expert chemist, who found the task exceedingly
elusive. She gave it all her time and secured a light essence,
which Dr. Hollman administered with improved results; but he
still insisted it could be improved. Miss Ball's health failed,
possibly from chemical poisoning, and she went to California to
recuperate. On her return she again took up the task, aided by
Dr. Dean, but was again forced to give up the work entirely and
soon afterward died in California.
"President Dean then entered upon the task with redoubled
enthusiasm. He was encouraged from results obtained to give every
possible aid to the indomitable and optimistic Dr. Hollman. There
were months of persistent effort, the devising of expensive and
complicated apparatus, including a special furnace for intense
heat. At last the precise ethyl ester desired--with a number of
others--was secured. Injections were made as before into the hips
of patients--the large muscles were selected to avoid any
possible introduction of the medicine into the large veins or
arteries. The improvement following in every case was so marked
as to cause surprise and decided gratification."
On the 3rd and 4th of April, the Association for the Study of Negro
Life and History will hold its spring conference in New York City.
This meeting will come as a climax of a nation-wide membership drive
now being conducted by the Association. The plans are to have present
a large representation of persons from the various parts of the
country that steps may be taken for a more thorough prosecution of the
work.
THE JOURNAL
OF
NEGRO HISTORY
VOL. VII--JULY, 1922--NO. 3
THE ANDERSON FUGITIVE CASE
The recent decision of the Canadian government not to allow
deportation to proceed in the case of Matthew Bullock, a Negro whose
return was asked by the State of North Carolina, has served to recall
to public attention in Canada certain cases occurring during the
period of slavery in the United States when the Canadian courts were
asked to order the return of fugitives. The most famous of these was
the Anderson case tried before the Canadian courts at Toronto, in
1860, interest in which stirred the British provinces from end to end.
The Bullock case, recently decided, has some points of similarity to
the Anderson case, though the circumstances vary greatly. Bullock was
charged with participation in race riots in North Carolina in January
1921. He had made his way to Canada and succeeded in evading the
immigration authorities in entering the country. It was admitted by
the Canadian authorities that he was in the country illegally but in
the final decision it was stated that, as he had conducted himself in
an exemplary manner since entering, he would be allowed to remain. On
behalf of the fugitive it was freely hinted that should he be returned
to North Carolina he would risk being a victim of mob justice. While
this plea doubtless influenced the Canadian immigration authorities,
it could not, of course, be stated as their reason for allowing the
man his freedom.
The Anderson case of 1860, to which so much newspaper reference was
made during the progress of the Bullock case, came just on the eve of
the American Civil War. In some respects it looked to be one of the
last efforts of the slave-owners to secure complete enforcement of the
Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. That measure, so detested by the North,
became a dead letter in many sections by the force of public opinion
but was also weakened by the fact that the fugitive in the North could
soon cross into Canada, if threatened by any sudden enforcement of the
law. An arrest under the Fugitive Slave Law in any northern city was
usually followed by a swift trek into Canada of other Negroes who
feared that they might be the next victims. But what if there could be
found some means of using British law to secure the return of
fugitives from Canada? This appears to have been in the minds of those
who tried to get Anderson out of Canada in 1860. It is difficult to
account, otherwise, for the strenuous efforts that were made to secure
his extradition. That the Missouri slaveholders felt they were
performing something in the nature of a public service by fighting
this case in the Canadian courts, is evidenced by their request that
the State should reimburse them for their outlay.[1]
John Anderson appears to have arrived in Canada in November 1853,
crossing over the Detroit River to Windsor where he stayed with Mrs.
Bibb, mother of Henry Bibb, who was attempting to organize a refugee
settlement not far from that frontier point. Mrs. Laura S. Haviland, a
philanthropic Michigan woman who was doing missionary and educational
work among the fugitives, met him soon after his arrival and learned
his story. She says that he came to her asking that she write a letter
for him. This letter revealed the tragedy in which he had recently
figured and that had caused him to flee to Canada. She had noted the
sadness in his face which indicated the stress through which he had
passed. He told her that to satisfy a debt he had been sold by his
master, Seneca Diggs, and was to be separated from his wife and four
children. Husband and wife pleaded not to be separated but the reply
was that the buyer desired only the man. Later, however, the master
indicated that some other arrangement might be arrived at but the man
was suspicious and armed himself with a dirk. His suspicions were
further aroused when he was told to come to the woods where some trees
were to be chopped and when he noticed that the master had a stout
rope under his coat. The slave kept at a distance from the master
until the latter finally frankly admitted his purpose. The slave
declared that he would never be taken but at this point another man
appeared and Anderson began to run. The slavers followed him for seven
miles and finally had him cornered. Anderson flourished his knife and
threatened to kill the first man who laid hands upon him. All stood
back but Diggs who, with a knife in his hand, rushed at the slave. In
the melee the master was stabbed and the slave escaped into the woods.
That night he saw his wife and family for the last time. The woman
informed him that he had killed his master and that if he were caught
he could expect to be burned alive or chopped to pieces. She urged him
to flee to Canada, and if he arrived there safely, he was to write to
her father who was free. This is the story as he told it to Mrs.
Haviland and it was the letter to his father-in-law that he wished her
to write.
Mrs. Haviland shrewdly suspected that a letter from Canada addressed
to a Negro related to Anderson would not likely reach its destination
and would also give a clue to the fugitive's whereabouts. Accordingly
she dated the letter from Adrian, Michigan, and asked that the reply
be sent there. The answer, which came shortly after, said that
Anderson's wife and four children were being brought to him. Mrs.
Haviland replied to this letter but warned Anderson not to cross the
Detroit River as she suspected a plot. In her message she asked the
party to come to Adrian, Michigan, and inquire for Mrs. Laura
Haviland, a widow, from whom information could be had regarding
Anderson. A few days later a white man called, very clearly a
southerner, and informed her that Anderson's family was in Detroit
staying in the home of a Negro minister named Williams. The visitor
seemed exceedingly anxious to find out where Anderson was and Mrs.
Haviland finally told him that the man was in Chatham and advised that
his family should be sent there. At this the visitor's face reddened
rather noticeably. Mrs. Haviland lost no time in sending a message to
Anderson advising him to leave Chatham. He got out none too soon for
within a few days white men were in Chatham inquiring for him. They
were told that he had gone to Sault Ste. Marie and they followed the
trail there but without success. Finally they disappeared after
leaving with Detroit people power of attorney to arrest Anderson, if
he could ever be decoyed over the river or should be found there.
Mrs. Haviland, in her memoirs, says that after this effort to capture
Anderson as a murderer she wrote a letter to Lord Elgin, the Governor
of the Canadas, setting forth the facts, and that she received this
reply from him: "In case of a demand for William Anderson, he should
require the case to be tried in their British courts; and if twelve
freeholders should testify that he had been a man of integrity since
his arrival in their dominion it should clear him."[2]
There is a rather curious similarity between the latter part of this
statement and the recent decision from Ottawa in the Bullock case,
namely, that as the latter had conducted himself well since entering
the country he should not be deported.
About three years after the events mentioned above, which would be
about 1856, Mrs. Haviland records a meeting with D. L. Ward, a New
Orleans attorney, who said to her: "We are going to have Anderson by
hook or by crook; we will have him by fair means or foul; the South is
determined to have that man."
The whereabouts of Anderson between 1853 and 1859 is not on record.
Probably he lived most of that time in southwestern Ontario where his
own people were most numerous. It is stated that he had worked in
Hamilton and Caledonia. In the fall of 1860 he was working near
Brantford when it came to the ears of a magistrate at Brantford,
Matthews by name, that at some time in the past this Negro had
committed a crime and was a fugitive from the justice of his own
State. Matthews had the Negro arrested and locked him up. It would
appear that he had no evidence of any kind other than rumor. S. B.
Freeman, who defended Anderson later, says that he went to the
Brantford magistrate and made inquiries about the prisoner, being told
that the fugitive was held pending the receipt of necessary evidence.
According to Freeman's charges, which were made publicly in _The
Toronto Globe_ of December 11, 1860, Matthews communicated with
private detectives in Detroit who passed the word on to friends of the
deceased Diggs in Missouri and they promptly applied at Washington for
extradition papers. _The Hamilton Times_ charged that Matthews had
subjected his prisoner to most rigorous prison life for two months,
keeping him ironed, permitting no Negro friends to see him, not even
admitting Rev. Walter Hawkins, the Negro preacher who afterwards
became a bishop.[3] It required very much persuasion on the part of
Freeman, and apparently some threats as well, to induce the Brantford
magistrate to release his prisoner. When let out of jail Anderson went
to Simcoe and was working there when again arrested, this time, it
would appear, on a warrant sworn out by a Detroit man named Gunning.
There are indications in the press reports of the time that the
Brantford magistrate was much aggrieved at his prisoner getting into
other hands and sought to have the case transferred to Brantford,
being aided in this by the county Crown attorney.
In a letter to the _Hamilton Spectator_ Freeman made this charge
against the magistrate: "Mr. Matthews arrested him as having been
guilty of murder without any legal evidence of a murder having been
committed, or, in fact, of any one having been killed by him. And
after he had him in custody he communicated with the authorities for
the necessary evidence."[4]
On November 24 Anderson was brought before the Court of Queen's Bench
consisting of Chief Justice Robinson and Justices Burns and McLean. S.
B. Freeman appeared for the prisoner and Henry Eccles and R. A.
Harrison for the attorney-general. Freeman read the warrant of
committal by William Matthews and the two other Brantford magistrates
who had been associated with him. The evidence was to the effect that
on September 28, 1859 (sic), Anderson was on the estate of Seneca T.
P. Diggs in Howard County, Missouri, and that Diggs, while attempting
with Negro help to arrest Anderson, was stabbed twice and later died.
The question was whether Canada was to administer the slave laws of
Missouri. The counsel for the Crown admitted that Anderson's act, if
committed in Canada, would not be murder.
The Anderson case was practically the last important case to come
before Chief Justice Sir John Beverly Robinson, and around perhaps no
decision of his whole legal career did more excitement center. While
the justices were considering the evidence public meetings were being
held, not only in Toronto but in other Canadian cities. Newspapers
were furiously defending the fugitive and the judgment of the court
was being awaited with tense interest.
It was understood on November 30 that the Chief Justice was ready to
give decision but that he deferred for his associates. On that date
there were special police on duty about the court in fear of an
attempt at rescue by the Negroes and others. _The Globe_ of that date
contended that the question of surrendering the man, being a matter of
a treaty, should have been dealt with by the executive and not by the
courts at all.
"The universal heart and conscience of the people of Canada and of the
British nation will say upon the facts of the case that Anderson is
not a murderer in the sight of God, or under British law," was a part
of its comment editorially upon the case. A day or two later the paper
pointed out the significance of this particular case. If Anderson were
given up, it maintained, "no fugitive slave in Canada is safe on our
soil ... there is not a fugitive in Canada whose extradition may not
be demanded upon evidence sufficient to put the accused upon his
trial."[5]
The court finally gave its judgment on Saturday, December 15. The
papers of the following Monday say, that as the decision was being
given, police stood about the court with muskets and that a company of
Royal Canadian Rifles were also under arms at the Government House.
In its decision the court was not unanimous. The Chief Justice and
Justice Burns favored extradition while Justice McLean dissented. The
biographer of the Chief Justice says of this judgment: "Their decision
was neither in support of nor against slavery but was based entirely
upon the consideration of the treaty existing between the United
States and Canada." The biographer quotes also as follows from an
English contemporary: "These judges, proof against unpopularity and
unswayed by their own bitter hatred of slavery, as well as unsoftened
by their own feelings for a fellow man, in agonizing peril, upheld the
law made to their hands and which they are sworn faithfully to
administer. Fiat justitia. Give them their due. Such men are the
ballast of nations."[6]
Gerrit Smith, the famous abolitionist, was one of those who acted on
behalf of the fugitive, and his plea made a strong impression. He
argued that Anderson was not guilty of murder but at the worst of
homicide, that the Ashburton case did not require the surrender of
fugitives and that in any case Anderson's delivery was a matter for
the English courts to decide.
On the evening of December 19, 1860, a huge mass meeting was held in
St. Lawrence Hall. The mayor of the city presided and the chief
speaker of the evening was John Scoble, the abolitionist.[7] He was
able to throw considerable light upon the exact meaning of the
extradition treaty, having interviewed both Lord Aberdeen and Lord
Brougham on its terms in relation to fugitive slaves at the time that
it was passing through the British Parliament. He was at that time the
secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society of England which had become
alarmed over the possibilities to fugitives in Canada of the
extradition clauses.[8]
Ashburton told him, he said, "that the article in question was no more
designed to touch the fugitive slave than to affect the case of
deserters or parties charged with high treason." Lord Aberdeen stated
that instructions would be sent to the Governor of Canada that in the
case of fugitive slaves great care was to be taken to see that the
treaty did not work their ruin. Sir Charles Metcalfe, Governor of
Canada, was quoted by the speaker as having said that he would never
be a party to wronging fugitives.
In the course of his address Mr. Scoble gave some information about
the arrest of Anderson. He said that he personally went to Brantford
as soon as Anderson was taken up in April and tried to get a writ of
habeas corpus but could get no help from counsel in Brantford. At the
Brantford spring assizes Anderson was released by the judge, since
there was no evidence against him, but was rearrested three days
later. Other speakers at the St. Lawrence Hall gathering were Rev. Wm.
King, M. C. Cameron, Rev. Dr. Willis, Rev. Dr. Burns, Peter Brown and
Rev. Mr. Marling. At the close of the meeting there were cheers for
Anderson and others and groans for Magistrate Matthews.
There was much comment in the Canadian press on the case as a whole
and upon the judgment in particular. _The Montreal Herald_ of December
19, 1860, said: "We hope that the day will never come when the
wretches who traffic in the bodies and souls of their fellow creatures
will be able to say to any British subject, 'And thou also art made
like unto us.'" _The Quebec Mercury_ said: "The judgment of the court
in Anderson's case is one of those infamous prostitutions of judicial
power to political expediency which in this degenerate age have too
frequently polluted the judicial ermine." _The Montreal Witness_ said:
"Such a gigantic wrong cannot exist on the same continent with us
without affecting the people of Canada in one way or another.
Slaveholders long looked at Canada with evil eye. If the slavers get
Anderson back they will execute him before the slaves. It would be
worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to them annually."
Speaking on the evening of December 20 before the St. Patrick's
Literary Society of Montreal, Hon. Thomas D'Arcy McGee condemned the
decision in the Anderson case. "As a fugitive slave has never been
yielded by this province," he said, "I cannot believe that we are
going to take upon ourselves the yoke of that servitude just now. We
have no bonds to break or keep with the 'peculiar institution' of the
south; and the true voice and spirit of this province is that when the
flying slave has once put the roar of Niagara between him and the bay
of the bloodhounds of his master--from that hour, no man shall ever
dream of recovering him as his chattel property."
As soon as the decision of the Court of Queen's Bench was given,
abolitionists in Toronto decided to carry the case to English courts
and did so, securing from the Court of Queen's Bench at Westminster an
order to bring Anderson there. In the meantime the case was carried to
the Court of Common Pleas in Toronto and there on February 16, 1861,
Chief Justice Draper acquitted Anderson, for the following reasons, as
quoted in _The Toronto Leader_: "In the first place, the magistrate's
warrant was defective inasmuch as the words used in the warrant did
not imply the charge of murder, though perhaps expressing more than
manslaughter; secondly, the warrant of commitment was also defective
in not adhering to the words of the treaty."
It would take long to list all the meetings, petitions, resolutions,
and protests that were brought forth by the Anderson case. The
Anti-Slavery Society of Canada, with headquarters in Toronto, was, of
course, active throughout the whole case. Early in January it was
reported that a petition signed by more than 2500 people had been
forwarded from Montreal on behalf of Anderson and from elsewhere in
Canada came similar protests.
With the decision of Chief Justice Draper the Anderson case was closed
and the fugitive disappears. As a result, however, of the unseemly
action of the Brantford magistrate the Canadian law was revised so as
to take from the control of ordinary magistrates jurisdiction as
regards foreign fugitives from justice, leaving such cases with county
judges and police justices.
FRED LANDON.
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY,
LONDON, ONTARIO.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] On March 27, 1861, certain Howard County citizens petitioned for
money advanced by them to prosecute Anderson in the Canadian Courts
(_Session Laws_, 1860, p. 534).
[2] For Mrs. Haviland's story see her book, "_A Woman's Life Work_,"
published at Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1881. Anderson's story as told to
her is found on pages 197-8.
[3] See _The Toronto Globe_, Nov. 14, 1860.
[4] Quoted in _The Toronto Globe_, Nov. 29, 1860.
[5] _The Toronto Globe_, Dec. 3, 1860.
[6] _Life of Sir John Beverly Robinson_, London, 1904, pp. 326-7.
[7] The proceedings of this meeting are reported at length in _The
Globe_ of the following day.
[8] Article X of the Ashburton Treaty, dealing with extradition, reads
as follows: "It is agreed that the United States and Her Britannic
Majesty shall, upon mutual requisition by them, or their ministers,
officers, or authorities, respectively made, deliver up to justice all
persons who, being charged with the crime of murder, or assault with
intent to commit murder, or piracy, or arson, or robbery, or forgery,
or the utterance of forged paper, shall seek an asylum, or shall be
found within the territories of the other; provided that this shall
only be done upon such evidence of criminality as, according to the
laws of the place where the fugitive or person so charged shall be
found, would justify his apprehension and commitment for trial, if the
crime or offence had there been committed, etc."
A NEGRO SENATOR
Incredible as it may sound to the twentieth century reader, the
Commonwealth of Mississippi was for six years ably represented in the
United States Senate by a distinguished Negro Senator, the Honorable
B. K. Bruce. So inspiring is the story of Senator Bruce's efforts in
the defense of humanity that it ought not to be permitted to lie in
obscurity for want of a sympathetic pen. The present venture,
therefore, is an attempt, though belated, to recount some of the
achievements of this statesman whose public career looms up as a
monument to the American Negro's self-confidence, resolution, and
persistency.
Senator Bruce's career in the upper chamber of Congress began on March
5, 1875, at the special session of the Forty-fourth Congress, called
by President Grant. His name appears in the _Congressional Record_ of
that session as "Branch" K. Bruce, Floreyville, Mississippi. He was
assigned to the _Committee on Manufactures_ and to the _Committee on
Education and Labor_ and later to the _Committee on Pensions_ and the
_Committee on the Improvement of the Mississippi River and its
Tributaries_.[1]
Antedating his election to the United States Senate, Senator Bruce had
held positions of trust and honor in the State of Mississippi. He had
been Sheriff, Tax-Collector, Commissioner of the Levees Board, and
County Superintendent of Education. Moreover, he had served as
Sergeant-at-Arms of the first State Senate after the Reconstruction
Period, and Commissioner of Elections in a county that was reputed as
being the most lawless in the State. In all these positions, Senator
Bruce had displayed such integrity of purpose, sagacious
statesmanship, and tireless industry that his election to the United
States Senate followed as a logical and merited promotion.[2]
Senator Bruce's "maiden speech" in the Senate was delivered shortly
after he took his seat during the special session. The speech was a
vigorous protest against the proposed removal of the troops from the
South, Mississippi in particular, where the military authorities were
still in control. The speech made a profound impression on the Senate
and clearly indicated the manly stand which Senator Bruce was
preparing to take against the injustices practised against Negro
citizens both North and South.[3]
The regular session of the Forty-fourth Congress, which convened on
Monday, December 6, 1875, gave Senator Bruce numerous opportunities
for energetic efforts. Early in the session, he presented a petition
of the Sons of Temperance of the District of Columbia, praying for
legislation for the District of Columbia and the Territories; for the
prohibition of the importation of alcoholic liquors from abroad and
that total abstinence be made a condition of the civil, military, and
naval service. Later he introduced a Bill "to provide for the payment
of bounties, etc., to colored soldiers and sailors and their
heirs."[4] His first important opportunity for valuable service came
during the discussion of the resolution to admit former Governor
Pinchback as a Senator from Louisiana. The resolution had been
presented on March 5, 1875, at the special session of the
Senate--"That P. B. S. Pinchback be admitted as a Senator from the
State of Louisiana for the term of six years, beginning with the
fourth of March 1873." Senator Bruce delivered the following address:
When I entered upon my duties here as Senator from Mississippi,
the question ceased to be novel, and had already been elaborately
and exhaustively discussed. So far as opportunity has permitted
me to do so, I have dispassionately examined the question in the
light of the discussion, and I venture my views now with the
diffidence inspired by my limited experience in the consideration
of such questions and by a just appreciation of the learning and
ability of the gentlemen who have already attempted to elucidate
and determine this case.
I believe, Mr. President, whatever seeming informalities may
attach to the manner in which the will of the people was
ascertained, Mr. Pinchback is the representative of a majority of
the legal voters of Louisiana, and is entitled to a seat in the
Senate. In the election of 1872, the white population of the
State exceeded, by the census of 1872, the colored population by
about two thousand, including in the white estimate 6,300
foreigners, only half of whom were naturalized. This estimate, at
the same ratio in each race, would give a large majority of
colored voters. The census and registration up to 1872
substantially agree, and both sustain this conclusion. The census
of 1875, taken in pursuance of an article of the State
constitution, gives, after including the foreign population
(naturalized and unnaturalized) in the white aggregate, a
majority of 45,695 colored population.
This view of the question is submitted not as determining the
contest, but as an offset to the allegation that Mr. Pinchback
does not fairly represent the popular will of the State, and as a
presumption in favor of the legal title of the assembly that
elected him.
The State government elected in 1872, and permanently inaugurated
in January 1873, in the face of contest and opposition, obtained
for its authority the recognition of the inferior and supreme
courts of the State. When organized violence threatened its
existence and the United States Government was appealed to for
troops to sustain it, the national Executive, in pursuance of his
constitutional authority and duty, responded to the demand made
for help, prefacing said action by an authoritative declaration,
made through the Attorney General, addressed to
Lieutenant-Governor Pinchback, then Acting Governor, of date of
December 12, 1872, that said Pinchback was "recognized as the
lawful executive of Louisiana, and the body assembled at
Mechanics' Institute as the lawful Legislature of the State"; and
similar recognition of his successor was subsequently given. When
in September 1874, an attempt was made to overthrow the
government, the President again interposed with the Army and Navy
for its protection and the maintenance of its authority.
This government has proceeded to enact and enforce laws for three
years, which not only affect life, liberty, and property, but
which have received the general obedience of the citizens of the
State. The present government also has frequently been brought in
official contact with the United States Congress--through its
legislatures of 1873 and 1875, by memorials and joint resolutions
addressed to the respective Houses; and through its executive, by
credentials, borne by Congressmen and by Senators--and in no case
has the legitimate authority of the Legislature been excepted to
save in the action of electing a United States Senator; and in no
instance has the sufficiency of the executive's credentials been
questioned, in either House, except in the matter of the
senatorial claimant.
Now, sir, shall we admit by our action on this ease that for
three years the State of Louisiana has not had a lawful
Legislature; that its laws have been made by an unauthorized mob;
that the President of the United States actively, and Congress,
by non-action at least, have sustained and perpetuated this
abnormal, illegal, wrongful condition of things, thereby
justifying and provoking the indignant and violent protests of
one portion of the people of that State, and inviting them to
renewed and continued agitation and violence? Such action by us
would be unjust to the claimant, a great wrong to the people who
sent him here, and cruel even to that class who have awaited an
opportunity to bring to their support the overwhelming moral
power of the nation in the pursuit of their illusion--which has
so nearly ruined the future of that fair State--a government
based upon the prejudices of caste.
I respectfully ask attention of Senators to another view of this
subject, which is not without weight in determining the
obligations of this body to the State of Louisiana and in
ascertaining the title of the claimant. If the assumption that
the present government inaugurated in 1873 is without legal
authority and usurpation is true, the remedy for the state of
things was to be found in the exercise of Congress through the
joint action of the two Houses of the powers conferred under the
guaranteeing clause of the Constitution relative to republican
forms of government in the several States.
Failing to exercise her power and perform her duty in this
direction, and thus practically perpetuating the present
government, I submit that, in my judgment, we cannot now ignore
our obligation to give the State her full representation on the
score of the alleged irregularity of the government through which
she has expressed her will; and there does seem to me, in this
connection, something incongruous in the proposition that we may
impose upon the people a government without legal sanction and
demand their obedience to and support thereof, said government
meanwhile determining the character of its successors and thus
perpetuating its talent, and yet are powerless to admit a Senator
elected thereby.
In my judgment, this question shall at this juncture be
considered and decided not on abstract but practical grounds.
Whatever wrongs have been done and mistakes made in Louisiana by
either party, the present order of things is accepted by the
people of the State and by the nation, and will be maintained as
a final settlement of the political issues that have divided the
people there; and no changes in the administration of public
affairs can or will be made except by the people, through the
ballot, under the existing government and laws of the
Commonwealth.
Under these circumstances, holding the question in abeyance is,
in my judgment, an unconstitutional deprivation of the right of a
State, and a provocation to popular disquietude; and in the
interest of good-will and good government, the most judicious and
consistent course is to admit the claimant to his seat.
I desire, Mr. President, to make a personal reference to the
claimant. I would not attempt one or deem one proper were it not
that his personal character has been assailed.
As a father, I know him to be affectionate; as a husband, the
idol of a pleasant home and cheerful fireside; as a citizen,
loyal, brave, and true. And in his character and success we
behold an admirable illustration of the excellence of our
republican institutions.[5]
This speech, printed in its entirety, is an honest, frank, and
convincing enunciation of republican truths. It is an unselfish and
sober appeal for justice to another member of the Negro race. Bereft
of all rhetorical embellishments, as the speech is, it may well pass
for a masterpiece of logical thought and dynamic expression. It is the
forerunner of even mightier utterances.
Long before Senator Bruce donned his senatorial toga, rioting in
Mississippi had become prevalent. In fact, his own county, Bolivar,
was perhaps the only one in the State which had not furnished a stage
for bitter race feuds; and even this county narrowly averted a
calamity. Back in the early seventies, a report gained currency that
in a few days there was to be a "shooting up" in Bolivar. Guns and
ammunition were being stored, and the outlook became menacing. The
riot, however, was averted because Senator Bruce went personally to
the controlling citizens and succeeded in arousing a strong sentiment
against the threatening disorder. Bolivar County was thus enabled to
boast that it had never been stained with bloodshed, and even today
the memory of Senator Bruce is held in highest respect in Bolivar
County.
In other sections of the State, rioting became so prevalent,
especially on election days, that the returns of the elections were
open to serious doubt. The United States Senate was forced to take
cognizance of this condition. On Friday, March 31, 1876, a Resolution
was introduced appointing a Committee "to investigate the late
election in Mississippi." Senator Bruce embraced this opportunity to
give a clear exposition of the condition of affairs in his State. His
speech on this occasion reveals him as a broad-minded and courageous
statesman free from the curse of narrow dogma and paltry aim. He began
by announcing the basic principles of a democracy that will survive:
The conduct of the late election in Mississippi affected not
merely the fortunes of the partisans--as the same were
necessarily involved in the defeat or success of the respective
parties to the contest--but put in question and jeopardy the
sacred rights of the citizens; and the investigation contemplated
in the pending resolution has for its object not the
determination of the question whether the offices shall be held
and the public affairs of the State be administered by Democrats
or Republicans, but the higher and more important end, the
protection in all their purity and significance of the political
rights of the people and the free institutions of the country.[6]
He continued by referring to the evidence which proved that the voters
of Mississippi in the "late election" had not had an actual
opportunity to cast their votes:
The evidence in hand and accessible will show beyond peradventure
that in many parts of the State corrupt and violent influences
were brought to bear upon the registrars of voters, thus
materially affecting the character of the voting or poll lists;
upon the inspectors of election, prejudicially and unfairly,
thereby changing the number of votes cast; and finally threats
and violence were practiced directly upon the masses of voters in
such measure and strength as to produce grave apprehensions for
personal safety and as to deter them from the exercise of their
political franchises.
It was in this speech that Senator Bruce replied to the erstwhile
criticism that the Negro was a coward because he endured every kind of
indignity without retaliating. Taking the prevalent view of
progressive thought of the nineteenth century, he spoke as follows:
It will not accord with the laws of nature or history to brand
colored people a race of cowards. On more than one historic
field, beginning in 1776 and coming down to the centennial year
of the Republic, they have attested in blood their courage as
well as a love of liberty. I ask Senators to believe that no
consideration of fear or personal danger has kept us quiet and
forbearing under the provocations and wrongs that have so sorely
tried our souls. But feeling kindly towards our white
fellow-citizens, appreciating the good purposes and offices of
the better classes, and, above all, abhorring war of races, we
determined to wait until such time as an appeal to the good sense
and justice of the American people could be made.[7]
This pronouncement of Senator Bruce exalting the manly virtue of
patience, even in the face of grave injustices, was preeminently
representative of the most highly educated Negro thought of the
century in which Senator Bruce lived, and must be interpreted in terms
of the philosophy of his day. If it should be objected to by some of
the most highly developed Negro thought of the present day, the
increasing tendency towards retaliation should be attributed partly to
the American Negro's metamorphosis since the colossal struggle for
that Utopian dream--a World's Democracy.
Perhaps the part of Senator Bruce's speech which has given most
impetus to similar modern expression is contained in the following
excerpt:
The sober American judgment must obtain in the South as elsewhere
in the Republic, that the only distinctions upon which parties
can be safely organized and in harmony with our institutions are
differences of opinion relative to principles and policies of
government, and that differences of religion, nationality, or
race can neither with safety nor propriety be permitted for a
moment to enter into the party contests of the day. The unanimity
with which the colored voters act with a party is not referable
to any race prejudice on their part. On the contrary, they invite
the political cooperation of their white brethren, and vote as a
unit because proscribed as such. They deprecate the establishment
of the color line by the opposition, not only because the act is
unwise, but because it isolates them from the white men of the
South and forces them, in sheer self-protection, and against
their inclination, to act seemingly upon the basis of a race
prejudice that they neither respect nor entertain. They not only
recognize the equality of citizenship and the right of every man
to hold without proscription any position of honor and trust to
which the confidence of the people may elevate him; but owing
nothing to race, birth, or surroundings, they above all other
classes, in the community, are interested to see prejudices drop
out of both politics and the business of the country, and success
in life proceed upon the integrity and merit of the man who seeks
it.... But withal, as they progress in intelligence and
appreciation of the dignity of their prerogatives as citizens,
they as an evidence of growth begin to realize the significance
of the proverb, "When thou doest well for thyself, men shall
praise thee"; and are disposed to exact the same protection and
concession of rights that are conferred upon other citizens by
the Constitution, and that too without humiliation involved in
the enforced abandonment of their political convictions.
The speech closes with an enthusiastic expression of confidence in
American institutions and in the American Negro:
I have confidence, not only in my country and her institutions,
but in the endurance, capacity and destiny of my people. We will,
as opportunity offers and ability serves, seek our places,
sometimes in the field of letters, arts, science and the
professions. More frequently mechanical pursuits will attract and
elicit our efforts; more still of my people will find employment
and livelihood as the cultivators of the soil. The bulk of this
people--by surroundings, habits, adaptation, and choice will
continue to find their homes in the South and constitute the
masses of its yeomanry. We will there, probably of our own
volition and more abundantly than in the past, produce the great
staples that will contribute to the basis of foreign exchange,
aid in giving the nation a balance of trade, and minister to the
wants and comforts and build up the prosperity of the whole land.
Whatever our ultimate position in the composite civilization of
the republic and whatever varying fortunes attend our career, we
will not forget our instincts for freedom nor our love for
country.[8]
A careful study of the speech shows what a model it has been for
speakers and writers of a much later period. It deals openly and
frankly with the Southern question, and is prophetic of President
Harding's recent utterances on the Negro's political status in the
South.
During the second session of the Forty-fourth Congress, Mr. Bruce
confined his efforts largely to the relief of the legal heirs of Negro
soldiers who had fought to preserve the Union. Consequently, he
introduced a number of bills praying that arrears of pensions be
granted. In this way, he became the benefactor of many persons who
otherwise might never have received their pensions. In addition to
such relief legislation, he presented for the second time a petition
praying for a general law prohibiting liquor traffic, and introduced a
bill for certain improvements in the Mississippi River.[9]
The Forty-fifth Congress was not especially eventful. Senator Bruce,
however, continued to introduce bills for the relief of legal heirs of
soldiers. During the second session of this Congress, he took an
active interest in the Chinese Exclusion Bill, registering his vote
against the measure which seemed to him to be contrary to American
principles. His denunciation of the selfish policy of the United
States toward the Indian was more pronounced than that of his
dissatisfaction with the restriction of the immigration of the
Chinese. He believed that the attitude of the Americans toward the
Indian bred hatred and discontent and made the Indian a fugitive and a
vagabond. He believed that the United States Government should do
something to civilize the Indian rather than to restrict him. The
Indian could be made a desirable citizen if the best elements of his
nature were developed to enable him to exercise the functions of
citizenship. He early advocated, therefore, that the Indians should
cease to be dealt with as tribes and should receive consideration as
individuals, "subject to American law and beneficiaries of American
institutions." The Indian then, when no longer branded as an outlaw,
would in the very near future advance to the position when the
cooperation and the protection of the white man would be welcomed as
that of friends.[11]
It was during the Forty-sixth Congress that Senator Bruce was most
active. Senator Bruce did most constructive work in advocating the
improvement of the navigation of the Mississippi river. The importance
of this question today is not so striking as it was at that time for
the reason that little had been done to protect life and property from
the inundations of that stream. Senator Bruce kept this important
problem before Congress urging not only that the interest of the
people in the valley itself be taken care of, but that this river
should by adequate facilities be made the highway of interstate and
foreign commerce. Toward this end Senator Bruce offered several bills
meeting the exigencies of the time and providing for future needs. As
the foresight of a majority of the members of Congress at that time
was not sufficient to appreciate this statesmanlike effort of Senator
Bruce, his program for this important internal improvement was not
carried out, although some important efforts since then to supply this
need in our economic development must be considered as due in some
measure to the persistence and the courage of Senator Bruce in keeping
this question before Congress.[12]
Senator Bruce, moreover, had been watching, with increasing
misgivings, the affairs of that notorious banking bubble, more
pretentiously known as the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company. To
protect the rights of the depositors of the defunct institution, he
offered the following resolution, on April 7, 1879:
That the President of the Senate appoint a committee of five on
the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company to take into
consideration all matters relating to said institution, and that
said committee be authorized to employ a clerk, and that the
necessary expenses be paid out of the "miscellaneous items" of
the contingent fund of the Senate.[13]
The resolution was considered by unanimous consent and agreed to. The
Vice President, the Honorable William A. Wheeler, subsequently
appointed Senator Bruce as Chairman of this committee. The other
members were Senators Cameron of Wisconsin, Gordon, Withers, and
Garland. To head such a committee was, indeed, an enviable privilege,
but the real opportunity lay in the kind of service which the
entangled affairs of the bank made possible. At this time, the affairs
of the bank were in the hands of three commissioners, each receiving
$3000 a year, and no promise of winding up the business of the bank
was foreshadowed. Thus the available assets were reduced annually by
the total amount of these salaries. The assets, of course, were to be
paid _pro rata_ to the depositors.
In order that his committee might have more power to go into the
management of the bank, Senator Bruce offered the following resolution
on May 16, 1879:
That the Select Committee on the Freedman's Savings and Trust
Company appointed by resolution of the Senate of April 7, 1879,
is authorized and directed to investigate the affairs of said
savings and trust company and its several branches, to ascertain
and report to the Senate all matters relating to the management
of the same and the cause or causes of failure, with such other
facts relating thereto as may be important to a full
understanding of the management and present condition of the
institution and to a more economical administration and speedy
adjustment of its affairs.
Following this resolution, Senator Bruce presented a petition of R. M.
Hall, M.D., and others, citizens of Baltimore, Maryland, praying the
passage of an act requiring the commissioners of the Freedman's
Savings and Trust Company to close up the affairs of the institution
and distribute the assets among the creditors thereof. This petition
was presented on May 27, 1879.
The resolution and the petition had their desired effect. The services
of the commissioners were dispensed with, thus saving $9000 a year for
the depositors; and the final settlement of the claims was turned over
to the Controller of the Treasury. To Senator Bruce's Committee,
therefore, goes the credit of bringing a speedy close to the affairs
of the defunct Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, with the minimum
of further loss to the depositors. Later, Senator Bruce made a strong,
but vain, appeal to reimburse the colored depositors of the Freedman's
Savings and Trust Company for losses incurred by the failure of the
bank.
His final dealings with the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company came
in the third session of the Forty-sixth Congress, when he introduced
the following bill:
That the Senate authorize and direct the purchase by the
Secretary of the Treasury, for public use, the property known as
the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, and the real estate and
parcels of ground adjacent thereto, belonging to the Freedman's
Savings and Trust Company, and located on Pennsylvania Avenue
between Fifteenth and Fifteenth-and-a-half Streets, Washington,
District of Columbia.
The bill was considered, amended, and passed.[14]
Ever alert to the educational needs of the colored youth, Senator
Bruce introduced, among many other bills, during the second session of
the Forty-sixth Congress, a bill:
To provide for the investment of certain unclaimed pay and bounty
moneys now in the Treasury of the United States and to facilitate
and encourage the education of the colored race in the several
States and Territories.
The bill was referred to the _Committee on Education and Labor_,
amended by Mr. Pendleton of Ohio, and reported back adversely and
postponed indefinitely.[15]
Senator Bruce was not returned to the Forty-seventh Congress. The
record, however, which he made in the Forty-fourth, Forty-fifth, and
Forty-sixth Congresses will ever maintain for him a prominent place
among the progressive and constructive statesmen of this country. And
here our account should end if it were not for the fact that some of
our readers will want a glimpse of some of the significant events in
Senator Brace's life, exclusive of his career in the Senate. A
condensed account of such facts will suffice.
Senator Bruce was not a native Mississippian. He was born in the
little town of Farmville, Virginia. At an early age, he made his way
to Missouri, thence to Mississippi where he arrived in 1868. In 1878,
he married Miss Josephine B. Wilson, of Cleveland, Ohio, a lady of
most excellent parts and refined culture. A son, Roscoe Conklin, was
born in 1879--a polished gentleman by birth, an educator by training,
an orator and debater by choice, and a scholar by nature. Both wife
and son survive the late Senator.[16]
Senator Bruce belonged to that rugged, self-made type of manhood that
did right to prosper in this world and hope for felicity in the next.
He studied under private tutors and spent two years at Oberlin
College. Like many successful statesmen, he served his time in the
classroom as a teacher. It was during his teaching career that he was
persuaded by Henry Ward Beecher to enter the Christian ministry, but
the inward voice did not respond to the ministerial call.
Though his tenure of office as United States Senator lasted but one
full term of six years, he was given further opportunities for public
service. From 1881 to 1885, he served as Register of the Treasury,
having been appointed to this office by President Garfield. In 1889,
during the administration of President Benjamin Harrison, he was
appointed Recorder of Deeds when the office was operated under a
system of fees which netted from twelve to fifteen thousand dollars a
year. President McKinley called him a second time to the office of
Register of the Treasury, in which position he remained until his
death in 1898.
G. DAVID HOUSTON
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Congressional Record_, 44th Congress, First Session.
[2] Simmons, _Men of Mark_, 699-703.
[3] _Congressional Record_, 44th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 2100-2105.
[4] _Ibid._, pp. 736, 1547, 5138.
[5] _Congressional Record_, 1st Session, pp. 1444, 1445.
[6] _Congressional Record_, 44th Congress, 1st Session, pp. 2100-2105.
[7] _Congressional Record_, 44th Congress, 1st Session, p. 2104.
[8] _Congressional Record_, Forty-sixth Congress, 1st Session, p.
2104.
[9] _Ibid._, p. 2105.
[10] _Ibid._, p. 2105.
[11] _Congressional Record_, Forty-sixth Congress, 2d Session, pp.
2195-2196.
[12] _Congressional Record_, Forty-fifth Congress, 1st Session, pp.
201, 245; 3d Session, pp. 1314, 1316, 2309.
[13] _Ibid._, Forty-sixth Congress, 1st Session, pp. 45, 71, 435,
1679, 2415; 3d Session, pp. 632, 668.
[14] _Congressional Record_, Forty-sixth Congress, 2d Session, pp. 45,
273, 538.
[15] _Ibid._, pp. 1619, 1953, 2053, 2384, 4563.
[16] See Simmons, _Men of Mark_, pp. 699-703.
LINCOLN'S EMANCIPATION PLAN
There was some slavery in the Northwest Territory to which Lincoln
moved with his father from Kentucky, for although that section had
been dedicated to freedom by the Ordinance of 1787, slavery in a
modified form existed there for three reasons. The Ordinance was not
considered emancipatory so far as it regarded the British slaves held
in such service prior to 1795, those of French masters prior to 1763
and those already in that condition when the Ordinance was passed.
Furthermore, after separating from the Indiana Territory, Illinois
legalized slavery by indenture, provided for the hiring of slaves from
Southern States to supply labor in its various industries, and at the
same time passed a stringent law to prohibit the immigration of free
Negroes into that State. Later there followed an attempt to open the
State to slavery by the Legislature of 1822-1823, but the slave party
was defeated by the election of Governor Coles, who would not permit
the reactionary element to reduce that commonwealth to a mediaeval
basis.[1] Such slavery as existed in Illinois, however, differed
widely from that in the South where it had become economic rather than
patriarchal as it then existed in certain parts of the North.
On a trip by way of the Sangamon and the Mississippi to New Orleans in
May 1831, Abraham Lincoln got his first impression of economic slavery
when he "saw Negroes chained, maltreated, whipped and scourged."[2] He
made no mention of this spectacle until a decade later when journeying
from Louisville to St. Louis he saw ten or twelve slaves shackled
together on a boat. This was sufficient to convince him that this
institution was not only an economic evil but a disgrace to a country
pretending to be free. Lincoln, therefore, early decided within
himself that if he ever attained a position of sufficient power to do
something for the extermination of this institution, he would count it
the opportunity of his life.
There soon followed an occasion when Lincoln had an opportunity to
show his constituents his position on this important question. As a
result of the murder of Lovejoy the question of slavery was brought up
at the session of the legislature held in 1837 and was referred to a
committee. The report of this committee expressed disapproval of
abolition societies and carried a declaration to the effect that the
Federal Constitution secured the right of property in slaves, and the
Government of the United States could not abolish slavery in the
District of Columbia without the consent of its citizens. After much
heated debate and filibustering these resolutions were finally passed,
although Lincoln and five other members voted in the negative. Then
there followed from Lincoln and Daniel A. Stone a protest, questioning
and attacking the moral support of slavery, yet recognizing all the
constitutional guarantees that protected it.[3]
Lincoln, as an Illinois Representative in Congress, resorted to a
similar procedure in that national body. At this time there was almost
a pitched battle between the slave States and the free commonwealths,
each one endeavoring to develop more strength than the other in the
effort to dictate the policy of the nation with reference to the
States to be formed out of the remaining western territory. Lincoln
did not take any active part in the discussion of slavery during the
first session of his service in Congress, but he always voted against
any measure providing for the extension of the institution. However,
he still adhered to his position as set forth in the protest in the
Illinois Legislature, that Congress had power under the Constitution
to regulate or prohibit slavery in all territory subject to its
jurisdiction, provided that such power be exercised with due regard to
constitutional rights. He, therefore, decided to test the question
whether it was possible to remove from the seat of the Federal
Government the offensive traffic in human beings. In formulating his
plans to carry out this policy, he consulted the leading citizens of
the District of Columbia and certain prominent men in Congress.
Having secured the approval of Mayor Seaton of Washington, a
representative of the intelligent slave-holding citizens of the
District of Columbia, and also the support of Joshua Giddings, the
leading abolition member of Congress, Lincoln proposed a bill to this
effect. Thereupon Giddings made these remarks: "This evening (January
11th) our whole mess remained in the dining room after tea, and
conversed upon the subject of Mr. Lincoln's bill to abolish slavery.
It was approved by all; I believe it as good bill as we could get at
this time, and am willing to pay for slaves to save them from the
southern market, as I suppose every man in the District would sell his
slaves if he saw that slavery was to be abolished."[4]
In the meantime a less radical bill providing also for the abolition
of slavery in the District of Columbia had been introduced by
Representative Gott of New York. Lincoln, therefore, moved as an
amendment on January 16, 1849, that a committee report a bill for the
emancipation of all slaves in the District of Columbia. This measure
prohibited the bringing of slaves into and selling them out of the
District except in the case of those temporarily serving persons
representing slave-holding States. It made provision for a tentative
system of apprenticeship and the eventual emancipation of children
born of slave mothers after January 1, 1850. It further provided for
the manumission of slaves by the Government of the United States with
compensation to the owners who might make application therefor, for
the return of fugitive slaves from Washington and Georgetown, and
finally for the submission of the bill to popular vote in the District
of Columbia. This measure, however, and its probability of success so
excited the proslavery members of Congress and the slave owners in the
District of Columbia that a violent opposition thereto followed. So
many influential forces were arrayed against the measure that its
friends did not further endeavor to pilot it through the House.[5]
This unsuccessful effort marked the expiration of Lincoln's term in
Congress.
Declining to become a candidate for renomination to Congress, Lincoln
returned to Springfield, partially withdrew from politics, and devoted
himself largely to the practice of law. He reappeared as an active
participant in politics in Illinois in 1854, when there appeared a new
aspect of the question as reflected by the debate incident to the
Kansas-Nebraska controversy. At this time Lincoln was called for in
all directions to deliver addresses to inform the people on the issue
of the day. In this connection he demonstrated his inalterable
opposition to the extension of slavery.[6] He objected to the
iniquitous doctrine of the Nebraska Bill in that it assumed that there
was moral right in the enslaving of one man by another, and, further,
that it tended to be unmistakably subversive of the basic principles
of the Declaration of Independence. Lincoln was of the opinion that
the salvation of the Union was dependent upon the extension or the
restriction of slavery. Realizing the futility and the hopelessness of
voluntary emancipation, he asserted that the "Autocrat of all the
Russias" would resign his crown, and proclaim freedom to all his
subjects sooner than the "American masters" would voluntarily give up
their slaves.[7] It is remarkable that Lincoln's speculative
affirmation was followed by what he thought an impossibility, for on
the day preceding Mr. Lincoln's inauguration the "Autocrat of all the
Russias," Alexander II, by an imperial decree emancipated his serfs;
"while six weeks after the inauguration, the proslavery element,
headed by Jefferson Davis, began the Rebellion to perpetuate and to
spread the institution of slavery."
In 1857 came the Dred Scott decision, in which Chief Justice Taney of
the Supreme Court dragged that tribunal into politics, aiming to
settle the question of slavery in the territories, but it stimulated
rather than suppressed the discussion of slavery, as was evident by
its outburst in the debates between Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Stephen A.
Douglas.[8] The main question was whether, according to the
Constitution, Congress could prohibit slavery in the territories.
Lincoln contended that it could but Douglas was evasive, as he hoped
to reconcile his popular sovereignty with the Dred Scott decision.
Lincoln, on the other hand, showed that the public estimate of the
Negro had become decidedly lower than it was prior to the industrial
revolution, when masters could emancipate their bondmen of their own
volition. Since then it had become common for the State Legislature,
which in the exercise of the sovereignty of the State had the power to
abolish slavery within its limits, to withhold that power and to make
legal restraints tantamount to prohibition.
Lincoln opposed Mr. Douglas in 1858 when he contested the latter's
reelection to the United States Senate. Toward this end he launched a
more determined antislavery program than ever before, advancing the
doctrine that "a house divided against itself cannot stand" and
likewise that "the Union could not endure permanently, half slave and
half free."[9] He further declared that either the advocates of
slavery would push the institution forward until it became alike
lawful in both North and South, or the opponents thereof would arrest
its extension. Douglas had charged the Republicans with the intent to
abolish slavery in the States and had asserted that their opposition
to the Dred Scott decision marked their desire for Negro equality and
amalgamation.[10] To this charge Lincoln replied that the Republicans
were not directing their efforts toward abolition in the slave States,
but toward the exclusion of slavery from the territories. He forcibly
denied the accusation that the Republicans solicited social equality
and amalgamation with the Negro, declaring that there was a physical
difference between the two races, which probably would forever forbid
their living together on equal footing; and that, inasmuch as it
became a necessity that there must be a difference, he, like Douglas,
favored his race for the superior position. Lincoln admitted that in
some respects the Negro, according to the Declaration of Independence,
was not the white man's equal; that in color, size, intellect, moral
development, or social capacity the Negro was not on a par with the
white man; but that that instrument did, with tolerable distinctness,
consider "all men created equal" with certain inalienable rights, such
as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."[11] Lincoln held
that, notwithstanding all these facts, there was no reason why the
Negro was not entitled to all the natural rights embraced by the
Declaration of Independence, which are enjoyed by the white man.[12]
He interpreted the standard maxim that "all men are created equal" as
being of no practical use in effecting the separation of the thirteen
Colonies from Great Britain, and, on the contrary, contended that it
was placed in the Declaration of Independence for future use in the
attainment of democracy.
Lincoln failed to defeat Douglas for the United States Senate but he
continued to discuss the constitutionality of the restriction of
slavery. On more than one instance he limited his remarks to this
question, irrespective of the type of his audience or character of the
occasion. He persistently reiterated the doctrine that there was no
provision in the Constitution that precluded the right of the Federal
Government to control slavery in the territories.[13]
The crisis between 1850 and 1860 brought Lincoln's ideas before larger
groups. Until that year the Democrats had apparently remained united.
At the Democratic National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina,
in April, 1860, there was a division.[14] The Northern Democrats,
unable to comply with the demands of the slave power that the
convention should adopt a platform requiring Congress to protect
slavery in the territories and the Northerners to acknowledge and
advocate the moral right of slavery, forced the South to the radical
position of withdrawing from the Convention. Since no candidate could
then be nominated, the Convention adjourned to Baltimore, in the hope
that time would bring about a reconciliation; but in the end the
Northern Democrats nominated Douglas, and the Southerners nominated
Breckenridge.[15]
The Republican Convention was held in Chicago in May 1860, and there
was adopted a moderate platform, with a denial of the right of
Congress to interfere with slavery in the States. The Republicans
reaffirmed the Declaration of Independence and declared that Congress
should prohibit slavery in the territories. They repudiated the Dred
Scott decision and advocated a protective system. Their most difficult
problem was the selection of a candidate for the presidency. Inasmuch
as Seward and Chase had alienated certain elements by their bold
advocacy of advanced principles and Lincoln was comparatively unknown,
the managers of the party finally accepted him because of his
availability. This choice was received with much indignation among the
antislavery leaders, for even Wendell Phillips and William Lloyd
Garrison railed against the nominee and portrayed him as an
obscurity.[16]
Lincoln's election forced slavery into the foreground. Without
waiting for his inauguration, several Southern States, acting in
accordance with their previous threats that they would secede if a
Republican President were elected, withdrew from the Union. Others
soon followed their example. Congress hastened to offer various
concessions to the seceding States,[17] but these efforts for
compromise were in vain. The die was cast. When Lincoln asserted that
his oath of office bound him to preserve the Union at any cost, civil
war became inevitable. The proslavery element opened fire on the
American flag at Fort Sumter and forced its surrender April 14.[18] On
the next day Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000
volunteers. 500,000 others were later called to defend the honor of
the nation.
The emancipation of Negroes during the Civil War could not be kept
down. It appeared first in the acceptance of Negroes in the Union army
camps as contraband, on the ground that they were being used by the
Confederates to build fortifications and the like and, if returned to
the seceding territory, would be of further use in opposing the
Federal troops. General Butler set this precedent when he was in
charge of the forces at Fortress Monroe. At first there was some
hesitation as to whether the administration should adopt such a
policy. Butler's course, however, was approved by Cameron, the
Secretary of War, May 30, 1861, although Lincoln was not pleased with
it; for he did not desire to alienate the border slave States by
radical steps toward emancipation. He was hoping that the nation would
trust him, "as having the more commanding view, gradually to fix the
attitude of the Government toward the subject,"[19] as the conquest of
the Confederacy proceeded. The Federal troops, however, did not at
first make much headway in the East, but events west of the
Alleghenies progressed favorably for the Union cause, especially in
Missouri. Taking advantage of this state of affairs, General John C.
Fremont, in charge of this district, proclaimed military emancipation
in that State on August 30, 1861. All persons with arms were to be
tried by court martial and shot. Their property would be confiscated,
and their slaves would thereby be declared free. He appointed a
military commission, whose business it was to hear evidence and to
issue personal deeds of the manumission of slaves.
When Lincoln was apprised of this proclamation, he forthwith took
action. He feared that the provisions of General Fremont's drastic
order, providing for the confiscation of property and the emancipation
of slaves of traitorous owners, would alarm the Southern friends of
the Union, would drive them over to the seceding faction, and perhaps
would be instrumental in the loss of the border slave States.
Fremont's action was diametrically opposed to Lincoln's policy, in
that such emancipation was purely administrative and political, one of
civil administration that could not be justified by military
necessity. Consequently Lincoln issued an order instructing Fremont to
modify his proclamation by striking out the disturbing provisions of
the proclamation and substituting therefor the act to confiscate
property used for insurrectionary purposes, passed by Congress on
August 6, 1861, which authorized the President to cause property used
or employed in aid of insurrection to be seized, confiscated, or
condemned, providing, however, that such condemnation be made by
judicial procedure.[20]
Lincoln, nevertheless, hoped to increase the number of free States
through compensated emancipation, which he expected to come through
voluntary action on the part of the slave States at the suggestion of
the Federal Government. In his next annual message to Congress,
however, he made no direct reference to any specific plan of
emancipation, but discussed its practical necessities in general terms
so as to leave himself in a position to decide later on a definite
policy.[21] He endeavored to keep before Congress new and possible
contingencies and emphasized the fact that, by virtue of the
Confiscation Act, many of the slaves thus liberated were already
dependent upon the United States for maintenance, and that they must
be provided for. He recommended, therefore, that Congress provide for
accepting such persons from States so affected in lieu of direct
taxes, and that such persons accepted by the General Government be
declared free immediately.
With his plan for compensated emancipation in mind, it was quite
natural that Lincoln should look for a field of experimentation in a
small State, such as Delaware, especially since there was in Congress
from that State, Representative George E. Fisher, who was a staunch
Unionist and a friend of the President. Fisher gladly cooperated with
Lincoln in carrying out this plan. The Congressman tried to have the
Legislature of Delaware pass an act for the gradual compensated
emancipation of the 1,798 slaves which that State claimed according to
the census of 1861, on the condition that the United States would pay
the Delaware slaveholders $400 for each slave. During November of
1861, Lincoln wrote drafts of two separate bills to effect such an
agreement.[22] The first bill provided that, on the passage of the
act, all Negroes over thirty-five years of age should become free;
that all born after the passage of the measure should remain free; and
that the rest, after suitable apprenticeship for children, should
become free in 1893, while the State in the meanwhile should prohibit
the selling of Delaware slaves elsewhere. By the provisions of the
second bill the United States Government should pay the State of
Delaware $23,200 a year for thirty-one years and all Negroes born
after the passage of the act should be declared free, while all others
should automatically become free at thirty-five years of age until
January, 1893, when all remaining slaves of all ages should become
free, subject to apprenticeship for minors born of slave mothers up
to the respective ages of eighteen and twenty-one.
One of the drafts was rewritten by the friends of the measure that it
might embrace the details and alterations to conform with local
opinion and law. It was printed and circulated among the members of
the Legislature of Delaware and a special session of that body was
called to consider the proposal. The bill, however, was never
introduced, because it was feared that it would be voted down by the
hostile proslavery majority. The proslavery element, moreover,
prepared resolutions to the effect that the bill would encourage the
abolition element in Congress, that it bore evidence of an effort to
abolish slavery in the States, that Congress had no right to
appropriate money for the purchase of slaves, that it was not
desirable to make Delaware guarantee the public faith of the United
States, that the suggestion of saving expenses to the people by
compensated emancipation was a bribe, and that Delaware would abolish
slavery of its own volition at a time when its lawmakers would deem it
advisable. But these resolutions did not fare much better than
Lincoln's bill, for in spite of the fact that they passed the House
they were lost in the Senate.[23]
Although disappointed over the failure of his plans for compensated
emancipation in Delaware, Lincoln, encouraged by the victories of
Thomas and Grant in the West took his next step through Congress to
the States.[24] Accordingly, on March 6, 1862, he sent to that body a
special message, recommending the adoption of the joint resolution
that the United States would cooperate with any State which might
adopt gradual emancipation, giving such State compensation for all
inconveniences produced by the change of any system within its
confines.[25] Lincoln had figured out that less than the cost of the
war for a half day would pay for all the slaves in Delaware at $400
each, and that less than eighty-seven days' cost of the war would
compensate the slaveowners of Delaware, Maryland, the District of
Columbia, Kentucky, and Missouri for all the slaves at the same rate.
The next step took the form of Roscoe Conkling's joint resolution to
this effect recommended by Lincoln in his special message of March 6.
At the same time Lincoln assembled the Congressmen from the border
slave States of Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and
Missouri at the Executive Mansion, where a prolonged discussion of the
subject ensued.[26] Lincoln tried to convince these Congressmen of the
good faith of the administration, and suggested to them that they take
this question of gradual abolition into serious consideration, for the
Government of the United States had no right to coerce them. He
asserted that emancipation was exclusively a State affair; and that
his purpose was simply to present the proposition. Yet probably one
reason for the failure of these Congressmen of the border slave States
to make a favorable reply or to commit themselves in any way was that
they were well aware of Lincoln's determination, according to his
special message of March 6, to use all means to save the Union; and
they, furthermore, understood the hint that necessity might force him
to resort to extreme measures. While this proposition gained no
headway with the border slave States, the joint resolution was
approved by Congress and received the signature of the President on
April 10.
Congress then passed an important measure, the expediency of which
Lincoln urged in 1849. This was emancipation in the District of
Columbia. Lincoln made no specific recommendations relative to this in
his annual message, but later sent a special message to Congress March
6, 1862, taking up the subject in its more extensive aspects. This
bill provided for the immediate emancipation of slaves in the
District of Columbia, and empowered a commission to distribute to
slave-holders for their manumitted slaves a compensation not to exceed
an aggregate of three hundred dollars a head, with an additional
appropriation for $100,000 for expenses of voluntary emigration of
freedmen to Haiti and Liberia.[27] Lincoln did not heartily approve
this measure, however, for he did not want this to interfere with his
policy of compensated emancipation in the border slave States. Even
after the bill had been amended, according to his suggestions, he
still hesitated and some of his friends thought that he might never
sign it, but he did.
The question of emancipation appeared in another form when, upon the
capture of Port Royal the previous November, many slaves, abandoned by
the fleeing slave-holders, sought protection in the Union army. These
slaves, thus dislodged by the misfortunes of war, outnumbered the
whites five to one and had to be organized in groups for government
protection. Relief societies in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia
sent funds and teachers for the slaves. This educational enterprise
received the official sanction of Secretary Chase at President
Lincoln's request. Wishing further to improve their condition, General
David Hunter, commander of the Department of the South, issued on May
9, 1862, an order of military emancipation, proclaiming the Department
of the South under martial law and declaring persons in Georgia,
Florida, and South Carolina, heretofore held as slaves, forever
free.[28] Hunter regarded this an act of military necessity, not an
instrument of political import as General Fremont's proclamation in
Missouri, for Hunter's forces were insufficient for offensive
movements, and he was doing this as the first step toward training and
arming Negroes within his lines. Assuming that the instructions of the
War Department conferred the necessary authority he proclaimed the
order without delay.
The news of this proclamation did not travel rapidly. It was published
in the newspapers one week later, owing to the slow mail by sea from
the South. By this means even Lincoln first learned of this decree, on
account of which he was being assailed in many parts. When the news
reached Lincoln he took decisive and prompt action. On May 19, he
published a proclamation in which he revoked the order of emancipation
and recited that the Government had no knowledge of such a decree nor
had it authorized General Hunter to give such an order.[29]
Lincoln, however, used this occasion for an admonition to the border
slave States, although he carefully distinguished between the limited
powers of the commanders in the field and his full executive
authority. He reminded the border States of the joint resolution
passed by Congress, to authorize compensated emancipation, and he
warned them not to neglect this opportunity to obtain financial
indemnity, for the "signs of the times" were multiplying to a degree
that should have convinced the border States that slavery was doomed.
In the very beginning of the Thirty-seventh Congress there came a
series of antislavery measures which constituted a complete and
decisive reversal of the policy of the Federal Government.[30] On
March 13, 1862, Congress approved an act, which prohibited all
military and naval officers and enlisted personnel from returning
fugitive slaves. Section 10 of the Confiscation Act, virtually an
amendment of the Fugitive Slave Law, which withheld from the claimant
the right to use his authority until he had taken an oath of
allegiance, and made it tantamount to a crime for any person in the
army or navy to surrender a fugitive slave or attempt to validate the
owner's claim, was rigidly enforced. Wishing to see Liberia and Haiti
welcomed into the family of nations, moreover, Lincoln in his annual
message in the previous December recommended the recognition of their
independence and the establishment of diplomatic relations with the
new nations. This resolution was passed by a Congress and approved
June 5, 1862. Lincoln then effected the passage of a measure to carry
into execution the treaty between Great Britain and the United States
for the suppression of the African slave trade. Soon thereafter
followed an act to secure freedom to all persons within the
territories of the United States. The Republican party had thus
carried out its platform by its restoration of the Missouri
Compromise, its extension and application to all Territories, and as a
logical result the rejection and condemnation of the Dred Scott
decision and the subversive property theory of the secessionists.[31]
Then followed the Confiscation Act, the discussion of which was
closely followed by Lincoln, who had his views incorporated therein by
pointing out its defects and suggesting amendments. Whereas the act of
August 6, 1861, freed slaves actually employed in military service,
the new Confiscation Act of 1862 proved to be a law to destroy slavery
under the powers of war. In conjunction with provisions for punishing
treason or rebellion it declared free all slaves of persons guilty and
convicted of these crimes, and provided that slaves deserted by rebels
escaping from them or coming under control of the United States and
slaves of rebels found on Union soil should be deemed captives and set
free. Then again, there were enacted other provisions, which by
implication permitted the employment of slaves in the United States
army that they might work their own enfranchisement. Under this law
the President was empowered to enroll and employ contrabands in such
service as they were fitted for. Their mothers, wives, and children,
if owned by rebels, should be declared free by virtue of such service.
The eleventh section of the Confiscation Act authorized the President
to employ as many Negroes as he might deem necessary for the
suppression of the rebellion. The organization of the earliest Negro
regiments resulted from this legislation.
Lincoln had some hesitation about signing this bill, however, for it
had to be changed to conform to his views. But he signed it and also
an anticipatory resolution of Congress to remedy its defects, placing
himself on record by transmitting with his approval a copy of his
intended veto, had certain defects remained. Mr. Lincoln objected to
the expression that Congress could free a slave within a State,
whereupon he suggested that it be changed to read that the ownership
of the slave would be transferred to the nation, and that Congress
would then liberate him.[32] The Democrats opposed this act, but
antislavery opinion gained momentum by increasing accessions to the
ranks of freedom and by that unusual ability of the highly talented
patriotic membership of Congress. Yet to the proslavery element and
the conservative Unionists, Lincoln's proposal of gradual compensated
emancipation was a daring innovation upon practical politics. "In
point of fact," say Nicolay and Hay, "the President stood sagaciously
midway between headlong reform and blind reaction. His steady,
cautious direction and control of the average public sentiment of the
country alike held back rash experiment and spurred lagging
opinion."[33]
Four months after Lincoln's proposal of compensated emancipation to
the border slave States and its sanction by Congress, the situation
seeming more complicated by the vicissitudes of war, Lincoln saw the
necessity for uniting the sentiment of the North for a practical
solution of the slavery problem. Looking forward into the future,
therefore, Lincoln readily realized that the North must present a
united front contending for a plain, practical policy, relative to
things both political and military.
Consequently he again met the border State delegations on July 12, and
made a second appeal to them to accept compensation for the
emancipation of the slaves in their respective States while the
opportunity was yet at hand.[34] He pointed out to them that the war
would have been ended, had they considered the acceptance of the
provisions of his first appeal for gradual emancipation, and that this
plan would not be a slow and weak means of ending the war. Dissuading
them from secession, he failed not to apprise them of the fact that,
if the rebellion continued, their institution would be destroyed
without any sort of indemnity or reparation. Again he referred to his
revoking General Hunter's proclamation of military abolition, with the
hope that he might possibly win them over to his plan, but his effort
was futile. Most of them replied with a qualified refusal; twenty of
them later presented a written reply, pledging themselves to continue
loyal, but at the same time giving the reasons why they could not
accept the plan of compensated emancipation.
In the meantime the capture of strategic points like Vicksburg and New
Orleans had given the control of the lower Mississippi to the
Union,[35] General Grant had crippled and driven back the Confederates
in the West,[36] and prospects for military success in the East seemed
to require some such a measure as military emancipation. After the
refusal of compensated emancipation by the border slave States the
President decided to emancipate the slaves of rebellious commonwealths
by military order.[37] While riding with Mr. Seward and Mr. Welles one
day, Mr. Lincoln made mention of emancipating the slaves by
proclamation, if the rebels did not lay down their arms. He believed
that such action could be guaranteed only as a military necessity. He
thought that the slaves must be liberated, or the Union would be
exterminated. Lincoln reached a final conclusion and called the
cabinet together on July 21, the day preceding the close of that
session of Congress.[38] Since he was at the end of his tether, he
determined to take a more definite and decisive step. Accordingly, he
prepared several orders which, gave authority to commanders in the
field to subsist their troops in hostile territory and to employ
Negroes as paid laborers, and further provided for the colonization of
Negroes in some tropical country.[39]
As this discussion led to no definite conclusion, the subject was
resumed at a meeting on the following day; but Lincoln decided that
the time was inopportune. While he thought that more evil than good
would be derived from the wholesale arming of Negroes, yet he was not
unwilling that the commanders arm, purely for defensive purposes,
those slaves who came within the Union lines. But the President had
reached a decision on the correlated policy of emancipation with which
it appears that his cabinet was not in accord. They were surprised
when he read to them the first draft of a proclamation warning the
rebels of the penalties provided by the Confiscation Act, suggesting
the renewal of his proposition of compensation to the loyal States,
and adding a summary order that, as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and
Navy, he would declare free the slaves of all States that might be in
rebellion on January 1, 1863. The Cabinet was somewhat "bewildered by
the magnitude and boldness of this proposal."[40]
Only two members of the cabinet concurred in the proposal. Secretary
Chase favored this plan of military emancipation, but could not
approve the method of execution. Blair, the Postmaster General,
deprecated this policy on the ground that it would cost the
administration the fall elections. Secretary Seward approved it and
yet questioned the expediency of its issue at that stage of the war,
owing to the depression of the public mind and the repeated reversals
for the Union armies. He further deemed it to be a last measure of an
exhausted government that was crying for help, stretching forth its
arms to Ethiopia instead of awaiting a reverse appeal from Ethiopia.
Consequently he urged a postponement of the issue of the proclamation
until the country was supported by military success. Lincoln, struck
by the wisdom of Seward's views, which he had entirely overlooked,
laid it away and postponed the proclamation on July 22 until the Union
forces reported a victory. Instead, after a three-day interval, he
issued a short announcement that contained warnings as required by the
provisions of the Confiscation Act.
Lincoln's postponement of the issue of the proclamation was wise.
Military reversals made the situation more serious for the President's
supporters. The radicals and the conservatives, resorted to incessant
criticism, railing against him and his policy. Lincoln, however, kept
up appearances of indecision, even though his own course had been
clearly and inalterably mapped out; but circumstances did not admit a
revelation. His main object was to restrain impatience and zeal, and
yet maintain the loyalty of both factions.[41]
Horace Greeley attacked Lincoln unmercifully in _The New York Tribune_
and accused him of being responsible for the deplorable results coming
from his failure to enforce the Confiscation Act. Lincoln, on the
contrary, lost no time in replying to Greeley, and declared that he
intended to save the Union by the shortest possible way in accordance
with the provisions of the Constitution; that his paramount object in
the struggle was to preserve the Union and not either to preserve or
destroy slavery; that he would save the Union, either without
liberating any slaves, or by freeing all the slaves, or by freeing
some and leaving others in servitude; that, at any rate, he would save
the Union; and that his efforts at emancipation would be determined by
its bearing on the more important question of saving the Union.
The expected easy victory did not follow; but, on the contrary, came
sad and humiliating defeat of Pope in the second battle of Bull Run in
August, 1862. At this juncture Lincoln was urged by both individuals
and delegations to follow one or the other decision relative to
emancipation, but his attitude remained the same. On September 13, he
informed a Chicago delegation that he was unable to free slaves by the
Constitution, especially when the Constitution could not be enforced
in the rebel States, and declared that any emancipation proclamation
would at that time be as effective and operative as "the Pope's bull
against the comet."[42] What the antislavery group wanted was not
granted; but wholesale emancipation was going on by virtue of the
provisions of the Confiscation Act, slavery had been abolished in the
District of Columbia, and the territories had been restored to
freedom. Lincoln, moreover, left himself a margin for action according
to his declaration, in his interview with the Chicago delegation,
that, as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, he had the right to
take any measure which might best subdue the enemy.[43]
Upon hearing of the Union victory at Antietam three days after,
Lincoln immediately seized this opportunity to announce the policy
upon which he had already decided. He had promised to withhold his
Emancipation Proclamation until the rebels were out of Frederick. Now
that they had been driven from Maryland and Pennsylvania, Lincoln was
ready to carry out his plan. On September 22, 1862, therefore, he
announced, read, and published his preliminary Emancipation
Proclamation.[44] It embraced propositions that provided for the
renewal of the plan of compensated emancipation, voluntary
colonization, military emancipation of all slaves in rebellious States
on January 1, 1863, and the ultimate recommendation of compensation to
loyal owners.
Although this proclamation was endorsed by an assembly of Governors
from the Northern States, who had already convened at Altoona,
Pennsylvania, to consider emergency measures for the protection of
their respective States,[45] the political test of this announcement
of military emancipation came, as expected, in the autumn elections.
Popular discontent had arisen as the result of military failure. The
Democrats boldly declared that the war of the Union had been changed
to a war for abolition of slavery. Party conflicts became bitter and
resulted in a loss to the Republicans although they still retained a
majority.
In his next annual message, however, President Lincoln did not discuss
the Emancipation Proclamation, but he renewed his argument for
compensated emancipation. On December 11, 1862, George H. Yeaman of
Kentucky introduced in the House of Representatives a resolution
dubbing the President's proclamation as unwarranted by the
Constitution and a useless and dangerous war message. This resolution
was tabled by a vote of ninety-four to forty-five. Four days later
Representative S. C. Fessenden of Maine, on the contrary, offered a
resolution putting into affirmative form the identical phraseology of
Mr. Yeaman's proposition, and secured its passage by a test vote of
seventy-eight to fifty-four. No other action of consequence then
followed except a manifestation of interest in compensated
emancipation in Missouri.
At a cabinet meeting on the last day of December, 1862, Lincoln read
the final draft of the Emancipation Proclamation and invited
criticism. He made some revision of a minor nature but rejected the
proposal to eliminate from the order the provision that the freedmen
be armed. In this form the Proclamation was issued the following day,
January 1, 1863. The constitutionality of this document has been
questioned. It is conceded, however, that it did actually abolish
slavery within the rebellious area and as a moral stimulus to the
struggle for freedom, it proved to be of great value.
HARRY S. BLACKISTON
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Edwards, _History of Illinois_, 179.
[2] Nicolay and Hay, _Abraham Lincoln_, I, 72; W. H. Lamon, _Life of
Abraham Lincoln_, 83.
[3] Nicolay and Hay, _Abraham Lincoln_, I, 15, 140, 151, 642.
[4] Nicolay and Hay, _Abraham Lincoln_, I, 148, 285-288.
[5] Nicolay and Hay, _Abraham Lincoln_, I, 286.
[6] _Ibid._, I, 373, 375, 380-390.
[7] _Ibid._, I, pp. 391, 392.
[8] Nicolay and Hay, II, 85, 89.
[9] Nicolay and Hay, II, 136-138, 143.
[10] Nicolay and Hay, II, 137, 156, 157; _Lincoln-Douglass Debates_,
p. 8.
[11] Nicolay and Hay, II, pp. 75, 147.
[12] _Ibid._, II, p. 149.
[13] Nicolay and Hay, II, 156, 157, 216.
[14] Murat Halstead, _Conventions of 1860_, 6.
[15] _Ibid._, 7.
[16] Nicolay and Hay, II, 255.
[17] Nicolay and Hay, II, 287, 382.
[18] Rhodes, _United States_, III, p. 357.
[19] Burgess, _Civil War_, II, p. 76.
[20] Nicolay and Hay, _Abraham Lincoln_, IV, 416-420; V, p. 211.
[21] Burgess, _Civil War_, II, 79-80.
[22] Nicolay and Hay, V, 206.
[23] Nicolay and Hay, V, 207.
[24] Dodge, _View_, chap. xi.
[25] Nicolay and Hay, V, p. 209.
[26] McPherson, _History of the Rebellion_, p. 210.
[27] Nicolay and Hay, V, 214.
[28] _Ibid._, VI, p. 90.
[29] Nicolay and Hay, VI, 94-96.
[30] _Ibid._, VI, 97.
[31] Nicolay and Hay, VI, 99-100.
[32] Nicolay and Hay, VI, 103.
[33] _Ibid._, VI, 107.
[34] _Ibid._, VI, pp. 109-111.
[35] King, _New Orleans_, ch. xiii.
[36] Dodge, _View_, ch. x.
[37] Nicolay and Hay, VI, p. 121.
[38] _Ibid._, VI, pp. 123-124.
[39] Warden, _Life of S. P. Chase_, p. 439.
[40] F. B. Carpenter, _Six Months at the White House_, pp. 20-22.
[41] Dodge, _View_, ch. xiv. Rossiter Johnson, _History of War of
Secession_.
[42] Nicolay and Hay, VI, 155.
[43] Dodge, _View_, pp. 102-115.
[44] Nicolay and Hay, VI, pp. 168-169.
[45] Nicolay and Hay, VI, p. 164.
THE JOURNAL OF ISAACO[1]
I
The time approaches when all the wildness of this little world will be
overrun and tamed into the trimness of a civilized parterre; when the
last trail will have been trodden, the mystery of the last forest
bared, and the last of the savage peoples penned into a League of
Nations to die of unnatural peace. What will our children do then, I
wonder, for their books of high romance? How satisfy their thirst of
daring with nothing further to dare? Who will appease them, when
"The Rudyards cease from kipling
And the Haggards ride no more,"
when Robinson Crusoe and the classics are once read, and in a hencoop
world no saga-man arises in their stead? They say that by then we
shall have enlarged our borders and gone in our chariots of petrol to
visit the wheeling stars. But I misdoubt these Icarian flights. It
seems to me more likely that the harassed parents and publishers of
those days will be driven earthward to rummage into the lumber of the
past and bring out as new the obscure things that a former more heroic
age had buried. In those stricken times, I hope someone may have the
fortune to light upon my manuscript _Journal_ of Isaaco, a slim,
alluring folio that now glitters in red-and-gold upon my study
shelves. It would be a pity if Time, the All-Merciless, were allowed
to throw the dust of oblivion over these pretty pages, for they
possess in good measure that trait of "pleasant atrocity" which wins
the attention of youth.
But who was Isaaco, and what was his _Journal_ that it calls for the
popularity of print? Those who have followed the harrowing tale of
Mungo Park's _Travels_ along the River Niger, in the years 1795 to
1797, and again in the fatal expedition of 1805, will be well
acquainted with Isaaco. They will have smiled at his childish tempers,
applauded his snakelike cunning, and laughed outright at his heathen
superstitions. But the others must be gravely informed that Isaaco was
a West African of the Mandingo tribe who was wont for dignity's sake
to describe himself as a Mohammedan priest. Certainly he had the
Pentecostal gift of tongues, for there was hardly a dialect of
Bambouk, Fool-adoo, Jallonkadoo, Timbuctoo, and all the other tribes
of Senegal and beyond, but he could deceive the wiliest natives in it.
Moreover, as a professional guide he found it paid to keep a wife in
every petty state. At the worst she served to exercise the tongue; at
the best she was provisioner, geographer, and spy. Never tired, never
sick, never at a loss, Isaaco was simply indispensable to the European
merchants trading in Senegal. So, indeed, was he to Mungo Park, that
doughtiest of Scotsmen, who dared on through Bambarra and Haoussa
where no white-face had ever been. Without Isaaco's genius and
gigantic strength, it is unlikely that the second expedition (in 1805)
would ever have reached the Niger. It was Isaaco who nursed the forty
brave men who one by one sickened of dysentery; supported them on
their mules, even in delirium, when they cried like children for their
homes; and buried them at the last with saphies or charms from the
_Koran_ over their unmarked graves. It was he who watched, while the
others slept the dead sleep of exhaustion; piled up the camp-fires to
scare off the lions and wolves, and, worse than the wolves, those
thieves and murderers (the scum of Senegal) who ever dogged their
steps. None like Isaaco could placate each chieftain with the gift
that his soul desired (be it cowries, beads, looking-glasses, muskets,
or multi-colored waistcoats); nor when these failed, could any but
Isaaco win passports with the mere honey of his tongue. Nothing could
swerve him from honesty or the performance of his task. He was tied to
a tree and flogged in the presence of his local wife, set upon by the
very white men he was serving, stung all over by a swarm of bees, and
mauled in both thighs by a crocodile; but each time he turned up
smiling and ready to go on. Nothing could stop him, for did he not
keep the solemn ritual of the guides, sacrificing a black ram at the
threshold of every country they entered, drawing the magic triangles
and hieroglyphs on the sand of every desert they had to cross, and
keeping fast in his scrip that lock of a white man's hair, which added
all the knowledge of a European to the African natives who possessed
it?[2]
II
The agreement of Isaaco was to guide the expedition to the Niger,
whence it was to proceed under the direction of Amady Fatouma, another
guide. Accordingly, when Sansanding was reached, Isaaco's work was
accomplished. Some days he lingered to load the great canoe (large
enough to carry a hundred men). In the evenings he taught Mungo Park
the names of the necessaries of life in the tongues of the countries
ahead. Then he took a last farewell of his master and carried back to
the coast that famous letter to Lord Camden, the concluding lines of
which are engraved below the writer's statue in the city of Edinburgh:
"My dear friends Mr. Anderson and likewise Mr. Scott are both dead;
but, though all Europeans who were with me should die, and though I
were myself half dead, I would still persevere; and if I could not
succeed in the object of my journey I would at least die on the
Niger."
One by one the months wore on and no news came from the Niger. But in
the next year (1806) there began to be rumors of a great disaster.
Still nothing definite was heard, and Mungo Park's wife and his many
friends hoped on. They knew his marvellous hardihood and resource, and
that of the stalwart Scotsmen who were with him. In 1810, however,
the Government, who were responsible for the second expedition,
thought it time to inquire what had befallen it; so they told the
Governor of Senegal to find Isaaco and offer him £1,000 to explore
after the explorer and put all doubts at rest. Now the manuscript
which I possess, and of which a _précis_ follows, is Isaaco's account
of his travels in search of Mungo Park, by which he earned his
thousand pounds and did the last sad offices to his master's memory.
In my judgment it contains as much of the spirit of adventure as Mungo
Park's own journals, and, being written by a native, gets nearer to
the life and mind of the African Negro than any white man, writing
from outside, could hope to do. For that reason I often wonder why the
successive editors of Park's _Travels_ have passed it over, printing
only the last page or two, wherein Amady Fatouma relates the
explorer's end. One thing I know has been against its adoption, to
wit, an insufferably dull style. Seeing that it is difficult to be
dull in the Arabic tongue, and that it was impossible for Isaaco to be
so in any of the tongues he used, I suspect the English translator (no
doubt a mere clerk in Governor Maxwell's Office) of pruning away the
flowers of speech, and making all as prim and exact as an affidavit.
Or possibly Isaaco simulated dullness. He meant to have that thousand
pounds, and could afford to take no risks. A tropical, luxuriant style
would certainly have put his credibility in question. As it was, many
of the learned societies doubted his word, and one of them roundly
asserted that he had sat outside Senegal and fabricated at ease the
history of his travels. It was only after Bowditch, Denham,
Clapperton, and Landor had explored after the explorer that Isaaco's
credit was established and the learned societies put to shame.
In the abridgment that follows I have tried to preserve not only the
spirit, but wherever possible the very words, of Isaaco's manuscript
_Journal_. Whatever has been discarded is of little consequence and of
less grammar.
III
Isaaco left Senegal by ship on the 22d day of the Moon Tabasky
(January 7th) in the year 1810; but apparently the moon was not
propitious, for he was nearly cast away in the lighter, trying to
cross the bar, and in the ensuing confusion the larger part of his
baggage was stolen. When he discovered this two days later at Goree
and attempted to return, the winds rose and tossed the vessel about
for nine days and drove him back to Goree. After some negotiation with
Governor Maxwell by courier, the baggage was rescued and sent to
Isaaco by road. The next few pages of his _Journal_ are difficult and
barren reading, bristling with nothing but the uncouth names of places
where the good ship passed or anchored for the night, and with the
hours duly entered as in a log book, according to the Mohammedan hours
of prayer. Sailing by way of Yoummy, Jillifrey, Tancrowaly, and
Jaunimmarou, they came on the eighth day to Mariancounda, where Isaaco
landed. This was the home of Dr. Robert Ainsley, who had so often
befriended Mungo Park, fitted him out with the necessaries of life,
and started each expedition on its way. Under the same hospitable roof
Isaaco lodged for the inside of a week, and then, enriched with the
gift of a horse and an ass and twenty bars of beads, went into the
wilds to search for the fate of his master. To open the road through
Giammalocoto and Tandacounda, Isaaco wisely paid court to the King of
Cataba, and showered upon him an old musket and a string of amber of
the quality No. 4. The next halt was at Sandougoumanna under a
tamarisk tree (Isaaco always notes the trees under which he sleeps).
From the shade of this in the early morning he sent presents to the
kings who barred the way; tobacco to him of Sallatigua, and scarlet
cloth to him of Mansangcoije. Three villages on, Isaaco's company was
suddenly increased by members of his own family, fleeing before the
army of Bambarra--all but his mother, who had refused to leave her
kraal. Three days later he was with her, in his native place of
Montogou, and there stayed forty days, whether carousing, or
fighting, or praying, he does not say. Then, prudently burying his
heavy luggage, he departed, still carrying his people with
him--through Moundoundou, where the chief killed a sheep in his honor
and was rewarded with a flask of powder--on through Couchiar, a sleepy
sort of place by name and situation, with a spreading bark tree,
beneath which he drowsed the length of a day--on to Saabic, a village
solely inhabited by Maraboos or priests. To gain the goodwill of
Allah, he dwelt there a few days, and discovered a relation of one of
his wives (no rare occurrence, seeing how many he kept) whose heart he
rejoiced with some gunpowder and a gay piece of cloth. At the very
next village, Tallimangoly, he fell across another, who cost him three
grains of amber. Indeed, it seemed as though his store of presents
would never hold out; for, no sooner had he digested the sheep his
cousin killed for him, than the Bambarra army came up, and with fear
and trembling Isaaco must needs dole out a whole heap of stuff--10
flasks of powder, 13 grains of amber (this time No. 1), 2 grains of
coral (No. 1) and a handsome tin box. These to the King. And the
King's chamberlain, goldsmith, and singing men had to be tipped as
well.[3]
IV
So they paid their way through Sangnonagagy and Saamcolo (where there
was a "grand palaver" to rescue Isaaco's dog, which had bitten a man
and been condemned to die), on to Diggichoucoumee, a place as long as
its name, which took them four days to get through. It took still
longer to get clear of the next village of Dramana, for the family of
one of his wives came up and bitterly opposed her going with him on a
journey so hazardous. There was another "grand palaver." In the end
Isaaco lost his temper and divorced his wife; and, as the law required
her to return what she had received at marriage, he came rather well
out of it--to be exact, with a bullock and four sheep. A little
further on Isaaco met an Arab with an exceptionally fine mare, which
he bought with his wife's dowry and so consoled himself. He found the
mare more tractable than a wife with obstinate relations. After this
episode the pace of the party mended. Numbers of villages with
unpronounceable names were hurried through. The river Senegal was
crossed, and a country entered, that of Bambarra, where only women
could be found. Every man, even the children and the aged, had gone
away with the army. At the ill-sounding place Ourigiague, just beyond,
they were royally entertained. A whole bullock was roasted for them.
So, too, at Medina, where they were forced to waste twelve days and
devour five sheep, because one of Isaaco's servants made off with the
aforesaid mare and Isaaco's precious musket. A trustier servant was
despatched on his trail. In due time he returned with the mare and the
musket, and preferred not to say what had happened to the thief. The
petty kingdom of Casso, which they came to next, proved very trying.
There were six rivers to cross, full (says Isaaco) of alligators and
hippopotami. There was the forbidding rock of Tap-Pa in the desert of
Maretoumane to get by. And there was the mountain of Lambatara, on the
top of which they were attacked by a cloud of bees. Maddened with the
stings, the Negroes ran everywhere; the mules broke loose and threw
their packs down the hill. Poor Isaaco had to collect them all,
physick the dying and distressed, and number the living and the lost.
At nightfall he slept like a log "under a monkey-bread tree." The
following day was darkened by an ominous message from the King of
Bambarra. There was evidently trouble brewing ahead. To gain some
friendship in the capital, Isaaco decided to bribe. To Sabila, the
Chief of the King's slaves, he sent a pair of scissors, a snuff-box,
and a looking-glass, and desired to be his friend. And to his old
friend Allasana Bosiara, then ambassador at Bambarra from the King of
Sego, he sent a piece of silver "as a mark of being near him," and
begged him not to leave until he was in safety. As he drew nearer,
other signs made Isaaco convinced that "something unpleasant was
planning." He was refused lodgings and water by the chiefs. A friendly
merchant who had travelled under his protection was secretly warned to
take himself and his goods away before it was too late. Thereupon
Isaaco retired to another monkey-bread tree, ringed his little company
about with muskets, double-barrelled guns, and assegais and "waited
for what should happen." The following morning the King tempted them
away with the friendliest of welcomes and gave them lodging and water
at Wassaba, near the Royal Palace. His suggestion, however, that
Isaaco should sleep separately from his people, was courteously but
firmly declined. Indeed, Isaaco left nothing to chance. He first
fortified the lodgings assigned to him, and then set out to find
Sabila. But the King's spies who dogged his steps gave him the wrong
directions, and at last he abandoned the quest. It seemed clear that
Sabila did not wish him well. The next day the King sent word that he
would like to see Isaaco. It had to be. Taking his life in his hands,
as he had done a thousand times before, the old guide mounted his
horse and rode off to the royal quarters. On the way, a friend
whispered to him that he was betrayed; and on no account must he tell
the King that he was bound with presents to the King of Sego; for
there was not a being he hated and feared so much as that monarch, who
usurped his rightful throne. "But," replied Isaaco, "he knows already
I am bound there. To Sego I was sent and to Sego I must go unless
force or death prevents." Arrived at the King's door, Isaaco was told
that he was sleeping (yet another ruse) and that he must remain in the
guard-room. It was then about sunset. For hours Isaaco waited, but the
King slept on and not a soul of Isaaco's friends in the capital came
to relieve his suspense. They knew he was marked down to die. "The
only person," he writes, "who came to comfort me was a Griot, that is,
a dancing woman. On leaving me she went, as I afterwards learned, to
the Ambassadors of Sego and said to them: 'Oh! me, oh! me, my back is
broke (which is an expression of sorrow among the Cassoukes). They are
going to kill Isaaco.'"
V
Meantime, as the guards were dancing, singing, and drinking, Isaaco
stole out unperceived and made good use of his time. To the keeper of
the inn, with whom he had formerly stayed, and who had some influence
with the King, he gave one of his wives' necklaces and seven grains of
coral. From him he went to Madiguijou, a Counsellor of State,
explained his mission to Sego, and hinted what Governor Maxwell would
do if he were put to death. He even crept into Sabila's hut, and told
him the same thing; but the chief of the slaves smiled and promised
nothing. Isaaco plied him with more amber No. 1, but he "smiled and
smiled and still remained a villain." Then Isaaco thought it wiser to
get back into the guard-room, before the drunken soldiers grew sober
and looked for him. In the morning he played his last card by getting
into touch with the Ambassadors from Sego. These distinguished
gentlemen were by no means eager to take on the burden of his
protection, but Isaaco bade them know that the present which Mungo
Park had promised King Mansong, he (Isaaco) was commissioned to bring
to their King Dacha, his son. If they were determined to go without
him, they might do so; but whether he lived or died they should hear
of it at Sego. That fetched them. They were by no means pleased with
the picture Isaaco drew of their sufferings, and proceeded to save
themselves by saving him. As the King their master could simply eat up
the King of Bambarra and his army at one swallow, they commanded the
release of Isaaco and twenty men to conduct him on his way. At this
peremptory message, King Figuing Coroba found it politic to wake, and
summoned Isaaco to his presence. The latter obeyed, went through the
highest salutations, and proffered a tin box by way of asking: "Is it
peace?" But there was no sign of peace. The King suddenly lost his
temper, raged at the King of Sego, and, swearing he would seize
everything Isaaco possessed, hurled the tin box at his head. Isaaco
discreetly withdrew, while Sabila promised to pour oil on the troubled
waters. The next day Isaaco, not the least daunted, presented himself
with the aforesaid tin box and in addition a quantity of amber, and
gunpowder, and the horse Robert Ainsley had given him. Sabila was
bribed once more, and the King's singer was won over with a snuff-box.
At the sight of his share, the King's anger melted like wax, and he
not only gave Isaaco leave to depart that same day, but promised an
escort too.... Isaaco coolly answered that he was in no hurry and
would wait a day or two--an exhibition of nerve that quite astonished
the King. "You see," he said to Sabila, "Isaaco appears to be a
courageous man. If he had been of a weak-spirited mind, he would have
run away and left his things in my hands." To confirm his friendship,
the King called up the heir to the throne, and made him swear
protection to Isaaco, an oath which the Prince hinted should be
cemented by the gift of a _cousaba_ or shirt. But Isaaco delicately
replied that he had none quite clean enough to present. When he
returned to his own country, he swore to bring him a new one. So
Isaaco triumphed and returned to his own people, who were mourning him
as dead. Nor did he come empty-handed, for he met a man on the way who
wanted a priestly charm or amulet (_grisgris_). Isaaco scribbled an
Arabic prayer on a leaf and received a bullock in exchange. This he
slaughtered forthwith, feasted his large family, and made a sacrifice
of thanksgiving to his god.
VI
Three days after this distressing delay, Isaaco set out for Sego, and
was brought in safety to the end of the Bambarra dominions. For
further guidance he then hired four promising natives; but, having
landed the party in the midst of a gloomy forest, they grew
superstitious and ran away. "I was much disappointed," says the mild
Isaaco, "at their behavior." More likely he was speechless with
rage.[4] But there was nothing to do but to press on, and that they
did through forest and desert to the lakes of Chicare and Tirium. As
they reached the mud-walled village of Giangounta, one of the fatting
pigs, which were to be given to King Dacha, became too fat to carry.
Isaaco begged the chief of the village to look after it until it could
be fetched, but he objected, "being afraid to take charge of an
unknown animal." However, Isaaco explained all about its ways, wrote a
_grisgris_ to ward off all evil, and dumped it on the still-astonished
hamlet. Thence over more lakes by canoe, through Toucha, where they
found the trees from which African gunpowder was made, and by a great
pyramid with a large stone on its head, where the murderous Moors lie
in wait. Going by night to avoid them, Isaaco did not till day
discover that one of his servants had made off with his box of
jewellery and his one and only _cousaba_. Then he swore as only a
Mohammedan priest can, and rode after the thief. In three days he was
back with the felon, whose death penalty he postponed for a time on
condition that he carried the remaining pig into Sego. At Sannanba,
Isaaco found again the sister and the wife he had left there five
years before. He seems to have quite forgotten them; but they had
faithfully waited his return, knowing that nothing would kill him. It
was from them that he first learnt that Mungo Park was dead. They had
seen Alhaji Beraim,[5] who had been shown the canoe in the country of
Haoussa, where Park met his end. However, Isaaco was determined to go
on and learn for himself on the spot. So he dismissed his sister with
a piece of muslin, took on the wife, and released the prisoner, for
(he says) "I was certain, once in the King's power, he would be put to
death." At Counnow, a little further along the road, Isaaco came upon
"an enormous large tree inhabited by a large number of bats. Another
such tree lies on the west of the village, likewise full of bats; but
what is most extraordinary, the bats of the east constantly go at
night to the west, and return to the east at the approach of day;
those of the west never go to the east. And the natives say their
lawful King (Figuing Coroba who had been driven out to the petty
kingdom of Bambarra) lies upon the west."
Impressing four men of every district to carry the pig to the next,
Isaaco journeyed on through Dedougou, Issicord, and five other
villages, all deserted. At Yamina, one of the women slaves whom Isaaco
had redeemed, and who had followed his expedition, found her long-lost
husband. There was much rejoicing and dancing and exchange of presents
all round. Then after crossing the Niger at Jolliba, they struck Sego
Coro, the ancient palace of the kings, where to that day (and possibly
to this) the King resorted when war was declared, to have his amulets
prepared, and don his forefathers' armor. There, too, the royal
prisoners were wont to be brought for confinement until the fasting
moon, and then cruelly murdered in the House of Death. For eight days
after it was against the law for anyone to pass the house without
putting off his hat and shoes. In the reign of the great warrior-king,
Walloo, not a moon passed without the sacrifice of blood.
VII
The next day Isaaco was summoned to the presence of the King, who
scented his presents from afar. Indeed the royal message was concerned
only with the pigs: they were to be brought in the same ingenious
manner by which Isaaco had tied them for transit. In this fashion
then, with the swine, like peace-offerings, suspended in advance,
Isaaco's motley company, begrimed with eight months' travel, came
straggling into Sego.
Encircled with his companies of guards, "young, strong, and
beardless," the great King Dacha squatted on the ground. Behind and
beside him, standing upright in the earth, glittered the four
broadswords which Mungo Park had given. As a sign that he had loosed
his hounds of war, the King was dressed in his military coat, shining
with countless amulets of gold. In the wild flaming sky burned the
remnants of the storm which had just driven him back from Douabougou.
So squatted King Dacha, and with royal impassive face, showing no mark
of the boiling curiosity within, stared at those unknown animals, the
swine. Hard on their heels shuffled Isaaco, himself also on all fours
in a deep obeisance. Behind him the bearers of the inevitable bribes:
a drum, two blunderbusses, a bed, a piece of scarlet cloth, and a
solitary dog. (There should have been another, but it had bolted far
back at Mariancounda.) Then said Isaaco: "Maxwell, Governor of
Senegal, salutes you and sends his compliments to you. Here is the
present your father asked of Mr. Park and which he promised to send
him." "Is the Governor well?" asked Dacha. "Yes," replied Isaaco, "he
is well and desired me to beg your assistance to discover what has
become of Mr. Park. We would know if he is dead or alive." After these
civilities they fell to business, and Isaaco bargained for a canoe to
row as far as needful down the Niger. The King hesitated over the
Governor's offer of two hundred bars, for was he not far enough away
to break his word? But when the two pigs got loose and waddled about,
he became as happy as a child, and was no more trouble to Isaaco. To
confirm his goodwill, he killed a bullock for him, and begged him to
remain as his guest throughout the remainder of that moon. After a
fortnight's festivities, Isaaco was preparing to depart, when the
King's mind was suddenly turned another way. A message was brought in
that the Prince of Timbuctoo was at hand and desired an audience. King
Dacha scowled. Then he leapt to his feet, summoned his 600 guards, and
went out in full war-paint to meet him. The Prince rode up airily and
said: "Being a friend of your father, I thought it my duty to let you
know of my coming to take a wife, promised to me in your tribe." "And
why," asked Dacha in his dreadful voice, "why have you permitted the
people of your country to plunder one of my caravans, and why did
_you_ yourself plunder another?"
With no more said, the King returned to his kraal. It was from others
the Prince learned that the merchants of the caravans had denounced
him before the King, that his betrothed had been given to another, and
that he was in danger of being plundered of his life. With almost
indecent haste he despatched three horses to the King, gave pieces of
colored stuff to all the captains of the guards, and slunk back
ashamed to Timbuctoo. But King Dacha was so furiously enraged, he
could neither stay in his kraal nor allow Isaaco to take leave. Away
he rode to Impelbara and Banangcoro, with Isaaco trailing behind, very
much out of temper and somewhat out of breath. It seemed, as the chief
slave tried to explain, that when the King was angry, he pacified
himself by visiting his children. Apparently he visited his wrath on
them. Isaaco groaned and wondered how many there might be, and in what
score of villages they dwelt apart. But he cheered up when they told
him the legitimate children were six. There had been more, but by an
ancient law of Sego, if a male child was born of one of the King's
wives upon a Friday, its throat was cut immediately. This had
accounted for three. After a decent interval, Isaaco made it known to
the King that he also was very angry, and demanded to have his canoe
and go after Mungo Park. The King then sent for him, apologized for
forgetting all about him, and pointed in justification to the pigs,
which, like a good father, he had brought along to please the
children. He himself could hardly keep his eyes off such fat and
unusually happy creatures. The next day Isaaco pressed the bargain,
and, though it was Friday, steered away in the King's canoe for
Sansanding, where he had parted from Mungo Park. And then, with the
prospect of hundreds of miles in hostile country before him, he had a
stroke of good fortune; for in the next village of Medina, whom should
he run against but Amady Fatouma! As one might expect, Isaaco nailed
him to the spot with a hundred questions. Poor Amady began to weep.
"They are all dead," he sobbed. Isaaco demanded to know when and where
and why. "They are all dead," the guide repeated. "They are lost for
ever. It is no use asking. It is no good looking for what is
irrecoverably lost." Like a sensible man, Isaaco checked the ardor of
his curiosity. It certainly was hopeless to ply Amady with questions;
his tears threatened to flood the Niger; it was not safe to stay
there. So Isaaco gave him a day or two to subside, and arranged a
meeting higher up the river.
VIII
Amady's tale has often been printed, and there is no need here to
repeat anything but essentials; his padding is even more woolly than
Isaaco's. In the great canoe,[6] which Isaaco had helped to load
before departing, Mungo Park rowed away on November 17th, 1805, with
the survivors of his company of forty, namely, four white men and five
Negroes, including Amady, for crew. From the very outset the voyage
proved unpropitious. Almost every village they passed on the river
bank came out against them in canoes, armed with bows and arrows,
pikes and assegais. Each member of the crew kept fifteen muskets in
action; to kill and kill was the only chance of forcing a passage
through. There was no Isaaco to try the magic of conciliation. Once
indeed, when they had beaten off sixty canoes with appalling
slaughter, Amady ventured to remonstrate. "Martin," he said, taking
hold of his arm, "let us cease firing: we have killed too many
already." "On which," he comments, "Martin wanted to kill me and would
have done so had not Mr. Park intervened." The troubles thickened. The
news of their coming had evidently been spread in advance. Just beyond
Gotoigega they encountered a whole army, comprised of the Poule
nation, such beasts themselves, that (says Amady) they possess no
beasts of any other kind. They were suffered to go by in ominous
silence--only to fall foul of a squadron of hippopotami, who nearly
washed them over. At an island just beyond, Amady was landed to forage
for milk; but there was no milk to be had, not even the milk of human
kindness. The natives took him prisoner and decided he should be done
to death. But Mungo Park was watching; and by a fortunate chance two
canoes full of natives, bringing fresh provisions for sale, had come
alongside at that moment. Mungo Park made it abundantly clear that he
would kill every man-jack of them if a hair of Amady's head were
touched. So the prisoners were exchanged. It was a narrow escape for
Amady; and the uneasiness it caused was increased by the constant
cries from the shore, "Amady Fatouma, how can you pass through our
country without giving us anything?" "I seriously promised," he
observed, "never to pass there again without making considerable
charitable donations to the poor." As they came to the frontiers of
Haoussa another large army of Moors watched them from a mountain.
Fortunately they had no fire-arms, and could do no harm. On reaching
Yaour, the first place of any size in Haoussa, Amady was landed, as
his bargain was to bring the party only so far. In addition to his
pay, he conveyed Mungo Park's presents to the King; but, instead of
delivering these in person, gave them to the Chieftain of Yaour, who
promised to forward them. A little slip, it seems, but fraught with
deadly consequence. The Chieftain, finding out from Mungo Park that he
did not intend to return that way, determined to keep the presents
for himself. The next morning, as Amady was paying his court to the
King and expecting the presents to come, two horsemen rode in from
Yaour and said: "We are sent from the Chief to let you know that the
white men went away without giving you or him anything. They have a
great many things with them and have given nothing. This Amady Fatouma
now before you is a bad man, and has made a fool of you." Poor Amady
was forthwith put in irons and all his goods confiscated, with the
exception of his Arabic charms, which they dared not touch. The next
morning the King sent his army to Boussa and posted it on a rock which
straddled the width of the river, leaving only a narrow opening for
the current to race through. Mungo Park, seeing the danger,
nevertheless resolved to force a passage. But the odds were terrific.
It took half the men to keep the canoe moving against the current,
while the rest fired at the enemy as they hurled stones and assegais
upon their heads. At last the two steersmen were slain, and the canoe
went adrift. In a desperate attempt to lighten it, they cast all the
baggage into the river, but still could make no headway. Overpowered
by numbers and fatigue, and with no chance of killing a whole army,
they saw but one hope of escape--namely, to make for the shore and get
away into the bush. Taking hold of one of the white men, Mungo Park
leapt into the river, Martin, with another white man, following after;
but, fine swimmers as they were, the current proved too strong for
them and all four were drowned. The one Negro left in the canoe
surrendered, and both he and the canoe were dragged to shore and
carried to the King.
After being kept three months in irons, Amady was released and in part
consoled with a concubine. But he made it his first business before
departing to visit the slave taken in the canoe, and learn from him
the sad details of Mungo Park's destruction. The only thing that was
found in the canoe after its capture was a sword belt which the King
used as a saddle-girth for his horse.
IX
Such was Amady Fatouma's tale, that Isaaco had journeyed for nine
months to hear. And as he was a "good, honest, and upright man" and
had sworn truth upon the _Koran_, there was nothing to do but believe
and carry back the mournful tidings. To make "assurance double sure,"
Isaaco sent to Yaour a native who bribed a slave girl to steal the
sword belt from the king's charger. Then, passing homeward through
Sego, he told the news to Dacha, who was so furious that he despatched
his army to wipe the country of Haoussa off the face of the earth. But
Isaaco set his face for Senegal, to exchange his Arabic _Journal_ for
a thousand pounds.
LOUIS N. FEIPEL
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Extract from _The Cream of Curiosity_, by Reginald L. Hine, 1920,
pp. 291-316.
[2] To this day no news has reached England of Isaaco's death, and
indeed after all he survived it seems impossible that he should ever
die.
[3] Isaaco was better able to appreciate their music than Mungo Park.
In one item of his accounts, the latter writes: "To the native singers
for singing their nonsense."
[4] It must be remembered that Isaaco was writing a government report
and careful to suppress all signs of indecorum. What a heap of money
one would give to possess his private, unexpurgated journal!
[5] A priest of Yaour to whom Amady Fatouma, the guide, had given a
small present from Mungo Park.
[6] Mansong had sold it to Park for a quantity of firearms. It was
half rotten and took eighteen days to make water-tight. Forty feet
long by six broad and flat-bottomed. They christened it "His Majesty's
Schooner Joliba."
COMMUNICATIONS
Mr. A. A. Taylor, who contributed the article on _Negro Congressmen a
Generation After_ in the April number, recently received from Mr.
Henry A. Wallace, a participant in the Reconstruction in South
Carolina, the following important letter:
326 Flower St.,
Chester, Pa.,
April 19, 1922.
PROF. A. A. TAYLOR,
The West Virginia Collegiate Institute, Institute, W. Va.
_Dear Sir:_ I am still confined to the house, not having been
outside since the last week of December. When we get some good
sunshiny weather I will venture out. I am writing this to let you
know how much I enjoyed reading your very interesting article
"Negro Congressmen a Generation After," in the April number of
The Journal of Negro History. This article and Dr. Woodson's
"Fifty Years of Negro Citizenship as Qualified by the United
States Supreme Court" are worth the subscription price to The
Journal.
As your article is now in permanent form and no doubt will be
quoted frequently, there are one or two little slips that I would
like to invite your attention to, feeling that you, like myself,
believe in accuracy.
On page 130, foot note relative to Mr. Rainey you have not
included his service in the 41st Congress. He was seated in that
Congress on December 12, 1870, to succeed Mr. Whittemore, who was
unseated on account of a serious charge brought against him. Mr.
Rainey was the first Negro Congressman. Mr. Long was seated in
the same Congress, but later--January 16, 1871. This would give
Mr. Rainey a record of five Congresses. On the same page (130)
foot note relative to General Smalls, you have him as a member of
five Congresses. My record does not show him a member of the
_47th_ Congress. Mr. Rainey holds the record for length of
service. In connection with Mr. Rainey's record I will state that
he was the only one of the Negro congressmen who presided over
the House of Representatives, that courtesy was extended to him
by Speaker Blaine. Altho the House was democratic he was honored
by the Republican caucus at one time for Clerkship of the House,
showing the esteem in which he was held by his colleagues, after
he retired from the House. Page 134--High Hollow Academy should
be High Holborn Academy. On the same page, foot note, it is
stated that Gen. Elliott resigned from Congress to accept the
office of sheriff. While Gen. Elliott had his official residence
in Aiken county, he and Mrs. Elliott had their home in Columbia,
one of the show places of the city. I cannot conceive of him
resigning the position of congressman to accept the insignificant
office of sheriff of the small county of Aiken. He resigned in
order to go to the House of Representatives at Columbia for the
purpose of being elected Speaker of that body, and he succeeded.
The other time he resigned was for the purpose of being a
candidate for the U. S. Senatorship, but the Pennsylvania R. R.
interests put John J. Patterson, who was a Cameron protege, over.
Had he been elected sheriff of Aiken county it would have
necessitated his living there.
On page 139--"From the year 1871--the period of service of the
first Negro in Congress" should be _1870_--Rainey, Dec. 12, 1870.
The greatest compliment I think that was ever paid to a Negro by
a prominent white man was that by Benjamin F. Butler, the
distinguished Union General, afterwards Governor of
Massachusetts, and who had charge of Sumner's civil rights bill
in the House of Representatives. In the prefatory remarks to his
speech on the day following the great speech made by Gen. Elliott
on the same bill, he said:
"I should have considered more at length the constitutional
argument, were it not for the exhaustive presentation by the
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Elliott) of the law, and the
only law quoted against us in this case that has been cited, to
wit, the Slaughter-House cases. He, with the true instinct of
freedom, with a grasp of mind that shows him to be the peer of
any man on this floor, be he who he may, has given the full
strength and full power of that decision of the Supreme Court."
Garfield, Cannon, Frye, Hale, Hawley, Hoar (Geo. F.), Platt,
Dawes, Phelps, Lamar, Beck, Stephens (A. H.), Randall, Mills,
Cox, and Barnum, were among the prominent members of the House at
that time, many of whom afterwards reached the Senate, and
Garfield, the presidency. General Butler was considered one of
the great constitutional lawyers of that period.
The following relative to Senator Bruce and Mr. Langston may
interest you if you have not already heard of the incidents:
It is always customary when a new Senator appears with his
credentials for his colleague to escort him to the
Vice-President's desk to be sworn in. When Senator Bruce
presented himself, his colleague, Senator Alcorn, was not
present. Senator Roscoe Conkling taking in the situation, walked
over to Senator Bruce and escorted him up the aisle and the oath
was administered. For this gracious act Senator Bruce named his
son, recently of Washington, after the distinguished senator from
New York.
As Mr. Venable, the democrat, was given the certificate of
election by the Virginia officials for the Congressional seat,
Mr. Langston made the contest. The Committee on privileges and
elections voted in favor of Mr. Langston. When the time set for
action on the case arrived, the whole democratic membership
withdrew from the House, thinking that they would catch the
Republicans napping and without a quorom, the republican majority
being small. The Republicans, however, got wind of what the
Democrats were doing and had all of their members rounded up.
They not only seated Mr. Langston but the chairman of the
elections committee took advantage of the absence of the
Democrats and called up the case of Miller versus Elliott from
South Carolina and then seated Miller, though the case was not
slated for that time. The feelings of the Democrats can be better
imagined than described when they returned to the House and found
two of their colleagues unseated and two Negro Congressmen seated
in their places. The Democrats never again resorted to such
tactics.
Very respectfully,
HENRY A. WALLACE.
DOCUMENTS
The following extracts from the _Daily Record_, Greensboro, North
Carolina, February 2nd and 3rd, 1911, setting forth the reminiscences
of Captain Ball, a participant in the Reconstruction of the Southern
States, gives valuable information as to the troublous times of that
period:
New York, Feb. 2.--I have now told nearly all of the
authenticated facts concerning the Stephens murder; the rest is
merely speculative. There have been stories coming from the
negroes which are interesting, even if not strictly true. A negro
has quite an imagination. I will relate some of these stories,
without expressing an opinion, leaving others to decide as to
their accuracy and naturalness.
Much of what follows comes from Governor Holden, at the time an
aged man, retired (perhaps not voluntarily) from public life. The
tendency of his political opinions in his later years was toward
"Conservation." I called upon him in February, 1885 (twenty-six
years ago) and took notes of what he said, because of its
inherent interest. His memory was clear and comprehensive. While
governor--he was elected by the Republicans in 1868--and before
his impeachment and removal from office by the Democratic
legislature of 1870, he sought to unravel the mysteries of the
Kuklux brotherhoods; and tried in every way to discover the
perpetrators of the Stephens assassination.
It has already been stated that Stephens, on the fatal Saturday,
was in attendance upon a Conservative meeting in Yanceyville, and
that he went out of it with Wiley. It is reported that Wiley, on
his way home, took supper at the house of a Mr. Poteat. Now the
negroes are not only full of curiosity, but take risks to gratify
it. Nothing was more common than for them to listen from behind
doors, through keyholes and in the corners of the houses where
they were employed as servants. Thus it happened that the
conversation at the supper-table at Poteat's--so the story
goes--was overheard by a negro woman (and other servants), who
had been waiting upon the table, and a most pitiful recital it
was! The servants had retired from the dining-room, and being in
the passage way, outside, and hearing Stephens's name called,
they listened.
Governor Holden said that Wiley was speaking of how Stephens had
been killed that day; that he (Wiley) had done a good day's work
and that he, and the others, had toled (that is enticed) Stephens
down stairs to talk with Wiley about being a candidate for
sheriff; that they got Stephens to the door and threw the noose
over his neck and dragged him inside, and choked him down; that
while this was going on, in the room below, old man Bedford Brown
was making a speech up-stairs, and the applause was continuous,
to drown any outcry; that after Stephens was choked the noose was
loosened, as they wished if possible not to kill him; that he was
told if he would denounce the Republican party and leave the
State, they would spare his life; that he refused and said he
would die first; that he then begged them, as their purpose was
to kill him, to let him go and see his family; that he said to
them, "Gentlemen, you know me, that I am a man of my word and
will come back;" that they refused his request; that he then
begged them to let him take a last look of his house; that they
led him to the window, holding the rope behind him, and he saw
his children playing upon the green; that they told him his time
was up and pulled him back and again choked him down upon the
table; that they loosened the rope when he said, "Gentlemen, I
surrender--spare my life and I will do anything you say;" that a
young man (whose name I will not give, as Governor Holden gave it
to me) said, "No, damn you, you die," and struck him with his
knife on his throat and vest, and then they finished him. The
negro woman, horrified as she listened, upon hearing all this,
exclaimed aloud, "There, by God!"
The supper party heard her words and the story ceased. Wiley left
almost immediately; and then they asked the old woman why she
said those words and she told them, "because the coffee burned
her." They asked her if she had been listening and she declared
she had not.
Next day, a younger brother of Poteat sent for her to work in his
tobacco field, and asked her the second time the reason of her
outcry the night before. He said, "You mind what you are
doing--if you 'cheep,' (_i.e._, tell) about this thing, I will
put a ball through you."
Wiley went home (the story goes on) and walked up and down his
piazza, until late that night, attracting the attention of his
family by his singular conduct. A negro man, on the watch, had
followed him, and had hidden under the house, to hear what was
said. The dwellings of the South are frequently without cellars
and, in the country, are often sustained by brick and log
supports; so it would be easy to crawl underneath. This negro
claims to have heard some of Wiley's family ask him why he did
not come to bed, and he replied that he was waiting for the
wagon.
It was rumored among the negroes, that the purpose was to carry
Stephens's corpse to a church near Wiley's, called "Republican
Headquarters," and there leave it, to produce the impression that
Stephens's political associates had killed him. There was a
sprinkle of rain, after nightfall, and fresh wagon tracks were
seen, which approached near to Yanceyville, and returned almost
to Wiley's. Perhaps, if this was true, the scheme to steal away
the body from the court house was baffled by the vigilance of the
guards.
The effort was several times made to make it appear that Stephens
had been slaughtered by his political friends, to get rid of him,
or for effect. For instance, six years had elapsed when the
Milton Chronicle, published in Caswell county, charged by
innuendo, under the head of "Revelations," that "Hester, Holden,
Settle, Smith, Albion (meaning Judge Tourgee), Albright, Boyd,
Ball and Keogh" had accomplished this murder most foul. But Mr.
Boyd, at the time of the Stephens homicide, was himself a member,
in full standing, of the White Brotherhood. This silly charge was
made during the Tilden-Hayes campaign of 1876; Judge Settle then
being the Republican candidate for governor and William A. Smith
for lieutenant-governor. The others named were all Republicans of
more or less prominence. Of course the editor of the Chronicle,
and his patrons, knew that the story was a lie.
While I was at Yanceyville, at the inquest, William Henry
Stephens--(usually called Henry) as I could not at once go home,
thought it would be better for me to stay all night at his late
brother's residence. My sojourn at the dwelling, that night, gave
me my first opportunity to see how it was fortified. The lower
story was protected by thick planks, bullet-proof. The stairway
was fixed with a trap door, which could be let down, by its
hinges, from above; and then no one could go upstairs without
forcing his way against great odds. There was a plentiful supply
of firearms with abundant ammunition. Twenty men could resist
successfully a hundred, or more, if the attacking party had no
artillery. But if a lodgment could be effected below, what could
prevent the firing of the dwelling and the destruction of its
inmates?
Here Stephens had lived and kept his enemies at bay; and he was
as brave as any of them and much more desperate. The cowards who
attacked negro cabins in the dead of night, with overwhelming
numbers, never invaded Stephens's premises, for that sort took no
risks. Yet he felt secure, for he had said that he suffered none
to approach him, but those he knew to be his friends. I suppose
he thought Wiley was his "friend."
Let us go back a few weeks. At spring term (April, 1870) of the
Caswell Superior Court, an alarm was given that the Kuklux were
coming to kill Stephens, Judge Tourgee, and all Republicans and
break up the court. This disquieting intelligence was conveyed to
me by Judge Tourgee himself. At the time, I occupied a room in
Mitchell's house, already mentioned. My apartment, although
joined to the dwelling, had no door opening into the main
building, so that one had to go into the yard to get to the
entrances of that part of the structure. Hon. James T. Morehead,
an aged lawyer, who had been famous in his day, and now attended
the court from habit, occupied a room of the same size as mine,
and opening into it, and detached, as mine was, from the main
building.
On Monday afternoon, the first day of the term, Judge Tourgee
told me that one Hemphill had informed him of the contemplated
raid, and that it was to occur the next Wednesday night. He
desired me to go with him to Stephens's house (where the judge
boarded during the court), as one of the garrison, to help defend
it. The proposition looked absurd to me and it seemed that, if I
went, it might subject me to ridicule. No one likes to be
ridiculed; at least, I do not.
It may be remarked, in passing, that Judge Tourgee had offended
the lawyers, because he boarded with Stephens. They considered it
beneath the dignity of so high an official to make his home with
a man so low in the social scale, and they were all the more
hostile toward the judge because he would do this. They insisted
that they would have treated him with respect, if not with
cordiality, had he not shown these degraded tastes. As it was,
they had no more courtesy for him than for Stephens, believing
the judge to have disgraced his office.
It was the effort of the lawyers of North Carolina, in those
days, to avoid close contact with the populace and to preserve an
esprit de corps. They believed that their only associates, on
terms of equality, should be of their own order, as the clergy or
medical profession, representing an educated aristocracy. The
masses were illiterate, unpolished and, in the estimation of the
lawyers, unfit for companionship with the cultivated classes,
whose policy it was to inspire the plain people with profound
respect for their superiors.
The statements here made of early ideas and feelings, largely
result from conversations with Col. Thomas Ruffin, a man of
aristocratic lineage and unusual powers of mind. He was a son of
the late Chief Justice Ruffin, of the Supreme Court of North
Carolina, and afterward himself was an associate justice of that
eminent tribunal. He informed me of the sentiment among the
lawyers against Tourgee, because of his intimacy with Stephens.
And once, when as a matter of course, with my New York education,
I had offered to make oath to an affidavit, in a Caswell county
lawsuit, wherein I was associated with Col. Ruffin, he advised me
against it, and said it had been the custom, in North Carolina,
for lawyers never to be sworn, in the conduct of their cases, it
being considered that their mere word was sufficient; and so, as
I afterward understood, the judges generally so regarded it.
Any one can see, however, the mischiefs which might occur from
such a custom; as, after the verbal statements of lawyers,
disputes might arise as to what had been said, and no one would
be able to decide, and no one would try to do so, for fear of a
quarrel. Happily the people, in spite of the traditions of
slavery, are rapidly emerging from their blind gropings, as an
outcome of the freedom thrust upon them by the civil war, and the
younger members of the legal profession now aid in the work of
educating the illiterate, knowing that it is better for the
commonwealth that all should be taught.
The social conditions existing in North Carolina in the early
days mentioned, may help to explain the intense bitterness
manifested on all occasions toward men like Stephens. He was of
humble parentage, but had been put forward by Governor Holden as
a trusted agent of the State government. Thus was invaded the
prerogatives of the privileged classes. The prejudices of the
leaders were communicated to their followers (who did the voting
to keep their rulers in power).
Judge Tourgee, and all carpet-baggers (myself included, of
course), were esteemed to be opposed to the dominion of the
aristocrats; some of whom, nevertheless, were themselves quite
ordinary persons, but puffed up with pride, God knows what for!
Judge Tourgee also invited J. R. Bulla, Esquire, the solicitor,
to help defend Stephens's house. Mr. Bulla was a native
Republican. Neither he, nor I, believed at the time, that the
Kuklux were banded together for serious mischief; although, as I
afterward learned, a plot was laid, in those days, by the
Randolph county Kuklux, to take Mr. Bulla out and whip him. Had
this been done it would have been a wanton outrage. Mr. Bulla
never knew of the plan. The scheme was prevented by the
interference of a mere youth, Tom Worth, from whom I had the
facts.
Both Mr. Bulla and myself decided to remain in our rooms. Out of
deference, however, to Judge Tourgee's intelligence, I agreed, in
case of an alarm, to go over and help fight it out. There were
sixteen resolute fellows there, under the leadership of Judge
Tourgee, all well armed and with enough ammunition. Had an attack
been made it would have been a lively conflict. Mr. Bulla, born a
Quaker, would not agree to join in the battle, preferring, I
suppose, in accordance with his tenets, to be murdered in cold
blood.
The raid did not take place, however. The judge had caused all
the roads leading to Yanceyville to be patrolled, and it was
understood that if any considerable body of men approached from
any direction light-wood fires would be kindled as warnings.
Tuesday night of the same week, I was invited, and so was Mr.
Bulla, to a supper at Judge Kerr's. Nearly all of the members of
the bar in attendance upon the court, were guests. Among them I
remember Col. Ruffin, General Alfred M. Scales, Col. Junius I.
Scales and Col. Dillard. Judge Tourgee was not invited.
Before I went to the supper Judge Kerr, whose residence was not
far off, came to my room and smoked his pipe, with its long reed
stem. Sometimes he walked the floor, and then sat down, then
walked again, and so on. His manner was uneasy, a characteristic
of the man. Several times he seemed ready to speak and then
restrained himself. He had professed a liking for me, and as he
was an impulsive man, I thought he might wish to say something
about the threatenings in the air; but finally he kept whatever
was on his mind to himself. He had fine traits, but was pompous
in demeanor. Those who liked that style were fond of him.
At the April term of the court, the evidences of the presence of
the Kuklux in Caswell county, accumulated. After partaking of
supper with Judge Kerr and his guests, I retired to rest in my
room, quite uneasy because of the rumors. I had fallen into a
doze, when my ears were disturbed by voices and singing and a
guitar tinkled. My venerable neighbor, Hon. James T. Morehead,
was being serenaded. After the music (so-called) had ceased
"Uncle Jimmy" made a little speech to the boys. From this, and
the conversation ensuing, I learned that it was confessedly a
Kuklux serenade. The venerable Nestor of the bar said to his
visitors that there were many worse things than the Kuklux--among
them the Union League and the Republican party. And so the young
men were encouraged.
I was glad when the time came to go home; which I did on the 14th
day of April, 1870. I started from Yanceyville in a buggy, with a
Mr. Fowler, a resident of Greensboro. Had I previously doubted
the existence of the Klans, I must have been convinced, after
that ride, unimportant in itself, but memorable for the events
which lately had taken place. The remarks and manners of my
companion were peculiar. He had a furtive, scared expression as
night enclosed us. He was a native Democrat--and I was amazed at
his evident trepidation.
We were striving to reach Ruffin, a little station on the
Richmond and Danville railroad (now called the Southern Railroad)
a few miles south of Danville. Although spring was opening, there
was no foliage on the trees, except tiny leaflets bursting into
life. Night advanced and the moon shone effulgent, but her rays
were obscured by the divergent limbs of the forest, when we
sometimes plunged into its depths. The gloom was intensified by
drifting clouds, hanging low; but these momentarily lifted,
briefly restoring the cheery moonbeams and silver roadway. Many
tree-trunks were white, contrasting with the darkness within the
dense woods, glistening like spectres, as the tremulous light
glimmered through the branches. There was no sound in the
forest, except the solemn wail of the wind, and the steady tramp,
tramp--tramp, tramp of the hurrying horse. My flesh crept and
shuddered under the drastic influence of the chill night and the
doleful croakings of my companion; who talked continually of the
Kuklux, and peered through the bushes and undergrowth, as if
expecting to see rise from the ground a full cavalcade of shadowy
night-riders.
We reached Ruffin, nevertheless, in good time, and went whirling
home in a comfortable railway coach, filled not with hobgoblins,
but with civilized human beings.
Afterward I learned that the companion of my night-ride (who was
a tailor) had sewn together the diabolical garbs of the White
Brotherhood of his vicinity. Remembering this hideous livery of
the devil, it was no wonder he was afraid, even of the peaceful
moon, as she benignantly observed him through the arms of the
forest.
* * * * *
New York, Feb. 2.--The result of the election (Nov. 8) was rather
shocking, but not unexpected. I think the Republicans deserved
the drubbing. A hundred and ninety thousand of them, in New York,
did not vote; so to punish somebody for something, they let
Tammany obtain control.
Governor Dix doesn't say anything; but Governor Wilson says
enough for both. It remains to be seen whether or not the latter
has not bitten off more than he can masticate.
In the course of my life I have been shocked more than once,
mostly, while living in North Carolina. For instance, in 1876,
when it was supposed that Tilden had been elected, the young men
of Odell's store thought it a good joke and decorated my fence
with black calico. Our colored cook, thinking it would hurt our
feelings, stripped it all off early in the morning before we got
a sight of it, much to our regret. But Madam was equal to the
emergency and had the girl gather up the black stuff and take it
to Odell's store to sell for paper-rags! The cook was received
with shouts of applause, showing that Odell's young men fully
appreciated the humor of the occasion.
Odell had a big store, but all the black calico in stock must
have been cleaned out on that occasion. As I understand at the
time, the fences of Judge Dick, Postmaster White, Col. Keogh,
Judge Settle and Judge Tourgee were all decorated. The last
named, characteristically, sought to make capital out of the
episode, which was only a joke.
When I went to bed very late the night before (or rather in the
morning) I thought Tilden had really been elected and I did not
enjoy the sensation. Nevertheless I did not feel as I did six
years before, in the Ku Klux times. We lived then in the little
cottage opposite the jail. The election was in August. Madam had
gone North to visit her home-folks. I was alone in the house.
Diagonally across the street was a disreputable bar-room, where
all the "roughs" assembled every night; and for no less than
three weeks after the "Conservative" victory these fellows kept
up a shouting and howling, which was far from agreeable to me.
Those were the Kuklux days and the times were very uncomfortable,
especially for a carpet-bagger, whose party had been
overwhelmingly defeated. But I did not know anything about the
Kuklux and was simple-minded enough not to fully credit their
existence.
I had become a citizen of North Carolina in November, 1868; but
being unaccustomed to the ways and prejudices of the people, I
was not prepared to believe what was said about the Klans.
Respectable Southern gentlemen denied their existence and I felt
bound by their protestations. Yet a "den" met frequently in
Greensboro; sometimes in Bogart's Hall; sometimes in the old
Caldwell Institute (now torn down), again upstairs over the
Lindsay corner (recently destroyed) opposite the court house and
more often in the woods in the northern suburbs of the town, not
a great ways from the residence of Judge Dick.
These meetings were occurring after the beginning of my residence
in Greensboro, for nearly a year, but I did not know of them.
Indeed, young men with whom I was well acquainted, actually were
members of the fraternity--men whom I met every day, on social
terms, in my boarding house at Mrs. Gilmer's. I had not reason to
suspect their membership. Of course the assemblages were as
secret as could be. When they were held in Bogart's Hall, for
example--so I have since been told by participants--the only
light was a candle, placed under a table, so that its rays could
not shine through the curtained windows.
While I myself was incredulous, my political friends, Union men,
natives of the South, familiar with the methods and peculiarities
of the people, were firm believers in the entity of the Kuklux.
They saw and understood the most trivial signs and signals. These
men had been on the spot when the rebellion raged and had, in
many instances, belonged to the "Red Strings," and other secret
societies, banded together for mutual help and protection, and to
aid the Union cause, in which they implicitly believed; and to
assist escaping prisoners of war through the military lines. If
therefore they observed a peculiar mark upon a tree, or figures
upon the ground, they knew there was some meaning intended.
But the time soon came when I had to believe. In the latter days
of 1869, Judge Tourgee, then of the Superior Court, issued a
bench warrant for the arrest of several citizens of Caswell
county. They were charged with having visited in disguise the
cabins of a number of negroes, whom they took out and whipped. I
was employed by Gov. Holden to conduct the examination of
witnesses for the State; but the defendants easily proved alibis,
as usual in such cases.
A few months afterward I was notified by the Governor to attend
similar examinations before Mr. John W. Stephens (called "Chicken
Stephens" by Jo. Turner). Mr. Stephens was a justice of the peace
in Yanceyville. He was likewise a State Senator, but the
legislature was not then in session.
I proceeded to Yanceyville via Danville, Va., leaving the
railroad at the latter town, and driving sixteen miles across the
country. Reaching Yanceyville in the forenoon, I noticed several
groups of men, apparently laboring under suppressed excitement.
Beginning to understand the popular temper I feared a riot if the
cases should go on before the magistrate that day.
I stated my apprehensions to the Honorable John Kerr, the leading
attorney for the defendants and suggested that, to avoid a
possible riot, his clients should waive examination, and give
bail for their appearance at the next term of the Superior Court,
which they could do easily.
All of the Yanceyville lawyers appeared with Judge Kerr for the
defendants, doubtless volunteering their services with patriotic
fervor. After further consultation, my suggestion was adopted and
thus, it may be, bloodshed was then avoided. At any rate, events
soon to follow in Yanceyville, justify the belief that Stephens
would have been put out of the way on the spot, had the trials
proceeded.
When the cases had been disposed of, Stephens came to my room.
He was a slender, sinewy man, with fair complexion, pale blue
eyes and light brown hair, not prepossessing in manners or
appearance; illiterate and unpolished, but very earnest;
belonging to the plain classes of the South. His origin was
respectable, although born into a poor family, in Guilford
county. He had courage and tenacity. He was the leader of the
Caswell county Republicans, being one of the few white men who
dared to profess Republican principles in that locality. He was
bitterly hated by the "Conservatives," and this boded him no
good. Yet knowing it all, accused of petty crimes, which he had
not committed, held up to ridicule by such a man as Jo. Turner,
then a veritable potentate, Stephens had stood up boldly in the
midst of a hostile population, with no backers but the timid
negroes, which only intensified the hatred of his enemies. No
romance of chivalry has ever invested its heroes with a nobler
spirit than his, which was more than equal to that of the bravest
of his traducers--for who of them all would have faced the
dangers that he was facing?
He resided about a quarter of a mile from the Yanceyville court
house, within plain view of it. His house was veritably his
castle, where he had fortified himself. He was besieged at home
and was under obsession everywhere; yet he seemed to hold danger
in contempt.
On this occasion he wore a sack-coat of medium length, with
side-pockets. He said he had been warned by anonymous letters to
leave the State. "But," he said simply, "I have a right to be
here and can't be scared away from my home and family."
Continuing, Stephens told me how well he was prepared for
emergencies; and he displayed two single-barreled, breech-loading
Derringers. He showed me how rapidly he could load them and
seemed expert in handling the weapons. He carried a pistol in
each side-pocket of his coat, within easy reach. He said he never
permitted any one to approach unless he knew him to be a friend;
that he always carried the Derringers, but that on "public days,"
he also had with him what I understood to be a seven shooter.
In his estimation this was a public day, because a crowd was in
town, attracted by the cases before his magistrate's court.
Yanceyville was but a small village, with a court house and a few
dwellings, stores and shops, and ordinarily not many persons were
on the streets. There was no hotel. Throwing back his coat,
Stephens, displayed to me his other weapon. With his temper and
dangerous surroundings, he was a man to be dreaded by his foes,
for he meant to kill any assailant. He could be overcome only by
treachery, as will be seen hereafter.
To me, his words had peculiar significance, when considered in
connection with the occurrences of the next few days; for it
should be noticed that he declared he never suffered any one to
approach, unless he knew him to be a friend. "But," he added, "I
think the worst is now over and they," (meaning the Kuklux) "are
becoming frightened at their own acts." Alas, how little he knew
or understood the venom of his enemies! Our conversation was on
Monday. The next Saturday, May 21, 1870, Stephens was murdered in
a lower room of the Yanceyville court house.
A vivid account of the assassination is given in "A Fool's
Errand," where John Walter Stephens is called "John Walters."
Whether it is all true as therein narrated, I cannot say for
certain; but the story, confessedly fiction, is no more monstrous
than the reality. It was a ghastly murder. As those who know best
about it (if still alive) have told nothing, and will not, any
narrative of the circumstances must be imperfect.
On the day of the homicide Stephens had attended a Democratic
meeting, upstairs in the court house, in the audience-room.
According to his custom he had been taking note of the speeches.
Sometimes he used the room where his body afterward was found,
for the trial of his magistrate's cases. This room was at the
time occupied for no other purpose, and was devoid of furniture,
except an old table and a chair or two. A pile of fire-place wood
extended across it, on the north side, next to the wall, one end
of the pile being near a window. There were three windows, two of
them overlooking the court house yard, opposite a street. On the
other side of the street were several negro houses. Stephens's
dwelling could be seen plainly from the windows, being southeast
from the court house. The only door entering the room was from
the hallway, which passed entirely through the building from
north to south. The door of the room was within a few feet of the
rear hall entrance.
Stephens, after being in the meeting upstairs, until about 5
o'clock in the afternoon, was called out by a man named Wiley;
with whom Stephens had been in frequent conversation during the
day, trying to induce Wiley to become an independent candidate
for sheriff. Wiley was a Democrat and Stephens had pledged him
the Republican vote of Caswell county. After the two went out
together Stephens was not seen alive by any one innocent of the
murder.
No doubt Wiley enticed Stephens from the meeting and admitted it.
But according to a letter from Hon. R. Z. Linney (recently
deceased) published in the _News-Observer_, Dec. 29, 1891,
credited to the _Statesville Landmark_, "a gentleman of
intelligence who was at Yanceyville at the time of the tragedy,"
declared that he had information regarded by him as altogether
reliable, that Wiley was not in the room when Stephens was
killed, but had arranged to get him from the court-room, to
extort from him a promise to leave the county; and the promise
not being given Stephens was killed. According to the "gentleman
of intelligence," Wiley was "very angry" with the men who had
slain Stephens--a lame excuse, it must be admitted; although his
"anger" was quite creditable.
Mr. Linney, it may be stated, in passing, said in his letter,
that Wiley died at his (Linney's) house near Taylorsville, and
that the "measure of the corpse was about seven feet in length."
This statement seems astounding, but as I recollect him, Wiley
was a very tall man. Upon one occasion, during the Kuklux
troubles, I saw him on horseback, going from Yanceyville, with a
long rifle resting in the hollow of his arm--an incident
characteristic of the times. He looked like a wind mill on horse
back.
MATERIALS FROM THE SCRAPBOOK OF W. A. HAYNE COLLECTED IN 1874[1]
William A. Hayne was a native of Charleston, and a free man of free
parents. His mother's father and his father's father were white. He
was educated in the Charleston school of free Negroes. He attained the
position of Representative in the Legislature and served the State
efficiently. Hayne passed away in 1889.
The recent meeting at Barnwell Courthouse was by far the largest
held there since the war. The meeting was called to order by Dr.
J. W. Ogilvie as temporary chairman. A committee of five,
consisting of Col. Counts, Captain F. M. Wanamaker, Dr. J. C.
Miller, and Messrs. W. T. Blanton and J. M. Hudson were appointed
to select permanent officers, and nominated the following
gentlemen: General Johnson Hagood, President; Messrs. Counts,
Sojourner, Blanton, Killingsworth and Ogilvie, vice-presidents;
J. M. Ryan, secretary.
General Hagood, who was at the front end of the hall, some
distance from the chair he was to occupy, upon the invitation of
the temporary chairman, advanced to take his seat as presiding
officer amidst deafening applause. On taking the chair, General
Hagood said: "I understand the purpose of this meeting to be to
consider the misgovernment in South Carolina, which running
through ten long years, has culminated in the shameful and
shameless proceedings of our present Legislature. It is not for
me, here, to recall this disgraceful history in all its details.
You have borne with it till patience has ceased to be a virtue,
and from one end of this American Union to another, regardless of
section or party the press--that mighty engine and exponent of
popular sentiment--is now ringing with the denunciation of the
last wrong inflicted upon you, and with commendation of the true
and faithful man who, with a heroism surpassing that of the
battlefield, which is wielding such weapons as the executive army
can furnish in your temporary defence. This thing has gone far
enough: This crowded hall--these earnest faces over which a light
flickers that carries me back to a time since when my head and
heart have alike grown gray, tell me so. Every instinct of
self-preservation tells me that the time has come when all in
South Carolina who are fit to live outside of her penitentiary,
or expect to within her borders an inheritance for their
children, must enlist in this struggle. It will be a contest in
which no half-hearted recruit is wanted. It is a fight for life
and property, in which you will have to do all that a citizen may
do--and, if need be, all that may become a man." (Applause.)
Mr. Alfred Aldrich rose and said: A short time ago, in this
house, I said among other things to the taxpayers, that I had
"implicit confidence in the people of Barnwell County, but none
in Governor Chamberlain." In the light of recent events, I desire
to make the Amende honorable to Governor Chamberlain, and here,
with equal unreserve as when I made the declaration alluded to, I
wish to submit the charge in my opinion embodied in the following
resolutions:
Resolved that Governor Chamberlain, from his first ... to his
last veto, has carried ... knowledge to the platform on which
... if he does not receive the support of the leading men of his
own party, is entitled to the confidence and will receive the
cordial sympathy and merited aid of the honest and good men in
South Carolina.
Resolved, that in rising above party to vindicate the
civilization and ancient good name of the States over which he
presides, by his rebuke to the Legislature for the election of
corrupt and incompetent judges, as he has shown large
statesmanship, integrity of purpose and courage of performance
that command the respect and approval of all good men,
irrespective of party.
Resolved: that the Governor, having taken care of the Charleston
and Sumter circuits by refusing to commission Whipper and Moses
and not being able to reach Wiggins in the same way, we of the
Barnwell circuit must see that he does not defile the bench and
debauch the county now adorned by the virtue and the learning of
the incorruptible Maher.
Resolved: That we recognize and appreciate the difficulties that
the Governor has had to contend against to maintain his position
as a political reformer, that we acknowledge probity in redeeming
the pledges contained in the platform on which he was elected to
office, and admire his boldness in resisting the pressure of
those who were not in earnest when they made them; that we are
fully sensible of the opposition that he encountered and the
difficulties that have environed him in acting his arduous role,
and that we take this occasion to show him and the men of his
party who endorse him, of our cordial support.
The resolutions were unanimously and enthusiastically adopted.
The Honorable A. P. Aldrich by invitation, then addressed the
meeting. We have already published his remarks.
It was resolved that the President appoint, at his leisure, an
executive committee of five to carry out in Barnwell County such
recommendations as might be made by the Central Democratic
Executive Committee, at its meeting in Columbia on the instant.
Mr. Simms then offered the following resolutions, which were
carried out unanimously: Resolved, that in view of our repeated
failures to reform the State Government by the policy of
co-operation with the Conservative element of the Republican
Party, who professed the same object, and of recent events we
recognize the absolute and immediate necessity of reorganizing
the Democratic party to restore an honest and economical
government.
Resolved: That the Democratic Party of South Carolina will in the
future, as it has in the past, support principles, not men, and
we hereby extend a cordial invitation to all men in the State,
who desire honest government, to unite with us, at least until we
have accomplished our purpose.
Resolved: That the co-operation now invited is not with the bad
men who have heretofore deluded, deceived and betrayed our
colored fellow-citizens, but with the great mass of that class
who, we believe, are willing to rescue the State from the grasp
of these unprincipled adventurers.
Resolved: That the President appoint a committee of five to carry
out the recommendations of the State executive committee to meet
in Columbia on the 6th instant.
The following resolutions offered by Col. Counts, were adopted
without a dissenting voice.
Whereas, by an indiscreet action of the Legislature of this State
an insult of the grossest nature--an insult to all common decency
and to all civilization, has been thrust into our faces by way of
an election for judges of the respective circuits of Judges
Maher, Reed and Shaw; and whereas, it was not expected or desired
by either political party of said circuits that either of the
present incumbents should be defeated; and whereas, we regard
this act as a public declaration against the peace, prosperity
and happiness of all virtue and intelligence, now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That we, the people of this section of the second
circuit, not wishing to make an issue with any individual or
party, and not being willing to risk our lives and property in
the hands of the newly elected judge, P. L. Wiggins, for reasons
obvious, do earnestly request the said P. L. Wiggins to tender
his resignation to the Governor at once, and that the Governor do
declare said vacancy be filled by an election to take place
before the close of the present session of the Legislature.
Resolved, That a memorial be prepared by such persons as the
president of this meeting shall designate, asking for the
re-election of Judge Maher, and that said memorial (by request of
this convention) be presented to the Legislature by the Hon.
Chancellor Johnson.
Resolved, That a memorial be prepared by such persons as the
president of this meeting shall designate, asking for the
re-election of Judge Maher, and that said memorial (by request of
this convention) be presented to the Legislature by the Hon.
Chancellor Johnson.
Resolved, That a committee of two be appointed by the president
of this meeting to communicate with the action of this meeting to
communicate with Solicitor Wiggins, and to notify him of the
action of this convention; and that said committee be instructed
to assure him that this convention is not prompted by any impure
motives or personal animosity for him in taking this action, but
alone for the interest of the country, and for the peace,....
VOTE OF MARION COUNTY IN 1870
Reform Republican
Marion 372 511
Friendship 79 65
Mars Bluff 84 192
Berry's X Roads 196 178
Mullins 196 124
Aliens 72 33
High Hill 176 37
Old Ark 23 17
Cains 121 120
McMilans 105 36
Little Rock 277 204
Aeriel 130 57
Stones 62 73
Jeffries Creek 67 224
Old Neck 80 67
Campbells Bridge 151 56
____ ____
Totals 2191 1994
"It will be seen from the above statement that the reform
movement in 1870 carried the county by a majority of 207 votes.
In that election the fight was between the Conservatives and the
Republicans--the whites against the blacks. In fact it was a
question of color, for both races voted solidly. Now it is
different. The Republicans have inaugurated the Reform movement,
and the fight on the 3d of November will be between the two wings
of this party. The problem then is easy to solve. The Reform
movement will carry Marion County by an overwhelming majority."
THE SPEAKING TOMORROW 1870
The representatives of both wings of the Republican party will
speak at the Courthouse tomorrow. We hope every Republican in the
county will be present and hear what both sides have to say. The
Republican voters of the county who have any doubt as to their
duty at the coming election, for whom they should vote, we hope,
will be sufficiently enlightened to cast their votes for honest
men and an honest Government.
We hope, for the character of Marion, that, those who come to the
Courthouse on this occasion, will come for the purpose of
enlightening themselves on a subject which involves the salvation
of the State, and that each and every one will constitute himself
a keeper of the peace, and that good order will be preserved
during the day.
ROLL OF MEMBERS OF THE UNION REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTION, 1874
Aiken--R. B. Elliot, C. D. Hayne, Gloster Holland, W. M. Peel.
Abbeville--H. Wideman, J. R. Tolbert, R. Griffin, A. H. Wallace,
A. J. Titus.
Anderson--John R. Cochran, C. A. Mathison, W. R. Parker.
Barnwell--W. J. Whipper, C. P. Leslie, E. M. Sumter,--Jackson.
Beaufort--Robert Smalls, N. B. Myers, R. H. Gleaves, T. E.
Miller, Thomas Hamilton, S. J. Bamfield, Hastings Gantt.
Charleston--W. R. Jervey, E. W. M. Mackey, Aaron Logan, S. E.
Gaillard, W. J. McKinlay, T. H. Jones, E. B. Seabrook, J. L.
Walker, W. T. Oliver, W. G. Pinckney, Stephen Brown, Edward
Petty, J. A. Williams, J. W. Reid, J. A. Mushington, P. P.
Hedges, R. B. Gathers, A. C. Richmond.
Chester--T. J. Mackey, D. J. Walker, Barney Humphries.
Chesterfield--T. L. Weston, Robert Brewer.
Clarendon--J. D. Warley, Syfax Milton.
Colleton--W. M. Thomas, A. C. Schaffer, A. P. Holmes, T. H.
Grant, W. F. Myers.
Darlington--T. C. Cox, B. F. Whittemore, Jordan Lang, J. B.
Middleton.
Edgefield--J. H. McDevitt, Lawrence Cain, Paris Simkins, David
Graham, Ned Tenant.
Fairfield--Daniel Bird, Thomas Walker, William Boler.
Georgetown--J. H. Rainey, W. H. Jones, Jr., R. M. Herriott.
Greenville--J. M. Runion, Thos. Brier, A. Blythe, Zion Collins.
Horry--T. C. Dunn, H. W. Jones.
Kershaw--J. A. Chestnut, N. W. Blair, Frank Carter.
Lancaster--Jos. Clarke, Allen Hudson.
Laurens--Y. J. P. Owens, H. McDaniels, James Young, Jos. Crews.
Lexington--R. H. Kirk, S. L. Lorick.
Marion--C. Smith, W. A. Hayne, M. K. Holloway, Anthony Howard.
Marlboro--H. J. Maxwell, D. D. McColl.
Newberry--H. C. Corwin, C. David, Henry Gillem.
Oconee--M. D. Singleton, Elisha Jenkins.
Orangeburg--T. C. Andrews, R. R. Duncan, C. W. Caldwell, E. I.
Cain, Samuel Lewis.
Pickens--O. C. Folger.
Richland--C. M. Wilder, J. J. Patterson, F. L. Cardoza, C. S.
Minort.
Sumter--Samuel Lee, F. J. Moses, Jr., W. E. Johnson, J. M.
Tindall.
Spartanburg--J. Winsmith, T. B. Hartwell, S. T. Poinier, Alex
Jones.
Union--June Mobley, S. Hawkins, J. H. Goss.
Williamsburg--S. A. Swails, J. T. Peterson, Wm. Scott.
York--J. H. White, R. M. Crook, M. L. Owens, Nelson Davis.
MARION COUNTY
_For Governor_,
JOHN T. GREEN
_For Lieutenant-Governor_,
MARTIN R. DELANEY
_For Congress_,
SAMUEL LEE
_State Board of Equalization_,
B. D. TOWNSEND, of Darlington
W. B. SMITH, of Charleston
W. D. MARS, of Abbeville
G. W. MELTON, of Chester
S. J. LEE, of Aiken
_Representatives_,
W. D. JOHNSON W. A. HAYNE
B. G. HOWARD A. H. HOWARD
_Judge of Probate_,
JOHN WILCOX, SR.
_School Commissioners_,
J. A. SMITH
_County Commissioners_,
T. W. AYRES A. J. FRYER
J. P. DAVIS
A GREEN POW WOW
CONFUSION TRIUMPHANT
TO THE EDITOR OF THE CHARLESTON CHRONICLE:
A mass meeting of those of the Republicans of this County who are
credulous enough to espouse the bolters movement, was held here
on Tuesday the 29th inst, at the Court House under the call of
one Dr. J. B. Thompson, temporary County Chairman, who was sent
down here by Senator T. C. Dunn, with a handsome and carefully
prepared set of Resolutions, for adoption, pledging the entire
County for Green and Reform, and lauding Senator Jones, for his
steadfast adherence to the cause; and with equal warmth
denouncing the other of our delegation for daring to exercise
their untrammelled opinion in their support and advocacy of
Daniel H. Chamberlain. The resolutions, however, were never
introduced as intended owing to the fact that the Chairman, the
said Dr. Thompson, had not the temerity to call his own meeting
to order, nor did he put in an appearance at any time during the
proceedings. The recollections of the bombardment of Castle
Jones, on the memorable night of the 13th of August was too vivid
upon his memory. But about the meeting.
It was a Babel of confusion from beginning to ending. This arose
principally from an evident disposition on the part of the most
prominent Greenites, to thrust the notorious Bowley upon the
people as a Delegate, against their will and wishes. The meeting
was really a Pow Wow. A motion of any description could not be
heard and the meeting adjourned without coming to any effectual
conclusion.
The majority of the people are under such a feeling having been
foiled, deceived, and deserted by the men whom they have elevated
for honor, that they now have inscribed upon their banners:
"Judge Green may try with might and main, But he'll never beat
Daniel H. Chamberlain."
REPUBLICAN.
MATTERS IN MARION
FREAKS OF A JACK-IN-OFFICE--THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE DISTRICT
CONFERENCE
_Correspondence of the News and Courier_
Marion, S. C., July 20, 1874.
One W. A. Hayne, of nondescript complexion and Radical
persuasion, whose frantic speeches and other wild performances
during a political canvass several years ago procured him the
sobriquet of "Notoriety," is just now lording over our unhappy
people in the guise of a United States commissioner. In this
potential capacity he has commenced active operations against
those who he or his ebon emissaries choose to suspect of
transgressing the internal revenue law. Farmers who may have been
in the habit of purchasing small quantities of tobacco just as
they purchase other supplies for the use of the laborers on their
plantations, have all at once become victims of vindictive
prosecutions--the officers who make the arrests, and the
over-zealous witnesses for the government, all being negroes. It
is said that a farmer must not buy tobacco for his hands without
having obtained a regular license therefor. While this may or may
not be true, it seems to be certain that the warlike commissioner
is enforcing the decision not so much in the spirit of the law,
which he pretends to vindicate, as with a malicious propensity to
annoy his political opponents. He was not gracious enough to
consider that our farmers were without perhaps a single
exception, ignorant of the existence of so stringent a ruling,
(if, indeed, it does exist,) and he did not see the propriety of
advertising it for the benefit of those whose character would
belie the suspicion of an intention to defraud the revenue. It
may be that "Noteriety Hayne," by thus flaunting in our faces his
puissant commission, means to enhance his consequence as a
prospective candidate far the Legislature, or that he thereby
seeks to ingratiate himself with the colored people who relish
(as he may suppose) the persecution and humiliation to which the
planters are subjected by such wanton abuses of misplaced
authority.
The transaction from this topic to matters of religion may be
somewhat violent; it is, nevertheless, a relief. The Marion
District Conference of the Methodist Church convened here on
Thursday last, and remained in session four days. An unusually
large number of delegates were in attendance. The deliberations,
which were presided over by Rev. W. C. Power, were conducted in a
spirit of earnest devotion to the important interests which came
up for consideration. The reports from the various charges in the
district, which embraces the Counties of Marlboro', Marion, Horry
and Georgetown, and portions of Darlington and Williamsburg,
exhibited a most gratifying state of the church. The
Sunday-Schools were shown to be in a very flourishing condition,
and the cause of temperance was making headway against all
opposition. The Rev. Drs. Shipp and Jones, presidents
respectively of Wofford and Columbia Female Colleges, were
present, and their fine pulpit ministrations added much to the
interest of the occasion.
DIVIDING THE NEGRO VOTE
WHY THE SOUTH HAS FAILED TO ACCOMPLISH IT
_A Northern Journalist's Impressions of the Palmetto State_
The following extracts from a letter of Mr. John Russell Young,
published in the New York Herald, are well worthy of attentive
consideration; but we need hardly say that in our opinion Mr.
Young is wholly mistaken in holding the white responsible, during
the last five years at least, for the solidity and infrangibility
of the negro in the South:
_The Letter_
Why is it that the Southerners, the whites who masters before the
war, have not devided the negro vote, and uniting with those who
were intelligent, gained control of the State so as to secure it
an efficient government? It would seem to the ordinary political
thinker that even three-sevenths whites could control the
four-sevenths blacks. One thinks of the Saxon in India with the
Hindoo, in Canada with the French, in Jamaica with the Negro, in
Ireland, after a turbulent fashion, with the mailed hand, and
yet his rule is now absolute. Why is it that in South Carolina it
is otherwise? My gifted and honored colleague, Mr. Nordhoff, in
his series of letters from the South, says it is because he has
been corrupted by the carpet-bagger. With all deference to that
distinguished authority, his answer is an imperfect solution.
Surely the Negro who knows his old master, who has lived with him
during his life, who in most cases looks with affection upon him
and all who belong to him--surely in the new relation he will
look to the master as a friend, and take his guidance in so
solemn a duty as entering upon citizenship. This too because as
we learn from all authorities, and from none more clearly than
Mr. Nordhoff, that the master, "accepts the new relation" and has
no purpose of renewing the war, and, so far as from wishing to
return the negro to slavery, feels that the old system was an
error, even from an economical point of view, and that in time
its abolition will prove to be a blessing to the white, whatever
it may be to the black. Why, then this being the case, has the
carpet-bagger been able to strangle a commonwealth like South
Carolina, and with the aid of the Negro, plunder his old master?
The only answer that I can see is that the whites have not taken
any pains to cultivate the blacks, who would naturally go with
them, or the intelligent and honest Northern men who came here,
meaning in good faith to make the South a home and to grow up
with the Southern people. In nearly every case with scarcely an
exception, the whites have drawn a line, just as Jefferson Davis
drew when he embarked upon the Confederacy. They alone have a
right here. Whoever opposes him is a "scalawag," a
"carpet-bagger," or a "nigger." A "scalawag" if as a Southern
born man he votes with the Republicans; a "carpet-bagger" if he
comes from the North, no matter how he votes. This line is drawn
with severity and with scarcely an exception. A worthy citizen of
Charleston, who came from the North in the beginning of the war,
from motives of philanthropy, to educate the blacks, who has
lived in the state ever since, and holds a high reputation from
all classes because of his integrity and ability, told me that he
had never been asked to the home of a Southern man since he came
into the State. "They do business with me, meet me in public
places and show me all respect, but never open the latch key". A
reverend and highly esteemed prelate of the Methodist Church in
the North came here to attend a gathering of African churches. He
was in an official position, for these churches were under the
control of his denomination. He remained here several days
presiding over the gathering. He was known to be an honored
prelate, whose life was given solely to his religious duties. He
told me that during his stay in South Carolina he had not
received a single attention from his Southern fellow Methodists.
The clergy had not noticed his presence nor asked him into their
pulpit. He saw only fellow Christians who had come from the North
or Negroes, I cannot imagine how the line can be more closely
drawn, and now speak of what happened only a few days since.
_The Negro and His Northern Ally_
The negro, then has been thrown back upon his Northern ally.
Every memory, every name, every anniversary of the war, is
cherished as sacred. All the rest is an abomination. You may well
ask: "Why should not this be so, for are not these memories dear
to them by the blood slain brothers and children?" Truly so, and
far be it from me to profane so holy a thought as that which
would honor them. But I am answering the question propounded some
time since as to how it is that the Southern whites have never
succeeded in dividing the colored vote, so as to give the states
a good government. They have driven the Negro away. In Georgia
when they gained power they have practically disfranchised him.
But for the interference of the Federal Congress they would have
forbidden his appearance in their legislatures. I do not think
that any frank Georgian will deny that this result was largely
due to intimidation and force. In a State with 545,142 negroes in
1870, to 638,926 whites, they have virtually stamped out a
Republican party. The negro is afraid to vote, is not in many
places allowed on the jury, is punished severely for crimes, and
Mr. Nordhoff has told you that at least 25,000 of them have left
the State in the last five years; and yet in Georgia they pay
taxes on a large property. The negro in South Carolina sees what
has been done across the line, and he knows, or naturally fears,
that should the white man rule here the same results will follow.
As a consequence, therefore, the negro is in the hands of the
adventurer. He fears that his master will make him a slave, or
reduce him to a condition akin to slavery. The result is,
therefore, that not one of them will vote the Democratic ticket.
I have heard of Democratic negroes, but I have seen none. I have
spoken on this subject with Southern men in Florida, Georgia,
North and South Carolina, and there is only one story. "I have
negroes here," said one eminent gentleman, "who were my slaves in
the old time. They hang around my house. They will fight for me,
work for me and bring me their money to keep. They take my advice
in all things, and are trustworthy and devoted. They will not
vote for me. My coachman there will vote against me and in favor
of the meanest Republican in the county." The negro thus far sees
nothing in politics but his own freedom. He votes for Grant all
the time. His political education embraces a sentiment and a
fact. The sentiment is Lincoln, the fact is Grant. I was talking
to a woolly headed vagabond the other day, who had learned that I
was a Northern man, and wanted to go home with me as an
attendant. He was a worthless, ragged, shining darky, as black as
night, and earned his living, he told me, by dancing the juba for
gentlemen on the sidewalk when the police were not looking.
During the war he was a slave lad. "Did you know you were free,"
I said, "before the war was over?" He told me that the news came
very quickly; that they all kept "mighty shady," never pretending
to know until "Massa Sherman came with the soldiers." But they
knew it all the time, and there was never a night that his "old
mammie didn't pray to Massa Lincoln." This is the thought that
has burned deep into the negro mind. You cannot erase it. You
cannot take it from him. He has heard the slaves' horn. He has
worn the yoke and carried the scar into furrow and swamp. He has
seen father and mother perhaps, taken to the block and sold into
slavery. That memory ever lives as it would live with you and I,
if such a career darkened our lives. So Moses may steal and
Whipper may "administer justice," to him they mean freedom.
Coming out of the night they find no hand to grasp but the hand
of the adventurer. Is it any wonder then, that they follow him as
blind men or those who see darkly?
_Better Signs_
I cannot resist the conclusion, and it grows upon me every day,
in the South, that for much of the wrong, that has been done in
these States the old Southerners are to blame. I say this in
sorrow and with no harshness of feeling to them, and not without
making allowance for a feeling which, after all, is one of human
nature, a feeling of hatred of the men who defeated their hopes
of empire and of contempt for the negro, who is today a senator,
but who yesterday could have been sent to the whipping post. It
is not easy for a planter who has not enough to eat to rejoice
over the fact that the servant who once washed his beard is now
his ruler of the State. But, whatever the motive of the feeling,
the negro in South Carolina is at the feet of Moses and Whipper,
because he was driven there. The old master has as yet made no
sign of sympathy or friendship. I am profoundly convinced that
if, instead of mourning over the lost cause, as in the past they
were wont to bluster about the Yankees and slavery, these people
had dealt wisely with the negro and generously with the Northern
immigrant, these States, and South Carolina especially, would be
free and powerful. I hail the Chamberlain movement in one of its
aspects as the opening of a new era. The support which that
officer receives from the leading journal in the State, and one
of the leading journals in the South--_The News and
Courier_--shows the awakening of a new spirit. This paper
thoroughly Democratic, its editors gentlemen who were in the
Confederacy through the whole war and firm in their devotion to
the lost cause, sees that the only hope for South Carolina is
supporting the honest, intelligent New England Governor, who says
he is Republican from conviction and never ... a Democrat; that
he has no sympathy for Democracy or desire to be in its councils
... that as Governor he means to give ... honest government. The
news ... takes the Governor at his word and ... him on, while
newspapers over the border in Georgia mock and deride. If
Chamberlain succeeds he will divide the colored vote, and for the
first time array parties upon some other dividing line than that
laid down by Jefferson Davis when he founded his Confederacy.
_Hope for Carolina_
But whether he succeeds or not the movement which he began a year
ago, and which is now almost national in its extent, must go on.
There is no way for South Carolina to win a good government
except on this basis. Here the negroes are and in a large
majority. They cannot be driven away, they cannot be slain, they
cannot be disfranchised. They must be asked to take part in
government, to unite with honest men in punishing crime.
Education makes this more and more easy, and amid all this sorrow
and strife and tumult the work of education goes on. The negro
pants for the primer and the speller as the hart for the water of
the brook. I have taken pains, in some bookstore loungings, to
inquire about this. I learned in nearly every case that the
negroes were constant purchasers, and almost invariably of
school-books--elementary and advanced. I am told that the negro
is as anxious to read and write as he used to be to own a yellow
cravat. I do not suppose this education goes far, but it is
something. It is there I see day--there, and nowhere else. This
old feeling must die out. These memories of the Southern
Confederacy must be put away with the family laces and
grandmother' samplers. Leaders like Toombs and Hill must be
superseded. These negroes must be taught that freedom means
responsibility, and that honesty is safety and peace. These lands
and ports, these watercourses, these widely stretching and vast
acres, must respond to capital and energy, the money and the
skill of the North. Here is room in South Carolina alone for all
of New England, and in no State could the spirit of New England
work such marvels. But so long as the fogs of slavery and
misgovernment and ostracism and social hatred hang over them like
the malaria of their own rice lowlands, so long South Carolina
will be a prostrate State, crying for sympathy and help. Let us
trust that the time has come for the people to help themselves,
and in doing so, raise their Commonwealth to a pinacle of
grandeur and prosperity such as even its proud history has never
known.
"REPUBLICAN PRINCIPLE" AND THE INDEPENDENT REPUBLICAN MOVEMENT
The burden of the song of the Chamberlain Ring and their organs
is that the integrity of "the party" is of more consequence than
honest government, and that any Republican who votes for Green
and Delaney is a traitor to the Republican party and false to
Republican principles. In all humility we beg leave to suggest
that the persons who are candidates for office in the interest of
a corrupt Ring, and the few newspapers which live and move and
have their being by and in that Ring, are hardly the
disinterested and unselfish counsellors that they claim to be. It
is safer to go outside of the charmed circle, and ascertain what
is advised by Republicans whose honesty is as great as their
integrity, who were Republicans when Democracy was in the
ascendant, and who are as true now to Republicanism as they were
while slavery existed and most of the South Carolina white
Republicans were red-hot Democrats in the South or obscure
demagogues in the North. Their opinions are entitled to weight,
and for that reason they are carefully excluded from the columns
of the organs of the Chamberlain Ring. It is in our power,
however, to lay these opinions before the public, and we mean to
do it.
1. _The New York Times_ is known everywhere as a powerful
Republican newspaper; it advocates Republican principles in
season and out of season. This paper heartily approves of the
Independent Republican movement, and says that, whatever may be
the immediate result, "The final effect cannot be good." It says,
further, that, in the organization of the Independent Republican
movement, the colored people have made "a long step forward."
2. _The New York Evening Post_, a Republican newspaper which
circulates among the upper-ten, declares that "the political
signs from South Carolina are favorable"; and that it has very
gratifying assurances that "the colored voters are beginning to
perceive that they have been used too long by unscrupulous
politicians" (of the Chamberlain-Bowen school) "who have employed
partisan prejudices to promote their own private fortunes." And
_The New York Tribune_, an unfaltering friend of the colored
Republicans, talks in the same strain, and gives the Independent
Republican movement its warm approval.
3. One of the strongest Republican newspapers in New England is
_The Springfield Republican_ (Mass.) which sees in the new
movement an evidence of good faith on the part of the
Conservatives, and of sagacity and honesty on the part of the
Independent Republicans.
The newspapers whose opinions we have quoted represent, in large
part, the sentiments and opinions of the people who pushed the
war against the South, and insisted on the abolition of slavery.
They say, without a dissenting voice, that the Independent
Republican movement is right and wise and just. On the other
side, a marked man, stands C. C. Bowen, who, in printed
handbills, speaks of Judge Green as "the Democratic candidate for
Governor." Colored Republicans! whom will you believe, the men
and newspapers who fought your battles when you were powerless to
help yourselves, or the men and the newspapers whose love for you
only began when you had office and public plunder to bestow upon
them?
SUNDAY MORNING, July 12, 1874
_The Warning_
If there be anything wanting to the argument we have persistently
urged upon the Republicans of this State, it is contained in the
following extract from an editorial in _The New York Times_,
General Grant's especial organ. In speaking of what General Grant
has said about South Carolina, the _Times_ says: "He (General
Grant) further added that unless a true reform was begun at once
in South Carolina, the Republican party would this fall repudiate
the so-called Republicans of the State. In fact, this is what the
Republicans of the North have already done. The Triumph of Moses
and his gang would be only the triumph of corruption, and that
the people of this country will not stand.
If we do not heed this warning in time, there will not be enough
left of our organization next year to make a respectable ward
meeting. We cannot fight the Democrats here, General Grant and
the whole country beside. We cannot afford to commit political
suicide, and we are not going.
CHARLESTON, S. C., FRIDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 2, 1874
THE FAIR PLAY MEETING
_A Grand Gathering of Republicans and Conservatives--Harmony
Prevails and Nothing Asked but Fair Play_
The meeting last night was one of the most extraordinary
gatherings ever held in Charleston. Upwards of four thousand of
our citizens irrespective of party, assembled together and raised
their voices in the interests of fair play for one and all.
Men of culture and wealth, stood side by side, with the honest
and industrious workingmen. Republican and Conservative, white
men and colored men, Chamberlain men and Green men stood shoulder
to shoulder bearing in mind the great object of the meeting and
for the time being casting aside all thoughts of party spirit. It
seemed to be well understood by each and every man in the vast
assemblage that this was not the time nor place to urge the claim
of any particular candidates, and the harmony that prevailed
reflected the most unbounded credit on the citizens of
Charleston.
Let it here be distinctly understood that the objection to the
commissioners of election does not imply an objection to either
of them individually but it is claimed that one of them should
at least give place to a representative of the other side. If
Thompson and Smith are candidates for election to any office, and
the three commissioners of election are all Thompson men, it is
natural that the supporters of Smith should be dissatisfied, but
by appointing one Smith man all suspicions of unfair play will be
removed.
Col. E. W. M. Mackey called the meeting to order from the steps
of the City Hall at 8 o'clock and upon his motion it was
organized with the following officers:
President--The Hon. H. D. Lesesne.
Vice-Presidents--Mayor C. I. Cunningham, Ex-Gov. Wm. Aiken,
Coroner Aaron Logan, Mr. E. B. Seabrook, Mr. S. Y. Tupper,
Alderman W. J. McKinlay, Senator S. E. Gaillard, Hon. Henry
Gourdin, Mr. John F. Taylor, Rev. E. J. Adams, Mr. Andrew
Simonds, Mr. H. H. DeLeon, Mr. C. O. Witte, Alderman S. B.
Garrett, Mr. Hugh Ferguson, Mr. J. W. Reed, Alderman John A.
Godfrey, Mr. B. Bollman, Mr. B. O'Neill, Capt. J. C. Clausen, Mr.
Stephen Brown, Mr. W. A. Courtenay.
Secretaries--Mr. J. A. Mushington, Mr. C. O. Trumbo, Capt. Alex
Williams.
Mr. Lesesne opened the meeting with a most appropriate address,
in which he stated ... meeting, at his leisure, who shall present
by letter or otherwise, the foregoing preamble and resolutions to
the Governor of the State, and require of him, as necessary for
the preservation of public peace, that he do remove the said
commissioners of election, or a majority of them, and appoint, in
their stead, commissioners of known integrity, intelligence and
impartiality, who will see that in every matter pertaining to the
election, equal and exact justice shall be done to all citizens,
irrespective of class, color or political party; and further,
that the said committee shall, in the event of the refusal of the
Executive to grant this request, call a mass meeting of the
people to take such action as will then be necessary.
Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the chairman
of this meeting, at his leisure, who shall immediately ascertain
what protection can be secured to the voters of Charleston County
under the United States laws relating to elections, which
committee shall immediately report the result of their
investigations, through the public prints, with such
recommendations for the guidance of the citizens as they may deem
advisable.
After the reading of the above preamble and resolutions, Mr.
Joseph W. Barnwell addressed the meeting, and was followed by the
Hon. G. A. Trenholm, who spoke with much eloquence and at
considerable length.
Mr. Trenholm, holding the Chronicle in his hand, read therefrom
the following extract from the third plank of the Republican
platform: "We shall hold all men as enemies to equality of rights
who interfere with the ballot or deny the free and lawful
exercise of its use to any citizen, whatever may be his party
creed."
He called attention to the fact that these sentiments were in the
Republican platform and were published in the Charleston
Chronicle, the only Republican paper in this city; but, strange
to say, this portion of his speech does not seem to have made a
great impression on either the News and Courier reporter or the
Sun man. For the News and Courier fails to report it, and the Sun
does not shine upon it.
The Hon. A. J. Ransier then took the platform, but his address
was interrupted by an unlooked for incident.
A number of policemen having in charge some of the men who were
wounded in the fracas with the strikers, of which an account is
given elsewhere in this issue, were seen marching down Meeting
street followed by a considerable crowd. The bigger crowd seeing
the others, and not knowing what was up, became demoralized, and
a panic ensued followed by a general stampede.
SPEECH OF W. A. HAYNE, OF MARION,
_On Outrages In Edgefield County S. C._
The House, in Committee of the Whole, having under consideration
the following message from His Excellency:
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
Executive Chamber,
Columbia, March 1, 1876.
HON. ROBERT B. ELLIOTT, Speaker House of Representatives:
_Sir:_--I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of
a resolution adopted by the House of Representatives and
concurred in by the Senate, by which I am requested to report to
this General Assembly at the earliest practicable moment all the
facts and information in my possession in relation to outrages
alleged to have been committed recently in Edgefield County.
I have the honor, in reply, to say that the information received
by me respecting the matter referred to is, in substance, that,
on the night of the 11th of February, some twenty-five or thirty
mounted men, in disguise, went to the house of James Perry,
living near Ridge Spring, in the County of Edgefield; that they
found in the house Freeman Gardner, his wife, Julia Brooks, a
woman between seventy and eighty years of age, and Zilpha Hill, a
young woman--all colored; that this disguised band took all four
of the immates of the house to a point of about a mile and a
quarter distant and then stripped and whipped them all; that
after the whipping was over, the woman, Patsey Gardner, was
severely and systematically burned by the application of liquid
sealing wax or burning pitch to her back and limbs; that the
young woman, Zilpha Hill, who was pregnant was also beaten and
severely abused, to such an extent as to endanger her life; that
the only pretext for this conduct was given in a remark of one of
the disguised band about John Gaston's goods.
This is the account given by the victims of the outrage, and the
condition of the woman, Patsey Gardner, seems to indicate the
truth of her statements as to the injuries inflicted upon this
woman.
This is the substance of the information in my hands at the
present time.
Very respectfully,
(Signed) D. H. CHAMBERLAIN, _Governor_.
Mr. Hayne said:
_Mr. Chairman_--Perhaps no member regrets this outrage more than
I do, for in the last campaign it was my earnest desire, yea, the
height of my ambition, to bring about not only purity in my
party, but harmony between the two races, and therefore my
regret. I am disappointed, almost discouraged, for it seems as
though 'tis love's labor lost. But, sir, just so long as the
newspapers of the country continue to exert their influence in
this direction will our State be disgraced by these foul
outrages. They fire up the hatred of the hot headed, indiscreet
youths of the State by their incendiary articles, and make them
believe that to slay and scourge all who differ from them in
opinion are doing God and their country a service. They never
heap the ashes of charitable oblivion upon the coals of prejudice
and hate, but continue to replenish it with the most exciting and
fiery appeals. The Edgefield paper makes light of this dastardly
violence done to aged and inoffensive women by ascribing it as
the work of "rash boys." Manly pastime for these brave boys! a
crime sir, that in any other State, and done to any other class,
would have demanded and met with immediate punishment, perhaps in
the Court of Judge Lynch, as was the case in Marlboro County a
few weeks ago, when a white lady was abused, the perpetrators,
two colored men, met with immediate punishment. They would not
have brooked the law's delay. Yea, sir, an outraged community
would have taught these "rash boys" a lesson that I fear they
will learn in no other school, and the courteous Sheriff would
not have been put to the trouble of "inviting them to be
arrested."
But, Mr. Chairman, it happens to be the poor despised Africans
who have tilled their fields for centuries, educated and amassed
for them princely fortunes, and while they were engaged in
riveting tighter the chains of bondage, were engaged in the care
and protection of their defenceless families. Mr. Chairman, I
ask, is this the mode to bring about harmony and prosperity? Will
this tranquilize this already distracted country? No, sir. On the
contrary, it will raise to its highest temperature the ill
feelings of an outraged people, and cause them to adopt for their
redress _lex talionis_, in opposition to the Edgefield _lex
loci_, as Mr. McDuffe truthfully says, "God has planted in the
breast of man a higher and holier principle than that by which he
is prompted to resist oppression; the vilest reptile that crawls
on the earth, without the gift of reason to comprehend the
injustice of its injuries, would bite, or sting, or bruise the
hand by which they were inflicted. Is it to be expected, then,
that freemen will patiently bow down and kiss the rod of the
oppressors?" I had hoped that the swift retribution that followed
the K. K's reign, and the withering rebuke administered by their
own counsel, (Hon. Reverdy Johnson,) would have put an end to
these inhuman and disgusting outrages; but, sir, the newspapers
must live and thrive, and this can only be done by a healthy
subscription list, and, in order to swell that list, they must
excite the worst passions of depraved men and pander to their
prejudices.
Are the disgraceful scenes that darkened the history of South
Carolina and cast a foul blot upon her proud escutcheon to be
re-enacted? It must not. If we expect to enjoy peace and
prosperity in our State, we must be more mindful of the rights of
each other, more tolerant in our political views, and finally,
leave the punishment of violators of the law to Courts of
Justice, and not constitute ourselves a Vigilance Committee for
every imaginary wrong. The Courts are certainly doing their duty,
as our increased appropriation for the penitentiary will evince.
If this course of action is followed, then, and not until then,
will South Carolina blossom as the rose, and peace and prosperity
flow as a river within her borders.
Again, Mr. Chairman, if the people of that and any other County
would only turn away from the siren voice of selfish
office-seekers, and put in office men who would dare to do their
duty at all times and in all places, without fear, favor or
impartiality, then, sir, would their rights be secured, and they
would sit down under their own vine and fig-tree, with none
daring to molest or make afraid; then would these lawless men
respect the rights of the occupants of the humblest cabin; for
the law properly administered would indeed be a terror to these
evil doers, and wherever that aegis of America's honor, and her
citizen's protection floats, men would fear to disregard the
rights of his fellows or take the law into their own hands; and,
my fellow-citizens, let me entreat you, in the exercise of your
rights as citizens hereafter, select only such men as are worthy
of these high offices--men who will do their duty. When I have
given such advice hitherto you have scorned it, but take heed in
future, for your interests, the security of your rights, make it
an imperative duty on you.
Mr. Chairman, if departed spirits are visitants of this earth,
and familiar with the actions of men, the spirits of the
patriotic Rutledge and of the sainted Gasden must have wept tears
of anguish over the degeneracy of these men bearing their
patronymics as they witnessed the outrages (the details of which
are heart sickening) which were perpetrated upon those
inoffensive women. Has the chivalry of South Carolina degenerated
thus far? Is this the work of her brave sons? Could they find no
more worthy foe than an aged, infirm woman, brutally maltreated
and her person exposed, who, even if guilty, should have excited
their sympathy? Another, in a condition that would have appealed
not in vain to the protection of savages, much less civilized
men, cruelly beaten, and her life and that of her unborn child
endangered thereby. Shame on you, degenerate sons of a brave and
chivalrous ancestry! The recording angel in heaven's chancery
must have shed tears as, with his diamond pen, he noted this
additional evidence of man's depravity. I am no advocate of the
"bloody shirt" doctrine, neither do I endorse the rash
sentiments expressed by the member from Charleston, (Mr. Davis);
but inasmuch as His Excellency has furnished this House with
official information of this outrage, I have felt it my duty as a
representative to express in positive, forcible terms my utter
abhorrence and condemnation of this brutal outrage. The Governor
has faithfully performed his duty in furthering the arrest of the
guilty parties, and I hope the Court of justice will administer a
lesson that will not soon be forgotten by that community. The
laws are adequate; we simply require efficient and faithful
officers to execute them; and as a legislative body we have done
our duty in condemning this outrage, the punishment of which we
leave to another tribunal--the Nemesis of justice.
THE HIPPODROME
SECOND DAYS EXHIBITION!
_They go for a Reporter And Catch a Tartar!_
_Large Attendance but Poor Performance._
The exhibition at this place of amusement yesterday was of only
an indifferent character. Unless the managers improve the show in
some way, it will hardly draw for many more performances. True,
the tricks of the acrobats are worthy of mention; the riding
passable, and the performance of the numerous ring-masters
tolerably creditable; but the "dagger pitchers" and
"revolver-swallowers," and inferior parts assigned to the clowns
in the ring, were altogether too limited to please the
amusement-loving public. There must be more robber declarations
and full-blooded excited performances anxious for bloody fames,
or the thing will be a failure. This pretense of fight won't do;
there must be a regular shooting and dying for principle, or we
shall pronounce your cheap show a humbug; and some of you at
least know that no third rate "Punch and Judy" exhibition will be
tolerated by the party in power in South Carolina. With this
warning and introduction, we proceed to give an account of the
performance.
The mob was called to order precisely at 1 o'clock, temporary
President Swails in the chair. The proceedings of the previous
day were read from _The Union-Herald_ in his hand, and called the
attention of the assemblage to an article in that paper touching
upon the subject of the raising of a chair by some member for the
purpose of annihilating the present Governor of South Carolina.
Smalls succeeded in raising a turbulent discussion about nothing,
and a general discussion of the subject by the windy members of
the convention, for some two hours, in which many of the "end
men" took part.
The more intelligent members of the hippodrome took no part in
the discussion, with the exception of the Governor, who, in a
very dignified manner, informed them that he had feared no bodily
harm from any of them; that he had witnessed such scenes before,
and was quietly engaged in preparation for any trap that might be
sprung upon the decent members of the convention, after the riot
should have spent itself.
At this point, Maxwell, the tragedian from Marlboro, obtained the
floor. He is one of the most amusing characters connected with
the big show. He hadn't "seen any chairs raised," and, folding
his arms and throwing himself back in a tragic and majestic
position, said: "I, gentlemen, was the coolest of the cool." This
remark, brought the house down. The worst of them were compelled
to laugh; especially those who know he never keeps cool. He wound
up his harangue by saying that the day was fast approaching when
men would seek their rights on the ... face to face with
newspaper men ... got the floor....
After other speeches, of a like nature, Captain Canton, city
editor of _The Union-Herald_, stepped in front of the reporters
table, read the article, and explained to them how he obtained
his information and what he saw with his own eyes, winding up,
after being interrupted several times, by telling them that
"newspaper men were abundantly able to take care of themselves."
The discussion continued until Elliott moved that the whole
matter be laid upon the table, which was agreed to.
Mr. Keegan, the correspondent of _The Washington Chronicle_, had
listened to their foul language of denunciation of himself and
others of his profession, and seeing the question closed, the
vilified correspondent, sought his hat, and turning round to the
assembled mob, told them they had denounced him like a dog, and
had denied him the right to defend himself. This remark of the
correspondent cowed the more ignorant portion of the gang, and
the resolution was withdrawn, which permitted him to explain to
them as the representative of a Republican paper, a gentleman
and a soldier; that he had fought to free them; fought against
his own father, who owned 150 of their kind, and was a Major in
the 5th Louisiana Regiment; that he fought for principle, while
his father fought for property; that he had been sent to Columbia
to report their doings and sayings, and to see if there was a
possible hope of good government in South Carolina.
This stopped the war upon the newspaper men. We devoutly hope
that when he goes back across the Potomac he may....
ROBERTSON'S EXPULSION
AN INTERESTING REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE
_The School-Book Culprit's Speech in His Own Defense--His Attack
Upon Mr. Cathcart and The News and Courier--A Pleasant Colloquy
Between Hamilton and Leslie--The Close of the Discussion and Its
Result_
(From our special correspondent)
Columbia, S. C. February 25.--This has been a regular field day
in the House, very nearly the entire session being devoted to a
discussion of the report of the committee on privileges and
elections concerning the guilt and expulsion of J. D. Robertson,
of Beaufort.
Mr. Crittenden resumed, in a review of the evidence. He briefly
reviewed his own remarks of yesterday, and then proceeded to
quote from the letters of Robertson, while so endeavoring to
benefit the children of South Carolina, had never informed the
commission of his plans up to December 30th. One point Mr.
Robertson had made was that Ivison, Blakeman & Co. were
disappointed and for that reason they had made an attack upon
him. This, Mr. Crittenden said, was too thin, as the publishers
referred to were not that kind of men. He then concluded by
saying that he hoped the time had come when the people of South
Carolina would show to the world that the time had passed when
the adventurers could come from other portions of the country,
and with professions of love for the negroes and children of the
State, take advantage of their own pockets. The colored people
had learned better sense than to trust such people any longer.
Curtis, who was acting speaker, here asked what construction the
House placed on Act 2, section 16 of the constitution, which
relates to the number of votes required to expel a member, from
the floor. Mr. Orr held that the Supreme Court had decided that
two-thirds of the number present were competent to expel. Some
one else claimed that it required two-thirds of all the members
on roll. The speaker here cited a case in the House Journals in
which it was decided that two-thirds of the members present was
sufficient. Mr. Brayton stated that two-thirds of the House and
two-thirds of the Senate were necessary to impeach a judge, and
he thought that as much consideration should be shown to the
members of the House. In justice to themselves they ought to
insist upon the passage of the following resolution:
Resolved, that it is the sense of this House that in order to
expel a member a two-thirds vote of all the members elected is
required.
Freeman, of Charleston, spoke against the resolution, taking the
same ground as that held by Mr. Orr.
Bampfield rose to a point of order that it was the duty of the
chair to decide. If necessary an appeal could be had.
The chair stated that if he decided it would be in favor of the
view that it required two-thirds of the members present.
Freeman thought it very strange that no defense had been offered
by the friends of the accused, and proposed to amend Brayton's
resolution by striking out "elected" and inserting "present."
Mr. Orr said that no resolution of ruling of the chair was
necessary as they had the decision of the Supreme Court on the
matter, and that was their law. Richardson's Supreme Court
Reports, volume 4, has already decided this question, and he
didn't see the use of construing the law when it was already
construed by such authority.
Chancellor Johnson stated that the matter was purely a
constitutional question, and he quoted from the Constitution to
show that the House had the right to decide all such questions,
for itself.
On motion the resolution of Mr. Brayton was laid on the table.
Hirsch then called for a ruling from the chair, and the chair
decided that it would require two-thirds of the members present.
The Saint here became very much agitated, and requested that he
be allowed to speak in his own behalf, as no one else saw fit to
take up his cause. The request was granted, and he then spoke as
follows:
Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I will in the outset
simply draw your attention to the fact that my accuser has never
put his foot on the soil of South Carolina. If the House will not
defend me the courts will. No witnesses have been called here,
and when I asked you for your protection I am taunted with the
fact that I have offered no defence. If I had been accused in a
trial justice's court I would have had the proofs, and would have
the right to meet my accuser face to face. But here, when my
reputation and the reputation of my innocent children are at
stake, I am proved beyond doubt, and by respectable witnesses, to
be a wilful falsifier and perverter of the truth. Take notice of
this telegram from an honorable house, Messrs. Armstrong,
Scribner & Co.: "We have heard threats that the books chosen
shall not succeed, and that you shall be ruined." This is not the
first time that Ivison, Blakeman & Co., have made a similar fight
to this in the North. They have done so hundreds of times. I ask
the patience of the House, which has my future weal or woe in
their hands, to hear me yet further. Strike if you will but for
Heaven's sake hear me. Another curious phase of this matter is
that the house of Ivison, Blakeman & Co., when it suits their
convenience, do not hesitate to publish confidential
communications. And I would say here that a member of this House
has done the same thing, viz, has divulged to the press what took
place in the committee room, for his own ends.
Mr. Orr here rose and said that if Robertson referred to him he
told a malicious falsehood, and that he would get his pay for it.
Robertson said he had no doubt he would get paid for it; that he
had not mentioned Orr's name, but if he saw fit to appropriate
the remark he could not help it.
The speaker here interrupted, and put an end to the controversy.
Robertson continued: That he had married into one of the best
families of the State, and that his blood was mingled with
theirs, &c.
Holland, a coal-black representative, for what purpose or
actuated by what impulse must ever remain a mystery, here
interrupted, and asked if Robertson referred to him. Mr.
Robertson said no, he did not refer to him. This produced a roar
of laughter all over the House which the speaker had great
difficulty in suppressing.
Robertson continued: I have written some foolish things, it is
true, but I am done with Cathcart and Ivison, Blakeman & Co.
Remember the words of the Holy Writ: "Judge not that ye be not
judged." I will now refer to the letter which the gentleman from
Greenville rolled as a sweet morsel under his tongue yesterday.
That letter was confidential, and you must remember that all this
trouble is made up out of confidential letters. Which of you
would be willing to have his confidential letters published?
Concerning Guerad, I certainly did offer to help him get a
situation, as he was worthy and needy. I was asked by him and
endeavored to get it for him; and who would not do the same? Mr.
Robertson then referred to his letter in _The News and Courier_,
which, he said, the publishers of the paper had done him the
justice to publish, and which contained a full account of the
whole matter in plain terms, without any attempt to conceal or
pervert the facts.
Mr. Robertson's time here expired, but on motion of Whipper he
was allowed fifteen minutes longer. He continued: Recollect that
two constructions can be placed upon this matter. One will ruin
me and the other will not. Choose between them.
Hamilton interrupted. What particular portion of the letters do
you deny?
Robertson. What I object to in this investigation is that copies
of letters are given here purporting to be mine, when I cannot
tell whether they are mine or not. Gentlemen, what can I say
more? I built the first schoolhouse that was ever built in my
district, and supported the first teacher we had to teach the
colored children in it. And now, gentlemen for this I am to be
expelled; expelled because I have labored for the good of the
children of the State; because in my anxiety I wrote letters
which the secretary of the commission ought to have written
himself. Gentlemen I am done. "Let him that is without sin among
you cast the first stone."
Hamilton. Keep down then, it is where you belong, and if you had
your deserts you ought to be down and out of the House. Hamilton
then went on, saying that he proposed to divest himself of all
personal feelings. He proposed to speak as he thought the people
would have him speak--justly. The first ground that he took
against Robertson was that he believed him guilty and thought
that every man in South Carolina believed the same and I will say
as he says, "Out of thy mouth thou shalt be convicted." No
private confidential letters could benefit the children of the
State; they benefit only the man who writes them. These letters
undoubtedly were written to benefit himself, not the children. I
express the sentiment of my people when I say that he is guilty
of murder, not of manslaughter. This man and such as he have
done an immense harm, and it is time we were getting rid of them.
We can't hold that class of men and be successful in politics. It
is with pain that I utter what I do. If this were some other
occasion, and the gentleman was from some other county, I ... of
... Cathcart. Hayne then went into a review of the testimony,
concluding with the remark that as to the expulsion of Mr.
Robertson bringing disgrace upon his children he did not deny; it
was mournful that the sins of the fathers should be visited upon
their children.
Black ... Davis then got up, and, as usual, talked a great deal
and said very little. The general tenor of the harangue, however,
was that if they expelled Robertson they would establish a
precedent that would work harm for the party. They would be
opening a door that they might not be able to shut when they
wanted to. That Republican material was scarce, and if they
punished this man it would discourage other white carpet-baggers
from coming down and help lead the party in this State.
Freeman of Charleston, then followed in a strong speech against
Robertson. He said that the question was one of peculiar
significance. It was whether the colored men of the State were
able to lead themselves, and capable of upholding their
self-respect. He had remained silent until he had heard the
defence entirely exhausted, and he was forced to say that the
accused had in his defence done nothing but make an admission
that the charges were true. He then read a letter of Robertson's
dated June 2d. This, he said, was a confidential letter, and no
public servant had the right to write such confidential letters
to put money in their own pockets. If he (Robertson) knew that it
was the character of these Northern firms to defraud the people
of the different States, as he says he did, then why did he go to
them? If he knew that they were swindlers, why did he go to them
to strike a bargain for the State. Robertson had cast an insult
upon the colored men that would not be tolerated by any other
race upon the face of the globe. He had flung out to the world
the insinuation--nay, the assertion--that the colored members of
the Legislature were for sale on every question. He hoped that
the colored members would assert their self-respect and hurl back
the charge with scorn, and show to the world that they had some
sense of honor, and will not be duped by unprincipled
carpet-baggers any longer.
Whipper then followed in a harangue in support of Robertson,
taking the old ground that the letters were not certified to,
and incompetent as testimony, &c., and wound up with a customary
slash at _The News and Courier_.
Mr. Brayton, of Aiken, followed Whipper in a strong technical
argument in support of Robertson, in which he claimed that the
form of trial was illegal, and the testimony was insufficient and
ex parte; not touching upon the guilt or innocence of Robertson
at all.
The accusers and defenders had exhausted their rhetoric and the
patience of their audience and themselves, so a vote was taken on
the question of expulsion, and resulted as follows--56 yeas and
25 nays. A few moments later and the hall was silent and in
darkness.
Nesbit and Pinckney, however, it seems, hadn't had enough of the
fight inside, but went to abusing each other about the course
they had pursued. Pinckney voted for expulsion and Nesbit against
it, and after some words they went to bruising each other in a
way that must have shocked the effigy of the father of their
country, around whose bronze form they shinned so mildly. The
entertainment broke up, however, before the gladiators had
entirely demolished each other.
The discussion of the Robertson matter in the House, if it has
done nothing else, has very clearly demonstrated that the
majority of the colored people of the State are tired of their
carpet-bagger leaders, and do not propose to be led by them any
longer.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] These articles were arranged by Monroe N. Work.
BOOK REVIEWS
_Fifty Years in the Gospel Ministry._ By THEOPHILUS GOULD
STEWARD. The African Methodist Episcopal Book Concern, 631 Pine
Street, Philadelphia, 1922. Pp. 520.
This is an autobiography covering the period from 1864 to 1914. It
carries an introduction by Dr. Reverdy C. Ransom, the editor of the
_African Methodist Episcopal Church Review_. Inasmuch as it is the
record of a distinguished minister in one of the leading Negro
denominations, it throws much light on this period, not only in
ecclesiastical affairs but in matters touching the life and
development of this race during that period. This is apparent to one
observing that the book covers the author's twenty-seven years in the
pastorate, sixteen years as a chaplain in the United States army,
seven years as a professor in Wilberforce University, two of his trips
to Europe and one to Mexico. The book is illustrated, but it has no
index.
Taking up the work of the General Conference of 1864, the author says
much to give the reader an insight into the characters and efforts of
the leading churchmen of his denomination at that time. Among those
passing in review are Bishops Quinn, Payne, and Nazrey, and others
like H. M. Turner and Alexander W. Wayman who later became bishops of
that denomination. Then follows his trip South, when the author had
the opportunity to participate in the early efforts for the uplift of
the freedmen, serving in Georgia and in South Carolina. He then tells
how he arose to a position of usefulness and later served larger
groups of communicants in Philadelphia and the District of Columbia.
Referring to his record as a chaplain in the United States army, the
author shows a larger acquaintance with the leading Negro statesmen
through whom he obtained the position. The account of his services in
this capacity, both in this country and abroad, and especially in the
Philippine Islands, sets forth information, not only as to what that
portion of the world was doing, but the reaction of this educated
Negro to this panorama. Other interesting experiences appear in the
account of his extensive travels.
The value of the book is incalculable when one takes into
consideration the dearth of such literature bearing on Negroes. This
work takes rank with the recent volume of Bishop Coppin entitled
_Unwritten History_, for certainly there are to be found therein
interesting romances taken from the life of the Negro and recorded by
one of the race in the manner in which these things were impressed
upon him and found expression in his mind. This is the sort of
literature for which the public has patiently waited and it is
devoutly to be desired that other churchmen may find time to leave a
written record like these of Bishop Coppin and Chaplain Steward. For
anyone desirous of studying the history of the Negro in its various
ramifications, such works are indispensable.
_The Negro in Literature and Art._ By BENJAMIN BRAWLEY. Duffield
and Company, New York, 1921. Pp. 197.
This is a revised edition of Professor Brawley's work which appeared
in 1918. It follows the general outline of the first edition and sets
forth additional facts but not sufficient to justify this claim to
revision. The work is biographical, largely devoted to the narrative
of the careers of Phyllis Wheatley, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Charles W.
Chesnutt, W. E. B. Dubois, William Stanley Braithwaite, Frederick
Douglass, Booker Washington, Henry O. Tanner, Meta Warrick Fuller, and
Charles S. Gilpin. The unsatisfactory short sketch of Gilpin
constitutes the best claim of the work to that of a revised edition.
While this work does not show by historic or philosophical development
the evolution of the Negro mind as expressed in the achievements of
the race in literature and art, it has some value. To have a publisher
place before the public the sketches of so many prominent Negroes who
might otherwise remain unknown to the public is a service to be
appreciated. The world has too long considered the Negro a human
machine restricted to drudgery. Any successful effort, therefore, to
bring before the public from time to time the achievements of worthy
Negroes, although it may be a repetition of what may be well known to
the better informed few, must be welcomed as an undertaking having a
direct bearing on popularizing the record of a neglected seventh of
the population of the world.
Let us hope, however, that in the near future some other author,
grasping more correctly the needs of the time, may set forth in
literary form the interesting story of how history has been influenced
by the Negro during the various stages of the world's progress and
especially how the Negro of today functions efficiently in the life of
Europe and America. The public will welcome too a work treating the
eloquent appeals of Negro orators, the beautiful poetry voicing the
strivings of this oppressed group, and its peculiar philosophy of life
constructed while enduring the ordeal of racial proscription.
_The Free Negro in Maryland, 1634-1860._ By JAMES M. WRIGHT.
Longmans, Green and Company, New York; P. S. King and Son, Ltd.,
London, 1921. Pp. 362.
This is a study in a neglected field of American history. Hitherto
very little has been done to inform the world as to the actual
contribution of the free Negro prior to the Civil War. Few persons
realize that there were half a million such Negroes in the United
States at that time. It is a mistake, therefore, to consider this
better selected group of the race so insignificant as not to influence
the history of the communities in which they lived. A number of
histories have been written since the Civil War, however, with a view
to meeting this need for a treatment of this neglected group. There
have appeared John H. Russell's _Free Negro in Virginia_ and
Brackett's _The Negro in Maryland_. But unfortunately such works have
been too rigidly restricted to the discussion of the Negro's legal,
social, and religious status as determined by the laws enacted for
these purposes in the South rather than to the study of the free Negro
himself. As it is well known that many of these laws were never
enforced, we are still at sea as to what the free Negro actually was
and what he was doing.
While Professor Wright has not altogether succeeded in meeting the
requirements for this more scientific study of the free Negro, he has
done his task much better than those who have hitherto invaded this
field. In addition to covering the ground of other such studies he has
undertaken to give the historic background and by statistical method
he has presented valuable information as to the apprenticeship of
Negro children, the occupations and wages of free Negroes, their
acquisition of property, their education and their religious
strivings.
In his long-drawn-out conclusion he does not seem to have an
altogether favorable impression as to the rôle played by the free
Negro in the State of Maryland. He shows that the Negro was led to
despise himself in keeping with the policy of regarding the white man
as the superior and the Negro as the inferior. Professor Wright says,
however, that the perpetuation of such a handicap for the most needy
part of the population was probably not sound social policy. Upon the
whites the effects were first to cause at least a formal realization
of race solidarity, and secondly, to intensify class lines within the
ranks, although not to define the "poor whites" as rigidly as in
certain of the sister slave States. On the whole, Professor Wright
believes that the free Negro was an asset to the State, but one laden
with many of the characteristics of a liability. "The managers of the
corporate body to which he (the Negro) belonged," says the writer,
"would have been relieved, could they have written him as an item off
their accounts. Nevertheless the sympathetic personal attachment of
many whites to individual negro servants, whether slave or free, was
permanent." Thus ends an informing book with several misconceptions,
but nevertheless fraught with valuable facts.
_Batouala._ By RENÉ MARAN. Albin Michel, Editor. Paris, 1921. Pp.
189.
This is a novel which was awarded the Goncourt prize in 1921. Inasmuch
as it is socially historical, it contains many facts throwing light on
the conditions of Africa. Born on the Island of Martinique where the
conditions of colonial rule were different from those obtaining in
Africa, the scenes of which inspired this indictment of the white
man's civilization, René Maran doubtless found the situation there so
revolting that it evoked from him this work. Without concealing the
faults of the natives, Maran discusses the robber concession companies
in Africa, forced labor, high taxes and exorbitant prices for goods
sold to the natives. Inasmuch as there were no railroads or "pack
animals," the Negroes themselves were impressed into a "pack-man
system" which together with the Tsetse fly has worked havoc in Africa.
The author maintains that this "pack carrying" has caused the death of
more than one million Negroes and cites as evidence that in one town
the blacks rebelled against this portage service because it was
considered better to die than to undergo such a hardship. The book is
intended to emphasize the importance of remedying these abuses and
suggests as the proper reform that the concessions granted these
private companies should be withdrawn and that nature should be given
the opportunity to repair the damage done by white men.
This is a stirring note from a man of African blood speaking for
Africa from the point of view of the native himself. It is a distinct
contribution in that we have a different view from that appearing in
the works of white men who have travelled through that continent,
seeing it from the outside and then only "through a glass darkly." The
cause of truth in that quarter is now fortunate in having there a
number of intelligent Africans who, after having been trained in the
mission schools and in the best universities of Europe and America,
are now beginning to give the other phase of the social, economic, and
political questions in Africa. Many of the conditions which have long
obtained in that continent have continued for the reason that persons
on the outside who might have been struck with holy horror, had such
been known, have never learned and, therefore, can hardly realize that
such appalling conditions exist. For this valuable contribution, not
only from the literary point of view, but from that of the
investigator of social and economic problems, the public must feel
indebted to René Maran.
NOTES
The first Spring Conference of the Association for the Study of Negro
Life and History was held in the city of New York on April 3d and 4th.
There was a preliminary mass meeting on Sunday, the 2d, at the Mother
A. M. E. Zion Church, where Mr. James F. Morton, Prof. John R.
Hawkins, and Dr. C. G. Woodson delivered addresses which were
enthusiastically received.
On Monday and Tuesday, the 3d and 4th, when the actual meeting began,
a larger number of persons from afar were present. The day sessions
were held at the 135th Street Branch Library where, on Tuesday
morning, Dr. George E. Haynes, Secretary of the Race Commission of the
Federal Council of the Churches of Christ, opened the discussion of
the question "Why one race should know the other one." Other persons
participating in the discussion and giving additional information as
to the bright prospects for the cooperation of the races in the
country were Bishop R. A. Carter, and Cleveland Allen who availed
himself of the opportunity to emphasize the importance of placing the
bust of Frederick Douglass in the New York Hall of Fame.
At the first evening session held at the Concord Baptist Church in
Brooklyn the following evening there was a large attendance. The
meeting was opened by preliminary remarks by the Director. He was
followed by Prof. Albert Bushnell Hart of Harvard University who
delivered an informing address on "Involuntary Servitude." Remarks as
to the importance of this organization and how the work may be more
successfully prosecuted were made by Bishop R. A. Carter of the C. M.
E. Church, Bishop Lee of the A. M. E. Z. Church and by Dr. George
Frazier Miller, Dr. H. H. Proctor, Dr. W. H. Brown, and Rev. J. B.
Adams.
On the following day, the morning session opened with a discussion on
"How to promote the Study of Negro History in the Schools," led by Mr.
Thomas C. Williams of the Bordentown Industrial School. He brought
forward valuable statistics out of his own experience as a teacher in
this field and presented several suggestions and plans for the
promotion of this work. There followed some discussion of an informing
nature by Dr. I. Garland Penn, Secretary of the Methodist Episcopal
Church Board of Education for Negroes, and by Dr. W. Y. Bell, who
spoke of his researches in the sources bearing on the history of the
Negro in Africa.
The Conference closed with an evening session at the Mother A. M. E.
Zion Church where addresses were delivered by Dr. I. Garland Penn and
Dr. C. G. Woodson. The address of Dr. Penn dealt primarily with the
Negro as a factor in church history. Beginning with the early
struggles of the denominations and their relations to the Negroes, Dr.
Penn enlightened the audience on facts which are not generally known
to the public. He closed his informing address with the expression of
faith in the importance of the church as a factor in the progress of
the Negro. The address by the Director had to do primarily with the
history of the Negro by cycles, showing the varying attitude of the
white man toward the Negro and the successful efforts of the Negroes
to rise in the midst of trying difficulties and to convince the world
of their worth. On the whole, this first Spring Conference was a
success and justified itself as an innovation.
* * * * *
The Quadrennial Address of the Bishops of the Colored Methodist
Episcopal Church to the Fourteenth Session of the General Conference,
held in St. Louis on the 3d of May, contains not only the information
bearing on the church but a valuable retrospect as to the conditions
among the Negroes after the World War. Among other topics are
mentioned racial retrospect, race prejudice and race superiority, the
aftermath of the war, the church and world conditions, and the
reaction of white Christianity to lawlessness.
THE JOURNAL
OF
NEGRO HISTORY
VOL. VII--OCTOBER, 1922--NO. 4
BRAZILIAN AND UNITED STATES SLAVERY COMPARED
A GENERAL VIEW
Whether the Teutonic races are superior to the Latin races is a mooted
question, subject to prejudiced points of view. However, there is no
doubt that there actually exists a great difference in the
institutions of religion, law, language, customs, fashions, and moral
precepts between, let us say, the Anglo-Saxon and the Portuguese. In
other words, the English nation has evolved an English way of living,
just as the Portuguese have adapted themselves to governing society,
attacking nature in their own way.
Now assume that these two nationalities with their unlike national
habits and traditions are planted in the new world. Assume the one as
living in a warm temperate clime, and the other under equatorial
conditions. Assume that the first nationality is self-sufficient to
establish a colony, and opposed to intermarriage with other races; and
then imagine the second case, where there exist a few colonists in
womanless settlements with consequent marriages between the native and
European common, and a large half-breed population as the result. With
such diversities in national character, in the make-up of the
individuals, in natural and social environment, could we expect the
two peoples to react similarly to a given social institution? No
wonder then, that slavery in the English colonies of North America was
very much unlike the institution as it existed in Brazil.
Brazil was being tilled by slave labor long before the settlement of
Jamestown, and still boasted of hordes of slaves on its plantations as
late as a quarter century after the Emancipation Proclamation in the
United States had been issued. As early as 1585, Pernambuco could
claim 10,000 African slaves and Bahia something like three or four
thousand,[1] whereas the first shipment of slaves to the English
colonies in America was introduced into Jamestown harbor by a Dutch
ship as late as August, 1619.[2]
In Brazil the slave trade received an impetus as a result of royal
restrictions and Jesuits' opposition to the enslavement of Indians,
thereby compelling the more law-abiding and docile settlers to turn
from exploiting the native labor and to seek its labor supply from
Africa.[3] The labor demands of the great sugar plantations, cotton
fields, tobacco lands, and later the mines, kept the slave poachers on
the Guinea and Angola Coast busy, so that by the middle of the
eighteenth century slaves were entering Brazil on a vast scale. From
1759 to 1803, according to Keller, the colonial registers give as
consigned from Angola to Brazil 642,000 Negroes. Thus, by 1800 fully
one half of the total Brazilian population of 3,200,000 was slave, and
by 1818 there were 1,930,000 slaves besides some 526,000 free Negroes
and mulattoes, in all about sixty-three per cent of the total.[4] By
the middle of the nineteenth century there was something like three
millions of slaves out of a population of seven and a half millions.
Lord Palmerston estimated the total number of slaves in the sixties as
being 3,000,000;[5] whereas a writer in the "Revue des deux Mondes"
puts the number between 2,500,000 and 4,000,000.[6] Dawson quotes the
number of slaves in 1856 as being approximately 2,500,000 or forty per
cent of the total population.[7] Apparently there is no actual census
available on the number of slaves for this period. Needless to say,
the slaves easily comprised from forty to fifty per cent of the
population, and if we add all those of mixed blood we have a majority
of the inhabitants of Brazil.
Now let us turn to the Old South. Slavery we know progressed somewhat
in the southern colonies, and to a negligible extent in the New
England colonies. The "Asiento" in 1713, by which Great Britain at the
close of the War of Spanish Succession secured the right to supply the
colonies of Spain with 4,800 slaves annually,[8] augmented the slave
trade throughout the new world. Negroes were in demand in the rice
areas, cotton fields, and tobacco plantations. In 1710 there were only
50,000 slaves in the United States, the number increased to 220,000 in
1750, to 464,000 in 1770,[9] until by the year 1790 they numbered
697,624.[10] This number constituted one-fifth of our total
population.
Slavery, however, was not a venerated institution in the Southland in
the eighteenth century. In fact, it was rather supported through the
force of habit and the fear of the results of emancipation. Then came
Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin. The South went cotton mad.
The United States now became the world's producer of raw cotton.
Henceforth, slavery was held "the indispensable economic instrument of
southern society."[11]
In the first half of the nineteenth century, then, American slavery
was at its height. By 1850 the slaves numbered 3,204,313, about a few
thousand less than Brazil, which at the opening of the century had so
far led it in the number of slaves held.[12] Blake, writing in 1857,
shows that by the last census, however, unlike Brazil, the proportion
of black to white was not great, being in the neighborhood of fourteen
per cent. However, taking the nation in sections, the ratio of black
to white in the South was one to two, whereas in the North it was but
one to sixty-eight.[13]
As to the extent of slavery in the two nations, in the United States
slavery was largely confined to the semi-tropical country south of the
Pennsylvania-Maryland line and the Ohio River. A slight form of
domestic slavery had existed in New England, and to a greater degree
in the Middle Atlantic Colonies, but was virtually unknown in the
mines and cattle ranges of the West. In Brazil slavery existed
practically everywhere the Europeans settled. There was no
geographical section, whose sentiment and economic interests were
antagonistic to slave holding. However, it was true that about the
plantations of Pernambuco and Bahia slavery existed on a far more
extensive scale than in the southern province of Rio Grande De Sul,
where slavery was practised at a minimum.
In both the United States and Brazil there were diversified products
of slave labor. In Brazil sugar was the great slave labor staple; in
America, cotton. Besides cotton, the American slave was the cultivator
of tobacco, rice, sugar, hemp, and molasses. In Brazil the other
products were tobacco, cotton, and cattle, in addition to some cacao
and rubber.
In the United States there were two types of slavery, one the storied
domestic slavery of the towns, and the southern country seat, where
the Negro was usually benevolently treated and loved as though one of
the family. This type of slavery was most common along the Mason-Dixon
line. The other type was determined by the large scale enterprises in
the cotton and rice fields in the "southern" South, where absentee
ownership was often the rule. Here frequently masters knew little
about their slaves, and the driving of the mobs of laborers gave
Harriet Beecher Stowe, no doubt, her concept of a Simon Legree.[14] In
Brazil slaves did every type of work. First of all, they furnished the
labor for the great sugar plantations of Pernambuco and also the
cotton districts of the north. In the provinces of the south of
Brazil, contrary to conditions in the United States, they were
employed on cattle ranches. In Minas Geraes they were utilized in the
mines. In the cities they carried on all the manual and menial work.
Henderson tells us of his observations of the African in urban
occupations during the first decade of the last century in Rio. He
relates that owners would send out slaves to do work for other
employers, and to turn over their wages to their idle masters. He
relates that masters sent slaves in pairs and threes, bearing baskets
on their heads, soliciting work. This type was called "Negroes de
ganho." Others bore great tubs on their heads with which they drew
water from fountains to supply the inhabitants. At dusk the street was
crowded with slaves carrying the refuse of the city to the dumps.
Slave labor removed the imported goods from the docks. Few had the
help of wagons. The English had tried to introduce carts to help the
toiling slaves at the wharves, but the custom house clerks would have
none of them, as they were making a "haul" on the city by hiring out
their slaves, and wagons would lessen the amount of work to be
done.[15]
In the United States slaves were owned by planters and private
individuals exclusively. In Brazil besides the planter class, large
plantations were owned by such religious orders as the Benedictine and
Carmelite friars, who treated their slaves with the greatest regard
for comfort and ease.[16] Furthermore, there were slaves belonging to
the government. As late as the outbreak of the American Civil War,
the annual report of the Brazilian minister of finance shows more than
1,500 government slaves.[17] One thing in favor of Brazil, however,
was that the horrible shortcomings of absentee ownership on large
plantations did not exist to any extent, since most of the proprietors
resided on their own respective estates.[18]
Summing up the general condition of the Negro slave in both lands, we
notice that (1) Brazilian slavery antedated and postulated American
slavery; (2) that there were a larger number of slaves and a greater
proportion to the total population in Brazil than in America; (3) that
Brazilian slavery received its impetus through the cutting off of the
native labor supply and the growth of sugar cultivation; whereas
American slavery was stimulated by the invention of the cotton gin;
(4) that in both countries slaves were engaged in diversified
occupations, except that in Brazil besides agriculture and domestic
pursuits, slaves were employed in almost every variety of unskilled
and semi-skilled labor; (5) that in Brazil slavery was homogeneously
distributed rather than in sectional patches; and (6), finally, that
both the state and religious bodies owned slaves in Brazil.
THE SOCIAL SIDE OF SLAVERY
The living conditions of the Negroes in both the United States and
Brazil varied in relation to the type of work. Domestic slaves in the
former were generally treated well in the households of their masters.
In Brazil the domestic slave was usually a Creole.[19] But our
interest centers largely on the manner by which the _agricultural_
slave lived, for after all, in him lies the crux to the whole problem.
In both Brazil and America slaves were quartered on the great
plantations in rude huts. Their diet was simple. Corn meal, bacon, and
sweet potatoes were chief items in the diet of the American slave. In
Brazil the slave was fed farina (the flour of the mandioca root), salt
fish or salt meat, sometimes bacon, and in the mining districts corn
flour. In both countries the slave was rudely clad. In Brazil his
outfit consisted of a shirt and pants of cotton and a straw hat.[20]
In the United States slaves on the large plantations began work at
sunrise, and toiled to the crack of the whip on the great plantations
until sundown. Women and children, only half grown, were compelled to
do their share in the fields. In Brazil conditions generally were
easier for the slave. The Portuguese planter was perhaps less anxious
to "drive" the work out of his bondsmen than the more enterprising
Anglo-Saxon. Accordingly, we are told that at three in the afternoon,
at least at Pernambuco, the heart of the sugar belt, work ceased, and
the slave had the remainder of the day to himself, time which many
slaves employed in cultivating a private plot of their own, hoping
some day to earn enough thereby to purchase their freedom. They, like
their northern brothers, were supervised in the field by a "feitor" or
taskmaster, usually white, though frequently a Creole, mulatto,
freedman, or even in cases, another slave.[22]
Slaves in America welcomed Sundays and the days around Christmas as
periods of rest and recreation.[23] In Brazil not only did the slaves
have Sundays and Christmas, but something like over thirty holidays on
the Catholic calendar. Incidentally, showing there was still a breath
of humanity in a stifling age of oppression, it is declared in the
"Correio Braziliense" for December, 1815, on page 738, that although
the Portuguese had ceased to stop work on many of these holidays, the
thirty-five holidays were still enforced as days of cessation of
labor in Brazil in order that the slaves might still enjoy the days of
rest.[24]
The Negro slave in Africa, according to DuBois, lived generally a
polygamous family life. When he came to the Southern Colonies his
whole family life was made irregular and unhappy, due to the evil
conditions of slavery there. The slave might marry on the plantation,
but the very next day he might be sold, and separated from his wife
and parents. The auction block is the foulest stain on the whole
parasitic institution of slavery in the United States. In Brazil the
sale of slaves from one master to another apparently was never as
extensive as in our own country.[25] Moreover, the sanctity of
marriage was far more highly regarded in Brazil than in the United
States. A slave, who wished to be married had first to learn the
requisite number of prayers; he must understand the confession, and
receive the sacraments. Then, having received the consent of the
master, he was married by the vicar. A slave might marry a freeman. If
the husband were free and the wife slave, the child of the union was a
slave; vice versa, a slave father and free mother produced a free
child.[26]
In language, we find in both the Old South and Brazil, that the
Africans soon forgot their native dialects, and adopted the tongue of
their new home, and their language did not materially influence that
of their masters in America.
Religion was a vital factor in slave life. In the Old South, religion
was at first discouraged among the slaves. There was a reason for
this, for masters knew that nowhere in Christian teachings were there
provisions for enslaving Christians.[27] Never was religion encouraged
to a great degree. In fact, as late as 1831, Virginia passed a
measure, declaring that neither free nor slave Negro might "preach,
exhort, or teach in any Negro assemblage." Nevertheless, religious
sentiment waxed ever stronger. Beginning with the taboos of the
deported tribal priest, and gradually becoming influenced by
Christianity, the great Negro Church[28] grew. Sometimes the Negroes
were allowed to worship under the same roof as their white
superiors,[29] but they usually had to steal away to some secret place
for this purpose. In Brazil, however, Christianization of the slaves
was an essential. Before the Negroes in Angola (Portuguese West
Africa) embarked on the slave vessel for Brazil, they were baptized
"en masse." Arriving in the new world, they were branded with the
crown, which proved that they had been baptized and that the king's
duty on them had been paid. Next, they had to learn the doctrines of
the Church and the duties of the religion they were about to embrace.
Slaves from the other parts of Africa were Christianized after a year
following arrival, during which time they had to learn certain
prayers.[30] Most interesting is the existence among the Brazilian
slaves of their own religious brotherhoods, to join which was the
ambition of every Negro slave. These brotherhoods had their own
versions of the Virgin Mary and Our Lady of the Rosary had her hands
and face painted black.[31]
SLAVE RIGHTS
Properly speaking, a true slave has no legal rights. Perhaps the words
privileges and permits are happier. At any rate, the obligations and
restrictions in the Old South were far more stringent than those on
the plantations and urban districts of Brazil. Privileges and
restrictions for slaves in the South varied according to the laws of
the States; whereas in Brazil the centralized colonial government
tended to unify what slavery legislation there was.
In both countries, theoretically, a master was liable for
indiscriminately killing his slaves or for practising cruelty. To be
sure, the penalty was slight for so great an offense, but public
opinion in Brazil, especially, more than once pointed its finger at
the brutal master. In practice, even the slightest defense of a
maltreated slave was rarely heard before the magistrates, for no slave
in the case of the South could bear witness against a white. In Brazil
the ouvidor of the province was the one to punish the cruel master,
but then, who would dare report?[32] In Brazil, if a slave was unruly
he was to be turned over to state authorities, and duly given a public
punishment.[33]
In the Old South it was possible under certain circumstances for the
slave to buy his own freedom, that is, if the master was kindly
disposed. In Brazil, it is commonly affirmed that the master was
obliged to free his slave if the latter could furnish a sum equivalent
to his market price.[34] As a matter of practice, it was easy for the
master to deny freedom to his slave under such conditions, and the
slave for lack of strength would have to accept the outcome meekly.
Furthermore, Christie, British envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary in Brazil during the period of the American Civil War,
in a letter to Earl Russell in June, 1861, declares that no such law
actually exists on the statute books of Brazil, as that the slave has
the right to appear before a magistrate, have his price fixed and to
purchase his freedom.[35]
Moreover, the Brazilian slave exercised some right to change masters.
The master set a price upon his slave. Then the slave with a note,
declaring the master's intentions, might seek out some neighboring
planter with a good reputation, and if the desired new master decided
to pay the price set, the old master, according to Luccock,[36] was
obliged to sell the slave. In practice the plan did not work out so
well, because one planter did not care to interfere in the other's
affairs, and often the evaluation of the slave could not be agreed
upon.[37]
A slave could be and was manumitted in both the United States and
Brazil. In Brazil manumission could be accomplished in the following
ways: (1) the slave could purchase himself; (2) his master could
liberate him during his life; (3) or he could manumit him at his
death; (4) a Negro woman who had brought ten children into the world
by virtue of her tenth became free; (5) also, the price of a new-born
babe was so slight, that often the infant was purchased its freedom by
friends.[38] In fact, manumission had been so extensive, that by 1818
mulattoes and free Negroes had become a considerable part of the
population.[39] In the United States there were 488,070 freedmen in
1860.[40]
As for holding common ordinary citizen's rights, the Negro slave in
both countries was out of consideration. In the Old South, for
instance, a slave could be arrested, tried, and condemned with but one
witness against him, and without a jury.[41] In Brazil he was equally
as defenceless. Professional slave runaway catchers might pounce upon
a slave who was about his duty, imprison him, subject him to
indignities, on the ground that he was a fugitive, and return him to
his master, claiming money for their trouble. In such a sad case, no
one would take the slave's part, none would believe his story.[42]
The privileges of the slave as to being secure against violent
treatment, of securing his own freedom, of selecting another master,
or of claiming any plain citizen's immunities whatsoever, then, were
very slight in both Brazil and the United States, but even more so in
our own Southland.
SLAVE RESISTANCE
Docile as the African slave was, he was bound at times to attempt to
free himself from the drudgery and sufferings of his lot. Naturally
the most direct, impulsive, and simple method was escape. Hence, we
are brought to compare the fugitive slave problem in Brazil to the
same problem in the United States.
In our own country the South had to combat an effective force which
did not exist in Brazil, namely, the antagonism of an Anti-slavery
North, which aided the Negroes by "underground railroads" to escape to
free territory, or to cross the Canadian line, where slavery was
prohibited. The Dismal Swamp in Virginia, and the Everglades of
Florida were favorite hiding places for fugitives.[43] In Brazil the
universal prevalence of slavery and the lack of opposition to the
practice by any considerable group up to the last days of its
existence gave the fleeing slave few friends. However, there was a
trackless wilderness to which he might flee. Especially qualified
runaway slave catchers were employed to trail such fugitives.
The other method of resisting the institution of slavery was by
organized risings. Riots and local revolts occurred occasionally in
the Old South, but were never serious and were easily quelled. The
most noteworthy revolts of blacks in America were actually mere
spouts. In the first half of the eighteenth century, for example, New
York was thrown into hysteria at the rumors of a threatened Negro
plot,[44] out of which nothing materialized. Gabriel's riot planned in
Richmond, Virginia, in 1800, ended very much like that in New York.
Another incident was the attempt in 1822 of a certain Negro, Denmark
Vesey, to start an insurrection at Charleston, which utterly failed.
Nat Turner, a religious fanatic, was the cause of the most serious
uprising of all. In 1831 he organized a revolt in Virginia which cost
the lives of several score of whites before it was quelled.[45] The
other spontaneous turn of the worm was the _Amistad_ incident,[46] in
which Negroes of the slave ship _Amistad_ rose and took possession of
the ship, and ordered the crew to guide her back to Africa. Instead,
the crew steered the vessel into a hospitable harbor, thus baffling
its captors. The rising of the slaves of the _Creole_ in somewhat the
same manner was more romantic.
All these pin pricks in the South are now to be contrasted to a series
of serious organized risings of slaves in Brazil, eruptions which at
times threatened the political control or integrity of a whole
district or province. In the United States the slave placidly
submitted. In Brazil he was at periods actually class conscious.
In Pernambuco, the Brazilian government was actually challenged by
slave rebels. It was during the chaotic days of 1630-1654, when the
Dutch were in occupation of Pernambuco, and the Brazilians were at war
with them, that hundreds of slaves fled to the interior, where they
established an independent state, consisting of a cluster of fortified
villages. Establishing a rude form of administration and a primitive
adaptation of Christianity, they actually governed themselves. After
the Dutch had been fairly well beaten, the whites turned to make war
upon the villages. For fifty years the villages held out, until in
1697, Palmares, the last and most important of the fortresses,
capitulated.[47]
Bahia lived in a perpetual fear of Negro uprising, and well were her
fears grounded, for here the Negro was most assertive against his
mistreatment. The population of Bahia in the first decade of the
nineteenth century is estimated by Henderson as being in the
neighborhood of 110,000, two thirds of which was slave. Once let the
slave get a start and with such odds in his favor the masters had best
beware. For this reason, slaves were prevented as much as possible
from organizing. No bondman might go on the streets of Bahia after
evening vespers, save with a pass from his master.[48] Yet the slaves
did at times organize. In 1808, when John VI, the Portuguese king,
arrived in Bahia, the slaves boldly communicated with him, asking
that the punishment of one hundred and fifty lashes be abolished.[49]
A short time after this episode, matters came to a culmination. As was
usual at holiday time, slaves congregated in plazas, chose a chief for
the day, to whom they did homage. This was a customary feat, tolerated
by the authorities of the city. On this particular occasion, a friend
of Henderson noticed that a white man was being hanged in effigy. He
sniffed trouble. Only a few months later the Bahian authorities were
lucky, by timely arrests, to save the whole population from being
massacred by the enraged slaves in an impending insurrection, whose
purpose was nothing less than the wholesale slaughter of the entire
white population of the city, with the exception of the governor,
D'Arcos, whom the insurrectos were to raise as their prince. Already
they had murdered many whites in the outskirts of the city.[50]
Thus, in the Old South, flight was the leading form of resistance to
the institution of slavery; whereas in Brazil the more effective form
of resistance by organized uprising was more frequently attempted.
THE RACE PROBLEM
Before concluding the theme, it is imperative that we hurriedly skim
over the saddest and most serious by-product of United States slavery,
race prejudice. We are familiar enough with the limitations of the man
of color in the South today. In the days of slavery, discriminations
were just as severe, if not more so, against any man of black skin,
whether slave, mulatto, freedman, quadroon, or octoroon. The slightest
strain of black in a man's pedigree made him a "nigger." A freedman
was better than a slave only in an economic way. Otherwise he had
virtually no rights. He could not vote, marry a white, hold office,
give testimony in case of a white man on trial, and for militia
services was limited to fatigue duty. In many parts, however, the
freedman could keep his own money, possess land, have slaves, a wife,
and even own one gun to protect his home.[51]
In Portuguese America it is often said that the race problem has been
allowed to solve itself, which is largely true. The slave in Brazil
was looked down upon as a menial laborer, rather than as an offshoot
of a lower race. Marriages between the lower classes of either race
were not scorned by society. Inter-racial marriages were legal,
Brazilian society favoring the marriage of the higher type of the
white to the lighter type of Negroid. Of course, among the highest
class of the land, the wealthy planters and officials, unions with
persons of non-genuine white ancestry were not relished. Here and
there existed race prejudice in mild form.[52]
Mulattoes who were free were ranked above freedmen of pure ancestry.
The former were generally considered as white, for as a rule in Brazil
a man passed as white if he contained a fair degree of white blood in
his veins. These free mulattoes had a regiment of their own with their
own officers, as was the case with the blacks. Many wealthy planters
at Pernambuco were men of color. Many of the Creole blacks in this
region were mechanics, who sent out their slaves to do odd mechanical
jobs for the owner's profit. The best church and image painter at
Pernambuco was black. One of three commanders of the Brazilian forces
against the Dutch in the seventeenth century was Henrique Diaz, a
Negro.
All told, race prejudice, as a vast problem, was a peculiar complement
of the Anglo-Saxon new world colonies' slave problem, for in virtually
no other country has slavery ever so viciously contributed to race
discord. Brazil, then, may pride herself upon emerging from a slave
sustained society, free from the sores of a hideous race conflict.
AN AFTERTHOUGHT
In brief, it seems that the Brazilian institution of slavery was
softer, far less brutal than the United States system. On the other
hand, the United States slave system was probably more efficient, for
the inefficiency of the management of the plantations of sugar in
Brazil allowed the West Indies in the eighteenth century to take the
lead in the sugar, rum, and molasses exports. The United States, under
the slave system, secured pre-eminence in the production of the
world's greatest textile staple, cotton.
It is to be regretted, of course, that slavery has persisted so long,
and still thrives in certain Mohammedan lands. It stands today
outlawed in the new world, but it will always be a source of regret to
progressive citizens of the United States that their country clung to
the institution up to within the memory of many yet living, and that
she did not relax her tight grasp upon the slave until forced to
immediate action in the stress of a fratricidal war. To humane
thinkers of Brazil, it will ever be a source of sorrow that their
nation has only been slave ridden within the present generation, and
even then, egged on to emancipation by the reproaches of an at last
awakened world.
Slavery must have differed in details in one country from that in
another, but after all, it was shameful in Brazil, shameful in the
United States, just as it is shameful at any other spot underneath the
blue sky.
HERBERT B. ALEXANDER
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Keller, Albert Galloway, Ph.D., _Colonization_, Boston, Copyright,
1908, p. 145.
[2] DuBois, William Edward Burghardt, _The Negro_, New York, 1915, p.
164.
[3] Keller, pp. 156-157.
[4] _Ibid._
[5] Christie, W. D., _Notes on Brazil_, London, 1821, pp. 69-76.
[6] Christie, pp. 69-76.
[7] Dawson, Thomas C., _South American Republics_, two volumes, first
edition, vol. I, New York, Copyright, 1903, p. 481.
[8] DuBois, _The Negro_, p. 152.
[9] _Ibid._ p. 184.
[10] _Negro Population in the United States, 1790-1915_, p. 33.
[11] Ingram, J. K., _A History of Slavery and Serfdom_, London, 1895,
p. 285.
[12] Bureau of Census (Dept. of Commerce and Labor), _A Century of
Population Growth_, Washington, 1909, p. 80.
[13] Blake, William O., _A History of Slavery and the Slave Trade_,
Columbus, 1857, p. 808.
[14] DuBois, _The Negro_, p. 190.
[15] Henderson, James, _A History of Brazil_, London, 1821, pp. 73-74.
[16] Koster, Henry, _Travels in Brazil_, second edition, in two
volumes, vol. II, London, 1817, pp. 247-259.
[17] Christie, pp. 69-76.
[18] Koster, p. 123.
[19] _Ibid._, pp. 247-259.
[20] Koster, pp. 247-259.
[21] _Encyclopedia Americana_, 30 volumes, vol. 27, New York and
Chicago, 1919, pp. 395-396.
[22] _Americana_, pp. 395-396.
[23] Koster, pp. 229-231.
[24] Koster, pp. 246-247.
[25] Southey, vol. III, pp. 781-783, states that in Pernambuco masters
were opposed to selling their slaves.
[26] Koster, pp. 246-247.
[27] Brawley, Benjamin Griffith, _A Short History of the American
Negro_, N. Y., 1917, pp. 20-21.
[28] DuBois, p. 197.
[29] _Americana_, pp. 395-396.
[30] Koster, pp. 238-239.
[31] _Ibid._
[32] Koster, pp. 236-238.
[33] Luccock, John, _Notes on Rio de Janeiro and the Southern Part of
Brazil_, London, 1820, p. 591.
[34] Koster, pp. 229-231.
[35] Christie, p. 578.
[36] Luccock, p. 591.
[37] Koster, pp. 233-235.
[38] _Ibid._
[39] Keller, pp. 156-157.
[40] Blake, p. 808.
[41] Brawley, pp. 20-21.
[42] Henderson, pp. 72-78.
[43] Brawley, p. 90.
[44] DuBois, p. 196
[45] _Ibid._
[46] Brawley, p. 90.
[47] Dawson, p. 375.
[48] Henderson, pp. 339-340.
[49] Henderson, p. 340.
[50] _Ibid._, p. 340.
[51] Brawley, p. 22.
[52] Koster, ch. XVIII
THE ORIGINS OF ABOLITION IN SANTO DOMINGO
Columbus discovered this island December 6, 1492. It is of the Great
Antilles of the Caribbean Sea, and lies between Cuba and Puerto Rico.
He called the island Hispaniola, but Hayti, or Haiti, was its original
name. It seems beyond the power of language to exaggerate its
beauties, its productiveness, the loveliness of its climate, and its
suitability as an abode for man.
At the time of its discovery the island was divided into five states
or cacicats. Thus divided it was easily conquered by the Spaniards who
subjected the native Indians to slavery. Soon after the discovery,
Spain began establishing a plantation colony as opposed to a farm
colony. The work fell upon the subjected Indians, who vanished from
the island, in about 50 years, leaving the problem of labor to the
overseers and the colonists. To meet this need, the Spaniards repaired
this loss by bringing in Africans, supplied by the Portuguese, who at
that time occupied themselves with the slave trade. Hierrera, who
claimed to be an authority, said that one Negro would do more work
than four Indians.[1] In 1630, a number of French adventurers were
expelled by the Spanish from St. Christophe, which they had taken
possession of five years before under the leadership of Neil
d'Enambroe of Dieppe. Shortly afterward they established themselves at
La Fortue. In 1650 the Spaniards still held the inner and greater
islands, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica; though in
Hispaniola French buccaneers were laying the foundations of the
prosperous French Colony of St. Domingo. Smouldering resentment on the
part of the Spaniards soon burst forth in open hostility, exhibiting
more seriousness than before. Then followed savage contention between
Spain and France, the Spaniards disputing the rights of the French,
the French creeping steadily inward until 1697 by virtue of the
treaty of Ryswick an end was put to this struggle. Louis XIV obtained,
under this treaty, from Charles II of Spain, the cession of all the
western part of the island, which for forty years belonged to the
French by virtue of conquest. Spain kept the eastern portion of the
island, calling it Santo Domingo. This cession was of great economic
value to France, she increased her number of slaves and soon supplied
all Europe with cotton and sugar. Santo Domingo, Spain's portion of
the island, as compared with Haiti, was a sluggish community. Here
also Negroes increased as slaves and soon the population of these two
colonies was mostly Negro.
The distinct line between master and slave, white and black, was to
become smeared. Soon there grew up four distinct classes.
Miscegenation, the result of the contact of European masters with
slave women, gave rise to a new class called mulattoes. These were
usually given their freedom, and it was the practice to liberate the
mother as well. This gave rise to another class, the free-blacks. The
mulattoes and free-blacks obtained with emancipation no political
rights whatever. At first this caused no worry or serious difficulty.
Some of the mulattoes received vast wealth from their fathers and
often they were educated abroad, usually in France. Some of the
free-blacks accumulated a little property but in a far lesser degree,
however. With the increase of mulattoes and free-blacks, and the
return of those mulattoes from studies abroad, dissatisfaction grew
into thought and subsequently into expression and agitation for
political rights. Behind and beneath the growing dissatisfaction of
these two classes, the mulattoes and free-blacks, was a resentful and
restless slave population.
At the outbreak of the French Revolution, even before it, France had
in her possession eight slave holding colonies, San Domingo,
Martinique, Guadeloupe, Cayenne, Tabago, St. Lucie, the Isle of
France, and the Isle of Bourbon. The most important of these being
Martinique and Guadeloupe, with a white population of about 25,000,
contained about 150,000 slaves and a small number of free Negroes; and
then there was her flourishing colony of San Domingo. Martinique and
Guadeloupe were represented in the National Assemblies which brought
France into early contact with the issue rising out of racial
color.[2] San Domingo with its large population and economic
importance offered a more perplexing problem. The population there was
large. Moreau de St. Méry quoted the official figures of 1790 as
30,826 whites, 24,262 free Negroes and mulattoes, and 452,000
slaves.[3]
The legal status of slaves here was substantially the same as that of
slaves in the tropical colonies of other nations; in fact, the Western
European slave code remains practically the same. This slave colony
seems singular in being unfavorable to the health and life of the
natives. The annual excess of deaths over births amounted to about two
and one half per cent. Added to this death rate was the rapid spread
of the feverish desire for wealth at any cost among the peoples of
European countries. The slave trade was profitable. The demand for
slaves was continual, amounting at this period to anywhere between
30,000 to 35,000 a year in the French West Indies. Human life and
rights were subordinate to gold, despite the position assumed by these
nations as champions of Christianity.
The question of mulattoes and freedmen and their descendants was
peculiar to San Domingo. The free Negroes and mulattoes were four
fifths the whites in number. When the offspring of illicit unions
between slave women and their masters attained their majority they
were emancipated, and in many cases their mothers were set free also.
As follows a system of servitude,
"The Sons of gods take the Daughters of men, but
The Sons of men dare not touch the daughters of the gods."
And thus it came about the number of these classes increased rapidly.
The poor laboring class of the community, corresponding somewhat to
the class of "poor whites" within the slave section of our country,
was made up of free Negroes.
"According to the _Code Noir_ of Louis XIV, freemen and their
descendants were entitled to all the rights and privileges of citizens
of France. However, in defiance of the law, race prejudice had built
up during the eighteenth century a special body of customary rules for
their control, and this custom was recognized by numerous
administrative edicts and royal ordinances." Great effort was put
forth to keep the possibilities of uprisings at a distance. Any use of
fire arms was prohibited even the mulattoes, and the commissioned
officers of military service were kept white without exception. A
trace of Negro blood was a bar to individual attainment, even marriage
to a mulatto received its share of condemnation. A strong feeling of
social repugnance was being brought into play which outlawed all
social intercourse between the races. This sort of thing, going on in
so many different places--practically wherever the Western European
colonized--became imbedded in custom and in places was expressed in
law.
While the _Code Noir_ of Louis XIV went even so far as to lay down
certain practices as the fundamental law of slavery, it was apparently
only a "law." There was a lack of the moral support necessary to
insure for it even a respectable amount of operation. There were at
work, however, forces which sought to create a widespread social
antipathy to slavery. This resulted somewhat from the situation in
England where there was a strong sentiment against slavery. The
Quakers in England, whose founder had been a fearless critic of the
institution, were foremost in the attack on slavery. In 1727 the
Society of Friends passed a resolution of censure against the slave
trade, and in 1758 its influence was strongly exerted to keep its
members from even an indirect connection with it. In 1765, Granville
Sharp began to look after the interests of Negroes who were claimed in
British ports as slaves, and in 1772 was instrumental in securing the
famous Somerset decision that, as soon as any slave set foot on
British soil he became free. In 1783 the Society of Friends submitted
to Parliament the first petition for the abolition of the slave trade.
In that same year Thomas Clarkson won the prize in a competition in
Latin composition at Cambridge upon the assigned subject, "Whether it
is right to enslave others against their will." His essay immediately
became a standard authority among opponents of the trade and the
institution. A greater consequence was that Clarkson himself was so
inspired he devoted his life to the cause of the blacks. In 1787 a
"Committee for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade" was
organized. It was composed chiefly of Quakers, having Granville Sharp
as President and Thomas Clarkson as its most prominent member. Their
work was organized to embrace appeals to the public and petitions to
the government. Wilberforce, a member of Parliament and an intimate
friend of Pitt, was to head the campaign in Parliament, while the
Committee was to solicit funds, collect information and arouse public
sentiment. This campaign lasted until the abolition of British slave
trade in 1806.
This work in behalf of freedom soon extended to France. A little over
three months after the London Committee was formed it received a
letter from Jean Pierre Brissot, requesting that he and Etienne
Clavière might become associates of the committee for the purpose of
publishing French translations of its literature and collecting
subscriptions to be remitted to London for the good of the common
cause. The committee declined the offer of financial aid but elected
Brissot an honorary member and recommended that a society be formed in
France. Now both Brissot and Clavière were active figures in the
Revolution. Clavière was at one time minister of finances and Brissot,
most ardent of revolutionists, was a Parish Deputy during the Reign of
Terror, and a leader of the Girondins from 1789 to 1792. Accordingly,
a society was formed in Paris in February, 1788, under the name of the
Society of Friends of the Blacks, with Clavière as President. It
adopted the same seals as the Committee in England but was an entirely
independent organization. Directly its influence began to draw within
its folds powerful figures. The famous Comte de Mirabeau was a charter
member, Marquis de Lafayette, an officer who had served in the
American Revolution, and Condorcet, a member of the Convention, whose
report as a member of the Committee of Public Instruction of the
Legislative Assembly formed the actual basis of subsequent plans for
education, were among the first additions to its membership. Other
prominent members who came in later were Sièyés, Petion, Grégoire,
Robespierre, and the Duke de la Rochefoucauld. Mirabeau issued the
early publications of the society as supplements to his journal; at a
later time Brissot's journal, the "Patriote francaise," became the
organ of the society.
With Brissot's return from a visit to America in 1788, the society
went seriously to work. In America he seems to have met some things
which clinched his convictions and determinations. Coincidental, the
National Assembly was about to meet, deputies were being elected,
cahiers were being written, and the country was stirred up over the
watchword liberty. This offered an exceptional advantage to the
society. What better opportunity could one anticipate to secure the
abolition of slavery and the slave trade, the most flagrant violations
of the principles of equality and liberty ever known? On February 3,
1789, Condorcet, at that time the President, addressed a circular
letter to all the bailiwicks of France, urging that there be inserted
in the cahiers a demand that the Estates-General destroy the slave
trade and make preparations for the ultimate abolition of slavery. The
results of this campaign were disappointing. As a whole the cahiers
made it perfectly clear to the Society and all concerned, that an
attack on slavery was not a matter vital to the mass of the nation,
and that success, if it came at all, must be due to the loyalty of the
Estates-General to the principles of equality and liberty, and to the
ability and energy of the little group of intellectual leaders who
made up the Society of Friends of the Blacks. This was the status of
the controversy. Anti-slavery agitation was confined to an
intellectual élite, promoted by an appeal to the mind.
In the National Assembly the contest between Friends of the Blacks and
defenders of slavery began in connection with the application of a
delegation for admission to the Estates-General as representatives of
San Domingo. Early in 1788 there was formed in Paris an organization,
the "colonial committee" by name, composed of certain colonial
proprietors residing in France, a few merchants interested in colonial
trade, and a small number of actual residents of San Domingo, which
began an agitation for representation of the colony in the
Estates-General, which had been promised for 1792. The committee
circulated pamphlets and the like. It made a formal request of the
king for representation of San Domingo. The request was refused by the
Council of State. The agitators boldly drew up and sent to the colony
a plan for electoral assemblies. These assemblies were held without
any legal sanction, and thirty-one deputies were elected.
The committee continued its work in France, and succeeded in securing
a demand for the admission of colonial deputies in at least fourteen
cahiers of primary assemblies. Repeated applications were made to
Necker and to the Minister of Marine, but without result, and when the
Estates-General opened the representatives of San Domingo had no legal
standing. Nevertheless part of the deputies presented themselves on
June 8, making application separately to each of the three orders.
The third estate alone proved receptive. On June 20, eight San Domingo
deputies were allowed to take the Tennis Court Oath. On June 27 the
Committee on Credentials made a report unanimously recommending the
admission of the colonial deputation but declared itself unable to
agree on the number of deputies to which the colony was properly
entitled. The Assembly accepted the report, apparently without a
dissenting voice, and postponed discussion of the question of numbers
to June 3. This brought squarely before the Assembly the delicate
problem of slavery and the status of free-blacks under the new régime,
and brought upon the colonial delegation the wrath of the powerful
Society of the Friends of the Blacks.
The Friends of the Blacks recognized in this San Domingo delegation a
foe. Mirabeau's newspaper challenged their right to count the slaves
as a basis of representation, and taunted them with bitter words.
"Either count your Negroes as men or as beasts; if they are men, free
them, let them vote, let them be elected to office. If they are
cattle, let the number of deputies be proportional to your human
population; we have counted neither our horses nor our mules."[4]
Between the vote of admission on June 27 and the final debate on July
3 and 4 the Friends of the Blacks awoke to the importance of the
issue. Condorcet published a vigorous pamphlet denouncing the slave
holder and all his works. "We are tempted," said he, "to advocate a
law which shall exclude from the National Assembly every man, who, as
a slave holder, is interested in the maintenance of principles
contrary to the natural rights of man, which are the only purpose of
every political organization.... The natural rights of man to be
governed only by laws to which he has given his consent cannot be
invoked in favor of a man who is himself at the very moment violating
the law of nature." The pamphlet closes with the remark that the
planters can doubtless speak concerning their own interests, "but that
on their lips the sacred word 'rights' would be blasphemy against
reason."[5]
When the question was reopened on July 3, Mirabeau took the lead in
the discussion, raising again the question of counting the slaves, and
arguing further that the so-called deputies really represented only
about one half the free population, since the whole body of free
blacks and mulattoes had been excluded from suffrage. The spokesman of
the colonial deputation was the Marquis de Gouy d'Arsy, a colonial
proprietor residing in Paris, from the beginning a leader in the
movement for colonial representation. Gouy made no attempt to defend
the principle of slave representation. He based his claim for the
admission of eighteen or twenty delegates on the wealth and commercial
importance of the colony. His weak point was the exclusion of free
tax-paying mulattoes from the electoral assemblies. He said that since
the mulattoes were natural enemies of the whites it would be dangerous
to give them any influence, an argument which made a bad impression on
the Assembly. The debate was finished the next day, and the number of
deputies was fixed by a compromise at six. The chief importance of
this discussion was the prominence which it gave to two questions that
the colonial deputies were anxious to keep smothered--slavery and the
civil status of the free Negroes. During the debate on June 27 the
Duke de la Rochefoucauld found opportunity to present the aims of the
Society of Friends of the Blacks, and requested the future
consideration of the problem of emancipation. Remarks by other
deputies to the effect that something be done to improve the condition
of slaves received hearty applause.
The French Revolution plunged the island into a state of chaos. The
vast majority of the population of the western colony were slaves, and
the number of free blacks and mulattoes were nearly equal to the
number of whites. "The news of the Revolution had encouraged each
class of the colonial population to expect the realization of its
peculiar hopes. The planters desired freer access to the markets of
the world, the poor whites hoped for the advantages that their richer
neighbors alone enjoyed, the free blacks and mulattoes for civil
equality; even the slaves cherished hopes of liberty."[6] The clash of
interests brought on civil war in Santo Domingo. The situation here,
the richest of the sugar colonies, was serious; it soon received
special attention from the home government. A colonial assembly was
chosen, and did in miniature what the National Assembly undertook for
all France. It controlled royal officers and troops, attempted to
reorganize the administrative system and the courts, and even opened
the ports to products specifically excluded by a royal ordinance. The
question of the status of the free blacks had reached an acute stage.
As property holders their interests were identical with those of the
whites, provided the whites did not exclude them from a share in the
civil conquests of the French Revolution. The National Assembly
finally gave to the colonies an organization similar to the local
administrative system of France except that it delegated executive
powers to a governor. The constitution of the colony, once approved by
the national legislature, could not be changed without the demand or
consent of the local assemblies. To this local legislature was given
the responsibility for the making of laws on all matters except trade
and defense. If the governor did not withhold his consent in order
that the authorities at Paris should first be consulted, laws could be
put into force provisionally before they received the final sanction
of the National Assembly and the Crown.
The free people of color petitioned the National Assembly for
political rights and privileges in 1789. On May 15, 1791, on the
question of the free blacks, the Assembly passed a decree declaring
that people of color, born of free parents, were entitled to all the
privileges of French citizens. When the news reached the island the
mulattoes and free Negroes rejoiced. The whites were opposed to any
such measure. Thereupon the governor of the island delayed
promulgating the decree while he communicated with the home
government. The free people of color were angered and civil strife
followed. The mulattoes took up arms against the whites. To complicate
matters, the slaves rose in insurrection in August, 1791. The whites,
finding themselves in a perilous situation, decided to accede to the
demands of the free people of color, who in turn promised to combine
with the whites to suppress the revolt. Meanwhile, in the last days of
the Assembly the friends of the planters succeeded in having the whole
matter referred to the colonial assemblies. The people of color,
mulattoes and free blacks, fled to arms again and joined the slaves,
leading bands of them against the whites or remained indifferent in
actual warfare. Then followed actual civil war. The French land owners
or "colons" called in the English to help them combat the blacks.[7]
The English came to their aid. By the end of 1793 the latter took
possession of a part of the island which seemed lost to France, being
occupied partly by Spaniards and partly by English, when Toussaint
L'Ouverture, the bondman leading the revolting slaves, espoused the
cause of France. Following months of bloody war, France, apprehensive
of a British invasion in full force, and not being able to put down
the insurgents, weary and tired of the struggle, conciliated. August,
1793, Universal Freedom was proclaimed--this measure was ratified by
the National convention early the following year. This was the first
time in the history of the world a legislative assembly ever decreed
the abolition of human slavery.
The British, having taken Port-au-Prince and besieged the French
Governor at Port-de-la-Paix when the blacks under Toussaint
L'Ouverture defeated them and released the French Governor, abandoned
the island in 1797. L'Ouverture, who up to forty years of age had been
a slave, thus succeeded in ridding the island of the Spaniards and the
English. The French government rewarded him by appointing him
major-general and governor of the island.
This left L'Ouverture Commander-in-Chief and virtually dictator of the
island. He set up a Republic, drew up a Constitution, which he sent to
Napoleon. For answer Napoleon appointed Leclerc governor of the
colony, and sent a formidable army to reduce the authority of
L'Ouverture. War broke out again. After several engagements
L'Ouverture surrendered and retired on his properties. He was
subsequently decoyed on board a French vessel, kidnapped and deported
to Paris. He was then placed by Bonaparte in a damp prison of the
fortress of Joux on the chilly heights of Jura where he died. In
September, 1802, the peoples of color took up arms against French
domination under the leadership of General Dessalines and swore to die
rather than remain subservient any longer.[8] By the end of 1793
Rochambeau, who on the death of General Leclerc was put in command by
Bonaparte, was hard pressed in the city of Cape Haitien by black
troops and was compelled to capitulate and "the power of France was
lost on the island forever." On January 1, 1804, Haiti, as it was
better known, proclaimed its independence with General Dessalines as
ruler. Slavery was abolished forever. In 1822 Haiti, the western
colony, controlled the whole of the island; but in 1844 the eastern
part seceded and established an independent government known today as
the Dominican Republic.
GEORGE W. BROWN
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Mossell, _Toussaint L'Ouverture_, p. xiii.
[2] Hardy, _Negro Question in French Revolution_, p. 1.
[3] Moreau de St. Méry, _Response, etc._, 72.
[4] Hardy, _The Negro Question in the French Revolution_, p. 10.
[5] Condorcet's _Works_.
[6] Bourne, _Revolutionary Period in Europe_, p. 110.
[7] _American Encyclopedia--Haiti._
[8] Mossell, _Toussaint L'Ouverture_.
CANADIAN NEGROES AND THE REBELLION OF 1837
There are a number of interesting references in the literature of the
times to the part played by Negro refugees in defending the frontier
of Canada during the troubles of 1838. The outbreaks in both Upper and
Lower Canada in 1837 were followed by a series of petty attacks along
the border in which American sympathizers participated. Sandwich, on
the Detroit River, was one of the objectives of the attacking parties
and there were also threats on the Niagara River frontier. One of the
parties of "rebels" had taken possession of Navy Island, in the
Niagara River, and a small ship, the _Caroline_, was used for
conveying supplies. A Canadian party under command of Colonel MacNab
crossed the river, seized the ship and after setting it afire allowed
it to drift over the falls. This gave rise to an international issue
and was the occasion of much bluster on both sides of the line that
happily ended as bluster. All along the border on the American side
there were "Hunter's Lodges"[1] organized during 1838 and this
movement, joined with the widespread political disaffection, made the
times unhappy for the Canadian provinces.
Sir Francis Bond Head, who was Governor of Upper Canada when the
troubles of 1837 began and whose conduct did not tend materially to
quelling the unrest, wrote his "apologia" a couple of years later and
in it he speaks of the loyalty of the colored people, almost all of
whom were refugees from slavery. He says:
"When our colored population were informed that American
citizens, sympathizing with their sufferings, had taken violent
possession of Navy Island, for the double object of liberating
them from the domination of British rule, and of imparting to
them the blessings of republican institutions, based upon the
principle that all men are born equal, did our colored brethren
hail their approach? No, on the contrary, they hastened as
volunteers in wagon-loads to the Niagara frontier to beg from me
permission that, in the intended attack upon Navy Island, they
might be permitted to form the forlorn hope--in short they
supplicated that they might be allowed to be foremost to defend
the glorious institutions of Great Britain."[2]
Rev. J. W. Loguen, in the narrative of his life, says that he was
urgently solicited by the Canadian government to accept the captaincy
of a company of black troops who had been enrolled during the
troubles. As the affair was then about all over by the joint effort of
the Canadian and United States governments, he did not accept the
offer but he makes this interesting comment:
"The colored population of Canada at that time was small compared
to what it now is; nevertheless, it was sufficiently large to
attract the attention of the government. They were almost to a
man fugitives from the States. They could not, therefore, be
passive when the success of the invaders would break the only arm
interposed for their security, and destroy the only asylum for
African freedom in North America. The promptness with which
several companies of blacks were organized and equipped, and the
desperate valor they displayed in this brief conflict, are an
earnest of what may be expected from the swelling thousands of
colored fugitives collecting there, in the event of a war between
the two countries."[3]
Josiah Henson, founder of the Dawn colony in Upper Canada and famous
as the reputed "original" of Mrs. Stowe's Uncle Tom, says in his
narrative that he was captain of the second company of Essex colored
volunteers and that he and his men assisted in the defence of Fort
Malden (Amherstburg) from Christmas 1837 to May of 1838. He says
further that he assisted in the capture of the schooner _Anne_, an
affair which took place on January 9, 1838.[4]
John MacMullen, in his _History of Canada_, says that among the troops
on the border during 1838 "were two hundred Indians from Delaware, and
a body of colored men, settlers in the western part of the province,
the poor hunted fugitives from American slavery, who had at length
found liberty and security under the British flag."[5]
A rather interesting aftermath of the rebellion is contained in an
item appearing in the _Amherstburg Courier_ of March 10, 1849,
reporting a meeting of Negroes in Sandwich township to protest against
the Rebellion Losses Bill.[6] Colonel Prince was thanked for his
opposition to the measure.[7]
Eighty years after the rebellion the Negro men of Canada were again
called upon to fight, this time in another land and in a conflict that
was destined to affect every race and every land. The service that was
rendered in the Canadian army by the colored companies of pioneers
will some day receive due recognition at the hands of an historian. In
the meantime, it is not forgotten by the people of Canada.
FRED LANDON
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY,
LONDON, ONTARIO
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A convention of Hunter's Lodges of Ohio and Michigan, held at
Cleveland, September 16-22, 1838, was attended by seventy delegates.
[2] Head, Sir, F. B., _A Narrative_ (London, 1839), page 392.
[3] Loguen, J. W., _The Rev. J. W. Loguen as a Slave and as a Freeman_
(Syracuse, 1859), pp. 343-345.
[4] _An autobiography of the Rev. Josiah Henson_, "Uncle Tom," from
1789 to 1881 (London, Ont., 1881), page 177. A sketch of Josiah Henson
appeared in THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY for January, 1918 (Vol. III,
no. 1, pp. 1-21). This is condensed from his autobiography which
appeared in several editions.
[5] MacMullen, John, _History of Canada from its first Discovery to
the Present Times_ (Brockville, Ont., 1868), pp. 459-460. He gives as
his authority Radclift's despatch, "10th January, 1838."
[6] The Rebellion Losses Bill proposed compensation for those who had
sustained losses in Lower Canada (Quebec) during the troubles of 1837.
It was fiercely opposed in Upper Canada (Ontario) by the element that
regarded the French as "aliens" and "rebels." When Lord Elgin, the
Governor, gave his assent to the bill in 1849 there were riots in
Montreal in which the Parliament Buildings were burned.
[7] Col. Prince was one of the leaders in the defense of the Canadian
frontier along the Detroit River during 1838, afterwards a member of
the Canadian Parliament. During the troubles of 1838 he ordered the
shooting of four prisoners without the form of a trial. The act was
condemned by Lord Brougham and others with great severity and is one
dark spot on the records of the Canadian forces during the trying
period.
LOTT CARY,[1] THE COLONIZING MISSIONARY
With Lott Cary and Colin Teague[2] sailing for Africa in 1821, a new
era of missionary expansion was begun by Negro Baptists. The
distinctive feature of this epoch, which may be termed modern, is the
fact that behind these men was the Richmond African Baptist Missionary
Society, which gave them support, such as it was, and to which
periodic reports were made. True enough, Lott Cary was under
appointment of the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist
Denomination in the United States of America but only that fact and
the sum of $200 in cash and $100 in books appropriated for his use up
to 1826[3] could not be sufficient evidence to claim him wholly as a
missionary of the General Missionary Convention although he did
receive some advisory instructions from its board.[4] Indeed, Lott
Cary was the first American Baptist missionary in Africa, the first
representative of a purely Negro missionary organization to labor
beyond the limits of the United States.
PREPARATION FOR AFRICA
Lott Cary was born on the estate of William A. Christian,[5] in
Charles City County, Virginia,[6] thirty miles from Richmond,[7] about
four years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. There
was no exact record kept of the time of his birth, although it appears
to have been about the year 1780.[8]
His mother and father lived together on the great plantation of their
master, centering their attention on Lott, their only child. His
mother gave no public profession of religion although she died giving
evidence that she accepted the Christian faith. His father, however,
was a pious man, a respected member of a Baptist church.[9] As a
result, Lott received some early religious training which may have
influenced his later life.
But there were temptings in his life; there were battles in his soul.
Why should a slave boy hope? Could he ever become free? Why not drink
life to the dregs? The chief among his playmates, he became the
mischief-maker of the place. Profligate, profane, polluter was his
title. Lott Cary tried to reform but he was only able to control
himself a few days. Before long, in 1804,[10] he was hired out by the
year as a common laborer[11] in the Shochoe tobacco warehouse at
Richmond.[12] There he grew more intemperate and profane and showed
little signs of reformation.
It was not reformation that he needed but regeneration as was
evidenced one Lord's day in 1807[13] as he sat in the gallery of the
First Baptist Church[14] and heard the minister preach. He was
hopefully converted and was baptized by Pastor John Courtney[15] into
the fellowship of the church. There he heard a sermon on the third
chapter of the gospel of John which so inspired him that he obtained a
Testament in order that he might read for himself the Lord's interview
with Nicodemus. In a short time he knew the alphabet, and with very
little assistance from the men at the warehouse,[16] he learned to
read this chapter and also to write.[17]
Cary was a changed man--industrious, thrifty, Christian. Whereas he
had been idle now he devoted his leisure time to reading and it is
said that one of the books that he read was Adam Smith's _Wealth of
Nations_.[18] By his application to reading and writing he was able in
a little time to make dray tickets and to act as shipping clerk.[19]
His work in the warehouse was "such as no person, white or black, has
equalled in the same situation.... He could produce any one of the
hundreds of hogsheads of tobacco the instant it was called for."[20]
For these services he was often given a five dollar note and the
privilege to sell small quantities of waste tobacco for his own
benefit.[21] He saved the money obtained in this way, and with the aid
of a subscription among his employers accumulated by 1813 $850 with
which he purchased freedom for himself and his two children.[22]
The following extract of a letter from William Crane to the Rev.
Obadiah Brown of Washington City, which he forwarded to the
corresponding secretary of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions,
corroborates, in the main, the foregoing statements as well as gives
some interesting sidelights on the lives of Cary and Teague:
_Richmond, March 28_, 1819.
You will probably recollect, that I introduced you to two of our
colored brethren in this place, who are accustomed to speak in
public; one named Collin Teague, the other Lot Carey. Ever since
the missionary subject has been so much agitated in this country,
these two brethren, associated with many others, have been
wishing they could, in some way, aid their unhappy kindred in
Africa; and I suppose you have heard of their having formed a
missionary society for this sole purpose. Some letters published
in No. VI of the _Luminary_ (written by Kizell, the Baptist
leader in Sherbro Island and by some others) have served to
awaken them effectually. They are now determined to go themselves
to Africa; and the only questions with them are, in what way will
it be best for them to proceed? and what previous steps are
requisite to be taken? They think it necessary to spend some time
in study first. They both possess industry and abilities, such
as, with the blessing of Providence, would soon make them rich.
It is but two or three years since either of them enjoyed
freedom; and both have paid large sums for their families. They
now possess but little, except a zealous wish to go and do what
they can. Brother Lot has a wife, and several little children. He
has a place a little below Richmond, that cost him $1500, but
will probably not sell for more than $1000 at this time. Brother
Collin has a wife, a son 14 years of age, and a daughter of 11,
for whom he has paid $1300, and has scarcely any thing left. Both
their wives are Baptists; their children, amiable and docile,
have been to school considerably; and I hope, if they go, will
likewise be of service. Collin is a saddler and harness maker. He
had no early education. The little that he has gained, has been
by chance and peacemeal. He has judgment, and as much keenness of
penetration as almost any man. He can read, though he is not a
good reader, and can write so as to make out a letter. The little
knowledge he has of figures, has been gained by common
calculations in business. Lot was brought up on a farm; and for a
number of years has been chief manager among the labourers in the
largest tobacco ware house in this city. He has charge of
receiving, marking and shipping tobacco; and the circumstance
that he receives $700 a-year wages may help you to form an
estimate of the man. He reads better than Collin, and is in every
respect a better scholar. They have been trying to preach about
ten or eleven years, and are both about forty years of age.[23]
Cary had been licensed to preach by the First Baptist Church,
Richmond, and he exercised his talent every Lord's day among the
colored people on plantations a few miles from Richmond.[24] It was
not many months before he was the highly esteemed pastor of the
African Baptist Church in Richmond. As a preacher, Cary was not
polished, but "his ideas would sometimes burst upon you in their
native solemnity, and awaken deeper feelings than the most polished,
but less original" and artificial discourses.[25]
Lott Cary early exhibited the power of an organizer. In 1815, William
Crane, who was a member of the First Baptist Church, felt that his
ought to use his talent among the twelve hundred Negro members of that
congregation. Consequently, he and David Roper[26] gratuitously
opened a tri-weekly night school in the gallery of the old church with
Lott Cary, Colin Teague and fifteen or twenty leading members of the
church as pupils.[27] Now Crane was able to inspire such a group to
practical missionary service, for he himself had been repeatedly urged
to become a missionary and had had close contact with Luther Rice as
one of the managers of the General Missionary Convention. But it was
left to Lott Cary to excite among the Negroes a strong interest in
behalf of Africa. The result was the formation of the Richmond African
Baptist Missionary Society in 1815. Crane was the president or
corresponding secretary.[28] This was necessary, for since the various
uprisings of Negroes[29] were making Virginia a hotbed of discontent,
the city of Richmond was wary of having Negro meetings unless they
were sponsored by white persons. Crane represented the Society in the
General Missionary Convention,[30] formed in 1814, and remained its
delegate for about twenty years.
At the first triennial session of the Convention at Philadelphia, in
May, 1817, a letter was read from the corresponding secretary of the
Richmond African Baptist Missionary Society and it was unanimously
Resolved, that the said letter be noticed on the minutes of the
Convention, and that the Board, if they find it practicable, be
advised to institute an African Mission, conformably to the
wishes of the said African Mission Society; and that the
Corresponding Secretary of the Board be requested to communicate
this resolution together with an encouraging affectionate letter
to that society.[31]
Feeling of sympathy for the African was high. Many slave-holding
Baptists felt that they owed the Negro a debt which they should
pay.[32] Moreover, the board of the Convention felt that the interest
in Foreign missions manifested by the Negro Baptists of Richmond was a
providential plan whereby the slaves brought from Africa might be
converted and returned to evangelize that continent.[33] Since,
therefore, mission work could be propagated in Africa in the English
language and for one quarter the expense required for other lands,[34]
the Convention felt no hesitancy in acknowledging the claims of
Africa.
Luther Rice, while in Richmond during the winter of 1817, visited the
African Missionary Society. "It afforded me much pleasure, indeed," he
reported,[35] "to observe the zeal, and intelligence and capacity, and
success, discovered in the African Mission Society."
As a matter of fact, the formation of the Richmond African Baptist
Society was an epochal event. The example was followed by the African
Baptist Church of Philadelphia[36] and by the Baptists of Petersburg,
Virginia.[37] The African mission spirit even permeated North Carolina
and Georgia, for during the years 1816 and 1817 the Negro Baptists of
those parts contributed $32.64 to the cause.[38] This contribution
far outstripped the donation of the white Baptists to the same cause.
During the same time they contributed only $14.27, $12.27 of which was
given by the newly formed African Mite Society of Providence, Rhode
Island.[39]
Lott Cary resolved that it was his duty to go and preach the gospel in
benighted Africa. It was at Crane's night school that this intention
was made known. After Crane had reviewed the report of Burgess and
Mills, telling of their exploring tour on the coast of Africa, Lott
Cary said: "I have been determined for a long time to go to Africa and
at least to see the country for myself."[40] There is no doubt that to
some extent Gary was awakened to a deep sense of responsibility for
his brethren in Africa by that part of this report which dealt with
John Kizell, the Baptist leader in Sherbro Island, the president of
the Friendly Society established by Paul Cuffee, the escort and guide
of Burgess and Mills on their exploring tour, the man directly
responsible for the beginning of the impractical scheme of deportation
on the continent of Africa by the American Colonization Society.[41]
But how was he to accomplish his object? Crane said,[42] "I had
thought of addressing the Corresponding Secretary on their (Cary and
Teague) behalf, for the patronage of the American Baptist Mission
Society, but again thought, that the Colonization Society might be
pleased with taking them under their care, and that their mission
might bear a more imposing aspect under the auspices of this society
than it would with the Baptists alone." Lott Cary was received by the
Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, May 1, 1819, and was accepted by
the American Colonization Society to work for them "without pay as
other engagements would permit."[43]
The treasurer of the General Missionary Convention reported $2 for
Africa received September 21, 1819, from a friend in Nashville
Tennessee. The next year the society appropriated $200 in cash and
$100 in books. Contrasted with this was the $483.25 paid April 17,
1820, by the Richmond African Baptist Missionary Society to the
General Missionary Convention to be appropriated for Africa.[44] Thus
the Convention served only as a clearing house for the funds
contributed from Richmond. With this in mind we can more clearly
understand the following order voted by the Baptist Board of Foreign
Missions in 1820:
With African Mission Society, Richmond,
To various exp. for Collin Teague and Lot Carey ... 500 25.[45]
Furthermore, the historian of the Convention up to the year 1840[46]
relates that the Richmond African Baptist Missionary Society, of which
Lott Cary was the recording secretary, appropriated to the cause of
African redemption $700, all of its funds collected during the first
five years of its existence. For many years thereafter the Society
collected and contributed annually from $100 to $150 to the mission in
Africa.[47]
Lott Cary was giving up much to be an apostle to his people--a
pastorate of nearly eight hundred members, a farm and house costing
$1,500 and a salary increase of $200 a year if he would stay.[48] But
he must go. There were promptings big and great. Cary and Colin Teague
are said to have wished to be where their color would be no
disparagement to their usefulness.[49] "I am an African," he is
reported to have answered an intelligent minister who asked him why he
was leaving,[50] "and, in this country, however meritorious my
conduct, and respectable my character, I cannot receive the credit due
to either. I wish to go to a country where I shall be estimated by my
merits, not by my complexion; and I feel bound to labor for my
suffering race."
It is highly probable that Cary possessed no such race consciousness
as is portrayed in the foregoing reports of Crane and Gurley. True
enough, the occasion for such sentiment was there in the institution
of slavery but had Cary imbibed the spirit? On the one hand, the free
Negro was not wanted in Virginia as is evidenced by an act which made
unlawful the permanent residence in the State of any slave set free
after May 1, 1806. But, on the other hand, this act was not generally
enforced because of the economic value of many of the freedmen.[51]
Thus it is doubtful whether Cary, whose salary would be increased if
he remained in Virginia, and Teague, both effectual workmen whose
industry was needed, would have to go away to gain a higher status.
Let us examine the facts further. Crane was certainly enthusiastic for
African colonization and Gurley was the secretary of the American
Colonization Society. Thus these statements, as well as similar ones
which follow, seem like attempts on the part of the friends of
colonization to make Cary say to the other free Negroes that
colonization was a desirable thing. Certainly such an attitude would
be a timely rebuttal of the anti-colonization sentiment of the Negro
ministry in general.
Furthermore, this reason for going to Africa was not in accord with
the one given at Crane's night school. Then he wanted to see Africa
for himself; now he finds America no place for the Negro. He could
have changed his point of view, but did he? If he did change his
view, he had changed again in less than two years (March 13, 1821)
when he wrote as follows to the corresponding secretary of the Board
of Foreign Missions:
If you intend doing anything for Africa you must not wait for the
Colonization Society, nor for government, for neither of these
are in search of missionary grounds, but of colonizing grounds;
if it should not suit missionary needs, you cannot expect to
gather in a missionary crop. And, moreover, all of us who are
connected with the agents, who are under public instructions,
must be conformed to their laws, whether they militate against
missionary operation or not.[52]
Thus if Cary made statements which favor colonization he was very
inconsistent, for it was he who was chiefly responsible for the
colonists openly defying the Colonization Society in 1824. Nor could
Cary write so well. It is most likely, therefore, that Lott Cary
wanted to go to Africa simply to see the country and to do missionary
work.
Prior to his public farewell, Lott Cary and Colin Teague were ordained
and they, with their wives, Joseph Langford and wife and Hilary
Teague, were organized in January, 1821, into a church. Lott Cary was
elected pastor. The constitution of this body which they were to plant
in Africa was modelled after the Samson Street Church of
Philadelphia.[53]
Cary's farewell sermon, preached in the meeting house of the First
Baptist Church, Richmond, was well ordered, without the rant common to
some preachers of that day, dignified and pathetic, and left a lasting
impression on the audience.[54] Teague had often remarked to William
Crane, "Sir, I don't hear any of your white ministers that can preach
like Lott Cary." Crane was anxious to hear him and after listening to
his farewell message from Romans 8:32--"He that spared not his own
Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things?"--he did not hesitate to declare: "I have a
most vivid recollection of the manner in which, towards the close, he
dwelt upon the word 'freely.' With thrilling emphasis he exclaimed
over and over, 'He gave them freely!' He rang a succession of perhaps
a dozen changes upon the word, in a manner that would not have
dishonored Whitfield."[55]
Lott Gary closed his sermon with this thought:
I am about to leave you and expect to see your faces no more. I
long to preach to the poor Africans the way of life and
salvation. I don't know what may befall me, whether I may find a
grave in the ocean, or among the savage men, or more savage wild
beasts on the Coast of Africa; nor am I anxious what may become
of me. I feel it my duty to go; and I very much fear that many of
those who preach the Gospel in this country, will blush when the
Saviour calls them to give an account of their labors in His
cause and tell them, "I commanded you to go into all the world,
and preach the Gospel to every creature;" (very emphatically he
exclaimed) the Saviour may ask where have you been? What have you
been doing? Have you endeavored to the utmost of your ability to
fulfill the commands I gave you, or have you sought your own
gratification, and your own ease, regardless of My commands?[56]
A distinguished Presbyterian minister said to Gurley, "A sermon which
I heard from Lott Gary, shortly before he sailed for Africa, was the
best extemporaneous sermon I ever heard. It contained more original
and impressive thoughts, some of which are distinct in my memory, and
never can be forgotten."[57] Elder John Bryce, assistant pastor of the
First Baptist Church, afterwards confessed that he had never been so
deeply interested in a sermon.[58]
READJUSTMENT ON AFRICAN SOIL
By the twenty-third of January, 1821, Gary and his church were ready
to sail.[59] At half past six in the morning[60] the _Nautilus_,
carrying 28 colonists and a number of children, left Norfolk,
Virginia, en route to Sierra Leone.[61]
As the agents of the American Colonization Society, who made the
journey, had not completed their negotiations for the purchase of a
site for the settlers, the party remained at Freetown, Sierra Leone,
for some months.[62] From there Cary wrote the Corresponding Secretary
of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, March 13th:
_Rev. and Dear Sir_
I am happy that an opportunity is now afforded me, to inform the
Board through you, the only proper medium of communication with
them, that we all arrived safe in Africa. We had a long passage
of forty four days, yet we were wonderfully preserved by the
great Ruler of the winds and the seas....
I am truly sorry, that the hopes and expectations of the Board
cannot be realized, as to our missionary labours; for, as it
pleased you to have us connected with the Colonization Society,
and the agents of the Society upon their arrival here, finding
their prospects of getting lands very gloomy, so much so that
they disowned us as colonists; and the government's agent had
captured Africans for whom he was bound, by the laws of the
United States, to procure a place, in order to settle them, or
until there can be a more permanent settlement obtained, the
agent received us as labourers and mechanics, to be settled with
them in order to make preparations for the reception of others;
we are therefore bound to the government's agent. He has rented a
farm, and put us on it, and we must cultivate it for our support,
and for the support of these Africans; and pay as much of the
rent as we can. And as this obligation will last until lands are
purchased by the agents of the Colonization Society, I am greatly
afraid it will not end soon; and until it does end, our mission
labours will be very few. Jesus Christ, our Saviour, when he came
on his mission into this world, was found often with a broad axe
in his hand: and I believe that a good many corn field
missionaries would be a great blessing to this country, that is
if they were not confined to the field by law and by necessity.
We are bound by both. I converse very freely with you on this
subject, because with me it is a very important one, and because
of the interest which the Board has taken in this mission.[63]
Mrs. Cary, "a sensible woman and an exemplary Christian,"[64] was sick
at this time and soon died, leaving her husband the care of their two
children.[65] Despite this and the appalling circumstances of the
first settlers, they wrote to the Board rejoicing that they were in
the country of their forefathers and hoping that His gracious
approbation would crown their labors.[66] Lott Cary kept constantly in
mind the great object of his mission. He not only preached as often as
opportunity would permit but he established a mission among the
Mandingoes.[67]
Nevertheless, there was danger for some time that the whole enterprise
would be abandoned. Whereupon, Captain Robert F. Stockton was sent to
Africa in the armed schooner _Alligator_ with full powers from
President Monroe and the American Colonization Society to make
arrangements for a new and permanent settlement.[68] On December 11,
he and Doctor Eli Ayres, the Society's agent, who had left America in
July, anchored off Cape Mesurado or Montserado and, with John Mills,
an English mulatto and slave dealer, as interpreter, made negotiations
with King Peter, the principal chief around the Cape, for the purchase
of a settlement. After much parleying and delay on the part of the
king and treachery on the part of Mills,[69] they finally exchanged
gunpowder, tobacco, rum, iron pots, beads, looking glasses, "four
Hats, three Coats, three pair Shoes"[70] and other minor articles not
worth more than $300 for that valuable tract of land[71] which was the
nucleus of what is now the Republic of Liberia.[72]
Arrangements were made for the colonists to take possession of their
new home the 7th of February, 1822.[73] The territory, finally
including ninety miles of coast lying between the Junk and Sesters
Rivers and extending nearly seventy miles into the interior,
presented, on the one hand, an excellent opportunity to work among the
Bassa, Vey, Dey and Kroo tribes,[74] who numbered about 125,000, and
exhibited, on the other hand, many obstacles, for the natives were
hostile, and the rainy season was approaching, at the time when
provisions were scarce.
The condition of the colonists was so appalling that many proposed to
return to Sierra Leone. Just a few more hours and the Cape would have
been abandoned, but when the Agent went ashore to prepare for
departure he was informed by Lott Gary that he was determined not to
go. Nearly all the colonists were induced to follow his example.
In the event they suffered severely; nearly 1,000 natives attacked
them in November, 1822, but were repulsed. During this and similar
encounters with the natives, which lasted through the months of
November and December, Lott Cary cooperated wisely with the Agent,
Jehudi Ashmun,[75] and, although several of the colonists were killed
and wounded, with only 37 men and boys he, on one occasion, drove back
with considerable loss 1,500 wild and exasperated natives who were
bent on extirpating the settlement. Lott Cary compared the little
company of disturbed settlers to the Jews, who "grasped a weapon in
one hand, while they labored with the other" to rebuild the city. But
he is said to have asserted: "There never has been an hour or a
minute, no, not even when the balls were flying around my head, when I
could wish myself again in America."[76]
These colonists planted their church at Monrovia and soon had under
way the nucleus of a flourishing Sunday-school.[77] Cary extended his
labors to communities far and near, and by 1823 had 6 converts.[78]
The following resolution adopted by the General Missionary Convention
speaks for itself the sentiment of that body respecting the work of
Cary and Teague up to May 7, 1823:[79]
The committee states that the present condition and prospects of
the mission are encouraging. Brethren Cary and Teague are at
present much occupied in aiding in the establishment of the
colony at Cape Mesurado. Their conduct has been good and that of
the former, in particular, has been specially commended by the
Agent of the Colonization Society. The committee recommends that
an able white missionary be stationed, as soon as practicable, at
Cape Mesurado. The mission has a double effect. While it tends to
introduce the gospel into Africa, a mission establishment on the
coast will essentially aid in the suppression of the slave trade.
In spite of the fact that his associate, Colin Teague, had returned to
Freetown, Sierra Leone,[80] Lott Cary was adding some few of the
natives to the church. In 1824, he baptized 9. One by the name of John
from Grand Cape Mount, a town about eighty miles distant, proved a
valuable helper by the good influence which he exerted. Some word from
Hector Peters[81] had touched him and he came to the American
settlement for instruction and baptism. Without being asked, he
related his experience to the church.
"When me bin Sa' lone," he began, "me see all man go to church
house--me go too--me be very bad man too--suppose a man can cus
(curse) me--me can cus im too--suppose a man can fight me--me can
fight im too.--Well, me go to church house--the man speak, and one
word catch my heart (and at the same time laying his hand on his
breast)--I go to my home--my heart be very heavy--and trouble me
too--night time come--me fear me can't go to my bed for sleep--my
heart trouble me so--something tell me go pray to God--me fall down to
pray--no--my heart be too bad--I can't pray--I think so--I go die
now--suppose I die--I go to hell--me be very bad man--pass all turrer
(other) man--God be angry with me--soon I die--suppose man cus me this
time--me can't cus him no more--suppose man fight me--me can't fight
him no more--all the time my heart trouble me--all day--all night me
can't sleep--by and by my heart grow too big--me fall down this
time--now me can pray--me say Lord--have massey. Then light come in my
heart--make me glad--make me light--make me love the Son of God--make
me love everybody."
John was baptized the 20th of March, 1825. The church neatly dressed
him, gave him an extra suit, about $10.50, 3 Bibles and 2 hymn books
and sent him on his way rejoicing.[82]
The impetus received by the church was amazing. The membership by 1825
had increased to 60 or 70 and two or three pious emigrants were
assisting in the work. This same year, Lott Cary directed the building
of a substantial meeting house which would have been completed
immediately if nails and boards could have been procured.[83] In a
letter from Monrovia,[84] dated April 24, 1826, he wrote a brother in
Norfolk: "We dedicated our meeting house last October; it was four
weeks from the time we raised it to the time it was dedicated. It is
quite a comfortable house, 30 x 20 feet, and ceiled inside nearly up
to the plates, with a decent pulpit and seats. I feel very grateful to
you for your services, and to the brethren and friends for their
liberal contribution."[85]
This progress of the church might, at first blush, seem to say that
everything was in a state of tranquility and peace. This is far from
being the case. In the face of the record of Lott Cary as a Christian,
a pastor, a representative of the Richmond African Baptist Missionary
Society and a church builder in Africa, it is interesting to note the
invective hurled against him by Governor Ashmun in 1823. The
Governor's phraseology is unique. "Wretched," "morose," "obstinate,"
"soured," "narrow," "disobliging," "moral desert," "a corroding
temper," and "destitute of natural affection," were some of the
epithets used as over against "more obliging," "affectionate husband,"
"display of tenderness," "sweet and profound humility," "promoter of
every commendable and pious design," "every laudable habit," "moral
renovation," "habit of holiness," and "redeemed" when an understanding
was perfected in 1824.[86]
The cause of the misunderstanding was of long standing. Agents of the
American Colonization Society prior to Ashmun's time were accused of
transmitting false reports to the board and of appropriating to their
own use the provisions and supplies of the colonists.[87] It is also
known that a commercial company of Baltimore, whose business it was
to prosecute the African slave trade, was jealous of the Society and
tried to undermine it. In addition, the trials and hardships
incidental to founding the colony had reduced many of the settlers to
want.[88] The most ignorant could thus fathom their condition: "We
suffer: if the Society have means and does not apply them to our
relief, it is without benevolence; if it have not means, it wants
power and in either case is unworthy of our confidence."[89]
This lack of power showed itself in the helplessness of the government
to restrain the first vestiges of insubordination and to enforce the
law. Thereupon, the discontentment of Cary and one or two others
became widespread.[90] Probably the manhood consciousness of Cary
would not have asserted itself so soon had not the occasion arisen
between August 31 and September 25, 1823, when the principal Agent
attempted to redistribute the town lots of the earliest colonists who
alleged that they held them under a former sanction of the Agent and
so refused to have them redistributed. They resolved to appeal to the
board of the American Colonization Society.[91] Moreover, they openly
avowed that they would neither survey nor cultivate any of the lots
(thickly covered with undergrowth) assigned to them nor aid in any
public improvements[92] until they should hear from the board. On the
13th of December, Ashmun published the announcement that there were in
the Colony more than a dozen healthy persons who would not receive any
more provisions out of the public store till they earned them. Six
days later the Agent ordered the rations of the offending persons to
be stopped. Next morning a few[93] of the colonists assembled at the
Agency House and vociferously demanded the Agent to rescind his
order. Ashmun was immovable. The colonists straightway hastened to the
storehouse where rations for the week were then being issued and each
seized a store of provisions and went home.[94] Lott Cary had no small
influence and share in this seditious proceeding.[95] Toward evening,
the Agent addressed a circular "to all the colonists" declaring that
the impropriety of the morning's act would be communicated to the
board. He further exhorted all to go to work and not to commit such an
offence again for their sakes in this world or in the one to come.
Lott Cary was not to perform any of his ministerial functions "till
time and circumstances shall have evidenced the deepness and sincerity
of his repentance."[96] Gurley states that the leaders of the
sedition, led by Lott Cary, almost "immediately confessed and
deplored" their error.[97]
It seemed in 1824 that the affair of the previous year would be
repeated when, on March 17, the rations were reduced one half. The act
was viewed by the colonists as oppression and they openly reproached
Ashmun. Through all of this period, the spirit of disorganization was
working so that the colonists furnished little support towards
developing the government.[98]
In communicating the account of the disturbances to the board, Ashmun
wrote, March 15, that "the services rendered by Lott Cary in the
Colony, who has with very few (and those recent exceptions), done
honor to the selection of the Baptist Missionary Society, under whose
auspices he was sent out to Africa, entitle his agency in this affair,
to the most indulgent construction which it will bear. The hand which
records the lawless transaction, would long since have been cold in
the grave, had it not been for the unwearied and painful attentions of
this individual rendered at all hours--of every description--and
continued several months."[99]
The General Missionary Convention was influenced very little, if any,
by the report, if, indeed, they had received it officially. At the
annual meeting of the Board of Managers, April, 1824, the committee on
the African mission had "no hesitation in recommending a careful
regard to this mission, which though it may seem to slumber for a
moment, in their opinion promises great and extensive usefulness." The
board recommended
That a constant correspondence be kept up with the brethren there
by which their minds will be encouraged, and their hands
strengthened and through which information may be received of the
state of the Colony, the progress of the cause, and of the
earliest opportunities which may offer for introducing the Gospel
more extensively into the heart of Africa.[100]
There is no further account of this misunderstanding other than that
from the pen of Ashmun. Mr. Taylor,[101] the biographer of Lott Cary,
remarks: "He (Cary) was compelled, to some extent, to act the part of
a mediator between the rebellious colonists, who considered themselves
injured, and Mr. Ashmun, the Governor. While for a moment he might
seem to act injudiciously, he possessed too much noble and generous
feeling to be guilty of a dishonorable act." The Rev. G. Winfred
Hervey[102] thinks that "in any controversy between mules and
muledrivers, the latter have several advantages among which one of the
most important is that they have the exclusive use of vocal attack and
defence. Cary was too prudent a man to publish an apology for
constructive sedition; and as he has not left us his own explanation
of any of the facts in the case, we have not all the materials on
which to base an impartial judgment."
The agitation at length had its effect. It was directly responsible
for the establishment, in 1824, of a new form of government which was
approved by Cary and his fellow-citizens and in which the colonists
had a full expression.[103] Gurley[104] and Ashmun both testified that
Cary readily entered into the spirit of the new government.[105] Only
eight days, from August 14 to 22, were needed to organize a government
that should be energetic and feasible.[106] "Beneath the thatched roof
of the first rude house for divine worship ever erected in the Colony
stood the little company of one hundred colored emigrants, who had
ventured all things to gain for themselves and children a home and
inheritance of liberty and before God pledged themselves to maintain
the Constitution of their choice, and prove faithful to the great
trust committed to their hands."[107] Despite the seeming repetition
of the chagrin of past irregularities in September, 1824, however, the
board of the American Colonization Society passed a motion, April 2,
1825, to organize, on the 18th of the next month, a permanent
government for the colony.[108]
USEFULNESS OF THE MAN
During these times Lott Cary continued to increase his popularity by
performing the pastoral duties of the Providence Baptist Church as
vigorously as he could.[109] He preached several times each week, and,
in addition, gave religious instruction to many of the native
children. A day school of twenty-one pupils was begun April 18,
1825.[110] By June, the number had increased to thirty-two, nineteen
of whom came from Grand Cape Mount, some miles distant.[111] Cary was
handicapped in this work by the lack of funds, by the demoralizing gin
traffic of the Europeans, by Mohammedanism, by the deadly climate and
by degraded fetichism,[112] yet, in the course of seven weeks, he
taught several children to read the Bible intelligently, although he
could not devote more than three hours a day to this work.[113]
In the meantime, in keeping with the report of the Board of Managers
of the General Missionary Convention in 1823, Governor Ashmun wrote to
the American Colonization Society, March 20, 1825, that "the natives
have universally a most affecting persuasion of the superiority of
white men.... I cannot hesitate to say that the missionary, or
principal of the proposed establishment (_i.e._, a religious mission
for Africa), ought by preference to be a white man."[114] The little
colony of near 400 souls was suffering for an adequate educational
program. Excepting Governor Ashmun, there was not an individual there
who had ever received a plain English education.[115] Allowing that
and granting that there were few intelligent Negroes in the United
States,[116] Ashmun would have appeared more hopeful of Negro
leadership had he made his request to the board more general.
Whether because of this appeal or not, it is singular to note that the
Rev. Calvin Holton, a graduate of Waterville College (now Colby
College), offered his service to the board the same year and, with 34
emigrants,[117] sailed from Boston in the brig _Vine_, January 4,
1826. He was employed to establish and direct a Lancastrian system of
education for (1) the children of the colonists, (2) for the native
children living in the settlement, (3) for the recaptured Africans who
numbered about 120, and (4) for the young men and women who were
teaching or preparing themselves for this profession.[118] His work
was not of long duration for on the 2d of July, 1826, he died[119] and
was succeeded early in 1827 by the Rev. G. M'Gill, "an intelligent and
experienced coloured Teacher from Baltimore."[120]
About this time the number of native boys who received instruction was
only 50. These were trained either to be interpreters to American and
European missionaries or religious teachers. Lott Cary had 45 scholars
enrolled in his school at Monrovia.[121] He was assisted by a lad of
fourteen years and by the Rev. John N. Lewis, another missionary sent
out by the Richmond African Baptist Missionary Society, but who, from
lack of adequate support, turned to other business.[122]
Lott Cary had a large task to perform with this school. As a matter of
fact, "the hopes of the African tribes," said Ashmun,[123] "from
Gallinas to Trade Town, are at present suspended upon it. Most of the
boys who attend it are sons of the principal individuals of the
country, and more than half can read the New Testament intelligently,
and understand the English language nearly as well as the settlers of
the same age." The expense of a native boy was estimated at $25 and of
a girl at $20.[124]
Gurley believed that the schools were numerous enough and amply able
to afford instruction to every child in the colony. Although this
instruction was compulsory, it is not altogether evident, however,
that at any place save Monrovia a real educational program was begun.
Ashmun related that about six out of every ten emigrants were
illiterate and that just one pious individual assisted by two or three
utterly illiterate exhorters was the only instructor around the
settlement. "Not one in five of these people habitually attend, even
on Sundays, such religious instruction as they possess." Consequently,
he adds that the moral power exerted was not sufficient to offset "the
demoralizing influence of corrupt examples."[125]
The Richmond African Baptist Missionary Society and Lott Cary,
however, were expending their funds liberally on the schools. The
surplus funds in the colonial treasury plus the subscription of $1,400
from the colonists (including $300 subscribed by Ashmun) were spent
for education.[126] Yet from all sources enough money could not be
raised to continue all the schools begun. Cary, in 1827, removed the
day school from Monrovia to Grand Cape Mount. He made appeal after
appeal to send the light to Africa. To prove that the natives would
sooner steal the light than miss it he gives the following incident
that occurred in removing the school establishment to Grand Cape
Mount:
"I had upwards of forty natives," he said,[127] "to carry our baggage,
and they carried something like 250 bars ($187.50); a part of them
went on four days beforehand, and had every opportunity to commit
depredations, but of all the goods that were sent and carried there,
nothing was lost except fifteen spelling books; five of them were
recovered again."
Mr. Cary's letter to Mr. Crane will explain somewhat the circumstances
of the school at Grand Cape Mount.
_June 11, 1827._
On yesterday week, being our monthly meeting, I baptized one
young man, and after preaching in the afternoon, we had the
happiness to break bread together in the house of the Lord. I
don't like to be too sanguine, but I think he will be a blessing
to the church; his name is John Reavy (Revey)--came out in the
first expedition, and has been engaged in teaching a native
school on the Sherbro, with Nathaniel Brander, until the last two
years, which he has spent at Sierra Leone.
For I fear I may not have another opportunity to write you again
soon, I must again call your attention to the immediate
establishment of a school at Cape Mount. Since writing the fore
part of this letter, I have received an order for books from Cape
Mount, which I have sent. I requested, at the same time, the
native Brother, John,[128] to come down immediately, and I would
try and arrange business so as to send up a teacher with him; and
on proposing the subject to Brother John Reavy, he is quite
willing to go up to commence the school as soon as the Brother
comes down. I expect to allow him $10.00 per month and find him.
My means at present will not justify these engagements, but I
know you will do what you can when there is an opportunity; if
you cannot send out tobacco or other articles, send out the
money. United States bank notes pass as well here as they do with
you. I shall try to keep the wheels going until you can send out
supplies. I want some writing paper and ink powder or ink, and
wish the Society (Richmond) would send me a bbl. of single nails.
You will please make my respects to all the brethren and friends,
and accept the same for yourself and the Board.
LOTT CARY.[129]
After many months of delay[130] the school was established November
10, 1827, at Big Town, Grand Cape Mount. John Revey was in charge.
"The school room," says Cary,[131] "is nearly fifteen feet by thirty.
We made arrangements to have worship in it on the ensuing Lord's day,
and I had the honour to address a very attentive audience twice,
through brother John. After service I informed the congregation that I
should need their assistance the following day in preparing seats,
&c., and they turned out like men, and performed more labour by eight
o'clock, than I expected to have accomplished in the whole day. We got
seats prepared for about 60 children by 4 o'clock, and gave notice
that as the school would be organized on the day following, at 9
o'clock, A.M., all persons wishing to have their children instructed
were requested to come at that time and have them entered, and the
number received was 37. I read and explained a short set of
regulations which I had drawn up; and as I had the king and his head
men present, I got them to sign the articles of agreement in the
presence of the whole congregation. For twelve months I think the
school will, of course, be expensive. The present arrangement is--I
agree to allow brother Revey $20 per month, and find him provisions,
washing, &c."
Mr. Cary thought that by this arrangement the station at Grand Cape
Mount would net better results than the one at Monrovia. Neither he
nor the Richmond African Baptist Missionary Society were able to
maintain both. Some funds were received[132] but it developed in about
a year that the school had to be given up for lack of funds and
assistants.[133]
Other duties, moreover, required some time. Lott Cary realized from
the beginning of the colony that a missionary in Africa ought to be
more than a corrector of moral ills and a "doctor" of divinity; he
would be fortunate indeed if he could mend human bodies. As a result,
Cary was constrained to forego much of the joy which he had
anticipated from efforts to show men the living Christ by accepting
the position of Health Officer of the colony, August 31, 1822.[134] He
had no medical schooling but with the use of home remedies, patent
medicines,[135] and common sense, he was able to cure some. Until the
31st of August, 1823, he was practically the only physician in the
settlement (excepting Dr. Ayres who was present a part of the year
1822). After that Dr. Ayres returned on the _Oswego_ in the late
spring of 1825.[136] He and sixty emigrants who came with him were
soon suffering from the disease of the country and had to rely on the
medical experience of Cary. Eight emigrants died[137] and by December,
Dr. Ayres was compelled to leave the colony. The climate was so
unhealthy that hardly any one escaped its pestilence.[138] When, in
addition, the poor housing conditions, the inadequate sanitation and
the scanty hospital supplies[139] are considered, it is remarkable
that so many escaped death.
Every ship[140] that brought emigrants meant more work for Cary. On
February 13, 1824,[141] one hundred and five emigrants arrived in the
ship _Cyrus_ and in less than a month every one was prostrate with the
fever.[142] "Astonishing," said Ashmun,[143] "that in this atmosphere
should exist causes so universal in their operation, as amongst all
the varieties of age, sex and habit, not to leave one in the whole
number without disease, and that in less than four weeks; and stranger
still, that the blast should be so tempered to the strength of the
constitution of every individual, as only to have swept off three
small children. Men may call these phenomena in human life, the
effects of the laws of nature; I choose to call them singular proofs
of the Providence of God over all his creatures."
When the brig _Hunter_ arrived, March 13, 1825, with 66 settlers,
nearly all of whom were farmers,[144] all were stricken during the
first month. Although Cary himself was confined to his house nursing a
severe injury, only a few children were fatally affected.[145]
Cary gratuitously spent about half of his time in caring for the sick
of the colony. This fact was a matter of course as no funds were
specially designated for this purpose. Cary was financially able to do
such a thing. He had defrayed no small share of his own expense[146]
in equipment for Africa, and when the colonists were in need of
medical aid, he spent much of his means in this direction.[147] In
1825 he still owned a house and lot near Richmond which he was
desirous of selling.[148]
Lott Cary was so occupied with caring for the sick that his
prospective trip to America in the spring of 1826 had to be
postponed.[149] He was also physician to Governor Ashmun. The governor
was very ill in May after an exposure of four hours in attempting to
save the schooner _Catherine_ from destruction. "The prescriptions of
our excellent and experienced assistant physician, the Rev. L. Cary,"
the Governor said,[150] "under the blessing of Divine Providence, so
far succeeded as to afford complete relief, only leaving me in a very
emaciated and enfeebled state, about the end of the first week in
July."
All of this was just part of the work that Lott Cary had set himself
to accomplish. By his unselfish labors and untiring efforts he had won
the hearts of the natives. He had been indefatigable in his efforts to
uplift the colony. The morale of the settlement was greatly lifted.
Drunkenness, profanity and quarreling were unknown; the Sabbath was
observed with strictness.[151] Nearly the whole adult population had
come under the influence of Christianity. On the site of a once
desolate forest consecrated to demon worship was erected the
commodious chapel which stood as a monument of the overthrow of
heathenism and as a tribute to the Son of God.[152]
But in the sight of this landmark of Christianity, the slave trade was
carried on extensively.[153] In 1825 from eight to ten, even fifteen
traders were engaged at the same time off the coast. In July
"contracts were existing for eight hundred slaves to be furnished in
the short space of four months within eight miles of the Cape. Four
hundred of these were to be purchased for two American traders. During
the same season, a boat belonging to a Frenchman, having on board
twenty-six slaves, all in irons, was upset in the mouth of the St.
Paul River and twenty of their number perished."[154] Between October,
1825, and April, 1826, no less than one hundred and eighty Negroes
were reclaimed from slave traders and taught the Scripture.[155]
When Gurley visited the colony in August, 1824, he found the state of
religion and morality hopeful, defenses adequate, quiet Sabbaths and
physical improvements which indicated that a considerable amount of
labor had been done. For twenty-two months following, the jails were
in disuse.[156] By 1826 the people had developed from inexperienced
immigrants to efficient citizens. No family was without ample food
and wearing apparel. Wages were high and employment could be found
everywhere. The common laborers were receiving from $.75 to $1.75 a
day, while the mechanics got $2 a day. Houses were built and a
telegraph system was soon to be installed. There were also two corps
of militia, an artillery battery of fifty men and forty infantrymen.
These had charge of the fifteen large carriages and three small pivot
guns.[157]
A printing press costing more than $1,000, in addition to the salary
of a printer, had been sent out. The citizens of Liberia expressed
their thanks by subscribing nearly $200 "toward the immediate issue
and support of a publick newspaper."[158] One thousand volumes of
books, a complete set of the North American Review, a gift of Editor
Sparks, and many other useful things were on hand.[159]
Economic effort, however, did not at first play as conspicuous a part
in the missionary adventure of Lott Cary as it did in the lives of the
pioneers, George Liele and David George, who left this country
primarily to be able to make a living.[160] Nevertheless, the economic
feature developed after a time. The agricultural progress of the
country was rapidly promoted. The sultry and moist climate greatly
accelerated[161] the growth of coffee,[162] rice and cassada. The Rev.
Colston M. Waring was the first to attempt farming on anything like a
large scale. His crop of rice and cassada on a ten acre farm failed
and checked so bold an example from all except Lott Cary. He, too,
lost a promising crop in 1825 on the same kind of land because of the
birds and the monkeys.[163] This failure, however, showed him that
either farming as the natives adopted (scratching the surface of the
ground with a sharp stick) or more improved methods of thoroughly
preparing the soil had to be tried.[164] In the following year, Cary
enlarged his farm, had it cleared, dug it up with picks and hoes, and,
in June, sowed about three bushels of rice to the acre. At the first
cutting, on the 20th of October, it averaged 50 kroos (a measure
varying from 3 to 5 winchester gallons) per acre.[165]
In one letter, he says:[166] "I have a promising little crop of rice
and cassada, and have planted about 180 coffee trees this week, a part
of which I expect, will produce next season, as they are now in bloom.
I think, sir, that in a very few years we shall send you coffee of a
better quality than you have ever seen brought into your market. We
find that trees of two species abound in great quantities on the
Cape."
On the 7th of July, 1825, Cary reported a discovery of gold in the
sand near little Cape Mount.[167] The appearance of gold was certain
to develop the country commercially; some trade was already being
carried on. Endeavoring to participate therein, nine of the natives
built a ten ton schooner which carried from four to eight thousand
dollars' worth of goods each trip.[168] Doctor Alexander[169] relates
that between the first of January and the fifteenth of July, 1826,
fifteen vessels stopped at Monrovia.
Nevertheless, there were some anti-slavery leaders in America who
seriously questioned the permanent utility and moral influence of the
colony of Liberia. One of these anti-slavery groups, composed of free
Negroes of Philadelphia, was led by Richard Allen, the founder of the
African Methodist Episcopal Church.[170] In a letter to a gentleman
in Richmond, Lott Cary makes mention, September 24, 1827, of the
agitation carried on by these Negroes of Philadelphia. "Before I left
America," he said,[171] "and ever since then, the coloured people in
about Philadelphia, have been making efforts in opposition to the
scheme of colonizing the free people in Africa; and as some of their
very recent publications have reached this place, I felt that in
justice to the cause, and my own feelings, I ought to undertake to
point out to them their situation."
Unfortunately the letter closes shortly after this but singularly
enough our sources supply an "Address, _By the Citizens of Monrovia_,
to the free coloured people of the United States,"[172] which no doubt
is referred to in the letter. The name of Lott Cary is not attached to
this address, which boosts "the doings of the Colonization Society"
and which points out the political, social, economic, educational and
religious advantages enjoyed by the colonists. Nevertheless, the
document could not fully express the sentiments of the colonists
unless the feelings of the leaders were given. It is not too much to
presume that the address was gotten up by Lott Cary, the outstanding
leader of the colonists, but it is very doubtful whether he wrote it
in its present form. The correspondence of Cary reveals that he did
not express himself so clearly nor did he use so good English.[173]
The antithetical style reminds one of the writing of Ashmun.[174]
Through all of the many affairs which Cary performed, he continued
pastor of the church at Monrovia. A missionary society was formed in
connection with the church in the spring of 1826. Cary was elected
president.[175] At the first anniversary[176] on Easter Monday, in
consequence of the failure of the Rev. Colin Teague to come from
Sierra Leone, Lott Cary preached the introductory sermon.[177] This
society contributed $50 for mission work during the year 1827.[178] By
the following year, the church contained one hundred members and two
ordained preachers, John Lewis and Colston M. Waring, besides
exhorters.[179]
FINAL WORK AND WORTH
Lott Cary was none the less interested and active in the welfare of
the government. From the first settlement in Cape Montserado, he was
appointed Government Inspector at the same time he was selected Health
Officer[180] and consequently he knew something of the working of the
government. In September, 1826, he was unanimously elected vice-agent
of the colony. The colonial agent had great confidence in his
judgments, decisions and loyalty[181] and left the affairs of the
colony in Cary's charge when he was advised in 1828 to return to
America for his health.[182]
"I was able," Mr. Ashmun wrote to the board,[183] "to arrange the
concerns of the Colony with Mr. Cary, even to the minutest
particulars, and I have the greatest confidence that his
administration will prove satisfactory, in a high degree, to the Board
and advantageous to the Colony."
During the first six months, Cary's task was to see to it that every
man and working family were self-supporting. "To effect this object,
they must be furnished with a few simple tools--to pay for them if
they can--if not, to receive them gratuitously. Their allowance must
be withheld if they neglect or negligently follow the improvement of
their lands, and the building of their houses. Much may be done by
visiting the people separately, getting at their intentions and
circumstances and spurring, advising or reproving as they may require.
I am persuaded it will be useful, and in most instances possible to
get at least all the men out of the public receptacles and on their
lands before the rains set in." Respecting the buildings of the United
States, those of the colony, the arms, forts, printing establishment,
farms, Millsburg settlement, finances, etc., other particular
regulations were suggested.[184] Lott Cary kept Ashmun and the
American Colonization Society informed about the condition of the
colony.[185] On his death bed, Ashmun again expressed his confidence
in Cary and urged that he should be permanently appointed to conduct
the affairs of the colony[186] which now contained upwards of 1,200
settlers.[187]
The only trouble that Cary had while he was vice-agent was with the
natives.[188] The factory belonging to the colony at Digby, a
settlement just north of Monrovia, was robbed by them and general
hostilities threatened when satisfaction was demanded and refused. A
letter of protest to a slave dealer who had stored his goods in the
house where stores of the colony had been deposited was intercepted
and destroyed by the natives. Immediately, Cary prepared to defend the
rights and property of the colony. He called out the militia and began
with others, in the evening of November 8, to make cartridges in the
old agency house. In some manner, a candle was accidentally upset and
almost instantly the entire ammunition exploded, entirely destroying
the house. Eight people died; six of the number survived until the
next day; Lott Cary and one other until November 10, 1828.[189]
The unbelievable news of the death of Lott Cary spread like a mighty
conflagration to the organizations which he represented. The following
is the resolution read and adopted at the annual meeting of the
Richmond African Baptist Missionary Society in 1829:[190]
The loss which has been sustained, cannot in our estimation, be
easily repaired. This excellent man seems to have been raised up
by divine providence, for the special purpose of taking an active
part in the management of the infant settlement. His
discriminating judgment, his honesty of heart, and decision of
character, qualified him eminently, for this service. But,
especially, in relation to your society is his death to be
sincerely lamented. It will be recollected, that he was a
principal instrument in the origin of this society, and for
several years acted as its recording secretary. A little more
than eight years ago, he received his appointment, and sailed, as
missionary, in company with brother Teage, for the land of their
forefathers. His exertions as a minister in that land have been
of the most devoted and untiring kind. In the communications
which have been received by the Board, he seemed to possess the
most anxious concern for the salvation of the perishing
multitudes around him. Through his instrumentality a considerable
church has been collected together which seems to be in a
prosperous and growing condition. Sabbath and week day schools
have been instituted for the instruction of native children and
the children of the colony, which have proved eminently useful.
We were looking forward with confidence to the more perfect
consummation of our wishes, when that moral desert should rejoice
and blossom as the rose; but God has seen fit to cross our
expectations, in calling from his station this laborious
missionary. It becomes us to bow with submission to the stroke,
and to realize the saying of the apostle, "how unsearchable are
his judgments, and his ways past finding out." Although we were
not permitted to receive his dying testimony to the trust, we
have the fullest assurance that our loss is his unspeakable and
eternal gain.
At the sixth triennial meeting of the General Missionary Convention,
1829, the committee on the African Mission made this report[191] which
in some particulars was paradoxical:
This excellent man (it began) went to Africa, under the patronage
of the American Colonization Society, as well as of this
convention.... Could he have devoted his whole time to our
service much good might have been expected to have resulted from
his labors. But he was under necessity to assist in its
government and defense, as well as to act as its physician.
It is a source of consolation to the friends of Mr. Cary that
though his life was terminated in an unexpected moment and in a
most distressing manner, the unwearied diligence and fidelity
with which he discharged the important trust confided to his
care--his zeal for the honor of religion, and the purity and
piety of his general conduct have gained him a reputation which
must live in grateful remembrance, as long as the interesting
colony exists, in whose service he lived and died.
Your committee cannot help expressing their regret that so small
a portion of benevolent feeling has been exercised towards this
mission, and that so little has been accomplished during the
eight years of its existence.
The next item of this report is an appeal for "some brethren of
competent talents" to go and labor there.
There surely was ground for regret that so small a portion of
benevolent feeling was exercised towards this mission. Some
individuals did contribute now and then; "A Georgia Planter" sent a
part of $10;[192] a "poor woman" of the Rev. H. Malcom's congregation
sent $3 for the African mission;[193] "a friend to Africa avails of
jewelry for mission to Liberia, per Mr. E. Lincoln, $6";[194] the
Negroes connected with the First Baptist Church, Washington, sent
$15[195] and, no doubt, some others contributed.
It is not quite clear, however, why William Crane, still representing
the Richmond African Baptist Missionary Society in the Convention and
the Rev. James B. Taylor, a delegate from Virginia and later the
biographer of Lott Cary, did not challenge the statement that so
little had been accomplished during the eight years of the existence
of the African mission.
The Convention then adopted the following recommendation of the
Committee:
_Resolved_, That this convention cherish a grateful recollection
of the self-denying labors of our late lamented missionary to
Africa, Rev. Lott Cary, and that we sympathize with his family,
the American Colonization Society, and the church at Monrovia, in
the loss they have sustained in his death.
_Resolved_, That it be recommended to the Board to take measures
for supplying the vacancy occasioned by the death of Bro. Cary as
soon as possible by an able white missionary, and that they
endeavor to the utmost of their power to promote the success of
this mission, as one in which the convention feel a special
interest.
S. CORNELIUS, Chairman.
It was not until 1832 that the Convention saw the error of its
conclusion and declared that it must depend "principally on _colored
persons_, as missionaries and school teachers, in Africa."[196]
Despite this color-phobia of the Baptists, nothing can explain away
the fact that Lott Cary had lived helpfully and died honorably.
Gurley[197] and Hervey[198] would make him a man of genius who, had he
possessed educational advantages, would have won a worldwide
reputation as preacher, as general or as chief magistrate. This
square-faced, keen-eyed, reserved, cautious black held nothing back.
From Charles City County to Richmond, from slave to freedman, from
profligate to prophet, from sinner to saint, is a record that might
have gone unnoticed; but from America to Africa, from governed to
governor, from missionary to martyr is Lott Cary.
For over a score of years the little village of Carytown was the only
memento of the man. But in 1850, the Rev. Eli Ball, an agent of the
Southern Baptist Convention, while visiting all the Liberian Baptist
Mission stations, found with difficulty the final resting place of
Lott Cary. The next year a marble monument was sent out and placed
over his grave.[199]
MILES MARK FISHER
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This spelling seems more correct than either the short form, _Lot
Cary_, used by the Rev. D. Stratton, D.D. of St. Albans, West
Virginia, in his "Life and Work of Lot Cary, Missionary in Africa," or
the longer form, _Lott Carey_, used by the Rev. James B. Taylor in
"The Biography of Elder Lott Carey" and by many other writers for the
following consideration: There is no trace of Cary spelling his name
Lot Cary. In the American Baptist Magazine and Gammell's "A History of
American Baptist Missions" there are letters from or references to
Cary marked Lott Carey, which are no doubt presumptions on the part of
the printer or writer that the name is spelled like that of the Rev.
William Carey. If, on the other hand, Lott Cary spelled his name
either _Carey_ or _Cary_, that would only argue that his name would be
better spelled Lott Cary as a means of distinction from the Rev.
William Carey. "The Biography of Elder Lott Carey" written in 1837 is
the source of much that is known of the man but seems to draw heavily
from the "Life of Jehudi Ashmun, late Colonial Agent in Liberia, with
an Appendix Containing Extracts from His Journal and Other Writings,
with a Brief Sketch of the Life of the Rev. Lott Cary," written in
1835 by Ralph Randolph Gurley, Secretary of the American Colonization
Society. Many incidents of the life of Lott Cary are taken from the
life and writings of Mr. Ashmun. It would therefore seem consistent to
follow his spelling of the name. In this work, the name, Lott Cary, is
used frequently--even signed to a letter to Mr. Gurley--and many
references are made to it by Mr. Ashmun who probably knew Cary better
than anyone else. Only once in the entire work, on page 126, never in
the "Brief Sketch of the Life of the Rev. Lott Cary," is the name
spelled _Carey_. This could be a typographical error. Furthermore, Mr.
Randall who went to Africa as Governor of Liberia about a month and a
half after Cary's death said, respecting a native settlement, "I
propose to have it called after him, Carytown." (_The African
Repository_, Vol. V, p. 1.) Appletons' _Cyclopaedia of American
Biography_, Vol. I, p. 548, follows this spelling.
[2] This name is also variously spelled--Collin or Colin and Teague or
Teage. The above spelling is from the American Baptist Missionary
Union in their Missionary Jubilee volume, pp. 215, 267.
[3] _Proceedings of the Fifth Triennial Meeting of the Baptist General
Convention_, 1826, p. 22; Earnest, _The Religious Development of the
Negro in Virginia_, p. 95; $150 was appropriated for the mission May
23, 1823. Proceedings, 1826, pp. 22, 32.
[4] _Report of the Board of Managers of the General Convention_ in
_The Latter Day Luminary_, Vol. II, pp. 396 ff.
[5] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, p. 340.
[6] Hervey, _The Story of Baptist Missions in Foreign Lands_, p. 199.
[7] Gurley, _Life of Jehudi Ashmun_, appendix, p. 147; Peck, _History
of the Missions of the Baptist General Convention_ in the _History of
American Missions to the Heathen_, p. 443.
[8] Hervey, _op. cit._, p. 199.
[9] _The African Repository_, March, 1829, p. 11; Gurley, _op. cit._,
appendix, p. 147.
[10] Hervey, _op. cit._, p. 200.
[11] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, p. 340.
[12] Peck, _op. cit._, p. 443.
[13] _The African Repository_, March, 1829, p. 11; Gurley, _op. cit._,
appendix, p. 147.
[14] The gallery was reserved for the slaves connected with the church
and congregation. Hervey, _op. cit._, p. 202.
[15] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, p. 340.
[16] _Ibid._
[17] _The African Repository_, March, 1829, p. 11; Gurley, _op. cit._,
appendix, p. 147; Peck, _op. cit._, p. 443.
[18] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 148; Peck, _op. cit._, p. 443.
[19] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, p. 340.
[20] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 148.
[21] Peck, _op. cit._, p. 443.
[22] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, p. 340. His wife
died shortly before this time, _The African Repository_, March, 1829,
p. 11; Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 147.
[23] _Fifth Annual Report of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions_ in
_The Latter Day Luminary_, Vol. I, pp. 400f.
[24] _The African Repository_, March, 1829, p. 12.
[25] _Ibid._, Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 148.
[26] Cathcart, _The Baptist Encyclopaedia_, Vol. I, p. 288.
[27] _The Missionary Jubilee_, pp. 17, 18, 19; Tupper, _A Decade of
Foreign Missions_, p. 875.
[28] Peck, _op. cit._, p. 444; The Missionary Jubilee, p. 214; Tupper,
_op. cit._, p. 875.
[29] The outbreaks of Toussaint L'Ouverture in Hayti in 1789 and
especially Gabriel in Richmond had not died away. Gabriel in 1800
organized 1000 Negroes in Henrico County. The plot, however, was
betrayed by a slave Pharaoh and amounted to no lives lost except those
of Gabriel and Jack Bowles who were executed. A public guard of 68
policed the city for some months afterwards. Cf. Ballagh, _Slavery in
Virginia_, p. 92.
[30] From Article I of the Constitution of this body it is presumed
that the Richmond Society contributed "a sum amounting to at least one
hundred dollars" for their membership fee.
[31] _Proceedings of the General Convention_, 1817, p. 134.
[32] Gammell, _A History of American Baptist Missions_, p. 256.
[33] _The Third Annual Report of the Baptist Board of Foreign
Missions_, p. 180.
[34] _Proceedings of the Baptist General Convention_, 1829, p. 34;
Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, pp. 30, 32.
[35] Letter to Doctor Staughton, dated Philadelphia, April 30, 1818,
in the _Fourth Annual Report of the Baptist Board of Foreign
Missions_.
[36] _Third Annual Report of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions_,
p. 180.
[37] Cf. _Letters and Addresses of Lott Cary._
[38] August 5, 1816, the Negro Baptists of Warren County, North
Carolina, contributed $5.15; August 18, of the County Line
Association, Caswell County, North Carolina, $.69; September 1, of the
Shiloh Association, Culpepper, Virginia, $1.90; October 21, of the Pee
Dee Association, Montgomery County, North Carolina, $2.19; May 7,
1817, "a col. Wom." of Georgia, $1; June 2, "Coloured Brethren" of the
Sunbury Association, Georgia, $21; June 16, "a man of colour 15
cts.--a woman of col. 6 cts." and August 1, "a man of col. 25
cts."--_The Third Annual Report of the Baptist Board_, pp. 146-149;
_The Fourth Annual Report of the Baptist Board_, pp. 206, 208.
[39] _The Fourth Annual Report of the Baptist Board of Foreign
Missions_, pp. 206, 208, 210.
[40] Peck, _op. cit._, p. 444; Hervey, _op. cit._, p. 201.
[41] Cf. Journal of Mills in Spring, _Memoirs of the Rev. Samuel J.
Mills_.
[42] Letter dated Richmond, March 28, 1819, to the Rev. Obadiah B.
Brown, Washington City.
[43] _The Missionary Jubilee_, p. 215.
[44] _Sixth Annual Report of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions_ in
_The Latter Day Luminary_, Vol. II, p. 141.
[45] _The Latter Day Luminary_, Vol. II, p. 141.
[46] Peck, _op. cit._, p. 439; cf. also The Missionary Jubilee, p.
215. The constitution of the Richmond African Baptist Missionary
Society restricted its funds to Africa.
[47] _The African Repository_, March, 1829; Gurley, _op. cit._,
appendix.
[48] This would have increased his salary to $1000 annually.
[49] Letter of William Crane to the Rev. Obadiah Brown.
[50] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 148.
[51] Russell, _The Free Negro in Virginia_, pp. 145-156.
[52] _Seventh Annual Report of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions_
in _The Latter Day Luminary_, Vol. II, pp. 317f.
[53] _Ibid._, p. 399; _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, p.
341; Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 159; Peck, _op. cit._, p. 439;
_The Missionary Jubilee_, p. 215.
[54] Peck, _op. cit._, p. 444; Hervey, _op. cit._, p. 202.
[55] Hervey, _op. cit._, pp. 201f.
[56] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 149.
[57] _Ibid._, p. 148; _The African Repository_, March, 1829, p. 12.
[58] Hervey, _op. cit._, p. 202.
[59] Earnest, _op. cit._, p. 95.
[60] Journal of Cary in _The Latter Day Luminary_, Vol. II, p. 399.
[61] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. III, p. 181.
[62] Hervey, _op. cit._, p. 202.
[63] _The Latter Day Luminary_, Vol. II, pp. 397f.
[64] Peck, _op. cit._, p. 439.
[65] Gammell, _op. cit._, pp. 247, 249.
[66] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. II, p. 181.
[67] Alexander, _A History of Colonization on the Western Coast of
Africa_, p. 245.
[68] Latrobe, _Maryland in Liberia_, p. 9.
[69] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, pp. 149f.
[70] Cf. _Letters and Addresses of Lott Cary_.
[71] _The Fifth Annual Report of the American Society for Colonizing
the Free People of Colour of the United States_, pp. 55-64.
[72] Liberia was named at the annual meeting of the Colonization
Society, February, 1825. Fox, _The American Colonization Society_, p.
71.
[73] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 149; Hervey, _op. cit._, p. 202.
[74] Warneck, _Outline of a History of Protestant Missions_, p. 193.
[75] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 149; Hervey, _op. cit._, p. 203.
[76] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 149; Hervey, _op. cit._, p. 203;
_The African Repository_, March, 1829, p. 13; _The American Missionary
Register_, Vol. VI, p. 341.
[77] Gammell, _op. cit._, p. 244; Peck, _op. cit._, p. 441.
[78] Peck, _op. cit._, p. 439; Gammell, _op. cit._, p. 244.
[79] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. IV, p. 142.
[80] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, p. 341; Gammell,
_op. cit._, p. 244; Tupper, _The Foreign Missions of the Southern
Baptist Convention_, p. 277.
[81] A Negro Baptist preacher who accompanied David George to Sierra
Leone from Nova Scotia in 1792. For a detailed account cf. Rippon,
_The Baptist Annual Register_, Vol. I, pp. 478-481.
[82] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. V, pp. 241f.; _The American
Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, pp. 222f.
[83] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, pp. 222f.
[84] At the annual meeting of the American Colonization Society,
February, 1825, on motion of General Robert G. Harper, the settlement
was named Monrovia, in honor of the President of the United States.
Fox, _op. cit._, p. 71.
[85] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VI, pp. 244f. In the Report
of the Board of Managers of the General Missionary Convention, May,
1825, "Lott Cary ... states that hostilities ... of the natives had
ceased.... He asks for assistance to complete the work (on the
church); and the Board feel pleasure in recommending the case to the
hearts of all who are interested in the melioration of the condition
of the African Race." Ibid., Vol. V, p. 216.
[86] Cf. _Letters and Addresses of Lott Cary_.
[87] Gurley, _op. cit._, p. 196.
[88] Gurley, _op. cit._, p. 213.
[89] _Ibid._, p. 214.
[90] _Ibid._, p. 213.
[91] _Ibid._, _op. cit._, p. 182.
[92] The laws of the Society required every adult male to work two
days a week for the public good while receiving rations from the
public store. This rule was dispensed with providing each colonist
would cultivate his own land. _Ibid._, p. 186.
[93] _Ibid._, appendix, p. 150.
[94] Gurley, _op. cit._, p. 187.
[95] _Ibid._, appendix, p. 150.
[96] Fox, _op. cit._, p. 72.
[97] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 150.
[98] _Ibid._, pp. 190ff.
[99] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 150.
[100] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. IV, p. 423.
[101] Hervey, _op. cit._, p. 204.
[102] Gurley, _op. cit._, p. 203.
[103] Gurley, _op. cit._, p. 214; Hervey, _op. cit._, p. 204.
[104] _Ibid., op. cit._, p. 215; _ibid._, appendix, p. 150.
[105] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, p. 143.
[106] _Ibid._
[107] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 49.
[108] _Ibid._ p. 246.
[109] Gammell, _op. cit._, p. 247.
[110] _The Missionary Jubilee_, p. 215.
[111] The Veys inhabit this healthy country and are very intelligent.
They have a written language although no books. Peck, _op. cit._, p.
441.
[112] Warneck, _op. cit._, p. 189.
[113] Peck, _op. cit._, p. 441.
[114] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 30.
[115] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, p. 341.
[116] Cf. Jones, _The Religious Instruction of the Negro in the United
States._
[117] These emigrants with one exception were from Newport, Rhode
Island. Eighteen of them were, just before their departure and at
their own request, organized into a church. Gurley, _op. cit._, pp.
308, 310.
[118] Gurley, _op. cit._, p. 309.
[119] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VI, p. 368; Gammell, _op.
cit._, p. 247; Peck, _op. cit._, p. 442; _The Missionary Jubilee_, p.
215.
[120] Gurley, _op. cit._, p. 356.
[121] The schools and scholars in Liberia in 1827 were as follows:
Rev. Mr. Gary's school for native children 45
Rev. Mr. M'Gill's classes 16
Mr. Stewart's school 44
Miss Jackson's school 40
Mrs. Williams' school 30
Mr. Prout's school 52
Gurley, _op. cit._, p. 350.
[122] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VI, pp. 272f.; _ibid._,
Vol. VII, p. 166.
[123] Gurley, _op. cit._, p. 357.
[124] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. XXI, p. 183.
[125] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, pp. 32, 35, 36, 37.
[126] _Ibid._, _op. cit._, p. 356.
[127] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VIII, p. 144; cf. also
Alexander, _op. cit._, pp. 248f.
[128] Baptized eighteen months before by Cary. He was a native
evangelist at Big Town, Grand Cape Mount and styled himself John
Baptist. Letter of Cary dated Monrovia, June, 1827, to Crane.
[129] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VII, pp. 305f.
[130] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VIII, pp. 143f.
[131] _Ibid._, pp. 53f.
[132] The General Missionary Convention made a remittance of $90 on
February 15, 1828. _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VII, pp. 170,
176.
[133] Peck, _op. cit._, p. 442.
[134] Alexander, _op. cit._, p. 181.
[135] Cf. _Letters and Addresses of Lott Cary_.
[136] _The American Missionary Register_, May, 1825, p. 142.
[137] Gurley, _op. cit._, p. 182.
[138] _Ibid._, p. 190.
[139] _Ibid._, p. 182.
[140] Cf. _Letters and Addresses of Lott Cary_.
[141] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, p. 142.
[142] Peck, _op. cit._, p. 439; Stratton, _Life and Work of Lot Cary_,
p. 3.
[143] Gurley, _op. cit._, p. 190.
[144] Gurley, _op. cit._, p. 232.
[145] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. V, p. 242.
[146] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, p. 340.
[147] Cf. _Letters and Addresses of Lott Cary_.
[148] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, p. 340.
[149] This trip was to influence the free people of color in the
United States to emigrate to Liberia. Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p.
151.
[150] Gurley, _op. cit._, pp. 340f.
[151] Peck, _op. cit._, p. 554.
[152] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VI, p. 216.
[153] Gurley, _Life of Jehudi Ashmun_, p. 157.
[154] _Ibid._, _op. cit._, p. 261.
[155] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. IX, pp. 212f.; Peck, _op.
cit._, p. 442.
[156] _The American Missionary Register_, Vol. VI, p. 142.
[157] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VI, p. 216.
[158] _The Liberia Herald_ ran for three issues. Then the printer, Mr.
Charles L. Force, died. _Ibid._, pp. 214ff.
[159] _Ibid._
[160] Rippon, _op. cit._, Vol. I, pp. 334, 482; Alexander, _op. cit._,
p. 41; Crooks, _A History of the Colony of Sierra Leone_, p. 36.
[161] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 66.
[162] _Ibid._, p. 56.
[163] _Ibid._, p. 131.
[164] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 132.
[165] _Ibid._
[166] Alexander, _op. cit._, p. 247.
[167] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 126.
[168] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VI, p. 216.
[169] _History of African Colonization_, p. 225.
[170] Cf. Adams, _The Neglected Period of Anti-Slavery in America_, p.
92; Cromwell, _The Early Negro Convention Movement_, pp. 3-5.
[171] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VIII, pp. 53f.
[172] Cf. _Letters and Addresses of Lott Cary_.
[173] Cf. especially Gurley, _Life of Jehudi Ashmun_, appendix, pp.
153, 157. In speaking of going to Grand Cape Mount, Mr. Cary says, "I
should have went up last year ... we may anticipate a middling severe
struggle from the Mandingo priests who have been for years propagating
their system of religion among that nation. They are a kind of
Mahometan Jews--they are very skilful in the Old Testament...." _The
American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VII, p. 305. Moreover, there is no
known evidence that any other of the colonists could have written so
well.
[174] Compare the Address of the Citizens of Monrovia to the free
colored people of the United States with the account given in Gurley,
_Life of Jehudi Ashmun_, pp. 136-138.
[175] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VIII, p. 203.
[176] $1 was the annual membership fee; 45 names were enrolled and the
money paid. $7.25 was collected at the door. Ashmun contributed $5
extra. _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VII, p. 305n.
[177] _Ibid._, p. 305.
[178] _Ibid._, Vol. VIII, p. 170.
[179] _Ibid._, Vol. IX, p. 195; Peek, _op. cit._, p. 443.
[180] On August 31, 1822, Alexander, _op. cit._, p. 181.
[181] _The African Repository_, Vol. V, p. 14.
[182] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 153.
[183] _Ibid._, _op. cit._, p. 385.
[184] Gurley, _op. cit._, p. 385; cf. Journal of Lott Cary in Gurley,
_Life of Jehu Ashmun_, appendix, pp. 153-156.
[185] Cf. Appendix L.
[186] Gurley, _op. cit._, appendix, p. 159.
[187] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. IX, p. 212; Alexander,
_op. cit._, p. 279.
[188] Alexander, _op. cit._, p. 261.
[189] _The African Repository_, Vol. V, p. 10; Gurley, _op. cit._,
appendix, p. 160.
[190] Alexander, _op. cit._, pp. 254f.
[191] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. IX, pp. 212, 215, cf. also
p. 195.
[192] Cf. a letter to the treasurer of the Massachusetts Baptist
Education Society in _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VI, p. 181.
[193] _The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. IX, p. 255.
[194] _Ibid._, p. 214.
[195] _The American Baptist Magazine_, p. 215.
[196] _Proceedings_, 1832, pp. 10, 33.
[197] _Op. cit._, appendix, p. 160.
[198] _Op. cit._, p. 207.
[199] Hervey,_op. cit._, p. 206.
COMMUNICATIONS
The correspondence of the editor often has an historical value as the
following communications will show:
February 13, 1922.
_Dear Dr. Woodson:_
Your JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY has been so full of good material
that I hesitate to call attention to two things in the last
(January) number that seem unsuitable.
The first is the leading article on Slave Society on the Southern
Society. For more than thirty years I have been combating with
all my might the theory of slave-holding sovereignty set forth in
that article. It is the essentially Southern view--a magnified
view and an unreal view. The article is practically a mild form
of the panegyric of the slave plantation which has been the stock
in trade of defenders of slavery for a hundred years.
The reasons for slavery given on pages 1 and 2 do not accord with
the facts, and if they were true would have minimized the
protests against slavery, past and present. It is ridiculous to
say that white men endanger their lives by working in the South
when you consider how large a part of the cotton crop is raised
entirely by white men.
The description of what was said to be the "usual" type of
plantation house does not in my opinion apply to more than two
hundred or three hundred plantations in the South at the outside.
I have traveled very extensively in the South and have never seen
more than three or four such mansions. The testimony of Olmsted
and other writers is that ordinarily the slaveholder's house was
poor and that he lived in a very poor fashion. As for the twelve
sons and daughters in the planters' families, and the fifteen to
twenty-five children in the negro families, it is perfect gammon.
Not one family in a thousand had such numbers. None but a very
few of the richest planters lived in the profusion described on
page four. As for the enrolment in colleges between 1859 and
1860, and the incomes of the higher institutions, that is all
bosh. Francis Lieber was a German by birth, found his service in
South Carolina very uncongenial, and stood by the union. To
compare slavery to apprenticeship is an affront. The day's work
set down by Murat (whose history of the United States is a very
obscure work) is contrary to evidence North or South. Regular
nurseries were built only on a few large plantations. The
arguments in favor of slavery on pages nine and ten are stated
without qualification or contradiction. I deeply regret that a
Journal of Negro History should admit an article so full of
statements both untrue and dangerous to the Negro race.
The experience of a Georgia peon "seems to me very doubtful. I am
personally acquainted with the story of Dade's stockade, and have
passed within a few miles of it, and I do not believe in the
least that there is now, or has been in the past thirty years,
any plantation in the South where families are brought up in
servitude. The only Ponce-de-Leon spring that I know is in
Florida, which is not on the road between Georgia and
Mississippi. The man seems to think that Chattanooga is on the
west side of the river. It is a dangerous thing to accept any
such statement without thorough investigation and calling upon
the relater to state exactly where these things happened, and
what was his course of travel.
I should not venture to write so decidedly but that you have done
so much for the cause of the Negro race, and I don't like to see
you give ammunition to the enemies of your race.
Sincerely yours,
ALBERT BUSHNELL HART.
326 FLOWER ST.,
CARTER G. WOODSON, Ph.D., CHESTER, PA.,
The Journal of Negro History, June 26, 1922.
Washington, D. C.
_My dear Doctor Woodson:_
The following list of Negro delegates to the Republican National
Conventions from 1868 to 1920, inclusive, from South Carolina,
may be of sufficient interest for publication. As the proceedings
of the conventions do not differentiate as to the racial identity
of the delegates it is necessary that this data should be
collected before it is too late, especially as it pertains to the
Reconstruction period. While a reduction in the numbers of
delegates from South Carolina, as well as from most of the
Southern States, was made by the Republican National Committee in
December, 1913, the State still sends a majority of Negro
delegates:
1868--Chicago, Ill., May 20-21.
Robert Brown Elliott, Henry B. Hayne, Stephen A. Swails,
Joseph H. Rainey, Wm. J. McKinlay, Robert Smalls,
Henry L. Shrewsbury.
1872--Philadelphia, Pa., June 5-6.
At-Large--Alonzo J. Ransier.
1st District--Stephen A. Swails, F. H. Frost, Henry J.
Maxwell.
2nd District--Robert Smalls.
3rd District--Robert Brown Elliott, Wm. Beverly Nash.
A. J. Ransier on Committee to notify nominees.
At the Convention of 1872, General Elliott was called
upon from the floor to address the convention. His
speech will be found in the proceedings of the convention.
1876--Cincinnati, Ohio, June 14-16.
At-Large--Robert Brown Elliott, Richard H. Gleaves.
1st District--Stephen A. Swails, Joseph H. Rainey.
2nd District--Wm. J. McKinlay.
3rd District--Wm. Beverly Nash.
5th District--Lawrence Cain, Robert Smalls.
Joseph H. Rainey on Committee to notify nominees.
1880--Chicago, Illinois, June 2-8.
At-Large--Robert Brown Elliott, Samuel Lee.
1st District--Wm. A. Hayne.
3rd District--Charles M. Wilder.
4th District--Wilson Cooke.
5th District--Wm. F. Myers, Wm. J. Whipper.
Messrs. Hayne, Myers and Whipper went down to defeat
with General U. S. Grant. All received medals for
their loyalty.
1884--Chicago, Illinois, June 3-6.
At-Large--Samuel Lee, Robert Smalls.
1st District--John M. Freeman.
2nd District--Paris Simpkins, Seymour E. Smith.
4th District--Charles M. Wilder, Wilson Cooke.
5th District--Eugene H. Dibble.
6th District--Edmund H. Deas.
7th District--Wm. H. Thompson.
Samuel Lee on Committee to notify nominees. Major
John R. Lynch, delegate from Mississippi, was elected
temporary chairman, the first and only time that a colored
man ever presided over a Republican National Convention.
1888--Chicago, Illinois, June 19-25.
At-Large--Wm. F. Myers, Robert Smalls.
1st District--John M. Freeman.
2nd District--Fred Nix, Jr., Paris Simpkins.
3rd District--F. L. Hicks.
4th District--Peter F. Oliver, F. A. Saxton.
5th District--Charles C. Levy, Zachariah E. Walker.
6th District--Edmund H. Deas.
7th District--George E. Herriott.
Paris Simpkins on Committee to notify nominees.
Peter Oliver seconded the nomination of General Alger
for president.
1892--Minneapolis, Minn., June 7-10.
At-Large--Edmund H. Deas, Dr. Wm. D. Crum.
1st District--John H. Fordham.
2nd District--Paris Simpkins, Seymour E. Smith.
3rd District--A. S. Jamison.
4th District--Irwin I. Miller.
5th District--Wm. E. Boykin.
6th District--Rev. Joshua E. Wilson.
7th District--R. H. Richardson.
E. H. Deas on Committee to notify presidential nominee.
J. H. Fordham on Committee to nominate vice-presidential
nominee.
1896--St. Louis, Mo., June 16-18.
At-Large--Dr. Wm. D. Crum, Robert Smalls.
1st District--Robert C. Brown.
2nd District--Wm. S. Dixon.
4th District--Charles M. Wilder.
5th District--Wm. E. Boykin.
6th District--Edmund H. Deas, Rev. Joshua E. Wilson.
7th District--Zachariah E. Walker, John H. Fordham.
E. H. Deas on Committee to notify presidential nominee.
1900--Philadelphia, Pa., June 19-21.
At-Large--Edmund H. Deas, Robert Smalls.
1st District--Dr. Wm. D. Crum.
2nd District--Wm. S. Dixon, B. J. Dickerson.
5th District--Wm. E. Boykin.
6th District--Rev. Joshua E. Wilson, Wm. H. Collier.
7th District--John H. Fordham.
E. H. Deas on Committee to notify presidential nominee.
1904--Chicago, Illinois, June 21-23.
At-Large--Edmund H. Deas, Dr. Wm. D. Crum.
1st District--Wm. F. Myers, A. P. Prioleau.
2nd District--Wm. S. Dixon, E. J. Dickerson.
4th District--Pratt S. Suber.
5th District--Wm. E. Boykin.
6th District--J. R. Levy, J. A. Baxter.
Dr. Crum on Committee to notify vice-presidential
nominee.
1908--Chicago, Illinois, June 16-19.
At-Large--Edmund H. Deas, Thomas L. Grant.
1st District--C. M. English, P. T. Richardson.
2nd District--Wm. S. Dixon.
3rd District--G. C. Williams.
4th District--Dr. Wm. Tecumseh Smith.
5th District--Wm. E. Boykin.
6th District--J. A. Baxter, J. R. Levy.
7th District--Wm. T. Andrews.
Thomas L. Grant on Committee to notify presidential
nominee.
1912--Chicago, Illinois, June 18-22.
At-Large--Wm. T. Andrews, J. R. Levy.
1st District--Thomas L. Grant, A. P. Prioleau.
2nd District--Wm. S. Dixon.
4th District--Thomas Brier.
6th District--Rev. Joshua E. Wilson, J. A. Baxter.
7th District--Dr. J. H. Godwyn.
Rev. J. E. Wilson on Committee to notify presidential
nominee.
1916--Chicago, Illinois, June 7-10.
At-Large--Dr. J. H. Goodwyn, John H. Fordham.
1st District--Gibbs Mitchell.
2nd District--Wm. S. Dixon.
4th District--J. A. Brier.
6th District--J. R. Levy.
7th District--L. A. Hawkins.
J. R. Levy on Committee to notify presidential nominee.
W. S. Dixon on Committee to notify vice-presidential
nominee.
1920--Chicago, Illinois, June 5-9.
At-Large--W. S. Dixon, Dr. J. H. Goodwyn.
1st District--Gibbs Mitchell.
2nd District--J. M. Jones.
5th District--G. A. Watts.
6th District--I. J. McCottrie.
7th District--L. A. Hawkins.
W. S. Dixon on Committee to notify presidential nominee.
I. J. McCottrie on Committee to notify vice-presidential
nominee.
HENRY A. WALLACE.
140 COTTAGE STREET, NEW HAVEN, CONN., June 26, 1922.
DR. CARTER G. WOODSON,
1216 You Street, N. W.,
Washington, D. C.
_My dear Dr. Woodson:_
Your studies in the history of the Negro people have greatly
impressed me with their value and I trust that they will be
continued in the many fields which call for new and careful
investigation. I think there is especial need for exact and
detailed information about the period of "reconstruction" in the
South. Reviewing in my memory the whole period since the civil
war I find a great change in prevalent opinion in the North
concerning the events of the reconstruction. It seems to me that
the champions of secession, of slavery and the southern
oligarchy, have been heard in justification of everything they
did and in arraignment of everything that defeated their designs
with an unsuspicious confidence that has enabled them to mislead
sentiment in the North, especially among the younger people. For
example: a Yale professor of history had an article in the New
York Times, a while ago, declaring that the constitutional
amendments conferring citizenship on the Negroes were wrong and
that the reaction against them in depriving the Negroes of the
vote was justifiable; to which I wrote a reply, mostly in the
language of Mr. Flemming, a native Southerner who had represented
Georgia in Congress, arguing that the amendments were not only
justifiable but indispensable, and the Times would not publish
it, so that I had to give it to the Post. There is a prevalent
opinion that the "carpet baggers" were a sort of monsters. I have
known some of them as estimable men and practical public spirited
citizens of a very high type: Judge Henderson of Wilcox County,
Ala. for example.
Now if you can go to the roots of history in this period and
investigate the facts, with biographical sketches of leading men
as they actually were and authentic records of things that were
actually done, it might help to clarify history.
The incessant whining and propaganda of Southern bigots devoted
to the old regime naturally have an undue influence on
sympathetic listeners. I am afraid that this influence will not
be counteracted as it ought to be till Negro investigators,
historians and journalists learn to tell their side of the story
with greater thoroughness.
Very truly yours,
G. S. DICKERMAN.
NEW BEDFORD, MASS., MAY 15TH, 1916
Room 6, Robeson Bldg.
DR. CARTER G. WOODSON,
Washington, D. C.
_My Dear Sir:_
In reply to yours of the 8th, please find herewith a contribution
in the line of my suggestion to Mr. Baker. I did not mean to
imply I had much material of that nature, and what is sent is
that I could readily find, and would need to take time to go
through my papers to really know what I have. If you can use it
all right; if not, consign it to the waste basket, and no
complaint will be coming.
What I had more in mind was this: In many communities can be
found some one person who has contributed services of value to
race, none the less appreciable from the fact that their
interest and value seem circumscribed locally. That they are so
limited I do not believe, but think of each as the centre of an
ever widening, circling influence for good. To illustrate:
Paul Cuffee was born at Cuttyhunk, Mass., in 1758; was an early
defender of the rights of colored men; when the selectmen of the
Town of Dartmouth, refused to admit colored children to the
public schools, and to make separate provision for their
education, he refused to pay his school taxes, was imprisoned,
and when liberated, built a school house at his own expense, on
his own land, employed a teacher at his own expense, and then
opened his school _without_ race discrimination, a privilege
which his white neighbors availed themselves of as his school was
more convenient and equally as good as those of the town. The
result was colored children ceased to be proscribed along
educational lines. He was a ship owner, builder and export
trader. His story has been published at length, in one of our
dailies, with all the documents in the case. It seemed to me that
such stories would be of general as well as local interest. If
you agree with me in this, Mr. Jourdain would without doubt
forward the clipping to you.
The first colored school-teacher in Boston, was Prince Sanders,
Secretary African Lodge F. & A. M., the first Lodge of colored
Masons in America. He taught a colored school in the basement of
the old Joy Street Church from 1809 to 1812. The first colored
school, private, was opened in 1798, at the residence of Primus
Hall, corner of West Cedar and Revere Streets, Boston, and was
taught by a white man, by name, Sylvester. Its curriculum was
limited to the three "R's."
I am sending you in mail with this a pamphlet copy of
"Proceedings" etc., on pp. 12, 16, 17, you will find statements
of services given by Prince Hall, of general as well as of local
interest and value.
Yours sincerely,
FREDERIC S. MONROE.
DOCUMENTS
LETTERS, ADDRESSES, AND THE LIKE THROWING LIGHT ON THE CAREER OF
LOTT CARY[1]
PHILADELPHIA, January 6, 1621 (1821).
The Board of Managers of the General Convention of the Baptist
Denomination in the United States, to their coloured brethren,
Collin Teage and Lott Carey, present the assurance of their
sincere affectionate esteem. They have heard with pleasure, that,
by a vessel about to sail from Norfolk to the coast of Africa, an
opportunity is presented for accomplishing those benevolent
desires which, for many months past, you have been led to
entertain. At the present time, they possess a deep anxiety for
your preservation in a country where so many colonists have
frequently found a grave. They most fervently commend you to the
gracious protection of that God in whose hand your breath is, and
whose are all your ways. May you make the Lord your refuge, even
the Most High your habitation. It is a source of much
encouragement that you will be able to collect useful information
from the experience of your predecessors; and it is hoped that by
the advice of your brethren who have already reached the shores
of your forefathers, you will be enabled to adopt the most
prudent measures for the health and safety of yourselves and
families.
The Board earnestly recommend, what they cheerfully anticipate,
that your conduct before your fellow passengers on the ocean, be
pious and exemplary. Endeavour to secure their good will by every
office of kindness; and, above all, cherish and discover a solemn
concern for their everlasting salvation. Arrived in Africa, you
will find much that will require patience, and prudence, and
mutual counsel. You will have to bear with prejudices that have
descended on the minds of the inhabitants, after having been
cherished for ages, and to instil the sacred truths of the gospel
with meekness and wisdom. While your conversation shall be
without blame, the Board advise you in your ministry to dwell
much on the doctrine of the cross, a doctrine which has been
found in every age of the church of Christ, the power of God.
Have as little to do as possible with what may be called the
politics of the country. Be content with the silence so divinely
exemplified in the Lord Jesus and his apostles to render unto
Caesar the things which are Caesar's. Cultivate a tender regard
for each other. If difference of opinion on any measures occur,
never suffer it to produce alienation of affection. You have
already had opportunities of improving your minds by reading, and
the Board are gratified by the reflection that you bear with your
books that are calculated to add to your general and spiritual
knowledge.
Give yourselves to reading still; and, above all, let the word of
God dwell in you richly. Be much engaged in prayer. If troubles
rise around you, the delightful thought that you have a Father, a
Saviour, in heaven, with whom you are so happy as to hold
communion, will not only soften their severity, but in a good
degree elevate you above their influence.
Let nothing discourage you. Ethiopia shall stretch forth her
hands unto God. You are engaged in the service of Him who can
make the _crooked straight_, and the _rough places_ plain.
The Board wish you, as you shall find opportunity, to write. They
will rejoice to hear that a church, on the principles of the
gospel, is founded as the fruit of your labours. They trust that
at no distant period, many such churches will rise, and the
solitary place be glad for them. They will be happy to facilitate
your prosperity to the utmost of their power.
They pray that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ may be with
you, with your families, and with all who sail or settle with
you; and that the American Colonization Society, and all its
sister institutions, may be rendered instrumental in diffusing
literary, economical, and evangelic light, from the Mediterranean
to the Cape of Good Hope, and from the Atlantic to the Red Sea
and Indian Ocean.
By order of the Board,
WM. STAUGHTON, _Cor. Sec'ry._
Seventh Report of the Board of Managers of the General
Convention, in _The Latter Day Luminary_, Vol. II, pp. 396f.
A RESOLUTION
A communication having been received from the Petersburg African
Mission Society, and also from brother Colston W. Waring, a
preacher of colour at Petersburg, desiring the patronage of this
Board in favour of the said Waring, as a missionary to Africa.
_Resolved_, That the said communications impart pleasure to this
body, and that the Board will cheerfully countenance and
encourage the said Waring as their missionary to Africa, provided
the expenses of his outfit, &c. can be met by his own resources
and those of his brethren in that quarter.
Sixth Annual Report of the Board, in _The Latter Day Luminary_,
Vol. II, p. 134.
A CONTRACT
KNOW ALL MEN, That this Contract, made on the fifteenth day of
December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
twenty-one, between King Peter, King George, King Zoda, and King
L. Peter, their Princes and Head-men, of the one part; and
Captain Robert F. Stockton and Eli Ayres, of the other part;
WITNESSETH, That whereas certain persons Citizens of the United
States of America, are desirous to establish themselves on the
Western Coast of Africa, and have invested Captain Robert F.
Stockton and Eli Ayres with full powers to treat with and
purchase from us the said Kings, Princes, and Head-men, certain
Lands, viz: Dozoa Island, and also all that portion of Land
bounded north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south
and east by a line drawn in a south-east direction from the north
of Mesurado river, We, the said Kings, Princes, and Head-men,
being fully convinced of the Pacific and just views of the said
Citizens of America, and being desirous to reciprocate the
friendship and affection expressed for us and our people, DO
HEREBY, in consideration of so much paid in hand, viz: Six
muskets, one box Beads, two hogsheads Tobacco, one cask
Gunpowder, six bars Iron, ten iron Pots, one dozen Knives and
Forks, one dozen Spoons, six pieces blue Baft, four Hats, three
Coats, three pair Shoes, one box Pipes, one keg Nails, twenty
Looking-glasses, three pieces Handkerchiefs, three pieces Calico,
three Canes, four Umbrellas, one box Soap, one barrel Rum; And
_to be paid_, the following: three casks Tobacco, one box Pipes,
three barrels Rum, twelve pieces cloth, six bars Iron, one box
Beads, fifty Knives, twenty Looking-glasses, ten iron Pots
different sizes, twelve Guns, three barrels Gunpowder, one dozen
Plates, one dozen Knives and Forks, twenty Hats, five casks Beef,
five barrels Pork, ten barrels Biscuit, twelve Decanters, twelve
glass Tumblers, and fifty Shoes, FOR EVER CEDE AND RELINQUISH
the above described Lands, with all thereto appertaining or
belonging, or reputed so to belong, to Captain Robert F. Stockton
and Eli Ayres, TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said Premises, for the use
of these said Citizens of America. And we, the said Kings, and
Princes, and Head-men, do further pledge ourselves that we are
the lawful owners of the above described Land, without manner of
condition, limitation, or other matter.
The contracting Parties pledge themselves to live in peace and
friendship for ever; and do further contract, not to make war, or
otherwise molest or disturb each other.
We, the Kings, Princes, and Head-men, for a proper consideration
by us received, do further agree to build for the use of the said
Citizens of America, six large houses, on any place selected by
them within the above described tract of ceded land.
In WITNESS whereof, the said Kings, Princes, and Head-men, of the
one part; and Captain Robert Stockton and Eli Ayres, of the other
part; do set their hands to this Covenant, on the day and year
above written.
(Signed)
KING PETER, X his mark.
KING GEORGE, X his mark.
KING ZODA, X his mark.
KING LONG PETER, X his mark.
KING GOVERNOR, X his mark.
KING JIMMY, X his mark.
(Signed)
CAPTAIN ROBERT F. STOCKTON.
ELI AYRES, M.D.
Witness, (Signed)
JOHN S. MILL.
JOHN CRAIG.
AGREEMENT WITH J. S. MILL
I HEREBY CONTRACT, for the consideration of one barrel of Rum,
one tierce of Tobacco, one barrel of Bread, one barrel of Beef,
one barrel of Pork, and one piece of trade Cloth, to give to
Captain R. F. Stockton and Eli Ayres all my right and title to
the Houses situated on the Land bought by them on Cape Mesurado.
In Witness whereof, I have here unto signed my name, on this
sixteenth day of December, one thousand eight hundred twenty-one.
(Signed) JOHN S. MILL.
Witness, (Signed)
CHARLES CAREY, X his mark.
WILLIAM RODGERS, X his mark.
We promise to present to Charles Carey, one Coat.
(Signed) R. F. STOCKTON.
ELI AYRES.
The Fifth Annual Report of the American Colonization Society, pp.
64-66.
L---- C----.
A black man, has been a member of this Colony since the beginning
of the year 1820. He made a profession of religion in America:
but never never since I knew him, either discharged its duties,
or evinced much of its spirit, till within the last ten months.
He was a man of good natural sense, but wretched in the extreme;
and the cause of equal wretchedness to his young family. His
wife, naturally of a mild and placid temper, failed in almost
every thing to please him, or prevent the constant outbreakings
of his morose and peevish humor. He was her tyrant--and so
instinct with malevolence, the vain conceit of superiority,
jealousy, and obstinate pride, as to resemble more an Arab of the
desert, or a person destitute of natural affection, than a person
by education and in name, a Christian. As a neighbor, his
feelings were so soured and narrow, as to render him disobliging,
suspicious, and equally an object of general dislike and neglect.
His heart was a moral desert--no kind affection seemed to stir
within it; and the bitter streams which it discharged had spread
a moral desolation around him, and left him the solitary victim
of his own corroding temper.
Such an ascendant had these evil qualities over the other
faculties of his mind as in a great measure to dim the light of
reason, and render him as a subject of the colonial government,
no less perverse and untractable, than he was debased and
wretched, as a man.
Several times have the laws, which guard the peace of our little
community, been called in, to check the excesses of his turbulent
passions, by supplying the weakness of more ingenuous motives.
Still this person discovered, in the midst of this wreck of
moral excellence, a few remaining qualities, on which charity
might fix the hope of his recovery to virtue, usefulness and
happiness. But these were few, and mostly of a negative kind. He
was not addicted to profane discourse. He allowed himself in no
intemperate indulgences. He observed towards sacred institutions
a cold, but still an habitual respect. And, strange as the fact
may seem, he was laborious in his avocations, even to severe
drudgery, and equally a stranger to avarice, and a passion for a
vain ostentation. Whether these relieving traits of his character
were the effects of habit, produced by the influence of former
piety; or whether they were the result of constitutional
temperament, or of education, is not for me to decide. But such
was L. C., until the autumn of 1824; when not only a reform but
an absolute reversal, of every perverse disposition and habit in
the revolting catalogue of his character took place. A more
obliging and affectionate husband I am convinced is not to be
found on the Cape, few in the world! And there is no appearance
of constraint, or affection in this display of tenderness. It is
uniform, untiring, cordial, and increasing, as far as it is
permitted to any one, except the Searcher of hearts, to judge. In
all his intercourse with his family, and neighbors, he carries
with him, an inimitable air of sweet and profound humility. You
would pronounce it to be the meekness of the heart springing from
some deep-felt sentiment of the interior of the mind. But so far
from abasing the possessor, in the estimation of others, this
very trait commands their respect, and their love. It gives to
him a value, which he never appeared to possess before. Ten
months have I now had daily opportunities to observe this altered
man in a great variety of circumstances, and some of them, it
must be confessed, sufficiently trying. In one instance, I have
had to regret, and censure the appearance of that perversity
which made an important part of his character. But happily this
fit of turbulence was of short duration; and some months have
passed since, without witnessing a repetition of the infirmity.
Were I this evening asked to name a man in the Colony, who would
most carefully guard against offending, or causing even a
momentary pain to any of his fellow-men, I should not hesitate to
say that in my judgment, the man is L. C. On this point I insist,
because it was precisely in his revolting and unfeeling
churlishness, that his greatest and most incurable infirmity
seemed to consist. I hardly need add, were silence not liable to
misconstruction, that the duties and ordinances of religion are
matters of his most devout and diligent observance. How often
have I been awaked at dawn of Sabbath, by his devout strains of
prayer and praise, sent up from the midst of a little company of
praying people, who at that hour assemble for religious exercises
in a vacant building near my residence. How sure am I to find him
reverently seated in his place, among the earliest who assemble
in the house of God. What an active promoter of every commendable
and pious design, is sure to be found in him.
Every laudable habit, which had survived the general extinction
of all practical virtue, seems to have acquired additional
confirmation: and from the operation of higher principles, seems
to follow of course, and derive the best guaranty of its
continuance. I might go on to particularize; but it would only be
to fill up the outline already sketched, and which, whether
relating to his former or his present character, however,
imperfect, is strictly true. Ask of him the cause of so obvious
and surprising a change, and he humbly, but unhesitatingly
ascribes it wholly to the power of the Divine Spirit, operating,
he cannot tell how, but evidently by means of the word and
ordinances of God, upon his whole mind. Such was the origin of
this great moral renovation, and such are the agency and means by
which its effects are sustained, and under the operation of which
they are beginning to combine into a habit of holiness. He
rejoices in the hope of its duration to the end of life, solely
he would say from the confidence he has in the immutable love and
faithfulness of the Holy Being, who has wrought so great a work
in him. And let philosophers cavil and doubt, if they must; but
this man's example is a refutation in fact of a thousand of their
sceptical theories. He is a new man, and the change was effected
chiefly before discipline, or example, had time to work it. He is
an honest man, and soberly asserts that to his certain knowledge
he did not perform the work himself. But where is the example to
be found of _such_ and _so great_ a change, wrought by mortal
means? The history of the human race is challenged to produce it.
To God then who created man, to Christ who redeemed him, and to
the Holy Ghost who sanctifies him, be ascribed without abatement,
or reserve, the power and the grace displayed in this and every
similar instance of the conversion of a blind, and hardened and
wretched sinner.
Gurley, _Life of Jehudi Ashmun_, appendix, pp. 136-138.
"June 16th, 1827.
"To the Rev. R. R. Gurley.
"Rev. and Dear Sir, I transmit to you a few lines, which I trust
may find you well. The last emigrants that you sent out, has
fared remarkably well, as it respects the disease; we have only
lost two children. We have several cases of bad ulcers; and from
seeing advertised in the Compiler of Richmond, a medicine called
Swaim's Panacea, said to be a sure cure for ulcers; please try if
possible to procure some, and send out, for we should have very
healthy inhabitants at present, but for the prevalence of that
uncontrolable disease. We are also in want of Salts, Castor-oil,
Cream of Tartar, mignesea, and Mustard, as much as you can send
well put up. I am greatly in hopes to be over the next spring,
and try to wake up my colored friends in Virginia. We have a plan
in contemplation which if accomplished will, I think insure my
making one visit to America, that is, to purchase, or aid in the
purchase of a vessel to run constantly from this, to America, to
bring out our own supplies, emigrants, &c. I hope sir, when such
an attempt is made you will facilitate it all that you can.
"I think that you would be pleased with the improvements that we
have made since you left if you were to make another visit to
this country--both our civil and religious state I think has
improved very much. No more but wishing that the blessing of the
Lord may attend you, both in your public and private life, and
the Board of Managers, in all their administrations.
"Yours, &c.
"LOTT CARY."
Gurley, _Life of Jehudi Ashmun_, appendix, p. 153.
APPENDIX F
"MONROVIA, April 24th, 1826.
"Rev. and Dear Sir: I received your letter sent to me by the
order of the Board of Managers of the American Colonization
Society; and I expected until a few days ago that the return of
the Indian Chief, would have enabled me in all respects to have
realized their wishes. But on a more minute examination of the
subject, Mr. Ashmun and myself both were apprehensive that my
leaving the Colony at present, would endanger the lives of a
number of the inhabitants; Mr. Ashmun, however, has made a full
statement to the Board, which I have no doubt will be
satisfactory to them. I think that through the blessing of the
Almighty, I shall be able to get the last expedition through the
fever with very little loss; we have lost only three, the Rev.
Mr. Trueman, from Baltimore, and two children belonging to the
Paxton family. But the emigrants who came out in the Vine, have
suffered very much; we lost twelve of them. The action of the
disease was more powerful with them than is common--they
unfortunately arrived here in the most sickly month in the year,
February. I am strongly of the opinion, sir, that if the people
of New England leave there in the winter, that the transition is
so great, that you may count upon a loss of half at least. They
may, in my estimation, with safety, leave in the months from
April to November, and arrive here in good time; I think it to be
a matter of great importance; therefore I hope, that you will
regard it as such.
"I am respectfully yours,
"Lott Cary."
Gurley, _Life of Jehudi Ashmun_, appendix, p. 152.
In April, 1826, Lott Cary made arrangements to embark for the United
States. The following is extracted from a letter addressed by Mr.
Ashmun to the Managers of the Colonization Society:
"The Rev. Lott Cary, returning by the 'Indian Chief,' has, in my
opinion, some claims on the justice of the Society or Government
of the United States, or both, which merit consideration. These
claims arise out of a long and faithful course of medical
services rendered to this Colony, (the only such services
deserving much consideration, if we except those of Dr. Ayres and
Dr. Peaco, since the commencement of the settlement, in 1820).
"It is perhaps known to the Board, that Mr. Cary has declined
serving any civil office, incompatible with a faithful discharge
of his sacred functions: and it may be added, that although one
of the most diligent and active of men, he has never had the
command of leisure or strength to engage in any Missionary
duties, besides the weekly and occasional services of the
congregation. More than one-half of his time has been given up to
the care of our sick, from the day I landed in Africa, to the
very moment of stating the fact. He has personally aided in every
way, that fidelity and benevolence could dictate, in all the
attentions which all our sick have in so long a period received.
His want of science acquired by the regular study of Medicine, he
has gone a long way towards supplying by an unwearied diligence
which few regular physicians think it necessary--fewer
superficial practitioners, have the motives for exercising.
"Several times have these disinterested labors reduced him to the
verge of the grave. The presence of the other physicians has,
instead of affording relief, only redoubled the intensity of his
labors, by changing the ordinary routine of his attentions to the
sick with the exhibition of their own prescriptions.
"Mr. Cary has hitherto received no compensation, either from the
Society or the Government, for these services. I need not add,
that it has not been in his power to support himself and family
by any use he could make of the remnants of his time left him,
after discharging the amount of duty already described. The
Missionary Board of Richmond have fed, clothed and supplied the
other wants of himself and family, while devoting his strength
and time to your sick colonists, and Agents in this country.
Justice seems to demand that he should be placed in a situation
as an honest man, to refund the whole or part of the fund thus
engrossed, not to say _misapplied_, to the Missionary Board.
"I beg leave also to state, that on the 15th of February, 1826, I
came into an agreement with Mr. Cary, to allow him a reasonable
compensation for his medical services, devoted to the then
sickening company of Boston emigrants. His time has from the date
of that agreement, to the present hour, been incessantly occupied
in attending upon the sick."
Gurley, _Life of Jehudi Ashmun_, appendix, pp. 151f.
On the 25th of June Gary wrote to Ashmun:
"About three o'clock to-day, there appeared three vessels--two
brigs and a schooner. The schooner stood into the Roads, and one
of the brigs near in, but showed no colours until a shot was
fired by Captain Thompson; when she hoisted Spanish colours, and
the schooner the same. All their movements appeared so
suspicious, that we turned out all our forces to-night.--About
eight this evening it was reported that they were standing out of
our Roads; and at sunset, that the schooner had come to anchor
very near the 'All Chance,' from Boston; and that the brig which
had passed the Cape, had put about and was standing up, trying to
double the Cape; and that the third vessel (a brig) was standing
down for the Roads. The first mentioned brig showed nine ports a
side. From all these circumstances I thought best to have Fort
Norris Battery manned, which was immediately done by Captain
Johnson. I also ordered out the two volunteer companies to make
discoveries around the town, and the Artillery to support the
guns, and protect the beach; which orders were promptly executed,
and we stood in readiness during the night. At daylight the
schooner lay at anchor and appeared to be making no preparations
to communicate with us; I then ordered a shot to be fired at a
little distance from her, when she sent a boat ashore with her
Captain, Supercargo, and Interpreter. She reported herself the
Joseph, from Havana, had been three months on the coast trading,
but _not for slaves_, had one gun, and twenty-three men. Also,
that the brig was a patriotic brig in chase of her, and that
through fear she had taken shelter under our guns. The Captain
wished a supply of wood and water; but I told him I knew him to
be engaged in the slave trade, and that, though we did not
pretend to attempt suppressing this trade, we would not aid it,
and that I allowed him one hour, and one only, to get out of the
reach of our guns. He was very punctual, and I believe before his
hour."
Gurley, _Life of Jehudi Ashmun_, appendix, p. 157.
A letter to the American Colonization Society through her Secretary,
July 17th (1828):
Until we can raise crops sufficient to supply a considerable
number of new comers every year, such an arrangement (a vessel
large enough to run down to Cape Palmas and occasionally to
Sierra Leone) as will enable us to proceed farther to the leeward
than we have ever done, in order to procure supplies, will be
indispensably necessary; as there we can procure Indian Corn,
Palm Oil, and live stock. For these, neither the slave traders
nor others, give themselves much. Corn can be bought there for
from fifteen to twenty cents per bushel. Fifteen or twenty
bushels which I bought of Captain Woodbury, I have been using
instead of rice for the last two months. Besides, it can be
ground into meal, and would be better than any that can be sent.
Upon the supposed inquiry, will not the lands of the Colony
produce Corn? they will produce it in abundance; but with the
quantity of lands appropriated at present, and the means to
cultivate them, each landholder will, I think, be able to raise
but little more than may be required by his own family, and
consequently will have little to dispose of to new comers. (It
has been resolved by the Board of Managers to increase the
quantity of land alloted to each settler.)
Permit me to inform the Board, that proposals have been made by a
number of very respectable citizens in Monrovia, to commence a
settlement near the head of the Montserado River, which would be
a kind of farming establishment; which, should it be the pleasure
of the Board to approve, would be followed up with great spirit,
and found to contribute largely towards increasing our crops, for
the soil is very promising.
Gurley, _Life of Jehudi Ashmun_, appendix, p. 158.
ADDRESS
BY THE CITIZENS OF MONROVIA, TO THE FREE COLOURED PEOPLE OF THE
UNITED STATES
As much speculation and uncertainty continue to prevail among the
free people of colour in the United States, respecting our
situation and prospects in Africa; and many misrepresentations
have been put in circulation there, of a nature slanderous to
_us_, and in their effects injurious to _them_; we feel it our
duty by a true statement of our circumstances to endeavor to
correct them.
The first consideration which caused our voluntary removal to
this country, and the object which we still regard with the
deepest concern, is liberty--liberty, in the sober, simple, but
complete sense of the word:--not a licentious liberty--nor a
liberty without government--or which should place us without the
restraint of salutary laws. But that liberty of speech, action,
and conscience, which distinguished the free, enfranchised
citizens of a free state. We did not enjoy that freedom in our
native country, and from causes which, as respects ourselves, we
shall soon forget forever, we were certain it was not there
attainable for ourselves, or our children. This then being the
first object of our pursuit in coming to Africa, is probably the
first subject on which you will ask for information. And we must
truly declare to you, that our expectations and hopes in this
respect have been realized. Our Constitution secures to us, so
far as our condition allows, "all the rights and privileges
enjoyed by the citizens of the United States," and these rights
and these privileges are ours. We are proprietors of the soil we
live on; and possess the rights of freeholders; our suffrages,
and what is of more importance our _sentiments_, and our
_opinions_, have their due weight in the government we live
under. Our laws are altogether our own; they grow out of our
circumstances; are framed for our exclusive benefit; and
administered either by officers of our own appointment, or such
as possess our confidence. We have a judiciary chosen from among
ourselves; we serve as jurors in the trial of others; and are
liable to be tried only by juries of our fellow-citizens,
ourselves. We have all that is meant by _liberty of conscience_.
The time and mode of worshipping God as prescribed in his word,
and dictated by our conscience, we are not only free to follow,
but are protected in following.
Forming a community of our own, in the land of our forefathers,
having the commerce and soil and resources of the country at our
disposal; we know nothing of that debasing inferiority, with
which our very colour stamped us in America. There is nothing
here to create the feeling on our part--nothing to cherish the
feeling of superiority in the minds of foreigners who visit us.
It is this moral emancipation--this liberation of the mind from
worse than iron fetters, that repays us ten thousand times over,
for all that it has cost us, and makes us grateful to God, and
our American patrons, for the happy change which has taken place
in our situation. We are not so self-complacent as to rest
satisfied with our improvement either as regards our minds or our
circumstances. We do not expect to remain stationary,--far from
it; but we certainly feel ourselves, for the first time, in a
state to improve either to any purpose. The burden is gone from
our shoulders; we now breathe and move freely, and know not (in
our present state) for which to pity you most, the empty name of
liberty, which you endeavour to content yourselves with, in a
country that is not yours; or the delusion which makes you hope
for ampler privileges in that country hereafter. Tell us; which
is the white man, who, with a prudent regard to his own
character, can associate one of you on terms of equality? Ask
_us_ which is the white man who would decline such association
with one of our number, whose intellectual and moral qualities
are not an objection? To both of these questions we
unhesitatingly make the same answer: there is no such white man.
We solicit none of you to emigrate to this country; for we know
not who among you prefers rational independence and the honest
respect of his fellow men, to the mental sloth and careless
poverty, which you already possess, and your children will
inherit after you, in America. But if your views and aspirations
rise a degree higher--if your minds are not as servile as your
present condition, we can decide the question at once; and with
confidence say that you will bless the day, and your children
after you, when you determined to become citizens of Liberia.
But we do not hold this language on the blessing of liberty, for
the purpose of consoling ourselves for the sacrifice of health,
or the suffering of want, in consequence of our removal to
Africa. We enjoy health after a few months' residence in the
country as uniformly, and in as perfect a degree, as we possessed
that blessing in our native country. And a distressing scarcity
of provisions, or any of the comforts of life, has for the last
two years been entirely unknown, even to the poorest persons in
this community. We never hoped, by leaving America, to escape the
common lot of mortals--the necessity of death to which the just
appointment of Heaven consigns us. But we do expect to live as
long, and pass this life with as little sickness as yourselves.
The true character of the African climate is not well understood
in other countries. Its inhabitants are as robust, as healthy, as
long lived, to say the least, as those of any other country.
Nothing like an epidemic has ever appeared in this colony; nor
can we learn from the natives, that the calamity of a sweeping
sickness ever yet visited this part of the continent. But the
change from a temperate to a tropical country is a great one; too
great, not to affect the health more or less,--and in the cases
of old people and very young children, it often causes death. In
the early years of the colony, want of good houses, the great
fatigues and dangers of the settlers, their irregular mode of
living, and the hardships and discouragements they met with,
greatly helped the other causes of sickness, which prevailed to
an alarming extent, and was attended with great mortality. But we
look back to those times as to a season of trial long past, and
nearly forgotten:--our houses and circumstances are now
comfortable, and for the last 2 or 3 years, not one person in
forty, from the Middle and Southern States has died, from the
change of climate.
People, now arriving, have comfortable houses to receive them,
will enjoy the regular attendance of a Physician in the slight
sickness that may await them; will be surrounded and attended by
healthy and happy people who have borne the effects of the
climate, who will encourage and fortify them against that
despondency, which alone has carried off several in the first
years of the colony. But, you may say, that even health and
freedom, good as they are, are still dearly paid for, when they
cost you the common comforts of life, and expose your wives and
children to famine and all the evils of poverty. We do not
dispute the soundness of this conclusion neither--but we utterly
deny that it has any application to the people of Liberia. Away
with all the false notions that are circulating about the
barrenness of this country. They are the observations of such
ignorant or designing men, as would injure both it and you. A
more fertile soil and a more productive country, so far as it is
cultivated, there is not, we believe, on the face of the earth.
Its hills and its plains are covered with a verdure which never
fades--the productions of nature keep on in their growth through
all the seasons of the year. Even the natives of the country,
almost without farming tools, without skill, and with very little
labour, make more grain and vegetables than they can consume, and
often more than they can sell.
Cattle, swine, fowls, ducks, goats and sheep, thrive without
feeding--and require not other care than to keep them from
straying. Cotton, coffee, Indigo, and sugar cane are all the
spontaneous growth of our forests; and may be cultivated at
pleasure to any extent, by such as are disposed. The same may be
said of rice, indian corn, guinea corn, millet, and too many
species of fruits and vegetables to be enumerated. Add to all
this, we have no dreary winter here, for one half of the year, to
consume the productions of the other half; nature is constantly
renewing herself, and constantly pouring her treasures, all the
year round, into the lap of the industrious. We could say on this
subject more; but we are afraid of exciting too highly the hopes
of the _imprudent_. It is only the industrious and virtuous that
we can point to independence and plenty and happiness in this
country. Such people are nearly sure, to attain in a very few
years, to a style of comfortable living, which they may in vain
hope for in the United States. And however short we come of the
character ourselves, it is only a due acknowledgment of the
bounty of Divine Providence, to say that we generally enjoy the
good things of this life to our entire satisfaction.
Our trade and commerce are chiefly confined to the coast, to the
interior parts of the continent, and to foreign vessels. It is
already valuable, and fast increasing. It is carried on in the
productions of the country, consisting of rice, palm oil, ivory,
tortoise-shell, dye-woods, gold, hides, wax, and a small amount
of coffee; and it brings us in return the products and
manufactures of the four quarters of the world. Seldom indeed is
our harbour clear of European and American shipping; and the
bustle and thronging of our streets show something of the
activity of the smaller seaports of the United States.
Mechanics of nearly every trade are carrying on their various
occupations. Their wages are high, and a large number would be
sure of constant and profitable employment. Not a child or youth
in the colony, but is provided with an appropriate school. We
have a numerous publick library, and a Courthouse,
Meeting-houses, School-houses, and fortifications sufficient, or
nearly so, for the colony in its present state.
Our houses are constructed of the same materials, and finished in
the same style as in the towns in America. We have abundance of
good building stone, shells for lime and clay of an excellent
quality for bricks. Timber is plentiful and of various kinds, and
fit for all the different purposes of building and fencing.
Truly we have a goodly heritage, and if there is any thing
lacking in the character or condition of the people of this
colony, it never can be charged to the account of the country. It
must be the fruit of our own mismanagement or slothfulness or
vices. But from these evils, we confide in Him to whom we are
indebted for all our blessings, to preserve us. It is the topic
of our weekly and daily thanksgiving to Almighty God, both in
publick and private; and he knows with what sincerity, that we
were ever conducted to this shore. Such great favours in so short
a time, and mixed with so few trials, are to be ascribed to
nothing but his special blessing. This we acknowledge. Judge then
of the feelings with which we hear the motives and the doings of
the Colonization Society traduced--and that too, by men too
ignorant to know what that society has accomplished; too weak to
look through its plans and intentions; or too dishonest to
acknowledge either. But without pretending to any prophetic
sagacity, we can certainly predict to that society the ultimate
triumph of their hopes and labours; and disappointment and defeat
to all who oppose them. Men may theorize and speculate about
their plans in America. But there can be no speculation here. The
cheerful abodes of civilization and happiness, which are
scattered over this verdant mountain; the flourishing
settlements which are spreading around it--the sound of
Christian instruction, and scene of Christian worship, which are
heard and seen in this land of brooding pagan darkness; a
thousand contented freemen, united in founding a new Christian
Empire, happy themselves, and the instruments of happiness to
others--every object, every individual, is an argument, is
demonstration of the wisdom and the goodness of the plan of
Colonization.
Where is the argument that shall refute facts like these? and
where is the man hardy enough to deny them?
_The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. VIII, pp. 50-53.
JOURNAL OF LOTT CARY
The Colonial Agent, J. Ashmun, esq., went on board the brig
Doris, March 26th, 1828, escorted by three companies of military,
and when taking leave he delivered a short address, which was
truly affecting; never, I suppose, were greater tokens of respect
shown by any community on taking leave of their head. Nearly the
whole (at least two-thirds) of the inhabitants of Monrovia, men,
women, and children, were out on this occasion, and nearly all
parted from him with tears, and in my opinion, the hope of his
return in a few months, alone enabled them to give him up. He is
indeed dear to this people, and it will be a joyful day when we
are again permitted to see him. He has left a written address,
which contains valuable admonitions to Officers, Civil, Military,
and Religious. The brig sailed on the 27th. May she have a
prosperous voyage.
Thursday, March 27.
Feeling very sensibly my incompetency to enter upon the duties of
my office without first making all the Officers of the Colony
well acquainted with the principal objects which should engage
our attention, I invited them to meet at the Agency House on the
27th, at 9 o'clock, which was punctually attended to; and I then
read all the instructions left by Mr. Ashmun without reserve, and
requested their co-operation. I stated that it would be our first
object to put the Jail in complete order, secondly to have our
guns and armaments in a proper state, and thirdly to get the new
settlers located on their lands; as this was a very important
item in my instructions. This explanation will, I think, have a
good effect; as by it the effective part of the Colony is put in
possession of the most important objects of our present pursuit;
and I trust through the blessing of the great Ruler of events,
we shall be able to realize all the expectations of Mr. Ashmun,
and render entire satisfaction to the Board of Managers if they
can reconcile themselves to the necessary expenses.
March 29.
From a note received from Mr. James, dated Millsburg, I learn
that he visited King Boatswain, and that the new road from
Boatswain's to Millsburg will shortly be commenced.--The Headmen
expect, however, to be paid for opening the road. Messrs. James
and Cook, who came down this evening, state, that the Millsburg
Factory will be ready in a few days for the reception of goods,
and wished consignments might be made early. But as I had been on
the 27th paying off the kings towards the Millsburg lands, and
found that one hundred and twenty bars came so far short of
satisfying them, I thought best to see them together before I
should attempt to make any consignments to that place.
Know all men by these presents: That we, Old King Peter, and King
Governor, King James, and King Long Peter, do on this fourth day
of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
twenty-eight, grant unto Lott Cary, acting Agent of the Colony of
Liberia, in behalf of the American Colonization Society, to wit:
All that tract of Land on the north side of St. Paul's river,
beginning at King James' line below the establishment called
Millsburg Settlement, and we the Kings as aforesaid do bargain,
sell, and grant, unto the said Lott Cary, acting in behalf of the
American Colonization Society, all the aforesaid tract of land,
situated and bounded as follows: by the St. Paul's river on the
South, and thence running an East Northeast direction up the St.
Paul's river, as far as he, the said Lott Cary, or his successor
in the Agency, or Civil Authority of the Colony of Liberia, shall
think proper to take up and occupy: and bounded on the West by
King Jimmey's, and running thence a North direction as far as our
power and influence extend. We do this day and date, grant as
aforesaid for the consideration (here follow the articles to be
given in payment); and will forever defend the same against all
claims whatsoever.
In witness whereof we set our hands and names:
OLD X KING PETER,
LONG X KING PETER,
KING X GOVERNOR,
KING X JAMES.
Signed in the presence of,
ELIJAH JOHNSON,
FREDERICK JAMES,
DANIEL GEORGE.
June 18, 1828.
I found it necessary, in order to preserve the frame of the
second floors of the Government House, to have the frame and
ceiling painted, which is now doing. I have also been obliged to
employ another workman to make the blinds, or else leave the
house exposed the present season, as ---- refused to do it under
the former contract. On the 13th I visited Millsburg (named after
Mills and Burgess) to ascertain the prospects of that settlement;
and can say with propriety, that according to the quantity of
land which the settlers have put under cultivation, they will
reap a good and plentiful crop. The Company's crop of rice and
cassada is especially promising. The new settlers at that place
have done well; having all, with two or three exceptions, built
houses, so as to render their families comfortable during the
season. They have also each of them a small farm, which I think
after a few months will be sufficient to subsist them. But I find
from a particular examination, that we shall be obliged to allow
them to draw rations longer than I expected, owing to the great
scarcity of country produce, the cassada being so nearly
exhausted, that it is, and will be, impossible to obtain, until
new crops come in, much to aid our provisions, unless by going
some distance into the country. Therefore I think it
indispensably necessary, in order to keep the settlers to their
farming improvements, to continue their rations longer than I at
first intended; as I consider the present too important a crisis
to leave them to neglect their improvements, although it may add
something to our present expenses.
The people at Caldwell are getting on better with their farms
than with their houses. I think some of them are very slow,
notwithstanding I have assisted them in building. The Gun House
at Caldwell is done, and at present preparations are making for
the fourth of July. I think that settlement generally, is rapidly
advancing in farming, building, and I hope, in industry. Our gun
carriages are done; the completion of the iron work alone
prevents us from mounting them all immediately. We have four
mounted, and I think we shall put them all in complete order by
the end of the present week.
Captain Russel will be able to give something like a fair account
of the state of our improvements, as he went with me to visit the
settlements on the 13th and 14th, and seemed pleased with the
project at Millsburg, Caldwell and the Half-way Farms.
Mr. Warner, who has been engaged nearly the whole of the last
twelve months on business of negotiation with the native tribes
to the leeward, is at present down at Tippicanoe, the place which
I mentioned in my former communications, as being a very
important section of country, since it would connect our Sesters
and Bassa districts together. He is not, however, now engaged in
business of negotiation, but only in business of trade.
Gurley, _Life of Jehudi Ashmun_, appendix, pp. 153-156.
In a letter to Mr. Ashmun, Mr. Cary wrote:
Things are nearly as you left them; most of the work that you
directed to be done, is nearly accomplished. The plasterers are
now at work on the Government House, and with what lime I am
having brought down the river, and what shells I am getting, I
think we shall succeed.
The Gun House in Monrovia and the Jail have been done for some
weeks; the mounting of the guns will be done this week, if the
weather permits.
The Houses at Half-way Farms are done; the Gun House at Caldwell
would have been done at this time, had not the rain prevented,
but I think it will be finished in three or four days. The public
farm is doing pretty well. The Millsburg farms are doing very
well. I think it would do you good to see that place at this
time.
The Missionaries, although they have been sick are now, I am
happy to inform you, recovered; and at present are able to attend
to their business, and I regard them as entirely out of danger.
I hope we shall be able to remove all the furniture into the new
house in two or three weeks.
Speaking of the celebration of the 4th of July under date of July
15th, Mr. Cary remarked to Mr. Ashmun:
The companies observed strictly the orders of the day, which I
think were so arranged as to entitle the officers who drew them
up to credit. Upon the whole, I am obliged to say, that I have
never seen the American Independence celebrated with so much
spirit and propriety since the existence of the Colony; the guns
being all mounted and painted, and previously arranged for the
purpose, added very much to the grand salute. Two dinners were
given, one by the Independent Volunteer Company, and one by
Captain Devany.
Mr. Cary wrote to the Secretary of the Colonization Society, July
19th, 1828:
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter,
forwarded by Captain Chase of Providence, also your Report and
Repository, directed to Mr. Ashmun, but owing to his absence,
they have fallen into my hands; and permit me to say, that these
communications are read with pleasure, and that nothing affords
more joy to the Colony, than to hear of the prosperity of the
Colonization Society, and that you have some hopes of aid from
the General Government, which makes us more desirous to enlarge
our habitation and extend the borders of the Colony.
I must say, from the flattering prospects of your Society, I feel
myself very much at a loss how to proceed, in the absence of Mr.
Ashmun, with regard to making provisions for the reception of a
large number of emigrants, which appears to be indispensably
necessary. Therefore, after receiving your communication, we
conceived the following to be the most safe and prudent course.
_First_, to make arrangements to have erected at Millsburg,
houses to answer as receptacles sufficient to shelter from one
hundred and fifty to two hundred persons, I have therefore
extended the duties of Mr. Benson so as to embrace that object. I
was led to this course from the following considerations.
_First_, from the productiveness of the Millsburg lands and the
fewness of their inhabitants. I know if Mr. Ashmun were present,
it would be a principal object with him to push that settlement
forward with all possible speed, and that for this purpose, he
would send the emigrants by the first two or three expeditions to
that place. I think that those from the fresh water rivers, if
carried directly after their arrival here, up to Millsburg, would
suffer very little from change of climate. _Second_, the
fertility of the land is such a temptation to the farmer, that
unless he possesses laziness in its extreme degree, he cannot
resist it; he must and will go to work. _Thirdly_, it is
important to strengthen that settlement against any possible
attack; and though we apprehend no hostilities from the natives,
yet we would have each settlement strong enough to repel them.
I am happy to say, that the health, peace and prosperity of the
Colony, I think, is still advancing, and I hope that the Board of
Managers may have their wishes and expectations realized to their
fullest extent, with regard to the present and future prosperity
of the Colony.
Gurley, _Life of Jehudi Ashmun_, appendix, pp. 156-158.
Letter to the treasurer of the Massachusetts Baptist Education
Society:
Sir,
Here is a mite enclosed for your society. It is part of the
proceeds of a cotton field, for benevolent purposes. I helped to
plough the ground, plant, hoe, pick, gin and pack the cotton with
my own hands. A part of the proceeds is for the Colonization
Society. My servants would shew their large white teeth, when, to
encourage them to do their work well, I informed them that this
cotton was designed to be a means of enlightening their brethren
in Africa. Don't you think that Christians by and by, will act
more like stewards with the property God has given them? I think
it better to give now and then a mite, which the Lord may have
bestowed upon me, to advance his cause, than to lavish it on
profligate and dissipated sons. Will not God at a future day
require the property he has loaned us?
We see you Northern folks seem conscious of this, by the
exertions you are using to advance the Redeemer's cause. This has
become a fortunate legatee, in comparison with what it was fifty
years ago.
We, down here, so near the equator, think we can discover the
upper limb of the millennium sun already. Will he not get clear
above the horizon by 1866.
A Georgia Planter.
_The American Baptist Magazine_, Vol. IV, p. 181.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] These extracts were collected by Miles Mark Fisher.
BOOK REVIEWS
_The Master's Slave--Elijah John Fisher_. By MILES MARK FISHER.
The Judson Press, Philadelphia, Pa. Pp. 194.
This work is a biographical sketch of one of the most prominent Negro
Baptist preachers of his time. The author, the son of the subject of
the sketch, believes that too little has been said concerning the
Negro Church, which is largely responsible for whatever advancement
the race has made. To stimulate interest in this institution and to
give it the proper place in the history of the race, this biography is
given to the public.
The book contains an introduction by Dr. L. K. Williams, the popular
successor of Dr. Fisher at the Olivet Baptist Church in Chicago, where
the latter faithfully served many years. It contains also an
appreciation by Martin B. Madden, Congressman from Illinois, who
personally knew Dr. Fisher and speaks most commendably of his
character and achievements in that State.
The actual sketch begins with the chapter entitled "Bound and
Branded," presenting the life of Dr. Fisher during the slavery of the
last decade prior to emancipation. Herein are set forth interesting
facts showing the connection of the Negro with Africa and his status
in the slave-holding South. The effects of the Civil War in this
section appear also from page to page.
Then follows that part of his career when he as a youth undertook to
secure an education by which he might be qualified for the serious
duties of life. How he began as a teacher during the beginning of
Negro education of the Reconstruction period, and how he finally
became an exhorter and developed into a minister acceptable to the
communicants of his denomination, make the story increasingly
interesting. The sketch reaches its climax through a detailed account
of Dr. Fisher's work at Atlanta, Nashville, and Chicago, emphasizing
the last mentioned as the place of his most successful labor.
The historian will find this work valuable in that it illuminates one
of the most interesting periods of Negro church history. It is not
only a sketch of one distinguished churchman but a narrative
presenting an important chapter of the story of the Baptists by
relating the many incidents connected with the leading churchmen and
ecclesiastical organizations interested in the uplift of the Negro
since the Civil War. This narrative, moreover, shows how the Negro
minister, in keeping with the exigencies of the time, often had to be
drawn into politics in self defense and that in the case of unselfish
service like that of Dr. Fisher, he may come out of the controversy
untarnished.
_History of the United States. Vol. V._ By EDWARD CHANNING. The
Macmillan Company, New York City. Pp. 615.
This is the most recent volume of Professor Channing's eight volume
History of the United States from the very beginning of our history to
the present time. This particular volume covers the years from 1815 to
1848 and is entitled "The Period of Transition." It is written in
keeping with the standard of thoroughness characteristic of the author
and is made further informing by the use of ten valuable maps
illustrating important facts in American History.
In this volume the author engages the attention of the reader with an
account of the wonderful century in which he writes. He then discusses
the westward movement of the population, urban migration, the rise of
labor unions, giving more attention to economic matters than his
predecessors have been accustomed to do in the treatment of this
period. A study of the documentary history of the United States has
convinced the author that these important factors in the making of
this country have been neglected. His treatment, therefore, is a
change in the point of view in American historical writing.
This volume does not show the usual interest in slavery and abolition.
Only one chapter of this large work is devoted primarily to the
plantation life and abolitionism. The author discusses the lot of the
slave, accounting for his tendency to escape from bondage, the traffic
in human flesh, the free people of color, the colonization movement in
the South, and abolition in the North. This chapter culminates in a
discussion of the efforts of William Lloyd Garrison, the agitating
editor of the _Liberator_, of Wendell Phillips, the abolition orator,
of Prudence Crandall, the sacrificing worker, and of Elijah Lovejoy,
the martyr in the cause. Prof. Channing does not go into details as to
the achievements of the abolitionists. His account is merely
sufficient to connect this movement with other forces at work in the
country at that time.
Most of this volume is devoted to changes in religion, education,
literature, and politics, effected by such outstanding figures as
James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John C.
Calhoun and Daniel Webster. The book shows an extensive treatment of
the territorial expansion of that time, especially the efforts to
secure Texas, California and Oregon, and the war with Mexico. On the
whole, this book has a decided economic and social trend. It is an
effort to account for the significant upheavals in our history through
connection with important industrial and economic events which have
materially influenced the history of the United States during the last
century. The book emphasizes the fact that current history can not be
easily written, that one must be far removed from situations in the
past in order to weigh the influences having a bearing thereon to
determine exactly how the country has become what it is today.
_Recent History of the United States_. By FREDERICK L. PAXSON.
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. Pp. 588.
This book beginning with the inauguration of Hayes shows how he
reestablished home rule in the South, thus clearing the way for a
realization of education and economic reconstruction of both South and
North. The author then treats the civil and border strife as expressed
in the Mexican Revolution of 1876, Indian wars, social unrest,
national labor unions, and the War with Spain. Then follows the
treatment of post-bellum ideals as expressed by literary periodicals
and new writers showing a revolution in literature, and especially in
historical writing.
In his treatment of silver, greenbacks, railroad and mine booms, and
the like, he shows that the country had reached a new stage in its
development when a transition both economic and political was
apparent. This is made evident by his discussion of election frauds,
Republican factions, office holders in politics, the abuse of
patronage and the necessity for civil service reform. Next the author
takes up the era of prosperity, the disappearance of the frontier, the
land grants to railroads, the development of the telephone, telegraph,
typewriter, electrical appliances, and the like, in their bearing on
the industrial reconstruction of the whole country.
The author then discusses events more in detail, directing his
attention to the tariff revision of the eighties, the "Mugwump
Campaign" of 1884, the Wild West, labor ideals, protection, populism,
the revival of the Democratic party through the leadership of
Cleveland, industrial unrest, political schism, the Spanish-American
War, business in politics, the career of Theodore Roosevelt,
government control, insurgency, the rise of Woodrow Wilson, watchful
waiting, neutrality and preparedness, the United States in the World
War, and the League of Nations. Some attention is also given to the
reconstruction and the election of 1920.
While the work is a valuable treatise from the point of view of a man
who is trying to write the history of a particular race, it does not
come up to the standard of history of the United States in all of its
national and racial ramifications. So far as the Negro is concerned,
it merely refers to his undoing as a political factor in the
Reconstruction, the efforts for his education by northern
sympathizers, the rise of Booker T. Washington, the elimination of the
Negro as a factor in the South, the efforts to pass a force bill
protecting the Negro in the exercise of the right of suffrage, and the
continued control of the South of the Democratic party. A foreigner
who reads this work might wonder whether the Negroes by this political
upheaval have been exterminated or have emigrated from the country.
Any student of the history of the whole Southland knows that it is
centered largely around the Negro and any historian failing to take
this into account cannot be recognized as an authority.
_The Backbone of Africa. A Record of Travel during the Great War,
with some Suggestions for Administrative Reform._ By SIR ALFRED
SHARPS, K. C. M. G., C. B., formerly Governor of Nyasaland.
London, H. F. & G. Witherby, 1921. Pp. 232.
This is the reaction of a public functionary to the scenes of colonial
life as they appeared to him from a different angle in a survey of the
whole continent and under the circumstances of a political upheaval.
He had in mind here the regions of Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Tanganyika,
Ruanda, the Congo, and the Upper Nile. The book is illustrated, well
written and suggestive throughout. It contains four valuable maps and
has an index largely of names.
Writing from the point of view of the exploiter of Africa, the author
considers such questions as the disposition of the German Colonies
coming into the possession of England at the close of the Great War,
the question of restitution, the partition of Africa, the suggested
union of the Protectorates in Eastern Africa under a Governor
General, the partition of German East Africa, the redelimitation of
boundaries, problems of railway construction and a united East African
Colony. He discusses also the Home Government, native taxation, local
representation, land along with land laws, native rights, their
education, the labor problem, migration, industrial questions, and
missions.
Treating the colonial policy in dealing with the natives, the author
shows some sympathy. He does not believe that the tax on natives has
been wisely imposed and, therefore, asks for a uniform and more
equitable system. To effect such a reform, however, he believes that
the local government with increased authority in its own affairs
should exercise such power rather than have such a policy determined
by the Home Government through its appointive executive and
legislators who act for the colonies though not of them. The question
of native ownership of spare land, he believes, should be carefully
considered, inasmuch as there has never been any real title to the
possession of definite blocks of freehold lands in Native Africa.
Native education also should be taken in hand and there should be
adopted a suitable scheme, applicable to all the Protectorates.
"In the first place in one shape or another," says the author, "we
introduce a direct but immoderate impost such as a hut-tax or a more
general poll-tax, the money for which has to be earned. Next, we
endeavor to create new wants: clothes, ornaments, manufactured goods
and luxuries of all kinds. All this represents a gradual process of
regeneration, as the native is by nature very conservative and,
therefore, slow to adopt new tastes or acquire ambitions. But we
endeavor to raise his ideals and to inculcate the view we ourselves
hold: that man should not be satisfied with mere existence, like
beasts in the field, but should adopt civilisation and everything
that, in the main, we consider to be essential to civilised life. We
ask him, therefore, to produce something--other than for his own
immediate wants--whether it be by labour done for an employer, or on
his own account."
NOTES
The next annual meeting of the Association will be held in Louisville,
Kentucky, on Thursday and Friday, the 23d and 24th of November. The
day sessions will be held at the Branch Library on West Chestnut
Street and the evening sessions at the Quinn Chapel African Methodist
Episcopal Church on the same street. The management is endeavoring to
make this a national meeting effective in arousing universal interest
in the study of Negro life and history.
During the academic year 1922-1923 Mr. A. A. Taylor, formerly
Instructor in Economics at the West Virginia Collegiate Institute,
will devote a part of his time to research in the field of Negro
Reconstruction History as an investigator of the Association. The
remaining portion of his time will be devoted to the completion of
some graduate studies at Harvard University.
Mr. Taylor is a product of the Washington Public Schools and of the
University of Michigan. He is the author of two articles recently
published in THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY, namely, "Making West
Virginia a Free State" and "Negro Congressmen a Generation After." It
is expected that Mr. Taylor may find it possible to devote his future
to investigation under the auspices of the Association.
Mr. Hosea B. Campbell, who during his four years at Grinnell College
held a Julius Rosenwald scholarship, has been awarded a fellowship of
$500 by the Association to prosecute at Harvard graduate studies in
Negro American and African History.
* * * * *
An authorized translation into English of René Maran's _Batouala_ has
been published and is being sold throughout the United States. It is
expected that in this form the work will more thoroughly inform the
American public as to the African situation and as to the ability of
this man of Negro blood to treat it.
_Les Noirs de l'Afrique_, an historical essay on the people of Africa,
their customs and art, by Mr. Delafosse, appeared in Paris in 1921.
* * * * *
[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 made the following changes to the
text to correct obvious errors:
1. p. 5, professsors --> professors
2. p. 6, posssible --> possible
3. p. 34, Haper's Ferry --> Harper's Ferry
4. p. 51, tself --> itself
5. p. 54, Douglas --> Douglass
6. p. 61, banquent --> banquet
7. p. 70, Geogre --> George
8. p. 79, Ninteenth --> Nineteenth
9. p. 81, Footnote #19, Grimke's --> Grimké's
10. p. 81, No footnote marker for footnote #19.
11. p. 110, ecnouragement --> encouragement
12. p. 119, disfranchisment --> disfranchisement
13. p. 122, subscripion --> subscription
14. p. 133, Virgina --> Virginia
15. p. 137, successivly --> successively
16. p. 151, establisment --> establishment
17. p. 154, Eliott --> Elliott
18. p. 161, distinquished --> distinguished
19. p. 208, Piqua, --> Piqua.
20. p. 251, No footnote marker for footnote #10.
21. p. 334, villified --> vilified
22. p. 338, childern --> children
23. p. 355, No footnote marker for footnote #21.
24. p. 357, wheras --> whereas
25. p. 376, Footnote #8, Mossel --> Mossell
26. p. 381, missonary --> missionary
27. p. 385, Footnote #29, Toussiant --> Toussaint
28. p. 433, and and --> and
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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